The sun had just slipped below the western mountains as the Embers of Rhalgr gathered for evening prayers, the ruddy late-summer sky giving way to sand-choked charcoals and grays, obscuring the first stars of the evening. Mamluk noticed the cage had occupants immediately, his spine stiffening, and as if of their own accord, his hands moved for Hannah Blackroad. She glanced back at him, startled, as he took her shoulders and steadied her in front of him. Ornh shot Mamluk a questioning glance as well.
"Whatever you do," he told them softly, staring straight ahead, "don't look away."
The three men had been crammed into a cage likely designed to hold one large beast; they were all new to the Embers, all young, their faces drawn and pale and their eyes large with terror as they jostled each other within the narrow confines of the blackened steel bars. The Sandfox stepped out from his ornate tent on the heights at the edge of camp, Y'asah at his side, and held up his arms; silence rippled out over the assembled fighters.Â
"My children!" he cried in a great voice, as clear to Mamluk as if they stood mere fulms apart, though Mamluk, Ornh, and Miss Blackroad were on the far side of the circled fighters. "My children, we have been betrayed! Goldhoof was revealed to the unholy enemy - and thirteen of our brothers lie in the arms of the Destroyer this eve, with perhaps more to follow, if it is the will of Rhalgr that it is so! But for the heroism of he who shall now be sung as Grah Goldhoof, all twenty of our precious brothers would have fallen to this dark treachery, the work of deniers and unbelievers! May Rhaglr the Inexorable accept Grah and all of our brothers."
There was a general murmur among the Embers of agreement and prayer. Ornh mumbled something indistinct; Mamluk remained silent, keeping his hands still on Miss Blackroad's shoulders.
"O faithful ones, O warriors of the true God!" the Sandfox continued. "In His righteous fury at His children's blood, at His vengeance thwarted, Rhalgr has revealed to us the cause of our failure! Yes, even within this sacred brotherhood of holy warriors, as snakes and scorpions among us are those most loathed by our God! Deniers, half-bloods, race traitors - these are an abomination in the eyes of the Destroyer!"
An angry, hateful buzz rose from the crowd, like a locust swarm. The Sandfox again had to hold up his hands for silence, and it took far longer to descend. "Before you, my children, are three of these - three cancerous tumors we must excise from our body, to free us from their taint of treachery and godlessness! Gever - who pollutes his body by lying with one of the foreign lizard-people! Briack - a denier who turned his face from our Lord and dared to worship another! And Kelar - pig-blooded and half-bred, whose whore of a mother betrayed her people when she laid with a Midlander!"
The angry buzz was a roar now, epithets and curses flying at the men in the cage. They cringed in as best they could, but there was no room. A few people flung stones or shoes at the cage; a stone hit one of the men in the face, opening a bloody gash. The Sandfox permitted this to continue for a time, his eyes burning as he stared out with satisfaction at the crowd, before at last he called for silence. "The presence of these men defiles us, my children. To permit deniers in our midst is anathema to the Destroyer. It is because of them that He permitted Operation Goldhoof to fail. It is because of them that our brothers lie dead, that the hero Grah Goldhoof had to sacrifice his very life and walk the path of Rhalgr to save those he could. With Operation Heavensfury, the very hope of our people, the light of our brotherhood, mere days away - can we dare allow any impurities in our midst?"
Two large men were dousing the cage with liquid from large barrels. The scent of lamp oil hit Mamluk in the face like one of those flung rocks, and it took a great effort to remain impassive. He felt Miss Blackroad's shoulders go rigid under his hands. "We must regain our Lord's favor," the Sandfox declared. "We must purify the worthy and purge ourselves of the unworthy."
Y'asah stepped up to his shoulder, holding a burning torch, bright in the darkening evening. He took it from her. The three men in the cage, soaked through with oil, stared up at him, their eyes reflecting back the blaze of the torch.
"Accept from us this burnt offering, O Lord!" the Sandfox cried. "By the divine fires of Rhalgr, be cleansed!" And he thrust the torch into the cage.
Miss Blackroad's will to watch broke almost immediately, despite Mamluk's warning, and she covered her face with her hands, hunching inward. The screams of the three men were nearly drowned out by cries of "Praise Rhalgr!" and "For the Destroyer!" from the gathered embers; fists and weapons were thrust into the air, brandished victoriously, and men sent up long, ululating cries of joy. Fighters scarcely more than boys, hardly old enough to shave, drank in the sight of the growing flames with greedy, broad smiles on their faces, and women laughed and clapped their hands.
Mamluk gently turned Miss Blackroad around to him by her shoulders, and she leaned against his chest, sobbing into her hands. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her protectively against him. He glanced at Ornh, whose eyes bulged with shock and rage at the scene before him; always anger with Ornh, who hid it so well behind smiles and jokes. Still holding Miss Blackroad with one arm, Mamluk reached out with the other, placing a hand on Ornh's shoulder. Ornh jumped, as if he hadn't been expecting the touch, and moved closer to them both. Their eyes met.
"Give them mercy," Mamluk told him, and Ornh nodded, unslinging the rifle from his back.
The three shots which rang out were largely lost in the noise of the crowd, which circled the raging bonfire in the heart of the camp, still shouting praise and jubilation to the heavens. Someone began to sing a hymn to Rhalgr, and more and more voices joined them, until song echoed out into the desert and up into the near-black sky. Mamluk held Miss Blackroad tightly, and saw across the camp Y'asah's eyes staring fixedly toward them.
In the morning, the Embers' camp was gone, leaving behind in its very heart a large pile of ashes peppered with tiny fragments of bone which wouldn't burn.
"Whatever you do," he told them softly, staring straight ahead, "don't look away."
The three men had been crammed into a cage likely designed to hold one large beast; they were all new to the Embers, all young, their faces drawn and pale and their eyes large with terror as they jostled each other within the narrow confines of the blackened steel bars. The Sandfox stepped out from his ornate tent on the heights at the edge of camp, Y'asah at his side, and held up his arms; silence rippled out over the assembled fighters.Â
"My children!" he cried in a great voice, as clear to Mamluk as if they stood mere fulms apart, though Mamluk, Ornh, and Miss Blackroad were on the far side of the circled fighters. "My children, we have been betrayed! Goldhoof was revealed to the unholy enemy - and thirteen of our brothers lie in the arms of the Destroyer this eve, with perhaps more to follow, if it is the will of Rhalgr that it is so! But for the heroism of he who shall now be sung as Grah Goldhoof, all twenty of our precious brothers would have fallen to this dark treachery, the work of deniers and unbelievers! May Rhaglr the Inexorable accept Grah and all of our brothers."
There was a general murmur among the Embers of agreement and prayer. Ornh mumbled something indistinct; Mamluk remained silent, keeping his hands still on Miss Blackroad's shoulders.
"O faithful ones, O warriors of the true God!" the Sandfox continued. "In His righteous fury at His children's blood, at His vengeance thwarted, Rhalgr has revealed to us the cause of our failure! Yes, even within this sacred brotherhood of holy warriors, as snakes and scorpions among us are those most loathed by our God! Deniers, half-bloods, race traitors - these are an abomination in the eyes of the Destroyer!"
An angry, hateful buzz rose from the crowd, like a locust swarm. The Sandfox again had to hold up his hands for silence, and it took far longer to descend. "Before you, my children, are three of these - three cancerous tumors we must excise from our body, to free us from their taint of treachery and godlessness! Gever - who pollutes his body by lying with one of the foreign lizard-people! Briack - a denier who turned his face from our Lord and dared to worship another! And Kelar - pig-blooded and half-bred, whose whore of a mother betrayed her people when she laid with a Midlander!"
The angry buzz was a roar now, epithets and curses flying at the men in the cage. They cringed in as best they could, but there was no room. A few people flung stones or shoes at the cage; a stone hit one of the men in the face, opening a bloody gash. The Sandfox permitted this to continue for a time, his eyes burning as he stared out with satisfaction at the crowd, before at last he called for silence. "The presence of these men defiles us, my children. To permit deniers in our midst is anathema to the Destroyer. It is because of them that He permitted Operation Goldhoof to fail. It is because of them that our brothers lie dead, that the hero Grah Goldhoof had to sacrifice his very life and walk the path of Rhalgr to save those he could. With Operation Heavensfury, the very hope of our people, the light of our brotherhood, mere days away - can we dare allow any impurities in our midst?"
Two large men were dousing the cage with liquid from large barrels. The scent of lamp oil hit Mamluk in the face like one of those flung rocks, and it took a great effort to remain impassive. He felt Miss Blackroad's shoulders go rigid under his hands. "We must regain our Lord's favor," the Sandfox declared. "We must purify the worthy and purge ourselves of the unworthy."
Y'asah stepped up to his shoulder, holding a burning torch, bright in the darkening evening. He took it from her. The three men in the cage, soaked through with oil, stared up at him, their eyes reflecting back the blaze of the torch.
"Accept from us this burnt offering, O Lord!" the Sandfox cried. "By the divine fires of Rhalgr, be cleansed!" And he thrust the torch into the cage.
Miss Blackroad's will to watch broke almost immediately, despite Mamluk's warning, and she covered her face with her hands, hunching inward. The screams of the three men were nearly drowned out by cries of "Praise Rhalgr!" and "For the Destroyer!" from the gathered embers; fists and weapons were thrust into the air, brandished victoriously, and men sent up long, ululating cries of joy. Fighters scarcely more than boys, hardly old enough to shave, drank in the sight of the growing flames with greedy, broad smiles on their faces, and women laughed and clapped their hands.
Mamluk gently turned Miss Blackroad around to him by her shoulders, and she leaned against his chest, sobbing into her hands. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her protectively against him. He glanced at Ornh, whose eyes bulged with shock and rage at the scene before him; always anger with Ornh, who hid it so well behind smiles and jokes. Still holding Miss Blackroad with one arm, Mamluk reached out with the other, placing a hand on Ornh's shoulder. Ornh jumped, as if he hadn't been expecting the touch, and moved closer to them both. Their eyes met.
"Give them mercy," Mamluk told him, and Ornh nodded, unslinging the rifle from his back.
The three shots which rang out were largely lost in the noise of the crowd, which circled the raging bonfire in the heart of the camp, still shouting praise and jubilation to the heavens. Someone began to sing a hymn to Rhalgr, and more and more voices joined them, until song echoed out into the desert and up into the near-black sky. Mamluk held Miss Blackroad tightly, and saw across the camp Y'asah's eyes staring fixedly toward them.
In the morning, the Embers' camp was gone, leaving behind in its very heart a large pile of ashes peppered with tiny fragments of bone which wouldn't burn.
People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you have tamed.
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