The gaunt man had turned out to be quite the chatterbox, which Kieran expected given his fanatic disposition. It was typically in the nature of a zealot to want to talk and spread the word about their self-proclaimed supreme faith.
That's what the gaunt man dressed in holy robes did.
The man was loquacious to a fault, going on to describe in great detail how he prepped the Voiceless, how many of them had been gathered up, and how the Voiceless came to be.
All of the Voiceless were children no older than twelve or thirteen.
Beyond that age, they became too difficult to break, train and brainwash. That's precisely what these strange zealots did… they brainwashed children! What else would you call forced instillation of faith through suggestive and manipulative actions? Brainwashing.
'Fucking lunatics. I've been thrust into a commune of lunatics!'