The Greatest Sin

Arascus came to Kassandora’s tent. “Olephia’s set off with the western army.” He said, Kassandora smiled, nodded, and took another swig from the bottle. She was obviously tipsy, and if she was tipsy, that meant two things: Arascus would have to restock her cabinets, and she had a reason to celebrate. “Sandfire?” He asked.

Kassandora raised her bottle, giggled, and half-shouted, half-slurred some words. “I am a genius!” Arascus sighed and poured himself a glass. So Sandfire had worked.

Mwai Ruku straightened his shirt as he stared at the representatives in the United Ardan League. It was a huge building in central Epa. Some in the government had said it would be dangerous to go and to send an ambassador instead. But then Helenna had brought him those pictures.

He had wanted to wear a suit for this speech. Instead, he had come in a tan shirt, it was creased. It didn’t even have a sign. If anyone had appeared at the UAL assembly like this, it would have been a national humiliation for at least a year. But he didn’t care. Not after he had seen what Helenna brought him.

He looked out at the huge auditorium. With marvellous chandeliers and walls of marbles and multiple levels to make sure everyone could see the speaker. With individuals tables for each country of the world. Some countries had brought parties. The UNN and Guguo both had seven people sitting at their tables. Doschia had two. Rancais three. Ausa had sent only one person. Most of Arika did, the countries that neighboured the Jungle wouldn’t have even arrived for a UAL meeting if it wasn’t for the fact that Kirinyaa didn’t request it. On the top levels, there were camera crews from every station in the world. This was Kirinyaa’s first international address on the war, it would be big news. Frankly, Mwai didn’t care who arrived. He just needed to say what needed to be said.

There was a speech prepared. He had written it with Helenna. They had spent half a day working on it and perfecting it. It was a masterclass of speechwriting, that tugged on heartstrings and would make everyone who supported the Pantheon’s invasion ashamed of themselves. But it didn’t fit. Mwai had lost all energy to give grand speeches when Helenna showed him the images.

He sighed into the microphone. The judge behind him smacked the gavel. “Mister Speaker, please do not stall the assembly.” He sat on a tall platform and was only here to enforce order in the assembly, but that little comment twisted something in Mwai. Some tiny spark of anger combusted into a blazing inferno of fury.

“I have no speech to give.” Mwai said into the microphone. He took the paper before him and scrunched it up into a ball. “I have no speech to give.” He repeated again. He brought out the photo he had brought and clicked the on the stand that would turn on the camera. “There is simply nothing to say.” Mwai took a deep breath and calmed himself. The UNN delegates were rolling their eyes, the Epans were leaning forwards.

“I came here.” Mwai said as he steeled himself together. “I came here to announce that Kirinyaa did not want war. That this White Pantheon invasion is an overreach of power. I came to inform the world that Kirinyaa would rather stand with the members of the League together, that our military exists to continue the Reclamation War, to destroy the menace of the Jungle that spans over central Arika, and that it would be disbanded as soon as the project was completed.” Mwai looked out over auditorium with its white walls and blue carpets. At the suits looking at him. The Arikans all had grim faces, the Epans were starting to sweat. Guguo and the UNN did not seem to care.

“But I was wrong.” Mwai said. He threw the speech behind him. “I have nothing to say at the actions of the White Pantheon. To denounce the invasion is a farce. To try and reason with the Divines is inane. To pretend there is anything to reason with is as if to pretend that the Jungle can be reasoned with.” Mwai took a pause, one woman from the UNN delegation shouted something.

“The White Pantheon safeguards the peace and stability of this world!” Mwai merely fixed her with a look. What did she know? He had stood up to Elassa. His country had built an army. Kirinyaa was the first nation in the history of this world to ever try something against the Jungle. And this woman had the gall to shout something like that?

“Thank you.” Mwai said. Of course the judge behind him did not issue a warning to her. No, of course not. The League was a Pantheon invention after-all. “I will say none of that.” Mwai said. “Because today, Kirinyaa has changed course.” Mwai brought out the photograph Helenna had printed. Melukal, with all its red and yellows and oranges, ablaze against the dark sky. He looked behind himself. The camera was indeed working, projecting a picture of the table right now.  “I have nothing to say, because the White Pantheon’s actions speak for themselves.”

Mwai slid the photograph into the camera. Immediately cameras started flashing. The Rancais delegation collapsed into the seats. The Doschian and Lubskan did too. The various individuals from Arika all widened their eyes with shock, a few slammed their hands with fury. The UNN and Guguo looked taken aback. Mwai continued. “This is Melukal after Fortia, gracious Goddess of Peace, captured the city.”

He stared the auditorium down. There was nothing to say. No words needed to be added to that image, the photograph said it all. Mwai merely took a step back as Helenna appeared from the back door. Divines, formally, were not allowed here. This room existed as the final chance for mortals to sort their quarrels before the White Pantheon would come in to make a decision. It was unprecedented for a Divine to speak here, but frankly, Mwai did not care. He spat on the White Pantheon the moment he saw that image of Melukal.

The judge immediately started banging his gavel to restore order. The UNN delegation finally showed a reaction. “Divines are not to intervene in these-“

“Thank you for your information.” Helenna said, she stood half again Mwai’s height. Dressed in all black, she could have attended a funeral, her dress covered her from her neck to her boots. “But I will speak, and no one here will stop me.” She stepped away from the microphone, there was no need to. Her voice projected over the entire room. Cold and sombre and pained, like the last twinge of a guitar finishing a melancholic ballad. “I did not come to issue orders. I did not come to speak for Divines.” Helenna took a deep breath, her hair was pitch black today. It had not changed from that colour since Mwai saw her. “I came to speak for a girl who cannot speak, who will never say anything again.”

And Helenna brought out a photo. She slowly turned to the stand. The UNN delegation was about to say something again. The Ausa man stood up. “SHUT UP!” He shouted at the UNN representatives in their blue suits. They fell silent as the other Arikans looked over in their direction.

Helenna slid the first photo of the diary of Tisha Msuya into view. And she began. “I like writing. So I’ll write everyday from now on.” There was an excited exclamation mark at the end, drawn there as a thick box with a circle underneath rather than written as just a line with a dot. Helenna did not add the emotion though.

And as Helenna read. The room fell silent. The Ausa man cooked in fury. The other Arikans did too. The Epans had the decency to look embarrassed with themselves at least. UNN and Guguo only made grim expressions. The Judge had tried to silence Helenna with his gavel at the start, but an uproar from the Arikan delegations shut him up.

Helenna finished her reading. She looked up. Her hair turning red as she started to shout. “I cannot bring Tisha Msuya back. Nor can I bring back anyone else who was in Melukal. All I have to say to you is to congratulate yourselves. The UNN and Epa especially, who raised not a single word of protest when the White Pantheon announced its invasion. I have to congratulate Rancais especially, who was so against the war that they started backchannelling funds into Epa instead of taking a stand. Where was the protest? Kirinyaa showed you how to stand against the Pantheon, and let’s not joke about here. Kirinyaa is a poor nation, the entire country’s industry is surpassed by one of your cities. But they stood. They stood and you kept kneeling. Congratulations.” The three men from Rancais collapsed further. Mwai cast them a dark look, he had appreciated the thought back then, he had even thanked President Artois personally.

When Helenna said those words though, it put things into perspective. If they wanted to help, was the best they could do was set up a back channel supply of food and medicine? Cowardice. Helenna continued. “Tisha wrote joked about wanting to be famous. I wish to apologize to everyone in her family right now, if you hate me for sharing her story, you are right to. No child should become famous in the manner she did.” Helenna took another breath.

“You have all created a world in which children write about shrapnel. Well done.” Helenna turned to look directly at the cameras. “And this is to Elassa, to Fortia, Zerus and Sceo, Maisara, Theosius, Alkom and all the litany of minor Divines who sit upon the Mountain. I am glad I left. The White Pantheon is a disgrace. Pantheon Peace was established because we know what happens when Divines battle. You waged a clean war for all of seven days before you reverted to the people you were before the Great War.” Helenna finished. She spat on the blue carpet underneath. “This is all I have to say you. I did not come to represent Kirinyaa today. I came to represent myself, because I could not do nothing when Fortia was running a cleansing.”

And then Helenna turned and left. In quick steps, she slammed the door behind her. Mwai retook the stand. “This Divine war, the White Pantheon declared on Arascus, Kassandra, Neneria, Olephia, Fer and Anassa.” He took a breath. “We were promised that the war would be as clean. That it would be a battle between Divines on Kirinyaan soil. What we got was this.” He replaced the last excerpt of Tisha’s diary with the image of Melukal ablaze.

He looked over at the auditorium again. Helenna was going to be unprecedented, but he was about to do something even worse. It would revolutionize Kirinyaa, and it would change the world as a whole. He took a deep breath. “Right now, the Kirinyaan assembly is heading to Kassandora, Goddess of War, Razer of the Jungle. We do not want anymore of the White Pantheon’s empty platitudes or their vain promises.”

He took another breath and looked around. The Arikans were looking at him eagerly. The Rancais delegation was looking as if they wanted to die, all the Epans were. Guguo and the UNN remained steadfast, as did the other minor nations from the other continents of Arda. Mwai let the sigh hang before he continued. “Today, Kirinyaa swears allegiance to Goddess Kassandora and God Arascus. Their war is our war. We will not stand by as the White Pantheon burns our cities and kills our people. I, Mwai Ruku, President of Kirinyaa, declare a formal state of war against the White Pantheon for this grave injustice they have committed against us.”

He put his arms before his back. “I now address the people of Kirinyaa. We will stand, we will not bow before the Pantheon. Any soldier who deigns to step over the border will find that our nation will become their grave. Kirinyaa is in a state of war. I repeat. Kirinyaa is in a state of war right now. Kirinyaa will not fall to the Jungle, and Kirinyaa will not fall to the Mountain.”

He finished off, he hadn’t asked Kassandora yet, but somehow, he didn’t think she would think badly of what he was about to say. “Goddess Kassandora is granted full command of war proceedings.”