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the Righ in surprise, for it was unusual for him to be so conciliatory. He was looking at Iain with genuine sympathy and friendliness, however, and the prionnsa flushed and took the hand Lachlan held out to him, gripping it fervently and muttering something in response. Iain's wife, Elfrida, leant forward. "Am I to understand by your words, Your Highness, that ye intend to invade Tirsoilleir and overthrow the Fealde?"
    Lachlan looked at her warily. "I suppose I do, my lady." He knew, of course, that Elfrida was the last of the MacHilde clan, one-time rulers of Tirsoilleir, who had long ago been ousted by the militant religious leaders of that country.
    Although it would have been easy to assume Elfrida was a bitter opponent of the Fealde, Lachlan also knew she had for eighteen years been indoctrinated with the philosophy of the Kirk. The army camped throughout southern Eileanan was made up of her countryfolk, and it was entirely possible she felt some qualms at the talk of war against them. Most tellingly, she had several times exclaimed in bemusement and even horror at some tenet of the Coven's beliefs. Like the others, she had spent many hours of the past few weeks at the Tower of Two Moons, being taught about the history of the land and the philosophy of the witches. There was no doubt it was far different to what she had been taught. The Tirsoil-leirean believed in one god and one god only. They believed all who chose to worship a different deity or in a different way were condemned to eternal agony in a fiery realm. Their god was a cruel and jealous god who rode the sky in a flaming chariot, sweeping the land with fierce eyes in search of sinners and heretics.
    The Coven of Witches, however, believed only in the natural forces of the world. Everyone was free to seek their own path to wisdom and to worship in whatever way they pleased. If they prayed, it was to Ea, who encompassed both light and darkness, life and death, the creative and the destructive. Ea was neither good nor evil, male or female. Ea was both and neither.
    The tensions between Arran and the rest of Eileanan had always been both personal and political, but the differences with Tirsoilleir were religious, and therefore far more dangerous. It was no wonder Lachlan looked at Elfrida warily as he spoke of invading her homeland and overthrowing the ruling council.
    "And what do ye plan to do with my country once ye have conquered it?" Lachlan flushed and gripped his scepter tightly, the Lodestar mounted at its crest glowing brighter in response. "I will demolish its evil temples and free the people from the tyranny o' the Fealde," he retorted hotly. "Everyone should have the right to believe as they please, and no' be forced to sacrifice their children and mutilate their bodies at the direction o' a passel o' filthy, pain-loving priests!"
    "It is only the berhtildes who must mutilate themselves and that is the command o' the Fealde and no' the General Assembly," Elfrida replied hotly, before blushing in confusion and stammering, "I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but indeed it is no' true what ye say. The pastors do no' sacrifice children, though it is true many mortify their flesh in repentance for their sins."
    "But are there no' cruel punishments for those who do no' agree with your priests' teaching?" Meghan asked in interest.
    Elfrida nodded. "Aye, indeed, many are maimed in reprisal for confessions o' heresy, or burnt alive, or drawn and quartered. But ye should no' call them priests, my lady, that is an heretical term. There are the pastors and the elders and the berhtildes who together make up the General Assembly who rule the land."
    "I can see it is a blessing the Spinners have brought our threads to cross," Meghan said. "Indeed, it has been so many years since we've heard from beyond the Great Divide that we really know very little about your countryfolk. If it is true that ye must ken your enemies to defeat them, as Iseult says, then whatever you