The Fifth Mountain Page 0,20

conquer our city. How can we negotiate?"

The Fifth Mountain

"There are threatening signs. An army does not waste its...

Each day saw the arrival of more soldiers, and the governor mused about the amount of water necessary for all those men. In a short time, the entire city would be defenseless before the enemy army.

"Can we attack now?" the high priest asked the commander.

"Yes, we can. We shall lose many men, but the city will be saved. But we must decide quickly."

"We must not do that, Governor. The gods of the Fifth Mountain told me that we still have time to find a pacific solution," Elijah said.

Even after hearing the conversation between the high priest and the Israelite, the governor feigned agreement. To him, it made little difference whether Sidon and Tyre were ruled by Phoenicians, by Canaanites, or by Assyrians; what mattered was that the city be able to go on trading its products.

"We must attack," insisted the high priest.

"One more day," said the governor. "It may be that things will resolve themselves."

He must decide forthwith the best way to face the Assyrian threat. He descended from the wall and headed for the palace, asking the Israelite to go with him.

On the way, he observed the people around him: the shepherds taking their flocks to the mountains; the farmers going to the fields, trying to wrest from the arid soil sustenance for themselves and their families. Soldiers were exercising with spears, and a few newly arrived merchants displayed their wares in the square. Incredibly, the Assyrians had not closed off the road that traversed the valley from end to end; tradesmen still moved about with their merchandise and paid the city its tax for transport.

"Now that they have amassed such a powerful force, why have they not closed the road?" Elijah asked.

"The Assyrian empire needs the products that arrive in the ports of Sidon and Tyre," replied the governor. "If the traders were threatened, they would interrupt the flow of supplies. The consequences would be more serious than a military defeat. There must be some way to avoid war."

"Yes," said Elijah. "If they want water, we can sell it to them."

The governor said nothing. But he understood that he could use the Israelite as a weapon against those who desired war; should the high priest persist with the idea of fighting the Assyrians, Elijah would be the only one who could face him. The governor suggested they take a walk together, to talk.

THE HIGH PRIEST REMAINED ATOP THE WALL, OBSERVING the enemy.

"What can the gods do to deter the invaders?" asked the commander.

"I have carried out sacrifices at the Fifth Mountain. I have asked them to send us a more courageous leader."

"We should act as Jezebel has done: put an end to the prophets. A simple Israelite, who yesterday was condemned to die, is today used by the governor to entice the people to peace."

The commander looked at the mountain.

"We can have Elijah assassinated. And use my warriors to remove the governor from his position."

"I shall order Elijah killed," replied the high priest. "As for the governor, we can do nothing: his ancestors have been in power for several generations. His grandfather was our chieftain, who handed power down to his son, who in turn handed it to him."

"Why does custom forbid our bringing to power someone more efficient?"

"Custom exists to maintain the world in order. If we meddle with it, the world itself will perish."

The high priest looked about him. The heavens and the earth, the mountains and the valley, everything fulfilling what had been written for it. Sometimes the ground shook; at other times - such as now - there were long periods without rain. But the stars continued undisturbed in their place, and the sun had not fallen onto the heads of men. All because, since the Flood, men had learned that it was impossible to change the order of Creation.

In the past, only the Fifth Mountain had existed. Men and gods had lived together, strolled through the gardens of paradise, talking and laughing with one another. But human beings had sinned, and the gods expelled them; having nowhere to send them, they created the earth surrounding the mountain, so they could cast them there, keep vigil over them, and ensure that they would forever remember that they abided on a plane far inferior to that of the dwellers of the Fifth Mountain.

The gods took care, however, to leave open a path of return; if humanity carefully followed

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