Noman

Noman by William Nicholson

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Authors: William Nicholson
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blue door, but looking round in all directions, he could see no sign of it. The little house had disappeared. So, it seemed, had the road.

    He was lost in the sea of grass.

THE SECOND STAGE OF THE EXPERIMENT
Hypothesis
In the heart of the violence and superstition of the world, I will place a new breed of men and women. They will seek no riches, no dominion, no glory. They will be warriors but not conquerors. They will have power but they will never rule. By the example of their lives they will lead others to act justly and to love peace.

    Can such noble warriors endure through the years? Can they remain strong but uncorrupted? Can they renew themselves generation after generation? Can they fall sick and heal themselves? Can they die and be reborn?
    If all this can be done, then I will know there is more good than evil in men's hearts, and I will go to my rest content.

9 Yes, Beloved
    M ORNING S TAR WAS WOKEN BY H EM. H E HELD OUT A tin plate on which there was a piece of bread smeared with honey.

    "Breakfast," he said.
    "Oh, Hem. You are sweet."
    "Share the joy," he said.
    "Hem! Have you joined them?"
    "Why not?" said Hem. "There's food. There's fun. Who wants to go back to being hungry and sad? Not me."
    "Nor me."
    Hem squatted down beside her as she ate her bread and honey.
    "How old are you?" he said.
    "I'm seventeen."
    "I don't know how old I am. How old would you say I am? Fifteen?"
    "Maybe a bit less than that."

    "If you'll wait for me, I'll get older quite soon."
    "Wait for you, Hem?"
    "Then you can marry me."
    "Oh, I see."
    "Unless there's someone else you want to marry more." He avoided her eyes. "Which I expect there is."
    "No," said Morning Star. "There's no one else at present. But even so, I think it's too soon, don't you?"
    "I knew you'd say that. That's why I said to wait. I hate being young. It's not fair."
    He got up and stomped crossly away.
    Morning Star found this little exchange put her in a good mood. She took her tin plate back to the food tables, where everything was in the process of being packed away into the wagons. The Joyous was preparing to move on.
    "Where are you going?" she asked the ox handlers.
    "Just moving on," they said.
    "But there must be somewhere you're going, or why move at all?"
    "So people can find us."
    This was the way the Joyous grew in numbers. For days now, the followers of the Joy Boy had been slowly crossing the land, drawing in their wake the people of villages and towns. This was a time of uncertainty, following the collapse of the old ruling power of Radiance. The army of the Orlans had broken up into rival bands, and no village was safe from their horse-borne raids. The roads were full of refugees driven from their homes by feuding bandits. At such a time, the vast throng that was the Joyous proved an irresistible draw to the rootless frightened people of the hills and the plains; and so it grew larger with every passing day.

    Morning Star now found herself unsure what to do. She had left Spikertown thinking she could return home, but home for her meant her father and mother. Did she therefore propose to stay with them here in the Joyous?
    At this point, she was approached by a smiling young woman who bowed politely to her and said, "The Beloved would like to see you."
    Morning Star realized at once that she wanted this very much. She followed the young woman through the crowd, past people putting out fires and packing up belongings into kit bags, to the circle of favored devotees that had formed round the Joy Boy. He was kneeling on the ground, his head bent, while an older man poured water over him from a bucket.
    Morning Star waited and watched. She supposed the water was to wash him clean, but the manner in which he knelt there, so humble and unresisting, made it look like a ritual of greater significance. As before, Morning Star felt both irritated and impressed.
    He looked up now, face dripping, and smiled to see her before him.
    "You came. I'm so

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