open | full circle pt 1

[exequy]

WHO: Concerned mages/rifters/others
WHAT: An emergency meeting!
WHEN: Solace 20
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Explanation in the OOC post. Please tag this like a network post. There are top-level comments to provide a little chronology/structure, but threadjack to your heart's content.

Before and during dinner on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday, there's a chain of whispers (or notes, or perfectly audible comments from the particularly unsubtle) about an emergency meeting, at an evening hour, in a basement room, regarding a matter of concern to rifters and mages.

The basement part is probably unnecessary. It's certainly ineffective; the organization is too small, the Gallows too contained, and the halls too echoey for something arranged with this much finesse-wrecking haste to truly remain a secret. They could have done it in an empty office or the recreational dining hall, probably, and sat on chairs instead of storage crates. But Kostos picked the location, and he's dramatic. If nothing else it signals a clear intention to do this as unofficially as necessary.

Anyone who accepts the invitation (or just decides to come see what the fuss is about) will first encounter Marcus Rowntree, posted up outside the door like a bouncer, letting mages and rifters move through undisturbed but stepping in to question and likely bar the arrival of anyone else. Inside, Kostos is nothing but a dark scowl in the room's far corner, picking at a splinter of wood on a crate and not mustering a word of greeting for anyone who comes in. Derrica has parked herself within arm's reach of Kostos, a long gold-edged shawl spilling over one shoulder. Her diplomacy pin gleams from the front of her tunic. The worried pinch to her brow is the only outward sign of anxiety; otherwise, she is tightly contained, watching people enter. Julius–notably not in robes–is serious but calm as people come in, standing next to the ever-composed Madame de Cedoux.

Once as many people have arrived as seem likely to, Marcus closes the door, remaining beside it, and they explain what the problem is.

Comments

The Problem

[tender]

[ The problem is: the College of Magi. Or, the "College of Magi," consisting only of a particularly underhanded contingent of Loyalists and conservative members of a few other fraternities. They're convening in Cumberland this very moment, without inviting anyone else, with the intention of formalizing a proposal to send to the Divine. It's not going to be a good one.

Derrica looks to Madame de Cedoux, draws herself up straighter. Clasps her hands in front of her. Begins to speak. ]

Thank you all for coming so quickly. Kostos has had a letter warning us that a group of Loyalists are gathering in Cumberland as we speak to reconvene the College. Only this group intends to be present, and they intend to put together a proposal to re-establish the Circles. They want to put this before the Divine, once they've voted on it.

They've invited no one else. Not anyone here among us, or Grand Enchanter Fiona and her mages fighting on the war front. We received this letter by chance, and the Grand Enchanter has received no notice at all. The mages convening in Cumberland now intend for the proposal to carry their voices to the Divine, and no one else's. We have seen what they intend, and it is... [ well. ] I will read it.

But before we begin, I would ask you, all of you gathered here, to bear in mind that this proposal will affect each of us if it is accepted. Some of you spoke before to Holden, when he was here, or to me of your worries about what waits for you here in Thedas, and how you might be treated by the Chantry. Know that even if you are not a mage, and have no magic but the shard in your hand, you will be bound by the outcome of this proposal the same as I will. Hold that in your mind, when we begin to speak of what action we must take.

[ipseite]

( the reminder of holden's absence is both a pang of loss and a bolstering of the point at hand— )

Internal factionalism, rifter separatism, will not serve us in this. We are in the same difficulty alongside one another, and attempting to negotiate rifted concerns separately will only weaken both our mages and, indeed, any concessions we might wring from this situation. Our often temporary nature and the continued new arrivals means no agreement reached by or with rifters directly or individually can be considered reliable or binding, as easy as it might be for a new arrival a month from now to say that they made no such commitment to abide, or for all those who did to be as lost to Thedas as the dead with far less fanfare.

Like it or not, our fates are hitched together. Giving the Chantry so obvious and simple a reason to devalue all agreements made will not aid any.

[exequy]

It is useful for us to have you.

[ #diplomacy ]

You have most of the anchors. You are holding the world together.

But if there is ever a time after this war, or after your anchors— [ #wysteria ] —it will be useful for you to have us.

Some Particulars

[exequy]

[ Along with notice that this is happening at all, they have a copy of the proposal the "College" intends to make. Someone's paraphrased recap of it, anyway. No one had time or inclination to make copies to pass around the room, but Derrica reads it aloud: ]

1. Resume operations – Cumberland, Val Royeaux, Antiva City, Ostwick, and Redcliffe.

2. Chantry stations Templars at Circles.

3. Consolidate books and goods from abandoned Circles into op. Circles.

4. College can investigate dangerous magic w. Templars.

5. Custody of mages who present a danger.

6. Custody of mages who have been convicted of crimes.

7. Custody of children with magic (voluntarily surrendered by parents).

8. Phylacteries for Circle residents.

9. If mages enter Circles involuntarily, Harrowings required before future free travel.

10. Tranquility or execution choice for uncontrollable mages.

11. Annulment requires preliminary investigation & report by Grand Enchanter from a second Circle.

12. Mage/Templar/Chantry committee for grievances.

[ (OOC note: feel free to have your character interrupt mid-list rather than listen to the whole thing; you can use the numbers to indicate where they're jumping in.) ]

3 (replies to my own comment, whatever)

[exequy]

[ He has read this several times already, but #3 still makes him snort and mutter, with the smugness of someone who knows where some of the books (and art and money and valuables) are buried, ]

They can try.

post-12.

[luaithre]

That there is talk of annulment, execution, custody, and none of what could guard against corruption amongst their Templars and ranked Chantry officials—

[ A sound of derision. ]

The proposal wants killing entirely.

11.

[tender]

[ a pause after, for— ]

If any are not clear on what Annulment is, we—I can define it for you.

Of #8

[overharrowed]

I suppose this answers the question of whether the current Divine will honor negotiations done in the interregnum. Or rather, the popular perception of whether she can be expected to.

[He distinctly remembers a lot of hours poured into securing that particular promise, at the cost of many headaches and being polite to a lot of very rude people.]

10

[inkindled]

The mage gets to choose between Tranquility or execution? Is that meant to be a kindness?

post 4

[armd]

Let me guess. All magic is now dangerous.

A Plan

[exequy]

[ So, the proposal sucks. Derrica, Petrana, and the others have already decided (though protests and other ideas are welcome) that they need to go to Cumberland and do something to stop it. Kostos has every intention of walking out of the meeting and directly to the griffon eyrie to go alert the Grand Enchanter and her formerly-rebel army.

But there's more to figure out, like what stopping it will look like, who is coming and what they'll be able to do, and what compromises (if any) they're willing to make if that's what it comes to. ]

[tender]

Kostos can reach the Grand Enchanter by griffon, but traveling to Cumberland will take time. When we go, [ when ] we will need to stall proceedings long enough to give them all time to arrive.

I think it would be best if we tried to get the entire proposal thrown out, rather than try to decide which pieces of it we can stomach.

[armd]

Are the rest of us just supposed to stay here and freak out until we hear back from you?

Meanwhile, In The Tower

[exequy]

[ The secret meeting and its secret subject are only so secret. The Division Heads are aware of it, one way or another, before it begins—which gives them some time to decide what they're going to say, when someone (or a pack of someones) inevitably comes upstairs to tell them that they intend to go do something about this. ]

closed to div heads

[bouchonne]

We could just go down there and join them.

[ Byerly suggests this as he pours himself - and any other takers - a cup of coffee. He sounds a little wistful, as though he'd like nothing better. (The man does love making a group of people extremely uncomfortable.) ]

It'd be the most efficient way to go about it. The four of us lounging pointedly in the doorway, staring at them - Flint, you could do that little cheek-twitch of yours that always looks so threatening...

Whatever Else

[exequy]

[ (If your characters have comments or side conversations that don't fit in the breakdown above, or if you want a place to do related conversations/threads post-meeting, you can do that here!) ]

[foolsmakeitcolder]

Can't believe they're pulling this "HOA meeting while everyone else is working" thing.

during, closed to kostos;

[luaithre]

[ It is after the decision of Kostos accompanied by the rifter girl appears to be made that Marcus finds a moment to slink away from his guarding position to join Kostos in the Sulk Corner, lending nothing to lighten its mood. ]

Will they need convincing? Fiona and hers.

[detestable]

Anyone going to say what a Circle is? Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like lock up.

[ where is the GLOSSARY OF TERMS ]

during

[altusimperius]

[Though it's never been clear in the past whether or not he Belongs in these meetings, being personally if not legally expatriated from Tevinter makes it obvious enough to Benedict that he'd better pay attention.

Unlike past experiences, however, he doesn't offer any opinions, or even ask questions. He knows what the stakes are. He just sits and listens, trying not to be too obvious about his nervous fidgeting.]

OTA but addressed to rifters

[youwonscience]

[She's present, but mostly listening, deferring to those with more diplomatic or strategic talents. But when other rifters start to raise questions, she does quietly but unhesitatingly add:]

Just in case the information hasn't gotten around to everyone: they can and have made phylacteries for rifters. It works, from a logistical level. There was even a rule on the books, back when we were with the Inquisition, that if a rifter committed a violent crime or a Division Head thought they were "unstable," for safety reasons. When Madame Cedoux says we're all in this together, it's true in a really literal sense.

And like ... it's been less than five years that the Chantry was pushed into publicly stating that we're not demons, so. Not a ringing endorsement.

cigarette break.

[luaithre]

[ At a certain point—

Well, it all becomes noise. Cross-purposes and gaps in information, competing interests, passion and reason. Marcus doesn't begrudge any of them any of it, not really, but as soon as it becomes more than he in particular is capable of handling, he opts to returning to guard the door. From the outside.

It's fine. They'll all figure something out. For now, he shakes a cigarette free from its case, lights it up with the edge of his thumb, and listens to the vague noise of conversation on the other side. Maybe after a few of these, if it's still going, he'll go back in.

For now, he is content with solitude, but won't mind company in units of less than two. ]

during; OTA but fr it's just lurkin

[illithidnapped]

[The more Astarion listens, the less visible he manages to become.

By all rights, it's a little absurd: stark white hair, blood red eyes— black open-collared clothing doing nothing to detract from the aforementioned traits aside from stirring up that much more visual contrast. But maybe there's something to be said for stillness in a bustling room. That over time, even the little microreactions in his expression stop entirely, leaving him less animated than the shadows on the walls themselves, aside from the occasional blink or two.

Maybe he's learned his lesson, after snapping more than once across the network. Maybe it's only on the network itself that he feels bold enough to speak his mind, where nothing translates directly into proximity or touch. No immediate escalations to be found.

Or maybe it's neither.

Unless he's noticed or asked after, it's progressively more obvious (in ways he presently isn't), that he isn't going to volunteer whatever's figuratively ticking away in his mind as he watches from the not-at-all figurative sidelines. Arms still folded across his chest, back fit comfortably to cool, smooth stone.

Sharp ears fully attuned.]

break time.

[tender]

[ In the course of the overlapping talk, Derrica breaks from the pockets of conversation.

She has no intention of going far. Just to the very edges of the room, to stand by the door to the hallway without exiting. It's a break, yes, but from a position where she can keep an eye on the proceedings, intercede if something gets out of hand.

Or be approached, if someone is so inclined. ]

stumbling in late

[muckspout]

[Loud whisper]

Is this a party?

[Holds up a bottle.]

Brought drinks!