Chapter Fifty-Two: The Politician, Part 2
Three hours later, T’tam walked out of the Parliament Hall, already exhausted by the day’s events, and it wasn’t even midday. Thankfully, he had the next five hours to himself, before he had to reconvene with the Parliament.
So, of course, he did the one thing he could. He traveled home.
T’tam’s home was in the Antiquated Section. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t live there, but it was tradition for Members of parliament to live there, so he did. Plus, he did need ample space for his two kids, and a third on the way, so a large house was always good.
As he traveled from the Hall near Zenyth towards his house, he looked at the black castle, the one representing darkness. He had always been of the view that what was in there should be revealed to the public, but he understood why it was not. At the same time, he thought that the Parliament should have more transparency with the citizens of Magefell, and thereby the world. Most others disagreed, especially the cultists. But even Lysander disagreed with him on that issue, so he let it go.
As soon as he reached his door, he began to relax. Every time the door creaked, his kids came running, and this time was no exception. Both Mathilda and Hazel ran at him, faces joyful.
“DADDY!” They screamed. Rosia stood behind them, a smile on her face.
“Free from work?”
“For now,” He nodded faintly.
“You look tired.”
“I wonder why.”
“You want to talk about it?” She asked, and he nodded.
“Of course.”
Rosia was the one person who helped him rationalize his thoughts.
“I’ll just stay with the kids for a second,” He told her, and she nodded.
For the next hour, he unwinded—or at least he tried to—and afterwards, he went to his room. His wife was already there, waiting for him.
“The Cult is going too far,” He told her.
“Tell me everything.”
He did, and afterwards, Rosia sighed.
“Of course,” She said. “This isn’t looking good for you. They’re playing you.”
“That’s what I was thinking. They softened us up, didn’t they?”
“They did,” His wife agreed. “That’s how they won the third time. But do you really think the candidate is so bad?”
“For the Vanguard?” T’tam asked. At Rosia’s nod, he shrugged. “He’s good, really good. I don’t think he’s a bad one, I just think the other one was better. And the fact that the Cult chose…”
“I know,” She replied. “I have the same worries, but you’ll handle it when it comes. The Vanguard has become very anti-cult. I don’t think they’ll let their Captain change them.”
“I know, but as far as I’ve heard, this one is the Sterkona’s friend. Is he secretly a Cultist? If so, this does not bode well.”
“When has it boded well since the tournament?” Rosia asked. “I understand your concern. You’ll have to watch him now. Especially with the riots. If he ever patrols the city, we’ll be able to tell what he truly wants. Don’t worry about it too much now. The Sterkona has more of a hold on the Vanguard than you think.”
“You’re right, of course.”
“Of course,” She kissed him. “Anything else?”
“What about King Aegon’s message? What can we do about it?”
“I have no idea,” Rosia responded. “I’m just as stumped as you are. But if I were you, I’d warn the Vanguard that they might be needed. What with their new recruits and trying to relax after the battle, we don’t want anything to catch them unawares.”
“But we don’t want to worry them,” T’tam said.
“That’s important as well, but if we need to fight and they aren’t ready, we could be wiped out. You know that. The Vanguard may be trying to recover, but so are we, and we’re in no condition to fight. I said from the start that giving the Vanguard a break was wrong…”
“And I agreed with you. The Cult won that vote too.”
“You must gain control of the parliament.”
“How so?”
“Talk to the members. Your friends, those who are neutral. All of them. Reason with them, be friendly and helpful. That will go a long way if you want their support.”
“That sounds wrong.”
“It’s not so different from you and Lysander’s dynamic. You both are good friends, and even though you disagree, you support each other.”
“But we don't disagree over the major topics!” T’tam protested.
“But if you did, what would you do?”
“Then I would reassess my view,” he admitted. “I would try to see if she was right, if there was any way I was looking at it wrong.”
“And that’s what you must do. You must befriend others, see if they reassess things—as you put it—but through your lens.”
“That still sounds wrong,” T’tam said. “And it doesn’t sound easy.”
“It isn’t,” His wife replied. “But when Magefell is at stake, you must do what you can. I agree that befriending others for the sole purpose of changing them isn’t right, but you must. It’s not all black and white now.”
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“I know,” He bit his lip. “I hate not being able to look at things like that anymore.”
“You’re a politician,” She smiled. “Since when have you seen things as black and white?”
He mirrored her grin as she snuggled up next to him.
T’tam didn’t get much sleep.
— — —
Two hours until they told the Vanguard who the new captain was, and T’tam was already dreading it. He hoped to find Lysander or one of the neutral members of the parliament there, to begin his and Rosia’s plan. He still felt a small twinge of guilt and regret for what he would do, but he understood its importance.
Lysander was in her office, thankfully.
“What’s up?” She asked.
“Rosia gave me an idea, but I want to run it through you before I start it.”
“Go ahead.”
“Rosia thinks we should befriend the other members of parliament to convince them of the truth.”
Lysander got it immediately and smiled. “Oh, that sounds fun. Brainwashing others through the power of friendship.”
“Don't say it like that,” T’tam replied. “Sometimes, I don’t understand how you’re twenty-five.”
“Being around you will do that to a gal,” She replied. “Just look at Rosia.”
T’tam didn’t rise to the bait, instead sitting down and glaring at Lysander.
“What we are doing, it isn’t right.”
“Who cares what’s right? The Cult sent murderous monsters after us just because we didn’t agree with them! The only way to fight fire is with fire.”
“That’s not how it goes.”
“I really don’t care,” She responded. “It’s how it goes to me, and that’s all that matters.” Sobering, she sighed. “I understand, really, I do. But if we only do what’s right, then we’ll never win. Helstrom killed a High Mage and the Captain of the Vanguard! The Sterkona helped!”
“But they were attacked!”
“The High Mage was down when they killed him. You know that. They did what they needed to, because those in the Cult don’t deserve to live.”
“Don’t say that,” T’tam shook his head. “Everyone deserves to die.”
“And if they discriminate and kill? They still deserve to die? No, a life for a life. Anyone who has murdered purposefully, for evil, deserves to die?”
“And who decides who is evil?”
“The Parliament does,” Lysander said. “And I am part of the Parliament.”
“But the Parliament also says that killing is wrong, in any circumstance except self-defense and war.”
“All of us have our own view of good and evil,” Lysander admitted. “If we asked the Cult, I know they would say we were evil. But no one in the Cult has asked if they were good or not. If they did, they were having second thoughts. Those who are evil in general do not wonder if they are good, they don’t worry about it. I do, and that’s a good first step.”
“For a politician, you are surprisingly illogical.”
“I’m tired of fighting the issues over court, T’tam,” Lysander said. “If we do this, you know eventually they’ll get the upper hand and that cannot happen.”
“We can prevent it.”
“Can we? We’ve been trying for years, and they’re only growing, and now it’s getting much worse. Think of your children. What will happen if the Cult takes over? You must do this for them!”
“Don’t bring my children into the mix!”
“Why not? The Cult may well target them. You know them, they don’t care who they attack as long as their point gets across, and I’m certain that they would get their point across by killing them or your wife.”
“So you’re telling me to befriend others as a ruse to change their perspective?”
“It’s not as wrong as you think. It’s a real friendship…”
“Is it? A friendship isn’t real if one side doesn’t know the other's intentions.”
“It is for one party,” Lysander replied. “And sometimes, it still is for both parties. I will do it. Whether you will or not is up to you.”
“I’ll do it,” T’tam said. “But if this goes wrong…”
“The consequences would be horrible? The political implications would rattle me? My trust would be forever shaken? I know. But where’s the fun without risk?”
“I don’t like lying to others.”
“What’s a politician for?”
“Not all are like that,” T’tam glared at her, and Lysander winked.
“Just us.”
— — —
T’tam entered his office and jumped as he saw a silhouette there.
“I need your help,” Member Tyrian said, stepping out of the shadows. “I’m in danger.”
“What happened? And why are you coming to me?”
“Because I can’t trust anyone else!” Tyrian said. “My friends would kill me, and I can’t see anyone who could be a Cultist.”
“Sit.”
Tyrian sat down on a couch, and T’tam sat next to him.
“I’m being blackmailed by the Cult. If this is happening to me, it could be happening to anyone else.”
“How?”
“This is why I didn’t want to talk to my friends,” Member Tyrian said. “I cheated on my wife. I have a second family, and I’m secretly a mage.”
T’tam whistled. “That’s a lot. Got any excuses?”
“Not really. I’m just a bad person, and now that I’m addicted to secrecy and double life, I can’t get out.” Member Tyrian smiled. “It’s a horrible ordeal. I can’t let my wife or friends know I’m cheating and have three other kids.”
“Three? How do you even afford that?”
“With difficulty. I have hidden that I'm a mage for almost a decade now, basically ever since I Awakened, somehow, and I thought I would take the secret to my grave. I always wanted to be a Member, and not a High Mage one, so I couldn’t show myself. I’ve been training myself for a decade but I’m still not a smart mage.”
“And the Cult figured all this out how?” T’tam scratched his head. He hated having more secrets to keep, and these were big. They were enough to get him kicked out of the parliament.
“I don’t know,” Tyrian cried in desperation. “But somehow they did, and they're threatening to not only leak the information but kill the second family.”
Knowing the answer already, T’tam asked:
“And you don’t go public with this, why?”
“Because I can’t let others know!” Member Tyrian said.
“Say they’re threatening your family and keep the rest a secret.”
“You know I couldn’t do that,” The Member said. “But now I don’t know what to do. I have to agree with them on every topic and convince others too, but I don’t want to. It makes me look abd and makes Magefell so much worse.”
“I don’t know what to do,” T’tam said. “I think I need to talk with my wife…”
“No,” Tyrian said. “Not a word to anyone. Please.”
“Fine. But you need to give me time to think on this. I will help you to the best of my ability, just give me time.” Tyrian nodded.
“Thank you, T’tam. I’m sorry for throwing all this on you.” He left in a hurry, warily, afraid anyone would see him.
T’tam didn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. He had no idea what he could do to alleviate his co-worker and he didn’t know if he wanted to. While Tyrian was neutral, he’d mostly sided against T’tam and often been rude about it. At this point, T’tam didn’t know if most of it had been blackmail or not, but he couldn’t ignore how much Tyrian’s attitude had sickened him sometimes. At the same time, the Cult sickened him more, and he felt it was his duty to relieve a fellow member from blackmail.
T’tam had already decided to do it, as much as he didn’t want to. It was just the right thing to do, as much as Lysander said that didn’t exist anymore. T’tam had to believe in morals.
And for now, he would stick by them, as much as he could.