Pillars of Rule
Twentieth Day of the Fifth Month 293 AC
"I did not mean to draw lines, for these matters are indeed far more interwoven than many realize. However..." You pause and smile knowingly. "The order in which you answered my questions reveals just as much as the order in which I asked them." Power is not a crown, it is not a title, but something far deeper you have learned. This truth Dorera Phassen was also no stranger to, to judge from the glint in her eye. "Let me then continue with bluntness if I may...?"
"By all means. It is refreshing," she replies, though your words were but half a question. In this play of words as much as their contents is the balance of the conversation found.
"Myr would prosper under your rule, of that I have no doubt." A lie, though one you wish to see made true. You do not trust so easily as that, though you have long since discovered that the appearance of trust can of itself twist the heads of even those who have long since been made wise to simple flattery. "Though there is one matter that is a bit more thorny. The guild wields both coin and magic to a degree that none can match within the city, and it has no sole master who could seize the throne without risking a civil war. It might not happen immediately and surely, the other leaders of the guild would proclaim their full support for your ambitions. For now. Though give them time to plot, their ruler too burdened by the demands of lordship to keep close eyes on their doings in the guild..."
"Being sole and undisputed leader is without a doubt seductive," she replies, the double meaning clear. "Yet I would not be overly burdened by a more collegial attitude. Take for instance your regional and local councils..." Something of your surprise at the turn of the conversation must have shown on your face for the lady smiles in turn. "Why yes, someone is paying attention, stranger still someone even approves, with certain reservations."
"Oh?" you prompt, intrigued. Her words though spoken in jest do indeed ring true. No one had paid much attention to the councils you had set up other than bemused Westerosi lords.
"The Conclave of Ten has served Myr well," Lady Phassen explains. "It has allowed us to maintain a more moderate position, quick to settle for steady gains rather than gamble for high stakes as the Lyseni and Tyroshi are wont to do. In peace no less than in war Myr has prospered for level heads at the helm and diverging opinions to face off against each other across the conference table rather than being played out with daggers in the dark or poison in the wine cup. I would sooner be first among equals, than a hated master of far too many slaves. The onus of tyranny extends far beyond those unfortunates who are bought and sold."
Though you had listened to her voice and looked intently upon her face for any sign that might betray deception, you see none. Thus you must reluctantly admit the possibility that you are faced with that most rare of virtues to be found among those who seek power,
temperance.
"And should the Glassmaker's guild be ascendant do you believe that balance will be kept?" you ask. "Think not that I wish to see it broken or dismantled. I merely ask that you consider the possibility that it will need oversight, lest its might becomes a source of instability, and I know all too well that the guild would have little love for the idea of surrendering their oversight over matters arcane to another institution. Though there are also many benefits it could gain, were it to return its full attention on matters of trade and artifice."
"The Glassworkers is controlled up of some of the wealthiest, and most forward thinking men and women in Myr," she responds carefully. "It would be a pity to compel them to so restrain themselves. Perhaps they might wear a hat fit for every occasion."
"Careful with this one," Dany whispers in your ear by a deft bit of petty sorcery.
"One whose lordship is built from below makes a far more confident rebel."
Her point is well made, and truth be told not far from your thoughts, yet there might be far more innocent causes than treachery to ascribe to the lady's words. You decide to press slightly: "I came here thinking to offer the exchange of knowledge that would go both ways, and I can assure you that I have amassed enough lore that the guild will hardly feel robbed after seeing what the mages they employ can learn at the Scholarum. It will also be uniquely situated to take advantage of quite a bit of it. My coffers are full, and as the rumors might imply, I have a tendency to spend rather large sums on some of my projects. Something I could do freely if I knew the guild to not hold ambitions beyond coin. The other matter is that I have struck an alliance just a few days ago that would make it considerably easier to acquire materials, both arcane and mundane, and for rather low prices at that."
"And in exchange you would impose a distancing merely of the guild from arcane matters, or of all guild
members?" Lady Phassen asks. She is obviously impressed by the offer, but not so much as to forget her purpose. "Must one choose to either hold power by gold or sorcery under your rule?"
What do you reply?
[] Write in
OOC: It turns out not every oligarch is a tyrant in the making. Lady Phassen values a wide base of support enough to argue for a retention of many of its institutions, with her on top of course.
