A Sentinel and a Herald

[Zodiac]

roadnottaken Animus

Presence for the Scene: 4 (Authoritative)

Zodiac was, if nothing else, patient. She'd prepared some coffee and snacks, and spent a bit of time trying to defend said snacks from badgers, snakes, cats and... well, Avis wasn't so problematic as the others. So it was in one of the little lounge areas of the Fourth Wall that she awaited Animus' arrival, prepared as much for business as anyone had a right to be. She dressed in a nice green dress with her hair flowing in natural, light waves as she glanced absently to her watch.

This meeting was going to be, if nothing else, interesting. She had no idea what her cabalmates might've said about her to Animus, nor did she really know much of what to expect from the Sentinel, and she had a difficult task on her place. A difficult but... somewhat fun task. So long as the man didn't decide to take offense. A small part of her imagined her cabalmates walking in to pieces of her strewn about the Sanctum for a brief moment, before she rolled her eyes and shook the notion out of her head.

... yeah. Right. Hopefully this Arrow had his head on somewhat straight as well.

  Presence 4 -1 Mana

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-08-29 00:47:55		Zodiac rolls 8 to Augment the Mind (Presence)(HS) (10 Again)		3, 3, 7, 8, 10, 10, 7, 6, 6, 9		4 successes

[Animus]

It isn't long before the Sentinel appears, looking a bit the worse for wear.

Titles. He'd have to remember that not everyone disliked them so, or would take continuous pointed application as the satire he might have intended. A thought for another time, though. For now, he had discarded his preferred t-shirts in favor of a polo and slacks. He could dress the part, even if he disliked it.

A nod is given towards Zodiac as the shaman enters. "Good morning." Barely morning, but still accurate enough. After all, it wouldn't do to be late. "I trust any imposition of formality won't get in the way of communication?" A ghost of a smile takes the edge off his words.

[Zodiac]

"Good morning, Sentinel," Zoey stood to offer a hand to the man, smiling politely. "Welcome to the Fourth Wall - I'm glad you found your way here alright." At his words, Zoey offered a wry smile before simply nodding.

"Don't worry, I worry more about formality when it comes to written correspondence than when it comes to one on one conversation, and if you prefer a less formal setting, I'm amenable to that. But given that we haven't really had a chance to speak, I figured that formality was probably the safest bet." Her free hand gestured to a chair.

"Please, sit. Can I get you anything to drink? The snacks are entirely open bar. To you, anyway," she chuckled, "if I'd let Asp anywhere near it, I'm sure the whole platter would be gone already."

[Animus]

The shaman takes the offered seat calmly. "Water is fine for now."

Mention of Asp earns a small chuckle. "Better be careful, you sure you won't regret calling open bar by the time the meeting's over?"

A quiet moment of uneasiness. He still had no idea why the meeting had been called, aside from the presented formalities. Still, best to let Zodiac choose her own time to start the shop talk.

[Zodiac]

"If it means that my guest is eating, I'm perfectly comfortable with the notion," Zoey smiled as she moved to pour him a glass of water, returning and setting it down in front of him.

"I do feel rather terrible about not being able to be more social, first, but I hope you won't mind if I get business out of the way before we move on to some of the less formal stuff?" she sighed softly. "I have some concerns, currently, regarding the state of the Consilium that I would like to address. Unfortunately, this issue isn't one that can be approached gently in any particular way, given that no matter how I begin I'm certain that either Sentinel will be... defensive."

Her brows furrowed a little as she sighed, before looking to Animus rather seriously. "I imagine that you and I can agree that we both know what our individual duties as Sentinel and Herald entail, which is why I wish to bring forward this statement - not as an attack on any individuals, nor on any Orders.

"The Lex Magica was violated, and the Tetragrammaton was not acted on to warrant punishment regarding the action that was violated," she stated seriously. "The Precept of Secrecy was violated by an Arrow by the name of Striker. He performed vulgar magic in a public park without even being certain if those around him were Mages, to my understanding, which... is even worse still. The Tetragrammaton indicates that this could be ruled as either a minor penance, or a major reprimand. And yet, no action has been taken. This was done several months ago."

Adjusting in her seat with a sigh, Zoey shook her head. "At this point it may be too late to take actual action, so this is simply being brought up as a concern. It was not acted on. This kind of softness regarding these things can cause others to think that they are, in fact, not going to be persecuted at all. This cannot become a thing that the Consilium sees. Not when we have the concerns of both Banishers and San Francisco to be worried about. Order needs to be in place...

"I bring this up to you because I want to be sure we're on the same page about the safety of this Consilium and about the actions that need to be taken. It is not my purview to bring forth those who have violated the Lex for punishment - that is the Sentinel's job. It concerns me to think that this was not already done."

[Animus]

A hand dips to the snack tray, grabbing whatever is closest and quickly popping it into his mouth. As the Herald continues speaking, however, Animus' small bit of levity evapoates and he begins to rub at his temples.

"Action and consequence. When the latter is withheld ..." he shakes his head bitterly. "I thought I could insulate myself from politics, but whenever I try to pull away ... no matter."

A short pause as he tries to push aside the foul mood. It seemed to be growing more difficult lately. "You're right. It's something that needs to change. To start, I think we need someone on the Sentinel staff familiar with the Lex and its workings, so we can all keep abreast of changes to precedent. Would you know of someone who can fulfill that role?"

[Zodiac]

It wasn't as though it was particularly difficult to note the man's mood change, leaving Zodiac to sigh softly. "I apologize for bringing you down with such serious matters, but I'm afraid there is some work that needs doing before we can have social fun times," she wrinkled her nose for a moment, before shaking her head.

"I assure you, I'm not much of a politician myself, and I don't want to tell anyone how to do their jobs - but right now things are too tumultuous to be allowed to go just as is. So, what I propose is that rather than having someone familiar with the Lex on the staff, perhaps gather those who you've deemed to be apt Sentinels and I can speak with the Ladder about having a Factotum go over some of the information with all of you. That way everyone knows what's going on and what needs to be considered.

"Personally, I don't think the Sentinels need to have a full and in-depth knowledge of the Lex's workings. Everyone should have basic knowledge of the Lex Magica in general - just as any Sleeper knows that killing is bad. Our laws ought to be known by everyone, and if they aren't then there's a serious problem that needs to be addressed. If the Sentinels need it, perhaps a copy of the Lex and the Tet being made available to them for referral would be good?"

Precedent... again that thing that kept being asked about. Perhaps she should sit and speak with the Hierarch or the Ladder's Deacon to read about the precedents as they currently were. Access to that was important.

"If there's anything I can do to help you along in your duties, please do let me know and I'll do whatever I can to assist. But for the time being I believe the most important thing is to be certain that we get all of the Sentinels selected and the same with the Council. After all, the Council will inevitably be the judge and jury in these instances. It is a Sentinel's duty to bring forward those who have caused problems and to follow through the enactment of whatever consequence is determined to be appropriate."

[Animus]

In a way, it made sense. A separation of duties, to limit the concentration of power and curb potential abuse. It also conveniently avoided the expectation of a single jack-of-all-trades.

"Copies of both would be appreciated. But ... thanks for that clarification. Less likely to burn out trying to manage too large a scope. I'll ensure that future incidents do wind up properly before the council."

[Zodiac]

"That's part of what's so important to me," Zoey sighed softly. "It isn't up to any one individual to know everything. Each person needs to know what they need to know to do their duty, not to do the duties of everyone. It's unfair to ask for more than that of anyone, and things can run quite smoothly as long as every cog is doing what it is meant to do. It gets complicated when the cogs begin to try to take on the functions of springs and the like," she chuckled absently.

Giving the man a smile, she stood again for a moment. "Did you want more water, or anything else to drink? I'll see what I can do to have copies arranged. My understanding is that the Vox is currently going over some amendments to the Lex, so it may end up being updated again in short order, but even still... At least the Gold and Silver laws should be made clear.

"If you've any other questions or anything of business at this time, please feel free to address it, or call and ask any time," she smiled, "but if not I hope you won't mind if I let Felix out of Asp's room. I enjoy letting him run around while Star and Avis aren't here." It wasn't serious business all the time, after all, and sometimes it was good to get to know others in the Consilium - especially others in positions.

[Animus]

"Water, please."

The shaman nods along at Zodiac's speech. It was comforting, in a way, but one point nagged at him. "Cogs. Is that what we are then? Pieces of machinery, with no will?" The question holds no accusation, merely a wistful sadness.