crystal.

[rowancrowned]

FORM: Sending Crystal
SENDER: Thranduil
RECIPIENT: Everyone! and then a smaller, private message.
WHAT: A quick review of the Inquisition's guidelines on prisoners.
WHEN: Week before the move to Ghislain.
WHERE: Gallows
NOTES: N/A

On the eve of our move to Orlais, I think it best to review a few things, namely what is to be done in war when your enemy offers a surrender.

[ good evening, inquisition. ]

As our enemy is somewhat lacking on the honor front, please consider first and foremost if the surrender is a trap and an attempt to distract you. Second, we cannot extract from them the traditional oath that they will cease fighting for Corypheus and earn parole, as was done during the War of the Lions, so any prisoner we take will be housed, fed, and clothed with the Inquisition's coin until the end of the war. There will be no ransom accepted from noble prisoners for this same reason.

Third, we cannot take as prisoner any darkspawn or visibly infected Red Templar forces. If a darkspawn offers a surrender, please see the first point. We also do not have the ability to cure or safely house anyone seriously infected with red lyrium without risking an outbreak.

[ he's pretty sure that's everything, so: ]

With these in mind, the acceptable prisoner is of rank, either on their own or in Corypheus' forces. Their absence will be noted, either by their kin, who will develop a different view of the war because of it, or by being useful for a prisoner exchange, should any of ours fail to come home.

I or the other division heads will be able to answer questions on this, but remember to never, ever risk yourself for the glory of a possible capture. We are not trophy hunting, we fight a war.

---

[ to just cosima, alexandra, and casimir, later in the evening: ]

If Casimir and I may borrow a moment of your time. I would like to know if there has ever been a case of those in your worlds increasing the mortality rate of a disease to prevent its further spread, and if so, how it went.

Comments

[chainlightning]

How would we know if they have rank? Outside of Corypheus' forces, that is; I imagine I can probably pick out the person bossing other people around.

[rowancrowned]

I imagine the captured nobility won't hesitate to identify themselves.

[esquive]

[--Opening his mouth to say just this thing and instead nodding along from wherever he is.]

[chainlightning]

What if they can't speak?

[ says the mage with Entropy magic ]

[rowancrowned]

I will leave it to your best judgement.

As mentioned, the taking of prisoners ought to be a rare thing.

[chainlightning]

I doubt I'll take any, [ mused, as if she's thinking about the taste of strawberries in summer and not killing people. ] I don't know much about human nobility anyway.

[rathercommon]

[ Frowning: ]

And what about people without rank?

[rowancrowned]

Please restrain yourself from doing so. Focus on protecting yourself and your comrades, and returning safely to Kirkwall.

[rathercommon]

Meaning, what? Just kill them?

[rowancrowned]

If anyone could convince them to beat their swords into plowshares, it would be you, Kitty.

[rathercommon]

You're avoiding the question, Thranduil. If we're going to act as though the life of a commoner matters less than the life of a noble, the least we can do is not pretend we're being righteous about it.

[rowancrowned]

I would hardly call it righteous. The sooner this war is over, the better it is for all of us.

[ even though it'll bring up the sticky question of what do with the rifters. ]

Crystal

[judgemewhole]

Just ... something I would like to add to this, Provost. After the Red Templar you have been fighting has been vanquished, if there are any personal items that are not tainted with red lyrium, they are to be returned to the Chantry, to be sent home to their kin.

[rowancrowned]

As the Knight Commander has said.

[esquive]

[Don't tell anyone you're looting bodies. Bad optics. Got it.]

private // cosima, thranduil & casimir only.

[periastron]

Stoping the spread of a disease by having it kill more people?

( She sounds confused, and very concerned. Yes, definitely concerned, and still pretty thrown from a recent assignment. It sets her pretty immediately on edge. )

What's your understanding of how diseases work? You got a handle on germ theory, or are you of the humours and bad airs and punishment for sin school of thinking?

[aestivation]

Not precisely.

Regardless of its origins, [ whatever a germ is seems irrelevant. an untended corpse breeds its own miasma. ] Assume the plague is invariably fatal, but kills slowly. That it may be spread by the afflicted who are well enough to travel.

[youwonscience]

We do quarantines, which I know you guys are familiar with. [Hey, blood plague.] Doing our best to make sure the infected have minimal, if any, contact with the well, which can sometimes put people who've been exposed but asymptomatic at greater risk. That said, actually killing a patient faster, even a terminal patient, violates most codes of medical ethics pretty directly.

[periastron]

Yeah, I mean— what she said.

It'd be fucked up, is what it would be. It's why quarantine exists. And someone being dead doesn't stop the potential of disease spreading, germ warfare was a thing since uh— Siege of Caffa, I think that's the first documented case? Thirteen-hundreds, they flung plague infected bodies into the city with a catapault. Making someone die won't help.

[aestivation]

I see. Would you be equipped to describe the Siege in greater detail?

[ maybe don't, actually!! ]

[hornswoggle]

I see these guidelines are going over well.

[rowancrowned]

I assume you are here to offer suggestions.

[ thranduil starting to understand why everyone ???s at rifters all the time. ]

[hornswoggle]

If I had any alternate suggestions, I'd give them.

[ but there's a shrewd benefit to taking prisoners. flipping over to private ]

Have so many of your number never engaged in open combat?

private forever

[rowancrowned]

In Thedas or ever? Far too many had never held a sword before tumbling through a Rift.

[hornswoggle]

I see.

[ sweet jesus ]

Well, this is one way to get them acclimated. I'd thought the Inquisition was a bit more...well-versed in battle, as a whole.