”There’s no proof of such a thing yet,” he admitted with a sigh. ”But it’s something to be wary of with her. With any of the Launceleyns who crave power and want to recreate their old world here,” he added with a thoughtful frown. From all he’d heard, he would do much to make sure that no part of Caido was turned into a mirror of Northhaven or Northwind.
Including the sword-point marriages. It sounded as though Rex hadn’t ‘agreed’ to marry Peter either – but then, she hadn’t been asked. She had been told, and only escaped the precautionary imprisonment due to her own resourcefulness and cleverness. That Maea didn’t seem to take the threat seriously, though, with the flippant ‘don’t worry’ troubled him greatly, even as he tilted his head at Sunjata with an arched brow. Maea deserved better to be talked over, or behind her back like this. ”What’s better?” he echoed the Flood. ”That she accidentally hurt a friend who will forgive her and help her learn from it, or that she accidentally hurt someone who is a threat, when they may punish her harshly for it?” He shook his head at them both, a frown marring the neutral expression at last.
”And make no mistake – Zariah set herself up as the enemy of the Loreseekers when she sought to close us down, trying to punish the Guild as a whole for her personal problems with me. She made herself my enemy when she then tried to use Amalia as a hostage to my capitulation. I see no reason to think she wouldn’t do the same again.” His gaze roved from Sunjata to Maea, cold as adamantine and bluer than the glaciers on the Sea of Glass. ”As for training, we can provide that here – perhaps better than she can. Loren constructed a school for just such a thing, or else there is always the Militia Barracks and training yard, where I’ve been training on learning and controlling my own magic with Deimos.”
He considered the pair of them, attempting to outnumber him with a proposal they had known he wouldn’t like. He knew he was being more stubborn than he would have been had Maea come alone, for he did not appreciate the attempt to gang up on him, but Sunjata’s desire to use one of his guildmates as a spy rankled most of all. ”We have written materials here detailing the different types of magic on Caido, the capabilities of the different schools, and their levels. Something I found last Longheat, researching what to expect from Zariah,” he added dryly. ”I’ve shared them with Ronin and Loren, but as far as I know Zariah doesn’t have access to them, so she actually has less to work with than we do. As for magical research and comparing magic from different worlds, Loren is currently engaged in it, so you may wish to talk to him.”
He exhaled slowly, expression lightening and softening both as he looked to Maea with a sober expression. ”I think we have everything you need here – perhaps with more information and better teachers than Zariah can provide. But you are right in calling us out for not having done so sooner. That said… if this is something you truly wish to do, I won’t seek to stop you.” His gaze moved to Sunjata next, frown returning faintly. ”And while I personally might like to hire your guild to place some eyes and ears in Zariah’s midst… I will not condone a Loreseeker being used as such.” He shook his head sitting back so he could see them both more easily. ”By its very nature this Guild is built around the pursuit of truth and knowledge – not lies and deception. As necessary as those things are in this world, if the Loreseekers become associated with them we’ll lose the trust of our clients and become little more than hypocrites.” Could Maea see that? Would Sunjata understand it? He didn’t know, but he suspected the conversation was far from over.
Including the sword-point marriages. It sounded as though Rex hadn’t ‘agreed’ to marry Peter either – but then, she hadn’t been asked. She had been told, and only escaped the precautionary imprisonment due to her own resourcefulness and cleverness. That Maea didn’t seem to take the threat seriously, though, with the flippant ‘don’t worry’ troubled him greatly, even as he tilted his head at Sunjata with an arched brow. Maea deserved better to be talked over, or behind her back like this. ”What’s better?” he echoed the Flood. ”That she accidentally hurt a friend who will forgive her and help her learn from it, or that she accidentally hurt someone who is a threat, when they may punish her harshly for it?” He shook his head at them both, a frown marring the neutral expression at last.
”And make no mistake – Zariah set herself up as the enemy of the Loreseekers when she sought to close us down, trying to punish the Guild as a whole for her personal problems with me. She made herself my enemy when she then tried to use Amalia as a hostage to my capitulation. I see no reason to think she wouldn’t do the same again.” His gaze roved from Sunjata to Maea, cold as adamantine and bluer than the glaciers on the Sea of Glass. ”As for training, we can provide that here – perhaps better than she can. Loren constructed a school for just such a thing, or else there is always the Militia Barracks and training yard, where I’ve been training on learning and controlling my own magic with Deimos.”
He considered the pair of them, attempting to outnumber him with a proposal they had known he wouldn’t like. He knew he was being more stubborn than he would have been had Maea come alone, for he did not appreciate the attempt to gang up on him, but Sunjata’s desire to use one of his guildmates as a spy rankled most of all. ”We have written materials here detailing the different types of magic on Caido, the capabilities of the different schools, and their levels. Something I found last Longheat, researching what to expect from Zariah,” he added dryly. ”I’ve shared them with Ronin and Loren, but as far as I know Zariah doesn’t have access to them, so she actually has less to work with than we do. As for magical research and comparing magic from different worlds, Loren is currently engaged in it, so you may wish to talk to him.”
He exhaled slowly, expression lightening and softening both as he looked to Maea with a sober expression. ”I think we have everything you need here – perhaps with more information and better teachers than Zariah can provide. But you are right in calling us out for not having done so sooner. That said… if this is something you truly wish to do, I won’t seek to stop you.” His gaze moved to Sunjata next, frown returning faintly. ”And while I personally might like to hire your guild to place some eyes and ears in Zariah’s midst… I will not condone a Loreseeker being used as such.” He shook his head sitting back so he could see them both more easily. ”By its very nature this Guild is built around the pursuit of truth and knowledge – not lies and deception. As necessary as those things are in this world, if the Loreseekers become associated with them we’ll lose the trust of our clients and become little more than hypocrites.” Could Maea see that? Would Sunjata understand it? He didn’t know, but he suspected the conversation was far from over.
