Whispers of Evil

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. In the heart of the world's greatest empire, power was not whispered. It was shouted from palace rooftops and poured into ornate goblets. And King Xerxes was not a man of half measures. 00:00:21 Speaker 2: So it shall be. 00:00:24 Speaker 3: Queen Vashti shall be banished. 00:00:26 Speaker 4: We will find you a new queen, one who will honor your commands as you rule this empire. Let beautiful young women be sought for the king and added to your harem. Let them be gathered from every province, and let the one who pleases you most be crowned queen in Vashti's place. 00:00:50 Speaker 1: In the heart of Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, lived a man named Mordecai. He had taken pains to make sure all the men he associated with at the city gate thought Esther was Persian, not Jewish. When he took her in as a child when his uncle died, he forced her to adopt a Persian name in an attempt to conceal their heritage. 00:01:15 Speaker 5: Say your goodbye and bring her to the palace within the hour. 00:01:20 Speaker 6: Tell me your name. 00:01:22 Speaker 1: Esther kept her eyes downcast. or Alluring, as Haggai had called it, and answered. 00:01:29 Speaker 3: Her king, I am called Esther, my king. 00:01:32 Speaker 1: And so, the orphan girl, the peasant princess, became queen of Persia. The city gate had always been a place of business and judgment, Mordecai's domain. He had memorized Persian law, prided himself on applying it with wisdom and precision. This was his craft, and once his pride. But now, the gate had become a place of restless waiting. The palace loomed close, yet Esther felt impossibly far, locked behind thick stone walls and buried beneath silken garments and endless feasts. She was queen now, living behind veils and gates, exalted in name, yet silent in power. Mordecai's eyes flicked toward every courier and messenger leaving the palace, hoping for a glimpse of news, some sign that his counsel still echoed in her heart. Every day he fretted and worried over her living among the whisperers and schemers of King Xerxes' court, the men who feasted on intrigue and gorged on plots to satiate their ambition. But he had taught her to listen, to observe. Now he could only pray it had been enough. Mordecai sat at his post, scrolls and papers spread before him, The ink blurred where restless fingers had smudged it. He tried to focus, but his anxious thoughts pressed down, heavy and suffocating. The hours spent worrying had compounded and he now had hours of paperwork to do, despite his counterpart judges all having gone home hours ago to their families. But Mordecai had no family to go home to. The sun dipped low, shadows lengthening. But then Piercing the stillness of dusk at the deserted city gate like jackals on the hunt came hurried whispers. They were quick, sharp, and secretive, but they were not meant for him. Mordecai slunk down but craned his neck upward in the direction of the whispers. Sure enough, above, there were two figures who lingered near the stone battlements, thinking themselves alone. Mordecai recognized them immediately. They were royal guards, Big Thana and Teresh. Their voices, caught by the wind and echoed down the stone alcoves, carried to where Mordecai sat. 00:04:26 Speaker 6: He doesn't deserve that throne. 00:04:29 Speaker 3: Keep your voice down. 00:04:32 Speaker 5: But you're right. We risk our lives for him. 00:04:34 Speaker 3: And for what? 00:04:35 Speaker 7: Disdain? 00:04:37 Speaker 3: Mockery? I say, I say we end it. 00:04:41 Speaker 2: Go quietly. 00:04:42 Speaker 6: Go quietly. A blade of our violent poison. The citizens of Susa will thank us. And the king's rivals will reward us. 00:04:57 Speaker 1: The wind then shifted and carried the voices elsewhere. Mordecai's breath caught in his throat. 00:05:05 Speaker 3: A plot. 00:05:06 Speaker 1: He could see the men continuing in their murderous planning, unaware of his presence below. but he didn't want to push his luck. And besides, he didn't need to hear any more to prove their guilt. As silently as he could, he gathered his scrolls with shaking hands, his mind racing. This was more than treason. It was also a threat to Esther. Though Mordecai had no great love for King Xerxes, what would happen to Esther if he was removed from power? Would one of those treasonous thugs take his place? He shuddered to think of either one of those smarmy men laying a hand on Esther. Mordecai moved quickly, slipping away from the gate, heart pounding, to send secret word to the palace. The next morning, Esther reclined in her private garden, her handmaidens nearby, their quiet chatter blending with the rustle of leaves. She tilted her face toward the sun, savoring the warmth on her skin, while the cool bite of night still clung to the shaded corners of the dense oasis. She was still adjusting to the staggering wealth and the suffocating presence of constant companionship. Her handmaidens seemed harmless enough, but Mordecai's warnings lingered. 00:06:32 Speaker 3: The palace is full of spies, whispers, and watching eyes. 00:06:36 Speaker 1: It was strange to go from a life of quiet solitude to one where she was never truly alone. From somewhere beyond the garden walls, doors opened and shut. Moments later, Hettark appeared, the eunuch the king had assigned to her after their wedding. Even that notion still felt surreal. 00:06:58 Speaker 4: I'm married. 00:06:59 Speaker 3: I'm a queen at that. 00:07:01 Speaker 4: A king's wife. 00:07:03 Speaker 1: And yet, with every passing day, The title felt more like a role to perform than a life to live. She watched Hedark approach, uncertainty flickering in her chest. He had once served Queen Vashti. Where did his loyalty truly lie? 00:07:21 Speaker 3: Was he the. 00:07:22 Speaker 1: King's watchful eye, placed to guard against rebellion? Or could he be something more? A confidant in a palace full of masks? 00:07:32 Speaker 3: My queen. Lord Hathak? 00:07:34 Speaker 1: He straightened, then flicked a glance at the handmaidens. With the smallest lift of his brow, they scurried away, disappearing into the palace corridors. Esther marveled at the subtlety of his authority, a power wielded without. 00:07:50 Speaker 3: Raising his voice. 00:07:52 Speaker 1: She wondered if she would ever command presence like that. She resisted the urge to stand. It felt strange to sit while he towered over her, But she remembered Higgai's instructions. She stood and bowed only to one man, her husband, the king. The silence stretched. Hettark seemed perfectly at ease with it. Esther, less so. She searched her mind for the right protocol. 00:08:21 Speaker 7: You came to see me, Lord? 00:08:24 Speaker 1: Hettark raised a finger to silence her. his head tilting slightly toward the retreating handmaidens still lingering within earshot. Only when they had vanished into her private chambers did he speak, his voice low and direct. 00:08:40 Speaker 3: A man named Mordecai, I think word. 00:08:44 Speaker 1: Esther's breath caught. Mordecai had warned her to keep not only her heritage but also their connection a secret. Yet now it seemed Hettarch knew. But for the moment, Esther pushed aside the implications. She was too eager to hear what news he carried. 00:09:02 Speaker 6: Mordecai? 00:09:03 Speaker 3: What news? 00:09:05 Speaker 1: Hedark hesitated, weighing her, the risk, and the words. 00:09:10 Speaker 3: He risked much to get this to you. The message is treason. 00:09:17 Speaker 1: He drew a folded parchment from his robe and placed it in her hand, his eyes never leaving her face. Her heart pounded as she unfolded it. Her cousin's familiar, neat script swam before her eyes. 00:09:33 Speaker 8: My dear Esther, you must warn the king. Two of his guards, Bigthala and Desh, conspired to murder him. I overheard them myself at the city gate. I know the risk of sending this message, but I trust you. 00:09:51 Speaker 2: Act swiftly, and remember... All I have taught you. 00:09:56 Speaker 3: Yours, Mordecai. 00:10:00 Speaker 1: Esther looked up, the weight of the words still sinking in. Hettark watched her closely, measuring every flicker of emotion. She shot to her feet, her voice barely a whisper. 00:10:12 Speaker 3: We must act immediately. We must go to the king. 00:10:17 Speaker 1: For the first time, Hettarg's polished composure cracked. He closed the space between them, his voice low and sharp. 00:10:25 Speaker 3: And you swear this is not some scheme of your cousin's? 00:10:29 Speaker 7: If the accusation is false, it will destroy your standing, and it will mean your cousin's death. 00:10:34 Speaker 3: You know the cost of a misstep in this palace. 00:10:38 Speaker 1: Esther faltered. His warning echoed the very danger Mordecai had taught her to fear, and Hugai's lessons too. Wives are summoned. They do not summon the king. But then she drew herself up. 00:10:53 Speaker 4: No. 00:10:55 Speaker 3: I believe him. Mordecai is no schemer. He raised me to stand loyal and speak the truth. I will do the same. 00:11:04 Speaker 1: Hetark held her gaze with piercing intensity, as though searching for any shadow of doubt. Esther did not flinch. She would not wilt. At last... Hettark gave a single nod. 00:11:19 Speaker 5: Very well. 00:11:20 Speaker 3: We will soon know the truth. 00:11:22 Speaker 1: With Hettark's reluctant permission, Esther went before the king. She kept her connection to Mordecai hidden, trusting Hettark to do the same. But only time would tell where his true loyalties lay. The plot was investigated, found true, and justice came swiftly. Bigthana and Teresh were impaled on stakes outside the palace gates. A gruesome warning. The king recorded the event in his royal chronicles. Mordecai's name was written down as the man who revealed the traitors, but it was quickly forgotten. No thanks were sent to the city gate. Mordecai was not exalted. There was no reward, no commendations. King Xerxes slept soundly and Queen Esther kept her place in his favour. But in the shadows, Mordecai remained unseen and unthanked, a man remembered by parchment but forgotten by power. Five years passed. The palace bustled with new faces, shifting alliances. Favour was fleeting, power even more so. And then, after a long absence from court, off fighting in the king's war, earning victories as well as influence, an old familiar face returned to Susa, Haman. He was a polished politician and a ruthless opponent, on and off the battlefield. He hailed from the province of Agag, and was even rumoured to be descended from an Amalekite king, sworn enemies of Israel. In fact, his disdain for the Jews and the other minorities within his province was no secret. His ambition rippled through every gesture and polluted every calculated move. He bowed to power, not out of loyalty, but for the rewards it could deliver. Persia ruled the world, and Haman intended to rule whatever parts of it he could grasp. When he returned to Susa, the king elevated him and so he strutted through the capital in robes of the highest rank. And wherever he went, conversations died. Smiles faltered. No one dared meet his gaze, but they were compelled to bow and scrape to him as they would the king. This was an honor bestowed to no other man in the Persian Empire. One morning, at the city gates where Mordecai worked, Haman emerged from the palace. The nobles bent low, merchants pressed their foreheads to the ground, and servants groveled in the dust. But despite the masses paying their homage to the man deemed second in all of Persia, Mordecai stood tall and unmoving, his eyes narrowing in silence seething hatred and distrust. Arjan, Mordecai's fellow judge, noticed out of the corner of his eye When Haman and his entourage had continued out into the city, and the bystanders around them resumed their activities, he leaned over and whispered discreetly to his old friend. 00:14:50 Speaker 3: Why do you not bow? 00:14:53 Speaker 6: Do you not fear what Lord Haman might do to you? 00:14:56 Speaker 1: Mordecai felt his jaw set. He chose his words carefully. His years of quiet loyalty, his unwavering service to the Empire and the King, had gone unnoticed, forgotten in the royal record. And now, to see an obscenely ambitious, cruel man with an abhorrent reputation, an enemy of his people no less, elevated to honour and power, it didn't just feel unjust, it felt like a violation of the natural order. Mordecai had given his loyalty to Persia, the captors of his people. He had served faithfully, though his people were scattered across the empire far from home. But to bow to this man, this enemy, never. 00:15:47 Speaker 2: I will not bow to that man. 00:15:50 Speaker 1: But unfortunately for Mordecai, Arjan was not the only one who noticed that Mordecai did not bow. The whispers carried, and rumors spread as they always did in Susa. They reached Haman's ears like smoke, curling through palace halls. 00:16:09 Speaker 5: Who's the man who will not bow? His name is Mordecai. 00:16:13 Speaker 1: He's a judge at the city gate. 00:16:15 Speaker 7: And this isn't public knowledge, mind you. 00:16:16 Speaker 6: He likes to keep it quiet. 00:16:18 Speaker 7: But I know those who have seen what side of town he goes to each night and comes. 00:16:21 Speaker 4: From each morning. 00:16:22 Speaker 8: The Jewish quarter. 00:16:24 Speaker 6: He's a Jew. 00:16:25 Speaker 3: Of course. I knew this had to be no more than petty posturing or the trivial jealousy of a rival. 00:16:33 Speaker 8: Ha ha. 00:16:34 Speaker 3: Ha ha. As if this no-name judge could rival me. And that he's a Jew. Those repugnant refugees creeping in every corner of Persia. They couldn't hold their own land, so now they infest ours. And if this Jew dares to defy me, please just say others won't follow. No, this isn't about one man. It's about rooting out the disease before it spreads. 00:17:05 Speaker 1: Later that evening, in his chambers, Haman rolled a small object between his fingers. A poor, a lot. He cast it, watching it fall, marking a date. He then went to the king. 00:17:20 Speaker 3: Your majesty, I have egregious news. 00:17:24 Speaker 5: I'm loath to even report it, but surely you know by now how deep my loyalty runs to you. 00:17:31 Speaker 7: My king. 00:17:32 Speaker 1: King Xerxes lapped up every lie, every false sentiment laid by Haman. 00:17:40 Speaker 5: I've been making observations of my travels through your glorious empire. 00:17:46 Speaker 3: Grievous observations, indeed. 00:17:50 Speaker 5: There's a people scattered among your provinces who do not follow your laws. 00:17:56 Speaker 3: They're dangerous, disloyal. Allow me to remove them. 00:18:02 Speaker 5: For the good of the Empire. 00:18:05 Speaker 3: Who are these people? 00:18:07 Speaker 1: Haman bit back a wicked smile at how the king was falling flawlessly into his trap. 00:18:14 Speaker 3: It is the Jews, my king. Their laws are different from everyone else's. They don't obey the king's laws. 00:18:22 Speaker 7: It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction. and I will pay 375 tons of silver to the officials for deposit in the royal treasury. 00:18:39 Speaker 3: Let it be as you say, and take whatever you need to be rid of them. 00:18:45 Speaker 1: So the king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hamadata the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. Haman, with the signet ring, the authority of the king, had the scribes draw up the edicts, seal them in wax and clay, and distribute them throughout the entire kingdom. Early that morning, Mordecai woke up feeling uneasy. When he arrived at the city gates, he saw knots of his fellow judges and other officials gathered together, whispering. When he drew closer, they hushed in concern. His friend Ah Zhang sighed and pulled him aside, handing him an edict. Even before he read the words, his hands trembled, anticipating the severity of whatever was inside. 00:19:38 Speaker 2: On the thirteenth day, the twelfth month, all Jews, men, women, and children are to be destroyed. annihilate them all and plunder their possessions in a single day. 00:19:57 Speaker 1: Panic rippled through the empire in Susa there was confusion and horror and weeping of the hateful words there were whispers of dread whispers of evil And soon, whispers would rise into walls that clothed the streets in sackcloth and sorrow, as if the earth itself tore its garments in grief beneath the weight of reckless hate. Steve Gatina, Max Bard, Zach Schelleberger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Colterfianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher and Mitch Lashinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely, and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review.