86

You scan the horizon. Three reed ships appear from downriver, moving fast against the wind using triangular sails like nothing you've seen before in this savage land. Cerulean Guards line the gunwales. They're armed and dressed all exactly like now. With their tasseled wooden helmets, round shields, and flint-tipped spears, their resemblance to Greek hoplites is unmistakable. Their flag depicts the Ziggurat itself with a starlike shape in its heart.

"Stralchus is playing dress-up with his army of fanatics," Alexius says.

"He is advancing his followers through the stages of historical civilization as swiftly as he can," Control says. "And doing so faster than should be possible."

"There," Kothis says, pointing out a tall man in a blue miter, flanked by diplomats in blue masks. "The herald of the Ziggurat."

Therko's tattoos scrape like flint against steel as he balls his hands into fists. The herald wears an outfit much like Therko's when he served the Apostolic Mound.

"I don't want a fight," Vecla says, "but I still don't trust the Ziggurat. We need to protect ourselves in case their soldiers attack."