faderift | OPEN: And you can shake the mountains with a whisper

WHO: Hermione Granger and YOU!
WHAT: Hermione ventures out of the library. Sometimes. But she's also in the library most of the time, because she's Hermione.
WHEN: Late Justinian, creeping into early Solace if need be.
WHERE: Throughout Skyhold, just outside of Skyhold, pick a place far away from Skyhold and find a reason to drag her there.
NOTES: If you'd like a particular starter and/or would like to hash out some minor assumed CR that can lead into this, feel free to let me know either via PM or plurk (

StarryOblivion). Otherwise, feel free to have them randomly bump into one another!

The Herald's Rest.

Hermione doesn't often come in here, not since receiving an odd look when she'd first asked for just some water (really, given how young everyone here seems to think she is, she'd been surprised that the surly bartender had thought she'd wanted something harder). But sometimes it's a nice change of pace, sitting among the mostly quiet chattering of the other patrons and enjoying the fire as she reads or looks over her notes. Presuming, of course, that no one is foolish enough to have too much to drink and try to bother her. Talking is a distraction she'll accept with no fuss, but Merlin help anyone who's had enough alcohol to think she's open to anything friendlier than that.

Stables.

When she'd first arrived at Skyhold, the stables had seemed relatively empty and were a fine place for practicing her magic without risking hurting anyone. She'd thought she could do the same now, only to find that there are considerably more horses - and, er, other creatures - residing there. Magic might only frighten them, she decides, but they're so pretty that she can't help visiting with them for a bit, getting as close to them as she dares. It's been years since she's ridden a horse, but she's entirely certain that these mounts aren't exactly the type that would trot gently along a given course for an inexperienced rider, so she isn't even going to ask after something so silly, even if the interest is clearly there in her eyes.

Courtyard, not too far from the healing tents.

When the stables prove not to be the best place to practice with her magic, Hermione decides that it might be best to find a little corner close to the healing tents instead. At least then there would be other mages around, and so it was less likely that anyone who stumbled across her would look at her disdainfully. And if anyone gets hurt, a healer wouldn't be too far away. Of course, she highly doubts that anyone would get hurt just because she was unsuccessfully attempting to transfigure leaves and pebbles and whatever else happens to be in the vicinity. Transfiguration doesn't seem to be an aspect of her magic that's carried over into Thedas, or at least Hermione can't manage it without more practice, given that she's growing more and more frustrated as she continuously taps rocks and other objects with what looks like a stick, muttering to herself in exasperation.

Library. Because of course.

If you've been to the library, you've seen her. Whether you know her and enjoy talking to her about rifter politics or think it's entertaining to scandalize her or have never bothered to approach her, Hermione can more often than not be found in the same little niche in the library, nose in a book or a quill hastily scribbling down notes. Or even, occasionally, dozing off, since she hasn't exactly claimed any sort of sleeping space for her own and more often than not loses track of the time when she doesn't explicitly have somewhere to be.

Wildcard!

Hermione wanders, and while she tries to be careful, sometimes it takes her places she just shouldn't go. If it doesn't look like a private room or setting, it's safe to assume that the young witch has made her way there, likely looking for a quiet place to read or do magic or just to get a few moments of silence. And while she doesn't often journey outside of Skyhold, she can definitely be tempted beyond its walls if she has the right incentive, or the right company.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Martin may just continue to call it stick, even if she snaps at him. Force of habit, and a bit of teasing on his part. But perhaps if she can figure out what has worked, then maybe it could help her to get...whatever it is that she's trying to do, to work as well.

That was his thinking anyway. "What were you doing to make them work then?"

Hermione can take teasing, if it's really all meant in good fun. But she doesn't know anything about this man just yet, and so she has no way of knowing his intentions and preoccupations insofar as her magic is concerned.

"It's hard to say," she murmurs, giving up on her transfiguration attempts for now. "Magical theory is very different here than it is where I come from. I can't tell if my magic works better if I work around the Fade or with it, or how to even tell if I'm tapping into it at all. That's why I'm starting off small; there's no sense in biting off more than I can chew, not when just about anything can happen."

Well it probably also doesn't help that Walker doesn't look like the type to tease or joke. More like the type you would find just coming out of a hospital. Either way, she has attention and time now.

"When in Rome." He grunted, shrugging as he thought over her dilemma for a moment more. While he himself doesn't really know a whole lot about how magic in this world works, lets not even get started on magic from other worlds, he has learned a little bit from what he has been told about it, and witnessed. Know your enemy and know yourself, and all that. It was a bit of a force of habit for him to get to know and understand at least a little bit about the people around him.

"Have you tried using their blue rocks?"

He paused to clarify. "Think they call it "Lyrium". Supposed to help the folks here with their magic. Might be a good start to trying to tap into what they use to perform their magic."

Given the blank way Hermione stared up at Martin, he could take a guess as to whether or not she'd ever heard of lyrium. "Blue rocks?" she asked, frowning a little bit. The only special sort of rocks she'd seen around here had been those red crystals that jutted out of those horrible Red Templars, and she'd really rather not deal with that red lyrium if she didn't have to.

"Do you mean a crystal of sort? Other than the sending crystals used for communication, I haven't seen anyone use any special sort of rock."

"Well, I suppose they are more of a crystal." He's not a geologist either but as far as he could tell Lyrium seemed to be what gives mages a sort of boost. Martin isn't an expert on any of this though, being someone who doesn't need to use the stuff.

"Might be worth asking around about?" A shrug, whether or not that was helpful information for her at all, who knows. It was all dependent on what she did with it.

"I'll inquire about it, thank you," she tells him, and then looks up at him curiously. He doesn't have a staff and seems to have the bearing of a soldier of some sort, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't know more about magic.

"You're not a mage, are you? At least, not a local one? I don't make any assumptions about who here is or isn't magically inclined."

"No, can't say I am." In response to him being a mage. Most of what he knows about magic comes from stage shows back home and what he's learned after arriving here. Scratching his cheek he realized just how scruffy he was starting to look. Perhaps a nice shave was in order later.

"I'm Captain Martin Walker."

Captain. He's a man of rank, and though he doesn't strike her as hostile, she still tenses a bit as she replies, "I'm Hermione Granger. You're not a Templar, are you?"

She's done her best not to be prejudiced against the Templars, but it's sort of hard for anyone with magic to be entirely all right with a group of people known for currently fighting a war against mages.

He's quite docile for now. "No, can't say I am."

A pause as he considers his next words, looking to add on an explanation to them. "I'm...originally from the United States Army...Delta Force." A cough, it probably doesn't mean much to her so he quickly continues. "I have been tasked with helping to train and oversee this army."

Better, he thinks.

"Oh! An American!"

Realizing how that sounds, Hermione smiles a bit sheepishly as she explains, "Sorry, it's just... there are so many different accents here, and even with the familiar ones it doesn't necessarily mean the person is from your world. Are you-... well, I always feel a bit silly asking this, but what year are you from?"

"I suppose I am."

Well that was a rather enthusiastic reaction. But at least he's found someone who recognizes where he's from! Well maybe, given the nature of this place, Walker wouldn't be surprised if she came from somewhere that dragons are real and sticks are used for magical spells. Which seems to be the case.

"For me it's 2012."

"Oh...."

It's not a disappointed sound, not really. Hermione just finds herself frowning a little bit in thought as she thinks over his answer.

By way of explanation, she tells him, "The few times I find people from my world, it seems that they're always from my future. Or, well, a future; whether or not it's mine is up for debate. Though at least I would still be alive in your time, presumably, so I suppose that's something! It was October of 1998 for me when I arrived here."

OPEN: And you can shake the mountains with a whisper

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