crystal.

[cozen]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Bastien
RECIPIENT: Everyone
NOTES: Mmhph.

Bonjour, mes compatriotes. I have a few things.

The Hangman's Papers, I hope you have all seen—it was not my idea, so I am allowed to say that I think it is a brilliant one. If you want to write something, I am the one you should bring it to—

I am Bastien, if you are new. I am up in the Jeshavis office.

Secondly, I have been thinking about putting together an anthology of legends and tales from rifters' worlds. I've spoken to some individuals about it, but they keep disappearing. Vous savez comment c'est. But the bedtime stories that you grew up with, or the condensed plot of a book you have loved. They would need to be edited and annotated, of course. The purpose would be to underscore the similarities in themes and values and make sure they are relatable under the unfamiliar names and places, to show you are ultimately not that strange, so—if you are that strange, you might need to tone it down, [ he says, with all affection. ]

I am open to being told it would be a disaster. But I have something else that a publisher is going to want very much, that might be leveraged to convince them to take on something more risky in the bargain, so now would be the time.

Third, if you are good at fighting in close quarters, or if you are trying to learn to be good at it, I could use some help with something. You are a given, Yseult, [ in the shifting tone of a personal aside, ] but I can only impose on you so often.

And last, I promise: I am handling our trade negotiations for supplies for the time being, so if there is anything you find to be of poor quality, say so, and I will—you know. Probably tell you it is the best we can afford. But maybe not.

Comments

[cozen]

What? No. He is not a king. He would have said before if he was a king.

[ This, amid the clear sounds of shuffling for writing instruments. ]

Handsome smart king, the other kings were jealous of his massive weaponry, taken hostage on a journey to a neighboring kingdom. What next?

[bouchonne]

The king claim is clearly a metaphor.

[cozen]

[ A prolonged pause, for show, before his tone takes on the inward-folded disbelieving tone of a man continuing to protest despite the beginnings of doubt: ]

No.

[bouchonne]

Yes, Bastien.

[ Like it's a terrible secret: ]

It's true. The Provost - he likes to talk about himself.

[propulsion]

So anyway what happens next,

[ Byerly!!! ]

the bad guys keep the king prisoner for ninety days, because they want him to build them magical weapons of mass destruction. Instead, the king uses that time to make something else. A suit of iron armor that grants him powers of flight and fire, uh, breathing, and other stuff. And then he's like a folk hero, saving villagers across the land, the usual.

Come on, does that sound like me? I'm merely a guy. Am I also handsome, smart, capable of incredible inventions? Sure. Was I born into immense wealth and privilege? Maybe. But not, like, in a king way.

[hassaran]

[cozen]

[ Bastien is laughing at Byerly's tone, when Tony begins speaking, and then he laughs some more at Tony's, all the way through his first sentence. ]

No, you are right—you see, Byerly? Breathing fire and being a folk hero? That does not sound like a man who would tolerate a desk job as long as our Monsieur Stark has.

—we should say one hundred days. That is a better number. And if he is breathing fire, maybe he should be the Iron Dragon?

[propulsion]

I mean if you were to theorise that I'm constructing a thinly veiled narrative to make myself out to be some kind of superhero—

Maybe Monsieur Stark needed the break.

And I'd prefer not to editorialise such an iconic classic from my world unless strictly necessary. It's definitely Iron Man.

[obdurata]

I told you, it's a terrible name.

( joselyn had not thought much of any of the superhero names, to be fair. she has so many notes. "captain america"????? if people start calling hawke captain kirkwall in retrospect she's throwing herself into the harbour. )

[cozen]

[ Bastien is taking this as tacit permission to change it to one hundred days. ]

The Iron King?

[ —in the tone of a very reasonable compromise. ]

[bouchonne]

Why iron, anyway? That's not even a particularly good metal. Ah, yes, here comes sharpened-flint-man. Here comes the-rock-warrior.

[cozen]

The Silverite King!

[bouchonne]

Ah, yes! And his power is immunity to poison.

[propulsion]

Silverite

[ projecting an air of precious crossed-arms defensiveness ]

doesn't exist in my world. And I will not stand idly by while a cultural icon slash legend I've been open and vulnerable enough to share is disrespected, so consider my offer rescinded and your collection astronomically less cool.

[cozen]

No,

[ immediately and playfully distraught, with some amusement lingering in the contrition, ]

no, please. The Iron Man, exactly as you said. It is perfect. It is very relatable—a knight in enchanted armor. If we're able to do illustrations that would have to be one of them. People love knights.

And we could go into some detail for the part where he makes the suit, so it sounds difficult and scary.

[propulsion]

People love knights, [ in an exasperated exactly tone, maybe pitched loud enough so it might carry through a closed door to someone unnamed on the other side. ] Jeez.

Okay I'm back in.

[ Twist his arm. ]

[portalling]

[ Stephen comes in just late enough to be somewhere between aghast and bemused. ]

A documentary and a book of folk tales? Some men have it all.

[cozen]

A documentary?

[ Say more, new guy. ]

[portalling]

An educational— [ they don’t have movies here, christ, what’s the closest analogue, ] play, sort of, about a real-world and non-fictive topic. Biographical, in this instance. Provost Stark is very famous, where he comes from.

[ And here too, apparently. ]