Quest

by Shannah Jay

  without male protectors; little girls were stopped by their parents from playing outside; and families found that they had to protect their older daughters most carefully from Those of the Serpent. Unless a woman was visibly of the Serpent, as shown by her dress, she was considered fair game. Bands of young men not only roamed the streets of the poorer quarters nowadays, but had started attacking the homes of those known to be sympathetic to the Sisterhood. Devout followers of the Serpent could obtain tokens from the Servants of the shrines, which would protect their persons and their homes; others were at risk every time they went out. Benner's guards just stood by and watched, making no attempt to help the victims. If anyone sought justice against their attackers, Benner's judges refused to convict Those of the Serpent, whatever their crimes.

  A few months after Davred's conversation with Soo, Herra summoned her Sisters to a special Gathering in the Hall of the God. After the ceremony, which seemed to carry with it undertones of sorrow, she stood on the steps below the statue of the God.

  'Dear Sisters, we must now begin preparations to enter stasis,' she said quietly. 'All the other temples lie in its protection, and we cannot expose Temple Tenebrak to any more danger.'

  A wave of shock ran around the hal , and with it, murmurs and exclamations. Women clutched one another or sobbed openly.

  Herra waited quietly for the murmuring to die down before continuing. 'As most of you know, the God has brought down a stasis cube to protect us, but although the device locks our enemies outside, it also locks inside those it shelters until it can be switched off. I therefore intend to give you free choice whether you stay here, or leave. But if you go out into the community, you must leave your Sisters' robes behind.'

  She bowed her head for a moment, then looked up with tears in her eyes. 'Let it be written in the Archives, my Sisters! This time shall be known as the Great Diaspora. Never, in all the long years of our recorded history, have our enemies so beset us. Never has Evil gained such a hold on our world. But we shal prevail, as we always have. You must never doubt that.

  In every time of trouble our Brother, the God of our Quest, has sent us help, and he has not failed us this time.

  Discord shall be brought to an end with the help of Lord Davred, beloved Manifestation of the God. This I know, for the God has spoken within me. But it wil be a long and hard struggle and many of us won’t live to see its end.'

  She looked at the sparse ranks of sobbing novices with the greatest sorrow, for in them lay the Sisterhood's hopes for the future. Few girls had been offered for Choosing in recent years, and those mainly at secret ceremonies. As a result, over three-quarters of the novices' rows were empty. The Sisters in the front rows bowed their heads or tried to dissipate their grief and anger by running through a Discipline, but their sorrow was still a tangible thing.

  The following weeks were fil ed with unrest. The Sisters stayed mainly inside the temple, going out only in disguise, some of them never to return as they dispersed to places of refuge. One group of Sisters and some of the more devoted families from the city went out to found a new settlement south of Tenebron. They would brave the wildwoods in a region which no one had ever managed to tame.

  'Why has no one been able to settle that part of our land, Elder Sister?' asked one of the men.

  'No one knows. It's one of the great mysteries. People setting off in that direction find themselves walking round in circles and returning to their starting point.'

  'If that happens, then we'll make our way westwards,' said the Sister to whom he was married. 'We'll not return to the rule of the Serpent.'

  'May our Brother go with you,' murmured Herra. 'And may your path be straight.'

  'Straight or crooked, it can’t be worse than staying here,' one of the other Sisters said. 'Better to perish free than to give up all we believe in.'

  As the biennial Festival of the Great Serpent approached, crowds began to gather in the city, and it was hoped that those who were to remain in the temple could enter stasis before the festival orgies began. This was not to be. Al through the previous week, refugees from the city had come stumbling into the temple by side gates or had been smuggled in through hidden entrances, guided by Sisters who still lived outside. These people had to be taken to safety QUEST Shannah Jay 109

  and that further delayed the plans to enter stasis.

  On the day of the festival itself, before the sky was fully light, crowds gathered in the streets around the temple, and it became clear that mischief of some sort was planned.

  At first the rioters amused themselves by smashing the windows of the houses of known supporters of the Sisterhood. Slogans were daubed on wal s decrying 'perverted old hags' and 'sick whores who prey upon decent young women'. Crude pictures accompanied them showing what would happen to any Sister caught that day. The pictures were spattered with the real blood of the day's first victims.

  Anyone found on the streets was either drawn into the mob to join the depredations, or severely beaten or even torn to pieces, according to the whim of the leaders who claimed to 'know Sister-loving-ghouls' by their auras. There was no middle ground, no staying aloof. People were either of the Serpent or of the enemy.

  The mob leaders were, of course, Initiates of the Inner shrine. Benner had orchestrated the violence as carefully as any campaign in an outright war. Incense burned thickly at every street corner and loyal followers of the Serpent carried sticks of it. Black robes and serpent staffs were everywhere. Servants of the shrine had been brought into the city from all over the claim to help stir up the turmoil.

  All day long the womenfolk of families accused of having even the remotest connection with the Sisterhood were dragged from their homes and hiding places and driven to the shrines in carts for the Great Sacrifice. Jeering onlookers pelted them with refuse, stones and even broken shards of glass, howling with glee when they drew blood. At the shrines, the victims were dragged inside and men queued up to make sacrifice to the Serpent. To spice the entertainment, the women were also publicly lashed or tortured.

  The first death in a shrine occurred around mid-morning. An older woman of known frailty cheated her captors by dying under the whip. This incident seemed only to inflame the worshippers and spur them on to further savageries.

  Within Temple Tenebrak order still prevailed, and there was a quiet bustle of last-minute preparations. Katia and Davred helped to tend the last of the refugees, under the direction of Lara. It wasn’t possible to heal everyone - no Sister would have had the inner forces necessary to heal so many at once - therefore the wounded could only have their outer hurts tended and be offered refreshments or clean clothing before being helped on their way. Most were numb with shock or sunk in grief.

  It was a problem now to know where to send them. In desperation, Herra had them guided to the old crèche, where there was enough equipment hidden to help them found another settlement deep in the wildwoods far to the west.

  Lara's assistant, Diazann, went with them, which further weakened the ranks of those able to care for refugees.

  The last group of Sisters who had chosen to live outside left through the subterranean passages at mid-morning.

  They were led blindfold through the passages by two older Sisters who were to return to the temple, and the blindfolds were not removed until they were a long way from the tunnel entrances, so that they would not be able to reveal where the secret passageways were located. The wards set by the builders of these tunnels were still as strong as ever and, even if the passageways were found, intruders would soon run into a wal of stasis before they got anywhere near the temple itself.

  Herra, who was in charge of these operations, was showing signs of severe exhaustion by now, but refused to rest.

  Everyone was worried about her. She had given too much of herself in the last year, disregarding her age and forcing others to do the same. Indeed, without her to drive them, morale could not have been kept up or the necessary preparations made so smoothly.


  Until almost the last moment, Katia continued to direct the few novices who had chosen to remain inside. The girls became more and more subdued as the sense of being under siege increased. Katia and Davred worked with their usual quiet competence, directing the girls to gather the equipment necessary for their own escape. As Key Figures, they couldn’t take shelter in stasis. Not even Herra was quite sure what Katia and Davred's future role in the Quest was going to be, but it was presumed that, through them, an end to Discord would somehow be brought about. Or so the prophecy said.

  Siri-Soo had been sent out to a foster-mother in a new settlement several weeks previously, and although the parting had grieved Katia, she knew it was the best hope her daughter had of surviving. Many Sisters were unable to raise their QUEST Shannah Jay 110

  own children and it was a great sadness to them. Fortunately, Katia and Davred had been kept extremely busy since Siri-Soo left, which helped ease the pangs of separation a little.

  Al through that dreadful day the stasis cube stood ready in the Chamber of the God, a matt black cube so small it hardly seemed possible for such a device to save the whole temple and still everyone within a wide radius. Davred would activate it as they left. The Sisters on duty eyed it with awe and refrained from touching it.

  By early afternoon enough momentum had been generated in the city outside for the mob to be turned on Temple Tenebrak itself. Katia, taking a much-needed rest, joined Davred in one of the lookouts hidden in the carvings of the outer walls. She shivered at the sight of the hate-filled faces below them.

  'Why?'

  Davred put his arm around her. 'Benner's been working towards this for a long time. He sees the Sisterhood as a threat to his power. It's very easy to generate hatred among the ignorant.'

  'That's not quite what I meant. Why would anyone want to behave like this?'

  'Who knows why anyone would wish to follow such a path?'

  She stared down. 'I wonder where the women are, Davred. Are they waiting eagerly at home for the violence to destroy us, or shivering behind locked doors. And what about the women of the poorfolk? They're probably cowering in cellars.'

  'Those of the Serpent keep their own women safely locked away. Such seclusion has been known occasionally on other planets colonised in the early days. There was even one planet where the men were kept locked away, because for some reason fewer boy children survived. It's never lasted, though. Once people have access to education and learn to control their own lives, they usually begin to live more freely.'

  'We would call it learning to achieve a better balance,' said Katia quietly.

  'As for the women of the poorfolk, I pray they’ve found safe refuge somewhere.'

  They watched the faces surge to and fro, then Katia said softly, 'I hope our Sisters out there have also found safe hiding places. May our Brother look down upon them.'

  'May he protect us all,' echoed Davred. 'And if I am indeed his Manifestation, may he guide me along the next steps of my path, so that I may help our people to find peace.'

  ' If! Surely you don't still doubt that, my Davred?'

  'I doubt only my own adequacy. How can I not? I'm still so ignorant of your ways, still a novice in so many of the Disciplines.'

  'I have no doubts about your destiny, my Davred. I can sense the God within you.' She caressed his face briefly, and he kissed her hand as it touched his lips. But the noise from below beat upwards and prevented any further demonstration of affection. Katia shivered and gazed anxiously down at the screaming twisted faces. 'Will the gates hold?'

  'For long enough, I think. I'd love to analyse that metal. It looks like bronze, but it's not. It's something far stronger.

  When I activate the stasis cube, some of those howling maniacs will be trapped in its field. That should provide a salutary lesson for the rest.'

  'Will they still be visible, then?'

  'Oh, yes, completely visible. You can't see the stasis at al , but you can feel it if you try to enter a stasis zone.

  Remember how the birds bounced off the stasis protection around my lifeship? The sight of those trapped will terrify the ones left outside. They deserve to be terrified, too.'

  'Don't be glad of that, my Davred. They also have their lives to live. We have no right to take their freedom away from them.'

  'Yet they try to take ours!'

  QUEST Shannah Jay 111

  'They know no better. They've strayed from the Path of Wisdom.'

  They turned by unspoken agreement and made their way back down to the main courtyard, pausing briefly to look at the main gates from ground level. The gates were twice Davred's height, made of the hard wood of the jarulan tree, and they were clad on the outside with burnished bronze-like metal. The secret of this metal had been given to the Sisterhood by L-Sher-Nsh, the Fourth Manifestation of the God, during another Age of Discord. But the metal hadn’t been put to the test until today, because Temple Tenebrak itself had never been attacked.

  The metal was proving its worth now, however. Although stones had been flung at the gates all day long, the shining surface was unmarked. It was the walls around the entrance which had suffered, as stones ricocheted off them. Every bit of damage to the priceless carvings had been cheered loudly and was fol owed by further volleys of stones and other projectiles.

  As the afternoon passed, fresh contingents of wild-eyed men from the surrounding villages, joined the besiegers, egging them on to more mischief. The mob surged backwards and forwards, dashing itself in futile fury against the massive grey walls, and shrieking threats and defiance at the Sisters inside. The howling rose in volume and pitch, a constant chorus of dementia. The ululations grated on the nerves of those still left in the temple. From time to time a Sister would pause to run through a minor Discipline of Relaxation before returning stoical y to her duties. Even Herra was obliged to stop at regular intervals to discharge her tension.

  The howling was punctuated by the screams of an occasional victim, some of whom were dragged up to the temple and tortured at its gates. At one stage Lara abruptly left the child she was tending, to run up to the top of one of the lookout towers. She stood in the shadows as the mob below her started tearing a woman to pieces, rather than just beating her and dragging her off to a shrine. With tears coursing down her cheeks, Lara made a complicated series of gestures. The screams cut off abruptly, and as the victim's torn body relaxed into the welcome arms of death, Lara staggered backwards, shaking.

  'Are you all right?' asked Davred, who had followed her quietly. He put his arm round her shoulders.

  She took a few deep breaths and gave him a wan smile. 'I shall be. That poor woman's mind was beyond repair and the one directing her torture was vile beyond belief. I couldn’t let such terrible anguish continue. But it's very hard to kill someone, even as an act of mercy.'

  Davred helped her down the steps and handed her over to one of the other Sisters with instructions that she rest for a while.

  Cheral came to stand beside him. 'Lara can't take much more of this. None of us can.'

  Davred looked through her as if she did not exist, and when he spoke, it was to himself. ' One day, the God will help me put an end to this mass insanity, and if I must give my life to help do that, then I shall, and gladly. ' His eyes were as dark as ice within a cave and his face was set in grim lines that added decades to his age.

  Cheral watched him carefully, but he spoke no more, and gradually his face relaxed into its normal gentle expression.

  'I think, Lord Davred,' she said after a while, 'that you have just spoken a prophecy.'

  'I've made a solemn promise, Cheral, and I shall keep it. The world on which I grew up and learned so much useless knowledge didn’t teach me about Evil like that which surrounds us, nor did it give me a true purpose in life. But now that I've found my path, I shall follow it to the end.'

  Afterwards Cheral slipped down to the Archive Cellars to scribble his words in the daybook.

  A little later Herra mounted the
steps below the statue and clapped her hands to gain their attention. The noise echoed forlornly in the near-empty hall. 'It will soon be time,' she announced, 'so I shall speak my farewells. I think I shall not see most of you again.' One of the novices sobbed aloud, and this day no one chided her for her lack of self-control.

  The gong was beaten and all who dared leave their posts did so. In a very quiet voice, but one which carried clearly, Herra bade them say farewell to each other. Then she turned to Davred. 'Bring out the device, Lord Davred. We shall set it at the feet of the God, so that he may guard our sleep.'

  QUEST Shannah Jay 112

  ' Our sleep?'

  'I've decided to stay here.'

  He drew her to one side. 'Herra, you can't stay! We need your help outside, in the Quest!'

  'My powers are failing again, Lord Davred - failing daily. I daren’t try for another Renewal so soon after the last.

  And I can sense no guidance from the God as to what I should do. Always, before, I have known my path, or at least known how to wait in confidence for our Brother's guidance.'

  It was the first time he’d seen her so near to despair. 'Elder Sister . . . ' he began.

  She shook her head stubbornly. 'I shall be but a hindrance to you all. I’ll help most by staying here.'

  Davred stood motionless, letting the God speak within him, as she had taught him, then he shook his head. 'No! In that you're wrong, Herra. I'm sure of it.'

  'The future lies with you and Katia, Lord. I shal keep to my decision and stay here.'

  'I won't let you.'

  She was stung out of her misery. 'You dare not try to stop me! And you cannot.'

  'I can certainly try. You know that I have a Gift for some of the Compulsions, Herra.'

  'You haven't the power to compel me!' She glared at him. 'And I forbid you even to try! I am still Elder Sister of this temple.'

  Katia stepped forward to join them. 'Davred will not be alone in the attempt.'