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15 ~ Questions<br />
It took Mura many months to get used to the reception she had to face as she traveled to various<br />
cities and villages. Even though the details of her daughter's birth were known to only herself,<br />
Verta, Morna, and Rednaxela, the fact that she was Delva's daughter and had no known husband<br />
had given birth to a sense of worship in the people she met. Her approach to this was to accept the<br />
devoted attention she received, avoid answering questions about her daughter's "father", and<br />
launch every meeting with a lively discussion of the people's immediate problems.<br />
If Mura's lineage and the rumors of her birth process gave her an advantage in gaining the trust<br />
and interest of those she met, Verta's presence and speech gave her a living example of what it<br />
meant to be a spiritual youth.<br />
It was easy enough for Mura to preach the tenets of Akla's Faith to people and, whether they<br />
embraced that Faith or just incorporated the spirit of the teachings in their lives, she was happy to<br />
find that most people were decent and open-minded.<br />
It was a different situation for Verta. She deeply loved and respected her mother. She knew the<br />
importance of never discussing her "father". She knew her mother was completely devoted to<br />
Akla's Cause yet she was still a growing youth with more years to test her own burgeoning<br />
character against the whole rest of the Worlds. She was more than intelligent enough to<br />
understand the social teachings of Akla, prime among them the Oneness of all <strong>An</strong>gians, yet her<br />
soul was still wrestling with her ego and she loved a rousingly spirited discussion, about anything.<br />
If she wasn't aware of the precise details of a subject, she would ever so honestly and sweetly<br />
demand to be instructed. Then, she would sally forth into the arena and test her mental skills.<br />
She had a way, even if she knew nothing about a particular topic, of strengthening the other<br />
person's understanding, even if they were a supposed expert.<br />
The concerns of adults when discussing the interrelationship of faith and science became for<br />
her a reason to demonstrate faith in action—show them that faith in a concept was useless unless<br />
thrust into the experimental laboratory of living action. She was very lucky indeed to have the<br />
help of Morna and Rednaxela during some of these discussions. <strong>An</strong> example:<br />
Mura and Verta were in the village of Certiv, near the city of Selurn, in the Territory of<br />
Kernuma, on <strong>An</strong>ga-Param. There were a group of adults discussing Akla's Faith with Mura while<br />
Verta sat and listened. Six youth of the village appeared during the course of the discussion and<br />
the one named Zalen began to interject his comments into the adults' flow of conversation. Verta<br />
began to respond to each of Zalen's remarks. He in turn began to direct his speech straight at<br />
Verta.<br />
When he finally knew he was in over his head and the adults were starting to get restless, Verta<br />
surprised them all by saying:<br />
"If you believe you're stronger than anyone you know, do you think that makes it right for you<br />
to demand that people do whatever you say?"<br />
Zalen was stung by the challenge and grasped at his sense of importance by saying:<br />
"Absolutely, but I have to prove it to some people by pounding on them a bit."<br />
"You haven't proven it to me, Zalen. Will you now pound on me?"<br />
"Sounds like you want me to."<br />
"That is completely your own decision."<br />
The adults of the village were edging toward being frightened. Zalen was known for his temper<br />
and willingness to prop up his esteem with physical bullying. Mura was calm in her<br />
understanding of her daughter's abilities and the added protection afforded by the presence of<br />
Morna and Rednaxela. Verta thought the experiment needed more heat.<br />
"Your own decision, Zalen, to prove to me that I should respect whatever you say just because<br />
you have a strong body."<br />
"You do want a pounding."<br />
"You decide. But beating me up will only prove you have physical strength, not that I should<br />
respect whatever you say."<br />
"You don't respect me?"<br />
Verta remained silent. Zalen felt this small girl was making him look ridiculous. She just sat<br />
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