Maraiana emits a long sigh once Wulfgang is out if the office and the door is safely shut behind him. "That was almost as trying as a council meeting," Maraiana says with a wry smile.
She finally takes a seat in one of the chairs in Amarra's office. "I completely disagree with the Count's belief that the Acadamia's students would be useless to the defense plan. If nothing else, they can be counted on for minor healing, charms on arrows and the like, depending on their abilities and specialities.
"I also think that leaving the swamp for the time being for your use is an excellent idea. I've witnessed some of the ways that you can manipulate water and that will definately be essential to our defense."
She looks up at Amarra, waiting for her input ... _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
~smiles and takes another chair, not the one behind her desk~
He is an... interesting man. I think he'll be able to help us, as long as he can put aside his prejudices. And even if he can't, well, as long as he doesn't try to go behind our backs with anything it should be alright. Lord Jaric wouldn't have sent him if he wasn't knowledgeable about war, at the very least.
I agree about the students. They may not be full mages yet, but they are far from useless, or helpless. I think we should send away those who do not have talents that would help, or those who are just beginning their studies. That will keep them out of harm's way, and out of ours. The fewer people we have to worry about, the better able to focus we'll be. It would also mean that the school could go on, even if the worst were to happen here.
Thank you for your vote of confidence. I'm no mage, but I've been working on strengthening my abilities since I arrived in Aegis, and it's going well. With a good supply of holy water, my shields or waterballs should be especially effective, I hope.
~pauses for a long monent, thinking~
Duchess Maraiana, it was never my intention to replace you here. In fact I didn't even know the queen wanted me to take this position until she called me into a council meeting and announced it then. I know full well that I don't always understand the way things work here, even after the years I've spent in Aegis, but I do understand many things, and I'm not the child that so many here consider me.
My first priority is to Draco and its people, no matter what the consequences of that might be, and I feel truly honored to be able to work with you to that end. I do hope that we might come to be friends, instead of simply professional colleagues, if that's something that would be acceptable to you. _________________
He is an... interesting man. I think he'll be able to help us, as long as he can put aside his prejudices. And even if he can't, well, as long as he doesn't try to go behind our backs with anything it should be alright. Lord Jaric wouldn't have sent him if he wasn't knowledgeable about war, at the very least.
Maraiana chuckled. "Interesting is one way of describing him, but you're quite right, Lord Jaric would not have sent him here if he didn't know what he was doing. I think we'll be wise to follow many of his suggestions with regards to the paladins, but we need to ensure that he doesn't ignore our decisions."
Amarra wrote:
I agree about the students. They may not be full mages yet, but they are far from useless, or helpless. I think we should send away those who do not have talents that would help, or those who are just beginning their studies. That will keep them out of harm's way, and out of ours. The fewer people we have to worry about, the better able to focus we'll be. It would also mean that the school could go on, even if the worst were to happen here.
"Excellent point. We shall have to go through the student roster and make some decisions. I'll make a list of their strengths and weaknesses, that way we can decide where they will be best placed. Those that are just beginning their studies we should evacuate, I agree, but where do we send them? All the cities face the same danger as Draco."
Amarra wrote:
Thank you for your vote of confidence. I'm no mage, but I've been working on strengthening my abilities since I arrived in Aegis, and it's going well. With a good supply of holy water, my shields or waterballs should be especially effective, I hope.
"I give credit where credit is due. If I didn't think you were capable, I wouldn't say so.
Amarra wrote:
Duchess Maraiana, it was never my intention to replace you here. In fact I didn't even know the queen wanted me to take this position until she called me into a council meeting and announced it then. I know full well that I don't always understand the way things work here, even after the years I've spent in Aegis, but I do understand many things, and I'm not the child that so many here consider me.
Maraiana listened, her expression showing neither belief of disbelief. "I appreciate that, Amarra and it is good to know. While you may not understand 'many things', you are obviously of value to the Queen, or she would not have placed you in such a position of importance. As for how others view you, remember this - if they view you as a child, or one who doesn't understand the complexities of the nobility, they will say things in front of you that they might not in front of others. You will be able to glean a great deal of information that others don't have - and among the nobility, knowledge is power."
Amarra wrote:
My first priority is to Draco and its people, no matter what the consequences of that might be, and I feel truly honored to be able to work with you to that end. I do hope that we might come to be friends, instead of simply professional colleagues, if that's something that would be acceptable to you.
Maraiana smiled at this. "It is good to know that our priorities are the same. I don't know about the 'honour' of working with me, but I hope that we will be able to learn from one another. Over time, I have no doubt that our relationship will become more familiar, the more we work together, but such things take time." She smiled again, letting Amarra know that she wasn't rebuffing her attempt at friendship, but merely letting her know that such things do not happen overnight, especially not with an elf, whose lifespan made them move slowly and carefully through life. _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
I would not expect any different. One thing I have learned is that people are not always what they seem, so it would concern me more if things happened too quickly. I just felt you should know where I stand.
~her expression turns more serious as she considers the matters at hand~
I'm not sure any place is completely safe to send anyone, except for perhaps Icehold, but I doubt Lord Jaric would be pleased to receive all of Aegis's evacuees within his walls. Might there be another place where they might somehow be useful? Not being of aid here doesn't mean they may not be elsewhere, where they could also be out of the way.
And what did you think of the idea of a fire? The thought is very disturbing to me, though that may be partly because of my own aversion to fire.And to burn our own fallen... but it is true we don't want to give the enemy more numbers, if they are truly able to raise the dead. _________________
"And I appreciate that, Amarra. Nothing is more important, I feel, than clear communication."
Amarra wrote:
I'm not sure any place is completely safe to send anyone, except for perhaps Icehold, but I doubt Lord Jaric would be pleased to receive all of Aegis's evacuees within his walls. Might there be another place where they might somehow be useful? Not being of aid here doesn't mean they may not be elsewhere, where they could also be out of the way.
Maraiana purses her lips, obvioiusly thinking about what the Duchess has just said. "I would hate to send them as far as Icehold, even if Lord Jaric would accept them. Perhaps we will have to create somewhere safe for them to be, though they may be of use here - shoring up walls, carrying wounded to healers, that kind of thing. Even children can be used to carry water and the like ... We will have to think on this more, so we can decide what is truly best for the population at large ... But we will have to make this decision soon ..."
Amarra wrote:
And what did you think of the idea of a fire? [ ... clip ... ] And to burn our own fallen... but it is true we don't want to give the enemy more numbers, if they are truly able to raise the dead.
Maraiana nods slowly. "I hate to think of burning the dead as well, but perhaps you are right. If they can truly raise the dead, we certainly don't want to give them the opportunity to increase their ranks ... We will have to discuss this with the priests and paladins Count Wulfgang has brought. Perhaps they have spells they can cast on the fallen to protect them from such an abomination." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
Even children can be used to carry water and the like ... We will have to think on this more, so we can decide what is truly best for the population at large ... But we will have to make this decision soon ...
Yes, that's true, but I don't like the idea of all of our mages, or potential mages, in one place in such dangerous times. I admit I don't know much about mages or how the Academy works, but it seems risky to let them all stay here when we know an attack may be coming.
Quote:
Perhaps they have spells they can cast on the fallen to protect them from such an abomination
That's a good idea. Maybe we should discuss with him all of their abilities. He knows what they can do, but we should too. _________________
Yes, that's true, but I don't like the idea of all of our mages, or potential mages, in one place in such dangerous times. I admit I don't know much about mages or how the Academy works, but it seems risky to let them all stay here when we know an attack may be coming.
I agree completely, my dear. My only problem is, I don't know where we can send them. Each city is in as much danger as we are, some even more so. We certainly can't send them into the forest and tell them to hide there ... many of them have never lived outside a city and would have no idea what to do. Besides, we can't simply drop 1/4 of the population of our fair city in such a location, it simply wouldn't work ... they wouldn't be hidden for long and the forest would never be the same. _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
I know there are caves beneath the sea's surface not far from the island. I found them once, years ago. In fact I stayed in one for a short time. I could get people there easily enough, but they'd be in no position to flee if somehow they were found by the demon's forces.
What if we split them up? Send them to different places in small groups? Those who can live in the forest without damaging it could go there. The same for the mountains, and possibly those caves. The rest could be divided among the cities. The groups could be small enough that there wouldn't be too much more strain on any one location. _________________
Maraiana nodded thoughtfully. "I like all the ideas save the idea of sending them to another city. It simply makes no sense to me? We would then have to agree to take refugees from other cities, which would completely defeat the purpose. But the idea of splitting them up among the forest, mountains and even your sea caves is certainly an idea worth thinking about. _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
That's a good point. Perhaps we should take a tally, then, of who knows how to survive in which locations. We can supply them with some provisions, I would imagine, but in case this turns out to be longer than we expect, they may need to be able to fend for themselves for a time.
How will we be able to communicate with them, to let them know when it is safe to return? _________________
"We will have to keep several runners. It's the most efficient way I can think of ... " _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
Maraiana is quiet a moment. "Another excellent point, but by the time we send runners, won't the reason to avoid detection be past? I can't imagine a reason we would send a message to the refugees until it was safe for them to return to the city... If you are worried about runners, however, perhaps the mages could think of someway to magically contact them ... " _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
That's true. If it's safe for them to return, we wouldn't have to worry about them being followed. How far exactly does a minlink reach? I've only ever tried it once when not in the same area as the other person, and that... didn't work.
~can't help a shudder as she remembers trying to reach Jared while she was Soul Reaver's prisoner, and how he'd known about it~ _________________
Maraiana shakes her head, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Having come to Aegis only in the last few years, I am still learning about the ability - I did not have it before I came to these shores. I can do some research and see if there are any writings with regard to it, but my tomes are limited until we start receiving copies from Baron Carthallion's library.
"I'll also see if the mages can create some kind of charm that the refugees can take with them that will somehow notify them when it is safe to return ..." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
The Baron is sending copies of books? That is... oddly kind of him.
Quote:
"I'll also see if the mages can create some kind of charm that the refugees can take with them that will somehow notify them when it is safe to return ..."
~nods thoughtfully~
Hopefully they are able to manage something. I'd like to keep in touch with them before that as well, as long as we're not... otherwise engaged. At least we'd know how they're faring, even if we aren't able to help directly. _________________
The Baron is sending copies of books? That is... oddly kind of him.
"He isn't sending copies, he is opening his library to our scribe. And he is not doing it out of the kindness of his heart ... it is a purely a business transaction."
Amarra wrote:
Hopefully they are able to manage something. I'd like to keep in touch with them before that as well, as long as we're not... otherwise engaged. At least we'd know how they're faring, even if we aren't able to help directly.
"I'm not certain they'll be able to do anything, but it doesn't hurt to ask them to try ..." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
I see. Still, it will be good to start gathering the books again for when we're able to rebuild the Library. I can speak to the queen about mindlinking or other means of communication, as well, if you think that would help. _________________
"I agree, I'm looking forward to rebuilding the knowledge base of Aegis - we lost so much ... it was quite the tragedy ...
"Either you or I can speak with her about it, whomever sees her first. If one can use that skill over great distances, it would solve our problem quite neatly." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
Yes it would, though we'd have to be careful even with that. I believe the demon can hear mindlinks. I could also speak to Lord Jaric to see if the demon might have any particular weaknesses. We don't know if he would attack us directly or let others do it for him. Maybe there is a way to protect the city better if he comes himself.
~her face pales at the thought, but she is otherwise composed~ _________________
Maraiana nods. "Good thinking, child. I suppose we should plan for the demon actually showing up here. I don't think it's likely that we'd be his prime target, but we can't be sure of that. I think it would be a good idea to speak to Count Wulfgang first about the demon's weaknesses, but if you don't think he's being completely forthcoming, or he doesn't know, then we can go above him to Lord Jaric. I suggest going at it this way because I think it will make the Count more difficult to deal with if we go over his head without speaking to him first, and I'm certain Lord Jaric has much to do already without us adding to his workload." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
~stiffens slightly at being called "child" but makes no mention of it~
You're right, I know he's busy. I did have other things I wanted to speak to him about and thought to deal with it all at once, but I suppose Count Wulfgang would know as much as Lord Jaric does about the demon. That would be one less thing to bother him with. I'll speak to the Count at dinner, then. _________________
Maraiana smiles. "I'm glad you are here to deal with the Count. I don't think he likes elves very much, and I think it would colour any conversation we have." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
Mmm. I'm sure it will color our own conversation when I'm not wearing sheer lace as he requested on his arrival. He'll have to get over both disappointments quickly. You know... somehow I expected a paladin to be more... mannerly. _________________
Fire flashes in Maraiana's eyes as she asks angrily. "What?!? He requested what from you?" _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
I'm sure he wasn't serious, or I'd have sent him right back to Lord Jaric. I do intend to bring up his behavior in general, but at the time you hadn't yet returned, and I know very little about military strategies. I didn't want to lose what help there was available. _________________
Maraiana nods, her protective anger reducing to a simmer. "Alright, I will leave him in your capable hands then, but if you need assistance or suggestions, don't hesitate to seek me out." _________________ Magick is the essence of life, and life the essence of magick
Thanks you, that's appreciated. My main concern is how he behaves in public. How he feels about either of us doesn't matter much in the long run, as long as he does his job well and treats us with respect when others are present. Real respect is earned. That can come later. _________________
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