Ümmühan’s status as a poetess granted her some privileges—such as the quiet of the high tower in which to work—but her status as a slave meant that these privileges were tenuous, and easily revoked. Fortunately, she was popular with the other women. This was in no small part due to the effort with which she exerted herself to be pleasant, helpful, and charming—but also because a significant number of her peers protected her, most for her satires and a better-informed few for her priesthood. The latter was a closely guarded secret, held tight to the adherents of the Women’s Rite—but even a woman who hated Ümmühan would hesitate to disclose the identity of a priestess. Many would protect her for the sake of her office, and should a woman who believed the Women’s Rite to be a heresy discover her identity, she would still fear the retribution sure to follow a treason such as giving the name of a priestess to a man. Ümmühan thought of the best of such deniers as sad, delusional children who had accepted the twisted word of men determined to usurp the Scholar-God for their own.
