Dray
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Good question! I've spent a lot of time on this, trying to think about what, in-universe, would most benefit Lore.
I would definitely want to join the Rose. I don't say this purely to be a contrarian--here's my thinking.
The Rose is a fundamentally broken organization. It's based around ideals that have little alignment with reality, and its tenets are all but unenforceable. Many of its members have joined for illegitimate reasons. Z and Akanthus, for one, and arguably Amadeus. That being said, it also has many members who are good people. Hansa, Neron, and hundreds of others in positions of authority, or minionry, who honestly just want to make Lore a safer place. Right now, these "good apples" are being wasted through mismanagement and incompetent/corrupt leadership.
If I were to join The Rose, I would join in a leadership position, with the end goal of running The Rose. The Rose would do almost anything to have the Hero of Lore freely join their side--asking to join at a higher rank, asking to join with a small squadron of hand-picked soldiers under my command, is something I'm fairly certain the Rose wouldn't object to. We have canonically demonstrated our skills when it comes to directing and leading troops, especially during the Black Winter War, so between my own overwhelming competence, and my demonstrated leadership ability, it would be easy to rise in the ranks. I would swiftly become the most powerful member of the Rose, and that is when I would begin purging the corrupt elements of The Rose's leadership. I would insist that lieutenants be held responsible for the actions of "rogue" soldiers, and ensure every soldier is held accountable for their own actions.
The old guard of The Rose leadership may object to me attempting to root out their corruption. But I will have the hearts and minds of the men on my side, as every corrupt Rose leader--Z, Theano, Akanthus--are uniformly brutal and cruel to the people serving under them. I am the hero of Lore, who has fought for as many of The Rose's soldiers as I've fought against. If it comes to mutiny, I will not be the one mutinied against. If it comes to physical blows--well, the only one we are not sure of our strength against is Akanthus. But I do not believe an open confrontation is his style.
And Jaania? The poor woman is addled, mislead, confused, and terribly unsure of whether her path is virtuous. Without Rose-scented serpents whispering in her ear, I'm confident that I could convince her to try something else before shutting down magic completely.
I don't want to end magic. I'm a Technomancer, most of the time. But having this power in anyone's hands--untrained, and unskilled--how many times would this world have ended if I were not alive? When I die, how can I ensure that the world continues to be safe? I'd like to become an Elemental Spirit, but my influence will be greatly diminished. My memories may not be the same, and my power most definitely will not. Regulation, and enforcement of magic-using standards, is the only thing I can think of that could prolong Lore's existence. And the Rose, for all their faults, have laid a very decent groundwork for this push at regulation. Otherwise, some child born with unimaginable power will make a bid to take over the world just years after I die, most likely. I know there are other heroes of Lore--I've been told about them, and I've even seen a few. But I'm, by all accounts, by far the most competent. I can't rely on the future to "work itself out," not without a safety net. I don't have nearly enough faith in Falwynn yet.
...Of course, this plan is not foolproof. It's certainly possible that Jaania cannot be swayed. If I had to slay Akanthus, I don't believe the Rose soldiers would despise me too much to salvage the plan, but I'm fairly certain touching Jaania is a no-no. They'd almost certainly mutiny against me if I had to fell her. And I'm not really manipulative enough to be sure I can use my words to get Jaania to do what I want. I may be able to twist Alteon/Victoria's ear, and ask them to direct Jaania, but that just adds another layer of buffering between me and The Rose's leadership.
spoiler:
...Hm. If I were king, surely I could command Jaania directly? Say, Victoria's still single, right...?
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