faderift | We must resist

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We must resist

WHO: Morrigan; open
WHAT: Checking in on friends, checking in on the mage and rifter situation and research. Wildcard and shapeshifter lesson discussions available!
WHEN: Post-rift opening in Skyhold onwards, basically a big catch-all
WHERE: All over Skyhold
NOTES:A few so please bear with me:
1) Morrigan is seeking out rifters since what happened to Sina, there’s a starter just for them
2) For the same reasons she’s seeking out members of the mage council
3) If you’re interested in shapeshifter lessons, there’s a handy sticky post here
4) The research Morrigan is doing is based on the Hinterlands expedition here

Library - artifact research;
Since returning from the Hinterlands, she’s devoted more time to the artifact that had returned with them, or rather to the notes that had been made about the surroundings. It makes a change to reading the book on the Veilfire runs and making her own notes from what Pel had directed her to, taking her deeper into history, into Avvar culture and Ferelden legends for a change. Each time Flemeth is mentioned she makes what might be a grimace or might be a smile.

Spread across the table are copious notes taken in the Hinterlands, including sketches of the artifact, as well as a symbol drawn on the floor in the ruin, a few more of the strange statues, the piles of bones.

Another perspective would be welcome, as would a distraction in all honesty.

Gardens;
Instead of the usual peace, Skyhold's garden is a battle. Not a serious one to most but to the children playing Wardens and Darkspawn it's very much real, shrieking and lunging, hacking and slashing with swords. One little boy holds Morrigan's attention more than the others; this is a rare moment of peace, when things have been on edge lately. As it is, she's kneeling, planting the seeds she brought with her, a few she's carried around since she left the Wilds, others brought with her from Orlais and beyond. Simple, quiet work, no devious plans some might think she has, just a break from researching out in the fresh air.

And no, contrary to what some might have you believe, not a single one of the seeds will grow into something poisonous.

Seeking rifters;
She's met a rifter or two since she came to Skyhold, and talk of them has been everywhere but hunting them down to talk was never a priority until the rift had opened within the very walls. Now? Well she has theories, theories she cannot test herself but looking for them might help, and it's a different sort of magic, something new to draw her attention when not working on whatever scraps of elven lore they've uncovered thus far.

Wherever the rifters might be, she seeks them out eventually, appearing around a corner seemingly from nowhere, perhaps after a particularly intent crow or cat has watched them before disappearing. The introduction is the same each time, for she only knows one or two in passing.

"Greetings, you may call me Morrigan. I wonder, might you have the time to talk a while?"

Seeking the mage council;
That they've made a little Circle themselves here is still a notion that disquiets her, something that she keeps an eye on without joining in, unwilling to be held to whatever rules they've made but it wasn't just anyone who opened a rift in Skyhold. It was a native, a native mage and when she arrived in the first instance it was after an Abomination rampaged. It hardly helps matters that she's Dalish as well.

There are too many Templars here for her liking as it stands, unsure of what reprisals there might be. So she waits, quiet and patient, seeking Adelaide LeBlanc in particular simply because they've spoken before but it is opinions she is after, a sense of how things truly lie. She's lingered before, to watch, to listen, to judge silently and she never could abide things being caged.

wildcard;
[Or feel free to find Morrigan elsewhere!]

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"A wonder she even lives with such magic in such a place." A hand is simpler, and the hands more used to magic; a hand holds a stave, casts a spell, handles runes, potions, traces glyphs. But the chest is where the vital parts of the body lie and she's close to amazed that it hasn't consumed the young woman. Yet. There's always time for anything to happen and who knows how her recovery will go after this.

Alas, a rogue or a warrior being upset and causing trouble can be excused very easily but a mage? A mage should always be in control or, better yet to some minds, controlled.

Morrigan has only heard the snatches of the story of the Herald, not the full version. In some parts of Val Royeaux certainly it was taken as a sign that faith had been misplaced in believing the woman to be a prophet or their saviour, whereas for others it had been taken for granted that the end of days must surely be upon them. Somewhere in the middle is most likely where the truth lies.

What she says is none of that, keeping her attention on the magic. "I wonder if all that the Herald had was split into different pieces," not so outlandish, not when one considers the way any lightning or storm magic works, "or if they are entirely new though the vast majority are all from other worlds. And none of them the same save the few coming from ours." And that is certainly something to consider. If the Crossroads is between, if the eluvians could go further, if they could be a way to access the very Fade...

Speculation for now. She needs more. More before she can whisper in Leliana's ear.

"Twas a single Circle tower and a civil war, and more actually did agree on there being something that warranted their attention and concern. Tis almost as if there is no enemy that they would be better served devoting their attention to." She allows a smile, because well, the useless parties at the moment will be remembered for their inaction, and some have very long memories indeed. "Do not give in, least not with those who cannot go through life without playing the Game."

The Vashoth mage listens to Morrigan thoughtfully, still frustrated but slightly less so when she has someone to vent to and bounce ideas off of. Mention of the Game has her shaking her head in disgust, but what else can one expect from the person who is the bluntest member on the Council? Subtlety is not something she possesses or likely ever will.

"Oh, I won't. My 'unholy apostate' voice will be heard and they can just fucking deal. We're not going to solve anything if the go-to solution is 'run to the Templars', as if they're good for anything but incompetence and fearmongering." So far she's met perhaps one that isn't terrible, but she certainly doesn't trust him enough to mention him at this point. "Someone needs remind them that Corypheus is still out there and he's the true threat, not us." Hell, more people in the Inquisition overall might need that reminder.

Her brow furrows in thought at Morrigan's notion about the Herald. "At to your theory, perhaps both could be true? It might have been the Herald's power that split when the Breach was sealed, affecting those on this side of the Fade. And the Rifters gained it from a new source when they arrived. I'm a storm mage and a Knight-Enchanter, this isn't my area of expertise." She sees no shame in admitting that, not when the arcane advisor is present in Skyhold to...well, advise.

And then her expression softens as her thoughts come back around to Sina. Morrigan's thoughts more or less echo her own, and her heart breaks all over again. If the girl lasts, it'll be a miracle. "It's said you have knowledge outside the realm of most mages. Please, be blunt; is there anything which might give Sina some relief, prevent that shard from erupting again?"

Politics is a game Morrigan plays at the way she plays at much else; she laughs, she mocks, she curls her lip, she treats it with her usual spite, not existing in spaces already there and making them bigger but in simply making the whole space hers. That’s what comes of being raised with your freedom. You know the value of it, and you won’t let it be taken from you, the world is as much yours as it is theirs. A pity that certain individuals won’t see it that way, or it would be if she truly cared that much about them.

“Perhaps it might drive more of the Loyalists to leave or to realise that they cannot gag and bind people with sense in their heads.” The council here, for good or for ill, will shape much of what happens to mages in the future all across Thedas and in all lands but Tevinter or where mages aren’t treated with fear and hostility. When the Avvar and Chasind and the Dalish all trust their mages so much more - where they truly do serve their people - then what does that say for the Chantry and the Qun? If they are so much more enlightened than such heathens and savages.” It’s not lost on her either that all three things are older than the Chantry too, she trusts it won’t be on Korrin either. Something to consider when silencing the detractors perhaps when there are Dalish serving on the council; if those following the ways of their ancestors so closely have mages actually walking free and being useful, what does it say about the ones locking them up.

She shakes her head, casting a glance about to watch for others - she’d rather slip in and out as she always does, one on one without a potential audience to intervene or to open their mouth. “My focus is on elven lore, as you might have heard, and the magic involved, and I advised Celene on the many things a Circle cannot. That it all ties to the Fade is crucial, but the Fade is a malleable changing thing, always shifting. I wonder if the rifters will shape it too, or if the shard will be their only connection unless it is known by another name for them and so different we cannot understand it.” There are old tales of Andruil that come to mind, wild hunts that turned her to madness.

Best to think on that alone.

“I know little of the practicalities as far as this individual case goes. Rest, keeping her still, I would caution that she not be watched closely. If the mark sits in her chest and close to the heart...well, one can imagine what might happen. I’m sure none of the outcomes are wanted by many, if they are…” Well Korrin can finish that thought, Morrigan likes to nudge, to shape as she will without being held to account.

Pushing back that lump in her throat, Korrin nods and glances over to the Vault door, her lips forming a firm line. "The question of Sina's supervision will come up, but I'd only support it from friends, those who can keep her at ease. Insisting on Templar supervision...no, absolutely not. She opened a rift when distressed; I don't want to think of what could happen in an even worse state.

And then there's the question of other shard-bearers, native and otherwise. I worry for them, but locking them down would set a terrible precedent. Freedom for mages can't be promoted only turn around and deny it to other people." If it comes to that, if she had to choose between her conscience and the Council...well, it isn't really a choice at all. But she still has faith in much of its members, enough to keep going for now. "Even the Loyalists have to realize we need them. Chaining those who are the only ones able to seal rifts? Not smart."

She sighs and falls silent for a moment, mulling over what Morrigan has said about the Fade. "I know there's been much focus on the shards themselves and that should continue, but it could well be that the rifts will shape it as you say. Even those who aren't mages, who never had any ties to magic or even knew it existed, are now tied to it. How can that not have an impact? It's worth looking into, however we can."

“Yet the Circles have always been allowed. There are many who believe it their right, their divine duty, that they truly keep order and peace.” They paint over the cracks rather than realise the foundations are rotten, that at some point the house will have to come down and be rebuilt before it kills them all but such things are lost on too many, almost an irony for all that they possess the subtlety of hammers. “And so long as the masses believe, tis easy for hands to be washed in the will of the people, regardless that those people are only but a fraction of the whole. Sina is what she is, I wonder what the demands would be for a good Circle mage were one afflicted, or one without magic. The otherworlders.”

Precedent might be set, a dangerous thing if it turns out to be wrong...

“We are talking of Loyalists.” A smile is allowed, small and brief, sharing a secret. “Regardless, they will find an argument when Vivienne sits on your council and walks these halls, too many look to her as if the matter of her being named Grand Enchanter is a formality in waiting. It could be argued that when they are here they should be expected to serve, that the rules governing dangerous mages could be applied when they bear a magic raw and powerful. Power in the wrong hands - and when I say that I trust you know what I mean - has always frightened those who like the world as it is, as it suits them. Power is chaos, change, people fear that and what they fear they seek to crush or to control.

“As for Templars, well I would say that asking all the Dalish present, whether they’re from different clans or not would be a matter of courtesy that some should be reminded of. It would bode ill if she were assigned a Templar watcher and word of it happened to leave Skyhold. And there are many other elves who have suffered at Templar hands. Should the matter be forced, well, there would be many an unhappy voice.”

Morrigan might not have a personal interest but there are certain things that matter, that will help her in the end. Prodding this along? Especially should word reach their spymaster? Well, it’ll be interesting if nothing else bears fruit.

Korrin nods grimly at the thought of their bad example being shared past Skyhold, and what that could mean for her Dalish friends. "The elves have suffered enough thanks to the Chantry and beyond. It wouldn't take much to turn people against them, especially in a time of chaos. I remember when the Breach was created people were scrambling for someone to blame. If it wasn't the Herald, it could easily have become elves or mages."

Or both. The burden of being a non-human mage in a world that trusts neither is not lost on Korrin, but she's aware that mages of elven descent often have it worst. "There are some who are aware of how it will look and they won't care, but others can be swayed. If nothing else, at least I can appeal to self-interest and remind them what giving any ground to Templars will cost us."

There's a brief twitch of her lips at that comment on Loyalists, not disagreeing at all. At least for the most part. Mention of Vivienne has her sighing and pacing again. She finds the woman admirable in some ways, but their views couldn't be more different. "There's still a Grand Enchanter here, even if the title doesn't mean much of anything right now. Fiona fucked up, no denying it, but her opinions still hold some sway. Vivienne isn't going to find it that easy to take it away from her even now. Change had already happened and things can't go back to the way they were. It's far too late for that, whatever comes. But screw keeping 'order and peace' at the expense of freedom; I refuse to beg for what is rightfully mine, and theirs. Should this happen to a Circle mage or rifter, my view would still be the same."

"But does the Chantry see it as suffering? Or do they see it as defending their poor, precious faithful, as if they did not have an army. Orlais has long held the power and yet Andraste was a Fereldan, a barbarian. Perhaps that would say more about the Chantry than it would like if people truly cared to look." There will never be love in her for the Chantry and the way it trickles down into everything, how it manages to crush and suppress nearly all in its path to greater power. No wonder Celene was so eager to have Morrigan in the first place, to have someone untouched by their rhetoric and nonsense.

Again, the danger of a council will always be what supports it, the voices that they claim to speak for. A Circle in southern Thedas is not a Circle in the north, and though Morrigan wouldn't see them become the Imperium anew, actually getting to have the freedom to make choices and to learn would do them all good. "Templars are always quick to try to seize the higher ground as if their hands are all so clean, hiding behind the orders of their superiors though no favours were done with the alliance made in Redcliffe but I would not see anyone caged." Again, there are some who do that themselves and she doesn't care for the loyalists, for the moderates but right now while she is here with her son? She can have a true opinion and argue whatever way she must.

If that's trying to plant seeds of discontent within the council itself then surely that just keeps it on its toes and makes sure that all mages have a voice?

"You care a great deal for the rifters." A careful comment, light enough not to sound judgemental (because she is not) but still a thing to be noticed, a gentle prod. "There are those who could argue that with Fiona's actions that Vivienne take her place, the ones eager for the prison and I would say why not shut them all in and wait for the inevitable so that they are no more but even in the dungeons they would be so very loud." It's a joke, or she can make it sound like a joke but honestly if they're so eager for it, let them have it and no one else. Let Vivienne see if she enjoys the cage most mages have as much as her more gilded one.

The thought of all those Templar ass-kissers in the prisons they so loudly want gets a faintly amused huff out of Korrin. "If they were only content with it for themselves and not enforcing it on everyone else, it'd be...tempting. But we both know it never ends there; Thedas isn't 'safe' with us having the audacity to do such things as walk around without Templars guarding our every move. I suppose in some sense, it must be frightening for them to have their entire life undermined, but it's hard to give a damn when their reaction isn't to adapt but to screech even louder about how everything must return to the status quo. Nevermind that there isn't one anymore."

The war and then the Breach made certain of that. If only Vivienne and her followers would realize it instead of keeping their blinders on...but at this point, Korrin no more expects Madame de Fer to change her mind any more than she would her own. The old system worked well enough for the court enchanter, and thus Korrin doubts that Vivienne will ever see the flaws in it for what they truly are.

The gentle prod is noted, but Korrin doesn't resent it or sees any reason for holding back on such information. She simply nods in agreement with Morrigan's observation about her, expression growing solemn. "I care about them a great deal; it's not hard to see how their lives parallel our own. They're scrutinized based on circumstances beyond their control, and contain a power that we still don't understand. There have been calls made to separate and evaluate them, all for the sake of safety, of course. It doesn't take a Circle mage to see where that could lead.

I know several of them personally, it's true. I even have a romantic attachment to one, a woman most would mistake as Antivan but for the shard in her hand. I can't support freedom for mages and deny it to them in the same breath. Well, I could but I'm not fond of being a hypocrite. Whatever comes, the last thing we need is to renew the Mage-Templar war along different lines."

"That is not in the nature of a Templar. They have spent their entire lives for the most being groomed to be what they are, being told they are the righteous," and her mouth pulls down at the corners when she says it, nose wrinkling. "And for all the faithful that believe in them, the more blinkered they are allowed to become, after all even in Val Royeaux there are many still openly hoping or them to return. To bring order."

But is it order she objects to with her tone or is it the Templars? Or is it both, even she might find it hard to say.

"How sensible an attitude to take." And a name to return to Leliana perhaps, when she is more sure of where loyalties will lie but she has her suspicions based upon their conversations. "Indeed, such opinions might be needed, tis why I am interested to see if the mage council will have to take a definite stance, if it will have to be noted as to how many vote for or against whatever actions are to be taken. There are still those who will see them as having to face tighter restrictions, I wonder if there are any who would advocate for a rifter mage to hold a seat or if they shall organise themselves in return. Thedas does do in-fighting so very well though."

Thedas is perhaps best at that, the long and bloody history of nation against nation, race against race, magic against the sword. The rifters only complicate it because how can they not consider the other worlds that they come from, when so much must be called into question when there is definitive proof that this world and the Fade are not all that there is. However the pieces fall, she shall watch with interest and should things grow worse or move in a way that displeases her then she can leave as if she were never here.

She's good at that. She's spent a decade doing that.

"Well, at least we can be thankful Orlesian scrutiny is not fully upon us, and that the Qunari are not taking advantage of this chaos."

"Yet." Korrin frowns at mention of Orlais and the Qunari, neither fond of the Grand Game nor the Qun in any measure. One is far more worrisome in her mind, but they're both still toxic systems that she can't stay far enough away from. "There is a known Qunari among us, and if he isn't sending letters to the Ben-Hassrath about what's been happening, I'm not a mage. They're control freaks enough as it is; what do you think is going to happen when they find out a shardbearer opened a rift? Nothing good. Odds are they were just barely holding back from taking more direct action after the formation of the Breach. We might not be that fortunate, this time."

Paranoid? Korrin doesn't think so, and if anyone could understand her deep-seeded fear of being under their control, it's likely one who's spent her life as free as herself. That the Qunari could use all this as a pretext for invasion is really not all that far-fetched. And with no Divine, with Orlais at war with itself, the South is definitely not in any shape to repel them.

"Orlais is still too busy with its civil war, isn't it? Hell, Emprise du Lion is part of the empire, but we're the ones who had to clean up that mess. I'm not expecting anything there except more of the same, unless your time there tells you something different."

That subject, an apostate at the Imperial Court, both amuses and fascinates Korrin, but she'll satisfy her curiosity there another time. "As for the council's stance, if I had to guess, a majority of them will want some kind of supervision. More mages than not are wary enough not to want the Templars involved in any way or at least not in a mandatory sense, though I can still see the 'but what if there's an emergency' song and dance coming up. There are others I'm certain will want more information before deciding anything on shardbearers at all, which might end up being their saving grace. I'll throw my lot in with those not being short-sighted idiots rushing to judgment."

"Another one?" Sten was interesting to her, even with his perspective on mages because he was so odd, so intriguing, philosophical where others weren't and she had enjoyed speaking with him. Even whatever nonsense he had told her of Qunari lovemaking. "I have heard some about the Ben-Hassrath though I shall make sure to keep Kieran away, small boys have such large mouths. Was it the Arishok who sent him? That was the way with Sten: he was to learn what the Blight was and report back, though that is an easier thing to report than this. So much of the old world is waking again to find that the world it knew is not to their liking, and this red lyrium..."

It isn't paranoia if it keeps one alive, that has always been Morrigan's way. She is vigilant. That is never a thing someone should use against a person unless they are a fool or envious that another simply understands that the world is a dangerous place.

"A reason I left. Twas difficult to accomplish anything there and the places I might have ventured have become a battlefield, the Exalted Plains most of all. Orlais will only care when Corypheus is in their capital. Orlais cares only for itself; there is no Divine so the Grand Cathedral wars with itself, there are no Templars and so the sheep cower, the Empress might have many hearts and minds but Gaspard has the chevaliers." More; Celene does not have Briala as she did once, but even Morrigan is above such petty gossip and it would be all too easy for certain things to come back to her because she might disagree with Celene easily enough but the woman has a sharp mind. Celene plays the Game, is a master of it, she has not held the Empire for so long without putting the pieces together.

"I would welcome more information, should it come. When I have studied such ancient things then there are some of the council I would be willing to work with, though only if certain measures are in place." Access to her materials and to the outcomes chief among those. She'd share those with Leliana and the advisors before she shared them with most of the mage council. "You and I, the Dalish too, we are the very few who have never been burdened with Circle teachings for as long as we can remember, that gives us the advantage with something like this."

Or it should. She's willing to take a gamble when it involves Tevinter because Tevinter took what it had from the elves and who here knows more than Morrigan herself?

"I don't mind sharing what I learn as it comes; none of it's private, after all. Besides, you don't have to be part of the Council for its actions to affect you, so I well understand taking an interest." Even mages who refuses the Council's authority entirely still watch their every move, knowing as well as Korrin that what happens in Skyhold might be precedent for what happens elsewhere. If Corypheus doesn't use another Breach to tear their world apart, that will most definitely be true in some form or another.

"If the chaos in Orlais wasn't about to infect everywhere else, I'd say just let them tear themselves apart. It's what they'd deserve, at least those at the top." But the problem is that there isn't just the elite; those serving them are caught up in the mess as well. And that as much as knowing the fall of Orlais would give Corypheus the foothold he needs gives her pause.

Korrin frowns a little at mention of an Arishok, shrugging. "The Arishok is the one in charge of the regular soldiers, right? So, probably not him. You're asking someone who's never been in Qunari lands, so I could be wrong, but their thought police seem to be separate from the rest. Anyway, yes, his name is the Iron Bull and he's the leader of the Bull's Chargers, that mercenary company who takes up most of the tavern at night. His paper-thin cover is that of a Tal-Vashoth, but I was told straight from is second as to what he really is, so it's irrefutable. The rest of us Vashoth and Tal-Vashoth are naturally giving him a wide berth. No one wants to be involved in that shit."

That is precisely the reason it disturbs Morrigan to see it so like a Circle already, and with Vivienne sitting in their midst. She is a strong voice for the Loyalists, a very strong voice, for the way the world was though even the Morrigan has her doubts as to Vivienne being entirely happy then. If it does go back to the way it was, there will be need of a new Grand Enchanter. There are some who never stop playing the game after all.

“Yet they hold power. A strategic position, the heart of the Chantry, and there is knowledge to be found, if one knows where to look. Orlais is far more than the cities, and they built on the bones of the elves after all, the wonders I have found that are likely being plundered and trampled by soldiers and deserters alike as we speak.” A disgusted sigh punctuates her words though she does wonder what the outcome will be, and she would rather have Celene come out victorious as opposed to Gaspard, but that’s a matter of personal taste and knowing she has a place there. Gaspard would never tolerate her, she knows that beyond the shadow of a doubt. “What might Corypheus do if Orlais fell, I wonder. What might a second Imperium look like there?”

That has to be part of the plan, she has heard some very strange whispers but so quiet they are not worth mentioning. Perhaps if there’s a need to go to Orlais; she knows it well, knows the secret places where the history lives and breathes, it might bear fruit then.

“A strange second to admit such a thing.” Maybe a question for Leliana, if she can bring it up under the guise of discussing Sten somehow, what he might make of all this. “Thought police, if the Chantry and the Templars could manage that then so many of us would be done for, would we not? I seldom frequent the tavern, I have little desire to assault my nose with the stench, tis foul enough from the door some mornings.”

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We must resist

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