The Book of the Fallen - Chapter 10 - The School Divides

[Kane]

Word of the meeting quickly spread through the school and was the topic of heated debates. Many wanted to believe that the gods had made contact and waited for the Keeper to speak their words. Even those who I thought had little faith were spending their days in prayer, hoping that they too would be blessed with visions. I was torn between my loyalty to Sahi’s Hamad and Tayam and the thought that I might become a true servant of the Riding Host.

The Abbot and Sahi Hamad tried to keep our standard routine of study, observation of the stars, prayer, and administering to the needy, but had little success. The Keeper was holding frequent meetings where he relayed the guidance and orders of Dal Sahaad and the Host. The scholars and senior priests poured over his words looking for their meaning and comparing them to the scriptures in the Book of Sahi. Classes were either cancelled or poorly attended. It was clear that little could be done until we had proof of if the gods were reaching out to us.

When not pronouncing the words from the gods, the Keeper was displaying other elements of his new found power; creating glowing symbols in the air and moving heavy objects with a simple gesture. His displays of power were met by his supporters with awe and from his detractors with charges of sorcery.  The Abbot stated that the Keeper was displaying powers that any sorcerer could easily produce and he had seen better tricks at the seasonal carnivals. I could see both the Keeper and the Abbot barely control their rage and that hatred was spreading to their supporters.

Within two days of the Keeper’s announcement of his contact with the Host, the school was on the point of collapse. The Keeper had gathered his scholars and those students he felt ‘had promise and the devotion necessary to serve the gods’, and divorced themselves from the Abbot’s control. The Keeper was holding his own classes and his own services for his people. The Abbot and Sahi Hamad tried to restore order with those who were skeptical of, or who had been rejected by the Keeper.  Something needed to be done.  Either accept that the Keeper had been contacted by the gods or expel him from the school. When we needed the Abbot to be strong, he was indecisive and the Keeper’s power grew. It was already too late and we didn’t realize it.