Shattered Shields - eARC by Jennifer Brozek, Bryan Thomas Schmidt Page A

alone, or maybe we are now, but we were not then. There are other lands, as big or bigger than this one, and isles, so many isles, thousands of them in between.”
    Keta knew that there were islands. On a clear day some could even be seen on the horizon. He remembered a time many years ago when some of the casteless decided to try and make it to one. A false prophet had a vision, saying they could go live in a place beyond the Law’s reach, and be whole men there. He said the Forgotten would protect them during their journey. Many fools had gone with him on their pathetic cobbled-together boat, while the rest had watched, curious, along the shore. Of course, the demons had come from the deep and consumed them, and the master of the house had laughed and laughed at the foolishness of his non-people.
    “There used to be trade, of ideas, things, animals and crops. Men explored and settled and made new lives and bore children who’d do the same. Now that the demons own the sea, I wonder if those other lands have become as dark and isolated as this one, or if they still live at all. Here, Ramrowan pushed the demons back into the sea. Maybe the Forgotten didn’t send other lands such a hero.”
    He had heard so many conflicting myths and stories, but this was new. “Ramrowan?”
    “They’ve done such a fine job stomping out our history here.” Ratul looked at Keta for the first time. “When God defeated the demons in the War in Heaven, they fell here and began a great slaughter. Mortals could not slice the hide of a demon, so God sent one of his generals to the world to protect us. It was Ramrowan who united all the houses and pushed the demons back into the sea. Thus Ramrowan became the First King. We built a great temple at the spot where he fell to the world, and a city sprung up around it. It is still the capital today.”
    “The Law says that there are no gods and no kings,” Keta said suspiciously. “There is no temple in the capital, and there is certainly no king over the houses.”
    “The Law did not exist then. In those days there were prophets who taught God’s will. After Ramrowan died, the prophets said that the demons would return again, and only the blood of Ramrowan would be able to smite them. If this blood-line died out, we would all perish with it. The Sons of Ramrowan were to defend us, and their bloodline could never die, or we would be defenseless before the demons. They each took a hundred wives and had many more sons who each took many more wives. Their lives were sacred, and far more important than lesser men, so the first caste was born.”
    “There have always been castes!” Keta insisted. “I read it in a book!”
    “Heh. You can read? I knew that I chose well. No, butcher, the Sons of Ramrowan were the first caste, and as time went on other castes were created to serve their whims. First were the workers, then the warriors, then the merchants and most of the others that we still have today, all of them created to see that every desire of the Sons was granted. All wealth was theirs to take. Any woman they desired was granted as another wife, because what are the wishes or property of any one house compared to our eternal security from the demons? The priests enforced the will of the ruling caste. They began to replace their god’s teachings with the desires of the Sons of Ramrowan. As the numbers of the first caste grew, so did their greed and pride.”
    “We will rise up and kill them all,” Keta spat. “They are still horrible today!”
    “Yes…” Ratul turned back to the waves. “Yes, they are.” He sighed. “Things changed over the generations. The priests began to forget their god, and the prophecies were merely tools to gain riches. The church and the Sons of Ramrowan became one and the same, and the priests even bore their name. Eventually, the great houses grew in unbelief until they only saw the priesthood as oppressors. The Sons of Ramrowan, who had grown fat and