Discovery

[original_is_best]

♥ Who: Verstael, Will, Ardyn
♥ Where: Verstael's lab abode
♥ When: Days after this
♥ What: Heartache
♥ Rating: PG-13 for tragic stuff

Will
After receiving his notes Vertsael withdrew into his residence. Many people likely wouldn't notice his absence as he suddenly fell off the grid, but for those who interacted with him often it would be very sudden. He had work to do.

And so for day's on end he pored over the documents with seemingly little sleep or food. Many of the later documents had been set to the side. Decades in the future things had long gone bad, so while he did read them they weren't what he needed right now. He needed to find out what changed in the Empire. In his lab. In him. No one could detail this better than himself.

He absorbed himself in the material and closed himself away to the outside world, not expecting much, until there was a knock on the door. It was almost startling. He worked in such silence that the rapping at his door almost seemed to echo. It broke his thoughts and he was so weary that he had difficulty finding them again, instead tiredly climbing to his feet to go see who it was.

Ardyn
In time he had organized the collection of journals and created a chart for himself. After having contacted Ardyn, he sat down and waited until he could let him in. While he could try to summarize, it just didn't feel like that would be sufficient.

He'd created a chart for himself, lengthy and detailed, as he determined that the main change happened shortly after the time he arrived in this city. But it wasn't simply one event that he mentioned. He had a list of large events in the Empire.

The birth of Praeterius.
The passing of the Empress.
Various troubles that arose within the Empire at that time.
His discovery of Ardyn.
The recovery of Ifrit.
Work on the MTs.
Research into the Scourge.

Any event that could be considered notable at the time was listed, both good and bad, and some were underlined. While things like Praeterius' birth were left clear, entries like the passing of the Empress had a firm line traced underneath.

And there was one conspicuous one. 'Ardyn'. A line was started under it, but it tapered and faded halfway, as if he started but was unwilling to underline it. The notes had been made for himself but they were left uncovered.

He was tired. He was hungry. He was stressed. But he couldn't stop, and he thought Ardyn needed to see these as well.

Comments

[twistedempathy]

"If you aren't that close to him, how would you have known to? You might not even be able to, depending on how his advisors keep him tied up. Duties might not allow him time to heal, or to spend time with someone he trusts enough to talk."

Will offered Verstael a wry, sympathetic smile. It's hard to comfort an acquaintance after that kind of loss, isn't it? Hard and awkward, and he might be denied an audience to boot. If he feels so strongly that it's a root cause of future problems.....

"His judgment might be impaired, and that flawed direction would be carried forward with that same night and momentum. Or people might use that weakness to sway him into making dangerous, damaging decisions, or just get away with things they otherwise couldn't because of stricter oversight. You might need to force your way onto his schedule, if you think he needs help; it's possible keeping him isolated and in pain could be in someone's best interest."

[original_is_best]

Of course. Advisers, politicians, generals... He never cared much for many of them. He would deal with them as needed, but preferred his isolated lab for that reason. It wasn't the Emperor he hid himself away from.

"There could be snakes among them," he agreed, a frown forming on his lips. Perhaps it would be best to find a way to distance His Radiance from such leeches. But how? Verstael hadn't exactly been the most social. Nor did he have any sort of plan on what to do after that. It was highly unlikely anyone would hire him to be their therapist anytime soon.

"Perhaps I can create a step by step plan. It is such a common occurrence, there must be a well-established method to respond."

He preferred to operate in a way where he could control things. Especially for something like this, having variables outside of his control put the entire plan at great risk of failing. How could he be sure to succeed if he could not address every potential trigger?

[twistedempathy]

"Is it really that common? I'm not from a kingdom, so I couldn't really say." There were political machinations in any government, of course. He was sure of that. But they tended to be more..... well, limited in a more balanced government.

When a king's word was law, anyone good enough at manipulating one person could theoretically cause nearly unlimited havoc in the kingdom. When you had to orchestrate schemes spanning multiple branches of government and dozens of officials, on the other hand..... things got considerably more complex. The more you had to rig to work just right, the less you could probably successfully pull off.

"I'm not sure what kind of methods people use to deal with that sort of thing, either..... Do you know what His Radiance used to do to ensure people's loyalty?" No offense, but Verstael really didn't strike him as someone well-versed in how to suss out and ensure people's loyalties.

[original_is_best]

"It is only natural for people to attempt to advantage themselves. Politicians are oft trying to curry favor. Some with better or benign intentions than others."

He didn't necessarily believe everyone was pure evil or anything. No, he simply figured people were out for themselves.

His demeanor changed as he spoke of the Emperor, though. Clearly he didn't hold the same ideas about one politician in particular.

"His Radiance won over the hearts of the people through his compassionate deeds and fair justice. He is known for his benevolence, as well as being a talented negotiator. He needed no tricks to win the loyalty of the people. It was done via sincere and hard work."

[twistedempathy]

Will's expression softened a little as he listened, thoughtful concern warming into a fond smile. Verstael was usually so dismissive of politicians, so unsentimental about people. He was brutally practical at best, cynical at worst; useless, self-important officials meant nothing to him.

But the Emperor..... He really did seem to admire him. More than that, he clearly cared about his well-being, even apart from how it might endanger his country and his future. It's unexpectedly sweet; Will couldn't help but be a little charmed.

"Then it sounds like he's never needed to worry about something like this until now. If his own strength of mind and heart carried him this far, I don't know if he'd have needed to test people's loyalty, or their intentions. You might need to build your plan from scratch."

[original_is_best]

The stars in his eyes calmed as he came back to the original subject. While he admired the Emperor, they didn't exactly 'hang out', which put him in a rather unusual position. He could absolutely place himself in close proximity to the Emperor if he desired, but while he might go unnoticed one time it would be quite strange if he did that for a prolonged period of time.

"If I were to spend more time in Gralea in order to root out any troublemakers, my presence would surely be noticed quite quickly. No doubt if I kept His Radiance' ear too often I might become a target of any with ill intentions for him. I may need to find assistance."

Which itself was difficult. Sure, he could get researchers. But what would people think if a bunch of scientists were suddenly hanging out all the time when they were usually out in the wastelands? That was more than a little conspicuous.

He sighed softly, "Which says nothing of treating any potential illnesses."

Because it was easiest for him to think of depression that way. An illness to be tackled. Somehow.