Kahless - Michael Jan Friedman [11]
“I yield,” he cried, again citing the ancient words.
Finally, the Klingon in red lifted the exhausted figure of Morath to the heavens and bellowed his triumph. It was ums. And echoed by the abindo pipes and the kraddak dr as the music rose to a harsh, discordant crescendo, lightning blanched the sky in a great, white burst of glory, blinding them all for a single, dizzying moment.
They were still blinking when the thunder descended on them like a horde of wild s’tarahkmey, crashing about their ears and drowning out all else. Only when it finally showed signs of relenting did the actor in red let his “brother” down, and both of them bowed deeply to the crowd.
The people thrust their fists into the air and beat on one another’s shoulders, delirious with approval. Even Kahless found himself butting heads with a young warrior who’d been standing beside him, enjoying the performance.
The clone laughed. He was right to have come here, he told himself. This was what he had needed to lift his spirits. A reaffirmation of his legacy, an assurance that this was still Kahless’s world and not that of some mewling degenerate seeking an undeserved place in the sun.
As the rain let up a bit, the actors gave way to a big, bald-headed Klingon in a large black robe. Kahless recognized him as Unarrh, son of Unagroth, a powerful member of the high council and one of Gowron , s staunchest supporters.
Unarrh lived near Tolar’tu, in a place called Navrath. it must have been he who had sponsored the street drama.
If so, it was only proper that he should address the crowd afterward.
“I trust you enjoyed the performance,” said Unarrh, his teeth exposed in a broad, benevolent smile, his voice deep and inexorable as the tides of the Chu’paq Sea.
“However, let us not forget the meaning of what we have seen-indeed, the meaning of the entire festival.”
Good, thought Kahless. That is what the people needed to hear, now more than ever. It was to Unarrh’s credit that he should be the one to remind them of this.
“Let us rejoice in the tradition handed down to us by our fathers,” the council member intoned. “Let us place honor above all else, despite the temptations laid in our path by treacherous men-was
“How do you know)” called one of the warriors on the fringe of the crowd.
Heads turned with a rustling of cloaks and hoods. The rain beat a grim tattoo on the hard ground.
“How do you know,” the man repeated, “that the cleric Olahg is treacherous? How do you know he’s not speaking the truth?”
“That’s right,” called another warrior, from elsewhere in the assemblage. “He says he has proof.”
“What if Kahless was a fraud?” asked a woman. “What if all the myths about him are lies-as dishonorable as those for which Morath was punished?”
“They are not lies,” Unarrh maintained , anger flashing in his dark, expressive eyes. “The stories are as true now as they have ever been. In time, this upstart initiate will be exposed for the fraud he is. But until then, I will continue to believe in the virtues Kahless taught us-and more than that, in Kahless himself.”
Well said, the clone cheered inwardly. Surely, that would silence the doubters in the crowd.
But it didn’t. If anything, it made their voices stronger as they rose to meet Unarrh’s challenge, their protests louder than the grumble of thunder from the persistent storm.
“What if Kahless did not invent those virtues?” asked the first man. “What if that was a lie too?”
“All our lives,” shouted the woman, “we’ve believed in him, worshipped him … never suspecting our beliefs were based on falsehoods which bring dishonor to us all.
What will we believe in now?”
“Rest assured,” shouted Unarrh, “your beliefs were based on truth. Nothing can change that-certainly not a corrupt cleric, whose imagination exceeds his sense of propriety.”
He darted a glance at a subordinate who was standing off to the side. Kahless knew the meaning of the gesture.
Before long, the protesters would be picked out of the crowd and taken bodily from the gathering.
As they should be. Yet, the prospect was of no comfort to