[center][b][h2]Silver Gold Tower, Lalrial, The Heartlands[/h2]
Lalaifia, the 6th of Gerna 1200 AU - 06.03.1200[/b][/center]

The Silver Gold Tower was old, built at the same time as the other early pieces of the city and it was a small fortress in its own right. An outer wall surrounded a small courtyard containing a small stable and other things. From within the wall a shining tower of alternated gold and silver layers of stone stretched up into the sky several stories. It was the home of the Argentum branch within Lalrial and had a colorful history. Many heretics had been tortured within those walls, many secrets had been spilled, and many plots against the empire had been foiled. 

The Vialiph waited within one of the ground level chambers that was furnished as a meeting chamber. There were nicer chambers by far but no one who was not of the imperial line or a member of the Argentum was allowed above the lowest level, unless granted special permission. 

As he was in his role as the ruler of Meletis and not as one of the two Grand Inquisitors of the Argentum he wore traditional vaelie clothing, made up of a myriad of strips of silver, gold, and purple silken cloth. And there he waited for the one he had summoned to arrive.

Victoria had never especially admired the Silver Gold Tower. She'd always thought is was gaudy—a tacky eye-soar polluting the otherwise architecturally pleasant Lalrial skyline. More important than the tower's facade in informing the Duchess' percepetion, however, was what lies within. The Veletians had never been especially warm to the Argentum, and House Gracieux was no exception. Still, they were not especially vocal of their opposition to the shadowy's organizations power. No one in the Empire was, or the inquisitors would have burned them as a heretic aleady. As Victoria approached the tower, wearing her symbolic dark purple dress, the Gracieux gilded bouquet decorating her neck and a small troupe of the gendarme escorting her, she began to think of a few clever ideas for how to turn her distaste towards the Argentum to her advantage in influencing House Tlaerie. The Tlaerie were the sponsors of the Argentum, the organization's mother and father, but parents, as Victoria knew was true for herself, always had their children's best interests in mind.

As Victoria and her entourage approached the gates a pair of guards in ornate but practical golden armor, with silver capes hanging from their backs stepped up to the edge of the wall and called down to them. "Halt. Announce yourselves and state your business."

"Duchess Victoria Gracieux, Elector of Violette, on ivitation of Vialiph Nis'Silvani Tlaerie."

"Open the gate." One of the guards called down to others behind the wall and in moments the doors had swung open to permit Victoria and her party entry. As they approached the actual doorway into the Silver Gold Tower though they were stopped again. "There are no arms permitted within the Tower for non Argentum members."

The visibly armed gendarme stood outside the door to the tower, flanking either side of the entrance and awaiting, in formation, their Duchess' return. Victoria, unarmed, stepped into the tower's entryway and was greeted by the Vialiph.

As Victoria entered the meeting room Vialiph Nis'Silvani Tlaerie rose from his seat in a single graceful motion. A face that could only be described as beautiful shaped a welcoming smile as the vaelie made a half bow of respect to an equal. Then he straightened and spoke. “Welcome to the Silver Gold Tower Duchess Victoria Gracieux. We so rarely have guests pleased to be here.” His voice was lilting and musical with an odd weight and gravitas that almost pushed at the mind.

The Duchess returned the Vialiph's bow, and took her seat after he had finished introducing her. She took a quick glance around, taking in the character of the room. It was nothing that a Gracieux would find especially impressive, but definitely less dreary than one would expect for an outpost of the inquisitors. Men who tortured and ate other men for a living were generally not assumed to have especially fine taste. "Well," Victoria began, matching her contemporary's friendliness, "I am pleased to be an exception, then. Your presence is always cause for a certain degree of pleasantness. The Vaelie make excellent company. Something about the nature of your people. It is an almost mystical quality, I would say. Disarming."

"We are as we were fashioned by the Sacred Flames of creation, just as you are as you are." The vaelie's voice was still musical and oddly lilting but the current of power had faded to a trickle. He too returned to his seat. “Our gifts aid us, just as your gifts aid you. We all have our parts to play.” Nis'Silvani smiled then. “Sadly while pleasantries are pleasant the reason I have summoned you is of greater importance. The Empire needs a ruler, a ruler who is not tying himself to heretical ----” the last word was odd and the resonance came back in full force as he spoke it. It was obviously not flattering.

Victoria raised an eyebrow, visibly unimpressed at Silvani's sudden change of language and tone. "If someone connected to heretics is running for Emperor, and you are aware of this, I would assume the inquisitors are already on the task of apprehending those involved. Is Jakinius secretly a worshipper of Ymir? Do you have reason to believe that Allianna is He Who Watches, in disguise?"

"The prior emperor, may the Sacred Flames purify and redeem his soul, protected Kawachia and aligned himself with the heretical Swiftwaves." The Vialiph explained, his silver face not stirring the slightest at Victoria's response. "Their corruption has been allowed to fester unchecked and must be curbed lest it spread."

The brow of the Duchess returned to its resting place, and her expression became one of very slight amusement. "Yes, the Swiftwaves. I've heard of what happened to them—what your men did to them. I have no real connection to Kawachia, nor does Ralltene, but events such as those I've heard are the sort that might inspire sympathy. There is no greater enemy of faith than fanaticism."

For a second the Vialiph looked almost like he had bitten into a lemon. "Actions of haste that have since been corrected."

Victoria interjected, "Corrected, Vialiph? I may well be mistaken, as I would not pretend to be an authority on religious matters, but it has always been my understanding that necromancy is not one of the domains of Kammeth. If the Argentum has indeed abducted and murdered an innocent member of a Great House of Ethica, as I have heard... well, such an act could hardly be corrected."

"There has been no death, no murder." The Vialiph replied and with his voice shifting again continued. "The Swiftwave emissaries were taken for questioning in accordance with all laws of the realm. They have cooperated fully and will be released promptly." His expression was warm and genuine as he set forward what had occurred. "The testimonial statements are being verified and when they are completed the innocents shall of course be released."

Victoria's lips parted for her to speak, but then closed again, as she considered her words carefully. "Violette is home to a great number of fishermen, you may have known. If it is heard, even through hearsay, by a number of the buyers of these fish, that the fish are diseased, or have been poisoned before sale, some of these buyers may choose not to buy any fish. The fishermen, obviously, would suffer greatly for this..." As Victoria spoke, her tone became increasingly droll and frustrated, and her eyes drifted down to the table between herself and the Vialiph. After she had finished, but before Silvani could respond, she decided to correct her use of a metaphor. "I am not going to speak to you as if you were a child, Vialiph, because I have some trust in you, in your role in this tower. The Argentum is a necessary force in Ethica. The heretics and the beings they worship hold real power and possess a tangible threat to the Empire. Thankfully, the Argentum is ably tasked, through taxes I have personally contributed a great deal towards, to defend the Empire against them. If many more incidents such as this were to transpire, however, or if the Argentum were to be seen to possess undue influence in Ethica's political sphere, there may well be calls among nobles and commoners alike to curb the power of the inquisitors. I understand, Vialiph, that your order is an incredibly important one, and in a perfect world, it would be able to conduct its business completely independently and without fear of persecution by the very people it is tasked with defending. We both live in reality, however, and here, there are a great many voices that could be convinced to fear the Argentum more than Azueral. The individuals responsible for the recent mishap have been disciplined, you insist. Wonderful. But the wound they have inflicted upon your order's reputation can only be healed with time, and can quite easily be salted. If there were to be a great deal of drama surrounding the election currently taking place in our city, and if the Argentum were to be perceived to be involved in it, it would not bode well for the reputation of the Silver Gold Tower. This, in turn, would not bode well for Ethica."

The Vialiph folded his hands together and spent a moment in thought before nodding. "We live in an imperfect world where corruption eternally strives to pollute our light and we must be ever vigilant. But there is a time for action and a time for restraint. I know this well." With that the Vialiph rose once more before he bowed slightly for the second time. "You would do well to consider the threat should you find yourself behind the throne. The greatest trick the darkness can pull is to convince you that it is but an illusion when it is very real. Now I bid you depart in health and may the Sacred Flames preserve your soul." 

A pleasant, satisfied smile was drawn across Duchess Victoria's lips as she arose from her seat, and reached to take Nis'Silvani's hand. "I have heard from many a man who has had a nightmare of finding himself in the Silver Gold Tower, but personally, I found it quite comfortable and accomodating." The Duchess' lips pressed against the Vialiph's hand, and Victoria's smile widened as she returned the respectful bow. As she turned away and began to walk towards the exit, she paused, and turned back to leave her final word. "I hope that a year from now, I might visit the Silver Gold Tower again, as Empress, and be pleased to find that the organization and its reputation are as strong and as honourable as ever. May the Sacred Flames preserve us both, Tlaerie."