The Girl with No Name Ch. 31

"Please."

"As soon as the sun rose, a group of provincial guards recognized the Bishop's horse and pursued the rider. It took several hours, but finally they cornered Enockt and arrested him. Without bothering to ask any questions or formally put him on trial, they bayoneted him. Interesting, is it not? They had, in their custody, the most notorious criminal in the Vice-Duchy, but they were so deluded by the gold they never bothered to learn their prisoner's true value. The guards spent the rest of the day arguing over what to do with the gold and how to divide it up. Each thought he deserved to have most or all of it. At sunset, the guards grabbed their muskets and clubbed and bayoneted each other until a single man was left alive. He took off with the Bishop's stallion and fled. The surviving guard was dead in less than an hour, murdered by brigands who recognized the horse and wanted the animal for themselves. By sunrise the following morning, the brigands were dead and the treasure changed hands yet again. So, that was the fate of the gold and the horse. For the rest of the summer, the coins and the animal moved from town to town, separating souls from bodies wherever they went."

"...and how will it end?"

"It just ended, today in fact. Another mortal, a bit smarter than most, did what you did. He rejected the gold and refused to touch it. I spared his life and took back my coins and my horse."

There was a long pause, as Danka (as she was still known to the Destroyer) stared into the unblinking yellow eyes.

"I have a question. I'd like your permission to ask it."

"As you wish. Ask."

"You seem to enjoy punishing people who indulge in hubris. That's the weakness that seems to attract you the most. Am I correct about that?"

"I don't 'punish' mortals, Danka Síluckt. I separate souls from bodies because that is what the Cosmos calls upon me to do. But you are correct about hubris. A person, or a nation, indulging in hubris is more likely to draw my attention than one that is not indulging in hubris. And remember, hubris takes many forms and destroys mortals in many different ways."

The eyes vanished and the darkness receded. The ground released the young woman's feet. When she looked at the fence-post, the owl was gone. She felt strangely at peace, which was the first time she had ever felt that way after a visit from the Destroyer. Previously she had felt frightened or bewildered or angry, but this time the Destroyer had not visited to taunt her. Instead, the Destroyer had given her some insight about the Realm of the Living. She was grateful for insight, regardless of where it came from.