Not any more. Not really. Not since Corypheus took over. They're desperate for some way to gain a foothold. I'm on the hostile powers project - that's what they're calling it now, the project dealing with Tevinter and the Anderfels - and I proposed this, and they seemed interested. So I wanted to ask if it would even be possible.
Corypheus is, at least partly, using slaves to support his occupation. The idea may be taken. [ he knows, at least, that the assassin that attacked the Archon was a slave, and working with the Venatori. If the woman's smart, she'd call on the rest of those in her station to join, and if it means more freedom than they had before, they won't care who it supports. ]
You'd need information - how many of the slave class are allied with Corypheus, what he's offering them, what he's asking from them in return, what we can give instead. We cannot go in with an army and expect to win them. With slaves, when one group is freed, all others are made to suffer. It must be all at once, or none at all.
[ that, and: And they'll want the Archon's head. he'd like to tell her they could win some over just in killing him and making a statement to those slaves, but they were told to keep quiet, so he's keeping quiet.]
[ she can hear vane sigh on the other end of the transmission, not exasperated, just thoughtfully, trying to scrounge his mind for who they have with them. ]
If we had access to Nascere, maybe. Currently? No. None in the mainland that I know of. [ he can't be sure where every slave he's had a good relationship with could be, if they're even still slaves or escaped or recaptured. ] The Inquisition would have to send in spies, and quickly, before the Venatori hold settles in.
People who have been slaves. Slaves won't trust a rebellion from a non-slave, and they will know.
[ life as a slave is much, much different from life free. it makes a different person, most that look at rebellion and think 'death wish' besides. a spy would have to be incredibly good to fool the slaves, and then keep the story going for, essentially, their entire life if they meant to lead that rebellion themselves. the moment they're revealed as an impostor, all trust will be lost. ]
And no former slave will be willing to go back there.
Have a plan, have resources, have the entire Inquisition backing it from the very top, have a military ready to move in to reinforce the resistance. Those things at the very least.
[ a beat, and this sigh is an exasperated one: ]
And if this is you trying to get me to do it, have a sworn treatise from the Inquisition to defend Nascere's independence as a sovereign nation.
[ She wasn't - not consciously, at least; maybe her mind was going there without her being cognizant of it. But...it does make sense, doesn't it? Him, leading their forces...She hesitates, then nods. ]
[ as far as he knows, he's the only former tevinter slave in kirkwall. at least, the only one kitty knows, probably. definitely one of the very few that might be reckless and stupid enough to try this insane scheme. ]
Don't make any promises. This isn't a yes.
[ honestly, he highly doubts she'll get any traction from that. part of asking such a high price is because she won't. and flint would shit bricks if he heard about it anyway. but we'll see. ]
And it'd be brilliant, wouldn't it. None of this kissing the Archon's arse and licking Magisters' boots to keep Corypheus at bay. None of this pretending that they're all fine and what they're doing is fine so they'll be willing to ally with us. It'd be burning their entire bloody country down around their smug rich slave-keeping ears. Tearing it to bits and then after the war, giving the slaves control. Letting them build something new.
[ dear lord, this child. so much optimistic energy. he worries some (which is a rare, rare occurrence for charles vane) that she'll have that optimism crushed the hard way, and her spirit will shatter. but that's the way of the world.
he thinks 'assuming the slaves don't just turn around and start enslaving more, because some are like that. or their childrens' children will. some people are just fucked in the head. some sick impulses for greed and conquer and dehumanizing just never leave. but he won't say that to her. she's young and bright, and it isn't hurting anyone. yet, at least. ]
[ Kitty's clearly a bit fired up now, enthusiastic and keen on this idea. She's so used to being on the receiving end of discouragement that a yes, maybe, this might possibly be feasible is grand encouragement to her. ]
We won't leave them there. We can't. If the world's falling apart at the seams, then the least we can do is put it together in a way that's less bloody awful.
[ Sniffing: ] Kids my age tend to be very stupid. [ Then, either more or less charitably: ] And it's not as though adults are any different. They get distracted by all the things they're told matter - marriage, wealth, fancy houses and well-made shoes. But you're all here to fight, you're all ignoring those things, and so am I.
[ he lets out an actual laugh, and the apocalypse is nigh. ]
Yes, they do. [ even with none of those things in his life when he was kitty's age, he was still pretty fucking stupid. anyway, he's actually pretty proud of kitty for that answer, about what people are distracted by. ] Exactly. You asked why no one stopped slave trafficking in the south before. That's your answer.
[ because no one fucking cares. not enough, anyway, and the rulers prefer them that way, because it keeps them in line. keep working for that comfort we've promised you, keep our system running smoothly, keep yourself in chains. keep eating the lies we feed. ]
[ if the others can change, change them, but the numbers are what they are. ]
That's why we have Nascere. [ well, part of it. not everyone in nascere is like vane, because vane's pretty fucking special. it is a safe place to be like him. freedom, above all other things. in nascere, you owe no one anything, and if they want to take something from you, they have to fight you to do it. there's no law to hide behind. ]
[ make a number that means something out of them. ]
But attempting to force change when you don't have the power will only get more of them slaughtered. [ which is what happens to most people that care about this - the inescapable hierarchy of society, the slavery, the mages in towers and poor dying in the streets. they stand up for something, and because they're the only ones, they die. ]
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You'd need information - how many of the slave class are allied with Corypheus, what he's offering them, what he's asking from them in return, what we can give instead. We cannot go in with an army and expect to win them. With slaves, when one group is freed, all others are made to suffer. It must be all at once, or none at all.
[ that, and: And they'll want the Archon's head. he'd like to tell her they could win some over just in killing him and making a statement to those slaves, but they were told to keep quiet, so he's keeping quiet.]
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How could I get that information? Do you...have any contacts amongst them?
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If we had access to Nascere, maybe. Currently? No. None in the mainland that I know of. [ he can't be sure where every slave he's had a good relationship with could be, if they're even still slaves or escaped or recaptured. ] The Inquisition would have to send in spies, and quickly, before the Venatori hold settles in.
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Probably...people posing as slaves, themselves. To instigate the rebellion.
[ Which sounds like an awful, awful, awful job. ]
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[ life as a slave is much, much different from life free. it makes a different person, most that look at rebellion and think 'death wish' besides. a spy would have to be incredibly good to fool the slaves, and then keep the story going for, essentially, their entire life if they meant to lead that rebellion themselves. the moment they're revealed as an impostor, all trust will be lost. ]
And no former slave will be willing to go back there.
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Most would rather die.
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[ a beat, and this sigh is an exasperated one: ]
And if this is you trying to get me to do it, have a sworn treatise from the Inquisition to defend Nascere's independence as a sovereign nation.
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I'll see what I can find out. What I can get.
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Don't make any promises. This isn't a yes.
[ honestly, he highly doubts she'll get any traction from that. part of asking such a high price is because she won't. and flint would shit bricks if he heard about it anyway. but we'll see. ]
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[ And then, with a bit of fierce enthusiasm: ]
And it'd be brilliant, wouldn't it. None of this kissing the Archon's arse and licking Magisters' boots to keep Corypheus at bay. None of this pretending that they're all fine and what they're doing is fine so they'll be willing to ally with us. It'd be burning their entire bloody country down around their smug rich slave-keeping ears. Tearing it to bits and then after the war, giving the slaves control. Letting them build something new.
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he thinks 'assuming the slaves don't just turn around and start enslaving more, because some are like that. or their childrens' children will. some people are just fucked in the head. some sick impulses for greed and conquer and dehumanizing just never leave. but he won't say that to her. she's young and bright, and it isn't hurting anyone. yet, at least. ]
I would be. If it works.
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[ Kitty's clearly a bit fired up now, enthusiastic and keen on this idea. She's so used to being on the receiving end of discouragement that a yes, maybe, this might possibly be feasible is grand encouragement to her. ]
We won't leave them there. We can't. If the world's falling apart at the seams, then the least we can do is put it together in a way that's less bloody awful.
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Won't matter who's free if Corypheus ends the world. Worry about that first. There's no liberating dead slaves.
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I can worry about more than one thing at once, Captain Vane.
[ definitely a monster ]
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Big worries to have, those two. Aren't kids your age usually chasing each other instead of Archons and archdemons?
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Yes, they do. [ even with none of those things in his life when he was kitty's age, he was still pretty fucking stupid. anyway, he's actually pretty proud of kitty for that answer, about what people are distracted by. ] Exactly. You asked why no one stopped slave trafficking in the south before. That's your answer.
[ because no one fucking cares. not enough, anyway, and the rulers prefer them that way, because it keeps them in line. keep working for that comfort we've promised you, keep our system running smoothly, keep yourself in chains. keep eating the lies we feed. ]
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[ That takes the wind out of her sails. So to speak. But she rallies: ]
But not everyone's like that. We aren't.
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[ if the others can change, change them, but the numbers are what they are. ]
That's why we have Nascere. [ well, part of it. not everyone in nascere is like vane, because vane's pretty fucking special. it is a safe place to be like him. freedom, above all other things. in nascere, you owe no one anything, and if they want to take something from you, they have to fight you to do it. there's no law to hide behind. ]
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[ That doesn't come out as firm as she'd wanted it to, but - it's not bad. A slight hesitation, then she says - ]
Back home, there weren't many of us. But we found more. We were working on finding more.
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[ make a number that means something out of them. ]
But attempting to force change when you don't have the power will only get more of them slaughtered. [ which is what happens to most people that care about this - the inescapable hierarchy of society, the slavery, the mages in towers and poor dying in the streets. they stand up for something, and because they're the only ones, they die. ]
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[ She gnaws a little on the inside of her cheek. ]
But it's better to die fighting than live sitting down. I think.
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