Emily, Salicet, evening of the 8th rot., 10th day
I decided to circle to the south with Asgotl, fly into the city over the main gate, and then up the wide main thoroughfare toward the ruined library, palace, and shrine. I wanted to be seen, a Coyn on a griffin. Asgotl's speed was so low that we could actually converse. Pibl and Kamagishi had to circle several times since Pibl could not fly as slowly as Asgotl. It must have been quite a sight to those on the ground.
“I can only go this slowly with you,” Asgotl shouted. “You don’t weigh anything. I can’t do this with Aylem. She’s too heavy.” That made sense to me. Aylem would increase the drag and the weight. Since Asgotl can’t change his physical wings, the only way to increase aerodynamic lift would be by increasing speed.
My slow gambit worked. Soon Cosm, Coyn, and mounts were running into the main thoroughfare to see what was happening. Some of the Coyn started to sing “We not gonna take it,” as I flew over. I waved at them.
“If I were the local authorities, I’d be having kittens by now,” Asgotl commented. I was amused at how fast that expression had spread since last year when Aylem and I started using it in public.
*Speed up and follow me,* ordered one of two women mounted on eagles who passed over me and then banked to circle back around. They were both dressed in the dark green overtunics and green-and-red striped undertunics used by the Impotuan Shrine of Erhonsay. The other priestess was already ahead of me, escorting Kamagishi and Pibl to the camp at the ruined palace.
I decided to ignore the priestess, “Keep going slow, Asgotl. We don’t take orders today from anyone who isn’t a god.”
*I told you to speed up and follow me. I will use force if you do not,* the priestess mindcasted me a second time. I hoped she didn’t cast the charm of discipline since that would cause Asgotl to crash in flight. I had no magic to cast a barrier around us. Regardless, as a prophet on a divine errand, I could not back down. I continued our slow approach up the thoroughfare to the top of the city despite the knot of fear in my stomach.
The priestess shot a fireball over our heads.
“That was a little too close, Grandma,” Asgotl squawked.
“Ignore it,” Blubber Head, “fireballs can’t hurt us today.” I indeed hoped that was the case. I had no choice but to trust that Erhonsay and Galt would protect us.
“I hope you’re right about that,” he shouted back. Below us, the gathering people grew silent when the first fireball was cast. The crowd audibly gasped when the priestess flew straight at us, as if she were playing chicken, and cast a fireball meant to hit us straight on. It engulfed us, spread around us without touching, and then dissipated. She cast another from behind us and it did the same thing.
The people and mounts in the crowded street began to cheer. I waved again. They started running after me, which is what I wanted. My conversation with Ilsabess needed an audience.
The priestess and her eagle had to circle to match my slow progress over the main road of the city. I continued to ignore her. Finally, Asgotl and I landed right at the sentry post into the camp on the grounds of the destroyed palace. Just in front of us, Kamagishi was sitting on Pibl with a visible barrier up, surrounded by six soldiers with halberds. She was defying their orders to dismount and be captured.
“Capture the Coyn,” a middle-aged lady commanded. She was dressed in a red brigandine and full-plate legs and arms. She had a jaunty feathered red-felt cap on her head. A priestess in leather armor ran up to me and tried to grab me. A flash of energy engulfed her before she could touch me. Her hand and sleeve burst into flame and she screamed. Another priestess ran up and cast the charm to extinguish the fire.
The lady in the cap and fancy armor strode up and looked at the hand, then she looked up at me on Asgotl’s back and frowned. “Take her to the healers,” she ordered.
She folded her arms, exhaled, and glared at me, “I have heard tales of a golden-eyed Coyn causing riots and havoc from Salicet to Mattamukmuk. Are you that troublemaker?”
I saw that Kamagishi had her recording scroll spread out on her thigh. I ignored the priestess talking to me and turned to Kamagishi, “Are you two alright?” I started to pull out a match and my striking stone, just in case.
“We’re fine,” Kamagishi was initially startled by my inquiry and then she smiled. “I thought my heart would stop when that warmage threw those fireballs at you.”
I laughed, “Well, it’s not the first time that's happened, though it's the first time it's happened while flying with the Blessed Asgotl." I thought it would be good to let these folks know that they were in the presence of two revelators and that one was a griffin.
I turned back to the lady in the cap and the fancy armor, “Today, I am under the protection of Sophia Erhonsay. It is her will that you, High Priestess Ilsabess, withdraw your forces and permit the citizens of Salicet to leave this doomed city.”
“Who are you to order me in the name of my deity?” The woman demanded. “Gods do not talk to Coyn. The Coyn are not the blessed race.”
“You are mistaken, Ilsabess of Erhonsay,” I tried to be as loud as I could without shouting. “If you look at my aura, you will see the godmarks. If you look at my eyes, they are the ones that Galt gave me. If you watch me now,” I struck the match and held it up, “I can make fire without magic, as was foretold in the Prophecy of the Great Breaking. I know you must know my name.”
The Holy Ilsabess looked at her feet, frowning so intently that the crease between her brows threatened to cleave her forehead in two.
“You come here with a Foskan silverhair, which could be proof of a Foskan ploy to capture our greatest city,” she looked up at me and scowled, looking like she needed to convince herself.
“Holy One,” I tried to look friendly, “by this time tomorrow, the ground we stand on will no longer exist. Where the great city of Salicet once stood upon its hill, there will be nothing left, not even the hill. The rulers of this city angered the God of Knowledge when they burned his shrine and library, and attacked his clergy. In retribution, Galt will have this place erased as if it never existed except for the hole left in the ground.”
“You lie,” Ilsabess countered, leaning forward as she made her argument. “The Empress and Heir are not at fault for the library fire. It was the blasphemer Losnana the Unholy, who broke her vows and defiled the Well of Galt by allowing a Coyn into its sacred precinct. That was the event that led to the fire, which started as the Imperial Heir attempted to capture the criminal Losnana Ugi.”
“If a lie is a dirty linen thread, Ilsabess,” I sighed, “it doesn’t matter how much chalk you put on it to dress it up, it will always be a dirty thread. Arkaline Ugi is the one who broke the Conventions of Surd when she brought armed soldiers into the Well of Galt to seize its crystal. Arkaline Ugi is the one who cast the fireball into the library while trying to pursue the High Priestess of Galt. Arkaline’s fate will not be a pretty one.”
“The former high priestess brought a filthy Coyn into the sacred precinct,” Ilsabess shouted at me, “and she shattered the shrine’s crystal.”
“It is written in the Revelation of Galt to Hek that crystals of compulsion exist to compel the telling of the truth,” I countered in a calm voice, “and to restrain the actions of magic users who are guilty of crimes, as a means to protect other sapients from mages’ overwhelming power. Those crystals were intended as tools of justice, not as the means to enslave even the thoughts of slaves. In his revelation, Galt told Hek that if the crystals of compulsion were ever used for such evil deeds, it would be better if they were destroyed instead. That is what Losnana did. She destroyed the crystal rather than permit it to be used for evil deeds. She chose the right action. Arkaline Ugi chose the wrong action.”
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Ilsabess continued her rebuttal, “Arkaline meant to protect the crystal and the shrine from Losnana who brought a defiling Coyn into the sacred precinct. Arkaline had the best intentions.”
“I was that Coyn, woman," I snapped, sick and tired of Cosm racism. I heard my voice echo down the buildings of the wide main thoroughfare behind me and wondered if Kamagishi had snuck a charm of amplification on me. "Can a prophet be unholy?” I let that question hang in the air for a moment before I continued.
“Do you defend that sinner Arkaline Ugi and her good intentions?” I demanded. “The road down to the seven icy hells of Uedroy is paved with good intentions, woman. Arkaline Ugi brought armed soldiers into a shrine and killed Galt’s clergy. She threw the fireball that burned down the greatest library on the face of the world. How can you defend her so-called good intentions? I spit on such good intentions. I put it to you that if you mean well, but still do evil, your good intentions can not undo the evil you have done. In your heart, you know this, Ilsabess of Erhonsay."
She closed her eyes and grimaced, “I swore an oath to be loyal to my country and my ruler.”
“Which is the greater good, Ilsabess, your loyalty to rulers who have done evil disguised as right actions, or the will of the gods?”
She flinched.
“I swore on the crystal of my shrine,” she cried. “We all did. Is not such an oath sacred?”
“It is not," I said quietly, and I still could hear my voice echoing. It was freaky. "If you swore on a shrine's crystal that you would murder someone, and used that as an excuse to carry out that murder, then you will have committed two wrong actions: the murder and the false oath. No oath to commit wrongdoing can ever be a right action in the eyes of the gods. Such a thing is an obscenity."
“Is there really no plot or trick by the Foskans to seize this city?” she looked at me, wanting to be convinced.
"Cast a compulsion on me, to tell the truth without omission, Holy One," I invited her, "and I will tell you what has happened and what will happen.”
I held my arms out in encouragement as she gaped at me, “what are you waiting for, Holy One? Cast it.”
She held out her left hand, which had a ring made of crystal on it, and cast a charm. I felt that funny ticklish sensation and knew she had cast it.
"As anyone in this city can tell you, yesterday, an agent of the gods cast a compulsion upon all present within this city to flee. They must be gone before tomorrow afternoon, which is when this city and the hill it stands upon will be destroyed. This is the will of Galt. You know in your heart this is true, Ilsabess.
“You may stand here before me defending the wrongful blockade of the city’s residents, but I know you have doubts about whether the blockade should be maintained. Those doubts are the words of your righteous character. It is urging you to follow the will of the gods and not your bad oath to an unworthy ruler. You know in your heart this is true, Beloved of Erhonsay.
“I can not lie to you, Holy One. On the other side of the ridge are many Foskans. They are led by the Holy Foyuna, the High Priestess of the Chrystal Shrine of Tiki, the mother shrine of all other shrines. When she learned of the blockade of the city's exits, she and the entire Convocation of Foskos resolved to help evacuate Salicet."
That utterance caused a great noise to rise from the warmages in the camp and from the crowd behind me at the top of the main thoroughfare. I held up a hand, "silence, please."
I waited for a few breaths and began again when it was quiet, so quiet I could hear the wind whistling through the ropes of the army camp tents.
“Erhonsay helped me intercede with Galt to save the lives of the city’s residents. Galt allowed this grace only if I could destroy Salicet before the Foskan Convocation meets in a few days. When the Impotuan flying cavalry and your warmages blocked the city’s gates yesterday, the Convocation decided to aid the evacuation. They will be here in the morning whether you are still here or not.”
“But why? This is not a Foskan city that Foskans should rescue,” Ilsabess was having the same sort of thoughts I had just this morning. It is difficult to comprehend true acts of selflessness and generosity, especially ones that can lead to your own harm.
“It is the will of Erhonsay that the lives of the Salicetans be saved,” I explained. “The Convocation decided that since it could help, then it should help. They saw rightly that most of the citizens of Salicet were innocent of the destruction of the shrine and library. They chose to save those lives and not look away, despite the risk to themselves. They chose to put the interest of the gods ahead of the interests of the nation they live in. The gods care about their shrines and clergy, Ilsabess, far more than the nations they reside in. The shrines and their clergy serve the people but the rulers of nations usually only serve themselves. This is the moral lodestone that the Foskan Convocation followed.
“I did not ask them to come, Ilsabess. They volunteered and came on their own. They did bring some armed combatants to protect them, in case the Impotuan forces attack them. There are some Lord Holders who will arrive sometime tomorrow with supplies to help the displaced citizens get through the cold season with no homes to shelter them.
“There are no plans to invade. There is no invasion force here to occupy territory and take over Salicet. After tomorrow, there will be no more Salicet. There will only be a crater where this hill once stood. Five years from now, Galt will send the giant spider mage of the Fenlands to build the foundations of a new city, shrine, school, and library, on Lantern Hill, on the north side of the Ahkeseld River one wagon-day to the west of here. The school will be there to teach the worthy of all six races to read, and for those who are able, to write. Its library will be made so that any of the six races can come and read the scrolls and codices stored there. It will be the greatest library in the world, run by the rebuilt Shrine of Galt. A new crystal for the new shrine already waits in storage at the mother shrine of shrines, the Crystal Shrine of Tiki.”
“I have told you the will of Erhonsay. Now, you have choices, Holy One,” I tried to sound solemn, which is hard with my childlike soprano, “you can leave and let the clergy who followed me from Foskos evacuate the city in the morning. You can choose to stay and help. Alternatively, you can try to stop us, in which case, you will perish to the last person. One other thing, Ilsabess. If any fliers try to leave to warn the Impotuan army, they will die a horrific death.
“I am done now, Holy One,” I said, feeling weary. This prophet gig stressed me out. “Could you please lift your charm of compulsion, Holy One? I wish to find my bedroll and sleep. I will take my leave of you now. Are you ready, Kamagishi?”
“Wait,” Ilsabess grabbed one of Asgotl’s neck straps. She turned to look at Kamagishi, who was wrapping up the recording scroll. I groaned inwardly at the thought of another chapter in the Book of Emily I knew she was compiling.
“Sister,” Ilsabess’ brows creased, “you are the Holy Kamagishi of the Fated Shrine of Galt in Is’syal, yes?”
“Indeed I am, Sister Ilsabess.”
“Do you know if Losnana Ugi is alive and safe? You do not need to tell me where she is, even if you know. I merely wish to know if she’s living. She was a good friend and the best of us. She was one of the only ones who resisted her niece, the Empress. She survived longer than most, in part because she was part of the imperial family and led a powerful faction.”
“Losnana lives, and is well, as are the Holy Mieth and her daughter, Arma,” Kamagishi shared.
“Mieth is alive?" a smile of wonder broke out across Ilsabess' face. "What miracle is this? We've thought her dead these last nine years, despite the law that makes healers' lives sacrosanct."
“She is recovering from her ordeal,” I interjected. “I visited Mieth a season ago in her prison. The imperial authorities cut off her feet and then used a specially-made crystal of compulsion to seal her powers. They thrust her into the caverns underneath the palace where there is no light. Once a day, they lowered a jug of water and a bowl of what passed for food. Thus she lived for nine years in darkness.”
“How is that possible?” Ilsabess demanded.
“Galt took me to her, and after I spoke with her, Galt took me away,” I shrugged. “The gods hired me to be a prophet. Talking with Mieth was one of the things the gods had me do. Galt took me to talk with Losnana too, which is why I was at the library and shrine on the morning that Arkaline Ugi burned them down.”
“But then, you started a slave riot in the slave market later in the morning,” Ilsabess accused. “That was you, wasn’t it?”
"It certainly was," I admitted with a smile. "How about removing that compulsion now, please?"
“One account of the slave riot reported that you were riding a giant feline. Is that true?”
“Well, it was really Galt. He volunteered.”
“Galt permitted you to ride on his back?” Ilsabess’ eyes were so round I thought they might fall off her face.
“Yeah, he did,” I shrugged. “He’s a bit of a goof, truth be told. I’ve ridden on Erhonsay’s back too. She gave me a tour of Alkinosuk while in her aspect as an Owl. You know, any time now would be a good time to remove that compulsion. This is getting embarrassing.”
“A Coyn prophet,” Ilsabess made an indecipherable face, “and a griffin revelator, if I read your aura correctly,” she touched Asgotl on the beak, “bringing divine warnings and words that old friends are still alive.” She sighed. “These events match much that is in the suppressed Prophecy of the Great Breaking and the eradicated Revelation of Tiki to Aylem."
“Eradicated?” Kamagishi asked.
“The current Empress ordered it erased from all archives and records because it predicted the Prophet of the Great Breaking would destroy this city,” Ilsabess studied me as she said that. Several of her warmage priestesses gasped.
“Losnana refused,” Ilsabess continued. “She also continued to send reports about her visions of the demise of the city. That got her banished from visiting court. The Empress burned all of Losnana's letters unopened after that. Losnana also refused to replace any justiciar's crystals of compulsion without receiving the broken shards of a previously issued crystal. It was her way to keep her gems of compulsion away from the illicit trade of charm gems. There is no love between Losnana Ugi and the rest of the Imperial family.”
Ilsabess pointed her left hand at me, and I once again felt that itchy feeling as the compulsion charm was released. "Go to your bedroll without hindrance, little prophet, and we will see what morning will bring."