He made no attempt to interrupt, giving Maea the time and patience to state her reasons all at once. His gaze remained steady and his hands still, though there was a sharpness to his gaze that revealed how intently he focused on every word. Barely had she finished before Sunjata chimed in again, and only then did Jigano notice the fresh scar on the Flood's cheek. Finally his neutral expression cracked; a brow rose slightly and he tilted his head as the Attuned bond filled with explanations.
She will care, he thought back to the bartender on the question of 'no one caring if she hurt someone,' mental voice soft with worry for the pale girl who had only ever wanted to know.
He still didn't respond aloud right away, letting silence fill the hall as he considered the points that had been raised. Considered, too, the consequences of his decisions. How many people had he driven away with his stiff-backed self-righteousness? Too many by far... and today might add another name - or two - to that list. It twisted in his heart, deep and painful enough to give him pause and make him reconsider his words two and three times before he finally began to speak, attention returning wholly to Maea for the moment.
"It may be paranoid, but I've been assuming her intention is to create a personal army of loyal followers since she started coercing more people into joining her little cult-family, even before she disappeared into that portal," he said slowly. "What she did to Rex and Peter... she was trying to set up a breeding program for mages, with herself controlling the lines - and, one assumes, the loyalties of the children." He paused, frowning as he thought back to Edrei's words that long-ago day in this same Hall. "On their world they had a way of controlling mages. A geas-spell of some kind, ensuring their loyalty - or their death, if they betrayed their master. I wouldn't be surprised if Zariah was researching a way to recreate that here. I also am not entirely sure how to counter such a thing," he added with a faint grimace. "Not until I could see it in action and study its effects."
Now he looked from Maea to Sunjata, eyes grave with concern. "If you go to ingratiate yourself to her side, do you have a way to defend against such a thing? Some trinket from Deimos or the gods to offer you protection from geas-spells?"
The rest of her points he would address later. This, first, thoughso that the conversation didn't get too strung out and timey wimey.
She will care, he thought back to the bartender on the question of 'no one caring if she hurt someone,' mental voice soft with worry for the pale girl who had only ever wanted to know.
He still didn't respond aloud right away, letting silence fill the hall as he considered the points that had been raised. Considered, too, the consequences of his decisions. How many people had he driven away with his stiff-backed self-righteousness? Too many by far... and today might add another name - or two - to that list. It twisted in his heart, deep and painful enough to give him pause and make him reconsider his words two and three times before he finally began to speak, attention returning wholly to Maea for the moment.
"It may be paranoid, but I've been assuming her intention is to create a personal army of loyal followers since she started coercing more people into joining her little cult-family, even before she disappeared into that portal," he said slowly. "What she did to Rex and Peter... she was trying to set up a breeding program for mages, with herself controlling the lines - and, one assumes, the loyalties of the children." He paused, frowning as he thought back to Edrei's words that long-ago day in this same Hall. "On their world they had a way of controlling mages. A geas-spell of some kind, ensuring their loyalty - or their death, if they betrayed their master. I wouldn't be surprised if Zariah was researching a way to recreate that here. I also am not entirely sure how to counter such a thing," he added with a faint grimace. "Not until I could see it in action and study its effects."
Now he looked from Maea to Sunjata, eyes grave with concern. "If you go to ingratiate yourself to her side, do you have a way to defend against such a thing? Some trinket from Deimos or the gods to offer you protection from geas-spells?"
The rest of her points he would address later. This, first, though
