ᴏᴏ2 ( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ) | ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ

[insubordination]

So.

[ it is a public message, to the network, that pops up on the circle's watches and roy looks Less Than Pleased (tm) with the sudden state of affairs. the weather in the temple is absolutely out of control, there are apparently weird cakes appearing in the kitchens, and the fighting ring has turned into a magical court. great.

so, that may be the reason why roy's tone is particularly clipped, or even frustrated. but he seems methodical, in his words, and he is sitting at a table with a notebook, a glass of water, and a weird looking lizard on the table that has an odd rainbow-shift to the scales.

( ignore the lizard. it seems roy is. ) ]

The Circle is currently compromised of people of a variety of talents; soldiers, magicians, teenagers . . . all of us have particular skills to contribute to the cause of whatever it is we're meant to do here. I know quite a few people [ like maes, and barabas ] have been keeping track of various magical powers that we have been gifted, and organized some semblance of structure -- all of which is necessary. But we have to acknowledge what happened to Akvos.

[ he pauses, there. ]

Astoria has not been entirely clear with the Circle on what our purpose is. That may be an innocent error, or a purposeful move to win our trust. I'm not here to argue the merits of whether or not we should trust her, but we have no choice but to participate in whatever world she sends us to. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck there until she brings us back, and we have some opportunity to assist whoever is there. We cannot depend on her to figure out what to do in order to prevent another Akvos, or -- it seems, another El Minha, given King Kathashun is no longer in his own world.

[ roy taps the pen against the table once. ]

I don't have any solution as to what we did right, or wrong, or whether or not it was our fault in the first place. But I want to begin the conversation to work to prevent it again, and seeing as Astoria is either not willing or not capable of explaining herself at the moment, we need to learn to work without her. What are we missing? What do we need to work on? And what can we do in order to be more organized before our next world?

[ and, finally, roy feeds the lizard one (1) piece of lettuce, which it lazily seems to chew on. ]

I'm of a mind we need to organize fighters, healers, and transporters, but I'm open to ideas and suggestions -- and questions, about previous worlds to those who were not there to experience them. I have been to El Minha, Struxta, and Akvos. And I'm certain "older" members of the Circle will be happy to share their experiences, too.

( filtered to maes + riza )

[ almost immediately, his expression turns from serious and leaderlike to tired. ]

Who wants to keep notes?

[ PLEASE DON'T MAKE HIM DO IT :( ]

( end filter )

( ooc: please feel free to threadjack in this post! especially if you want to use this to foster CR and/or build "teams" that roy is looking to enlist. c: )

Comments

[invasif]

General.

[ There is a great deal concealed in that single greeting. Perhaps a hint of laughter at his obvious frustration, bemusement at his attempt to organize in this void of authority, and maybe even a hint of rebuke that he would try. She's the queen, after all. ]

[insubordination]

My lady.

[ in an equally dry, somewhat teasing tone. ]

How are you finding the weather?

[ the . . . snowing . . . rainy . . . sunny weather. ]

[invasif]

The fresh air is bracing.

[ After all that time under water. ]

Are you having luck with your initiative?

[insubordination]

[ indeed, sitting and breathing fresh air will be something he never takes for granted again. ]

People are generally eager to help.

[ so: a little yes, a little no. it will take time to organize properly, and will require a lot of luck, but overall, roy has faith the circle can make something of itself past "doing astoria's bidding." ]

Failure tends to invigorate.

[invasif]

That it does.

[ Imprisonment in the Void would easily break a person, if they lacked the invigoration to dream of escape. She's grateful enough for that, and now she sees only the many paths which might lead her back to a place of power. ]

Would you like to know my ability, I think I understand it now.

[insubordination]

[ . . . well, he was asking for volunteers. and ilde is an interesting woman, though roy generally reads her as a mysterious sort of person not necessarily inclined to tell the truth. but if she wants to share, then he's certainly not going to stop her. ]

If you're comfortable with doing so.

[ after only the slightest of pauses; his curiosity betrays him, a little. ]

I can understand why people are keeping that sort of thing private, depending on the ability.

[invasif]

Oh? I imagine they keep it private because it frightens them, or they're afraid to be used. Or it's useless. Why do you think she gives some of them such useless abilities?

[ An airy rhetorical question. She doesn't talk about how very right they all should be to fear being used for what they can do. Ilde wants very much to know all of their powers. ]

I empower others. I could make those dying jellyfish light up again, healthy as ever, if I wished it. But I couldn't heal them, an important distinction, I think. I was also able to work my charm over the magicians who studied the King's portal spell...

[ Until they were tired and sweaty and ready to drop :) ]

[insubordination]

[ ... oh dear. another interesting ability, similar to riza's, if roy is understanding it correctly. but his gut is telling him to avoid introducing ilde to riza. keep that to himself, for now.

ilde seems to be freely speaking to him anyway. ]

Empower others, as in boost their natural or magical abilities, or restore them to a state they were previously?

[invasif]

I don't believe I restore them, it fades away when I am no longer enchanting them.

[ It's a nice ability to speak freely on. It makes her sound like she's very nice. ]

[insubordination]

Several other individuals in the Circle have a similar ability, if you would be so inclined to join them in assistance on the next jump. If we need it, anyway.

[ support staff are essential, in war. this adventure is no different. ]

Have you attempted to use it on other people, in the Circle? To boost their own powers?

[invasif]

I have. I have used it on Shiro and Merlin, a few others.

[ Namedrops........ Merlin will have nothing kind to say about her, but assuredly Shiro will. ]

[insubordination]

[ merlin did come through in a spectacular sort of fashion in akvos . . . but roy trusts shiro, and it's clear in his expression that it was a good name drop to use. ]

I'm sure it was appreciated in the moment.

[ good to know. ]

Organizing support staff, with powers like yours, would be a priceless asset to whatever comes next. Can we sign you up, once we get the list finalized?

[invasif]

Do I get to review the list?

[insubordination]

Of course; I'll be sending it out to the entirety of the Circle. It's up to you whether or not you want to put your name on it.

[ it's fair enough, he thinks. ]

[invasif]

[ Oh goody. ]

That is quite fair and transparent, I commend your intents.

[ Ilde. Please. ]

I would be happy to include my name.

[insubordination]

Being fair and transparent is the only way I was putting my name on the list, so I would withhold your commendation, for now.

[ roy hates the idea of putting names on lists. it feels . . . well, not great. but in this instance, it does seem fairly necessary to at least begin the process. ]

But thank you, miss. It's appreciated, and I'm certain you'll find people who you can connect with to help bolster our support team.