faderift | [ OPEN ] The sky is on fire, at least that is the word out in the world

Entry tags:

[ OPEN ] The sky is on fire, at least that is the word out in the world

WHO: Adelaide LeBlanc and Various
WHAT: Adelaide returns to Skyhold
WHEN: mid Firstfall
WHERE: Courtyard, Library, Tavern, Garden, Battlements of Skyhold
NOTES: N/A, will update as needed

[ Courtyard A ]

The walk had been a long one. A long, boring, exhausting one- but one she'd made out to the mire and one she made back. Catching the odd ride from a cart on the way up the mountain had made stretches of it easier but her only concern now were a few requests and concerns as given to her by her students through the sending crystals. First thing was first: eat. Change. Rest. Then she could tend to the list of errands that brought her here.

Cloak dusted with snow and weight listing heavily against her staff with each step, she made a weary sight as she strode with unwavering focus to the Hold's doors. Students first, the rest would come later.

[ Gardens ]

Her concerns here were twofold- looking over the elfroot for improper trimming (recreational smoking, Andraste's ass, what were they thinking) and proper growth. Sleeves rolled up, hair bound back she knelt and checked every plant by hand to be absolutely certain, from root to shoot to leaf before moving on to the next. For elfroot, embrium, any plant with medicinal properties in the garden- and then a few that were not. The repetition and examination was soothing for her, a shred of familiarity that reminded her much of the time she'd done the same in the Spire's small garden.

Afterward- well. She began examining trees. For- meddling. Before seeking out a particular dalish mage. While it wasn't the only reason she returned, it had been a large part for her taking the walk back.

[ Library ]

Nothing on the plague as far as Bruce could tell while he was here- she hadn't passed him on the road but he'd indicated that he would be coming down to the mire to help when they last spoke. She did not doubt him his research- but the questioned and rather vexed swearing of the latest round of rifters had her seeking anything on the veil, the fade, and Tevinter magics. She could simply ask Dorian, she supposed, but his was more modern, less ancient. Mug of tea steaming at her elbow she picked through stack after stack of either horribly vague or horribly specific and useless information. Now and then she made a note or sat back, glaring at whatever she read, and muttered under her breath- "Bullshit."

[ Tavern ]

Evening found her at the tavern, eating with her students (glad for her return) and enjoying a solitary glass of wine. No books, no arguments over the state of the garden or the improper use of magic- just a meal. She might even be smiling ever so slightly while she listened to how they spent their days or the progress they've made in their studies in her absence. Now and then she wove her way to the bar proper to order another glass of wine for her other students or a mug of tea for herself, trying her best not to bump into anyone on the way there or back.

[ Battlements ]

Exhausted as the Mire had made her, long as her days have been, Adeliade did not find sleep easily. Between stress and frustration at not finding a cure or cause for the plague just yet or any manner of explanation for the rifters weighed on her more than it ought to. She never pretended to have the answers, never tried to know the whole of a problem. She was a healer and as much as it was in her nature to fix things- she wasn't certain if it was her own mind or Compassion that kept her from rest. Not wanting to bother her students (Roul minded the door in her absence) or anyone else for that matter, most nights found her on the battlements, bundled against the cold as she paced. Perhaps it would wear her out enough to sleep.

[ Courtyard B ]

Later in the day Adelaide can be seen coming up from a part of the hold, carting dust bins and cobweb covered brooms- more than a little dusty herself, and dumping the lot out, beating the broom against the stone side of the building, and taking a moment or two to enjoy the light and the fresh air before she wandered back down. Rinse and repeat, several times, until whatever room she was clearing out below was cleaned to her satisfaction. Needless to say it would take some time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"One can be taught control by their mentor every day of their lives- but when one is casting on their own is the greatest test. I would think the same of any Circle mentor and their student. I do not doubt that she taught you control, nor do I think your magics undisciplined. The precision required to bend a tree and not break it? To weave your spells in such a way that they flow with the fabric of the world? No one undisciplined could do that." Wild, to be certain, but there is a precision to Dalish Magic that she has seen that she must respect.

"No. But, again, simply because this is how I feel magic ought to be used and how mages ought to behave does not mean that it is necessarily the right way, nor the best way. It is simply the way I felt worked best for me and should have a voice in the Council. Despite my better judgement."

It's easy to listen to Adelaide's voice and hear the voice of a teacher there. It isn't what Ellana set out to do when she first started asking questions, but it's what has resulted. She feels she's going to learn a lot by being a part of this council. Hopefully she has some ideas to contribute too.

"What do you mean, 'despite your better judgment?'"

She leads Ellana the rest of the way down, peering at the dusty corners that yet remain in the vault. The question- well. She should have expected that. "I did not wish to speak out at the meeting, nevermind be a part of the Council."

Taking a good look around, Ellana sets down the pail where it will be needed and picks up a rag.

"What changed your mind?"

"A singularly frustrating Tevinter mage." Dorian. Dorian changed her mind, the ass.

Her head tilts, a little surprised. But only because she only knows one Tevinter mage.

"Surely not Felix? He doesn't seem like he could frustrate anyone." He's so sweet and complimentary.

"Dorian." She says with all the ire she normally reserves for Templars. "Is terribly frustrating."

"Oh," she says, trying to think back and recall if she's met a man named Dorian. She doesn't think so. "From what you say, perhaps I should feel fortunate I haven't met him yet?" She turns and gets to cleaning one of the corners with her rag. The two Tevinters she knows -- Krem and Felix -- don't share their countrymen's views on elves, so she wonders what this Dorian person thinks of her people.

"So did you join to speak against his views, or because he dared you to?"

"I joined because he was insufferably reasonable in making the point that I ought to step forward." No matter how much she might wish, ignoring logic wasn't something she could manage provided it was sound and not entirely offensive.

Facing away from Adelaide, Ellana has to smile to herself. It sounds like this Dorian is rather clever at debate. She'll have to remember that if she ever has to match wits with him. Perhaps the best course for her would be to not engage at all.

"He's not wrong. I think you're an excellent addition to the council. You're very level-headed and have a lot to offer." She lifts up on her tiptoes, sweeping her rag back and forth across some cobwebs before she lets out a sneeze. "Excuse me."

It seems a certain flower in the garden isn't the only thing that makes her sneeze. Her nose is so sensitive and now she has dust up there.

"I would like to know more about you, if you're willing. I enjoy learning where people are from, and about their lives."

"I am biased and know very well how wrong this can all go if we are not careful." That, more than anything else she suspects, is a large part of why he nudged her along. And if she'd only minded her own business the night of the wake? This wouldn't be her problem.

Well.

It wouldn't be so much her problem.

Working away in the opposite corner, dusting as much of the cobwebs away as she can manage, Adelaide shrugs. "What is there to know? I was born in Val Royeaux until my magic manifested and I was sent to The White Spire. I studied and lived there until the circles dissolved."

In response to Adelaide's simple answer, Ellana exclaims, "Everything! You must have interests, like music, food, literature. I lived isolated from everybody except a small clan of people my entire life and even I have interests. I just want to know so much about everyone else. The world is such a big place and each person is unique."

What?

That- that is more forthright than she is accustomed to hearing- honestly there is not much more to tell but if she must? Adelaide pauses in her sweeping to turn and peer over her shoulder. That anyone is this intensely curious- it almost feels as though she is obligated to answer.

"Well...I'm fond of most Orlesian string quartet music, prefer food that is spiced to Fereldan gruel, and most literature that I end up reading is for research and therefor academic. But when I do choose to read something else I prefer short stories that are utterly mindless. The more ridiculous the better. Something I do not have to think about while I read." That is- the bulk of what she asked, yes? "I have...six older sisters? And a younger brother I have never met."

Really, can one blame Ellana for coming on strong with her background? She's practically bursting at the seams to hear anything new. Every person is interesting, simply because they've lived a different life than she has, and she wants to hear all about it.

"Six older sisters? Creators, that must have been a noisy house! I have no siblings." Though she often wishes she did. In a way, she thinks of Gavin as a troublesome older brother, because they both have hearts that were made to roam, but he tends to frustrate her with his behavior at times. Much like a brother would, she imagines.

"I've never heard music like what you describe. What they play in the tavern is more what I am used to. I'm learning to play the lute; maybe one day I'll buy one of my own. I'm just practicing on a friend's right now. Or I will, when he's back from the Mire again."

"Quite the opposite. LeBlancs are to be well mannered at all times- how it was they assumed such manners could be taught from such a young age is either a sign of a system that worked well or lunacy." Though when they began to pick at one another or someone else for stepping out of line- it could get quite loud. Her memories were fuzzy, it's been years. "They would right, now and then. Most are married and have children now, but beyond that? I do not know much."

Aside from that each received a thick dossier upon coming of age to pick out a husband. Something that, for all that has come of it, the Spire spared her.

"The lute is easier to travel with than a string quartet, that much is certain. Folk music is...pleasant enough, I suppose. I have no strong feelings on it one way or the other."

"Oh? That's very different to us." In the clan, children were always noisy. They had extra energy they needed to release. "I don't know anything about my extended family either. I know I have an uncle who is a mage like me, but he was sent to another clan long before I was born. I might have cousins now."

Ellana wouldn't have liked a dossier. She adores romance and the idea of finding your soul mate all on your own.

"Then at least the tavern music doesn't annoy you. It can get very loud."

"Noble houses tend to like to keep things in order." Whether that worked or not wasn't something she could comment on all that much, as she hadn't been present for most of it. "I suppose the Clans travel so much that you can't quite send letters to one another."

"More the people than the music, honestly. But so log as they aren't hostile and rowdy, I do not mind it."

"They do, but the keepers manage to meet during Arlathvhen every ten years. I suppose it's more the fact that when you go to another clan, you're one of them now. The clan name is your last name, and you start over with them. That's why he didn't keep in contact." Had she been given to another clan as was tradition, Ellana would be a First right now, instead of the leftover mage with no idea where she fit.

"The tavern's good fun. I like getting to meet so many different people and hear their stories."

"Is there a reason for that? One cannot leave one clan and visit another and then return to their own?" That was- terribly curious. Leaving the Manor to live in the Spire certainly lessened how much of a LeBlanc she was by dint of taking her out of the game- but she was still a LeBlanc. That much could not change for all the distance in Thedas.

"They can, but it's dangerous out there for elves traveling alone. That's why hunters go in groups, and many go together for Arlathvhen. Gavin would always take off on his own and the Keeper would call him a fool for it. I always wanted to travel, but... well, Templars, you know." Ellana gives Adelaide a knowing look over her shoulder.

"No, I suppose it's not likely I'll ever know if I have any family yet living." Her tone is a little sad. Most of Clan Ashara here in Skyhold have family still, or if they don't, they've adopted each other, like Merrick and Cyril. Ellana sort of considers Gavin to be like a brother, but she's not sure he feels the same. Just another issue to set on her pile of them when it comes to not feeling wanted.

"Much as I would like to say 'they do not go roaming the coutnry side to snap up or kill wayward mages...' I cannot. Not any longer." There had been a time when she was certain of that. Now? They could mean well or not and no one would know till there was blood.

She finishes up in her corner and pads back to the center of the room, turning in a slow circle to check for any missed cobwebs. "I suppose it is too dangerous for an Arlath- the meeting of your people."

"I wouldn't know since I've never been involved in one." She turns away from her corner and meets Adelaide in the center.

"Anything left to do?"

"Unless we wish to mop? I think we are done. Behold- the meeting place of the Mage Council." She gestures to the cleaned, empty space.

Ellana smiles and looked rather pleased with the accommodations. But then again, she's a woman used to living outdoors, and so having a space -- any space -- indoors seems better to her eyes.

"I think it will do its job well."

"And when renovations are further along, we might have a proper office. But this...this will do nicely." Somewhere for them to have a bit more privacy. No confetti bombs, fewer eaves droppers- though they should make a point to have an open door policy. All the Senior Enchanters did in the Spire. They must be approachable.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject