Chapter 27

The great ritual scheduled for the Day of Awakening is about to begin. Ony'a takes in the view with awe. It has been so long since the ritual was actually allowed to take place. Lagos is nervous about leading the ritual but is ready to begin. Ony'a promises Erut they will leave before the light grows too bright so that no one will see him there. Lagos prepares the three sacred elements before him and begins the ritual which includes blessing each person assembled. Before he can too far, however, the rising sunlight reveals the presence of two banners representing the leader of the Kevutian invasion force: Yavech Yaves. He and the others are infuriated and attack the temple. Heavy fighting ensues as the Kevutian soldiers were hiding nearby.

A sample of the manuscript:

Lagos put his arms down and turned around. Before him was the temple. A swath of bright light had worked its way from its base and was rising up the columns and the front portico the way water can fill a dry and thirsty river bed. As it climbed it revealed the soft undulations of two large banners attached to the front columns. The banners were colored a light red with gold markings in its middle. The breezes were soft so the banners moved slowly and made little noise but their great size assured that they fluttered in great rolls and waves. The gold inscriptions were bright enough to send flickers of light out into the few remaining shadows and onto the faces of the onlookers. The constant folding and unfolding of the banners made it difficult to make out the full shapes of their symbols and all the faces below were trying to decipher its shape and significance.

“Oh no,” whispered Erut in a hushed but deeply troubled voice.

Ony’a looked up toward the banners and studied the shape that was trying to assemble itself in the moving breeze. “What is that?”

“The Double ‘Y’ Diamond.”

“Double ‘Y’?” Ony’a thought about it for a moment then looked at Erut. “Yavech Yeves, the Supreme Magnate of the Conglomerate?”

“Yes.”

Ony’a could see the same thought process going in on the head of her brother until the realization came to him.

“The Banner of the Conglomerate on the walls of our most sacred temple?” He called out to the crowd. “This is a sacrilege!”

Erut tugged on Ony’a’s bodysuit. “You better get to him before he goes into an outrage.”

Ony’a grabbed on to Erut and started pushing her way through the crowd. “We may already be too late.”

Ony’a did her best to ramrod her way through the pack of confused faces with one hand and hang on to Erut with the other while Erut did his best not to get pressed between two or more increasingly angry Myshkans. Ony’a knew she was already too late. Lagos’ temper was lit and its heat was spreading. He was stirring up the emotions of all those around him. The feelings of horror and disgust were palpable and growing. Before she could even reach him, he had already started to lead a flow of people toward the columns.