assault.
The moon was almost completely visible now. Hrathen stared up with renewed resolve. He might lack passion, but he had an ample serving of determination. Licking his now wetted lips. Hrathen restarted his prayer. He would continue as he always had, doing his best to serve in Lord Jaddeth's empire.
There was nothing else God could expect of him.
CHAPTER 34
Raoden was wrong about Shaor's men. A few of them came to him that night to cook their food, the light of consciousness shining weakly in their eyes. The rest-the majority of Shaor's followers-did not. They came to him for another reason.
He watched several of them pull a large stone block on one of Mareshe's sleds. Their minds were gone-their capacity for rational thought atrophied somehow by their extended submersion in bestial madness. While several had recovered-if only partially-the rest seemed beyond help. They never made the connection between fires and cooking; they had simply stood howling over the grain, outraged and confused by their inability to devour it.
No, these men had not fallen into his trap. But, they had come anyway-for Raoden had dethroned their god.
He had entered Shaor's territory and had escaped unscathed. He had power over food: he could make it inedible for one but succulent for another. His soldiers had repeatedly defeated Shaor's band. To their simple, degenerate minds there was only one thing to do when faced by a god more powerful than their own: convert.
They came to him the morning after his attempt at restoring their intelligence. He had been walking the perimeter of New Elantris's short defensive wall, and seen them slinking down one of the citys main thoroughfares. He had raised the call. thinking they had finally decided to mount a coordinated attack.
But Shaor's men had not come to fight. That had come to give him a gift: the head of their former god. Or, at least. her hair. The lead madman had tossed the golden wig at Raoden's feet, its follicles stained with dark, stagnant Elantrian blood.
Despite searching, his people never found Shaor's body.
Then, the fleece of their fallen goddess lying in the slime before them, the wildmen had bowed their faces to the ground in supplication. They now did exactly as Raoden said in all things. In turn. he had rewarded them with morsels of food, just as one would a favored pet.
It disturbed him, using men like beasts. He made other efforts to restore their rational minds, but even after just two days he knew that it was a futile hope. These men had surrendered their intellect-and, regardless of whether psychology or the Dor was to blame, it would never return.
They were remarkably well behaved-docile, even. The pain didn't seem to affect them, and they performed any duty, no matter how menial or laborious. If Raoden told them to push on a building until it fell over. he would return days later to find them still standing against the same wall, their palms pressed against the belligerent stone. Yet, despite their apparent obedience. Raoden didn't trust them. They had murdered Saolin; they had even killed their former master. They were calm only because their god currently demanded it.
'Kayana,' Galladon declared, joining him.
'There's nor much left, is there?' Karata agreed.
The Kayana was Galladon's name for them. It meant the 'Insane.' 'Poor souls,' Raoden whispered.
Galladon nodded. 'You sent for us, sule?'
'Yes, I did. Come with me.'
The increased manpower of the Kayana had given Mareshe and his workers the means to reconstruct some stone furniture, thereby conserving their already dwindling wood resources. Raoden's new table inside the chapel was the same one that he had used to make Taan remember his stonecarving days. A large crack-patched with mortar-ran down the middle. but other than that it was remarkably intact, the carvings worn but distinct.
The table held several books. The recent restoration of New Elantris required Raoden's Ieadership, making it difficult for him to sneak away to the hidden library, so he had brought our several volumes. The people were accustomed to seeing him with books, and hadn't thought to question him-even though these tomes still had leather covers on them.
He studied AonDor with increasing urgency. The pain had grown. Sometimes, it struck with such ferocity that Raoden collapsed, struggling against the agony. It was still manageable, if only barely, but it was growing worse. It had been a month and a half since he entered Elantris, and he doubted he would see another month come and go.
'I don't see why you insist on sharing every AonDor detail with us, sule,' Galladon said, sighing as Raoden approached an open tome. 'I barely understand half of what you tell us.'
'Galladon, you must force yourself to remember these things,' Raoden said. 'No matter what you claim, I know you have the intellect for it.'
'Perhaps,' Galladon admitted, 'but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. AonDor is your hobby, not mine.'
'Listen, my friend,' Raoden said. know AonDor holds the secret to our curse. In time, with study, we can find the clues we need. But,' he continued, holding up a finger, 'if something should happen to me, then there has to be someone to continue my work.'
Galladon snorted. 'You're about as close to becoming a Hoed as I am to being a Fjordell.'
I hide it well. 'That doesn't matter.' Raoden said. 'It is foolish not to have a backup. I'll write these things down. but I want you two to hear what I have to say.'
Galladon sighed. 'All right, sule, what have you discovered? Another modifier to increase the range of an Aon?'
Raoden smiled. 'No, this is far more interesting. I know why Elantris is covered with slime.'
Karata and Galladon perked up. 'Really?' Karata asked, looking down at the open book. 'Does it explain that here?'
'No, it's a combination of several things,' Raoden said. 'The key element, however, is right here.' He pointed to an illustration.
'Aon Ashe?' Galladon asked.
'Correct.' Raoden said. 'You know that Elantrian skin was so silvery that some people claimed it glowed.'
'It did,' Galladon said. -Not brightly, but when my father walked into a dark room, you could see his outline.'
'Well, the Dor was behind it,' Raoden explained. 'Every Elantrian's body is connected constantly to the Dor. The same link existed between Elantris itself and the Dor, though the scholars don't know why. The Dor infused the entire city, making stone and wood shine as if some quiet flame were burning within.'
'It must have been difficult to sleep,' Karata noted.
'You could cover it up,' Raoden said. 'But the effect of the lighted city was so spectacular that many Elantrians just accepted it as natural, learning to sleep even with the glow.'
'Fascinating, — Galladon said indifferently. 'So, what does this have to do with slime?'
'There are fungi and molds that live on light. Galladon,' Raoden explained. 'The Dot's illumination was different from regular light, however, and it attracted a different kind of fungus. Apparently, a thin translucent film grew on most things. The Elantrians didn't bother to clean it off-it was practically imperceptible, and it actually enhanced the radiance. The mold was tough, and it didn't make much mess. Until it died.'
'The light faded….Karata said.
'And the fungi rotted,' Raoden said with a nod. 'Since the mold once covered the entire city, now the slime does as well.'
'So, what's the point?' Galladon asked with a yawn.
'This is another string in the web.' Raoden explained, 'another clue as to what happened when the Reod struck. We have to work backward, my friend. We are only now starting to learn symptoms of an event that happened ten years ago. Maybe after we understand everything the Reod did, we can begin to guess what might have caused it.'
