Mood

Life at the Convivo Holmiensis is claustrophobic. The dark, narrow hallways twist through the chantry as if they tried to escape the outside. Windows are small and deep, not letting in enough light. It is closed to the outside world, and won't let it in. Everyone inside feels the urge to step out and breathe the free air, but at the same time fear it. Those who dare open up the chantry are branded as dangerous and security risks.

Convivo Holmiensis is wrapped in the spiderweb of traditionalism and bureaucratic formalism. Changes are seen as too dangerous to undertake unless they has been carefully analysed according to the rules, which can take ages. Everyone has to compromise to get anything done, leaving everybody unhappy and nothing really solved. Everyone is woven into a complex web of loyalties and organisation, making it hard to do anything without stepping on somebody's toes.

However, while the chantry is filled to the attic with intrigues and ancient feuds, they are expressed completely different from what most other mages would expect. Everything is handled in a typical Swedish way, and the classic back-stabbing and conspiracies are unheard of. Instead the mages openly agree that they have differences, and then sit down at the meeting table and try to discuss them. This doesn't mean backstabbing doesn't occur, but it takes the form of mages changing sides in crucial votes, negative comments, bureaucratic delays and social ostracism.

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Anders Sandberg / nv91-asa@nada.kth.se