Compliance

[Pharaoh]

“Compliance”
3 Searing 124
Arx Rubrum Petram

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Upon the small stage of his desk, an arcane diorama glowed between Cithæra and Phocion. The scene that played out in real time was a simple Solunarian classroom of young students— mostly Vastian, with a small complement of half-Elves and then, of course, the subject of their immediate interest: Subject X, a young entity delivered some months earlier by Sentinel Finn.

“Her accelerated intellectual development has complicated our efforts somewhat. As you can see, we’ve had to place her amongst much older discipli for her academic studies, but we’ve kept her amongst younger children for her religious studies and I’ve assigned a Sentinel Affirmer to the school specifically to influence Subjext X’s perceptions.”

“Are the Affirmations taking root?”

“So far, aye. I check in weekly and exploit the force of Her mark to smooth over any rough edges left by the Affirmer and fortify her deference. Her Argent Luminescence remains personally invested and I often feel Her presence when I am with the girl.”

“If She has not interceded, then we must infer your efforts are satisfactory in Her eyes and thus in mine. And how is she being socialised?”

“Outside of academia, Sentinel Finn feels compelled to take a personal hand in her upbringing, which I saw no cause to deny as long as she remains in a controlled environment under constant surveillance.”

“And you thought it best to let her live amongst the civilians below rather than confining her to the citadel?”

“I do not think we can assume that our normal methods of Affirmation will be as effective on her as they are on our own population. Finn has indicated she is the scion of a powerful Mesmer, perhaps even on par with His Exalted Highness, Prince Vrædyn or Thalya. With the unknown variables in play, I thought it important to create an illusion of freedom and normalcy.”

“This is sound. A dearth of doubt will better fertilise the ground to lay a foundation of compliance. The threat the subject may pose to the village is an acceptable risk.”

“After the void demon attack, the villagers are well aware of the dangers of dwelling in the shadow of our citadel. And the people were pleased at the resources we put into their schoolhouse in preparation for Subject X.”

“As they should be. How has Sentinel Finn handled himself through all this? You never told me how he presented this situation when this all began.”

“Well…” Phocion began…

36 Frost 124
Arx Rubrum Petram

“Vigil Phocion.” A veiled Sentinel hailed their superior as they stepped into his office. “Vigil Finn has returned from the North...”

“Splendid. Send him in.”

“He is… not alone. He and his guest are in Interrogation Room One. I recommend you meet him there…”

“Room One?” That elicited an arched eyebrow as Phocion promptly rose. “Was that really necessary?”

“It seemed advisable. I will leave it to your authority to determine whether it was necessary.”

Without another word, Phocion slipped by the sentinel and made for the well-warded room.

“Sentinel Finn.” His eyes darted from the human to his apparent charge… ostensibly a small, elven girl. Without registering a reaction, he looked back to Finn.

“Report.”

[Finn]

When finally he had won them to a place within the Warrens where he felt safe to open a portal home, Finn had chosen a safe room in the Citadel. From there, his colleagues would be alerted. He and Sirena, as he had taken to calling her for the time being, would be safe. The Custodes Deorum would be safe. There were protocols for such things, and he was following them. Sirena, named after the old elven story, could not exist without scrutiny and it were better she have the support of the Vigilia Argenti.

The Assessors had come, of course, and he permitted their scans, though he held them off from anything more invasive than that. She would be a subject, yes, but she was still a child. It were better they didn't find some violent power within her by scaring her into some instinctive reaction.

Before leaving for Zaichaer, he had left his reports. He hadn't known what he would find when he answered Lyra's strange, muted call, but they were already aware of her from reports when she had answered his call while assisting Hilana in her divine quest.

Weary, dirty, he sat with the creature that at least looked like a young elven girl upon his knee, his Zaichaeri coat around her shoulders. When Phocion strode in, though, he stood immediately, and Sirena held him, peering curiously at the moonborn Sentinel.

"Sentinel," Finn greeted crisply. "I tracked Lyra's call to a crater in Zaichaer's midtown, bypassed rudimentary wards, and discovered passage into the Warrens. There was some evidence that she had been resting there, but was discovered by the remains of the Order of Reconciliation. But the signal took me deeper into the Warrens where they hadn't followed. There I found an arcane device that held this, her daughter, in stasis or, perhaps, in incubation.

"Lyra chose me, I suppose, as a surrogate until such time as she escapes captivity or whatever has befallen her. As her guardian, I beg asylum from the Custodes Deorum."

[Pharaoh]

Phocion's eyes remained fixed upon Finn, only seeing the child in the lower end of his peripheral vision as he delivered his explanation. Lyra's daughter. Fæx, that was complicated. He paused, taking a deep breath in the beat that followed the request for asylum.

"Please remain here, while I pursue the proper channels." He glanced down, perhaps grudgingly, to regard the ostensible child. "Welcome to Solunarium." And with that, he turned on his heel to step back out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a Kinetic Push.

In the hallway, he turned to one of the attending guards.

"Get a servant. A nurturing sort with children or, better yet, grandchildren of their own to attend to the child whilst I speak to Finn privately. Knock when they've arrived. I shall be with the Assessors." With that, he turned to step into room adjoining the one wherein Finn and his charge waited.

"Report."

"The subject's Aura is complex..." The Sembler replied,

"As is the Symphony." The Mesmer added, "I would hesitate to offer a report until we have had more time analysing the subject, but I will say there are traces of familiar powers present in addition to unknown variables that call for greater scrutiny than Sentinel Finn was willing to permit."

"Do you believe such scrutiny would be noted by the subject?"

"We do not, Sentinel Phocion. Whatever the subject's nature, she is genuinely quite young and inexperienced to this world and its magicks. She has more potential than actual power and she does not seem aware of our presence here- She is only conscious of those Sentinels who occupy the room in which she is being held."

"Then you have my authority to delve to the greatest extent you can without being marked by the subject."

"Sentinel." The Assessors bowed in almost preternatural unison and a knock sounded at the door. Phocion turned to answer it and, as he predicted, the requested servant was waiting in the hall with the Sentinel who'd fetched her.

"I need you to watch a subject. Dote upon her as you would a princess royal." The servant bowed in affirmation, and Phocion returned to Interrogation Room One.

"Finn, this is..." He paused, gesturing to the serva and waiting for her to fill in the blank.

"Aniyah" The matronly servant stated. Phocion turned his attention to the child.

"Aniyah will see that you have everything you need, whilst I speak with Finn. Sentinel Finn? To me." He turned sharply, and stepped out of the room and Aniyah crouched down to properly introduce herself to Sirena and ask her name.

Once Finn had joined him in the corridor and the door was closed, Phocion frowned.

"Whiles I await a proper report from the Assessors, tell me what you know of this child's nature if there is anything beyond what you've noted in her presence. And on what grounds do you seek asylum for her?"

[Finn]

Finn sat again when Phocion quit the room. It was not so much that he was unwilling for the Assessors to do their work as he wanted to ensure their safety; anything related to Lyra was dangerous, even if not of a malicious bent. The woman herself had always been kind to him, and if she didn't reveal all her secrets to him, she had always dealt honestly with him. There would always be questions to his loyalty, he knew. Should Solunarium go to war with Kalzasi, should some higher authority conflict with Arvælyn, should his sense of right come up against necessity. Lyra was a friend and her daughter's safety was now his responsibility. He knew what the Custodes Deorum would require, and he would not stand in their way, but he had to balance that with the needs of the child herself.

She seemed too alert to nap, though they were both of them in need of long, untroubled sleep. He hummed a song, leaving out the words; it sounded like a lullaby but the words would give it the lie. As he rocked her, dark hair under his chin, he unraveled the mesmeric protections he had woven around her mind to protect her from certain dangers in the Warrens. He was aware of the Assessors endarting their arcane senses, and let them, though he was alert as any watchdog.

He stood again when Phocion returned.

"Mistress Aniyah," he said, bowing to her and setting Sirena down on her own two feet, catching a corbie crouch beside her. "This is... well, I'm calling her Sirena for now. Sirena, I will be back as soon as I straighten things out with the Vigil." He waited patiently until she nodded, kissed her forehead, and straightened up with a little groan as his lower back cracked.

They had already spoken a bit of what she could expect when they arrived and she was preternaturally self-aware. Still, Finn glanced over his shoulder as if to be sure she still existed before he passed through the door, and then closed the door behind him.

His posture was as correct as any Golden Guard in a parade ground, but Phocion could tell it would take only the barest kinetic nudge at the right time to knock him over. Finn inhaled, considered what Phocion would already know from his previous reports relating to Lyra.

"I believe the experts still believe Lyra to be an Outsider," he began. He hadn't even heard of those until he joined the Vigilia Argenti's god squad, god-like creatures but neither drægir nor moritasi. The spent mark of her wrath on his hand, most likely left when she repaired it, as well as the brand upon his neck, both nearly invisible, seemed to itch. He didn't move to scratch.

"I felt her call and left to investigate per my reports. While she has been embroiled in Karnor's calamities, the Custodes Deorum needed to know what was happening abroad. Finding her was quick enough work; getting her through the Warrens so I could bring her home took more and longer doing. In that time, I can say that she is what she seems—a girl of perhaps six. But whether she is the daughter of whatever flesh Lyra has worn, a vessel for her to ride in future, I do not know. I would say that she could survive initiation in the Rune of Command now, though I would not advise that in any six-year-old. Her... mother... was a master of the craft when I was still a toddler. Certainly, the Assessors will see more. For my part, I see a strange, precocious child. Whether she will grow into something Other or not, I cannot say. Her mother may come for her at some point if she escapes the Order of Reconciliation or whoever has her. But, in the meantime, I seek asylum for her because she is, as yet, an innocent child and I am the guardian her mother chose for her. Here, she will have a place. She will have safety and succor, education and training, and whether she becomes a powerful sorceress or more, she will see Solunarium and the Divine Twins as her safe haven and protectors."

[Pharaoh]

“Fatherhood becomes you.” Phocion declared, as the door shut behind them. Whether or not His Exalted Highness would permit Finn to pursue that part of himself beyond this exercise remained to be seen, but onto the matter at hand:

Phocion grimaced as Finn began to elaborate. He knew of Lyra only by reputation. Initially, via Finn’s report on her interloping into his quest with that vexing Vastiana, then he did further digging of his own via the proxy of his agents abroad. What he’d come to know, he misliked. That she’d been in Zaichaer during its near annihilation was not lost upon him. The source of that destruction had been a chaotic, but formidable power, and he could not say for certain this Lyra had no hand in that. It was troubling enough to know that one of his agents was marked by her power, but to have her apparent offspring within the sacred borders of their empire? That unsettled him deeply and he didn’t trouble himself to conceal that from his present company.

“I cannot yet reckon whether you have dealt us a boon or a blow with this decision. You did well to stop here first, at least…” He acknowledged, with apparent reluctance.

“At this time I cannot in good conscience grant your request for asylum. We will need to finish her Assessment. You will need to be scanned deeply as well before I can allow you to return to your husband’s company. If it is determined she poses no clear and present danger to the realm, we will discuss options.” His frown deepened.

“You seem to indicate a personal responsibility and investment in the care of this child. Will you insist upon involvement or are you content to leave her in our keeping while we execute our due diligence?”

[Finn]

Phocion's quip, if quip it was, earned a strange look, but no question. He nodded grimly through the lest, not protesting. It was as expected and he would not fight his best partner.

"It seems as though most of our assets teeter between boon or blow," he acknowledged. "She needs to be scanned by cleverer mages than me, and mages less... emotionally entangled... than me. I would ask to be present, however. I would protect her from what trauma I may and, as you know, I prefer working through such rather than having it magically erased." He didn't believe that was fully possible; there were traces even Assessors couldn't suss.

"And I accept my quarantine. I tried to be both... father and Vigil... in bringing her here. Now that she is in your capable hands, I must needs act father in the absence of her mother. On my honor, I agreed to stand for her. If that separates me from the Custodes Deorum until matters are settled, I accept that. If you deem her too dangerous to stay, I ask that you allow me to depart Atraxia with her to find some other safe haven."

Finn certainly hoped it wouldn't come to that. There was always Lyra's mansion outside Kalzasi; she had faithful servants there. But could they protect her daughter from whomever might come for her? That, he didn't know. He also didn't want to be separated from Arvælyn as much as that would require.

"I suppose," he added wearily, "that between the two of us, we could petition the Divine Twins for a judgment on the matter..."

[Pharaoh]

"Most of our assets appear uninvited and need to be promptly intercepted, as opposed to being led down the garden path by members of our own order..." Phocion distinguished, "But that is for the Assessors to explore." If this was some direct manipulation of Lyra's as opposed to a conscious decision on Finn's part, that was a distinction the sentinel deemed worth determining. He dreaded the notion of a compromised Finn, for the ripples that would create far exceeded the walls of this citadel, but he had to take comfort in Aværys' faith in the human. Surely His Radiance would purify anything that might pollute the man before him.

"There will be no trauma. The Assessors assigned to this case are Grandmasters and have been paired since the academy. Their work is magnificently coordinated and they will smooth the edges of her fears as not to graze even a modicum of anything one might deem 'traumatic', but if you feel bounden by this Outsider to involve yourself directly, then so be it. You will both be moved to more comfortable quarters in due course and we will keep your quarantine as brief as is reasonable." He arched a brow, a slight snarl curling his lip.

"The Divine Twins, hallowed in glory, have already cast Their judgement on this matter- have no doubt of that. If They are unhappy with my management of this affair, They will certainly make Their dissatisfaction known. And if you are unhappy with it, you may address your grievances with the Vigilia Magna." He turned away from Finn,

"You may return to the child to await further instruction." And, with that, he returned to the company of the Assessors to mark their observations as they were clarified.

An air of calm was exuded into Interrogation Room One during the several hours of Assessment. Aniyah would see that refreshments were provided, as well as toys and games to pass the time. If they tired, cots would be rolled in with blankets to warm them from the unnatural chill of the interrogation room. All things considered, the hours seemed to pass by very quickly, thanks to the manipulation of the Mesmer Assessor observing from the adjoining room.

By and by there was a knock at the door, and a veiled vigil stepped in.

"Apartments have been prepared for your provisional stay in the citadel. Aniyah will see to anything you may need and Sentinel Phocion will call for you early tomorrow morning, Sentinel Finn." Finn was too seasoned an agent of the Custodes Deorum to believe that the change of venue betokened an end to their Assessment, but it at least seemed to represent a de-escalation, of sorts.

[Finn]

The snarl took him off guard. He didn't know whether, in his weariness, he had come across a certain sort of way, but he seemed to have made a faux pas. The sting of it left his eyes stinging, surely from sand rather than tears, and his mouth fell open for a moment in surprise and, perhaps, response, but instead he shut his mouth and sighed. Hands came up to rub wearily at his face. He took a moment to compose himself, and then walked past Phocion and the Assessors to let himself back into the room.

He smiled reassuringly at the girl, and gratefully at Aniyah.

Finn sat upon the floor, engaging with the girl and the woman, but allowing Sirena to have her way. He was curious about her too, and his field observations had been a far less controlled environment. When he was certain his reaction to Phocion's reaction had stopped rippling through his symphony, he brought down his mesmeric wards, as well as the wards Phocion himself had taught him to build through the Rune of Negation.

He was exhausted, but he kept going for the child and for the Custodes Deorum.

If Lyra was playing a long-game on him, then he was too simple to see it. If she had hooks in him that Aværys couldn't see, then they were all of them in trouble.

He looked up at his veiled compatriot and smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

With that, he stood and took Sirena by the hand.

"You, my dear, are in grave need of a bath and then sleep. Shall we?"

Finn had helped with these sorts of things when his younger siblings were born, and again now that one of his younger siblings was spawning. Bathing hadn't been safe in the Warrens, and so it was high time both of them got clean and rested, and perhaps she would let Aniyah prepare her so Finn could see to himself.

In either case, he would be awake on the morrow to ensure all was well with her before Phocion arrived.

[Pharaoh]

When Finn and his new ward were conducted to their temporary apartments, Phocion's real work began as he sat before the Assessors to hear what they had discerned during their scrutinous appraisal. When the concluded their report, Phocion lifted hand that quivered slightly on its journey up to his face where he pinched the bridge of his note and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Fuck." He said in Common, because curses were inherently Common and so they sounded meet in that base tongue. When he finally opened his eyes he turned them upon the scribe who'd been taking dictation. "Submit this report to the offices of the Vigilia Magna immediately." He looked to the Assessors, "Meanwhile, we've some strategising to do, it seems..."

The Sentinel would work late and rest poorly for these worries carried down on the winds from the North. He couldn't see this child for a soul, when it had such potential as a tool or a weapon. Had it been left to be reared far abroad of Solunarium, it might have come to them a threat or, perhaps, it might not have come to them at all. That was what haunted him as he tossed and turned that night, but with morning came new concerns in the form of communiques from the Umbrium.

From the Prætorium, a missive from the Vigilia Magna gave him a nebulous response. Where he'd have preferred guidance, he was given unwanted faith in his own discretion. And from the Palatium, a missive from the offices of the regent demanded to know why Sentinel Finn... or, more to the point, Prince Consort Finn, was being detained at the citadel after his protracted absence from the realm. Before he had a chance to reply to that one, another message proclaimed that the princely presence would perforce be upon him before lunchtime.

"Fuck." He reemphasised.

It was not so terribly early, in the end, that a sentinel knocked on the apartment door before stepping inside and whispering instructions to Aniyah, before approaching Finn. Aniyah, crouched down to inquire as to whether Sirena had ever tried pancakes, as the sentinel invited Finn to break his fast with Phocion in his office.

As soon as Finn was through the door it shut behind him.

"Sentinel. You and I need to map out this asset's future in the realm and in this order of the Vigilia Argenti... hopefully before His Exalted Highness arrives to doubtless berate me for detaining you. If you are to play her father, you will also be her handler... that is, unless you've reconsidered and would leave her care in the hands of more objective agents?"

[Finn]

Finn slept like the dead, though he did reach for Arvælyn as he woke, feeling a moment of confusion before reality crept back in. The sun had not yet risen, and he was hardly recovered, but at least he felt human again. In the Warrens for a week, he hadn't dared truly sleep, truly let his guard down, both because of where he was and with whom he was. But Lyra had always outstripped his power and his wisdom. In making contact with the strange, arcane egg and the person who lay within, he had laid himself open to her influence and if it were a pernicious influence, he would need his brother-in-law's help to purge it.

He checked on Sirena, who slept under Aniyah's watchful eye. He hoped she managed to rest, as well, though she hadn't come to this assignment as depleted as he still was. Finn nodded to her without words, and then went about a truncated set of calisthenics to get his blood moving, to wake him up. After his ablutions, he changed into a clean set of Sentinel blacks with which they had provided him, and he was just about to ask leave to quit the apartments when word was brought to him.

"Pancakes are good," he told her, finding it strange to be speaking about commonplace things in lofty Vallenor. "Spread the butter evenly, and make sure you give each bite a little time to soak up the syrup. Berries or bananas are good, too. Ask for bacon if they don't bring it. The salt will balance out the sweet, sweetling."

She smiled back at him and it did melt his heart a bit, but he didn't know whether it was manipulation or an echo of how he had felt when his little niece first squeezed his fingertip and yawned. His face was stoic, though, by the time he quit the apartment.

"Verro, domine," he said to Phocion's opening volley. "I will assure him that you were doing your duty and following proper protocol should I be allowed to communicate with him today. She is my problem, a problem that I have laid at your feet. I would also be the one who assuages that stress. I will have to share that duty, of course, with more objective agents, and I will bow to your will, but I would be her advocate. Her father, as you say. And I will, of course, take your word for it if it is determined that I have been compromised. Before we continue, however..."

He took a knee, resting his hands on the other. Earnest blue eyes looked up from below.

"Forgive me if in my weariness I misspoke yesterday. It was not my intention to call your judgment into question, though I realized after I spoke how it might have sounded. I respect you as my superior and I love you as my brother and I would not have bad blood or ill thoughts between us. This is secondary in priority today, but no less important to my heart. Mea culpa."