[Bureau Office] A Second Meeting (Atl, Private)

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

1105 Hours
Imperial Court, Alleria Prime
Kalendryas 15th in Era I of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIII Post Fractum

One month ago, the elf had conducted a covert operation, implicating Silrosia in the murder of thousands upon thousands of Vortex’s citizens.

One fortnight ago, the elf had slaughtered hundreds of loyalists to gain a secret to power that would break apart the empire.

One cycle ago, the elf had put into place a scheme that would carve a hidden footprint of rebellion into the northern Isles of the empire.

And one hour ago, the elf had arrived in the city of Alleria Prime, stepping forth from a mystic portal of energy, crackling beneath a veil of non-detection, to join a council of magi dedicated to maintaining orderly arcane proceedings and standards in the empire. He smiled as he walked through the streets, smoke trailing from the rolled stick of tobacco in his fingers. He was dressed in a simple fashion. His armored coat and much of his other equipment had been heavily illusioned; to any man, he appeared as an elf with plainly defined features, neither handsome nor ugly. The years had not been unkind to him, but they had taken their toll; he was, perhaps, an elf of some four or five hundreds eras of age, skin taut, hair silvered. He walked into the office of the Bureau of the Arcane, lithe fingers tucked behind his back, dressed in a cascade of soft, black velvet. Dozens of wards and spells hung around him – non-detection spells, cloaking spells, illusion spells, and illusion spells to mask those illusion spells – so many wards that there seemed to be none at all.

He nodded at the receptionist elf, acknowledging her greeting, but doing little more. Unlike most of the visitors to the office, he did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked around the room slowly, taking in the sight. His eyes saw beyond the spectral, and into the arcane spectrum, dwelling in the state of clara as he often did. Interesting. The office was bedecked with expensive woods and silks; an awe-striking impression for any commoner, noble, or foreign dignitary that might walk in. The elf’s lip curled slightly, betraying the evidence of approval, however slight. The first battlefield, in politics, was impressions.

“Serale,” the elf curtly replied, after a few moments. His voice was dry. He enunciated each syllable clearly, crisply.

“Please tell his Excellency that Wei’shapt Inryustadi is here to see him.” He spoke expectantly, without question that his was the authority that would be respected. He bore at his side, a sheathed blade; upon his fingers, a smooth ceramic ring, hidden by silken gloves. To secure the position on the council as mystic advisor would advance the machinations of the Ars Sanctorum; for that, he had entered the heart of the empire, and the central artery of that heart – the government. Yet, it was not without its risks, and would anything go awry, a legion of arcane power waited for his call and beckon on the other side of a dark portal….

The elf’s eyes narrowed, nearly intangibly, and he waited.

[Atl Myrsa]

The Offices of the Lord Imperial Magus could be found on the top floor of the Arcane Bureau. The stairs lead to a solid oak door that was rather plain except for a circle in the middle that was divided into seven sections each showing a symbol of a different sphere of arcane. The only other future of the room was a man standing outside of the door. He appeared to be youngish in his twenties and human. The man was dressed in red and black with the crest of the Imperial Magus on his breast. Underneath his surecoat was a set of armor and a blade at his other side. The Guards was the physical defense and the a field against spell casting was the primary arcane defense.

The room beyond was a large and comfortable. The primary feature of the room was a large desk. Made of solid oak there were strange images carved along the sides that from the door were hard to see. The light in the room seemed to mostly be drawn there. The desk itself was clean except for a couple folders that were placed into a pile right next to were the occupant worked.

Behind the desk was a large window that took up the whole of the wall. Images showing the last battle of Diana seemed to dance across the glass. Placed in the center of the large window was a map of the Empire with markings for all of the cities and mountians and major rivers of the Empire.

Two more desks occupied the room. Located next to the door. Situated so that the occupents could look at the main desk these two were also carved from rich oak. One was completely clean and another was covered in folders and papers.

One of the remaining walls was completely covered in book selves. They seemed to be almost groaning from the weight of all of the books. Most were normal sized that one would expect to find any were else. A few were small things, and some were so large children could be squashed by them.

The last wall held a fire place that was currently ablaze giving off light and warmth in the cold winter. Four chairs were positioned around the fire each with a little end table between them. They were richly embroidered with geometric patterns on them. One last table sat next to the fire place with a pot of tea, glasses, and a couple bodels sitting on it.

Rachrot looked up and nodded her head. "His Excellency is expecting you. One moment please." She rang a bell next to her desk and waited only a moment a young human male to step out of a door to the back. He walked forward and nodded his head towards the elven woman. "Please show Wei’shapt Inryustadi to his Imperial Excellencies offices."

The page lead Shei to the door and paused to knock before a voice spoke. Opening the door the young man motioned for Shei to enter the room. Currently the room had three occupants. The Imperial Magus, Atl Myrsa was sitting at a desk placing some papers into folders and gentle putting them away. The remaining two were at smaller desk and unlike their boss were still looking through papers. One of them, a human, looked at the visator then looked back down. The halfling seemed to have missed the presences of the stranger.

Atl smiled at his newst arrival. "Please join me by the fire place." He indicated to the fire place as he finished putting away papers. The nimalni stood up and walked over towards the chair. "Would you like some tea or wine?"

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

The elf nodded wordlessly to Rachrot’s reply, deeming it unworthy of anything further. He slipped his gloves from his fingers to reveal slender, bony digits, and tucked the silken gloves into the pocket of his coat. Following the young boy, the elf mused on what was to come. The formation of a mage council would lead to interesting possibilities, but first, it was more important to see what kind of man the Imperial Magus would be. To understand his motivations and his loyalties, and the truth behind his actions.

As he entered the room, the elf quickly concealed his surprise as he saw the visage of the Nimalni elf that was the Imperial Magus. He had seen that same elf cycles earlier, though he had never found his name nor station. So, the Imperial Magus, too, had been on the expedition to the Crown Isle. It was not to be unexpected, but they had had something more – combat. Or whatever semblance of struggle that had been, the elf noted, glad to have picked a disguise for this meeting, and for having abandoned his usual armours and armaments.

An tight-lipped smile graced Shei’yein’s lips as he gave a slight bow in response to the Imperial Magus’s greeting. The character for the illusion he’d adopted was slightly aloof, an elder mage from an older generation who disapproved of the chaos and lack of organization in the empire today, and the elf intended to play his role to the hilt.

“Tea will do splendidly,” the elf replied, giving a half-nod of sorts. “It is good to finally meet you, your Excellency.”

“I must admit that I was intrigued upon reading your call to action in the Herald… with the size and scope of the empire, do you think it possible for a council of men to call the masses to action and order?"

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl poured tea for both his vistor and himself. Atl took his seat before answering Wei’shapt question. "I do beleave it is possible for a council to inspire the people, and in this cause specifically the arcane users. Depending on who is one the council and the Imperial Magus who leads the Council will depend on how they will be lead."

He paused and then contiuned. "It will take effort, but the council of Magus will be able to bring order to the arcane systems with in the empire." Atl looked at the man across from him. "Do you think it is possible."

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

"Not only do I think it is possible, your Excellency," the elf remarked, taking a sip from his tea, "But that is is necessary." Looking into the magus' eyes with deep conviction, he crossed his legs, leaning back into his chain before continuing.

"Rogue magi have been allowed to run amok in the empire for far too long. The academies and facilities that are present in each city train these men, but take no responsibility for their actions. Necromancers lurk in the caves and forests of Telath, with no effort made to hunt them out."

"It is good that your Excellency has the will to take action. There are two matters upon which I would suggest, and which I would hear your thoughts. The first of these matters is regulation - a strict control over the teaching of arcana in the empire. Let only the subjects of the empire - specifically, those in the military, or under the government wings - access to the teachings and writings on this subject. The second is registration - let all magi come forward and dedicate their service to the empire formally and join the wings of either the military or the government, or relinquish their powers through a binding ceremony. Have teams of mages hunt down those who would resist or hide from justice."

"These are grave measures, I know that more than most. But your Excellency, these are grave times. We must grow the powers of the empire and shrink the powers of those who would threaten it, lest we perish in the storm."

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl blinked a little in suprises at the mans quick jump onto the responces. He was eager that was for sure. Atl listened for a moment too the two theories. The first was something that Atl was already thinking about, the second seemed extremely radical.

"Tell my why we should allow only the goverment bodies access to the teaching of the Schools." He then asked. "Secondly why should all the mages be forced to serve only the goverment or the military?" Atl was curious as to why he felt that both were so critical.

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

“It is a matter of expediency, and of urgency, your Excellency,” the elf answered simply, settling back into the comfort of his chair as he prepared to explain the thoughts that he would present.

“With respect to your first question, let me pose one of my own. What if a lowly bandit or murderer of men were to possess a hundred crowns – hardly a princely amount, in any city – and enroll in an elementalism course at an academy? What if this self-same man were to progress through the ranks, gaining the powers of an adept, if not a master? What damage would he be able to wreck upon the empire? Certainly, the chances of such a thing happened are one in thousands, if not tens of thousands. Yet, would you be one to tell that to the men, women, and children of Zerdargia, Narim, or Paxia – the hundreds upon thousands who have died?"

“We are elves, and blessed or cursed with long life. We see what humans cannot, hurrying to and fro in their franticly short lives. In the past fifty ordinations, what city has not been cursed with the touch of arcana?”

“By restricting the schools to registered government entities, we can control who will receive training – the responsible, the accountable, and those under the will of the empire. And with that, I answer your second question. It is the ability of such a threat to be posed, whether for good or for evil, that we must consolidate the power of the mages.”

“Consider a master elementalist, loyal to the empire, yet not in the service of the Crown, nor registered in the annals of the empire. What if his family were to be captured, held hostage by the forces of evil, and he coerced to destroy cities under threat of violence to his family? Even the good-intentioned can wreck lives with the magnitude of their power. If such a man was registered and in the service of the empire, his family could be monitored and protected; if he were bound, and his power relinquished, the problem too would be solved – he would never have been coerced in the first place.”

“Your excellency, I have spent candlemarks numbering in the thousands pondering these matters. It is a grim solution, but… this humble elf, at least, can think of no other. I sense reluctance in your voice, milord. Have your thoughts pointed you in other directions?”

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl nearlly snorted at the mans many examples. Luckly his nimlani back ground kept the emmotion off his face. As well as any emmotion at all. First off each of the stories could be said about anything. Second how much money did he think the Imperial Goverment had. To pay the salary of all the mages in the Empire, to pay the bills to watch them all and their families. That was well beyond the empires abilities.

Atl leaned back in his chair and sipped at his tea. Atl wondered if the man was parranoid. Maybe the years hadn't been kind to him. "Several points about your idea . The first and obvious one is that you whole argument is based on a what if. That is a possible what if, but how does running around trying to dodge what if's help arcane? Let me ask you a question. What if an extremely talented mage has the potential to revitalize arcane, and give us the key for making it helpful for the whole empire, but to do so require him to think outside the boxs. Working for goverment prevents him from doing since he has to spend the whole time doing higher ups research, or running around battlefields or what other errands the empire has for him."

"With what you propose how would you keep Arcane vibrant and alive. Constantly growing and imporving. Regementation to often creates restrictions and kills ideas, while not always achieving the desired results."

"Lastly how would the empire pay for highering every mage in the Empire and keeping tabs on them?" Atl noticed that up to this point the elf before him had dominated the conversastion. It was time to take that back. Atl wasn't here to debate to interview. Atl wasn't really that offended, it took a lot to do that, but he realized that his normally passive attitude wouldn't fly. One thing for this man he did have views and knew how to express them.

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

“Yes, a what if – a what if that, as I mentioned, has already been fully realized dozens if times, resulting in the deaths of thousands upon thousands. Your Excellency, these are not wild, hypothetical examples. They are historical ones.” Though he refrained from showing it, the elf was beginning to be amused. True, he had his own reasons behind wanting to create an appearance that believed in strength, security, and the permanence of the empire, but such lax policies on the maintenance would only make his own goals easier. In the end, only magic could fight magic; anything that could nullify it was, by nature, magical, and could be destroyed by force. Only the threat of his brothers-in-trade held any true bearing upon himself and the Ars Sanctorum. Within his heart, the elf smiled. If the powers at hand held such reluctance for brutal and drastic action, it would make their job only that much easier. Invisible, his wings revolved around him, cloaked themselves, and, in turn, cloaking his thoughts as well.

“Organization does limit life. It is the social contract that we bind ourselves to, exchanging dynamics for security. What is the thing that prevents a man from raping his neighbour’s wife? What inhibits him from exercising his “will”? It is the law. Lack of organization brings change, yes. But within society itself, we have sacrificed our freedom – bits of it, at least – so that the collective may thrive.”

“As for pay, with the powers of the arcane properly harnessed, it is simple. In the academies, I have seen hundreds upon hundreds of fireballs cast against training dolls, composed of mana; thousands of psionic bolts and aura crafted upon nothingness. Seldom have mages seen it “proper” to apply their magics to something as mundane as trade skills. Let the young mages practice their magics trade skilling, creating useful production for the empire. Let the hordes of sorcerers turn coal into impenetrable armour of diamonds, forging incomparable value; let the thaumaturges heal the weak, saving the time of herbal doctors; let the elementalists forge their craft in the navies and on the farms; let the mystics expedite the morale and competency of construction crews.”

“They will earn their coin, and more.”

[Atl Myrsa]

Shei would be suprised to learn that Atl could be brutal, to often people took druids as nice and gentle little did they know about the steal and sturnes to be found in the druidic training. Atl could be, but he could also be pratical and logical it was an out growth of his race. Oh course he didn't know what this canidate was thinking. Atl just saw this suggestion preventing the growth of arcane. The idea did more then limite freedoms, it limited growth. Atl was keen enough to notices that the canidate avoided the question about how would he keep the arcane feild growing.

"There are plans to bringing the empires mages talents to bear for the good of the empire. One of the end goals is to create a balanced mage, one who can feels able to protect himself, not above using his magic for the betterment of others and one who can study." Atl didn't really say more but contiuned with the interview. "You have presented some interesting ideas, but on to other information. Tell me about your training."

[Shei'yein Neydremi]

“I see,” Shei’yein replied, unconcerned. He was not surprised that the magus had failed to refute his ideas on any level. In the political climate that existed, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to argue against them. The common man, at the very least, would surely rally to them – an interesting avenue to pursue in the future, the elf noted to himself, with no small degree of amusement.

“I have practiced the arts for time immemorial…” the elf mused in recollection, thinking back to his training.

“I was a hunter before I was enlightened. A wandering mage unbound me and taught me the mystic arts to aid my skills, introducing me to wards and sigils that would speed me and cloak me. I learnt to create world-shells within which I could practice the arts without disturbing the true flows of magic, and without imposing on the minds of others. I learned in the academies of Mystique for cycles of study intermixed with cycles of exploration. After reaching the third circle, my spells were learnt from scratch, my magics improvised through the creative development that your Excellency seems so interested in. For dozens upon dozens of years, I have wandered the dusty plains, the verdant forests, and the rocky craggs of the empire, seeking knowledge in the libraries and ruins of these lands, and surviving off of Carmelya’s grace.”

“I am a mystic, and a master of my art, your Excellency.”

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl nodded his head and then contiuned. "Thank you." He said and thought for a moment before contiuning. "Should we interview all prospective students, and how strick should be the exceptances standards?"