elnysa | [video] un: linneus.

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[video] un: linneus.

Hello every… ah, anyone who might see this. My name is Linneus. I... am not sure if this is working.

[leaving comments on other people’s posts is one thing, but putting his own out is quite another, and there’s a certain degree of nervousness that hasn’t been present in his everyday interactions, accentuated by the fact that he is clearly chilled and just about holding off a shiver]

I was hoping perhaps someone might be able to help. Someone in Olympia, that is. You see I returned from Wyver just now and-- well, look.

[the shift in camera angle is clumsy, but eventually he steadies the device on his surroundings. A broken-in window, the snow blown inside in small drifts. As he pans it’s clear that what little home he had started to make for himself has been quite overturned, covers tossed back and pulled off beds, cupboards and shelves standing empty, but he doesn’t linger too long on those. His main focus is on the window, one hand reaching into frame to gesture as he draws closer]

I can manage much of the housework and the cleaning, but it’s this is the trouble - it’s sort of a sash window, but it draws to the side instead of up. [a careful tug - broken glass notwithstanding, it’s clearly stuck open] I’m not sure I can manage to take it off its track by itself - I think the glass will break further if I try. But I hoped someone might try and help me with finding a replacement and perhaps fitting it?

[turning the camera back on himself, a slightly shy smile.]

I should forewarn that I may not be capable of instant repayment, but I would consider myself in your debt and endeavour to do what I can. I… await any reply, even if you’ve only advice to offer, but I shan’t be instantaneous in my replies, you understand. I have no small amount of cleaning up of my own to do…

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I can understand that, certainly. [She takes a sip of the steaming water.] I haven't planned anything yet. I feel Olympia suits me more than Wyver, at least.

Do you have any recommendations?

[a light shake of his head]

I haven't. Truthfully I have no intention to take sides, even though I am quite comfortable in Olympia.

[all he wants is a peaceful life - the tumult between the two countries, though laid to rest in the face of adversity, is only likely to rear it's head again in. Declaring his allegiance one way or another, for all that he is trying to settle in Olympia, for all that he is comfortable there, will only lead to the eventual disruption of that balance.

Perhaps his striving to make a home here is useless. But at the same time he cannot let a "perhaps" put him off.]

I shall return to Thesa, and withdraw myself from the conflict entirely, if necessary, but I would hate to do that. It is too... strange for me.

[and the idea of the rows of sleepers too unsettling]

[A nod.] I feel the same way. There's something about that place that's too uncomfortably sterile.

The two nations have been cooperating, for the most part, since I've been here. Do you think tensions might flare up again?

[shaking his head and raising his hands; a slight warding gesture-]

Oh, no I couldn't begin to say. Truthfully the politics are quite beyond me, but I'm not sure that picking a side will do much more good that fuel the conflict, should tensions rise again. But I do fear a point will come that individuals are forced to swear fealty to one side or the other...

I understand your point of view. [She gives a little shake of her head, her wavy pale hair shifting back and forth.] If that does happen, though, I would prefer to remain here and try to negotiate peace.

I could do nothing less, as a Cavendish.

Can a peace be negotiated between two factions that have been against each other for so long?

[a thoughtful sip of his tea - no, water. He forgot for a moment and can't help drawing back briefly in surprise before trying again]

My country was at odds for a long time with its neighbour. Never anything so drastic as all-out war, at least certainly not in my lifetime, but it's certain that recently the countries' rulers have grown more peace-minded. They hope - hoped - the marriage of their heirs might consolidate their efforts; bring about a true peace.

As I say, I'm not well-educated in politics - certainly not in the politics of this world, and how the relationship stood before I arrived here. But I don't expect a true union to come about between Wyver and Olympia this way. Honestly, I worry that this present peace is only tenuous at best; and of what may happen should it fail...

A union? No, perhaps not. As you said, there is great enmity between the two and that has been true for some time. No doubt more skilled negotiators than you or I have tried and failed.

[She sighs, softly.] Stopping any flare-up in active hostilities, though... that, I would hope, would be possible.

Or, better yet, preventing it from reaching that in the first place.

I'm not sure how that can be done.

[a slight frown, fingertips toying at the sides of his cup]

I feel like these enmities are always just shy of bubbling up again, even on an individual level.

[She drums her fingers against the table.] Deep-seated hatreds... self-reinforcing ones, even. Each using the other as a scapegoat for the tragedies that befall them.

I confess I don't understand it, really. Even on an intellectual level, I...

[Another sigh, then a sheepish smile.] I'm sorry, I've brought the mood down.

No, not at all.

[more... hot water? Lifting the pot in offering, and as he pours-]

It is worrying to think about, yes, but I think we must. What is the alternative if we do not - to live in a dreamworld, only to receive a rude awakening in the future?

[a shy laugh]

I suppose we must go into this with our eyes open, to continue my metaphor. We must try not to get swept up in this rhetoric the two sides have against each other.

[She holds her teacup up for him to pour the water into.] I agree. I don't intend to stop thinking about it.

But perhaps it might be better saved for more solemn discussions than a first meeting. [She brings it to her lips, blowing steam from it and taking a short sip.]

Frankly, I don't intend to believe either one. Propaganda can be blinding.

That is the wisest course of action, I think.

[his laugh turns from shy to warm, setting the pot down again]

Oh, I think the both of us have it in us to have a polite discussion, rather than a solemn one. But very well. Let us turn our talk elsewhere, then.

Again, I agree.

[She thinks for a moment, letting the cup warm her hands.]

Tell me about yourself, if you wouldn't mind. What do you enjoy? What sort of place do you come from?

Honestly there's little to say...

[little he is comfortable with saying, which is as much as there being little to say at all. Better that he keep to the surface facts, the lighter story]

I was born in a small country not unlike this one - though mine was far from the sea, and of course we'd no space-ships, either. I was sold into service when I was very young, and I've worked in the same household ever since. When I'd free time... there aren't many tasks a small child can be set to, so I was set to work in the gardens in my youth and I still enjoy tending them when my schedule allows. I paint a little too, on occasion.

[his shrug is more like a lift of his shoulders, like they're carried up and down with his breath]

And now that I have my own time I would like to educate myself better - to help people, if I can.

[lifting his cup, peering at her over it a moment]

What of your life, Miss Diana? What of your plans here?

[That hadn't been what she was expecting, and her blonde eyebrows lift in surprise for a moment.] I'm sorry, I hadn't realized that you were a-- [slave] --servant. I apologize if I've trod on any sensitive ground. [She says, sincerely.]

I find that dream an admirable one. [She glances down at her cup of steaming tea.] I was-- am-- the only child of a household of some reputation and lineage in the magic world. When I was young, I used to love to listen to my mother tell tales of my ancestors, and how they had used their gifts and knowledge to heal, help, and bring peace where they could.

The Cavendish line may well end with me, but I will do my best to ensure its philosophy does not.

It's... quite normal where I come from. But if I am to understand correctly, that is precisely the problem.

[it's strange enough, people apologising, even getting angry for his circumstances on his behalf. His brushing it off as commonplace... people haven't really liked that. But he doesn't know quite what else to do. It was a fact of life - of his life. The same way that some people are born into riches.]

This is a good intent. How... do you plan to do so, if I may ask? As one who has never had power enough to do such things...

[She says nothing, because it is not her place to pass judgment on an entire world that she knows little about, to a man who had little in setting it up.

But her expression does darken, even so.] Healing and helping... should not be difficult. My magic is useful, as you've seen.

[The tiniest of sighs.] But I do not have my mother's silver tongue, nor her ability to negotiate and find common ground.

Yet.

[gently]

Charm is one thing; people either are charming or they aren't. Persuasion is another - not the easiest thing, but like any skill it can be developed. Honed.

As for negotiation... I'm no master in such matters or a mediator by any means, but a large part of it would be educating oneself on either side, surely? It sets a refugee to these shores at a disadvantage, certainly, but not an insurmountable one.

[That pulls a small, albeit genuine smile onto her face.] Yet-- you're correct about that, I'll grant.

I would like to learn more about the conflict and its two parties. I feel I have a lot of reading to do.

Is there a place you can recommend for research?

I can’t, I’m afraid. If there are libraries they are not likely to be without a bias to one side or the other. And I don’t know how forthcoming our hosts will be with that kind of information, if at all. We were brought here to draw our own conclusions, after all, make our own choices...

If there are books to be found... I wonder if it might not be wise to speak with people, too?

[She closes her eyes.] I'm much better with books than with people, to be perfectly honest.

I suspect that whether written or spoken, we're not going to find an unbiased opinion from either side. But a library would at least be a start.

But perhaps it's necessary, in this circumstance, to get as many accounts as you can. After all, a history book will give you the same account however many times you read it but people? Their accounts can vary. Yes, it will be hard to find an unbiased opinion but biases can vary, too.

It might be worth thinking on, at least?

No, you're right. History is written by the victors, or at least the narrative is controlled by the writer of the book. I'll need to be judicious, especially with hatreds this long-standing.

[She takes another sip of hot water.] Not all problems are fixable with a flick of my wand, I'm afraid. [A small, tired-looking smile.] If only everything were as easy as a broken window.

If a fracture this deep could be so easily repaired I would worry, honestly.

[he unconsciously mimics her, a pensive sip]

What about talking with those outside the cities’ walls? The unaffiliated?

They're not any more likely to hold a wholly unbiased frame of mind, either-- they left these places for a reason.

Still, between the three stories, something like the truth might emerge. I hope.

[video] un: linneus.

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