Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 8, 2012 20:51:41 GMT -5
It seemed that both Talon Windwaltz and Sylph O'Dell had left their positions at Firefox in search of their fortunes in the wider world, and while Morgan was glad to see them pursuing their happiness, it left the school without a head, a situation Morgan was hoping to soon remedy.
Selection of a new head of the school was limited at the moment. Professor Vablatsky, while quite charming (and very attractive and popular with the students, especially the male ones), was too new to the area for Morgan to fully put her faith behind as headmistress, and Heaven only knew Professor Morrison had his hands full as both DADA professor and Mayor of Drakborough.
No, the responsibility was hers.
So, she approached the office she'd been in only a few times before, and then mostly when she was a student. With Talon gone, the phoenix statue that guarded the door moved aside for her easily. She opened the door and stepped inside.
The piles of paperwork that Talon often got lost in were still there. It was best to get started then, yes? She had professor vacancies to fill, and new student files to sort through.
Marc had disappeared. Dropped off the maps, so to speak, along with the Hunter heir. It was a somewhat considerable setback for their organization, which could potentially spell the beginning of yet another great purge, to make sure that humanity was safe from the lycan threat. First, however, he needed to speak to the headmaster. Talon Windwaltz, to his knowledge, had never sided with the Ashelle girl. Instead, it sounded like he had taken sides with the Ministry during their short reign, who had in turn supported the Church. It was Talon that he must persuade of the Church's mission, perhaps to even enlist the aid of his staff and students.
Getting into the school itself had been easy. Evidently, there was no super complex network of defensive spells protecting the grounds and palace, unlike most other magical schools he knew of (maybe that was why it always seemed to be under attack?). Finding the Headmaster's office had also been exceptionally easy, for both paintings and students seemed to have no misgivings about this well-dressed, polite adult wizard. For all they knew, he was a new professor- there had been a number of staff changes lately, it seemed. Even the guards to Talon's office seemed completely willing to hop aside and admit him to the office. Everything was going perfectly thus far.
Except... no headmaster.
Instead of the blonde-haired wizard Bismarck was looking for, he found a fairly familiar young woman sitting at his desk. She was one of the ones who had facilitated Ashelle slipping away from the Church years ago. The one who had sent her beasts to assault Bismarck and his companions. Ignorant youth. That was probably all she was at the time, defending her fellow student friend from the big bad adult authority figure. Now, however, it looked like she might be a bit more mature, more responsible.
Or she was just stealing Talon's personal belongings and had been caught in the act.
Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 8, 2012 22:35:52 GMT -5
Had Talon even had a filing system? Morgan had just begun the work of sorting through the piles to see what was what when she was interrupted. The man who entered the office was familiar to her, and she remembered that day with great regret. She'd caused the death of many magnificent animals, and had not only angered Fenrir, but had also acted rashly, something no self-respecting Ravenclaw ought to do.
So, even though her first instinct was to turn Bismarck away, Morgan embraced her new maturity. Every debate had two sides, and though she might be biased in Ashelle's favor, she would at least hear Bismark out before she did anything else.
"Talon now works directly for the ICW. His position at the school hasn't been officially filled yet, but I'm acting as headmistress in the interim. Professor Morgan Pendragon; I'm sorry we haven't been properly introduced before now, Mister Bismarck." She cleared some space in the clutter with a flick of her wand, and summoned two armchairs. "Have a seat, please. How may I help you?"
Talon was gone. In his place, this girl was here instead. That wasn't what Bismarck had expected, but it was what he had been given to deal with. He would do as he had always done whenever an adverse situation was presented to himself and his Church. He would adapt.
"You and I have a poor history together. Yet, you are willing to sit down and discuss it like a civilized adults. This, at the very least, gives me great respect for you. I will tell you how you may help me, and all the information you will need to know, but first I am in need of information myself. I would like for you to tell me exactly what it is you know about me and my organization. In addition, I would like to know your involvement with the rogue hunter and her lycan fugitive."
Bismarck wasn't necessarily what would be seen as the most eloquent of men. The sort that would make an ideal politician, what with refusing to directly answer questions and instead trying to divert any attempts to get a straight answer while persuading others to do what he wanted. No, Bismarck was a good leader because he liked to be blunt and straight to the point. It was the sort of attitude that, unlike those seen in modern politics, actually resulted in things getting done.
Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 9, 2012 23:24:09 GMT -5
"I presume you mean Marc and Ashelle," Morgan began, sitting in one of the chairs she'd conjured. "Well, Ashelle and I were close when we were students, both prefects, on our house quidditch teams, and in a lot of the same classes. I haven't seen her since her graduation, though." As she spoke, she conjured a silver teapot and two teacups on the desk. Morgan was nothing if not hospitable.
"Anyway, sometime around my sixth year, Ashelle told me she'd found a lycan boy named Marc. She also told me about a big bad secret organization called the Black Forest Church that was bent on lycan genocide." Morgan poured herself some tea, and offered some to her guest. "I was a sixteen year old girl. Of course I believed my friend. Maybe I was naive to, but there you have it."
It had been so long since she'd even thought of any of those days, almost as if they'd been stories she'd heard. Stories that had happened to someone else. "You should know, however, that I plan to adopt the same policy as my predecessor. As long as the lycans stay off school grounds, and as long as they don't pose a threat to the students, I will not threaten them."
"I mean no disrespect, but your predecessor adopted a foolish policy. One that involved allowing both Fenris Fenrir and Azrael Jeremiah to casually stroll about as they willed. The results, as my reports seem to indicate, was that Fenrir ended up ripping off several heads- at least one belonging to a student, among his various violent outbursts while the Headmaster sat around doing nothing the entire time. Additionally, the Triangle Tunnel is still little more than a wasteland, plagued by hordes of inferi thanks to his questionable alliance with the wanted necromancer. People go missing regularly while you supposedly have a local group of vampires with their own castle! Creatures, I might add, which continue their existence through assaulting humans and feasting on their blood. Taking the submissive approach towards magical monsters that Talon did is pure folly."
"Now, is the hand of the Church heavy? Yes, it is indeed. Does it come down needlessly? No, absolutely not. The version of the story you received was from one young pup, who knew nothing of the true happenings of the world beyond the sheltered and highly abridged version his elders likely fed him. Unfortunately, The Rainier girl tossed aside everything she knew about her own organization in favor of this one childish misrepresentation."
"We do not ask you to declare allegiance to our cause. All we ask is that you do not oppose our organization or hinder our work. Furthermore, it is imperative that the lycan known as Marc Streampaw not be aided by yourself or others under your authority. Rather, if at all possible, he must be contained and quarantined away from others for their own safety."
Bismarck totally ignored the damn tea. This was serious business time.
Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 10, 2012 11:26:57 GMT -5
Morgan was silent for a moment, considering Bismarck's information. It was true that she tended to idolize Talon. It was also true that she'd been biased against the BFC from the beginning because she and Ashelle had been friends. That didn't mean that she couldn't reconsider her position. What she had to do now was adapt her reasoning to fit the facts.
Fact: Ashelle had released Fenris Fenrir from incarceration.
Fact: Fenrir and others like him were a major threat to the safety of her students.
Fact: While the church's methods were morally questionable, It could not be denied that they would provide security.
Fact: As head, however temporarily, the safety of her students was her ultimate concern.
"It is possible," Morgan began, standing and crossing the room, teacup in hand, "That I let youthful idealism obscure my vision before." She looked out the window, over the grounds. Students were out of doors, enjoying the day in groups, although from his height she couldn't make out individuals.
"My students are my concern, Mister Bismarck. You can provide security for them?" It wasn't really a question. She remembered Elle, a Slytherin she'd befriended who had been turned nosferatu against her will. Perhaps if Talon had done more to help rid this place of vampires, she would not have been lost.
"My predecessor believed that there could be peace, and I would like to say I believe the same. If your organization can provide security and peace for my students, I will not oppose you. If Marc Streampaw resurfaces, I'll be sure to let you know at once." She turned to regard the man. If this was the right thing to do, then why did it feel like making a deal with the devil?
There it was. Her students were her primary concern, as was befitting of a headmaster. A headmaster who also didn’t seem to carelessly disregard the threats bordering her tiny dominion, as Talon had done. What was more, she was completely compliant with his demands regarding Marc. There was only a tiny price she seemed to desire, one which conveniently coincided with his own mission.
“Your dedication to the safety of your students is admirable. I would love nothing more than to promise a full team of hunters to help guard your students to your service. Yet, due to recent events, I have been forced to dedicated much of my strength to containing the situation within the Triangle Tunnel. Since the day Talon’s good friend seemingly lost control of his undead army, we have striven to prevent any incursions coming from that ruined city. Were it not for our ceaseless vigil, the miniature zombie apocalypse might have spread unchecked.”
“Yet, still, I have hunters stationed within Drakborough and more tasked with keeping watch on the Castille and Fenrir’s Forest. You also shouldn’t be surprised if some of the recently hired professors turn out to be allied with the Church. You will be glad, I think, to know that the safety of your students is not a concern which only you give thought to.”
With this bit of important business currently resolving itself nicely, Bismarck felt it was time to get to the more personal issues. In particular, the one involving the traitorous hunter. “There is one other matter that I would like to discuss, though I fear it may be a touchy subject. Tell me, what sort of contact do you maintain with Ashelle Rainier?”
Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 15, 2012 16:40:40 GMT -5
As relieved as Morgan was to hear that Bismarck was working for the safety of the children on campus, she still found it unsettling that the church may have already planted spies here. But, Morgan was wise enough to know she couldn't have it both ways. She could not expect the church to simultaneously protect the students and maintain their distance. This was for the best. Her students must come first.
"I appreciate the dedication of your hunters, Mister Bismarck. I remember a time before the tunnel was home only to monsters, and I hope your hunters may return things to how they were." Had she really been so blinded by Talon? Had he really allowed such a terrible thing to happen? She had idolized Talon when she was young; had her faith in him been misplaced? Perhaps. She couldn't be sure without hearing both sides of the story, but with Talon gone it was harder to believe in him.
Then came a harder question. Morgan was left wondering to whom she owed her loyalties. Talon was easier to be disenchanted by. Elle had been literally snatched from off the school grounds. And, when she'd been changed, she'd come back to the school, at least once. And finding out he'd actually been involved in the whole tunnel business had just been a final straw.
Ashelle was a different story. They'd been friends, real friends, once upon a time. She decided to be truthful. "I haven't seen or spoken to Ashelle since her graduation." She hesitated, then continued, "I did, however, find this when I was going through documents prior to your arrival." She sifted through a stack of parchment on her desk until she came up with Ashelle's application for the Charms professorship. "Mister Bismarck, I know you must think of her as being a rogue or a fugitive, but I beg you to consider her actions as the actions of a headstrong child. Her intentions were honest, although her methods may have been suspect. Surely, you remember being young and idealistic?"
Could she appeal to Bismarck's humanity? It would assuage her various doubts about him if he showed a modicum of sympathy here. "An organization like yours has protocols for dealing with those who act, without malice, outside their purview, doesn't it?" Morgan was, by nature, the kind and nurturing type. It's what had made her so sympathetic to Ashelle in the first place. And now she was hoping that Bismarck had a shred of the same kindness.
Bismarck waited politely as Morgan went through the motions he had expected. Making excuses and reasons for her friend’s actions, pleading to overlook her mistakes, etc. He had heard pretty much all there was to hear, for cowardly and disloyal hunters were nothing he hadn’t dealt with before. After all, though most of his hunters ended up iron-willed, their resolve wavered when it came to taking action against one of their own. For that, they needed a direct order from higher up, rather than a common set of codes and procedures.
The only real important piece of information he picked up from Morgan was that Ashelle clearly had intentions of returning to the school, and had not yet fled to some far corner of the world to hide from the wrath of the organization she had betrayed. He could always simply use that knowledge and wait for Ashelle to boldly come strutting about the Palace, having decided that being a professor of the school would make her impervious to harm. Yet, that would cause a scene. Bismarck hated causing a scene when it was not necessary.
“Your words are kind and your defense of your friend is completely reasonable. Yet, dismissing Ashelle’s crimes as the simple mistakes of a headstrong child is not acceptable. The Black Forest Church is an organization based upon the closest bonds of loyalty, trust and faith. To betray the organization is seen akin to stabbing one’s own brother in the back. Yet, despite this, I am still willing to offer the Rainier girl a full pardon.” Bismarck gave this a moment to settle in before he went on. In his mind, the terms he had were neither terribly extreme, nor were they cruel. Certainly, they were preferable to having one’s name on a hit-list, doomed to eventual imprisonment or execution.
“All we want if for your friend to swear an unbreakable vow. First, she must vow to divulge any information she possesses pertaining to the lycan Marc Streampaw. Then, she must swear never to ally herself with Fenris Fenrir, Marc Streampaw, or any of the lycan packs they belong to, or to aid them in any way. Finally, she must swear to never again take up arms against the Black Forest Church, or to willfully oppose the actions carried out by its members while they are actively working to further the Church’s mission.”
“In short, it is a long-winded way of asking that she make amends for her past mistakes and make sure they never happen again, tied to an unbreakable vow to drive in how seriously we of the Church take those oaths sworn before us.”
Post by Morgan Pendragon on Jun 15, 2012 20:37:15 GMT -5
Bismarck's requests did seem reasonable, especially to Morgan, who had feared fiercer repercussions for her friend. The way Ashelle had spoken, Morgan was half certain that to give Ashelle up to them meant that her friend would be taken away, never to be heard from again. In light of that, promising--even through something as extreme as an unbreakable vow--not to ally with dangerous lycans hardly seemed unfair. If Ashelle had been sensible about this whole thing in the first place, perhaps the Vow might even have been avoided.
"Your terms are sensible. I'm sure I can get Ashelle to see that this is the best way. In the mean time, consider me amenable to the Church's presence in the area, although I'd like to ask that your hunters, aside from those who take up staff positions, do not directly engage the students." Bismarck was austere, but hardly the monster Ashelle had made him out to be. "There are too many of them who would try foolhardy acts of heroism. I won't have some misguided, teenaged beast-hunter's death on my hands."
Talon had had his share of staff and student deaths, but Morgan was determined to turn that situation around. Enough of her friends and teachers had died at the hands of monsters and criminals, and she could not conscience inflicting that kind of pain on anyone else. Firefox would be a safe haven, a shelter from the storm of death that seemed to be constantly raging here.
Teagan Offline: This board is full of nostalgia.
Aug 22, 2020 8:39:09 GMT -5
Missing the old MH: gotta say missing when MH and all that was around.
Nov 6, 2019 0:02:30 GMT -5
Willow_lazy: why tf are there 400 posts about adidas
Sept 6, 2018 17:35:57 GMT -5
Azrael: I'm not hard to find, since I'm the only one there who goes by "Azzy", I'm pretty sure. XD
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:41 GMT -5
Azrael: Dunno if anyone still pops by here from time to time, but if any of you mofos do and still feel like gettin' yo nerd on, I've been hanging around this here place a bunch recently: www.roleplayerguild.com/
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:10 GMT -5
Azrael: hold onto your pantaloons
Jul 25, 2016 5:16:43 GMT -5