Manifestation: the Coming Dark/Chapter 5

The meeting at Jano's house went smoothly, though I learned little I did not already know. Drakel culture was traditionally a strict caste system. At the upper rung were the Citizens, Drakel who were members of the K'eld society. Citizens served in all capacities of Drakel life but were specifically separated from the lower castes by their access to the K'eld. Below the Citizens were the De'me'thar. De'me'thar were denied life in the K'eld because sometime in their pasts, their ancestors had done something to cause their eviction from the K'eld. Drakel law was somewhat harsh in this regard: not only was the offender punished, but so was his family. It was a somewhat effective deterrent but the large number of De'me'thar living outside the city walls suggested it was far from a foolproof mechanism of crime prevention. Those truly dedicated to causing harm often had little concern for themselves, no less their blood relatives.

The only way to escape from being a De'me'thar was to become a T'palo or a Bond Servant. If one became a Bond Servant, they had to forsake their family name all together to take a new identity inside the K'eld and form new families there. The act of becoming a T'palo was the only one that redeemed a De'me'thar nuclear family. Even marriage to a Citizen could not redeem a De'me'thar; on the contrary, such a marriage caused the Citizen's family to become De'me'thar instead. Such marriages had occurred but almost always with unpleasant effects.

Even below the De'me'thar in Drakel society were those Drakel who abandoned Drakel tradition to take allegiance to one of the Elemental Lords. The Drakel society was built upon the concept of elemental unity and taking the side of a single Lord was completely against Drakel culture. In the ancient past, when this universalism was first established, many Drakel had rejected it and they became the elemental casters. All of the Elemental Lords had Drakel in their service, though, for historical reasons, Water Casters were the most numerous.

King Tralin had been a Drakel T'palo and Kithia and Shirian had moved into the K'eld even as Tralin was denied return to serve in his diplomatic capacity. When Draynor died, Tralin had consumed Metanoia, a strong magical potion capable of converting life energy to magical energy, in order to avenge his death. The potent magical transformation caused Tralin's body to literally attack itself in order to scavenge and maintain its supply of magical energy. He had nearly died from the strain. I cannot say what Tralin experienced in that dark sea, but when he regained consciousness, he had been changed. By the time we had returned to Deren from Stone Deep, in Vandar, he had announced that he had taken up service as a communicant of the Spirit Lord, a primal deity revered as the creator.

The announcement was confusing to many, for the Spirit Lord was not known to take communicants or to have an active church. In fact, outside the elemental temples, it was little known that the pantheon contained another deity. When Tralin made it known to the Drakel that he was beholden to a temple, they sought to act on their ancient customs and oust Kithia and Shirian from the city. When the king opposed them, they sought to kill him. Somehow, Tralin had come by an ancient artifact that inverted magic upon its caster and several had died in his acquisition of the K'eld. Subsequently, Tralin had opened the city gates and officially abolished the restrictions on the De'me'thar and the elemental casters.

Unfortunately, even in the temple, we did not have the knowledge of the Drakel, for if we did, we might have behaved very differently long before the destructive wars that brought us to the point where Tralin took the Drakel kingdom by force. The Drakel knew what only a few of the powers' highest communicants knew: that there was yet another deity, a part of creation yet opposed to it. The few communicants that knew of him referred to him as the Devourer, for the primal evil's purpose was nothing less than the utter destruction of our reality. His appetite was vast. The Drakel referred to him as the Uncreator for they viewed him as the natural antithesis to creation. The Drakel viewed him in an analytical and predictable fashion, a natural force.

It was because of the Drakel view that they sought artifacts in the depths. They believed that with these artifacts, they could influence the course of the Uncreator, and resist him. There were even Drakel willing to use such artifacts to appease him. They would join his service in order to avoid their own destruction.

I could not tell that such a course of action would serve the Drakel for long. The Devourer had shown that he considered his many pawns to be expendable, and, in the end, they too were part of creation and they too would be destroyed.

"It would seem, then, that we are moving in the right direction," I said, tearing my attention away from an elaborately woven tapestry made from some artificially synthesized material the likes of which I had never seen. "Certainly, only a show of unification can resist the Devourer, a unified force."

"Unfortunately," Jano said with a glance toward Kithia, "the councilors that Tralin evicted from the city are not the only people that resist Deren's rule of the K'eld and the abolishment of the caste system."

"Prejudices die slowly," Kithia said.

"Undoubtedly, but we can work with the Citizens. They may resist the De'me'thar now, but they will become convinced in time..."

"Well, it is not only the citizens who resist," Jano said. "Some among the De'me'thar fight us as well."

I considered this announcement with confusion.

"Why would the De'me'thar object to being liberated from millennia of oppression? Tralin should be a hero to them."

"You're thinking like a Vandarian," Jano said, looking at me pointedly, "and worse, you are not even considering our own experiences. As often as we were lauded as heroes by those we 'freed from the bonds of oppression', we were cursed for destroying a society and a way of life."

"But the De'me'thar cannot want to remain in exile, especially not when humans are being granted what they are denied."

"The De'me'thar have often dealt with humans," Kithia responded. "In fact, they generally get along with the humans better than any of the other castes among the Kruatha'ri. The Citizens live aloof from the world and the Casters in fear and mistrust. Even so, my husband's act, had it been only to grant the De'me'thar access to the K'eld, might have classified him as a hero. In fact, many of the liberal Kruatha'ri in all of the castes do. However, my husband has done more. He has lifted the ban on the casters."

"They oppose the basic right of the individual to worship as they wish?"

"No. They oppose the idea that those who serve the Lords bring their divide into the K'eld."

"Then they DO deny them their rights," I snapped angrily, "as surely as if they oppressed them directly. They make them choose between home and deity."

"Tell me," Kithia said patiently, "would it be right for an Earth Communicant or, even more pointedly, since you are a servant of the Water Lord, an Energy Communicant to enter your temple's holy space and do worship to their god there?"

"No. They have their own temples."

"I can see where this is leading," Jano said. "I suspect Darin will not like the implication."

"Go on," I said to Kithia, giving Jano a pointed look.

"So you deny them the freedom to choose their faith in your temple..."

"That's not the same!" I responded. "The temple proper provides for worship of all of the Lords, and sets sanctuaries aside for that worship. It does not segregate them."

"Think about what you just said," Jano said, and I realized with a sinking heart that he took Kithia's side as well.

"The temple does segregate them," Kithia said. "In the temple I may worship anyone, but in your holy space I may worship only your god."

I had a hard time dealing with her sharp logic. Did I think the temples should be run willy-nilly without any sacred space? No! Yet I could not find the flaw in her comparison.

"Tell me," she continued, "do you provide space for those who do not follow one of the Lords to worship together?"

"That's crazy," I said feeling on more solid ground and realizing what bothered me about Kithia's comparison at the same time. "Why provide religious space for those who hold no religion? That is the problem. We are speaking about freedom of religion. Yes, the temple does divide but not to restrict rights, but to provide a space for those who wish to worship in peace. It is not about oppression, it is about freedom."

"That is your problem, then," Kithia said. "You do not understand the K'eld culture or the De'me'thar. You speak of oppression, of our exclusions, as if they were arbitrary secular civil law. I tell you that for many, they are cornerstones of Drakel faith. Tralin himself was an open proponent of the unification of the temple. We serve not one god, but the Pantheon entire. We believe that this is how we were meant to worship, and that so long as division exists, the culture is doomed to division and perhaps even destruction as well."

"If you feel this way," I asked, "why do you support what Tralin has done so openly?"

"Because he is my husband and I know and trust him, and because I recognize several key facts. First, we are not unifying by forcing separation, but instead it enforces the strained and pronounced. Second, history tells us the choice was a case of oppression. The majority of the first council felt one way and they forced their position on their brethren. Those who would not agree they forced out of society. Finally, time is running out and strength is in the numbers..."

"If you see this, then why don't they?"

"As I said, Tralin is my husband and even more pointedly I am among the liberal-minded. There are those among the Citizens and the De'me'thar who believe firmly that all communicants are servants of the Uncreator. Those that are quite assured that the Casters' separation will lead to total destruction."

"Tralin already broke tradition several times before he became king," Jano said. "In declaring himself a communicant, he also broke Drakel law and customs. He betrayed his honor-bound job as T'palo. One of the fears that drive the Kruatha'ri, as the Drakel refer to themselves, is that if dissension is allowed close, it will make bid to take over."

"Perhaps," I said bitterly, "because they gained control by a force of power."

"Yes," Kithia said, "that may have a driving impact. That and observing how the Uncreator has used division before."

"And now since Tralin has taken the K'eld by power, their fear is realized."

"I think you get it," Jano said.

"And the Casters, what do they feel?"

"Tralin's family comes from the Casters," Kithia said, "and he has advanced their position. At the moment, they look upon it with great favor. Yet they do not trust the Citizens or the humans. So the situation could degrade at any time."

"Lovely," I sighed. "So, essentially, I had better watch my back, especially since I am a communicant of the Water Lord myself."

"You need to be aware."

"The Casters represent another problem," Jano added, looking at me pointedly. "In their religious pursuits, many of them serve other lords as well."

I considered this and recognized it as the truth. Drakel Fire Mages had been seen fighting in the army of Akriloth, the great Fire Dragon. Worse, some Drakel voiced openly the idea of buying the Uncreator favor if they had something that he would want. This fact alone meant there were likely already servants of the Devourer among the Drakel.

"Xilar," I said.

"It is indeed possible that people like Xilar exist," Kithia expressed. "After all, Xilar was one of the greatest Drakel minds of his day."

Xilar was a Drakel who came to power right at the first rise of the Devourer. The Devourer brought Xilar into his service by preaching racial and elemental discord. The popular ideas that the elements were at war largely found truth in the words of Xilar. The Casters were forced to defend their faith and themselves and this led to growing suspicion and darkness.

"Very well, so I shall remain vigilant. What needs my attention...?"

Over the next several days, much of my duties as governor involved my public appearance, the making of proclamations, signing commands into law, and meeting notable members of all of the castes. While I sensed some tension, my reception was generally warm. On the fifth day, I was told that I needed to seriously consider reopening the Judicial Court so I could hear and rule on civil and criminal complaints.

"The people need to see you in action," Kithia said, "to realize you do not just speak words".

"You might also consider making a public offering," Jano added after she had left. "Open your estate before the masses next week. Invite all sides; it will allow you to observe them more closely. Make it a party for the queen before she leaves for Deren."

Much of the next two days were spent in civil court. Many of the complaints were decidedly straightforward and easy to decide. The nature of Drakel culture made civil offenses, and criminal ones for that matter, quite difficult to get away with. Jano and Kithia advised me on appropriate recourses.

My first case involved the destruction of property. A group of young Drakel had thrown a ball through a glass window. The scarcity of glass made it quite impossible for them to pay for the debt. After deliberation, I found that being young adults, they clearly lacked the resources to pay themselves but they but they certainly were of age to work the damages off. In another circumstance, I might have directed the parents to divide the costs. In this case, I saw an opportunity. I paid the fees myself with speed and directed the defendants to help staff my estate for the upcoming party.

Throughout that day and the next, most of the cases went by without notice, though I managed to cover the debts of several other individuals and gain their services in exchange. There was only one criminal case and it involved a gang of younger males who broke up an eating establishment.

"Your records speak for themselves, gentlemen," I said coolly. "I have two options: expel you through the west gate or the choice I prefer, which is to enlist you as my bond servants. I will pay for the damages and you will remain in my employ indefinitely. "

Jano had his doubts, but the youth agreed. I knew all about reformations of character and I was not about to give them up as a lost cause. Besides, it allowed me to keep a close eye on their behavior.