by Shannah Jay
'The babies, then? Couldn't you try to save them?'
She sat motionless for a moment, then nodded. 'Perhaps. I must use the farspeaker, though.' Unlike some of her Sisters, Herra didn’t flinch from the use of machinery. The God's Wonders were there for just such an emergency as this, though not to be used in their everyday life. He had explained this to her the previous year, when he first manifested himself and placed farspeakers in all the temples.
She stood up and moved the little stick on the side of the box. With the faint hissing sound echoing around the chamber, she spoke to her Sisters on watch in the great temples of Setherak and Penerak. Before the echo of her voice had faded, her faraway Sisters were running through the streets of those cities, using the Disciplines to speed their footsteps. Those Sisters would give their lives, if necessary, to do the bidding of the God their Brother.
Herra continued to watch the pictures and pray for a peaceful next life for the two beautiful women who lay dying, in spite of their great wealth, in spite of their high rank. Their beauty seemed to fade before her eyes as the attendants worked their evil.
QUEST Shannah Jay 11
When it was over and the two women lay dead in pools of blood, the attendants turned their attention to the babies, strong, healthy little creatures, who lay kicking by their dead mothers. Their faint wailing cries tore at Herra's heart. As the attendants started to smother the royal infants, working carefully so as not to mark the tender flesh, Herra thought for a moment that her Sisters had failed. But no! While the babes were still squirming, the draperies moved and her Sisters entered each birth chamber.
Herra watched as they stilled those who mocked the art of healing. The attendants stood there frozen, unable to move, while her Sisters wrapped the infants in soft cloths and carried them away to safety. She sighed in relief, but stayed on in front of the screen to keep watch.
As the farspeaker showed first one, then another of the birth chambers, Herra saw both sets of attendants recover the use of their bodies and discover that the babies were missing. She smiled grimly as they panicked and conferred frantically. Such was their fear of their secret masters that each group sent one of their number to buy a newly-dead baby from the Shambles. You could buy anything in the Shambles and babies died there every day. The poorfolk lived close to desperation in these hard times, with the Serpent gaining power in the slums that had begun to fester like sores on the flanks of every great city of the world.
Later she saw dead babies with the same colouring as those recently borne by the High Ladies smuggled in, washed and dressed in embroidered silk. They would be presented to the two grieving Lords Claimant as the stillborn children of their wives, though to Herra it showed in their faces that these were the ill-fed offspring of the poor. Strange to see identical responses from murderers separated by days of travel. How fear controlled those who served the Serpent!
To fear for one's life is to lose it a hundred times.
Herra had often paused at those words in the Book of Sayings of the God. Fear paralysed people, made them forget what they knew, led them to act foolishly. Sisters were taught not to give way to it. Yet that was the least of the things they learned. The Disciplines trained the Sisters to use the Gifts born in them and made them strong beyond other people's wildest dreams - strong enough, it was to be hoped, to survive this Age of Discord.
Such Gifts were mainly bestowed on those born of the bloodlines nurtured by the Sisterhood, and had been passed down the generations by careful marriages. They ripened at puberty, at which time the most gifted of the girls were chosen to enter the Sisterhood and continue with the great Quest which would become the purpose of their whole lives.
But sometimes, in spite of the Sisters' watchfulness, Evil grew stronger in the world and an Age of Discord like this one developed. Throughout Herra's long lifetime Those of the Serpent had multiplied in number and spread their poisonous ways across claim after claim. It had taken a while for the Sisters to realise how the Servants of the Serpent were working on men's minds: the drugged incense, the hypnotic chants and the special blood-wine drunk by those men initiated in the ways of the Inner Shrine. What sort of god wanted his followers to offer him pain? It became a point of honour among some of the younger men to endure in smiling silence the first whipping on the black altar of the Shrine, above which hung a huge carved serpent.
First the land of Setheron, then Garshlian had fallen to the Serpent, just before she reached her hundredth birthday. Setheron had been an easy conquest, with the first Sen-Sether, the Lord Claimant's own brother, lending Those of the Serpent his support. And when that Sen-Sether died, his son carried on both his name and allegiances.
Now the grandson was proving himself the most evil of all.
Garshlian had taken a little longer to fall, but patient infiltration had gradually won the Serpent a place there, and after that the same methods had worked in Jan-Halani, then Beldrian.
The Evil had been held in check for a time at the borders of Tenebron, where the Sisterhood was strongest, but Those of the Serpent had learned to bide their time, to infiltrate any group who resisted them, then re-establish themselves years later. But they had never managed to infiltrate the Sisterhood - and never would, she vowed.
But the Lord Claimant of Tenebron had grown old and weak, his elder son had died in an accident and now Benner, the younger son, had become Lord Claimant at a young age. Now he openly encouraged Those of Evil to settle in Tenebron and convert his people. And he refused to receive Those of the Sisterhood at his court, claiming QUEST Shannah Jay 12
them to be evil.
We should have killed Benner at birth, thought Herra, with a fury foreign to her training. We allowed this to happen. We knew that he was mind-twisted and yet we were too permissive at a time when strong action was needed. We even allowed shrines to proliferate across the Twelve Claims in the name of freedom and did nothing to stop this Evil. Yet how could we have known that this cult would flourish so strongly when all others over the centuries had been as ephemeral as the seasons?
And now Benner was an Initiate of the Inner Shrine, a man who revelled in pain and torture. He hated the Sisterhood but did not yet dare openly attack them. His hatred for her personally was well-known.
We of the Sisterhood, Herra thought bitterly, have become too gentle, too tolerant. It is time for a change, time to find a new turning in the path we follow. Oh, my Sisters, what shall we do? she cried silently, rocking to and fro in anguish. If we defend ourselves by learning to kill, as others do, shall we lose our own souls? Yet, if we do not defend ourselves, Those of the Serpent will surely destroy us.
But it could be no coincidence that a new Manifestation of the God had appeared at this time. In that lay her greatest hope.
Herra remained on watch, replaying in her mind's eye the horrors she had just seen. The babe from Setheron was a boy, golden-haired, strong-limbed. He should have been raised as Heir-Claimant to Setheron. Now he must be raised in hiding by the Sisterhood. And what would happen to the Claim of Setheron if Danver did not remarry and died without issue? His half-brother, Sen-Sether, was far worse than Benner.
The infant born in Peneron was a girl, dark-haired, rosy-cheeked, also destined to be tall and strong. And there, wait! Herra had nearly missed it. She replayed the image in her mind. The child had a birthmark, a white crescent on the right hip - the mark of the God! It was seen very rarely, and always in people of exceptional promise. Herra caught her breath as she realised that the boy had it, too.
At that realisation, Herra experienced a welling of hope and certainty such as she had never felt before. She knew suddenly that if they persevered, the Sisterhood would eventually triumph over Those of the Serpent. She stood up and raised her arms in a fierce surge of joy, then fell into a holy trance and began to prophesy, shouting out the words the God had placed in her mouth so loudly that the Sister who waited outside the little chamber heard them almost as clearly as those who listened in the sky
above the planet.
When Herra fell silent again, the other Sister on duty beat hard on the great gong, striking the emergency cadences that summoned all who dwelled in Temple Tenebrak to assemble in the Hall of the God. The Sisters ran quickly up from their quarters below. Though newly awakened, they were alert and watchful, ready to face danger or joy. The novices stumbled in haste down the shallow worn steps from their dormitory. Many of the younger ones were heavy-eyed, disturbed in their first deep sleep, not yet skilled in controlling their bodies.
Katia stumbled along in a daze, last of all the novices. She had only just managed to fall asleep when the gong summoned them, and she was having difficulty in shaking off the mists of sleep. Not till they were assembled in the Hall of the God did she realise that something momentous had happened.
The Elder Sister swept into the hall from the Chamber of the God to stand before them, eyes alight with wild fire. In awe, everyone sank to the ground. No one could doubt that the God was speaking to them through her.
First Herra repeated her prophecy in a clear, ringing voice:
'Though spawned of death, redeemed in birth,
Twin destinies unfold.
For many souls on many an earth,
The saga long foretold.
QUEST Shannah Jay 13
Strong guardians shall monitor
The pathways of their youth.
And the wisdom of an ancient lore
Shall lead them to the truth.
When God comes down to join the Quest,
His chariot fast shall fall,
But lo, in his person Manifest
He shall redeem us all.
Two Sisters to the rescue bent
Shall weave the arts of Mind.
And in the younger, as was meant,
The Lord his mate shall find.
Like tempered steel, those two shall learn
Through hardship, pain and woe.
No ease, no peace, though they may yearn,
Small respite from the foe.
Their early steps shall guided be
By one whose power enhanced
Shall save them all in glade and tree
Till her last glad steps be danced.
Then Sunrise shall awake with joy,
To banish Serpent dire,
And Wisdom's Looking-Glass employ
To set all Space on fire.
On all the worlds where Discord shows,
The need shall rise and call
To Sunrise, where the God's truth grows
And wisdom's flowers blow tall.
A thousand Chariots shall ascend
QUEST Shannah Jay 14
To start a second quest,
And the Children's Children shall contend,
To make Truth manifest.
Thus peace shall spread to every world,
The Quest to every heart,
And Wisdom's banner now unfurled
Shall fly in every part.'
When Herra finished speaking, she clasped her hands together and allowed her Sisters a little time to think on what she had said.
Katia stared wide-eyed at the glittering figure of the Elder Sister. Herra, normally so quiet and stern, was radiant with something that had no name, but which must come from the God, their Brother. Her face seemed young and radiant, and the flickering lights of the filigree metal wall-lamps made the jewels in her headdress sparkle like tiny stars and her lustrous robe gleam softly. She stood there alone on the steps below the great statue of the God, then spread her arms wide, as if she would gather them all to her.
The girl caught her breath in a sob at the beauty of the scene. Around her, murmurs of surprise came unbidden from the lips of the other novices.
'Another step!'
'A new turning in the path!'
'The Quest for Wisdom!'
At a signal from Herra, the chimes rang out to indicate that the Sisters should gather. Full Sisters were the only ones who could achieve complete union with their Brother; novices merely sat quietly, meditating and sharing in the sense of joy and peace. With practised grace, the blue-robed women formed a circle in front of the flower-ringed statue of their God. As the tone of the chimes changed, they sank to the ground to sit cross-legged, hands touching.
The musicians turned from their instruments to join them. The novices bowed their heads.
When all were ready, Herra set her hands in place to form the last link in the Circle. 'We gather before you, Brother,' she said softly, then silence crept across the hall and settled in their hearts.
Thought was suspended, and all the Sisters became, for a few moments, part of a loving whole, a composite consciousness that knew and loved all its human components. Even Katia was caught by the wonder of this special night, and when that vibrant voice commanded them to gather, she bowed her head and, for once, began to slip easily into the deepest levels of Meditation - and then on beyond that, her soul flying freely like a bird towards something wonderful, something which she had never experienced before.When Herra gave the signal for the Gathering to end, Cheral bustled forward to escort the girls back to their dormitory.
Katia, oblivious to her neighbour's nudge, remained cross-legged on the polished stone floor. She was staring straight at the statue of the God like one in a trance, showing no signs of understanding what was happening around her.
Frowning, Cheral started to move towards her, but the Elder Sister realised what was happening and, eyes alight again, signalled for everyone to remain in their places. Cheral stopped in her tracks, mouth open in surprise.
Although she now realised what was about to happen, she could not believe it. It was not possible! Not this novice!
Silence fell in the hall. The new novices were puzzled. What now? All eyes followed Herra as she walked across the petal-strewn floor towards the novices, moving with a slow, rhythmic half-dance step. The Sisters who rang the QUEST Shannah Jay 15
chimes automatically turned back to their instruments and began to punctuate the Elder Sister's graceful progress with soft threads of sound. Cheral continued to watch in sheer disbelief.
The older novices stared in astonishment at Katia, for though they had seen this happen before, it had never happened to such a new novice. The younger ones continued to crane their necks and gape, first at Herra, then at Katia.
* * *
When this final and unexpected part of the ceremony was over, the temple messenger, who had been spying on the Gathering through a carved slit high in the wall, climbed hastily down to the ground, wincing as he tried to force his stiff limbs to move quickly. This must be reported to his master at once!
In the other eleven temples, the main events of the evening werealso being discussed. When Herra had begun to prophesy, the watcher in the sky above had touched the master control that broadcast her words through all the farspeakers in the Twelve Claims. Thus Herra's prophecy had been heard clearly by those Sisters on duty in every temple on the planet, a planet they knew only as the world, but which the exploration teams, who had been circling it for nearly five standard years, called Sunrise, because the dawns were so beautiful, with at least one of the three moons always lingering to greet the rising sun.
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Chapter 3: DAVRED – THE SATELLITE
High above the cloud level of Sunrise's skies, a wheel-shaped mass of metal hovered in a position convenient for observing the Twelve Claims. Inside the satellite, life was comfortable enough, with artificial gravity, individual quarters and bio-hydroponic management and production areas.
Smaller satellites, uninhabited, circled above the two land masses on the other side of the planet, recording the weather patterns and monitoring activity there. It was just one of the many puzzles of Sunrise that nature had endowed one continent so well and the other two so poorly. There were no rich deposits of metal anywhere on Sunrise, though in the Twelve Claims there was enough for people's simple needs. The other two land masses supported little life of any sort, plan
t or vegetable, and none that could be classed as intelligent, even though one of them had a land link to the Twelve Claims. They were misty places, in parts swampy and sultry with thermal activity, and in other parts covered by great stretches of arid rock and desert.
When Davred Hollunby, on watch in the satellite's com-room, realised the significance of the happenings in Temple Tenebrak, he called for others of the exploration team to join him. As the ceremonies drew to a close, he threw a challenging look at his Exec Commander, the last to arrive. 'This time werecorded a prophecy. Incontrovertible proof of what the Sisters can do.'
'Only if it comes true,' Robler pointed out. 'Which we shan't know for many years.'
Mak frowned. 'How did that Elder Sister do that, Davred? That woman has never left her planet, the culture has no form of aerial transport, let alone space travel - so how can she know about other worlds? Or that we cal her world Sunrise?'
'Pure coincidence!' scoffed Robler.
Mak shook his head. 'Unlikely. Too many truths in those verses. She even seemed to know about the violence that's spreading throughout the Galactic Confederation.'
'That's only your interpretation of her words. The art of prophecy is to choose words that can mean all things to all listeners.'
QUEST Shannah Jay 16
Mak frowned and shook his head again. 'I don't think so. We'll have to agree to disagree on that until we obtain further information.'
Robler swung back to Davred. 'Perhaps you've been passing on forbidden information?'
Soo, watching them, shook her head in dismay. Robler did not even attempt to conceal his irritation with Davred nowadays, and Davred was glaring at the Exec in a most unprofessional manner.
'Of course I haven't, Robler.'
'Wel , if we're to take Herra's performance at face value, it would seem that your pets share your obsession, Davred,'
jeered Lenlin, who had also been in a strange mood lately. 'Or should I call it your Quest, as they do? Strange, isn't it?
The very same search for peace as obsesses you. And it's those savages who are to find the answer and save us all. You must have let something slip.'