Padan’s men chuckled and grinned at him in a wicked sort of way.
It was about noon on the following day when the clever little smith Rabbit came down from the north. ‘I’m supposed to tell you that there’s going to be another one of those get-togethers up near that waterspout.’
‘What now?’ Padan replied irritably. ‘I thought we’d pretty much covered everything yesterday’
‘They didn’t come right out and tell me what this is all about,’ Rabbit said, ‘but I think Lady Zelana’s big brother wants to know more about that church in your part of the world.’ He hesitated, looking around to make sure that nobody was close enough to hear him. ‘I think that what’s really behind this has to do with just exactly who came up with this scheme. That ocean of fake gold that just popped out of nowhere has them all upset. I wouldn’t want to swear to it, but I think that was something that nobody in Lady Zelana’s family could have pulled off. Her older sister seems to be so upset about it that she could bite nails and spit rust.’
Padan laughed. ‘That’s a colorful way to put it, Rabbit.’
Rabbit shrugged and looked down into the gorge the waterfall had gouged out of the surrounding mountains. ‘That’s quite a drop,’ he observed.
‘You’ve got that right,’ Padan agreed.
‘It’s likely to take those people down there a long time to get up here, wouldn’t you say?’
‘That’s their problem, Rabbit, not mine. Let’s go on up to the geyser and find out what’s afoot.’
Rabbit shrugged. ‘That’s up to you, Padan. I just carry messages. I don’t make decisions.’
The towering geyser which was the ultimate source of the River Vash was a noisy sort of thing, blasting high up into the air as it was driven by some incomprehensible force far down in the bowels of the earth. Padan conceded that it was a pretty thing, but the continual spray arcing out from the top of the geyser was very much like an endless spring shower.
Fortunately, Veltan’s elder brother was wise enough to select an area some distance away from the geyser for them all to gather. At least they wouldn’t get wet.
It seemed to Padan that almost everybody was there. ‘Who’s minding the store?’ he quietly asked Narasan.
‘The sergeants, mostly,’ Narasan replied.
‘Oh,’ Padan said. ‘Things should go more smoothly, then.’
‘I wouldn’t let that get out, Padan. If people find out who really runs the army, we might both have to go out and find honest work.’
‘What’s this all about, Narasan? Did we leave something out yesterday?’
Narasan glanced about and lowered his voice. ‘Lady Zelana’s big brother seems to be very curious about the Amarite church and those church armies,’ he replied. ‘Things seem to be much more relaxed here in the Land of Dhrall than they are down in the Empire.’
‘What do you need me here for, then? I don’t know beans about the church, and I think I’d rather keep it that way.’
‘Wouldn’t we all? I think our easiest answer to this would be to hand it off to Keselo.’
‘I’ll go along with you there,’ Padan agreed. ‘That young fellow’s got more education than all of the rest of us put together.’
‘Could I have your attention?’ the grey-bearded Dahlaine asked. ‘Our friends from the Trogite Empire are probably much more familiar with the religion of their part of the world than any of the rest of us are, so I thought it might be useful if they could give us some idea of what it’s all about.’ He looked inquiringly at Narasan.
‘I’m not too well-versed in the peculiarities of the church, Lord Dahlaine,’ Narasan replied modestly, ‘but our young friend Keselo attended the University of Kaldacin, so he’s probably the best qualified to answer any questions you might have. To be completely honest with you, I don’t have much use for the church - or the arrogant people who run the stupid thing. Tell our friend here about the religion that contaminates our part of the world, Keselo.’
‘If you wish, sir,’ Keselo replied obediently. Then he paused, his expression growing quite troubled. ‘The church of the Empire isn’t really all that attractive, Lord Dahlaine,’ he began. ‘I’m fairly sure that at some time in the distant past it was more wholesome and pure than it is now, but over the years it’s grown more and more corrupt.’
‘Just how did it originate?’ Dahlaine asked.
‘That’s not too clear, Lord Dahlaine,’ Keselo replied. ‘At some time in the distant past, a holy man named Amar, who may - or may not - have actually existed, came to the city of Kaldacin, which at that time was only a crude village, and he spoke to the people there about truth, charity, and morality. Nobody really paid too much attention to him at first, but then some rumors - that have never been confirmed - began to appear.’
‘Exactly what sort of rumors?’ Dahlaine asked.
‘People said that they’d seen him flying - like a bird.’
‘That’s ridiculous, Keselo,’ Gunda snorted.
‘Not really, Gunda,’ Red-Beard disagreed. ‘Our Zelana can fly like an eagle, if she really wants to.’
‘Not exactly, Red-Beard,’ Lady Zelana corrected. ‘I don’t really need wings. Please go on, Keselo.’
‘Yes, ma’am. I’m quite sure that most of those ancient stories were pure fabrications thought up by Amar’s early followers to entice the non-believers into joining the faith. As the years passed, those fabrications grew wilder and wilder. Some said that Amar could remain under water for several days at a time. Others said that he could walk through a solid stone wall - without leaving a hole in that wall. Then there were stories about moving mountains, freezing entire oceans, and other absurdities. As the church grew larger, the stories grew more and more fantastic, and the gullible new converts came to accept almost anything. I think the real purpose of all those fabrications was to convince everybody that anything that’s zVwpossible was possible, if your name happened to be Amar. At that time, it was little more than a myth designed to bring in more and more converts every day.’
‘Just exactly where is this mythic person supposed to be now?’ Dahlaine asked.
‘The current church doctrine’s a bit vague, Lord Dahlaine,’ Keselo replied. ‘The last I heard, the church maintains that he left the world behind and now wanders out among the stars, preaching to them.’’