Talk Like an Egyptian {Revan Haine}

[Helen Integra Magnus]

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I AM A ROCK; I AM AN ISLAND
and a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries
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it was customary for the Supreme Mugwump to introduce key note speakers. Though Helen had indeed been in contact with Mr. Haine - otherwise he wouldn't have been invited to speak at the International Forum that was now being held in Alexandria, Egypt. - she still did not know the specifics of what he desired and how far he was willing to go to get it. He seemed like the type of person who was willing to shed a drop or two of blood if it meant achieving his own ends - not to say she thought little of the man. On the contrary, she respected a man - or anyone, really - who was willing to do so much for a cause he or she so believed in. Mr. Haine had ideals that would not fade no matter how much time passed or how futile his efforts occasionally seemed to be.

"The way to be boring is to say everything," she began, her lips curved in a diplomatic smile. "It is an idea I firmly believe in, and I'm sure you are all very thankful for it." There was a small rumble of laughter from the audience. "So I will be refraining from issuing you a long-winded oratory on the many achievements and vast life experiences of our next speaker. He has succeeded where few others of his kind have. His high ranking within the British Ministry of Magic have earned him not only a voice that carries, but also the respect that comes with his title and the furthering respect he's been able to earn for all his kind. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Revan Haine."

Helen stepped away from the podium and turned to offer her hand to the vampire in a show of respect and welcome. After handing over the audience's attention, she took her seat behind the podium and watched the reactions of the witches and wizards. This would no doubt prove to be an enlightening occasion and she was anxious to hear what he had to say.

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tag :: revan haine
outift :: here
music :: playlist
lyrics :: i am a rock by simon and garfunkel
notes :: none

[/center]

[Revan Haine]

There were four main meeting halls for the International Confederation of Wizards, switching every year. One in France, one in China, one in Mexico and one in Egypt. Each were impressive and usually held in some sort of palace or mansion (or in the case of Mexico, an Ancient Aztec temple) but Egypt had, without a doubt, the most magnificent.

It was not as richly decorated as the French, as mysterious as the Chinese Hall or as large as the Mexican hall but it had an atmosphere and power none of the other three had. The Egyptian Hall was a cavernous building in the shape of a dome, hidden underwater in Alexandria's bay, surrounded by the flooded ruins of Old Alexandria. It reminded Revan awfully of his mortality.

The meeting hall itself was at the top of the dome, it's roof made to look transparent to allow the various delegates to see the beautiful ocean and fantastic sea creatures outside, helping to distract newcomers from the dangerous game they were playing. The room was arranged so it descended, the lowest point being the podium in the center. In neat rows with three chairs sat various desks, a desk for each organization or nation. Each desk had a placard declaring it's owners as well as a rod that would allow perfect voice projection and immediate translation into most languages. Very expensive.

The podium itself was a curious and complex piece of magic that worked like a complex series of mirrors. No matter what direction you looked at the speaker at the podium, he appeared as if he was facing you, allowing the delegates to see body movements clearly. The podium also translated and extended the speakers voice so communication was easy. The rest of the Dome was full of apartments, kitchens, offices and dining halls. It was a fascinating hub of politics.

As Magnus introduced him, he took his time to examine the delegates. They were all in dressed in elegant, rich robes or traditional clothing. Little paper airplanes containing notes and messages zoomed silently under legs and desks to their targets, a ordinary sight in most large political gatherings. The more powerful wizarding nations sat lower and closer to the front, while the not so influential nations and organizations sat at the top and at the back. He liked how his smart muggle business suit contrasted against the robes, he liked being different to these pigs.

He was clean-shaven and neatly presented, his stature screaming confidence and respect. He had an air of practicality and skill that contrasted against the pompous politicians, a face that demanded peace and cooperation. A man you could trust.

He gave Magnus a strong handshake, completely professional so not to allow anyone to shout bias or favored feelings. He took over the podium, allowing a hush to fall over the crowd. Oh, he hated wizards. Such a rich environment, bloated, greedy pigs making decisions over every other living thing on the planet. What gave them the right? He swallowed his anger quickly and spoke in a calm and diplomatic voice, his words painting a vivid picture. He captured his audience fairly quickly. No notes flew.

"Eight-hundred years, I arrived in the Alexandria you see sunken around you. I was chained, dirty and bleeding. In those darkest moments, I learned something about humanity's duty to others..."

His speech carried on for nearly an hour, addressing dozens of issues and drawing parallels to both political events and his own life. He wasn't shouted down or called out, so he took that as a positive sign. It seemed as if his audience was captivated.

"..and unless we want everything that has been so painstakingly built over the years to be washed away like Alexandria was, we must advance and work together to form a brighter future. One free of bigotry, one of equal representation, one where the Grindlewald's and Voldemort's of the world would never stand against our unity.

Thank you for you time. Please make sure it wasn't wasted."

Applause thundered throughout the building and Revan heard a couple of inappropriate whistles. Notes were now flying so quickly it seemed like the ground was a white blur. "I will now take questions, he announced.

He was still worried. It wouldn't take long for the initial enthusiasm to wear off and there was also a couple of naysayers who could bring quite a few to them. He had a chance to crush them with Q&A. He took a drink of the glass of the water resting at the podium, ready as always.

[James]

The area surrounding one of the desks towards the back lit up like a spotlight of purple and gold as the first question was awarded to the delegate from Ukraine. He stood, as comfortable and confident with his surroundings as Revan wanted to appear to be - this was, after all, where he worked each and every day. He was dressed in heavily layered black robes, was bald and sported a thick grey mustache.

"Mr. Haine," he began, in Russian. "Your call for unity strikes me as curious and unnecessary. Are you alleging that wizards are planning to go to, or are already at war with vampires?" Questions had to be succinct, and to do anything but ask a question was pushing the boundaries.

[Revan Haine]

Revan replied to the Ukrainian delegate in smoothly and easily in Russian, which was in fact not a useless gesture. When the speech was translated, there was always a slight delay and it always looked unnatural to compare the person with the words. And people with a wide variety of languages...well, they were respected.

"I believe the honorable delegate of Ukraine will discover unity is not the state of not being in war," Revan replied quickly. "Unity is a bond formed between people that makes them identify with each other. Vampires and wizards see themselves as two different forces and not as part of a greater whole and a clear division exists between. And not an equal division but one where the side in power uses great neglect and the other fosters anger."

"And if the Honorable delegate for Ukraine believes it to be a useless gesture to call for unity," Revan spread his arms out in a apathetic gesture. "Then it seems conflict between would be inevitable. I believe it will always be important to call for unity and now, in the aftermath of one of the worst divisions of wizarding kind in history, more than ever."

He decided to let them simmer for a while, placing Ukraine in the back of his mind. He had plenty of allies in Russia who could weaken opposition there, though it didn't seem as if the delegate was speaking for Ukraine so much as just making a point.

[James]

The light around the Ukranian delegate dimmed and instead lit up the desk which read "Khmer Empire", and another official stood to address Revan. His robes were brown and grey, very loose and old fashioned, revealing much of his muscular tattooed chest. A yellow krama was wrapped around his torso and ran up along the back of his neck to rest upon his head like a turban. He spoke into the rod sticking out of his desk, in the Khmer language, but it was clear even through the somewhat rough translations that his tone was meant to be critical.

"Mr. Haine, are your kind again calling for further fluctuation in this confederation's resolutions as to which magical creatures are rewarded status as Being, and which are condemned to remain Beasts, and in consequence, potentially allow for creatures such as Trolls to gain the same rights as us Beings?"

[Revan Haine]

"Before I answer that question, allowing me to clarify that condemned is an entirely inappropriate word for the Beasts category," Revan began in English, swallowing his anger before it could show. "If I recall correctly, both the articulate and wise races of the centaurs and merpeople were offered Being status and refused due to moral obligations. I am certain this may frighten the honourable delegate, who realizes that the wizards have no power over these races, but he is misled. They are not condemned, not in the least, and I am confident every wizard knows that they deserve status in the Being category."

He continued on, "But this is not a call for a review of the categories, though it is clearly needed, but rather a call for understanding between all races who are willing for understanding, peace and equality."

He didn't know Khmer, not having a spent a lot of time in that particular area of Asia. But he knew now he wouldn't be spending time there peacefully anytime in the future; he was confident that the delegate represented a ancient nations out-dated views. He might need to have his agents focus there instead.

[James]

The Khmer delegate didn't seem particularly pleased with Revan's answer, but sat down quietly anyway. The purple and gold light disappeared from him and shifted to the desk for El Salvador, where the delegate stood. She was an older woman dressed in a western-style black formal dress. "Mr. Haine..." This time the speech was in Spanish, but still translated as always. "Vampires are natural predators to humans, and it's fair to say they can be incredibly dangerous to an underprepared wizard. How do you expect these two species to possibly live in coexistence?"

[Revan Haine]

Spanish was a common enough language and was similar enough to French for Revan to enjoy speaking it, so he replied in the same language. "The Honourable Delegate of El Salvador makes an excellent point. This change is not going to happen overnight. In order for true unity, both races will need to be heavily educated on the other. Vampires will need to be provided a source of blood that makes the need to bite humans gone and Unions will need to be established in order to successfully implement the various laws."

He went on to explain the proposition of a system of education and to remove the primal need to bite human flesh felt by vampires. He spoke somewhat of vampires that bite humans to become outcasts from the rest of their community because, even though the act is illegal, it is not yet frowned upon by the vampire community. This, he stressed, was the greatest challenge the vampire race had to overcome and would most definitely not happen overnight.

[James]

The delegate for Cyprus was given the chance to speak. He was a grizzled old man dressed in colourful robes with elaborate prints over them that shifted and changed as his body did. He held on closely to his large staff, as he seemed to have some difficulty standing on his own. An off-course paper-plane memo whizzed just behind his head, and he had to pause to regain his composure.

"Mr. Haine..." In wheezy Greek now. "One could argue that, if peace is your goal, vampires and humans coexisting in the same environments is not a great way to do it. Cyprus does not oppose increased rights for vampires politically, and for vampires to be permitted to live civilized and comfortable lives..." He looked up cautiously at Helen Magnus, he knew he was rambling. "...but why not in seperated communities such as what we currently have for Muggles and Centaurs? Segregation does not have to mean oppression." There were murmurs throughout the chamber as the many nations who did not support vampires but did not want to seem bigoted considered the compromise.

[Revan Haine]

"Perhaps the honourable delegate of Cyprus should ask the centaurs whether they are happy with this arrangement," Revan retorted, switching to Greek. "It is a position that constantly and consistently abused by those in power." Picking up on the point, Revan went on to describe how segregation was oppression. It was bigotry in a more acceptable form.

"Vampires need the same opportunities as wizards and this cannot be done by isolating them. Allowing vampires to run for positions in government and act in public positions, as some nations here do and I thank you," He gave a curt nod towards the delegate of Romania. "Would allow the two cultures to intersect naturally as their individual issues and strengths become one. That is the true sign of equality."

[James]

The light surrounding the delegation for Cyprus disappeared and shifted to Luxembourg. By the law of the ICW, the delegate for Cyprus should not be speaking, but he didn't seem to care or be able to restrain himself.

"What would the centaurs be happy with then?" he bellowed. "Certainly not living harmoniously in wizards society!" He sat down, eyes darting up to the Supreme Mugwump, aware he was about to be warned.