Chapter 361: Leaving the Choice to the Mages
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although it had a grand-sounding name, Benjamin’s plan was actually quite simple. He wanted to let mages across the whole of Fereldan see the true faces of the Mages Freemasonry.
The mages will soon realize that they were not as liberal as they initially thought.
To guarantee circulation, Benjamin was clear on what needed to be written in the "Declaration of the Freedom of Magic". Incantations, magic potion recipes, laws of meditation… He had to include all these alluring things mixed in with the ideology that they wanted to spread. If they did this, the book would sell like hotcakes.
Within the mage's circle, except for passing it on to students, knowledge was normally kept to oneself. Therefore, Benjamin was sacrificing his own intellectual property whilst also challenging the general procedure of being a mage.
He figured that once these books were distributed widely, then mages all over the place would be able to experience true liberty for the first time.
He also knew that by doing this, he would provoke the circle’s bosses.
Therefore, he required more assistance.
One afternoon, outside Mage Vinci’s villa on the outskirts of Rayleigh City.
Sharp knocks thudded against the large wooden door. The drowsy servant jumped up and rushed to open the door but found no one there.
He frowned.
"Could it be… I misheard?"
Just as the servant was about to turn around, he noticed a letter on the welcome mat.
He picked it up.
"To Mage Vinci, from… B.L.?"
He narrowed his eyes as he read the words on the envelope.
Soon, the servant’s face was covered with questions marks. He craned his neck out the door to see if he could spot the person who left the letter, but saw that the courtyard was completely empty.
He initially suspected it was a prank and wanted to discard the letter, however, the peculiarity of the situation made him reconsider.
"Ah well… I’d better hand it to Sir - not that he would read anyway."
The servant shrugged and mumbled while closing the door. He took the letter and went upstairs, stopping in front of Mage Vinci’s room. He lightly knocked the door.
"Yes?" Mage Vinci’s voice rang out from inside.
"Sir, a letter suddenly appeared outside the door. It’s addressed to you." The servant took another glance at the envelope and added on, "It says here that it is from B.L.?"
"Who’s that?" Mage Vinci sounded confused but said, "Alright, you can leave it here."
"Yes, sir." The servant humbly pushed the door open and went in.
Mace Vinci was seated at a table which was piled with thick account books. He seemed to be at work. The servant found an empty corner on the table to lay the letter down. He then bowed and promptly left.
Mage Vinci nodded the whole time, without lifting his head. He was focused on the accounts at hand and didn’t even look at the letter that was teetering on the edge of the table.
After long a long time.
Mage Vinci put his book down, stretched his arms and rubbed his tired eyes. It was only then that he saw the letter - the pure white letter had fallen onto the red carpet, creating a very sharp contrast. It was hard to miss.
He subconsciously picked the letter up.
"B.L..." He read the line on the envelope before shaking his head and smiling, perhaps thinking it was some sort of prank. However, a thought suddenly rushed to his head.
"B.L... Benjamin Lithur?"
His face changed from a relaxed smile to a stern frown. He immediately sat up straight.
He was confused as he opened the letter and started to read its content. As he did this, his expression became more and more shocked. Halfway through, he had to stop to take a deep breath.
"His Majesty... Aldrich... How could it be..."
Five minutes later, he reached the end of the letter and jumped up from his chair. He intended to find Benjamin to inquire further about the situation. As he reached the front door, he stopped and clenched his fist as if deep in thought.
"It looks like trouble is coming to Fereldan..."
He let out a long sigh and mumbled to himself.
It was nightfall. In an abandoned warehouse somewhere in a secluded corner of Rayleigh City, a hundred and fifty-three mages were struggling to absorb the same information.
"Is this true..."
The hundred and fifty mages who passed the interview earlier and the three that sought refuge from the Mages Freemasonry stood together in shock. They started debating amongst themselves.
Benjamin had called for them earlier before delivering the unbelievable news.
"The Church was behind the Mages Freemasonry?"
"Sir Aldrich... the Church’s orders and the assassination of His Majesty the King... how could we have heard nothing of it?"
"This is absolute madness…"
They were at a lost. Most of them were local mages who seldom traveled; some had never even left Rayleigh City before. Their limited exposure caused them to struggle to believe the news when compared to those who escaped the Kingdom of Helius with Benjamin.
And so, they burst into an uproar when Benjamin revealed the truth to them.
The Church may have set up spies all over Fereldan - Benjamin has mentioned this before. They were prepared to play a part in resisting the Church, but all this was so sudden.
Last week, they were doing their best to complete a task to pass their probation and now their world had been flipped upside down. Their home was no longer safe, and everyone was living in constant danger.
They simply could not digest the news.
Standing in front of the crowd, Benjamin stared at the troubled mages and shook his head.
It was not easy as he has thought.
A hundred something mages was indeed a powerful force but to put them together at the press of a button proved too difficult a task.
Moreover, Benjamin was basically asking them to join a rebellion and possibly sacrifice their lives. These people may be hot-blooded, but they had not experienced the discrimination firsthand, and as a result, were hesitated.
Even so, Benjamin wasn’t disappointed.
Even if they no longer openly supported Benjamin, it did not mean that they would not be providing any assistance.
At the very least, they could help spread the news.
The news that the Church was behind the mages freemasonry and that the king was murdered by Aldrich... the second piece of news was, of course, fake, but to gain public support, Benjamin had to hit below the belt.
Truth be told, even whilst leaving the castle, Benjamin had already tried his hardest to frame Aldrich. He had instructed the "Crow" and mercenaries stationed elsewhere to spread rumors quietly.
He smirked as he thought of this.
Another few more day of spreading and the rumors would have become a force to be reckoned with. Aldrich will have to pay for hiding the death of the king.
As for the people here...
"Everyone, I know that these news is very hard for you to digest." Once the discussion settled down, Benjamin spoke solemnly, "This is no small matter and I will not force you to do anything. If it is your wish, you may leave my party. The party that the people constantly talk about will cease to be."
The crowd looked at one another in complete disbelief.
Benjamin was silent for a moment before continuing.
"All of you who stand before me possess the capability. You may become great mages in the future. I do not wish to drag you into this. However, wait and see - In a few days, there will surely be news from the capital. They may say that His Majesty is sick or may blame the death on me. Then you’ll see, that everything I have said thus far is true."
"When that happens, if you wish to do something and not let these pompous mediums destroy our homeland, you may look for me."
"I will stay here for five days. If you wish to join me, please quietly assemble here at nightfall five days from now. But I must warn you, from then on, we will be living like nomads and face all kinds of danger"
He continued on, "We may never succeed, and many will die in the process. But… at the very least, they would have died fighting for something they believed in."
"I will not run. Even if not a single person enters the warehouse throughout the five days, rest assured I will still be waiting here until the break of dawn."
"Right… that is all. I have nothing further to say. Dismissed."
After finishing his speech, he did not bother to look at the mages’ reaction and turned around. He stood tall and left the front door calmly. His lonely figure quickly disappearing into the foggy night.
Behind him, not a single squeak was heard.