(2306) Sanctuary

[Philip Crosen]

Taking the shaken head and careful responses as a "no" ,referring to the last question he asked, he responded:"Well I`m glad, I was afraid I was too forward before. I am curious though as to what happened with the other Free Council mages. Do you know what happened to them? And as far as baggage is concerned, I don`t know what type of baggage you`re talking about. If it`s problems, then, no, I don`t have any as far as I know. Although there could be some I don`t know about. I dunno...? Expect the unexpected, I guess."

[Winter]

"Just the usual", a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "being too lax with the veil and whatnot. Nothing that couldn't be addressed tho", he shrugs. "They come, they leave. Whatever happens, happens"

[Witch]

Witch gave a small shrug, "They had a variety of reasons. Winter pretty much summed it up as a fluxuation. Not just Free Council either, Arrows, Silver Ladder ..." Yes, the majority had been Free Council. But that was because the majority was Free Council. Nothing to read into the lack of them, same as nothing to read into the lack of any other order save the Guardians.

Witch's eyebrows drew together slightly, and she opened her mouth as though to say something but instead of words, she just exhaled and shook her head slightly.

"With the Concilium being as small as it is, for issues that do pop up- we will likely be all hands-on deck. Would you like to share any of your masteries?"

Philip Crosen of the Free Council. Long time resident of Sacramento, new to the Concilium. Likely not bringing shit in for others to clean up. But that was it. And while she understood not wanting to be a flashing billboard of path, order, skills, etc. ... she would like to know a little bit.

She had been branching out lately in her own skills to cover recently developed holes and if there was at least one area she didn't have to cover it would be nice to know.

[Philip Crosen]

He shrugged."I suppose I can share some. Perhaps you guys can also tell me something about yourselves as well. I know fate and time magic as could be expected of an Acanthus I suppose, and as you already know, I`m a member of the Free Council. On the non-supernatural side I guess I could also add I`m passionate about my rifle and I frequent the gun club occasionally. Barring that, I usually stay at my tiny place slaving away at my job all day, trying to get a promotion. As we all do, I suppose. There`s never enough money to go around, is there? I needed a break from that, as I said, so I came here to try to make some contacts in the local Consilium, which is why I`m here. There`s not very much to be said about me, so I don`t know what else to say. I suppose I could talk about how I awakened, but I think that`s a story for another time."

[Winter]

He nods, reluctant to share personal and delicate details with someone he just met, he does however relate with the sentiment. "We live double lives and it's hard to balance both aspects, though one shouldn't get to the point of being swallowed whole by the Lie. Routine, 9 to 5. It's a prison, not just a metaphor but a real one. AT the end money is... trivial? Just another shackle. Anyway, I'm personally a jack of all trades..."

[Witch]

Acanthus. And maybe a long-term resident of Sacramento but not necessarily a long-term awakened resident of Sacramento? Or a very focused one to specialize solely in the two arcana. Given the sum of the rest of his conversation, she was going to lean into the first option.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Witch's lips. A jack of all trade. And she thought she was hesitant to share.

Her smile still in place she turned back to Philip Crosen . "Moros here. But like Winter, I've branched out a bit lately."

"Is there anything you would like to know in turn from us about the Concilium?"

[Philip Crosen]

He shrugged, slightly annoyed. It seems getting anything out of them was like pulling teeth, but then again, he hadn`t exactly been that forthcoming either, he reasoned. "I guess I have to be the one to share first, fair enough since I am new, but still. I guess it is what it is, and it seems like you guys really are just as reluctant as I am."

He then became hesitant regarding questions about the Concilium, though. "As far as questions about the Concilium are concerned, I guess I`d like to know more about the Free Council section, but I think I will see that for myself too. Other than that, I guess I would just like to know anything about the concilium you guys are ready to share, share being the operative word, since I don`t know enough to even be able to tell you what I would like to know myself yet. Then again, I was a bit surprised that there is only two active members here right now... ohwell. And as far as money is concerned, I guess I just like to have it. Call it a fetish if you like. I think it`s better to exploit the prison than break out of it, if that makes any sense. But I guess that`s why I`m here too, to do something about the prison of the Lie, in a group. If you guys are interested, that is."

[Winter]

I think it`s better to exploit the prison than break out of it

The words rung in his ears like an alarm, setting off a series of instinctive reactions well-ingrained in every Guardian.
To prefer the convenience of the (not so) golden cage, to the struggle of finding the Truth.
He looks at Witch, before processing what the guy has just said.

"I think what you just said may be misinterpreted. Be careful of the spoken word, it leaves an impression even more lasting than a book"

[Witch]

Witch spread her hands, a slightly apologetic smile on her face, "It's the nature of our kind."

Taking a breath, presumably to address some of his comments, she froze and stared at him. It was Winter's words that had her blinking and coming back from wherever he had sent her.

All thrones are false; all souls are flawed.

There is a secret hierarchy of souls.

Releasing the breath she had been holding, she closed her eyes, inhaled and opened them again to look at Philip.

"I think that maybe we should all take a step back, think on what Winter said. Let's reconvene in a couple days? Discuss further your request to become an acknowledged member of our Concilium."

It was a question. But also, a statement.

The statement: Philip would not be receiving her approval on acknowledgment today.
The question: Would he learn from this; would he heed what she and Winter had said? Would he come back?

[Philip Crosen]

He immediately sensed the hesitation of Winter and Witch and the palpable tension in the air that was hanging after his last comments. He also noticed the discussion was coming to a close, so he added:"Forgive my bluntness, but it seemed you were testingme based on my responses. So I decided to test you too. I`m open to new ideas, which is why I`m here amongst other things: to learn new ideas and approaches from you guys. I`m part of the T.E.L.M. Trust, and we use the tools of the Seers, aka money and political power, against them by siphoning it away from them. That is what I meant by `exploiting the prison`.
He then shrugged disappointedly about the consequences of Witch`s comment about reconvening and stated directly: "I`ve no objection to reconvening here in a few days, although I understand most of what has been said and what hasn`t, has become clear."