Chapter 24

The pilgrims of the Saviour have gathered around the deck of the stranded ship. A wooden platform is placed in front of the cabins. Hurmaz’s body is put on the platform covered with a thin, clean fabric and a young girl is chained to a rod next to the platform. She doesn’t seem to have more than fourteen years. Her mouth is covered with a dirty rag and her hands and feet are tied to the chains. The pilgrims swear and curse, throwing stones at her. The guards try to stop the stoning and keep her alive until the death sentence is carried out according to the Saviour Rules. The girl is bleeding all over and she has fallen down on her knees. One of the guards brings a wooden plank – probably left over from building the platform – and places it in front of the girl to save her from being stoned to death by the angry pilgrims. The Circle members enter the platform, wearing fine robes and the purple turban around their necks. They line up before Hurmaz’s body from the oldest Akhgar who has become the First Disciple to the youngest member, Mart, who has recently entered the Circle. They put their hands in front of their bodies and bend their heads to show their respect and sorrow. Then they step back and stand in line, all except for Akhgar. They try not to move or look at the gathered crowd as if they are afraid of losing their appearances and their fake show becomes undermined. The only member that seems to be truly sad is Chooman. He seems to have cried a lot and tears are building up in his eyes again; yet he seems more nervous than others of ruining the show for he can hardly control his sobbing. The Oxan chiefs and other chiefs from the ships come out of the corridor wearing luxurious clothes, behind them the disciples and the Ship maids come out with their usual appearances. They all stand in the special place beside the platform. The crowd roars as the special guests step on the deck. Akhgar gives the frenzied crowd a few seconds to calm down and stop talking. But they seem more excited than he thought. He orders the guards to silence them. The guards shout out, “Silence!” And have to move through the crowd and stop them from murmuring. As they slowly calm down, Akhgar starts his speech:

“I, Akhgar, the son of Behbod, have been chosen as the eighth Great Disciple by the generous Circle members. I hereby swear my humble services to you as the First Disciple of the Saviour. I promise to bring you peace and security throughout all the lands and sea under the supervision of the Saviour Ship.” The crowd starts cheering him and he has to silence them again with his hand gesture. He continues:

“We all mourn the loss of our First Disciple, Hurmaz. My heart goes to our friends, the Oxan chiefs, the chiefs from all the ships that have gathered here today, to the masters, missioners and the maids and to all of you that have always been true servants to our beloved Master Hurmaz and the Saviour. Please accept my condolences. The parting ceremony will take place in the harbour. But before that I wanted to talk to you about our recent calamity… The Oxan fire…” The crowd disrupts Akhgar, shouting and cursing. Akhgar pauses and looks around nervously. The guards go between the crowd to make them calm down and listen. Akhgar wipes his sweat from his brows with a cloth. He goes on: