[Eureka] With a flower with a flame

1st of Ashan 722

The surrounding lands of Rharne boast several towns and settlements that lie on the northern shores of the River Zynyx. This includes Mistral Village, Caervalle Town, Zynyx Market and Volta.

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Faith Augustin Champion
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[Eureka] With a flower with a flame

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1st Ashan, 722
Solitude Standing


Solitude stands by the window
She turns her head as I walk in the room
I can see by her eyes she's been waiting
Standing in the slant of the late afternoon

And she turns to me with her hand extended
Her palm is split with a flower with a flame

Solitude stands in the doorway
And I'm struck once again by her black silhouette
By her long cool stare and her silence
I suddenly remember each time we've met

And she turns to me with her hand extended
Her palm is split with a flower with a flame

And she says "I've come to set a twisted thing straight"
And she says "I've come to lighten this dark heart"
And she takes my wrist, I feel her imprint of fear
And I say "I've never thought of finding you here"

I turn to the crowd as they're watching
They're sitting all together in the dark in the warm
I wanted to be in there among them
I see how their eyes are gathered into one

And then she turns to me with her hand extended
Her palm is split with a flower with a flame

And she says "I've come to set a twisted thing straight"
And she says "I've come to lighten this dark heart"
And she takes my wrist, I feel her imprint of fear
And I say "I've never thought of finding you here"

Solitude stands in the doorway
And I'm struck once again by her black silhouette
By her long cool stare and her silence
I suddenly remember each time we've met

And she turns to me with her hand extended
Her palm is split with a flower with a flame

Faith stood in the bedroom of the home they had built here and she looked out of the stained glass window. There were things which she needed to attend to, she knew, and so she started to think about it. About what to do.

Or, that was not strictly true. She allowed herself to admit to thinking about it. She had been doing exactly that, and not much of anything else, since Vhalar of the season before. But, this morning, she had woken up alone in their bed and she had known, without a doubt, that she had wallowed in self-pity enough. Of course, Faith's idea of "wallowing in self pity" was far from most peoples, but that wasn't the point.

Padraig wasn't here. His absence was something which Faith felt in her soul ~ literally in her soul. However, he wasn't here and she didn't know when - or if - he would return. Their links were broken and so she was alone. Faith felt the solitude of that creeping in to her very soul and she looked down at her hands. Since she had been a child in the slave school in Athart, Faith had been taught to put her emotions into her hands. But this emotion was too much, too far, too deep.

If her whole body ached from needing him, how could her hands hold that?

The sun lifted over the horizon - the first beams of light since the cycle before. Watching the light hit the stained glass windows, Faith was aware of the glorious sight which surrounded her in the room where she stood. It was glorious and beautiful and it left her feeling cold. No, Faith considered as she looked at the beauty of the first light, she didn't feel cold. She felt alone. Just that.

And she knew that she felt it because she was it. She had nothing in her heart for Padraig except love; he was doing what he needed to do. But that had an impact on her and Faith knew that she needed to make some decisions. She needed to take action and to do. She needed, fundamentally, to not allow herself to worry about him any more. He was where he was, she didn't and couldn't know about it and - when this had happened before - she had gone frantic with worry.

She couldn't afford to do that now. She simply couldn't. They had children, his grandparents, this settlement. She understood her responsibility, and she knew that now she had to be focused on looking after others, not allowing herself to fall into the panic she had fallen into when Padraig had first disappeared behind the barriers. So, Faith held out her hand, palm upwards, and she looked at it. Studied it.

"I can't be split any more," she whispered. "I'll break into too many pieces. I have to make it mine. Make it what I know." It was like she was split. Straight down the middle and without direction. So she looked down and she observed the settlement. She thought of the children there, of the people there. Of who she could be to them, of her own skill set.

It was all twisted and Faith knew what she had to do.

She had to make the twisted thing straight and there was only one way she could do that without Padraig here.

She had to do it her way, on her own.

Simply put: she had to get on with it.
Last edited by Faith Augustin Champion on Sat May 14, 2022 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total. word count: 897
This PC is dead. See this thread for details.

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Faith Augustin Champion
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Re: [Eureka] With a flower with a flame

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1st Ashan, 722
And so, get on with it she would.

Faith made her way out of the bedroom and into the breakfast room where Alex and Alissa were waiting for her. Her personal assistant, Alex, looked up at her and he had a querulous expression on his face. However Alissa had known her longer and so her biqaj bodyguard smiled. Alissa knew that expression on Faith's face and she knew what it meant. Therefore, she did not look surprised - at all - when Faith spoke.

"I'd like to call a meeting," she said. "Of who?" Alex asked and when Faith answered, "Everyone." Alissa gave a grin. "What are we doing, Faith?" Alissa asked. Faith looked at her bodyguard and she wore a slightly perplexed expression as she answered. "I'm not entirely sure yet. But I will be. I need to see Mr Pendleton this morning, then make the meeting for two breaks after I meet him?" Alex stood up and went outside, presumably to get in touch and let people know and Faith moved out of the breakfast room towards her office. Alissa went with her and she watched as Faith began to work.

Faith, for her part, was mostly oblivious to Alissa, instead she was razor-focused on what she was doing. When they had first got here Faith had commissioned a lot of buildings to be built and now, she considered, she'd be commissioning some more. Looking at the map of Eureka, she considered it and then, she made some notes, then a few more, and she kept working until Alex knocked on the door. "Mr Pendleton is here, Faith. Should I show him in?"

Faith nodded and smiled and she stood as Mr Pendleton of Snograss, Pendleton & Snoot was shown in. He had a slightly nervous, slightly eager look on his face and Faith noticed a twinkle in his eyes.. He liked this, she thought. He liked the cut and thrust of a good negotiation.

"I'll cut to the chase, Mr Pendleton," Faith said. "The buildings you made for us are excellent and we would like to ... I would like to, that is, commission more." Mr Pendleton pushed his glasses up his sharp nose and looked at her with a slight smile. "What are you thinking of Professor Augustin?" He looked happy at the thought of more business but then Faith detected just a hint of some nerves as she smiled.

She had no idea that he thought of her as a 'very short shark dressed as a kind and charitable woman.' but he did and he liked that about her. "I want to build the largest hospital on Idalos," she said. "I want it to have four sections or areas. Four wings to it, each one the size of a large hospital, with a central hub feeding all of them. One, a hospital where currently incurable diseases and illnesses are treated and studied. Another, where chronic and long term patients with complex and often terminal diagnosis and prognosis. Third, a children's hospital and fourth a military or magic injury hospital for all those who have been injured in war or battle, those who have been harmed by magic or incapacitated by it." Mr Pendleton's eyebrows were more or less at his hairline. "That's a..." but he got no further because Faith, it seemed, wasn't finished.

"In the central hub, I want there to be research facilities and labs. Alongside this, I want accommodation for families of those who are here, especially parents and so on, and I want there to be therapies available for them. So that will require a larger set of dormitories." She considered it and then nodded. "And homes for the doctors and nurses and staff who work here."

Mr Pendleton looked at her and sighed slightly. "But we're in such a remote location here. Should this be the place for this?"

Faith smiled at him and he understood for a moment what people meant when they talked about her. She wouldn't be swayed. "I've considered that, but I have a solution. In fact, this solution will make this place perfect. And so, considering that this is an enormous undertaking, and that it will be done in conjunction with Scalvoris, Rharne, Viden and maybe other places. I'd like to negotiate a better discount." Mr Pendleton looked like he was going to spit out his teeth and then, Faith moved in with a smile. "For which, I will ensure that you get a fifty percent discount on your supplies and will instruct that any and all Order of the Adunih buildings which are undertaken are offered first to yourselves." He frowned slightly. "In Rharne?"

Faith shook her head. "Everywhere. Think of all the good that you could do."

He looked at her and sighed. "I used to think that you were a shark, you know." Faith smiled in a polite, interested way. She knew that when she used the full force of her unrelenting nature, people found it very hard to say no and, she could get results from them quickly, without beating around the bush . "Now I know," he said, good naturedly. "They're afraid of you."

"Only when I'm doing what's right, Mr Pendelton. Only then."

He sighed. "Alright," he said. "Lets get down to business."

And so, the two of them sat at Faith's desk and they started drawing up plans. Every item, they discussed. Every price, she brought him down. There was a bottom line which she didn't ever cross - Pendleton had to make money out of this - but Faith was able to offer help with many things. Including, of course, the actual provision and acquisition of resources.

Finally - after what Alissa considered to be a ridiculously short time considering what they were discussing, they had a deal.
word count: 985
This PC is dead. See this thread for details.
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Re: [Eureka] With a flower with a flame

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Player Name: Faith Augustin

Points awarded: Tier 2 points to be awarded upon completion of the plot.
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Business Management: Negotiating and then renegotiating discounts

Renown: 15 for a large commission that's sure to make some ears buzz.
Loot: 10% additional discount for the buildings. On the condition that Pendleton gets fifty percent discount on his supplies and first choice on any development projects the Order of the Adunih embarks upon. Pendleton wants one of the wings named after him, and another after Snoots.
Injuries/Overstepping: n/a
Wealth Points: n/a
Consequences: Pendleton will insist upon contracts being signed and sealed before he commits to the construction itself. A whole stack of them with all the 'appropriate' permissions, caveats and stipulations. It will take some time to read through all of them, but by the end, Faith will realize that they essentially can be boiled down to exactly what she offered and dealt for.

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level
Notes: I enjoyed the way you opened up this thread. Faith has had an interesting and nuanced journey, a lot of which is wrapped up in her marriage with Padraig himself. The emotion in that opening was very effective at getting across how Faith deals with self-pity and personal pain. I particularly enjoyed the line where she puts her emotions in her hands, but then the absence of Padraig is just too much, goes far too deep into who she is to simply put them in her hands and forget about them.

Still, she comes to he proper conclusion that he's where he is, and she's where she is, and it won't do anyone a bit of good to worry about what she's lost. So she throws herself into her work.

The actual negotiation is well described, as Faith makes Pendleton an offer he can't refuse, in exchange for further discounts on the amount she and the Order will have to pay.

A very good read, all in all. I love it!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!
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