I don't know the first thing about business. But if you think going right back to where you left off before the Conclave is the best possible outcome instead of digging yourself a new position now while you still have some opportunity to define its terms--
Remind me, did your people ever decide what they wanted out of their war?
[If it sounds condescending, that's because it is. But it's also an honest question.]
[But fine. He continues in an even, conversational tempo. There is no reason to draw attention in this direction.]
I assume then that you remain in contact with the mages still working under the Inquisition's banner. That you and they have an understanding for what follows once Divine Beatrix's Exalted March puts down Tevinter and the entire South sees no reason to empower your people ever again.
As of this moment? Absolutely nothing. [Beyond that he knows what was stolen from where and by whom; that, were there any reason to make this unpleasant, he might make some overture about who he could tell it all too. But that's not the conversation he cares to have, and so those details are optimistically left elsewhere.]
But it might benefit us both if it did. You can't seriously think you're the only people who might prefer something more than just killing a magister to come out of all this.
[ He doesn't think that, seriously or otherwise. And the silence hangs for a moment he realizes the likelihood he's about to get another one-word answer in response, and breaks prematurely, in the spirit of cooperation and all. ]
I am not any good at this. [ Shocking news, probably. ] Of course we want allies. Allies rarely want us. Ferelden tried, and then threw us out—for good fucking reason, honestly—and we are not—
[ This is why he doesn't talk much. He gestures a little, hand barely lifting off the table. ]
I am not uninterested. I just do not know what you want.
What I want is to be finished with this - with Corypheus, but with fighting specifically. Your people aren't the only people facing an uncertain future once he's brought down, and I would prefer not to end one war only to walk straight into another if I can arrange it. What I want is for two unpopular allies to see and act on one another's potential now so that when this is done, the world will have no choice but to recognize that friendship and their liberty as a consequence.
At the moment, I can't guarantee anything but my voice. [Among the Division Heads, around what constitutes as Riftwatch's war table; it's no promise of an army, but it isn't nothing or else they wouldn’t be here.] But with outside resources and a commitment to provide aid when I ask for it-- I think I could find a way to make those two things work together.
I could say it doesn't matter as you're starved for choice, but I see no reason to keep it a secret between us. [It is more beneficial to tell him.] They are a force which represent freedom in the North - a confederation of escaped slaves and, yes, men and women branded as Nocen Sea pirates.
[ The answer cuts off his argument, first, and then a large portion of his concerns. Allying with a group most easily descrived as Vints, again—once it's put through the word-of-mouth process, spread among people who don't know the difference between the Soporati and the rest of them—could easily backfire. Escaped slaves is better. ]
If I look into them further, am I going to find any dead children or cannibalism?
[ 60% funny. He doesn't do anything remotely like smiling, but there's an eyebrow twitch, at least. ]
You want us at your back to keep your— [ a gesture ] —territory, freedom, [ whatever, ] if someone does not want you to have it when Corypheus is gone. [ Just confirming he understands. ] Or to scare them off of trying, if we can. And you want the money—now? For what?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ Then he doesn’t know. He’ll leave, maybe. ]
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Remind me, did your people ever decide what they wanted out of their war?
[If it sounds condescending, that's because it is. But it's also an honest question.]
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And how dare he say exactly the right thing to pique interest. Wary, resentful interest, but still: ]
Self-governance.
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[But fine. He continues in an even, conversational tempo. There is no reason to draw attention in this direction.]
I assume then that you remain in contact with the mages still working under the Inquisition's banner. That you and they have an understanding for what follows once Divine Beatrix's Exalted March puts down Tevinter and the entire South sees no reason to empower your people ever again.
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We talk.
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[As long as they're playing the two syllable game.]
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What does any of this have to do with you?
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But it might benefit us both if it did. You can't seriously think you're the only people who might prefer something more than just killing a magister to come out of all this.
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[ He doesn't think that, seriously or otherwise. And the silence hangs for a moment he realizes the likelihood he's about to get another one-word answer in response, and breaks prematurely, in the spirit of cooperation and all. ]
I am not any good at this. [ Shocking news, probably. ] Of course we want allies. Allies rarely want us. Ferelden tried, and then threw us out—for good fucking reason, honestly—and we are not—
[ This is why he doesn't talk much. He gestures a little, hand barely lifting off the table. ]
I am not uninterested. I just do not know what you want.
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What I want is to be finished with this - with Corypheus, but with fighting specifically. Your people aren't the only people facing an uncertain future once he's brought down, and I would prefer not to end one war only to walk straight into another if I can arrange it. What I want is for two unpopular allies to see and act on one another's potential now so that when this is done, the world will have no choice but to recognize that friendship and their liberty as a consequence.
At the moment, I can't guarantee anything but my voice. [Among the Division Heads, around what constitutes as Riftwatch's war table; it's no promise of an army, but it isn't nothing or else they wouldn’t be here.] But with outside resources and a commitment to provide aid when I ask for it-- I think I could find a way to make those two things work together.
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[ Emphasis on sounds. He puts a flat hand on top of his drink to wobble it in slow circles on the table. ]
Who are your people? Your island? Tevinter pirates? All of Tevinter's lower classes?
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If I look into them further, am I going to find any dead children or cannibalism?
[ 50% serious. ]
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[50% joking.]
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[ 60% funny. He doesn't do anything remotely like smiling, but there's an eyebrow twitch, at least. ]
You want us at your back to keep your— [ a gesture ] —territory, freedom, [ whatever, ] if someone does not want you to have it when Corypheus is gone. [ Just confirming he understands. ] Or to scare them off of trying, if we can. And you want the money—now? For what?