Maison de Soulombre, morning of April 11

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eocine
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Post by eocine »

As the others had begun to drift into the next room Li Shou had followed, finding a seat on the far aisle and sitting down to watch. Given that he hadn't actually been present for Van Rijin's treachery, and had heard only a little about the events of that day, he was certainly intrigued as to what would be revealed. Though of course he wasn't naive or stupid enough to think that this was going to be even close to the unvarnished truth... But nor should it be, as the truth was something that had to be rationed, even against such company as this.

There was no need for him to produce a notebook, for he was exceedingly confident in his own ability to remember the most salient points, and really those were all that would be needed, as it wasn't as if this was likely to be a particularly intellectually interesting discussion. Still there would of course be points of interest in the way that the explanation was framed, and the names discussed, for it had become apparent that those who had comported themselves well had been looked on favourably by the upper echelons of the Fraternity, and there were often benefits to be made from such knowledge.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

The bard glances quickly around the ballroom on his way over to the far corner, taking in the lay of the land. Passing over the seniors on the dias, his eyes don't linger on the four he'd just parted company with on the floor above -- no need to start more rumors about that tete-a-tete than might already exist -- but he does nod, in quiet acknowledgement, when Quiret's own searching gaze crosses paths with his.

At the professor's smile and gracious greeting, the spy beams warmly in return, settling deeper into his upbeat 'Brother Crow' persona. "No rush? Why, Madam, I'm shocked," he returns her jest, as he takes his seat and scoots his chair slightly backward, making room to set his guitar-case on the floor in front of him.

He too glances out the window, at her next remark, to the lush and humid greenery of a mid-morning Souragnien garden. Quite a vivid landscape, he supposes, although it holds no particular appeal for him; picturesque terrain does not rank highly on his own list of aesthetic pleasures, as compared to art or stimulating social discourse. And if he had to choose, he'd prefer a vista with mountains to one awash in mud.

Not wanting to belittle Kingsley's obvious delight in the view, however, Crow says nothing of his own disinterest, but merely spreads his hands in a be-my-guest gesture, to indicate she's more than welcome to monopolize the window seat. He smiles at her once more, then turns to watch Loder's opening remarks with evident concentration, elegant chin propped upon a viper-ringed hand.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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Post by alhoon »

Putting Crow out of his mind, Draxton takes his place waiting for the session to start. Interesting that Crow chose to exchange barbs with him, but not interesting enough. Waiting Draxton begins to chat with another Richemoulotease about what happened the last day until the Brother Hazan starts his speach.

OOC> Did Draxton had a chance for a gather info Nathan?
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Post by Joël of the FoS »

Nathan of the FoS wrote:After all of the panel members have seated themselves, Loder raises a small gavel and raps it on a slider provided for the purposes. "Brothers, come to order!" he says. "Order, please. Very good. This morning's panel discussion will review and analyze the events of last October at Ste. Ronges. Brother Hazan, you have the floor."
Viktor Hazan’s short body rises from his chair and he climbs the few steps of the podium. While his long salt-and-pepper hairs are again unruly, as all are accustomed to see about the professor, his eyes are unusually cold and devoid of their usual playfulness. His left first is clenched.

He watches the audience seated before him silently for a moment, drink water from his glass, and then starts, his voice clear and strong from his experience as a speaker.

“Esteemed brothers and sisters, thank you for being there on this retrospective glance at the Events. As all of us will agree, we need to learn from this catastrophy, as well as honour those fallen by continuing our researches. As you know there is a …”, but his voice fade as he suddenly gets thoughtful.

“Before I go into the details of what happened in Ste Ronges on that fateful October night,” he continues after a moment, sounding concerned, “I would like to ask you something that I burn to know once and for all… For those who where with us at this time. Do you think we should have seen it coming? Where there hints we overlooked that could have warned us?”

Viktor ignores the uneasy glances from his colleagues on stage, and look at the audience instead.
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Joël of the FoS wrote:“Do you think we should have seen it coming? Where there hints we overlooked that could have warned us?”
Natho Dossevsky--the gaunt, acne-riddled youth from G'Henna who's already had at least one run-in with Hazan at this conference--stands at this question and says, "That's for you to say, isn't it, Esteemed Brother Hazan? You knew the traitor better than any of us. What signs did you notice in his behavior that should have alerted you to his plans?"

Smiling unpleasantly, he seats himself again.
Last edited by Nathan of the FoS on Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Pamela »

Gertrude had smiled at the question, thinking, I don’t see many honest answers on that one…

Dossevsky’s answer however brought a frown to her lips, and she rose from her seat. “I wasn’t aware that the traitor had been a hermit living on some mountain top, excluded from all other human contact than our faithful Brother’s,” she said tartly. She looked around, wondering at the wisdom of continuing, then mentally shrugged to herself. What indeed do I have to lose?

“Rather than casting aspersions on individuals who have proved their loyalty, I would admit that the Fraternity should have foreseen the eventuality. A two-tier society which sets certain specialties above others is invoking grudges and envy. If the Fraternity wished to avoid such a problem, it should have set exclusive boundaries demanding the acceptance of illusionists only.

“Since it has not, it must take the sensible and necessary step of reviewing the limits it puts on its membership. I hasten to add that I am not suggesting the inclusion of necromancy. I am stating that so long as there is a ceiling to advancement for the majority of brethren permitted within these walls, there is a strong likelihood of the repetition of last year’s sad history.” She nodded her head to acknowledge the conclusion of her statements and quietly resumed her seat, her shoulders braced for the expected uproar from certain quarters.
His only real danger is if stupidity is contagious and lethal. In which case, we’re all dead…-Gertrude
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Post by alhoon »

Draxton senses the tension building and decides to speak. "Brothers, the disaster of the last October has weakened us enough. I think we should concetrate more on the matter at hand and rebuilding our knowledge than accusing each other or the logic of the Fathers of the Fraternity.
To answer your question Brother Hazan, I don't know personally. Perhaps there were some signs, some faults on Van Rijn's plan that we failed to see. Alas, for our short-sightness at the time but since none has predicted or divined that such a disaster was coming, I have to believe that whatever flaws the plan had it was the work of a genious, so little blame can be placed.
However, we need to focus on what to make of this disaster instead of lamenting over errors of the past."
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Post by eocine »

He had intended to remain silent during the discussion, but then he had been expecting a sombre explanation of the events of the previous October, not a question being posed by the speaker... As Gertrude sat down again Li Shou rose to his feet, not deigning to shout he simply spoke into the empty space left behind once Brother Draxton had finished his own reply.

“Our Esteemed 'Brother' Kingsley forgets herself, for her own presence here in this august chamber is in itself an anathema to some of us, perhaps even more so than the Fraternity's rules on the magical acceptability of cavorting with the dead.” As he spoke he addressed the podium more than anywhere else, keeping to at least some of the expected formalities of such discourse.

“The rules of membership are not a secret, on joining we all knew of the way that the leadership and membership of the higher echelons of our cabal would be decided, it occurs that those who argue this point are themselves guilty of accepting a place in our Brotherhood under false pretences, and at worst of conspiring against the very fabric of it.

Furthermore,” he continued silkily, “it is apparent to me that such a line of reasoning would seek to explain away the Outcast's crime, to make it a backlash of sorts against an organisation that has wronged him, rather than simply being the act of an impudent fool.”

His tone remained entirely the same, perfectly flat and even, as if he was discussing nothing more emotive than the weather, “the kind of thinking espoused here would I fear lead us towards wreck and ruin. The day a flame-handed evoker is given a place of honour here will be a tragic day for this Brotherhood.”
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Crow hadn't intended to invite attention to himself, either: his proper role, for the nonce, is to lie low and maintain his surveillance of the gathering, in preparation for Brahmbei's promised revelation. But Dossevsky's biting reply to Hazan has shattered the facade of dignified discourse, and Kingsley's own words -- Dash it, scalpel-lady: you may be a tigress in debate, but this isn't the time! -- have further inflamed the situation. Hearing the remarks to follow, with growing disbelief and disgust, the bard has to admit that Draxton, however gauche he'd been to speak Van Rijn's name aloud, has a point.

"Gentlemen!" he cries out, rising to his feet, his voice resonant with considerable dismay. "Forgive me if I repeat another's words, but our Richemuloise colleage speaks rightly: this is not the time to accuse one another! Such infighting serves no one's cause but the Traitor's. Are we to turn upon each other, and achieve for ourselves the decimation he failed to inflict upon us, that night?"

He turns to face first Dossevsky, then Li Shou, with a withering glare of indignation.

"Were you there, Brothers, to face down the Traitor and his minions, fighting side by side with us? Did you, like Brother Hazan, see your own circle of Brothers bereft of home and refuge? Did you face threats any man would have had due cause to quail before, and keep up your wits and courage, for the Fraternity's sake? On what grounds can you rightly accuse those who were there, and did fight, of negligence or disloyalty? Will you question the worthiness of those who died next, because they lacked the cunning to survive the assault?"

He shakes his head in exasperation, nods briefly at Draxton.

"I am unsure if 'genius' is the word for our betrayer, or 'madman'. More fitting, I would think, is 'desperate': we saw how dire his illness was -- those of us who were there -- and only a madman and a brilliant one would contemplate the... recourse he appears to have taken." The bard shudders visibly, and pauses, to let the word 'lich' make its ghastly, unspoken presence felt. "If that illness advanced even half as rapidly as it seems, then Brother Hazan could not have known how frantic the Traitor had become, nor what treacheries he might resort to, to avert his own extinction. As best I've gathered, none of his colleages in Ste. Ronges had seen or heard from him in months, prior to the incident."

The spy turns back and forth, looking from Kingsley to Li Shou, then back again.

"As for the Fraternity's wider policies," he continues, "that is a matter that bears due consideration, but not now. In future, certainly, a re-examination may be called for. Perhaps, in the troubled days to come, those of us whose qualifications are ... unorthodox ... may have further opportunities to prove our worth to those who doubt it; perhaps, in the end, our option to advance -- even our existing memberships -- may be revoked, for the sake of security. But in either case, let that decision be made at a time when the Fraternity as a whole is not under attack: for now, every loyalist among us -- illusionist or evoker, sorcerer or bard -- is an asset, not a point of controversy!

"And let it be decided with rationality and wisdom, not panic or prejudice. Anything less than that, and the Traitor won't have to act against us, Brothers: we'll destroy ourselves, without any further effort on his part."

Another sharp glare around the room, as if daring anyone to voice further accusations toward Hazan or the non-illusionists, then he takes his seat.


[OOC: Crow's using Diplomacy in its mediating-between-parties aspect. Not his best skill, but he got a 22, to try to calm things down.

[In staring down potential hotheads, at the end, he's also taking a swift look at everyone in the ballroom, in case Brahmbei has something to show him. :wink: ]
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Pierre Lacomte steps to the lectern and clears his throat, nodding politely at Hazan as he does so. "Brother...Crow, isn't it? Thank you for re-introducing an air of civilized discourse to the proceedings." Here Lacomte looks over his glasses at Dossevsky, then at Li Shou, with an air of reproof, before continuing. "The purpose of this morning's meeting is, as has been said, not to consider our internal relations, but to examine the events which impacted all of us last October. Evoker, enchanter, or illusionist, we must consider the power of Death."

Lacomte lets this word echo throughout the room, then says, "Death has no mercy, brothers, and does not share its throne. It will not, perhaps cannot, be dissuaded by soft words or politicking. Our reply must be made through force. Our Fraternity was organized so that we might benefit from one another's knowledge of Shadow, and that purpose still guides us. Union brings strength, brothers. Our opponents know it, and so they use slaves bound to their will by the darkest of magics to enforce it. We, however, are not slaves; we meet as colleagues and as brothers, and we must choose unity. Let us resolve to do so."

Nodding to Hazan, he steps back and seats himself, scanning the audience himself. Beside him, Loder looks slightly queasy, and the Countess angry; Lorenz is impertubable, and Roeccha and Quiret seem darkly amused.
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Post by Joël of the FoS »

Hazan stayed silent during the interventions, watching with interest. He nods at Crow when this one gets back to his seat, and then at Lacomte. He tells the audience at large “Thank you Pierre, for setting the goals of this morning’s session clearly. I also believe Death’s inner ways of thinking should be explored in length in order to battle this threat with the maximum effectiveness."

"Knowing your enemy is the key to success, whether you are fishing a specific type of fish, hunting a wild beast or fighting against a whole deadly cabal.”

Again looking at the audience at large, he says “No, brothers … and sisters. I do not think here and now is the place for reviewing, or even criticizing our internal rules for the Fraternity. There are based on strong ground, as Mr Li Shou wisely pointed out.”

“Anyway, my friends, this is a matter way over your own heads,” he added, while looking specifically at Gertrude in the eyes, as a teacher would gently reprimand one of his pupils who said something silly or out of place. “If it was indeed one of the causes of the disaster, we will take care of it.”

“Mr Draxton,” he continues, “I didn’t ask the question to” and he says the following making quotes sign with his fingers “lament over errors of the past.”

“There were many inquiries made, as you surely know without being able to suspect all the details and wide scope of these enquiries, and I was asking the question at large to find out if anybody has new elements, suggestions or similar information to help us close this enquiry.”

Looking sternly at Natho Dossevsky, now leaning slightly over his lecture desk, Hazan tells him in a spidery voice “Brother Dossevsky, I believe your hungriness…”, Viktor pauses so all listeners realize he is making a reference to his G'Hennan origins, “… for truth is blinding you. I trust you will moderate your interventions from now on, unless you perhaps want to accuse me of being weak, or being sided with the Traitor, or suggest it again in ways I would need to respond… directly?”
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Joël of the FoS wrote:Looking sternly at Natho Dossevsky, now leaning slightly over his lecture desk, Hazan tells him in a spidery voice “Brother Dossevsky, I believe your hungriness…”, Viktor pauses so all listeners realize he is making a reference to his Ghastrian origins, “… for truth is blinding you. I trust you will moderate your interventions from now on, unless you perhaps want to accuse me of being weak, or being sided with the Traitor, or suggest it again in ways I would need to respond… directly?”
Dossevsky shrugs and crosses his arms. "I apologize for having diverted the intended course of the meeting, brothers," he says. "I hunger for truth, of course, as do we all. Let us be fed, then, by the experience of those who were there." He then sits down and takes up his pen, looking up at the lectern expectantly, in a display of somewhat exaggerated respectful interest.
Last edited by Nathan of the FoS on Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Pamela »

Gertrude had bowed her head at Hazan’s gentle chiding, but she had no intention of making any public apology. A question had been asked, and she had answered affirmatively with a brief explanation. If the brothers wished to pretend that thwarted ambition had not had some role in van Rijn’s actions, then they were either extremely blinded by their arrogance or foolish in their assumption that the honour of entry into the society would sate its members’ aspirations. One did not have the goal of overcoming the very foundations of the universe, and then expect its members to be content to let a select few rise up to those sought-after heights.

She found it amusing that a meeting to discuss those events seemed ready to turn a blind eye to the motives, or at least shape them to the Umbra’s satisfaction. Their headquarters were no longer on the Core-indeed, were in a backwater nation. Such reduced circumstances would have cost many members their faith in the Fraternity’s ability to survive, and so their loyalty. If there was no hope at all of future changes, there would be less brothers present. Even now many brothers sitting here will be reconsidering their alliances, wondering what the traitor might offer them in return for information about this conference? They will want a reward- some hint of concession- for that loyalty, not a pat on the head and no hint of hope and profit. Gertrude at least knew that there were cultural as well as internal factors in her own chances of promotion; she would be lucky if she were to raise as high as most of the brothers in her position.

She however put such thoughts aside for the moment, content to see what twist the Fraternity would put on that night’s events.
His only real danger is if stupidity is contagious and lethal. In which case, we’re all dead…-Gertrude
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

[OOC: Here's another post for Buchvold, as Moral's still pretty busy and I thought we should establish where his PC fits into all this.]


Leaning back in his chair quite close to the podium, Buchvold holds back a wince at the day's opening volley of verbal attacks. As much as he'd like to think otherwise, Lacomte's pacifying remarks have only plastered over a dangerous rift, not sealed it.

A sorry state of affairs, indeed, when it's left to the likes of Serd or that fraudulant jackanapes to be the voice of reason! By the Watchers, what's happened to us all, that we bicker even now?

The Borcan wishes, for a moment, that he'd spoken up himself ... but no, taking sides in internal arguments wouldn't be a prudent move, when his own advancement to Honored status is still under consideration. Most of his Brethren in Borca are illusionists like himself -- the magophobia of his ignorant countrymen makes such focused study an asset, even for wizards not associated with the Fraternity -- and are more likely to find common cause with Brother Shou than to protest his accusations. He'll make his views known once things have settled down, and being heard won't sabotage his aims; if he had spoken up, it might've been taken for a rejection of Shou's position, not merely his tactless and untimely provocations.

The tall illusionist is growing restless, but he forces himself to relax and to listen, setting aside the politics of personal ambition for now. To keep his hands occupied, he begins quietly polishing his prized amulet, fastidiously removing any finger-smudges Vedarrak may have left upon it, when the dour Falkovnian returned it to him in the entry-hall.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

[OOC: And now, here's one for Crow! :D ]

The bard bows graciously to Lacomte's thanks and Hazan's nod, returns to his seat, re-adjusts the chair to again make room for his guitar-case. Were he truly a member, he'd quite likely feel more disgusted by the ugly exchange than he actually does; as it is, he's half inclined to think the FoS more silly than sinister, if this is its manner of presenting a united front against its enemies.

Bloody academics, every one of them....

Unknowingly mirroring Buchvold's own fidgeting several yards away, the spy draws a silken handkerchief from his jerkin-pocket, slips the vipered ring from his finger, and commences polishing it with care. A plausible (if transparent) show of Fraternal devotion by young 'Brother Crow', that flaunts his own stubborn pride in membership before Li Shou and any other critics of the society's more liberal recruitment-practices.

(Though he has other matters on his mind than the panel's presentation, something in Pierre Lacomte's words nags at his mind. Something about thrones, and slavery, and the mad-thing of Il Aluk: something that doesn't quite add up -- not to his people-sense, it doesn't -- but which he can't spare the time to ponder, just now.)

As if to drive home his point more forcibly still, 'Brother Crow' lifts his ring (or rather, the late Rodrigo Taroyan's ring) to eye-level. The serpentine signet's metal gleams in the sunlight from the nearby window, and the bard's neck cranes this way and that, as his narrowed, peering eyes seek out even the tiniest speck of tarnish.

His features are stern, stiff with concentration ... and braced to remain so, no matter what he might see.


[OOC: Sorry that took a while, Nathan! But hey, the bard would have probably looked like an idiot, peeking through the ring for no reason at all... :wink: ]
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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