[The door is already partly open, and it's indeed Julius' voice that says,] Come in.
[Assuming she does, she finds an office that's neat but clearly very much worked in. His desk is occupied with piles of reports, letters, books, and sundry other paper, and there's a table for maps and charts. There's also two chairs beyond the one he's rising from, presumably for guests who plan to stay longer than the time it takes to give a report. The window is open, in (perhaps vain) hope of a cross-breeze.]
Ah, please -- have a seat. I've just made some tea, if you'd like any?
[ While thinking of Ilias' offerings, and wondering if she should start investing in some kind of refreshment for visitors to her room. Is this polite? ]
Nothing that won't keep, [he assures her, as he gets up to pour the tea that had been steeping.] In all honesty, I'm grateful for the excuse to take a break. I've wondered before if I could somehow force our scouting forces to take handwriting classes, as interpreting certain of their ravens feels a bit like codebreaking.
I think you could. When I arrived, Bastien was making everyone learn how to dance.
[ welcome to riftwatch
But there is also a pause, while Derrica casts about her to try and think of where to begin. This had been easier with Ilias. She clears her throat, setting aside the joking tone. ]
Very well. [He allows her to make things a bit more serious, but he doesn't tense.] I can't say it's an area of particular expertise, but what would you like to ask?
[He fleetingly wishes it was something stronger than tea.]
Complicated. They were a group, just as we were. Groups, more properly; it wasn't just us and the Chantry, it was also Inquisition leadership and Inquisition-aligned Templars. Four groups, and if they were like our delegation, I'm sure there was internal dissent behind the scenes in each. That said...
[Julius exhales.]
At the time, yes, I think the delegations were there in good faith. The Chantry could have demanded the Inquisition simply kick out every mage who went on strike, or every mage period. We all left with less than we'd hoped for, but we also didn't leave with any party breaking from the Inquisition outright, which wasn't a foregone conclusion.
[He may have slightly tipped his hand with "at the time."]
It was. We knew we were negotiating during a transitional period, after Justinia but before a proper election. But we didn't get to choose the timing. It was hardly a matter that could have waited.
[ Julius is correct; it wasn't a matter that could be left, and even if the new Divine had reversed it all, maybe the fact the negotiations had occurred at all would have been helpful.
Derrica sighs quietly. ]
Do you think you would have had as much success with this Divine? I don't know how much the Inquisition has changed, but Beatrix has.
I can't claim any special knowledge of Beatrix beyond the information that was circulating about her when she was still a candidate, and not the Divine. But based on that... I think if she'd negotiated at all, it would have been in good faith, if with a playing field tilted heavily in the Chantry's direction. Any agreement that was reached would have been honored.
But I'm not certain that the negotiations would have happened in the first place. If they did, it would have been because she decided cooperative mages were important enough to the fight against Corypheus that the risk of losing them was intolerable. That's a high bar, though it was more or less the one those of us who were striking were relying on in the situation as it played out. I expect her calcuation would have depended how the war was going at the precise moment the Inquisition resisted the pre-strike requests that it allow mages a say in what happened to their own phylacteries.
Edited (get out here, typo) 2020-08-23 00:09 (UTC)
[ Julius echoes what Commander Flint had said, and that assessment eases some of her worries. It carries just a little more weight to hear these words from Julius, though maybe that's unfair to the Commander. ]
Do you think we're important enough to this war for her to bargain with now?
[ At some point she should sip her tea, so as not to waste it. But. ]
[He takes a moment to truly consider the question.]
Yes, but we'd have a harder time proving as much now. For one thing, Riftwatch isn't the Inquisition, by design; we've taken a step further away from the Chantry, in the eyes of many of those who stayed.
[And, presumably, many in the Chantry itself.]
We have a record of doing good, yes, but also a record of being somewhat unruly in our methods. And we're presently light on Templars within our own ranks. A lot of the original negotiations centered on internal oversight options that were alternatives to the Chantry holding on to the phylacteries. We'd also just shown that they made Inquisition members vulnerable to outsiders -- not only mages, but people who happened to be standing near mages at the wrong moment. I think some of our arguments about external risk helped.
That's perfectly understandable. And I suppose there was always going to have to be a first test case, if we wanted to see whether the agreement will hold under the new Divine -- and extend out to Riftwatch, since they were technically negotiating with Inquisition mages.
I think it's something worth fighting for, but that will have to be your decision, in the end. After all, we didn't negotiate the Chantry destroying them outright; we negotiated them letting mages decide what to do with them.
[Even if, in most cases, that was "destroy it."]
If you're comfortable, I might mention the situation to Madame de Cedoux, also. She's no longer the head of Diplomacy, but she was, and she also was instrumental in the negotiations, even she wasn't present. She might have additional ideas of how best to approach this. But it's up to you; I won't say anything without your permission.
[ For his discretion. It must come easily to every mage. They keep each other's secrets. ]
I need to see this through, [ she continues, looking briefly down into her teacup. ] I've spoken to Speaker Fabria about it, and if Madame de Cedoux has advice, I'd be foolish not to hear her.
[ Even though it might all lead to nothing, or worse. Derrica isn't unaware of the risk ]
He worries about what it means to call their attention to me. [ then, clarifying— ] Because of Dairsmuid. Because I'm alive when the Chantry hadn't meant for me to be, and whether being confronted with that will force them to make some decision about the Annulment that was carried out. Whether or not it was justified.
[ This is the easiest of Ilias' concerns to share. ]
That's true, and not something to brush aside. On the other hand, that confrontation was always coming if you planned to do anything other than going into hiding the moment Corypheus is defeated. Perhaps doing it now, this way...
[He thinks, then says:]
It's still a large risk, and it's your life. But if I were in your place, I'd prefer to roll the dice on the Chantry's response now when they have both a practical reason not to want to alienate one of the forces opposing Corypheus and a calculus to make about setting off a war on yet another front. You're surrounded by other former Circle mages watching to see what the Chantry will do; you're not one mage acting on your own.
[In other words, the fact that the situation was complicated might give her some leverage she would otherwise lack. Granted, "might" could seem a bit slender when it was one's own life and liberty in play.]
[ The sentiment is touching when Julius phrases it that way, though Derrica was not unaware of it. She'd been thinking of her fellow mages and what she might bring down on their heads, but not necessarily what they might do in her service.
She ducks her head briefly, sipping her cooling tea. ]
That is kind.
[ her tone is softer around those words. ]
I'm not afraid of the risk. And if there's some benefit in knowing, I think that's worth it. But I can't pretend some part of this isn't because I hate that they have any piece of me in their possession.
[ Julius and Ilias had both been right, and so had Flint. There's value in knowing the Chantry's viewpoints, no matter the risk. But Derrica hadn't thought of that when she'd sent the letter. ]
Anders brought me mine. Before the negotiations. He'd gotten his hands on it and gave it to me. And I thought that the right thing to do would probably be to turn it over. To take my chances with everyone else, to demonstrate faith in the system.
But I didn't do that. I quietly destroyed it and never mentioned that I'd ever had it in my hands. [And he'd been calling himself a Loyalist, then.] Sometiems it truly is personal.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Assuming she does, she finds an office that's neat but clearly very much worked in. His desk is occupied with piles of reports, letters, books, and sundry other paper, and there's a table for maps and charts. There's also two chairs beyond the one he's rising from, presumably for guests who plan to stay longer than the time it takes to give a report. The window is open, in (perhaps vain) hope of a cross-breeze.]
Ah, please -- have a seat. I've just made some tea, if you'd like any?
no subject
[ While thinking of Ilias' offerings, and wondering if she should start investing in some kind of refreshment for visitors to her room. Is this polite? ]
I'm not interrupting anything?
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[ welcome to riftwatch
But there is also a pause, while Derrica casts about her to try and think of where to begin. This had been easier with Ilias. She clears her throat, setting aside the joking tone. ]
I wanted to ask you something about the Chantry.
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[ A nice, fun topic. ]
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Yes, that's true. One of four. There was a vote on it.
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Complicated. They were a group, just as we were. Groups, more properly; it wasn't just us and the Chantry, it was also Inquisition leadership and Inquisition-aligned Templars. Four groups, and if they were like our delegation, I'm sure there was internal dissent behind the scenes in each. That said...
[Julius exhales.]
At the time, yes, I think the delegations were there in good faith. The Chantry could have demanded the Inquisition simply kick out every mage who went on strike, or every mage period. We all left with less than we'd hoped for, but we also didn't leave with any party breaking from the Inquisition outright, which wasn't a foregone conclusion.
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That was the Divine before this one, as well, wasn't it?
[ a precursor to the inevitable: what do you think of this Divine? ]
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It was. We knew we were negotiating during a transitional period, after Justinia but before a proper election. But we didn't get to choose the timing. It was hardly a matter that could have waited.
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Derrica sighs quietly. ]
Do you think you would have had as much success with this Divine? I don't know how much the Inquisition has changed, but Beatrix has.
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[He takes a drink of tea and then sits back.]
Do you want the answer I'd give outside of Riftwatch, or the more nuanced one?
[It's not that the first option is a lie, just... perhaps less thorough.]
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[ He sits back, she leans forward slightly, intent. ]
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But I'm not certain that the negotiations would have happened in the first place. If they did, it would have been because she decided cooperative mages were important enough to the fight against Corypheus that the risk of losing them was intolerable. That's a high bar, though it was more or less the one those of us who were striking were relying on in the situation as it played out. I expect her calcuation would have depended how the war was going at the precise moment the Inquisition resisted the pre-strike requests that it allow mages a say in what happened to their own phylacteries.
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Do you think we're important enough to this war for her to bargain with now?
[ At some point she should sip her tea, so as not to waste it. But. ]
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Yes, but we'd have a harder time proving as much now. For one thing, Riftwatch isn't the Inquisition, by design; we've taken a step further away from the Chantry, in the eyes of many of those who stayed.
[And, presumably, many in the Chantry itself.]
We have a record of doing good, yes, but also a record of being somewhat unruly in our methods. And we're presently light on Templars within our own ranks. A lot of the original negotiations centered on internal oversight options that were alternatives to the Chantry holding on to the phylacteries. We'd also just shown that they made Inquisition members vulnerable to outsiders -- not only mages, but people who happened to be standing near mages at the wrong moment. I think some of our arguments about external risk helped.
[After a moment:]
May I ask why it's on your mind, particularly?
no subject
She sips from her teacup then, letting what he said sit for a long moment before he replies. ]
I want my phylactery back.
[ Simple, direct. ]
I don't know if it still exists, but I don't want it in the Chantry's hands.
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[He sits back.]
That's perfectly understandable. And I suppose there was always going to have to be a first test case, if we wanted to see whether the agreement will hold under the new Divine -- and extend out to Riftwatch, since they were technically negotiating with Inquisition mages.
I think it's something worth fighting for, but that will have to be your decision, in the end. After all, we didn't negotiate the Chantry destroying them outright; we negotiated them letting mages decide what to do with them.
[Even if, in most cases, that was "destroy it."]
If you're comfortable, I might mention the situation to Madame de Cedoux, also. She's no longer the head of Diplomacy, but she was, and she also was instrumental in the negotiations, even she wasn't present. She might have additional ideas of how best to approach this. But it's up to you; I won't say anything without your permission.
no subject
[ For his discretion. It must come easily to every mage. They keep each other's secrets. ]
I need to see this through, [ she continues, looking briefly down into her teacup. ] I've spoken to Speaker Fabria about it, and if Madame de Cedoux has advice, I'd be foolish not to hear her.
[ Even though it might all lead to nothing, or worse. Derrica isn't unaware of the risk ]
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Did Speaker Fabria have anything to say, initially?
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He worries about what it means to call their attention to me. [ then, clarifying— ] Because of Dairsmuid. Because I'm alive when the Chantry hadn't meant for me to be, and whether being confronted with that will force them to make some decision about the Annulment that was carried out. Whether or not it was justified.
[ This is the easiest of Ilias' concerns to share. ]
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[He thinks, then says:]
It's still a large risk, and it's your life. But if I were in your place, I'd prefer to roll the dice on the Chantry's response now when they have both a practical reason not to want to alienate one of the forces opposing Corypheus and a calculus to make about setting off a war on yet another front. You're surrounded by other former Circle mages watching to see what the Chantry will do; you're not one mage acting on your own.
[In other words, the fact that the situation was complicated might give her some leverage she would otherwise lack. Granted, "might" could seem a bit slender when it was one's own life and liberty in play.]
no subject
She ducks her head briefly, sipping her cooling tea. ]
That is kind.
[ her tone is softer around those words. ]
I'm not afraid of the risk. And if there's some benefit in knowing, I think that's worth it. But I can't pretend some part of this isn't because I hate that they have any piece of me in their possession.
[ Julius and Ilias had both been right, and so had Flint. There's value in knowing the Chantry's viewpoints, no matter the risk. But Derrica hadn't thought of that when she'd sent the letter. ]
WHOOPS for sure thought I tagged this, apologies
[A pause, then he said:]
Anders brought me mine. Before the negotiations. He'd gotten his hands on it and gave it to me. And I thought that the right thing to do would probably be to turn it over. To take my chances with everyone else, to demonstrate faith in the system.
But I didn't do that. I quietly destroyed it and never mentioned that I'd ever had it in my hands. [And he'd been calling himself a Loyalist, then.] Sometiems it truly is personal.
glacially gathers this to my bosom, mea culpa for mY slowness