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.

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Sal hopes to feel safe again someday. He wants to be able to roam wherever he wishes, which means he also hopes to retain his freedom. So while reform among the Templars sounds like a nice dream, he would much rather see them see take a step (or several) back.

"That was the worth of one apprentice? A month in the dungeon?" He feels himself tense, tight around the shoulders. "And you have the gall to say it was the mages that betrayed you?"

The disgust in the mage's tone is expected. Of course a month within the dungeons wasn't an ample enough punishment for the Templar that tortured the boy. Had the world known true fairness, Sauveterre would've broken that Templar's arm or worse for what was done. Alas, he couldn't afford to tempt the Chantry's rage back then. He had to play his role as the pawn to become what he is now.

"Speak, what would you have done?" The Templar asks with an impassive gaze.

"Death would be too harsh of a sentence and anything involving the injury of a Templar would've angered the Order. That is as things were but now---what would be fitting for that crime?" He asks the mage in hopes of subtly picking this man's sense of reasoning.

Sal's mouth pops open, then snaps shut. Is his opinion on this really being sought? For a moment, he can't think of anything. He had an answer, but it fled. Yes, death was one option he would have readily supplied. There is something wrong with men who do deliberate harm to others.

"More than a month in the dungeon." He finds his voice, and it rises bit by bit. "Years. Hell, life. If you can't do that, then ... then remove him from the Order. A person who does deliberate harm once isn't likely stop just because you toss him in a cell for a while. He'll do it again. He'll do it secret if he thinks you're watching him, but he'll keep hurting people. You let him out and put him back on duty, he just does it again and again. That's what happens."

Edited 2015-10-20 01:48 (UTC)

"Now you see the need for reform." The Templar quickly adds once he has his answer.

"Losing a Templar wasn't an option allowed for me to pursue while under the scrutiny of the Chantry even as Knight-Captain. Had I banished him the tower and cast him out the Order, I would've been charged with defiling the Chantry's wishes. Though, I suppose such an excuse wouldn't apply here under the watchful gaze of the Inquisition." He states with a slight smirk.

"I doubt my name would be sullied for cutting the throats of those who oppress the innocent, yes? Nay, I shan't do no such thing but banishment would be plausible." So says the man who hired a Qunari bounty hunter to slay the renegades who betrayed his tower. Sentencing men to death isn't above Alayre but he won't admit it openly.

"The punishment must fit the crime."

Sal scoffs. "Maybe I've always seen the need for reform. But who'm I?"

The tension remains, but the flare of anger cools some as the Templar goes on. He tries to find some hint of insincerity, a lie. But he's never been very good at sensing that sort of thing in other people. "You're serious?"

But still, there's another question. "Would you see things put back to the way they were before, even with reform? The Circles, the towers." Prisons.

The fact that this mage's temper cooled at all surprises Sauveterre. Out of all the people has met so far, this is perhaps one of the few to give him resistance. It's a tad humbling since he feels as if he's walking on proverbial eggshells. It's vaguely entertaining but worrisome at the same time. He cannot help but fret now.

Just how many mages think like this one here? Just how many been victimized? Sauveterre is afraid to know.

"The idea of Towers will need to be changed but not the Circles. I envision a world were mages could gather and form communities within sacred towers and not just in remnants of slaver's bays. Thus I shan't have another Kirkwall but another Pharos instead." A glided cage is no home for a mage but the thought of possession worries him more.

"Abominations lurk within the twisted weave of the Fade. Such evil shall try to personify themselves within the hearts of young mages like you. That is why it's necessary for the Order to exist but not as jailers or foes. We are meant to serve and protect."

What does that mean, form communities? All of the energy seems to drain out of him at mention of Circles. It's a disappointing answer, but he should have expected it.

"Perhaps a young mage like myself is capable of protecting himself?" He tries to muster up a little more fire, but he just feels tired now. "What's Pharos?"

A scowl forms upon the Knights-Commander's face at the mage's reply. "So you would leave Thedas's future up to mere chance and let every mage face the Harrowing alone under their own accord?" Ridiculous. A stubborn frown hardens upon the Templar's weathered face. Sauveterre clearly dislikes the sound of that and it's evident in his steely gaze.

Though, that glare of his softens briefly at the next question. It always does when others question about Pharos. It's evitable.

"My tower, my home." He answers somewhat quietly. "It shall become the first institution to foster such changes but for now, the lonely lighthouse stands as a reminder of a pitiful past. I will see to it that war will never again make its way there. I wish for it to be a safe haven for those weary of conflict."

Edited 2015-10-20 08:52 (UTC)

Sal is nothing but incredulous. Even in the face of that scowl, and those eyes. Though, he does take the smallest of steps back even as he draws himself up. He reminds himself, he's not in Nevarra anymore. "Yes, actually! Do you punish all men with swords when one goes on a rampage and kills the innocent?"

He sighs. It comes out as something of a laugh, though there's no humor in it. "I see. Just another tower then."

The mage's reaction makes Sauveterre feel a pang of guilt. Is his gaze truly that malevolent or are the Templar truly viewed as villainous? It seem both are true considering how this man slinked away from him. A sigh escapes Sauveterre as he looks away. The shame of it all is enough to make his guilt palpable.

"Aye, it was just another gilded cage in the eyes if some. Though, many strove to make it otherwise..." And yet despite their efforts, it wasn't enough.

"Tell me, how do you feel about this constant cycle of hatred? Is it truly never ending as long as the towers exist? Are Templars like I better off as relics of a bygone age?"

He ... is not sure what to think as the Knight-Commander's mood shifts. He was prepared for something else, more scowling, more glaring, anger. What is this expression? Sal is honestly surprised the conversation has gone on this long, and that it has, for the most part, remained civil.

He doesn't step back this time. "As long as one side seeks to take away the freedoms of the other, why should the cycle end?" His gaze drops and his hand goes to his hair, something of a nervous gesture. "Look, it was Templars that brought me here. They got me out of Perendale when the common folk were getting ready to tear into us. I know you're not all monsters. And I believe what you're saying. But..." He sighs, hand dropping. "It doesn't matter how nice you dress it, or how well your Templars behave, if there's a lock on the door, it will always be a prison."

'If there's a lock on the door, it will always be a prison.'

He can't argue against that. No matter how well maintained these makeshift prisons are; it will remain a prison. Mages shouldn't be imprisoned for simply existing. That is where the problem lies. Try as he might to think otherwise, Sauveterre cannot ignore this truth. The Templars are nothing more than mere wardens at best and not like the Grey Wardens who heroically seek glory upon the Deep Roads. They're the villains.

"An eye opening statement." Sauveterre replies with no rebuttal to be given. "Though I have no idea how to voice such a truth towards those who favour cages." A gloomy smile appears briefly upon his lips as he gazes down at the mage.

"I think it would be wise for Templar and Magi both to speak on this matter together in a forum of some kind. Mayhaps Commander Cullen would humour such a thought if I present it."

Edited 2015-10-20 18:38 (UTC)

Oh ... what?

Sal stands blinking, brows furrowed, too dumbstruck to revel in this moment. Eye opening statement? Voice such a truth? He felt a bit like he had been in a discussion with a wall. But the Knight-Commander was actually listening to him?

"I think... I think it would be a start." A good one or a bad one, he can't say. But it could finally give the mages a medium to express the changes they wanted and needed.

Now it's Sauveterre's turn to look puzzled. Has he said something wrong? The mage just stares at him for what feels to be half an eternity before answering him. It seems that having a Templar, and a Knight-Commander at that; listen to their concerns is an oddity. Such a shame. The Order has truly fallen out of place with the mages they've sworn to protect.

"Excellent. I shall expect you and others to be willing to voice your concerns without any hesitation."

"In a room full of Templars?" Brows go up, he smiles sardonically. "No, absolutely, I'm sure it will go fantastically." There may be some too afraid to speak up, but he knows there are vocal mages around here as well. He can see it now. "Consider perhaps a third party not affiliated with the Templars or mages to mediate?"

That bit of sarcasm wins another frown from Sauveterre but he holds his tongue. No one can possibly dispute that he's a very patient man. Had possessed Knight-Commander Baratheon's temper, this poor mage wouldn't be conversing with him. Hell, the entire conversation probably would've never happened at all.

"You speak of the Elves and others hailing from the Inquisition?" Sauveterre let's out a slight sigh. "This is bound to be messy business but a mediator will be needed."

Sal has learned he can make the Knight-Commander frown in many different ways. He's tempted to keep pushing. Is there a breaking point? He decides he doesn't want to know.

"I speak of anyone who isn't biased toward one side or the other. If there is to be fair discussion, we need someone impartial present to keep the peace." He doesn't care if they're elves, humans, or Qunari or highly intelligent darkspawn.

Sauveterre is a difficult man to break. His entire existence up till now is surely proof of that. The Templar knows much of pain and twice more of suffering. It's difficult to break him but fairly easier to annoy him.

"I shall leave you in power of picking the mediator out of fairness. I do believe the Templar hold too much power to be trusted with that task, though I know of an qunari who may assist in this endeavour." He speaks of a looming bounty hunter he befriended not so long ago.

"Be sure to also pick those you deem fit to represent the mages and apostate both. I, along with a fellow Knight-Commander, shall listen to your concerns with full intent of easing tensions here. With Rutherford most likely present in these discussions, I shall give advantage to the mages to engage us in these talks."

A breath. "Does this seem fair?"

"Hm?" What. Sal's eyes go a bit wide, and... Yes. Fine. This is ... this is fine. Sauveterre is right. He agrees the Templars have too much power; it would be too easy to accuse them of planting a mediator who would act in their favor - true or not. He just thought his role would be done now, and the important matters would be handled by persons more, well, important.

He can do this. He takes a breath and nods. "Fair." He has an idea or two. But a little help won't hurt.

"Where can I find this qunari fellow?"

A look of satisfaction lingers upon Sauveterre's face as he regards the mage. It seems they've reached an accord. This is good since he grew weary of arguing with Salvatore. It's always pointless to argue with others, especially when more can be done doing otherwise.

"His name is Taashath. He's a behemoth of a man who acts as a bodyguard. I know of him fairly well but he's impartial in matters that involve Templar and Mage." He quickly says in hopes that the mage can remember all this.

"Be sure to seek him at Herald's Rest."

Ah, but look where that arguing brought them.

"Taashath. Behemoth. Herald's Rest."

Salvatore smiles, and hopes it hides the uncertainty crawling up inside him. Not just because he's accepted this task. This could be a great opportunity for discourse and being heard. Or a disaster. What if no one listens, or cares?

Sauveterre had listened. He hadn't dismissed Sal's concerns or opinions. Perhaps there were others willing to do the same.

Before taking his leave, he gives the Knight-Commander one last curious look and says, "Thank you."

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Skyhold

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