[ He shakes his head. ] Their machines remain partly reliant on magic. Whether to create it or power it.
[ Or both. He knows it is possible to make machines without Chaos at all. He's been shown by those from worlds with so little magic, it may as well not exist for them at all. Great flying machines, complicated engines fueled by chemical compounds they have not created on the Continent or in spheres like Abraxas. But those are inventions of many centuries in the making, from people who didn't have magic to fall back on.
As for Marlo...
A complicated question. He tips back his drink and pours another. ]
Shrewd. [ Cold. Calculating. They all apply. ] Ellya may have connections to the military, but Marlo led soldiers of her own, and she won their votes.
[ And if he knows anything about soldiers—that isn't easy to do. It's a fickle thing; monarchies only stand as firm as their armies, which is in part why the Queen's familial ties to Thorne's military is a point of concern. With Marlo, though, it's more. She isn't attached by bloodline or name. She served—and if he isn't mistaken, many of the soldiers who are serving now must've fought alongside her. She isn't only their leader. She's a comrade. The kind of loyalty and kinship that can't be bought. There's plenty of dissent and criticism amongst the citizens, but nothing that speaks of her reign weakening.
Certainly nothing that seems to bother Marlo. She's moved to suppress none of it.
He's no general. But— ] You ask me? She'll wait to see how the winter treats you. Then make her move when the Singularity wanes once more.
[ The Dimming, as they call it. He knows it affects Thorne the most—to the point where they try to feed the monolith to sustain it. It's a predictable time to strike, but also the most ideal. If Marlo decides Thorne is weakened enough that they won't need the element of surprise, then she's likely to gather her forces. ]
no subject
[ Or both. He knows it is possible to make machines without Chaos at all. He's been shown by those from worlds with so little magic, it may as well not exist for them at all. Great flying machines, complicated engines fueled by chemical compounds they have not created on the Continent or in spheres like Abraxas. But those are inventions of many centuries in the making, from people who didn't have magic to fall back on.
As for Marlo...
A complicated question. He tips back his drink and pours another. ]
Shrewd. [ Cold. Calculating. They all apply. ] Ellya may have connections to the military, but Marlo led soldiers of her own, and she won their votes.
[ And if he knows anything about soldiers—that isn't easy to do. It's a fickle thing; monarchies only stand as firm as their armies, which is in part why the Queen's familial ties to Thorne's military is a point of concern. With Marlo, though, it's more. She isn't attached by bloodline or name. She served—and if he isn't mistaken, many of the soldiers who are serving now must've fought alongside her. She isn't only their leader. She's a comrade. The kind of loyalty and kinship that can't be bought. There's plenty of dissent and criticism amongst the citizens, but nothing that speaks of her reign weakening.
Certainly nothing that seems to bother Marlo. She's moved to suppress none of it.
He's no general. But— ] You ask me? She'll wait to see how the winter treats you. Then make her move when the Singularity wanes once more.
[ The Dimming, as they call it. He knows it affects Thorne the most—to the point where they try to feed the monolith to sustain it. It's a predictable time to strike, but also the most ideal. If Marlo decides Thorne is weakened enough that they won't need the element of surprise, then she's likely to gather her forces. ]