[OPEN-ISH] Sometimes I feel like my brain turns to leaves

[overharrowed]

WHO: Julius, Ellie, Strange, Barrow, Wysteria, Benedict, and anyone else who wants to tap in
WHAT: Julius has a new job
WHEN: Vaguely after the return from the Silent Plains
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Feel free to tag in responding to the main text, or talk to me OOC if you'd like to hash out a bespoke starter.

When Julius realized he was the last dedicated project leader remaining, it had been clear to him that the position was likely to change or vanish in short order. The organization has contracted, and distinctions that were once useful have become redundant. It's not as if his knowledge from the project would be lost, or that he doesn't trust the new division heads. To the contrary, he's worked with Niehaus on red lyrium for years, and Derrica is among his nearest and dearest. They are sensible choices and that are also personally advantageous to him.

If a small part of his mind registers frustration at not swinging up the ladder himself, there's another part ready to point out all the reasons he wasn't the most strategic choice, many of which were the results of his own actions. It's fine.

Seneschal is unquestionably a position they need filled, and also one that requires trust. He's here because he's earned that. And he's willing to shelve his own ambitions (or at least turn them down a bit) in the name of a well-run, effective organization. It's not as if he isn't a practical man. But it's an adjustment. It certainly feels a bit like starting over, not least as he settles into a new office. He's not set official office hours yet, but he can be found sorting through a variety of books, papers, and correspondence more often than not for the first week or so.

Comments

[overharrowed]

"Nothing to apologize for." Julius looks thoughtful. "My vague understanding was that we were grandfathered into the Inquisition's arrangement, but I admit that I honestly haven't been directly involved in that for a while. I know we could get our hands on some lyrium samples for Sashamiri-adjacent research, but we were mindful of quantity. And obviously Mme de Foncé secured a supply for her recent experiments. But yes, I certainly don't think we should put any templars or former templars into involuntary withdrawal. If you only need my approval to talk to the Trademaster, consider it granted."

He pauses, not quite a hesitation, and adds, "I heard that a Forces member, Orlov, voluntarily stopped taking lyrium about a year ago. I don't know much about the details, but Derrica might be able to tell you more. Or Orlov himself, I suppose; we haven't had much overlap, but he could be a useful source of information about withdrawal, if you need it."

Whatever Julius personally feels about Orlov, or templars generally, it's not hard to agree that they shouldn't abruptly go into withdrawal because Riftwatch mismanaged its supplies.

jkfhgf sorry to make u mention your other character

[portalling]

“Approval to talk to the Trademaster, approval to harangue all our resident templars about their drug regimen; and this way you have fair warning in return about what’s up, if they come complaining to you that I’ve been sticking my nose in their private business. Let’s just say I don’t want to wind up with de Foncé mediating a conflict resolution meeting between me and Redvers Keen.”

This is growth, probably. Once upon a time Strange might just have jumped right into it and shoved his foot in the mouth with all of the prospective patients. “I’ve already heard some of what the withdrawal is like, and even what’s in a Templar’s philter box and how it’s used, so that I could administer it in an emergency.” Hard-won knowledge, courtesy a friendship with Mobius, and convincing the other man to trust him.

The others, though, he hasn’t exactly made a fantastic first impression —

“Are there any other former templars besides Mobius, Keen, and Orlov? And do you have a… I don’t know, a vibe check on all of them, for lack of a better term. People can be ornery, and I’m not always great with people, and this feels like sensitive territory besides.”

lol you're fine, Riftwatch is a small org

[overharrowed]

Julius' expression flickers, hard to read but at least partly amused, at the idea of a mediation between Strange and Keen. On that note, he adds, "I'm happy to handle any Templar who is ungrateful enough to realize you're trying to help them avoid involuntary withdrawal. Let me know if they give you trouble."

To the other questions, he shakes his head. "As far as I know, Keen is a current Templar, at least in his loyalties. If he didn't have an anchor shard, he wouldn't be here, and he's made no secret of it. Mobius and Orlov, though, yes. And Barrow. No others that I know of at present."

Julius pauses, considering the second part of the question; "vibe check" may be unfamiliar in its construction, but is clear enough in context. He folds his hands.

"I wouldn't say I know any of them well, though I'll be working with Barrow more now that I'm the seneschal. Barrow isn't a diplomat, but he doesn't want to pick fights, other than maybe for the fun of it when he's in his cups. He may not be thrilled to talk about Templars in a political way, but if you make it a purely practical discussion, I suspect you'll be alright. Keep it pragmatic." He inclines his head, as if to refer back to Strange's earlier point. "I suspect you know Mobius better than I do, so I won't bother giving you any advice there."

"Keen has been in a bad mood since he arrived, and I'm not sure you could budge that, though you could maybe make it worse. If I were in your place, I'd be careful to avoid any ... He might not care for a suggestion that lyrium dependency is a tool for control or that he might want to quit. I would probably frame it in terms of while you must stay with Riftwatch out of necessity, we want to make sure we have what you need, that sort of thing." A shrug. "He might still not like it, but that would be my best guess. Orlov... a bit of a cipher, I think. Does his job, doesn't complain, but I don't hear much of him on a personal level. I think he speaks with Ellie some, maybe some of the other regular griffon riders. But he seems unlikely to lose his temper at you, regardless. Still, sorry I'm not more help."

Unlike some of the other mages, Julius hasn't consciously avoided the Templars, former or otherwise. But it does occur to him in this conversation that he may have subconsciously steered around them.

[portalling]

Strange laughs openly at that, acknowledging: “Oh yeah, don’t worry, I have full faith in my always being able to make things worse.”

He’s committing all of this information to memory, however, mentally jotting down these impressions for the men he doesn’t know that well. Out of all that group, he’s probably most worried about Keen. He unconsciously reaches for a stack of paper, stops, remembers he can’t write down notes as easily as he once could. But: focus on the practicalities and pragmatics when dealing with them. He can do that.

“Thank you, though,” he says. “You might not think it’s much, but this is actually a help; you’ve been here longer than me and I don’t do much work with Forces, so I haven’t really crossed paths with them much. Which might be a sign I’ve been too holed up in the Research workroom or the infirmary, but, eh.”

There’s a beat, as he considers the new seneschal. There were some people where it simply felt like they’d probably always been part of the fabric of Riftwatch (Gwenaëlle, Julius—); but Strange knew that was possibly a byproduct of being newer himself.

“How long have you been with Riftwatch, actually?”

[overharrowed]

Of the Templars, former and current, he adds, "Captain Rowntree has interviewed them all; you might check with him for another perspective." But he doesn't linger on the point enough to dodge Strange's question.

"I've been with Riftwatch since it broke off from the Inquisition. I joined the Inquisition in ... let me think, 9.43? Yes, that's right, because it was right after the Inquisition established the base here in Kirkwall. I was at Skyhold sometimes when we were still an Inquisition offshoot, but I was never permanently based there. It seemed natural enough to stay here when Riftwatch broke with the Inquisition, for a variety of reasons." Petrana's status as a rifter, for one, but also:

"I'd helped to negotiate the handling of a cache of mage phylacteries the organization got hold of, I think my efforts got me branded something of a troublemaker among the more Chantry-leaning Inquisition leadership. Which is sort of ironic, in hindsight, considering many of my fellow mages found me much too conservative for their tastes at the time. But I suspected I'd always be given a short leash if I stayed."

[portalling]

“Seven years,” Strange says, marveling, and finds himself wondering what that would be like. Once upon a time, he’d shied away from the very idea of any extended time here; skittish of putting down roots, thinking surely that wouldn’t happen. Surely he would be the one and only person to figure out the way to go back. (One’s ego ran rampant, as ever.)

But now he’d rather stay here than the alternative: nothingness.

And to that end, their problems have become his problems: “Ah— so you were involved in that? Gwenaëlle mentioned the hubbub with the phylacteries,” he says, thoughtful. “That it might have been part of the reason that Riftwatch splintered in the first place. So you’d be well-posed to answer: what did wind up happening to that cache? Ever since I learned that they can be made for use on rifters, too, I find the general concept relevant to my interests.”

Further ways he finds himself aligning with the plight of Thedosian mages, more and more.

[overharrowed]

He smiles ruefully at that. "Ah yes, I was in the thick of it. Well, for the first half. As you may or may not have heard, the native mages negotiated, and then we had to send a second round of representatives because the question was raised about making phylacteries for rifters as well. I don't know if we have copies of reports, now, that was while we were still part of the Inquisition proper. It was a mess, though. Still, I don't think we did so badly, given how relatively little leverage we were working with." At least the mage team; he didn't see the behind-the-scenes discussions for the second half.

"We secured the Inquisition's agreement that any phylactery it possessed belonging to an identified mage among the organization's ranks would be destroyed. Mages who asked could also have their phylacteries turned over to the Chantry, if they wished. In theory, this also applies to non-Inquisition mages willing to come forth and identify themselves, but I'm not sure that part of the agreement was ever tested. In turn, the Inquisition kept the phylacteries of anyone unidentified or working with Corypheus, and they reserved the right to create new phylacteries for mages convicted of violent crimes, as well as enemy prisoners. I don't actually know of any case of the former coming up before Riftwatch broke off, though I couldn't tell you if it's happened since. Not that I've heard of, at least."

He sighed. He wouldn't put it past them, but on the other hand, if it had happened prior to the meeting at Cumberland, he expects it would have come out then.

[portalling]

“Oh, thank god— I mean, I hoped they’d already met a responsible end, but that’s good to hear. That they were at least supposed to be destroyed. That there isn’t this perpetual string tied around the ankles of all Riftwatch’s mages.”

He’d stopped sifting through the desk drawers, all his attention wired to this particular topic as Julius explains. Musingly, “You remember how I was scrying for the Crossroads artifact, at the Sanctum? Bell and book and candle, all that. If you’re searching for a person, I used to be able to do it with a single strand of hair— even a strand of hair from someone they’re biologically related to. A step removed. It’s good that it’s a little more difficult to accomplish in this world, but also: the fewer vulnerabilities we’ve got, the better.”

[overharrowed]

"I know how to make phylacteries, as they're done here," he says, after a moment. Quieter. It's a thing he doesn't tell everyone, not because he's ashamed, precisely, but because it does carry some weight for native Thedosians that might not for the average rifter. "I think hair would feel less ominous than blood, maybe, though I suppose any way to feel like you're always under scrutiny will chafe. Regardless, though it's mainly Templars who used them, mages are needed to make them. It requires a series of spells. I've wondered, in the past few years, whether that sort of complicity was more of a feature than a drawback, when the Circles were at their height. Those of us old enough to make phylacteries already knowing ours were in safekeeping when we were told to make them for apprentices."

It's certainly far from the grimmest part of the Circle system, but he can't help but remember how he'd been pleased when he'd been taught how to do it. At the time, he'd seen it as a sign his campaign to gain trust and prestige had been working. Now, he's more inclined to see it as a sign they didn't consider him a flight risk. (Maybe some overlap, but certainly not the same thing.)

"I know for a fact mine was destroyed, at least. Not every Circle mage has that assurance."

could poss wrap in the next tag or so, w them being Businessy?

[portalling]

“Yeah.” How much can you trust the Circles to actually do what they said they would? Strange won’t name that particular mistrust aloud, but it likely already goes unsaid.

And they’ve gotten off-track, but it’s easy to do with each other: he’s always interested enough to pick Julius’ brain, to get his perspective on the local history and politics and mage issues.

Fingers tapping on the pile of paperwork, Strange eventually veers them back. “Is there anything you’d specifically like from me as Head Healer, apart from what we’ve already covered? The only other thing on my mind is that sometime in the new year, I’ll be doing a survey to update our medical records. Find out if there’s any special circumstances or conditions I need to account for, officially list allergies so someone doesn’t die if the kitchens cook something with peanuts in, etc.”

places a bow to make room for new things

[overharrowed]

He smiles a bit, as if to acknowledge how far they'd wandered. "I think we've made a good start. The survey sounds like a good idea. Let me know how things go with the templars, and I'll keep you updated with my progress on your list. I expect I'll set up office hours soon, but in the meantime, if you think a standing meeting could be helpful, I'm open to that. Or if you'd rather just reach out when you think something merits my attention, I trust your judgment."

Stephen's hands are likely to be full (more than Julius knows, in fact), and it seems best to Julius to start things as a collaboration, rather than an attempt to flex his new authority.