faderift | OPEN: The Loyal Shield

WHO: Aleron and YOU
WHAT: General Catch All while the Seeker settles in
WHEN: Guardian 24-Drakonis 14
WHERE: Skyhold (varies)
NOTES: Prose or brackets fine. Can also use for any scenes wanted.

It barely takes any time since his arrival for Aleron to resume what has been his daily habits for years now. Being relocated inside the Inquisition fortress has made little difference, beyond a change of scenery. He knows of no other way than the one he's followed most his life. With everything outside the walls in sheer chaos, finding order within his personal habits provides a rock solid foundation to face those challenges.

Chapel
Every morning and evening, before he breaks his fast, before he commits himself to rest, Aleron can be found inside the Chapel, knelt in prayer. He is as earnest in his devotions as he is with the remainder of his life and spends no less than an hour each time praying through sections of the Chant of Light. It is familiar. It is the base of his faith. It is his faith that holds him up, and to neglect it would be unjust in his mind.

Courtyard
During the day, Aleron commits himself to practice and training his weapon skills, though he prefers light leathers to full armor for the exercise. A particularly sharp eye or veteran combatant will note something unusual. He executes moves with precision, clearly well studied, with years of practice. However, he does not excel with the sword, not like a true master or exceptional talent would. Still, every day, he is present in the yard, working on his form, his stance, his skills.

Stables
Most days, he finds his way to the stables, to check after the welfare of his horse he rode into Skyhold. Valiente is a lively mount, but not too aggressive, nor does he seem to mind being quartered with so many others. Weather permitting, Aleron saddles him for a short ride through the mountain passes, enough to keep the horse hale and hearty, but never so much as to risk his health or a broken limb on treacherous footing.

Library
Every afternoon, the Seeker abandons physical pursuits for academic ones. Anyone who's made note of his somber default expression will find him different when engaged in scholarly reading and research. His eyes light as he peruses the shelves, smiles and looks of surprise manifest when he stumbles across some new tidbit of fact or history of which he had previously been unaware. Peculiar to some that a man could become so animated reading titles such as Tales of the Destruction of Thedas or The Essays of Divine Ambrosia II, but his excitement over the material is present and palpable.

Tavern
Of an evening, there is a solitary man seated with a single ale which he nurses slowly. Aleron doesn't engage in games of chance, flirt with the servers, or join in any more raucous singing that happens once the patrons are well in their cups. He sits, listens to the bard, sometimes reads a book, other times a letter. The letters often sit on the table for a considerable length of time while he stares off into the distance, as if deliberating if he wants to open them or not. If the place is crowded, he makes no objections to others joining him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Belinda is far from the only resident in Skyhold to visit the chapel, and being a former Templar she's used to early morning prayers because it was that way during training. Being as devout as she is, she feels it would be wrong to miss a day of prayer in front of the statue of Andraste, so she heads there before the sun has even risen past the peaks of the mountains. She kneels down, fingers laced together in prayer, and begins to recite passages that she feels are relevant during this time of war, chaos, and uncertainty.

When someone else enters, she turns and smiles.

"Hello," she says quietly. There is something about being in a chapel that makes her always keep her voice hushed. "Would you like me to recite in my head? Or we could pray together."

There is a simple rush of pleasure to find himself not the only one come for prayer this morning. A quiet joy that there are still others who are loyal to their faith, even in these times of great troubles. He so seldom smiles, but the corner of his mouth tips up on its own and he doesn't bother to force it away.

Aleron, too, keeps his voice low, unwilling to disturb the peace and sanctity with a normal conversational tone. "I believe the Maker would find pleasure to hear the Chant shared."

He steps forward and kneels nearby, so that their prayers remain quiet, but still audible to the other.

"I was just reciting Trials 1," she says as he takes his place next to her. "I think it's relevant in these times of trouble, as we face down Corypheus's army. The Maker is with us as we weather the storm."

She faces forward again and bows her head, saying the verses in a tone that shows she believes the words and they come from her heart.

"I have faced armies
With You as my shield,
And though I bear scars beyond counting, nothing
Can break me except Your absence.

When I have lost all else, when my eyes fail me
And the taste of blood fills my mouth, then
In the pounding of my heart
I hear the glory of creation."

He's very much inclined to agree with her and approves of her choice. It's a canticle he's come to embrace as very personal and pertinent to himself. The familiar words are spoken reverently, a genuine reflection of faith that carries in his tone as well.

"You have grieved as I have.
You, who made worlds out of nothing.
We are alike in sorrow, sculptor and clay,
Comforting each other in our art.

Do not grieve for me, Maker of All.
Though all others may forget You,
Your name is etched into my every step.
I will not forsake You, even if I forget myself."

There is a slight catch in his voice at the first line of the stanza. There almost invariably is, though so seldom is there anyone to witness how deeply that truth resonates with him. The Maker has grieved as he has grieved. They are alike in their sorrow. Some day he will be able to sing the Chant without feeling the ache of loss pulling at his heart, but it will not be today.

Belinda is young, and though she's seen war and death, she hasn't yet felt a deep, personal loss that's gnawed at her. She can go from serious to giddy in a matter of moments. It seems there is nothing that can dim her light for long.

It isn't surprising that he might be a man who has grieved quite a lot. The world is in turmoil, and the way his voice catches has her gripping her hands tighter, praying for his faith to ease his sorrow.

"Maker, though the darkness comes upon me,
I shall embrace the Light. I shall weather the storm.
I shall endure.
What you have created, no one can tear asunder."

I shall endure.

As Aleron reflects on the Chant, he acknowledges that he has endured much. In his more bitter moments, he would say because he had to. But even in the face of such stark self-awareness, he knows too that it is his faith which has carried him through the worst. Will continue to carry him. It is the one solid foundation which has never left him all the days of his life.

"Who knows me as You do?
You have been there since before my first breath.
You have seen me when no other would recognize my face.
You composed the cadence of my heart.

Through blinding mist, I climb
A sheer cliff, the summit shrouded in fog, the base
Endlessly far beneath my feet
The Maker is the rock to which I cling."

Little does he know the great kindness Belinda has bestowed in her own prayers. Or how greatly the words have helped to ease the heaviness on his spirit this morning.

She continues on where he leaves off. They're nearly done, and this prayer is felt more deeply when not recited alone. Many times she's prayed by herself, but it was always when in the company of her fellow Templars that the words meant more. They were all sharing it together, and drawing meaning from the words.

"I cannot see the path.
Perhaps there is only abyss.
Trembling, I step forward,
In darkness enveloped.

Though all before me is shadow,
Yet shall the Maker be my guide.
I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Beyond.
For there is no darkness in the Maker's Light
And nothing that He has wrought shall be lost."

"I am not alone."

Here, he breaks the Chant, as the full weight of that verse truly reaches him. He has prayed in the presence of others before, listened to the Chant sung in the Grand Cathedral. But never has the truth ever really reached him as it has in this tiny, private chapel with an audience of one.

"I am not alone. Even
As I stumble on the path
With my eyes closed, yet I see
The Light is here.

Draw your last breath, my friends.
Cross the Veil and the Fade and all the stars in the sky.
Rest at the Maker's right hand,
And be Forgiven."

Be forgiven... so much weighs on him, so much blame and guilt. That there could be forgiveness waiting for him at the end of his days is almost too much to hope for, and yet hope there is, lingering as a tiny light in the shadow.

His pause has her turning her head just slightly towards him. She doesn't look up, but she can see his knee out of the corner of her eye. When reciting the Chant, there are certain lines that grab hold and won't let go. Belinda feels like those lines can shake you silly, or envelope you in warmth. She isn't sure how Aleron is interpreting the line -- that's for his heart to decide -- but at least he's physically not alone right now.

The words after are deeply felt, especially in the wake of hearing about the Red Templars. Her brothers and sisters. It's possible, probable, even, that she trained with some who had joined Corypheus's cause, and forever changed themselves. She doesn't know what will happen to their souls now. Can they be forgiven? Will the Maker allow them at His right hand? Or are they forever marked for the Void? She doesn't know. She doesn't know if the evil they've wrought has earned them eternal punishment. Weren't they tricked, led astray, and doomed? The red lyrium has destroyed their minds. Are they to be blamed for that?

These are questions she can't ask out loud. Everyone will have their own opinion, but all she's interested in knowing is how the Maker will judge them. So she keeps it to herself.

There is silence for a moment as this weighs on her, before she straightens her back and drops her hands down to the ground. She offers him a small smile.

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I do so enjoy praying with others."

OPEN: The Loyal Shield

{ guardian 24 } chapel

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hng so perfect for him <3

for them both! <3

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