Chapter 17 The Poison of Politics
Chapter seventeen
The Poison of Politics
Xander
The House of Commons was packed. Members of Parliament were screaming over one another, papers were being sent flying, feet stomping on the ground. Xander could not help but think they all looked like absurd children throwing the biggest tantrums they could in competition for attention.
He sat there in disbelief, wondering what on earth he had got himself into.
He wasn’t a politician, he was a leader of the Courts, a protector of Daemonium.
But he had spent the last twenty-two years campaigning and forming alliances with politicians, not to mention the decades before protecting communities of Daemons, and finally reached the World Court’s peace treaty in 2020 to allow Daemons and mortals to live alongside one another.
His most supportive ally had been Katie Jones. She had only been a Member of Parliament when they met, but now she sat as the UK Prime Minister, with strong beliefs in equality between Daemons and mortals. Without her, none of it would have been possible.
By the end of the twentieth century, the relentless conflict between mortals and Daemons had resulted in such devastating chaos that fractured the very fabric of reality.
The vulnerability of that chaos had fed Caligo’s insatiable hunger and allowed him to return, bringing his Umbranimae with him to the Land of the Living.
The world, broken and bloodied with mortal and Daemon blood alike, became a breeding ground for Caligo’s ancient evil.
He seized any opportunity to breach the veil between realms, to bleed his darkness from the Intermundum and let it seep into the Land of the Living.
Striga’s valiant sacrifice, her last stand against him, had weakened him immensely and banished him to the Intermundum, buying the Courts precious time.
But time, it seemed, had finally run out.
They had expected his return, had prepared as much as they could ever since Xander reformed the Daemonium Courts in 1925.
After spending over forty years in isolation away from his brothers, he finally picked himself up and decided to search for a way to create a new and better world.
In truth, his memories from his years spent alone in his guilt were hazy, and he’d struggle to piece them into words even if he wanted to.
No one knew what made him have a change of heart about how to spend his existence, but when he finally returned to the Courts, he vowed to find and maintain peace between mortals and Daemons.
But it just wasn't possible, not unless the entire world were to change.
And so he decided, with the new millennium, he would be the force of that change.
Unwavering in his belief, he tirelessly sought allies.
He reached out to anyone who would listen to him, any mortal or Daemon who would join his cause, and among them was Katie, a rising political star with a strong voice in Parliament.
Katie, respected for her wisdom and seen as a potential future leader, became his champion, and the Courts joined their forces with her.
She held speeches on his behalf over the years, explaining how Daemons were not the true culprits behind the escalating Umbranima attacks.
Instead, she proposed that the mounting conflict itself between Daemons and mortals was the catalyst. The mortals’ refusal to accept Daemons, to allow them to live among them, was fuelling the chaos that Caligo fed upon.
Within a few years, Katie’s persuasive arguments swayed not only the UK government, but had reached across almost the entire world.
Xander felt almost annoyed that all it took was the right person to speak his truth, but he was too grateful for the possibility of peace to concern himself with petty indignation.
Of course, there were exceptions. Lucas Rook, for one; a former Member of Parliament and extremist with despicable views of anyone that did not match his perception of ‘acceptable’.
He spoke out against the alliance, and he hated the idea of providing Daemons equal rights and to not only allow them a place within society, but to allow them to inform the government’s decisions.
Xander had the pleasure of meeting Rook on many occasions, and he was certain he had never felt such hatred from anyone he’d ever met.
Rook utterly despised him, and had chosen to resent Xander and any Daemon without bothering to meet them.
He was a horrid excuse for a man, known to be encouraging of violent rallies and raids of Daemon communities.
Xander wanted to kill him. If Katie hadn’t convinced him not to, to choose a better way to bring about his downfall, he probably would have killed him the very first time he opened his mouth to share the lies of a small-minded, pathetic excuse for a human.
Rook’s efforts to destroy the new emerging government were coincidentally derailed when he became embroiled in a horrific scandal.
A group of Daemon-hating extremists, the Liberators, were exposed for hunting and brutally killing known or suspected Daemons.
Rook’s ties to the Liberators surfaced, thanks to Nicolai and Kadeem, who had managed to dig up as much dirt on him as they could.
The scandal hit world wide news in the early 2000s, shattering his reputation as a politician, and his career vanished almost overnight.
Rook immediately stepped down with no warning, and had not returned to Parliament.
But Xander knew the fight wasn’t confined to the UK.
They needed support everywhere; global cooperation was vital.
On his behalf, Katie invited the world leaders to meet the Courts of Daemonium, where Xander offered them a newly formed ‘Mortal Court’ to complete his visions for the World Court.
The majority of the mortal world leaders were sceptical at first to say the least, but they could not deny the existence of Daemons, and they could not ignore the chaos that brought Caligo’s deadly darkness to their countries.
The Pureblood Lamiae dispersed across the globe, each tasked with working and securing an alliance with the nations’ leaders.
Whilst Xander, Deion, and Edward remained in the UK to support Katie and continue their plans, Nicolai embarked on a diplomatic mission through Europe and Asia, Kadeem set off for Africa, and Ieuwan and Norman were entrusted with convincing the American leadership.
A truce began between Daemons and mortals, especially after Daemons joined various countries’ military ranks within their own newly established division.
These Daemon forces, organised by the Lamia Court, fought alongside mortals across the globe against the Umbranimae.
When the Courts had first been formed in 1820, Xander had ruled that they would never involve themselves in mortal war or politics.
But times were changing, and they needed to change, too.
Xander had braced himself for resistance, assuming he would struggle to convince mortal leaders to allow Daemons their own divisions within their armies.
But, to his surprise, the leaders grabbed onto his proposal like a lifeline.
While the Umbranima attacks were mostly kept out of the media, the world leaders could not deny how vital Daemons were if they wanted their countries to survive.
The truth was clear: mortals were utterly helpless against the Umbranimae and stood no chance at fighting them.
Faced with annihilation, they were willing to accept any help.
And Xander’s hand had been the only one to grab onto.
Over time, as cooperation improved, the Umbranima attacks died down, with fewer in quantity and far less severity. In repayment for their ongoing services and support, the world leaders granted Xander the future he had been fighting for.
Finally, after years of debates and Katie being elected as Prime Minister, the World Court was established at the start of 2020, and the laws of peace were laid down.
The world leaders represented the Mortal Court and agreed to allow Daemons to integrate into society without the need to hide, Daemons would offer their unique abilities to assist countries’ governments, it would be a criminal offence for either to attack the other unprovoked, and every person would carry an identification card labelling their kind.
It was unfortunate that the American leaders outright objected and chose not to join the World Court, refusing their laws of peace and continuing to discriminate and attack the Daemons in their country.
Norman had threatened to kill their President in retaliation, ranting about how Lamiae should not bow down to mortals, and refused to back down.
Xander had had no choice but to banish him from the Courts.
He had caused so many problems with his previous involvement in William’s underground Lupus fights, and now he was content to declare war on the whole country.
Norman did not go easily. Xander had to unleash his shadows to remove him from the headquarters in London, promising to kill him if he ever returned. He hated that day, hated he had to lose another brother. There were now only six of them left to sit on the Lamia Court.
The Incantrix Court never reformed, and Xander chose not to search for Divina’s relatives.
He knew how Incantrices worked, they would make themselves known when the time was right and he was certain there were far more magic wielders in the world than those documented.
If they were hiding, then they felt they had their reasons to do so, and he told the Courts to leave them be.