The fierce sun scorched the stone path along which the prince and his entire retinue moved. Ahead, he could already see the statue of the goddess Aching: a tall woman, dressed in unearthly garments the likes of which no one had ever seen, especially her strange headdress, resembling a ship. In one hand she held a strange instrument with a thin needle protruding from something cone-shaped, and in the other, a strange book, more like a stone tablet. But the prince was certain it was indeed a book, for whoever erected this statue had masterfully captured the effect of falling pages. Behind the statue of the goddess stood a massive building—her temple—which was mostly buried underground, yet this did not make it any less of a majestic structure, made entirely of metal, something the Empire's scientists had still not been able to achieve.

  And so, step by step, he approached it, feeling a reverent tremor, though he himself understood that this entire religion was only necessary for controlling the masses and elevating the emperor's title to a divine level. Beside him walked his retinue of loyal warriors, dragging behind them a strange bundle that writhed oddly and tried to emit some inarticulate sounds. But all the marching men ignored it, following their prince, continuing to drag the sack along the stone cobbles.

  When the procession reached the feet of the goddess's statue, where there was a small cobbled square, and drawing closer to the stone monolith, a plaque appeared before Delmar with two inscriptions—the first in a language he did not understand or know, but apparently left by those who erected the goddess's statue, the second in the common tongue, stating that this was the statue of the goddess Aching, which was most likely a translation of the first. Around it were many people, prostrating themselves before the goddess and her primordial temple, and each of them also trembled at the mighty and noble sight of the prince. Upon seeing them, people immediately parted before them, creating the effect of a ship cutting through waves. The prince himself took the sack they had been dragging and threw its contents at the feet of the goddess, releasing the former boyar Yegor Tumanov. He no longer wore his usual caftan; he was stripped of clothing, completely naked in the presence of a crowd of strangers, Delmar's retinue, and the prince himself. His entire body was covered in bruises and abrasions, left not only by the cobblestones.

  "Delmar!" cried the former boyar, looking at the prince with a kind of resentment and anger in his eyes, trying with his hands to somehow cover his shame.

  "Bomani, do our former envoy the service of showing respect to the prince," the man said, addressing a member of his retinue. A man stepped forward with a simple, schematic tattoo of the sun on his chest—the symbol of the Desert Empire—and with one kick to the boyar's ribs, made him curl up in pain and lie on the ground. "There, that's better. That is how one should appear before his prince."

  Yegor cast another angry glance towards Delmar, but the prince did not react, merely summoning someone from his retinue. He was handed a beautiful, wooden box, exquisitely painted. Such boxes were usually made in some kingdom or tsardom; the prince no longer remembered which, for it didn't matter, as the Empire had absorbed them and made them their own. Opening the box, inside lay a beautiful, also painted knife, and Delmar took it in his hand, summoning another member of his retinue.

  "Bomani, Kirabo, lift our esteemed guest by the arms. He must, after all, behold the magnificence of the goddess Aching," the prince commanded, and the men immediately began to carry out his order, lifting Yegor's beaten, naked body, directing his head towards the statue. Meanwhile, the prince approached him from behind, displaying his naked body to all who could see it. "Well then, esteemed Yegor Tumanov, what do you have to say in your defense?"

  "Go to hell," the young man said quietly, and immediately received a blow to the stomach from one of the guards. Delmar merely clicked his tongue theatrically at this response.

  "Yes, I will go, to the place you, through your efforts, have closed to me—the Kingdom of Crow," the prince continued, also looking up at the tall statue of the goddess. Then he grabbed the former boyar by the chin, lifting his head. "Look, Yegor, upon the magnificence of the goddess Aching, who watches over your pathetic life. Thanks to you, the great sacrifice of Bokari, who was supposedly your friend, has been completely destroyed. What have you achieved? Tell me, before the eyes of the great goddess who watches over us. What have you achieved?!"

  "It's all her fault!" Yegor cried, his eyes fixed on the blinding sun, constantly squinting. "That stupid princess!"

  "So our esteemed diplomat lost his mission because of a simpleton?" the prince asked, firmly gripping the young man's jaw, directing his head towards the sun.

  "She doesn't understand what's happening! Diplomacy with her is like hitting a wall!" Yegor wailed, trying to close his eyes, which were constantly burned by the sun's heat. Delmar merely signaled his retinue, and now they simply held the boyar by the arms, but also pried open his eyelids so he could not close them.

  "Then why, Yegor Tumanov, did all we receive from this not the right to start a war, but pathetic pieces of useless metal? Even the professor from the Free Cities refused them, so there is nothing of value to the Empire in them. Then tell me, why, instead of declaring war at these negotiations, did you return with junk? Returned in disgrace, like a pathetic dog, and moreover, brought not good news to the Empire, but only disappointment. So tell me. Why?" said the prince, directing the boyar's eyes towards the sun itself. He screamed from the pain he was experiencing.

  "I don't know! I don't know!" the young man cried, trying to close his eyes, but unable to do so.

  "You see, Yegor, now that you too are observing the magnificence of the goddess Aching, you understand how beautiful and searing her light can be, even to such dregs as you. But do not fear, she gladly watches over your life, but soon she will stop," Delmar continued amidst Yegor's screams. "Do you know why? Because now, it seems to me, you should be sent into the embrace of the goddess Sarabi, as the Empire does not like its plans being ruined by fools, especially those who betray their own. Behold the metal, which the glorious slaves you sold to us had made in honor of your execution, and feel its magnificence upon your throat."

  "Go to hell!" Yegor cried, and at that moment, Delmar began to slowly cut his throat, prolonging the young man's suffering as he tried to break free from the retinue's strong grip, but it was useless. His agony continued for several more minutes as the prince continued cutting his throat, until the boyar's body simply went limp.

  Delmar looked one last time at the body of the man he had killed. He felt nothing but disappointment. *"Bokari died for our great cause; you died because you are an idiot,"* the prince thought finally, trying to quickly forget this misunderstanding named Yegor Tumanov.

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  "Bomani, throw his body into the sand, but away from the goddess's statue. She should not have to look upon corpses; that is her sister's affair. The rest of you, follow me; we still have business in the temple," the man commanded and moved towards the massive building.

  He pondered that he had made this long journey here for only two purposes. The first was to execute Yegor, for the prince knew in advance that the pathetic traitor would have no way to justify himself. But he had at least managed to extract some information from this fool. Despite the fact that Princess Vanessa turned out to be somewhat simple-minded—and as Delmar had investigated, she truly was not of this world, which raised even more questions about their King Idivig, who had sent such a weak person to the negotiations—she had still managed to extricate herself from this difficult situation. Though the prince largely judged by the reports of the guards who had been with the boyar, and they said Yegor had simply spewed insults. Delmar, for his part, had given Tumanov a chance, but he had failed, which led to his demise. The second purpose was to receive the blessing of the goddess Aching in her temple, for this act would strengthen the warriors' faith that the goddess watched over them on this great campaign, thereby boosting the morale of the entire crew.

  As he passed the statue, he noticed that behind it, not far from the strange metal entrance, a small awning was stretched, in the shade of which sat an elderly, black-skinned man. His eyes were half-closed, and he was smoking a pipe, paying no attention to what was happening around him. But as soon as the prince and his retinue began to pass by him, he merely raised his gaze in their direction and wearily rasped:

  "The temple is closed, esteemed prince."

  Delmar turned his gaze to the old man, who continued to rest in the shade of his awning, showing no emotion on his face except bliss. Nevertheless, he decided to approach him, signaling his retinue to stay put and wait for him.

  "And who might you be, old man?" the prince asked, entering the shade of the awning, looking down at the elderly man.

  "I am the high priest of this temple, as well as the guardian of the great shrine of the goddess Aching, its chief custodian, Ntanda," said the old man, continuing to sit on his small stool, occasionally puffing on his pipe. The smell from it even made the prince wrinkle his nose slightly. Nevertheless, he decided to show respect to the old priest.

  "Oh, High Priest Ntanda, tell me then, why are the gates of our great temple closed to me?" Delmar asked, offering the old man a certain deference.

  "They are closed not only to you, esteemed prince, but to everyone, by order of His Greatest Imperial Majesty Taong the Second," the priest answered reverently, still not rising from his chair.

  Delmar pondered for a moment, recalling the family hierarchy. If he wasn't mistaken, Taong the Second was his grandfather, i.e., the father of the current emperor, Olufemi IV. Why had his grandfather closed access to the holiest of holies? And it was strange that the priest had not mentioned the current emperor—his father.

  "High Priest Ntanda, what exactly was the decree of my grandfather, the great Emperor Taong the Second?" the prince finally asked, emerging from his reflections.

  "He commanded the temple of Aching to be closed, esteemed prince, because he feared that various heretics would plunder it. Therefore, we decided to preserve the great heritage that came down to us from our ancestors," the priest continued to answer reverently. Delmar decided to look more closely at the seated old man and saw in his half-closed eyes dilated pupils, which had most likely appeared due to narcotic intoxication. Anger seized the prince; with a swift movement, he grabbed the old man by the throat, lifting him above himself. His old body began to shake its legs, and he looked at Delmar in bewilderment. "What are you doing, blasphemer?! Release me at once, or the great Emperor Taong the Second will punish you, as will the goddess Aching, in whose rays we now bathe!"

  "Who am I?" Delmar unexpectedly asked the old man, continuing to squeeze his hand on the old man's throat, whose body, surprisingly, turned out to be quite light, almost weightless.

  "The esteemed prince," the old man answered hoarsely, still clinging to the prince's arm with his feeble hands.

  "What. Is. My. Name?" the man asked, emphasizing each word. The old man suddenly weakened his grip, looking with eyes full of horror towards Delmar, and answered him nothing. The prince noticed foam beginning to form at his mouth, and his body starting to tremble in convulsions. "Just as I thought."

  Delmar squeezed his hand with all his might, breaking the high priest's neck, then threw his body into the shade of the awning to hide it from the goddess's gaze.

  "They have completely lost all fear; they use drugs while serving, they defy the imperial family, not even knowing who currently rules. I must report to my father that the priests are ceasing to honor us," Delmar said quietly aloud, while returning to his retinue, who had simply stood and watched what was happening, not uttering a word. "Are there any more priests here?"

  Silence was his answer. Perhaps they were frightened by the brutal execution of the high priest and now simply feared sharing his fate, or perhaps there really were none. The prince angrily clenched his teeth but merely approached the metal doors of the temple, running his hand over them, feeling the cold that seeped from inside the building, despite the heat outside. Somewhere in the distance, he heard sounds resembling the hum of an airship's propellers, yet somehow different. This temple raised more questions in him than answers. Even the last time he was here, though he also had not visited the inner part of the temple, its exterior had captivated him, as it did now.

  Delmar inhaled in disappointment. He had, of course, been hasty in killing the high priest, for now, until a replacement was sent from the capital, no one would open the doors to this temple, and he would not receive the desired blessing of the goddess. But this had been a necessary action to cleanse this sacred place of filth, even at the cost of the blessing, for the Empire must flourish, not wither in sin.

  It was a pity that Yegor had failed, but that did not negate the Empire's plans. Now this would merely be a friendly visit to collect all the unnecessary junk the kingdom had foisted upon them, including all their resources, lands, and other benefits they were not fully utilizing anyway. It was a pity, of course, that he had not received the goddess's blessing, but he was completely confident in their military might, which certainly surpassed the kingdom's barbarians, who still fought with swords. As far as the prince knew, even their royal guard was not fully armed with muskets, making them a technically backward country, incapable even of conquering their neighbors, such as the Republic of Salt and the Kingdom of Stone. Yet, for some reason, they still posed a threat, even to the Free Cities. Was it all because of the Duke of Storm with his constant warfare? Or perhaps because of the fox Katerina, ready to sell out the kingdom to escape their oppression? But even that old woman did not realize that the Empire did not care about her efforts, for she was destined to become part of it, not remain a separate kingdom.

  The prince turned and headed back in the direction from which he had come. There stood a gigantic airship, dozens of times larger than the statue of the great goddess. When the crew saw their prince returning, the hum of steam engines began, starting up this steel giant, ready to rise into the air as soon as Delmar boarded. After he did so, he would write a letter to his father about what had happened at the temple, then head for refueling at the coastal city of Avis, the Empire's largest port city, to stock up on supplies, recruit additional crew members, and finally set course for the Kingdom of Crow, showing those wild barbarians the true might of the Desert Empire. And then, once they had conquered everything in the kingdom, they would build even more airships to subdue their neighbors, and then the Free Cities themselves—which fifty years ago had humiliated the Empire's warriors, shooting them down from their own airships—would also fall prostrate before their military might. Then the Desert Empire would be the only nation on the continent, and everyone would toil for its glory.