and he retreated to his own cities.
46 "Our cause," he told his people, "is hopeless. I and my soldiers
will defend our cities to the death, but for the women and children to
stay here and be enslaved or butchered is beyond reason.
47 Load your ox carts. Take your treasure. Head north. Go to The Land
of Spirit. They are a good people. Offer them payment and they will
give you land for cities. With their swords and shields they will
protect you. There, you may worship The True One in peace. "
48 So it was a sad procession marched into the desert, women wailing,
saying goodbye to men they would never see again, children confused and
frightened, wondering what was happening.
49 The armies of The Priests came against the cities destroying The
King's armies, though not without great cost. Their anger that the
women, children, and treasure were gone enraged them.
50 "An end," they screamed, "must be put to these horrible places. Not
one stone must remain on another! "
51 They tore the cities down, turning them to rubble. "In these
places," they cried, "we will build new cities and the old ones shall
be forgotten. We shall give our new cities names and rename the old
ones. For they should not bear the heathen names of the past."
52 So it was, they rebuilt their land, and called the old cities Faith,
Hope, Charity and Truth. In the midst of their land they built a new
city called Soldier. For they said a soldier should be surrounded by
the things for which their other cities were named. But in reality this
city was nothing more than a great military camp, whose soldiers could
move quickly to any of the other