28th January
12:20 GMT -7
Queen Morgan and Circe regard each other awkwardly for a moment. And it's like…
The air is thickening as they both reach out to the world's magics, to feel one another's actions and to prepare their own spells to activate at a moment's notice. The world stops flowing as it should and begins increasingly to flow in accordance with their designs. Circe's done a good deal to make up for the power she lost, and from what I feel it would appear that Morgan is in the same weight class as her.
"Circe. You're looking well."
Circe smiles. "Yes, I
am. Escaping that infernal prophecy has taken
years off." She makes a small gesture with her right hand in the direction of Morgan's face. "Is that mask really
necessary? Forgive me if I'm being
presumptuous, but I rather assume that if you're talking to
me that it's because you require my assistance with an
arcane matter?"
Morgan turns her head towards myself and Geoff. "I'm not comfortable
parading myself before an audience."
"Then at
least remove your wards, so that I can take a closer took without having to overpower them-" Morgan's head
snaps back to her. "-
first."
"As if you had that
power."
I hold up my hands. "I don't believe that this avenue of conversation is particularly helpful."
Circe raises her eyebrows. "And what do you mean by
that?"
"While I understand why you're being so…
Catty, surely
you can appreciate why Queen Morgan is reluctant to reveal her weaknesses to us?"
"Y
esss."
"And Queen Morgan, Circe has invited you into her place of work in the spirit of cooperation. Asking a little openness in return is hardly unreasonable."
"It has been… A considerable time since I dealt with an equal in power so openly."
"Then.. you are free to leave. As arousing as I'm finding this grandstanding, there's only so much time in the day."
Circe's eyes narrow. "
How, precisely, is this arousing to you?"
I shrug. "What can I say, power and the will to use it are signs of a good mate on Apokolips. I can
feel you both reaching out to local mana fields,
dominating them,
twisting them in accordance with your natures, turning them to your ends. It's… Somewhat distracting." I smile. "But not in a
bad way. By all means, keep going."
And then I feel it as they both ease off.
I look down at my crotch. "Sorry, chum."
Circe sighs quietly. "Perhaps if
I take the lead?" Morgan cautiously inclines her head. "Though my knowledge has been hard-won over the course of the centuries, my power and vitality were gifts from Hecate. One she could take back at a moment's notice. Grayven advised me to simply renounce her gift, and offered to aid me in getting a replacement for
both."
"I thought that you felt weaker."
Circe's face tightens very slightly, but she decides to let the implied slight go. She nods. "It will be some considerable time before I gain in my own right the ability to project the level of arcane force which Hecate's gift provided to me, but when I finally do it will be
my power."
Hmm. Oh, that might explain the attitude. I..
think that the two of them have cooperated before, but with Hecate's blessing Circe would have been the more powerful of the two by some considerable margin. And two to three times as old. I don't image that Morgan is the sort to be
happy about being overshadowed. Although… As Circe said, her power now is her own. If they actually fought and Morgan
lost, it would be a matter of superior
skill and not of who had persuaded the Goddess of Magic to give whom a massive unearned boost. That would be a
critical blow to the ego.
Morgan tilts her head back slightly. "If you are so glad to be rid of Hecate's boon
now, why did you cling to it so tightly for so long?"
"A past suitor of mine granted me
immortality without youth as a.. gift. I was
desperate to escape from being a frail old woman, and at the time I… Didn't know how to perform the vitality draining spell which
you employ. Hecate's boon granted me that escape, and the power to defend myself should my
decidedly ex-suitor return."
"I see." Morgan turns her head to take in the room. "And what is… This.. place?"
I smile. "Soft power."
Circe nods. "Indirect control. There's so little knowledge of magic in the world that governments are falling over themselves to benefit from my teaching. My rise will be
slow… But I have no need to hurry."
"Why show me this?"
"Because of your
insistence that you are the rightful ruler of Britain.
"
Morgan turns to face Geoff. "Do you feel threatened? Is your grip on power less solid than you hoped it would be?"
"The Conservative and Labour parties are facing total annihilation at the forthcoming General Election. All reliable polling says that we'll have a Reform landslide. I'll be Prime Minister within a month.
" Geoff smiles faintly.
"God help me.
"
"But not
king."
"I still can't
grasp why you're so fixated on that
title.
"
"Because it was denied to me by a usurper. Regardless of what you tell me of the changes Britain has undergone-." She stops.
"Have you any
idea how often royal dynasties have been overthrown since you retreated into Albion?
"
"No." She looks around at us. "That is not what this is about. You wish to make me an
offer. You wish for me to renounce my claim."
"You don't
have a claim. There are multiple acts of parliament covering the royal succession and none of them mention you.
Yes, at one time you could have argued your case, but that time was a
very long time ago. That
said, I would rather that you pursued whatever outcome which you think that you deserve
peacefully than make assaults upon the country.
"
"What manner of nation is it that gives a claimant the freedom to call for the overthrow of their monarch?"
"The fact that you don't
know is an ample demonstration of why you're unsuited to the office.
" Geoff pauses for a moment.
"We've.. settled things with Buckingham Palace. The succession is being altered so that the people involved with the Caligula club won't inherit. In exchange, the people who
were involved won't be prosecuted. The press aren't happy, but they learn to live with it.
"
"And the
new Crown Prince is unwed?"
"No, he's married. But his
son isn't. We don't
arrange marriages for royals these days. Whether or not he weds your daughter is up to
him.
"
Circe nods. "And even if that option is unappealing, we can arrange for both you and Morgana to gain additional exposure to modern customs. You will have a far better chance of convincing the people of Britain to follow you if you understand how they live in this era."
I nod. "And
how to govern a modern country. I'm not convinced that either of you
could do the job at present."
Carve the Keystone.
"And I assume that you would all resist any attempt at taking the crown by force majeure."
I incline my head. "Naturally. My preference is to resolve disputes
peacefully, but I consider resolving them
permanently to be a decent consolation prize. No sense letting things
fester."
Morgan remains still for a moment.
"You implied that you had a solution to ageing."
I nod again. "One I could share with an ally. Not one I could share with a potentially hostile power. That would simply be foolish."
"I see." She turns her head to face Circe. "Perhaps you could show me the rest of your school?"
