Hmm, that sounds like it needs an explanation! I hope we can have one after the meeting is over and the fuse has burned down :)
Lighting a fuse Rystin stared at the table as though it was the only solid thing in the world. "Not just them," he said. "All the elves hate the Empire. It invaded us, it took from us, and it keeps taking. Technically we're citizens and we're 'integrated' but in fact we're ghettoised and blamed for all kinds of things and treated as second- or third-class citizens. The Civil Militia is practically at war with the Rust Elves and the Empire turns a blind eye to it. The spider-elves are dying out as they mutilate themselves to try and fit in better, and they interbreed with humans to try and preserve some of their heritage. The wisp-elves were practically dying out until about fifteen years ago, and while there's been some population recovery since then, it's still a touch-and-go situation. The Empire is winning, without a doubt, but it's a long, drawn out and painful war of attrition for most of us. Asking a powerful wisp-elf mage to see what was done in the Halls of Sunset might just be lighting a fuse on a power-keg. A small one, probably damp, but it might just be enough to have the Empire decide to move firmly and crush the elves for good." Dread shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "A Mages first allegiance is to the Mages' College," he said. "Not the Empire, though that's not something we make a fuss out of." "Unless you can enforce that magically," said Rystin, "I think that that's just the ideal. I would expect that most Mages have their own priorities, just like any other group of people." Dread looked as though he was going to argue, and Fabian was well aware that he disliked being corrected even when he was wrong so started fishing for something to say to defuse the situation a little. Before he found anything though the waiter appeared at the table with the bill and Dread stared at it for a moment before realising what it was. "It seems we should be leaving," he said, signing the bottom of it. "Tonight is busy and they want the table."
Outside they strolled along a broad pavement lined with tall trees that provided shade during the daytime and rustled now in the evening breeze, sounding just a little bit ominous. "Is there anyone who isn't a wisp-elf who might know about that altar?" said Fabian finally when it became clear that neither Dread nor Rystin were going to restart the conversation. "Has no-one else ever really studied them?" Rystin shrugged. "The wisp-elves have done the best job of keeping themselves to themselves," he said, "though the price they've paid is dying off, I suppose. I think there are a lot of magical artefacts out there that they made whose use is being lost. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are being left with the thought that they are magical booby-traps for when there are no wisp-elves left. So no, I would be astonished if a non-wisp-elf could figure out an artefact as complicated as an altar." "So we either give up and hope the Halls are never reopened," said Fabian, "or we take our chances with the Mage?" Rystin sighed, sounding almost heartbroken. "The Halls will be reopened," he said. "There's no way to stop that from happening I think. So we can take our chances or we can live in the soul-sapping fear of someone making a new key." "We know the auditors are trying to," said Dread. "And they're the last people I would trust to deal with something like this." "They might already have something to do with it," said Fabian, remembering the exhibit of the historical auditors. "That doesn't make it better."
Greg - well we have an item returning from March, which had already at that point been returned from a previous meeting (and possibly one or two before that). We have a Director who does not want to deal with the issue in his community and the other Directors are getting progressively more and more tired of it.
Plus there is a request to resubmit an application that was denied at a previous meeting, mostly because that same Director spoke against it quite... strongly. And there is a letter from the applicant's lawyer and some strongly worded accusations toward said Director.
I'll let you know how it plays out :)
Hmm. A delicate situation with no good solution appearing. The lads are in tough here. And you're conveying that expertly.
2 comments:
Hmm, that sounds like it needs an explanation! I hope we can have one after the meeting is over and the fuse has burned down :)
Lighting a fuse
Rystin stared at the table as though it was the only solid thing in the world. "Not just them," he said. "All the elves hate the Empire. It invaded us, it took from us, and it keeps taking. Technically we're citizens and we're 'integrated' but in fact we're ghettoised and blamed for all kinds of things and treated as second- or third-class citizens. The Civil Militia is practically at war with the Rust Elves and the Empire turns a blind eye to it. The spider-elves are dying out as they mutilate themselves to try and fit in better, and they interbreed with humans to try and preserve some of their heritage. The wisp-elves were practically dying out until about fifteen years ago, and while there's been some population recovery since then, it's still a touch-and-go situation. The Empire is winning, without a doubt, but it's a long, drawn out and painful war of attrition for most of us. Asking a powerful wisp-elf mage to see what was done in the Halls of Sunset might just be lighting a fuse on a power-keg. A small one, probably damp, but it might just be enough to have the Empire decide to move firmly and crush the elves for good."
Dread shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "A Mages first allegiance is to the Mages' College," he said. "Not the Empire, though that's not something we make a fuss out of."
"Unless you can enforce that magically," said Rystin, "I think that that's just the ideal. I would expect that most Mages have their own priorities, just like any other group of people."
Dread looked as though he was going to argue, and Fabian was well aware that he disliked being corrected even when he was wrong so started fishing for something to say to defuse the situation a little. Before he found anything though the waiter appeared at the table with the bill and Dread stared at it for a moment before realising what it was.
"It seems we should be leaving," he said, signing the bottom of it. "Tonight is busy and they want the table."
Outside they strolled along a broad pavement lined with tall trees that provided shade during the daytime and rustled now in the evening breeze, sounding just a little bit ominous.
"Is there anyone who isn't a wisp-elf who might know about that altar?" said Fabian finally when it became clear that neither Dread nor Rystin were going to restart the conversation. "Has no-one else ever really studied them?"
Rystin shrugged. "The wisp-elves have done the best job of keeping themselves to themselves," he said, "though the price they've paid is dying off, I suppose. I think there are a lot of magical artefacts out there that they made whose use is being lost. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are being left with the thought that they are magical booby-traps for when there are no wisp-elves left. So no, I would be astonished if a non-wisp-elf could figure out an artefact as complicated as an altar."
"So we either give up and hope the Halls are never reopened," said Fabian, "or we take our chances with the Mage?"
Rystin sighed, sounding almost heartbroken. "The Halls will be reopened," he said. "There's no way to stop that from happening I think. So we can take our chances or we can live in the soul-sapping fear of someone making a new key."
"We know the auditors are trying to," said Dread. "And they're the last people I would trust to deal with something like this."
"They might already have something to do with it," said Fabian, remembering the exhibit of the historical auditors.
"That doesn't make it better."
Greg - well we have an item returning from March, which had already at that point been returned from a previous meeting (and possibly one or two before that). We have a Director who does not want to deal with the issue in his community and the other Directors are getting progressively more and more tired of it.
Plus there is a request to resubmit an application that was denied at a previous meeting, mostly because that same Director spoke against it quite... strongly. And there is a letter from the applicant's lawyer and some strongly worded accusations toward said Director.
I'll let you know how it plays out :)
Hmm. A delicate situation with no good solution appearing. The lads are in tough here. And you're conveying that expertly.
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