faderift | Skyhold

Skyhold

WHO: Anyone & everyone
WHAT: Open post for business as usual around Skyhold
WHEN: The first couple weeks of Harvestmere, 9:41 (aka October)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Please mark any necessary content warnings in thread subject lines. Also, make sure to check out the other log posts already made!

Far from the glamorous adventurous world-saving people signed up for, most of the hustle and bustle in Skyhold at present is cleaning. The Great Hall is a disaster, and crews are assigned to haul out the cracked and rotting planks fallen from the wide-open roof, and tear down the vines covering the walls. Ivy encrusts the main staircase outside and many of the fortress walls and is cleared in section while other groups assess or begin shoring up the stonework as it's revealed. There are scaffolding to build, materials to sort, crates to unload, tents to stitch together or set-up, and on and on and on, endless mundane chores vital to the survival of the organization.

When not hard at work, people cluster around fires across the courtyards. Many mingle freely, going about their business, running errands and messages, planning scouting missions, tallying up supplies, distributing or playing with the sending crystals that were found in a basement vault and which a group of mages have just today finished preparing for use. Once a good number have been passed around and the first Inquisition-wide transmission made messages start being broadcast; maybe you can help someone out.

The rebel mages and renegade templars mainly keep to themselves at opposite sides of the complex given the choice. Mages assist with healing and research and bicker amongst themselves about their options and their fate. Templars help train recruits in swordforms and basic combat techniques or spar with the more advanced and bicker amongst themselves about their options and their fate. Despite having all pledged themselves to the Inquisition, they still feel like separate factions and tension between them is palpable wherever they cross paths.

Like at meals, or the communal message board in the courtyard, or at the Herald's Rest. The mess hall/tavern is so new it still smells of sawdust, and its stock has been limited to one type of strong ale until today, when a shipment of West Hill brandy has finally arrived. The mood in the place is convivial in celebration of that, but there's still plenty of muttering, especially as the night drags on and the discontented get further into their cups.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's difficult not to notice of one the very few people around who's actually taller than Korrin, naturally. It's a surprise to see him around, without someone to guard, but not an unwelcome one. In one of her rare breaks between energizing debris for various Skyhold workers, she pauses to watch the sparring because why not? It's something to do that isn't listen to more stories of heartbreak or the Herald. Afterward, she nods over to him with a small smile.]

Not bad. You made it a little more interesting than it usually is, at least.

[He's still a bit wary around her because unbound mage, but there's still a slight smile on his lips as he reads hers.]

It was a good fight. Looks like a lot of people want to work their aggression out, and I'm the largest and scariest thing around that isn't darkspawn or dragon.

[At least she's an unbound mage making herself useful around here, since there isn't a short of things that need to be done around the area. She chuckles at that, nodding.]

Yeah, that'll make you popular around here. I've had a few offers, which I might take on later. We'll see.

So are you sticking around, then? Still guarding someone, or are you solo?

[True. Just... hold the magic around him. It's creepy.]

I'm sticking around for a while. My employer left an Inquisition escort, and I have no pressing matters. I can play living target dummy for a while until I get a new job.

[No magic from her for now, and she's in no rush to change that. She nods at the news, pleased.]

Good, Skyhold needs as many hands as it can get around here, as you undoubtedly noticed. It's true that people keep arriving, but a lot of them are refugees who need help more than they can provide it. [Not unsympathetic to them, but it's true.]

I do what I can, but I'm the pragmatic sort. As long as I can eat, sleep and fix my gear, I do what's needed. If they want more, I'm expecting pay.

[His loyalties weren't with the Inquistion (yet), but with common sense.]

Fair enough.

[Korrin could see the logic in that, not expecting the Inquisition to run on pure idealism even if some of the Chantry folk thought that way.]

We may have lost a lot, but there are still resources to call on and need for people just about everywhere the Inquisition has reach. As soon as I'm not needed quite as much, I'll be out there again, too.

[He shrugs a bit.]

I don't have any other skills above fighting, and my hearing is a bit of a hinder when it comes to being a soldier. It took me out of commission back in Seheron, and I don't think it would be any different here.

[Taas sighs a bit, leaning to his axe.]

I work better as security or small groups. Do you think they have any need for that?

[He pauses, eyeing her for a moment.]

...will you be fighting, too?

[Ah, Seheron. Korrin doesn't have any first-hand experience with that place, but by her slight grimace indicate that what she's been told is probably accurate enough. The place is a mess; she doesn't need to have been there to know that much.]

I'd think they'll definitely have that need. I know I heard the ambassador talking about getting this place in shape for visiting dignitaries and the like. Those people will need protection to and from here, not to mention they'll definitely want a strong security contingent here. Anything to prevent that darkspawn bastard from doing what he did at Haven.

[Her eyes dark a little at that, remembering the night all too well, though she focuses to answer the question. Her gaze is straightforward, unflinching.]

You're damn right I'll be fighting. It's what I've been trained to do. I can't just hang back and not put the experience that the Valo-Kas gave me to use.

[Seheron fucked you up. There was just no escaping that, no matter how short a time you spent there.]

Well, then. Maybe I can stay on my feet for a while up here. I can't say I'm the hero type, but helping out would give me something to do.

[Taas watches her as she continues, noting the pride in her words and the conviction. She was a strong woman, no doubt about that. A life of thinking differently wasn't easy to change, however.]

It's... a strange thought, to hear saarebas speak about fighting without an arvaarad.

[Pride is an apt word. Never having grown up with any kind of shame as to what she is, Korrin's not about to start. She's not thrilled about the word 'saarebas' but understands the need for context.]

And it's just as strange a thought for me to imagine having one in the first place. [More like her worst nightmare.] My mentor would have been one, had she remained in the Qun. But she was taught to control herself outside it, as I was.

You'll get used to it, especially around here. We're doing what needs to be done, whether with magic or some other means. Those who didn't know how to control themselves wouldn't have survived that rebellion, anyway.

[He mulls those words over, scratching at his stubble.]

I didn't move with any saarebas after I left the Qun, so I never really had the chance to get used to unyoked and unmasked qunari. It was easier to think differently about the bas-saarebas.

[Taas shrugs, looking at her. It was difficult to explain his point without making it sound personal, but he didn't even know Korrin well enough for it to be because who she was - it was because what she was.]

Then this mage shit happened and people were turning abominations and blood mages all over. Makes what you learn in the Qun seem right. That saarebas are better off controlled for our safely and their own.

[Korrin snorts at that, not ready to convert to anything just because she's seen her fair share of abominations and blood mages by now. She tries not to take it personally, grudgingly aware that there are reasons for people thinking the way they do about mages, but her passion for the subject comes out anyway. It's a fair bet she's ranted about this sort of thing before, many times.]

And you know they see Tal-Vashoth and Vashoth around here as bandits or savages, right? Nevermind that most are just trying to get by and make a living outside the Qun, some assholes end up being the loud minority and that's all anyone else sees. Abominations and crazy blood mages should be put down, no question, but any mage worth something never resorts to that shit to begin with. Training is important, of course. Controlling? Ha, I'd like to see someone try.

[Given that hard glint in her eyes, not directed specifically at him, anyone who did would likely regret it.]

[Taas rubs the back of his neck and nods again.]

Yeah, I know. I wasn't the best of men myself after I left the Qun. Stereotypes are a dangerous thing, and I'm probably a hypocrite. Still...

[He eyes her staff for a moment, thoughtful.]

...it will take a while for me to get used to it.

[There were a ton of Templars around, thankfully. If something did go wrong, at least there were people here trained to handle it.]

Saarebas are raw power, nothing more. The mages here... you do some impressive things. Training does seem to change things.

[That mollifies Korrin somewhat, and she nods.]

It changes everything, or at least the right training does. Raw power is flashy, but not nearly as useful as power combined with the will to control it properly. And that comes from within, not someone else.

I understand that it'll take time to come around to it, but I'll try to be an example of that. Not just to you, but everyone else here. One more reason to stay put.

[The revenge part is still there, of course, but other reason to tie her fate to the Inquisition keep emerging. She's not fighting it.]

How long ago did you leave? A few years?

[He nods at that, agreeing more with her than he thought he would. Remarkable, really.

Maybe he could learn to trust unchained mages, but... maybe not while fighting.

When Korrin asks about his run from the Qun, Taas sighs and looks up at the main fortress.]

Seven years. I left after my accident took my hearing... they took me from my purpose, and I couldn't quite handle that.

[Seven years...Korrin tries to imagine being involved in the Qun and breaking away from it, but even with her second-hand knowledge, it's difficult for the Vashoth to understand what that must truly mean to him.]

You found another one, at least, but that must have been painful. I can't say I envy what you must have gone through, to get to this point. My parents never talk about their time before, but they get that look you had in your eyes when someone mentions Seheron. Sometimes I think I'm better off not knowing.

How well do you hear now? Do you mostly just lip-read?

[This is probably something she should have asked about before, but it's never too late to fix that slip.]

I did. I'm better off like this, even if I miss it, sometimes. I didn't want to join the enfeebled and injured under the Tamassrans care, useless to everyone.

[He scratches at his stubble a bit, nodding.]

You're definitely better off not knowing the details. They don't put soldiers on Seheron for more than a year or two. It wears you down to the bone to live through the horrors there.

[A pause, and Taas sighs slightly. She had wise parents, at least.]

...yeah, I lipread everything, my hearing is non-existent. Sometimes I have to guess with the context.

Good to know. If I'm not clear enough or you want something elaborated, just tell me. I won't mind.

[And she'll make a mental note not to look away when talking to him, since why make his job harder.]

I'm not saying this just to be nice, but I'm baffled that anyone would think you useless just because of that. From what I just saw in the training ring? You can more than hold your own.

...though I have to wonder what sort of system you have for bodyguarding, then.

I can break down any foe I meet, but I can't hear my superiors give orders. That's why I was no longer able to be a soldier.

[The warrior shrugs again and then gives her a slightly amused look.]

My system? Stay close, read lips. I can sense some vibrations, too, so my employers usually stomp their feet to get my attention.

[He moves his arm, showing her the metal band there.]

...and I have this. It's made by a Tranquil and vibrates if my employer calls my name. Otherwise it's mostly the task of just being there, big and scary and observant.

[Korrin leans in and inspects the metal band with interest, not having spent much time near Tranquil or their wares. Perhaps that was a mistake, though. It's an interesting idea, having some kind of alarm system.]

Does it vibrate enough to wake you up, if it's a multiple-day engagement? Don't tell me you never sleep.

Hm, so I'm guessing that the sending crystals don't do you much good, then. That's a shame, though perhaps they'll find a way to modify it so it's good for more than transmitting voices.

[He chuckles; a deep, hearty thing.]

Depends on the job. Sometimes I don't sleep, but when I do, this thing does wake me. Thankfully.

[It had been a bit messy one time before he got it. he still got paid, but it had bothered him enough to find a solution.

Her mention of sending crystals confuses Taas a bit, and he gives her a look.]

Sending... crystals? They transmit voices?

[Reaching into her clothing, Korrin brings out the one given to her, currently attached to a pendant on a chain.]

Right. They seem to pass on long-distance verbal messages, though I haven't tested the range. For the most part, I've just heard a few voices from those in or around Skyhold. And one advertisement for the bar, naturally.

Edited 2015-10-20 20:30 (UTC)

Huh.

[He runs his fingers over it, thoughtful.]

If I buy you a drink once a week, will you sit and tell me what's been going on in those?

[Korrin flashes a surprised grin. Why the hell not?]

You have yourself a deal. There isn't much now, but as they get more widely distributed, I bet that'll change.

Skyhold

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