Yes, myself I should be made to drink the poison and be mocked at while I died like a snake with a broken back.

Or even if I escaped the vengeance of the people, the gods themselves would kill me and raise up another in my place.

Do they not sacrifice in your country, Vernoon ?" "No, Asika, they fight if necessary and kill those who commit murder.
But they have no fetish that asks for blood, and the law they have from heaven is a law of mercy." She stared at him again.
"All this is strange to me," she said.

"I was taught otherwise.

Gods are devils and must be appeased, lest they bring misfortune on us; men must be ruled by terror, or they would rebel and pull down the great House; doctors must learn magic, or how could they avert spells?
wizards must be killed, or the people would perish in their net.