Family

[Faith Augustin]

10th Zi'da 717

The knock on Kura's door was gentle, as was usual and when Kura opened it, there was Faith. Bundled up against the cold, even though she couldn't feel it, the young woman was very pregnant and getting moreso by the trial, it seemed. She hadn't seen Kura for a few trials, since the end of last season in fact and so she had, definitely, grown. She also looked dreadful, thinner about the face than was usual, pale and drawn with dark circles under her eyes. That notwithstanding, Faith smiled at Cally as the ghost appeared and she returned the soul's greeting. "Hello Cally. How are you?" Faith looked at Kura and there was a look in the young human's face which told the truth of her next words. "Kura, I need help" What was it, Faith wondered, that meant that Kura had a tendency to be the person who dealt with her in the throes of emotional pregnancies? Oh, there was that whole thing summed up, of course. She was family.

Kura ushered her in, Faith was more than aware that she wasn't fooling her friend for a moment, nor was she trying to. She took off her cloak and sat where she was directed, refused a cup of tea and then she explained. Padraig had gone on the last trial of Vhalar, Kura knew that. He'd gone off on an expedition, sponsored by the University, because in his Charter, he'd tracked the second sun and attempted to increase understanding of what was, effectively, a star which appeared to Idalos only once an arc. "It was fine, though. My Vri mark means that we can hear each other's thoughts, feel each others' emotions. His.. his Qylios mark he and I have bonded with that, and my Famula mark I've put the Greater Mark on him." She looked up at Kura and Faith looked lost.

"I can always hear him. Feel him. He's always there. Plus, he has the portal boots to come straight home if anything happens with the baby and we were writing to each other every trial. He was miserable and lonely and missing me." And trying to hide it, but one of the things with the way their bonds worked was that he couldn't hide it. Just like she couldn't hide how much she was missing him, how worried she was and all of that from him. But then, Faith explained to Kura, on the morning of the 5th, she'd woken up and it was silent.

"Nothing's working. Not the scrolls, the.. the bands had gone, I can't hear him. I tried to call him to me," because of the Famula mark, she could do that she explained, forcibly pull him to her. "Nothing. And then I tried to.. to call his soul." That hadn't worked, but she didn't know why. So, she'd gone to Viden, she explained to speak to a Naerrik called Linika and she had a few dozen books on the part of the world where he was. She couldn't risk the baby and, anyway (which Kura would know was more to the point) none of the captains would sail now. She'd gone to see a friend who was a dreamwalker, but he couldn't help her.

As she explained all of this, Faith spoke to her hands, pads of her fingers pressed firmly together. Then, she lifted her head and there were tears sparkling in her eyes. "Then, this morning, I saw Alexander again and I couldn't breathe. I haven't.. I haven't told anyone that, not even Cyrus because Katie will just put sleeping powder in my tea again. Kura, I don't know what else to do. How do I find him? I have to help him. I have to." Was there anything that she was missing, Faith wondered. Anything that she could or should be doing. Faith was wound like a spring, there was no doubting it and looked to her friend, desperation in her gaze.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

As was fitting for the cold, Kura had a nice roaring fire going in her fireplace. Living on the edge of the woods, and having been raised by hunters, had it's benefits and she didn't have to buy her own firewood or even do much chopping, if she searched diligently. And having a big furry wolf familiar who kept wanting to stretch his legs in the woods and didn't mind bringing back firewood often meant she wasn't the only the only one searching.

Thus, when she heard the gentle knock and opened the door, Kura wasted no time in hurrying her friend in out of the cold and into a seat in front of the fire. Cally, who was as unpredictable as ever, appeared to be sitting in the fire and stuck her head out of the flames to wave at Faith cheerfully, then went back to intently watching the wood burn. "Tryin' to figure out how to tell the best branches for burnin'." she said, her tone cheerful but intent. Speck was asleep on top of the hearth, while Phelan was curled up in front of the fire, though the wolf wagged his tail when Faith came in.

Faith's next words, however, had Kura's entire household an alert, even Rahmet, who had been dozing under the couch. Kura listened quietly as Faith tried to calmly present her issues, but she could tell. Faith was dangerously close to coming apart at the seems, not good for her or for Bun. She had known about the university expedition, but had privately disapproved of the timing of it, on two levels. Taking a husband away from his heavily pregnant wife for a non-life or death cause was just unfitting behavior, and sending and sea expedition out in Zi'da was foolish besides. Then Faith got to the crux of the problem and Kura's frown deepened for a brief moment.

The number of things that could so totally interfere with both magic and divine powers was, to Kura's knowledge, very small. However, that could be either good or bad news, and she was actually inclined to take some small comfort from that small pool. She listened, quietly, as Faith explained what she had done to try and get some answers, but didn't respond. Then came the topic of Alexander, seeing him again. As far as Kura knew, Alexander should be dead, or out of commission at least. But magic was a strange thing, and not something she had made a full academic study of. It was definitely time to familiarize herself with that particular arcane practice, if only so she knew how to make sure the dead stayed dead.

For now, however, she smiled. "Well, lass, you came to the right place. In this room there's well over a centuries worth of knowledge of matters Divine, plus some Arcana knowledge. As well as off the wall suggestions that might be openin' up avenues we hadn't been considerin'." she said, her tone confident. In truth, she had no solid ideas, but this was not a time to admit to any such thing. "So, Padraig is alive. You're an Exalted of Famula, ain't much less than the Soul-Keep herself that could be keepin' you from callin' any soul you wanted, and she wouldn't be keepin' you from callin' Pad, would she?" she said, her tone gentle and reassuring.

"So, then somethin' is interferin' with the Blessin's. And since yours seem to be workin' fine, that interference must be on his end." she said, holding up a hand to forestall any comment. "Don't go thinkin' he's under attack from threat now, lass. The number of things that could be doin' that are small, and to my knowledge, the mobile ones aren't anywhere nearby. That means he's likely passin' through a...blank spot, of sorts. There's a couple been found, some caves and such accordin' to my mother. Remnants of an old war and older power, from what little I gleam of them from my own tutors. My mother seemed to think it was enough that I know they exist." she said, smiling faintly. "She was always tellin' me not to go lookin' for the old remnants, she was."

"So, likely an empty spot. They aren't dangerous to him." she said, her tone calm. That was nearing close to a blatant lie, as they likely weren't that safe either, but she did her best to keep any of it from showing. "Now, as to Alexander, you and your rescuers burned that one down to ash, didn't you?" she said, her voice intent. It was entirely possible that Faith was suffering from something similar to what Kura called "Combat Shock", an affliction she had seen in hundreds of soldiers before, but she wanted to be sure.

[Faith Augustin]

10th Zi'da 717

Kura didn't approve of Padraig going on the expedition, Faith knew. But then, Padraig didn't either ~ it had taken a lot of conversation, the two of them, to come to the conclusion that he should go, he must go. Faith knew it was hard for others to understand, but she was more than grateful that Kura kept that opinion quiet and respected their choice. It was one of the things that Kura did well, and one of the very many things that Faith was grateful to her friend for.

So, she sat and she explained and she looked at Kura with wide, hopeful eyes as the mortalborn explained about these "blank spots" which her mother had taught of. Faith frowned slightly and nodded, assimilating the information. "When I was in Viden, I bought books. Twenty of them. I haven't seen anything in there about that sort of thing, yet, but I'm still working through them." She looked at Kura and smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes in the way it normally did. "If he could come home, he would. As soon as he can, he will. I know that." There were just those constant fears of what danger he was in, what was causing this and what other effects it would have, all of that sort of stuff. Still, there was no point creating a circular argument.

When Kura asked about Alexander, though, Faith looked at her and sighed slightly. "It isn't him. I... Padraig knows, but he's the only one. After it happened, I started having panic attacks and hallucinating Alexander." Faith knew that Kura would understand, and knew that she knew her well enough to not fuss, too, which was important. "But they haven't happened for such a long time. I guess it's stress, but I don't want to put Bun in any discomfort. So, I'm going to have to deal with it." She would have to, there was no doubt. Ironically, with her mark from Moseke, Faith could heal others in similar situations. "However, whilst we did burn him, yes, when we went back there was nothing there. Nothing. But it's my mind, Kura, nothing else. I should go over to Serenity Garden and spend a trial or two there." She wouldn't, not at the moment. Faldrass was just too isolated in her current state. "Or get some jubiplant over here." Sighing slightly, she looked at her friend and explained her concern. "If I have a panic attack, Katie and Cyrus are going to be completely overwhelmed. I don't want to scare them." But the trick, of course, was that she really needed not to worry about that and just focus on remaining calm.

Off Topic

Just recording here that, whilst in Viden, Faith bought 20 books. Thats 200gn, but she gets 35% off the price so it's 130gn. They are identified in my CS

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura snorted when Faith mentioned getting books from Viden, and that none of them had mentioned the "blank spots". "Yvithia is the Immortal of Communication, but what she communicates to the masses is tightly controlled. Granted, most Immortals aren't inclined to let every random person who reads a book know about something that would weaken their ability to use their Domains." she said, grimacing slightly at that. "But Yvithia...honestly, I'm not really in a position to talk about her. Bat blood between her and my mother, and I know mum's opinions of the Immortals has done a lot of influencin' of my own. Still, I don't entirely trust her to be honest, since she's buddies with Faldrun and his goons last time someone took stock." she said, shaking her head.

She smiled and nodded that Padraig would be home as soon as he was able, though she hoped the blank spot hadn't shorted his powers and magic items entirely. Granted, she didn't think that could actually happen, but it was a possibility, though she wasn't going to say a word about it to Faith. Then Faith started talking about Alexander and her hallucinations, and Kura nodded. "A bit of a vacation would do you good, honestly. That being said, I've seen this sort of thing before. There's probably a big fancy word for it, but the soldiers called it "combat shock". They'd be in a really bad battle and they'd start seein' things from the battle. They'd see threats where there weren't any, friends would be appearin' as enemies, things like that. And it would happen with other traumas too, people taken by bandits and slaves freed from especially cruel masters often had it as well." she said, her tone somber.

Of course, magic being what it was, there was a small chance Alexander was alive. She'd set her familiars to findin' out for sure later, but for now, her focus was on Faith here and now. "Ah, lass, all those doctor smarts and you don't know the secret to avoidin' panickin'?" she said, grinning slightly. "Don't you be worryin' about no panic attacks, lass, that'll just make it more likely." she said, her tone calm. "Now, I won't be puttin' any sleepin' powder in your tea, Cally would rip the fabric of reality to scold me for ruinin' perfectly good tea if I did, but you can be restin' here with no worry of any troubles comin' to bug you, if you want." she said, before grinning slightly. "I've even got a magic chicken that prevents bad dreams, if those are givin' you trouble."

[Faith Augustin]

10th Zi'da 717

Even in the darkest moments, Faith could not help but smile at Kura's unique take on the Immortals. "Mum" (or Karem as the rest of the mortal world knew her) had coloured her daughter's perception, which Faith found astonishing. As much as she worried about not understanding family, not being prepared to be a mother, Kura had been raised by Immortals. It was amazing and astonishing to her. Her opinion on Yvithia was not something Faith commented on ~ Padraig was marked by that particular Immortal, after all. Faith and Yvithia had met, in Treid's body and it was all a little messed up in her mind, all difficult. She had still been Tristan's slave then, yet in love with Padraig and had just realised that she had been sent there by Famula not to tend to the dead as she had thought, but to be the reason that Padraig was there. It had all been a very confusing time for the then-slave, and Yvithia had frankly scared her.

Kura's assessment of her mental health though had Faith nodding. "I've seen it in the Order. More times than I'd like." She sighed slightly and lowered her head to look at her hands. There was no doubting that there was something on her mind as she examined her hands held together as they were. "I feel so weak and silly. Everything I've been through, Kura, all the abuse I've taken without flinching." Faith shook her head and then lifted her gaze to her friend. "It's why Vri's domains are what they are. I've never been so afraid as at the thought of losing him. That's what Alexander did." He made her afraid to lose her husband, be lost to him. As a slave, Faith said with an ironic twist of her lips, she'd had nothing and thus, nothing to lose. Now? With a shrug which spoke volumes of her worry and helplessness right now, she explained it the best she could. "Now, I've got everything to lose."

Kura's offer of somewhere to rest, though, that was incredibly kind but Faith couldn't take it. What if Padraig got home? No, she couldn't do it, but it had to be said that her eyebrow shot up somewhat at the last thing Kura said. "Well, now I know that I have lost my mind," Faith chuckled, genuinely amused at the words spoken by her friend. "Because I swear that you just said that you have a magic chicken?"

In a world filled with wonders and miracles, Faith believed anything was possible, but the idea of a magic chicken delighted her and, it must be said, it showed even through the worry on her face. "Is this... an alive chicken? A spirit chicken? A toy one?" Well, she thought, with a genuine grin, now she'd heard it all.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura nodded as Faith agreed with her comment that she had seen combat shock at the order, then fell silent as Faith explained that she had taken her abuses as a slave without any trouble, but now she was panicking. After a moment, she tilted her head to the side for a moment, an expression not unlike a canine who was curious about something. "There is nothing weak or silly about your worry or fear, lass." she said, smiling slightly. "You know, one parallel I've always find somewhat odd is the one between born slaves and career soldiers. Both can endure horrors that would drive many others to their knees in pain and terror. Yet things that seem comparatively small can be the most terrifyin' for them." she said, her voice thoughtful. "In many cases, it is the fear of losin' a loved one that does it, but what many don't realize at first is how...all-consumin' that dread can be." she said, her expression turning to a frown as she almost seemed to look beyond. Then she shook herself a bit and came back to reality.

"However, at this point, I'm not tellin' you anythin' you haven't realized for yourself." she said, with a slight shrug. "And unfortunately, nothin' makes that fear go away. Best that can be done is to keep your mind off of it as best you can." she said, shaking her head. Then she grinned at Faith's comment about her magic chicken. "Oh, I said it, lass. Magic chicken. Prevents bad dreams." she said, grinning. At her questions, the mortalborn laughed outright. "Small stuffed chicken. You remember that fog bank a while back? Wound up gettin' caught in it, got sent to the Almund graveyard. Me and a handful of others got to puttin' a ghost pirate crew to rest, turned out they'd been betrayed by some old family. Along the way I wound up in charge of a wing brigade of giant, undead, stinky chickens. Leader talked, a lot. Very dutiful, though, was Tinky T. Chicken. Anyway, turns out the ghosts saw fit to reward us for puttin' them to rest, though don't be askin' me how. And so I came into possession of a stuffed magical chicken that chases away bad dreams." she said, with a shrug. "Don't know how it works, but it does, and I don't have no reason to be complainin' about it. Besides, it's kind of cute." she said with a laugh.

After a moment, she narrowed her eyes at Faith, then nodded to herself. "Now, about keepin' your mind off of your troubles. You've been lookin' at doin' some work on freein' the slaves here on Scalvoris, lass. As it so happens, I've more than a few reasons, both personal and political admittedly, for wantin' the same thing." she said, before smiling. "Not that I wouldn't have helped you with it regardless. But why don't you be bringin' me in on your plans and let's see if there's somethin' I can't be doin' to help you out with them." she said, her tone cheerful.

[Faith Augustin]

10th Zi'da 717

That Kura had a magic chicken which chased away bad dreams made Faith think that maybe she was in one. But Kura didn't stop there. Undead, stinky chickens - Kura had been a wing commander? But the leader was called Tinky T. Chicken? Faith looked at Kura with amazement intermingled with amusement and asked, because it seemed important to. "What did the "T" stand for?" Then, as though she'd heard the question she smiled rather ruefully. But that was the story of how Kura came into the possession of a stuffed, magical chicken which chased away bad dreams. "I have a friend called Arlo, he is a storyteller and follower of Cassion," she said with a smile. "He's the one I went to see, to see if he could dreamwalk to Padraig, but he's never met him so he couldn't. But if you don't mind, I'll tell him that story ~ as a Cassion follower, I think he'd appreciate it." Or he'd think her a lunatic, either way.

But then, Kura spoke to her about something which Faith really hadn't been expecting. It was a topic very near and dear to her heart, and she looked at her friend in surprise. "Yes. But I want to, need to do it smart. I think, the first thing to do is to get basic medical care for slaves. Basic rights. Have them not as property according to Scalvoris law, but as people." She looked at Kura and the passion for her goal shone in her eyes, as tired and worried as she was. "I've been putting together arguments to present to the council. A healthier, happier workforce is more productive." Looking at her friend she leaned forward and explained.

"And I think the trick is not to start in Scalvoris Town or Almund. I've been reading about Scalvoris, about the island and the islanders. I think the place to start is Darbyton. Where the Rangers come from. They're.. the people there, they're different. Slaves are treated badly there, but I think if we can appeal to their sense of logic, of survival, then we start there. Once Darbyton starts, then Gunvorton. The woman on the council, Shania, she doesn't want to be seen as the bad guy. She'll want in with the moral minority before it becomes a majority."

Looking at Kura, then, she shrugged slightly. "Honestly, what you can do is back me in the council, firstly, and secondly, in your role there, I'd like to see us building relationships with Ne'haer. Slavery is illegal there. They function, economically. If we've got strong ties with them, strong relations with them, then there's a lot to be said for that." She looked at Kura and her eyes shone with determination. "I'll do it, Kura. One trial, there'll be no babies born into slavery." No matter which side they were on in the crib, she thought but did not say. Looking down at her wedding ring she smiled. "And Padraig will be right there with me. Every step. Can you get us links in Ne'haer?" Did it even make sense, Faith wondered - it did to her, it made perfect sense, but she had to get in touch with the people and Kura's links with Ne'haer might be the beginning of that.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura laughed alongside Faith as they discussed her chicken wing. "Never did find out what the "T" stood for. I think it's for "The". Tinky The Chicken, but it could have been Tinky Terrence Chicken or something." she said, grinning. Then Faith brought up Arlo and Kura paused for a moment. "Arlo...Arlo...nice hat? Talks to a fairy? Smart, but also a little odd?" she asked, and when Faith confirmed, Kura nodded. "He was there too. Him me, a couple of others. The entire group that I went to the Immortals Tongue with was there. Tio Silver, from Smooglenuff's Manor, a wolf-walker named Kali'rial and her lover Pash, a Sev'ryn with some serious teamwork issues named Qit'ria. There was another at the graveyard, couldn't tell you his name off the top of my head. Weird night, it was. Fun though." she said, grinning again.

Kura leaned back in her seat, listening as Faith laid out her plan for freeing slaves on Scalvoris and her logic for her plan. The only time she reacted was an amused smile when Faith mentioned changing how slaves were perceived by the law. When Faith nodded, Kura leaned forward. "Ne'haer...it's far, so it'll take time, but yes I believe I can. If not Ne'haer itself, there are other cities in the area that might get us the results we need. The are other places closer to home that I'll try as well." she said, before giving Faith another amused look. "You know, I recall you being unimpressed with "Slaves as people in the eyes of the law" as an alternative to immediate liberation when we were discussing politics after I arrived." she said, her grin showing she was a little amused at Faith's change of heart since that discussion.

"Now, there is, of course, precedence for slaves being viewed as people in the eyes of the law. Not only as people, but as citizens. Second class citizens, admittedly, but citizens still. Medical care, an education, all were afforded to them by law. I'll get you a book on the subject, and how it happened in The Eternal Empire. If we study it thoroughly, we should be able to make the transition faster and more smoothly than the Empire." she said, before grimacing. "Helps that we're smaller." The Eternal Empire's sheer size was a benefit in many ways, but it sometimes made changes slow to happen.

"As for starting in Darbyton, there is logic to that notion as a starting point. You'll definitely want your resources and references memorized for it though. From what I've heard, having to pull those references from a book right in front of them might be detrimental to your success." she said, her tone thoughtful. After a moment, she leaned forward, her eyes intent. "You're right though, one day the suns will rise on a world where no child is born into slavery, nor no adult captured and sold." she said, her voice carrying a conviction that rang through the Mortalborns very bones. "It's part of the world I am helping to create. Slavery of the innocent is a blight. The Empress allows it to remain for now because she will not risk a civil war, but when we succeed, word will get back to the Empire and the societal conditions will finally be right for its complete removal." she said, a feral grin crossing her features. "And from there, it's removal from the world at large is an inevitability. Once it is removed from the Empire, Imperials will see its very existence as a cause for war. A sign of corruption and moral bankruptcy in foreign governments." she said, leaning back in her chair. "If we can convince the world to lift those chains peacefully, it will be better. But one way or another, the people of Idalos will see a day when the fear of slavers is a relic of a dark past."

[Faith Augustin]

10th Zi'da 717

Faith couldn't fault Kura's description of Arlo; nice, smart, but a little odd. However, quite pointedly and with a smile she responded. "Says the woman with a magic chicken. Let's not go hide in the glasshouse, shall we?" Then, as Kura talked about then all, Faith nodded. "I know each of those people. What a small island. Mind you, maybe not that surprising. Pash and Kali work for me, worked, anyhow." As far as the human was concerned, the pair had gone off on their travels. The tale of Kura's night in the graveyard sounded very odd and Faith chuckled and shook her head. Fun? Faith could only conclude that she and Kura and Padraig were friends for a reason.

That Ne'haer was a long way away, Faith understood on a theoretical level, but for her? "The only time I've ever been to Ne'haer, it took 3 trials from Rynmere. I think I have a warped sense of timing." That and her almost legendary lack of sense of direction meant that she had no real idea where they were now, compared to where they were then. However, Kura's point about slaves in law was an important one. "I still am," she said. Unimpressed with it, that was. "But if it's a necessary step in order to avoid death and bloodshed, I'll live with it." Looking up at Kura, Faith's expression told the truth of her words. "Other people's lives aren't worth my tendency to be stubborn. If it's a choice between me feeling guilty for every trial that they aren't free, but less people dying and it taking longer, I'll take the guilt." It was hers, she could hold it.

Everything, after all, left a scar.

In terms of memorising her references and resources, Faith smiled and nodded. "I never forget anything. Not since Lord Vri gave me his blessing. I remember every moment of my life in pure, perfect clarity." Which might be a blessing and certainly was, but sometimes it was hard, too. "So, that won't be an issue."

They were in agreement about what their goal was, and so Faith looked at Kura and asked, thoughtfully. "How do we present this to the Council?" She asked. "I think meet with the Rangers in Darbyton first, get the lay of the land there, and then depending on how it goes, Gunvorton. Then, agree to run a test scheme there? I'll need to set up an Order of the Adunih, too. But Galena is wanting to expand and that takes care of the medical thing." Thinking about it, Faith considered. "We could do it, get agreement, and then present it to the Council. Signed, sealed and delivered?" There would be less chance to spend seasons arguing about it, Faith reasoned, but equally. It might get people's back up.

Did she mind that? Faith thought about it for roughly half a second and decided that no, she did not

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura laughed at Faith's glass houses comment. "Hey, I'm an old woman, remember? I'm supposed to be all grumpy and hypocritical at my age. And rude, of course." she said with a laugh. Granted, she was also supposed to be bossy, but as she actually did tend to be bossy, she elected to remain quiet on that matter. She wasn't surprised that Faith knew all the people from her adventures, Faith was good at knowing people. Her life put in her a lot of public positions. Her last trip to Ne'haer brought a laugh, however. "It's 123 trials from here to Ne'haer, according to the sailin' charts I have in my office. Helps to know how long a letter will take to arrive in a city. Might be a little longer, not many people are willin' to sail out of here in Cylus." she said, grimacing slightly.

Faith's next comment, however, got a very confused look from Kura. "All right, lass, you're goin' to have to run that by me again, a little slower this time. What you're doin', and the way you're doin' it, will make sure that slaves have the education that a lot of them to be able to get by in society, much less thrive. It will also save lives." she said, speaking a little slowly as she worked through the conundrum. "So explain to me again why you'd be feelin' guilty for savin' lives and actually doin' more to improve their quality of life than just freein' them immediately would do." she said, her tone serious.

Kura grimaced at the mention of Vri's blessings and its effect on memory. "For many, that kind of memory is as much a curse as it is a blessin'. To be honest, I can't think of anyone I'd wish that on." she said, her tone somber before she shrugged. "Not my place to comment on it, though." she said, before turning her attention to how she could help out. "As it happens, I have a chance to get the lay of the land early. There's a competition out at Darbyton, their Derby. I'll be attendin', partially because it sounds like fun to watch, partially because of political reasons. I'll see what I can find out while I'm there. And, perhaps more importantly, what my familiars can dig up that the locals don't want people to be seein'. If the locals aren't willin' to be seein' things our way at first, a bit of leverage in the right place would be helpin' a lot towards gettin' things done." she said. She knew was basically admitting that she was fully prepared to use blackmail to see that Faith's plan happened, but such was the world of politics. Blackmail, dirty as it could be, was at least cleaner than some of the other methods that could be used.

As for the council, Kura held her hand out and wobbled it a bit. "Presenting it as a fait accompli will help, certainly. We might still see some blowback from the most conservative members, but that can be dealt with. The biggest one we'll have to convince is Elliot, the councilor for Darbyton." she said, thinking on the man. She hadn't met Elliot except at the council meetings, but she liked what she had seen of him thus far. "I don't think that'll be too hard. We just have to be able to prove to him that this benefits Darbyton and Scalvoris, which I don't think will be that hard." she said, her tone thoughtful.