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[feintofhart]

[ prettification to come! ]

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[nilhilistic]

And what are your intentions here?

[ he's still hiding. rafal can understand why. you never know who may turn up here. but even so, what else is claude aiming for? the world is bigger than a few countries. he may not see a way out, but as rafal has discovered the hard way, there always is if you put your mind to it.

he failed in that regard. he's learned it well now. ]

[feintofhart]

Here?

[ Claude sighs, resting his chin on the heel of his hand. ]

My ambitions aren't so different from what I imagine everyone else's ambitions are. Find a way back home, where I belong. Find a way to stablize this place so that those who don't have a home to go to will remain in some form of safe shelter. Uncover the mysteries at the heart of this place, find those responsible for all of the tumult and torment, and have them face the music for everything they've put people through.

I'd be shocked if anyone would take issue with any of those goals.

[ Unlike ending prejudice which is, he has to admit, shockingly controversial. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ hm. that is true, but rafal finds there is plenty of conflicting opinions on how they intend to reach those goals. ]

And what will you do in order to reach them?

[feintofhart]

That, my friend -- [ Claude points his finger at Rafal, and quite rudely too ] -- is a damn good question. And if I had the answer to it, I'd be doing it already instead of talking to you. No offense meant, of course.

[ Rafal may be more at ease with being here than others, considering his familiarity with traveling between worlds, but Claude can't imagine he enjoys being trapped here. ]

But I'm still figuring that part out. We've finally discovered the truth behind this place, even if it's not the whole truth. What to do with that truth is always the trickier bit. And you, Rafal? Any lofty plans of your own?

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal leans back with a frown. it's not that he can't come up with plans. he's certainly laid more complex traps and layers when dealing with the kingdoms, destroying them all with fell strokes and resurrecting them as his puppets.

but rafal will not use that power anymore. he cannot. he prefers the role of a powerful brute. a blunt weapon. he can't say that is more rafal than . . . what he was in the past. ]

My oath is to the people here. I will abide what they choose and ensure no world falls.

[feintofhart]

What does it mean, to abide by what they choose? The people who remember being born and raised here are the people here, but they don't seem to know what goes on here. They forget, their moods change with the wind, and they barely recognize the shifts in the world around them.

Or do you mean us, the Chosen?

[ And what a fraught group they are. They're not about to go at each other's necks, but a difference in opinion has made itself most starkly known. ]

There may come a time where you must pick a side, person against person. That time will come for me too.

[ He's not one to choose sides based on sentimentality. He thinks Rafal knows him well enough by now to know that to be the case as well. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ hm. he's not wrong. this would be easier if alear was here. rafal would take his cues from him. he's reluctant to form a strong opinion for other side, recognizing both and also not wanting to step up and wield his own power.

but maybe he'll have to. maybe this is a test for him. can he do it without succumbing to his blood and legacy? ]

Then I will decide when that time comes. For now, I rather not throw my weight into any faction.

[feintofhart]

In that case... before you choose a side, in exchange for me spilling my guts, which I've now done a considerable amount of - [ he's left plenty out, but only a fool would be so easily parted from their closely held secrets ] - do me the favour of hearing me out first.

What I lack in technological know-how, I make up for in common sense, let's say. And we both want for the greater good. And in this place, not for power.

[ It's what separates him from the likes of the others who have been steadily gaining power, he thinks. Claude genuinely wants what's best for this place and for its people, and none of his aspirations or desire for power has coloured that.

This isn't the place in which he wants that power, after all. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal leans back, bemused. it’s transparent, but bold. and rafal has always been partial to boldness. he never had a chance to live boldly until now. and he could do worse than fodlan’s best strategist. ]

You wish to recruit me then? I am a dragon of immeasurable power. Do you have what it takes to wield me?

[feintofhart]

Shouldn't I have asked you that the moment you told me how we first met? I may not be a dragon of immeasurable power, but I'm nothing to sneeze at, you know. What is it that they call me...? The Master Tactician?

[ He grins, lacing his fingers together and stretching them out in front of him. ]

It seems only fair that you give me the same opportunity to sway your mind. Besides, I'm smart, incisive, persuasive. I'm not the person you want to wield such power, perhaps, but I am the one you want to point it in the right direction.

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal gives a bark of laughter, entirely pleased with the turn of events. ]

Very well, Master Tactician. I am at your behest. Ask and you shall have my aid.

[ what an interesting point in history. to be the one to serve an emblem. the experience will be useful. ]

[feintofhart]

[ Claude smiles at Rafal -- genuinely, this time, with actual warmth in his expression. ]

I won't steer you wrong. You have my word. And if you're ever in need of help yourself, you know where to find me.

[ That's not a promise, necessarily. But certainly a declaration of intent. ]

[nilhilistic]

Hm. I will remember that.

[ he did not doubt it for a moment. ]