Leaden Consultation

[Rhodes]

There is a shake of the head. "The Contracts, as I understand them, are both binding and eternal. Some changeling scholars consider this to be, in part, one of the reasons for the Fae reputation of deceitfulness but complete adherence to absolute rules. The contracts had no end, binding the concepts for all time. The only way I have heard it is possible is for the changeling to sever their connection to the Hedge, not the other way around."

There was a twitch of an eyebrow as the Ogre casually pulled off his own hardened skin. More curious than distasteful. Still, Rhodes made no point to acknowledge it as he replied. "Yes. Some of the Courts have legends of how they formed, some of the first Changelings to break their chains seeking new powers to protect themselves." It seemed an entire left turn, but the Flowering continued in his rumbling voice. "The Leaden Mirror has one such legend of Clay Jenny, a Wizened with flesh as soft and mutable as the element she took from. She sought answers, at any cost and knew she would have to go into the Hedge, closer to the Fae and the very source of her fear than ever. And so she sought out Fear itself. Though terrified, she faced that Fear, and in doing so demonstrated she understood Fear more than anyone else. Fear agreed to walk with her, and she became the first Autumn Queen, imbued with the contracts of knowing, of the Fall.... and of Fear." He took a slow breath. "An allegory for the answer you want. Did she find Fear, or a creature with power over it? Was it in the Hedge or in the Mortal world? We don't know. We have to call studying ourselves Occult, because it isn't provable history or science, magic or myth, but some of all. Oral tradition and personal account relied on to provide facts, which can be true or false. Embellished or insufficiently described. These Ideals could have been anything and the truth was held only by those who were illiterate - or considered writing the truth to be too risky in a world where the written word was rarer than a tale of a Fairie. They could have been here or over their... I suspect the former, because they bring magic into the mortal world. Beyond that.... no-one knows. Lost to history."

The Mantle breezed, gentle but bitterly cold, around the Dread Lord. "I suppose I have, but I can elaborate. I have known none of our kind to be so keen into the sciences that they could answer on molecular biology. Though we can be taken at any age, it is is usually young or teens and this disrupts the learning process. In coming back.... it can be difficult to prioritize the academia some had before. The work needed to analyze our bodies on such an scale requires learning, resources and highly specialized equipment - not to mention an ability to put down strong, long-term roots hardly any of our kind fee comfortable with fully, should we need to flee our captors again." Hell, even he was prepared to escape Sacramento if it was necessary - even if he would beg Sera to come with him. "Even so analyzing ourselves adds data that would definitely be a risk of human exposure. You're more likely to find a medieval barber-surgeon or our anatomical research than a changeling scientist with the skills to see how our DNA has changed. We are fundamentally changed by magic. The changes work in tandem with strengthening the Wyrd - as we become more magical and Fae-like. It isn't science, even though we can study it scientifically. That, at the very least, allows us to start form a position of control over it."

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-01-04 11:37:25	Rhodes rolls 8 to What is Gerrit Looking for? - Wits 3 +Empathy 4 +Spec (Motives) (10 Again)	3, 10, 2, 4, 9, 3, 9, 9, 4	4 successes

Eyes looked towards Gerrit at his question, watching him carefully, and there was a hint of hunger to them, like a predator catching a scent. "Oh yes. I have heard of such a thing. As I said, it not external but internal - a visualisation of the self. A willingness to tap into the magic that makes you a changeling, seize it and shape the physical form in line with what you desire."

[Gerrit]

"Hm." A wet grumble was all that Gerrit had to say about Rhodes' answer about Contracts. So punishment was fair game, but once couldn't lose his ability to use the things he had learned to negotiate. That was.. somewhat comforting.
Then came a history lesson, and while myths and tales about the Courts were being told in probably every Freehold in the world, the Dread Lord was a good storyteller so Gerrit didn't mind listening. "But Fear was something that already existed, right? It's a concept as old as time, one of the most basic emotions. So, are the possibilities finite after all?" He thought for a short moment, then spoke up again. "No, forget that. I think I understand that it's not the point to look for definite answers to those questions. I, uh, think that helps me a great deal though." Did Rhodes think Gerrit was wasting his time? The Onyx couldn't help it, this was his way of tackling problems - looking at them from several angles, gaining enough tools and pieces of information to mull it over on his own and come to conclusions.

Rhodes' Mantle was impressive, even though the cold hardly fazed Gerrit. He briefly thought about how different the Fairest's cold was compared to the Winter Courtiers'. Was it a matter of familiarity, or did Fear play a part in it? He was so busy with that idea that he missed the first few words of the Flowering's explanation - Gerrit caught on quickly, though. And while he might have taken the question too literal and was missing the point a bit, Rhodes provided him a decent answer. "Uhm, that's not- I mean that's certainly an angle worth considering but I was talking about how set in stone this change is." He almost wanted to apologize again, to blame himself for making his question not clear enough but remained silent. Remained mostly unmoving for a while.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-01-04 17:14:54	Gerrit rolls 6 to keep the cards close to his chest (Man 2 + Subter 2 + Mantle 1 +Specialty 1) (10 Again)	5, 5, 10, 1, 7, 4, 5	1 success

Gerrit noticed the Fairest's curious look, his Mantle flaring up meekly against the flurry of Autumn in an attempt to guard the Ogre's emotional state. But while he has made some progress when it came to being less of an open book to others he lacked years and years of experience. Beneath the scientifically motivated questions laid a personal interest after all. A flutter of anxiety, the search for reassurance. Although whether Gerrit feared a particular change or was looking to jump-start one himself wasn't really clear. Maybe he didn't know it himself. "So you would say that it takes a certain willingness to lean into our nature to have a greater influence over it?" That made sense - an unwilling student hardly ever learned effectively. The Stonebones fell silent again in though. He hadn't been here for long and there was already so much to think about.

[Rhodes]

Rhodes nodded. "Just so." He paused, preparing his answer, but then Gerrit seemed uninterested in that line of questioning. Just as well, it would have lead them back in circles.

"Ah," he replied, as the Winter explained a little further. "Well, then we are back to magic. It can be undone, but you must forsake everything about being a changeling. No harvesting, no contracts, no pledges, no dreamwalking. Purge it entirely and it can be changed, but you would never forget what it is like to be one of us. I have never heard of someone changing their initial seeming completely."

Rhodes pieced things together in his mind. Their last discussion in Gerrit's store, on the nature of seemings and whether it changed one's demeanor, and now this. Gerrit was concerned about the violent nature of Ogres. It was likely he was seeking a way to mitigate the change, either by how he could control it or by balancing it out with another seeming. Still, if that was what he wanted, it was no concern of the Autumn King. Not everyone was as lucky as the Fairest in the changes. He nodded. "Not as deeply as, say, myself, but according to the record I have read some development of the connection to the Wyrd is needed in order to influence the self. It is often difficult to control how the original Seeming manifests, but one can certainly develop a new one. Change is a part of Fae nature - as such, you tap into that part of yourself. Hypothetically." Rhodes continues to watch Gerrit, the look in his eyes that same hungry intensity. "Were... someone... to keep a detailed, first-hand account of that change, it would offer new insight into the process, certainly for myself." If only I could find such a person. Dance little ogre. Dance for the King.

[Gerrit]

After another brief period of confusion, Gerrit came to the conclusion that the Dread Lord must have misunderstood him again. Was he answering his questions like that on purpose? Was Gerrit so below Rhodes' intellectual level that he simply couldn't find the words required?
At least the Fairest apparently thought that one could become.. human again? Gerrit's face remained interested and thoughtful, even if he didn't reply or add to that particular topic anymore.

"You have a written record? I suppose it is not possible for me to read it myself?" Possible personal reasons aside, it would be an interesting read indeed.
Gerrit noticed the inflection on Rhodes' words, noticed the creepy enlarged eyes almost studying him. Unfortunately there wasn't enough Autumn in the Ogre to make him consider recording anything he would find. If he even intended to do such things.
Instead Rhodes has just mentioned something that made Gerrit pose another question. "You said that change is a part of Fae nature - but isn't it the changing of Seasons we honor to throw off the True Fae?" He frowned again. It felt like he was missing something, like he lacked the understanding to make sense of all the differing accounts. And the force of old habits made Gerrit apologize before he could stop himself. "Sorry if my questions seem nonsensical. As I've said, I haven't really studied all of this before. It's only hearsay."

[Rhodes]

"Certainly. It's only a few passages from a diary of a changling mentioning seeing another of their Freehold undertake the change, and some questions about it. Nothing so usefully direct, but I see no reason for you not to see it." He rises slowly.

He shrugs. "The best way to hide a tree is in the forest. The best way to hide a person is to shroud oneself with likeness. The True Fae are multifaceted creatures, embodying both change and static. Immortal yet shifting. The Courts are committed to protection, and in honoring the cycle we are granted a measure of protection, as seen by the Huntsman arriving when the circle was broken. I... do not find such things to be trusted to coincidence." He shrugs again at the apology. "We are trying to understand things that are not usually within human understanding, that do not always bow to logic. As you will see from this book, sometimes Hearsay is all we have. Occultism is finding things that back the hearsay - accounts that match, corroborating one another only by the descriptions they provide. Study is only a part - one of great patience and persistance can learn just as much, without an academic background. Come."

Rhodes heads out of the room and up the staircase, turning right into an old bedroom. Touching the door frame of the closet it opens to the tunnel towards the Autumn Hollow.

He heads into the Archive and returns quickly with half of a book, dry now but the signs of damp clear on the cover. The back cover and many pages are missing, more signs of damp and water damage clear on the back pages as he flicks through the remaining ones. "Here it is. Found in the remenant of an old Hollow in Downtown. I was very lucky.... ah. Here we are." He passes the book to the Ogre. "According to the Diary of this 'Sally', one of the other Freeholders underwent the changes we described."

The diary is written in the simple first-person, telling of how 'Drew' described she had to make her Wyrd connection stronger before developing a second Kith. It was, the diary reports, particularly painful but came with the benefits of the new Kith.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit rose with the Fairest, intently listening to what he had to say. The logic was sound - but did it mean that growing more attuned to the Wyrd would follow the same principles and therefore make the Lost harder to find? Or did the Wyrd draw the Gentry to those who grew so much alike to them? And yet the most important truth of them all was what Rhodes added: those things don't follow logic. "I've heard of the Huntsman. Didn't some members of our Freehold try to spread a story of him to weaken him?" Which, in its essence lead them back to hearsay.. and the power therein. "So if we do have an influence on how stories and 'hearsay' resonate in reality, doesn't that mean that we could spread theories as truth so long until they become the truth?" It couldn't be that simple, right?
Gerrit's Mantle acted up on the thought of becoming invisible to the Fae by following a persistently told story, contrasts momentarily sharpening around the Ogre.

He followed Rhodes as far as the Dread Lord would allow it. There was a barely visible look of excitement carved into the beaten flesh of the Stonebones. "That's fascinating - have you been looking for it or was this a chance find? And, uh, do you think I could borrow it to read more on that topic?"

[Rhodes]

Eyes narrow thoughtfully for a moment. "I recall an idea of such being proposed. I did not think it possible to sculpt the story of one of the Gentry so easily in so short a time as to be useful." The Dread Lord frowns. "I think it is possible, but these things take a long time. Years or decades. If enough people have a common belief, either it may well be based on truth - as with other types of supernatural creatures - or the belief may shape the reality, which is specifically something that could happen to the Fae as they are creatures of belief, dream and imagination."

"The door to the Hollow was a chance find - once inside, it was overgrown and largely reclaimed by the Hedge. But it had clearly been a personal Hollow of someone, though no name I recognize." He frowns. "I have had some issues with people not returning things when borrowed. There really isn't much more about Kith development than that entry for the day - it's a diary, not a reference book."

[Gerrit]

Of course Rhodes was probably right, but either Gerrit was being naive or the Dread Lord wasn't considering all the options. "But that could mean that we could try and make a change in the long run, right? If we collectively decided to believe something and spread that belief to other Freeholds.. even if it took years, wouldn't that be something worth doing? It could be a small thing that could give us an edge one day?" Of course he wasn't asking Rhodes to start a cultural revolution with Gerrit.. but that train of thought posed the question whether the Lost weren't ultimately out for themselves only, incapable of attempting a change that didn't only benefit them personally.
Frankly, he almost started to relate to that thought lately.

Was the Flowering aware of how unsettling his frown looked with those big eyes? Gerrit clenched his jaw slightly, using the pinches of pain in his muscles to keep his gaze at Rhodes. "That's understandable and unfortunate." He broke eye contact to read over the passage again, just in case he had missed anything, then handed the book back. "Thank you anyway for showing me. I don't know if Autumn is as generous in sharing their knowledge as Sacramento's Ashen Court is." But giving Fairests a compliment was a good idea wherever you were.

[Rhodes]

The Autumn King nodded slowly. "Certainly, it would be possible - I merely considered the time it would take to make a change to the Huntsman to take far longer than the timescale the threat represented. Should people try to change the nature of one or all of the Gentry, it would take decades but I am not opposed to those that would seek to do so."

"Yes." He took the book back. "My apologies. But all are free to contact us to peruse." Rhodes turned, placing the book back upon a shelf. "I have found that they are not. I spent some time as the sole member of Autumn in the city. In that time, doing anything required me to work with other courts and it became the only way for us to move forwards. We could be hugely secretive, but that would be more a hindrance to ourselves. We have knowledge valuable to others that they might not be able to find or know with the small size of their local Courts. It is both practical and beneficial." He shrugged a little. "It is another thing that makes Sacramento so unique."

[Gerrit]

Another nod at Rhodes answer. So given enough time and diligence bigger changes technically were possible. Gerrit's mind was almost buzzing with everything they've talked about, the implications and follow-up thoughts. At the back of his head the throbbing pulls of a headache began to announce themselves. "I see. Then I guess we can hope that our efforts regarding the Huntsman have not been in vain." Seeing no trace of It for almost a year was a good sign, but that naive kind of thinking was what got you taken back in a hurry.
"Do you think we should arrange a repetition of this, uh, viral performance? To prevent it from being forgotten?" As far as he could remember, Autumn hadn't really been involved in the whole matter - but giving Rhodes the idea could lead to him telling Seraphina, probably while raking in the laurels for the plan. Since Gerrit didn't care for the credit, it seemed like a good way of getting it out there.

"It truly is." Were they lucky to have Courts that worked so well together? From what he had heard and seen, yes. "And even though I don't have a particular title I'm sure that the Winter Court is happy to work with you and your Court. Thank you for sharing with me today." He wasn't sure if he could take in much more. Heck, he wasn't even sure if he had used his time smartly - did he really learn anything worthwhile and impactful? He thought so, yes. But was this really something he could fall back on if needed? The Ogre stopped pondering and met Rhodes big eyes. "I would like to take your offer and.. peruse some day, if that it okay with you." Couldn't hurt to ask.

I think I'm fine with closing this soon - thank you this has been very insightful IC and OOC!