One voice against the weight of silence
Messo’s success in gaining Catenum’s support emboldens him to take to the streets and marketplaces of Setreed. While he holds out hope that survivors may heed his message, the archives reveal a harsher reality: most Orudarans will not.
Messo began stopping people on the streets, warning them of the coming war and its consequences. Most laughed at him. Some grew irritated at his interruption. Others looked on him with pity, believing he was losing his grasp on reason.
“Sir,” he said to a soldier standing outside a pub. “A war is coming like none Orudara has ever seen. Everyone who remains in Setreed will die. You can join those who would be saved.”
“I do not know who you are,” the soldier said with a menacing laugh, “but I am no coward. I will not flee any supposed battle. If I catch you troubling more soldiers, you will face my justice.”
Messo turned away and hurried toward the University district. Surely the scholars, with all their books and scrolls, would see the truth in his message.
“The great enemy has returned, and Telimicas is his name,” Messo announced to the assembled scholars. “His army is vast, and it is growing daily. Even the walls of this city will not withstand his assault. We must flee.”
“We are scholars of Orudara,” a voice boomed from the audience. “We harm no one, and no one will harm us. You cannot sway us with your fearmongering.”
Messo left the University with his confidence scraped thin. His first night of recruiting had produced nothing but scorn. If his appeal could not penetrate the ivory tower, how could he reach the people?
Yet he could not give up. A rising dread forced him to continue day after day.
“Ma’am,” he said to a young mother of two the next afternoon.
Her children clung to her skirt as the wind tugged its folds around them. “I am a member of the Information Guild. Telimicas has an army prepared to destroy Setreed. I know a place where you can take your family and be safe.”
“I have heard the whispers as well. Tell me the way, and we will go.”
Delighted by this first success, Messo pressed on with more urgency. Later, he saw a young mason working hard to brick up a wall, mortar streaking his forearms.
“Good day,” Messo greeted.
“I am listening,” the man said, continuing to set each brick in place.
“Telimicas is coming to bring death and destruction. You can join his army or you can remain here and die. Or, I know of a refuge where a new beginning is possible.”
“A refuge? Some days I think death is better than the drudgery of my current life. If such a place exists, show me the way.”
Messo found success among some of the merchants and trades folk. Young families from all walks of life also responded to his call. The powerful and wealthy, however, refused to leave their comforts. Most soldiers treated Messo just as the first one had.
Meanwhile, the army of Telimicas grew, filled with disaffected servants drawn to his promise of a remade world.
One morning, his Guild Master confronted Messo.
“Messo. We know you have defied our orders. Despite your extraordinary talents, your inability to place duty above compassion makes you unsuitable for Information Guild membership. Gather your things and depart immediately. You have been banned from the Guild for life.”
Messo’s heart sank. The Guild had been his life and his family. Yet his new purpose, saving as many Orudarans as he could, softened the blow. Losing his membership closed old doors, but as news of his dismissal spread, more of the common people listened.
Weeks later, Telimicas’s army began to move. Refugees poured into Setreed through every gate. Smoke rose from outlying villages, and the sounds of distant fighting drifted across the fields to the city’s sentinels. The gates closed a final time, and the siege of Setreed began.
Messo and his last group of recruits slipped out just as the north gate shut behind him. He hoped that he and his recruits could escape the narrowing gauntlet of Telimicas’s forces and reach Carimpluni without leaving a trail.
Which record will you examine next?
