The cultists were told of the false nature of the marriage arrangement. Ted was not sure why he did it, perhaps because it genuinely seemed like a good idea to play matchmaker and he didn't want to appear like a leader who had too many privileges. On another note, once he would start the matchmaking business, there would be plenty of things to do, and everyone involved would be too pleasantly busy to even consider paying attention to his shady schemes.
The cult was now a real cult to everyone on the inside, there was an air of secrecy in everything – whispered conversations echoed in the manor, and on most days, Ted was giving out two or three consultations about the spiritual progress of Dragons. He considered promoting a few people to Moon status.
It was fun to see how thoroughly linked to the subconscious mind, the occult and human emotions weather had become in the minds of the cultists. When the sun was shining, everyone was doing much better – everyone except for Ted and Eknie, who withdrew from all social activities on those days and let the good mood of their underlings guide those foolish enough to think that light was a friend.
Light was the enemy.
This was clear to Ted, and even though the sun god made itself remarkably useful, for example, in the case of the matriarch, it was still more than bothersome to have a connection to it. Everything just became way too sharp in sunlight, the dreadful clarity revealing more of the world than should ever have been shown, and Ted escaped the rays and the horrible realization of the nature of reality they brought with their cruel touch.
He had shortness of breath, migraines, anxiety – all the bad stuff at once.
On cloudy days, he was feeling better, but the cultists became anxious as soon as the sun went into hiding, and Ted was always up for a little talk about the supposed connections of stars, winds and human fates. He had never lied so much in his entire life, and neither had he ever enjoyed it this much. It felt good to be falsely trusted.
One Dragon was particularly fun to chat with. She displayed a willingness to learn simple sigilcraft and other basic occult skills, and Ted fully intended to make her a Moon very soon.
First, though, Ted and Eknie had to pretend to get married.
Eknie was pretending that she did not care about the massive humiliation. She was in favor of a lavish occasion – the marriage would appear favorable to her family and some relatives were willing to take on the expenses of a big wedding.
Ted thought about it for a moment.
"I don't understand why you want to make such a big deal out of it, it is you who is being duped," he said.
"If I am going to be duped, I'll have a glass of wine to go with the disappointment," Eknie said with a sad wink. "It's all right, Ted, I am just full of folly. It will pass."
"So, do you want to plan the decorations or do we leave that part to your horrible grandmother?"
That part was left to the horrible grandmother, and Ted got back to his regular schedule.
The Dragon with the passion for spells was called Halo of Divinity. Ted called her Haldie for short. Haldie was allowed to believe that this was an affectionate nickname, he didn't care. When it came to actually assessing her strengths and weaknesses as a person, she was just as insufferable as anyone. Ted was not stupid, he let her think otherwise.
She displayed a willingness to take on some heavy responsibilities within the cult to get to the next level. Ted was pleased with this. He would have to build his core group from people who still had their wills intact, as Junior had been a bit less useful as a mere tool than Ted had thought. The Dragon who had been given the same treatment was a bit more functional, but only marginally so, and Ted needed people who believed in the Society.
Occasionally, he visited the communal spaces and heard whispers about a lovely being of light that had visited the cultists during naps or even when they had been awake in an altered state of mind. This angered him – he was not allowed to feel the solar deity as a positive, friendly presence, even though he was the one who put in such a massive amount of work. The sacrifice ordeal had consumed his entire life, all of his brainpower, and so much gold that he felt like he was absolutely entitled to the rewards of such occult relations. Still, he could not complain about the sun openly, quite the opposite. To keep his position as the good guy in the eyes of his minions, he had to pretend he enjoyed the awful torture that was pure, unfiltered sunlight. This stained his malevolent joy about the fake wedding.
It was still so much fun to be desired, though. Eknie's family got all weird whenever he showed up. Partially, they thought he was the best thing to happen to mankind, because of his wealth and his status as a high cor, and then again, her relatives also thought he was a no-good charlatan who had been leading her on.
A challenge – he took it as a challenge. Her father came to greet him on the doorstep, finally giving him that family heirloom handshake that would have crushed the bones of a lesser hand. Her mother had baked with her own, sickly hands for the first time in five years. For some reason, even though the pie was objectively delicious, Ted felt disgusted, since the baker was suffering from a degenerative illness. It was a silly thing to even consider. In any case, he felt like he could catch something from eating it, and he had to ask for a second glass of mango juice to wash the crust down.