Season 04 - Episode 25

‘confusion your creatures’

The crowd are quiet and look uncomfortable, despite the old man's efforts to excite them. He is wearing his usual ornate robes and has combed out his long grey beard especially.

“People!” he cries from the platform at the centre of the hall. “Rejoice! Today we shall free ourselves from a terrible scourge! Today, we burn a heretic!”

He raises his palms to the ceiling and closes his eyes but the expected roar of approval is not forthcoming. Instead a light scattering of applause stumbles towards the stage then falters and dies.

Behind the old man is a large pyre, from the peak of which erupts a tall metal pole. Tied to that pole is Ty, with ropes as thick as his arms, wrapped so tight he finds it hard to breathe. His face is grubby but for a few lines of clean where his constant tears have cut through the grime. His eyes are wide and pleading, his teeth are chattering with fear.

He saw the crowd gathering before they brought him out. As the people came together they spoke excitedly, the atmosphere thick with anticipation. The burning of heretics is a communal bonding experience, the old man explained.

When the guards led Ty out to the pyre however, the crowd grew suddenly quiet and unsure at the sight of him. The enormous guards made Ty look even smaller and by the time they had bound him to the pole, the hall was almost silent but for worried whispers.

The old man frowns and licks his lips nervously, glancing at Ty.

“Do not be fooled!” he cries. “By the heretic's appearance. With savage cunning, he presents himself as a helpless child to play on your civilised sympathies. This is how he spreads his insidious lies! This is how the cancer of heresy spreads!”

“Let's get this over with,” he then hisses to the nearest guard.

“And so!” he cries, addressing the crowd once more. “In honour of our traditions that have stood for thousands of years, we purge ourselves of heresy once more!”

Having delivered the guard his cue, the old man closes his eyes and adopts a serene expression. The crowd hold their breaths and some people look away.

After a few seconds however, the old man opens his eyes. The guard is holding the torch inches from the pyre but is frozen, a pained expression on his face. The old man glares at him, but the guard responds with a small, deeply ashamed, shake of his head.

“Give it to me!” snaps the old man, stalking across the platform to snatch at the torch.

“Stop this!” comes a cry from the back of the hall.

Suddenly, many more people are flooding into the hall, shoving and shouting.

“What is this?!” rages the old man. “How dare you disrupt these proceedings. This execution is mandated by the Holy Patriarch Governor Corpo himself!”

“Curse Corpo!” shouts a man who has reached the front of the crowd. Ty recognises him as La's father. “Curse him and his lies. This is a travesty!”

The crowd around him grumbles in cautious agreement.

“Heresy!” the old man screeches, looking to the rest of the crowd for support. “This is outright heresy. You sir, you deny our faith?!”

“My faith is strong,” cries La's father. “I deny Corpo! His Builder's Bloodline is a lie, a fiction by which to enslave us. We are here to free this child and then to free ourselves!”

The crowd cheers and then roars. In a moment more they are surging onto the platform. The guards drop their weapons and step aside while the old man is seized and bound. La's father clambers up onto the pyre and tears at the ropes binding Ty.

“I'm so sorry, child,” he says as he helps Ty down from the platform. “We should never have turned you in. Your familiars have shown us the truth, we understand now.”

“My... familiars?” asks Ty, still trembling with shock and confusion.

“Your creatures of metal,” La's father explains. “With their pictures of light. They showed us Corpo's confession, revealed to us the truth of this place. And of course, the plan for what must come next.”

“I don't understand,” Ty whimpers, his head spinning as the crowd celebrates loudly.

“You must continue your journey, child,” says La's father, landing a paternal hand on his bony little shoulder. “Meanwhile we will do what needs to be done here. Up we go!”

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