The Binorians from the fourth village they'd come across prostrated themselves before Ishar and Edda who sat on the Telinete Rhino's back. It was the fourth time this had happened, their presence had drawn thralls of Binorians from their homes from every village they'd passed so far. Awe was evidently painted on the faces of the villagers and some of them had tears welling in their eyes as their gaping mouths struggled to form words at the sight before them.

"Selarch." A Red priest appeared and made his way to the front of the villagers lying on the ground before Carrot with a young boy in tow, his apprentice must have rushed to call him the minute Carrot had arrived. They probably saw their presence there as some divine meaning and the Red priest's eyes bulged in his sockets as he took in Carrot's size and the riders upon its back. He threw himself to the ground, dragging his apprentice down with him and lifting his hands. "Selarch." The Red priest said. "We are not worthy." The Villagers behind him echoed his words.

At first Edda had been worried that her taste of freedom might be cut short by a rain of arrows from pursuing Binorians. But as days went by nobody pursued them and she stopped panicking enough to wonder why. Next she feared the villagers they came across on their way to the Ganidan plain might rally and try to kill them but every village they'd passed had treated them in the same way by prostrating themselves before them, tending to their every need and heeding their commands. They were treated like Gods and their presence on Carrot's back did little to dissuade such a label.

In the first village Ishar had requested a bath, a meal and change of clothing. Edda had argued that they did not have time for luxury despite the fact that Carrot had rode tirelessly with the ground shaking in its wake in order to put as much distance between them and the capital of Binoria. She'd been worried of her captors catching up to them but Ishar had pointed out that the blood he and her were drenched in from the Nula Anyl didn't settle well with Carrot. The villagers had rushed to cater for their needs in an overly enthusiastic manner that had left Edda baffled. She'd gotten used to the subservient worship by the third village.

"Selarch." The Red priest said while lowering his face to the ground and rising repeatedly "We are not worthy." His red robes hung from his frail form and his sunken eyes and scrunched up face made Edda think of him as cruel.

Ishar turned his head and whispered to Edda who sat behind him on Carrot. "Watch this." Edda rolled her eyes.

Ishar placed his hand on Carrot's head and the Telinete inched towards the Red priest. The man let out a startled yell and fell back, crawling backwards with his chest heaving. His young apprentice remained kneeling. "You call me Selarch, you are right to call me so!" Ishar shouted and raised his arms that were adorned with three gold bangles each. He wore a gold silk shirt and black breeches that had been gifted from the other villages. Edda had settled on a large brown shirt and black pants with no accessories, seeking to be as inconspicuous as possible, something that her traveling partner did not have in mind.

"Sins! Sins against Meena!" Ishar shouted and pointed at the Red priest. "Confess, confess!"

The Red priest rose to his knees and to Edda's surprise the man started weeping with snot coming out of his nose. "The Goddess truly sees all! I have not been faithful to her people for I have been stealing from the village's annual funds. I beg of you, oh Selarch, have mercy on this one!" The villagers were clearly appalled by this with several villagers audibly exclaiming.

Stolen story; please report.

"That is not all! Confess for I see your soul!" Ishar said and Edda rolled her eyes once more. By the second village Ishar had started toying with the villagers, seeking new ways to torment the Red priests of each village. In the third village he'd made a Red priest sing a love song to a goat before officiating the man's wedding to the goat after declaring that the love song was too beautiful to be fake and that real love was at play. In the second village he'd made a Red priest wear a yellow dress and have Centala flowers braided into his hair, Ishar had left with a command that if the priest was to remove his yellow dress the villagers were to stone him for the dress on him was the only thing stopping famine from raging across the land. It was like the Kolotian got off on humiliating Red priests.

The weird thing was that in every village Ishar had been called Selarch, they ignored the color of his skin and his blue tipped fingers. They ignored Edda's obvious Remu heritage and their focus was centralized on Carrot. They believed only Selarch could ride a Telinete Rhino and the fact that Ishar was doing so, his hand on the beast's head meant that he was the reincarnation of the first King of Binoria. They regarded Edda as some mystic being from beyond, sent to accompany Ishar on his quest back to the mortal realm from the realm of the valiant. Edda had asked the Red priest in the first village why her heritage wasn't an issue and he'd replied, "Gods choose how to appear to us, and so do their vessels. Who are we to judge?"

"Confess!" Ishar commanded. Majority of the villagers had risen to glare at the Red priest who knelt whimpering before Carrot.

"I've been sleeping with the cobbler's wife." The Red priest said, tears streaming down his face.

"What the fuck!" Someone, probably the cobbler, said from the back of the congregation.

Ishar pointed at the Red priest. "The Goddess Meena knew of your transgressions against the village cobbler and Her name. She sent me here to ensure that you pay for your sins." The Priest started wailing loudly and uncontrollably like a large infant at Ishar's words. Ishar turned to the young apprentice. He was just boy, not more than twelve winters old. Surprisingly, the child had not moved away from the Telinete Rhino. He looked up at Ishar with a smile touching his blue eyes and Ishar returned the smile. "This boy is to be the new village Red priest!" Ishar said while pointing at the boy. He turned his head to meet the weeping Red priest's eyes. "He is to determine your fate.".

The young boy turned to the Red priest then to the villagers who all had their eyes on him. "He is to be tied to the tree outside the hall complex where he shall starve until the Goddess herself comes down to save him." The boy's words were delivered calmly in a shrill voice but were riddled with hatred and the satisfaction of revenge. The villagers cheered and took hold of the former Red priest, dragging him in the direction of a large tree in the distance all the while he wailed and begged for his life.

As the village became a speck behind them, Edda posed a question to Ishar as they swayed gently on Carrot's back. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Ishar asked in return.

"About the boy and the Red priest."

A silence ensued in which Edda thought she wouldn't get an answer from Ishar just as how he'd refused to answer why they were heading to the Ganidan plain and not to Remu where they were guaranteed help by her people. At their current pace they would soon arrive at the North Local by night fall and by noon the next day they'd be within the Ganidan plain.

"Experience. I knew by experience." Ishar answered after what seemed like forever and Edda pondered his words for the remainder of the day.