faderift | Open -- Every rose has it's thorn

WHO: Marilaine and OTA
WHAT: Catchall
WHEN: Throughout August
WHERE: Skyold/ Sending Crystal
NOTES: Nothing expected? Will update if it become relevant.

I.The garden
Marilaine looked around the enclosed space of the garden, surveying the well-tended courtyard with an air of satisfaction. The people tending to it had done good work here, and the plants looked healthy, even well loved. She was here to make sure that this continued. Standing with her hands on her hips, a rare smile appeared on her scarred face. Unfortunately, Marilaine was unaware that she was blocking one of the entrances into the covered walkway that surrounded the garden. There are options to go around her of course: going the long way around to the next opening, scaling the low wall (it's only hip high at most). . . Or you could ask her to move.

II.Hot springs
Hot water was a luxury to someone who spent countless days out in the wilderness. Having enough hot water to be submerged in was a luxury that Marilaine attributed only to the wealthy who could afford wood to spare for such, or had the servants to cart hot water to a bath. It was with a sense of glee and reckless abandon that she stripped down, divesting herself of her travel-worn clothes. Kicking them off to one side, she all but pranced in place before testing the waters with a toe.

“Magnifique!”

III.Healing Tents
Marilaine wasn't a healer. Or more to the point, she wasn't one of the Spirit Healers or surgeons that frequented the tents. What little creation magic she did possess was her personal secret used on no one but herself. Marilaine however, was a skilled gardener and passably good at basic alchemy. She had with her a selection of healing plants, tinctures, medicament and poultices and was going from tent to tent offering them up to the healers within and occasionally a patient if it is something she actually can diagnose and has on hand (mostly things for fevers or low to moderate pain).

IV.Around Skyhold
Marilaine isn't just restricted to Skyhold proper. More than once she can be found trekking out over the surrounding areas looking for local herbs. Sometimes she comes back with nothing but a few dirt smears across her brow. Other times, she brings back small cuttings of wildflowers or elfroot. And once she was carrying a flower that looked suspiciously like Crystal Grace. Where does she go? Well, that is something she does her best to keep her little secret.

V.Sending crystal
[The voice that speaks has a decidedly Orlesian sound to it. To rifters familiar with earth, it sounds like someone speaking with a French accent.]

Inquisition, I am certain this request has been made before, but I wish to ask it again. If in your travels you come across any useful plants or seeds that you send them back to Skyhold. I assure you, I will make good use of them. I wish to ensure Skyhold's garden remains healthy and our supplies well stocked. I will take any and all herbs listed in The Botanical Compendium. If you are unfamiliar with the plants but still wish to help, you may stop by the garden, and I will show you anything you need to know. Just ask for Marilaine.

VI.Wildcard
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Inessa accepts the topic calmly, knowing that whoever unelfy she might seem to other elves, humans will always see the pointed ears first.]

I don't plan to shed my Warden armor, but I'll add what I can. A cloak with one of the insignias on it ought to do the trick, at least. And as much as I don't care for the notion, I'll keep as much company as I can.

...it's no less tense elsewhere in the city, though. The local elves fear what will happen next, and don't know whether to place any hope or trust in the Inquisition. I'm not certain how to best help them, if I can.

[Marilaine approved of that idea. Her tone was immediately warmer despite the topic.] That is a wise precaution and it should do well to protect you.

[Her tone again shifted after a small pause.]

I cannot speak for the locals... They are as much a mystery to me as Par Vollen is to most Orlesians. The logical choice would be to side with the inquisition, but there is no telling how long such an organization will have power.

Edited 2016-08-14 15:32 (UTC)

Very true. I suspect the Inquisition will have to make a difference in this civil war before they truly warm up, as it is. Right now, promises don't matter when the empress and her cousin are causing an incalculable amount of deaths with their feud.

[Marilaine makes a disgusted noise ~~that would make Cassandra proud~~]

This war. It is a travesty. So many have paid for it. My home has become a den for deserters and refugees looking to flee the battlefields.

Edited 2016-08-15 03:16 (UTC)

I'm sorry. I suspect mine has become much the same.

[She sighs, caught between wanting to know the state of her former home and fearful of what she might find.]

Of which home do you speak? You have had several.

[She doesn't mean it to be mean, but she is curious as to which Inessa would call home. The circle she came from or the wardens who took her in.]

[The Wardens took her in, yes, but after the mess at Weisshaupt, she could hardly call that fortress home.]

True. I mean Kinloch Hold, where I spent most of my life. The leaving was sudden, and since then I've never had the chance to look back. I'm not certain I should.

I figured you meant the Circle ma chere. I just wanted to be certain. With everything going on, it would not surprise me at all to know that some of the towers are now home to brigands. Perhaps the inquisition should send people there to see about reacquiring them or at least some of the things still within. I cannot imagine they are all picked clean of valuables.

[Quietly Marilaine was surprised at how much she'd just spoken. She owed the circles no special interest, but she understood the importance of one's home.]

[Refugees were one thing, but the thought of her Circle tower being overtaken by brigands...no, just no. That thought turns her stomach.]

You're right, the Inquisition has the resources to manage such things. I'll ask...and tell them to make special precautions. The Veil was thin there, especially after...after the time of the Blight. Maker knows what the Breach did to it.

If you go, I will go too. I might go too. I would like to see one of these circle towers for myself. When Solemn spoke of it, it was always with a sense of dread.

There were things to dread, at the time of Uldred's rebellion...but for the most part, it was my home. I wasn't a 'knife-ear' or 'rabbit' there, I was simply a fellow mage. I was given an education, square meals, clothing without holes in it. My mentors were kind and taught me not to fear myself, but to master my skills. I'm aware now that perhaps I only saw the very best of what the Circle had to offer, but it's still a perspective I have to share.

No, it was a place that succored you. For some, that was good enough I think. For others who had a better life before the circle, then I believe that it might be a detriment.

[Marilaine goes quiet for a moment as she mulls something over.]

The mage who taught me basic alchemy made me afraid of circles He did not hate them that he made it clear freedom was not something many had.

Without the Circle, I have no doubt that I would have died. If not earlier, then definitely during the Blight. Life outside was no boon, not for me...but you're not wrong, others had a better life and to be completely cut off from that must be a harsh fate.

In an ideal world, there would be a balance between learning and freedom. Mages need to learn to use their gifts responsibly, and it's a waste to keep them from contributing to the world. I hope it can be found; the Circle is in dire need of reform, but I would hate to see it vanish entirely.

A place where mages should not be afraid of what they are is certainly needed. And I agree people should have a place to grow into who and what they are without feeling they are bound by it.

[She didn't just mean mages, though, but she wasn't trying to get too political with Inessa.]

I have heard the inquisition is doing things towards this goal. As of right now, you might almost say that this is a place for mages to come together. I wish you luck on making such a haven.

If it comes to pass, others will deserve the credit far more than I. As a Warden, my focus has to be on darkspawn, not politics.

...supposedly. [If only Cousland and Dryden and the whole of the Anderfels Wardens didn't insist on contradicting that.]

Forgive me I thought you were a mage too.

Well, yes, but--politics aren't my strength. Even in the tower, I only part of a fraternity by name and that was more due to increasing tension. It seemed safer to belong to a group than be without.

I am afraid I know not of mage politics. They seem tame compared to those played by Orlesians. Even servants can become embroiled in the grand game.

Considering they lead to rebellion and war, I'm not sure 'tame' is the right word...but it's true that overall, it's not as all-consuming as the Game.

Why would servants participate? Doesn't the Game only benefit nobles?

Open -- Every rose has it's thorn

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