In the Shadow of the Sun

"We are all defiled from birth." exclaimed the head interrogator as he approached the prisoner with a rod of copper heater over a flaming brazier. "Only the unclean feel the touch of fire and think it agony. If you were truly innocent if you had nothing to confess to, it would not hurt you." His guest screamed, his mouth covered, at the sight of the nearing heat. The interrogator shook his head. "The sooner we begin, the sooner you can be purified, and the pain will stop. When it stops, you will be free."