A Keeper is the clan's leader. They pass down all our lore and secrets, and they're always a mage. Their magic helps protect the clan, and their Keeper magic makes plants grow to help feed us.
[ Ellana elaborates for Jim. ]
Each clan has a Keeper and an apprentice who will become Keeper themselves someday. The Templars didn't like it, but rather than battle every Dalish clan, they just turned a blind eye. Any more mages in a clan and the Templars would want to drag them away to a Circle, so additional mages were traded to other clans. Usually. Others -- like me -- were hidden away.
Oh, we don't do that here, as a rule. We trade people at Arlathvhen sometimes, but Rivain has always done the bare minimum when it comes to the Chantry's laws, so the Templars have never come to count our mages.
[ Ellana's lips part in utter surprise, and she imagines if she'd grown up in this clan, she'd feel entirely different about her place in it. ]
You mean all your mages stay here and are valued? Are they all taught Keeper magic?
Of course! They help the Keeper in all things. And we have to be ready for the unexpected. What if there's a illness, or a wolf attack, and the Keeper and her apprentice both die? Who would lead us then?
[ It's so tempting to want to tell Tamael about the failings of her own Keeper, but she talks herself out of it. It's really not the time for it, so she keeps quiet. ]
[ To Araceli, he says: ] Then it sounds like your friends are all decent people! More than decent, really. Perhaps you can tell our Keeper about it? As for the aravels, they are pretty much the same. We love our halla too much to give them up for ships. But there have been times we've dwelt by the shore. The crafting of small fishing boats has passed down through the years. Maybe we'll head back towards the sea soon. In Rivain, it's never too far away.
[ But now they're in at the camp, and a statue of Fen'Harel greets them at the entrance. There are red-sailed aravels dotted around the camp, along with campfires and small shrines to their gods. Tamael leads them through, and elves stop what they're doing to stare. Several children dart forward to get a better look, with a woman chasing after them to grab their arms and stop them from bothering the newcomers. "Here on business," the group may hear her say to the children. Under a large tree is spread out several colorful blankets, and a woman with black hair streaked with gray sits cross-legged on one of them. Though the Dalish have their own style of clothing, the influence of Rivain is clearly there, as she wears a brightly colored shawl and many beaded necklaces. ]
Keeper Shinasha, this group is visiting this land and wished to see our clan. This is Ellana, our sister from the Marches. And Jim, Korrin, Araceli, and Anders. [ Honestly, he looks proud of himself for remembering all these names. The Keeper looks mildly surprised by the group of humans and the Qunari (sorry, Korrin) that their fellow Dalish has brought with her, but she spreads out her hands to them all nonetheless. ]
If you come to our clan in peace, then please have a seat.
[ Hope no one minds sitting on these blankets, because they don't do chairs here. ]
omg i wrote so much
[ Ellana elaborates for Jim. ]
Each clan has a Keeper and an apprentice who will become Keeper themselves someday. The Templars didn't like it, but rather than battle every Dalish clan, they just turned a blind eye. Any more mages in a clan and the Templars would want to drag them away to a Circle, so additional mages were traded to other clans. Usually. Others -- like me -- were hidden away.
Oh, we don't do that here, as a rule. We trade people at Arlathvhen sometimes, but Rivain has always done the bare minimum when it comes to the Chantry's laws, so the Templars have never come to count our mages.
[ Ellana's lips part in utter surprise, and she imagines if she'd grown up in this clan, she'd feel entirely different about her place in it. ]
You mean all your mages stay here and are valued? Are they all taught Keeper magic?
Of course! They help the Keeper in all things. And we have to be ready for the unexpected. What if there's a illness, or a wolf attack, and the Keeper and her apprentice both die? Who would lead us then?
[ It's so tempting to want to tell Tamael about the failings of her own Keeper, but she talks herself out of it. It's really not the time for it, so she keeps quiet. ]
[ To Araceli, he says: ] Then it sounds like your friends are all decent people! More than decent, really. Perhaps you can tell our Keeper about it? As for the aravels, they are pretty much the same. We love our halla too much to give them up for ships. But there have been times we've dwelt by the shore. The crafting of small fishing boats has passed down through the years. Maybe we'll head back towards the sea soon. In Rivain, it's never too far away.
[ But now they're in at the camp, and a statue of Fen'Harel greets them at the entrance. There are red-sailed aravels dotted around the camp, along with campfires and small shrines to their gods. Tamael leads them through, and elves stop what they're doing to stare. Several children dart forward to get a better look, with a woman chasing after them to grab their arms and stop them from bothering the newcomers. "Here on business," the group may hear her say to the children. Under a large tree is spread out several colorful blankets, and a woman with black hair streaked with gray sits cross-legged on one of them. Though the Dalish have their own style of clothing, the influence of Rivain is clearly there, as she wears a brightly colored shawl and many beaded necklaces. ]
Keeper Shinasha, this group is visiting this land and wished to see our clan. This is Ellana, our sister from the Marches. And Jim, Korrin, Araceli, and Anders. [ Honestly, he looks proud of himself for remembering all these names. The Keeper looks mildly surprised by the group of humans and the Qunari (sorry, Korrin) that their fellow Dalish has brought with her, but she spreads out her hands to them all nonetheless. ]
If you come to our clan in peace, then please have a seat.
[ Hope no one minds sitting on these blankets, because they don't do chairs here. ]