Never An Uneventiful Day

[equanimiti]

WHO: Alayre Sauveterre & whomever joins
WHAT: Sometimes doing a little bit of busywork does wonders for the mind. Alayre hopes that will be the case for him.
WHEN: Mid-Haring
WHERE: Various locations at Skyhold (Courtyard, Stables and Library)
NOTES: Both current and new CR greatly welcomed, also negative and positive CR is more than welcomed. Happy Holidays, btw

Stables

It's not uncommon to see the former Knight-Commander wandering about throughout the Hold, but it is a bit of a rarity to see him attending to his horse at the stables. As of late, Alayre been far too busy for his own liking. Of course his horse hasn't been neglected by the stable-hands here but Alayre missed spending time with Durandal. That's while he takes it upon himself to spend time with the white mare today and brush her coat. Now that winter has arrived, Durandal is a tad shaggier than normal. A common trait of a horse hailing from the north but that makes brushing Durandal more of a task than Alayre bargained for.


Courtyard

After spending one too many hours at the stables, Alayre makes his way towards the courtyard for the sake of relaxation. There's something truly rewarding about being surrounded by such tranquility, even if there's a few telltale reminders of the chaos that brews. An afternoon stroll through the gardens is a always next on his agenda followed by a brief visit to the library later.

Library

The library doesn't win over Alayre's interest for long due to the absence of a certain cheeky mage. It's somewhat awkward for him to be rummaging through the aisles in search or a good book; especially with the librarian glaring death his way. While it shouldn't be much of a surprise that rumors have begun about him and Salvatore, Alayre is silently mortified.

Comments

[lennethvalkyrie]

"How am I to know?" She almost snarled in frustration, whipping her head around to glare in the speaker's direction before seeing who it was. Her eyes widened slightly as she found it to be Alayre, and effected a small bow of respect. "Knight-Commander. My... apologies."

Lenneth sighed and rubbed a hand across her brow. "What I could be searching for may be directly before my eyes," she said, running her fingers down the spine of one of the books, "and I would never know. I cannot read the script here. None of it is familiar, even in the least. I saw runes, once, that looked similar, but still they made no sense to me.

I find myself unable to learn anything not taught to me directly, but I am but a soldier here. It is wartime, and I warrant no tutor. Yet," she said, her chin lifted with stubborn pride, "I will not be ignorant of this world. I simply..." she trailed off, pride slowly deflating.

"I am not sure what recourse I have."

[equanimiti]

Lenneth's sudden outburst takes him by surprise but only briefly. He hadn't realized how vexed she was until she spoke. Apparently the poor girl is having a mental battle with those awful books. Alayre cannot imagine what it's like to suddenly find yourself thrust upon a brand new world like Thedas that's so rich in culture and tradition. He would honestly take a foul mood as well.

"There's no need to apologize."A quick pardon. "Your frustration is quite valid, especially if our text foreign to you." Alayre briefly turns his attention towards one of the offending books.

"What you see here is an entire shelf dedicated to our history. I speak of all the kingdoms but it seems to be most focused on Ferelden."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Ferelden..." she said, trying the word out. Her eyes returned to the books, trying to find the text that might match it. An oft repeated word in this section... She pointed questioningly at a word--'History'--then thinned her lips.

"I have heard that spoken. And... Orlay?" Lenneth wrinkled her nose, aware that her pronunciation wasn't quite right. "And Tevinter. That one is rarely spoken with a smile--are they our enemies?"

[equanimiti]

"Well, they're certainly not our allies." Alayre cannot help but look a tad grim as he continues. "How does one explain the Tevinter Imperium without dabbing into our sour history with them? None can. Therefore, perhaps we should sit and make ourselves comfortable for this is lengthy tale hailing from the days of Andraste herself." He gestures for Lenneth to follow him to a nearby table but not after snatching a few books off the shelf. Once seated, Alayre continues.

"Known to Thedas as the longest existing empire of our realm, the Tevinter Imperium is ruled by obscenely powerful magocracy under the rule of their magisters, and are led by the Imperial Archon." He introduces as he opens one of the books he took to show a map highlighting the Tevinter domain. "In times long past, the Tevinter's domain once spread across most Thedas. When the first humans immigrated here, it was the Tevinters who laid claim to region."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Magocracy... they are ruled by mages?" Lenneth asked, following the Knight-Commander to the table. She waited respectfully for him to take a seat and then followed suit, watching with interest as he pointed to the map.

[equanimiti]

"A government by which the highest authority is a practitioner of magic is called a magocracy." Alayre states as he idly flips through pages. "Though let it be known that the Tevinter Magisters are known to abuse their power and lord it over those who cannot command magic. It's cruelty at it's finest." Although, Alayre will admit that the reversal of such role is just as cruel. However, they haven't come into that topic yet.

[lennethvalkyrie]

She nodded slowly. Not unlike Flenceburg, then--although that was more like a Circle. For learning. No Templar, though. She thought bleakly of the Necromancer who had lured her to his tower with the deaths of innocents. Perhaps with proper guardianship, Lezard Valeth would never have...

"You really have no idea what you are, do you?"

Lenneth shook her head to clear it of the cloying taunts. Concentrated on the smell of the library, the steady confident sound of Alayre paging through the book lying on the table.

"Forgive me, Knight-Commander. Does that map show our location as well?"

[equanimiti]

Upon request, Alayre thumbs through the pages until he reaches the detailed map featuring the Frostback Mountains. The map itself is quite old and wrinked but it's good enough to give Lenneth a decent representation of the region.

"Amongst the frigid peaks of the ever tall Frostback Mountains, lies the last symbol of hope in the form of the Herald's Will; Skyhold." He introduces with a hint of pride in his tone. "Originally built by Elven hands, Skyhold is a fortress of considerable strength that still has some magic left within its very stones. This is the Inquisition's home and where we currently find ourselves within. Skyhold is seated right in-between the borders of Ferelden and Orlais."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Between... So neither Ferelden nor Orlay--" still wrong "--may claim sovereignty over this fortress, then. Good for the Inquisition." Lenneth nodded slowly. "Do we have alliances with either kingdom?

"And... you say it is elven made? It is a strong fortress--the elves have ever been good craftsmen. At least..." she sighed, "the elves I knew were. I know little of their kind here. Have they a kingdom as well?"

[equanimiti]

"Orlais." Alayre corrects suddenly so Lenneth could get out of that habit here and now.

"Had Skyhold stood in either Ferelden or Orlais, the Fortress wouldn't hold the neutrality it has currently. It would belong to either country and considering the rapid growth of the Orlesian Empire, Skyhold would've been tethered to Orlais." Ferelden is merely considered the backwoods of Thedas. They don't hold much power in the political spectrum like Orlais and certainly wouldn't be able to stand up against Orlesian conquest these days.

"As the Inquisition, the Hold does have alliances forged with both kingdoms. The Grey Wardens are the sworn protectors of all of Thedas and stay clear of the political arena. We are sworn to help all those against the Darkspawn menace and the Archdemon that leads them. With that said, we are protectors the realm as a whole."

Alayre frowns just a little when Lenneth shows great interest in the Elves. He was hoping to mention them a bit later since their history bitterly highlights Thedas's ugly past.
"The Elves once had a kingdom long ago but it was destroyed. Humanity hasn't been very kind to the elves and we're still not kind towards them."

He sighs somewhat. "Remember, I speak from a place ignorance in regards to the Elves and their culture. Therefore, I'm ill suited to discuss the much about them, especially since my people has made slaves and servants of them."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Or...lais," Lenneth repeated. It sounded better this time. She followed the Knight-Commander's explanations with interest, interrupting with questions when she was unsure: "Grey Wardens... are they a faction of the Templar?" "Are Darkspawn demons, like those that issue from the Rifts?".

She frowned slightly when told of the elves, but nodded. "They live on the same plane as humans here in Thedas. I imagine were the same true of Midgard, similar violence might arise. Mortals are given to conflict. Does Andraste speak of them? What does the Maker's bride say of the elves?"