set your heart against the scales, keep your head above the tide

[dashing]

WHO: Ambassador Amsel & others
WHAT: a Herian catch-all
WHEN: through the month
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: closed and open starters to be added through the month, I have a hideous cold atm and am even more forgetful than usual, so if we have discussed something and I've neglected to follow up or set something up, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Comments

[sorcerised]

[ Aro appears a couple of days after their conversation. He's a little more nervous about doing this in person, in part because he's never actually been in person with Herian before, but in part because doing anything official with the Inquisition makes him nervous. It exacerbates his general urge to have nothing to do with any of this.

But for now, he quiets that urge. Of all the Inquisition members he's met so far, he trusts Herian. She'd been very honest with him about her past, and he doesn't think everyone would have done that. It makes him feel better about her than most.

He knocks at her door, and peeks inside. He's tall, very pale-haired, and very pale generally, in fact. His ears have noticeable points, made evident when he removes his hat as he enters the room. His clothes are layer upon layer. He looks like he's about to go on a journey, but he's not. He just wishes he was. ]

Hello? Ambassador Herian. It's Aro.

sorry sorry sorry, I was having a real tag struggle for a stretch

[dashing]

( She looks up at the sound of the knock and the door opening. )

Aro, hello.

( Pushing herself up, Herian nods her head respectfully, and gestures to a round table with chairs, rather than to her desk. )

Please, how can I assist you? ( She moves across to it as well, and a tray of tea that was set down only recently, but neglected by Herian as she worked. )

[sorcerised]

[ He comes in, picking one of the chairs at random and sitting in it. This is okay, right? They all look the same. Round tables don't offer any sense of seniority, which actually Aro appreciates. Hopefully there's no political undertone to any of it that he's missed. ]

Thank you. I just came to talk more about the rifter negotiations, if that…suits you.

[ He has a moment of consideration over whether to take his cape off, and then he stands to do so. He drapes it over his chair, and then gives it a critical look as if he's not sure whether that was the right thing to do. Oh, just ignore it. Herian's nice. He needs to stop worrying about procedure.

He folds his hands on the table. ]

I can come back, though, if you're too busy to…?

[dashing]

No, please. Be at ease.

( Her smile is slight, fleeting, but sincere. She is still learning how to do this, how to master the performative aspects of this. As she speaks, she moves to the round table. In the centre of the table there sits a vase with wild flowers rising from it. )

I would be very glad to hear your thoughts. There is much to be considered, and for all that I might try, I cannot pretend that I will think of all.

[sorcerised]

[ The flowers are nice, Aro thinks. They make the room seem a little less official. Of course, then it occurs to him that that's probably what they're there for, which makes it seem more official again, and--

He smiles. They just need to start talking. ]

All I can do is tell you what I'm worried about. If I had a phylactery, anyone who held it would have power over me. That could mean the Chantry, but it could mean Corypheus, too, and I can't imagine why they'd want us to be vulnerable like that. There is no Circle anymore, so why create new phylacteries for us? And…and we're not from this world, obviously.

[ He looks up, fingers agitating at the table. ]

What would happen if we left. Would the phylacteries still have a hold on us even if we weren't here to do anything about them? If Corypheus had them, would that let his influence spread even to other worlds?