crystal.

[exequy]

FORM: Crystal.
SENDER: Kostos.
RECIPIENT: Everyone.
NOTES: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also threadjacking is rad, banter and bicker freely.

The worst country in Thedas—other than Tevinter—

[ A given. ]

—it is Orlais, right? We can all agree to that.

[ Look, he's bored. ]

Comments

[degenere]

Not so.

[heirring]

Not— [J'excuse.] Please. Do go on. I would be delighted to hear your reasoning.

[degenere]

Well, I cannot speak overmuch of all principles and so on for all sorts of engineering. That would be quite ridiculous.

But the engineering of the equipment used for farming, its purpose is the inverse of what would be used for the destruction of, shall we say, a wall. Yes?

[heirring]

Are you suggesting you would be incapable of designing some piece of equipment capable of cutting a straight furrow in the ground?

[degenere]

No, that is not what I am suggesting. I of course could design a piece of equipment that would cut a straight furrow into the ground. What I am suggesting is that if a farmer's purpose is to create, then a designer of a siege engine would be to destroy. One undoes the other.

But the undoing needs to be undone by concepts similar. If you mend a piece of paper, you need those pieces that were first created by the destruction.

[heirring]

To tear a piece of paper, you first require the whole piece to rip.

[degenere]

You can tear a small tear. Not the page in half entire, but part of the way down.

[heirring]

Oh for—

I have found, being acquainted with one or two of its ranks, that the university of Markham is quite sound. Which I believe was the point of the dear Lady's inquiry.

[degenere]

Acquainted. In what way, precisely?

[heirring]

As in I have made their acquaintance and have in some cases retained some familiarity. In what other way is there?

[degenere]

Oh, there are many ways with which one might make an acquaintance. Familiarly, familiarly, casually, deeply, colleaguely, intimately, spitefully, resignedly, scholarly, epistolarily--with interest, with skepticism, with defeat, with intent--

I can continue.

[heirring]

Some time ago, I traveled to Markahm to attend a conference at Riftwatch's behalf and spent a number of evenings in lighthearted discussion with a handful of students from the college. You may call it colleaguely if you must.

You recall my friend Brown, of course. The one who sent along the pamphlets? He is one such acquaintance.

[degenere]

You cannot possibly consider Brown a colleague.

[heirring]

Indeed, a perfectly fit one. We have shared one or two bottles of a very decent wine and discussed theories of momentum preservation.

[degenere]

[He makes a noise of disgust.]

[heirring]

Ah! You're very correct, Monsieur.

It is rather a charming sound.

[degenere]

[degenere]

[Acidly,]

A hilarious joke, mademoiselle. It is good that you still have your humor. I hope it is a comfort to you.

[heirring]

The greatest of many, I am most happy to say. Though why it should be a matter of having retained it, I hardly know.

[degenere]

Because no one at all will take you seriously if you insist upon fraternizing with scholars from Markham and then boasting about doing so as if it were something. You will be left very cold, I think.

[heirring]

I believe it unlikely that anyone who would dismiss me on the basis of such fraternization means to take me seriously in the first place, based upon an entirely different series of unmet qualifications. So it hardly matters.

[degenere]

I would take you seriously, but you are making it very impossible to do so.

[heirring]

[She laughs, a great 'Ha!']

Then you will simply have to challenge yourself, de Foncé.

[degenere]

I refuse.

[heirring]

Refuse. Come now. I hardly took you for a person so easily deterred.