The day after the victorious entry, the great hall of the Ecbatana palace became the stage for a silent and tense confrontation.
Atropates and twenty of the senior traditionalist Magi were brought before Kourosh.
They stood before the throne in long, white robes, with pale but still proud faces.
They were expecting a swift trial and a harsh punishment.
They expected this young king, to consolidate his power, to choose his first victims from among the most powerful religious institution.
Kourosh, in a heavy silence, looked at them.
Beside him, Cambyses stood with a cold gaze and Harpak with an indifferent face.
But Kourosh did not reproach them for their support of Azhidahak.
He rose calmly from his seat and walked towards a table on which the book "The Achaemenid Avesta" was open.
"Great Magi, I have not summoned you here to punish you for your loyalty."
"Loyalty is a virtue, even if it is in the service of a wrong cause."
These unexpected words created the first crack in the steel wall of Atropates's pride.
He looked in disbelief at this child who spoke with an ancient wisdom.
Kourosh continued:
"I have not come to destroy the religion of our ancestors."
"I have come to cleanse it from the dust of politics and fear that has settled upon it for years."
"I have come to re-establish the worship of wisdom and justice instead of the worship of power."
He did not kill them.
Instead, by presenting a copy of his religious book, he offered them a new place in the future religious order.
"This book will be our guide. A guide for a good life."
"I ask you to return to your positions, keep the temples open, and teach this new message to the people."
He paused.
His voice now had the firmness of a Shahanshah.
"On the condition that you accept my authority as the king and the patron of the religion."
"From today, religion will be in the service of the people, not in the service of the power of the Magi."
This was not an offer; it was a command.
A choice between survival in a limited power, or complete annihilation.
Atropates, who saw himself defeated in the face of the wisdom and magnanimity of this young man, had no choice but to submit.
He knew that the people now loved Kourosh.
Any resistance from him would lead to his own complete destruction and that of the Magi's position.
Inwardly, he had not yet accepted this defeat.
A deep hatred for this child who had turned his whole world upside down was in his heart.
But he understood that a direct confrontation with this new power meant complete annihilation.
He slowly bowed.
The other Magi followed his lead.
He said with a voice that he could barely keep from trembling:
"As the king commands, we will be in the service of you and the new order."
This was an apparent submission.
Kourosh knew this.
He saw in Atropates's eyes an unextinguished fire of resentment.
But for now, this submission was enough.
With this move, he had disarmed the most powerful internal institution of Media without bloodshed.
Atropates and the Magi exited the hall in silence.
They were defeated, but not yet destroyed.
And Kourosh knew that this battle, the battle for hearts and minds, had just begun.