(A dark cell. Lilea sits on the floor in meditation, Atuyo lies asleep on the floor. Dilasis comes in.)
DILASIS:
One last vision, oh prophetess of wisdom?
Or is this to Mirisel a prayer?
Quite a disappointment then awaits you,
For the Wisest Goddess cannot hear
Your plea, you are alone here in Kaveyan,
For Mirisel has ne'er had power here.
The god we worship is the great Laoa
Who will be your master soon, my dear.
(Sees Lilea's frightened face)
Oh yes, you are promised to Laoa,
As sacrifice and servant all in one.
LILEA:
Alas, I see that I am truly beaten.
But tell me, what has great Laoa done?
To be thus honoured, with a human servant...
DILASIS:
He came to our aid, he led astray
The forces of Marthala, all your soldiers,
To a valley, dark and far away.
(He laughs)
Do you see now the power of Kaveyan?
We always were superior by far
To all the other peoples in Chamacha.
No other could have ever won this war!
You will be burned, Lilea, on a flaming pyre,
And your death will be a sign to all:
Try to strike the city of Kaveyan,
And you and all you love will surely fall!
(He turns to leave. Lilea stands up and points at him.)
LILEA:
(With strange and terrible gestures)
By all the winds and weathers,
By the winter sky so cold,
I lay upon you curses,
Curses now threefold:
I curse you once, that oak and iron will burn you to your soul,
I curse you twice, that food and drink will never make you whole,
I curse you thrice, that none hereafter will ever speak your name!
This is my curse, so bear it now,
For all your living days.
Emat eri!
(Dilasis stumbles, fearful, away from her, a hand to his heart. He flees from the dungeon.)
YOU ARE READING
The Iveni Saga
FantasyIs it really ppossible to stay truly neutral? And is neutrality something you can afford in a war? An epic, written in verse, tells the tale of two cities, intertwined by fate... The city-states of Marthala and Kaveyan have lived peacefully side by...
