Page 79 of Circle of Days
It appealed to the priestesses, too. People liked any kind of expedition. They talked excitedly among themselves for a few moments, then Ello interrupted. “May I say something?” she said. She did not need permission, of course, but she was pretending to feel usurped.
She waited for a reply, so Joia said: “We’re eager to hear what you have to say, as always.” She could be sarcastic too.
Ello said: “I’m remembering the day, ten years ago or more, when Dallo and the cleverhands moved a big stone for the farmer on the other side of the East River.”
Joia remembered it too. Her calculations about moving giant stones from Stony Valley were mostly based on what had happened that day.
Ello went on: “I think I heard you say that the Midsummer Rite festivities would be extended for a few days.”
“Yes.”
“I’m wondering whether a few days will be long enough. It tooktwenty men all afternoon to move that stone from the middle of the field to the riverbank—about the distance of an arrow’s flight.”
Joia nodded. That was right.
Ello said: “The Stony Valley stones are much bigger, but you hope to have two hundred people to move each one. For the moment, leave aside the question of whether you really can muster two hundred volunteers. Assume that you will move your giant stone at about the same speed as the twenty people moved the farmer’s stone the distance of an arrow shoot. Now, how many arrow shoots are there between here and Stony Valley? A hundred? Two hundred? It’s a key question, because the number of arrow shoots is the number of afternoons. A hundred arrow shoots would take a hundred afternoons, or fifty days.”
Joia had not done this calculation and she was floored. Could she persuade volunteers to give up fifty days?
But Ello had not finished. “Everyone here knows that the outer timber circle of the Monument consists of thirty upright posts and thirty crossbars. The inner oval is five triliths, which is another fifteen timbers. You are talking about bringing seventy-five giant stones from Stony Valley to the Monument.”
She paused. “You can all do arithmetic, but that calculation may be hard for you, so I’ll tell you. If your two hundred volunteers work nonstop, it will take them three thousand seven hundred and fifty days, or a little more than ten years.”
Joia knew then that she had lost. If it took fifty days to bring one stone, the Monument would never be rebuilt in stone. And now that everyone knew that, she would not be made High Priestess.
The conversation continued among the priestesses, but theissue had been settled. Ello left the building, looking dignified, probably concealing great delight that she had squashed Joia. Soon after that, a defeated Seft took his leave.
Joia spent the rest of the day quietly, doing chores, not talking much, getting used to her downfall. But she continued to worry about how Ello would behave as High Priestess. That problem had not gone away. She decided she would speak to her, and she thought hard about what she could say.
She went to Ello’s house in the late afternoon. Ello was sitting on the leather mat, her eyes red with tears. Joia said: “This is a sad day for all of us.”
Ello said: “What do you want?”
“You’re going to be the High Priestess.”
“Yes.”
“But there’s a problem.”
“What, that you want the position?”
“The problem is your relations with young novices, and what you do in the empty house.”
Ello’s response was indignant. “How dare you?”
Joia shot back: “How dareyou?”
They stared at one another. Ello was the first to look away.
Joia said: “We should care for our young people, not use them for our pleasure. When you are High Priestess, you cannot use the power and prestige of the office to seduce and coerce youngsters. It’s just wrong.”
Ello looked both angry and guilty. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to solemnly promise that you will cease your ways.”
“Oh, very well, if you insist.”
“Don’t say it lightly. I’m going to hold you to it. From now on, every novice is going to know that she is not obliged to have sex with anyone, even the High Priestess. I am going to move into the empty house, so there will be nowhere for you to indulge your obsession. And if you ever break your promise I will reveal it to everyone and hold a meeting to decide what to do about it.” Joia knew that she could do such a thing, even though she held no official rank: she was still sufficiently popular and revered to wield personal authority.
