‘That sounds right,’ put in Olinna. ‘There must be some reason! Maybe the wrong settlers were allowed to breed, and that caused the problem we face now. Perhaps the Temple is right, and we should remain strict, become even more so.’
‘Of course I am right!’ snapped Brettin. ‘Poor Assessments in the past, and that very ill-considered war into which our present Chief led us, have seriously reduced our numbers of High-Assessed. The future will rectify this, though it may take a generation or two. More, perhaps. It is of no moment. We can only progress by strict, most strict, Assessment. This is our duty, our legacy, handed down from the very first settlers.’
‘I believe,’ said Iver carefully, yet in a voice that cut across the hasty words of others, a voice that carried such an essence of com
