CHAPTER 12
If your canons spread by cannons,
use your scripture for the wads.
It holds no other value,
and no sanction of the gods.
- Scroll of Serenity, 148.2
Ampharix placed the original documents
Etyiam had given her into the top drawer of her desk, but left the copies her
secretary had made of them on top of her blotter. Just as she slid the drawer shut, the door opened and her
secretary appeared, escorting in a young priest.
"The Mother Kyentis, your
matronship," announced her assistant.
Ampharix nodded and the secretary
quickly withdrew, pulling the door closed behind her. The aged senator regarded the young Priat priest, whose quick
obeisance seemed more genuinely respectful than the perfunctory bows that
Ampharix received from most minions.
She was dressed in the lavender-lined robes that marked her as a priest
apprentice, not yet permitted to give communion on her own. She had arrived earlier than expected.
"Good Mother, it pleases me to
see you again," said Ampharix, "Thank you for coming."
Kyentis bowed again, "When your
matronship summons, so shall I appear."
"Your service to church and
clergy has not gone unnoticed, Mother Kyentis.
You have done much for one so young and you hold much promise for the
future."
"It is my honor to serve,"
replied the young priest, the words ringing more genuine than obsequious.
"And serve, you shall,"
added Ampharix, playing on the girl's devotion, "and you will one day find
yourself in heaven, seated at the table of T'Chen Herself."
"If the Goddess so
wishes," echoed Kyentis.
Ampharix touched a button on her
desk and the great curtains behind her parted, revealing the wide bank of
windows and the brightly lit nighttime city beyond. She turned and looked out upon it, her back to the priest.
"Tell me, young Kyentis,"
asked the senator, "Do you love T'Chen above all? Would you do anything for her?"
"Of course, my matron!"
the priest answered, "I would gladly give my life in her service."
"And do you believe there
exists the wicked realm of Scoggast and that the foul Yeetas dwells
therein?"
"I do, my matron."
"And you know of his plans to
destroy the World?" Ampharix asked, her gaze still transfixed on the
spectacular view.
"Yes, my matron," answered
the girl, "The Scrolls are quite specific. They say the wicked Yeetas shall send his vile son, the Q'Talon,
unto the World to lure our people away from the light of T'Chen."
"And if this Q'Talon were to be
found among our people," asked Ampharix, "What should be done with
him?"
"He should be returned in
pieces to the icy domain of his heinous father!" exclaimed the young priest,
without hesitation.
Ampharix smiled to herself. She had the right person for the task. She turned to again face Kyentis.
"What if I told you the church
has learned of the Q'Talon's presence here on the World?" she posed.
Kyentis gasped. "It walks amongst us this very
day?" exclaimed the priest, with sincere alarm.
"The council of elders has
always watched for the evil one. We
monitor those we suspect, to see if the signs manifest themselves,"
answered Ampharix, "Recently, after much consideration, the council has
agreed that we have identified the Q'Talon."
"Where hides the bastard son of
Yentas?" asked young Kyentis.
"In plain sight, I fear,"
replied the elder Priat, "You are aware of the heretic they call
Sarwin?"
Kyentis' face wrinkled in
disgust. "Were it not for your
fine carpet beneath my feet, I would spit at the mention of that name,"
she hissed, "He is the one then? I
am not surprised."
"The signs are clear,
child," answered Ampharix, "The Scrolls say the Q'Talon shall be a male
from the land of Garath."
"But he was born here in
Uron," protested Kyentis, "this much I know of him."
Ampharix was unfazed, "The
heretic wears a gray hide, does he not?
The gray hide of a descendant of Garath. You are a student of the Scrolls. Tell me child, what is the next sign?"
Kyentis hesitated, wary of
mentioning the next sign. She would
never have brought it up herself, but she was compelled because her elder had
asked.
"The Scrolls also say he will
marry into the family of the church, to corrupt it from within," the young
priest finally stated.
Ampharix turned and looked out into
the city. "You refer to my
daughter... the matron Siverelle,"
she replied softly.
Kyentis swallowed hard. She knew this was a sensitive subject for
Ampharix. The scandal had enervated the
senator's career to some degree. Yes,
she was formidable, but not as powerful as she might have otherwise been. Some of the more conservative senators
distanced themselves from Ampharix, claiming that if she could not guide her
own children in the ways of T'Chen, how could she guide the people. They blocked her from ever rotating into the
chancellery, the highest office which only senior senators held, the holder of
which changed every three years. In its
stead, Ampharix had concentrated her efforts on chairing the council of elders,
which some saw as an even greater power than the chancellery, albeit a power
gained more from religious tradition than from written law.
"Your daughter did not marry
the heretic," suggested Kyentis, "You forbade it."
"I did," replied the old
senator, still looking out into the night, "but she resides with him
nonetheless and has bore him children.
In the eyes of the law, she is his common-law spouse. Thus, the Scrolls ring true here also."
Kyentis felt for the old
Matron. She could hear the shame in the
senator's voice. Her mind raced to find
something to change the subject.
"What of the sign that says the
arrival of the Q'Talon shall be foretold by a demon that can only point one way?"
she asked.
Ampharix turned her head slightly at
this, as if the question troubled her.
"Some years before the
heretic's birth," she offered, "there appeared in the skies an
ominous comet. You are far too young to
remember it. The council has determined
that this was the demon the Scrolls foretold, as its tail can only point one
way."
"I see," answered the
girl, nodding, "The Scrolls also say the Q'Talon shall travel far, but
never leave his home," she went on, "I had not known how to interpret
that before today."
"Yes," said Ampharix,
turning to again look at the younger Priat, "His travels in time are what
disturbs us most. The council believes
it is through this that he will bring about the destruction of the World."
"But the senate is holding
hearings in a few weeks to stop him," Kyentis argued.
"Yes," answered Ampharix,
"but I believe we will fail. The
heretic and his ilk have already spread their poisonous rhetoric throughout the
populace and even within the senate itself.
They speak of greater freedoms for the Ordinary caste and even for
giving males the right to vote. Can you
believe that? Nevertheless, many have
been swayed. There is pressure to let
the heretic factions have greater say in government and to limit the influence
of the church. I fear we are on the
threshold of returning to the old, secular ways... before the fall. Even if
we do manage to stop him this time, it won't be long before the ranks of
liberal senators grow large enough to permit him to resume."
Kyentis shook her head. Ampharix's words truly troubled her. "What can we do?" she asked.
"I can do nothing,"
replied the old senator, "other than to vote against him. If I, or any other member of the religious
party, take any... direct... action against the heretic, we would not only make
a martyr out of him, it would increase the calls to purge the government of our
counsel."
"Someone not connected with the
government could rid the World of this monster and your party would be
blameless," the girl suggested.
Ampharix chose her words
carefully. "It would please the
church if something were to... happen... to the heretic. Of course, despite our silent assent, we
would need to publicly condemn the act.
But whoever rids the World of the cursed Q'Talon would be a hero among
the devout for all eternity and surely gain a place at T'Chen's table in
paradise."
Kyentis walked up to a window a few
paces to the right of Ampharix and stared out into the night with her.
"Whoever does this will need to
know where to find the heretic," the young priest stated. "He makes few public appearances of
late, due to threats against him. When
he does, he is well guarded."
"On my desk you will find his
itinerary for the next few weeks," replied Ampharix, "Perhaps you know
someone who might find it... useful."
"Perhaps I might," said
Kyentis, wondering where the senator would get such information. Then she remembered the young gray-skin
leaving the senator's chambers when she had entered. She had recognized her as the religious student Etyiam, who
openly fraternizes with the heretics.
She had assumed that Ampharix had called the student here to chastise
her for her socialization with dissidents.
Now she thought perhaps she was not a traitor to the church after all, but
was working covertly for the senator to gain intelligence. If so, Kyentis felt she owed the young
student an apology for the vengeful thoughts she had for her.
Ampharix turned and faced Kyentis
directly. "There is only one thing
I demand," she said in her most serious voice, "no harm must come to
my daughter, nor to her children. The
heretic must not be assailed in his home, nor at anytime when his family is
near. Is that understood?"
"It is understood," said
the young priest.
"Go then," said Ampharix
and pushed the button to summon her secretary, "and remember child, you
were never here. We have never
spoken."
Kyentis bowed as she backed
away. "I understand, my
matron," she said and then added in old Farian, "Glory be to
God!"
The door opened and the old
secretary ushered the young priest out.
When the door closed again, Ampharix turned to again face the twinkling
lights of the metropolis outside.
"Glory be to God," she
whispered to herself, "God save us all."