have given you ample opportunity to defend yourselves. Now punishment awaits you for all your crimes.’ The god took a deeper breath and adopted a monotonous, almost bureaucratic tone. ‘You are guilty of breaking the law of hospitality, as well as numerous lesser offences, acts of extortion and suicides. For these deeds, I brand you and your lineages with the mark of shame.’
Both legionaries suddenly arched their backs and howled. Smoke rose from their faces, as if they were being seared with red-hot iron. Einar watched the scene with horror and a touch of fascination. Marks appeared on the Xuindonians’ faces; on the right-hand side, an inscription in the shape of a circle reading >>POLLUERUNT<<, meaning "disgraced". On the left, a skull had been branded, resting at the end of a long, coiled sash: the sign of Death.
‘Furthermore, you are guilty of attacking the innocent and the unarmed. The punishment for this shall be the loss of the hand with which you raised your weapon against the child.’
The legionaries howled once more. This time, their right hands turned black and began to wrinkle, drying up at an accelerated rate. The men fell silent only when their hands had been completely mummified.
‘For the murder of Fuilin of Iveln and all the other murders you have committed, I cast a curse upon you. From now on, every time you close your eyes, you will be haunted by the fear and suffering of your victims. Every night, you will relive what they went through.’
A bolt of lightning split the cloudless sky, momentarily blinding everyone in the clearing. When Toinen’s sight finally returned, he saw the terror reflected on the mutilated faces of the legionnaires.
‘Finally, for the rapes, the defiled deeds and other atrocities committed in the name of the fallen, which you and your lineages have perpetrated, you are condemned to extinction. There shall be no heir, and no child of your blood shall be born. This is the end of your lineages.’
Another lightning bolt, this time red, split the sky.
‘I, Thanatos, have spoken thus.
