The Gospel of Silence spread, not like a fire, but like a slow, sweet poison. It did not preach hatred of the Woven, but a gentle pity. It portrayed their art not as a threat, but as a noisy, tiresome burden. The Silent Hierophant’s message was simple: ’You have been through enough. You deserve peace. Let go of the struggle. Let go of the noise. Embrace the silence.’
This message found fertile ground not only among the broken Purists, but also among the fearful and confused of the former silent majority. They flocked to the Hierophant’s banner, not out of conviction, but out of exhaustion. The Woven, watching this growing movement, found themselves at a loss. They had fought a war against censorship and oppression. They did not know how to fight a war against apathy. Their art, which had been a weapon of liberation, was now being dismissed as a trivial annoyance. The sweet poison of silence was doing what the Nullifier never could: it was making their art irrelevant.