* * * * *
She barely whispered the name. It meant Immortal, and it had been a
word of terror for so long that no amount of time could erase the
memory. The Ramas had achieved their immortality by a system of
induction that might have been liked to the pouring of old wine into
new bottles, and though the principle behind the transplanting of a
consciousness from one host to another was purely scientific, the
reactions of the people from among whom they requisitioned their supply
of hosts was one of simple emotional horror. The Ramas were regarded as
vampires. Their ancient island city of Sinharat lay far and forgotten
now in the remotest desolation of Shun, and the Drylanders held it
holy, and forbidden. They had broken their own tabu just once, when
Kynon of Shun raised his banner, claiming to have rediscovered the lost
secret of the Ramas and promising the tribesmen and the Low-Canallers
both eternal life, and all the plunder they could carry. He had given
them only death and since then the tabu was more fanatically enforced
than ever.
[Illustration: _Rama meant Immortal, and it had been a word of terror
for so long that no amount of time could erase the meaning._]
"Their city has not been looted," Carey said. "That is why I have hope."
"But," said Arrin, "they weren't human. They were only evil."
"On the contrary. They were completely human. And at one time they made
a very great effort to atone."