avalononline | video; un: stargazer

[Once things have calmed down with the doppelgangers and the ~~vorest~~ forest, there's something else left to be addressed. So, Claude addresses the network.]

Hi friends! Claude here. I haven't met most of you yet, so I suppose this would be a good time to say "nice to meet you", too. Hope your mirror images were nice to you and not... you know.

[Claude's sitting indoors by a sunny window in his treehouse apartment, his small white wyvern familiar snoozing beside him.]

As eager as I am to get to know everyone, what I actually wanted to talk about was the situation with Elphame. Since Arthur dumped the decision on what to do on our shoulders, we'd better figure out how to cast our votes.

For my part, based on past relations between Elphame and Camelot, invading Celliwig is out of the question. Humans and fae have waged wars here in the past, and it's taken a lot of effort to earn the peace they have now. Camelot has even been making strides to learn about fae and coexist peacefully with them. Given Celliwig is our best chance for communication, attacking would be completely counterproductive. Even if we did, there's no guarantee we'd succeed, so why risk it?

That said, direct negotiation hasn't worked either, so our two remaining options are to focus on slowly building up trust via trade links, or deal with matters on Celliwig's terms and accept their trials. Honestly, I'm not clear on the details on that, so if someone who knows more could get the rest of us up to speed, by all means...?

[He trails off with a shrug, then gives a sheepish smile.]

Anyway, I've waffled on for a while now! Long story short, I think our peaceful options are really the best shot we have at this, it's just a matter of deciding which is best. I'm really not interested in letting a violent old history repeat itself. Feel free to pitch in with your own thoughts... Maybe we can even come up with something better than what's already being proposed.

[He gives a lazy wave, before ending the feed.]

[ooc: threadjacking is welcome and encouraged! go wild]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Nobunaga's just been watching, so it's literally a whole week before he responds... with a laugh!]

Never thought I'd see the day a bunch of people could have an open discussion about war, and only one demon chimes in in favor of it!

[That'd be Yuber, of course. For whatever reason, Nobunaga is REALLY fond of him!]

[The humor vanishes in an instant though. And he gets all deadly grim and serious.]

Of course it's easy for outsiders to beg for peace. We only suffer the consequences of the conflict, not of the growing resentment, and being made to feel inferior like the people born here. Even assuming they're lashing out because the destruction of everything has them scared like wounded animals, so they're blaming an easy target, it's nice of them to pick the fae, not us. And curious. It indicates a lot more history.

I propose a completely fourth option, of neither trade, war, nor trial. Superiority through production at home.

If the people here resent the ease with which the fae use magic, then we can enable them to do things without magic that meet needs even better. If it's a matter of territory, or of simple fear, then show them that their needs can be met through ingenuity and hard work, and with creation and production rather than petty theft and destruction.

Of course, the beauty of this is that whether the people choose war, or continue with trades, then they'll need something better to offer either way.

So for all you peace-mongers; what are you offering those born here in exchange for the peace you seek?

[someone has to be a fan of Yuber, because Claude definitely isn't.]

Aren't you making a lot of assumptions yourself? You're talking about a "they" lashing out, but as far as I can tell, conflict hadn't even been on the table until Arthur put it to a public vote.

In my experience, it's often leaders who drag their people into bloody conflicts, and the people have no choice but to go along for the ride. Some may support the cause, but others just want to live peacefully like they did before. I doubt the fae who live here in Camelot are particularly keen to turn on friends or family.

I also don't agree people here should find a way to live without magic, but I'm interested to hear any proposals for alternatives if anyone does have any.

You must not have met the townsfolk calling for it while he was still negotiating.

The only thing the fae have that the others don't is easy access to magic. Worlds without magic found a way to sail among the stars, is jealousy over something so minor worth fighting for?

And if the King wanted war, he'd declare it, not ask what others want and try to resolve it another way. Wars are easy to instigate, you don't need public support, that usually comes secondary, if at all.

Honestly, I find the vote baffling overall. I think he wanted to appease us otherworlders instead of making any hasty actions without first seeking our consent. He needs our support more than anything.

And I think you're overselling the lack of access to magic or any jealousy it'd cause. The whole reason the city was founded here in Avalon in the first place was so people could practice magic without fear of persecution. Merlin has been pushing for better education on fae and magic, too. Yes, the fae are more powerful, but that doesn't mean Camelot is powerless.

Of course it's not powerless!

Magic doesn't exist in my world. The few charlatans that sell themselves as conduits of spirits, and pretend to speak for the gods do withhold their tricks and protection in exchange for a rigid caste system that doesn't allow for trading with outsiders -- so I hold no illusions that this is anything similar to my realm. For starters, the fae are also extremely friendly.

Nevertheless, the people here are riled up with resentments. Have you been asking them why? I have.

That's why the King called for a vote. If more of the populace wants a war than peace, then it doesn't matter what he does to try to maintain a good neighbor policy, they'll undermine it without him using force to quash it. And once you throw in us off-worlders, that would be fighting a war on two fronts. But if it's just a loud minority clamoring for attention for their own ill gains, they'll expose themselves for the selfish minority they are, and prove to the fae that the majority are nothing like that.

Honestly, I wish I could have been that brazen in my lands, but as I said, the circumstances were as different as night and day.

Just to circle back to your original point... Do you intend to approach Arthur with your fourth option? Or are you in the market for ideas first to see if it's viable?

All inclusive.

Mitsuhide is my left hand man, at home, and my only general here from our time, and he thinks it's unnecessary. Normally, I'd defer to that, especially since I don't want to step on the King's toes, and certainly, I don't want to waste time on weapons and armor if they're unnecessary as everyone hopes, as it would surely send a wrong message politically.

But barring weapons factories, there's still more than enough call for goods, and no country can survive by buying its desires from the outside without producing more than it needs at home.

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