agentlenet | psychic thread

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psychic thread

[The gentle brush against the Strangers' minds comes in early evening. It is, as all mental touches are from Fayura, soft and unassuming, much like a polite knock at a door. Once as many minds are connected as she thinks will open the door to her, she speaks.]

I am curious, Strangers, what you would do with the young man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera.

Many of you come from worlds where there are laws against murder. While we have no such laws here, when a Blood male in a Queen's Territory kills another without cause, she may demand a price from him. Sometimes, that is his own life if he was negligent enough with his temper and sometimes, it's something less.

My trouble is this: if I execute him according to the laws of the Blood, of which he is not one, the Guilds will rouse their people into a furor and attack not only me, but the people of Draega. If I turn him over to the Ebon Council, the Guilds will do much the same, and that will incite the Council to strike back. And if I return him to the Guilds for accolades instead of punishment for taking a life, the Ebon Council will have cause to rip apart the Guilds and anyone in their way to extract from him the price for murdering one of their own.

Were you me, what course would you take? And please try not to shout over each other; this is as many of you as I could reach.

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--well. [It's much, much harder to hold back a thought than a word.] You don't think it just or right either.

[And what's the point of a Queen whose opinion stands for nothing?]

No, I do not.

[He's not wrong in his question. She's had that thought many times and struggles constantly against it.]

The trouble is the balancing act. If I judge the young man as the Blood demand, the Guilds will be furious, and they will lash out. If I turn him over to the Guilds as they demand, they will do nothing, and the Blood will be furious instead. I stand between two forces that yank and pull, knowing that if either side pulls too hard, we'll all tumble into a chasm to our deaths. And so I ask: how can I find a solution that satisfies all parties without even more bodies in my streets?

[She sighs, and adds wryly:] If only this were as simple as choosing whether or not to put sugar in my coffee.

Might it not be better to assume you can't?

[Dreary, perhaps, but optimism has never been Horatio's forte.]

[Very dreary.

Gently, she lets the other minds fall away until it is just him and her. Distaff to spear on a thread of Tiger Eye.]

If I don't, Draega gets no more chances. This is the long moment of truth. The city lives or dies in the next five years, so I can't allow myself to fail and I can't allow myself to consider the possibility.

[There's a flickering sensation of quieting. That, at least, is lovely--even if the heavy thoughts are far from it.]

A lack of satisfaction is hardly failure. [Tension had been bleeding from his jaw, but it comes back squarely now.] Conflicts can't help but have losers, in the end, ma'am.

You ask me to condemn the world. Understand, the stakes are nothing less. If the Council and the Guilds can't find common ground, we will all lose, and we will all die. You Strangers will likely return to your lands with my death— [She's not entirely certain of that, and he'll be able to sense that through their connection.]—but everyone in Terreille? We will die. This land will die.

So, yes, I agree with you: conflicts always have losers in the end. But I must find a way to minimize that loss, because I've yet to weave a web that ends without the death of this land and all her people.

Is Hannibal truly so close to the gate?

[It's not a transferable reference, obviously, but it's the first thought that pops into his mind.]

I... am afraid I don't follow the reference.

[She squints, and somehow that squint translates through thought, giving him an impression of the expression she wears.]

But if you mean to say things are desperate? Yes. They are.

[Well, that's odd. Then again, it's actually the least odd thing about holding a conversation in an empty room.]

Then we must count ourselves lucky you take the matter with such care, ma'am. [Horatio isn't certain if the soft breath will translate into his thoughts, but it escapes him quietly all the same.] Small comfort, perhaps, but--

[But it's quite something to feel a leader cares whether those far below live or die.]

[Gently:] It is the reason for my existence. I was made to care.

That's terribly lucky as well, then.

[The thing about normal human leadership, after all, is that that's almost never true.

Not that Horatio is, say, bitter.

~~he thought bitterly with a bitter expression~~]

[She senses that bitterness, and isn't quite sure how to read it, and so she probes.] You distrust people in positions of power, don't you?

[Is there a good way to lie to this direct and utterly on-point question?]

No, ma'am.

[Not the most convincing he's ever sounded, even to himself.]

It's more I've found that not all men are... well-adapted to holding them.

[A flash of humor runs between them—she, too, doesn't find that males are well-adapted to holding positions of power. Part of that is her world, part of that is her own, personal experience.]

Then it is a good thing I am not male, isn't it? [She sobers.] I don't expect you to trust me straight away. Hopefully through my actions, I'll give you a reason to trust me.

[It isn't quite worthy of a laugh, but it's possible that the corners of his lips twitch.]

The hope in itself already far outstrips many I've served, ma'am.

The second law. [Her voice is thoughtful.] Once, when the Blood honored Protocol in Hayll, that was the second law: to serve. The first was to honor, cherish, and protect. How much we've forgotten. How much we've sacrificed.

[There's actual work to be done. There's an actual kingdom to save.

But:] How-- [An actual kingdom to save.

But.]

--how are they not the same?

[Her laugh is bright and cheerful.]

If I were to ask Verim to sit to the side when my life was in danger, he would ignore me and he'd be within his rights. He cherishes me and he protects my life. To serve me through obedience? That would get in the way of the first law, and he'd toss service and obedience out the window to protect me. Of course, asking him to do that would make me a bad Queen.

[In most cases. There are dangers she is better equipped to weather than her males, and convincing them to let her take the hit because she can bear it more easily is... not a fun conversation for anyone involved.]

[This is familiar.

No, it isn't. This is something that ought to be familiar, but Horatio can feel the quiet of his own mind beginning to drag.]

Is obedience not-- the highest form of cherishing?

Wha— No! [She isn't sure whether to laugh or be horrified.] If my order is a bad one and puts me, or my court, in danger then it wouldn't be cherishing me to keep to the letter of that order. Oh, I might have to have a long talk with someone when they go against my order, but I'd rather them do that and live than practice blind obedience and die.

Any good Queen would.

Any good Queen.

[That almost feels like an answer. That certainly ought to be enough for Horatio.

But getting actual answers is strangely addictive.] And those with less absolute power?

[How strange to hear in his tone the same thing she's heard from so many males in her own court.]

The same is true of any witch. These old laws are generally meant for Warlord Princes and Queens, but a good witch understands that she works with her males and not against them. Blood males serve. It is in their nature to do so. While sometimes the amount they want to serve or the ways they express that service can frustrate, it's important to understand and accept them for who they are.

[A smile tinges her psychic voice.]

Likewise, it is important for them to understand that, sometimes, a witch doesn't want someone attached to a cock and balls anywhere near her and just wants to read her novels in peace.

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psychic thread

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i'm crying did she just eowyn him

she did and it was entirely an accident

it made me laugh yesterday and then again today thank

we are here for the laffs and the fire

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rocks in 3 days too late with starbucks

listen I have built a starbucks to my own lateness, friend

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