Can the General be invited to the Dark!Sharkbait!baby AU in Mana'Din!Dirthadad!baby AU? Which definitly needs a name. 'Shark'Din'? 'Interdimensional clusterfuck AU'? Can we call it 'the FUBAR AU'?! Anyway. Now that THAT door has been opened the June's sister and Janiculum!Sharkbait AUs need to be let in on the party! The Council of Lavellans need to have a meeting!
Personally I kind of really like ‘Interdimensional Clusterfuck AU’. ICAU! :3
“I do not understand,” Elalas says. “Why are we divertingresources to the construction of another eluvian? And the building around it?Why are we putting this effort into a structure so remotely situated in theterritory?”
“Research,” Mana’Din asserts.
Elalas frowns, feeling a rush of frustration. That is theanswer she keeps getting, and it is one that does not make much sense.
“But why is the location not being staffed, in that case? The only elves other than yourself who havebeen given clearance to the site are the construction crew, a hunter, an event coordinator, and a six-year-old,” she protests. Admittedly,a six-year-old whom Mana’Din has developed an uncommon interest in, but still.No servants, no residents, no researchers.
“Because the research is my own,” Mana’Din replies. Theother advisors at their meeting seem content to leave the matter at that. ButElalas is given to a sudden, sour sense of disapproval; a fear that she had notrealized had begun to abate, until it surges up again. That their ‘leader’would allocate so many resources, so much energy, to some… some vanity project,or personal hobby, is…
Well.
Elalas would not be surprised to hear of it from any othermember of the woman’s family. But she has come to think such thingsuncharacteristic of Mana’Din.
“I just, I cannot believe we are expending so many resourceson some personal indulgence of yours,” she snaps.
The table goes still, for a moment. And in that moment,Elalas is made aware of all the marked faces surrounding her. The commandersand generals and combatants in among Mana’Din’s advisors. The precariousness ofher position, and how easily the woman across from her could strip it all awaywith just a few words. That no one at this table would oppose her. That likely,no one would even try.
“Our very existence is an indulgence of our lady’s will,” Uthvirasserts.
Mana’Din lifts a hand.
“It is not,” she counters. “Elalas’ critique is reasonable,and such insights and perspectives are what advisors are for. I am not my uncle. But there are many more matters to turnover yet in this meeting. Elalas, we will continue to speak of this in privateconference, so that I might settle your concerns.”
A few of the advisors who can be more sympathetic to Elalas’perspective wince, at that, but Mana’Din’s words actually settle somethinginside of her. Of course, she knows better than they do what Mana’Din can belike in private. Even so, she spends most of the meeting wondering if she hasfinally overstepped, in voicing that kind of criticism at so public a meeting.
When the conference is done, Mana’Din remains true to herpromise, and bids Elalas follow her into an adjacent chamber while the otheradvisors return to their day’s duties. The smaller meeting room is morecomfortably situated, with only a few chairs and a singular window looking outover an interior courtyard.
“So what is thisabout?” Elalas wonders. “Is it a real project? Are actually even building theeluvian there, or have you hidden its real location in some obscure layers ofpaperwork and misdirection to keep your family unawares of it?”
“That is a good guess,” Mana’Din commends, dropping into oneof the available seats.
Elalas shrugs.
“During early reconstruction, one of the splinter groupstried a similar trick to get their hands on an eluvian to ship off to theNameless,” she reasons.
“That is no secret,” the leader agrees. “Which is why thiseluvian is precisely where it appears to be. We are, by the agreement of myfamily’s council, under tight regulations with regards to the construction andinspection of such things. My grandmother will be sending her own experts in tomake certain it meets standards prior to its activation.”
Elalas frowns.
“And then it willbe moved?” she wonders.
“Not at all. It will stay comfortably within the compoundwhich is being built to house it. My family will not consider an entire livableestate an unusual investment, and will not be concerned at its lack ofimmediate occupancy. They will, if anything, be thrilled to see me demonstrating some signs of the elitism thatmarks their own rule.”
“So this is a concession to them, then?” Elalas tries. Thatmakes more sense than anything she has heard so far, as a matter of face. Mana’Dindoes not build great monuments, does not make sacrifices, will not compromiseon such fronts… but perhaps a useless ‘vacation’ estate all to herself would beenough to appease the critical eye of her fellows, without compromising suchprinciples. Still a frustrating waste of time and energy, in her opinion, butnear as she can tell wasting time and energy are cornerstones of the empire.
Mana’Din shrugs.
“I will be using the estate to house visitors, in time.Important dignitaries, refugees, and suchlike. This is a sensitive issue,however. Until things have reached a more stable point, I would prefer to limitthe number of people with access to the place.”
Elalas frowns.
Again, what had seemed to be forming a coherent picture…falters, somewhat. No one houses dignitaries and refugees in the same building, and where would these ‘refugees’even be coming from? Does the woman mean to begin stealing people away from herrelatives’ territories? She cannot possibly hope to disguise that.
Elalas stares at her for a moment, and then shakes her head.
“Are you going to tell me – plainly – what you are doing?”she finally just asks. “Or tyrannically lord over your secrets?”
Mana’Din tilts her head.
“I am going to modify the eluvian to access the networksthat exist in other worlds. I intend to investigate these worlds, andpotentially bring people back with me from them. Such people will requirehousing. Some may engage in conference with individuals from other realms. Butthe potential to abuse such a system is vast and overwhelming, so obviously, mysecret world-jumping network will need to be kept discrete.”
Elalas stares.
Mana’Din stares back.
After a moment, Elalas gives up and throws her hands intothe air.
“Fine,” she snaps. “If you do not want to tell me, then Ican hardly force you to, now can I?”
Mana’Din shrugs.
With a sigh of aggravation, Elalas turns, and heads out ofthe meeting room. That woman. Of course, it probably is just a decoy for her relatives. They are going to have to writethe whole thing off as another loss to those vain and vicious creatures, andthat burns. Mana’Din hardly needed to rub some mockery into the wound.
A useless estate in the middle of nowhere.
Well, maybe some rebel group or another will be able to takeadvantage of it, someday.
