The Will of the Many
by James Islington
Contents
Chapter XXXVIII
Overview
Relucia, revealed as the Anguis agent Sedotia, flawlessly plays the devoted wife in public but privately coerces Vis into continuing his rise at the Academy under threat of exposure. She outlines the Anguis strategy to destabilize the Hierarchy, offers a temporary Jatiere compromise if he makes Domitor, and sets a rendezvous at the Festival of Pletuna.
Amid Caeror’s somber remembrance, Vis manages his shock, learns the Anguis orchestrated Nateo’s transfer and lack influence inside the Academy, and confronts Relucia over the Transvect bloodshed and Estevan’s death. The stakes sharpen: Vis’s advancement becomes leverage for both sides.
Summary
Relucia arrives at the Telimus tomb acting as a bubbly, affectionate wife, masking the shock of Vis recognizing her as the Anguis agent who crashed the Transvect. Ulciscor introduces Vis to his parents, Lerius and Milena; Milena is cool but restrained, and Lerius is welcoming. The family prepares for Caeror’s remembrance, with Lanistia assisting Milena, while Relucia monopolizes Vis with innocuous questions that fit his fabricated backstory.
Lerius conducts a solemn rite honoring Caeror, and the family shares memories over a meal. The ceremony’s grief draws Vis back to his own family’s fate and unresolved guilt. Milena remains mostly silent, occasionally comforted by Lanistia, while Relucia appears sincerely supportive of Ulciscor and the moment’s gravity.
After dinner, Relucia takes Vis for a private walk, drops her façade, and makes clear she intends to use him rather than kill him. She reframes the Transvect massacre as a tactical ‘poison on the blade,’ asserts that Vis will continue his path and receive occasional instructions, and counters his threat of exposure with her own alibi network. She claims Caten is nearing a destabilizing power shift and argues Vis could become a credible, unseduced insider capable of influencing its collapse.
They negotiate: Relucia insists Vis must rapidly advance; if he becomes Domitor, the Anguis will tolerate a few years at Jatiere, though running permanently is not an option. She probes obstacles to his rise—including Dultatis—and notes unexplained student blood draws the Anguis do not yet understand. Relucia reveals their surveillance history: they noticed Vis via the Victorum league, and she engineered Nateo’s transfer to Letens to bring Vis to Ulciscor’s attention. She confirms there are no Anguis inside the Academy, that only one other Anguis knows Vis’s identity, and instructs him to be in Caten for the Festival of Pletuna for further contact.
Vis challenges the Anguis plan, asking about destroying the Aurora Columnae; Relucia dismisses it as unrealistic and focuses on removing the ruling class at a moment of weakness. Vis condemns replacing oppressors with new ones; Relucia replies that change must start somewhere. Returning to the tomb, she sets a cover story for their walk and, when Vis confesses Estevan’s suicide, tells him, ‘You cannot be free if you are afraid to die,’ before resuming her public persona.
Who Appears
- Vis (Diago)Protagonist; conceals shock, endures coercion by Relucia, negotiates a Jatiere compromise, and wrestles with grief and Estevan’s suicide.
- Relucia (Sedotia)Ulciscor’s wife and Anguis agent; blackmails Vis to advance, outlines strategy, arranged Nateo’s transfer, plans contact at Pletuna.
- Ulciscor TelimusHost; unaware of Relucia’s true allegiance, supports Vis publicly, participates in family remembrance of Caeror.
- Lerius sese Quintus TelimusUlciscor’s father; officiates Caeror’s rites, welcomes Vis, shares stories to include him in the family.
- Milena sese Sextus TelimusUlciscor’s mother; initially cold toward Vis, softens slightly, shares quiet grief and bonds with Lanistia.
- LanistiaUlciscor’s sister; assists with preparations, mourns Caeror with Milena, largely silent support during the ceremony.
- Caeror TelimusDeceased uncle preserved in a Vitaerium; focus of the remembrance that frames the chapter’s events.