- THE RIVER SPIRIT -

With a steady hand, Setha Kabi uprooted the unruly weed from the community. It wasn’t difficult. Zach was discreetly fired from his positions at the Little Stoas. The doors slowly began closing to him. First the Nassaryottic ones, then all the others.

Belir Alleth would not permit him to collect the Nassaryottic taxes any more. The Nassaryotts who came to him for help, quietly stopped coming. Poverty began surrounding him. He was now hunted.

Hunted in the brutal way the mountaineers knew to hunt someone. He was banished. Forced into exile. Higher, ever higher. Without pause and without mercy. After some time, we found out he had died. Lost, somewhere in the mountains. Our town’s Little Nassa, now had a second weeper. Publicly, nobody mourned for him. The little communal in Yian Haki’s store scattered.

Setha Kabi had to be strong during that time. It was as if his heart had been uprooted as well. He stopped and listened to her. Then he thought on it. He thought on it from all possible angles. To interpret the pain, to find an answer. And once he finally had, a newly found happiness filled his soul.

You see, he’d realized something. His heart had now been baptized with a sacrifice. A sacrifice of love. Love for his faith. Now he felt truly inapproachable. Far and above all others. His heart was flying on strong, sturdy wings. Nothing else remained. Nothing was left inside of him. Neither pain for Zach, nor melancholy for the old times. No fear. No hesitation. Nothing.

He could see however, that the murmuring around him wasn’t stopping. Even beyond the Nassaryotts, it seemed like the entire town was now talking about Zach. It was a great opportunity. A chance for everyone who wanted to bring down Setha Kabi, and Despot Mavier alongside him. And such great opportunities rarely go unnoticed in our town.

So, people went out and started talking. Talking of how Zach, in reality, never did anything without first asking for Setha Kabi’s permission. Of how they were conspiring together. Everyone had seen them talking. Plotting to kill all the Pelagians in town, alongside the Dolvetians -just to be safe, and bring the Nassaryotts in power. That was the plan. The same every Nassaryott had. Ever. And it was only in the last moment, when they were almost caught, that Setha Kabi sold out his partner. To save himself.

Others said that Zach Porra wasn’t really a revolutionary. In truth, he never did anything wrong, and our town had never been in any danger because of him. None at all. It was Setha Kabi however, that was scared of Zach’s influence within the Nassaryottics, and killed the poor boy to strengthen his position. Probably on Despot Mavier’s orders.

Lastly, some looked even deeper than that. In Zach's murder they saw the coldness of the Nassaryotts. A coldness they’d always suspected was there, under their fake smiles. These people, they concluded, could not be civilized. And it was a great fault of ours that we’d let them roam the town undisturbed, and opened our doors to them. Fire, they concluded, was the answer. Fire and steel! To save the heart of our Riviella!

Setha Kabi once again stopped and listened at his heart. She was still flying with her sturdy wings. And upon the previously mentioned newly found happiness, he’d now also discovered something else. How much, how deeply, he truly hated this mob. All of them. Nassaryotts, Pelagians and Dolvetians. With their pretence caring, their fake happiness and their weak hearts that wouldn’t dare look him in the eyes. They wouldn’t dare lift their heads and say what they thought to his face. Only whisper behind his back.

Then, one morning, the people of our town suddenly discovered Setha Kabi had gotten up in the Communal the previous night. After the blessings. He’d gotten up in front of all his Nassaryotts and he had talked to them.

It wasn’t true. He hadn’t talked, per say. He’d simply gone and sat next to the Communarch. Always humble, with his head down, and waited for him to finish his psalms. Then he got up and read them all a part from the Book of Nature.

Not the one about the man and the river, like many would expect. He read them the part where the Obscure Weeper talked about sacrifice. Of how important it was for someone to get rid of the rotten part of a body, so the rest could survive. He read this part in all three languages, so everyone would understand him.

Once he’d finished reading, he lifted his eyes from the text.

“Up and forth. Just like the Weeper says, we must always be ready to sacrifice what we love for our faith’s purity. Let us remain ever vigilant for him. Let us forever honour his name.”

“Let it be” was then heard from all those beneath him. A drowned whisper. Like river reeds bending in the wind.

That’s all he’d told them. Nothing else. No remarks. No further explanations.

That night at the Communal, the hen had raised her wings. She’d then closed them once again, heavy and unbreakable, upon the scared chicks. The dark bleakness of eternal order had laid itself once more above the Nassaryottics. And now everyone could see it. Setha Kabi didn’t care. He was done with all of them.

Some time passed. Everything seemed fine. After a while however, a small crack began showing itself. The eternal order appeared to be shaking. To the rest of the town, it was apparent. The revolution wasn’t around the corner just yet, but things were changing.

Some poor folks from the Nassaryottics had begun working afternoons. Learning a trade, side by side with the Pelagians. Not many, but enough for the crack to be visible. The rest were looking at them full of surprise, waiting for Ereva to strike them from the skies. They saw nothing happened, and became more. Some stores also secretly began working afternoons, so they wouldn’t lose the extra customers.

“They won’t listen… They won’t listen to us” said the Communarch, scratching his beard with his long, skinny finger. He’d gone completely deaf now, and was talking more and more to himself. In some respects, he’d began resembling the Harvester.

The community’s leader had also tried bringing them back in line. He’d threatened them with punishment. By divine law.

“They won’t hear a thing. Real laws allow us to work afternoons, they say. And the community doesn’t pay us for sit around half the day.”

These blasphemies were becoming more and more popular. Setha Kabi kept hearing them, and was very sad.

Real laws?... The laws of man.

Setha Kabi didn’t say anything. For a while, he let things unravel. Then suddenly, one morning, he took a couple of workers and brought them at his store. He made them tear down the little door. Miel and the kids couldn’t believe it. But there he was. Sitting at his desk, legs crossed, biting his lips. Looking at the workers demolishing the door, and the entire wall alongside it. Then he ordered them to bring all his store’s treasures out, for everyone to see.

An old world was coming down, forever left behind.

He put the desk a little further back and opened his big book. He then started writing, like nothing had changed. And just like that, with the same force he’d teared down the wall, he then threw himself into the market. Depts, trades, partnerships, buyouts, everything.

Every single store in the Nassaryottics found itself tied to his in some way. None of them opened afternoons again. His shadow had covered everyone. Nothing could move inside the Nassaryottics without his knowledge and permission. The temple, the community and his store had now become one. Fear, law and money. All together. The hen.

Zach’s mother…

She was now all that existed out there. Outside his control. Outside every law, human or divine. Half alive and half dead. Half sane and insane. She’d run up and down the streets. Going door to door, asking for her son. She’d ask everyone she could find if they knew something, anything.

Nobody had told her about him, and she was still waiting for her Zach to come back. And all would lower their heads, not knowing what to tell her. Some would even run away when seeing her coming, not wanting to face her eyes. Setha Kabi knew this.

He also knew Yian Haki was secretly giving her money every time she’d pass by his store, so she wouldn’t die. But what could he do? Tell him to stop? It would make things worse. So, he just fell on his knees and humbly asked Ereva to free her soul from the painful chains of life as soon as possible. For her own good, mostly.

Apparently Ereva heard his prays. The old woman died, not long after.

And that was it.

There was nothing. Nothing left. Nothing from before. Nothing behind, or in front, or around him. And it came. He finally felt it. A sharp misery, chipping his heart away. Nested deep inside his soul. He felt it and got scared. He got very scared. What if he’d been wrong?

What if the crack wasn’t on the outside. If it wasn’t in the community? With the few poor and desperate who wanted to learn a trade, and never stepped out of line again? With the five or ten shops that wanted to open afternoons and never dared to do so again?

What if it was him? What if his faith was no longer pure, like before? Was it because he cared now? He cared about the matters of this world? About being happy or sad? He cared about Zach’s mother, and Yian Haki, and death?

That’s what he feared. And quickly moved to wash away this sin. This betrayal.

He decided to become the proper, official leader of the community.

Now, he’d regularly go to Despot Mavier. To his office, and talk about the town’s affairs. He became a close ally of Luvir Mandrit, one of Riviella’s richest merchants, and made Miel an advisor in Belir Alleth’s circle. He also began regularly writing small papers and sending them to the Great Owl at Sipolis, regarding matters of the community, or the town in general.

“I’m so happy to finally see our town’s Nassaryotts become more active” Belir Alleth would say, quickly taking the coin pouches from his hand. Setha Kabi would turn away, not wanting to see the smile on that dogface. He was happy for the Nassaryotts…yeah, sure…. In those moments he’d feel very ashamed of what he was doing. Of what he had become.

He’d remember the old days, and couldn’t sleep at night.

Now, one could see him wearing a vast array of clothes, like everyone else. Darker tones in the winter, lighter during summer. The old times, when humility was needed, now seemed very distant. Like a story in the Weeper’s book. They had died, alongside the Harvester who wouldn’t get up from his chair, and Zach who wouldn’t button up his pants…

There was a heavy fog above Riviella that night. Not an uncommon sight during the winters. It was after the blessings, and Setha Kabi was walking down a narrow street in the Nassaryottics, his hands deep inside the pockets of his coat. He wouldn’t even look where he was going, or notice he'd been lost in his own neighbourhood. He was sad again.

Nobody was around. Some lights here and there, behind closed windows. Yian Haki was standing behind one of those windows, ready to go to sleep.

“Yian! Hey, Yian!” he shouted, only to realise he didn't know why exactly he’d called him. He had nothing to tell him. He regretted it. Ashamed, he turned to leave. But the window opened.

“What? Is there a fire?”

“No, it’s me… Setha.”

“Kabi?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“Nothing, just… I haven’t seen you in days…”

“Yeah sorry. You wanted to tell me something?”

“No, I… was passing by, saw the light, thought you wouldn’t be asleep yet, so I called you.”

An awkward silence ensued. Setha Kabi didn’t have the courage to talk, and Yian Haki couldn’t really see him in all the darkness.

“You’re going to bed?” he said, just to say something.

“Yeah but…” he paused for a moment “… it’s difficult Yian. More difficult each day.”

“True on Faith!” It let it slip his tongue. Again. After all this time.

They said goodnight to each other. Yian Haki closed the window.

“True, on Faith…” he said it again. By himself, inside the room. He listened to his voice. True on Faith, he found it to be most appropriate for this situation. For any situation. Catchy and very funny, to him at least. And it had meaning… a very deep meaning, he thought. Why did he ever stop it?

First thing tomorrow, he’d start saying it again! Yes, sir! It’s true, sir! True on Faith! Difficult! Every day it’s more difficult my good sir!

Setha Kabi kept on walking. When behind the nearest corner, he stopped. The street was empty. A deep silence surrounded him. Nothing was moving. Nothing, without his prior knowledge and consent. Nothing.

Yet, in all this mess, they seemed to disappear. Everyone was leaving, slipping away. Away from his hands. Everything was falling apart, crumbling down. Every day. Every hour.

There it was, his heart slipped away.

“Zach! My dear Zach!...Why? Why you? … Ereva! Why did you choose him to test me?”

He fell on the wall behind him. Took off his hat. He was sweating. His mind was a haze. He could hear the river.

From the darkness, he saw him emerging. His Weeper. He form was menacing. His eyes were angry. Inhuman. Then, he once again heard his voice. Filling every part of the little Nassaryottic alley.

It was deafening.

The whole district woke up that night; from a loud scream echoing through the streets.

“WHY DO YOU NEED THIS SETHA KABI?!”

The true weight of his betrayal, of his sin, was now crushing him, aided by the night. He could feel it. And right there, in that alley, he took an oath. Now and forever, he’d never let his community, his people, slip away from his hands.