2. First of Te-in, then Sudga, then Osiris. And of Te-in's heavenly kingdom, two vice-Gods, Noe Jon and Wang-tse-Yot. Chief high marshal, Kolotzka, and under him thirty thousand marshals. Chief general, Ha-e Giang, and under him one hundred thousand generals and high captains. Of these, twenty thousand were allotted to the dominion of mortals in Jaffeth; the others served in heaven, mostly about the throne of Te-in. Chiefly distinguished as Gods on the earth were Te-in's fourteen chief generals: Kaoan-cat, Yam-yam, Tochin-woh, Ho-jon-yo, Wah-ka, Oke-ya-nos, Haing-le, Lutz-rom, Le-Wiang, Thu-wowtch, Eurga-roth, I-sa-ah, To Gow and Ah Shung.
3. These generals were divided into two parts, seven each; and they were allotted equally, of the twenty thousand rank generals deputed to the earth; and these again were allotted each thirty thousand angel warriors.
4. Te-in had said to these fourteen chief generals: When ye come to the earth, and finding two cities near together, both of which worship other Gods than me, ye shall divide yourselves into two parts; and one army shall go to one mortal city and the other to the other, and by inspiration and otherwise ye shall bring the two cities to war against each other, until both are broken down, or destroyed. After which ye shall inspire another city, that worshippeth me, to come and possess both of those that are destroyed. Better is it to make our enemies kill each other than to kill them ourselves.
5. And such was the mode of warfare by Te-in in that all the land of Jaffeth was subdued unto himself in less than a hundred years. Save the matter of a million Faithists, scattered here and there; and of the Listians who were in the mountains and wildernesses. And great and costly temples were built in all the cities of Jaffeth, and dedicated to Te-in, Creator and Ruler of Heaven and Earth.
6. Now, as to the worshippers of Joss and Ho-Joss, they were not converted but subdued, and they worshipped their God in secret, and made rites and ceremonies whereby they might know one another and the better escape persecution. Many of these rites partook after the manner of the ancient rite of Bawgangad.
7. Of the great cities destroyed in these wars were: Hong We, Chow Go and Sheing-tdo. For Hong We the wars lasted twenty years; and there were slain within the city five hundred thousand men, women and children.
8. The wars of Chow Go lasted forty years, and within her walls were slain three hundred thousand men, women and children. For Sheing-tdo the wars lasted twenty-five years, and there were slain within her walls three hundred thousand men, women and children.
9. In the destruction of Hong-We there were consigned to ashes four hundred houses of philosophy; two thousand four hundred colleges, and twelve thousand public schools. All of which had been made glorious in the reign of Hong, the king of the city. Because he worshipped Ho-Joss, his great city was destroyed.
10. In Chow Go there were destroyed six hundred houses of philosophy and two hundred colleges of Great Learning. Here was the Temple of Jonk, which was dedicated to worship of Joss (God), and which, in building, required twenty thousand men twelve years. It had two thousand pillars of Awana stone, polished; and at the blood altar it had twelve thousand skulls, of which the great king Bak Ho was slaughterer in the name of Ho-Joss. The throne of worship for the king was set with diamonds and pearls; and it had a thousand candlesticks of gold and silver. And the fine silk drapery and fine wool drapery within the temple were sufficient, if spread out, for five hundred thousand men to lie down on and yet not cover up the half of it. And the drapery was painted and embroidered with pictures of battles and wars; and of scenes in heaven. For the ornamentation of which drapery twenty thousand men and women had labored for forty years. All of which were destroyed, together with all the great city and all its riches and magnificence.
11. Sheing-tdo was a city of fashion and splendor, inhabited by the richest men in the world. She had a temple called Cha-oke-king, dedicated to learning, but in fact appropriated to the display of wealth and pageantry. It was round, with a high projecting roof, the eaves of which rested on ten thousand pillars of polished stone. There were four hundred door-ways to enter the temple; but, within each door-way, one came against the square columns of precious stones that supported the roof inside; and to either side of the columns were passage-ways that led into the four hundred chambers within. In the centre of the temple, artificial stalactites, twenty thousand, hung from the roof; these were made of silk and wool and fine linen and painted, and of colors so bright that mortal eye could scarce look upon them, and they were as ice with the sun shining thereon, forming rainbows in every direction. Here came kings and queens and governors of great learning; for here were deposited copies of the greatest books in all the world.
12. Besides the temple of Cha-oke-king, there were seven great temples built to Joss, either of which was large enough for ten thousand men to do sacrifice in at one time. For five and twenty years the people of Sheing-tdo fought to save their great city from destruction, but it fell, and was destroyed, and all the temples with it; by king Bingh it was laid low.
13. Next to these were the following great cities that were destroyed: Gwoo-gee, which had one hundred houses of philosophy and forty colleges for great learning; one temple, with eight hundred polished pillars and two thousand arches; thirty temples of wheat and corn sacrifice; one feed-house, where was stored food for one hundred thousand people in case of famine, sufficient for eight years; and all these, and the libraries of the records of the Gods and Lords of earth, and all things whatever in the city were burnt to ashes.
14. The city of Young-ooh, of two hundred thousand inhabitants, which had seventy houses of philosophy, and thirty-five colleges of great learning, besides many schools; one Temple of the Stars, where lectures were given daily to the people to teach them the names and places of the stars and their wondrous size and motion; forty temples of sacrifice, seven of which were large enough to hold all the inhabitants of Young-ooh, the great city. By king Shaing it was laid in ashes, and nothing but heaps of stones remained to tell where the city had been.
15. The city, Gwan-she, which had thirty houses of philosophy, and seventy temples of sacrifice, two Temples of the Stars dedicated to Joss; eighty-five colleges of Great Learning, and also a feed-house, stored sufficiently to feed the city seven years; and there were two hundred thousand inhabitants within the city walls. Twelve years the people of this city fought against the incited plunderers, the warriors under the God Te-in, but were conquered at last, and their city laid low.
16. And the great cities, Ghi, and Owan, and Chong, and Goon, and Ca-On and Jong-wong, and Sow, and Wowtch-gan, and Sem-Sin, and Gee, and Tiang, and Choe, and Doth, and Ah-mai, and Conc Shu, and Guh, and Haingtsgay, and Ghi-oo-yong, and Boy-gonk, all of which had houses of philosophy and colleges of great learning, and public schools, and temples of sacrifice, and feed-houses, and hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. And all these cities were destroyed, and only heaps of stones left to tell where they had been.
17. Besides these, there were more than two thousand cities of less prominence destroyed. And yet, of villages and small cities, so great were they in number which were destroyed, that no man ever counted them.
18. City against city; king against king; man against man; for the inhabitants of Jaffeth were obsessed to madness and war and destruction; almost without cause would they fall upon one another to destroy; for so had Te-in sent his hundreds of millions of warring angels to inspire mortals to destroy all knowledge, and instruction, and learning, and philosophy, and to destroy all trace of all other Gods and Lords, that he alone might reign supreme.
19. And these angels taught mortals how to make explosive powder, and guns to shoot with, more deadly than the bow and arrow; and taught the secret of under-digging a city and blowing it up with explosive powder.
20. So, the fair land of Jaffeth, with its wisdom and great learning, was made as a distracted and broken-up country. In all directions the bones of mortals were scattered over the lands; nor could the land be tilled without digging amongst the skulls and bones of the great giant race of I'huans that once had peopled it.
21. And of those who were not destroyed, one might say: They were a poor, half-starved, sickly breed, discouraged and helpless, badly whipped.
22. And the spirits of the dead were on all the battle-fields, lighting up the dark nights by their spirit-fires, and in the morning and the twilight of evening they could be seen by hundreds and thousands, walking about, shy and wild! But an abundance of familiar spirits dwelt with mortals; took on sar'gis forms, and ate and drank with them, and even did things of which it is unlawful to mention.
23. Thus was Jaffeth won to the God Te-in. Now of Sudga, know ye.
2. Chief of the heavenly generals were: Shahara, Vasyam, Suchchi, Dev, Nasakij, Tvara, Watka, Shan, Dorh, Hudhup, Nikish, Hajara, Hwassggarom, Viji, Yatamas, Brahma, Goska, Fulowski, M'Duhitri, Yaya-mich-ma, Hijavar, Duth, Lob-yam, Hi-gup and Vow-iska. And these falsely assumed the names of the ancient Gods and Lords of thousands of years before.
3. Sudga had said to them: That my age may be magnified before the newborn in heaven, ye shall also magnify your own names by taking the names of Gods and Lords who are revered in heaven and earth, for all things are free unto you. But into none others do I give privilege to choose the names of the ancients.
4. Sudga then made the following his Private Council: Plow-ya, Vazista, Kiro, Cpen-ista, Visper, E-shong, Bog-wi, Lowtha, Brihat, Gai-ya, Sa-mern, Nais-wiche, Yube, Sol, Don, Mung-jo, Urvash, Cpenta-mainyus, Vazista, and Vanaiti; and to each of them ten thousand attendants.
5. Then Sudga made two great captains, Varsa and Baktu, and he said unto them: Two thousand million angels have I allotted to go down to the earth, to the land of Vind'yu, to subdue mortals and have dominion over them permanently, and I divide the two thousand million betwixt ye twain. But all other angels shall remain in my heavenly kingdom and work for me, and embellish it, and beautify my heavenly cities, especially my holy capital.
6. Now, when ye twain are permanent on the earth, and secured in the temples and oracles, ye shall survey all the lands of Vind'yu, and the cities, large and small, and all the people therein. And, behold, all men shall be subdued unto my two names, Sudga and Dyaus; and when a city standeth, wherein the people worship any other Gods or Lords, that city shall ye destroy, and all the people therein. City against city shall it be, man against man; for as I am the all highest God of heaven, so will I be the God of earth, and its Lord. And ye twain, in finding two cities to be destroyed, shall divide, one going with his angel warriors to one city, and the other to the other city; and ye shall inspire them against each other unto death; and when they are laid low, ye shall bring into the place, to inhabit it, my worshippers.
7. Thus descended to the earth the two destroying captain Gods, Varsa and Baktu, with their two thousand million angel warriors. And they spread out about over the land of Vind'yu, where were many kingdoms and thousands of cities; and they came to mortals asleep or awake, and inspired them to havoc and destruction, for Sudga's sake.
8. And there were laid in ruins, in twelve years, forty thousand cities, of which thirty-seven were great cities. And chief of these were Yadom, Watchada, Cvalaka, Hoce-te, Hlumivi, Ctdar and Yigam, each of which contained more than one million souls, and some of them two millions.
9. In all of these there were places of great learning, and schools, and temples of sacrifice (worship). In Ctdar the roof of the temple was made of silver and copper and gold; and it had one thousand columns of polished stone, and five hundred pillars to support the roof. The walls were covered with tapestry, painted with written words and histories of heaven and earth, and of the Gods and Lords and Saviors of the ancients. Within the temple were seven altars of sacrifice, and four thousand basins of holy water for baptismal rites. Within the walls of the temple were niches for five hundred priests, for the confession of sins, and for receiving the money and cloth and fruits of the earth, contributed by the penitent for the remission of their sins. Through the central passage within the temple drove the king in his golden chariot, when he came for sacrifice; and the floor of this passage was laid with silver and gold.
10. In the centre of the temple floor was a basin filled with water, and the size of the basin was equal to twenty lengths of a man. In the middle of the basin was a fountain throwing up water. And on the east and west and north and south sides of the basin were four pillars of polished stone, with stairs within them; and the tops of these pillars were connected by beams of inlaid wood of many colors, polished finely, which were called the Holy Arch of Suh-hagda. On the summit of the arch was a small house called the Voice of the Oracle, for here sat the king's interpreter of heaven and earth, the reader of visions. And the spirits of the dead appeared in the spray of the fountain, sometimes as stars of light and sometimes in their own forms and features, and were witnessed by the multitude.
11. Within each of the five hundred pillars was a sacred chamber, for benefit of the priests communing with angels. In the east pillar was an opening from top to bottom, a slatway so the multitude could see through the pillar, which was hollow its entire height. This was occupied by te king's high priest or priestess, as the case might be, and this person had attained to adeptship, so that the angels could carry him up and down within the pillar, even to the top thereof, which was equal to fifty lengths of a man. And the multitude thus beheld him ascending and descending.
12. In the west pillar was the library of the temple, which contained a history of its important events for a period of eight hundred years; of the priest and high priests, and of the kings of the city.
13. Next to the Temple, which was called Tryista, stood the House of Learning, where congregated the wise men and women, skilled in philosophy and music and astronomy and mineralogy. The House was made of polished stone and wood interlocked, and in the front with one hundred and forty columns of polished stone and wood. Within the house were the skins and bones of thousands of creatures, ancient and modern, which wre classified and named; and with these were books of philosophy and history, all of which were free to the public one day in seven. Next to the House of Learning was the Temple of Death, dedicated to all kinds of battles, battles betwixt lions and men, tigers and men, and betwixt lions and tigers, and elephants, and betwixt man and man. And so great was the Temple of Death that its seats could accommodate three hundred thousand men, women and children. The temple was circular, and without a roof over the arena. But the greatest of all buildings in Ctdar was the king's palace, commonly called Temple of the Sun. This was also made of polished stone, and on the four sides had eight hundred columns of polished stone; and next to the columns were fifty pillars, on every side connected by arches twelve lengths high, whereon rested a roof of wood and stone; and yet on this was surmounted another row of four hundred columns of polished wood, inlaid with silver and gold, and these were connected to the top by other arches ten lengths high, and on these another roof, and on the top of this a dome covered with gold and silver and copper. From the arena to the dome the height was twenty-eight lengths, and the base of the dome across was sixteen lengths. To enter the temple from the west was a chariot roadway, so that the king and his visitors could drive up into the arena of the palace in their chariots. But as for the interior of the king's palace, a whole book might be written in the description thereof, and yet not tell half its richness and beauty and magnificence.
14. Besides these great buildings there were four hundred and fifty Temples of Darkness, dedicated to the spirits of the dead. These were without any opening save the door; and when the communers were within, and the door shut, they were without light. In the midst of these temples, spirits and mortals congregated, and the spirits taught mortals the art of magic; of making seeds grow into trees and flowers; of producing serpents by force of the will; of carrying things through the air; casting sweet perfumes, and casting foul smells; of casting virus to one's enemy, and inoculating him with poison unto death; of finding things lost, of bringing money to the poor, and flowers and food to the sick; of entering the dead sleep, and of becoming unconscious to poin by force of the will.
15. Nor could any man or woman attain to be a priest in the Temple of Tryista until he mastered all the degrees in the Temples of Darkness.
16. The angels of Sudga decided to destroy this city; and, accordingly, they inspired a war betwixt it and the city of Yadom, which was second unto it in magnificence, and possessed of temples and palaces like unto it also. Yea, but to describe one of these great cities was to describe the other, as to mortal glory. For seven hundred years had these cities lain in peace with each other, half a day's journey apart, on the great river, Euvisij, in the Valley of Rajawichta.
17. And the captain God, Varsa, chose one city, and the captain God, Bactu, chose the other city; and each of them took from their thousand million angel warriors a sufficient number, and inspired the two great cities unto everlasting destruction. Even as mortals turn savage beasts into an arena, to witness them tear and flay each other, even so sat these captain Gods in their heavenly chariots, witnessing the two great cities in mortal combat. And when one had too much advantage, the angel hosts would turn the tide, or let them rest awhile; then urge them to it again, holding the game in such even balance as would insure the greatest possible havoc to both.
18. Eight years these battles lasted; and hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were slain; and when thus the great cities were reduced, the Gods let loose The Band of Death, whose angel office was to carry poison virus from the rotten dead and inoculate the breath of the living; and then in desperate madness make mortals fire their cities, to keep them from falling into other hands. And in eight years the great cities, with their mighty temples, were turned to ruin and to dust; and of the people left, only the ignorant few, starving, helpless wanderers, could tell the tale of what had been.
19. Sudga had said: All knowledge amongst mortals is inimical to the Gods in heaven; therefore I will destroy all knowledge on the earth. And this was the same doctrine maintained by Te-in, God of Jaffeth.
20. In such manner proceeded the captain Gods of Sudga over all the land of Vind'yu, laying low all kingdoms, and cities, and places of sacrific, and places of learning. And in one hundred years the mighty people of Vind'yu were reduced to beggary, and to scattered tribes of wanderers. The great canals were destroyed, and the upper and lower country became places of famine and barrenness. And in the valleys and on the mountains, in the abandoned fields and in the wildernesses, lay the bones and skulls of millions of the human dead. And lions and tigers came and prowled about in the ruined walls of the fallen temples and palaces. Nor were there left in all the land a single library, or book, or the art of making books, or anything to show what the great history had been.
21. Thus perished the Vedic language, the language of song and poetry, and of great oratory. Save in a small degree, such as was preserved by the remnant of Faithists who had escaped through all these generations, still in secret worshipping the Great Spirit.
22. Hear ye next of Osiris and his dominions, and of Arabin'ya, and Parsi'e, and Heleste: