faderift | OPEN: Cloudreach Event

OPEN: Cloudreach Event

WHO: Anyone at Skyhold
WHAT: Cloudreach showers bring weird shit.
WHEN: Cloudreach 15 onward
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: For information about the illness, its effects, and its cure, please make sure to also read the OOC Post.

This high in the mountains, snowstorms are to be expected. But this one is large and lingering, hanging over the valley and the fortress for days. In Skyhold, with its eternal spring, the snow becomes rain before it hits the ground, leaving inhabitants and visitors to wade through puddles and mud in the courtyards. In the valley, snow and ice accumulate under cloud cover—and worse, when the clouds finally thin, a whole winter's accumulation of snow begins to melt in the sunlight.

Within a day, the ground is sodden and mucky enough to give the survivors of the Fallow Mire (or Ferelden in general) unpleasant flashbacks, and those who live in tents are issued additional hastily-constructed wooden pallets to raise their floors above the mud. It is worse outside the fortress: streams and rivers have overflowed their banks, rapids run twice as fast as normal, and flash flooding has made even road travel treacherous.

On Cloudreach 17 a mudslide buries the pass into Skyhold from the west, and on the 19th a sheet of snow loosened from a mountainside collapses into the shadowed passage from the east. An Inquisition supply caravan is caught in the latter, scattering wagons and goods across the hillside and leaving a dozen people and horses in need of rescue and medical care.

Healers may find themselves stretched thin, as in addition to the usual rash of blisters and sniffles that come from days of rain and flooding, an illness begins to sweep through Skyhold's ranks from around the 16th onward. It's marked first by climbing fever, then by flashes at the edges of vision—green light and jagged formations that aren't there, beings of light and shadow gathering around people or clustering in corners—and distant voices, coherent for brief moments if you're quiet and still and not trying too hard to listen.

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Tempted as Hermione might be to try a few of her healing charms on the people who need them most, she's still too wary of her own magic to use it on other people, afraid that it might backfire horribly. So she's resigned herself to being something of a nursemaid, trying to make sure the sick are as comfortable as possible and that the healers have everything they need. If nothing else, it's kept her too busy to properly worry.

Well... most of the time.

She can see how overworked the healers are, and it's hardly any surprise. But seeing the way Anders has been straining himself and yet still finds the time to feed a cat instead of himself.... It's sweet, in its own way, but it's also worrying. Now Hermione knows how her friends had felt when she'd lock herself away in the library for virtually days on end whenever a big exam came along.

Slowly approaching him and trying not to get distracted by the cat in question, Hermione gently settles a hand on his shoulder. "When was the last time you've eaten? Or slept?" Never mind that she can't really remember the last time she'd done either, but if she's beginning to feel the toll of whatever illness it is that's going around, it must be that much worse for him.

"Mm." He considers the question she's asking and can't really recall what the answer might be. "How important is it that I answer accurately?"

Anders turns and gives her a half-smile. "I've gone longer with less, and with fewer reserves. I used to be the only healer for a large area of the poor and forgotten, which meant whenever the weather changed, there'd be a line hours and hours deep. This is fine."

Except he's out of practice when it comes to being up this long, and he's not used to also running a fever while working. Sleeping worries him, though. Dreams leak out, and his have never been pleasant, even before there was Grey Warden influence in them.

"Perhaps I could do with something to eat, though." A small compromise might not be a bad idea.

"Just because you can last long without sleep doesn't mean you should," she scolds lightly, painfully aware that she's playing the part of the pot calling the kettle black. "Sit down for a few minutes and have something to eat. I can make some tea, if you'd like."

She isn't going to take no for an answer, and she proves as much when she takes Anders' arm, gently guiding him to sit. Glancing back at the cat he'd just been feeding, Hermione determines that it doesn't look bedraggled enough to be a proper stray, and so must have been at Skyhold for a while now. "After all, you won't be of much help to your patients or your little friend there if you don't have the strength to remain upright."

She gets a raised eyebrow as he's guided, but he doesn't protest or pull away. Food and a little bit of sitting won't hurt. It'll help.

'It will help you. But it will not help them,' Justice argues uselessly. The truth of the matter is that in the longer run it might help them, which is every reason and more to try this. That, and arguing giving in for a few minutes now and then to concerned people will take just as much time if not more. This is practical. Beneficial. And frustrating to the spirit.

Purrelden gets scooped up in his free hand and seated in his lap once he's taken a seat. After a moment she settles down and starts grooming herself, which is either insult or compliment, he'll never know.

"Her name is the Hero of Purrelden. I served with the Hero of Ferelden, so it seemed fitting. Especially when he was more fond of dogs than cats, and he gave me the first cat I was allowed to own."

The last word sets off more complaints from Justice, which also get ignored. "And I'd not mind more tea, if you're sure about the offer."

Anders is an adult; for whatever flawed decisions they've already determined he'd made in his past, Hermione is fairly certain that he understands that he'll be no good to anyone at all if he ends up collapsing because he isn't taking care of himself. A bit of self-sacrifice is one thing, but if she were working on directly healing people, she'd make sure that she got a fair amount of sleep. Probably.

The fact that this seems to be Anders' cat - or, at least, enough his cat that he'd seen fit to name her - surprises Hermione, putting a small smile on her face as she looks around for a kettle, or the closest they can manage to one. "That's sweet. Do you call her Hero for short? I've come across mentions of the Hero of Ferelden a few times; I hadn't realized you'd served with someone so legendary on a personal level." Much of Anders life seems to be the stuff of local legends, though at least this is a more positive note.

"I wouldn't offer to make tea just to take it back. Boiling a bit of water and letting the tea steep is hardly work, after all."

"Generally I call her Purrelden, as she's not done much to warrant Hero yet. Killed a few ants that were trying to investigate our tent, yes, but she has a tendency to run from crickets." He relaxes in the chair. More than this would be nice, certainly, but with a spirit driving him onward it's very hard to get much more during a plague. Once it's passed... Well. Once it has passed he'll still be working hard, but at least it won't be non-stopped. Some sacrifices have to be made for the sake of Justice feeling fulfilled.

"And while making tea isn't hard work, it's the heat that..." He trails off and considers her. "Are you ill at all?" Finding out who is well is just as helpful when it comes to tracking down causes as determining what the ill people have in common, after all.

"Well in all fairness, crickets aren't exactly nice to look at." Finding a kettle and a bit of tea, Hermione turns back to Anders, though she's a little more interested in the cat at the moment. To her credit, it is only a little more interested. "Purrelden is cute. Though given that Ferelden generally tends to be filled with more dog people than cat people, from what I hear, I think the pun is somewhat ironic."

She decides to ignore his question for now, especially since no, she isn't ill. Just a little tired, and she'll at least have the chance to sleep that off once nightfall comes around, given that she's not much of a healer at the moment. "Have I ever showed you my Bluebell Flame?" she asks as she sits down by Anders, filling the kettle with water from her wand. At least she's gotten better at some of her magic, and a little cold - or whatever this is - can hardly take that from her. "It gives off heat if you're standing directly over it, so it can warm things up easily enough, but it doesn't burn or spread, and it's waterproof and portable, so you have all the benefits of a fire without any of the drawbacks."

"The name's mostly due to the aforementioned Hero of Ferelden. He'll be amused when he hears her name." If he does. There's little hope that Jonas is still alive, but Anders doesn't want to write the man off, despite how he'd been abandoned by him. "Though I enjoy the irony of naming her after dog-lord country. It's their loss that they don't know how to appreciate the finer creatures in life."

He's tired, but he can tease a little, at least.

"And no. You haven't. A fire that has no danger of spreading and is waterproof could be invaluable." As a light source especially. The torches and candles they're using now are certainly dangerous around sleepy mages, as well as anyone young or ill. They simply don't have many other options. "Would you mind showing me?" Despite how she's already showing that she can simply pour water out of air. That's exceedingly handy, considering how clean water is hard to come by in some places. Her world... Anders is a little jealous, truth be told.

"Not much for dogs?" Hermione asks, cracking a small smile as she glances up at him. It makes sense that Anders would be a cat person, given how independent they can be. "I prefer cats myself. Especially the ones insistent enough to remind me when they're hungry. They might not be as clingy as dogs, but it's nice to know that the domesticated ones are fully aware of why they keep people around."

She'd always been quite proud of her efficiency with the Bluebell Flame, even before it had become something of a lifesaver when she'd been forced to live in tents for several long, cold months. Looking around, she finds a small pot and retrieves it, sitting down on the ground by Anders before waving her wand over the pot and murmuring a soft incantation. Though it sputters at first - something that seems to annoy Hermione to no end - soon the sparks of blue light from the tip of her wand turn into a stream of blue flames, which she pours into the pot as though they're little different from water. Once she's satisfied with how much fire she's cast into the pot, she gingerly reaches out, feeling the heat emanating from it despite the relatively neutral warmth when the flames lick at her fingertips.

"They're not as good here as they are back home," she explains, still concentrating on the fire for a few moments before smiling up at Anders, carefully nudging the pot towards him. "I'd be confident enough to cast the flames right into my hands and carry them somewhere. But they're a little hotter than I'm used to, and sometimes they don't come out blue at all and so I just extinguish them before I have an accident. It might be my wand or... well, that doesn't matter. The point is that you now have a fire, and you can even take it out into the rain with you if you'd like."

"Dogs are slobbery and need attention every moment. Cats? They'll care for you, love you, even, but much of the time they're fine. They don't require your focus often. And when they do, they're far easier to deal with, draping over you rather than eating your shoes."

Fereldans are weird. Anyone who loves dogs is weird. And these flames? They're fascinating. Anders takes the pot, wondering at her irritation but far more focused on what she's created.

"I think it does matter. I think it could matter a great deal." He lowers his hand toward the flame, being careful. It's not a lot of warmth, but it's something. And a low-heat fire could even be extremely useful. "A great many of the spells any Circle mage or apostate knows are combat-based. Our repertoire of practical spells is practically non-existent. If we can pin down what's going wrong with your magic, wand or a difference between the Fade here and the source back in your world, we could adapt things over. The water you made a few moments ago, this, they could change so much, slowly help change how people view--mm."

Anders breaks off, ending the building intensity of his voice, and gives her a slightly sheepish look. "I was supposed to be keeping from getting quite so impassioned with you, I believe. I've forgotten again."

Smiling softly, Hermione murmurs, "Dogs aren't so bad. Most of the time. But I agree, cats are generally the better pet."

She has a moment, then, when she wonders what had happened to Crookshanks after she'd been forced to abandon him at the start of the war, but that causes a hitch in her throat. Right. It's probably not a great idea to focus too hard on who and what she's lost over the past few years.

Clearing her throat, she listens to Anders exclaim over her magic, feeling that building excitement in his voice before he begins to try and clamp it down. Shaking her head, she tells him, "No, that's quite all right. Magical theory is interesting, especially when dealing with two very different schools of magic. And especially if you don't have much in the way of practical spells here; those are about half of the charms we know, really. You would love to visit with the Weasley family; if you were a bit more of a ginger, you could probably even pass for one of their relations."

Considering the high regard she has for that family, it's probably for the best that she drop that train of thought, and so she carefully holds her wand in both hands, displaying it to him as she gestures towards the tip. The wood is a bit splintered and something dark and stringy seems to be curling out of the exposed tip. "See there? When I... fell here, I suppose, it cracked just the tiniest bit. It's a small nick, and I don't think I frayed any of the core, so it could be the wand or interference from the Fade or any number of things. I suppose I can try repairing it, though I wouldn't even know how to go about that, or maybe even try to use a staff, but there are just so many variables involved. Figuring anything out for certain would take time."

He has no idea what more of a spice has to do with anything, but before he can ask, he's being shown her wand. Anders leans forward, reaching out to trace a finger along the crack.

"I've never seen a wand used in Thedas except by you. I can't say no one has ever used it; the Circles have restricted magic lore and experimentation a great deal. But I don't know of any theories, even, when it comes to them. Staves, I know. I could slowly teach you how to work with a staff, and see if you can improvise with the assistance and guidance it gives? And then perhaps we can work with materials and see if we can figure out wands."

It will likely be very difficult. Making and enchanting staves is, after all. But it would be an interesting project to have going on the side. Sure, he's got a lot he does already. This, though, a chance of expanding the possibilities for what mages can do, would be good for the future.

Hermione has no idea how mages actually come to acquire their staves, though she'd always assumed that, like wands, they generally came from a shop run by someone considered to be a master in his or her field. It's part of why she'd agreed to work with Adelaide, really. She doesn't need much in the way of food or proper shelter considering her year of largely going without, but if she could pay a staff-maker to fix what basically amounts to her tiny staff, she'll feel much more comfortable wielding her magic for more than just basic spells.

"Back at home, the wand chooses the wizard, as they say. Every wand is a unique match to the person who wields it, and many people generally believe you can tell what sort of person a witch or wizard is based on their wand. Do staves work the same way here? Because it might be a bit difficult finding a match, in that case."

After all, how can a staff match up with a person who doesn't even get her magic from the Fade? It seems counter-intuitive, which is part of why Hermione hasn't actively gone out looking for a staff, despite the repeated suggestion of it.

"Unique match." He echoes that before answering her question, blinking. That's going to make it very hard indeed to reproduce wants if it turns out they're needed for her schools of magic. He doesn't know any spells that are attuned to people except phylacteries, and that's not just a horrific spell he doesn't want being used again, it's blood magic.

"I mean, no. They don't. Anyone can use any staff." He jerks a thumb toward his, resting in the corner of the tent. "If you pick mine up it will generally be as useful to you as any other. I did say generally, though. Staves can be attuned to various schools of magic and elements. If you're stronger in fire, you'd carry one that enhanced that, and so on. Mine's made to help me recover from heavy spellwork more quickly. I've been contemplating getting a backup one, lightning-attuned. But that's not the point right now. Feel free to pick it up and see if you like the feel of it."

She's a little surprised, though undeniably comforted, at the idea that any staff would work for just about any mage. That must mean they really do help to channel magic specifically from the Fade rather than from an individual, if that's the main source of magic here, and so can help her tap into that sort of thing. Unless, of course, the staff doesn't recognize her as a mage in the way it would Anders or Adelaide; then it would be about as useless to Hermione as a very large stick. A pretty stick, in most cases, but still just a stick.

Looking towards Anders' staff for a moment, she eventually murmurs, "Thank you, but I'd... rather not. At least not right now." She's usually much more ambitious than that and would welcome the opportunity to practice with such a thing, but as she looks back at Anders, she explains, "If I'm going to so much as touch something like that, I'd rather do it out of doors, preferably away from any people. Just in case. I'm used to a much smaller magical focus, so even if I might end up having trouble getting anything at all done with a staff, I'd prefer to make sure there's no chance of anyone accidentally getting hurt. Enough people distrust rifters and mages without an accident making things worse."

"That's a fair point." He considers the staff for a moment before shaking his head. "When this fever's passed? I'll have gotten some rest, you will as well, and there will be no greater danger that we're ignoring." Other than Corypheus, and wakened dragons, and rifts, but those things aren't going away.

"We'll go outside Skyhold and be prepared with potions just in case. Adelaide as well? There's little doubt that she'd be interested to see the results."

Hermione blinks, somewhat surprised by the offer. "Really? You'd go out and help me practice with your staff? I-... I'd been trying not to bite off more than I can chew, but...."

Actually, it makes sense that Anders wouldn't exactly warn against biting off more than she can chew, given his past. This likely isn't going to put her in that Seeker woman's good graces, but if Adelaide can agree to it, too....

"I'll be careful. I promise. Besides, it could well turn out that nothing at all will happen, but it doesn't hurt to prepare for the worst."

"This is Thedas. There's always more going on than can be completely handled, if one's eyes are open." There's always something wrong, always someone being hurt. "Getting better equipped for this world will pay off, whether you're here for some time or only a little. It doesn't hurt to prepare at all. But for now... Tea, and then it's back to working on this plague, I think."

No rest for the wicked, really.

The idea of actually having someone willing to help her with her practice rather than simply tell her she should practice gives Hermione a renewed sense of energy, and she smiles as she recalls the tea. The urge to hug Anders is strong - not for the the first time, really - but she resists it as she busies herself with readying the tea as she talks a mile a minute.

"I wish I'd studied more science at home. I was very focused on magic - which makes sense, really, given that I hadn't even known it existed until I learned I was a witch - but even after mostly immersing myself in the magical world, I still preferred the non-magical world for a lot of things, including healing. Oh, knitting some minor injuries was never a big deal, and there are some potions that can speed up the process immensely. But I haven't seen mention of most of those herbs and other ingredients here, so I wouldn't know how to begin with that. At least with science, well, that's universal, isn't it? The equipment readily available here wouldn't be the same as what would be available to a medical professional back home, but at least I'd be able to help when it came to more than just guesswork with old wives' tales and making sure the sick are comfortable."

He tries to follow, but it really is a lot to take in. At least she'd smiled.

"I don't know. Is science universal? You're the one that's been to two worlds." What sciences does she even mean? That of making a weapon? or a cart? Clearly she doesn't mean potions if she doesn't know where to begin with them. "You'd be the judge of parallels better than I."

Magic is a sort of science, of course, given that it isn't just a matter of blindly waving a wand around and making things happen. It's a matter of working with energy, of knowing the properties of certain herbs before putting them into a potion, of understanding ancient runes, of memorizing charms. Even so, magical science is very different from Muggle science, and she'd be more than happy to ramble on about that.

Instead, she tells him, "Well, the basic laws of physics still seem to hold true. Fire still gives off heat, and water can freeze into ice. The physiology of humans seems to run about parallel, too. You and I both have hands and eyes and teeth. I haven't exactly dissected anyone and have no desire to do so, but I'm going to assume our insides work about the same way. So if I understood more basic first aid from back home, it stands to reason that it would be useful here, especially since I wouldn't need to worry about whether or not I have a connection to the Fade before utilizing it."

He doesn't know what the basic laws of physics are, but considering she's calling them basic he'll assume that most people should know them. As Anders doesn't want to appear ignorant, he's not asking at the moment. Maybe later. After he's tried to figure out what fire, water, and ice have to do with hands, eyes, and teeth.

"First aid? You mean the basics that anyone can do? Apply a poultice, wrap a wound, that sort of thing? That's easy enough to teach if you want to learn, and safe as well. There's not a chance of it going wrong when you learn what to do with the different sorts of wounds, stab or burn or the other different ones."

He sets the jar of fire down very carefully before pulling out a pair of tea cups and setting them next to her. He's tired, but not too tired to not give a hand with this.

Hermione appreciates questions, both asking and answering them, and so she'd be the last person to judge if he chooses to interrupt her to ask her what she'd talking about. It will especially be helpful later on down the line when she's talking to other people, as she doesn't want to take for granted that certain topics aren't universal.

"I more or less can figure that much out," she replies, shifting to her knees to help him set everything he's brought her. "But I'd appreciate learning what sort of things work here. I just know how to keep a wound covered until the person can go and see a professional. But there's no use holding onto what I used to know if I'm not going to augment it with what can be helpful here."

"When the plague's passed, I can teach you the main uses of various herbs, their primary applications, and then permutations can go from there if you turn out to enjoy it or be good at it."

He pulls out the sugar and puts it between them, adding his before raising an eyebrow to ask if she'd like any.

"... you'd really teach me that?"

While Adelaide is certainly a competent enough teacher when it comes to magic, those classes tend to be more tailored towards native mages. For someone to offer to teach her something she can learn, and to teach it to her on a one-on-one basis... she's truly appreciative.

Moving forward to take a bit of sugar, Hermione decides that he probably doesn't understand the true value of what he'd just offered, at least inasmuch as it means to her. "I'd like that, Anders," she tells him quietly. "Maybe I wouldn't feel so out of my element if I could actually be useful."

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justice_is_blond - 2016-06-02 07:27 (UTC) - Expand

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bookish_lioness - 2016-06-03 12:15 (UTC) - Expand

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OPEN: Cloudreach Event

Healing tents

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