all of this happened because of fanatics and arguments about the next world

[closerift]

Who: Cecily Trevelyan, Sharon da Silva, Mello, Rey, and Henry Percy
What: The Null makes an announcement, and the Inquisitor snaps into action gathering people she trusts to talk it over.
Where: Skyhold Mark II
When: 7/29
Warnings: Maybe language, but nothing else.


[ She sees the announcement before anyone alerts her to it, stops in the middle of walking across the floor to stare at the device. The Null. And their - its - demand: kill Hope.

Before she even really processes what this might mean, or how much time they have, Cecily sends out messages. Sharon, Mello, Rey, Henry. It isn't the Inquisition, and she has no War Table, but this is a moment that absolutely calls for action, or at least discussion. There aren't more than a handful of people whose opinions she trusts strongly in Hadriel, but those four are some of them.

When she receives responses in the positive, she waits at the door, arms crossed, looking antsy. It's a good time for nervousness, after all, since someone in their city might decide to go after Hope before this gathering can even take place.

Once everyone arrives, she stands at the dining table of the home that used to house more people from Thedas and in which now only she, Cole, and Pup reside. Cecily presses her hands flat on the surface, surveying the group. ]

So? What do you think?

Comments

[hotspurred]

[In order to make it clear that he is not representing the Guard on this occasion Henry wears ordinary clothes rather than his armour, though he nonetheless arrives with his sword belted around his waist and his shield. The latter now sits propped against the legs of his chair.

Given Mello and Sharon's presence, it may well have been a wise decision. He has no intention of allowing Cecily's council to be derailed by their enmity for the Guard. Fortunately Rey's position as a guardsman is not public knowledge, concealed in all of their records by an alias. Having two known guardsmen might have ensured this would become a disaster.

With Cecily opening proceedings, it seems to him that he should speak first. If his presence is enough to provoke conflict then it's best to unleash that unrest before any effort is wasted. If the worst should occur, he can leave and Cecily will still have his opinion, be able to continue her council, while Rey can inform him of the rest.]

Whomsoever informed the Null of the Door robbed us of the chance to learn whether other paths home existed.

[The complaint he opens with is not the crux of the matter, but it leads neatly into his initial opinion.]

Hope must not be slain. Aside from the fact that the Null have promised many of us will die at their hands even should we ally with them, and it is to their advantage to slaughter us once the ill task is done... we know with certainty that the gods can wield the Door. We have but the Null's claim. To rely on word over deed is folly.

[That said, he thinks it's important not to forget that the gods are no friends of theirs.]

Yet if there is a ploy short of harming Hope by which we may gain their weapons, we should seize it. Even a single acquisition shall henceforth strengthen our position to bargain.

[circumitus]

[Rey starts out in a quiet corner of the room, assessing the details that she has no doubts are on people's minds after recent events. She knows Nick has various similar concerns, about what this could mean for him. About how vulnerable he might be. Hell, Rey herself could be susceptible to their influence, if what she is becomes more common knowledge to the enemy. She would do better to keep her mouth shut about it in public from now on.]

There are a similar faction of machines back home that aren't unlike these Null. [There is obvious discomfort in her tone when she says this, because she just toes the line of being one of them herself. A blend of organic and synthetic.] Chances are, anyone who opts to side with them will be dealt with something a lot worst than just being killed.

[She's seen it at home, in the sky prison where humans were subjected to the curiosity of synthetics. No doubt IV would have had a field day if her trip to Hadriel had lasted any longer than it did, and made contact with machines like her. But the Null's goals are different from IV's and the synthetics that Rey knows. And something they've said to her is still niggling on the back of her thoughts.]

Have talked with Sorrow before about getting us better weapons to fight against the Null. If they're coming at us with advanced technological artillery that can kill the gods, we're going to need more than swords and bows to deal with them. He seemed partial to the idea.

[torrefied]

[Mello gives Henry as wide a berth as possible without actually leaving. He may not be here in an official Guard capacity, but Mello neither forgives nor forgets past events that - in his mind - qualify as injustices. He sits leaning back in his chair, legs stretched out under the table, arms folded over his chest, watching and listening to the others before he offers his own input.]

I find it extremely suspicious that the Null have asked us to kill Hope. He's the one who resurrects us when we're killed, and he's also the one who brought the rest of the gods back. I asked Sorrow about their previous battles with the Null, and he said the way they were able to weaken the gods was by annihilating their host population - which, this time around, is us.

[The line of his jaw goes taut, his eyes narrow. He doesn't like where he believes this is heading.]

The most efficient way to eliminate the gods would be to remove Hope from the equation, kill all of us, and then kill the rest of the gods. That's what I would do, at least. [He shrugs lightly.] Given that some of the more idiotic members of our population have already been willing or even enthusiastic about sending Hope to a possible death, I think we're going to have our work cut out for us convincing them not to cooperate with the Null's request.

[closerift]

[ She listens with a practiced, calculating air; this is likely the first time any of them have seen her so serious. Having not needed to fill the shoes of Inquisitor during most of her stay in Hadriel, occasions like these are... rare, to say the least. ]

Our most immediate issue, then, is not only convincing those who can be convinced to not go after Hope, but also to actively stop the others who have, in all likelihood, already made up their minds. As we speak, another group may be plotting an attack. I agree that, without Hope, we would be... much worse off.

[ Having been revived by him once herself, Cecily can attest to that with a decent amount of confidence. ]

I know that I've historically been one of the first to speak out against the gods, but I'm in agreement that the Null seems the true threat at the moment. We'll need to fight more effective ways to fight them, but that will come - I imagine - after our own either succeed or fail to eliminate Hope.

[ Which begs the question... how do they stop the others from going after him? ]

[circumitus]

[Rey folds her arms.]

They should be contacting those who have agreed to their terms soon -- most likely privately. Am expecting one as well. [She continues before any misconceptions can be made:] The best thing some of us can do now is play along. They're offering their weapons to anyone who wants to kill Hope, and that's more than what we've got now. Not to mention they know next to nothing about many of us, let alone which ones have intentions of actually using those weapons against the gods.

...Provided that no one openly speaks out against them on the network. Pretty sure they're monitoring it now, if they're good enough to create a secured line for us.

[hotspurred]

In addition to Rey's ploy, might we not use Hope as bait in a trap?

[Henry touches his knuckles to his mouth.]

In order to end his life, those who side with the Null must first make Hope manifest. Thus Hope holds control over the situation. Why not propose to him the possibility of organising an ambush?

[unitas]

[ Sharon's kept her silence as the other talk. They all have more experience in situations like this but Henry's suggestion of using Hope as bait pulls her in, her arms uncrossing as she steps forward to speak. ]

Is it possible we can create a double of Hope? At least enough to confuse the Null so that we can properly take care of them. I'm of the opinion we should use my reality altering skills to stick them in a place they can never leave.

[ And then she could close the door to that piece of Silent Hill forever. ]

[torrefied]

[It's not a bad idea at all. It's just that the logistics are tricky.]

Can you do that, create a convincing double of Hope? The Null must have some kind of sensory capabilities, though I wouldn't be able to say so with any degree of certainty.

[closerift]

We don't know what the Null are, so it would be hard to assume that they're a single, physical entity that we could trap in your fog world. [ Cecily glances to Mello as he expresses his own doubts, nodding slowly. ] And there's that, too. Even if we could trap them, we would need convincing bait. But, if they aren't fooled - or if they are, but we can't ensnare them - then we may lose our only chance. Whatever we do, we need to act with as much certainty as we can.

[ Which begs the question: is there anyone here who knows more about the Null? ]

How much have the gods said about all this? Have any of you spoken to them?