68 Gray Deer went over to Bright Sword, who
was standing by the wagon, weeping. "Do not weep for him," he
comforted, "he has lived his life the way he was meant to. Every moment
of it was service for The Lords, and he shall have a reward greater
than any man's."
69 "I weep not in sorrow," answered Bright
Sword, "but in joy. Look at my arm, the injured one. While I held
him, his blood soaked through the bandage, and touched the arm."
She held up the arm that, but moments before, had been dark and
festered. It was totally sound! There was not a mark or a scar,
no sign it had ever been injured!
70 "Even in death," praised Gray Deer, "do The
Lords through him perform wonders! Let us say for him his
prayers." And a thousand voices asked The Lords to protect this
Soul, and bring it to its Great Reward.
71 As the arrangements were made for the
funeral, and The Voice lay in The Speaker's Hall, Gray Deer was
traveling through the city when he noticed a man's hood in the crowd
ahead of them fall back, showing a hideous scar on his face. Gray
Deer rushed forward, seized the man by the throat, and drove him down
to the ground. "You!" he roared, "You! You're the one who
killed The Voice! I saw you! I saw your face!"
72 "You're a madman!" the man answered.
"Everyone knows the attacker wore a hood, and I was nowhere near the
storage building! I was on the other side of the city!"
73 "Then, out of your own mouth," cried Gray
Deer, "you have condemned yourself. For we told no one the things
you have said. We kept them secret. The only way you could have known
was if you were the one that did the act! Search him!"
74 They found on the man two-hundred-and-fifty
gold coins of different lands. They found out where he lived, and
found the robe with a torn hem, a bow and quill with arrows identical
to that that had killed The Voice. Most damaging of all, was
another two-hundred-and-fifty gold coins from the temple of The One.
75 Minutes before The Voice's death, a young
Priest of The One had come to The City Warlock, and told him of their
plot. The Warlock had arrived minutes after The Voice's death.
The Priests of The One had denied any involvement, but this bag of
coins doomed them. For when the assassin came before Silent Dog, and
all the evidence was laid before him, Silent Dog asked him if he denied
his guilt.
76 "Surely," cautioned Silent Dog, "you
realize no Judges will believe your tale that these coins were honestly
earned. Even if we did not have the coins, the arrows and this
piece of cloth would be enough to make your head fall. You know The
Law. If you confess fully and completely before you go to trial,
we cannot take your life. But if you claim innocence, and your
guilt is found out, then the executioner gets his twenty-five
coppers. What will it be?"
77 The man shrugged. "Life in the mines," he
agreed, "is better than no life at all. All you say is
true. It was I who pulled the bow and put the arrow to flight. It
was The Priests of The One and The Hoods that paid me."
78 "Then you have bought your life," promised
Silent Dog. "Though it has little value, indeed. The
Priests of The One are not as wise as you. They still claim innocence.
But your testimony and the testimony of their own fellow, who has
turned against them, will send them to their proper fate!"
79 Silent Dog was right. The Priest's Trial
took little more than a day, and the Judges made their decision in less
than an hour! In the city square of Northern, the executioner's
ax fell ten times, while The Children of The One screamed that The
Children of Spirit murdered Holy Men. The People of The One in
every city rioted, and for several days there were fierce battles in
some of the cities. But the threats of armies from other lands
never came to pass. The rioters were soon gathered up, and sent to
Punishment. The Land returned to order.
80 But many worshipers of The One left The
Land of Spirit. Many of those that did not, joined the new Movement
started by The Young Priest who had opposed the plot against The Voice.
He formed a Faith similar to Spirit's Children of Gentleness, and many
of The One who did not like the barbaric teachings of some of their
Priests came from many countries to join him.
81 They were welcome in The Land of Spirit,
for they gave up the ways of sacrifice, and instead served their god
with prayer and kindness. They were always at peace with The
Children of Spirit, good neighbors who were always welcome in any house.
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