Private message to Augustus Rookwood

[alt_sinistra]

I've been asked to make myself available for conversation with you regarding the wards. I have access to the stone at Dover and can arrange communication with those in charge at Stornoway.

Our previous social encounters did not allow much chance for deeper or nuanced discussion, but my own field of astronomy does of course touch on locational magics in various forms and combinations. My first published work (now rather outdated, admittedly) was a study of the effects of strongly magical locales on benchmark charms and directional tools, though my research has gone in other directions since.

What aspects are most urgently in need of discussion from your perspective?

Comments

[alt_rookwood]

Yes, yes. I know who you are. Young when you earned your Mastery. Spoken well of by former students. Too soft on h Orion was good at his job. I'm sorry for your loss.

Grimsby reported six foot waves out of calm seas at 4:34 am on the 25th. Lasted ten minutes thirty. Back to calm seas.

Newcastle saw four inches of snow this morning, but now it is sweltering.

The phenomena are getting worse more frequent. If adjustments are not made before the solstice, the effects will fall outside the realm of calculation and into divination and hope.

Definition of terms:
Original Wards. Established in 1983. Tied heavily into Voldemort's person and magic. Root of our present problems.

Ireland Wards. Established Winter of 1995/1996. Unintended consequences on the original wards, made easing tensions difficult, exacerbating our present difficulties.

Octoboros Wards. Most recent. Finished only last year. Anchored to eight stones surrounding the realm. Only minimally tied into Voldemort's magic, much less effected by his death.

Before a decision can be reached on what to do I'd like to confirm a few things. Is the Opal Octoboros stone at Dover intact? Confirming that the opals themselves have not begun to crack is important. Each of the stone should be showing a small shower of sparks at midnight. Astrological midnight, not whatever the clocks say. This has been pushing back one minute a day at the stones I have access too. I'd like confirmation that this is occurring inside the fidelius as well.

How many of the dragons at Stornoway had to be put down after he died? How many are critically injured or appear magically off?

If you can confirm those details, we can discuss what can be done to lessen the unpleasant phenomena we've all been experiencing. Without the dragons and without access to the Opal Stone at Dover (such a stupid choice, but I was overruled), the unilateral actions we have considered would be, at minimum unpleasant, and much more likely catastrophic for everything between the Ireland and original wards.

[alt_sinistra]

Thank you for your condolences. Your compliment would have meant a great deal to my brother: he loved his work.

First, I will be glad to go and make observations at Dover, and inform you about the sparks and their timing afterwards. You mentioned they are gaining a minute a day, but beginning on which date?

If I understand you correctly, the difficulty you see in the wards is in the interaction of the three, particularly the first two. How then, would adjustments with the stone at Dover improve things?

I remember hearing something about Ireland around January of 96, but of course, no one told me any meaningful details.

When you say unintended consequences, can you expand on that further? Whatever you can provide that would assist me in explaining to others the urgency or necessity of the matter would be helpful.

(For example, while high seas and sudden snow are a problem, I expect I will be asked how this is different from something like the bad spring storms in 1995, which did tremendous and unusual damage, but did not obviously link to other similar problems.)

Regarding the dragons, I will have to inquire of the representative from Stornoway, and it may take some time. How urgent or necessary is that data for your adjustments? I understand that those currently in charge there are being exceedingly protective of their dragons and their territory.

You mention that you considered opal a bad choice. I gather that the other stones are not opal? I admit, I'm curious about the mechanism itself. It sounds like an exceedingly complex bit of magic.

[alt_rookwood]

The progression started the midnight of his death, if in sync with the others, eleven minutes past tonight.

There was a rite performed that winter that makes it nigh impossible for those of Irish blood to travel to England. It also makes other travel between the islands difficult at best. Greater rites can be damnably imprecise in their extraneous effects. The original wards created tensions between what exists inside and outside. We had worked out several methods of easing those tensions. The Ireland wards made most of them stop working. The timeline on a disaster moved from hundreds of years to merely years. We worked to create a new system, the Octoboros Wards, eight wards stones aligned around the country at significant points with individual, geomantically appropriate gems.

The adjustments should smoothly finish the devolution of the original wards. Allowing the Octoboros wards to fully subsume all of orginal functions. Depending on how things are handled the muggle replant function can be moved entirely into the Octobori or be allowed to linger in their original form. The dragons were used in one of the tension easements. My ideal plan involves placing a greater portion of the magical strain on them, to take up Voldemort's place in the original wards, during the process of moving those functions to the Octobori. The strain would be substantial, but for a short period of time, a day. Two at most. However, if too many died or are already too stressed it could go poorly.

[alt_sinistra]

I will see about appropriate observation tonight.

I fear geomancy is rather outside my usual line of work, but I believe I follow the basic theory on the gems. I remain curious why opal was less suitable in your eyes, though I suppose it is a rather contrary sort of stone at the best of times.

Regarding the adjustments, because I'm quite sure Stornoway will ask: is there significant further risk to the dragons? Either of death or of the strain causing permanent injury?

Also, what's a muggle replant function? And do you have any other examples of the kind of disaster we might see? Are we talking geomantic effects, like the earth quakes, or magical effects, or weather, or something, but we've no idea what?

And what are the possible outcomes if the adjustments do not go smoothly?

I suppose this is a good time to ask: you are quite sure the rest of the network is sound and behaving as you would normally expect? There've been so many odd effects around the country, and I was trained to check everything at least three times.

[alt_sinistra]

I did observe sparks in the eyes of the Dover point at 11 minutes after astrological midnight. Do you have a theory about the time slip?

As to the state of the eye stones, I'd like to have someone with more experience with stones take a look under different lighting conditions (as my observational skills are honed for distance work, not small details close up.)

I can see a couple of signs that might be nothing, or might be the stone cracking. It may take a couple of days to find someone with suitable skill. Are there any diagnostic charms you would suggest?

Also, the colours were running a little oddly, perhaps. The left eye is tending more towards reds and oranges, the right toward blues and greens. Is that to be expected? (The sparks, in both cases, were a rather vibrant yellow)

I remain interested in my previous questions, but I also had another one occur to me.

You mentioned that it was the Ireland wards were the ones that caused an increase in the tensions and strain. Is there any way to undo those, rather than transitioning to the Octoboros wards, if either the dragons or the opal stone cannot take the strain?

[alt_rookwood]

Undo the Ireland wards? Why would we want to? In principle they could be undone, all magics can, but the obvious ways are not presently feasible and might have unintended consequences. Their deleterious effects were on the first wards.

No visible cracks is acceptable for now. Part of the solution to the risks introduced by use opal for that Eye was a variety of stability and weather protection charms. Kasperski's Enclosure and tueri gemma, the de Vos variation, should be renewed on each opal. May correct the colouration variation.

Because he couldn't keep his fingers out of things, even when there was no reason to meddle. "Minimally tied" does not mean "not tied".

Risk to the dragons? Yes. The more of them that remain to hold the load the less risk to any individual dragon. That's what Marsh and the others were sent to Stornoway to evaluate. If they could be allowed to do that evaluation, it would be helpful. The fewer there are the faster we would need to work, the more likely for additional injury. You could assuage the keepers feelings by telling them no additional dragons would need to be added after the rite. Everything would be anchored through the Octoboros.

All of the ancillary effects are related to the first, hastily raised, moronically anchored wards. The geomantic and weather effects, the shifted ley lines, the portkey troubles (and yes, before you ask this will confound portkey arithmancy again) all of it. The end game I'm trying to prevent is apocalyptic. We would join Atlantis.

The muggles considered the country here one of the great realms of the world. The Eternal Sunrise Empire or some such juvenilia. They would have been pounding on our borders in their unceasing waves with their pitchforks and witch burning fires. Therefore we made it so they had trouble noticing the absence or remembering us after we won our righteous victory. Those most closely tied to the former country remembered more, but ask the average muggle in Poland about the Union of Kings they'll shrug, uninterested.

[alt_sinistra]

I was trained that a thorough researcher looks at all the possiblilities, even those that might be distasteful. (And my field does rather reward thorough diligence.)

I believe I can arrange to renew the two charms you mention. I'm more familiar with other variations of the tueri gemma but I've consulted the library here and the de Vos variation seems quite manageable.

I'm seeing what I can arrange about conversations with Stornoway, but as I said, it will take some more time.

I admit, I find the idea of the wards against the muggles rather fascinating. And you're certain those aspects will shift to the Octoboros wards when the process is completed?

I suppose my last question is this: clearly, something must be done to avoid Atlantis, but can you measure the urgency in doing so before the summer solstice, as opposed to six months later? If various parties get stubborn about various parts of this, of course.