23 "Fool!" cried The High Priest, "Fool! The curse of Tr be on you! Those who lie about his servants shall perish. You will wither and die. The demons will devour you."
24 "Take your curse and go!" commanded The Old Fox. "There are none here that fear your god. No insane Spirit has dominion over our hearts!"
25 "You will die!" The High Priest screamed, "And your children will be sold as slaves! The curse of Tr is on you, ignorant man! Come my brothers! Let us depart this house of fools!" They hurriedly left, and The Children Of Spirit finished their worship.
26 Now, as they were walking back to the temple of Tr, the young assistant named Gray Dove asked his master, "Sir, how could he have heard you speak? I could barely hear you over the murmur of the crowd! He was on the other side of the temple. How could he have heard your words?"
27 "Who cares what manner of magic he used?" answered The High Priest. "He lied. He spoke blasphemy against Tr. He is evil! He does our people harm. He threatens Tr, and he has insulted me. I will destroy him and all of his stupid worshipers. No one makes a fool of me! That is insulting our god. Say no more of it. Go to your duties. I must gather The Elders. There is much to discuss!"
28 But for the first time the young man's eyes were opened. That afternoon he walked through the temple watching the priests at work. In The Grand Court he saw the priests serving the rich, taking their sacrifices, killing them on the altar, throwing their innards into the fire, saying lavish prayers for the rich.
29 He saw a young woman enter and come up to a priest, and together they slipped through the curtains into the priest's private quarters, supposedly to hear her prayers in private. But Gray Dove knew what they were actually going to do. He had never broken his vow of celibacy, but he knew that many of his brothers did it daily.
30 He went to the court of the poor, where the lesser priests and novices served. Here he saw the young priests take the poor's little animals for sacrifice, and their prayers, and promising that they would sacrifice the animals and say their prayers. Then, they would slip behined the curtains, put the small animals in cages, throw the prayer requests in the altar fire, wait a few minutes and return to the court. The next day a novice would dress as a trapper from the wilderness, take the little animals to the marketplace and sell them.
31 Gray Dove stood against the wall for several minutes. Finally he nodded, walked to his quarters, and laid down. "This temple," he said, "is a den of thieves. What the old man said is true. There is no truth here, only lies."
32 As darkness came, he pulled a box from beneath his bed and opened it. It contained the clothes of a humble shepherd that had entered the temple many years before. He took off his golden symbol and his priestly robes, and donned his garments, then, walked out into the main court of the temple. He hung his golden symbol on the horns of the altar and threw his priestly robes into the flames.
33 As he turned around, he found a young novice standing behind him with a load of wood for the fire. "Where do you go, brother?" the novice asked.
34 "To Spirit!" Gray Dove told hm, "To Truth!" and he walked out of the temple.
35 As he walked through the city he thought to himself, "I will go to The House of Fox and sleep outside their gate. In the morning I will enter in and ask for a servant's position. Whatever they offer, that I will take. I will learn their ways and become a priest of Spirit."
36 But as he neared the gates they swung open, and The Old Fox, with a servant bearing a torch emerged! "Welcome, Gray Dove, my son!" The Old Fox said. "A bed has been prepared for you in the sleeping quarters of the laborers until a more appropriate place can be found. My servant will show you the way!"
37 Gray Dove was stunned! "How did you know I was coming?" he asked. "How did you know my name? We have never met! I do not know you!"
38 "I dreamed a dream," explained The Old Fox. "I saw a gray dove in the temple of Tr. It flew over the altar and shook off its priestly robes into the flames, then flew across the city, to land at my gate. Then a Voice from The Lords spoke, saying 'Behold! Your new son cometh; mate of your daughter, protector of your people, he who shall hear The Voice of The Lords upon the wind, he who shall father many great servants of The Lords. Swiftly, now, to the gate and greet him, for The Lords are with him, and will protect him from all harm that would destroy him.' So it is that I am here! And so it is you are welcome!"
39 Gray Dove bowed. "Your servant, master," he cried, "and The Servant of your Lords!"
40 So it was Gray Dove came to Spirit, and he labored for The Old Fox daily and sat in the circles many times. But though he could feel The Lords around him, and saw The Light, he never saw any visions and he was always disappointed.
41 "Do not worry, my son," comforted The Old Fox, "when you need Spirit most, when your people are in their greatest danger, that is when The Lords will speak to you. They are saving you for wondrous things."
42 Though Gray Dove did not have visions, he was a great orator. Every Fifth Day in his free time, he went to the marketplace and spoke The Truth about the temple of Tr. Many heard him, and because of his speaking left the temple.
Page 42