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For all the progress that had been made in the restoration of Khambawe, the task was far from complete. Many of the interior sections of the Jewel City still lay in ruins, waiting to be reconstructed. The Emperor had decreed that the entire city was to be rebuilt by the beginning of the next rainy season – what was once known as First Calling.  Although much work remained to be done, the people of Khambawe were confident that they could fulfill the Emperor’s edict, even if it did seem unreasonable to some.

But there were those in the city who bore scant regard for either the new Emperor or his many pronouncements. As well, they harbored deep-seated suspicions of the Fidi outlanders and the new god they had brought to Khambawe. They did not speak publicly about their misgivings, for their opinions were shared by only a small number of their fellow Matile; and in any event it was not considered wise to speak ill of the Emperor Gebrem or the Almovaads. To do so was not prohibited, but such opinions were more often than not shouted into silence by those who believed that they owed their lives to the foreigners. For that reason, the dissidents did not espouse their views in public, and they held their meetings in places where few others were inclined to go. 

This night, several people approached a house that remained the most nearly intact on a street of ruins. They came singly, and they spaced their arrivals at irregular intervals. Light from the Moon Stars created a pale nimbus that softened the jagged outlines of the broken buildings. In the distance, the night-sun that hovered over the Maim was clearly visible. Because of that silvery beacon in the sky, the people who approached the house were able to gather at night without any need to fear becoming victims of the tsotsis.

However, the dissenters felt no gratitude for that tangible gift from the new god. The night-sun and the rumors of sinister shadows that were killing off the tsotsis only exacerbated their misgivings. Their discontent was not based on loyalty to the Jagasti, who had abandoned – and been abandoned by – the Matile. Yet the doubters could not bring themselves to embrace the worship of the new god, whose adherents seemed to have profited rather than suffered in the wake of the near-disaster that had befallen the Empire.

The dissenters continued to converge on the half-fallen house until more than a dozen had made their way inside. The interior of the house remained dark until the last of the group had arrived. At the lighting of a single candle, their clandestine meeting commenced.