faderift | Open | Hanging out with a King

Entry tags:

Open | Hanging out with a King

WHO: Iskandar and anyone who runs across him
WHAT: Iskandar is just spending some time doing various things and enjoying old and new friends along the way
WHEN: Last half of Firstfall
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Probably nothing but will add as needed

Stables

One place that people could be sure to find Iskandar was at the stables. He was here a great deal since this was where his horse was and where he'd really been sleeping. When people weren't interested in sharing their beds with him anyway. That was something that certainly happened plenty since he was very large and warm. But for today he was currently seated near a wall, singing softly in a language many natives wouldn't recognize. Perhaps many Rifters wouldn't either. After all, it was his native tongue and there weren't going to be many familiar with Ancient Macedonian.

In his hands was a saddle which he had over one knee while he rubbed the leather down with an oil to keep it looking beautiful. Perhaps most Kings would find someone else to do this but this was something Iskandar had always preferred to do himself. There was just something so relaxing about it. Of course, this didn't stop him from noticing company when it arrived and he smiled at the new arrival, still singing as he did.

Library

It likely wasn't common to see a giant man enjoying so many books but there he was on the floor of the library with a nice pile of them around him. The subjects varied but it was clear he really was reading through them. In his hands right now was what looked like something about the histories of some land and he was scratching his chin as he read through it. Now and then he made a small hum in thought before he finally closed the book and went to stretch, pausing only a moment to smile.

"Ah did you want to read this one?"

Tavern

One of Iskandar's favorite places to be was the tavern. It was here he learned many of the songs of these lands and where he watched people just live. It was fascinating to say the least but it did have him developing a burning desire of sorts. One that was like an itch he couldn't quite reach. He was really going to have to take care of that soon. Which was why he went to sit near the first person that he saw that had a seat available.

At least the first thing he gave was a smile.

"Would you happen to know where one could obtain a harp or lyre?" Yes, he really was going to need one soon.

[ooc: This is an example of what Iskandar's voice would sound like. For obvious reasons this is not what he's singing. This is just to give you an idea of what the tone and such would be!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

During one of his trips to the library, he'd come across a book of poetry that he spent an entire day reading. One might not expect someone to just be sitting on the floor reading poems through the day but there he was. But something drew his attention from the book at one point and he looked up to see Anders nearby. The sad mage struggling with the fact that he could be happy. He smiled as he waved for him to come join him once he got his attention.

"Good day, my friend. Have you come here to study things as well? That had been my intention but this one distracted me quite thoroughly!" He laughed softly and held up the book he was referring to.

He blinked as Iskandar waved at him, trying to figure out if he had the energy to be cheerful. He didn't... but it didn't seem like the Rifter needed that so after a few moments Anders gathered up his trio of books and the stack of papers he was working with to sit down next to the man.

"I have. There's..." Anders exhaled and settled in. "There's always more to learn. So much more to learn. I'm behind and there's an entire people group I'm trying to fight for the rights of." A beat. "And since my position is... complicated... much of what I'm doing I'm doing on my own." Not without support. He has Nate's support, which makes all of this so much different from Kirkwall. But still somewhat alone.

He blinked a few times at the dark topic that Anders was looking into. Really he had to wonder if the man ever took the time to relax without someone dragging him to his own birthday party or not. Iskandar studied him a little bit more before finally reaching over to take the stuff from his hands. Carefully he set it next to him then plopped the book of poetry into his hands and pointed to the poem he'd been reading.

"Look here. This is one about some sort of creature known as a nug. It is rather amusing isn't it." He chuckled a bit then wrapped an arm around him as he spoke again. "Take a moment to appreciate the little things, Anders. In a few minutes those problems will still be there and they will be tomorrow as well. However, you cannot help anyone if you do not stop to care for yourself first. So relax a moment with me."

He reached out to follow the stuff as it was taken, relenting with a sigh a moment later but still keeping an eye on it. There were letters in there he couldn't risk falling into the wrong hands, and he'd need to burn after they were answered, and there were notes in there that could be valuable. Or could be useless. Red lyrium was a nightmare.

"I've eaten nugs," he muttered before taking a breath and trying to push back his mood. Somedays were just like this, when everything settled in on him and weighed him down, when he thought he might never get anywhere or make a healthy difference. The party had been nice... but it had been hugely indulgent.

"I do appreciate many little things. But there's so many big things that aren't going to solve themselves, or get better on their own. There are so many wars going on, and not just the one against Corypheus or the one waged by mages and Templars across the lands. Relaxing, taking too much time... It feels selfish. Like it's not my right."

He stared at him in silence for a bit. Like he was trying to determine if Anders was actually serious about what he'd just said. The trouble was that he already knew he was. That was the terrible part to all of this. Frowning, he lifted a hand and then poked his forehead.

"In what universe is it not your right to rest for a time? By not taking breaks now and then you hurt yourself which damages your comrades and those you love. If they have to worry about your state of being then they are not thinking about other things that could save themselves or others. Besides, taking a break refreshes the mind to allow you to see things in new lights. Which is what you might need in the fights you have put yourself in."

He lifted the book of poems to show it off again.

"So tell me, my friend, is it your right to hurt those you love because you refuse to rest?" Perhaps it was harsh but Iskandar was not one to hold back on things like this.

He blinked at the poke, raising an eyebrow and stiffening as he got lectured.

"I rest sufficiently. I've even taken time and enjoyed myself. You were at my party, and I've been to the tavern twice this week. I'm not seeking to hurt those I love, I'm seeking to do right by those who are left alive and hurting." Anders crossed his arms over his chest defensively, looking back at the work he'd been doing.

"The very last thing I want to do is hurt Nathaniel. I've a responsibility, and I'm working to fulfill some of it. I have to work to fulfill some of it. You must have heard some of the stories by now, the war, the destruction, and have some grasp of it."

He started to laugh softly at that. "My friend, I know all about responsibility. I am a King and ruled over many lands with many people. It was I who would fight there alongside my men when we were in battle and it was I who drank and celebrated our victories alongside them. You do have much you have to do but you still work yourself too hard. I can see that when we speak each time."

So he held up the book of poetry yet again.

"Pick a poem. Read it aloud."

Normally when Anders bristled at someone, they bristled back. Sometimes he'd been laughed at, too, but this didn't feel like those times. This didn't feel familiar in the least, and it caught him off guard enough to disarm some of the anger. Anders looked at the book, contemplating continuing being a jerk. It was satisfying sometimes, snapping, turning things around, bickering. His heart wasn't in it anymore, though. He sighed and took the book, paging through it.

"I don't... Poetry isn't really something I've appreciation for." But as he looked through, he realized this probably wasn't one of the books of poetry people gathered around to praise and liked to read to look intelligent, especially as his finger landed on one about a snowball.

"I made myself a snowball, as... this is ridiculous, I'll have you know." He took another breath. "I made myself a snowball, as perfect as could be. I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me. I'm going to point out that there's a child in this illustration, so this isn't the time for that sort of commentary. I made it some pajamas and a pillow for its head, then last night it ran away but first it wet the bed. There."

He just chuckled as he waited for Anders to pick something then to actually read it. Honestly the thing was just silly but there was something delightful about the humor behind it. By the end though he wasn't sure if he was chuckling over the commentary from the man or from the poem itself. Really could his friend be any more huffy about this?

"It is no wonder you adore cats so. You puff up just like one sometimes, my friend."

He took the book back since Anders had done what he'd asked. A poem. That was it. "It was a good one, yes? The imagination of a child is a wonder and I have always loved such innocence. It would be amazing if we could all behold the world through the eyes of a child again."

Puff up like a cat? Anders stiffened... only to realize he was puffing up and that made him all the more annoyed. He had serious concerns. It wasn't like a cat seeing its shadow.

"Yes, well some of us can't because we've seen too much." Now he was feeling contrary. "And children don't understand pain and suffering. Their point of view is entirely simplistic, and rather more like buzzards than anything we should aspire to. Certainly objects get special places in their minds, but the weak and vulnerable would be even worse off at the hands of children."

Iskandar blinked. Several times over.

"That is a remarkably negative way of viewing matters. I'm genuinely very impressed by that." Iskandar blinked a few more times after that before waving his hand casually. Like it was but a silly thought and he wasn't going to dwell on it when there were better things to do.

"I think that you missed the point of what I was saying though. It is also not so fair to assume that I haven't seen enough to be one who would be so jaded. I have seen many a terrible thing, my friend. It is my decision that I remain as I am instead."

"Not everyone can just choose not to change. There are some things you can't just... walk off. I don't... I don't want to say that you've not been through harsh things, that mages have it worse. But I can't go back to looking at things simply. I've, I've been through too much."

Anders exhales, shaking his head. "There's a place and a time when you can't simply go back. When there's no reversing what's happened."

His hand came up to stroke his beard as he listened to him, truly taking in his words. When Anders was done speaking, he looked up towards the ceiling as he pondered his own response. He didn't want his friend to think he was disregarding what he had to say because that was not it at all.

"I agree there are things you cannot walk off. I am a man who could not find the will to live after someone who was like the other half of my soul died. However, I also feel that it is always your choice if you will find the will to view the world differently no matter what you have been through. It is less a matter of going back to how things were and instead creating a new path to follow. After all I have seen and been through, this is my choice just as this is your choice after what you have been through. It is not so wrong to see the darkness but I feel as if dwelling in it only gives it victory."

He knew he'd just casually mentioned giving up on life, that he'd confessed to dying rather than continuing on. However, he felt it was necessary to what he wanted to express.

"And I think you're wrong." He doesn't want to think about Karl dying, about his blade taking his love's life, and how he'd had to go on. There had been no chance of stopping no matter how much Anders had wanted everything to end because Justice didn't believe in stopping.

"I think there are cruelties that change your point of view no matter how you would like to view the world. I think when you've seen what I have, there is no room for faith or hope in optimism, because every time you've tried either it's gone wrong and the risk is too high. I'm not giving a victory. I'm staying alert so that it can't have another."

He hummed in thought for a moment or so before looking out to the rest of the library. His hand calmly stroked his beard which was his sign that he was really thinking about something. Iskandar mulled over the words just a moment or so longer before speaking again.

"I think that we will not agree on this matter but that is just as well. It is difficult to look past what we know to be true. For that reason I will embrace that you feel your side to be true and that I feel mine to be true. Perhaps one of us is correct and perhaps neither of us is. Perhaps we both are in our own ways. The true fact of the matter is that you have been wounded and that has shaped you just as my own life has shaped me." Really that was all that mattered, right?

"Do you play any board games?"

It's a compromise, and while he's not great at compromising, he can accept this. At least Iskandar isn't pushing on the topic, because likely that would have lead to an explosion.

"Board... games?" He shakes his head, a bit confused. "No. I can't say I do. I'm not entirely certain what they are, for that matter."

"It is a game played upon a board. They are fascinating things! One sets the board onto a table and it is a small place to play a variety of games depending on patterns depicted on the board!"

He was really going to have to figure something out for that. Not that he really knew how to play many board games but he'd sure figure it out. Or just make up one of his own on the spot. "Perhaps there are games that you know of instead then though."

"If you had slats of wood could you mark the patterns down on them? Otherwise, I know card games." A beat and a shrug. "I'm bad at them. I've no luck, and no game face. Granted, I can't say I've ever had a great deal of time for games so perhaps that's something that comes with practice."

"Excellent! You will teach me a card game then!" And he clapped his hand to his back and was already moving to stand up. Because that was just what they were going to do, didn't Anders know that? Of course he probably shouldn't have tacked this onto Anders saying he was bad at these games but it was too late now and he was moving forward.

Okay barreling forward but still.

"Are you--" He's suddenly slapped on the back and jostled as the giant gets up, and it's about all Anders can do to manage to stare at the man. Iskandar doesn't need the shard in his hand to tell everyone he's a rifter. No, he just needs to be, because everything here is entirely impossible.

"Did you miss bad? I'm awful at them, I'll probably teach you all the wrong strategies and ways to look at the game."

He looked back at him and tilted his head to the side. "Then that would put us on an even playing field and allow for us to simply enjoy the game since we would be equally bad at it. Yes?"

That was how he was viewing this anyway.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Open | Hanging out with a King

Anders

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject