The Choice is Yours: Conclusion

Suddenly, a strangely familiar voice from above roared, “Goodbye, Rezam!” as a piece of the ceiling fell on Rezam, crushing the tyrant on the spot.  Enaj recognized that voice — it was Tsruhelkcorb!  The assassin jumped down from the roof into the palace and bowed.  

“How did you know I was going to be here?”  Enaj asked.  

“I saw you messing with the roof and figured you might need help, so I climbed onto the roof after you," replied Tsruhelkcorb.  

“Thank you, my true friend!”  exclaimed Enaj.  “You saved my life.”  

“Well, you saved mine by dragging me to the healer,” laughed Tsruhelkcorb.  “Happily, I now feel stronger than ever!  By the time I arrived here, I had aged so much that they did not recognize me as an old exile,” explained Tsruhelkcorb.  “But enough talking, there is one more thing to take care of.”  Tsruhelkcorb lunged at the remaining guards, who were busy fighting the rebels, stunning them from the back with blows to the head.  Enaj was in great pain and he would soon become unconscious, yet he smiled.  They had won!  

Afterwards, Enaj’s wounds healed, albeit with significant scarring, and he helped set up a democratic system of elections for the leader of the city.  He reconciled with the masters, forgiving them after they came to him with their heads bowed, as he was recovering from his wounds on the former tyrant’s bed.  The masters explained to him that they were sorry, and that the real reason they hid him from the outside world and provided him with few resources was so that the tyrant would not discover his existence, since beings with any differences from the norm prescribed by the tyrant’s law, such as Enaj’s blue skin, were regularly exiled or, more commonly, brutally killed.  Enaj felt his rage cooling, cooling, cooling, his inner lava turning into hardened rock.  Enaj became the first democratically elected leader by a wide margin, and he ruled the city with wisdom and kindness for the rest of his ageless life, as he kept getting re-elected by unanimous vote year after year, after year.  He sent out search teams for all the exiles, and welcomed them back into the city with open arms.  This included his grandfather and his parents, who were reunited with him at last.  Every morning, Enaj looked at his fearsome scars and remembered the day when he had to make the choice as to whether or not to kill everyone at the orphanage.  He stood up and smiled.  For the rest of the day, as Tsruhelkcorb had taught him, Enaj would focus on the present.  There was lots to be done.