The cold bite in the air cannot be ignored. The faithful bannermen of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee are gathered in a circle around a dark wooden plinth, their solemn mood contrasted starkly by the tempestuous whipping of their coats about their shins. Their leader, Mario Dion stands at the head of this party, his eyes fixed at the two guards flanking the handsome figure between them.
Mr. Dion takes a deep breath. This was the one part of his job he did not enjoy – and he was not supposed to. This was his sacred duty, his duty to his sovereign, to his land. He was there to dispense the justice of the Old Kings and the First Men to those politicians who deserted their post on the Wall (of Ethics). His hand gripped the sheath at his side harder.
The Prime Minister faces Mr. Dion head on, his not-so-matted, but actually really nicely-styled-hair swept back to reveal his boyish looks.
“I am not going to apologise for my actions. I was trying to protect the jobs of many Canadians.”
“You were supposed to protect the people from the corporations, not become one of them,” responded Dion.
“You know the penalty for violating the code. You must pay with your life.” Mr. Dion turns to his subordinates, “I passed the sentence when I made the report. And therefore I shall be the one to swing the sword. For, if you would take a man’s life, or political career, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words.”
The guards roughly push the Prime Minister’s head onto the plinth, as Mr. Dion reaches into his sheath and pulls out… a pen.
After being systematically booed by The Toike’s reporters for not going through with the re-enactment, an abashed Mr. Dion responded by saying that it was a “Funny play on words, you know, the pen is mightier than the sword?”, and that actually beheading a sitting Prime Minister was “undoubtedly and unquestionably unethical.” Oh shut it, nerd.
As the short Summer ends, and the winds of winter claim their first victim, The Toike begins its watch on the 2019 Canadian Elections. The outcome of these elections will decide the fate of these 10 Kingdoms provinces for the winters to come, and raven reports seem to suggest that there may be more sinister forces brewing behind not only the wall of Ethics, but also behind the firewalls of electronic voting systems.
And so, as voting and campaigning begins, it can be hard to cut through all the propaganda and parties’ noise. The Toike offers some High Valyrian advice for such trying times:
Valar Votaeris.
All men must vote.
