002.

[sangsues]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Etienne Guerinet Beaumanoir
RECIPIENT: everyone (sorry)
WHAT: whats all this
WHEN: post-proposal etc
WHERE: the walliest kirk
NOTES: Orlesians

( A quiet clearing of the throat; one can naturally assume it is a very beautiful clearing of the throat, done by a very beautiful man. )

This matter of the phylacteries for rifters… it seems sensible. If they are such a valuable resource to the Inquisition, the closing of rifts, and so on, being able to find said resource if a rival power were to try and overpower them and abscond with them makes sense, I think. For their own safety, for our own safety. If Corypheus and his forces were, for example, to make an attack on a party closing a rift and kidnap those rifters for nefarious purposes, it would be better for all if we were able to find them as quickly as possible. The phylacteries are an established way of doing just this, no?

By all means, if you wish to see the world end, protest. Even if this is not your world, though, I think we can all agree that you are currently in it. It’s fate is not entirely irrelevant to you.

Comments

[coiledscales]

We would prefer to not be told what is good for us, when we already know what we'd like, all things considered.

[letoldthingsdie]

The actions of a few are hardly conclusive to how all Rifters behave or should be treated. We joined the Inquisition willingly. There's no need for any of this.

[koteletten]

Certainly, I would prefer that to wanton riot. Think of the costs. But if the negotiations do not result in total victory for your side? What then?

[zombra]

[ That gets a thoughtful hum out of her, because she's way over her head here, but she can't just sit back and let people talk about Rifters like they have no voice of their own. ]

That's true. What's real? What's fake? [ Is there really even a Maker??? Boy, she's tempted, but she doesn't say it. ] We won't know unless we work it out for ourselves.

[ But boy, is she hoping it doesn't work on Rifters. ]

[zombra]

Nobody knows. And that's what has both sides freaking out. Because we want to skip to the end and know the result. So that's why I'm hoping we can all hit the brakes, get organized, and focus on the here and now.

[spellshatter]

You didn't, though, did you? You didn't ask to be here. You don't know how you got here. We don't know, either, and we don't know what you are or what all you can do. We know what you tell us, and that's it.

And the last few days, a few of you have seemed very eager to tell everyone with a crystal that you're not to be messed with.

[exascendee]

The problem with this proposed safeguard is that it's far too vulnerable to abuse. Any rifter would live under the constant threat that if they did something the Inquisition leadership disagreed with, it would be far too easy to control them. Even just psychologically, it would do far more bad than good.

And even if people were okay with, and it wasn't abused by those in power, which is unlikely, what if Corypheus's forces stole not the people, but the phylacteries? Not just one small group would be in danger, but every single rifter.

And, just for the record, using the threat of the end of the world as leverage to support your argument is a cruel cheap trick.

[koteletten]

Even the finest scouts will never be as effective as a phylactery. If someone you cared for was captured by our foes and tortured more brutally each day, would you not wish to find them as quickly as possible? What if the time saved by a phylactery was the difference between life and death?

[koteletten]

But have all things been considered? You are strangers to this world, while we are natives. Do you claim to already match our understanding of its dangers, after so short a time?

[letoldthingsdie]

And who are you to decide who and what we are? This is my first time speaking to you. Do you assume that I'm like the creatures that fell from the Rift too?

[It honestly frustrates him but he keeps his words calm despite it. He knows what it is to be seen as a monster, as some unpredictable thing. As to the rest - he's suddenly glad he's trying to listen to Obi-Wan and not get angry. That was exactly the type of person that this man was talking about fearing.]

I don't speak for those who have lost their tempers. Tensions are running high right now. Can you really blame us? You're talking about - essentially - enslaving us.

Crystal

[laurenande]

The heart of conflict, where the crux of this matter truly lies, is what you will do should we refuse to be party to this magnanimous solution.

[Galadriel is calm in the way that people talking in purely hypothetical statements are calm. She is not entertaining this idea, not for a moment, but she is curious about the extent of the logic employed here.]

If we decide our safety is best held in our own hands, not in those of the Inquisition command, what will you do then?

Will it be mandated, demanded of us for the common good? Will you attempt to force us who do not agree to grant you permission? Will you steal our blood against our will?

If any of those answers are 'yes', then what will grant us safety from you, should you choose to abuse these tracking phials? What guarantee could we have that this whole endeavor is not folly, or the beginnings of new chains and new circles for holding us alone?

[coiledscales]

I know enough about magic and how it works to know that I don't wish to give anyone power over me. That ought to be enough.

[letoldthingsdie]

So your people are useless, is what you're saying.

[sangsues]

There are other ways, of course. Scouts are extremely proficient, for example, but this is the swiftest method and a proven one. In a continent so vast as this one, that certainty is very valuable.

[sangsues]

That I don't have the answer for. I am but a humble physician; such decisions lie in the hands of our leaders.

All I have heard is refusal and outrage, with little consideration beyond what is perceived as an outrageous slight. Are rifters actually discussing the possible merits, or saying "no" on reflex?

[faithlikeaseed]

[Tiredly,] We could also develop ways to track them that are voluntary--and won't leave them vulnerable to spells cast on them remotely. Leave it to them to decide whether they'd like the added insurance we can find them if they go missing.

[sangsues]

That, my friend, is one of the very few sensible arguments I have heard. Thank you.

I don't think it's cruel or cheap or even a trick when... that is why a number of us from these countries have come here.

[koteletten]

No. Try again.

[sangsues]

The very tracking seems to be the issue, good sir. If the phylacteries were voluntary, would that be more palatable?

I'm no expert in magic, I'd be out of my depth speculating on the possibilities to hand.

[koteletten]

And yet, it is not. In any case, people already have power over you; someone has power over each of us. That is the way of the world. You may not like it, but it cannot be avoided.

[sangsues]

They were kidnapped and, from what I hear, subjected to several days of cruelty and Venatori experimentation while they had to be tracked by other methods. I, personally, would rather hand over my blood than endure that, but... perhaps that is weak-willed of me.

[coiledscales]

In this case it can be. You can make a more informed choice, if you so wish.

[sangsues]

And if the consequence is lending the power of your link with the Fade to the Venatori because you captured by them and the trail is hard to follow, is that something the rest of us should suffer?

[koteletten]

But this is not your world, and none of the things done in it were done by the Inquisition. Has the Inquisition treated you badly, since you arrived? You have sprung forth from the Fade, a place from which as far as thousands of years' experience has taught us only demons come, and yet the Inquisition has taken you in, given you succor, protected you from those who might wish you harm. Many of you refuse to assist the Inquisition in its work, yet it provides room and board and supplies, medical care, resources, training.

It has asked nothing of you, and has given you much out of good will alone. What part of that suggests to you it is an organization that would misuse your blood for some nefarious purpose?

[exascendee]

I'm not saying the end of the world isn't a possibility or something worth fighting against. I'm saying that claiming anyone who disagrees with your point of view on how to handle this wants the end of the world, that's derailing the argument with false equivalences and baseless accusations.

And even if an agreement is come to that phylacteries are necessary, protesting that claim is an important step in making sure we have exhausted all other possibilities, taken precautions, and minimised the amount of risk. Protests are important, and trying to silence them is dangerous for all of us.

[ Also, if you blindly support this kind of thing and threaten dissenters, Daniel is not your friend. ]