agentlenet | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It isn't always a monetary payment. If the prison has an exchange system set up they can earn credits to purchase smaller luxuries. Those are the kinder ones.

( and certainly not the maximum security prisons that just locked you up )

Some kind of payment, perhaps... [Her thoughts turn hazy for a moment, the link between their minds foggy and unfocused as she drifts through ideas and hypotheses. It's barely more than a second or two, a thoughtful pause and nothing more, but somehow feels weightier.]

I'll have to speak with Loren about it. I try very hard to avoid doing what the old Queens in Draega did. [A flash of disgust echoes between them, and it's linked strongly to the amphitheater as well as what was once empty ground in the center of the Bazaar. If River has been to that part of town, she'll know there's a pavilion there now, and people use it as a gathering place. Children play there. A small change for the better.] Everyone here works because we must to survive, asking someone to work more without payment... they did that. But this is good information to have. Jailing the Blood may prove difficult, but... Well, we are all rigid in our thinking at times. This is a nice alternative to executions and exile.

( it's certainly a little bit of a trip, river's mind trying to keep the psychic connection, though even with her own telepathy she can't quite compensate enough.

not until it comes back on its own )

What did the old Queens do? Or if there's somewhere I could read about it.

( there's been so much information given since her arrival that perhaps this is something she's been told but would need to refresh herself on, taking it in at her own pace. making sure she's paying full attention )

[Fayura is quiet for a moment, as if the silence will help lend gravity to what she's about to say.]

Nothing good. There are... diaries, journals, things like that in the library in River East that talk around what the Queens were like, but the people lived in fear of their lives and held their tongues. What survives from before the Cataclysm suggests a gruesome rule by fear where people struck out against each other as a means of protection. If someone is dead, they can't hurt you. If a witch is broken, she can't enslave you.

[She swallows hard.]

You can also go to the amphitheater behind the Ebon Council's halls. They work in what used to be the Queen's Residence, and if... if you walk through those halls with your mind open—just a crack! Don't do more than that—you'll feel the echoes of the pain and the terror. Whoever ruled Hayll last... she was a monster.

How long ago was their rule?

( river would end up checking out both things, her own curious research in the library (no doubt about multiple things) as well as seeing what the amphitheather really was like )

Five thousand years. Well. The last witch to rule here ruled five thousand years ago. Before that... I'm not sure when the last Queen ruled Draega. Maybe seven or eight thousand years.

Will it be in the library?

[There's a long, long hesitation.]

You might... have better luck at Ebon Askavi. Their records are far more complete, but the Black Mountain is... it makes demands of those who visit.

Do you know what I can expect?

Be polite and honest, and you'll find no danger there. And remember that power isn't always obvious. Strength can be a quiet thing.

A lot of people would disagree. Would you call the demands reasonable?

In some situations, they might be right. In this, they would be wrong. [She laughs quietly.] The Keep is my home. For me, the demands are like my mother telling me to take my shoes off at the door, wash my hands before dinner, and clean up my room.

Well, I suppose I know what to expect.

( though that's a well concealed lie considering river's own past )

Thank you.

You're quite welcome, Lady River. If you have no other questions, I should probably get back to my Prince before he gets much fussier with me.

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