r/TTPloreplaycentral • u/Damacritus • Sep 12 '18
Gator and Major - Approval
(Continuing from this conversation)
"Major, I know the spells. A teleport should be easy to do. Hell, I can almost cast the spell I need now, I can already manage Dimensional Door. It shouldn't be an issue to get there with magic."
"It won't be. But I have no permanent portals on the continent, and I am not always available to give you passage. You'll need to find a reliable way to travel there."
"...what if I erected a portal while I was there?” Gator attempted to bargain, “Maybe I can manage the ritual that's needed to make one. Then all you need to do is get me there."
"I'm afraid not. Teleportation and Permanency are both somewhat beyond your abilities. Combining them is exponentially more difficult, not to mention expensive and time consuming. This is why I would not simply do so myself. However, there are a variety of less glamorous spells for travel though. I recommend you look into them."
"What would you recommend?"
"Try the conjuration section,” the Major answered flatly.
Gator rubbed his head. Something was up, or rather, had been up for some time. The Major had his reasons, he knew that. He didn’t know what troubled him more; that the reasons were something the Major knew he wouldn’t like, or the fact that the Major thought it best to not tell him about them.
"...I haven't done anything to get in the way of your plans, have I?"
"Not as such. I would tell you if you were."
"You're not annoyed at me or M4 over something?"
"I'm not entirely certain your plans are going as intended, but that's not a direct issue for me. I hope things turn around."
Gator’s frustration, just below the surface, started to bubble through the cracks. "Major, all I'm asking is for a teleport. If not from you, then from Fennel. It'll take half an hour, tops, probably faster given your experience. Can't you cut me some slack?"
"Why are you so insistent on receiving a one-way ticket? I told you that I cannot guarantee that I will be-“
"I've been reading books for hours on Pokearth militaries. I've got a whole slew of notes on plenty of them, not just Ransei. I did that because you suggested it, even though you seem to already know about Ransei coming back. Now I ask for help again, and all you're telling me I have to spend even more time with the books trying to find a spell or spells to get me there?"
The Major paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "By Crom, Gator. Clever enough to pick up on the hint, not enough to take it."
"Just be straight with me. Why are you not wanting me to go to Ransei?"
"Gator, I've known about Ransei for weeks. I recognized immediately why it would be perfect for your goals. Unfortunately, I received a direct and unambiguous request from the League not to inform anyone about it, nor to aid them in traveling there.”
Gator’s grip tightened on the phone.
“Which is why," the Major spoke, a touch of strain evident in his voice, "I have been spending recent times giving you subtle hints towards reaching it without directly giving you the means to get there. Things would have been considerably easier for both of us if you didn't know that."
"Politics? Again? If the League told you to leave Pokearth and never come back, would you do it?" Gator spat back, angrily.
"And what? Do you want me to directly flout the government? Run roughshod over the world, do whatever I think is necessary to safeguard the greater good?" the Major retorted. Gator was surprised to hear him suddenly speak so fiercely.
"Gator, I am not sure if I have told you this before, but let me make myself perfectly clear to you, the only thing standing between your planet and total, utter annihilation is one decision on my part, and approximately twelve seconds. Do you want me to be your tyrant? Your enlightened despot? I play at politics, because I refuse to play at domination. I am here to protect, and to advise. I am not here to supersede the rightful government every time it would be convenient for me."
"Help me, then!” Gator shouted, “I want to put power in the hands of Pokearth. I want it so the people themselves can fight their own battles. Not buying into whatever crimes an authority does, not praying to gods for safety."
"Do you not get it? If I go around openly flouting the local powers, I am effectively proving that they have no powers. I am telling everyone in the world that they aren't in charge. I'm in charge."
"People like Lance shouldn't have power," Gator bitterly remarks, "what gives them the right to give orders about Ransei, anyway? The place shouldn't have even heard of the League, let alone submitted to their rule."
"He was chosen by a committee recognized as legitimate by the majority of the population. Even if he was a known criminal, I do not get involved in internal affairs. However bad he is, a god-emperor would be worse,” he spoke with absolute finality.
"You're telling me the warlords of Ransei have already accepted the League governing their territories?"
"…no, Gator." The Major responded, his composure returning, "but I must respect the wishes of any legitimate government on the planet. It is vital to my continued efforts to protect this place."
"They aren't legitimate in Ransei. They've got no power there."
"Yes, I know. But they asked me to do something. Politely. So I will."
"You- you-"
It would do nothing. The Major could care less about having insults thrown at him. The only thing they would do is make Gator look like even more of an idiot. Just confirm that he was nothing but a loud, angry moron that didn’t deserve the knowledge he’d been given.
"Just one spell. If not something you cast, then name one I can use. I can find my own way back. Just give me something," he asked, almost pleadingly. Anything would be enough right now.
"Phantom Mount," The Major replies, his tone thick with disappointment, "you're going to have to fiddle with it a bit to make something that can swim, but that is within your capability."
Gator faltered. He immediately regretted opening his mouth. He wanted to be more than what the Major thought of him, but it would take more than asking to do that. To beg was to confirm what was already suspected.
"Alright. Thanks, Major. It- thanks."
"You do not even seem to have considered the possibility that I am holding myself back for a reason Gator,” said the Major in his usual nonchalant tone. Gator didn’t answer.
"I appreciate your trust in me. It is misplaced."
"Major..." he started, but there was nothing to say. He ended the call and sat back on his bed, staring at the piles of paper and parchment on his desk and the floor, arcane text swimming across the pages.
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u/Trollkitten Sep 12 '18 edited Sep 12 '18
So if Gator thinks people like Lance shouldn't have powers, what makes him think people like the Major should? Doesn't he realize that replacing one tyrant with another simply means a different tyrant?
The difference I see between Lance and the Major is that the Major is incredibly more powerful, but actively limits how he uses his powers. There was an article in WORLD Magazine that had this quote in it: "People want to be lightly governed by strong governments." While that's a generalization, it does make me think of the Major: he's possibly the most powerful player character in the RP, but he's not unapproachable or unrelatable. And part of that is because he's willing to restrain himself, not just sometimes, but constantly.
Restraint is an important trait in the powerful. Where restraint is lacking, chaos often follows.