The Enemy Within (WHF Witch Hunter Quest)

The thing here is that if Rikard just gets some jewelry and fucks off, he's not really tied to the colleges at all. if he actually does become a wizard, his influence will become seriously curtailed, both in a polticial and social sense he will I think be very diminished, and mostly be 'well, his sister is in charge now'. because I don't think you can be a noble in a position of power and a wizard at the same time?
Legally it shouldn't be a problem.

Only the Amethyst Order demands that you reject all inheritance and titles, as far as I know.

Socially it's more difficult, but most Nobles will generally come down on the side that a nobleborn is still a noble, even if he is also a Wizard, a Witchhunter, a merchant, or anything else, because hhe view that their privilige is inborn and unalienable is important to them.
 
I understand WHY the law is like it is.
Yeah, the Colleges of Magic were made by Teclis and Magnus the Pious after they gathered together unlikely group of various magic users who were pivotal in winning the Great War against Chaos. Plus all Colleges are built within Altdorf where they will be within close proximity with the government most of the time, and they're also de facto embassy for Ulthuan where a rotating staff of High Elf mages would supervise new human students to be keeping an eye on their magical practices.

Only the Amethyst Order demands that you reject all inheritance and titles, as far as I know.
Elspeth von Drakken is an Imperial noble right? She got her own tower, her Carmine Dragon and reputation as one of Amethyst Order's top Imperial Wizards. Although Witch Hunters tried to get her after believing she could be a vampire pretending or someone else more sinister since it's stated that she never ages once.
 
Yeah, we'll actually need to tell him to stop making paintings like that. We'll need to actually give him instructions how to best avoid getting sniffed out by a Witch Hunter, using all the knowledge we have.

Which is of course treason. And I'm on board with that.
Unfortunately I'm not.

Like I said, a self-perpetuating downward spiral towards oblivion awaits Markus if we let this go, since you already proposed more treasonous acts after the original one.

By the way, Markus was uncharacteristically stupid by just standing there and allowing Rikard to pick up and load his gun.
 
By the way, Markus was uncharacteristically stupid by just standing there and allowing Rikard to pick up and load his gun.
Nothing uncharacteristic about it. Markus doesn't see his little brother as a person he wants to shoot so he's giving Rikard every chance to deescalate. The fact that there's even an option to spare Rikard says as much since if he thought of Rikard as an enemy, he'd have shot him already.

It may not make sense to you, but people generally don't want to kill their family members unless they absolutely have to.
 
Unfortunately I'm not.

Like I said, a self-perpetuating downward spiral towards oblivion awaits Markus if we let this go, since you already proposed more treasonous acts after the original one.

By the way, Markus was uncharacteristically stupid by just standing there and allowing Rikard to pick up and load his gun.
I think that Markus believes that, but... I don't. This is about an exceptional case as they come. Just because we ended up not executing our brother on the spot, and would be actively protecting him, does not mean we are any more likely to take a bribe, any more likely to let ourselves be seduced or even necessarily any more likely to show more mercy than we are allowed to when dealing with someone who's not our close family. It might be... if Markus embraces the idea of 'either you are perfect, or it doesn't matter', then yeah, he'll be much more likely to go 'fuck it, guess we're corrupt now, let's do corruptive stuff'. But people aren't perfect. People break laws, break rules, even the ones they set to themselves all the time. Most of them don't spiral downward. Society wouldn't survive if they did.
 
It may not make sense to you, but people generally don't want to kill their family members unless they absolutely have to.
The very same people in his line of work and with years of experience under their belt, are also very... sceptical, when somebody pulls out a pistol and loads it in front of them, while being passive-aggressive and speaking treasonous words.
 
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The very same people in his line of work and with years of experience under their belt, are also very... sceptical, when somebody pulls out a pistol and loads it in front of them, while being passive-aggressive and speaking treasonous words.
I reread that passage, and part of me thinks that Markus is very aware of it, but he is not worried that Rikkard is going to shoot Markus.
 
The very same people in his line of work and with years of experience under their belt, are also very... sceptical, when somebody pulls out a pistol and loads it in front of them, while being passive-aggressive and speaking treasonous words.
Yes, but those people don't have personal relations with Rikard, and they don't have any feelings of personal guilt for why Rikard is the way he is so how they would act has no bearing on how characteristic this is of Markus.

I don't understand what's so strange about Markus acting the way he does considering what we know of his personal traumas and motivations. He's not a automaton whose every action is optimized for combat and his job.
 
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But people aren't perfect. People break laws, break rules, even the ones they set to themselves all the time. Most of them don't spiral downward. Society wouldn't survive if they did.
We don't necessarily have to take bribes and be lenient towards others.

But we will perpetuate this crime and commit more crimes to cover it up, then cover those up and so on. What if someone finds out the truth? We will have to kill him, so that it shall stay hidden. Then we will have cover up the murder. This kind of spiral.
I don't understand what's so uncharacteristic about Markus acting the way he does. He's not a automaton whose every action has to be optimized for combat and his job.
I didn't say he should kill him on the spot for that.

But him not even saying things like, 'don't go for that gun' or 'stop what you are doing', which are perfectly reasonable between family members, does seem strange. I'm not even saying he should reach for his own pistol, but having his hand close to it would be a sound life choice.
 
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I didn't say he should kill him on the spot for that.

But him not even saying things like, "don't go for that gun' or 'stop what you are doing', which are perfectly reasonable between family members, does seems strange. I'm not even saying he should reach for his own pistol, but having his hand close to it would be a sound life choice.
And how is that uncharacteristic of Markus? He's in emotional shock and unsure what to do since this is an event that's hitting him very close to home, he's not going to do everything optimally because he's not a unfeeling automaton.
 
We don't necessary have to take bribes and be lenient towards others.

But we will perpetuate this crime and commit more crimes to cover it up, then cover those up and so on. What if someone finds out the truth? We will have to kill him, so that it shall stay hidden. Then we will have cover up the murder. This kind of spiral.

Well for one, it's entirely possible nobody ever finds out. And if someone finds out, then that is another moral choice to make. Just because we're willing to compromise our faith and loyalty for our brother having a victimless crime doesn't mean we're willing to murder, or that we wouldn't kill our brother if he actually did turn bad.

I mean, yeah, the choice to not do anything about it here does lead to the possibility of other moral quandaries in the future, sure. But it's not certain that those would ever manifest, and it's not certain that we would choose to let things go, even when we're talking about people actually getting hurt.


But him not even saying things like, 'don't go for that gun' or 'stop what you are doing', which are perfectly reasonable between family members, does seem strange. I'm not even saying he should reach for his own pistol, but having his hand close to it would be a sound life choice.

Not the pistol, but we do actually move our hand closer to our sword

"Damn it, Rikard, it isn't a choice!" you roar, taking a step forward and letting your hand go to the hilt of your sword, "I can offer amnesty for past deeds if need be, but you know better than most what the penalty is for unsanctioned witchcraft!"
 
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And how is that uncharacteristic of Markus? He's in emotional shock and unsure what to do since this is an event that's hitting him very close to home, he's not going to do everything optimally because he's not a unfeeling automaton.
It's not about being an automaton.

It's about having a self-preservation instinct.

Something an experienced Witch Hunter should have in larger quantities, than the average Empire citizen.
 
It should also be noted that Markus will also be one of the people who suffers if this gets out. He even mentions in his own internal monologue that turning a blind eye here will get him the death penalty if found out, and it goes unmnetioned but the more radical witch hunters will use him as an example against the more reasonable ones.
 
It should also be noted that Markus will also be one of the people who suffers if this gets out. He even mentions in his own internal monologue that turning a blind eye here will get him the death penalty if found out, and it goes unmnetioned but the more radical witch hunters will use him as an example against the more reasonable ones.
If this gets out, Maria will be hit hard as well. With this kind of family, she may as well be a witch too and may end up on a pyre by association. Not to mention the fact, that the whole estate can be confiscated. Not so, if Markus deals with the matter right now.
 
I feel that Markus is very aware of what's going on, his instincts also very much inform him that 'hey, he's got a rapier right there too' He knows that Rikkar is working himself up to violence. His instincts are absolutely on point and giving him all the info.

But the heart is saying 'Yes, that all may be so but this is our brother.' And I mean, if our brother is ready to either kill or die rather than being taken, then trying to stop him from getting himself armed is just going to move things straight to a bloody end that Markus is desperately trying to evade.
 
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Bretonnia nobles actually do stuff. Imperial nobles are just parasites that occasionally do heresy, rebellion, or heresy and rebellion at the same time.
Guys I think you're being a little unfair, if the Empire is still running without going into the 3 Emporers period, I'm sure the nobility are doing at least something right. You shouldn't generalize the majority of nobels who are actually doing their jobs quietly in the background over the few extreme ones who dabble in Chaos. Regardless of social class, there will always be saints and sinners. Still, most will just be not worthy of the notice since they'd be going about their lives and doing the mundane things to keep society running instead of doing anything particularly bad or good.
 
But the heart is saying 'Yes, that all may be so but this is our brother.' And I mean, if our brother is ready to either kill or die rather than being taken, then trying to stop him from getting himself armed is just going to move things straight to a bloody end that Markus is desperately trying to evade.
Would suck if the vote ends up deciding to turn a blind eye only for our brother to decide to try and kill us and we are taken off guard.
I'd also like to remind people that we got a Tzeentch cult watching our every move.
Also this it would be bad if they found out about our family drama, which can very well do, and leak it to the Witch Hunters making Markus a wanted man and getting his brother sent to the pyre anyways.
 
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