[semi-open] though all before me is shadow

[cicatrices]

WHO: Cassandra Pentaghast + others tbd
WHAT: A catch-all post for logs in January
WHEN: Late Haring, early Wintermarch
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: This isn't an actual open post because I'm terrible at writing open post prompts and can't keep up with many logs at once, but if you'd like to do something let me know on plurk or by PM and we can make up a starter!

Comments

[madame_de_fer]

[Things have been busy since Vivienne's return. She's seen Cassandra in passing, heard others talking about her even, but as yet has not had the time to visit. Which sounds unusual but it's a smart move to stay in touch with the Seeker for any multitude of reasons. And the First Enchanter actually appreciates, even likes, Cassandra. Being Navarran royalty helps naturally, but beyond that, there is some genuine admiration for the woman.

They really should talk, however. About the Abomination and the Council, about the direction the Inquisition will take as an organization, about this marvelous book which is the newest fad in the Imperial Court. It is a smutty bodice ripper and it's boldly sitting right on top of a stack of books Vivienne's keeping stocked on the balcony.

Thus, the Iron Lady sends a messenger to Cassandra to join her for tea. It'll do the Seeker good to take an hour off from glaring at recruits and smacking training dummies.]

[cicatrices]

[ Invitations to tea are not the sort of thing Cassandra entertains often. (She doesn't entertain anything often, in any sense of the word.) At first upon receiving the message she is nonplussed, calling up memories of stuffy drawing rooms and courtly manners long since escaped. But it is just the balcony above the half-ruined hall in a drafty fortress, and it is past time she spoke with the lady now she is returned.

So she arrives at the appointed time, as stiffly out of place as ever as she seats herself on the edge of a richly-upholstered chair. ]

Vivienne. You are well, I trust?

[ She has not yet noticed the book, attention fixed on the mage. ]

[madame_de_fer]

[Where Cassandra is stiff, Vivienne is quite relaxed, lounging on her chaise as she pours out the tea. The Seeker can be blunt, even harsh, but Madame de Fer can appreciate a woman who takes action.]

As well as can be expected, darling. That dreadful business with the Abomination has created complications. Nothing we cannot address for the future, but it's too late for those we lost.

[Those were young mages. And it bothers her.]

[cicatrices]

[ It bothers Cassandra, too. Likely it was inevitable, with so many mages in such difficult conditions, but that does not mean measures should not be-- should not have been-- taken. One more failure, one more tragedy not averted in time. As a Seeker and as a leader of the Inquisition surely the responsibility falls, in the end, on her shoulders. But it is not for her alone to act now that the Mage Council exists. Despite growing up in the strict hierarchy of the Chantry, she has no love for bureaucracy. ]

And how does the Council intend to address it? You know as well as I that two weeks of training will make no difference to anyone.