Miasma (Moore, 86 days left)

[Ebiris]

Afina remains a pixie-sized step behind Westwind, for all that her feet don't touch the ground, and a little to his right as she enters and takes her cues from him.

Listening to Moore orate she wonders exactly what he's saying. He's going on for a while without being told to shut up so she supposes it's probably good.

[Corwin]

Jaela remains at Westwind's side, her stride having been assured and confident throughout. Moore asked for the chance to chair the djinn's defense, and she doesn't mind giving him a chance. Better whatever he has in mind than her would-be approach, of accepting the mistake and seeking to make amends after owning up to it.

[Anastasia]

Go ahead and toss a diplo check with that.

As mentioned you all have just stepped into anti magic, so remember to factor in all those changes with your roll's total.

[Nephrite]

Moore will take 10 for ... carry the 1...  51, factoring in the lower Charisma and no access to magic items and so on.

[Anastasia]

The Whirlwind Throne speaks into your minds directly.

'We have not even begin and you defend Westwind?' he asks. A man's voice, no doubt about it. 'You are as eager as a spring gale.'

[Nephrite]

"We all have a duty to support our allies." Moore answers, not sounding the least bit admonished. "It would be shameful to do any less for someone such as he."

[Anastasia]

Prince Westwind comes forward, bowing deeply. "That's simply how it is," he says to the whirlwind.

To this the whirlwind declares, 'Brave as all the birds in the sky,' it goes on, 'But are you wise?'

[Nephrite]

"I will admit my faults in pulling Prince Westwind into a battle we were outmatched in." Moore says, shifting slightly, until he takes a breath and seems to find some resolve. "However, Celestia teaches us that wisdom can be found more often in failure than in success. I cannot say a situation like that would never happen again, but I know that I have learned from the experience. However, wisdom itself is nothing without the strength to allow you to use it, as I have also learned from this experience." He adds, bowing his head slightly to Westwind.

[Anastasia]

Your words are heard and then the whirlwind grows silent.

The djinn before the throne are stony-faced and silent, until one advances. This one wears white and has a full, bushy mustache and sideburns. "I am Grand Caliph Hamadan. I have served the Whirlwind Throne without failure since the days when mortals traveled the winds of time. Not once have I failed the pacts that oversee wishes. What say you, Westwind's defender? What say you? What excuses his folly? Speak not, Westwind, for you have chosen this one to speak your words. What say you, generals of Aurora? What dread necessity is more important than the laws of the Whirlwind Throne?"

[Nephrite]

"Grand Caliph Hamadan, the laws themselves have been broken by the likes of Bel and his advances onto the Primes of Creation." Moore says simply. "We no longer exist in an era where one can hold full to the past without any room for understanding of intent. What would the Whirlwind Throne have gained if Prince Westwind had been defeated there? What if he had been captured and turned into a pawn of the Lord of the Ninth?" Moore shakes his head. "I do not ask you to absolve him of all his crimes because of my ignorance, but I ask for you to understand that Hell is no longer willing to follow their own laws as they try and corrupt everything around them." At this, he takes in another breath -- the air here is so clean...

"We are willing to do everything we can to stop Hell's advances." He says. "I would hope that conviction and resolve is worth something."

After his opening statement Moore switched back to regular Auran.

[Ebiris]

Afina raises her gaze towards their interrogator. "I do not seek to excuse my loyal comrade's actions, Grand Caliph," she says softly. "If wrong was done, recompense must be paid. I only ask that leniency be granted. Westwind has long laboured under the unjust servitude of devil-kind, trapped as he was in bondage to Semyaza's perverse spawn. Only recently freed and suddenly faced with the prospect of becoming a plaything of Hell once more? Even the most stalwart of hearts would quail in those circumstances. So be glad that Westwind remains free among you, and consider how he might now serve the Whirlwind Throne, when he came very close to once more serving Hell."

[Corwin]

"Aurora, Grand Caliph Hamadan," Jaela finally speaks, "allows for a range of opinions. By its conception, we've come together from all walks of life to be bound by a single unifying thread. Lifasa's freedom, and by necessity opposition of the Hells."

She looks the advancing djinn straight in the eyes as she then states, "This is why I must respectfully disagree with my companions." Well, it's a guess given Moore's stated intention before they were shown before the Throne, at least. "I will honor their wishes, of course. If recompense is to be paid, so be it. If I must put my life on the line in order to stand with my friend, that's not even a difficult choice. But I believe that he made an error of judgement in this case."

Jaela gathers her thoughts, not giving any sign to the discomfort the memory brings to her. "My understanding of the importance of the Pacts in question is regrettably incomplete, but it must be on the level of the Code some of us live by. If that is so, I understand Prince Westwind's mistake quite well, because I've made it myself, once upon a time. In a situation where I was surrounded with fiends from every direction, cut off from my support and threatened with a fate worse than death, I gave in. Rather than stand and fight to the bitter end, I told myself that the fate of the person with me was more important than any harm I might do in this way. Perhaps, even, my reasonable fear of that threatened outcome has also influenced me, for few of us can truly call themselves fearless."

She nods slowly. "As here, it was a mistake. In fact, to call it such would be a gross understatement. The consequences were disastrous, for myself personally and for the Crusade, and I regret them to this very day. I've never forgotten that mistake, and I doubt it will ever truly leave me alone. I was punished by my peers, by my rivals and by myself. Yet the Triune, whose Code it was that I broke at that time, had not demoted me. I had not received so much as an infraction from her. Instead, she offered me support and wisdom, and it is through those gifts that I stand here today before you, perhaps a bit wiser. I know better than to fail like that again, and I'm proud in being the Triune's vessel for change throughout the planes."

Looking over the gathered nobles in this chamber, Jaela asks, "What is our goal here, today? If it is to harm Prince Westwind for his offense? Or is it to teach him a lesson he will never forget, and in doing so provide one for future generations? Since you have asked for my opinion, it is that one course of action might satisfy the part of us that needs someone to suffer for a wrong, while the other brings us to a better outcome. What is the better way to demonstrate the importance of the Pacts to others? Through a display of punishment that is already expected by all involved, or by having Prince Westwind talk before them, as I have here before you, so that those who come after us might learn from our hard-won experience?"

Jaela pauses for a moment, and when she speaks again her gaze is now directed at the Whirlwind Throne. "I have not had the pleasure of knowing him for long, but I know enough to state with absolute certainty, that I see myself in Prince Westwind. If you give him a second chance, he will not disappoint you. On that, I'm willing to bet my own life."

[Anastasia]

Go ahead and toss diplo, Jaela. Bear in mind this is anti magic.

[Corwin]

[21:53] <@Louise> roll 1d20+44
[21:53] <Serith> Louise roll for Serith < 62 > [d20=18]

[Anastasia]

Before Hamadan can speak again, another caliph approaches. This one is tall and thin, a gaunt face and piercing green eyes. He walks slowly and without any hurry.

"You speak of a code. You are a divine servant of some nature?" The unnamed one asks, "So faithful that you will bet your life and trust your Triune to carry you through?"