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]

Well, that much is news to Thancred, his eyes going wide for a moment. The castle guard themselves approached Rhy about his activities in Nott? That isn't a good sign at all, and while Thancred is confident in his own ability to not be noticed, he can't assume that most of the other Summoned have specific espionage training. Being careful isn't necessarily good enough.

"I can't see why they would expect aught else from us, when they themselves opened the portal and allowed us to visit. Wanting to help those in Nott doesn't necessarily have to mean anything beyond you having a good heart."

He suspects that he is not saying anything that Rhy hasn't already thought to himself, but it is difficult not to be frustrated. The Summoned in general are sorts who can't look the other way when people are in need, and yet now those in the castle are taking umbrage with that? It's ridiculous. Thancred doesn't hide a scowl as he shakes his head.

"'Tis yet another sign that they have little care or interest in the well-being of Nott's people. Thank you for sharing, Rhy. I'll take even more care than I have been."

He hasn't forgotten the question regarding Jolene, but it seems important to address this wrinkle first.

[londonbound]

"I know. And yet..." Rhy shrugs. He won't actually deny that he said those things, not to Thancred, who knows quite well his feelings on the subject. No, Rhy hasn't been as careful as probably he should've been, but Thancred of all people definitely shares his sentiments toward the crown. It's worth a warning, even for someone already very careful.

"They opened the portals, and now they seem worried we may spend 'too much' time away from the castle. Maybe even start getting ideas. It wouldn't do to simply close the doors, declare Nott on its own, after all. Even if most of the help is in name only from an official standpoint, and solely reliant on the work of individuals with fewer resources than their work deserves."

That's not meant to be self-serving commentary. Rhy's thinking of those who help bring supplies, or Thornean healers from the castle who have provided aid as well, even philanthropic nobility who may have given coin to the cause. He's not so sure every person in Thorne would stand behind their queen's decision -- and it seems there's still someone in power who apparently agrees, so they continue to put on the show in Nott.

There's no point in rehashing the same opinions between the two of them again, though. Rhy leans closer.

"And you think this Jolene may be an ally?"

[funbreaker]

Thancred realizes what Rhy is getting at, that the portal being open is more about appearances than anything else. If they were openly barred from traveling to provide aid, then that would only make the Queen look worse than she does already. Someone who has her ear is thinking about how this will all look, though perhaps not hard enough.

Yes, it's moments like this when Thancred understands why Alisaie has always hated politics so vehemently.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that it's all for appearance's sake, and that they're now taking umbrage with us genuinely wanting to help." No wonder Lord Vela has reached the end of his rope by now. Though Thancred still wonders at what it means that people have apparently disappeared from Nott, and that the castle mages are not being granted the resources necessary to search for them.

But yes, back to Jolene. As Rhy closes the distance between them, Thancred ducks his head down into a small nod. His voice comes out in a low rumble.

"When we were first sent to help with the fires in Nott, she was one of the mages arranging for that. She has provided aid to Summoned who needed it in the past, and she also serves under Anastasia Rhett — Ambrose's sister, who has a less than agreeable relationship with him."

Reading between the lines, as Thancred is wont to do, it seems that the friction between the siblings could have something to do with Ambrose's loyalty to the Queen.