( there's no preamble - she's heard enough of what's being whispered not to bother with pleasantries. at least she'd already stopped publishing before this; no one can accuse her of trying to shield him from accountability by not writing about it.
of course she's not going to write about it. the last thing they need in kirkwall is to give that powderkeg a kick. )
You need to issue an unreserved and immediate apology to that mage for the Templar's behaviour. Preferably with assurance he's being disciplined.
( a beat later, warmer; )
Hello, cousin. You couldn't wait a bit longer after your wedding to get into mischief?
Yes, I am blaming you. You need to apologise to her for not immediately intervening when he escalated. You aren't just a seeker any more - you can't behave with impunity, you represent the Inquisition. And you've just shown the mages of Kirkwall that their anger is something you don't care about. That if they cry out you won't stop Templars from striking them down.
You need to fix it. Immediately. The Inquisition has barely earned its place in Kirkwall and you have set that work back.
[Because it's Gwen, and only because it's her, does he even go so far with this explanation.]
Gwenaëlle. There is nothing I can ever do to fix what I've done. Do you understand how grave my wrongs are? I. Did. Not. Catch. Meredith. Until it was too late. Until good people were made Tranquil or killed, and Kirkwall burned from her madness. I failed them all. So if she, or every mage in the Inquisition, wants to slap me or spit on me? I deserve it and welcome it. No apology will ever repair the damage.
(now private)
I've yet to determine if the Templar in question has indeed gone rogue and needs to be executed. If he does, I will be the one to see it done.
You aren't hearing me, Aleron. It isn't about you, not truly, and it's not about what you deserve. Moreover, you didn't stand there and take what you deserved, you allowed a Templar to violently retaliate against her and did nothing on her behalf. No one is going to spit on you. They're going to fear you. Not for what you did before. For what you did here, and now.
So you need to stop wallowing in your own shame, pull your selfish head out of your backside and understand that what you've done now is cause further harm. You failed before. You can either continue failing and damage the reputation of the Inquisition and the Seekers, possibly irreparably, or you can be a fucking grown up and apologise to her for what you failed to do this week, which was protect her from a present threat. You need to demonstrate to the mages here that you don't intend standing idly by when he hurts them in future.
No one cares what you might do one day. Very few know or care what you did before. But everyone will know about this before the week is out, and how do you want to be remembered? A man defined by his failures? Or someone who actually gives a damn about doing something about them?
You will be ordered to apologise if the Inquisition has a lick of sense. Do it before they tell you that you must. A templar violently assaulted a grieving mage and you stood there. What are you going to do about that? Right now? Because that's what matters.
Edited (broken icons from my new set sigh ) Date: 2017-06-30 12:03 pm (UTC)
[There is a very long and extended silence while Aleron listens and absorbs what she's saying. He honest to the Maker is paying attention and giving everything due consideration.]
This is the story that is circulating? That I stood passively by while a Templar accosted a mage and did nothing to reprimand him.
[Because there's a whole lot of lie in there and he doesn't give a damn how people see him, but he cares very intensely about the truth.]
Which is to say, she does, but it isn't the most important thing. Not his pride or his grief or the specific blow by blow of what happened -
what matters is the damage is done, and it needs to be fixed. )
A Templar violently assaulted a mage and you did not immediately have him off her, protect her and publicly, there and then and in front of her, make clear what he did was unacceptable.
And that is the best version of the story. Many others less flattering are being told. You don't have the luxury of doing anything now but damage control and it must be controlled because this directly impacts the Inquisition's ability to work - your ability to work. What do you think matters more to the leadership? One seeker or Kirkwall's faith in the Inquisition?
You might not care how people see you, but that is selfish and ignorant and the Inquisition is not as stupid. This looks bad. It is horrifically detrimental to the Inquisition's work. If you don't do something clever and quickly you may find yourself thrown to the wolves.
And it matters not that my wife was there, also being threatened and Rhona was released the moment we were certain she was not going to attack Bethany also? That all this happened in the space of less than a minute. That Harimann was in for discipline immediately while Bethany tended to her needs? What you are telling me matters is that lies are told and perpetuated so people feel better about something they were not witness to?
Yes. ( bluntly. ) None of that matters. How you feel about it doesn't matter. The damage has been done. Fix it before it's taken out of your hands to do so.
We aren't in Skyhold. We are in Kirkwall, and the Inquisition is being tolerated, not welcomed. Perception is what matters and right now you are perceived as a man indifferent to the plight of these mages. I don't care, do you understand? I don't give a damn what happened. I care that perception of it may hinder the ability of the Inquisition to work effectively here, and you should care about that too, because pride in being right all the time won't win a war if it loses you allies.
So swallow it and fix this mess. Much as I don't care for the woman, I recommend you reach out to Ser Luwenna Coupe. She's played the Game for the Chantry. She's the experience in these matters you lack.
Congratulations, here's a medal. What are you going to do next? If it's petulantly waste time complaining about how unfair this is and how you don't like the solution, I am more glad than you can know that my cousin is spared seeing you shame her.
( a day or two following aleron's failed delivery to the vauquelin home, a messenger arrives with a short letter, and does not wait to carry back a response. )
Seeker Darton,
As I was apparently insufficiently clear when last we spoke, your incompetence, irresponsibility and brazen disregard for the above are an embarrassment to the Inquisition, the memory of your wife, and myself personally. I have no desire to hear anything from you that is not contrite willingness to understand the error and prevent its repetition along with your sincere thanks for my efforts and those of others to right a situation created by consistent negligence, and as I have no expectation of ever receiving this, I can only ask that you cease to presume upon me in future.
As you have now replaced Mirielle, perhaps your new wife has a cousin you can replace me with as well.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chiming
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 12:35 am (UTC)From:of course she's not going to write about it. the last thing they need in kirkwall is to give that powderkeg a kick. )
You need to issue an unreserved and immediate apology to that mage for the Templar's behaviour. Preferably with assurance he's being disciplined.
( a beat later, warmer; )
Hello, cousin. You couldn't wait a bit longer after your wedding to get into mischief?
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 12:40 am (UTC)From:It's not "that mage", Gigi. Her name is Rhona.
[She's a person and it's his fault for not knowing her from the next lady over until this morning.]
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 12:42 am (UTC)From:( unmoved. )
And you need to do it in public, before anyone orders you to do so.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 12:48 am (UTC)From:If there is blame to be laid, it's on me. I have issued mine own apology for myself and I do not want her acceptance, nor her forgiveness.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 12:53 am (UTC)From:( backwards from ten. )
Yes, I am blaming you. You need to apologise to her for not immediately intervening when he escalated. You aren't just a seeker any more - you can't behave with impunity, you represent the Inquisition. And you've just shown the mages of Kirkwall that their anger is something you don't care about. That if they cry out you won't stop Templars from striking them down.
You need to fix it. Immediately. The Inquisition has barely earned its place in Kirkwall and you have set that work back.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 01:03 am (UTC)From:Gwenaëlle. There is nothing I can ever do to fix what I've done. Do you understand how grave my wrongs are? I. Did. Not. Catch. Meredith. Until it was too late. Until good people were made Tranquil or killed, and Kirkwall burned from her madness. I failed them all. So if she, or every mage in the Inquisition, wants to slap me or spit on me? I deserve it and welcome it. No apology will ever repair the damage.
(now private)
I've yet to determine if the Templar in question has indeed gone rogue and needs to be executed. If he does, I will be the one to see it done.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 01:16 am (UTC)From:So you need to stop wallowing in your own shame, pull your selfish head out of your backside and understand that what you've done now is cause further harm. You failed before. You can either continue failing and damage the reputation of the Inquisition and the Seekers, possibly irreparably, or you can be a fucking grown up and apologise to her for what you failed to do this week, which was protect her from a present threat. You need to demonstrate to the mages here that you don't intend standing idly by when he hurts them in future.
No one cares what you might do one day. Very few know or care what you did before. But everyone will know about this before the week is out, and how do you want to be remembered? A man defined by his failures? Or someone who actually gives a damn about doing something about them?
You will be ordered to apologise if the Inquisition has a lick of sense. Do it before they tell you that you must. A templar violently assaulted a grieving mage and you stood there. What are you going to do about that? Right now? Because that's what matters.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 08:17 pm (UTC)From:This is the story that is circulating? That I stood passively by while a Templar accosted a mage and did nothing to reprimand him.
[Because there's a whole lot of lie in there and he doesn't give a damn how people see him, but he cares very intensely about the truth.]
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 08:39 pm (UTC)From:Which is to say, she does, but it isn't the most important thing. Not his pride or his grief or the specific blow by blow of what happened -
what matters is the damage is done, and it needs to be fixed. )
A Templar violently assaulted a mage and you did not immediately have him off her, protect her and publicly, there and then and in front of her, make clear what he did was unacceptable.
And that is the best version of the story. Many others less flattering are being told. You don't have the luxury of doing anything now but damage control and it must be controlled because this directly impacts the Inquisition's ability to work - your ability to work. What do you think matters more to the leadership? One seeker or Kirkwall's faith in the Inquisition?
You might not care how people see you, but that is selfish and ignorant and the Inquisition is not as stupid. This looks bad. It is horrifically detrimental to the Inquisition's work. If you don't do something clever and quickly you may find yourself thrown to the wolves.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 08:49 pm (UTC)From:[Muttered: I despise diplomacy.]
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 08:58 pm (UTC)From:We aren't in Skyhold. We are in Kirkwall, and the Inquisition is being tolerated, not welcomed. Perception is what matters and right now you are perceived as a man indifferent to the plight of these mages. I don't care, do you understand? I don't give a damn what happened. I care that perception of it may hinder the ability of the Inquisition to work effectively here, and you should care about that too, because pride in being right all the time won't win a war if it loses you allies.
So swallow it and fix this mess. Much as I don't care for the woman, I recommend you reach out to Ser Luwenna Coupe. She's played the Game for the Chantry. She's the experience in these matters you lack.
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 09:05 pm (UTC)From:[And he doesn't trust her in the slightest.]
crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 09:07 pm (UTC)From:crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 09:12 pm (UTC)From:crystal.
Date: 2017-06-30 09:15 pm (UTC)From:Fix this, Aleron. I do not want to believe I was so grievously mistaken in believing you to be a better man than this.
( all right. time to talk to cade. )
by messenger.
Date: 2017-07-27 08:24 am (UTC)From:Seeker Darton,
As I was apparently insufficiently clear when last we spoke, your incompetence, irresponsibility and brazen disregard for the above are an embarrassment to the Inquisition, the memory of your wife, and myself personally. I have no desire to hear anything from you that is not contrite willingness to understand the error and prevent its repetition along with your sincere thanks for my efforts and those of others to right a situation created by consistent negligence, and as I have no expectation of ever receiving this, I can only ask that you cease to presume upon me in future.
As you have now replaced Mirielle, perhaps your new wife has a cousin you can replace me with as well.
With all due respect,
Lady G. C. D. Vauquelin