|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:36 pm
 |
|
|
 |
"To potentially change the Charter," Jeremiah said slowly, after Shiloh spoke, "we may have to face the idea of changing people without consent." Silk had covered that. "Everything that we are as well as the moonwalkers and wargs are built into this.
"So Beaumont is correct. Consequences must be considered, one way or another, to make one anew or make changes. Ezra is also correct that we will likely have to do something with Melany and her counterpart. However, before we launch into that-" A look was given to each Noble present as well as the fetches that were gathered. "That Charter contains twenty-four fingerprints, twenty-four individuals who blooded this with their thumbprint." The blood red of his vest felt like a brand, like an identifier but he pushed that aside mentally.
"It was only a select group of the twenty-four that actually carried out what was done to her but we all did this." A breath was let out. "Or rather, I should say, that in another lifetime, we blooded this. I did not give you enough credence when you spoke of such, Silk, and for that I apologize." He thought she had spoke in generalities, that because they were Nobles they had been responsible, but not actually their own actions.
With a flick of his hand, Jeremiah was holding a piece of paper in his hand. "Only six of those fingerprints have not been identified, though I have some theories as to who three of those are, and I know, for a fact, before I had them run that I was one of them. When it is touched by someone who's blooded it, the Charter will resonate. Blood will call to blood; the thumbprint on there will bleed anew.
"In this room, aside from those who are fetches, the only ones who do not have a thumbprint on there are Lady," that look she had him wondering but this was not the time, "Lord Beaumont," a look to Shiloh, Jeremiah's expression calm though his eyes were otherwise, "Tithe Fitzpatrick, and Lord Ezra." Jeremiah still held the paper in his hand, the printed out results from the testing. He fell quiet after that, to let the knowledge settle.
To let them realize they were, potentially, dealing with a problem of their own design even if it was not themselves but those who existed before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Alexis' face had already been ambivalently cold (some might have called it resting bitchface), but as soon as Jeremiah started to speak, they pursed their lips and vanished the food back to whence it'd came. Not now. They weren't hungry -- well, they didn't want to be, anyways. "Does it have to be her," they said, evenly level, enunciated, clear. "If it's bound to her -- couldn't it be bound to someone else, somehow? And I know Preacher Maria understands sigils, as far as that goes; I've seen her make small ones on the fly."
(Their palm was streaked with crimson, in these gloves, and it seemed so oddly appropriate that they'd done this, they'd done this in some past cycle, of course, because they were bad.)
"The way all of this was built originally - how much of it can we change without killing more people without their consent?" The way their fingers clenched, the way they stood up and held their chin high (throat bare, always bare in their court outfits now); it spoke martyr, again. It said I will die for this again and again, if anyone asks, because it's my fault. "I assume we can't remake it like we did the sigil; bind it to someone else. But if we could." They looked back at Lady reflexively, worried about her, and took a step that way. "Could it be put on someone else."
Wick approached Ezra with something like cautious relief, something like worry, although it was aimed at all the younger Nobles and not Ezra himself. (And Fell, sister-in-kind.) He stood close-but-not-too-close, hands clasped behind his back, watching Alexis speak; and he fancied he could still feel the heat. He tipped his head in respect and half-a-bow, and that was it for then.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:48 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:34 am
|
|
|
|
"You should put Nobles on there as well, Julian," said Jeremiah with a small nod of approval of his note taking. "As we may face change as well and it is, ultimately, one of the goals." His attention went to Alexis next. Though his expression was schooled, there was a brightness to his eyes as he watched them.
"This is our time to change, as it's been previously stated, and to step away from the abuse upon which the Court was founded. What was viewed then as necessary," there was an unspoken distaste as he spoke, "is more than unacceptable now. Magic is, more often than not, built on consent and willingness and when those are not available through deceit and trickery. Yet make no mistake, you have met the Spinel Lady. She is a direct result of what happened once the sigil was carved into her- it twisted her and changed her completely. Even if someone was willing," his gaze focused to Alexis again, "there is no guarantee that similar wouldn't happen beyond that we are trying to step away from sacrificing anyone. One for many does not work."
A breath was let out, Jeremiah shifting in his chair and looking to Algie before Shiloh and the others. "Melany has awareness and is trying to keep Spinel pushed away within."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:59 am
|
|
|
|
"We need to find a way to undo or something what was done to Melany, then. How can we guarantee getting rid of the Spinel Lady without harming Melany?" Could things be undone, even? But Temperance had to hold out hope. Hearing this... it honestly made her even mroe at peace with her actions at the ball. There was always, always a chance.
"If the sigil changes people, one person - if we don't have another way, I don't see why splitting it up among several people wouldn't work. It's too heavy for one person alone to be the sigil, essentially. Before, when we altered the sigil, we used the blood of many, willingly given." She paused, fingers fiddling with the red embroidered to her chest. "And of course, this... this charter had more blood, but the body of the sigil itself... why did it have to be one sole person?" Maybe she wasn't making exact sense but a burden shared is better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:00 am
|
|
|
|
Silk gave Jeremiah a look like no duh you're a noble.
Ezra said, "Well." Was his coat smoldering? It was definitely smoldering. His content expression had cracked open to reveal something raw, but when he spoke his voice was level, if cold enough to freeze Hell over. "Very aware. Judging by the things she's posted to the listserv." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "She used to use that alphanumeric code to leave me notes. And if this shell is anything like the Melany I knew, it would ruin her to know what she was capable of. She would want to die to protect others."
He fell silent as Temperance and Jeremiah spoke, but once they finished he was talking again: "It was a shortcut. No doubt the original trio believed they were short on time. The easiest way to split everything, to filter the magic and strengthen the veil, would have been to channel it through a human being. Someone already magical, like Melany, would have acted as a filter or a hard stop. She was always trusting."
Silk sighed. "Any amount of focus twists the person involved. Each person to whom the sigil was bound, who 'was' the sigil as you've termed it, would twist as the Lady did. It may not be as immediate, but it would inevitably occur."
"Instead of one Spinel Lady, you'd have many," said Ezra.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:31 pm
|
|
|
|
The notes were updated:
whiteboard -charter connected to living doc. in Melany -both must be dealt with at same time -changes will affect deer trips, moonw., wargs -no s**t nobles are also affected, mercer ON "FILTERING" THE MAGIC: -consent from deer trips (likely fatal without a 4th) -consciousness + magical affinity = "intelligent filter" -melany as human filter was a 'shortcut' -multiple volunteers is a bad idea
"So there must've originally been a way to do this sort of thing that doesn't involve a human sacrifice," said Julian. "Right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 5:05 pm
|
|
|
|
Shiloh had been trying to keep the meeting impersonal, but he should've known that was impossible from the start. "She's not a shell." He said quietly, though no less indignant, "She's got thoughts and emotions and dreams just like any other person. She—" He sounded so guilty, "—She knows what she did to me. She knows what she did to Eve. She said she'd break her legs if it meant keeping the Spinel Lady away." He took a deep breath. "I wanna give her stuff to put faith in too."
So much for keeping out of it was right. "Thank you for the information Silk." He was trying to keep on amiable terms with the fetch. Beel was oogling her from a distance, mostly because he was proud of his sister taking charge like she was. Would he ever be that cool? Okay, maybe now wasn't the time. "No one needs to be subjecting themselves to the same s**t that happened to Melany. No more sigils on people." He huffed, "People aren't meant to bear that kind of weight."
"But everyone's right too. Are there other solutions?" He looked towards Ezra, back to Silk. "Or, if we find out we're also running short on time, a way to at least displace the sigil temporarily? Something like that? I really don't want her to hurt anymore like this. Setting the charter up can come after things get stabilized... if it's at all possible." He frowned, "Sorry if that comes across like I'm unprepared, but that's why I wanted to call this meeting. So we could figure out our alternatives."
Shiloh looked to Lady then too, "It's okay if you don't wanna talk, but you've been really quiet." His voice dipped down low when he spoke to her, even though it could clearly be heard by everyone. The volume implied a more directed conversation though. His hand gently set the charter back down in his lap, his fingertips still trailing over it slightly.
He was glad that his blood wasn't on the document, but it sickened him to know most people here had a part in it. His sentiments were fairly similar to Rabbit though—how many times had they rushed into things? Besides the fact that from the sounds of things, Aodelle hadn't told everyone the whole story. He made a mental note to ask who the other prints belonged to as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Jeremiah just rolled his eyes slightly once Julian updated the board, though his thoughts were elsewhere a moment later. The mention of an intelligent filter had him wondering.
"Would anything be able to filter the magic? Something that will not find itself twisted or otherwise changed. A schema was mentioned originally as something that was going to be used," though that had been not necessarily a truth, "but I assume that it still isn't a plausible thing to use if only because of the potential time involved in creating one that would be powerful enough."
Jeremiah rubbed his wrist briefly, thinking of when he had been grabbed, as Shiloh spoke. The fear in Melany and the look in her eyes. Cornered and scared, trying to do everything to not hurt those around her.
"It's best to pool everyone's knowledge," he said after Shiloh spoke. In his opinion, it was the opposite of unprepared. It was preparing and what they needed to do. "If there is a manner to unravel the first Charter Sigil, without the deaths of the triplets and Melany, that would be something to pursue." Yet he was not sure that it was even possible. "Though we would likely need to already have things in place for what we want to go forward with."
Yet, of course, that was why they were here. If anything, the outcome of this meeting would at least solidify that no one, absolutely no one, wanted to see another sacrifice happen (though there were those who would willingly do so).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:09 pm
|
|
|
|
"Yes," said Silk. "But none of you have the talent or the patience to do it. If you did, you wouldn't be so focused on the killing of innocents." She sounded ticked off about it, too. She nodded to Alexis. "I hope that one isn't indicative of your priorities. Lord Shiloh is well enough, but the rest of you?" She sniffed. "Your patrons were not as in tune with the Court. That's no fault of your own, but still, you must work hard to overcome your deficient uplifting."
Ezra said, "Do you propose cutting her open and grinding the sigil out of her bones, cher cousin? There's no way to displace it that wouldn't require torture, and those willing to commit that torture. That's antithetical to your stated purpose."
"A schema would work, if one could be made, and given enough information to work from." Silk sniffed again. "The only schema of that specific quality that I know of was the Enemy's. Renard Leroux had such a schema crafted, but it was lost in the creation of the first cycle--"
She cut off mid-sentence, and her head swiveled towards the door. Every fetch felt the same thing: a welcome approach, the click of heels on polished wood. "Lady Melany," whispered Silk, and then
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
