[OPEN TO MAGES]

[deflocked]

WHO: Mages, mages, more mages. I guess non-mages can sneak in or be dragged along by friends, but they will be glowered fiercely at by Daylen if he knows.
WHAT: Mage meeting
WHEN: 3 Firstfall
WHERE: What would be Solas' room if Solas were there.
NOTES: Feel free to mingle/threadjack/and anything else you might think of! A top level comment will be made for the meeting itself with no particular order for commenting. There will probably be discussions of mage rights and such. I will edit if any warnings come up.

It's not exactly the biggest room, but on the plus side it's not in a terrible state of disrepair either. In case anyone isn't sure this is the right room there is a sign on the door indicating it is for the mage meeting. If that isn't enough, it is full of chairs. Arguably too many chairs for a room of this size. Especially since they are arranged in a circle for convenience of being able to talk rather than making the most of the space.

Hello, mages. Hope you're all ready to argue.

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

[Korrin's own expression is hard and set, her eyes ablaze. Lady, you don't scare her.]

I reject the idea that the only options are either sitting this out or being part of your fucking Circle, yes! It's not the same thing and you know it. Your way forces that damned Circle system on everyone, whether they want it or not. No one should have to go down that road just to make their voice heard here, to get some measure of protection from their fellow mages so that they aren't attacked again.

[liberalum]

The Chantry declared the Inquisition heretic.

[ BROAD ARM GESTURES, Dorian manages only just to not get on his feet, still listing back in his chair. ]

It has yet to rescind this declaration. And unless someone is offering to write the Tevinter Imperium for magister oversight -- that's a joke, by the by -- we'll have a new system, like it or not. And whatever it is we do, we need to account for mages that fought to break free of the same system other mages [ a nod to the Senior Enchanter ] continue to abide by.

And yes, you should stay here, Pel. And you, Korrin. Anyone disinterested in being a part of the Inquisition and ensuring we as mages can operate within it should clear off.

[ andstopdrinkingalltheirbeer ]

[visus]

[ Other mages have drifted in and out as the meeting has gone on, and there are plenty that nod when Senior Enchanter Theodora speaks, just as there are plenty who nod when the templars are shouted down or confetti randomly falls from the sky. At Christine's call for all to speak for themselves, one young man somewhat reluctantly gets to his feet. ]

I am Mage Oran, from Jader [ he says, in a heavy Orlesian accent, words a little halting, hands knit together in front of him ] and I too support retaining the Circles. I know that many of you have no reason to love the Templars, but they saved my life and the lives of my family. If they had not found me and stopped me I might have killed them all. The Templars and the Circle made sure that everyone was safe from me, and that I was safe from what I might do. I do my best for the Inquisition but every day I worry. Just because some Templars and some Circles have been bad does not mean that all are bad. What they do protects many and I believe that we need them.

[mythalenaste]

Mage Oran? [Pel sounds calmer, like she has some sympathy, but it's still edged.] The reason you were so dangerous when you came into your magic is because everybody who knew how to really help you was locked up miles away. When I came into mine, there were mages there to help.

[Dorian requesting she stay did make her a little more...grounded, perhaps. She's finding her footing.]

[paperwing]

We have our differences - some that can be resolved, and some that do not, and should not have to be. Ser Pavus is correct. We are here to help the Inquisition in its goals, and we can only do that if we are not fighting amongst ourselves.

[Sabriel pauses, considering Oran's words.]

We help ourselves. We ask for help as is needed - as we choose. Not enforced.

[gatheringstorm]

[Dorian's words bring down that temper a notch, and she shoots him a grateful glance. It's nice to see that there are still reasonable people around. Well, most of them are but she's in no mood to consider that.

And she nods in agreement with Pel again, huge surprise.]

It was the same with me. I had a mentor to guide me, and I didn't end up needing Templars or a Circle to learn self-control. If you want the Templars, that's on you. But I have no need or desire for them, and I'm not here to see them forced on anyone who doesn't want to be part of that system.

[visus]

[ Oran smiles a little at Pel, a wry curve of his wide mouth. He looks politely to each woman who speaks, though he flinches a little when Korrin starts to talk. He does not want to be yelled at. ]

It is good that you all find control so easily, and it is kind of you to say that the lack of guidance is all that failed me. But it is not so. Every night in my dreams, the demons come to me. I have passed my Harrowing, I do resist them, but it is not easy. It is difficult, always difficult, and so many have given in and become abomination, even Enchanters-- since the Circles fell I have seen so many, and I do not wish to be one but who can say what life will bring.

I am a danger, and every mage is a danger because all it takes is one moment and you are gone and all around you will die. Only the Templar can protect others from us. It is easy to say that you do not need them and only those who want them should have them, but not all know their own danger. Not all care as they should. We must think of the safety of all, not just ourselves.

[mythalenaste]

I thought we were tabling the discussion about templars until we could agree on oversight?

[gatheringstorm]

[Korrin isn't yelling, not this time. Her expression softens a little as she listens to the mage, but still shakes her head at the end.]

I'm not without sympathy, and I know there's danger, but that's no reason to enforce one way upon all of us. And yes, that was the original plan. I'd thought we were going to move beyond that.

[paperwing]

Whatever we feel for the Circles, they- [Sabriel sighs, a long, quiet sigh, as she rearranges her thoughts.] -they are gone. That is the first thing we have to realise. Whether we wanted them or not, wanted them to remain or to dissolve- [she looks to those who have spoken for, spoken against them,] -they are gone. Some out there will suffer, children who are scared, and frightened, and the Circle may have kept them safe. They may have not. I did not hate my Circle, but there is no going back - even if I were not a Warden.

Templars can protect, and help us. [It's an agreement to Oran, but she also looks to Pel and Korrin, because Templars are not the issue here. One step at a time.] But don't we want them to listen to us, first? We can decide on such things once we decide what we want ourselves to be.

[liberalum]

We'd have you for dinner, where I'm from.

[ This comment directed to Oran, for all intents and purposes, is good humoured, nor designed to cut into the conversation. Acknowledgement that there is nuance here that Dorian is lacking, as a foreigner, having listened quietly while the young man spoke.

He tips that attention -- unsettlingly cattish, good humoured or not -- to Sabriel. ]

Quite so. Discussions of Templars and what to do about them and how we do or do not need them must be tabled until such a time as we have a single message to give them. Right now, we're all too divided. Not to belabour the point, but we truly need to remember our commonalities. No one expects the Dalish to set aside their traditions, nor can we expect the same of Circle mages, but no one is marking their face or undergoing a Harrowing in order to remain within the ranks of the Inquisition.

An unaffiliated council to act as a go-between for the mages at large -- all of them -- and the Inquisition advisers and, inevitably, the Templars, seems the fairest, most sensible topic to settle on today, unless we'd like to remain in this room until Wintermarch.

[eolasemah]

[Sina, who has for the most part been sitting hunched with her face mostly covered by her hands, tugs on Pel's sleeve and straightens to whisper something into her ear.]

((PMed))

[mythalenaste]

[Pel looks startled, listens to Sina--she has to remember she doesn't speak for all the Dalish, only for herself. Not even Ellana, though Ellana is under her protection.

She glances up when Sina is finished. Deep breath in, then out.]

If it's a council, each group should elect their own representative. If you want to call it a Circle, the Dalish must have a voice and we're not to be kept like prisoners.

[These are good points. Really.]

Any more than you would expect to worship our gods, don't expect us to submit to the Chantry or its beliefs about mages. Freedom is our highest virtue.

[deflocked]

You misunderstand the purpose of circles. They're about protection. Being around others like us. Plenty of circle mages have always been able to leave legitimately if that's what they wished.

Any circle that treated its mages like prisoners had lost its way. I don't think there are any of us who want that.

[gatheringstorm]

[Korrin flashes a smile at Dorian, respecting him the more he speaks. Trust an 'evil magister' to be the voice of reason, hm?]

Tch, you and your common sense. What will come next, a peaceable arrangement?

[She rolls her eyes at Daylen's comment, though, not impressed.]

'Protection', sure. Well, some of us don't need or want that sort. I thought we made that clear.

[deflocked]

[Her easy dismissal bothers him. He'd hoped with a few others speaking up they might not be so quick to judge the circles badly. At least accept they weren't all bad if not agree.]

You've also made it clear you don't understand what sort of protection it's supposed to be. With all respect, I don't think you have the experience to speak with such disgust of a place I spent most of my life.

I appreciate all of us have had poor experiences with the templars here, and I know many of the circles became something terrible before the end, but not all of them were. I grew up in Kinloch Hold and I couldn't have asked for a better home. It wasn't just the templars who protected us. It provided us with a place where mages can protect each other. And be together. How many places are there besides that where we're not in the minority?

You don't have to agree, but please at least listen and remember what you've seen isn't all there is to know.

[fleurdesel]

The final act of the college was to separate from the Chantry. Moreover the mages here are, as Dorian said, Heretic along with the rest of the Inquisition, I do not think we would wish to move forward by diving back into part of the larger problems that tight reign provided. However some of the guidelines of the Chantry law may be of use if not their beliefs. Perhaps it is possible to find a happy medium?

[ Adelaide tips her head in Daylen's direction. ]

My students and I came here from Andoral's Reach for protection. One provided by a sense of community and solidarity within the Inquisition, until the night of the wake we were not put in danger if only for our tendency to keep to ourselves. Something more concrete would be to our benefit.

[aceso]

[ Christine's eyes narrow at Daylen. ]

And I was never allowed to leave the Circle though I had passed my Harrowing and all I wished to do was be a healer. I've tired of hearing "Oh, well those Templars were doing it wrong and shouldn't be thought of as the norm." It was normal for me. Just as you had an easier time at Kinloch and I had an easier time at Montsimmard than those at Kirkwall does not mean the old system is infallible. Just as any mage can be a danger, any Templar can be too.

[ She stops, sighs, and shakes her head. It seems no matter what, they always are pulled back to discussing Templars as long as there are those among them who want something like the Circle back. ]

It is clear that some here wish to be under the Templars' protection again, but you will not force every mage in Skyhold to agree to be as well. But that part of the discussion will have to come another time. For now, we must agree on how best to serve the Inquisition, and the council with varied representation seems the best way.

[mythalenaste]

[A nod toward Christine.]

Agreed. And if councilors are elected, each group has their opinions represented and their values taken into account. Including the ones who felt safe in their Circles and want similar protection.

[gatheringstorm]

[Korrin frowns at Daylen, calmer than before but still not inclined to see the Circles as anything other than prisons. She smiles a little at Christine for her perspective, glad to hear from a Circle mage without the rose-colored lenses. That appeases her enough not to continue circular arguments, at least for now.]

I can live with that. As long as there's room for those who have no wish to be part of a Circle, that's all I want. We don't need to agree on everything, but we do need to work together...and not force one way of being a mage on everyone.

[deflocked]

I said that.

[That's muttered quietly, more to himself than Christine or anyone else. He's tired of his views on templars being all anyone seems to get from anything he says.

Then louder:]

I won't lie and pretend I wouldn't rather we had our own circle here, but we need unity. If compromise is what it takes to get that then I'll gladly settle for that.

We need somewhere we can stand together. We need each other. Not everyone is happy with our presence here, and honestly not all of us have given people reason to be.

I treated just as many non-mages as I did mages after the altercations after the funeral. Far too many of them victims of mages. I even had the misfortune to see a mage set a cook on fire. Provoked or not, we have be better than that. And if we can't be have something in place to see we answer for ourselves.

[A glare is fixed at said mage who is sat among his friends who were present when the cook had riled him enough to set her aflame. It can't be said he looks especially sorry for his actions.]

[fleurdesel]

If nothing else we need to establish some code of conduct today, something along the lines of 'don't poke the templars' and 'don't set people on fire.' I myself was caught in a scuffle between mages and templars that a group of drunken mages began.

[ She peers back to the mages that hold Daylen's glare, adding her own to the mix before picking out those involved in the incident she and Dorian happened upon that same night. Shameful behavior, really. ]

[mythalenaste]

[Pel smiles at Daylen. An actual smile. What a good kid. He's saying the right things--for her and for everyone. Her edges soften a bit.]

We do need that. We need to have consequences for using magic against non-mages, and non-magical alternatives to defending ourselves.

[gatheringstorm]

[Though Korrin didn't think Daylen would say anything else she'd want to hear, mention of compromise gets her interest and she almost smiles, much appeased by such words. She also finds herself nodding in agreement with his mention of the part the mages played during the brawls. The mage he mentions gets an added glare from her, just because.]

That kind of selfish behavior just makes everything worse for all of us, so I actually agree with you there. We can do better, even if it's just making sure that shit-stirring idiots know their actions aren't going to be unchecked. Regulating ourselves in that was is better than it being decided for us.

[aceso]

Exactly. Most of us have been in a position where we're been scared and afraid for our lives during this conflict, and some people are simply hot-headed and need to be taken to task. If any of you are the former, shooting harmful spells within Skyhold's walls will gain us nothing, only set us further back. We're here to help each other, and I can certainly teach any of you the force field spell if you don't know it. It does no harm to the person attacking, merely holds them in place so you can get away.

Another reason us uniting is a good idea. We all come from different backgrounds and we can share so much with each other to stay safe and prove the good we can do here. With a council, there should always be at least one person on it you feel you can turn to for support.