"The word "enough" is doing a lot of work there. It's possible, especially now that you've asked that question."

"My having asked that question makes it more likely?"

"Having enough information and knowing you have enough information can be very different things.

It doesn't include enough information to succeed, absent luck, but you didn't say you'd try to pull it off."

"Ah-ha. I wonder just how constraining your promise is. Can you tell me how long you spent preparing? What materials you had access to, or at least what knowledge you had access to, or at least where you got that knowledge?"

"If you knew what resources were involved that would give away a major part of it. Unfortunately."

"What, not even the knowledge? Can you tell me about the rest of it, then?"

"Main thing I should say is that there might be more opposition than you'd expect. Not just the usual challenges from nearby practitioners and Others. It's a defiance of convention, and convention has its guardians. If you attract some of the same opponents, they might just decide to kill us both. It was a close thing the last time around."

"...this looks like it's going to be quite the research project."

"If you decide to try it, it would be. My advice would be to aim for a more ordinary demesne, since you in particular do have a reason to want one sooner."

"I also have a reason to want as much power as I can get. I'm thinking I should get an implement soon, something that would help with binding Others, and then go on and do that, maybe find a familiar while I do it, and after that try to claim a big demesne, too. I want to be taken seriously, and I can take my time, I think."

"If you think you can trade off the short term for the long term like that. Maybe you can; you don't have many pressing time limits."

"Right now the pressing need is for knowledge not time, unless you have some bit of it that you think would change my mind about this."

"You could get the same effect with a different order. Take an ordinary demesne, and go after some legendary lost artifact as an implement for the same benefit toward being taken seriously. Also a long shot, but you do have options."

"But legendary lost artifacts aren't quite the right... kind of power? In a way? They channel magic, but I want to convince and awe people and, well, Others. I care less about magical power itself than I care about... let's say... political power, in a way, though that's not the best word for it. I mean, it's more or less the same thing, here, from what I gather, but."

"You might have a distorted impression from only having seen one. A demesne isn't usually used for commerce or delegation like mine is. It's a place that belongs to you. You can and will have to maintain its connection to people and Others, but it's not primarily characterized by that. It'll earn you credibility among practitioners in exactly the same sense as a familiar or implement would.

If you want to save the demesne for last, that is a valid choice. It's just riskier because of your particular circumstances."

"It's not exactly my credibility among practitioners I'm talking about, but rather among spirits."

"It often goes together. A demesne is better for an ongoing relationship with nearby spirits; it's much more direct that way. But only locally."

"Don't they talk to their friend spirits nearby?"

"Metaphorically speaking, yes. That's still local, and much less dramatic than it is inside your space, to the point where it's usually worth simplifying to talk about inside the demesne or out of it rather than near."

"Hmm. Oh, well. Okay, I suppose I'll read that book and figure stuff out and then come up with a plan of action and run it by you for criticism. If you want."

"It's a good idea.

You should also draft what you want your seal to be. I can look that over too if you like, but I'll try to avoid saying anything needs to be added. It might help later if it's as closely associated as possible with you personally."

"It's a date, then! When did you say the next council meeting was?"

"Second Saturday of each month. It's at the church in the park during twilight hours. Schedule's vague, but three hours before and after sunset is the designated truce when there's anything to declare a truce from."

"Fantastic. Sssooo I think I should get out of your hair now, probably, it's dinnertime and if Tobias remembers I exist today I won't enjoy being late for that."

"And I should make sure there haven't been any more emergencies.

When you need to get back, the entrance you found is supposed to be opened by placing power in any form into the correct brick in the wall. Three up and two across, I think but you can check with the Sight. A drop from that flask will activate it; glamour is what it's best suited to, not the only use."