THE FOLLY OF THE PHARISEES

And so it came to pass, that in the great kingdom of the brown race, the persecution of the Pharaoh Putthakanoyh's enemies continued unbidden . Upon orders from the Phaorah's Palace, the Pharaoh's allies in the Temple of Doom, led by High Priest Nihultupazh, managed to enact a ruthless plan to destroy the Pharaoh's number two enemy, the High Magistrate of the People, Renatus Coronus. And so it was that an historic event unfolded in the great kingdom. For the first time in its history, a Pharaoh's vengeance took place in the form of a trial at the High Council of Elders.

The kingdom watched with bated breath as the pharisees of the pharaoh paraded before the people their evidence against the High Magistrate, conditioning the minds of the feeble-minded of the guilt of the accused. These pharisees strutted like wizened mages, telling anyone who would listen of the undeniable guilt of Coronus. Then the second day of the trial came.

On the second day the kingdom watched as the pharisees prepared to present their case to the High Council of elders. But Lo and Behold, the pharisees, in their haste to destroy Coronus, came woefully unprepared. High Priest Nihultupazh was reprimanded by the High Council for not making any effort to present a good case against Coronus. The pharisees, deeply and utterly embarrassed, went to the marketplace afterwards, presenting their evidence to the people, but no one in the marketplace listened. But they were not by any means discouraged, for they were, after all, allied with the Pharaoh Putthakanoyh. They shall live to fight another day, for the trial has just begun.

Sadly, even though the pharisees have made a fool of themselves and showed the kingdom their ignorance, many people still believe them, and still believe the lies they continue to spread against Coronus. As one scribe put it, all of what is happening in the Kingdom is a result of the Pharaoh and his family's desire to keep what is not theirs to keep, a land bought for by the peoples' gold, a land that should be the peasants to have. The Pharaoh's family even sought the help of a family of scribes and bards, well known throughout the kingdom for delivering news from the capital to the far raches of the kingdom.

Coronus won that day, but not without cost. The people must be reminded, he said, that now is the time for vigilance, as a creeping dictatorship threatens to tear the delicate fabric of the kingdom's democracy. The pharaoh is out to seek full control of every aspect of governance of the kingdom, unmindful that the kingdom has the High Magistrate of the People and the High Council of the People to keep his powers in check -- for if the Pharaoh had full control of the kingdom's affairs, as mages feared, six years of darkness shall descend on the kingdom.