Weight of the World

Chapter Twenty-Eight

—Tregaar—

An entire day but no luck in locating Raler. She had known it wasn't going to be easy, but she had hoped to, at least, figure out a way to contact him by now. Instead, Rhenna found she was just wandering aimlessly, dodging every Pathfinder she came across. There was always a chance that Tallis had survived the explosion in the sewers, and if she had lived, she had likely informed every soldier to be on the lookout for someone who liked like Rhenna. She couldn't risk being seen by a single soldier, and so, Rhenna kept a low profile as she tried to think of a way to contact Raler.

Coming around a corner, Rhenna slowed her steps. The street was crowded here, low murmurs traveling through the congestion as the people strained their necks to watch something ahead. Rhenna pushed her way through the crowd, careful not to draw attention to herself. Even before she reached the front, she realized what commanded their attention. Constructed in front of City Hall were four enormous looking pyres, upon which were four separate people bound to stakes as soldiers stood guard. Rhenna kept a few rows back as she watched what was unfolding. A priest stepped forward, his white robes pristine and embroidered with the symbol of the Path of Light. In his right hand he held a torch that was not burning with fire but white light instead. The crowd quieted with his approach.

"Good people of Tregaar, news to lighten your hearts," his voice echoed out clearly over the crowd. "I know each and every one of you grieves, as I grieve, for those killed in the vicious attack perpetrated by the sewer rats, Eclipse. We have suffered much in this last year. The loss of our Savior. The knowledge of widespread attack upon our faith. Terrorist groups attacking from within our own sanctuary, and a religious divide that threatens to tear our great city apart. We have suffered greatly, but we will survive. We will endure. We will thrive."

The people around her began to cheer and applaud the priest's message. Rhenna shifted uncomfortably.

"But today, we fight back. We tell the terrorists, the troublemakers, the nonbelievers, that Tregaar is no place for fear and violence. Today, we let all those who would stand in the way of our peace, that we will not be silenced. We will not cower. Before you here are four nonbelievers, followers of the Wolf, who seek to undermine the authority of our beloved Creator. Our Illustrious king will not suffer to let these animals roam our city, infecting our children. Know that from today, the king will be working tirelessly to remove these threats from every corner of our city. Today, we purify these lost souls so that they will not be condemned to eternal suffering. We purify them with the Creator's light so that they may find peace in the aetherial sea."

There was nothing she could do to stop him as he set the torch of light to the pyres one-by-one. Even if she rushed up there and managed to kill the priest and free the people, there were too many soldiers for her to outrun. She would be caught. The people would be recaptured, and they would be back where they were now. The powerless feeling was not something she liked, her hands balling into fists as the light swirled around each of the figures, engulfing them in white luminescence that made them scream and writhe. The light ate away every bit of flesh and bone, leaving nothing in its wake except a smoldering metal pillar. The crowd cheered and Rhenna turned away.

As she pushed her way through, she listened to people chanting for the Path of Light, for their support of Ardan and the Creator. She heard Eclipse cursed, people spitting as they began to talk about all the horrible things Eclipse had done since the incident at the Tomb of the Holy Light.

It made her heart sink to know how hated Eclipse was, how hated she ultimately was. As she pushed through the crowd, she kept her eyes downcast, keeping her mouth shut. Had she made the right choice joining Eclipse? Ardan was willing to execute people just for believing in something other than the Path of Light. He had conducted countless Purges, killing outsiders, unfaithful, nonhumans, and magic users by the droves. But no one around her seemed to care. Even worse, they seemed to thrive on his hatred of the different.