faderift | Sieze the day

Entry tags:

Sieze the day

WHO: Sadira and YOU
WHAT: Various places around Skyhold at different times of day.
WHEN: Beginning to mid Solace before the shenanigans in Orlais takes off.
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: N/A

I.The Training Grounds- Early morning

Sadira was in the training yard, early enough that the sun was just beginning to caress down the mountainsides with light while she was busy flailing a training sword around. She'd gotten up early in order to have some small section of the training yard to herself, though there were others who had arrived earlier than her, and somewhere were just now arriving. It seemed the training yard got little rest, which seemed, to sum up, her appearance. She had the look of someone long used to functioning on too little sleep.

Despite her apparently poor sword skills-- she was overreaching as well as leaving herself completely open on the left side-- she at least had good footwork and showed little signs of tiring quickly. Clothed as she was in a simple linen tunic, brown knit pants, and worn leather boots, it was near impossible to guess that she was a mage unless someone had spoken to her previously about it. She was working with a will building up a good sweat while trying her best to perfect her abilities though it was apparent that she was in dire need of some instruction.

II.The Library- Mid-day

Tables were naturally at a premium with all the pet projects going on and research, interests and what not being done that Sadira had opted instead for a quiet spot surrounded by a stack of books that she was carefully trawling through. A casual glance through the stacks might have drawn more than a few puzzled looks as her interests seemed to vary widely from historical texts by Brother Genitivi to various copies of Hard in Hightown along with books on varying cultures, chevalier fighting techniques, constellations and southern plants. She also had a few scattered papers scribbled with and notes, annotations and page numbers that occasionally rustled when the odd draft caught them. Although she tried to keep her mess contained to her little haphazard area, it wasn't going to take much for some of it to spill over into someone's way.

She'd traded her training clothes for softer mage robes, though her staff remained hidden away. A lingering scent of soap clung faintly to her skin, signs that she'd visited the hot springs shortly before making her way here. The mess of black curls that she usually wore draped over one shoulder was instead pulled back into a loose ponytail that fell her back so the till damp ends might not accidentally drip down onto her work. Currently, she was scribbling a note using a charcoal pencil rather than a quill with one tome resting on her knee, and another one spread out beside her with her finger resting on the line she was currently copying down.

III. Battlements- Evening

Sadira has once again found an out of the way spot, this time on the battlements. As the sun dips further and further westwards, she is looking up with a book carefully cradled in her lap, and a sheaf of notes weighed down by a rock next to her. It appears that she is setting herself up to stargaze, or at least looking for the first stars that appear before it gets too dark to read or check her notes. Draped around her shoulders is a threadbare but still somewhat serviceable blanket. It seems she is settling in to be here for awhile. She even had an earthenware pot next to her that suspiciously looked as if it contained something to chase away the chills of the oncoming night.

IV. Wildcard!

She can also be found roaming around in varying places if that would work better. Feel free to PM me or

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"You're leaving yourself open on your left; someone could exploit that." Korrin's been watching from nearby for the last few minutes, derailed from beginning her own drills. She doesn't usually get up quite this early, not being a natural morning person, but today she wanted to take advantage of the extra time to clear her head and prepare for Orlais. Her staff is propped up against a wall, ignored for the time being, but she does have an empty hilt at her hip, one of her hands resting casually atop it.

"Eia!" Startled halfway through a maneuver, it was all Sadira could do to keep ahold of the sword as she spun around to come face to face with the person who'd spoken to her. Her eyes widened even further when she realized that it was one of the Qunari or Vashoth, or whatever the horned people called themselves, which added to the silence that lingered after. It took her a few seconds more to look beyond the grey skin to notice the empty hilt, which at first confused her until recognition dawned on her face.

"You're one of them!" Belatedly aware of how that sounded, she hastily held up her left hand in a staying gesture as she rapidly tried to correct herself, "A Knight-Enchanter that is. Unless you like running around with broken swords."

A small, freckly elf has been a fixture in the library since before Sadira entered. Most of the time, she has been reading, but there is a spread of stationery and other materials in front of her, the most notable thing being a peculiar lantern that is clearly extremely old. She has ignored Sadira's presence up to this point, casting a few experimental spells on the lantern--a probing sort of spell, determining the extent of an object's connection to the Fade. She has capably done quite a bit today by herself, but there is one thing she will never be able to manage on her own.

She approaches Sadira, her mouth in a grim line.

"Could you maybe reach a book for me?"

Edited 2016-07-07 18:16 (UTC)

Drawn out of her inner thoughts, Sadira looked up from where she'd been transcribing with a slightly puzzled expression. There was a smudge of charcoal on her lower lip, and another on her forehead near an errant wisp of hair that kept falling into her face. The confusion soon cleared upon realizing that someone was indeed speaking to her. The puzzlement transitioned quickly into surprise as Sadira stared at the tattoos on the elven woman's face. It shouldn't have been a big deal, but even so, Sadira couldn't take her eyes off the markings. The other woman might as well have been a griffon or some other exotic creature in the dark haired mage's eyes.

Clearing her throat with a small cough, Sadira peeled her eyes away and bowed her head as she shuffled the book from her lap, "Certainly!" There was no hiding the fact that she'd been taken by surprise so she just did her best and hoped that the smaller woman would not take too much offense, "What book is it?" She asked as she stood, hissing slightly when she realized that sitting on the cold floor wasn't doing her body any favors.

"Big brown one up top with the silver tooling. 'The Magic of Arlathan.' Someone keeps shelving it there to vex me."

The staring is actually somewhat refreshing, because it's simply a stare of amazement rather than the other one, the one that's like someone watching a dog walk around on its hind legs. Val Royeaux is still fresh in her mind. Sadira is willing to reach a book for her, so on the sliding scale of racism Pel has encountered recently, she's in a pretty acceptable range.

Oops. Korrin flashes an apologetic smile, as she should know better. The times where she's become too engrossed in training to keep track of her surroundings still happens fairly often, after all. It's a little silly to forget that others have the same habits. That eye-widening isn't anything new, either; plenty of people are used to seeing the tall horned woman around or one of her kind, but there are always new people in Skyhold to remind her of how 'exotic' she is to Thedas at large.

Almost defensive for a moment, realizing what the woman is referring to has her relax and nod proudly. A soft chuckle escapes her. "Hardly. But yeah, I am. Vivienne's been training me for months now. I'd like to think I've made progress, though I'm hardly at her level yet. You've worked with them, then?"

Stretching just a little more to get the kinks out of her back, she cast about looking upwards at the higher shelves until the caught sight of the likely tome. She looked askance at Pel, trying not to stare overlong as she reached for the book. Although she was taller than the elf, she still needed to rise up onto her toes to get a good enough grip on the book as she pulled it from the self.

"Here you go, one book on magic." As she held the book out, she looked at the cover thoughtfully, then glanced to Pel, "is the magic of Arlathan, all that different from circle magic?"

"Not different, exactly," Pel begins. Her research is one of very few topics that break her normal monosyllabic habit. She sits and opens the giant tome. "The elves of Arlathan were the first to use magic, and Tevinter appropriated their knowledge where they could. You know how with some plants, it could be growing in the ground, but you cut off a bit of it and take it with you to plant it somewhere else? Maybe that plant grows smaller or taller or barer than the other because of where it's planted, but it's all the same plant. Good gardeners make healthier plants, bad gardeners might not even get it to bear fruit, some people find a way to make poison out of it, or a cure for a sickness instead, but it's still just the one plant."

Edited 2016-07-07 20:26 (UTC)

Sadira still can't help but feel a little silly that she'd been caught off guard. She thought she had been paying attention, bu then this proved all over again that she needed training. Hastily, she offered a sheepish smile to Korrin, glad that things were amicable after the slightly rocky start.

Despite being excited about encountering a Knight-Enchanter, there was a moment of hesitation on Sadira's part as she warred with the fear of admitting she was a mage and coming clean to Korrin. Her expression shifted from sheepish to cautious before she finally gave in and allowed herself to feel hopefully optimistic,

"I've wanted to be one for a long time now. Was even supposed to go for an assessment and possibly start training when things-" She paused, quickly searching for a diplomatic answer, "When things got out of hand."

Intigued, Sadira also sat down, tilting her head as she listened to Pel speaking. The elf's description of magic reminded her in many ways of her former mentor, Serah. She used to use plant analogies as well due to being a herbalist.

"I've never thought of it quite like that myself, but it does make sense. I guess it was a little bit of a silly question when you think about it. I've just never been able to ask one of your kind before."

His hair's pulled back, purple robes freshly cleaned, simple staff on his back and cat in his arms. There's reading to do, as there always is, though as usual there's someone new to him among the texts. Unusual is one of her choices. Anders smiles faintly and taps Hard in Hightown.

"Probably one of his best works, but if a red-headed guardswoman comes up here you'll want to hide it. I'm not sure she's ever forgiven him for... any of it." Actually, unusual is the variety of choices. Maybe she's a rifter? "I see you're after highly specific information."

Sadira paused in her reading and note taking to look first at the book he was tapping and then up to him. She had the vague expression of someone who was confused for just a moment until she pieced together what he'd said. It was easy to recognize him as a mage which helped to relax her from her initial surprise. The cat also earned a small smile and a touch of envy.

"The areas of deficit in my education require some research." She said as she gestured to her little collection. Her accent was definitely From the Free Marches. A keen ear might even be able to deduce further that her dialect was from Ostwick. As she spoke, there was a pinkening of her cheeks which suggested the book he'd pointed out, in particular at least, had absolutely nothing to do with any deficits, other than perhaps a lack of good reading material.

"Why would anyone be upset I was reading it?"

The hesitation and admittance confuses Korrin a bit, since she doesn't see why anyone would try to hide what they are, at least not in Skyhold where their safety is guaranteed. But then, she's never been a Circle mage, never been a part of the war that they fought with the Templars. There might be a lot of reasons to hold back that she just doesn't see.

She nods slowly, her expression growing sympathetic. "A chaotic time for everyone. At least there's the chance to make up for it now. We've at least two mages who can teach that discipline; I don't count myself, since I'm still working at it."

There's a thoughtful pause, and then she takes out the hilt. "Want to try it?"

It was something Sadira didn't like about herself, the second-guessing and fear of how people might react to her. Life had been both simpler and more complex in the Circle. There she least understood the rules. However, her attention was focused more on Korrin than her own thoughts as she brightened considerably.

"Can I? I'd love to." As she spoke, she shuffled with the practice sword, not sure what to do with it.

Korrin nods, offering it hilt-first. "Just activate it away from me, I'd rather not have my own blade sticking out of me anytime soon." She flashes a smile, showing that she doesn't seriously expect that to happen, but still. A little caution goes a long way.

Sadira glances down to the practice sword, unsure what to do with it for a moment before she hastily sets it aside, leaning it against the fence before stepping up to Korrin. Trying to keep herself composed, she suppresses a smile as she reaches out, taking the hilt and then stepping away. For just a moment, her entire focus is on the craftsmanship as she studied its design. She'd read about spirit blades, but had never seen or held one in person. It was certainly lighter than the practice sword and balanced completely differently due to it lacking a blade.

Without activating it, she gave it a simple practice swing, testing the weight of the hilt alone. Then with a held breath she channeled a small portion of her magic into it, activating the weapon.

"It's a lot lighter, isn't it? Even with the blade. It takes some getting used to, balance-wise. When I first had it forged, I kept overcompensating, expecting it to need as much effort as a physical blade." The design itself isn't Circle-standard, the hilt of a draconic nature. Korrin watches the other mage, in no hurry to claim in back.

"It's not hard making one, but getting the ingrediants can be a pain in the ass. You need wisp essences, and the best place to get those is at the Fallow Mire. Vivienne insisted I get them in person, too. But it was worth it."

She nodded, grinning as she again slashed the air. Unsurprisingly, her body tried to overcompensate for a weight that wasn't there, sending her staggering for a few steps until she corrected herself. Thankfully, she didn't lance herself in the process while she stumbled.

Sheepishly, she turned towards Korrin with a nod, "I can see what you mean." Again she gave it another smaller swing before withdrawing her connection to the weapon with a sigh. It took a lot of focus, and already she felt a kind of mental exhaustion from using her magic. Feeling surprisingly content, she handed the weapon back to Korrin, copying her by presenting it hilt first.

"The Fallow Mire? I've not heard of that place before."

Having done nearly the exact same thing, Korrin smiles in sympathy at the stumble. At least this prospective Knight-Enchanter will be prepared, should she craft her own blade. Korrin hadn't dared to ask to wield Vivienne's or Commander Helaine's, and now has no need to do so.

Taking the hilt back and tucking it back at her hip, she nods. "It's a nasty marsh south of Redcliffe, a place where the Veil has been torn to shit and as such there's a lot of undead roaming around. Disturb the water even a little, and they rise up. There used to actually be a village there -Maker knows why- but plague troubles happened and the Inquisition had to evacuate them. It's not somewhere I'd care to see again. The entire area just feels wrong."

If anything, it did indeed give Sadira a better idea of what she had to look forwards to-- provided of course she ever got the training. Her eyes tracked the blade as Korrin put it back upon her hip. A fleeting wistful look crossed her face before one of trepidation overtook it.

"The undead? Surely they're not still sending people there?" A shudder ran down her spine as she flinched away. Short of a year ago, Sadira had scarcely ventured outside of the Ostwick Circle, let alone gone traipsing into a hostile environ. Even her roaming the countryside after the mage rebellion began had been relatively tame; even with the Orlesian civil war adding to the dangers encountered. "Did you have to go alone?"

"One thing is certain: the elves of Arlathan could make magic do things you and I can't even imagine." There's the faintest of smiles on her lips.

"I wish they weren't but despite the risk, there are valuable materials to be found there. Plenty of blue vitriol and blood lotus, for example." Though by her tone, that's not nearly enough to make up for sending people there in the first place. Those poor bastards.

"And no, I didn't have to go alone. It was important to her that I caught the wisp essences myself, but that was the only requirement. I took several people with me, one of who was considering the Knight-Enchanter path too, but ultimately didn't follow it. If you do, I'd strongly recommend not taking anything that you don't want to smell of swamp forever. It doesn't come out."

There is a soft sigh as she closes her eyes for a moment. Being a Circle mage did tend to limit one's imagination in a lot of ways. Especially since hedge magic and other lesser known practices was so frowned upon.

"It's a shame that such magic was lost. Perhaps people might have a different view on it." And perhaps she would be less scared of her own abilities.

Again with a scrunchy face. She had precious little in the way of clothes or any possessions for that matter and only one pair of boots. "So far you're making a strong argument for me not to go. Perhaps there is another place I might be able to venture-- if ever get someone to decide I am worth training that is."

She looked Korrin over once more, making an effort to see the woman behind the cloak of magic and the grey skin. "How did you end up learning to become a Knight-Enchanter, if you don't mind my asking."

"There might be better places, that just happened to be the closest one. But really, anywhere the Veil is thin will likely attract wisps. Unfortunately, it also attracts a lot of unsavory shit." There's no escaping the fact that there will be combat one way or another, but if Sadira can find a non-marsh way to do it, Korrin can't disapprove.

She shakes her head, not minding the question at all. "I saw Vivienne going through her drills in the courtyard and it intrigued me, so I asked about it. I was never that thrilled about hanging back in battle, and this seemed like a way to sidestep the problems with that. We're both on the Mage Council, so I asked her instead of Commander Helaine, who I don't know. I think she saw it an interesting challenge, training someone who wasn't part of the Circle."

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