When Koth first heard tidings of the new prophetess Ariel (he did not yet know that Sophia was walking among the nephilim in the body of Ariel), he appeared to his servant Zadkiel, a nobleman of Family Gerash, or the White Beards. To Zadkiel, Koth said:
You alone have done all things according to my will. Therefore I name you the Mouth of Koth. Go first into all the small villages and towns of the Middle Lands, and preach to the House of Gerash what I will tell you.
So Zadkiel journeyed all over the third part of the habitable part of Gorpai that was settled by family Gerash, and this is what the Mouth of Koth preached to the people there:
"Thus says Koth, 'Sophia! My daughter! This I have against you, that you have accepted all praise for your healings, and your followers do not recognize me as the power and ultimate source behind all healing. And you allow your followers to believe that you are like me, having no beginning, and also no ending. Because you permit your followers to believe you were not created by me I appoint a day when you will no longer exist. Behold, I make you mortal. For only the uncreated can never be unmade. Therefore I shall unmake you, that all Creation shall know it is I alone who is the uncreated Creator.'"
Then Koth commanded the Mouth of Koth to go into all the lesser cities of Gorpai. There the Mouth of Koth preached to the people:
"Thus says Koth, 'Sophia! My daughter! For your inheritance I created all things, land and sea, beasts and people and growing things. But this I have against you, that you have accepted all praise for your healings, and your followers do not recognize me as the powerand ultimate source behind all healing. And you allow your followers to believe that you are like me, having no beginning, and also no ending. Because you permit your followers to believe you were not created by me I appoint a day when you will no longer exist. Behold, I make you mortal. For only the uncreated can never be unmade. Therefore I shall unmake you, that all Creation shall know it is I alone who is the uncreated Creator.'"
Then Koth commanded the Mouth of Koth to go into all the larger cities of Gorpai. There the Mouth of Koth preached to the people:
"'Thus says Koth, 'Sophia! My daughter! For your inheritance I created all things, land and space, time and energy. But this I have against you: That you wished your father dead, so you might come into your inheritance before the time of my choosing. Therefore yin and yang shall no longer call you a goddess, for you also are now mortal, and you shall die like yin and the sons of yin, in pain and fear.'"
And Koth commanded Zadkiel to journey at last to the great city of Koth. Then did the Mouth of Koth preach in the city plaza on the day of his entry:
"Thus says Koth, 'Sophia! My daughter! This your father has against you, that you have permitted your followers to believe that the prophet Ariel, falsely so called, carries your blood. Because you do not affirm that Ariel is a commoner who carries only nephilim blood, behold! I make you nephilim yourself. This day you are no longer a goddess, and are doomed to die, for perpetrating the lie that Ariel is a demigod. To the people of Rumbek no judgment rests on you, unless you hold Ariel to be a prophetess and continue to worship Sophia as a goddess; for I, Koth, am the only God. There is no other.'"
Then Zadkiel preached the Law of Koth, and for the first time the people of Rumbek heard the divine Law which would thereafter govern family Gerash in the Middle Land.
"If any yin or yang professes that there is another God than Koth, they shall be put to death. Unceasing warfare you must pledge against all who do not profess that Koth is the one true God.
"You shall not cease to expand the borders of the Empire of Koth across the Middle Land, even unto the uttermost parts of the West Land and East Land, until all of Gorpai owes allegience to Koth alone.
"A yin is not permitted to speak to a yang in public, nor to own anything; she is property herself.
"Five days are appointed, with names after the names of the Five Families. They are Larunday, Anteroday, Bellonday, Saladay, and Gerashday.
"Three days you shall eat, on Larunday, Anteroday, and Bellonday, and on the fourth day, or Saladay, you shall eat a double portion. But on the fifth day, or Gerashday you shall eat nothing, and drink only water. For this is the fast appointed by Koth. Only soldiers on campaign are exempted from the Fast of Koth on Gerashday.
"Three days you shall work, and the income thereof shall be for your own use. Saladay you shall work also, but the income thereof shall be for the temple.
"But Gerashday is the day of worship, you shall not work on that day, neither you nor your whole household. On that day you shall enter the Temple of Koth if you dwell nigh to the Mountain of Koth in the Middle Kingdom, or you shall enter the local shrine of Koth if you dwell in the settlements in the Westlands and Eastlands, or far away from the Mountain of Koth in the Middle Kingdom.
"There on Gerashday you shall worship Koth. None shall be exempted. The elderly or infirm shall be transported to worship Koth by their families. Only soldiers on campaign shall be waived from worshipping Koth on the fifth day.
"And this is the essence of worship: You shall give one-fourth of your income to Koth. A holy priest of Koth shall receive your worship on behalf of Koth.
"And the procedure for worshiping Koth shall be to present to the priest your worship card made of crackerwood sealed in a leather pouch, together with the money you have earned on Saladay.
"The priest shall inspect the seal, unwrap the worship card, and inspect the pattern of recent punches. If the money and the punches are in order, the priest shall make a new punch using one of five different punches drawn by lots, a star, a square, a triangle, a circle, or a rectangle.
"Then he shall store the worship card back in the leather pouch, add a seal, and return it to the worshiper, but the money he will put in the temple treasury.
"Yin, however, shall not worship, nor shall a yin be found in the Temple of Koth nor any shrine of Koth, upon pain of death. Neither shall a yin or a doll be permitted to earn income. The head of a household shall count a dirk's income as his own for worship purposes.
"If a man's worship card is falsely punched, and it is proven that he did not worship by consulting the temple accounting books, that yang shall be put to death. If any yang loses his worship card and no audit is pending, then there is no guilt; the man's worship card shall be replaced.
"But if a priest of Koth suspects wrongdoing and requests to examine a man's worship card, and the yang claims it is lost, then his guilt shall be assumed; he shall be put to death.
"Sixty-four punches shall fill the worship card. In the five festival days of New Card Week the priests of Koth shall issue new worship cards. New Card Week shall be a time of re-dedication to Koth, and the new year shall be met with fresh hearts.
"Employers shall send to the Temple or to the local shrines of Koth information on the wages of every yang in their employ. The priests of Koth shall use this information to ensure that each yang is worshiping Koth in the correct amount.
"For Koth knows that yang are weak and do not always seek to conform with the will of Koth in all things. That is why the Eyes of Koth must always keep watch. They are the sentries of the priesthood of Koth."
"When a dirk reaches the Age of Initiation, he shall enter the Rites of the Cupel system of testing. He shall wager his sister in a ritual fight to the death with another dirk. The dirk who survives the ritual battle shall take the sister of his opponent, and his own sister, to be his wives.
"Thereafter he shall be responsible to Koth for worship, being then a yang. And he shall be a private in the lower echelon of the Army of Koth, and may advance to corporal and sergeant based on his valor in combat.
"If a sergeant desires to attain to the middle echelon of the Army of Koth he must wager his two wives against the wives of another sergeant in the second ritual killing of the Cupel system of testing. The yang who survives this ritual battle shall take the two wives of his opponent, and retain his own two wives. And he shall be a lieutenant in the middle echelon of the Army of Koth, and he may advance to captain and major based on his valor in combat.
"If a Major desires to attain to the upper echelon of the Army of Koth he must wager his own four wives against the four wives of another Major in the third ritual killing of the Cupel system of testing. The yang who survives the ritual battle shall take the wives of his opponent, and shall retain his own wives, and have eight wives. And he shall be a colonel in the upper echelon of the Army of Koth, or a commodore in the Navy of Koth, and may advance to general and field marshal based on his valor in army combat, or admiral and fleet commander based on his valor in naval combat.
"The yang who dies on the battlefield serving Koth shall be adopted by Koth as his very son. For in the instant the holy warrior falls in battle, Koth receives his spirit in Anabas, the diamond palace of Koth above the clouds. In Anabas, Koth shall give him the gift of immortality.
"Remember this promise, and do not shrink back from battle, for it is Koth who rewards and punishes."
The Law of Koth went forth from the Holy Mountain to the uttermost parts of the holdings of family Gerash, until the greater part of the yang of the whole Middle Land owed fealty to Koth.
And the prophet Zadkiel was taken close into the confidence of Kirodiel, the patriarch of family Gerash, and became his chief counselor. But the city of Aramel in the far west of the Middle Lands was ruled by King Turel, who had returned from the other world where he had served as prophet to Abraham and Isaac. Turel was given the city by Kirodiel himself, but Turel resisted the new Law of Koth.
Zadkiel counseled the Patriarch to remove Turel's kingship, but the giving of the scepter is without repentance, and an errant king could only be held to account to the Patriarch by war.
The teachings of the prophetess Ariel remained popular among many of the yin throughout the Middle Lands and even some of the yang outside of Aramel. So Ariel continued to preach even when Kirodiel issued an edict banning her from speaking, and threatened to punish those who listened to her.
Zadkiel counseled that Kirodiel move against Ariel and put her under arrest, but Kirodiel was reluctant to agree on account of the popularity of Ariel among many.
Zadkiel said to him, "Consider the alternative, sir: Yin-centered rituals and devotions! Ariel is cutting at the very heart of accepted god theory."
But Kirodiel was a more practical yang, and he asked Zadkiel to lay out the real danger.
Zadkiel said, "The danger is two-fold. First is the city's over-reliance on income from pilgrims to the temple of Koth. We, that is Koth (Peace Be Upon Him), could lose a third of the tax base overnight. The second and scary part is the long-term danger of actually destroying the entire sacrifice-atonement system. Our entire religious structure is based on the proven fact that Koth's aim is not too good. As long as 'someone' is punished, never mind who, Koth is happy. But now Ariel comes along saying even the gods are to be judged according to a scale of good and evil."
Kirodiel said, "I see where you are going. Instead of merely atoning for our crimes, we're going to have to actually start being nice to one another."
So Lord Kirodiel finally agreed to move against Ariel. After she made the Sunset Discourse and summarized all her teachings before a large crowd, the Eyes of Koth were sent out to pick her her up.
Ariel was put on public trial and allowed to incriminate herself by her own confession so there would be no doubt among the people that her teachings blasphemed Koth. A detailed account of the trial was recorded in the scriptures to serve as an eternal testimony against Ariel and all who followed her.
After the proceedings, the Amazon leader Kandiel was allowed to visit Ariel in the dungeons beneath the Temple of Koth. The first few minutes had been spent in a wordless embrace, as best as could be managed through intervening iron bars.
Kandiel said, "Guilty! I can't believe it, Ariel."
Ariel replied, "Believe it, Kandiel. I'm to be executed at dawn."
Kandiel glanced around, assuring herself that their attorney-client privilege of private counsel, no matter how brief, was still inviolate. She asked, "So what's your plan?"
Ariel said, "Plan? There's no plan. Look around you Kandiel! Look at this security." Ariel reached through the bars again to touch her friend's face. "They've been planning this. That trial? It all stinks of Koth moving behind the scenes."
Kandiel said, "What if you're wrong? Granted, that's not very often, but I say we fall back to my plan."
Ariel said, "Kandiel, don't do anything stupid. Better yet, don't do anything at all."
They were interrupted by Kandiel's escorting guard, a kind but unswervingly loyal yang. "I'm sorry, that's all the time I can give you." He took Kandiel by the arm and firmly steered her away.
Ariel called out after her. "Kandiel! Just drop it, do you hear me?" But Ariel sighed, knowing her all too well.
Ariel's next visitor was Zadkiel, who came down into the dungeon and moved very close to the cell to look directly into her eye. After studying her quietly for a long time, he said, "Koth sends his regards . . . Sophia."
Ariel smiled. "I knew Koth was behind all this. Give it up, Zadkiel. If you have spoken to Koth you already know well that no threat to my life or any torment can make me do your bidding. At any moment I can bring about my own death with a simple thought."
Zadkiel said, ""Oh, a martyr is the last thing we want, Ariel. Unfortunately, your little friend has her mind quite made up."
Ariel narrowed her eyes and asked, "What does she have in mind?"
Zadkiel said, "You will be proud when you see it. Amazon commandos! Guards taken out with a head twist. Safe houses from here to the edge of the city. But as you've correctly surmised, it's a trap. That way we catch Kandiel red-handed, scoop up key Amazons, and crush your whole movement over the space of a single night. Then you hang, with no one left to rally around your corpse."
Ariel said, "Kandiel may be young and female, but don't underestimate someone who has spent three years under my wing. And don't sell Kandiel's Amazons short either."
Zadkiel said, "Koth has a far better plan that will save the lives of yourself, Kandiel, and your Amazons, but it requires that you be fully willing to participate, because yes, Sophia, the Lord Koth does know you can perform an End of Cycle at any moment of your choosing."
Ariel looked bored. "I breathlessly await your revelation of Koth's plan."
Zadkiel said, "The first part of his plan is that you will walk him through the procedure by which an elohim may assume the body of a nephilim."
Ariel laughed at him. "Were I to begin writing the mere highlights of the information down as fast as I am able, by the time this body died of old age, I would be only part of the way through the front matter of the procedure."
Zadkiel broke into a sly grin and said to her, "You and I both know you have other channels by which to enlighten Koth. But in any event, you will soon have much time to devote to writing. The second part of his plan is that we shall parade you captive in a cage through every city, town, and village in the Middle Lands."
Ariel said, "That would have the effect of discrediting me and everything that I have taught. I refuse."
"Oh, no, Sophia, you mustn't refuse, because the alternative is Kandiel, remember? The Plan?" Still, she did not make a sign to accept the plan.
Zadkiel went on. "Koth has authorized me to sweeten the deal somewhat. He pledges to propagate far and wide anything you write during your captivity, even if you paint Koth as a cruel tyrant."
And why not, Ariel thought, since they would be the writings of some one locked in a cage, to be taken for what that was worth. But in the end Ariel had to accept the humiliation because it really was the best alternative open to her now.
Ariel had no fear of execution. If her body was destroyed she would live on for many lifetimes of nephilim as Sophia, for Ariel was no longer nephilim alone, and Sophia was no longer elohim alone, but they were one hybrid being. But Ariel did fear that her nephilim friends would attempt to rescue her from execution, and she knew she was merely bait in a trap set by Koth, and it would mean certain capture and death for Kandiel and the Amazons she led.
Sophia agreed to have Binah reveal the art of possession to Koth, and in return her execution would be called off and the trap unarmed.
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