won the battle, but not the war. Next then we
will destroy you. Our god is the greatest of all gods, ours is the
purest of blood. You cannot..” Bright Star's sword cut him short in
more ways than one. The King and the Prince said nothing, only held out
their heads and accepted their deaths with dignity.
33 The weather was too rough for them to sail back across the lake, so
they made the long trek overland. They stopped in Zo for a great
celebration and waited for the Litoan and Epon troops to join them,
then marched home to The Holy Land.
34 Now, as they marched they made many night encampments, and as they
sat by the evening fires the young men had questions, for there were many who were troubled by
many things.
35 One evening, one young man asked, "Lord, in all the cities we have
taken, you have been merciful to the women and children, but in Ti you
showed them no mercy at all. Lord, I do not understand. Why was it that
we could not be merciful to them? Why did you punish them so severely?"
36 "It is not well known,'' explained The Hawk, "but those that
survived, some of them witnessed what happened to their brothers and
sisters, who were captured. They were taken to the city square. The men
were hung up like animals, and butchered. The women and children in the
crowd screamed for their men to beat the children and babies, to break
their bones and make them cry. They screamed for the men of the city to
use the women. They abused and shamed them in front of the screaming
crowds.
37 Then, when no man wanted them anymore, they tied them to stakes,
piled wood around them, threw on the bodies of their men and children,
and burned them alive. All the time the city women screamed, 'Burn the
whores! Burn the whores!’