Herald of Steel

The middle aged nobleman chosen to formally greet Alexander man was initially ecstatic, thinking he had won the king's favor.

Now, he was still aware Alexander might be angry given the circumstances, but he did not think he would be furious enough to tear the facial skin so openly in front of everybody.

He had learnt from reliable sources that contrary to what others said about him being a former slave and low born uncouth barbarian, the Pasha was actually very cordial, always keeping a gentle smile and was softly spoken in his words.

But now the way he wholly dismissed all his concerns about decimating the king's hunting grounds….

There was a flash of anger in the man's eyes at being treated so crudely, and clenching his fist, he wished to lash out terribly.

But that momentary thought only lasted a second, as he helplessly watched Alexander quickly getting on an accompanying horse and with Lord Iyazid leading, soon set off with an entourage of more than hundred men and servants.

….

Creakkkkk

The enormous, sturdy wooden doors of Adhan was hastily opened at the sight of the approaching men and Alexander wrapped in his blue bronze cuirass entered the ground to the awe and surprise of all those nearby.

Given it was just before dusk, the streets were packed with revellers returning to their abode after a whole day of merriments and so, it was only natural for the appearance of close to a hundred horses dressed in blue to turn all heads.

Many asked among themselves who the great lord was, while those slightly more in the know, shivered and shook.

This was the most common reaction because Alexander was not that well liked in the capital.

And some of this hostility was actually well deserved.

Such as he and his mercenaries sacking the city and humiliating many innocent women, him looting the entire treasury which contained the life savings of much of the people of the city, and even him assassinating many of the blacksmiths and other artisans who did not want to leave with him to Zanzan.

Now many of these crimes were done without Alexander's consent, such as the sacking and plunder, which was mostly done by mercenary groups allied with him, these could not be ordered to stop even if he wanted to.

While the looting of the treasury perhaps benefitted Ptolomy the most.

But these nuances hardly mattered now as the king had the brains to bundle all these problems and place them on Alexander's head.

After all, those killings targetted to cripple Ptolomy's production abilities was indeed planned and executed by Alexander.

Something that the man was still suffering the after effects of.

And due to his propaganda, many of the people forgot Alexander's food relief efforts or how he had his men bring order to the chaotic city.

All that credit was instead snatched by Ptolomy.

Now if you asked about how he felt about all this, Alexander would have mostly probably answered with a damn care shrug of his shoulders. As already shown, he could hardly care less about the happenings in Adhan.

Not to mention, the people had quite limited power in swaying the actual ruler of the place- that power belonged to the court.

So their views was of very little concern to Alexander.

He rather focus his eyes on the city itself, soaking in its views as he went towards the palace.

From what he saw, he found the rumours about the city being heavily decorated during this time of the year to be quite true as well.

Various green and colorful laurels, ivy, and myrtle garlands hung from the doorways, archways, and columns, as they thought of being able to ward off evil and bring good luck, while colorful linen banners of red, gold, blue and orange fluttered accross rooftops of the more wealthier residents, showing off their higher status.

Some of the most affluent families even had elaborate tapestries done on their clothes, with symbols and words written on them thought to bring good luck and fortune.

While back on the ground, some of the bigger, more prominent streets of the city and larger fountains were scattered with fresh flowers, such as roses, camelia, lavender and violets, perfuming the air with a lingering sweet, lilac fragnance, while the various statues of the god Ramuh and former Adhanian kings dotted around city centers and crucial crossroads were adorned with expensive fabric and metallic crowns painted in fantastic colors and decorated with brilliant flowers.

Many temporary temple altars were also set up in honor of the 'Father', which were similarly decorated, while the various temples received a fresh new coat of paint as well as being heavily adorned with verdant garlands, colorful festoons and radiant fabric- making them stand out against the rest of the building like a proud, colorful peacock.

People entered and left these places in throngs, praying, and offering various food like wheat, bread, meat, nuts, etc. or animal sacrifice in the name of Ramuh.

While the more wealthy citizens could present even gold and silver jewelry as votives, hanging small metal plaques representing prayers or gratitude to Ramuh

As Alexander passed some of the bigger and wealthier temples, he could even smell the strong scent of incense coming out from the courtyards as they openly burned myrrh, frankincense, and other herbs, creating a smoky, intoxicating atmosphere, next to which young priests and priestesses performed various sacred dances and rituals for their community.

Many of these temples even provided refreshments and entertainment for their followers, funded by either the community as a whole or by a wealthy patron like a successful merchant or generous noble.

For instance there could be long wooden tables covered in beautiful embroidered cloths and set with seasonal fruits, sweet wine, various roasted meats, and all kinds of pastries for the visitors to enjoy like a buffet.

He was even glad to see many people washing their hands in large flower scented basins before eating from there, although this more due to a ritual than a sudden surge in hygiene consciousness.

Adhanians believed ones hands became tainted while praying due to their sins flowing out from there and thus it should be washed.

And Alexander had a pretty good guess how this practice came into being.

The doctors of the place surely must have noticed eating with dirty hands tended to cause diseases, but because they did not have any awareness of germ theory, they could only come up with such an ad hoc explanation.

But whatever the reason, the people were at least getting the good result.

So Alexander hardly complained.

Rather his eyes were suddenly drawn to the sight of a heavily decorated stage situated at one of the larger temple he passed, that appeared almost like an amphitheater, with beautifully painted backdrops and elaborate stage curtains.

There, trained actors were playing out all kinds of plays, such as retelling the various divine battles of the gods and how Ramuh came to dominate them all.

Alexander watched some of it by the corner of his eyes and was frankly impressed by the production quality- garbed with extremely colorful tunics, gilded masks, and plumed helmets, these performers really did not disappoint, even in the eyes of a man who came from the age of entertainment.

Their clothes and customs were top notch, and as the sun was setting, the soft glow of the tens of torches and bronze braziers backlighting their sinuous dances produced a mesmerizing flickering effect.

These performers even had a small makeshift pool in front of them, where floated small oil lamps or scented candles, producing an almost magical effect.

And in appreciation of their arts, that temple appeared to be bursting with throngs of eager onlookers, cramped into each other like packed sardines.

While just outside tht temple, laid a small army of pedderls and merchants, with stalls decorated with woven fabrics, painted wooden signs, and open amphorae filled with spiced wine and olive oil, thus giving each stand a slightly unique smell.

This too was one of the customs of the time.

In fact, all the temples had this spiced wine aroma as their vicinity was the favorite place for peddlers and merchants to set up shop, given the heavy traffic of people the sacred place tended to draw.

And as they left the place, it was all too easy to tempt them to buy something, for them or the family- a comb, a bangle, a hairpin, a nice pair of shoes, toys, cosmetic, jewellery…. the peddlers had it all.

….

Alexander continued to watch all these wonders as he made his way up the hill where the palace was situated, when suddenly a messenger approached him, informing him that Ptolomy had gone to the Grand Temple to offer the evening prayers and asked to meet him there.

The Zanzan chose not to overthink this small change, and simply had the men change course, until he was once again back at that place.

And as he laid eyes on the magnificent white temple, the vivid memories of him visiting the place during the conquest once again came rushing back.

Overlooking the beautiful pink waters of the sea of life, the huge complex still stood majestically like before, on its sixty huge, thick, intricately decorated white granite pillars, them being carved and chiseled to perfection.

Its walls were twelve meters high, made of the same flawless granite as the pillars, and decorated with elaborate friezes that depicted epic battles between the gods, various stories and parables from the Takqa, and even the names of famous Adhanian kings and heroes.

It was truly an architectural marvel.