The accused, Magne Hebler, did present himself in custody after being struck by an anomalous corruption during his travels to the hinterland. His travel companion, Brother Kaare Weidemann, perished at once, collapsing without mark, as if taken into sudden silence by God’s hand. Magne endured, but bore seven evident malformities, of which three may be cited directly against the catalogues of the Good Book:
- A crooked horn, grown above the left brow, twisted in form, likened to the figure of the goat of the Pit.
- A tail, malformed and fleshy, protruding beneath his spine, as if mocking the balance of creation.
- Scales upon the right foot, sharp and pallid, reminiscent of the ancient serpent.
The accused was denied sustenance, in accordance with Deviant Law, and kept within the house of stone until inquiry was ordained.
Upon being pressed, Magne Hebler did not deny the outward signs, yet protested that his soul remained clean, that he was a true son of the Faith, and that his belief had not faltered. I, Theodor Siegel, did remind him of the Prophet Joseph’s written word, that “taint comes not by chance, but springs from within the heart.” To this Magne at first consented in word, yet would not yield in sense.
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I demanded: Why then had Brother Kaare been granted the grace to perish unstained, while you, Magne, endured in deformity, a living proof of corruption?
The accused had no plain answer. He faltered, muttering that God’s will was hidden.
The ritual of fire was applied to his feet, oil set to flame until the skin blistered. Under such holy pressure, Magne relented, confessing that he had long suffered thoughts impure, and that surely God had punished him for such trespass, while Kaare was received into Heaven. He asked forgiveness and begged for his sin to be seen as punishment, and not covenant with the Great Evil.
By my decree, in counsel with holy writ:
He is exiled from the Society of Friendship, his name struck from its rolls.
His belongings are to be burned, lest the taint linger.
He is barred from holy ground in perpetuity.
He is to be whipped by the cat o' nine tails thirty times, in final testimony against his flesh.
The punishment was begun. After the twenty-third strike, weakened by the burning and the strain of interrogation, Magne Hebler did succumb. His breath departed without dignity, his body bearing the clear wages of sin.
As his atonement was not finished in life, we hope it will instead be endured thousandfold in death. Through this suffering, his soul may yet be welcomed when God opens his Kingdom.
Thus the record is sealed.
Theodor Siegel, Theologian Elect