At last, Wenzel took his hand from the top of Theodor's head again. He opened his eyes and sank into his chair. That had been very tiring. Theodor also opened his eyes again. As they became aware of their surroundings again, they almost simultaneously spotted Irnfrid looking in from the door. "Thank goodness! I was getting worried!" she told them. "Is everything alright with you two?" - "Everything's fine," her husband replied in a slightly muffled voice. His wife knew what was going on, of course. She had been the first to have her thoughts read by the Chosen One. Back then, however, it had been much shorter and unintentional. On this occasion, the boy wondered how much time had passed since they had gotten started here. It felt like an infinity.
"Thank you for looking after us. There are some more things that I and Wenzel have to discuss. So could you leave us alone for a while, darling?" - "Yes, of course," Irnfrid replied and closed the front door again. The field marshal turned to Wenzel and began to speak: "Do you trust me now?" Almost embarrassed, the lad answered: "Yes. I believe you now. .... I'm sorry for bothering you and that I ... that I peeked into such personal things of yours." - " I'm the last person who would bear a grudge about something like that or who would be offended by something like that. I gave you my permission to do what you did. And it's understandable that you're unsettled and that your confidence is shaken after what has happened with Isidor recently," Theodor replied confidently.
But Wenzel wasn't going to let this half-truth stand. "Well, that's not the whole story either." He paused briefly. "You know, my lack of trust in you wasn't due to the recent event. It was more because of what August had told me." The boy's statement visibly piqued Theodor's interest. He was now listening carefully, "He had told me that I should be cautious about the true intentions of our leader. But now that I've seen your past, I can be sure that's not true." The man then felt compelled to justify himself: "As you have seen, I’m a child of the revolution. I live by the sword and will die by the sword. Only, unlike the Tibors, I know where it is better to use the sword and where not. I speak the truth on principle. In situations where it is better to remain silent, I am more likely to do so than to say things that are basically true, but which are more likely to do harm, if I say them."
His nervous interlocutor replied: "Please don't take it personally! I'm totally sorry, that I ever doubted you!" - "I've already said that the matter is done and over. Everything is fine between us, Wenzel. We may be quite different in character, but I really like you. You are modest and humble, but also someone who is always working on himself. Those are definitely qualities of a virtuous person. But what you definitely aren’t, is assertive." The boy was relieved. Now he also understood why Theodor had given him the chance to stay with the Martyrs at their meeting with the Old Believers back then, instead of being 'educated' by the commune. The man did this, because in his past he had also found faith and what he perceived as "the truth" on his own. He was convinced that Wenzel was independent and not just a puppet. But then a question about August came to his mind: "So, August is someone who is stirring up trouble between us. Couldn't that mean that he's actually the one who secretly has other plans than the ones he claims to have?" A very slight twitch crossed the field marshal's lips. Then he replied:
"Well, yes and no. I know August very well. I'm not even surprised that he said things like that to you." Then he laid out his core statement. "August is conniving, but he's not a traitor. His family was murdered by the regime. I can understand this feeling very well. The man received an excellent education because he was from a good family. His skills are of great benefit to us, so it would be foolish to remove someone like him from the organisation just because he is scheming. I know that he has a deep hatred for the Alethic Church. This hatred drives his actions and is the reason why he joined the Martyrs in the first place. His goals are the same as those of the organisation, namely the overthrow of the usurpers and the re-establishment of a God-ordained order in Ordania and consequently in all of Kaphkos."
Wenzel looked at him and signalled to Theodor, that he had understood him. However, the head of their organisation continued: "But I am well aware of his manipulative methods. He's already used them on me too. To be honest, he tries this again and again. But unfortunately, he’s banging his head against a brick wall with me! I'm not easy to fool. But you should be aware of one thing, Wenzel. August is scheming here in order to exert control over others, thus increasing his own power. This is a helpful approach to strengthen one's own position. But all this is just power-political calculation. So don't worry too much. None of this is to the detriment of the goals of the resistance. August wants to achieve them as much as I and all of us do." With that, Theodor had finally convinced the boy that he could have trust in the organisation. This cup had now passed from him. However, the leader of the resistance was still not finished with his explanations.
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"Unfortunately, I have to accept that he often gets something into his head and puts it into practice, even though I've made it clear to him that we wouldn’t do it that way. For example, August wants to increase the organisation's reach by promising the peasants the abolition of serfdom. I was against this idea, but indirectly he propagated this message anyway. He is convinced that this will help us. Of course, he is right that it will attract more people, but lies and deception are methods that I abhor. They may be clever and helpful tools, but I reject them. August, on the other hand, wants to utilise the full spectrum of what is possible for us. This will not change the fact, that the Martyrs' Brigades are convinced, that everyone has their divinely ordained place in society. We do not want to change the cohesion of society and its social organisation, that has existed for centuries. What matters to us is that we create a world in which God is at the centre.
However, many of our promises of "federalism" are actually meant quite seriously. In any case, one cannot govern a country exclusively from the centre of power, no matter how much one wants to. All nations should be able to govern themselves and retain their national characteristics. This is indeed the pragmatic approach, even August agrees with me on this one. Nevertheless, everyone should be under the umbrella of the "empire". This would ensure that the peoples of Kaphkos would no longer fight each other senselessly in the future, but live together in peace. Wars only create suffering and destruction and do us no good on a permanent basis." - "Almost ironic, considering that we are the strongest driving force behind the armed resistance, don't you think?" That elicited a small smile from Theodor.
"The idea that the peoples of Kaphkos can be 'free', that is, without a central authority to keep them all in check and prevent them from falling into petty squabbles, is just a fantasy. All this would do is perpetuate hatred between them instead of peaceful coexistence." Wenzel had nothing to say in reply. He had never really thought about all this before. He only knew one thing, and that was that the Martyrs’ Brigades were the ones who didn't want him dead. That was the important thing for him. This long conversation in combination with the previous look into Theodor's memories had already severely tired the boy out. And his counterpart recognised this. He ended the conversation and the two of them left the room. Irnfrid was already waiting for them in the living room. "I've made us some tea. Come, sit down and drink," she said as she poured the aforementioned drink from her pot into the cups. It would have been rude to refuse.
When the three of them sat together at the table, relative silence prevailed. The two men were silent, as they were definitely quite exhausted from their activities today. But Irnfrid raised her voice: "Erm, Wenzel! I’m really interested in your magic. What can you do?" The boy was quite prepared to satisfy their curiosity here. He had no secrets from his friends anyway. "Well, I can fly, levitate objects, read minds and see visions of the future. But as far as my visions are concerned, I have no control over them. Besides, there often have been moments, that I foresaw, but couldn't prevent, because I had no idea exactly WHEN they would happen." The lady listened to him with fascination. The cheerfulness she exuded lifted the mood of everyone in the room, simply by her presence.
"But I don't really know what else I can do. Nobody has ever told me or been able to tell me anything about it. In fact, I'd really like to know what magic can really do." As Wenzel was saying this, something occurred to him and he asked the field marshal: "I was told that there is knowledge about magic in the library of Meglarsbruck, ancient knowledge that was collected by the Melgarions. Would it be possible for me to be smuggled in there at some point? Not necessarily right now, but at some point, if the opportunity presents itself." Theodor raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment. Then he replied: "I think that would just be too risky. I wouldn't jeopardise the safety or even the life of the Chosen One just to gain knowledge." The corners of Wenzel's mouth dropped in disappointment. In reaction the man added: "I'll tell you what: once we've overthrown this tyrannical dynasty, you'll be able to go to the library as often as you like. We'll make you emperor and then you'll have free access to everything you want in Ordania."
It was not so much Theodor's proposal that had created fear inside of him now, but rather the words he had used. The suggestion made sense and Wenzel agreed with it. But for the first time, he had actually become aware, that these people wanted to make him ruler of the country. This thought frightened him. He knew he wasn't smart enough for it, but at the same time he also knew that this wasn’t up to debate for the revolutionaries. The two others at the table certainly noticed his sudden advent of nervousness.
When he had finally finished his tea, the lad said a friendly goodbye and wished the couple a good night. As he walked out the front door, however, he could see the first rays of the rising sun. Brahm, who had obviously stayed up all night, too, approached him and said: "I don't know what you've been talking about for so long, but I'm not going to cut back on our training!" - "Oh, God!" the boy thought to himself. This was going to be a very exhausting day....
