Page 81 of Infala: The Priest's Temptation
“Contrary to your actions, you would have me believe?”
“My and Draikis’s acts were perfectly natural.”
“Elsewhere, perhaps. But not here. Not where sacred vows were made.”
“Ah, yes. About that,” she said, picking up a bookmarked text. “If you would indulge me, there is a tapestry hanging in the corridor of this very compound. One of the oldest you possess,I believe. I’ve relayed the work to one of your aides. Would you please have it projected for all to see?”
“I’ll humor you.” He nodded to his assistant, the image appearing in the air above.
“Thank you. Now, you see this image is a historical record showing the Norvalians carrying an ancient relic of some sort.”
“That’s not just a relic. That is the sacred ark of the first brothers, containing the seeds of their earliest teachings.”
“Thank you for the clarification. So, to be clear, this is one of the holiest of holies?”
“To say the least.”
“And it was very, very old, right? When this took place, this procession, it was thousands of years ago, back when the Dotharians were originally expanding outward with the Norvalians acting as emissaries welcoming new worlds into the fold. Do I understand that correctly?”
“Your depiction is accurate.”
“And this tapestry has been authenticated for originality, has it not?”
“All artwork in these grounds are original pieces, most of them priceless. Where are you going with this? I am not holding this session to give a history lesson.”
“Of course not. But, with your permission, perhaps I can.”
The judge scoffed, as did most of the priests present. “What can you hope to teach us of our own religion? Do you wish to add blasphemy to your charges?”
“No, not at all. But I wonder if you can answer me a simple question.” She pointed to the woman hidden in the depths of the tapestries ranks of priests and colonizers. “Who is this?”
The judge leaned forward, squinting.
“Let me help,” she offered, zooming in the picture. “Who is this woman?”
Gasps escaped the lips of countless men, least of them Elder Soparo himself. Totaxxis looked confused. Confused and enraged. Ella gave him a wink and continued.
“It seems there is no record of who she is, but the presence of a woman in the ranks of the Norvalians in their earliest days, as depicted in this authenticated tapestry, suggests women were not always banned from the order.”
Totaxxis lunged to his feet. “How dare you!”
“Sit down!” the judge commanded, his voice booming far louder than even he’d anticipated.
“Thank you, Your Honor. Now, I would say you could argue away her presence as maybe a servant or maid or something, but if you’ll look here,” she said, zooming in closer, “you’ll see something quite interesting. She is walking hand-in-hand with another. With a man. With a priest of the order.”
“Impossible,” the judge blurted.
“I would have thought so too, but you said this was an authentic relic. Of course, on its own, that could mean little. After all, the law is quite clear no women are allowed in the order.”
“As it has been, so it shall be,” several men in the gallery said in unison.
“Well, about that. I’ve been studying your texts.”
“Yes, you were provided copies of our laws, as requested.”
“And I thank you for that. But I’m not talking about those, though they are quite clear about the no women rule. But I’m referring to something much older,” she said, tapping the open page in front of her. “I’m talking about the ancient texts from which your laws are based.”
“You can read the ancient text?”
