{ OPEN } We lie beneath the stars at night

[serannas]

WHO: Ellana Ashara and anyone at Skyhold
WHAT: Back from the Fallow Mire, Ellana spends time researching in the library, helping in the gardens, watching weapons be made in the armory, and stargazing up on the battlements. I'm also up for any scenario you guys would like!
WHEN: End of Firstfall when more people have returned from the Fallow Mire.
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: n/a

{ in the gardens }
Ellana makes a valiant attempt to learn more about medicinal plants, but she's in a bit over her head. While she doesn't yet have the recipes memorized, she can follow instructions easily enough, and when she asks one of the healers if they need any help, she's directed to pick some leaves from the potted plants. Kneeling down before a group of pots, she does her work for only a few minutes before she starts sneezing. At first, she brushes it off, trying to carry on and raising the back of her hand to her nose to try and stifle each sneeze, but then her eyes water and she has to admit defeat, returning with what she's gathered so far.

"I think I'm allergic to this one. I'm sorry. I could gather something else?" With a second assignment, she goes to collect the leaves off a new plant, but she pauses to pick the butter yellow flowers it produces, nestling them into her side braid after stripping it of leaves. She can be found gathering a collection of leaves and flowers. Maybe Beleth can make a flower crown out of them.

{ at the armory }
The Fallow Mire wasn't the best first assignment, but Ellana is pleased to be contributing to the Inquisition however she can, and she can actually see the fruits of her labor firsthand. The summer stone and blue vitrol she helped collect is being made into swords, mauls, shields, and armor. On the upper floor of the armory, she stands with her arms crossed on the railing, looking down below as the metal is heated and hammered into shape. She's up for chatting with anyone else who may wander up there. Eventually she gathers the courage to head down and ask if she could have a staff blade added to her staff. She's told to fetch it and they'll take measurements. Therefore, she can be seen with an excited expression as she leaves the armory to retrieve her staff and bring it back.

{ in the library }
The elven runes in the Mire have Ellana curious about other elven ruins scattered throughout southern Thedas, so she goes to the library to do some independent research on the subject. The clan had few books, but what they did have, she read over and over again. As long as the book is written in the common speech of the land and the language isn't too academic, she can read it without issue. She sits alone at a table with numerous books spread out before her, because she's trying to cross reference information from different sources to see what information overlaps and what is different. At one point she stands, leaning a hand on the table so she can run her finger under a line in one book before moving to another book and doing the same. When she sees feet stop beside the table, she looks up, a bit startled and coming out of her own little world.

"Am I taking up too much room? I can move my books." She hastily draws several books closer so this person can have the other side of the table.

{ up on the battlements }
Once the sun has set, Ellana takes a blanket up with her to the battlements and lays out under the stars. Being away from the clan has been an adventure so far, but even she misses things about them. Like after supper it was always so quiet. Here the voices from the great hall or the tavern seem to reach most corners of the stronghold. It's so different, and it's taken some time to get used to. She's not far from the tavern now, and she can hear laughter from within. It makes her smile to herself, but she doesn't move to join the revelry. Instead, she picks out constellations that the elves made for their gods. She's been teaching them to Galadriel, and in return, she's been learning of the stars from Galadriel's home. If anyone passes who isn't an elf, she calls out to them before pointing up.

"Do you know the constellations well?"

If it's a fellow elf, she says, "Aneth ara. Falon'Din is bright tonight, isn't it?"

{ wildcard }
Ellana could be anywhere around Skyhold doing any number of things. Where will your character find her next?

Comments

The Armory

[el_tybs]

It's been a while since they've actually had a sizable shipment of ores, but now that they have a steady supply, orders for new weapons and armor have steadily been coming in. The ore is still common, but after the Mire people were looking to get replacements or something completely new.

Honestly, Sam welcomed the work, finding it to be a bit stress relieving after everything that had happened in the Mire and having to chase down a stubborn, shem hating Elf. It was also a nice change of pace from spell casting. It required a completely set of concentration and patience, and it was something he could literally see and touch throughout the process.

It's when he's taking a break that one of the others calls him over, something about measurements. All of them should have been able to do that, but seeing as it was a staff he supposed they figured he was better suited to doing that particular job. Obviously he's expecting to see a Mage when he comes over, but he's honestly a bit surprised when he sees that it is Ellana standing there.

"I do hope you aren't here to wrangle me into finding more undead bog horses," he teases, a grin spreading over his face as he wipes some of the sweat and soot from around his neck.

[serannas]

Ellana didn't expect to see Sam either. It never occurred to her that mages from Circles had practical skills, but that's because she's always been taught they were locked up for having magic and lived as prisoners. She's glad to see otherwise here.

"What makes you think I'm ready to repeat such an adventure?" she replies. "Once a lifetime is enough. No, I'm here to have a staff blade added to my staff." She holds it out to him, trusting a fellow mage with it over anyone else.

[el_tybs]

Once indeed was enough for that kind of adventure. As it was, since the creature had been put into it's own pen at the stables, it would bump him if he managed to get too close. It always seemed like it wanted something and often friendly, but it still was odd to look at.

"Ah, I see," he says as he takes the offered staff and leisurely inspects it from top to bottom. After a few moments Sam nods his head towards a table, silently signalling Ellana to follow him. "And which ore were you thinking of using for the blade? We have plenty of both at the time."

[serannas]

Following Sam to the table, she gives it some thought.

"What benefits can I get from each type of metal?" she asks, knowing that each type added a little something extra to weapons. She wants something that boosts what she can do, as opposed to something that just looks stylish.

[el_tybs]

"Benefits from those two metals?" he questions, though he doesn't look up from the staff, pulling up a measuring rope to see how big the staff already was. "Well considering these are pretty common ores and this is an addition, not the staff itself, the benefits aren't going to be outstanding."

Sam hums for a moment after taking the measurement. "I'd probably go with summer stone. It's a bit more useful against physical defenses, and going to be more sturdy against a physical attack done on you," he says, picking the staff up a moment later and holding it up against Ellana. "How much taller are you comfortable with the staff getting with a blade?"

[serannas]

Anything that can lessen physical attacks on her is something she's interested in having, so she agrees with a brief nod of her head. She isn't built to take a beating, and definitely prefers to stay back at range where mages belong.

"Hmm, about this much?" She holds her hands apart, scrunching up her nose in thought. It's not like she's an expert on these sort of things, so she doesn't know if her request is silly or not.

[el_tybs]

The amount that Ellana indicates is a reasonable amount, which he nods his head to in understanding. "Just making sure. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it does change how you handle your staff afterwards."

Returning the staff to the table, he grabs a few pieces of paper and starts measuring out and making a rough sketch of the length of the blade. "I'd suggest practicing with it for a while after to get used to it. I made the mistake on not doing it enough and caught my calves quite a number of times," he says with a chuckle as he looks back at Ellana.

[serannas]

"Oh," she says, giving a brief giggle at his story. "I'll be sure to do so." Hopefully Ellana can find a quiet spot to swing her staff and jog with it attached to her back. She knows the atmosphere around here can be tense, and openly practicing magic by herself may invite unwanted attention or just make others uncomfortable.

"Did you learn magic in a Circle?" she asks, assuming it must be so.

[el_tybs]

"Yeah," he says offhandedly, finishing up the rough sketch. "I learned from the Ostwick Circle. As much as I didn't like it I have to admit that if it wasn't for going there I probably wouldn't be as good at magic as I am now. More than likely wouldn't be here either now that I think about it."

Sam walks away for a moment, grabbing a book from a shelf, and returns a few moments later. "Here are the designs we know at the moment, that you can choose from," he explains, handing Ellana the book.

[serannas]

For some reason, she hadn't thought she'd be given the reins on picking the design, so she sets the book on the table and flips through, wondering which would work best for her. As she does so, however, she continues their conversation. There's so much she doesn't know about the way others live. All she has to go on are stories and rumors passed down, and with the animosity many of the elves harbor for humans, is it any wonder most paint them in a negative light?

"Why do you believe you wouldn't be here?"

[el_tybs]

He probably could have picked out the blade design himself, but picking out the design yourself made it more personable. Also there were a number of 'blades' that weren't blades at all, more like speared ends.

"I only ended up at the Conclave because I had overheard that they wanted a few of our Mages to join and represent. If I hadn't been learning there I would then likely have been hiding that I was a Mage and working the forge with my father now, back in Ostwick. If I think about it positively in any case."

[serannas]

"You'd be so far away!" she says, knowing just how long the journey from the Free Marches to Skyhold had been. "But being with your family would have been a comfort, wouldn't it?" To Ellana, the clan is her family since her parents died when she was young and she has no siblings.

She pauses to point to one picture in particular. "I like this one. It looks like a bird's wings, doesn't it?"

[el_tybs]

"It would have been nice to have stayed with my father and aunt." He smiles at that, though a bit sadly. "But I would have also been an apostate, everyone having to hide what I was, always having to watch my back if I even considered even making a flame." He's obviously thought about what life would have been like if he hadn't gone to the Circle, and he's not sure if it would have been any better.

Seeing that Ellana picked out a blade, Sam eagerly leans forward to look at the schematic that she's pointing at. It certainly did look like wings. "It's a good design. It'll take some more time getting used to then one of the straight ones though. If that's what you want I'll start working on some more measurements."

[serannas]

"I know what that's like," she replies gently. Andrastrian mages may have been locked up in Circles, but she was trapped in a way too. "I could never stray far from camp because I'm an apostate. The hunters could go much farther, and sometimes trade with humans. I never even saw one until we left to come here."

And now the world is laid out before her. It's thrilling.

"I don't mind practicing with it. Please; I'd like this one."

[el_tybs]

"Anything you want," he chuckles, giving a playful bow, before setting up the book next to the staff.

"That must have been rough, having to stay within a certain distance of your camp, being able to see the freedom the others had." She would have had no walls to stop her from going, which probably was a worse temptation then the small windows the Circle had. Sam doesn't look up as he talks, continuing the conversation as he focused on making a rough sketch of the blade onto the paper he would be working off of.

[serannas]

"I always thought so. But I'm here now, and the world is very different. With the sky tearing open, there are more important things to focus on."

Ellana watches him work with a sense of excitement. Her Keeper gave her a staff and it's never changed since. Like leaving the clan in the first place, here everything is changing and moving forward. She likes it.

[el_tybs]

"Well I'm not glad that there's a huge tear in the sky, but I guess some good has come out it. Got us out of our Circle and our camp, right?" He looks up then to give Ellana a smile. It's at that moment he notices how intently she's watching.

Looking back at the paper for a second then back, Sam tilts his head, pointing to the sketch with the charcoal. "You want it to this design exactly? We can easily change it to something that fits the look of your staff... just don't make it too complicated."

[serannas]

"It did. It's sad that it took so much from so many, but it at least did that." And hopefully the Inquisition will prevent more innocent people from losing their lives. Bringing peace and order is what's important now.

"Really? I'm not sure." She pauses and leans on the table, looking at the top part of her staff. It's a rather rough looking piece; nothing refined or elegant about it. "Instead of looking like wings, these bits could look a little more like the branches of a tree? Nothing too intricate, but just more like the top?"

[el_tybs]

"Hm." Sam looks down at the top part of the staff as well, rubbing his chin thoughtfully at the idea. "Well it would take more time, but that could be possible. That part probably won't be decorative blades then... I could make it so the top where it connects," he pauses, pointing down to the paper and making another rough sketch to the side, "has metal branches growing around and grasping the bottom of the staff. Much like how the top of it looks."

[serannas]

"Oh, I like that idea! The branches holding onto the staff would look so beautiful. Like it grew around it that way." It doesn't matter to her how long it takes to make because this is something worth waiting for. "What a clever design. You're good at this, you know." Ellana always gives praise where she feels it's due.

[el_tybs]

"Yeah, well... hopefully it'll look better than my drawing," he says with a playful grimance as he finishes up the sketch. Obviously drawing is not his strong suit, but he can at least get the basic idea down. Even so, the compliment does bring a small blush to his face, and has him rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.

"Ah... thank you."

[serannas]

"I'm sure it will." Ellana has no idea how skilled Sam might be with metalworking, but she's an optimist, so of course she thinks it will look good.

"There's no need to thank me, Sam," she continues. "I should be thanking you for being willing to make this for me."

[el_tybs]

"Well you don't have to thank me just yet. Maybe wait when you get it back and you see what it actually looks like." That being said he looks down at the staff and picks it up, taking a moment to look at the top again, then setting it down between them.

"It's up to you if you feel comfortable leaving this here for me to work on, otherwise I'll need you to bring this back in like a day or two, see if everything is lining up."

[serannas]

"It's all right; you can keep it." There's a pause as she looks from the staff to him. "When you start it, would it be all right if I watched? I've never seen anyone craft metal before." Plus it would allow her the opportunity to get to know him better. Moments like tracking an undead horse tend to draw people together.

[el_tybs]

Honestly, Sam is a bit surprised by how easily Ellana agrees to letting him hold onto the staff. Course that was probably because of recent encounter with Salem, and conversation with Pel. Salem was 'shem this shem that' and Pel had mentioned being attack a while back for being a Mage and Dalish.

She further surprises him at requesting to be able to watch. "Ah... sure? I could start it later today when the others have left so that you could actually get to watch." He doubted she would want to sit off in a corner and watch from a distance, so she'd have to wait until they all weren't working.