The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Who: Istredd and the Thorne Summoned
What: Istredd called everyone to a meeting
Where: Istredd's Horizon
When: Friday, January 13th, midnight (technically therefore the 14th too)
Warnings: Discussion of Thorne's set up so paranoia, discussion of war, possibly some treason, who knows, it'll be fun.

HORIZON AND SET UP

The Tower was described by Istredd in detail so people would know where to go, and once they arrive the door automatically opens. After the meeting starts and he feels most of the Thorne Summoned are there, it will be locked to any outsiders. Istredd has tight control of his domain so it will also be shielded magically and sound-proofed so they cannot be eavesdropped upon. They get enough of that at Thorne! His domain is unique for being essentially a tower of books. Shelves upon shelves of books and multiple floors. The only other detail before the talk starts is that there are five ravens who will be curiously watching everyone from a perch nearby.

The main floor has been turned into a meeting hall of a sort, although mostly in terms of having a large space full of chairs and a long table if people wish to sit there. A key note about Istredd's domain is that people can easily morph chairs or create them in whatever form they'd want, so if you want them to have their childhood chair, go ahead. If they want a gaming chair, it'll show up automatically for them. His space is very intuitive. People can choose to speak either from the back of the room, as Istredd will do, or from where they sit/stand.

Attendants may notice that Kyle, Lucifer, and Kell come and go a few times, their intention to be visible to anyone watching so it doesn't seem obvious that there is anything suspicious going on.

After the initial formal talk and information gathering, people should feel free to explore the tower if they want. If you're a bookworm, go nuts. People will find that if they open a book it will appear to be empty at first, but if they think about their favorite book, the pages will fill in. It is entirely based on their recollection of the book so may not be entirely complete, but if their subconscious mind has memorized much of it, they will see what they need to in there. They may also find that was they move through the floors, a 'reading nook' may appear in the corner that will instinctively know what they would feel comfortable sitting to read with. If they would like to stay here, they can.

Istredd's domain is open when he is not there, so people can come back if they want later on.

ISTREDD'S SPEECH

Istredd will wait until it appears everyone has arrived or most people have and he will clear his throat to get their attention if they are already chatting with other people. He appears as he often does in Thorne, with very plain clothes in a dark shade of blue, serious and calm. None of his actual nerves show, although on the inside he is anxious about so much attention being on him. Even if he asked for it. He stands straight-backed, hands clasped behind his back. Istredd speaks in a very clear and calm way.

"Please sit or stand as you feel comfortable. If you want, you can create any chair you wish to sit in. I will say my piece here, but I would appreciate it if afterward others are willing to share their own information and thoughts. I know some of us are information gatherers and may know the history of Thorne Summoned, so whatever I don't cover, it would be helpful to fill in any blanks.

Whether you are new or have been here for some time, the facts are very clear: we are trapped in Thorne Castle. The other factions have a great deal more freedom. They can create their own businesses, live in their own housing, wander the streets or go on trips, and while they do have their own struggles, few are constantly afraid that a single wrong word spoken out loud will get them interrogated. Because of that, we are in a much more precarious situation.

We have to assume that Thorne is always listening, the castle has ears and magic everywhere, and they have already questioned anyone for showing the slightest bit of disagreement with the royalty.

Here is a quick current history of Thorne and the Summoned that I gathered, although people here who know more or who were there should add, as this is a summary. I assume there are some new people who have no idea that this happened. Thorne first Summoned people a year and a half ago, and when they did, they threw many of the Summoned into prison immediately. They were not told exactly why. They planned on executing one of the Summoned in a public place, and during that event, two unknown people appeared and froze all the Thorne mages. They gave the Summoned the option to flee to Free Cities and Solvunn. This was the first time any Summoned went to those locations, and the majority of them did leave. Eventually, as we know, Free Cities and Solvunn used the spell for themselves.

It should be noted that thousands of years ago, Summoning in Thorne happened, but it went poorly and the High Mage at the time was exiled. He ended up founding Solvunn. We know nothing else about that, but it is interesting that after all this time, they began again.

While Thorne has not thrown any new people into the dungeon, as far as we know, there are those of you who have been questioned recently about the situation with Yennefer in Nocwich or loyalty toward the royalty here. Suffice to say, we're not that far away from the potential of some of us going back into prison. I was made aware by Kyle that early on, a Summoned was taken and experimented on. Their attempt was to see if they could take a Summoned's connection to the Singularity and put it onto one of their own. It didn't succeed, so as far as we know it hasn't happened again, but that is not to say it won't. It's clear they are not above doing this.

I am sorry that this is all very alarming, and some of you may not have been aware of how tense of a situation we are in right now. But it's important that everyone is informed so you are not going into this blind. My reason for declaring this meeting is for people to share what they know, because knowledge is power, and being ignorant here is dangerous. I also would like to take this opportunity to encourage us to do the one thing we can to make this situation better: unify.

The more they can isolate us from one another, the weaker we are. If we are ignorant, ill-prepared, and disconnected, they can take advantage of us. And we have the power to change that for ourselves.

I'm teaching magic classes to beginners and offered the same to the Summoned. Stephen and Yennefer are also magic users who teach. My roommate Lucifer has volunteered to teach others basic combat skills, and I believe there are others in this group who have those abilities. Obviously, as I've said, it is dangerous to make us stand out too much, so I recommend offering it to anyone and the Summoned signing up, or to come into the Horizon and train here. If you have other abilities you can share with people, please consider offering them to the group. If everyone can feel confident in their ability to use magic and defend themselves, we will be better for it.

It's possible that by doing this I've opened us up to danger. It is possible someone here is willing to sell us out to Thorne, and if that happens, I'm the ringleader, so I hope the danger will fall on me. But please understand that they do not have any loyalty to us. We are all one bad day away from the queen deciding to imprison us again. As you've seen from the attack on Libertas, she can't be trusted. We can only count on ourselves and one another from now on.

I will open the floor up now to anyone who wishes to speak. You can share your information, experience, or thoughts and concerns. If you're willing to train others in your skills, please say so. There is a big book open on the table where you can write your information down. Everyone is welcome to stay here as long as they like if you'd like to take the opportunity to speak to anyone here without fear of being overheard in Thorne.

Thank you for coming. I apologize if this was long and boring. We scholars have a tendency to always sound like we're lecturing."

OOC NOTES

Hey everyone, it's Dee! I am so sorry for the tl;dr. I have the headers below: Speeches (information sharing/tl;dr like mine), Offers to Train (in whatever), and then everything else can be a Mingle.

If you want your character to speak/offer information but don't want follow-up questions, you can put 'OTA' or 'no follow-up' to indicate what your preference is here. If you put OTA people can reply with a sort of Q&A option, but the no follow-up idea is so that people can share information but not need to commit to that unless they feel like it.

The same goes for Offers to Train, you can make a 'OTA' to people who can reply to your character asking more or setting that up, or simply make it a statement. I want everyone to feel like they can play as much as they want here or just share.

And from there, mingle to your heart's content! Your characters can talk afterward, before, go explore the library, whatever you want, I support it. You can plan closed or open starters, follow your heart.

Jay reminded me that it may be relevant to read the game history page. Your character can have asked around for the pre-game history portion and know details about it.

If nothing else, I want people to take from this mingle that their character can hear any of this information and have it from now on for your RP purposes, and also have the opportunity to get them to learn skills from other Summoned/build CR that way. Do as much or as little as you want! If you have any comments/concerns, please message me on plurk.

Comments

[funbreaker]

Kyle's input is appreciated as he seems to have been gathering his own information in various places. So have most of them, naturally, as it's becoming clearer and clearer that most of the Summoned here do not trust Thorne.

They would be foolish to, given the history they all now know.

"I think it would be difficult to approach the king directly. But this is my first time hearing of these disappearances." Thancred furrows his brow, concerned by the implications. "What do you know?"

He'll circle back around to the mention of Hayle, wanting to cover this point first.

[ushiri]

Kahlil frowns, cocking his head to one side.

"Natasha overheard mages talking about being unable to locate missing natives around the coastlines, that they weren't being provided the resources to do the locating."

He names her because she's been open with much of her gathered information.

"Another Summoned spoke to Lyle Vela directly, during our last trip. Vela's aware of people from Nott going missing, and seemed to think they were leaving of their own free will."

Because of the dangerous place Nott stands in: between an uncaring castle and a hostile neighbor.

[funbreaker]

That's a new wrinkle. Thancred lets out a breath and lifts a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Were these mages from Nott or from the castle?" If they were mages from Nott, it would be Lyle Vela himself who had opted not to give them the needed resources, but either way it's extremely suspicious that they're not being granted what they need to conduct a proper search.

"It's entirely possible that some have opted to leave for greener pastures, so to speak, but the fact that he's shut down that line of inquiry entirely is worrisome."

That's yet another thread that needs to be tugged on, but it feels like any move they make here has to be done with utmost caution.

[ushiri]

"It sounded like castle mages talking about the lack of resources."

But since this is secondhand information, he can't confirm for Thancred.

"It's true though, at least - that Nott has given refuge to Summoned escaping the castle in the past. As far I understand, they weren't asked for anything in return for that safety."

He's thinking of Julie, though he prefers not to name her openly. Even so, this was before the entire countryside was set aflame and a city to the south was partially destroyed. Any safety is relative.

His brow furrows, and he asks his own question.

"What makes you believe Jolene Sybell has good intentions?" Toward them.

[funbreaker]

If it's the castle mages, then Thancred can't say he's all that surprised that they haven't been granted the necessary resources. The crown has made it rather clear that it has little consideration for the common person, especially if said person lives in Nott. Lyle Vela had not been wrong about that.

"I understand the same," Thancred confirms with a brief nod and a lasting look. He doesn't know who specifically took shelter there in the past, but he trusts Geralt's intel either way. And he could get the information if needed, he's certain.

The question Kyle asks is a fair one. Thancred crosses his arms and shifts his weight, clearing his throat as he prepares an argument.

"I heard tell that she's shown kindness to the Summoned in the past, that she has shown restraint where other mages have not. On top of that, she studies under Anastasia Rhett, who has also shown care toward the Summoned and assisted some of them in their escape from Thorne. I have also heard that her conflict with her brother largely stems from differing opinions on the monarchy."

Of course, he could approach Anastasia directly, but she's higher-ranked. It seems more prudent to go to her subordinate first, and see where that leads.

[londonbound]

"I overheard talk of similar, regarding the missing people. But I hadn't heard that Master Vela had this own theories on what happened. Can I ask who spoke with him to learn this? I hope that those missing are well and are doing their best to make better lives for themselves -- but perhaps that is more wishful thinking than anything."

[ushiri]

"They're not in Thorne, but they're someone that I trust wouldn't lie about it."

He gives Rhy an apologetic look. He'll tell him later, but he doesn't want to go throwing Wanda's name out there with all of these relative strangers here.