"I am also very concerned about a faerie stealing children in the area of the covenant," Lucas replies. "And I'm not concerned about molesting the fae by responding to this assault. whoever this child abductor is has put itself in a position where it was bound to run into conflict. I can't imagine any tribunal having trouble with us dealing with the issue as we must. Vocis is right. We do more harm by letting this faerie go than by stopping it."
"I'm worried about a solution that involves paying the creature for stolen children, however. How many children will it steal, and how often would we have to pay? I realize that as a faerie, its motivation is different than ours, and will not necessarily be greed. But if we make this a satisfying story for it, don't we run the risk that it will perform it again and again? I defer to others with more knowledge of the fae. But I wanted to share this concern."
"On the subject of apprentices," he adds. "I've been informed that Harco will be sending me a Mercere apprentice to train within the year, so I'll have to absent myself from consideration for training either of the found children."
Felicia licks her paws and speaks up. "I have heard of the man in black before, his story is a fairly simple one- he steals naughty children. A tale made up by mothers to frighten children into obedience, it has no real ending, the children simply disappear. From what I have heard of the rescue here, it sounds like he was previously converting them into fae themselves through a long captivity, but has decided selling them for vis is more lucrative. It suggests this man in black is more cognizant than usual, normally each would be bound by a local story, which might involve killing the children, eating them, enslaving them or some other punishment the local felt would scare the children. This fae also travels more extensively than his nominal role would suggest- he gave up abducting children in Andorra from all accounts, as this one appears to be from Iberia somewhere from what I have heard."
Believe me, both times I encountered him I wanted to blast him. 'Tis only because of the Oath & Code that I didn't. But if it turns out to be lawful I will be sooo glad. The only reason I bargained with him in the first place was because I was so horrified at what he was doing I felt it was a preferable alternative to pay him off. He says he has some deal with the bishop. I think that may have something to do with Bernat's problems too.
But still, be it lawful to slay him or not, I gave him my word that I would try to negotiate a settlement. And one should be carefully worded. Turn the tables. Instead of paying extortion, find a way to gain a service for our wage.
"One important question," Lucas notes, "is whether the 'man in black' was able to determine that Clotilde was Gifted or it that was just a coincidence. If he can find Gifted children, then that's something different altogether. But if this was just a coincidence, then we may have to wait a long time before he happens to grab a Gifted child again."
"As a side note, we should also consider that he only grabs naughty children. So if we can get Gifted children, we'll only get difficult ones. Though I suppose it's a complex issue. How many Gifted children are naughty because they're treated badly on account of the Gift? There's always the chance that a naughty Gifted child will turn around once he or she is treated better. Then again, naughty or not, Gifted children are rare enough that the Order can't afford to turn many away."
Fleur suggests "If he can detect gifted children, he might follow some because other children tend to e naughty towards them. That information would be of benefit even if he is not the one doing the grabbing, and taking a gifted child in an area where he is taking non gifted children may be less noticeable by the mundanes."
Where's your sense of humanity? They are children! What does it matter if they are Gifted or naughty. And I wonder how many well behaved children are mispercieved as naughty merely because of their Gift.
And I don't want to get into the meat market. Gathering and selling children to the Order sounds ghastly. One percent of 1% is rare, but not so rare it is worth the price of our ethical and moral standards.
"Clearly we want this creature to stop abducting children, Gifted or not," Lucas agrees. "All I meant was that if it is truly capable of finding Gifted children, that's a skill we might well be able to put to use, if the creature can be reasoned with, of course."
"So this fae must be stopped and not just moved on to an area away from us. Good. " says Vocis. "And If it cannot truthfully agree a pact then we destroy it. "
"When is it due to return?"
I know very well what you meant. And I am still shocked and horrified you would even suggest such a thing. We have the ritual Solomon invented. What more do we need?
My apologies to Vocis. But the Order is not House Tremere. The Order serves us, we do not serve it.
By no means do I even approve of the method most magi use to obtain an apprentice. I was lucky. I was born into it. I know others that were orphaned young or their vulgar family made arrangements. But far to many of us were abducted by our masters, torn from our family never to see them again. Tell me Lucas. Do you remember your mother's name? What color eyes did your father have? When is the last time you spoke to them?
Now as far as this Faerie goes, I imagine a solution that will be of benefit to humanity. Instead of abducting those who are perceived as misbehaved, convince him to focus instead on those who are neglected and abused and bring them to a better life instead of tortuing them. In a situation such as that, I would consider his acquirment of Gifted Children acceptable.
He is due to return three days hence. (I need to scroll back and check on that timing )
Moved on away from us is suboptimal, but places matters outside of or direct responsability. We have an obligation to safeguard Arans at the least and by extension of our territorial claims the whole of Andorra as well.
To destroy it? I think that may nit be lawful. If it was a treasure guarding monster whose tale involved being defeated by a hero, then okay. That resolves its existance and thus does not count as molestation. But I am certain that in this case the use of lethal force is molestation and thus unlawful.
"It promised to avoid Arans and returned, probably to continue its tale upon us. I have no desire to balance innocent children against molestation of fae - the law isn't clear but the safety of children is. I concede the point though, better to ask and see if a resolution is possible. "
"My mother's name is Sophia," Lucas replies. "My father's eyes were blue. And while I haven't seen them in some time, that's my own fault and not the fault of my pater. Remember, we do things differently in House Mercere. All of us are born to the house. None of us are ripped from our families as some poor apprentices are. And I agree with you, those that do so to gain an apprentice are no better than the fae we're dealing with, snatching children with no care for where they came from and what their families think. That's why I oppose the 'man in black' in its current incarnation. But if it can detect Gifted children in a manner better than Solomon's spell, then perhaps that's something we can use. Maybe we can change its story to get it to help us rather than oppose us. I'm not entirely certain how fae work, and if that's practical."
"The truth is that many Gifted children are in very difficult situations, shunned by their neighbors and in some cases their very families. Yes, many apprentices are torn unwillingly from their families. But others are not. Others find that apprenticeship gives them meaning in life and a better future than they could ever have hoped for remaining where they were. If we can better identify those Gifted children, then we can work with them and their families to show them their birthright. Yes, we have Solomon's spell. But he can't be everywhere casting it. If this 'man in black' can find Gifted children over a greater area, then I think it's worth exploring whether we can convince it to help us locate Gifted children - not to kidnap them. God no. But to try and save them from living a life of rejection and solitude."
"I'm not sure exactly what you thought I meant. But if you thought I intended to use the 'man in black' to continue kidnapping children, Gifted or otherwise, you were very much mistaken."
A point here that may not be remembered- the contract with TMIBWASOHB was that he would take no more children from Arans. He has returned to bring a child from elsewhere, not to abduct a child.
And FWIW, nobody caught the fact that the child he abducted from Arans was an illegitimate whose father was a redcap...
Vibria rests her hand on her swollen belly* with her eyes closed as she listens to everyone talking around her, occasionally wincing.
[color=red]"How hard would it be to get him to change his story, so that he is only taking abused and neglected children instead of 'naughty' children? Is he self-aware enough to even do so?"
I've semi-randomly decided that Artur will be born in mid-February, 1239.
Felicia replies "A faerie cannot change their story on their own, they would have to agree to let us change it, and the change is always easier to move towards what local legends are. Additionally they gain vitality by having a story which resonates, and the story he has, sad to say, will resonate better than the more useful story you propose. In total I would say it would be quite difficult to get him to change his role, and if we succeeded another faerie would probably quickly adapt to pick up the role that we diverted him from."
(OOC: I propose that Silvberoak should be in charge of the nature and resolution of TMIBWASOHB. )
What if we changed the story itself? Or a new story, tacked on to the original? Something like... Tina was a pretty and talented young girl. Her wicked stepmother was jelly, see, and resented the kid. Kept telling her tales about the wicked abductor that would come for her if she misbehaved or told her father about the abuses she suffered. One day the abductor does come, but to rescue her. She goes on to become a princess or sorceress or nun or something else cool. Whatever. A new story. We encourage the spread of this tale around Arans and the rest of Andorra. Hire some minstrels and balladeros to sing about it. Make Cloetide the perfect example of such a tale.
Tell and retell this new story and force change upon the faerie. Use Mentem magic on a scale large enough so that people forget the original. That will take a ritual newly invented for such a task. But if we all pull together as a team, we can pull this off within a year I bet.
"We could start such a tale, but it would not force that tale on this particular faerie. If it is done well enough though, he does seem cognizant enough we may be able to entice him."
"Carmen do you have a preference for how we stage the next encounter with this fae? I can't imagine we need full presence of the magi, but I would like to see this creature. "
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