The War of Faith

AUTHOR

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Chapter 1

Close to homeThe faithless say, killing is abhorrent. Indeed, their lives areabhorrent in the eyes of the gods, but they perceive not. To killis divine, for thereby do we praise the Great Destroyer. Thedoubting ones tell themselves, death is the end of all things,but they do not perceive that death is only a beginning. Thosewho mourn consider the dead to be lost, and in this is a greatsin.

The Book of Noble Truth, chapter 6, line 31

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4 CHAPTER 1. CLOSE TO HOME

Death came to Nolwenn before the sun had fully left the horizon.When the strangers first rode into town, Estin had just started prepar-ing the meal that would serve her and her young cousin Matai as bothbreakfast and lunch.

Estin and Matai were both orphans, albeit for different reasons, andalthough money was tight the villagers took care of them and offeredthem odd jobs. Food was scarce, but they did not starve. Life was good,even if it was hard at times.

Or at least was until death came to Nolwenn. The first sign Estin hadof the impending disaster was an distant, rumbling sound which grew inintensity.

For a moment she wondered if it could be thunder, but then remem-bered that the sky had been clear when she had gone outside to performthe first of her daily worships. Estin had been raised traditionally, andhonoured the memory of her mother by greeting the sun every day, asher people had for centuries.

Then she heard the first scream of many, which broke the tranquilityof the early day. When she hurried out into the scarce light, saw theform death had chosen on that day - young men on horseback.

The tremble she had heard had been the hooves of the horses, whichwere a rare sight this far North. She looked around for the source of thescream, her a knot of fear forming in her stomach she repeated a smallprayer to herself: Please let Matai be okay. Please let him be okay.

When she saw what had caused the commotion the small knot dugits tendrils into her heart. In the middle of the road lay Emik, the healerand midwife of the village, in a pool of her own blood.

Emik was one of the few around here who knew any healing spells atall, and people came from far and wide for her minor spells and potions.Nobody but Emik knew how many lives she had saved in her day, andperhaps she herself did not even know.

And now she was clearly dead, or at the least dying. The blood whichflowed into a pool around her was dark, darker than Estin had thoughtblood could ever be. It was almost black, and as she realized that theblood was not red she also realized what was going on.

The young strangers had killed Emik. Another scream rang out, andmore villagers came out onto the street.

Estin turned to run, but found that the horsemen had cut off the only

5two paths that lead out of town. To her horror she saw that a boy triedto run down the North road, tried to escape, only to be cut down by oneof the young men.

For a moment, she thanked the gods that the boy was too big to beMatai, but then she hated herself as she recognized the boy she had justwatched die.

His name had been Jurik, and worked at one of the local farms. Hehad always been kind to Matai, in spite of his outcast status. It wasJurik who had taught him to fish, and the fish Matai would catch in theriver were always a treat for them both.

She looked around for Matai and when she saw him her heart dropped.Matai was standing together with some other children, under guard bysome of the strangers.

More children were being forced into the huddle, and with sinkingfeeling Estin realized that these young men intended to steal the children.

At that moment, as Estin was desperately searching her mind for away to free Matai, to escape, some of the local men who had been out inthe nearby field came back, carrying their farming equipment - obviouslyintending to put up a fight.

For a long time there had not been Bandits anywhere near Nolwenn,and as soon as the men ran into town their inexperience became plain.

Two of the men were instantly cut down by a single rider, and anotherwho intended to impale a horse with his pitchfork was hit by an arrow.

The pained whinny of a horse was heard, Estin found that Karnik,the town smith, had managed to kill one of the riders. He had comerunning out of his smithy to help the farmers.

He was wielding an old sword and her stomach jumped in relief asshe remembered that the smith had been a soldier, in the distant pastbefore her own birth.

Another horse and rider fell to his sword, and voices were raised in acheer for the would-be champion of Nolwenn.

The rest of the young strangers pulled away from the smith, and fromamongst them an older man in the same white ropes rode as the youthrode out out.

It was clear he had some rank amongst the strangers, because theyall looked to him with deference. The smith prepared himself for battle,but the old man just gave him an almost amused look.

6 CHAPTER 1. CLOSE TO HOME

Karnik the soldier-turned-blacksmith was not going to wait for thestranger to attack first. Harkesh Shayturan!, he yelled, and charged.

The stranger held his ground. At first Estin had thought him un-armed, but now she saw that he was holding a small wooden handle.

She did not have time to wonder what it was before the strangerhad swung it. Estin gasped, as strand of fire suddenly appeared andunfailingly hit the smith, who fed the towns stray cats, between theeyes. Magical weapons had not been seen this far North for a long time,and at first she did not believe her eyes.

Then Karnik stopped dead in his tracks. For a moment, he stood inplace. Estins stomach turned as she saw that his skull had been splitand that blood of that cursed dark colour was flowing like from a leakybarrel.

When he fell, he fell without bracing himself. He fell with his faceinto the gravel of the path. The wet, definite sound his corpse made asit hit the ground would never leave Estins dreams.

The brief battle was over, and the young men who had been blockingthe exits now started to round up the villagers. People were dragged,screaming from their houses, and soon one of them came to grab Estin aswell. He did not talk, or even look at her, but only pushed her towardsthe others, who were huddled together, being herded slowly towards theriver.

She looked towards the children, and it was at least a small blessingthat Matai was still with the others. Still unharmed. After a few minutesthe entire village was gathered, the children in one group and the rest inanother. The older stranger, who had killed the smith, rode up in frontof the crowd of adults and started to speak.

His voice was dry and empty, and his delivery without passion, asif he had spoken these words a thousand times before, and was tired ofrepeating himself.

Listen to me, and listen well. We are the army of the three holies,and we have come to put an end to your blindness. The three holies haveempowered us, and our victory is now undeniable.

You have a choice. You can renounce your evil ways and abandon thedevils you worship. If you do, you will become slaves of the Divinium.

As slaves you will learn the true religion, and while your must obeyin worldly matters, your soul will become free.

7Estin had never heard of a divinium, but she knew what the 3holies were. When she was younger, and her mother had still been alive,a missionary had come through the city. Matai had not even been bornthen.

The stranger was dressed in white clothes like those of the young men,these divinium, but unlike them the missionary had kept a long beard.He had explained that he was Katarist, and that his people worshippedthree gods - A creator, a preserver and a destroyer.

He had won no converts and left unsatisfied. The villagers were Alazi,and worshipped the old gods like their ancestors had before them. Theywere not swayed from their way of life by the words of a stranger.

Only one of that preachers lectures had stuck with Estin. Forgive theShud. That children were not accountable for the sins of their parents.Estin agreed with that, but was otherwise devout.

An old man, who Estin knew as a childless widower, took a stepforward out of the huddle. Never! We will never worship your falsegods! The man dropped to his knees and began to pray, stretching hishands upwards. Oh Kami, intervene on our behalf! Nur, holy one, saveyour ch.

The words became his last with another crack of the magical whip.This time it had almost severed the head from the body, and as the manslowly collapsed a spatter of blood hit Estins shoes.

Until now this had all felt like a bad dream. Now she no longerexpected to wake up. The blood of a kindly old man was on her shoes,which were now ruined. Death had come to Nolwenn, and it intended tostay.

The man finished his speech with the same disinterested voice. Hedid not even look at his victim, who was still bleeding on the ground.Some of the villagers tried to help the injured man, but there was nohope of saving him.

Only Emik, the old midwife, had known any healing spells. AndEmik had been the first to die. Estin wished, again, that she had studiedhealing when she was younger.

Or you can die., the leader of the strangers said. You have thesetwo choices. Your shameless idolatry and faithless ways are an affront tothe gods, and on this day the three holies have granted us a victory overfalsehood. Today, your idols will be smashed and your way of life comes

8 CHAPTER 1. CLOSE TO HOME

to an end. Whether you die with it is your choice.

Before the villagers could respond, the young men herded them to-wards the river. They were lined up on the edge of the water.

In the summer most citizens of Nolwenn fished from the shore, andthe river had been a source of food, water and coolness to the villagers.

Soon, it would flow with the blood of those who had once thankedthe gods for its presence. Estin looked towards the group of childrenwho were now being led away and her heart broke all at once. They hadMatai! They were taking him away! And there was nothing she coulddo to stop them.

The terrain around Nolwenn was flat, and anyone who tried to escapeon foot would easily be hunted down by the young men on horseback.She briefly considered the river, but it was treacherous and filled withsharp rocks.

When the villagers bathed, they did so close to the shore, and theyoung only did so with a rope around their waists.

If she pretended to renounce her religion and became a slave, perhapsshe could someday escape. Perhaps she could some day rescue Matai...

But this last thought lit a fire in her heart she had not thought existed.They had taken Matai, the sons of donkies.

They had come to her home and killed people. People who hadcommitted no crime other than honouring the ways of their ancestors.

And now they demanded her obedience. Commanded her to cursethe gods she had always honoured, as her ancestors had before her.

Some of the villagers did give in and even as they cursed the namesof the six gods Estin did not blame them. The fear of death was strong,and could not be understood until death looked you in the eyes.

Some refused, and their refusal would be followed by sick, wet soundand then as splash. Estin looked and immediately wished she had not.

Those who refused were cut with swords before being pushed intothe water. One of the young men reached her. In his hand was a swordwhich dripped with the fresh blood of her friends. The blood of thosewho had sheltered her, and who had provided for Matai and herself whenthe winter had eaten up their supplies.

Renounce your gods, faitless one!, yelled the stranger. Curse theirfalse names and you may yet live!. The voice of the young man wastrembling with hate, and she saw in his eyes that he preferred killing her

9to taking her alive. She did not understand how it was possible for astranger to hate her.

Least of all, she did not understand how it was possible to hate some-one enough that you would take pleasure in killing them. For a second,she considered denying him the pleasure of killing her, of parroting thehis words without conviction, but then she remembered her mother.

Her mother, who had taught her how to perform the weekly worship.Her mother, who had taught her how to remember your ancestors atdawn.

Who had laughed as she offered food to Estin that had already beensacrificed, saying that the gods ate only its essence and that the rest wasa blessing for human stomachs.

Her mother, who had always done her best to provide for her daughteruntil she had succumbed to the rot, that one cursed disease beyond thereach of magic.

Estin remembered the face of her mother and spat into the face ofthe stranger who had brought death to Nolwenn. He swung his swordinto her chest and then she hit the water. She saw that the water wasred, and then all she saw was darkness.

Chapter 2

Youth and innocenceThere is no greater evil than death, for death is the end ofconsciousness. Without consciousness, there is no joy, andjoy is the only thing of any value.

The codex of Prophet Jonal, volume 3, chapter 5, line 71

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12 CHAPTER 2. YOUTH AND INNOCENCE

Death came to Nolwenn on a beautiful day. When the strangers firstrode into town, Matai was fishing by the riverside with Oris, his bestfriend.

Oris and Matai had been friends for as long of either of them re-membered. It was only a week until Oris would turn ten, and Mataisbirthday would follow the next week.

They were talking about the good food that was usually served assuch celebrations, the sweet bread in particular, when they first heardthe sound of hooves on the path that lead South.

Oris and Matai exchanged a look and agreed instantly to go andhave a look. They had been friends for long enough that no words werenecessary.

They ran towards the centre of the village after putting their rods onthe riverbank. Oris had always been faster than Matai, in addition toslightly being taller, and he got there first. Being young, neither of themwere winded.

They did not sense any dangers as the strangers in their white robesrode into town. Even when they noticed that the strangers were armed,they did not think to run. Such is the way of children who see newthings.

They must be from the army, Oris said, mirroring Matais ownthoughts. Theres supposed to be a war going on down south. I wonderwhat theyre doing all the way out here?.

Matai was more quiet by nature and did not reply. It was not nec-essary. Oris knew he was thinking the same thing. One of the strangersrode up next to them and blocked their path back down to the river.

He gave them a look that was strangely cold, and when he spoke hisvoice was unpleasant. Into town with you boys. Right now!.

He raised a whip to show that he meant business and the two boysboth complied, having long since learned to obey adults without hesita-tion. Other children were being similarly herded, and people came outonto the streets now.

One of the villagers was walking down the street extremely fast, andMatai was surprised to see that it was Emik, the old healer.

Emik always told good stories, particularly those of the exploits ofthe gods. Matai was particularly fond of the story of Nur and the turtle.

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Emik was walking quickly towards the strangers, faster than Mataihad thought she could walk. She normally walked with a cane, but shehad thrown it aside.

She called out the strangers, in a firm voice which to Matai seemedthe very image of authority. Leave! Go, go and leave here, we havenothing for you to steal, and we have no part of your war! I know ofyour deeds, and you are not welcome here.

Matai did not have time to let the words unsettle him before oneof the young men laughed and suddenly charged forward. The worldseemed to slow down before his eyes as the young stranger swung hissword and killed the old woman who had once cured his cough. Whotold stories to the children on holy days or cold nights.

He turned to Oris and once again they were in instant agreement.They had to get out of there, and fast. They turned to run, but the oneof the strangers who was guarding the children swung a whip at them,which hit Oris in the shin and sent him falling towards the ground witha whimper.

Matai might have made it, might have gotten in between two of thehouses and reached the riverbank, if he had hesitated. He hesitatedbecause he remembered home.

He turned to look but did not see Estin. Was she still inside cooking?He had to warn her, he had to - But then the whip hit him as well, andanother stranger grabbed him and pushed him back int the crowd. Thestranger gave him a stern look. Dont run, you idiot! Without anotherword, the stranger slapped him, hard.

Estin had only hit him once, and that one time was kind of his ownfault. Matai and Oris had been playing on the riverbank and had staredto fight.

It had been playful at first, but then they had both gotten mad, andMatai had swung at him, hard. As soon as he his hand connected heregretted it, because his friend had staggered backwards and fallen intothe water. Although he was quickly brought back to shore, unarmed andlaughing madly, Estin had been furious.

Her words still rang in his ears. What were you thinking you littlefool? You could have killed him! Dont play around by the river. I havetold you once, I have told you a thousand times.

That night Matai had been forced to offer two hundred prayers to

14 CHAPTER 2. YOUTH AND INNOCENCE

Nikon in repentance, and although religion normally bored him he hadtaken those prayers seriously. Oris could have been really hurt, and theynever played rough near the river again.

The end result was that Matai was knocked off balance and thatthoughts of escape were forced out of his mind. For a moment, he justfelt blank. Felt only the pain where the hand had hit him. Briefly, hefelt mad. But mostly he felt scared. A stranger had come to Nolwennand had hit him in the face. Worse, they had killed Emik!

He almost cried, but managed to keep the tears in. The adultscouldnt just let this happen... could they? As if in answer to histhoughts, just as another child was pushed into their huddle, a cry washeard as several of the men who had been working the fields returned,swinging their rakes, scythes and pitchforks.

Matai smiled. Now they would get what was coming to them, thebastards! The people of Nolwenn were tough, hardy, and some of themhad been warriors before settling down as farmers.

It took less than a minute for his hopes to die along with the towns-folk. One man after another fell to the swords of the young men andMatai forced himself to look away.

More screams were heard, and Matai clenched his eyes shut, promisinghimself he wouldnt cry. There was more clanging of weapons, but hedidnt look. This couldnt be real. Not really real. It had to be a dream.A bad dream.

Just as Matai had that thought, something touched his hand. Hewas surprised to find that it was Oriss hand. Hand-holding was forgirls, wasnt it?

But when he opened his eyes and saw the corpses, he took his friendshand. Holding hands was a little weird, but right now it was comforting.

He looked around and saw that Estin had come out of the house. Shewould not be able to help. She was smart, really smart, and she couldsing like an angel.

But she couldnt save them. An older man emerged from amongstthe strangers and began to talk, but Matai didnt have an opportunityto hear what he said.

As the speech started, one of the young men who had been gatheringthe children together yelled. Off with you, all of you! Walk, followhim..

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A woman in the village cried out as the children were led away. No,Lurinka! Run, run, dont let them -. The womans death was as fast asthe others had been, and a girl who was only a little younger than Mataiscreamed. Mom!.

The young stranger cared nothing for the anguish of young or old andsimply smacked the now-crying little girl, whose name was presumablyLurinka, with a stick that he carried.

Matai had a moment to feel angry that these brutes carried sticksspecifically for beating children, but the anger was melted by despair.The little girl cried, but she walked, as did the rest of the children.

What could they do? The strangers had swords, and they had stickswith which they hit the children who refused to walk, or who walked tooslowly. Matai looked at Estin, who was watching the strangers, and hisheart broke.

They couldnt just take him away from her. She wasnt his mother,not exactly, but he still loved her. She was home and she had alwaysbeen there for him. She woke him with a kiss every morning, and thethought struck him that she might never do so again.

Now he started to cry, hating himself for being so weak, and foundthat Oris was crying as well. They cried as people always do when deathhits close to home.

Death had come to Nolwenn, and it intended to stay. After a fewminutes more screams were heard from the centre of the village. A girl,who was a little younger than Matai, yelled at one of the strangers witha desperate voice. Who are you? Where are you taking us?

One of the strangers looked at the girl with a smile that seemedhungry, sending a shudder down Matais spine. His voice was cruel andunpleasant.

Were taking you home, little girl. he said. Back to our home,where you will be taught the new ways. We are the army of the threeholies. The army that has been granted victory by the true gods. Thearmy that has vanquished falsehood and finally established truth through-out the empire, as we will one day establish it throughout the entireworld. The army of the Divinium - you mark that name well. Youll behearing it a lot.

Out of that little speech, the only thing Matai heard was that theywere being taken away. Away from their home, to some strange place.

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This... this couldnt be happening.

He squeezed Oris hand and with a small hand wave let him knowthat he intended to offer up a prayer. The hand wave mimicked that usedduring the weekly worships and Oris nodded solemnly, understanding.

Matai didnt know what Oris prayed for, but he imagined them similarto his own words.

Oh Nur, Purest One, Matai mumbled. protect your children, forthey adore you. Kami, Heart of Magic, grant us a miracle from yourendless well. Here he should have kissed his fingers and touched themto his heart, but did not, for fear of being seen.

Ruh, Master of Winds, shelter us as your blessing shelters us fromthe seasons. Taklah, Mistress of the Deep, hold your hand over us as wetravel through life. At this, the prayer called for you to touch your leftshoulder as you said Ruh, and your right as you said Taklah, but Mataidid not.

Shaytur, Dread one, bring destruction upon your enemies and spareyour devotees the worst of fates. Nikon, O Silent One, do not claim usbefore our time. No movements were allowed to follow these words.

Oh Six Divines, we are your children, and to you alone do we turn.Matai bowed his head towards the East, and the eternal kingdom of theSix.

He had learned the prayer as a child, and it was one of the few prayershe had ever memorized. Once upon a time, he and Oris had strayed faraway from the village, and the sun had begun to set.

Estin had warned him against going anywhere near the woods atnight, and had told him that monsters lived deep in the forest. Mataiand his friend, though, had been young and brave and foolish, and theyhad dared each other to go closer and closer to the wall of trees.

By then, the forest had been too dark to see into, which had onlymade the game more exciting. More scary.

Until they heard the footsteps, of course. Then it stopped beingeexciting. What had come next, Matai had never truly understood.

At first it looked almost like a deer, but as it slowly walked towardsthem they saw that it had the body of a man. Its mouth was twisted inthe sort of vicious smile which would have felt unpleasant on a humanbeing. On the face of a deer, it looked like something out of a nightmare.

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The last detail was etched into his memory with horrifying clarity,and it was the memory of that detail which had made Matai beg Estinto teach him that protective prayer. The creature had been naked andits penis had been terrible large, and fully erect.

Matai shuddered and shook off the memory. The group of childrenhad arrived at a small ground of carriages which the strangers had parkedjust outside of town, and were now being herded into the back.

He repeated the prayer to himself again, but no miracle appeared. Heheard another scream and looked towards the river, where it had comefrom.

As Matai stepped into the carriage, he looked back towards Nolwenn.His heart was sinking, having never stopped since this all started. Wherewas Estin, now? He prayed that he was safe. Nur, Kami. Ruh. Please.Taklah, Shaytur, Nikon. Holy six. Please?

The doors closed behind him and the long darkness began.

Chapter 3

A second chanceDeath? Only a temporary setback, really.

Saying attributed to the Black Emperor

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20 CHAPTER 3. A SECOND CHANCE

Estin woke up, and the only thing she was aware of was her rightnipple. It itched, and this itch is what brought her back to reality.

She moved her hand up to scratch it, but was disappointed by thelack of results. Why cant I move my hands, she thought? She slowlyopened her eyes, but the world around her seem blurry and unreal.

Was that a person? Standing over her? No... leaning down overher? Yes. They were muttering... something. She blinked and beganto regain more of her focus. Now she became aware of the pain in herchest... where the sword had hit her. Oh god. The sword. The village...Matai!

She tried to sit up, but was shoved back down the ground. Her eyesfinally recovered, and she saw the man standing over her, muttering silky-sounding incantations in an mysterious, guteral language. He looked herin the eyes, but showed no sign that he cared she was awake.

She laid back and tried to remember what everything that had hap-pened. The strangers had come to the village, and they had killed mostof her neighbours. They had tried to kill her too, but clearly had notsucceeded. Whoever the man was, he was not Nikon, and this was notthe Restful Lands.

The man seemed satisfied with his work, but instead of trying to talkto her he reached out and pinched her nipple, the same one that haditched. She yelped in pain and then slapped away his hand. Hey! Getyour hands off of me!

The man, who was wearing dark, filthy clothing of an unfamiliar style,simply smirked in a very self-satisfied way.

His skin was had a grey, almost ash-like quality, and his bright, greeneyes betrayed that he was not a Northerner.Oh, it worked. I guessyoure alive. Are you damaged? Try to count to ten, or something.

Her confusion kept her silent for a moment, and this is when shebecame aware that she was naked. She covered her chest and felt a flareof outrage.

The man had been staring at her! She had a strange, momentarythought that if he was going to peep at her body, he should at leastappreciate it instead of being rude, and then felt foolish for thinking likethat.

Instead of answering him, she let her outrage ask questions of its own.What is going on? who are you? Why am I naked?

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He laughed, a dry, scratching sound that made the stranger soundold. Almost frighteningly old, compared to his appearance.. Well yourenaked because that made it easier to poke you with this. He smiled ina grim way as he held up a large, jagged knife. As for the rest, look foryourself.

Estins hands shook as she looked down to see what had once beenher chest. Where the sword had hit here, there was a great wound,stitched together with black thread. The entire wound was covered ina now-dried yellow slime. A number of symbols and runes were carvedinto her flesh. She felt more than a little sick. Fortunately, the strangercontinued speaking, which did not allowed her to dwell on her grotesquewound.

And what Im up to is saving your life, not that youd be grateful,he said. But it doesnt matter anyway. He snickered. I didnt saveyou for the love of the gods. Im going to question you. Hopefully I cancount on your gratitude, and we wont have to resort to any nastiness.

Estin could not make heads or tails of this situation, but she supposedbeing alive was a pretty good start. She had to admit herself she wasinclined to answer his questions, considering he had apparently saved herlife.

But first, she wanted answers. She sat up and looked down at herbody, finding to her own surprise that she wasnt as bothered by hernaked chest as she should have been.

The river had claimed off her skirt, but her sex was - thank the gods- still covered by her modesty-garb. Her shirt was torn, and this seemedto be the handiwork of the stranger.

She began to examine the symbols and runes which had no meaningto her, and then the stranger spoke up. His voice was distinctly proud.Pretty cool trick, huh? Youre the first person Ive ever actually revived,I can promise you that it hasnt been an easy trick to master. I triedyour friend over there first, but that didnt work out.

Estin didnt want to look, and in fact felt that it was a bad idea. Sheturned and saw the mutilated corpse of the town baker lying next to her.Their hands had almost touched.

This proved too much for her and she hurried to the edge of the riverwhere she threw up what remained of last nights dinner.

As she saw her half-digested meal float away down the river, she

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remembered that she was hungry and then immediately felt sick again.Fortunately, there was no more to throw up, and soon she was rinsingout her mouth.

Although she had not heard any footsteps, the stranger was standingright next to her as he talked again. Now he sounded a little annoyed.Look, Im sure this is all very traumatic for you whatnot, but Im work-ing on a deadline. I really dont want to get nasty, but I will if I have to.I dont have all that much to ask, so how about we get it over with?

Estin sat down in the mud and began to close her blouse. It was tootorn to properly close, but it did at least provide some feeling of modesty,which made her feel more normal again. I, I dont know what you wantme to say.... She was shaken up, but her stubborn streak refused to lether forget her important question from before. Who are you?

The man shrugged. Well that depends on who you ask, really. Itsalso not important. The look in his eyes wasnt cold, but it was danger-ous. Now, you will answer my questions, and no more chit-chat. Whathappened? How did you die? And dont start a whole but Im not deadthing. you were dead and I fixed it and thats the facts.

A shiver ran through Estins body. She had been dead? How wasthat possible? The demanding look in the mans eyes made her realizedit was unwise to delay, and since he had least saved her she decided toanswer his questions.

Well... I was cut with a sword, but I think you know that.... Sheabsent-mindedly rubbed the scar, which would never fully heal. Shefrowned and did her best to remember. Strangers came to our town.Strangers clad in white. They were all young men, except for one whowas their leader. Most of them just had swords, but the older one had amagical weapon of some sort. They talked ab-.

The man lifted up a hand to interrupt her. More about that later.Tell me about his weapon. What did it look like, and what did it do?.The weapon which had killed the smith was clear in her mind.

It was a small wooden handle, about this big. She gestured todemonstrate the dimensions, about the length of her hand and width oftwo of her fingers.. It might have had inscriptions or writing on it, butIm not sure. As she spoke, she became sure. Actually, it did have aninscription, but I didnt see what sort.

She paused and tried to get a hold of the situation. What exactly

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was going on? Where had her wound gone?

He gestured for her to continue. Well, what did it do?

She spoke without hesitation. It created a string, like a whip, butout of solid fire. It only appeared when it was swung. She frowned andquickly added. He was either really good at using it, or it was enchantedto always find its target, because he killed with... with every blow.

The memory of the death of Karnik the smith proved played in frontof her eyes, and she remember that Matai was a prisoner of the murderousstrangers, and now she started to cry.

The stranger just sighed. Look, Im sure its all very sad, but Idont have that much to ask, could you just -. A particularly loud sobinterrupted him and Estin hated herself a little for her lack of control.She didnt cry, not normally, but this hadnt exactly been a normal day.

The stranger decided to try another approached. He leaned downand as soon as he got eye contact reached up and pulled off his ownface. Estin gasped as a grey skeleton became visibly underneath. Shestopped mid-sob and the stranger seem satisfied with this. To her horrorhe simply slapped his face back on and pressed it into place, and with afew touches mended the torn flesh.

The stranger smiled and talked in the sort of voice used by adultswho do not consider children to, really, be people. Now, will you pleasetell me the rest of the story? There will be plenty of time for cryinglater. I really dont want to hurt you, but as Ive been saying, Im in ahurry. Theres a whole bunch of corpses in this river and I need to knowwhy. I need the what, who, where and why. Finish the story.

Estin did as she was told and the stranger sat down on his rump andrubbed the chin that, apparently concealed a horrible secret. Interest-ing... And you say theyre Katarists?. The stranger did not look at her,and she didnt think she was supposed to answer.

That is very interesting. I had heard of some trouble in the south,and I had heard about the Katarists getting all uppity. But this isnew, even for that particular bunch of lunatics. But I suppose it wasinevitable. Ive read that tome of theirs and it preaches more violencethan a drunk at quitting time. Ah, well, split milk and all that.

With that, he got up and walked towards a tremendous black horseEstin had not noticed until now. The horse seemed to her almost likea creature of out fairy tales, wider than an ox and tall enough that she

24 CHAPTER 3. A SECOND CHANCE

thought the man would need a ladder to mount it. But he swung upwithout pause, moving his body like it had no weight at all.

Before he could leave, Estin got up. Wait! Wait, please, I.... Shelooked down and made sure her chest was covered. Thank you. Formy life, I mean. Can you... can you help, somehow? Help me save Ma- I mean, my Nephew? They took him with them... the murderers, Imean.

The man sighed. Yea, I know who you mean. And no, I cant. I haveshit to do, remember? But lets see here, I can maybe.... He reachedinto one of his saddle bags and pulled out an unseemly brown rope,throwing it in her general direction. If you dont mind second-hand anda stab-hole or two thatll do you fine.

Estin saw, to her discomfort, that there was indeed a small hole inthe robe. Around the hole was a blood-stain. Still, some clothing wasbetter than no clothing, even if the robe was itchy and inappropriate fora woman. Before the strange galloped away, she managed to ask onelast question. Who are you? Please... I want to know your name, so Ican at least offer a prayer for you. She wanted to ask what are you butthought it would be rather rude.

The man sighed and looked into the horizon for a moment. I thoughtId made it clear I dont like to share by name, but if you insist, you cancall me Yahmak. Save your prayers, but if you ever see a wanted poster,maybe go ahead and tear it down, eh?. Those were the last words thestranger spoke to her before he gave his horse a gentle tab, setting it offin an incredible, instant gallop.

Estin sat down down and cried the tears she had not cried earlier.She cried for Nolwenn and for herself. But mostly, she cried for Matai,and the uncertain destiny that awaited him.

Close to homeYouth and innocenceA second chance