( one. ) voice • scientia potestas est [ id: nightingale ]

[ettersberg]

[ thomas nightingale does, in fact, know how to use a smartphone. he's owned one for quite a while before the end of the world; google maps in particular has always struck him as rather useful. the knowledge of how to operate such a device comes in handy now as well, though he's not entirely sure yet why he's bothering.

(the answer is peter; peter would want to know and nightingale would hate not to have any answers at all by the time his apprentice wakes up. because peter will wake up, surely. eventually.)

so there is no fumbling, no pauses when the device clicks on except deliberate ones, and a smooth, very british and posh-sounding voice inquiring: ]

It seems magic is not out of the ordinary, here. Someone has already inquired about those who believe in or practice magic, but I'd be interested to hear how magic was regulated, if at all, in your worlds. That, and whether there were particular ill-effects to it.

[ here, there is one of the aforementioned deliberate pauses. ] I'd also appreciate hearing of your experiences with employment.

Thank you.

Comments

[ettersberg]

There are worse vices.

[ that is a great deal of information, and most of it unlike anything nightingale has experienced or knows of the history of newtonian magic — and that history is quite well preserved, even if he's hardly a historian. ]

The recent rebellion? [ "do continue", his tone implies as much as his words. ]

[flashystyle]

[Well, he did ask. Any chance Dorian was going to feel bad about all this is gone now.]

As it turns out, mages don't like being locked in towers all their lives. Who knew! Someone sparked a rebellion... [He pauses, as if considering divulging who that person is, but ultimately just clears his throat.] Sparked a rebellion blowing up a Chantry, a religiously significant building with number of people inside. The rest took it as a sign to revolt against those who've imprisoned and killed them for years, and so... they did.

So there's a bit of both sides going mad trying to eliminate the other going on. The one that haven't gone entirely mad have established themselves and kept a distance, but there's always the enablers that lead to more bloodshed. We're working on it.

And your world?

[ettersberg]

Nothing quite so dramatic.

[ for a moment, nightingale considers how much to tell. there's no reason here to keep certain things quiet. ] There are no special laws concerning practitioners or those of the demi-monde. [ ah - ] Magical beings, if you so will. They are covered by the same statutes as anyone else, and the general public is not aware of their existence, for the most part.

[flashystyle]

I... am afraid I don't follow. You have practitioners, then magical beings walking around the same place? How do you manage that?

[ettersberg]

There are Agreements. [ capital a and all. ] But on the whole, everyone keeps to themselves. No one wants a mass panic, of course.

[flashystyle]

Of course.

Where were you, in the grand scheme of all that?

[ettersberg]

Ah.

[ how much to offer? in the end, he decides for honesty. ] I am tasked with enforcing the Agreements. And keeping the Peace, of course.

[flashystyle]

[There's just something about the word enforce that doesn't sit right with Dorian. Thomas himself isn't off-putting, but... still, he can't help but ask.]

And what is the procedure for someone who needs to be enforced, then?

[ettersberg]

That would depend on the breach of the Peace.

[ nightingale considers for a moment. ] It doesn't often involve violence. Most everyone has an interest in keeping the Agreements.

[flashystyle]

Oh, I imagine so, if there's people to keep them in check. But if not violence, what? Gentle persuasion? Confiscation? Don't just leave it at that.

[ettersberg]

Negotiation, quite often. An arranged cultural exchange of sorts, once. [ or a trading of hostages, if you're uncharitable, but that's not quite what it was. ]