...ohhhh. That makes sense, yes. He should have thought of that. Well, too late.

"Freely given," he admits, "to another, and passed on to me."

"Then what is it to me? Is anyone lessened by its absence, or subjugated by its taking?"

"By its absence? No. By its taking? Not directly. No one was lessened by this being here. But this—and I—would not be here had it never been used to lessen another."

"Many things can be used against another. Few things are of Conquest.

Look at what I keep here. Ghosts of men killed with their own weapons. Captives staying by force. I have a particularly stubborn spirit of fire that wants nothing more than to learn and translate languages, and rather than allow that when it might be useful to me I keep it imprisoned and bodiless until it submits. If there is no Conquest in this gift then it is worthless to me."

...the Lord of Montreal didn't seem to care this much about his gifts. Wonder why.

"I did not merely mean this was used against another," he says, thinking on his feet. "Is there not more to Conquest than that which has been Conquered? I believe there is." He looks at Conquest in the eye. "I declare this gift of Conquest, for it has been used to Conquer. For it is a tool of Conquest, and has ever been my ally. For I have used this—in a myriad ways, most very unorthodox—to subjugate and destroy others, to make them submit to oaths even more stringent than that of Solomon. This has been my source of power, and with this power I have taken down a Charybdis and bound it so it is now harmless. You are Conquest, my Lord, and of Conquest, because you are that which Conquers." He raises his vial higher. "This is that which Conquers, at least in my hands."

"And when you put it to a different use it is decoration instead. A conqueror you may be. But it is not conquest you offer. It is not a Lord's place to refuse a token, but know that it has bought you no good will."

Some of the other practitioners are looking around awkwardly. The Sphinx at least is listening to Sadde's argument with interest. The Queen's Man speaks up to Sadde. "Fae blood? Sources of glamour can replenish, if cared for the right way," (Conquest's already annoyed eyes narrow, and the Sphinx looks at the interruption with disapproval.) "and if that means what I think it means—"

"The holy water trick," he says, quickly taking the offered way out (and internally rolling his eyes). "Mix the original fae blood with blood from animals I've killed, and the new blood has the same qualities as the fae blood did."

"So when you say willingly given fae blood you mean forcibly taken from helpless beasts." He's noticeably less displeased at the interrupting practitioner, having moved all the way back up to ignoring him. "And that if any future Conquest sheds blood it strengthens it as well as me. Now that is of Conquest."

He has to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes so hard they make a noise. Instead, he inclines his head in acknowledgement. "That is true, my Lord."

If Conquest notices the not quite audible eye rolling, he doesn't visibly care. "Then I receive the gift, and accept your presence until you give me reason to do otherwise. And the floor is open."

The Sphinx's voice cuts through the dimly lit space. "I'll begin. Who are you, Sam?"

"I am a practitioner who wishes to better the world."

Isadora has a relaxed smile, but her feline body is completely still. Tense.

"A safe answer. Not even very debatable. But there are plenty who could say it, often contradictory. Is your "better" better than mine?"

"The point of my better is that it's meant to be better for everyone in it, not just me. So I'd want to find a better that's at least as good as your better is, for you."

"A dangerous thing to tell a predator."

"You don't actually have to answer," the Queen's Man interjects. "Direct questions from a sphinx can be dangerous."

"I thank you for your advice," he tells the Queen's Man. "And I'm not yet convinced," he continues, looking at the Sphinx, "that it is impossible to create a world where predator and prey are both fulfilled."

"Do you expect to convince the prey that it isn't?"

He shrugs. "I don't care much for the natural order of things. I care for fulfilment and the flourishing of all sapients. That may be too lofty a goal, and perhaps an impossible one, but it's one I wish to at least approximate."

"What would you do," asks the Sphinx, "if confronted with a sapient being whose flourishing is the maintenance of the balance?"

He purses his lips and doesn't answer.

"Let's change the subject before you end up eating our newcomer," the man with the glasses says. He gives Isadora an apparently genuine smile. She looks only slightly annoyed with him, but relaxes some of her pouncing muscles. "What brings you to Toronto, Sam?"

"I have an unawakened, abusive father. I did not wish to share a town with him anymore."

Matthew's face hardens. "I can understand that. If he comes after you, remember you're more dangerous than he is now."

"Yeah. I... expect he'll try to come, but hopefully I have taken enough steps to prevent him from doing so."

Nod. There's a bit of an awkward silence, featuring Conquest radiating a sense that Sadde should have chosen a different solution. To break it, the Elder Sister asks "What are your goals while here? Ambitions?"

Conquest can think whatever he likes, he's an embodiment of an outdated concept.

"I want to make things better. I dislike the status quo, but I know most changes make things worse, and I don't know yet what the best ah strategy is for that. I don't like Solomon's Seal, I think it doesn't dare enough, it's not good enough, but it's woven deeply into the tapestry of reality right now and I'd like to do something about that."