weighed and measured in kind

[rowancrowned]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Thranduil
RECIPIENT: A L L
WHAT: Please don't riot about the phylacteries. (yet)
WHEN: Post-negotiations.
WHERE: Gallows! 
NOTES: After this. Specifically, after Iorveth does a property damage and before anyone else can try that.

[ thranduil's voice is tight, if still somehow pleasant: ]

I understand that there are a great number of questions and concerns at the moment regarding the Inquisition's proposed policy of phylacteries for Rifters.

If there are concerns that anyone would wish to make known through official channels, the Research Division has been appointed to handle the research of this new, proposed policy. [ very pointed stressing. ] My office is where it has always been, and any concerns should be turned into the box reserved for correspondence of that nature.

I would remind all Rifters that we are yet considered a single unit. [ remember the curfew? ] That poor behavior will affect all of us- indeed, anyone currently afflicted with a Shard. I would advise them that this is never as true as it is now, and that consequences for actions taken in the heat of the moment are the same as those made when rational.

Comments

private.

[elegiaque]

You get back in here right now we are absolutely not done discussing this—

private.

[rowancrowned]

Once I am assured there is no longer a riot imminent, I will.

crystal

[hello_there]

Ah, level-headed commentary.

[He's forgotten what it sounded like. It's beautiful.]

I see not much has changed.

crystal

[rowancrowned]

[ finally, something good. ]

You. [ does he sound relieved? ] Go convince the one your apprentice has attached herself to to restrain himself. Now.

private;

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr's voice is very, very controlled in that way that broadcasts he'd rather not have to be.]

Provost, there's a real risk that any research undertaken into the matter will be sabotaged as it is. [There's always someone more willing.]

private;

[rowancrowned]

Where is it now?

[ after a moment, and much less tense: ]

I will need a favor. A very large favor.

crystal

[goldsteins]

You can say proposed as much as you like but it doesn't change the fact. They're gonna try to find a way to do it rather we agree with it or not.

crystal

[rowancrowned]

And what would it cost them, when only discussion of it has the whole of the Gallows in an uproar?

[castintoflames]

The proposal is intrusive. If they desire reason(s) to trust us, can they not contact us personally? (Chains come in many forms and he will not wear any easily.)

[rowancrowned]

We have all served loyally in our own way since our arrival. It would pain me greatly to see our earnest efforts repaid thusly.

crystal;

[letoldthingsdie]

How is any of this proposal meant to be a peaceful solution? You're suggesting we let them enslave us when we're here against our will.

[He doesn't even hide how angry he is, practically snarling into his sending crystal when he messages Thranduil.]

It's enslavement. Plain and simple. You're right that it affects all of us and anyone with sense could see that this is already decided.

[Someone's been talking to his buddy Iorveth. Oops.]

You're perfectly fine being a slave to the Inquisition that is on you but I won't let them- they aren't taking Rey's blood or mine.

crystal

[hello_there]

[Senses a disturbance in the force.]

Kylo- Ben. No one is taking anyone's blood, nothing has been decided yet.

[A small but very important word: yet.]

And even if it were, they certainly can't reasonably take it by force. Even if they wanted to. Calm. Control.

[whiskeyandbrimstone]

Evenin' ya'll. Now I don't know exactly what I dropped into here, but I'll tell you this appros of nothin'. If you're gonna try to force me to make some kinda soul jar, well, we're gonna have some words. I just came from a place where we're fighting a war over what constitutes a person, and have to say, seems like you're not really on the right side of that argument.

Secondly, since when do we have a cerfew? Haven't been following one of those, but if we're bein' accused of something that merits an imprisonment, well, see previous statement bout treatin' people with equal rights.

Unless, of course, equal rights isn't something that exists here, in which case, well...lets just cross that bridge when we come to it.

[rowancrowned]

We have had a curfew for several months. Who is your division head? I will ensure they discuss the intricacies of Thedas with you shortly.

[ now that that's handled. what's a soul jar. it sound like what it is, probably. ]

Thedas is currently in the middle of several wars. You will find that what occurred in your home is rather irrelevant to the events here.

crystal

[provenforce]

[ Rey's voice sounds tight, like she's trying to restrain a great deal of anger, right now. ]

The mages went on strike when they felt the Inquisition was taking them for granted. Maybe we should do the same.

[aenseidhe]

If the majority of us leave the Inquisition together, the shards would remain clustered, avoiding the pain and death we've been told comes when they're separated.

[ He's just putting it out there. You know. No reason. ]

As I understand it, at least.

Private

[laurenande]

Proposed policy.

[Not so much a question as a demand for elaboration. Polite demand.]

Private

[rowancrowned]

I am afraid our plans may well need to be accelerated. What are you capable of?

[ grimly. this may be it. ]

Galadriel. I will not allow it. Least of all to you.

not here;

[limier]

[ at least this time they have a vocal headcount of troublemakers ]

also not here

[rowancrowned]

[ he's going to shake them all individually until their tendency to discuss open rebellion on public channels falls out. ]

private.

[thunderproof]

A proposal could be mere steps away from law if we don't make our objections known. We barely count as people to the Chantry, no matter any evidence that points to our being sapient, feeling individuals. Are we to sit quietly and be agreeable until they render us all Tranquil?

❰ she respects you as a friend of gwenaëlle's and one of her superiors and that is the only reason this isn't public. the tone isn't combative, even if the words kind of are, and she's willing to be talked down if thranduil has a plan.

please have a plan. ❱

private.

[rowancrowned]

I do not think it physically possible.

[ he's kept his discoveries to himself, and they are, in truth, only suspicions, but. ]

For now, they have only proposed. Patience.

[somethingyettocome]

You reckon there's going to be trouble? I have no desire for violence, if it can be settled peaceably I'd prefer it.

...But...[There's a hitch in her voice that's slightly unnatural but her curiosity is earnest.] What's a phylactery?

[whiskeyandbrimstone]

If my research and practical experience hold up, it's a soul jar. You take a jar and stick your soul in it, makes it really really hard to kill you. There's some magic nonsense to make one, but that's pretty much it.

Private

[utulien_aure]

We will still need a response. And sooner, rather than later.

[Proposals left uncountered have a funny way of becoming realities, after all, not that Thranduil really needs the reminder.]

I expect you already have something in mind?

Private

[rowancrowned]

Of course. What sort of fool do you take me for.

Maedhros is benefitting from the routine in the Gallows. How poorly will he react to the life of a marchwarden? Can he fletch arrows and make bows as well as he forges swords?

private;

[gotyourselfapilot]

i'm new to this world. I'm trying to learn or figure out the politics of this world and how it works exactly. My main thing right now is what does phylacteries do exactly?

If they do something that people hate they'll protest. It doesn't even look all that great with the compliment of the compliant box saying that the Rifters were looming and crawling all over the place. Someone already clearly has their own opinions about the Rifters. People's emotions are already riled up and not where they should be. This action could lead to further distrust.

I wouldn't be surprised if a riot happens when this becomes a reality for all rifters. [ Says the guy that has started a riot on purpose during a mission. There's plenty of voices here that seem unlikely to band together but he wouldn't rule any of them out. If he were gathering for a riot they would be the first on the list. ]

private;

[rowancrowned]

They serve as a tracking device for the person whose blood is contained within. A sort of eternal scenthound, if the analogy suits your understanding of the world better than magic.

[ he pauses. ]

For those of us who are not-- who are more, be we mages, elves, and so on, the holder of the phylactery is able to use it to suspend those abilities from afar.

If, [ he corrects. ] We have time. Not much, but some.

private;

[earthbones]

Thranduil--

[Y'ffre, let her-- let her get her voice under control. Catch it. Haul it back and stop it from threatening to crack out of her.]

If they come for me-- I have done this before. I have seen this before. This has happened before where the dragon devours his own tail. Do not let this place become the Thalmor stripped out of their gold and black for an eye with a sword thrust through it, do not, there is no walking back from it.

private;

[rowancrowned]

I will not let it come to pass.

[ he trusts bronach. ]

How plentiful is the game this spring? Have they yet recovered from the winter?

[sorcerised]

And raising quiet objection through official channels will work, will it? They've already enforced this control on others. What makes you think it will be any different for us?

[rowancrowned]

Given how the mages were able to so neatly rearrange matters to their liking, I must assume that this is the Chantry and the Templars' way of asking us to come to the table for negotiations of our own.

[ c: ]

Crystal

[mal_adjusted]

Serah - I

I really don't want to -

[Mal's voice cracks for a moment, before she sucks in a breath and states more firmly.]

Serah, I don't know about the other members of Rifts and Veils but I feel like I must say that I am morally against using our research to potentially put you, and the other Rifters, at risk.

[She sort of wants to set things on fire with the angry elf guy but the thought of what might happen to her own Elfdad keeps her still. ]

Crystal

[rowancrowned]

That is your own choice. However, given your status within the Inquisition, I would advise that you continue following orders.

The purpose of the Inquisition is to prevent Corypheus from succeeding in taking Thedas for himself. We have seen what happened to the common folk and even the nobility when we are prevented from doing our work.

{ to everyone talking here in general }

[zombra]

Whoa, okay, so like... I only half understand what's going on here, but I get it involves taking our blood to track us, or something? So before we all go off the rails on this crazy train, can we just take a freaking breath first? Like can't we get together and write up a petition on why we're against this? I know, petitions are lame, and I'm not saying it'll work, but like... at least if we do that first, if the Inquisition still wants to do this, and can do it, then at least we can point to the petition and say we were reasonable and calm first. Right? Rather than, um, snarling and threatening and stuff right off the bat.

[ Look, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she's seen panic like this before. She was smack dab in the middle of it. But in that case, it wasn't like they could petition the zombies to please stop eating them. This is different. There's still time... ]

There's still time to stop this possibility from becoming reality. And we've got options besides full on riots.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Right? I mean, riots are fun in theory, but uhhhhh this is going to help no one. Definitely not our cause. In fact, it'll hurt it.

Doesn't mean laying down and taking it. It just means not immediately setting everything on fire.

private;

[crowncitizen]

[Well this all just majorly sucks. But luckily Prompto's not gonna run around vandalizing anything just yet, not while it's just an idea and not a policy being implemented.]

Thanks for saying all this. A lot of us aren't taking it well, though I hope no one's done anything stupid yet. The curfew and the prejudice are bad enough.

[Sigh.]

Do you know how this even got brought up in the negotiations? I thought that was all supposed to be between the mages and the Chantry and templars.

private;

[rowancrowned]

You are welcome.

[ thranduil opinion +10, good job buddy. ]

The curfew is for your safety. No. I have been assured it was not offered by the mages [ as if they had any authority to do so. ] but I must assume someone thought it useful to tug at an errant thread.

[coiledscales]

I am very concerned about the prospect of handing over anything to the Inquisition that would allow them a greater degree of control over me. Negotiable, perhaps, but you'll understand my wariness.

[rowancrowned]

I recognize your concerns.

[ look at him, using 'I' statements. ]

May it not come to pass.

[aloud and addressed to erryone here]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Everyone's reacting really strongly, for some really good reasons. But I just want to point out that this is all theoretical. Like the big guy said, it's a proposed plan.

It means they don't know if they even have the means to, if it'll even work on Rifters. If it doesn't, then they're shit out of luck.

It's a sucky situation, the possibility of being made like the circle mages were--trust me, I get that. But yelling a lot isn't going to change their minds. It might make them even more ready and willing to do this.

So. What they're going to need to do is tests. To which I volunteer, preemptively. This is going to give us more information on the Rifters and their connection to this world. And when those tests are done, which might not be for a long while, then we'll see what happens then.

[It might astonish some to hear something level-headed and not-yell-y coming from Church of all people.]

Re: [aloud and addressed to erryone here]

[whiskeyandbrimstone]

Proposed plans often become actual plans. Not to mention, you said they need to test it. Lets say that it dosn't work for whatever reason. You really think they'll respond with "Welp it didn't work. Guess we won't track their every movement."? They'll just move on to some other way of tracking us. The blood tracking is just a symptom, not the disease.

[the_cleric]

Hello, my name is Jester, and I am a Rifter too. And I want to say to everybody, what is even the big deal? Why is everyone getting all pissed off about these phylactates? It is just tiny bit of blood, isn't it? Like not even that much. I have heard of secret organizations that ask you for way, way worse. Super embarrassing things. Parts of your body.

Also, I was thinking. Do we get to pick where the blood comes from?

[tagartist]

I think it's more the "uses it to track people" part that's got a lot of us pissed, dude. I don't care about people wanting to use my blood for something important, but when the majority of Rifters haven't done shit to deserve this kind of scrutiny, especially when we've been putting up with othering and curfews without much of a fuss, it's not right to even propose the idea of putting even more bullshit on our shoulders out of some irrational fear that stems from us being different and unknown.

[tagartist]

I think the idea that they even proposed this shit is insulting enough. Emphasizing that doesn't do anything to make it less so.

[coiledscales]

They clearly don't trust us. Which, to be fair, I understand. It's still insulting. We've proven ourselves, haven't we?

crystal;

[somethingwild]

All I think I can politely say on the matter currently is that this will end poorly.

So, sir, I was wondering if I might request assignments that would take me out of the city and into the fields for the next...well. While. Even if it's just taking stock of local wildlife. But preferably the more dangerous wildlife, if possible.

[What goes unspoken, but is very evident in the terse tone of his voice, is the notion that he might end up setting something on fire otherwise.]

private ;

[rowancrowned]

I regret to inform you that I cannot authorize that at the moment.

[ please no fire. please? ]

I believe there is to be a small selection of Inquisition personnel heading to the Wounded Coast within a few days to collect herbs. Will that suit?

I must remind you that we know that separation from the presence of other shardbearers for long periods of time will cause you immense pain.

[ please also do not run away. ]

Open to anyone.

[hwaaaitsme]

The state of affairs in the South never ceases to amaze me.

It took how many hundreds of years to do away with phylacteries here, even in part, and now? Theyve hardly been gone a day and you are all so eager to make more of them?

I cannot even begin to fathom the logic here, but I suppose that's to be expected when one is abroad in backwards foriegn lands.

[There is a long pause.]

Besides I thought these people were against the use of blood magic? It is an abomination until it is convenient, it seems.

Very Tevene, that attitude.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I mean. You're not wrong, by any means. The idea of getting rid of Inquisition-owned phylacteries of mages only to replace them with Rifter ones seems really...two-faced. Replace one with the other.

On the other hand, unless you were there at the negotiations, none of us know what went into it. Rifters have plenty of mage friends; they wouldn't just throw us under the bus with no fighting. [He has to believe that, anyway.]