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The people gathered about him; the story was already known throughout the city. The governor and the high priest stopped and retraced their steps to see what was happening. The Israelite prophet was saying that he had seen the gods of the Fifth Mountain worshiping a superior God.
"I'll have him slain," said the high priest.
"And the population will rise up against us," replied the governor, who had an interest in what the foreigner was saying. "It's better to wait for him to commit an error."
"Before I descended from the mountain," continued Elijah, "the gods charged me with helping the governor against the threat from the Assyrians! I know he is an honorable man and wishes to hear me; but there are those whose interests lie with war and will not allow me to come near him."
"The Israelite is a holy man," said an old man to the governor. "No one can climb the Fifth Mountain without being struck dead by the fire of heaven, but this man did so--and now he raises the dead."
"Sidon, Tyre, and all the cities of Phoenicia have a history of peace," said another old man. "We have been through other threats worse than this and overcome them."
Several sick and lame people began to approach, opening a path through the crowd, touching Elijah's garments and asking to be cured of their afflictions.
"Before advising the governor, heal the sick," said the high priest. "Then we shall believe the gods of the Fifth Mountain are with you."
Elijah recalled what the angel had said the night before: only those powers given to ordinary people would be permitted him.
"The sick are asking for help," insisted the high priest. "We are waiting."
"First we must attend to avoiding war. There will be more sick, and more infirm, if we fail."
The governor interrupted the conversation. "Elijah will come with us. He has been touched by divine inspiration."
Though he did not believe any gods existed on the Fifth Mountain, the governor had need of an ally to help him to convince the people that peace with the Assyrians was the only solution.
AS THEY WALKED to their meeting with the commander, the high priest commented to Elijah, "You don't believe anything you just said."
"I believe that peace is the only way out. But I do not believe the top of the Fifth Mountain is inhabited by gods. I have been there."
"And what did you see?"
"An angel of the Lord. I had seen this angel before, in several places I have been," replied Elijah. "And there is but one God."
The high priest laughed.
"You mean that, in your opinion, the same god who sends the storm also made the wheat, even though they are completely different things?"
"Do you see the Fifth Mountain?" Elijah asked. "From whichever side you look, it appears different, though it is the same mountain. Thus it is with all of Creation: many faces of the same God."
THEY CAME TO THE TOP of the wall, from which they could see the enemy encampment in the distance. In the desert valley, the white tents sprang into sight.
Some time earlier, when the sentinels had first noted the presence of the Assyrians at one end of the valley, spies had said that they were there on a mission of reconnaissance; the commander had suggested taking them prisoner and selling them as slaves. The governor had decided in favor of another strategy: doing nothing. He was gambling that by establishing good relations with them, he could open up a new market for the glass manufactured in Akbar. In addition, even if they were there to prepare for war, the Assyrians knew that small cities will always side with the victor. In this case, all the Assyrian generals desired was to pass through without resistance on their way to Sidon and Tyre, the cities that held the treasure and knowledge of his people.
The patrol had encamped at the entrance to the valley, and little by little reinforcements had arrived. The high priest claimed to know the reason: the city had a well, the only well in several days' travel in the desert. If the Assyrians planned to conquer Tyre or Sidon, they needed that water to supply their armies.
At the end of the first month, they could still be expelled. At the end of the second month, Akbar could still win easily and negotiate an honorable withdrawal of the Assyrian soldiers.
They waited for battle to break out, but there was no attack. At the end of the fifth month, they could still win the battle. "They're going to attack very soon, because they must be suffering from thirst," the governor told himself. He asked the commander to draw up defense strategies and to order his men into constant training to react to a surprise attack.
But he concentrated only on preparations for peace.
HALF A YEAR HAD PASSED, and the Assyrian army had made no move. Tension in Akbar, which had grown during the first weeks of occupation, had now diminished almost entirely. People went about their lives: farmers once again returned to their fields; artisans made wine
, glass, and soap; tradesmen continued to buy and sell their merchandise. Everyone believed that, as Akbar had not attacked the enemy, the crisis would soon be settled through negotiations. Everyone knew the governor was chosen by the gods and that he always made the wisest decision.
When Elijah arrived in the city, the governor had ordered rumors spread of the curse the foreigner brought with him; in this way, if the threat of war became insurmountable, he could blame the presence of the foreigner as the principal cause of the disaster. The inhabitants of Akbar would be convinced that with the death of the Israelite the Universe would return to normal. The governor would then explain that it was too late to demand that the Assyrians withdraw; he would order Elijah killed and explain to his people that peace was the best solution. In his view, the merchants--who desired peace--would force the others to agree to this idea.
During these months, he had fought the pressure from the high priest and the commander demanding that he attack at once. The gods of the Fifth Mountain had never abandoned him; now, with the miracle of the resurrection last night, Elijah's life was more important than his execution.
