faderift | [Open]

WHO: Vasran and OPEN
WHAT: Celebrating being declared a Real Mage, training with her very own staff
WHEN: Late August
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: N/A

In the end, the pseudo-Harrowing endorsed by the Mage Council had turned out to be just like dreaming. Vasran had been prepared for what she was about to face, as well as one could be prepared. To walk in the Fade was to know that nothing could be trusted except one's own mind. And it was the mind that was truly important, because demons could trick the eyes, could distract the senses, could so easily toy with emotions. Logic and will, two things which were so simple and yet so difficult to wield effectively, were the only things that could be counted on.

It was a Desire demon that had tried to take her, offering her comfort and wealth and position enough to take whatever she wanted from a world where everything had once been lost to her. Of all things, it was Vasran's pride that allowed her to refuse the demon's offer.

She would take what she got back from the world on her own terms, and no one else's.

The day after she woke again, she celebrated in the Tavern, a place where she had rarely been seen before, dancing and tossing back as many cups of wine as she could afford — or convince others to pay for. As the evening went on, she got bolder, approaching a few people head-on with her empty cup and shoving it toward them.

"Buy a drink for a demon-slayer!"

In the days after — once the subsequent hangover had subsided — she could be found on the Training Grounds, drilling battle techniques with her staff, sending bursts of electrical energy toward the targets.

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The exclamation makes Vasran wonder if she has, perhaps, a very large stain on her robes — until she does a double-take and realizes exactly who's eyes she's looking into.

"Ness?!"

Once upon a time, Vasran had viewed Inessa as some blend between a friend and a rival. They were the same age, both elves that had been taken from their parents into the Circle, both eager students. Vasran could remember swallowing her resentment at the fact that Inessa had been chosen for the Harrowing first, that there was now a gap of knowledge and experience between them that couldn't be breached.

Not so anymore — and besides, she had thought all the others from Kinloch Hold were long dead. She moves immediately from the dance floor, staring at Inessa the whole way over.

"Maker," she breathes. "You're alive!" She's uncertain of what else to say, until she looks down and notices the mabari.

"...and you have a dog!"

It's been a long time since Inessa's heard that nickname, and despite any past rivalry, it makes her smile. She hadn't expected to see Vasran again any more than Vasran had evidently expected to see her. Kinloch Hold isn't something she's had in common with many mages in the Inquisition, despite its relatively close proximity. This surprise is definitely a welcome one, though, and she gesture to the seat in front of her.

"If your feet are in need of a break, please join us. This is Garahel. He imprinted on me soon after my Joining." Upon being introduced, the mabari perks up and wuffs quietly, tail wagging. He loves meeting new people. "What's this about demon-slaying?"

"Joining," Vasran echoes with a shake of her head. One more reminder of what the rebellion had forced all of them into. But she's in no mood to get bogged down this evening. She's celebrating.

"A tragic injustice has been put to rest," she says, smirking as she leans against the table rather than sit all the way down, for the moment. "You remember how I was very nearly put through my Harrowing before everything started falling apart? As of today, no one can make the claim that I'm a permanent apprentice."

That definitely gets her attention, and Inessa raises her eyebrows. "Harrowings are performed here? I didn't realize." Don't worry, she's not going to get political about it. In the Circle, Inessa was nominally an Aequitarian, but she cared more about her books and research than anything else. And Harrowings served a purpose. "Congratulations, Vasran. Knowing that your will is stronger than any demon is a feeling not soon forgotten. Let me buy you a drink, and tell me all about it."

Now that Vasran is a properly Harrowed mage, there's no reason to hold back from exchanging insights about it. She couldn't before, it wasn't permitted, but now? Well, now they're both Harrowed, and on even footing.

Inessa gets an eyebrow-raise right back in response. Vasran understands that they're being done differently than in the Circles, but why wouldn't some form of Harrowings be performed here? There has to be a way for mages to prove themselves.

"It turned out to be a Desire demon." She crosse her arms on the table, leaning forward with interest. Now that they're no longer in the Circle, and especially now that they've both been through the experience, she can ask all the questions she likes. "I don't suppose they prepared you for it much, in the Circle? What was going to happen once you were in the Fade, I mean."

Briefly petting Garahel, who leans up for more, Inessa straightens and shakes her head. "No, they didn't prepare me at all, not directly. All I knew for certain was that it would be a test of will. Those who had passed their Harrowings weren't permitted to share more than that."

Which was...unsettling, to say the least. Inessa passed, but even so, she can't help but wonder how much better it might have gone if that had been different. So she listens to Vasran with curiosity. "You were given more disclosure, then? How did that factor into your experience? How did you best the desire demon?"

"Well, they told me what they could." She reaches a hand down toward Garahel, to let him sniff or lick or whatever he's going to do, and to scratch behind his ears. "There's only so much. They can't tell what sort of demon it's going to be, or just what sort of tricks it's going to try. But it helped me to stay vigilant. I knew I couldn't trust anything, once I was in there."

Her brow wrinkles as she recalls the experience. "As for how I bested it... It was odd. I let it talk much longer than I should have." It had been this almost physical pull, an impulse to stop and listen, to consider the demon's words. "Eventually, I got angry, because I knew I shouldn't have been listening. And then I simply got tired of hearing it talk."

Well, with that hand offered, Garahel is not going to refuse. He sniffs at the hand briefly before nuzzling it, rumbling happily as that area behind his ears receives proper attention. Inessa nods solemnly as she listens. "Not trusting anything there is always wise. It's easy to say, but harder to hold onto once actually there. I know; mine was a pride demon, masquerading as something insignificant, trying to goad my own pride into being my downfall. I...don't like to think about how long it took me to recognize it for what it was."

She winces a little at that, but her smile returns. "You handled yourself well. Whatever happened before, in the end you came through. That is what counts, Vasran."

And Vasran returns the smile, basking in the thrill for another moment. She raises her glass.

"To making it out alive." From the Circle, from the rebellion, from the Fade. There are so few of them left now.

"I can drink to that...and spot you a refill, as well." Since they're seated relatively close to the bar and it's not too crowded for them to be overlooked, she'll do just that. A spiced wine for herself and more of what Vasran's having, or a different drink if she'd prefer.

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