outer_divide | [Voice]

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[Voice] | 001

[Aveline follows the lights -- well, first she tries to head in an alternate direction but it proves not to lead anywhere, so then she follows the lights -- but when they take her to look at a city close that looks...ruined is the only word Aveline can think of for it, with another, glowing, city far off in the distance she decides to go looking at her belongings.]

I can't exactly say that this was what I've been expecting.

[Aveline doesn't have a great idea of how this type of magic works, but she can read. And while reading the wrong thing can be dangerous, she's not in the mood to accept complete ignorance of where she is. They don't have technology that can communicate across distances like this that Aveline's really seen, but she's heard the idea floated as something that would make serving in the guard a lot more convenient. It's nothing more than theory, but this looks like the sketches she was shown.]

If this works for some reason, then whoever's on the other end please identify yourself, where this is that I've been taken, and what state this region identifies itself with.

[Because it seems like a good idea to find out if she's in the Tevinter Imperium, for example. If so, she'd be suspicious about alerting anyone that she's here, other than the glaringly obvious fact that she didn't come here on her own free will and so whoever put her here must already know where she is.]

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So the concerns here are...farming and being prepared for future attacks? It's not quite what I expected of the future.

This colony is hardly indicative of the state of affairs in the wider galaxy. It is very...backwards.

But this is what we're stuck with? I take it if there were a way to be not here most of the people would have taken that option.

For the time being. Even if the vessel we arrived on cannot be repaired, it may have shuttles that can be - or, once we are able to spare a large enough force to properly excavate it, a communications array that can be used to contact less troubled worlds. The bones of civilization are here, it is merely a matter of building on them.

[Half of that definitely just went over Aveline's head.]

What's the nature of the civilization that has been established so far?

[Some day, Liara might get the hang of discussing things with pre-spaceflight people. ~~Oh, who are we kidding, no she won't.~~]

The natives are mainly farmers, fishermen, and hunters, although there are some skilled tradespeople, and a small number of physicians and engineers. Government is shared between the civilian and militia leaders. Law enforcement is handled by the militia; most of the laws are incredibly pragmatic, and transgressions that do not directly harm individuals or the group are more likely to be tolerated.

The economy is relatively primitive, and functions on a barter system rather than on currency. Depending on your skillset, you may be able to trade labour or expertise for goods, however. The specifics are rather more complicated than the basic principles would immediately suggest.

[Maybe someday they'll be able to meet halfway, because spaceflight is still a very big unknown for Aveline. Or maybe it will be a continual source of annoyance for both of them. Of them Aveline at least can't understand at all where Liara is coming from. At least she can agree that militia enforcement of laws is primitive, as is the lack of currency.]

Guilt assumed, I take it from the description? What's the position of mages?

[It might be the most pressing thing on Anders' mind, but Aveline is still going to take whatever information she can get, and that's a significant piece of a society. She wasn't married to a templar so she could forget that.]

And that's what you do with your time? Work to trade with the natives for the right to live?

I believe there is a tribunal system, at least if the transgressor is a member of the society, and can be brought in without violence. I cannot fault anyone for dealing more harshly with bandits coming down from the hills to prey on the weak.

[She pauses for a moment, considering how to answer the rest of the questions. At the end, she opts to skip ahead first.]

Basic necessities of life are provided - food, shelter, medicine if you are ill or injured. You have to work if you wish anything more than that, which does not seem entirely unreasonable. It is certainly better than the treatment faced by the poor in many more sophisticated parts of the galaxy.

[Another pause, briefer this time.]

What did you mean by 'the position of mages'?

t might be better than what the poor, or most immigrants, face, but most of them haven't been kidnapped without the ability to leave. You're probably not going to be able to convince me that this place isn't 'that bad', although I'm very aware of how it could be worse.

[Aveline rubs her forehead. This place is just one big headache, and as far as she can tell she doesn't have Hawke to blame for it, or to apply his own particular brand of helping sort it out.]

I mean what role in society do mages serve? Are they watched, or do they have most of the power? Is there a Circle here?

These people are not our captors. To behave as though they are somehow responsible for our predicament, and thus owe us anything, would be the height of foolishness.

I have never seen a mage, or this Circle. I would imagine their place is society is nonexistent.

Regardless of who our captors are, we're still here when we have our own lives established and that we were at least in control of. They might not owe us anything, but what they're giving isn't consolation for what has been taken.

How can that be possible?

Different worlds breed very different approaches - and different names for similar phenomena. For my own people, magic ceased to be even a relevant myth generations ago. It seems likely that it is the same here - as is often the case when a scientific mindset takes root.

I think calling magic a myth is a little...much. But both Anders and the Knight-Commander would have much stronger opinions on that than myself.

Are they both versed in what your people would consider magic?

[She tries not to sound dubious, really, she does.]

[Dubiousness is silly in this context, and also not really Aveline's problem so much as theirs.]

Anders is, while the Knight-Commander regulates how those with the power use it.

I should think they would be able to self-regulate. Most people can.

Being a mage gives them a power much beyond what other people can do. The Circle exists to keep them from simply seizing that power and exercising it on other people.

And who prevents this Circle from abusing the power they exert over those they claim dominion over? Penalizing others for their potential rather than actual crimes is a poor start.

[Because the asari don't do the same thing to some of their own at all.]

If you talk to Anders he'll say nothing. But the initial problem comes from the fact that mages have more power than the rest of us, and that there are civilizations out there where they've grossly abused that power.

[Not to mention the terrible potentials of blood magic...]

I believe there are very few groups who have not made use of some advantage to harm others, at one point in their history. While I agree wholeheartedly with punishing those who abuse others, pre-emptively punishing those who might be able to makes very little sense. No good comes of expecting everyone to be mediocre merely because someone who is exceptional might cause harm.

It's not really about punishing, at its root. It's about having a place where mages can learn from other mages, since the dangers of simply experimenting with their powers without instructions are high -- and mostly dangerous to themselves, at that stage. The regulation that occurs....is as much about providing them with an environment to live and learn as it is to keep them from harming people

But entangling the prevention of accidents with the assumption of future abuse does not create a stable environment for growth and maturation. Integrating the learning environment with the larger tapestry of society would both give incentive for learning control, and forge social ties which would make hostile or abusive tendencies less likely - and make them easier to spot before there is a crisis.

I'm not saying that the current system is perfect -- I certainly don't believe that. But simply doing away with it and having nothing in its place would be even worse.

There is nothing of the sort here. And I do not believe the attempt to change that would be looked on favorably. Save perhaps by the leaders of the domed city.

If Anders is the only mage here, I can't see that it would be necessary.

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