"Brother Sunsight, you promised you would give Melo a chance to prove
his devotion to the God. You set before him, and me, several tasks, all
of which we have accomplished. Are you afraid, before the Eyes of the
Moon, the Emperor, and Yelmalio to let him prove himself before you
all?"
Naiya the Arroyan smoothed her sun-bleached hair out of her eyes as she shouted up at the dark window where Sunsight had hid for the past week. Phileanus could no longer avoid the inevitable. He could no longer endure the embarrassing scene which had repeated itself on the temple steps for eight days. He would have to question the monkey.
He stepped out of the temple into the sunlight wearing his gold robe and staff. He worked up a smile.
"Good people of Harpoon, bear witness. This...monkey...wishes to enter
the Light of God. I have placed before it several tasks which it claims
it has accomplished." He then turned to the Arroyan, "What is it's name
again?"
"Melo Yelo, Brother Sunsight." she replied. A snicker murmured through
the onlookers. Sensing a chance to display his superiority, Sunsight
drew a patronizing smile across his face.
"Then I shall ask it, and it must tell the truth or the Sun will strike
it blind: Melo Yelo, did you alone complete the tasks I set upon you?"
With eyes cast upwards to the Sun, the baboon said, "I have, me me alone I have!"
The now silent crowd turned its eyes towards Sunsight. He gripped his staff tightly, searching for the quiver of lies. The staff remained motionless, no flutter of falsehood passed through his hand. He waited, too long.
"Why do you hesitate, Brother Sunsight?" asked the Arroyan. "Can you not
tell he speaks truth? Has God struck his eyes out or not?"
Sunsight ground his teeth. Would that he strike dumb the tongues of meddling foreigners, he thought.
He finally managed to say "It speaks truthfully. It has passed the tests alone."
Naiya smiled inwardly to herself. "Then, Brother Sunsight, you must now honor your tenants. A soul seeks initiation into the Glory of Yelmalio. He has lived according to the strictures of the God. He has broken no law of Sun County. He has shown himself worthy by performing all the tasks that you, a priest, set before him. Now, honor and law demand that you let him Contest."
From the top step of the temple door where he stood, Sunsight could see the villagers slowly taking her side. Heads were beginning to nod. The Sun stared down upon the scene, unblinking. The priest fought to remember some rule, some catch, some excuse to avoid what he was now beginning to accept as the inevitable. The Arroyan, below him on the bottom step, looked up at him, impassive and expectant. The baboon, head bowed, waited for his answer.
"I will give him Contest." were the hardest words Sunsight had said in
his life. Melo lifted his head, eyes gleaming, and barked joy at the
Sun. Naiya lowered herself to her knees, then lay prostrate before the
priest.
"I bow before the great wisdom and compassion of Yelmalio and his Son,
Brother Sunsight of Harpoon. Let all here know how great my respect is
for any man who honors his word and obligations." Naiya slowly stood
and stepped away from the temple stairs, head bowed and still facing the
priest. "If there are any here who require the Succor of the Goddess, I
shall be in the fig grove."
BABOONS IN SUN COUNTY In 1618, Melo Yelo, a baboon (mentioned in SC), passed the Contest of Yelmalio and was initiated into the religion of the god. Vega Goldbreath owed Naiya the Arroyan a healing favor; Melo joined Goldbreath's coterie as a scout at her request. During a protracted Sea Season skirmish with the Bison People, Melo proved his value. His intelligence and baboon senses allowed Goldbreath and her troops to survive in Wastelands and track down and slaughter the Bison People braves who had harassed eastern Sun County.
In 1619, Goldbreath petitioned Count Ironpike to allow additional baboons to join the cult and act as scouts for the coteries. Though originally highly opposed to the idea allowing his subjects to fraternize with "the monkeys," Ironpike revisited his position, but imposed strict behavioral rules for the baboons and harsh punishments for violators. By 1621, over twenty baboons had joined the cult (shaved and tattooed yellow to imitate Melo Yelo), serving as messengers, scouts, and spies.
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