wizardmanor | Floor 5, Room 3

[Solomon, for one, is charmed at the general vibes he's getting from this decor. Very rustic, very "witch in the back of the moat". Classic.

He stays very casual, despite looking a little tense and drawn with stress, one hand gently playing with a charm that glows incessantly at his hip. He's not choosing to sit just yet - if he's going to take the time to speak, he would rather have the attention of the room.

When Ithaqua finally takes a seat to show that he's done with his spree of catherding, Solomon taps his wand against a nearby piece of furniture, brassy eyes sharp with focus.]

Since Ithaqua had been kind enough to get our joint attention, I have a few things I would like to make sure we discuss.

Firstly: I assume Lazuli, Tatara or one of your fellow wizards has shared this to you by now, but just in case it's still not clear... Be careful of making promises or vows. It does not matter how small, or how large. Breaking a promise will rob you of your magic.

[He will let that sit, before continuing.]

Second, I would like to know what any of you have heard in detail from our friends that just came back from Central. I've been otherwise occupied, but I'm very aware something is amiss.

[If you heard a gunshot the other night: lol. Sorry about your rug, Itha.]

Thirdly, I would like to explain a situation as it stands in the North.

As some of you already know, the North is not a forgiving place. The relationship humans have with wizards seems to be one of necessity and fear - an unbalanced agreement, of some varying severity, to protect the people. From the representative I spoke to, it sounds like some wizards would gladly take to being treated as a god and threatening punishment or the withdrawal of their protections.

[He sure doesn't have some strong opinions about this... still, he continues.]

With the absence of the previous Sage's wizards, some of the local villages are now without protection. This includes both from the natural threats of the environment, as well as from other wizards who may want to take advantage of their state of desperation. It sounds like escalation will not be a matter of "if", but "when".

In addition, there seems to be an ongoing tension at this time in regards to Central and the royal family with one particular village. The wizard prince was rumored to have been abandoned in the mountains as a child, rescued by another and brought to be raised in the village for quite some time without any having knowledge of his bloodline. While the prince is grown and had been returned to Central some time ago, it seems like some people in the North are unsure of what Central may consider them, now that the prince is missing.

Much of that was very cautious second-hand, so I would like to not take too much as straight fact just yet. But I would keep those tensions in mind if we are called out like those from South and Central.

[ ~~grima~~ robin lurks in a corner of the room, an unreadable expression on his face. his attention is signified only in the way that his gaze follows whoever it is that is speaking, but as Solomon finishes up with his analysis of the north, robin makes a clicking sound before pushing himself off of the wall. ]

It sounds like they are lucky to have been protected at all, considering what little the books have to say about some of our predecessors all seems to agree that they are... hm, volatile and capricious at best.

[ to name just a few, the demon king oz, who supposedly conquered his way across half the world before abruptly stopping, as the history books would put it; mithra and tiletta, both supposedly incredibly violent and unpredictable; the twins white and snow, one of whom apparently died at the other's hand...?

(yet the accounts both textual and otherwise speak of their presences as current, outside of their immediate circumstances. curious.) ]

Of course, they might be a reasonably biased account, considering the clear tensions present in both the country and this world alike— but for what little it means I am given to believe that all the tomes available in the manor's library were penned by previous sages, not the populace here. They also span quite the length of time.

For what it's worth, the representative I met from the city the wizards Snow and White used to protect was of quite ... nervous disposition, let's just say.

[Malice is here too, but unlike all the other Norths, he has no information to share. Doing work?? Why would he do that when he could ditch the party and go punch shadows with Kiryu???

But he is listening from the chair he's sitting in, head tipped slightly to the side as he considers all of this.]

Y'all've found some damn good info. Thanks for callin' this meetin', an' for sharin'.

[He turns his attention to Robin, though.]

'Cause you're a wizard? Did the representative have anythin' interestin' to say?

The Northern representative I spoke to was incredibly timid as well. Given the general state of the North and the disposition they might be used to, I don't think I would blame them for cowering.

[It's like being treated as a predator among prey - a wolf in sheep's clothing, where all the sheep are aware and live in fear for the days the mask is lowered.]

Inhospitable lands also make for inhospitable people. [He swirls one finger up in the air. Look he's an authority on inhospitable lands, he made his own even worse. For the humans.]

But what are we to do with nature itself? I'm certain there's a limit to even that.

[Ithaqua lacks the desire to even change such a nice, snowy place. Looks like home, honestly.]

What can we do for them? Are you thinking of showing the humans some good will?

Of course. They're our priority.

[His gaze goes slightly flat towards Ithaqua, but he continues, letting it pass.]

The previous wizards apparently set up protections against avalanches and storms. It would be less changing the environment and more helping them persist despite of it, I imagine. But it's hard to say without the details.

Then we reinstate said protections. Or build our own-- building on old, failed foundations is bound to crumble in time. [Solomon may give him all the looks of disapproval he wants, but they don't change Ithaqua's stance towards humans.]

And perhaps teach them how to be able to fend for themselves, eventually. With our duties taking us everywhere but the country we're meant to be tied to, is it not best that they have some means of surviving in the event we're not available?

[It would also be easier to be hands-off in that case, too. However, he knows they're wary of wizards, hence the keyword "eventually".]

I wouldn't call it failed so much as temporary unavailable. [Like unplugging a lamp - what causes the fixture to stop working, a fault of its own or a lack of something else?]

If it were such a simple matter of being self-sufficient, I don't think it would have been overlooked as an option. They're maintaining status quo for the time being, but it takes just one being of power seeking an opening for lives to start being lost.

I would rather not leave them to be toyed with.

[Ithaqua drums his claws on his mask to cover up a sigh.]

I still believe that continuing the status quo would be dangerous. They look to wizards for protection despite their complicated feelings towards them... but the last group of wizards disappeared. Who is to say that this will not happen to us?

Best we get them independent. Set up magic procedures, barriers, seals, that don't need us to operate. [The less Ithaqua has to give a damn about them, the happier he'll be.]

You can't control a person's nature, anyhow. Someone will always try something-- best to have a contingency plan to deal with that.

I think we're arguing slightly different points, dear Ithaqua.

It is not our job to tell these people to change their way of life. There is a reason for the current arrangements, and I imagine it's not a simple one, let alone one we can do anything about. That is just a fact we are going to have to accept.

There is a difference between someone human taking action as a way of life, and a being of power seeking to take advantage that has had generations to establish that power. We can provide temporary relief with your type of solution, sure. I would not be against it. But this is not something that can be fixed with a few simple seals and barriers.

I don't disagree with wanting them to have independence as an ideal. But they need to have some level of choice and agency in that decision.

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Because I am a wizard favored by the Northern spirits here, I would say. Same as all of us present. I told the man to carry himself with a little more self respect and he reacted as if he thought I would kill him on the spot for the disrespect.

[ so, you know, they're doing fine up there. he breathes out a sigh before continuing. ]

The monsters up North seem to be more active than usual, and manpower for day to day survival seems to be stretched thin between the more frequent attacks, and their city apparently having taken in more mouths to feed in the form of children.

[ with no one else to look after them, apparently. ]

Really? Damn.

[This is going to be tough with our assorted Northies, isn't it... We're all a little intimidating...]

Good to know. There's definitely stuff we can do to help out with that... but I dunno what exactly we're gonna be tasked with whenever we're sent up there.

[Those poor kids, though...]

[ that thread is pending, so robin, or whichever name he's given them to use ... huh he wouldn't have actually given anyone here his name. well, whatever they've had filter to them over time. some people have his name, they might have heard from them.

anyway point is he doesn't go further into details for now, instead just vaguely affirming what it is malice says with a low 'hmm'ing noise. ]

My thoughts were about the same. If it is a matter of supplies, then that, at least in the short term, is a relatively easy fix... same goes for if we need to do any extermination.

The issue is that these remain simply stopgap solutions at best. Maybe that is all we're here for, in the end, and we should leave the bulk of the problems for the native mages here to deal with should they be recovered— but who knows when that will be.

But who knows. [ he shrugs, languid. ] Perhaps we'll find the root of all issues whenever it is we're called up North.

[ and maybe they won't, and they'll have a merry little time having their own chances at getting possessed. ]

[i am choosing to believe that malice has not gotten robin's name at all because it's funny. how long will it take him to find out.......]

I'm hopin' it's a little more enlightenin' than the last couple've been...

[No shade to our Souths, they did great. Definitely shade to our Centrals and their rolls, who managed to get possessed.]

Regardless, it'd be good to help if we can. I ain't one for stickin' my neck out too far for others, but they feel a bit more like our responsibility 'cause we are claimed by the Northern spirits.

[But he'd prefer not to be possessed so...]

[ in the interest of the funnies i am going to encourage this. robin is never going to give his name unless prompted, let people 'hey you' him all the way to endgame. ]

An excess of altruism is hardly a merit others would attribute to me. [ said, with an amused air. ] Still, on the most practical level alone, it would hardly do to simply leave them to fend for themselves and ignore the happenings there when we know there's potentially something amiss in the countries here.

[ though what that something is remains to be seen if it is not merely just weird moon rocks, the saga. in any case, that's his justification for his interest in this: he is a being of pragmatism and logic, after all. ]

They have so kindly done us the favor of alerting us to what's currently out of place, after all.

[ the potential cause, on the other hand... a matter for another meeting, maybe. ]

[Nods! That makes sense to him and he won't question Robin's practicality any further, since he does agree with that idea.]

What a hassle, but I guess we'll see how things go, huh? Seems like we can work well enough together, anyway.

[...glances at Ithaqua and Solomon... you guys okay over there...]

As well as a group of strangers thrown together almost entirely arbitrarily can hope to, it seems like...

[ also looks over at solomon and ithaqua. ]

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I don't know if "lucky" is the word I would use, but I suppose that's beside the point.

[He isn't going to get into that shallow of an argument over word choice.]

I would agree on your assessment of the library, though. There is nothing from the perspective of another wizard. It makes for a rather bumpy picture... but perhaps its best that it comes from a third party.

The man from the village that Oz normally protected was similarly timid. He even questioned why they were invited to the ball in the first place. I wonder if yours felt similarly.

Is it not more fortunate than the alternative? So many would rather avoid death by any means they can, after all.

[ but he's also not looking to get into it over semantics, so he shrugs and moves on. ]

If the guests were all there by invitation ... it can't have been the two here [ he means tatara and laz, ] that drafted the lists, could it? So that just makes me more curious what the relations between the countries here are like.

[ the more ... opulent, of their number at the ball certainly did seem to be the sorts that might think less fortunate countries and those who didn't directly benefit them beneath them, but ... well, a single ball is but an instant in time. drawing any hasty conclusions would be ill-advised. ]

What tensions may exist between countries, what maintains their peace, and other such factors.

[ like how close they might be to breaking? ]

I'm unsure. Our dear little sparrow already told me that he wasn't the best at networking and didn't know everyone present. I could see them acting as a emissary role for the event, but if I had to guess, the invitations would have come from the royal family.

As I stated before, at least for the village I spoke to, they seemed wary of their status with Central due to Oz and the prince. But at least from surface impressions, everyone at the ball seemed willing to be diplomatic to some degree. I don't doubt part of that was because of how unusual this whole situation is, but still... nothing stood out to me as a heavy political conflict with any immediacy.

Maybe some of the more recent library tomes would deserve another glance. Tatara and Lazuli might have more to say on it as well, if we're specific.

[Might. Big might. Lazuli was pretty matter of fact, but as much as he appreciates their Sage, he's extremely flighty.]

[ he listens, his only real acknowledgement an incline of the head before he starts speaking again. Solomon's assessment of the ball matches his own, for the time being. ]

Yet according to him, [ a nod at ahito, ] there's something going on in the west.

Even in peacetime standing armies will be maintained, yes, and there is of course the expectation that they'll run their drills, and technological advances will march on... Still, given the circumstances of that single survivor, one does have to wonder at whether this is just routine research in the name of progress gone wrong, or signs of something else brewing underfoot.

[ ... It also begs the question of why he attended at all, or how Ahito managed to get that information out of him if he hated wizards that much, but Solomon's already asked that question. ]

We have nothing to go on advising that it's something of international concern, though. It could be entirely contained within the borders of the West. At least from what was present at the ball, we don't have enough information to say one way or another. That he was invited despite his attitude and injury at least shows someone else deems him as a figure of importance when it comes to our presence. Whether that person is someone else Western or one of the inviting party is up for guessing.

So while it's a concern, and an extremely reasonable one given the content and his behavior... I don't want us to start assuming, and I don't want it to color what information needs to be passed on to those assigned to the West, or to our Sage.

[The "he said, she said" was already a slippery slope to mess with.]

I'm aware. I don't think there's enough actionable information to truly make any damning conclusions at the moment. Not in regards to the presence of some conspiracy or the lack thereof, anyway; it was merely a reminder we cannot necessarily trust whatever surface impressions we've yet managed to glean.

[ perhaps a more knowledgeable eye would have been able to put together these whisperings and rumours into a proper picture, separate out the wheat from the chaff. unfortunately for them, they are not. ]

With any luck, the international relations of this world are not so fraught as those I am familiar with, but I haven't put my faith in luck for a while now. It's why I said I wanted to learn more about the nations here first.

It is interesting to me, however, that he was both invited— and that he attended at all, considering his attitude.

[ but again, nothing they can really do with that except speculate slightly less than blindly. ]

Then at least on that much, we're agreed.

If the West is highly motivated in research regardless of the field, then I wouldn't be surprised if inviting the survivor of a recent wizard-based massacre was a way to possibly test the waters and lead discussions. But there's only so much we can learn without some more proactive first-hand conversation.

[Maybe a field trip to the West is in order?]

Ugh. Yet even more politicking.

[ like yes, he was specifically seeking it out at the ball; also yes, he can have a distaste for it. these things are not mutually exclusive. ]

Would that we could raze it all to the ground our lives would be that much simpler, I'm sure.

[ here they are instead, though. ]