The Lost City of Gold
In the distant land of Haitelis, there was a city made of gold. Everything here was golden, but there was not a single person in sight.
What happened? It all started with King Tethys. King Tethys had a great admiration for gold and renamed his city the City of Gold. He melted all the gold in the country and used the liquid gold to coat the palace walls, making the palace gleam brightly. People were deceived by the illusion and believed Tethys was very wealthy, so they did not dare to invade the City of Gold.
One day, a new envoy from a neighboring state visited. As usual, King Tethys held a banquet to entertain him, hoping he would also praise the palace’s splendid splendor. However, this envoy did not praise Tethys’s wealth like others had. Instead, he silently picked up a copper wine cup and hurled it fiercely at one of the palace columns.
The golden column instantly showed a crescent-shaped white crack. He touched the crack and loudly proclaimed, “This is not gold, this is coated with gold powder!” The hall burst into uproar. Although people did not say it out loud, their gazes towards Tethys were full of mockery.
This incident deeply hurt Tethys. He wanted to turn his palace into a real golden palace, so he prayed to the gods to fulfill his wish.
The god’s messenger, Hermes, appeared and granted him a pair of hands that could turn anything into gold.
In the days that followed, Tethys frantically rode his chariot around the city. Every time he saw something, he would use his hands to turn it into gold.
One day, when he returned to the palace to eat, all the food he touched had turned to gold! In a hurry, Tethys embraced the queen beside him to express his fear, but before he could speak, the queen had turned into a golden statue! Terrified, Tethys begged the gods to take back the power to turn things into gold. Hermes appeared again and said, “The gods can take back this power, but no one will ever live here again.”
Tethys deeply regretted his foolishness and greed, but he had no choice but to agree. And so, the City of Gold completely turned into a dead city.
The story of the City of Gold quickly spread. From then on, people no longer dared to be greedy or vain. As time passed, this City of Gold disappeared in a great upheaval and became a distant legend.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
