“Let’s ask Jakob for help.”
Kasimirh held the hands of the two children sitting next to him. The others followed his example, forming a circle.
“I’ll lead you in prayer. Close your eyes.”
Satisfied, Kasimirh watched everyone do as he had asked.
“Lord Jakob. Behold Your destitute followers. Feel the hunger they feel. In all humbleness we ask for Your help. Give them food, so that they can experience Your grace.” As he said the prayer out loud, he whispered a spell under his breath. Fresh flatbreads appeared on the plate. The thin soup was suddenly full of meat and vegetables, and the jug was filled to the rim with cool water.
“Look, Jakob has answered our prayers.”
The youngest woman clasped her hands to her mouth as she opened her eyes. One of the children started laughing and pointed at everything.
The man voiced his gratitude. “Jakob truly is like a father. He’s good to people who have only just thrown themselves at His feet.’’
“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been following Him. He is good to everyone. Let’s eat.”
During the meal, the members of the family asked Kasimirh more and more about Jakob. The conversation was interrupted when the little boy pulled at Kasimirh’s sleeve. With his mouth full he said: “Jakob is a nice God.” His eyes shone with conviction.
Kasimirh looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You’re right about that, my child. You should thank Him before you go to bed tonight.”
The boy nodded and grabbed more food. Kasimirh felt happy as he regarded them.
After the meal Kasimirh asked: “Are you sure you want to join our religion?”
The man nodded without a moment’s hesitation, so the women agreed as well.
“Fine. There’s a small initiation ceremony. Could you all please rise?”
The children immediately jumped up; the parents were a bit slower. Kasimirh held the children’s hands again.
Repeat after me: “Jakob, with these words I turn to You.”
He waited for everyone to have repeated the words. The youngest girl tripped over the words, but nevertheless pronounced them with great devotion.
“I believe in the miracles that You have performed, and cherish the life that You have given us. I promise to live my life the way You want me to. I believe with all my heart that You are the True God, Creator of the world and the people, Keeper of knowledge. I thank You for the Light in my life.”
There was a silence as they all let the meaning of the words sink in. Then Kasimirh got a silver bowl from his bag and a bottle of water. He poured the water into the bowl.
“Can you write?”
Ashamed, the adults shook their heads. Kasimirh smiled.
“I’ll organize lessons for you, so that you’ll be able to read Jakob’s book. For now, I’ll add your names to Jakob’s list.”
He dipped a pen into the ink and wrote the names of the new followers in the water. The characters immediately faded and the ink turned the water black.
“Water created the world. It’s Jakob’s gift that makes it possible for everything to exist. That’s why the worshippers write their names in the water, after which the water is sacrificed. By writing your name in the water today, He will recognize you when the time has come to join Him.”
The man drew one of the children close to him as the last name dissolved in the water. “I’m grateful to Jakob for giving me this choice,” he said.
Kasimirh nodded. Margal’s religion only knew initiation rituals for the impure. People who were born in Naftalia automatically belonged to Her religion. “I find it an abomination that you’ve been forced to believe in a Goddess who isn’t even Divine.”
It was dark when Kasimirh finally left the house, but not before he had given the man a black stone covered in gold veins. He told him that Jakob’s stone would keep them safe. In the shadow of a house, Kasimirh cast a few spells. Then he walked back to the inn. He wasn’t in a hurry. He was pleased that he had at least converted one family. It took a courageous man to go against the will of the priest, but Kasimirh knew that the man would be richly rewarded.
Back at the inn, people were still talking about the events of the day before. Their anger seemed to have died down a little, but Kasimirh had already reckoned with that.
Not much later, there was shouting in the street, and everyone in the inn rushed outside. There was an orange glow against the dark sky. Someone yelled that there was another fire. Kasimirh followed the people. When they reached the spot, the town rampart was already ablaze.
Among the crowd, he spotted the family he had visited that afternoon. The women raised their hands to the sky and called upon Jakob. Pleased, Kasimirh walked closer. The house of the family was right next to the fire. The flames were licking the walls. Kasimirh held the women’s hands.
“Let’s pray together.”
They nodded gratefully. The children were hanging on to their skirts. The man was nowhere to be seen. He was probably trying to put out the fire.
“Jakob, please protect these people who have put their trust in You today. Show them that everyone is safe in Your hands. We believe in Your power, therefore we beg You to use it to help us.”
Kasimirh ended the prayer. He put his arm around the shoulders of the youngest woman and held her close. The elder woman wailed with fear. Suddenly the wind changed direction, causing the house on the other side of the fire to catch alight.
Relieved, the youngest woman started to cry. Through her tears she whispered: “Thank You, Jakob. Thank You.”
Kasimirh squeezed her shoulders.
After the fire had been extinguished, everyone returned to the inn. Their anger was back when they resumed the discussion of the day before.
“I saw the monster before she attacked,” someone said. “She’s enormous, at least ten yards. Her claws glowed in the moonlight.”
Someone else added, “She roared before she breathed fire. I’ve never heard such an awful sound in my life.”
Kasimirh was amazed to hear more and more people confirm that they’d heard the sound as well. This time he hadn’t even taken the effort to conjure up a dragon, it had been dark after all. He had been right to think that people would fill in the blanks. The fire had been enough for the people to make up the dragon themselves.
“What if the dragon returns again? How can we defend ourselves?”
“I can make sure that you’re safe.”
Kasimirh rose to his feet. The men turned to face him.
“How?” someone asked, moving closer. Of course they didn’t trust a stranger.
“Margal didn’t protect you. You prayed, but to no avail. My God makes different promises. Convert to Jakob and He will make sure that the dragon can’t harm you any more.”
“How can we be sure that He can help us?”
“Jakob can do anything,” Kasimirh started. He was, however, interrupted by a man to the back of the group.
“We have heard these stories before, haven’t we? It’s worth a try.”
“We already have a Goddess!”
“But where is She now that we need Her?”
“She will send Pontifex Tehmuga to help us.”
“Tehmuga is only interested in becoming Maximus. Do you really think he’s going to bother about us?”
“Hear, hear. We’re only useful to him to hand over our provisions so he can feed his army. And we don’t have much to begin with.”
Kasimirh was pleased and retreated from the discussion. He preferred it when people decided to follow Jakob of their own accord, rather than having to persuade them. A man rose to his feet. It was the man who had joined Jakob that afternoon. Kasimirh hadn’t recognized him at first, because he had shaven off his beard and trimmed his hair, just as the sorcerer had told him to do.
“I converted to Jakob today and straight away experienced His miracles. He fed my family, and tonight He saved my house from the flames. After m
y wife had prayed to Jakob, the wind changed. What else could that have been but a miracle performed by God.”
A hush fell over the inn.
“What nonsense! You were just lucky that the wind changed. There was no God involved.”
“Believe what you will, but how do you explain the fact the food appeared out of nowhere when we asked Jakob for it?”
The other man shrugged it off, but the number of people interested in Jakob seemed to increase. They asked Kasimirh to tell them more about Him. Thus, Kasimirh spent his evening telling stories. First, about the Era when the Gods and creatures still lived together. Followed by the story of the Creation, when there were still strong ties between Jakob and the people. It was late when Kasimirh got to the reasons why Jakob had turned His back on the people. He finished by relating what Jakob had promised him.
“The only thing that needs to happen is that everyone believes in Jakob again. Then a new Golden Era will come. Jakob will give us this chance.”
The following days, ever more people came to Kasimirh to be initiated in the new religion. In the town square he told them about Jakob and taught them how to profess their religion. Ever more townspeople joined Jakob, not in the least because fires kept breaking out every night. It was the men who generally made the decision for their families, but that didn’t matter to Kasimirh. Followers were followers.
“Stop listening to that liar!”
The priest cleared a path through the crowd and walked up to Kasimirh. He was accompanied by a number of soldiers. They formed a circle around Kasimirh. In response, some of the male converts got up and walked up to them in a threatening manner. Kasimirh raised his hand to stop them. The priest went to stand in front of him and jabbed his index finger into the sorcerer’s chest. He raised his voice.
“This man is a sorcerer! Margal has told us what his species is capable of and he has proven this the past few days. Is it really a coincidence that we are plagued by fires? That the houses of Jakob’s followers are miraculously spared? He is a sorcerer. He has the power to make these things happen.”
The crowd grew agitated. Someone screamed and ran forwards. It was Dimara. She had been one of the first to join the crowd of listeners, but now she threw Kasimirh’s coins back at him. “You’ve murdered my child!” she screamed.
Some people were greedily eying the coins, but no one dared pick them up.
Kasimirh wanted to explain to Dimara that it had been a necessary sacrifice, but if he did that, he would give the priest the evidence he was looking for. So, instead, he shook his head and turned to face the man. “You’ve come to a decision?”
“I’m not giving up on Margal. She promised us a life after death and I’m not willing to risk that.”
“I’m sorry that you feel this way, but I don’t think that you can decide for these people.”
Kasimirh observed the reactions of the people in the crowd. Some were wrapped up in worried conversations. It was clear that they believed the priest. Some men left the group, followed by their wives.
“I’m not taking any risks to become a victim while this man can protect my family,” yelled a man who wasn’t convinced by the priest.
“All I ask is for you to use your common sense. Open your eyes and see what I see. This sorcerer is the cause of all that has happened. Margal has warned us about them from the beginning. All this happened, because we’ve neglected to be vigilant. Margal wanted to protect us, but we didn’t let Her. We’ve brought this upon ourselves, because we no longer sacrifice the impure, so now we have to face the consequences. There is no other God to protect us. This man is our enemy!”
“Where’s your proof, priest?” Kasimirh asked. “I’ve shown people what happens when they believe in Jakob. Where’s your evidence that I made these miracles happen instead of Jakob?”
Annoyed, the priest shook his head and leaned forwards. His breath mingled with the air that Kasimirh inhaled. The sour scent of alcohol penetrated his nose. The priest truly had bigger worries if he had been drinking wine this early in the day. Kasimirh tried to take shallow breaths, so as to not have to smell the alcohol.
“You’d better do it right now, because soon it will be too late,” the priest encouraged him in a soft voice. “You’ll regret it if you don’t use magic now.”
They looked at each other. It was tempting to use magic and obliterate this measly man, but Kasimirh restrained himself. He would let them carry him off like a martyr. He could still attack out of sight of the worshippers. The priest made a gesture and in the reflection of his eyes, Kasimirh saw that someone walked up behind him. Before he could respond, he received a blow to the head and everything went black.
Kasimirh came to in a cage that was suspended some two feet above the ground. It swung as he cautiously tried to sit up. With every movement there were stabs of pain in his head, but he persevered. Once he was sitting upright, he took the time to regain his breath. The sun was burning mercilessly, but it felt as if he was wrapped tightly in cold blankets. It took a while for Kasimirh to realize that the cage was causing this feeling.
“Impossible,” he mumbled while using magic to free himself. Nothing happened. Enraged, he banged the side of the cage.
At that moment, the priest walked onto the courtyard. Seeing Kasimirh’s rage, he started to laugh. “Margal used these cages to lock up sorcerers waiting for their execution. Inside one of these you’re only human, Kasimirh. Or actually, even less than human, as Margal always said. This cage was sent by the pontifex. He’ll arrive in a few days’ time and then you’ll be killed. It’s been a long time since a sorcerer was sacrificed. Margal will be extremely pleased, and Pontifex Tehmuga and I will be rewarded richly in the hereafter.” He laughed viciously.
“I hope so for your sake, because you’ll be joining Her a lot sooner than you anticipate.”
The priest squinted and regarded Kasimirh closely. Then he relaxed. “And how did you imagine you were going to do that, beast?”
Kasimirh had no idea, but there had to be a way to escape. There was still so much left to be done. He examined the cage. The inside looked normal. He ran his fingers along the outside of the bars to trace the relief of the signs.
Even though he had known about Margal using these cages, he hadn’t considered the fact that they still existed. This was proof of how hypocritical She was; making these cages required a higher level of magic than most sorcerers who got locked up in them were capable of. The most frustrating part was that Kasimirh knew exactly how this magic worked, because Jakob had explained it to him. This knowledge, however, was useless now that he was locked up inside one of these cages himself.
His fingertips touched the small padlocks, but Kasimirh knew that he wouldn’t be able to open them.
The priest laughed again and left the courtyard. Kasimirh sunk to his knees and started to pray. “Jakob, I beg You to help me. I want to spread Your word, but I cannot do that from within this cage. You are the only one who can rescue me. Your appearance will convince these people that I’m right, and then they’ll convert. I’ve been doing what You told me for such a long time and all by myself. I beg You to come to me once more.”
Kasimirh remained seated for a long time, head resting on the metal floor of the cage. He begged, but no bright light appeared in answer to his prayers. God’s soothing voice didn’t break the silence.
Judging by the position of the moon, it had to be midnight when Kasimirh was startled by a commotion. Torches illuminated the courtyard. A group of people was ushered through the gate. Children were crying and the adults called upon Jakob. A wave of happiness went through Kasimirh’s body, but is was short lived as he realized why these people were being brought to the prison cells. The thought that they too would be sacrificed by the priest, infuriated Kasimirh.
The Jakobinians were violently shoved into the cells. The pushing and shoving caused a woman to fall. “Help us!” she begged, looking Kasimirh straight in the eye.
He clenched
his fists and prayed to Jakob for help, so that he could use magic. Against his better judgement, he made a gesture. He growled when nothing happened.
The woman was pulled to her feet and locked up with the others. The prisoners kept begging for their freedom, but the soldiers ignored them. Instead, they focused their attention on the sorcerer. They probably hoped to get into Margal’s good books by performing these tasks. The soldier who was in charge tonight – judging from the fact that he hadn’t done anything but shout orders – walked up to the cage and regarded Kasimirh closely. He noticed the shivers running down the sorcerer’s spine.
“Are you cold?” asked the man whom the others called Ohkaté.
Kasimirh shrugged, but nevertheless asked for a blanket. In the heat of the afternoon sun he had taken off his cloak, so when he’d been captured he had only been wearing a flimsy shirt and a pair of pants. At night, however, the temperature dropped considerably.
“A blanket?” Ohkaté shook his head. “No, we don’t have one. But we can light a fire.”
He yelled at one of the guards to go get some wood. As they piled it up underneath the cage, the others were quick to understand what their leader had in mind, and they started to roar excitedly. Kasimirh also realized what was about to happen.
“Just forget it, I’m really not that cold,” he tried in an attempt to stop them.
“Oh no, we want you to be comfortable, sorcerer. It’s a cold night, so we’ll warm you up a little.”
Someone grabbed a torch from a clamp on the wall and lit the fire. The flames licked the floor of the cage. Even though the warmth was comfortable at first, soon the metal became too hot. Kasimirh climbed up the bars. The cage swung violently, fanning the fire even more.
Ohkaté took the torch from the man who had lit the fire and held the flame against Kasimirh’s hand. He screamed and pulled it back, trying his hardest not to fall. The leader had walked around the cage and was now holding the torch against his other arm. Kasimirh tasted blood and realized that he had bitten through his lower lip. Nevertheless, he held on tight. The other guards started to interfere as well. They fetched sticks to hit him in the arms and legs, as Ohkaté scalded him with the torch, again and again. His clothes caught fire. Kasimirh tried to beat out the flames, but by the time he had finally extinguished them, a large part of his shirt had already been consumed by the fire.
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