Tyler helped the survivors round up the dead. He watched as the bodies burned on the pyre and wondered if, like him, they had families and friends they were forced to abandon. Would they not want a proper funeral? The thought came even when handling his enemies. It was odd how death made everything equal. They were neither friends, nor foe. They were just bodies now.
The woman he killed the night before lingered on his mind. Who was she? Could she have been saved, and persuaded to switch sides? Was she truly an enemy to begin with? Tyler couldn't just let it go. He knew the cult was split, nearing a breaking point. All it needed was a spark.
When the job was done, he retreated to the privacy of his room. He took The Simplex Arcana, laid it out on the desk, and began planning his retaliation. He kept the image of the creature on his mind, as hard as it was to fully recreate it.
"The Scarlet Arts," Tyler said, and the book obeyed without question. He couldn't find any spells that fit. He couldn't see anything that would explain what Gemma did. "Don't suppose you can tell me anything about that, could you."
The book flipped its pages at random, eventually stopping on a page titled, The Red Mantle. The image on the page resembled the creature, surrounded by diagrams depicting the horrific transformation. Tyler smiled, reading the text as it appeared.
From what he gathered, The Mantle was the most powerful gift The Red Maiden can give. The Red Mantle allowed the matron of the cult to become one with the maiden, transforming into an avatar of the goddess on the physical plane. It required a pilgrimage to The Wetworks, something only a matron could do. He heard a knock on the door, and opened it.
Isla barged into the room. “You’re not really going to just let her go, are you?”
Tyler shook his head. "No, but I'm not sure what I can do."
“You will never know if you stay. So what if Damon said ‘no?’ Discordians are not beholden to The Cabal. I figured by now you'd be tired of the world happening to you.”
Ted looked to the text on the desk. "Already figured something out, have we?"
Tyler nodded. "That's why Morrigan wanted to complete the pilgrimage. She needs something called The Red Mantle."
"How do you suppose we fix that?" Isla asked.
Tyler shrugged. "We may not need to. We just need to kill Gemma. The same rules should apply, right? She can tire herself out, too."
Isla raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean."
"She uses The Scarlet Arts. She's just as susceptible to The Passion, maybe more than Morrigan."
"So you want to piss her off?" Isla asked.
Tyler nodded. "If we get her to give in, she'll burn out. We won't even have to wear her down."
Isla smiled. "The cult will do the dirty work." Isla gestured for him to follow and glanced over to Ted. "Me and Tyler need to have a chat." They left the room and Tyler followed Isla to her office. She opened the door and closed it behind them. She sat down in her chair and Tyler sat across from her. She wasted little time before speaking, "Do you realize what you're suggesting?"
Tyler narrowed his eyes and asked, "what do you mean?"
"You plan to stage a coup within a religious organization you don't even agree with. You seek to sow dissent within this organization. You seek to have others fight something they couldn't hope to defeat in hopes that when Morrigan is saved, she can land a killing blow."
"Yes?"
"You have given no thought to how many lives will be taken because of your actions. You have no idea if Morrigan is even qualified to operate this cult." She stood up and walked to a stack of boxes. "Apart from that, you've completely ignored the fact that your goal in this is to save the life of one woman. You can't even claim to be utilitarian in your approach."
Tyler was silent for a time. He didn't look at her, but he wasn't about to deny what she was saying. She was right. He didn't care. He didn't care about the lives that would be lost. He didn't care if Morrigan was qualified. He didn't care about anything other than getting her back.
"You're right." Tyler said. "But I don't-"
He felt her tap his shoulder. When he turned she presented him with a golden apple. “As promised, if you can learn from this final lesson. I want you to listen, and with more than your ears.” The ceiling fan above chopped the air in time with soft pattering of the rain on the roof above.
"I did it? To master the genre, I have to be a horrible person?" Tyler asked. "I have to abandon my Morals?"
"Yes and no. That's not really the attitude we like to have about it. The Discordian theorem is knowing that every choice is yours and yours alone. You are choosing a path, in spite of destiny. The consequences are also yours. Playing god is not without hardship. You're starting to hear the strings, but you're not quite there. You still avoid risk."
"So it's not all about riddles and nonsense? The goal of the genre is defying predestination?"
"It's still a riddle. It's still nonsense. It's just easier to understand." She placed the apple in his hands. "Let's talk this out. Let's be the hand of change. You are a Discordian, not a cabalist. Oxford never gives us a second glance. I say it's time to change that.”
“Why break the secrecy?”
"We're not. We will never reveal our secrets, but after this, they will know we have secrets to tell." Isla paused, and chuckled before continuing, "It's funny. Discordians are closer to the cults than they are to the cabal.”
“We’re a cult?”
Isla laughed. “Almost. Ours is a faith of numbers and illogical reason. Our goddess is an idea. The stage is set. Cult vs. Cult, Goddess vs. Goddess.” The thunder in the distance gave a rising action to the melody. "The Call of Eris beckons us all. It was there at every drunken night full of bad decisions, every time you could have saved a life. It was there for every choice you ever made. She was playing for you the whole time. You just couldn't hear it."
He heard the song, the symphony of the world, a strange music that could never be fully described faintly playing in the background. "Violins?"
Isla nodded. She reached out her hand, grabbing his and forcing him to his feet. “Let us dance with the devil’s daughter, thee and me."
Tyler brought the apple to his lips. He gave in to temptation and bit into it. The taste of spice, apples, and honey ensnared the senses. When he opened his eyes, he saw the paths laid out before him. It was like he could predict every outcome but had no idea which would come true. He couldn't see the future, he could imagine the future. There were possibilities leading to a long and healthy life. He knew he wouldn't take them. He saw the risks, saw the rewards, and settled on a more dangerous path.
He spoke with a shudder and a smile on his face, "I have an idea. Do you know how to make a bomb?"
Authors note:
This chapter didnt wuite hit right for me, so im assuming it didnt for you as well. there are some odd elements of the worldbuilding that don't line up, and this will be adressed.
Before I even begin, your next 2 chapters numbering is a bit off. Presumably, you published the correct chapter but your edits led to the numbers being incorrect. In any case, might want to have a glance at that. Oh boy. That opening is a really dreary thought after the adrenaline of the previous chapter. This seems to be something that you do a lot, showing the fallout of morality after the adrenaline rush ends. I really like it. Uhh. I guess a side effect of Ted's catalyst is the ability to appear in rooms when convenient? Kidding, but you mention Isla and Tyler going to Tyler's room and then Ted has a line which I almost didn't catch. In regards to your author's note at the end, I would mostly agree. It wasn't the worst chapter as for "feeling off" but there were some elements that came out of nowhere. Especially the idea that Tyler's final hurdle to becoming a Discordian is that of choosing to abandon some aspect of his morals for love. I would say that needs to be foreshadowed more in the Jynx chapter and this would also be a good time to push that theme of "love is madness". Their plan also needs some work as the ambiguous idea of "turn the cult against one another" could go in so many routes that it's questionable as to if their Discordian Arcana can help them that much.