(2404) Consilium

[Corn]

"Hello, Winter . Nice to meet you, to everyone." Corn shakes Phillip's hand but tells him "Don't expect a lot of handshakes, Philip. People are careful." He sips Aurora 's brew. "Ah, very nice Aurora."

[Philip Crosen]

Winter got a nod and and a smile.
"Oh, hi. Nice to see you, Winter."
Out of respect if anything else, offering him his hand to shake like he did the others. After respectfully waiting for if Winter would accept his handshake, he explained and highlighting everyone`s contributions to Winter whenever the respective contributors didn`t feel the need to mention their respective contributions again, expounding on what Chambers said on the matter. Winter`s contribution had been highly unexpected, after all.
But on a different topic, it seemed Philip did in fact get snubbed by several mages on the handshake, to his chagrin. Though he didn`t let it bother him outwardly. He wasn`t pleased at the snubs, but remained civil. And besides, he`d pretty much figured out the reason anyway without Corn stating the obvious, after being the only one to accept his handshake so far. That did earn him some plus points and a more appreciative smile from the Acanthus, though.
"Yeah, it`s fine. I`ve been great. Got a break from work and I came here to unwind just as much as to talk shop. I was just trying to be polite in honor of this occasion, so it`s fine. But was I not supposed to do that?"
he asked Aurora about his handshake, before continuing.
"Anyway, what matters is we`re here. Cookies, drinks, food and all."
he said, unveiling the chocolate chip cookies Aurora seemed to be very interested in when they spoke in the Circle, judging from her reactions last month at least. Before grabbing a slice of Chambers` excellent lasagne and downing it with some of Aurora`s brew.
"Now this is awesome, thanks guys. I said it before and I`ll say it again!"
Nodding crisply in appreciation to Aurora and Chambers in turn as he tried their contributions, but honoring and thanking everyone else present with his words. Chambers then gets a full-blown smirk at his comment. The moros had grown on him after all and they had gone through quite a few things already in the past months, seemed as good a place as any to mention it.
"How have I been doing? Getting philosophical on me, Chambers, eh? Anyway I`ve been chilling. As I said, work`s really eased off last week. So, can`t complain. Yourself?" After a longer beat, he asked:
"Anyway we should all know today`s itinerary, so shall we make a start?"
Beckoning Chambers, or Winter or any mage that wanted, to open the discussion about the first point of discussion at this Consilium. Philip`s bad experiences with his own drawing out of the discussion about the new but soon-to-be-revised-again acknowledgement procedures during the last Consilium conference was still fresh on his mind. They had a lot of major topics to cover. And besides, with Winter`s arrival they were quorum now as he saw it, with Witch likely (but not certainly) remaining absent during this meeting. So he figured they might as well make a start, in between bites of food. But he made sure to formulate it as a question. He wanted to guide everyone to start, although he knew full well the company he was sorrounded by.

[Winter]

"So, I assume there's a lot to discuss and not just our little barbecue", he says as a matter of fact, "I was under the impression we wanted to define the Hallow situation within the city"

[Aurora]

“Glad to hear Chambers.” Always good when others were well. It usually meant things were going well and there wasn’t drama. But that could change as the day was still young. “I will, it all looks amazing!” better than what she usually survived off…takeout.

Pouring herself a cup of the beer, she raises it to Corn, “Thank you! New recipe I came across online and had to try it out.” And if it turned out good, even better.

A confused look to Philip as he seems to call her decision to not shake hands out. “You’re welcome to do whatever you like, just as I’m welcome to not be a touchy-feely person who likes touching other people, especially other Awakened.” It wasn’t said with malice, but as someone who wasn’t about to have her preferences questioned. “But I’m glad you’ve been well.” Like who calls someone out for not wanting to be touched or shake hands?

From her seat, she looks to Winter, “Is there a Hallow situation?”

[Chambers]

Corn seemed to have gone almost as stoic as winter suddenly and he gives his path mate a gentle concerned look. ''You sure your okay Corn?'' Not that I know him particularly well yet, so it might not be so out of character, just a notable difference to last month.

He nods to Philip. ''Good to hear, time to recharge is important to take when we can.'' Regarding the handshake though. ''A lot of mages tend to keep to themselves. The sympathy and all.'' An Enchanter no doubt knows all about that, and the dangers it presents. ''A hand shake is a real sign of trust among mages.'' So much more then a casual greeting, you literally put your life in their hands.

Now with his own portion of food and punch sorted he looks at the time. ''Well its still a little before the official start time, but everyone is here.'' And we do have five items to get through. ''So yes lets get going, I'll take a moment to close the doors when the time comes.'' Setting his stuff on the table he looks over the agenda, as if he had not memorised it by rote. ''The ley line and Hallow dissuasion is point five.'' You had last month to object to the order of things. ''First matter of business is refining the acknowledgment process.'' He sits.

''Now each other us has been through acknowledgement at different time.'' He nods to Corn and Aurora. ''The two of you have rather been the Guinea pigs for the new method.'' And can compare it to whatever was in place before. ''Personally I like it but think we need to have a firmer understanding of what to do when a new arrival refuses to abide it.'' I know what I would do, but lets here what the others think first. Waiting to hear the thoughts of the gathered awakened.

The rules for Consilium state that official business does not start until the doors close to new arrivals after seven days. But with all acknowledged mages present, or in the case of witch known to be absent, and no new mages awaiting approval. We can start.

[Corn]

Aurora gets a nod with a smile. "Keep in mind, that what you do, not everyone can. Or at least not everyone takes the time to learn to do. There is talent there, Aurora and there's accumulated knowledge that you filter through the internet and present us the results. And it is a good way to build goodwill. "
Chambers gets a slightly puzzled look. "Yeah, I am fine, why?"
When Chambers explains to Philip why so many mages are against handshakes, Corn takes it upon himself to mention superstitions about shaking hands with sorcerers, paranormals and witch doctors from all ages - some which support handshakes and some that don't. It is not too long but it has three or four examples from various eras and places and a short 'critical review' from Corn himself.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-05 12:24:01	Corn rolls 7 to Superstitions: int + occ +1 (Spec) -1 (narrow subject) (10 Again)	3, 5, 9, 1, 8, 1, 7	2 successes

Winter and Aurora mention the hallows and leylines and Corn checks the board. "I think these are quite down the list... acknowledgement was first." he says, not sure how this thing works.

Chambers starts the official discussion and Corn gives his opinion:
"I think we need to make the questionaire a bit more 'official' and 'formal' with questions written somewhere. At the time, I know what I am supposed to ask a Moros if I am called to acknowledge one. I can't say that I will remember the wording and intention in six months.
As to what to do when someone refuses to abide or refuses to answer ... I say it depends on the situation. And I think the decision should not just lie with the person doing the acknowledgement. The rest of us present should be able to offer our input on whether a person should be acknowledged. I would also mention that in the past, acknowledgements were not always fast; Eulogy, Crystal and Myself had to wait for several months to be acknowledged. So, if a person refuses to answer I think we can withhold acknowledgement for some time, till we know better whether we can trust that person or not. Acknowledgement was not always a fast procedure."

[Philip Crosen]

Philip knew about the sympathy, and Chambers saying it out loud made things more awkward for him. Just seems there`s no trust. Makes sense after last month. I`ll have to earn her trust. He`d inadvertently tried to guilt-trip Aurora, Chambers and Winter to accepting his hand. After all, there was no harm in trying to improve relations, and sympathetic connections only reinforce them. Except if I get turned into a fish. he thought, cringing inside, fear twisting his stomach as Aurora and Chambers said their pieces on the matter, even without malice.
"Of course. And thanks."
he told Aurora, nodding crisply and understandingly, smiling to her as he did so, while acknowledging her comment and decision. He just wanted that awkward moment he`d helped to create with his thoughtless comment to be over as quickly as possible and for it to be dropped, lest he be buried alive or turned into a fish alive. Turning around, he nodded in agreement with Corn about Aurora´s recipe. It did seem fit well to the lasagne after all, and this seemed to ease the building tensions.
Winter caused him to briefly pause, giving him a questioning look. His brief but with his by now trademark powerful reference to the hallow and ley lines project was surprising because it seemed he really wanted to up the priority of it. Everyone had agreed on the itinerary last month after all, and it was not on the top of the list. And it was doubtful the cook-out would even come up at all with the subjects they had. So he was surprised Winter would state something so obvious, even as an example of unimportance.

Chambers gets an appreciative nod when he also agreed to get down to business faster than originally planned. Granted Philip`s suggestion to start had come very early, but no one had raised an objection so far, and, judging from Winter`s eagerness on top of everything, they had a lot to discuss.
Corn`s question to Chambers gets Corn a puzzled look that shifts between him and Chambers several times. He didn`t get what the deal with Corn and Chambers was, but he was curious to find out. Corn`s idea to write down the acknowledgement questions on the other hand was interesting. However, to Philip this was merely a more specific case of the more general idea he and Chambers had suggested towards the end of last time to write down everything. This was not what he though about when he thought about the topic of `re-evaluating the acknowledgement process`. So, like Winter, it seemed to Philip that Corn also wanted to advance his own agenda first, and also not stick to the itinerary.
"Formalizing the questions? I`d say this ties into the point about writing down Consilium agenda in general, like we talked started talking about at the end of last time?"
he asked, his gaze now darting questioningly between Chambers and Winter for confirmation.
"I second withholding acknowledgement, though. It`s like what I did with Puck. If someone refuses to answer our questions, answers evasively, or reneges on the promises, I say let them earn our trust first."
he said, agreeing with Corn in part before looking to the others questioningly again. This time all of them. Corn`s response about longer acknowledgement times in the past gets a relieved and surprised look.
"My acknowledgement also wasn`t over in the first month. I thought longer was the norm when I came, before others told me it should be faster."
he said, looking to Chambers. It was after all Chambers and October that suggested the acknowledgement speed be increased.
"Fast acknowledgement is not always the answer, though, like we recently saw with Puck. We really need to be clear on what we want from someone going forward."

[Winter]

They were discussing a level of procedural doom that would have made a Ladder blush. "If someone doesn't accept the rules or doesn't want to gain acknowledgment then he won't be part of the Consilium, in good or bad. I think we can all agree on that. I don't see however the need to formalize the process so much, there are mages in the city that never bothered with formal verification, but aren't considered enemies either . Besides, I wouldn't expect an ill-intentioned mage to spell out his nefarious plan in a multiple choice test because "

[Aurora]

As Chambers begins to address official business, Aurora takes a drink from her beer, mentally preparing for what she expects to be a shit show. After all, that’s how it had been historically for her, people yelling and even some name calling. It was just not pleasant.

She offers a shrug to Chambers, “If that ends up being the method everyone decides is best,” because it could change, “then if someone refuses to abide by it, they can leave. When one comes to a new city, they are at the mercy of the laws and customs of that Consilium. If they don’t like them, or don’t want to follow them, they are welcome to leave.” Seemed pretty straight forward to her.

Looking to Corn, “A questionnaire?” seriously? “I don’t think it needs to that fancy, there are generally a handful of questions that are important. But to have them written down somewhere? Seems a bit much.” Ok a lot much. “Why does it have to be some huge, drawn-out thing? They’re general questions.” Like, come on guys. If you cannot remember two or three questions after six months, might want think about using some Mind magic there.

“If you are wanting to do it the way ours was done, since that was the example used, then you’re adding another layer to it. It had rested with the first to come across the new face, now you want to throw in other opinions. So is it the first who meets the new face, or everyone? In the past, it was handled by the persons Path, I cannot say why yours took longer. And Acknowledgement, in the past, was always a fast procedure. But times change. A refusal is answered with asking them to leave. Sure, we are all welcomed to our own secrets, but if someone cannot or will not answer basic questions, then why waste or time?” were people getting soft?

The smile was returned to Philip, “It’s nothing personal.” And she meant that, she had no reason to have an issue with him.

“Every city I’ve been in, when I’ve chosen to be part of the community, it was always a meeting with my Path Councilor. They vetted me, asked me questions and then either welcomed me, or didn’t. It was never drawn out over months. I’d rather find another place to call home at that point, most of us are looking for a stable place to stay, to set down roots and make trusted friends. And I’m not one about to let a simple acknowledgment drag on for months, it’s inefficient and quite frankly, an insult.” But that was her opinion.

Nodding to Winter, who seemed to get it. Not that she expected less from him. “If someone wants to come in and cause harm, the best way is to gain trust and burn shit from the inside out.” Like, come on.

[Chambers]

With Corn finding his footing and giving Philip a solid accounting that Chambers is almost entirely sure is purely for the purpose of building up Guanxi, his own concerns abate. ''It's nothing, you just seemed quiet was all.'' A reassuring smile is offered.

He does however find himself calmly mirroring Witch's sentiments from the last meeting. ''Corn we collectively are not a free council assembly. Not everyone will get a say in everything. If acknowledgement is left to path, refusal should likewise be left to path.'' That just seems logical. ''I find myself in agreement with Winter and Aurora. Getting acknowledged is the first interaction most of us will have with a mage. If they are not willing to meet the same standards as us then it becomes impossible to trust them.'' He pauses. ''That does not make them an enemy, that does not preclude them from living in the city provide they adhere to the Lex. It does however exclude them from the resources and protections.'' Few of those as we have. ''That the Consilium offers.''

He nods first to Aurora then to Corn. This is a minor issue quickly resolved. ''While the questions are not anything unexpected. It is no bother for me to write them up and stick them on the board for reference. No harm in all singing from the same hymn sheet.'' That should solve that.

For the who. He sits back not wanting to be drawn into this to much just yet. ''Until we decide on how we will progress in terms of leadership. By path or first to encounter if a path member is not present works well I think. The questions are the same regardless and it covers us for any paths not represented.'' That part we might need to keep if we do move to councillors, but that's item three.

That however transitions fairly nicely. ''When it comes to those who might infiltrate us with ill intent. Short of a binding oaths or a full examination of the subconscious mind. There is little we can do and I would rather avoid such authoritarian measures.'' To much like a dictatorship then. He speaks to the gathered whole, no one in particular. ''Which is why I like the questions. They might not be binding but the Iron laws do require us to hold to our promises and awakened word tends to have more weight to them.'' Not much else we can do its already warded up tight. ''Each of must remain vigilant of course and there are other ways we can improve circle security. I for one plan to invest some time and effort into doing so.'' Make the space more secure and more usable. There was a reason I put items one and two after each other.