He scoffed, rather perceptibly, at being called a "boy". Who did this
nerd think he was?
In any case, and against better judgement, Ivan did find himself growing rather interested in the proposal. While he had always been rather ambivalent towards the Great Houses - indeed, once upon a time, he had even fantasized about entering their service - and still found Duncan's idea to be borderline suicidal, there was something rather appealing about the prospect of the rogue's fight; of forging a new world with his own hands, and against powers much greater than his own.
Apart from this, there was also the rather important factor that he did not believe the Great Houses - or the regimes they stood behind - had much to offer him. Sure, a place in their service had been an excellent opportunity to gain wealth and status prior to the Revolution, but the Seven had since lost that capacity. In addition to that, there was also the fact that not even the prize of forming his own minor house had ever had that much of an allure for him.
- "To join our ranks." - He corrected Duncan.
- "I'll be honest, that was never an issue." - Not when he had his own House to rebuild. Curiously, Ivan had always felt an irrational attachment to the Skender name. While a connection to family was usually not surprising, for him it was more so, as he had never
actually met another Skender in his life, and all he'd heard about them was not exactly
positive. Maybe it was because he believed the name would grant him a ticket into the Anirian halls of power, or maybe it was because subconsciously he thought his cursed name differentiated him from the rest of his cohort back at the Academy.
Whatever the case, he had recently realised that neither the Houses, nor the Republic, would ever help him achieve his dreams of power, regardless of whose blood ran through his veins. This was why - even despite their alarming track record of murdering nobles - Ivan found himself truly entertaining the possibility of joining Gilram's exiles.
On the other side of that coin however, was that - while somewhat impressionable by grand promises of change - Ivan did not, at the end of the day, make decisions solely based on the passionate ideas of others. Indeed, while many at the Academy had lambasted him for throwing himself head-first into sticky situations, he had always found that judgement unfair. What he really did was judging probabilities; he judged the probability of success, and measured it against his reward... It was just that all the other
losers found he was bad at judging probabilities, something which he - the golden boy of Anirian mathematics - thoroughly disagreed with.
As it stood however, on the one hand, though the Republic was stricken with rebellion, dissent and infighting internally, he still deemed it unlikely that Gilram and his troupe would manage to overthrow it, or the Seven that supported the regime. Not to mention that joining the exiles meant... Well,
exile. A rather unappealing proposition taking into account these rogues were going up against what was likely the most powerful state in
Arethil.
On the other hand, there was the fact that - as
Edric had told him - there was still a chance that Gilram won, and that if he did, his followers would be in a prime position to reap the rewards. Ramble as Duncay may have about merit, Ivan knew well enough that when power was concerned, loyalty was always a deciding factor in decision making. As it stood, he saw the advantages of joining Gilram for what they were: a high-risk, high-reward endeavour.
This situation, this decision, and what he would say next, were - in his mind, at least - the very reason he had always dismissed others' opinions about his carelessness as pure nonsense. He had made his choice, and it was not a brash one, as far as he was concerned.
- "I will return to Vel Anir." - He said, after a somewhat long pause.
- "Though," - He continued.
- "that does not mean we have to be enemies." - He ground his march to a halt. Behind him rose the building where the golems had taken Edric.
- "The Academy is the future of Vel Anir." - He said, seemingly going on a tangent, while inspecting their surroundings.
- "It creates the Republic's most lethal soldiers, shapes its military leaders, and hosts its decision-makers all the time." - He gave Duncan a sly look.
- "I guess the Archon could only gain in having an ally inside." -
He let the words sink in, as he waited for Duncan's response.
For Gilram's cause, the presence of a friendly agent within the Academy would be obvious: access to some of the finest warriors and commanders of Aniria, as well as a chance to spread propaganda among the Republic's future
Dreadlords so as to leverage support for the Archon's cause. Kress knew they needed it.
For Ivan the advantages were also pretty clear: If Gilram won, then he would surely be regarded as the daring, brave soldier of the Republic that risked his life by heading into the wolf's den. If Gilram lost… well, then he would never have had anything to do with the cause, and could move on with his life.
