Once the excitement died and there was no other concern to stay him, Megelin knelt over Muamar and wept. You were a true friend, old warrior, he murmured. Thank you.

Fuad, of all people, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He was a good man, Megelin. Well all miss him.

The teacher glanced up. He was surprised to see a tear on Fuads cheek. He was my weapons master when I was Harouns age. As he was Harouns. For Fuad that seemed to be ample explanation.

The man called Beloul, who, subjective centuries ago, had escaped the disaster at Sebil el Selib, examined the dead men. He was now one of Yousifs most savage captains. In his time, too, he had gone back into Sebil el Selib as one of the Wahligs spies.

These are El Murids men, he said. This one is Shehab el-Medi, a captain of the Invincibles. He was almost as crazy as the Disciple.

So, said Yousif. The mystery deepens. Theyre El Murids special bullies. Nobody gives them orders but the man himself. And yet its only been six months since he outlawed any kind of sorcery. Curious.

The Disciple had, in fact, declared a death sentence upon all witches, warlocks, shamans, shaghûns, diviners and anyone who practiced any kind of occultism. He had charged Nassef with the eradication of sorcery wherever his troops found it.

Hes insane, Beloul observed. He doesnt have to be logically consistent.

Radetic had thought at the time that the Disciples declaration made a grim kind of sense. The Kingdom of Peace had won no converts among the wise. Men with the Power were almost universally his enemies. They aided the Royal cause where they could. That they were generally ineffectual reflected the level of competence of the sorcerers of Hammad al Nakir. The talent had been very nearly eradicated during the fury of the Fall.

Radetic again thought of the Hidden Ones. Would El Murid be fool enough to try expelling them from Jebal al Alf Dhulquarneni?

That was too much to hope. Like most of the Children of Hammad al Nakir, he probably did not think of them at all.

El Aswad buried its dead and went on, as it had done for years. A month later a spy brought news which illuminated the assassination attempt.

El Murid had instructed his Invincibles to found a secret order within the bodyguard. The available details convinced Radetic that it was a mystery cult. It called itself the Harish, and was extreme in its secrecy. Members were organized in pyramided brotherhoods of three men, only one of whom knew any cultist above the three in the hierarchy. The tattoo was El Murids personal seal. It was formed from the initial letters of Beloved of God, and meant that the bearer was guaranteed a place in Paradise. It supposedly faded when the cultists soul ascended.