crystal; rifter cultural exchange war table plot

[aberratic]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Ness ( aberratic )
RECIPIENT: all y'all
NOTES: This is a long one, she's a yapper. Important points bolded for the tl;dr, not for ic emphasis.

[ she has learned her lesson in contacting jayce far too early in the day; today, when ness gets on the crystal, it's closer to midday than to the first rays of dawn. she wants to reach the largest possible crowd, after all, and can't reach people who are asleep.

so: it is midday, and the first thing heard over crystal is a stack of papers being tapped neatly on a desk. buckle up, riftwatch, this is gonna be a long one. ]

Hello, Riftwatch, Ennaris Tavane speaking. [ does it sound like she's reading off a pre-written script? maybe. look, she has a lot to get through and she doesn't want to miss anything. ] In looking into how I could best make use of myself here, I found that there's quite a lot of information on rifter technology and knowledge that might have a use in Thedas, but it all seems to be a little spread out, in various different offices and projects. My aim now, which I have received permission from Provost Niehaus to undertake, is to gather all this disparate information and compile it to make comprehensive files for each field. To that end, I have requests of our organization, both rifter and native Thedosian alike:

Rifters, I would like to hear from you on technologies available in your world that Thedosians may be able to reproduce. Some of these notes include reference to a Riftwach Cultural Exposition which took place last year, and I would especially welcome input from anyone who attended or presented at that Exposition. Much of the work on this end has already been done by the agents who worked on this endeavour before me, so my goal here is mainly to ensure that I understand exactly what it is I'm compiling, but I welcome new ideas to add to the compilation—and no innovation is too trivial to be included; at the Exposition, a rifter Jude Adjei met with great success in distributing his peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. If it can be achieved by the means and materials we have available to us in our new home, it's worth consideration, at the very least.

Native Thedosians, here I defer to your expertise in our home. The goal of compiling this information is to be able to facilitate a dialogue between ourselves and the rest of Thedas, to bring to bear the knowledge of worlds beyond to make life better across this continent, here and now. The question I put to you is, who would be most receptive to this dialogue? There are some names in these notes, a Monsieur Guillaume du Naigh, Signora Jacqueline Fioranati, and we have experienced no small success in engaging with the University of Orlais—but it has been some time since the Exposition. Have we made any new contacts? Which organizations are of the most open minds? Any names I receive will be listed and turned over to the Provost as contacts for next steps, once the information has been compiled.

Given no significant setbacks, I intend to have this information compiled and ready to set before the Provost within a month. While I welcome any and all contributions, it would be best they come sooner than later.

Thank you for your assistance, Riftwatch.

Comments

[aberratic]

"We" as in Riftwatch, or...?

[ madame de cedoux do you have contacts you're keeping from her?? diplomacy buddies can't keep things from tach other!!! ]

[ipseite]

Yes, ( serenely; to both riftwatch and the implied question.

of course they can. )

I am a diplomat.

( of course she's built her own relationships. )

[aberratic]

I see. Then I would of course be remiss not to ask after those as well, though I understand completely if you don't wish to share. I still have a long way to go to prove my competency here, but I hope my handling of this project to be a good step in that direction.

[ notice her diplomacy senpai!! ]

[ipseite]

The Seneschal and I often collaborate; I believe he will be best placed for your particular project, but you will, of course, have the benefit of any assistance I may offer to that end.

It is a worthy project to take on.

[aberratic]

I appreciate any assistance you may provide, truly. I was unsure if this would be the best use of my time, with the state our division is in, but I believe it's a good marriage of research and diplomacy both—or, I intend it to be. That's my approach to it, anyway.

[ whymst the heck do they not have an ambassador. how do each of the divisions not have a diplomacy liaison managing their needs as far as securing funding and outreach beyond the organization. what the fuck is happening here.

questions not to air over crystal, but boy is she thinking them!!! ]

[ipseite]

We are at our best in that spirit of cooperation, I think — that we can call on such disparate talents, and make use of the resources we do have at our disposal.

( there are a lot that they don't, so: necessity must be the mother of invention. )

In my own work, that Riftwatch may boast access to languages unique within Thedas has been a great boon to the ability to communicate and disseminate information safely. A marriage of three of our disciplines.

[aberratic]

Oh, I hadn't considered—Rifter languages would make for particularly effective ciphers, wouldn't they? I suppose we're particularly lucky that Corypheus hasn't thought to try to abduct any Rifters to try to prise that information from us.

...has he?

[ipseite]

We have not been that lucky, no. The acquisition of rifters has been a priority for the Venatori almost from the arrival of them to Thedas in the first place; attempts have been made, to varying degrees of success and impact. That is one of the reasons why rifters are not, as we are,

( did she already know petrana was a rifter? not everyone does, any more, )

permitted full independence of Riftwatch, or before that, the Inquisition. We are not obligated to work, but aside from the suffering that the anchor-shards would cause us individually to be separated in the long term, we pose a substantial threat should we fall into enemy hands and it would not be accidental or incidental should it occur.

[aberratic]

Ah. I suppose it was rather foolish not to consider that we would be a priority, even should Corypheus not be aware of our use in ciphers.

[ in her defense, she's been most concerned with history and making sure she's not sticking her foot in her mouth as far as thedosian politics go, the war itself has been a bit of a learn-as-you-go process. ]

You've done a very good job blending in, [ is very clearly an entirely sincere compliment, ] how long have you been in Thedas? If you don't mind my asking.

[ipseite]

So I have been told, ( has some amiable warmth to it. ) It has been seven years now, if I'm not mistaken. I do think by now anyone might have adapted to their circumstances, but I have found it a useful priority.

[aberratic]

I've made it a priority of my own, though I'm at what is, hopefully, the beginning of my journey. If you have advice, I would welcome it gladly.

[ipseite]

It seems to me that you are following it already.

[aberratic]

[ omg? senpai??? ]

That is most gratifying to hear, truly.

[ipseite]

To educate yourself, to make yourself useful, to adapt to the local ways—

( it's almost a verbal shrug, though not dismissive: )

I would be hard pressed to presume you needed to be told those things.

[aberratic]

They seemed the logical steps to take, [ what, like it's hard? ] but I had thought perhaps there may be something I had overlooked, which you may point me toward. You are, I think, if it's not too forward to say, the bar by which any rifter who wants to assimilate to Thedas must measure herself.

[ipseite]

( thoughtfully, ) Beyond that, I think it is an individual question of what it is that you value and what you wish to achieve.

I would say that it is necessary to understand, in particular, the political landscape and the implications of your decisions. Particularly if you understand that you are making a life here — it is necessary to understand what that will look like, in time.

[aberratic]

[ despite her presence in diplomacy, ness is not, by nature, a very political person. she is very deliberate, certainly, and does her utmost to be thoughtful in her approach to any situation she finds herself in, but she was raised in a mostly apolitical context, and it can be something of a blind spot, when she is not thinking of it specifically.

that said, she is not an idiot. she remembers isaac's words—rifters are to share the fates of mages, once all is said and done with corypheus. ]

I take your meaning, [ thoughtfully, ] one must work to ensure one's circumstances are acceptable, in the future. Nothing happens by chance, after all.

[ipseite]

Mmm. There are two elements, hand in glove, that I consider: the life that I wish to lead, and my responsibility to those who will be impacted by the way that I lead it. As rifters and as mages, we do not have the luxury of representing only ourselves.

[aberratic]

[ but that's not fair, i don't want to represent anyone but me, i didn't ask to—tough cookies. ness hums, thoughtful again, and considers whether she thinks that statement carries any less weight coming from a rifter as indistinguishable from a native as petrana.

yes, slightly; but not enough that it doesn't matter. ]

One never truly has that luxury, much as one likes to think they do. Everyone represents something to someone. It's simply that some of us recognize that, and do something about it, that sets us apart.

[ipseite]

Perhaps.

( if she has a more complicated view of it, or a less generous one, she isn't minded to immediately elaborate. )

In joining Riftwatch's work, you shoulder Riftwatch's responsibilities. In existing here at all, you join the ranks of southern mages. That you understand, already, where your priorities should lie is a great benefit to both you and to those now impacted by you.

[aberratic]

[ it would be much simpler to parse if these are the softly-glowing compliments they feel like if they came with gold star stickers. ]

I haven't had an impact on anyone but myself to this point in my life. I don't intend to start out by having my impact be a negative one.