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(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

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O<strong>be</strong>lisk, or 'The Hangman's Pillar' as the boys called it <strong>to</strong> the consternation<br />

<strong>of</strong> many Dustmen. So many jokes had <strong>be</strong>en made about the large s<strong>to</strong>ne<br />

erection, carved with the names <strong>of</strong> countless dead, that they had gotten<br />

stale years ago. Yet still the jokes were <strong>to</strong>ld if only <strong>to</strong> tweak some Dustie<br />

noses.<br />

Soego had always <strong>be</strong>en a slim boy, and in the alleys it was always a<br />

disadvantage. Here though, he found it easy <strong>to</strong> squeeze <strong>be</strong>tween a burly<br />

fac<strong>to</strong>ry worker and a tall, <strong>to</strong>othless old man. Behind him one <strong>of</strong> the taller<br />

boys, a soon-<strong>to</strong>-<strong>be</strong> Backalley Shiv if rumors were <strong>to</strong> <strong>be</strong> <strong>be</strong>lieved, was<br />

punching his friend in the shoulder. That was the most violence the<br />

Dustmen would allow in this sanctum. Soego shifted, trying <strong>to</strong> nudge himself<br />

a bit more room. The old pews squeaked.<br />

And there she was.<br />

Her name was Seladril, a golden-haired aasimar with azure eyes and a<br />

milk-<strong>to</strong>othed grin. The loose Dustman ro<strong>be</strong>s ensured her modesty, but it<br />

was low-cut enough that it revealed a neck like a swan's. Seladril moved as if<br />

she were a force <strong>of</strong> nature: she swished like the wind kissing the summer<br />

grass, walked as if she traveled the paths <strong>of</strong> the stars that so many Prime<br />

Worlders spoke <strong>of</strong>. Yet it was <strong>not</strong> this celestial dance that guided her: rather,<br />

it was her natural will and charm that seemed <strong>to</strong> <strong>cause</strong> all in the planes <strong>to</strong><br />

<strong>be</strong>nd <strong>to</strong> her <strong>be</strong>ckoning.<br />

And it was that charm that drew the crowds <strong>to</strong> witness a Dustman preach,<br />

<strong>of</strong> all things.<br />

She knew how <strong>to</strong> use her body <strong>to</strong> that effect. A flick <strong>of</strong> her wrist would catch<br />

the eyes <strong>of</strong> all the boys, and they would stare. If she lifted her arms just so,<br />

those drab, loose sleeves would slip, revealing slim lily-white arms <strong>be</strong>nding<br />

like liquid porcelain, and the men would sigh.<br />

Once a week she came <strong>to</strong> the o<strong>be</strong>lisk. She would smile with each point, joke<br />

and fill the air with bubbly laughter <strong>be</strong>tween each hymn. But what drew<br />

young Soego was her eyes.<br />

Limpid and bright like silvered sapphire, Seladril's gaze was so unlike the<br />

dull, dead <strong>be</strong>yond-the-grave stare carried by so many <strong>of</strong> her brothers and<br />

sisters. When she was silent, they were piercing as wistful half-forgotten<br />

memories at twilight. When she smiled, those eyes were bright and teasing<br />

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