In this game you can win up to 10 MQ points and up to 8 Penteuros.
Click on the wrong red words to correct them. Then click on the button "Turn the page".
Sorceress Adozinda climbed the last step of the highest tower of the Lisbon School of Magic where she found Wizard Zulmiro near the telescope.
- Today, we have a beautiful view of the planet Venus! - said the wizard, who besides being well versed in magic is also an expert in astronomy.
- Ah, Zulmiro, tonight is not a night for Venus, but for Mars, the planet of war and
conqestconquest.
- How so?
- I'll have you know that today I met Liliam.
- Liliam? You mean Liliam, the architect of the new Hanging Gardens of the Lisbon School of Magic? - suggested Zulmiro.
- Yes, precisely that Liliam, the immortal sorceress who was
rejecteddrejected
by the Gods. She revealed me the story of her adoptive mother, Semiramis, the founder of ancient Babylon. Such a powerful woman! I'm in awe!
The astronomer hesitated before speaking.
- Powerful indeed, but
crruelcruel
as well. Are you aware that she kidnapped her husband and forced him to marry her?
Adozinda's eyes widened. Noticing the change in the witch's expression, Zulmiro asked the following question:
- Are you shocked or mostly curious?
- Tell me more and I'll decide later.
- Well, Semiramis marched with her army to the gate of the castle of Ara the Handsome, where she found the prince's parents,
ready to resist her till death. Ara's mother, fully aware that her army was much smaller, relinquished her pride, kneeled
before Semiramis, and begged the queen to give up on her conquest plans. She argued that hers was a peaceful people who merely desired
to live in harmony with everybody else, and even went as far as offering to pay an annual tribute to appease the powerful monarch.
Adozinda thought that the Queen should have immediately agreed to the proposal:
- An annual tribute from a kingdom! That must certainly amount to a superb amount of money! Excellent deal!
If we received such a tribute, here in Portugal, we would be rid of the deficit in an instant. Our Finance Minister
could well come up with such a strategy.
- Contrary to what you expect, Semiramis rejected the proposal, for her heart craved for the carnage of
military conquest - the astronomer's tone of voice was filled with reproach.
Adozinda was not fully convinced.
- Surely, Semiramis couldn't be that unreasonable. Are you suggesting she destroyed the whole kingdom,
just for the empty joy of bloodshed?
- The queen was willing to negotiate, for the reason that had brought her to the neighbor kingdom was not money. There were, nearby,
other richer kingdoms that would be more profitable to pillage.
- If Semiramis was not after money, then what
motivattedmotivated
her?
Zulmiro held for a little bit before providing the answer. Adozinda could hardly contain her curiosity.
- She wanted Prince Ara the Handsome - Zulmiro finally revealed.
- How romantic!
- The prince's father couldn't
disagreeedisagree
more and promptly refused. This meant they would all be slaughtered, for sure.
- What happened next?
- Prince Ara decided to sacrifice himself in favor of the kingdom and offered to marry the queen.
- So, he was not kidnapped, as you initially suggested! He married Semiramis from his own free will
and thus a gruesome war was avoided.
- I more inclined to believe that he had no choice. However, Semiramis figured that if she could have Ara,
then nothing stopped her from having all of the kingdom's treasures and gold all to her as well.
- I assume therefore that the prince’s sacrifice was not enough to prevent the hostilities.
- War was about to start, but the moment Semiramis ordered her troops to charge, Ara threatened to jump from
the top of the castle's walls directly to his death. Semiramis was thus forced to conclude that violence alone wouldn't
get her what she most wanted.
- That Ara was sort of a manipulator! - mentioned Adozinda. - However, he must have been very beautiful. His beauty was certainly worth his
weight in gold.
- His beauty was of little use to him because he ended up married to a ferocious beast. For Semiramis the prince was no more
than a trophy that she carried back to her domains. She couldn't care less about the despair of Ara’s mother and the rage of his father.
- Someday he would eventually have to leave his parents' home - countered Adozinda. - Poor parents! It surely is a
difficult moment to see a cub leaving the nest. However Liliam assured me that Semiramis was an excellent mother who
provided her family with the absolute best, always giving in to their whims.
- I concede she might have been an attentive mother, but her atrocities are well documented.
Adozinda came closer to the astronomer.
- Zulmiro, what if I gathered a large army and conquered you?
- I'll save you that effort and be promptly yours. What is your command?
Adozinda was taken aback with this answer.
- WHAT?! You can't possibly be serious!
- I'm still waiting for your order.
- This was all too sudden. I can't figure out
anithinganything
in such a short notice.
- A queen is never in a shortage of orders to her subjects. As you are a beginner in this matter, I will offer you some
help. What about some pancakes?
Go to the library
