faderift | [CLOSED STARTERS + OPEN] Month long catch all

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[CLOSED STARTERS + OPEN] Month long catch all

WHO: Christine + closed starters + OPEN
WHAT: Meeting new people and catching up with friends/acquaintances throughout Firstfall
WHEN: spanning the entirety of Firstfall whenever convenient for you character
WHERE: The Gallows, the docks

{ open to all: wildcard option }
Christine's schedule rarely deviates. She arrives at the Gallows in the morning, heads to the kitchens for tea, then her office where she spends a few hours. If it's a red lyrium research day, she can be found heading towards the basement where they have a warded laboratory for experiments, though no one except her team is actually allowed inside, so you'll have to catch her on the way. If it's not such a day, she heads to the infirmary and heals patients for several hours as well. Add in lunch and moving between rooms and buildings to see people, and she's pretty easy to find.

{ closed to adalia }
The day dawns foggy with a crispness to the air as people awake and attend to their duties at the Gallows. For Christine, it's an early morning trek from her house in Lowtown to her office in the central tower, but today she stops first at the infirmary to see to her patients from the day before. The fog closes in around the island and she steps out from the infirmary, producing a small wisp of light that she sends out ahead of her to light her way to the tower. Along the way, she nods politely to those she passes, well aware that some still don't like seeing a mage perform magic openly.

Though she has reports to read in her office, she's in no rush to start, and will be making herself a cup of tea before she dives in. That time can also be used for conversation, should anyone need her.

{ closed to skadi }
Though she's spent time with Skadi in the past, there is still much about the woman Christine has yet to discover. In particular, she's interested in learning about the hold gods that Skadi grew up with, and what being a Spirit Warrior is like. One afternoon, she sets aside her work a bit early to meet with Skadi over at the stables, where they can take out horses and have an open conversation without eavesdroppers.

She arrives promptly at the time they agreed upon and gives Skadi a smile. "Good afternoon. As you can imagine, I am looking forward to discussing the Fade and spirits with you."

{ closed to carlos }
Now that he's more settled in, Christine is happy to take Carlos under her wing and instruct him with working as a healer within an Inquisition base. After showing him around the place, she's set him loose to tend to patients, with herself hovering close by in case he needs help or a second opinion. She's also ready to swoop in should she feel he's making a mistake, but she hasn't seen reason to just yet.

Standing within earshot, she organizes a set of potion bottles so their labels all face outward again, and waits to see how he handles this latest case.

{ closed to elros }
Despite the Inquisition's remodeling, Christine really only stays in the Gallows for a few hours at a time because her office and the infirmary are there, not to mention their research laboratory for red lyrium, tucked away behind warded walls in the basement. She will never be comfortable in a place where her fellow mages as well as Tranquil were treated so horrendously by the Templars. Their pain and sorrow will forever be etched into the stonework. And so she can often be found down at the dock where the boats transport people from the island back to Kirkwall's docks, staring out across the water. It's better than sitting in the shadow of those imposing towers, much like the shadows of the Templars who used to breath down her neck at Montsimmard.

{ closed to myr }
It isn't often that Christine speaks out about her thoughts on the Circle system. She well knows that Montsimmard Circle was more lenient than other Circles, but that didn't mean it wasn't a prison in her eyes. Yet the fact she doesn't voice these thoughts out loud means assumptions might be made, such as today. Out walking in the Gallows, Myr's sensitive ears will likely pick up the end of a conversation between Christine and another woman.

"It's just... well, you seemed so level-headed, I only assumed you were a Loyalist."

"Libertarians are not without sense. Those who claim the title, then use blood magic or make deals with demons to destroy the innocent are not Libertarians; they are selfless and psychotic. My ideals are nothing like theirs."

"They are still far too lenient, in my opinion. And as this meeting is for Loyalists only, it seems I can't invite you after all."

"C'est la vie. I wish you a good day, Enchanter."

The other woman sniffs in distaste and her footsteps loudly clack across the stone as she leaves, but Christine stays in place a moment longer before she spots Myr and heads towards him.

"Hello," she begins, unsure if he needs help or if he's perfectly capable of navigating the Gallows unaided. It seems presumptious to ask, but a healer always wishes to help.

{ closed to thranduil }
Today the weather has broke from the near constant cold and drizzle, leaving the sky a brillant blue dotted with flocks of birds migrating north towards warmer temperatures. But Christine is unable to see it, as she's been inside all day, reading reports. And now she must put off going outside for a little longer, as Thranduil has requested to see her. Setting aside her paperwork, she rises and stretches, before making her way towards his office, walking at a leisurely pace because she's always early. Knocking on his door, she announces herself.

"It is Christine Delacroix, ser."

{ closed to the medicine seller }
Christine is incredibly work-oriented, and it's not unusual to see her going over reports, supplies, and the like even when she's supposed to be taking a break. There's only so long a person can work around red lyrium before they need a week long break, and she's in the midst of such a break right now. And even though she's out of work to do, still she heads to the infirmary, reorganizing what's already been organized by herself.

Eventually her hands are empty, there are no patients, and she has to admit defeat with a sigh. Time to walk around the Gallows to see where she can be of use.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Considering he's their newly crowned king, Elros rather thinks so too, but he's not going to actually say that.

He grins.

"Mind, don't ask me to design any boat bigger than a skiff. But if you give me the plans and tools, I can work as hard as any! As to that - well, there's some healing ability that I suppose you could consider magical that got passed down? Things like easing pain and speeding healing. If I had some athelas I could do more, I suppose, but mostly I know my basic way around a sickroom with herbs and bandages and such. It's always been more my brotehr's thing than mine!"

Christine laughs, waving a hand in the air. "There go all my plans to appoint you official ship designer for the Inquisition!" Alas, they'll have to find another now in this fantasy scenario of hers.

"Hmm, I am not familiar with athelas. I do not think we have it here." But what they do have is more than enough to take care of the sort of ailments that patients parade through the infirmary here. "If you have a desire to learn, you need only ask me, but I will not press you to if you think you could do more elsewhere, or perhaps not have the time if you take on other duties. Have you joined a division yet, by chance?"

"Well if the Inquisition wants a whole fleet of little pleasure ships, that I can do!" He laughs with her.

"Might make for interesting tactics in war!" Hm, something to consider for his home, perhaps.

"It wouldn't surprise me - it's a hardy little thing, but so far as I know it came from the Blessed Lands and isn't native to my world, although trust me, once it's established it grows like a weed. I suspect I'd be of minimal use to you, in honesty, although I don't mind being pressed into service at need. And I have not, no. How would one go about doing so?"

"Who knows? They might want a few to impress nobles." But that's hardly something she's going to concern herself with. Christine will stick with what she knows.

"There are four Divisions and being a part of one means your duties to the Inquisition will fall under that branch. They are Research, Forces, Scouting, and Diplomacy. Each has a division head with their own office. I suggest you ask around to see which might suit you best. Technically, I belong to the Research Division, but my project, Red Lyrium Research, falls under the Forces Division. It can all be a little confusing, honestly."

"Hm. I suppose I should try for scouting, but you're right, it really does sound quite confusing. Do the projects often overlap like that?"

"Or forces, since that is the division for our soldiers. And no, it is I who am the overlapper, not the projects. I chose a division first, and was assigned head of Red Lyrium Research later." And perhaps it does make sense to have her research under the research header, but she could make a case for forces too.

"The Red Lyrium, you see, it is a dangerous thing being grown by Templars, and in order to confiscate it, it often comes down to a battle."

But she doesn't want to go on about herself and her project when she's trying to help him. This should be about finding him his place; finding him something to keep his hands busy.

"I am sure you will find something to suit you here. It sounds like you have many talents. I am only sorry I am not more well versed in everything available in Kirkwall. I can only give you a taste of what to expect."

"Or forces." He hums thoughtfully. "It would be interesting, either way - do not apologise! You have given me much to think on, and have been most helpful!"

He cocks his head curiously. "What makes it dangerous? And is it a current threat?"

"It is a material that corrupts that which it touches, or even if it is in the area. It drives a person mad, and those who have been exposed for too long see their bodies transformed into the stuff of nightmares. Red crystals grow throughout their body and break through the skin. It grants its victims some measure of strength, however. That is what first caught my attention. Our enemy includes Templars who willingly ingest red lyrium, and it has changed them. I wished to know if we could find a way to negate their new abilities through studying it, and my team and I created a cleansing rune to do it." They've had breakthroughs before, but this is their crowning achievement so far. Now if only they could remove red lyrium from a patient...

"It is currently still a threat, yes. Red Templars continue sowing fields of red lyrium and we go in when we hear of it to defeat them and destroy it, replenishing our sample supply if needed."

He frowns.

"That ... is it even safe for you to research? And there is no cure, I am guessing? Not even the Black Breath does that. I wish I could say I am surprised that any would willingly ingest it, but even as biased as I am I know that Men are... well. Some of us are very very stupid and power hungry."

"We take precautions, but to the untrained, yes, it would be dangerous to study. But I feel it is worth the risk to find ways to eradicate it. So far, we have been unable to find a cure." But who knows what the future holds?

Her brow lifts a little in surprise before she chuckles. "You will not hear many admit to such a thing. Hopefully if you are aware of it, you strive to not be so, hm?"

Elros shrugs wryly.

"My foster fathers were quite good about ensuring that we always remembered to consider both sides of the argument."

"Then they raised you well. I know that I should, but there are times that it proves to be a challenge." It's not often that she admits to any sort of imperfection in her character, but perhaps she's doing it to make for a more casual conversation.

"Do you have any other questions for me?"

"They did their best!"

Elros pauses and then says slowly.

"I... was wondering if you could shed any light on the mistreatment of the elven population here. It seems strikingly odd to me."

"Hm, well I am no historian, but I can tell you what I know." Christine isn't sure if she's the best person to ask, because not only is she a human, but a mage that was locked in a Circle most of her life. She might not know all the facts here.

"Ages ago, the elves had an empire, but refused to allow humans into their presence. For some reason, the humans of Tevinter were desperate to get in. Perhaps they thought the elves had access to magical secrets? As I said, I am not well-educated on these matters. But they conquered the elven empire and took the elves as slaves. It was not until much later that they were freed and settled into the empire of Orlais. Then there was a great deal of animosity between humans and elves in Orlais centuries ago. It is said that the humans asked the elves for aid during the Blight, but the elves refused and hid themselves away in the forest. And so after the Blight was over, the humans marched into the elves' territory to force them to integrate with human society and to worship the Maker. Some agreed, some refused. At least that is what I was taught about the issue. Since then, there has been a great deal of animosity on both sides."

"Complicated, then." Elros sighs and frowns thoughtfully as he listens.

"And the fault of both parties, by the sounds of things. Ugh. No wonder cousin Fingon told me to be careful."

"Yes, though I will admit, people -- humans, rather -- are not expecting such tall, warrior-like elves in their midst. They are already prejudiced because you and the others came from the rifts, but I do not think they will wish to start fights with rifter elves without knowing their capabilities first. They fear Dalish because they are the unknown too, but city elves they believe they have all figured out."

At least that's what Christine has learned. The small village where she lived until she entered the Circle only had one elf family living there, so she's far from a knowledgeable source of information.

"I was raised in a Circle," she goes on to explain. "It is a school for mages -- or a prison of sorts. Both humans and elves attended. Our treatment was more equal there than it would have been outside."

"And what people fear, they tend to turn to hate, instead." Elros rolls his eyes.

"Same story everywhere, it seems. Mph. Well, they're right to be wary - my foster fathers are quite possibly some of the most lethal of the Eldar to walk Arda, and I don't imagine they're much less diminished in fighting prowess. And I met my cousin Galadriel again here, and she's also dangerous, in her own way, as is cousin Fingon. All of them are the sorts of people you normally write stories about, you know? Epic deeds and whatnot. I don't know much about Thranduil, but Maglor speaks highly of him, so he's probably quite dangerous too. Still, they're all mostly good people, so... "

He shrugs, and grimaces at her words.

"That's sad, that you got better, more equal treatment in what amounted to a gilded cage. Let me guess, the circles function as places to keep you all away from the rest of the population so you don't spook them, and so whoever is in charge can keep better control of you."

"And they are all here too?" she asks, knowing she's seen them around, but not who they are -- save Thranduil. Elros mentioned his foster fathers, but she didn't realize they were among the rifters as well.

"What of yourself? Have any epic deeds of yours been recorded yet? It sounds like quite the legacy to live up to." She can't say how she'd react in his shoes. Her father was a middle class merchant, and her mother is an infirm busybody, though well-meaning, of course. Christine prefers a simple life instead of wanting to be idolized or remembered.

"Exactly so. You may hear that it was originally formed at the behest of mages who wished to be separated from the populace that feared them, but it quickly turned into a place to keep us caged. Every Circle was different, and some had a great deal of freedoms. You may even hear of the inequalities between individual mages in the same Circle. That is why there is a great deal of fuss about whether or not the system should return. I am for mage freedom, with an emphasis on properly training mages without teaching them to fear what they are, as well as not keeping them locked up. It is but a dream now, because attitudes from non-mages must change too in order for such a thing to work." Which is why she plans on leaving them to argue it all and move in with the Avvar someday.

"They are, aye - Maglor arrived with me, but Maedhros and Fingon tell me they've been here a month, and apparently Galadriel and Thranduil have been here a good long while." He nods and laughs.

"I don't think anyone has written anything about me yet! I've fought in the War, of course, but I'm somewhat eclipsed by my blood father, in that area. Takes a lot to beat 'Thus Earendil slew Ancalagon the Black, and cast him down from the sky, and such was his size that he smote the towering peaks of Thangorodrim to ruin in his death, for he was the greatest of the Dragons and no others reached his girth before nor after' after all. Maybe one day!"

He huffs.

"Sounds terrible." He says sincerely. "And I'm all for allowing people a chance to be free - especially as you say, if they are properly educated! But it takes a long time sometimes to change how people think."

"Such names!" she says, eyes lighting up a little because these are names that don't appear anywhere in Thedas.

"Your father slew a dragon by himself? Or was it the killing blow? Either way, such is an impressive thing. We have a few dragon hunters among the Inquisition's ranks, but I do not number among them. I would rather stay far away and be ready to heal those who come back injured." And she might have a few comments about foolish recklessness in the pursuit of glory, but nobody ever pays the healer any mind, do they?

"Beyond my lifetime, I am sure. But I know one thing for sure: I will live in a place where I can raise my children free, not have them taken from me, as the Circles practiced."

"He had the help of the Eagles, but mostly he did the work, I think - I was busy fighting and couldn't take the time to properly watch, myself." He sighs regretfully.

"It was a very messy fight, all told, although most battles are, when you get down to it. I certainly saw Ancalagon fall though - I think everyone paused and looked up at that point. Hard to miss a gigantic dragon tumbling from the sky while on fire. I've killed a dragon before, but I had a good deal of help, and it was fairly young. There's plenty of the bastards around - or were. With the war won and Morgoth overthrown, most of the survivors are being hunted now, but the ones that got away are, sadly, far too cunning and large to be easily caught. We'll get there."

He tsks.

"Taking children from their parents is never a good thing, even if they wind up as lucky as Elros and I. I still have so many conflicted issues with that, and it was war, when things were all upside down. To take them from parents perfectly able and willing! Tch. A poor system all round."

"I wonder if you have heard this time called the Dragon Age here? Every one hundred years is the start of a new age, and it is determined right before what it shall be. The dragons awakened right before the start of this age, and thus was it named the Dragon Age. Before this event, it was thought dragons were extinct." But if he's a hunter of dragons, he'll probably come across a few to slay here.

"Yes, indeed. For now, however, we are in a state of waiting. Once a new Divine is elected, then decisions regarding mages shall be made." And if they aren't to her liking, she'll leave.

"I had not - but it certainly sounds ~~exciting~~troublesome! Equally though, it sounds as if the dragons here are closer to beasts than what they are in my world."

He hums thoughtfully. "Waiting. Always the worst part! Are there deliberations ongoing at the moment then?"

"From what little I have heard, the Grand Clerics and Revered Mothers are all arguing over it. Some want a stricter Divine than the last; others want one who will follow in her footsteps. For the time being, they are in a deadlock and I do not know what would make them stop squabbling and decide." She cares little for the Chantry anymore, but that isn't something she'll reveal to someone she's just met.

Elros pulls a face.

"Bureaucracy. Sounds like it's the same in every world. Hopefully they'll be sensible about it."

[CLOSED STARTERS + OPEN] Month long catch all

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