Veronica's Fallacy

prologue: the traitors

ftr>>

The moon goddess bit back her groan of frustration upon seeing the Fates. It had been long since they had last met, and she wasn't particularly fond of seeing them, but they couldn't be avoided.

After all, they were the Fates. It was also because the higher entities sent a word for her.

"This better be quick," Selene, the moon goddess, muttered, looking at the Moirai— Clotho, Atropos and Lachesis.

"Sorry to disappoint you then, Selene," Atropos snickered. "You read the part where the higher entities were mentioned, didn't you?"

"I did," Selene gritted, feeling slightly anxious. Hearing from the high entities wasn't always a good thing. "Just tell me what did I do wrong this time,"

"It's not about you," Clotho smirked.

"Then who is this about??"

"Why? The wolves,"

Selene frowned, "Which ones? What did they do to get the higher entities' attention?" She asked, feeling puzzled. She had been doing regular rounds, and everything seemed fine lately. Yes, there were a few messes here and there, but nothing was unfixable.

The Fates exchanged looks before Lachesis spoke up for the first time, "It's the Traitors,"

"What did they do this time?" Selene hissed, thinking about the five siblings known for their shit-stirring abilities. Although she hadn't heard from them in a while.... Well, truth be told, she hadn't paid attention to them much lately, and so far, nothing bad seemed to have happened... or that's how things appeared to be. 

Maybe, the siblings flew under the radar and stirred up some shit without her finding out. Perhaps the higher entities learned about it and sent the Fates to warn her for slacking off on her job. Selene shivered. This cannot be true.

"Well... that's the problem," Lachesis spoke, "They didn't do anything. They haven't done anything in a while,"

"And?" Selene asked, deeply confused. Shouldn't it be good that those five Traitors were lying dormant and hadn't caused some major brawl for a long time?

"And?" Atropos echoed, annoyed, "Have you ever been looking after them? They haven't been doing anything for a while. It's like they have given up and gone into hibernation,"

"Isn't that a good thing? The Traitors laying dormant means the other creatures can live in peace," Selene presented, but none of the Fates seemed satisfied. "What?"

"They are not doing their job, Selene. That's not a good thing,"

"Their job is to stir shit. What's good about that? They have been quiet since they all lost in the War of Vahmehl. That's the best thing that happened to the wolves and humanity. We should be grateful for that,"

"You're not getting it,"

"Which part am I not getting exactly?" Selene asked, fuming.

"Do you remember why Traitors were created?" Clotho asked.

"To stir shit?"

"No," the Fates bellowed. "They were created to maintain a balance, not to let others get too comfortable with their idea of peace and justice. They were created to keep the others on their toes, stay true to their morals, test other creatures, and teach them the same lessons of brotherhood and unity repeatedly."

"Everyone is doing just fine without the Traitors," Selene shrugged, already done with the conversation, but the Fates weren't done yet.

"She's still not getting it," One of them commented, finally making Selene snap.

"Just tell me what it is that you want out of me! What do the higher entities want?" Selene demanded.

"Well... they want the Traitors to continue their lineage," Atropos answered. Lachesis made a crude gesture of her finger through a ring to be more accurate in case Selene was losing the point. Clotho offered a suggestive look. 

"What?" Selene asked, eyes wide.

"You heard us," The Fates chimed together. 

"Five Traitors are enough!" Selene bellowed. Five were a handful. Anything more than that would be too much to handle. Too much chaos.

"No, they aren't, apparently. We need more Traitors,"

But why? What's suddenly gotten to the higher entities to make such a demand?" Selene asked, irked and equally clueless about where this was going. She was struggling to entertain the idea of giving the Traitors mates. It would be a headache. The Traitors weren't ordinary wolves.

They were Traitors—the cursed lineage. For her, it made no sense to continue that lineage. 

"Well, the children of Solomon and Horace have bred like bacteria. Wouldn't kill to have a handful more Traitors among half a billion wolves,"

"Absolutely not!" Selene gritted.

"It's necessary!" The Fates bellowed.

"But why? This isn't making any sense to me anymore!" Selene shook in disapproval.

"It doesn't have to make any sense," Clotho said. "You just have to obey orders. Pair the Traitors. All five of them. The world needs more Traitors,"

"That sounds dumb," Selene commented flatly. The Fates gave a shrill laugh, making Selene feel like she was the dumb one among them.

"She calls us dumb, yet she fails to see what's clearly in front of her eyes," Clotho sneered. Selene swallowed hard but didn't say anything.

"I want to know why this is being done," Selene asked grimly.

"A war is approaching. It's inevitable....like death. It's meant to happen. No one and nothing can stop it," The Fates spoke in unison this time. "If the Traitors don't step up, Solomon's children will war against Horace's. That would be the end of all. We want Solomon's and Horace's children to stick together,"

Suddenly, the whole realisation came crashing down upon Selene. The Fates were right. She had previously sensed some tension between Horace and Solomon's children but hadn't paid much heed to it.

But now that it had been pointed out, she couldn't ignore it. The cracks were starting to appear. They hadn't been getting along well together lately. She could see things progressively worsening between the two until it got to the inevitable.

Having the two go to war would be devastating.

No. That cannot happen. Solomon's and Horace's children were supposed to be together like a family. But lately, they haven't had many common interests.

That's where the Traitors came in.

The shit stirrers.

Solomon and Horace's children needed something to fight against. Together. Or else they would kill themselves and wipe out the whole species. She couldn't let that happen after putting in so much work.

Since war had been predicated and was inevitable, it was better that Solomon and Horace's children went to war as an alliance than enemies. But of course, it took two to fight. The Traitors would play the role they played best— the adversaries that united forces. That's what they were made for. She had forgotten about this a long time ago.

"How many Traitors do we need exactly?" Selene asked, feeling a new spark. She had her fair share of fun pairing other creatures and wolves, but playing the matchmaker for the Traitors would be an interesting job. Suddenly, she was looking forward to it. The spark in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by the Fates.

"Do as you please," Clotho spoke, "Give the Traitors a taste of the purest desire. You can collaborate with Aphrodite on this project," She winked.

"I will see about that," Selene nodded.

"Well then, we must keep going. You have your hands full now," The Fathes giggled and disappeared.

"Well... whom shall I start with?" Selene muttered to herself, thinking about the five siblings— the Traitors.