rowancrowned | fade rift ✧ inbox

If this suits you, I have no objection.

( It means she can multitask, which a meeting in person does not, for one thing. )

When I began working with Mssr Vedici on translations, I came across some intelligence from the Venatori regarding the somniari - such magic as I am not greatly familiar with, and which has proven difficult to adequately study. My concern is that the infiltrators Mssr Vedici brings to our attention may not be the only Venatori plot to ferret out our information; I believe it credible to consider they may look to manipulate such an individual as a somniari to their benefit.

The likely relative youth of such a mage-

I think it would be wise to consider how to protect ourselves against this magic, but perhaps also how to harmlessly nullify it.

Translations from Tevene or from the Venatori cipher?

[ yes, he's come across mentions of the somniari in his perusal of all things elvhen. ]

I doubt he is. And naturally, he will keep the best of his secrets for when he truly feels his life is in danger.

If it is a young dreamer, they will be weak. At least that is in our favor.

Ah; from Tevene. I began working with Mssr Vedici to learn the language, and he was one of several sources I checked my work against once I had.

( It takes her a moment to parse what he says about Atticus - jostling the fact she isn't officially speaking of him at all against the fact that she is absolutely speaking about him, in another form - and ultimately leaving it unanswered. The words I do not refer to Mssr Vedici in this taste bitter, and if they need not be explicitly said, she will simply leave it alone. Whatever it is he doubts, they seem to be approximately on the same page. )

Indeed. And, of course, our first priority cannot be the safety of an enemy weapon, but.

It would not be my preference to have no option but violence to respond to a child used against their will.

( She has no such illusions, in truth-

but the whole of the truth would be a much harder sell. )

Edited 2017-10-28 02:40 (UTC)

To confirm- all the papers the magister had on his person or on his apprentice's were in plain Tevene?

[ he disapproves of vedici playing tutor. it reeks of a scheme to play the cowed lion and earn some measure of her complacency, but it is not his place to lecture her and so he minds his tone. ]

That is to say, we do not have a copy of their current cipher in hand? I would vastly prefer we decode it ourselves.

[ but back to the somniari: ]

Why do you suspect a child? Has the magister said something to lead you to this?

You misunderstand me, ( courteously, ) I do not refer to papers held by Mssr Vedici or Artemaeus, but acquired elsewhere from fallen Venatori agents. During my tenure in the research division, I acquired permission to use Mssr Vedici as a tool in spell that allowed me to acquire his knowledge of Tevene, and subsequently continued my private work on translations.

And it is that private research that leads me to such a conclusion. Somniari are rare, and rarer still for them to survive to adulthood - were I a Venatori, why should I seek out an adult mage who must, by nature, have become formidable in order to survive? Would it not be more expedient to instead turn my attention to a child, easier to bend to my purpose?

My apologies, [ equally polite, perhaps setting down his own attempts at multitasking to better focus on the conversation before him. ] It seems an interesting spell.

Do you suppose the magister of significant enough rank in the Venatori to perhaps untie this knot here and now for us? It would be a very valuable gift for us- and with all due respect, Madame de Cedoux, [ gently. ] as you said, somniari are extremely rare. The only living one I am aware of is the one mentioned in the Tale of the Champion, and he was purported to be the only one in several centuries. We have resources, yes, but to devote them to what may well be a project that bears no fruit...

No,

( regretfully resigned. It was, perhaps, too much to hope. )

I doubt it very much. I do see your point.

Edited 2017-10-28 03:27 (UTC)

Madame, if you are able to give me something other than suspicions, I would gladly lend you my aid.

[ he exhales. ]

If we come into possession of any other Venatori prisoners, we may as well ask. It would be a horror indeed if true.

( If. )

What you do with your division's resources is at your discretion, of course; I will continue to work on the project myself. It is good of you to hear me out.

( Atticus is not a child. Perhaps it's better that it's her, in the full knowledge of exactly who it is that she suspects - perhaps they would have been underprepared regardless. )

In any case, the Artemaeus boy remains. A diplomatic matter rather than a practical one- he may prove fruitful, in future, though I doubt in truth through any doing of his own. Mssr Gandir is, in this regard, somewhat more optimistic than myself.

( He is, perhaps, too sympathetic-

but she is one to fucking talk, and well she knows it, even if she continues to monitor his work with the thought in mind. )

There can be no question of releasing either of them, regardless of what he is or is not; if the truth of the matter is that he was an ignorant dupe of his master, then he has become useful to the Venatori through his time with us, his new knowledge of our personnel and methods. It would be a death sentence to send him back to his own, expendable as he otherwise is. Mssr Gandir has been tasked with helping him to understand this, and to consider how he might make himself useful to our more potentially sympathetic hands.

He will have know more than he believes he does. It is the way. Things he will have thought nothing of- Mssr Gandir works to build a trust between them, in order to see what potential he has. Concessions made to him will be made on the basis of that work, and his understanding of it. And we would be unwise to overlook where he might function for a lever, later; we do not have the full picture of from whence he came.

You may come to me, if that changes. A somniari would be useful indeed, and far better in our hands than theirs.

No. [ emphatically. ] Of course not. The Archon and the Imperium are nominally aligned with us, I do not think they would call for the return of a citizen who has declared his free allegiance to the Venatori. The Archon would do well to have the property of the treasonous declared forfeit and property of the state.

-- which leaves the Venatori themselves likely to come calling for their missing mages, but that is a matter we must handle as it comes. Has Skyhold responded to the requests for extra Templars? I fear I have not yet checked the Rookery for this morning's batch of ravens.

[ going through her points, still, pleased by how she's ordered them. ] Mssr Gandir has been trained in these matters, yes? There is no chance he will develop genuine affection for the Artemaeus boy?

I have my reservations regarding Mssr Gandir's impartiality - would that we had such resources we could afford to limit roles to only those trained for them - but it is a situation that I am monitoring personally. He understands the role he plays, and what his failure would mean.

( If she can't guarantee objectivity, then Artemaeus's future in itself can act as a leash; Petrana's own view of Artemaeus is a far more dispassionate one, and concessions will not be made out of kindness or tender feeling. They will be earned. )

As I say; his position is that he has not declared any such allegiance, that he was apprenticed to Mssr Vedici without the full knowledge of to what he would be committed, a position that Mssr Vedici has not disputed and which their conduct does not call into question. This is the point which may become a problem in future, and features heavily in his feeling quite hard done by.

I understand his feeling, but it is important he is disabused of the notion that it releases him from any connection to this war and Mssr Gandir understands that. It is unfortunate, but if true, he is far safer in our custody.

Will you be seeking out agents with talents? Instituting some manner of training program?

[ a few of his could stand to learn subtlety. sending them to petra to get learned is tempting, but with iskander's disappearance, he suspects they both have much more to attend to and the same measure of time. ]

It is good he has a grasp of consequences.

I agree. Were that he able to realize it. Has information about his background, his family been gathered?

We are in the process of attempting to gather as much - I've recently received a missive from Lady Vedici that I found interesting, though I think it would be not to our benefit to respond directly as yet.

( Let her be the one to tip her hand, and not them. )

As for such a program...

( Her sigh is small. )

Would that I had the resources. I am taking a personal interest in promising agents, however, and will groom them to the best of my ability. Mlle Bonaventura functions as my right hand in the field, which is a good beginning to anything.

A polite overture for the return of her husband, or something less diplomatic?

I have every confidence in your abilities. Might I be able to loan you those of mine who could do with a bit of polishing?

A protest of our spurious imprisonment and request for clarification. I am not myself in the habit of explaining sensitive information in letters sent to persons of interest connected to ongoing difficulty. It will keep; if she has lasted as long as this in Tevinter's political sphere, she knew better than to expect a direct response.

And - of course. I can doubtless find work to shine them up.

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