Oathtaker

Moving back around the main entrance, they made their way to the other side of the room. They waited until after a group of students with their instructor moved away before stepping toward the fourth window. It depicted a building in outline, with an emphasis upon its cornerstone.

“Here is the sign of the fourth of the Select,” said Faith as she approached Mara’s side. “The fourth signify the foundational institutions upon which society depends.”

“Sanctuary, family, community, government,” Dixon commented. “Fourths are sovereign over organizations and institutions necessary for a civil society.”

“That’s right, Judith was a fourth, wasn’t she?” Mara commented as she glanced his way.

He nodded.

“Dixon is right,” said Faith. “As the numbers of the Select get higher, so too do the responsibilities associated with them. When the Select are out of proportion, the people are hurt because societal institutions are no longer in accord with one another, or with the people.

“Over the last years, that balance has suffered. Sanctuary has lost significance. Few people find value in holding to traditions that support and hold individuals accountable for their own actions. Likewise, families suffer because people put their personal interests above the interests of those for whom they are responsible. Because families suffer, so too do the communities they make.

“Only one earthly entity can make up the difference, and that is government. But as our forebears knew, and as we see more all the time, when government takes on too much, it becomes too powerful. When the people rely upon it to do and to provide what they should do and provide for themselves, the sanctity of sanctuary and family suffer even more. It is like a spiral that continues to move downward, ever more quickly.”