Maker of Fire

(Continued from installment 2.70 - Emily, Aybhas, Planting Season, 5th rot., 9th day)

More Coyn in the neighborhood appeared, the ones smart enough to look past Lisaykos' stern demeanor and listen to what she was saying. We spent some time explaining the changes in the law and how they offered better protection and rights for Coyn. Then we moved on. I did notice that three Coyn, two men and a woman, followed us at a distance. I thought they were merely curious but still wary. After all, Lisaykos is high priestess-sized, which is scary if you're not used to being around her. I would come to regret that assumption.

As we walked, I realized I was upset that the government, such as it was, had not spread the news about the new laws to the Coyn.

I concluded that the Cosm never even thought of doing that. They were too accustomed to thinking of Coyn as property. One doesn't need to tell property anything, after all. Moxsef looked like an excellent example of a Cosm who reacted to Coyn like they were objects or livestock rather than thinking, feeling human beings. It wasn't a malevolent or deliberate behavior because she had been raised that way. Her attitude reflected how she had been taught.

The barriers to emancipation and equality included more than just freeing the slaves. These included how Cosm thought about the Coyn as lesser, less intelligent, less capable beings. The Cosm of Foskos needed to start thinking of Coyn as worthy people. This would be hard to fix. It might take centuries. After all, look at how hard it had been for black people in the United States, who were still being persecuted and discriminated against a century and a half after they had been freed.

All this left me with another disturbing thought: that the Coyn of Foskos did not have any details concerning the coming emancipation. There was no system of bringing news to the Coyn populace of Foskos. This needed to change. I might need to attend those unsettling Convocation meetings more often to advocate for my people. Maybe I could get Aylem to help. Of all the Cosm I knew, she was the one who best understood the plight of the Coyn because of her memories of Earth. She knew what it was like to live without magic and had lived in a country without slavery. Her attempt to create an equal society at her Villa holding spoke volumes to me.

The irony of Aylem as an advocate for Coyn was ripe, given that she was the biggest of all the magic monsters that ruled this place. These were my thoughts as Lisaykos and I moved towards the chapel shrine.

We needed to jog one block to the north to get on the same street as the main entrance to the chapel shrine. We came upon a disturbing scene as we turned the corner. A work crew was removing the sand from a burnt residence building, but small patches of flame were erupting out of the sand. Some workers were coughing and looking woozy. All of them were backing away. The flames must have just started. How much calcium phosphide had been stuffed into these bombs?

I ran up to the woman who appeared to the crew boss and tugged on her coat, "Please, throw the sand back on the flames. The fire releases a poison gas."

Her hand came down and pushed me away, "Get out here. No matter how good your coat is, I don't take direction from a stinking Coyn. Gwahck!" She squawked as she clutched at her throat and was lifted into the air, her legs flailing as she struggled to breathe.

I turned to see a fire-eyed Lisaykos with the anger boiling off her, her hand tense and claw-like while gripping her crystal pendant.

"Lisaykos, put her down," I shouted, alarmed. The godmarks must have really messed with her brain.

"She has assaulted the sacred person of the prophet. She will die the burning death in the Great Cracks," Lisaykos said with more than just a touch of Voice magic, her intent to punish burning itself into everyone. I forced myself to ignore the compulsion, struggling for my next words. I could barely speak, so I chose my words for economy, not knowing how many I would be able to say.

"As the prophet, I order you to stop." As I said it, the compulsion vanished, and I took in a shuddering breath of relief. The crew chief was now on the ground next to me, gasping for breath but otherwise unharmed.

What happened next unnerved me. All twenty or so Cosm on the street, including Lisaykos, fell to their knees and made obeisance to the ground, praying hands and faces in the dirt of the unpaved street.

"I don't understand," I looked around at the trembling, prostrate bodies of gigantic Cosm kowtowing to me. "Someone, please explain this to me."

One nearby soot-smeared laborer lifted his head. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were afraid. "Great One, you are glowing, and little stars are circling your head, and your eyes...your eyes, they...they...Forgive me!" he cried as he slammed his face back into the dirt, whimpering when he saw the consternation on my face.

This was bad.

"Everyone has my leave to get up," I said as calmly as I could. "Lisaykos?"

She straightened up on her knees, sitting back on her heels. I was gobsmacked by the look of fear in her eyes. Lisaykos was afraid? Of me? Was this huge, insanely powerful mage who could squash me with a thought afraid of me? The world was feeling upside down. What had the gods done to me today? This was beginning to unnerve me.

Lisaykos took a breath and composed herself, saying, "When you invoked your authority as the prophet, your aura and godmarks surged with unreal intensity. Every Cosm can see them right now, regardless of how little magic they may have."

Just at this moment, I finally and completely believed what Kayseo had told me back in Truvos on the day of the trial: that I could command the King to take his army and kill every Impotuan if I desired. I now knew what she said was true, every word. What a terrifying power this was.

"Great One," Lisaykos now looked uncertain, "the crew boss did assault you. You know what the law recommends. You must allow us to make an example of her. I can not permit anyone to harm you."

"Yes, I know exactly what the new law says," I retorted, trying not to snap at this unsettled Lisaykos who couldn't help herself from protecting me today. "According to the current manual of case law for lords, justiciars, and other judges, this is a clear case of lack of intent. She did not intend to harm me. Her push was not forceful. She simply moved me back as a warning. She also had no knowledge that I was a sacred person. I'm sure this will be the case if a justicar casts compulsion on her."

"But you're a sacred person," Lisaykos began. "You—"

"No," I barked. "Intent matters!"

That did not have my desired result. All the Cosm present fell back onto their knees and planted their faces back into the dirt, including Lisaykos. It was now clear that I needed to be careful today with how I spoke to Cosm.

First things were first. "Crew boss, get your people off the sand and away from those flames. Everyone should stand upwind for now. Lisaykos, can you please mindcast the garrison and have a mounted officer with good mind's hand dump some dry sand, and I mean dry, on these flames."

I waited while Lisaykos tranced to do her mindcasting. When her eyes returned to being fully opened, I continued, "We should get a wagon to take these workers to the Healing Shrine. Please cast stasis on everyone who was moving the sand, Lisaykos. The effects of phosphine poisoning gets worse with time. Every worker who was on the sand will need to be examined for poisoning."

While Lisaykos cast stasis on the workers, the few crew members who were not affected blocked the street off. Guards began to arrive to help. Soon, a mounted guard officer on a griffin dumped more sand on the building, and the immediate danger was over. I was upset because I thought the phosphine gas would have dissipated by now.

I approached the guard officer who was now in charge of the scene and asked her to tell the garrison to stop all the clean-up of sand throughout the city for the time being.

Lisaykos overheard me. She walked over, saying, "Emily, do you know how to fix this poisonous fire problem?"

"It's easy," I shrugged. "I figured it out a few breaths ago. We ask Aylem to make a few tuns of hydrogen peroxide and soak the sand with it before it gets removed."

"Emily, dearest," Lisaykos picked me up and sat me on her arm, "what is hydrogen peroxide?"

"I'll explain later." I shook my head.

"Emily, dear heart," Lisaykos sighed, "we still need to resolve matter of the assault on you."

"Oh, Surd save us!" I grumped. "Call the crew boss over, please."

"There was an assault on you?" The silverhair officer looked suddenly angry. These damn godmarks were getting out of hand. The lady looked ready to murder the crew boss right then and there.

"It was not an intentional crime, Lieutenant," I said in a hurry.

"But—"

"Do not force me to invoke my authority as a prophet today, Lieutenant." I tried not to feel too angry, wary of the consequences. "This is my command," I said calmly.

"Your will, Great One." She turned and brought the scared crew boss over.

"What's your name?" I asked, smiling and trying to look non-threatening.

"Kargilkos, Great One."

"Do you understand that law allows me to decree any punishment I desire because I am a sacred person?"

"I do, Great One." The poor lady looked even more frightened at my words.

"The new law stipulates that the crime of physical assault on a Coyn by a Cosm where no injury occurred is a punishment of ten strikes of the rod in public and a fine of 50 silver. This will be your punishment because I have determined you had no intent to do harm, and you did not know I was a sacred person. Lisaykos, as a High Priestess, you are my witness that this is my judgement of Kirgilkos. Please issue a sealed writ for me. Lieutenant, I will leave arrangements for Kargilkos' punishment to you."

Kargilkos collapsed to her knees and put her face on the ground, "Thank you, Great One, for sparing me from a terrible death."

I had no words in reply to such pitiful gratitude. I looked at Lisaykos and leaned against her side, feeling weary at heart, "Let's get to the chapel shrine. I want to find Gerta. She's a good friend of Tom's."

Lisaykos nodded and started walking. "You are too lenient, Emily dear. You should have made an example of her." I could feel her frown without having to look up at her.

"No, the law is too severe in my considered opinion," I sighed. "I am a revelator of Mugash, and Mugash approves of mercy."

(Continued in installment 2.72)