Israphael

[Istvan]

Temples always seemed to Istvan an anathema to the proper worship of the All-Mother. She was omnipresent and all-powerful; the idea that she required a mere building for the prayer and sacrifices of her faithful to be efficacious was ridiculous. It certainly hadn?t helped the area?s former inhabitants. The otter shivered at the thought of the unconsecrated dead in the village below, crumbling skeletons sprawled in poses just discernible enough to be chilling. He couldn?t help but imagine himself or his comrades added to the macabre tableau. That was a future that he would resist to the very last drop of his blood.

It was most definitely not the type of place which he would have chosen to wander through alone, yet now he found himself doing just that. It was through his own fault that it had come to this, however. He and Zevka had been so engrossed in their work that they did not notice the Mistress of Spirits slipping off on her own, and Istvan immediately volunteered to search for her while the pine marten continued her puzzling efforts. The Mother had given Zevka a brain far more adapted to that sort of thing than his, anyway.

?Like this??

He quickened his steps in response to the familiar quiet voice that floated down the corridor. Something about its dreamy, flat tone worried him. But he did not expect the scene that greeted him when he discovered the source of that seemingly innocent question. Nothing could have prepared him for it, not his seasons in the Guard and the innumerable crime scenes he could never forget, not even a lifetime of service to the faith and the less savory duties that entailed.

Nyika sat on a rotted chair beside a dirty, cracked mirror, her head turned slightly, as if she were listening to somebeast. In her paw she clutched the knife given to her by Risk. She...

She was?

?Oh, I see. And then down the chest?" The knife sliced through fur and flesh, continuing the jagged, grisly line that began around her eye and down her neck, spilling a curtain of blood that poured over her body. Despite the horrible nature of the scene, Istvan found he could not tear his eyes away.

The knife slipped as she pulled the blade down her sternum, her paw too confident. She doubled over in pain, gasping. ?Miaow! I think ? I think that was too much. No, I?m fine, I?m fine.? She was panting as she shook her head and winced as the cut that ran down her neck pulled wider apart. She hissed. ?No, it?s all right. I just ? I need to stop ? for a while.?

She looked at the knife as if seeing it for the first time, her breaths coming quick and short while a deep rumbling purr echoed off the walls. Then she turned to the mirror, admiring her design. The entire left side of her face was coated in blood, and Istvan watched as her eye blinked open, her iris a golden color that seemed like a jewel in a sea of crimson.

?It?s not perfect.? She frowned. ?It?s hard, and I?ve never done this before. I?m not experienced like you. I can correct it, once it?s healed a little. Connect the lines, make them smoother?? She traced the idea with the blade of Risk?s knife.

?And down the arm, right?? The blade picked up at her neck, slicing a new path that broke from the line down her neck to her shoulder. Once past the shoulder blade the knife stopped and her pupil grew large, engulfing the golden iris and turning it into a dark, black pit.

?Wait a minute, I know what this is, but... it?s backwards. I?ve been drawing it backwards!? A deep moan echoed off the walls of the little room. ?Oh no, what have I done? How could I have let this happen? It?s ruined! I can?t ? I can?t ? I don?t ? What do I do? What have I done?? Nyika was in tears, her whole body shaking as she realized the enormity of her error. ?I?ve ruined it. I?ve ruined it! I can?t fix it now! What am I supposed to do! You didn?t notice?? She was screaming now, pointing with the bloody knife at an unseen presence. ?You didn?t know? Of course not! You can?t even write! I?m such an idiot. I can?t believe this. I can?t believe this. I?ve ruined it. I can?t fix it.?

?I have to keep going. I have to finish it.?

With a furious glint in her eyes, she took the blade and resumed her ghastly task, slicing down her arm, hard and merciless and deep. Blood poured from the wound. Nyika rocked in her seat, watching the blood drain and realizing the gravity of what she had just done.

?Oh, no,? she said. She tried to hold the wound closed and blood poured over her paw. ?I think that was too deep. I ? I have to stop. I can?t do this any longer.?

The sacred crimson dripped off her paw and onto the chamber floor into a wide, creeping blot that approached the boots of the petrified otter. Istvan?s legs went weak. They buckled, and his knees splashed in the macabre puddle. He cursed the weakness of his body. He could not allow himself be helpless this time.

?Nyika,? he managed to croak out after an eternity. ?What? what are you doing??

The wildcat turned her head, and her dull eyes came alive with panic when they fell on the tattooed otter. She quickly turned the mutilated left side of her face away from him, and tried to throw her cloak over her bloody body.

?Oh! Istvan! I didn?t see you there! How are you??

With heroic effort the otter grasped the doorframe and lifted himself off the floor. ?What is the meaning of this? What are you doing??

"It's nothing! I'm fine. I'm fine. It's not what it looks like. It's ? a sacrifice. I am doing a sacrifice, in the name of the All-Mother."

?You were talking to somebeast.?

?Aye, I was. But it was just ? it was just a design. The blood ? the blood I was offering as penance. That was the intent. It had always been the intent. I?m sorry. I did not mean for you to see.?

The otter shook his head. ?You have no sins to forgive, Nyika. You are as pure a beast as the All-Mother has ever gifted this world with. I can?t allow you to do this.?

"Oh, but that's not true. I have so many sins. So many ... from living and dead alike. I ... I can feel them bearing down on me. All their troubles. All their woes. They have given them to me. They can't offer repentance, but I can. I am doing this for them. I ... I finally understand now. It is as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Release. Forgiveness. So this is what it's like to be forgiven." She smiled at him, a joyous expression that sent chills down Istvan's spine. "Thank you, Istvan, for giving me this. It is such a gift."

Istvan stepped forward, spreading his arms in a gesture of pleading. ?Nyika, their sins are not yours. It is not your sacrifice to make.?

?And neither were Risk and Gashrock?s sins, but you seemed so willing to spill blood for them,? she replied.

?I am a priest. My vocation is one of self-giving, and it is a burden I gladly bear. But you-.? He choked, and tried again, ?You are something different. You are above the sins of normal beasts. I cannot allow you to endanger yourself in this way.?

"Above the sins?" Nyika stared straight at the otter even as she swayed in her seat, her eyes boring through his head. He willed himself not to look away. ?I will not believe it. You speak so authoritatively on things that you do not truly understand. I can look after myself. Let me have my release.?

?No.? He took another step forward, and seized her good arm. ?I will not stand by idly now. Are you going to release your knife, or am I going to be forced to pry it from your claws??

?Istvan??

?This is not the will of the All-Mother. I value your life and the love I hold for you far more than our friendship, if it comes to that.?

The wildcat did not respond, but her grip around the handle loosened enough for him to take it from her with his other paw. As he did so, he looked directly at Nyika?s wounds for the first time. Carved there, in messy, bloody script that looped around her eye and down her chest and left arm, was a backwards "R".

Istvan had never cursed a beast before, believing that all would find their just reward when they returned to the Mother, but as he released Nyika?s right arm he very nearly uttered an invocation that would have raised even Guardsbeast Vanessa?s eyebrows. But instead, he tore his gaze away from that awful sight and went for the medical bag resting by her footpaws. He ripped it open desperately, grabbing all the bandages he saw and looking for any kind of antiseptic medicine. He grabbed one promising-looking bottle, only to find that the label read ?Laudanum.? He shoved that most atrocious blood-poison back into the dark from whence it came, and finally his paw closed around one labeled ?For serious wounds,? which he thought fit the situation accurately.

Nyika had not moved from her perch atop the old chair, just stared blankly ahead as her lifeblood continued to drain onto the floor. She writhed and mewed loudly when he upended the entire bottle onto freshly cut flesh, but he ignored her. He then took the bandages and swathed the wildcat's wounds, concealing the awful sight underneath pure white cloth.

Despite his shaking paws, the otter made sure that the bandages were tied tightly enough to staunch the bleeding, yet not so tight that they caused her pain. Or, so he hoped. After this was done, Istvan seized the wildcat in an embrace that lasted longer than either of them felt comfortable with.

"I'm sorry? that you used all the bandages on me. I'm so selfish?"

?Don?t say that. You are worth more than some cloth. Now, come with me. We need to get back to the others,? he said after releasing her. He lifted Nyika into his arms and walked out of the room, leaving behind only a pool of blood that slowly sank into the earth.

?I did see the lid... it was sweet--I would have preferred more sour candies though," muttered the wildcat in a dreamy voice as they walked down the corridor.

?Shh, shh,? said Istvan, petting her head.

?I had hoped there was licorice??

***

?Istvan, did you fin- oh ?gates!? Zevka abandoned her work and raced to the otter?s side. ?What happened here? Was she attacked??

?No,? replied the otter, sharing a pained expression with Noonahootin as he set Nyika down.

?Then what-?

?Here,? he said, giving her Risk?s bloody knife. ?Take this. Keep it safe. Whatever she says, don?t give it back to her until you are sure this? has passed.?

The pine marten stared at him, mouth agape. ?She did this to herself? Dammit, Istvan, I told you all that nonsense you were spouting about sinning and forgiveness was going to end badly!?

?You think I wanted this?? Istvan roared. Zevka quickly took a step back, but the otter kept his paw away from his knife.

?No, of course not, but whether or not you intended this your preaching must have influenced Nyika.?

?Maybe if the rest of you had treated her less like a ranting crazy beast she wouldn?t have preferred the company of a dead mass murderer to ours!?

?Are you saying that she thought Risk wanted her to do this?? asked the pine marten.

?Are you doubting me? I know what I heard her say as she...?

?No, no, I was just thinking, she mentioned Risk earlier? apparently he killed her mother before she was born, and cut her out of the womb.? Istvan shivered at the thought, and Zevka tapped her chin thoughtfully. ?She might think of herself as his? oh bloody hell. Istvan, what exactly was she carving into herself??

?A backwards ?R?. It has something to do with Risk?s name, yes??

?More than you know. I told you that Risk was a legend, and this is part of it. Back in the old days, he put his mark on beasts who?d wronged him. Like escaped slaves, or beasts who owed him something, or... spilled his drink. It was always on their right side, however, since that was the side most beasts favor, and looked like a crude ?R?.? Zevka paused, frowning. ?Nyika really put it backwards??

The otter put a paw over his eyes. ?By the Mother? what have I done??

"She did it to herself, Istvan." Zevka turned to the wildcat. "Nyika, is this true?"

She shuffled her footpaws and stared down at the floor. ?It was a sacrifce," she whispered, "It was only a sacrifice??

Zevka had her head in her paws. "You carved the Cutter's mark into your body! Why?"

"Because ... I belong to him. Everything that I know, my mother, these ghosts, they may not be real. But Risk, Risk was real. I touched him, I wore his skin. You as well. You saw him. He ... he hit you in the face. He bullied Gashrock. And Poko ... Poko knew him. He's the only one who knew anything about my past. About my mother, my family. He ... he was my family, even if he had to give me up. That's why. That's why I did it. To remind myself that he was real. That he carried me. He was my family," replied Nyika, growing more obviously distressed with each word.

"But he-"

"Hoo-hoot! Enough!" bellowed Noonahootin. "Can't you see that your badgering is doing nothing helpful for this child? Let her alone for a while. She needs time to calm down, then you can question her."

Istvan very nearly disobeyed the Captain, nearly gave into the urge that permeated every cell of his body to drop everything and clutch the small, quaking cat in his arms in a vain attempt to protect her from the world. But instead he slowly saluted, and then walked over toward the great locked door with his head low.

The otter leaned his back against a pillar, drew his knife, and looked down the blade. He sighed. It was only a tool. A tool could do no good or evil of its own will, but only by that of its wielder. He had thought himself the same, but then his words had led to...

He had to face this. He couldn't abandon his life and start anew again, there was too much at stake here. Too many beasts he couldn't leave behind.

Istvan brought the sharpened metal to his arm, and sliced.

"Oh, Mother of All," he whispered as his blood dripped on to the cold stone floor. "I come to you today not asking for forgiveness for the sins of another, but finally for my own. I have done wrong, and your most blessed oracle has suffered as a result. So, I offer my blood to you so that it may be purified, and if it is your will that my punishment may be ameliorated. But if it is not your will, and if it is my fate to suffer, I ask that you heed my last request and bless my companions, for your loyal priest has found them worthy of redemption."

"I'm touched that you hold us all in such high regard."

Istvan jumped at the sound of Zevka's voice, and realized that the pine marten had sidled up next him.

?I would appreciate it if you don?t sneak up on me like that.?

?I just wanted to give you this. We need to keep you as healthy as possible,? she said, passing him a medicine bottle. Istvan recognized it as the same one he had used on Nyika. He shook it, and a quiet slosh confirmed that it was not completely empty.

?Oh. Thank you. So you knew my purpose in coming back here.?

She treated him to a wry grin. ?It wasn?t hard to guess. You?ve been cutting yourself up every time something bad happens for days now.?

?I suppose you?re right.? He shrugged, and dribbled the remainder of the bottle on his arm, wincing at the sting. ?There have been many that warrant my intercession. But now, I am seeking reparation for my own sins.?

?Nyika chose to do that to herself, Istvan. I?m sorry for what I said earlier; she?s a lot farther gone than I realized. And... I may have said some things that put her down that path as well.?

?She bears a heavy weight as the Mother?s chosen voice of the voiceless, but I know that I also carry some of the blame. She called it a sacrifice, Zevka. She said that she could feel their sins on her shoulders! Whether I intended it or not, I placed that burden there.?

Istvan tore a clean-looking strip from his tunic, tied it around his new wound, and sighed. ?But that is not the only transgression I have committed. The rest are old sins, countless times when I stood by when I could have intervened. All the blood that was needlessly spilled for want of my intercession, all the suffering I could have-?

Zevka cut him off with her lips. It lasted for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the otter to forget everything that he was going to say, as well as how to think in complete sentences.

?Stop that kind of talk, Istvan. That was not your fault, either. What matters now is what?s in front of us; these beasts that we need to save, and avenging those we could not. Not something that happened seasons ago.?

With that she turned around and walked towards the door. After a few seconds, the otter caught up with her.

?You just seemed like you needed something to jolt you out of it. Don?t think it was more than a one-time thing,? she warned. ?And if you tell any of the others??

?No, no. I just wanted to say? thank you. I would never have expected to call a beast like you a friend a few days ago, and yet here we are. Perhaps when the Mother saved me she had something besides a few more sacrifices in mind."

?Well, I suppose-?

?Wot the bloody gates happened tae Nyika?!?

Vanessa?s booming voice alerted the pair to the return of her party. The ottermaid dashed over to where the wildcat was huddling under Noonahootin?s protecting wing, only to be rebuffed by the owl?s glare. Poko and the stoat, Takis, hung back, looking rather unsettled and out of place.

?Miss Nyika is resting,? said the Captain. ?You will not disturb her.?

?She?s covered in bandages and blood! Hoo kin ye be so calm aboot et? Takis, is this the doin? o? yer tribe??

?No, she?s wounded in the face. If they had hit her there with a bolt, she wouldn?t be alive right now.?

?There was an? accident,? said Istvan. Vanessa?s head swiveled around to stare daggers at him.

?An accident? Ye expect me tae believe that??

Zevka stepped forward. ?That?s all you need to know. She will be fine, but she needs to let her wounds heal.?

The otter jill threw up her paws.?Fine! Ah dunna care iffen ye woont tae hide things froom me, as long as Ah have the word o? a bairn murderer that et will be all right.?

Istvan could sympathize with her viewpoint, but now was not the time to be bringing up painful memories. ?Guardsbeast Vanessa, Zevka's past sins are not the issue at the moment. What she says is true, and none of us can help Nyika right now, much as it pains me to say so. If you would like to be helpful, you could start by telling us if your scouting expedition made any discoveries of import?" 

Vanessa shrugged. ?Noothin?. Thare ain?t noothin? ain here but spiders an? bits o? furnahture. Aw the food rotted a long time ago, an? Takis tells me that his tribe wouldnae e?en have coom here if et weren?t fer us. Tae many ?bad spirits.??

"Isn't that the truth," muttered the pine marten.

"Then we have only one place left to explore," said Istvan. "Through that door."

Noonahootin drew his wings closer around the slumbering wildcat. "Easier said than done. Miss Zevka, have you made any progress towards decoding the last riddle?"

She shook her head. "Nothing so far. And the mechanism for this one is hidden behind a stone wall, so we can't just break through it like we did the last time."

"Oh, the one with all th' letters?" asked Poko.

"Yes. I confess that I still don't understand the purpose of that part, but it's got to be important to solving this. Here, come take a look. Perhaps this could benefit from a fresh perspective."

Zevka lead the group, with the exception of Noonahootin and Nyika, over to the imposing portal. It was fashioned from expertly cut stone, entirely devoid of markings. To the left squatted an elaborately decorated short column, while the wall on the right side contained a carved representation of the common woodlander alphabet, with the letters spaced well apart.

"Although it may no mark instill,
Naught but the orb shall be thy quill.
In spyte of doubt ye must stay strong,
And not neglect to ryte the wrong,"

the marten repeated.

?Takis, doos this mean anythin? tae ye?? asked Vanessa.

"I'm sorry, no," replied the stoat. "The priests never talked about what they did down in this sanctuary. None of us had any idea that all this existed, much less how to solve it."

The ottermaid slammed her paw against the column. ?Crags! Wot kind o? riddle is this? Thare airn?t any clues.?

Vanessa's strike caused the structure to wobble slightly, and as it did so a sphere detached from the decoration and fell towards the ground. Istvan dived for it, paws outstretched, but he was not quick enough. The object struck the floor with a sound akin to two swords clashing, and rolled away completely unscathed before it was snatched up by Poko.

"Oh," said the ferretmaid. "It's metal."

Istvan took the thing from her and examined it closely. "This must be the 'orb' the poem spoke of. It doesn't seem to have any special qualities that I can see. How was it being held to the column?"

The otter jill got on her knees and peered at where the ball had previously resided. "Thare?s a coople pieces o? metal in here, but noothin? that looks like it could have held it.?

He passed the object to her. "Try to put it back. I am curious to see what divine power can suspend metal unaided."

When Vanessa placed the sphere in its former resting place, it remained stuck there even after she removed her paws, looking for all the world like an extension of the column's carvings.

"The beautiful mysteries of the Mother never cease," marveled the tattooed otter.

Poko narrowed her eyes. "Is it some kind of trick, like Dewhurst's magic show?"

"Actually, it's magnetism," said Zevka. The others stared at her blankly.

"You know, when two pieces of metal are attracted to each other..." Further uncomprehending stares. Istvan wondered if the pine marten had been indulging in Vanessa's favorite blood-poison.

She realized that she had entirely lost her audience, sighed, and removed the sphere again. "Never mind. The important thing is that this is progress towards solving the riddle."

"But does this really help us?" asked Poko. "We're still no closer to getting the door open."

?The riddle says that we moost stay strong. Dae that mean that we need tae lift oop the column??

"You think the orb falling out might have released something that would make it movable? It looks pretty solid right now, but I suppose it's worth a try..."

?Hnnng?Nae, that?s nae goin? anywhere?Istvan, wot aire ye doin???

The tattooed otter ignored her, took the metal ball from Zevka's paws, and stepped back until the entire scene was within his view.

"Right the wrong..." he whispered to himself. Well, that was his purpose in life, wasn't it? His eternal work to repair the unbalanced relationship between the All-Mother and her children. And he had always obeyed that calling, devoted his live to following every tenet of the faith to the letter.

To the letter...

Istvan stepped forward and placed the sphere against the 'W' carved on the wall next to the door. He felt as if it was being pulled, and presently he heard the 'click' of some hidden mechanism. But when he removed the ball, he heard another, fainter 'click' that he assumed must have been something retracting. So, that wasn't correct. Then he tried the 'T.'

This time there was no second click when he took the sphere away, so he went to 'H.'

Then 'E,'

'W,'

'R,'

'O,'

'N,'

'G'.

With that final input, the group heard great clanging of long-neglected machinery. Finally, the great doors swung open, revealing a dark stairway. Vanessa whooped.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," said Zevka. "Whatever possessed you to try that?"

"The Mother loves her faithful children, and gives unto them the means to surmount all obstacles," replied the otter.

"Sure. Well, we should probably go and tell the other two. They're going to want to see this."

Noonahootin and Nyika were roused, and Istvan was pleased to see that the Mistr- Nyika looked much better for her catnap. Her bandages, while bloody, did not appear in urgent need of changing. Thankfully, for the otter had no idea what he would use to do so. He didn't have very much of his uniform left.

He noticed that Takis was still present, standing next to Poko and casting nervous glances at the blood-covered beasts surrounding him. It was good that the stoat would be here to see this. Priests who delibrately hid knowledge from their flock did not deserve that title.

Vanessa had relit a long-dead torch from one of the sconces in the previous room, and she descended first, followed by Noonahootin, Nyika, Poko and Takis, Zevka, and finally Istvan, who gripped his knife tightly in his paw. But they met no beasts visible to anyone but the wildcat, and the stairwell ended in a tight-walled room that could just about accomadate their number comfortably.

It was sparesely furnished, with the majority of space taken up by a small boulder that sat alongside a small depression in the center, next to which was a stone plinth. On top of this plinth was a dusty tube about as long as Istvan's forearm. The peculiar thing about the room, aside from its rather underwhelming nature, was that it appeared to have no roof; the walls simply continued upward, and the otter could swear that he saw a faint glimmer of sunlight in the distance.

Zevka made a beeline for the plinth, and picked up the object resting on it.

"This is it!" she said. "This scroll must be how the priests passed down their knowledge. It's old, but I think that the leather binding has kept it in good enough condition for our purposes.

She unrolled it slowly and began scanning the long document. "The Wynter of Bravest Owls... blah blah blah.. Found naked wyth... blah blah... Initiate Koprulu's strange rock... blah... Oh, here we go: 'Resolving to test thys theory, we brought the itym into the cursed fields, and placed it next to one of the ynfernal holes. Followyng a wait of many hours, water began to form on the surface of the rock, and it was suffused wyth a deep blue colour. After a shortyr time, duryng whych the color and moisture became evyr more pronounced, the boilyng water erupted. We repyted this experyment, and met wyth the same result. An expedytion has been synt to retryve more of thyse great gyfts from the spirits, which whyn placed throughout the plains will finally allow us to move through our land wythout fear. We may evyn be able to predict the oncomyng of the poison gas which has so far precluded settlemynt of the great valley..."

"The All-Mother must have truly favored these beasts, to send unto them such a magnificent blessing," marveled Istvan.

?Ah canna believe that they would want tae live ain a place wot?s doosed with poison on a regular basis.?

The pine marten scratched her chin thoughtfully. "It isn't an entirely stupid idea. They would be virtually unconquerable, and as long as they kept somebeast watching the stones they would have plenty of time to vacate the city. The gas wouldn't take that long to dissipate."

"But judging by the state of this place, and the attitude of the spirits here, it didn't work out for them in the end," said the tattooed otter. "Was it a judgment from the Mother? Did they become so offensive to her that she withdrew her divine protection?"

"No," said Takis. They all turned to look at him.

"It was Carrigul. The older beasts still talk about it. They killed all the priests, or took them away. They must have known that we depended on them, even if we didn't."

"So somebeast sold you out?" asked Zevka.

"I guess-"

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," interjected Poko, "but that scroll said that the rocks would turn blue and sweat before bad things happened, right?"

"Yes, why?" Noonahootin replied.

"Well, it's doing that now..."

The group confirmed this with their own eyes, then stood frozen for a moment before the Captain's frantic hoots galvanized them into action.

"Get moving, all of you! We need to vacate the area immediately!"

This precipitated a mass scramble back up the stairs, but Nyika, owing to her muddled state, tripped and fell over a step. Istvan heard her meow of distress, and without missing a beat turned around and ran back to her side. He then lifted the wildcat over his shoulder, coughing as he smelled toxic air, and followed his comrades back into the temple proper.

?Where dae we go noo?? Vanessa wondered. ?We canna go back tae the moles, an?, Cap?n, ye said that the north is tae dangerous.?

"That may have been true then, but I think with this knowledge we have a chance," said Zevka.

"I don't think we have a choice," sighed the owl. "If we go north and east at first we should avoid the beginning of the geyser area, but the mountains will force us onto the plain eventually. We must trust the words of that scroll."

Takis was hopping from one paw to the other, clearly agitated. "I need to get back to my tribe. I'll try to catch up with you as soon as I can, Poko. I promise."

The stoat embraced the ferretmaid quickly, then raced away down the halls of his ancestors. The group exchanged glances, with the exception of Nyika, whose face was pressed into Istvan's neck.

"Into the paws of the Mother we commend our fate," commented the tattooed otter.

Zevka picked up a bag and began walking towards the exit. The others followed suit, and soon their quick strides brought them back into the painfully bright sunlight.

"I hope for our sake that your prayers are good for something, Istvan," said the marten.

"I do not make demands of the All-Mother. Everything she gives, including the great gift of life, she does of her own free will. If we are to survive, it will be because of her love."

That the Mother would protect them, Istvan had no doubt. That this protection would not require his own sacrifice, he was less sure. It was, as with all others, a price he would gratefully pay.