Once the Council votes on the resolution and it passes, Ellana has work to do. Gathering the mages together for training may not be an easy task, but she'll leave that to the other Councilors. Her concern is seeing that Sina is trained too. Being so timid and obviously weakened from her shard, Ellana decided that it would be best to train Sina separately from the other mages. The girl didn't need that kind of stress with eyes on her, but she seemed fine around Ellana.
Of course, this is all dependent on Sina accepting Ellana's offer, so she now goes to find her to ask.
Sina is on poultice duty near the healing tents, encouraged not to stray too far in case something happens. She'll return to the garden soon enough, but for now she's just trying to make herself useful. When she sees Ellana approaching, she smiles at her over her mortar and pestle.
"Hello. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Ellana asks, eyes darting down to the mortar. Sina seems to always be keeping herself busy, and her work is important to her. Ellana can only wish to have that sort of work ethic someday.
Sina smiles and shakes her head, setting the tools down. "Never," she replies, a tinge of redness creeping onto her cheeks. "Is this about the mage training?"
"It is, actually," Ellana replies, pleased that she isn't catching Sina off guard. She wouldn't want her to be startled, especially since she resembles a skittish animal in her manner sometimes. "I thought you might benefit more from having one-on-one lessons instead of being grouped together with everyone else. It's different for Dalish mages. We aren't cooped up in Circles and learning in big groups." It should be noted that Ellana actually has no idea what lessons in a Circle are like, and is just making assumptions.
"So would you like that? I thought that as someone on the Council, I could give the lessons."
Although Sina remained gentle in tone, she quickly cut through what she assumed to be pleasantries. "It's because of the shard," she guessed, and though her smile remained-- she wasn't angry, nor did she want Ellana to think she wasn't appreciative-- she wanted to make sure she understood every angle.
"That would be fine," she said, for added reassurance.
"Your shard is the reason you need the lessons more than others," Ellana explains. "But not the reason I want to teach you one-on-one. That's because I know... you can get a little apprehensive around crowds. And with all these mages from different backgrounds coming together to learn from one another, there may be misfired spells, arguments, and pretty much organized chaos. I wanted to spare you from that, and from the possibility of your shard acting up."
It's good to know she has Sina's approval, but Ellana wants to be clear that she is thinking of her friend's needs and not just looking at her as a strange shard with a person attached.
Again, Sina hesitated, and appeared on the verge of disagreeing. She pursed her lips and looked aside, considering. "Crowds do make me nervous," she conceded, "but I... seem to have given the impression of being a wilting flower." She smiled, but it was turned inward, self-effacing. "My duty to my clan is to learn what I can, however I must, and salvage their First for the future. That includes acquiring knowledge I wouldn't have necessarily considered useful back at home. ...and interacting with people that Clan Dahlasanor would have spurned or killed on sight." Her eyes went distant as she mulled it over, and after several long moments, measuredly met Ellana's again.
"I will defer to your and Pel's judgment on how this is to be done, because you're of the People and I trust you both to have my best interests at heart. But I am not afraid."
It's probably the most Sina has said at one time than Ellana has ever heard before, and it helps her see a new side to Sina too. She does give the impression of a wilting flower; of one who needs protecting. But to hear that Sina both recognizes it and rejects it is something Ellana can respect and admire about her.
"All right. We can start with just the two of us and see how your shard reacts. If you want to join up with the others later, then you can let me know." Because it would be Sina's decision to make; not Ellana's.
Sina smiled, more genuinely this time. "Ma serannas, lethallan," she said, quietly but emphatically. This was a good compromise, and on a secret level, she would never turn down getting to spend more time with Ellana.
"Of course," Ellana replies. She then throws around ideas for when they can start the lessons so they have everything squared away. And once they have, she looks to the table where Sina's been working.
It's relatively easy to pin Sina down for a training time, not because she isn't constantly busy, but because for a lot of it she's making herself busy when she doesn't need to.
"Oh, these are just elfroot poultices," she says, glancing down at what she's making, "not very exciting, but we can never have enough."
"Still, it's very good of you to help with them. Have you ever wanted to be a healer with your magic?" There are several here who do that, but even more who rely on science. Ellana doesn't have the head for that sort of thing at all, but she wishes she did. It would certainly help out in the field.
Sina finds the question a bit puzzling, since she was first drawn to the healing tents and the herb garden because of her existing interest and proclivity for healing magic. Is she not already a healer? "I do some healing," she says, a bit tentatively, "although I also attend to the requirements of a First."
"Of course. That must take up a great deal of time. Hopefully you make time to have some fun." Skyhold has plenty of distractions to amuse a person when their work is done. Ellana appreciates that about the place. There's a real community here, and they aren't just working themselves silly.
"All kinds. I want to see what others will be teaching at the first training session, and I can bring those to you. But to start: just a refresher course on Dalish techniques to resist demons. There is talk of Fade training too, where we go into the Fade, but have the assistance of a friendly spirit, like the kind the Spirit Healers work with. But I'm not sure how everyone as a whole will react to that, and for you especially." There's a small frown on her lips as she considers. "We're not sure what your shard will do if you send your consciousness into the Fade."
Sina nods her understanding-- it has been a while since she's done anything with demons and the preventing of such. Her pleasant expression becomes more worried when Ellana brings up the Fade, even moreso when the shard comes into it.
"..I... yes," she agrees, looking down self-consciously, beginning to blush. She's not afraid, it's true, but she is embarrassed about being such a potential liability, not only to herself. "Going into the Fade... that's what they do in the Harrowing, isn't it?" She's never seen a reason to do such a thing.
"It is, but we don't want to let Harrowings continue. Those Circle mages were thrown in with no warning and had no help. This training is meant to get mages used to what they'll face in the Fade, if they aren't already. Personally, I don't think it's necessary, but Pel volunteered herself to do it, so my vote had to go with hers."
It's not that Ellana thinks it's a bad thing, as long as the spirit agrees to help them, but she would prefer other means of learning to resist demons.
"I remember," Sina says-- the discussion on the Harrowings, at least in the one meeting she attended, was kind of a mess. She can't imagine what it's taken for them to reach this level of compromise. "I'd be lying if I said... that I'm not worried," she confesses, her gaze darting to meet Ellana's, "though I haven't been approached by any spirits since receiving the shard, I understand the rifters use theirs to interact with the veil directly." She purses her lips uncertainly. "I think that's why mine reacted to the abom... to Lauren. When he changed."
"I think that could be because spirits are happy to stay in the Fade. Approaching you and your shard might make them believe they'll fall out. But demons want out, which is why we should make sure you have all the training you can get to stay safe." Ellana could never forgive herself if something happened to Sina.
"Yes," Sina confirms, simply enough, her eyes going a bit distant. "Keeper Thalia trained me against demons as any First would be, but that was before I had the shard. ...things are different now."
"They are," she answers gently. "But we'll work out lessons that work for you. And people at Skyhold are still trying to understand the shards. Maybe they'll discover something. Maybe they can figure out soon how to remove them."
Sina smiles, but a bit uncertainly. Thus far everyone has proven relatively clueless about the shards, whether how to deal with them or how to extract them, and she's too pragmatic to let herself become excited over the possibility for their removal. Even so, it's difficult enough removing anything from a person's chest without killing them, regardless of whether it's magical or not.
"...ma serannas," she says after a pause, angling her head to smile at Ellana again. She and Pel have gone out of their way to do right by Sina, and it's something she won't forget. "I don't know where I'd be now, if Clan Ashara weren't here."
Ellana is an eternal optimist, and so she believes there has to be a way. She's not so naive that she believes the world to be a fair place filled with happy endings for all, but to believe anything less than Sina getting her shard removed and surviving just feels like giving up.
"You would still have Nahariel," Ellana points out. "She would do anything for you."
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For Sina
Of course, this is all dependent on Sina accepting Ellana's offer, so she now goes to find her to ask.
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When she sees Ellana approaching, she smiles at her over her mortar and pestle.
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"So would you like that? I thought that as someone on the Council, I could give the lessons."
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"That would be fine," she said, for added reassurance.
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It's good to know she has Sina's approval, but Ellana wants to be clear that she is thinking of her friend's needs and not just looking at her as a strange shard with a person attached.
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"Crowds do make me nervous," she conceded, "but I... seem to have given the impression of being a wilting flower." She smiled, but it was turned inward, self-effacing. "My duty to my clan is to learn what I can, however I must, and salvage their First for the future. That includes acquiring knowledge I wouldn't have necessarily considered useful back at home. ...and interacting with people that Clan Dahlasanor would have spurned or killed on sight." Her eyes went distant as she mulled it over, and after several long moments, measuredly met Ellana's again.
"I will defer to your and Pel's judgment on how this is to be done, because you're of the People and I trust you both to have my best interests at heart. But I am not afraid."
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"All right. We can start with just the two of us and see how your shard reacts. If you want to join up with the others later, then you can let me know." Because it would be Sina's decision to make; not Ellana's.
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"What are you creating today?"
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"Oh, these are just elfroot poultices," she says, glancing down at what she's making, "not very exciting, but we can never have enough."
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"I do some healing," she says, a bit tentatively, "although I also attend to the requirements of a First."
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She don't know yo life, gurl."Of course. That must take up a great deal of time. Hopefully you make time to have some fun." Skyhold has plenty of distractions to amuse a person when their work is done. Ellana appreciates that about the place. There's a real community here, and they aren't just working themselves silly.
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"..I... yes," she agrees, looking down self-consciously, beginning to blush. She's not afraid, it's true, but she is embarrassed about being such a potential liability, not only to herself.
"Going into the Fade... that's what they do in the Harrowing, isn't it?" She's never seen a reason to do such a thing.
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It's not that Ellana thinks it's a bad thing, as long as the spirit agrees to help them, but she would prefer other means of learning to resist demons.
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"I'd be lying if I said... that I'm not worried," she confesses, her gaze darting to meet Ellana's, "though I haven't been approached by any spirits since receiving the shard, I understand the rifters use theirs to interact with the veil directly." She purses her lips uncertainly. "I think that's why mine reacted to the abom... to Lauren. When he changed."
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"...ma serannas," she says after a pause, angling her head to smile at Ellana again. She and Pel have gone out of their way to do right by Sina, and it's something she won't forget. "I don't know where I'd be now, if Clan Ashara weren't here."
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"You would still have Nahariel," Ellana points out. "She would do anything for you."
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