( it isn't as if herian's wrong. she had made herself available to herian as the new ambassador in part because she is right; that she had seen both the drawbacks and the opportunities in her approach, that she had seen someone amenable to the guiding hand of a more certain voice.

(and then she'd invested that effort in flint, instead, and look where that's led.)

she sounds thoughtful in saying, )

I don't think you owe us or yourself an answer, immediate, if you do not have one. If we speak purely of what is best for Riftwatch, then it is my personal view that... particularly in light of the recent death of Casimir Lyov, and with consideration given to the purpose of your altering, it is my personal view that to reverse the rite may be our best course forward. I can see a number of ways in which we could utilise that choice, and a number of other ways that the alternative would prove challenging.

But at the heart of it, Herian, ( gentler, ) is you. It is your life, and your heart, and it is right that it should be your decision, for your sake as well.

Whatever challenges we face as a result of either choice, know that they are worthwhile.