Barok van Zieks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winebar) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crescentview2022-12-06 11:48 am
winebar) wrote in crescentview2022-12-06 11:48 am
Some Sort of Town Hall Meeting
WHO: van Zieks and anyone who chooses to show up.
WHAT: van Zieks tries to catherd and hold a team meeting. Surely nothing will go wrong.
WHEN: About a week after arrival
WHERE: Outskirts of the Beach Area
WARNINGS: Hopefully none but let me know if any need to be added
[One afternoon, a few days after their arrival, a face that may or may not be familiar treks to every farm on the island to deliver what could perhaps best be described as a summons. Even if you happen to be home for it to be hand-delivered rather than placed on the door, van Zieks will not answer any questions about it, dismissing it to all be discussed "at the meeting." His summons reads as thus in very proper and fancy handwriting;]
To All Parties Brought to this Island by the party referring to herself as the "Harvest Goddess" (Henceforth referred to as such for the sake of convenience and not as confirmation of her claims),
Tomorrow at 11AM sharp, please arrive at the location indicated on the map shown of the reverse of this document. Without any legal structure in place, I can certainly not enforce attendance, however I would hope everyone see it in their best interests to collaborate with the others who are in their same situation.
If you are willing, it would expedite things for this meeting and potential future ones to write your personal answers and bring that record to the meeting;
1. Your name, your country of origin, and the year you most recently recall it being.
2. Your profession and any relevant skills to our current situation
3. Your opinion on the existence of god(s) and/or magic/the otherwise paranormal
4. Your opinion of the Harvest Goddess, her claims of divinity, and her promised agreement for returning us to our homes.
Sincerely,
Lord Barok van Zieks, Esquire
(On the other side of the paper, a hand-drawn and rough if not precisely made map indicates a spot on the beaches to the East.)
[Should one decide to answer this meeting summons, they will find van Zieks at the location as early as 10:30AM, but as stated he does not begin formal proceedings until 11. He is dressed only slightly less primly than he was upon their arrival, having foregone his dark outer jacket and gloves, but retains his waistcoat and cravat, along with his fancy boots that are now a tiny bit scuffed. Imagine this outfit with his prosecutor's badge now pinned to it instead of his jacket. He has, somehow, brought a table to the beach, relatively flimsy so it is. If anyone brings him the information he requested he's gathering those on said table.
At 11, he stands behind the table when he addresses the group, commanding attention with a brusque slammed fist onto his makeshift Prosecutor's Bench;]
I thank you all for coming. I think my request in the summons should have made the topics I wish to discuss clear, but in short, I wish to get a broader sense of the scope of some discrepancies I have noticed in our understanding of reality, and following that, an idea of how we stand individually and as a group in regards to our current situation.
Firstly, though, I would like to make clear my personal intentions and credentials, both to demonstrate my intent and as a show of good faith, disclosure, and good standing in which I may claim to have the authority to conduct this meeting. As I said in my letter, my name is Barok van Zieks. I hail from London, England, where, as of the current year of 1899, I serve as a prosecutor in Her Majesty Queen Victoria's courts and have done so for the past ten years.
In my personal experience, the existence of God is widely believed but technically unproven, and the supranormal all inclusive are merely works of fiction and artifice. As far as our host is concerned, in speaking with her I found her unwilling to negotiate, explain herself, or provide proof of her claims. It is for these reasons that I find the Harvest Goddess difficult to take at face value and the prospect of blindly following her orders non-ideal at this time.
I will also remind you all that regardless of your personal sentiments toward our current situation, what she has done constitutes mass kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. There is, of course, currently no means to pursue this in a legal sense; however, I would move that we should strongly consider attempting to learn all we can about this situation before simply conceding to her terms.
[He takes a dramatic bow and steps back from his "desk";]
I have said my piece, and I open the floor to discussion.
WHAT: van Zieks tries to catherd and hold a team meeting. Surely nothing will go wrong.
WHEN: About a week after arrival
WHERE: Outskirts of the Beach Area
WARNINGS: Hopefully none but let me know if any need to be added
[One afternoon, a few days after their arrival, a face that may or may not be familiar treks to every farm on the island to deliver what could perhaps best be described as a summons. Even if you happen to be home for it to be hand-delivered rather than placed on the door, van Zieks will not answer any questions about it, dismissing it to all be discussed "at the meeting." His summons reads as thus in very proper and fancy handwriting;]
To All Parties Brought to this Island by the party referring to herself as the "Harvest Goddess" (Henceforth referred to as such for the sake of convenience and not as confirmation of her claims),
Tomorrow at 11AM sharp, please arrive at the location indicated on the map shown of the reverse of this document. Without any legal structure in place, I can certainly not enforce attendance, however I would hope everyone see it in their best interests to collaborate with the others who are in their same situation.
If you are willing, it would expedite things for this meeting and potential future ones to write your personal answers and bring that record to the meeting;
1. Your name, your country of origin, and the year you most recently recall it being.
2. Your profession and any relevant skills to our current situation
3. Your opinion on the existence of god(s) and/or magic/the otherwise paranormal
4. Your opinion of the Harvest Goddess, her claims of divinity, and her promised agreement for returning us to our homes.
Sincerely,
Lord Barok van Zieks, Esquire
(On the other side of the paper, a hand-drawn and rough if not precisely made map indicates a spot on the beaches to the East.)
[Should one decide to answer this meeting summons, they will find van Zieks at the location as early as 10:30AM, but as stated he does not begin formal proceedings until 11. He is dressed only slightly less primly than he was upon their arrival, having foregone his dark outer jacket and gloves, but retains his waistcoat and cravat, along with his fancy boots that are now a tiny bit scuffed. Imagine this outfit with his prosecutor's badge now pinned to it instead of his jacket. He has, somehow, brought a table to the beach, relatively flimsy so it is. If anyone brings him the information he requested he's gathering those on said table.
At 11, he stands behind the table when he addresses the group, commanding attention with a brusque slammed fist onto his makeshift Prosecutor's Bench;]
I thank you all for coming. I think my request in the summons should have made the topics I wish to discuss clear, but in short, I wish to get a broader sense of the scope of some discrepancies I have noticed in our understanding of reality, and following that, an idea of how we stand individually and as a group in regards to our current situation.
Firstly, though, I would like to make clear my personal intentions and credentials, both to demonstrate my intent and as a show of good faith, disclosure, and good standing in which I may claim to have the authority to conduct this meeting. As I said in my letter, my name is Barok van Zieks. I hail from London, England, where, as of the current year of 1899, I serve as a prosecutor in Her Majesty Queen Victoria's courts and have done so for the past ten years.
In my personal experience, the existence of God is widely believed but technically unproven, and the supranormal all inclusive are merely works of fiction and artifice. As far as our host is concerned, in speaking with her I found her unwilling to negotiate, explain herself, or provide proof of her claims. It is for these reasons that I find the Harvest Goddess difficult to take at face value and the prospect of blindly following her orders non-ideal at this time.
I will also remind you all that regardless of your personal sentiments toward our current situation, what she has done constitutes mass kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. There is, of course, currently no means to pursue this in a legal sense; however, I would move that we should strongly consider attempting to learn all we can about this situation before simply conceding to her terms.
[He takes a dramatic bow and steps back from his "desk";]
I have said my piece, and I open the floor to discussion.
no subject
no subject
A reasonable question. I believe it's safe to say that to pull across time and space at once to bring us all here would make her more powerful than all the human gods combined. [ A frown. ] It's best we play it safe with her.
[ who knows, maybe they are just special sylvari. ]
no subject
I agree, especially when we do not seem to be at our full strength.
no subject
No. But whether that's deliberate on the goddess's part, or a side effect of being transported here--it's hard to tell.
[ He brings his eyes up, a defiant look on his face. ]
But our teamwork is unparalleled. She can't take that away from us.
no subject
It was put teamwork that even put ending the dragon cycle in motion. [He reaches to pat the front of Trahearne's shoulder, letting his hand linger.] Whatever we need to get through, we can do it together.
no subject
Regardless, he grits through the sudden shock of pain and forces a smile. ]
We can do it together. I have full faith in us.
[ He sounds like they're about to launch the offensive on Kralkatorrik, but it is just farming. ]
no subject
The flinch, however, catches Syrlya offguard. He pauses, bewildered.] Are you all right?
no subject
...It's still healing.
[ If there's one testament to the fact that he's alive and not simply in a dream-like state, it's the pain of the wound that killed him as it heals. Heals.
With a wince, he peels a leaf from his shirt to show just a part of Caladbolg's path, the one that should have destroyed him. It is large, deep--it will be a few weeks yet before Syrlya can put his hand in the area without it hurting. ]
no subject
Syrlya's hand jerks back the moment Trahearne says that, fingers curling on themselves as he stares. He doesn't actually need the confirmation--he believes Trahearne at his word. But once the leaf is pulled back he can't tear his gaze away as his eyes widen in horror. There hadn't... been a body left, after he struck. He had once ached to have something to bury, but seeing the mark he made seared into Trahearne's flesh--maybe that was really just trading one hurt for another.]
... I--
no subject
[ It's been seven years for Syrlya? He would have thought that the disaster that was the Mordremoth campaign and all the pain that came with it would have dulled after all this time, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
The least he can do is reassure him. It was a necessary measure. And now that he's here, it heals like any other wound. Trahearne places a hand over the spot, hopefully pulling Syrlya out of his daze, and so that he can grow that leaf back.
With his other hand, he reaches to grip his arm and squeezes in a comforting manner. ]
It is still fresh, but it will be better sooner than we realise. I promise.
no subject
He sucks in a sharp breath and holds it, even as Trahearne grips his arm and offers him a reassuring smile. Covering the wound does at least draw his attention away from it, and he looks into Trahearne's eyes for a second before he averts his gaze down.]
No, I--[He purses his lips.] I just had not realized it was... I'm sorry.
no subject
[ His expression drops as he observes Syrlya. Their eyes met, but it's over too quickly.
He doesn't notice how his fingers dig into the fabric of his robes. ]
Perhaps I should have told you sooner.
no subject
no subject
[ The smile comes back to him. He likes to think they are close enough that he can be honest with Syrlya. ]
I'm just happy to be alive, and that you're here with me.
no subject
no subject
I will let you know right away.
[ And for good measure, he squeezes Syrlya's arm again. It is okay. ]