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.

[charmoffensive]

And you know that we know [ piped up from the 'barely knows what's happening' corner, ] that you know that.

But has every other non-Riftwatch-y mage incentive to truly hear us on this sort of thing? At least on matters of particularity. Perhaps we'll only confuse things.

[overharrowed]

The Loyalists' commitment to trying to freeze out every other faction is one of their biggest weak points, in my view. They're trying to rush before anyone else can get a word in, but we can make sure it's clear they didn't build any sort of consensus. Not only freezing out Fiona's faction and all of us, but any other unaffiliated moderates, apostates, or other Southern mages more broadly. All of whom, by the way, will all likely be deeply insulted that they were spoken for without their consent.

[If there's anything Julius knows, it's what trying to speak on behalf of a group of mages is like.]

It suits the so-called College to appear to speak for mages as a whole, but if we've very quick and a bit lucky, they could quickly unite everyone else in being irritated or worse at them. And the more legible that is to the people they hope to negotiate with, the weaker their position.

[sparklequeen]

I know I'm just a Rifter, but I'm also a Mage--and I never agreed to let these people speak for me. That has to have some weight, doesn't it? That there are a bunch of us who had no idea this was happening?

[ Glimmer speaks up, frowning. ]

Should we send a letter to the Divine? Or send someone to show up in person to deny their claim to speak for all mages? Getting all of the other mages to put together our own petition seems like a tall order on short notice, though...

[ Hmm. ]

My only idea is to be as loud about it as possible.

[tender]

We will go.

[ A breath later, clarifying— ]

Those of us here, in Kirkwall. We are closer, and we can get to Cumberland faster. And once we arrive, we will have to stall them until Enchanter Averesch can bring Grand Enchanter Fiona and the rest of the rebel mages to Cumberland from the front. It will give us time to do as Enchanter Julius says, make clear how underhanded they are in this.

[ Speaking with any measure of authority is—

Strange.

But Derrica presents this as a fact. Here is a course of action, what is to be done. ]

We will have to be very loud, until the Grand Enchanter and her people join us, or else those already at Cumberland will be able to talk us down and send the proposal as they have written it.