Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25389303-20191221164519/@comment-5999656-20191231074029

Zanipher listened solemnly as Diaboli finished his spiel. She noted that his temper had flared again, and vaguely wondered if having that happen so many times in a short period was as physically tiring as she thought it was.

"... I was asking a hypothetical question," she responded coolly, ignoring for a moment the question Diaboli had flung back at her.

Decadere Diaboli was a man whose behavior strongly suggested that the world had wronged him. She had posed this question of hers as a 'what-if'. What Zanipher had wanted to see was how capable Diaboli was of projecting a desirable future - whether he had a politician's knack for addressing people's concerns tactfully and professionally. If he had suggested the possibility of coexistence, or elucidated potential methods for ensuring avoidance of conflict, it would have boosted Zan's confidence in his leadership abilities immensely. After all, a leader had to be self-assured, to think of the big picture, and be able to inspire rigid loyalty from his people.

Instead, what she saw was a man overrun by his grudges and fixated on her wrongs. It wasn't about what they would do next - it was about how she had hurt him, how magnanimous he was to come to her alone, how pure and righteous his goal of restoring Mistral's glory was - and who was she to challenge him, when she had made mistakes before?

And what was most important for her was whether this was a man she wanted to make deals with.

"I think you're giving me a little too much credit," Zanipher said calmly. "The Daybreak Syndicate has had a branch in Mistral since before you and I were born. Maybe you just didn't notice it before."

"And you don't have faith. You're scared. That's why you couldn't come up with a good answer to my question," she continued.

Zanipher reached forward and began tracing vague shapes in the concrete with her finger.

"There's something I think you need to know. It might be hard to hear, so I need you to bear with me as much as you can."

Zanipher paused, stopping her hand motions for a moment before picking them back up.

"I know you're a self-made man, and you lifted yourself up by the bootstraps to have everything you own today. I admire that. And I can trust that you speak for everyone who works under you when we discuss these things. But it's not the same for me."

"The Nine Dragons have always been a network of organizations seeking coexistence, but no singular one group is in charge of the others. We can talk diplomatically about things, sure, but I'm not in charge of all the factions under the Dragons. And I never have been. I didn't put the Bluthardts on your doorstep. They've been there this whole time."

"I know it's... easy, or desirable to believe that by speaking to me, you're speaking to the entirety of the Nine Dragons. But I am one dragon of nine. And that's not counting the other factions and their leaders which are affiliated with us. I..." Zanipher paused, "... Can assure you that most of the others will never cause you trouble. But there are a few which can, and will, if you try to take too much at once. You already know one of them."

"And these outlying factions I cannot speak for, or order around like you can to your followers. I can say the Daybreak Syndicate will not fight you," Zanipher said, pointing at herself, "But I can't say the same for the others. I can negotiate with them or move against them if they wrong me. But it's not fair for you to hold me personally responsible for the things they do, especially when it doesn't involve me at all. I've established a non-aggression maybe-alliance pact with these people. You haven't."

"And now, to answer your question.... I did have the peace I wanted. I at least was happy with where things were. Maybe the Bluthardts weren't. You're about to flip it all over, and I'm trying to figure out how to handle what comes next."