It's actually extremely helpful, but the only thing he can think to say is, stupidly – 

"Cyprian crowning himself Emperor was a failure? I was sure – your goddess must have wanted it. I've thought about it" – more than is healthy or reasonable to admit – "and it's the only thing that makes sense when you look at everything she was doing in Galt – "

"It is indeed our understanding that it was better from Her perspective than the available alternatives at the point where it happened, presumably because She thought He'd fight Hell. It still very obviously involved a bunch of important failures on our part. There's one for the Four Days' War, and that was an unqualified triumph for everything we cared about! We still want to learn from our mistakes. I admit it's easier to get things on the desk of very busy people if you can say "hundreds of people died because we didn't have this figured out" and not just "this could have happened a year sooner if we'd had this figured out" but that's - not how it's supposed to work, not what we aspire to."

Oh, that's not fair. He pushes down a brief, hysterical stab of fury at the thought of generations of Lastwall functionaries carefully, patiently, admirably studying their errors, and carefully, patiently, admirably concluding that things should go on just the way they always had. Besides, he was all set up for the Iomedeans to be rigid and unreasonable while he nobly blamed himself for everything, and he's irrirated to be denied the treat.

"I'm very curious what you think you got wrong during the Four Days' War, but we're getting off topic." 

"I didn't fight in it, to start! But yes, we are. Is there anything you've identified that the Church or its representatives could have done before Valia Wain's speech, to prevent it, other than 'don't invite, or better train, or better supervise, Valia Wain? - we will of course be making recommendations on those points."

"Actually, I stand by the decision to invite her. I'd have done the same thing even if I'd known there were ten Reclamation clerics ready and willing. It matters that she's from Cheliax, and from the only town in Cheliax that pushed out the Thrunes and decided to rule themselves. There are things they learned in Pezzack that almost nobody else in that room or in this country or – if I may be perfectly honest – even in Lastwall understands. If your church hadn't chosen her as a representative, I probably wouldn't have interfered, but I would have seen it as an attempt to subvert the project of Chelish self-governance. 

I don't know why your church didn't contact her the first time I mentioned she existed – I'd actually assumed you had, but I suppose nobody took note of it at the time. Failing that, it bothers me that it doesn't seem to have occurred to her that there might be a reason the Menadorian nobles retained their ranks, and that she could have asked a superior in the church if she wanted to learn it. I don't know exactly what you could have done to create the impression that there was someone who understood the situation who she could have gone to for advice, but I think that's where things went wrong." 

"That makes sense. Were there any precautions prepared for the case where a delegate gave an unlawful or dangerous speech on the floor?"

"Certainly. The precaution was that I would give them a stern talking-to and if necessary physically restrain them." 

"Did you consider interrupting Wain's speech?"

"Yes – no – at the time, my mind was – elsewhere. On reflection, I don't think I would have interrupted her, but I should have said something in response. Or had Cansellarion do it." 

"He identified that he should have be much quicker to get your attention and get to the front and speak. He was taken aback. 

After the speech, did you think that the delegates were in particularly elevated danger?"

"I thought Valia Wain would be in danger. Less so when there wasn't an obvious reaction on the floor. I didn't take any precuations there either, and would have if I'd been thinking straight." 

"Was anyone else on your staff present to notice things like that or make calls like that if you happened to overlook them?"

"No. None of them are Chelish or have any particular reason to care about Chelish politics." 

"Do you have anyone on your staff who is assigned full time to supporting the Constitutional Convention?"

"No. Nor anyone who I think would be suited to it." 

"One of the most common recommendations we end up putting in incident reports is that almost everyone whose time is very valuable should delegate more. I know there are a lot of practical barriers to that. Have you tried hiring in Cheliax?"

"No. ...I can't say I didn't know it would be a good idea." 

"When did you specifically consider it, and what decided you against?"

"I've considered it many times – if nothing else, a good portion of wizards around the inner sea are Chelish, and it would have made things like the arcane engine installation in Westcrown easier. And I wouldn't turn away a talented Chelish wizard if they came to me – I think – I mean, if they were capable of acting like a human being. The truth is that I don't like working with them. They're servile to your face, scheming behind your back, and even if they're too terrified to try to against me they can't help undermining each other, and if any of them had the capacity for original thought it was mostly beaten out of them long ago. I'm sure if I spent enough time looking I'd find someone in the country who would suit, but I haven't, because I find the prospect depressing." 

It really speaks to the man that this is what he thinks of them and he wants them to self-govern. "Would you have benefitted from more operational support from the Church of Iomedae?"

He can't help it if he has a principled belief in the moral necessity of democratic self-governance. 

"That's an interesting question. Quite likely, but I don't think I would have accepted it." 

Huh. "Why not?"

Does he really have to explain this to de Luna, who he actually quite likes – 

Yes, of course he does. That's why he's here. 

"I don't want Cheliax to be an Iomedean theocracy. If your church had offered to assist with the convention, I would have assumed that it was with the goal of steering events towards that end. And even if not – well, I'm not sure I'd have liked the price." 

The Church does not want Cheliax to be an Iomedaen theocracy. Iomedae is too busy to supervise any more countries. "Do you feel in general able to ask for the Church's assistance where you require it without the price being unexpectedly high?" Because that's really failing at one of the things that it is most important for them not to fail at, if not.

Seriously? 

"There's nothing unexpected about it. It wouldn't have occurred to me to ask the Church for assistance, because I know perfectly well that you don't offer it unless you're paid more in kind than you can give."