Doctor Who_ Byzantium! - Keith Topping [14]
Dangerous notions, about the wonders of the alleged Christ and thereafter she preached to the many. She was filled with the fire of her devotions and her faith. And many came to her cause. Because it is sometimes comforting to witness the passion of those who have belief.’
Hieronymous paused, his glassy eyes filling with undisguised regret. 'We took her from her family to the temple and tried to scourge the false teachings from her, but she was strong-willed and determined. She was tried and shamed, but still refused to denounce the other members of her church. So we took her to the market-place, broken and shaved, and stripped of whatever dignity she had once possessed. And then we stoned her until she was dead. Our sources tell me that her people now regard her as a martyr. It takes incredible courage to die for thy beliefs. Courage that I am not sure that myself, would possess in such circumstances.'
The deputies were clearly sceptical. 'I have heard similar stories,' noted Titus. `But that is, largely, all that they are.
Fables put about by desperate criminals to try and make their foolish beliefs acquire validity. They have little basis in reality.' He paused and turned to his colleague for support.
Phasaei seemed indecisive. 'Well,' he began. 'Some might say that...'
'We also have problems much closer to home to deal with,'
Titus said, brutally changing the subject and giving his fellow deputy a pointed look of disgust. 'The crazed actions of Basellas and his band of fanatics. The followers of the Nazarene and their sinful ways are but a minor irritant compared to those black-hearted devils, the Zealots.'
At that moment, in a different part of the city, within a poor stone dwelling, the Zealots were deep into an emergency meeting.
`The systematic ethnic extermination of three of our brothers yesterday now brings the total dead this year to...'
Matthew Basellas, a scarred and embittered veteran of the struggle against the Romans, turned to his comrade and ally, Ephraim. Basellas was rough-shaven and dirty, a clear sign of a life spent constantly dodging arrest and certain death.
And yet he was a powerful figure - the leader of the Zealots, a group of fanatical religious bigots who opposed both the Roman occupation of their lands, and the spread of the Christianity based on the teaching of the false prophet Jesus of Nazareth. 'A lot,' he concluded.
`Nineteen,' Ephraim corrected. 'That is, of whom we are yet aware,' he continued, spitting phlegm onto the dirt floor and scuffing at the resulting damp stain with his sandal. 'They try to crush us as they continue to oppress our brothers in Judaea.'
'The Roman scum will never annihilate the tribes of Israel,'
Basellas noted, and turned to the others in his group for comments. Hopefully supportive.
`Matthew speaks the truth,' said Yewhe in a harsh and angry voice. 'What have the Romans ever done for us?'
‘Let us not travel down that road again,' a tired Ephraim said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his black clothing. 'They give us water and bread and yet they murder us in our beds and defile our temples with their heathen ways. They violate our women and sodomise our boys, they plunder our goods and our cattle and they tell us that we are barbarians whilst they are civilised men. As it is written, surely, they shall be put unto death?'
Murmurs of agreement ricocheted around the room.
‘I echo the beliefs of Ephraim,' said Yewhe, standing and punching his fist into the palm of his other hand. `For too long the tyrants have despoiled our land with their wicked, godless ways. We need to plan a public vengeance upon the Romans for the execution of our brothers.' The murmuring became louder and more pointed.
A youth stood to join Yewhe, his large brown eyes ablaze with a fanatical fire. His name was Benjamin and he was sixteen. When he was twelve he had seen his father dragged through the streets to the execution place and put to the sword while his mother and sister wept in the dirt. From that day onwards his