(1510) Consilium

[Emrys]

"Sure." The Enchanter said as he returned the other Councilor's nod. "Remind me after Concilium when you have time and we can organize something then."

With the issue seemingly closed, he returned his attention to the Council as a whole, waiting to see what this oath Avis had in mind would be related to.

[Truce]

Eyes travel to the Sentinel at his outburst.

"Sentinel July, I ask that you please exercise your sense of decorum while we are in session. Councilor Emrys has performed a service for the security of our Consilium in partnership with Sentinel Striker. You are still adjusting to the powers of your station and Sentinel Striker saw it fit to leave this city without informing his fellow Sentinel of the threat. I hope that you are more generous when sharing security details with those that shall soon share your station."

"However, in the matter of these notes that Councilor Emrys has acquired, I trust you have no complaint that he has agreed not to destroy them and is willfully cooperating to make them available. I encourage you to take advantage of his courtesy rather than criticize him for it. If you believe it to be a question of authority then I ask why is it you think that a man chosen as the Wisest of your Path cannot be trusted with the safekeeping of these papers?"

He pauses while looking expectantly at July before addressing the whole of the Consilium, as if the question need no reply.

"Are there any other matters that need to be brought forth while we are in session?"

[Star]

"Slow your roll, Holmes."

"We're not done on that, uh, topic." Lanky limbs unfolded to stand.

"Personally? I agree with Emrys', oh, my bad, as you pointed out? The Wisest of the Acanthus', original plan. All that stuff Needs To Go. As in, you know, destructified."

Shoulders shrugged and hands splayed out.

"Unless, you know. Someone here wants to radio the Abyss. Because that's what we're really talking about, right? Because if that's the case, I think we're all, uh, at least entitled to know why someone wants play ET Phone Home with tentacled monsters. Otherwise, let's burn those notes."

Because if Thearchs can pontificate, then Guardians can guard, right?

[Crowley]

Crowley stirred in his seat, taking a sudden interest in proceedings. he said nothing, however, preferring to watch avidly. His mouth formed a line - and not just from the sudden pang of pain running throu him. Eyes tracked to Truce who sat at the high table before sliding across to Emrys.

[Miach]

And so it was that discord was made public again, and nothing would be gained for them as a whole.

Alas, Miach felt like he really had no choice at this point, and stood up, hoping to be a voice of reason. Purposefully, the Enchanter chose not to address some of the more divisive points made before, whether about the choice of the Acanthus Councilor, or the issue with Emrys choosing alone instead of the Five Councilors around the Hierarch as should be proper, and focused solely on the notes.

"No matter how we see things, we're all here for the same purpose, right ? Fight the Lie, bring the Truth ?" he paused for a breath, no more, and swiftly went on "We're all here to fight the Abyss, then ? And how can we fight something we don't know the first thing about ? Even if those notes hold nothing but the tiniest shred of useful knowledge against the Abyss, it would be foolish to throw them away then, because it would mean walking willingly blind into a slaughterhouse."

Having said his piece for now, the Curator sat back, waiting to see what would happen of it all. Nothing good probably, alas.

[Varyx]

Well, wasn't this interesting.

Varyx couldn't help but feel like the tension in the room went beyond the matter at hand. Clearly, the rivalries here ran deep. She found herself unexpectedly annoyed by it - normally, she didn't mind a little rivalry. After all, adversity could be useful. But everyone she'd spoken to so far had made certain to impress upon her the extreme dangers of the Banishers and other threats in the city, and this was how the Consilium chose to behave? These people were supposed allies, were they not?

Her gaze fell on Miach as he tried to remind the room of that very same fact, and she nodded once, subtly. At least someone here had some sense. Which wasn't to say she necessarily disagreed with either position in particular - she saw the benefit of destroying the notes, same as she saw the benefit of studying them. What she found odd was the apparent attitude that one solution or the other was the clear, obvious better of the two. Things were never as black and white as they seemed. The only person here who had what she saw as a truly legitimate beef was July - refusing the input of others in a dangerous situation like this wasn't particularly wise, nor was it was particularly effective way to engender trust among allies.

Still, she had little to add beyond what Miach had said, so she remained quiet, waiting to see how the others might respond.

[Emrys]

As soon as July started Emrys' gaze reflexively turned to Truce. That's why you threw water on the fire instead of fanning it.

"You're incorrect on a number of points July, so let's clarify a few things." Emrys' annoyance was no longer a thing he cared about hiding. Scornful eyes looked down upon the Sentinel from his Councilor's seat, but he was pretty sure July cared about Emrys' bad side about as much as he cared about getting on the Sentinel's. "You've mistaken my attitude towards this situation as flippancy. It isn't. In fact it's called containment, a step in crisis management meant to minimize panic and unrest and move the potentially distressed entity forward towards a more constructive outcome then pointless riots and hysteria."

"Second, I did not investigate an object with ties to the Abyss. On October sixth, less then a week before an official meeting we've always done security reports during, I heard of a series of unusual events in South Sacramento. Upon further investigation myself and Sentinel Striker isolated the disturbance and noted it came from a radio signal. Eventually we found the creatures Anchor at the base of a radio tower as I mentioned earlier and dismantled it. The man who owned the radio tower had built it from scratch, and eventually accidentally caught the attention of this creature. The notebooks aren't Abyssal, they merely record an old man's attempt to decipher an odd signal he had intercepted. Almost all of the relevant information that I gleaned was from Divination, not the notes, which are almost completely mundane barring the bits about high end mathematics which were his attempts to decipher the beast's attempts at communication."

"Lastly, and the Council can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been my understanding from the last three official Concilia that the squads responsible for investigations are given the agency to deal with them as they see fit. Maybe I am wrong, and if that's the case you are free to divulge a more detailed account of your GLO investigation for our consideration July, but realistically it's not practical for the Council to micromanage like that. It's been a clearly defined precedent that the squads have the autonomy to deal with threats as they see fit. The Mysterium objected to my plan, something I've noted and accommodated, but I do believe that unless the Council wants to set a new precedent to micromanage it's constituent's affairs this is a void point."

"I thank the members of the community who voiced their support," The Enchanter's attention lingered a few seconds on Star as he scanned the whole of the assembled mages. "but I do believe the current arrangement with Councilor Flidais on behalf of the Mysterium will resolve the situation to both parties satisfaction. I'm sure the knowledge is wanted for preparation as Miach stated, not the resummoning of the thing."

"As what I do hope to be a closing statement on the matter Heirarch, there is one more point I'd like to bring up after Councilor Avis' Oath before we adjourn."

[Star]

Turn Down For What?

Just because you can? Doesn't mean you should.

Sometimes puzzle pieces fit in unexpected ways. Lust for relevance meeting lust for knowledge, pieces coming together in a tapestry of Hubris.

Time to sit down.

Maybe fasten a seat belt.