closed | the kirkwall inquisition biennial management conference

[hassaran]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Yseult
RECIPIENT: Coupe, Herian, Thranduil
WHAT: A meeting of Division Heads
WHEN: Now-ish
WHERE: The crystalline ether
NOTES: n/a

[ The message begins with a Marcher-ish accent--the cool, crisp tones of the upper classes, but with a precision of enunciation and a slight lilt that speaks to some other influence, harder to place. Her tone is brisk and professional. In the background, the faint cry of gulls. She might be on a ship. ]

Ambassador, Commander, Provost: I hope you do not object to discussing our business via crystal. An agent of mine elsewhere required urgent assistance, and I did not wish to delay our discussion. I am of course willing to answer any questions you might have as to my qualifications for this office, but barring that, I would like to begin by discussing whether there are any plans yet in place in the event that a Divine is elected who is perceived as hostile to many of those who work at this base.

Comments

[rowancrowned]

This is the intended use.

Do you fear active hostilities? Or merely the talk to return or introduce the majority of the population here into circles ruffling feathers by whomever ends up Most Holy.

[hassaran]

Have you a plan for either? There are a number of possibilities it would seem prudent to discuss in advance.

[limier]

One would think we'd no plumage left.

There will have been talk, beyond games and jest. It is not open discontent which concerns me, so much as that silence which indicates private action. To now, we must assume it routed against external parties, but should the Inquisition be seen to favour those above her own people? We have splintered for less,

[ herian. thranduil. ]

We may do so again. It would behoove us to consider what we separate from, and the ends to which this would lead us. The future of the Inquisition may not lie with the Chantry, but should it, our future may not lie with the Inquisition.

I do not say this lightly — nor do I look well upon either end. The question strikes me so: Whether the benefits of our work here outweigh the damage our excision would do.

[rowancrowned]

I would suggest [ delicately delicately. ] that if we were to excise ourselves, we do not appear to do it in response to any action of the Chantry, including the election of the Divine.

I will not make myself a hypocrite on the matter of factionalism. A united front is essential to the defeat of Corypheus, and I think Skyhold would agree with us on this, and Skyhold, at the moment, has no higher authority to answer to.

[hassaran]

At the moment, but that moment will soon end.

I see four possibilities:

One, the new Divine assumes control of the Inquisition but demands no significant changes to its operations, at least until the war is won.

Two, the new Divine assumes control and demands changes to the status of mages and rifters, and Skyhold refuses.

Three, the same but Skyhold concedes.

Four, the new Divine renounces the Inquisition altogether.

In scenarios one and two we may defer to Skyhold. But we should know now what our response would be in scenarios three and four, and what the response of those beneath us here will likely be. I was not present for the strikes last year but I gather there could be some significant disruption to operations in the event of scenario three.

[rowancrowned]

It seems to me as though two and four are the least likely. The Inquisition was founded to restore order, mostly through closing the breach and the Rifts.

One could argue that a smaller organization providing for itself would have a greater agility to respond to and close Rifts.

[hassaran]

Perhaps at the founding, but it seems to me that we have strayed rather far from a focus on closing Rifts over the last few years. Do you suggest all other operations be terminated if the Divine looks on the Inquisition or this outpost unfavorably?

[rowancrowned]

A lack of favor is entirely different from 'looming changes like to spark' [ he trails off. ] 'demotivation', I suppose.

[hassaran]

I mean to discuss the third and fourth scenarios I described, I apologize if my word choice was unclear. Or perhaps even more generally, if a Divine is elected who is not to the liking of many here. How do we expect them to react? How do we intend to respond, in word and action? What conduct will we tolerate and what will we not? Are there particular individuals who should be monitored, or spoken with in advance?

I am simply trying to avoid waking up the morning after the Consensus to another strike or a riot in the courtyard and having no plan in place to allow us to respond immediately.

[dashing]

I apologise for taking so long to respond.

( She takes a breath, and unseen, pinches the bridge of her nose. )

I understand your concern. It is sometimes... hard to predict what the response will be. Not the most reassuring response, I know.

[rowancrowned]

[ general considering agreement noise @ herian. ]

There will be grumbling no matter who comes to power. How many are swept up in it depends on what it is and who provokes it, and how quickly after election the Divine begins issuing decrees.

Is there anything anyone here might be swayed to grumble about?

[dashing]

How immediately and severely the Divine acts will be significant how things progress. ( Quiet, affirming what the Provost has said already. )

My fear is that if the Divine should act to deliberately undermine the Inquisition or undercut what has been achieved thus far, or perhaps... express a desire to see great numbers of our ranks sent to Circles, for example, then grumbling will be the least of our concerns. We need numbers to combat the Venatori, even beyond our concerns with status and freedoms.

( A moment of pause, ) And I am not without my own preferences on that front. If we are to... continue our work, then how we can do that most effectively and how we can secure our numbers from the demands of the Divine is worth considering, when she may be at her most eager to prove her power and influences. As the Provost said, it may be best to pre-empt that separation, lest it be considered an act of defiance against the Divine itself and grant us even more turbulent relations than might be otherwise possible.

[hassaran]

Are you proposing that we separate from the rest of the Inquisition now, before the Consensus?

[rowancrowned]

This would be the time to do it.

[hassaran]

That's a drastic step to take to avoid something that may not happen. Would Skyhold agree? Would we continue to work with them?

[rowancrowned]

And by the time it did happen, we would be doing so under the auspice of and due to a Divine who was already hostile to us.

There is no reason for us not to continue to work with Skyhold. But we would be useless as an organization if too many of us feared the leadership as much or more than Corypheus, as misguided as that could be. I am only thinking in terms of how effective we might be under each scenario.

[hassaran]

If a Divine is elected who would prefer greater control over mages and rifters, she will like the existence of this group even less if it is not under the control of Skyhold. It will be even more of a dangerous rogue element than the Inquisition is already. And for effectiveness, how many of the number here would leave for Skyhold? How would we be funded? Would the Viscount even allow us to remain in the Gallows if we were not the Inquisition? Surely fears could be quieted through some less-extreme measure.

[limier]

Quieted. We are removed of Skyhold, allowances can be made — even so. How effectively may we act while managing periodic insurrection? We'd need all but announce rebellion within, and our people will not keep that to themselves. It would signal our weakness.

There is value in disclaiming responsibility. A dangerous rogue element, [ if that's dry it's not for yseult ] Can be put off for an immediate threat, else Maker knows Gertruda to have acted already. Benedetta's aims are wider still, and those with Clorentine strike as likely pragmatists. There is work to be done that cannot wear the sunburst. Should the Chantry collect Skyhold, that work will still need doing.

We court danger for the Viscount, but perhaps a deal could be struck. We've more strength to spare that thought than coin, and the Venatori a known interest in the Gallows.

[dashing]

Breaking away is something I do not consider lightly, Yseult. Nor am I wholly sure that it would be the right decision, let alone one without flaw and cost, but there comes a point where inaction and indecision might become all the more damning than making the wrong decision.

( But suffice to say, she's not pleased with the possibility. )

The concern of funding is a real one. If we were to consider becoming an independent organisation, rather than a branch of the Inquisition, then we would need to beg funding from noble patrons, and I have my doubts as to how well suited we are to that. ( Mages, rifters, and people of varying levels of scandalous. ) And that before we begin to look to politics.

( where is her wine )

[hassaran]

To what work would this new independent organization devote itself? The causes championed by those who will balk at any influence from the new Divine are not currently within the scope of our remit as I understand it. Do you propose that change?

[ she sounds like she is calmly open to considering this proposal, but that is only because she is very good at lying ]

[rowancrowned]

The defeat of Corypheus. There is little else to aim ourselves at. [ calmly. ] We would have much more freedom to undertake the sort of missions Skyhold cannot, for fear of damage to their reputation.

I suspect the Nightingale might appreciate that.

[hassaran]

So one would hope, but this idea of independence was proposed because you fear that many here will not be willing to put the need to defeat Corypheus above their personal interests. If we then break with Skyhold and the Chantry in deference to those elements and their grievances, what is to prevent them taking that as license to push their own agendas further still?

[rowancrowned]

A realization of perspective, and a new and uniting sense of urgency.

In doing so, we will have advocated for their safety, and we will simply not have the scope to dally about. Skyhold has power; Skyhold theoretically has the vastness of resources to spare a word or two for Rifters, mages, and the like into a certain ear. That they do not is what itches. On our own, we would have to earn power, and the easiest way would be through acclaim and respect won through the war.

The romanticism of the image would certainly strike inspiration into the hearts of the loudest protestors. The rest can be persuaded. If I managed to coax once before, I ought to be able to do so now.

[dashing]

Perhaps this is not a matter for coaxing or inspiring, Provost. And the Scout Master is correct, that we must consider the interests of those working with us here. There are those amongst us who may not wish to be party to an independent group, and who choose to relocate to Skyhold.

Whatever decision we make will rely on the support of those here with us to carry out, or we may find ourselves claiming to lead a force against Corypheus that is only ourselves sitting in a room while all others march for Skyhold to align with that leadership. Perhaps this is a matter better put to all those here, a decision to be made together.

[hassaran]

Do you intend to discuss this idea with Skyhold? What manner of ties you intend to keep with them will make a difference to many, if it is put to a vote.