As he screamed his last sentence, a different Hero stood up in the meeting hall.
"I've just made the calculations. The Church has swayed a fifth of the entire force of Angaria. A fifth! It was supposed to be a small number…"
"My brother is in that group."
"My closes friend, too. She said she would never consider it."
"Are we doomed?"
More and more Heroes began to speak, spilling out their thoughts in a rare moment of doubt, but when one of the youngest of their numbers asked this question, a hush suddenly swept over them all.
They had been avoiding it, but now that it had been spoken, it filled all of their minds.
In this hush, no one dared to speak. Even the Head was suddenly speechless, as he felt unsure about what he was supposed to say.