Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [180]
“But, what I don’t get is,” Kee Keema said, “if Branch Chief Pam is so prejudiced, why didn’t he frown when he saw me and Meena walk in?”
Meena’s tail twitched side to side, echoing Kee Keema’s question.
“That’s because you’re Highlanders from outside. If he was too open about it, the Gasara branch might get angry.”
It did sound like the sort of thing that would get Kutz’s whip cracking.
“Well, I don’t know if such a deep-rooted thing can be fixed, but surely it’s a problem if we have Highlanders supporting this kind of activity. Has anyone thought of speaking to the high chief of the Bog branches?”
Toni turned to Wataru, fixing him with the same cold stare he had when they first met. “You think we didn’t try?”
“We did. Many times,” Elza continued. “But High Chief Suluka said he didn’t want to get involved. I think he wants to pretend it isn’t happening.”
“No—he is as prejudiced as the rest of them,” Toni spat. “When the United Government formed the Knights of Stengel, there was a big debate about whether to make them mixed like the Highlanders, or to separate companies by race. In the end, they voted on it, and during the referendum, the only Highlander chief who showed support for separating races was Suluka.”
“And the Knights of Stengel are all ankha too, aren’t they,” Wataru said, half to himself. “I don’t see what the point is, separating companies by race.”
“Oh, they think up all manner of reasons. Different-size gear making equipment difficult to manage, or the value of grouping people with similar customs together.” It was clear from how he spoke that Toni’s rage hadn’t cooled down in the slightest. “Whatever the reason, once you separate people by race, you end up giving them different duties. In fact, when the Knights of Stengel were first formed, some non-ankha rode with them. Now they wander without armor or helms, helping repair towns hit by disaster, or building roads through the mountains. When people say the Knights of Stengel, they only think about the ankha riding in their silvery armor. All the other Knights are forgotten.”
“Well, I’ll say one thing,” Kee Keema snorted. “I don’t feel like lingering here longer than we have to. You know what I mean, Meena?”
Meena sat deep in thought, her tail twitching.
“Haven’t you ever thought to leave town, Mr. Fanlon?” Wataru asked. Toni and Elza looked at each other again.
“How could he leave Elza behind?” Meena answered for them.
“But, well, they could always elope?” Wataru suggested.
Elza looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “I would go with Toni. But I cannot leave my father. I want to help them, if I can. To change him—he wasn’t like this when he was younger, I’m sure of it.”
“What changed him?”
“I think it was something that happened seven or eight years ago. My mother died of illness…” said Elza. “That’s when he became passionately involved with the church—I think because he was lonely. You know, the cathedral with the great bell tower.”
“But isn’t that a church to the Goddess?”
“It is, but—well, it’s a long story. Nothing is quite that simple in Lyris. There are some who say the cathedral was built to worship the spirits that created the beautiful jewels and gemstones we use in our craft.”
It occurred to Wataru that there hadn’t been a cathedral of any kind in Gasara, save Cactus Vira’s cursed ruins.
“The teachings of the Goddess are very simple,” Elza said, sitting upright, her voice like a song. “You who fill the land with your life, be compassionate, help one another, flourish, and gather to the light.”
“What, that’s it?”
“That’s it. Those are the basics, anyway. There are a few precepts that go with the teachings, though. Like you’re not supposed to create an image of the Goddess, nor build grand places of worship to her. Those two things are strictly forbidden. That’s why, no matter which town you go to, you’ll find many books written about the Goddess’s teachings, and you’ll hear people singing songs to her praise in the town squares, and you