Directly behind Ala stood Ingra. The contrast between
the three principal personages struck my eye even in that moment of
bewilderment--Ala stately, blonde, and beautiful as a statue of her own
Venus; the high priest ominous and terrifying in aspect, even now when we
felt that he was honoring us; and the great judge, with his snow-white
hair and piercing eyes, looking like a god from Olympus.
"Do you note the significance of that arrangement?" Edmund asked, nudging
me. "Ala, the queen, yields the place of honor to the high priest. That
indicates that our reception is essentially a religious one, and proves
that our flight sunward has had the expected effect. Now we have the head
of the religious order on our side. Human nature, if I may use such a
term, is the same in whatever world you find it. Touch the imagination
with some marvel and you awaken superstition; arouse superstition and you
can do what you like."
It would be idle for me to attempt to describe our reception because
Edmund himself could only make shrewd guesses as to the meaning of what
went on, and you would probably not be particularly interested in his
conjectures.
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