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

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

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It might be shocking but he didn't ever interact with Ronan. It was partially because he didn't like the idea of someone getting into his dreams, even if it was to pull something into reality.]

I didn't. I did vet a reliable source [he's not going to say Yennefer's name; he doesn't know where Kyle stands with her and he knows that woman values reputation] about whether or not there were any remaining Summoned that were absolute flight risks [other than himself] and they weren't concerned about that aspect at least. That doesn't mean there isn't anyone still around, but I feel more comfortable with the odds.

[ He cocks his head at reliable source. It's fine for now. He doesn't give up many of his own contacts, presuming that most would rather not be named. ]

It's been some months since the last Summonings. We're due for another batch soon.

[ New people to 'vet'. ]

[He rolls his eyes skyward, not audibly groaning, but he may as well be.] New people, lovely. Exhausting. You think we can uh... uhh... ward Natasha's book? Super Secret, pinky-swear enchantments before you can open it?

[His tone may be joking, but there's a touch of seriousness there.

Even though... Ew that might come back to bite himself at some point. Well. That's what Istredd could be for, right?]

[ Well, even if Lucifer's joking - that's his immediate first thought. With a raised eyebrow: ]

Shouldn't you be asking Istredd?

[ Which, after a second leads him to: ]

Horizon doesn't always work the way we assume it does.

[ There's a hole in front of his tower that proved just that. ]

I only just considered it, so I'm asking you. [You know, trying to not be rude. Shocking.

What? He's gotta keep Kyle on his toes.] Honestly, that's another growing concern. The increasing Horizon... troubles.

[ Istredd has a whole library of useful information here. He really hopes this was thought about before everyone was invited in, but maybe you two really are bad about distracting each other.

Ugh.

His eyes narrow slightly. ]

Nothing too recent, I hope?

[He didn't know Natasha was going to show up with an entire notebook of information, thank you very much, Kyle. They can ward books easily, but ward it so only certain people can get at something, that's a different story.

He gives Kyle a dull stare. He's not hiding new information. Shocking, right?]

No, just all the past issues. Far as I know the Horizon was fine when I first got here. Then there was the strange flicker of other places and then literally being trapped in other places. And the issue with Istredd and your domains. It seems like things are getting worse.

[ He mostly ignores the look and grimaces again at the mention of things getting worse. ]

You're right. It's not so stable that we should rely on it but -

[ For once, he gives Lucifer an unguarded look: troubled to a degree that he doesn't usually allow to be seen. They don't have many other options. Not for places they can talk freely, without being easily noticed gathering. And writing anything down in the real world is off the table.

If they suddenly lost their connection to Horizon, they'd be at a disadvantage. But what else can they do right now? ]

The ones who were Summoned after us, as far as we know they haven't been contacted by the heralds yet. [ They won't have a gift in their domains that they can't remove. Would they return to claim the newcomers? ]

Edited 2023-01-22 18:28 (UTC)

[Kyle's concerns are entirely the reason why he, one of the most guarded and paranoid individuals here, willingly wired his mind together with another person, and has continued to keep said link. It's the only way he's felt genuinely safe passing information back and forth.]

You think we might have to consider they'll have another upsurge again if we get an uptick of Summoned? I wonder if we could find a way to trace the connection if they do. [Lucifer still remembers that dream.

And that "lovely" gift, cast to the bottom of the lake in his domain.]

We can't rule out the possibility. [ Like so many, many other possibilities. ]

Maybe. Someone did manage to make contact with them last time. [ Himeka, and the one word she got from it: mission. He shakes his head and sighs. ] Even assuming they all connect at some point, it feels like we're chasing too many disparate threads right now. [ Heralds, gods, Horizon, the Singularity, the past Summonings, the missing natives - ]

I've exhausted what I can find about the gods and heralds here. I'm going to keep looking into the Ninth High Mage. [ And continuing to spy in Borrel while he can. ]

[That earns Kyle a sharp, assessing look.] Someone did? [Because that is news to him.

A sigh.] I've honestly lost track of how many theories I've spun about it all at this point. [Dozens at least. Likely more.]

They heard the word 'mission'. [ Lucifer can assume at this point that if Kahlil doesn't offer the name of the person straight away, he's unlikely to give that information. And also that he doesn't share these things without believing there is more truth than rumor to it. ]

[Lucifer is careful when it comes to names himself; he doesn't look at all like he was expecting one, only the information that Kyle did reveal.] Well, that's just great. [Extremely Concerning.] Just a word? No feelings or underlying emotions with it?

They described it as a mass of thoughts and feelings, which is why it was difficult to understand. That one word is what they thought they heard repeated.

[ It's not much, and only leads to more questions. ]

So they're are on some holy mission. Fantastic. Wonderful. [He looks sickened by the thought.] Here I was hoping I was free from that nonsense.

Think of it this way, you have experience. [ He's half joking, though he doesn't quite smile. None of this is particularly funny right now. ]

[It's the first inclination that Kyle has any idea what he is.

Interesting.

Enough people do know what and who he is, it wouldn't be a surprise that Kyle came across the information. Still, doesn't hurt to pull at it a bit.] How do you figure?

[ Jack has told him things. But really, the answer is in what Lucifer just said: ]

Here I was hoping I was free from that nonsense? [ He repeats Lucifer, raising an eyebrow. ] Or am I misunderstanding?

Just wondering what my experience is supposed to be in. Surely not the shepherd to the Summoned. [... Although it's going to sure feel that way soon. Ugh.]

Well, that too. But you said holy mission earlier, I assumed that's what you were referring to.

[ When he said he was hoping to be free - you know what? He wrinkles his nose. ] Nevermind, now I'm confused.

[Lucifer visibly, full-body shudders. Actively cringes.

Does Not Like.] Gross. I don't think anyone's ever made the mistake of referring to me being apart of some--some holy mission. [That'd be Michael, if any of them.] No. Just... people. [Trying to associate with Heaven and his family and...] All cajoling and crying out, putting all their actions to some mission for God. It's all pointless, and if the heralds have some freakishly similar act--well, I feel bad for them.

[ One of these days Lucifer will finally stumble upon Kahlil's temple in Horizon, and that will be an interesting conversation.

He keeps his gaze fixed elsewhere, his tone neutral. ]

Why do you say it's pointless?

Putting so much effort into someone that doesn't even care? Why's that supposed to make anyone feel better? At least if you're going about something strictly for yourself it's like you're actually accomplishing something. [Lucifer your feelings are showing.

He grits his teeth.] Maybe the old gods have a hierarchy, I don't know. Maybe their 'mission' is self-imposed and not for or from someone above them.

[ Kahlil listens quietly, shrugging at the last part and speaking ruefully. ]

Belief isn't usually about making anyone feel better. [ Does he really want to get into this with Lucifer? He probably shouldn't, but he's beginning to feel comfortable enough to respond to a part of the conversation he would normally let go. Or maybe it's part of his frustration ebbing away at his patience these days. Maybe he should go dig some more holes. ]

It doesn't matter. We're not going to figure it out from one word.

Then what's the point? [In an odd moment, he looks sincere with the question. It's like when he asked Inej something similar because he truly just... does not understand the point at all.]

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

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