The  Court  Of  Clergy

 

 

        When you stood near the large window you could be impressed by the outdoors view.  The nearby gardens contrasted pleasingly with what was further away : a broad, quiet stream.  The room's occupant had studied the surroundings, especially the river, several times since arriving the previous night.  He was the ambassador from the kingdom called Frawblis.  He stood there once more and worried as he looked out.  The Nobles' Representation would be, like the great pier that supported this inn he was staying at, very imposing - for the citizens here as much as for foreigners.  He'd have to address the Representation Council the next day.  Right now he looked at the masonry that extended along the edge of the pier.  He hadn't seen birds yet, but he thought there would be ornate perches for them somewhere on the structure.  Towards this end of the jetty, where he was positioned, would be most of the offices for the city's leaders.  Closer to the pier's end was the ancient, huge building, the great ecclesiastic center.  To someone coming from distant Frawblis the view of the sacred building matched its reputation.  The ambassador wanted to have another look inside the building.  This was his second visit to the country of Leverett.

        Kimmins, who was one of the nobles, had been talking to the ambassador.  He described this man one afternoon when he spoke with Teague, a prelate.  They walked along in the sacred precinct, their path being very close to the main sanctuary.  He knew something vague about a request the foreigner would be making, but his account of the envoy's comments got little response from Teague.  What Kimmins really wanted to hear about was the subject of strife within the most ancient religious order, so he raised the subject.  This didn't yield much, either.  Then the dialogue took a surprising turn.

        "The latest theophany has been hard to interpret," his friend announced.

        Kimmins was definitely puzzled.  He had assumed the prelate would never talk to an outsider about theophanies.

        He said, "And there must be competing viewpoints."

        The other man looked serene.  "No, this isn't like that.  We've only got one interpretation, but it took some time to reach it.  What we've got is like nothing I've ever heard of."

        "Does it refer to someone famous?"

        "No," Teague said.  "They almost never do."

        "Not even this man from Frawblis?"

        Teague paused before answering.  "It might, if you call him famous.  I thought you meant our fellow citizens."

        He made no elaboration on this.  Kimmins didn't think the statement about a theophany was offered as a distraction, but what would have been the purpose for it ?  He knew, of course, that the man sometimes talked in this indirect fashion.

        "It might be better," Kimmins remarked, "if the Justice would acknowledge these things publicly."  Then a number came to mind, for some reason.  "Isn't he the sixty-first?"

        "I think so," Teague said.

        Kimmins concentrated.  "I heard him give a speech once.  He was impressive, at least in those days."

        "Intimidating is another word for it,"  Teague said.  That had been a younger Justice.  Teague wasn't going to describe the man's present condition of health.  True, it was a poorly kept secret within the order, and Riganna, Teague's wife, knew about it.  But Kimmins hadn't mentioned it.

        The nobleman was ready with a prediction.  "If the ambassador's request involves the prelates, and it's granted, you'll hear about it before I do."

        "Probably," Teague said.

        These subjects were part of a miscellany they'd gone through.  They finished by speaking of Dacklin, the city's wealthiest man.  The influence of Dacklin was notorious, but not well understood.  He had never been a member of the Nobles' Representation.  That fact was misleading.  Perhaps he'd help the ambassador get what he wanted.  Kimmins had a vague sense of what was bound to happen.  The ambassador's present business did involve some people who worked in the ecclesiastic center - the Court of Clergy.

        For now Teague and his friend ignored a related subject : the destructive, luminous effect being reported from time to time by Leverett's guardsmen and some other citizens.  The reports claimed it could be seen playing over and across the river.  It always seemed impossible to note the point of origin, and few people could tell if something remarkable was happening.  The group that controlled the weapon of radiance - most observers called it a weapon - was said to be employed by Dacklin.  According to the favorite story the weapon had been used against the hostile tribesmen who sometimes raided small settlements near the border of Leverett's dominion.  The tribesmen came from downriver.  The radiance could be directed over a large area with no destructive result until it reached an object having the needed substance, in which case there was terrifying brisance.  The radiance could have other effects, depending on how it was used.  Against the tribesmen during one of the raids it swept across their multitude, injuring no one until it struck the right person.  He was killed instantly, without brisance.  Most people who believed there was a weapon thought that Dacklin would never use it against his own kind.

        Even Dacklin's routine activities were of consequence, and the prelate's friend could tell him about it.  Kimmins named several persons who flourished because of the rich man's favor.  These were not celebrated people.  But they could be still more useful to Dacklin depending on what he might attempt.  Kimmins expressed a genuine fear of the man. 

        This talk had been worthwhile.  After the two men parted company, Teague thought of the profuse garden system - vegetation that filled the space between the main edifice and the side of the pier.  It was, like the smaller group of gardens at the ambassador's hotel, contained in soil troughs made to look authentic as landscape.  Everyone praised its practical value.  Now he spent some time trying to be fascinated by the difference between certain kinds of shrubbery.  Once again this didn't work.  He made his way to the nearest of the temple's entrances.

        The first room inside was adjacent to the grand open space that had always been used for pageant.  Through an inner, second door the music of cult was heard.  There was the music Teague enjoyed and then there was this eerie kind.  He still didn't completely understand the purpose of this music - worship, yes, but worship in rather special terms.  A few persons were present in the first room, all but one of them clad in raiment that was much less conspicuous than a prelate's.  The exception was Neeve, a man of the same rank as Teague within the religious order.  He greeted Teague and gave him the news.

        He reported, "The physicians are saying that no one should travel."

        "It's that bad?"

        "They're also telling us to look on the bright side, as if we didn't know."

        The situation for the supreme official was a bit worse than before.  Embarrassing talk had occurred since the start of his illness.  Neeve described another problem, too, one that he had expected.

        "So they're taking advantage of him," Teague said when he heard this.  "Frawblis gets its way because his men sympathize."

        Neeve had been expressing his own opinions for quite some time.  His were critical, but not malicious, views of the men who controlled access to the Justice.  Now he made a suggestion that might seem desperate : both men would have to approach the central group of prelates.

        To this notion Teague answered, "I remember what happened the last time I did that."  It had been something of a blunder.

        "Well, you could have used my advice," his friend commented.

        "You actually think," Teague said, "that we can prevent problems by approaching his favorite officials."

        "Some problems, yes," Neeve told him.  "The ambassador's just one example.  In times to come we'll be getting this from most of the kingdoms.  They'll be begging for help.  It means the center of worship will be a target."

        "And we'll get permission for talking to the justice about this?" Teague replied.  He needed convincing.

        "Not the best time for it, of course.  But we have to do something."

        Teague said, "It might work if we had some allies."

        "We've got some allies."

        A few names were mentioned, and Teague seemed to accept the idea.  He had regard for Neeve's knowledge of the possibilities.

        The two men began moving in different directions, knowing that they belonged in separate work areas.  They had to deal with problems that were less public.

        It suddenly occurred to Teague that his final assignment for the day would have to wait.  The reason was improbable, a change in timing for parts of his workload, and it was just as well.  In any case he preferred this time of day for an outdoors walk.  He began the stroll towards home, and his vision went through a quick adjustment.  As always, the buildings of his neighborhood were espied before he was halfway there.

        The house he shared with Riganna was fairly conventional in design.  But like most of the houses here, it was bigger than it needed to be.  The most difficult restriction for the couples who lived in the sacred precinct had to do with children.  It was agreed that all children would be put up for adoption.  Riganna moped.  Even though she had given birth twice, there were no children to share the house with.  Was life less painful for Norri, her celibate friend? 

        The two women had recently talked about Norri's contributions to the main ecclesiastic archives.  In her papers Norri described the living conditions at the sacred precinct.  Also, the central office had employed the woman for a few journalistic projects outside the Court.  Riganna told her husband about the latest talk with her friend, and he said he thought he could get her some work related to the Frawblis delegation.  He agreed to go along when his wife suggested they walk over to Norri's apartment that evening - not a great distance.

        Talking to Norri later, Teague found that she'd already been offered the work he had in mind.  She had some knowledge about the delegation, the Leverett nobles' response to it as well as their intrigues in the Court.  He didn't require an explanation of her insight.  The talk was friendly and informative.  He let it go at that.

        Five days later he made use of another good pretext for cutting short his workday.  It was time for a social call of a sort he'd never made.  He changed into a more conventional garb, and then told the right person what he was doing.  He left the neighborhoods that formed the Court of Clergy.  After he left the precinct and moved along the pier, the old form of more secular construction became apparent.  He began to sense the manifold of stonework and metallic wares - a sensory field in which he luxuriated. 

        He was about halfway to the palace of Kimmins - the residence being situated on the side of the pier - when he had to climb some stairs that led to an elevated walkway.  This route would lead to the main entrance of the palace.  But now he stopped and turned around to look back at the Court.

        He enjoyed the sight.  The buildings close to the giant central structure were themselves diverse in form.  Some of them were housing for the people who directly served the sanctuary.  Of course they could be ignored by most people when viewing the temple's curious form and extreme dimensions.  Then again, looking away from the sacred precinct and out here along the pier, you saw the tenements, houses and businesses that were supported over the river.  Teague spent some time looking out across the expanse of the stream.  It was such a long distance from one side of the river to the other.  He thought about the fact that he'd only been off the river half a dozen times.  If you wanted to visit people you didn't leave the area.  Leverett was a compact world, with its neighborhoods concentrated on the piers and on the shore from which the piers extended.  Now, before he resumed his walk he noticed the barge traffic flowing past on the stream.  To this day he marveled at the traditional, ingenious method of propelling barges, pleaure boats and galleys.  But its limits were clear.  As a friend had once remarked, "It's too bad it only works on water."

        For Teague, such pacing along this type of overpass always reminded him how much he didn't care about the wide world - the world he thought of as being dominated by Leverett.  Downstream from here was a second, a somewhat lesser, jetty.  Beyond that was the largest island that was close to Leverett.  This region centered on the city had enough problems.  Parts of the island were used efficiently for farming, but the soil of the land flanking the river seemed incapable of producing edible crops.  Rainfall supported nothing more than a despised henbane.  This uncoveted landscape reached a great distance in most directions, and certainly bordered the nearest of tributaries.  The great ocean was commonly referred to, but less than one in a thousand of his fellow citizens had ever seen it.  The kingdoms that were found along the way to the ocean held fast the interest of travelers.  Then there was Frawblis.  Its area was mountainous, located beyond the driest land.  Travel from there to Leverett could be a challenge for anyone.

        Teague reached the nobleman's house.  He found what he'd expected : the close-up appearance of perfection in the building's outer surface, arguably a show of the firmament.  This look wasn't obvious from a distance.  Every palace had a feature of construction that would allow entrance if persons were classified as unthreatening.  There was always a pulsing probe of the nervous system, to be certain.  Some said this was a vain safeguard that wouldn't protect the nobles forever.  Teague was found acceptable and he walked through the front door.

        The ambassador's request had been granted three days ago and - as had been predicted - Kimmins heard about it the day after Teague did.  Now Kimmins was ready to give details he had learned about the final decision-making.  As Teague was allowed into the house he noticed immediately that his friend had other company : a jurisconsult.  This man was another member of the Representation.

        Teague's friend had argued against the proposal being accepted.  Once more he gave his reasons.

        He said, "Thousands of years ago, when the celestial beings brought our ancestors from Earth, a defective tradition of worship was brought here, too.  Down through time our citizens have made some fortunate changes to the system of worship.  But serious problems are still part of the system.  One problem is Dacklin.  It sounds as if he has too much influence with prelates."

        "He has influence there," Teague admitted, thinking the alliance wasn't very consequential. 

        The other man finished his explanation.  "Dacklin's purposes may be something the leadership will always be plagued with.  Especially because they've been accepted by the prelates.  You know I'm not anti-clergy, I'm anti-Dacklin.  He's got us committed to giving Frawblis more than one kind of help anytime Frawblis wants help."

        As if to answer a question from Teague, the judge remarked, "He can get away with it."

        What had been the request?  Essentially, that there should be a mission of mercy to Frawblis - a donation of medical treatment.  A grave disease was devastating the kingdom's most prominent families.  For the first time on the Nobles' Representation, a brotherhood with Frawblis was being proposed.  Kimmins wasn't so sure about the brotherhood.  He was quite sincere, if mistaken, in blaming this partnership on Dacklin's efforts.  And he exaggerated the wealthy man's influence with religion.  For all that, some of his fear was rational.

        Teague said, "I've made my own disappointed comments about the system of worship.  I don't think the problems have much to do with Dacklin."

        The judge answered, "I agree, if what you mean is that the problems will still be there after Dacklin is gone."

        Kimmins didn't reply to these statements, but he made several about the ambassador, with some of the facts being rather obvious to Teague.  Then Kimmins looked amused.  He asked the judge to tell something for Teague's benefit.

        "Yes, Dacklin gave me some information," the judge explained.  "He showed me a slate panel that had the envoy's portrait.  The image on the panel had been distorted.  It's a neat trick the way they use those things to learn about a person, and he said the image formed when he was talking to the envoy.  He let the man go, and then he went to a different room to see the portrait.  He said the distortion means the envoy will die a gruesome death in the near future."

        Kimmins recalled, "Of course Dacklin had the right to confer with someone on the council, and you were selected for that purpose."

        The judge was wincing.  "I knew I had to get it over with."

        "Did the image look like the envoy?" Teague asked.

        "It had some distortion," the judge repeated.  "But I think it was the same person."

        "And I think Dacklin's reading of it was probably valid," Kimmins admitted.  He and the judge traded comments about the use of such images.

        "Then the man doesn't have a chance," Teague said.  "And you think he's antagonized people in his own country."

        "He has, according to what we've heard," Kimmins replied.

        The ambassador's journey to Leverett had been the usual desert excursion by means of wagon.  He had, of course, gone by in sight of the oasis that featured a shrine maintained by authority of the Justice.  People who represented Frawblis never wanted to stop at the place.  There was supposed to have been some experience - a precedent - convincing them to avoid it.  The place wasn't much more attractive to people from Leverett.  Accompanied by his wife, the envoy traveled the route without suffering much.  Wagons had a system of propulsion that resembled, but couldn't rival, the one used for boats on the river.  Wagons were not nearly as fast.  But two striding men could easily propel a vehicle that carried several dozen persons and a good amount of cargo.  The men took turns with other teams.  Grandiose mountain ranges could be seen in most directions from points on the route.  Kimmins told some things he'd heard about the official's journey.  Teague was aware that Neeve himself had once made a pilgrimage to the shrine.  When he had described its workers to Teague he suggested replacing the innkeeper at the oasis.  Because of the report from Neeve, the other prelate recalled the oasis when having this talk with Kimmins. 

        Teague stated, "Remedies from the temple should be sufficient for the stricken families in Frawblis.  But I don't like the way it's being arranged."

        Kimmins agreed.  He made a vehement face at the jurisconsult.

        "Nothing surprising about the arrangement," was the judge's reply. 

        He'd be leaving soon, and he had only one more question about the council of nobles.

        He said to Kimmins, "What do you think of the method for deciding these issues?  A sound method?"

        "It usually works well enough," Kimmins answered.  Usually.

        Right now they couldn't come up with much more about this, and after the judge left the palace Teague pointed to a statue that occupied one corner of the room.  This type of sculpted object had been mentioned by his colleagues as a cultural blemish - a blemish on the aristocracy.  Teague's point of view was different. 

        He said, "You patricians maintain the old standards in the fine arts.  I like the way this one seems impossible to classify as a type of citizen.  More than that, the exaggeration of anatomical features has the result of puzzling instead of offending."  He finally glanced back at the other man.  "Artists keep talking about a strange world of the future.  They try to bring it about." 

        Kimmins thought there was something to what his visitor suggested.  He pronounced the name of the artist responsible for this eccentric work.  It was one of the biggest names.

        "Another wealthy sculptor,' Teague said, when he was told.  

        About other topics Kimmins wouldn't refrain from controversial statements.  He could frankly blame things on certain members of his own class - Dacklin or someone else.  It was true that aristocrats had vivid ideas.  Kimmins, for one, believed that a profound millenial change was about to occur.  It had something to do with newcomers from Earth proper - the world that seemed to define a system thought of as Inclusive Earth.  Clearly the Earth system was hard to describe.  Its nature and extent made for a cosmology acceptable to the learned thinkers of Leverett but inconceivable to those of Earth proper.  The newcomers were people bringing a different religion.  Their numbers were significant by now.  Kimmins gave several reasons he could imagine the change happening abruptly - happening to all the persons who served in the sacred precinct.  The reasons were peculiar to Kimmins.  They derived from his family's tradition of mystical teaching.  Later, when Teague was leaving the palace, he resolved that someday he'd question his friend more aggressively about that. 

        On his way home he observed a bolt of radiance in the direction of the large island.  It may have had its target somewhere in the barren hinterland.  He wanted to reject the apparent explanation for this energy - that it was a weapon, and that a certain identified person had been using it.

        In the next few days the Court seemed on the verge of something especially noteworthy, but few persons understood until the last minute.  The inner circle to be approached by Teague and his friend had been decisive.  Someone was being appointed to a higher position.

        Those who worked in or near the temple observed, on the final day, an adjustment of ornaments.  Wall hangings were quickly replaced by other wall hangings.  Crafted objects of stone and ivory were put on display.  These had been in storage for generations.  The point of the new display had yet to be communicated.

        Before anyone outside the Court knew of these changes, Teague was paid a surprising visit at his workplace.  A group of prelates had been sent his way, and they were accompanied by, among others, Norri the journalist.  They repeated some statements which had been made by physicians concerning the supreme prelate.  They followed these with their own announcement - decisive in Teague's life.

        He'd be going down in history as the sixty-second Justice of Leverett.