[video / both courts / backdated to january 7th]

[enthraller]

[Well. Looks like Tzilan was right about the Seelie going on the offensive. It's one of those odd occasions where Saralegui wishes the vampire wasn't always right, but nothing to do about it now besides damage control. If that happens to be good for his image, then that's just bonus points.]

I'm sure everyone is aware of the upcoming fighting by now. And I'm sure there are those who, like myself, have no skill whatsoever in that area or just no interest in it.

[Just look at him. He's a twig, and that hair is absolutely not at all practical for fighting. The  self-aware, slightly self-deprecating little smile he wears is only further evidence of that. And better, of course, to play up that helplessness. He prefers to be underestimated, and the knife the Brucolac had given him is very easy to keep hidden.]

So I'd like to offer up Redgate as a safe haven away from the fighting. Others have made this offer, I know, and I hate to be redundant. But I would hate myself more if I didn't make it at all, and I can at least offer a place well out of the line of fire. It's very defensible, and kinder to shardbearers than most places have been lately -- the result of having been founded by a shardbearer, I assume. The distance might seem great, but for shardbearers it isn't really that bad -- only a few days from the nearest fairy ring in Daonna.

Truthfully, I am Unseelie myself, but I make this offer to anyone who wants it, from whichever court. The politics of this world mean little to me. I only want to see those who can't defend themselves kept safe.

[Saber had asked him as the Unseelie General to take Unseelie-aligned individuals into Redgate's care, but she hadn't technically asked to only take those from their own court. If she has a problem with how he does things, then she can bring it up with him personally.]

Comments

[fairyfoes]

[ Tzilan's mouth hooked in a smile that looked unerringly wicked, pleased somehow, but he shook his head with a comfortable sigh. Leaned back a little, let his head loll onto the back of the chair. ]

Anyone who tells you the Seelie are better you can imagine to be a new shardbearer who hasn't learned differently. They're vicious. Again I left bloody and limping, but... a few well-placed lies spared me the worst of it. Part of the benefit of my numerous small titles and offices is that they give me plausible reason to be anyplace in the world.

[enthraller]

[Saralegui's eyebrows knit together in concern, but he only mirrors that sigh with more exasperation and drops his chin back into his hand, replying with a tired sort of dryness.]

You have a bad habit of getting yourself badly hurt. I'm beginning to think you really are a masochist.

[fairyfoes]

My body can take the damage. The work I've done cannot. I'd rather sacrifice the one for the other, where one must certainly suffer.

... and, no. Not a masochist by any means.

[enthraller]

That's not what you were saying at Yule.

[And, just for a moment, a sly smirk crosses his face. But it's hardly the time to be teasing, and he shakes his head with a slight frown.]

But we're off track. Enough about the lockets and the monarchs, tell me about this Tarz and why you're so uneasy.

[fairyfoes]

I can't tell if you're making an offer of some kind, Saralegui.

[ He lifted his brows. ]

Don't meet him. In fact, kill him. Quickly, and by any means necessary. He's...

... brutal. Brutal enough to mow through every other life in Redgate just to get to one Unseelie shard.

[enthraller]

Sara. And later, perhaps. When you don't have a war with the elves to deal with.

[It's hard to tell what's dry humor and what's complete seriousness when he plows straight on through to the real meat of this discussion.]

Tell me more about this man, and I just might be able to do that. What are his abilities? Would just stopping his heart be enough to end him? Does he even have a functional heart?

[That isn't even an odd question in the Drabwurld.]

[fairyfoes]

Sara. [ He amended. ] Very well.

[ Likewise, it was all so deadpanned; hard to tell. And he nodded. ]

He was a notable artificer of magical objects. Utterly devoted to his craft, paid little attention to the warring, instead making... impressive magical items for soldiers. His wife, however, was a notable petitioner for peace.

She and many other Seelie were slain in a revenge-massacre by Unseelie. All the heads were claimed, the bodies... mutilated.

The roster of his abilities is... breathtaking. If you've met them, he might be an even match for Berserker, or Saber. I couldn't say, about his heart. I'd need to be in close proximity to him.

[enthraller]

[That's...clearly not what he wanted to hear, as far as Tarz is concerned. Another heavy sigh, and his gaze it cast downwards at the surface of his desk while he appears to mull over the possibilities.]

Hn... I suppose I could always just tell him to go off somewhere and kill himself, and entirely avoid the mess that would come of the Seelie blaming it on me. But then I'm sure Morla would take issue with the fact that I didn't seize the opportunity to take his shard.

[fairyfoes]

[ Tzilan paused, hands very still. It's clear he's aiming for delicacy, watching Sara with care. ]

I'm not certain your power would... be effective.

[enthraller]

[Impassive by all appearances, he glanced back up at Tzilan with arched brows. This, at least, he didn't appear to take as insult, but he doesn't exactly enjoy the feeling that Tzilan is walking on eggshells to handle him.]

Then what would you suggest?

[fairyfoes]

[ And now the real reason for his hesitation. Having to admit this: ]

.... I don't know. I'll need to think on it. Gain more information than I have.

[enthraller]

[There's some mild surprise at that admission -- because since when does Tzilan not already know everything there is to know about what happens here? -- but Saralegui only frowns slightly, nodding almost imperceptibly.]

You have a week. I suppose I could just try to cancel the meeting entirely, but if what you say about him is true, then I doubt he'll be so easily stopped. All not meeting with him might accomplish is prompting him to just force his way into Redgate and destroy everything that stands in his way.

[fairyfoes]

[ Tzilan pressed his forehead into the curve of a hand. ]

A week. I can find something in that time.

[enthraller]

[A twinge of guilt for dropping this load onto Tzilan's shoulder along with everything else, but all Saralegui can offer is a weary smile.]

I'd be very grateful if you did. And I'll try to figure out a solution on my own as well, of course.

[fairyfoes]

[ He sighed, nodded. ]

In the meanwhile, there are a few other matters we may as well speak on, both being present. As you know, friction between the scattered vampires of Glaschu and the elven tribes has... come to a head.

[enthraller]

I've heard. What word of it comes this far west, anyway.

[That he has a bias in that conflict is entirely due to the various vampiric friends he's made here, since... neither vampires nor elves are a thing where he comes from. without having spent so much time with folks like tzilan and the brucolac, he likely wouldn't have cared at all what some of this world's races did to each other.]

[fairyfoes]

Would you be willing to have Redgate formally accept a small number of the worst-off of our refugees? Many have been... actively hunted. And Redgate is a known safe-haven.

[enthraller]

[If Saralegui again looks a little surprised, it's because he'd hardly thought that was something worth questioning. His tiny frown is a bit perplexed, but he nods without second thought.]

Of course.

[Just that. Simple and obvious.]

[fairyfoes]

Thank you. I know it likely should go without saying, but... [ A corner of his mouth crooked, wearily. ]

It means a great deal to me.

[enthraller]

[It's pleasant to be thanked, and his initial smile is warm, sweet. But self-awareness catches up within a few moments, and a sly edge slipping into his expression as he sits up a bit straighter.]

Please, it's not as if I gain nothing from this. Those will be valuable allies in the long run.

[fairyfoes]

[ He tilted his head, exhaling a quiet sigh through his nostrils. His mouth remained crooked in a smile. ]

All the same.

[enthraller]

[Grinning, and significantly less uneasy now, Saralegui leans back in his seat and crosses one leg over the other.]

Anything else? As happy as I am to be your distraction from your concerns, I still hate to keep you from your duties.

[fairyfoes]

No. Nothing else. And surely, Sara, all this is more than enough.

[enthraller]

It is. But I'm always up for a challenge.

[Please don't take him seriously, this is more than enough, thank you. Saralegui stands, sparing a moment to straighten his skirts, and leans across the desk to offer a hand.]

[fairyfoes]

[ Tzilan only smiled, shaking his head, and curved his dark-skinned fingers under Sara's offered hand. He leaned at the waist to press his cool lips to its knuckles. ]

Farewell. Be safe. And please, find some other way to get messages out which isn't on the lockets.