faderift | seeking knowledge [open]

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seeking knowledge [open]

WHO: Sansa Stark
WHAT: Settling in
WHEN: 11 Harvestmere - the end of the month
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Feel free to find her around in another place that her log text doesn't mention, just let me know. Some implied mention of abuse/sexual assault in the Tyrion-Sansa thread but nothing explicit.

Sansa has settled into this place, so much as one can settle into a place where she's dropped from the sky. It's not a terrible one, really, and once she'd been brought to the keep called Skyhold, she'd felt a little better about things. She spends quite a lot of time in the keep. There's great libraries full of books and papers and letters and all of them have information about the place she's landed herself in; Sansa spends most of her days educating herself on the place she's wound up and reads for hours and hours until her eyes are tired and the candles have burned low.

The nights are a bit different. She has stuck close to Lord Tyrion since he's the only person she knows from Westeros, and they have found lodging close to one another. It makes her feel a bit safer, all told, and she just wants to keep close to him for the time being. If he minds it, he hasn't said anything to her, and she's happy to go on as they have.

Currently, she's curled up in a chair in one corner of the keep, one of the journals in her hands. She's trying to learn all about the politics of this place but the names and places keep running together and she doesn't know if she'll ever keep them straight. She wants, desperately, to learn them so she feels like she has a purpose but she knows it won't happen in just a few weeks or even a few moons.

"You have to be patient, Sansa," she mutters, diving back into her work.

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Sansa was not the only one who was learning how to get along in this new world. Tyrion had been doing what he did best - and that was basically talk and drink. He wandered in and out of the tents, the building, talking to just about anyone who would stand still long enough for him to get a word in edgewise. He was at campfires at night with the soldiers, sipping off their very horrible wine, and the next day sipping brandy with some strange older woman who never took her mask off.

He gathered information, he gathered coin, but in the end ... it all went back to one place.

To wherever Sansa was. Today was no different, as he came across her curled up in the corner of the keep, and his mouth twitched up, "That particular history is a little dry, but I give you credit for attempting it."

"Yes, my lord, I have discovered that," Sansa says. She manages a tiny bit of a smile for him because yes, of course he'd have read it, and she's always just fascinated with how much he reads on a regular basis.

"I'm just trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can. It's proving to be difficult."

Christine has duties to keep her busy and she ends up passing Sansa several times as she hurries back and forth with them. Around the fourth time, she stops beside the young woman holding two glasses of cider.

"You have been here a long time. Would you care for a drink?"

The woman has a kind smile and Sansa cannot help but return it when she offers her cider. She has been sitting for a while without a break and she thinks she ought to try and talk with some of the people here instead of studying dusty books; letters can only spell out so much.

"Yes, absolutely, thank you. I lose track of time sometimes when I'm reading and I end up ignoring that I ought to eat or drink."

"I thought that might be the case," she replies, giving her the glass and sitting close by. "When I was younger, I tended to lose myself in my studies and would only realize I had not eaten when I got up and found myself lightheaded. I did not wish the same to happen to you."

Of course, she still does study new disciplines and she still needs to remind herself not to repeat the mistakes of her youth. She doesn't want to faint in front of anyone

There's a regular visitor of Skyhold and especially its library, a pale elven woman in Grey Warden attire. Almost always, she arrives with her mabari at her side, who usually wastes no time in plopping down and napping after games of fetch and roughhousing with other dogs just beforehand. While he snoozes, she reads. It's a mutually beneficial deal.

While Inessa's putting back some of the books, preparing to leave for the evening, Garahel awakens, stretches and walks around. He knows better than to bark or jump indoors, but Inessa never said he couldn't make friends. So, he pads over to the new person, tail wagging and looking up at her hopefully. She seems nice, maybe she'll pet him?

Edited 2016-10-20 03:52 (UTC)

"This place is new to me," Sansa explains," lifting her hand and showing where the green mark remains. She doesn't understand it, at all, but she knows it is a mark that shows she came through what is referred to as a rift.

"I want to learn as much as I can about it so I'm able to feel like I belong here, as much as a person can when they aren't from here. Does that make sense?"

Sansa has always liked dogs and even Ramsay's cruel hounds couldn't cure her of that. When the mabari approaches her, she smiles a bit and reaches out to pet him with an outstretched hand.

"I haven't any treats for you," she says ruefully. "Only pets. Will that suffice?"

"It usually does. Garahel knows to behave himself." Inessa smiles as she observes Garahel agreeing, letting out a soft huff and nuzzling against that hand. "He may be a trained war hound, but outside combat? He is an affection-sponge and enthusiastic playmate."

"Oh, yes," she replies. "I have often wondered how I would react if our places were reversed and I was sent to another world. I would do the same." She pauses to sip at her cider before adding, "What is it that you are reading right now?"

Sansa won't remain alone in the library for very long. A woman in a sweeping red dress and fur-lined cloak stops not far from her, observing her frustrated attempts at study. The smell of baked goods wafts from her direction.

"Well hello there."

New faces are common, but that doesn't mean one shouldn't introduce themselves when they can. Mia happened to be passing by with a basket of food under one arm. It's always something of that nature, food, herbs, healing supplies, whatever needs ferrying from one side of the keep to the other.

But she goes at her own pace, keeping in mind the faces of their fight as much as the bigger picture. They are, after all, the reason they fight.

"It appears to be a monthly accounting of the goings on the Inquisition," Sansa says, looking at the title of the bound volume she's currently reading. "The Inquisition is the group that holds this fortress, is it not?"

Sansa is still learning the names of all the major players and she hopes she's gotten this one correct.

Sansa rubs the hound a bit behind the ears and laughs softly, amused at how not so fierce the animal seems at the moment.

"Well, I am grateful for his attentions. I've always been rather fond of dogs, all told, so I am very glad to make the acquaintance of Garahel. I am Sansa Stark. I came here from one of those rifts? Are you familiar?"

When the woman greets her, Sansa lifts her head and is struck by the scent of baked goods. She is quite hungry after having been in the library all day but she doesn't think she ought to beg for food when she's only just met someone. Instead, she smiles a bit and says hello in return.

"Hello. Am I in your way or anything, my lady?"

Yesss, right there and please never stop, Sansa. Garahel closes his eyes and lets out a truly contented sigh, ignoring his mistress in favor of this new best friend. Inessa nods, perking up a little at mention of rifts. It's always interesting to meet rifters and learn of their homelands. "I am Inessa Serra, of the Grey Wardens. I have seen these rifts and battled what demons have emerged, though I have no skill in closing them." Her small hands are bare, devoid of any shards. "I hope you're being treated well in Skyhold?"

"I am, yes. Everyone has been very kind," Sansa says, giving the woman a little smile. She is what she has learned is an elf, based upon her ears, and Sansa wants to know more about their culture. She simply does not know how to go about asking without being rude.

"My country has been at war for a long time so it is nice to be in a place where...where I feel safe. It feels very safe here in Skyhold."

"That one's actually not bad," Cosima says, because she can't help herself. "Have you read any of Lady Vauquelin's? They're limited in scope, but also pretty up-to-date, which is more than you can say for some of the stuff in the library."

...belatedly, with a sheepish smile. "Uh. Sorry to interrupt. Just... I had that same look for like, my first three months."

"It is. An organization that crosses nations, hoping to stop this war and the chaos it is creating." Not everyone is happy with the Inquisition butting into things, but it was sanctioned by the Divine herself and there was no higher authority than her.

Sansa lifts her head and gives the woman a smile. She actually hasn't read the aforementioned journal so, really, it's good information. She grins a little.

"I'm just trying to learn as much as I can. I want to be knowledgeable about this place so that I know what I can offer it and know what it can offer me in exchange, if that makes sense?"

"So, what is this war, then? I am not certain I understand why these factions are fighting one another," Sansa says. She thinks the best way to learn about which factions are involved is to talk to someone who is from here, someone that it truly matters for.

"Why is it that the Inquisition receives so much resistance?"

Inessa relaxes a little at that, and Garahel pants happily, taking as much credit as he can for being a furry welcoming committee. "I hope it remains so, truly. My homeland, Ferelden, was at war a decade ago, and Orlais is embroiled in a civil war now, so conflict isn't a foreign concept in Thedas. But Skyhold is rather isolated, on the border. Few wish to reach the middle of the Frostbacks without a very good reason."

Sansa continues to pet Garahel as she listens, stroking the mabari's silky ears and enjoying the attention he's giving her. The politics are something she's slowly getting a grasp of as she reads through the books and maps and she wants to put names with places.

"I can imagine it would be hard to assail this place. In my homeland, it is difficult to attack the north from the south because there is a very narrow place called the Neck that is held by a strong defense," Sansa explains. "It is similar with Skyhold, in some regards."

She smiles a bit. "So what is Ferelden like, then?"

"No, yeah, it makes perfect sense. I'm still trying to do the same thing. If I ever figure it out, I'll make a welcome packet." She shifts the basket of... what seem to be baked goods to one hand, so she can offer it for whatever sort of greeting the young woman is comfortable with. Even if not everyone shakes, most people recognize a clasp as a friendly gesture, Cosima's found.

"I'm Cosima, not-quite-as-new arrival. I came through one of the rifts a few months back."

"Ah, I am afraid that has a complicated answer." Christine offers an apologetic smile. "But I will answer as best I can. You see, there was first a war between Templars and mages. I will go into more detail on that if you wish, but the important thing is a Conclave was held in the hopes of both sides agreeing to peace. Representatives from both sides attended at a place called the Temple of Sacred Ashes. The Conclave was called by the Divine. She is the head of the Chantry." Christine isn't certain how far into her Thedosian reading Sansa has gotten to know if she's acquainted herself with the Chantry yet.

"There was a huge explosion at the Temple. Everyone in attendance was killed except the Herald, though she was later killed. The explosion caused a Breach in the sky, as well as smaller rifts throughout southern Thedas, like the one you fell through. The Divine had left permission for her subordinates to form the Inquisition should the Conclave fail. It was formed to find out who had caused the explosion. It was discovered that this... person, I suppose, is named Corypheus. He thinks to conquer the world, restore his homeland to its former glory, and install himself as a new god. The Inquisition works to destroy his allies and him."

Corners are nice and quiet and private, exactly what Kain tends to prefer, himself. He's got a book on dragons in hand as he's headed to find a good spot to settle down with it. It's an old familiar one to him, but he's in the mood for something he knows well. But he's surprised when he notices someone else in the spot already.

"Forgive me... I didn't realize anyone was here. I hope I'm not interrupting...?"

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