We must resist

[arcaneadvisor]

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!]

Comments

[dragoon_pride]

So there is some sort of magic to it... considering the eerie green glow of that mark and the way it pulses with such energy. He'd never considered the comparison to an open wound, but it's all too apt, and makes him a little more unsettled to think about.

"I've heard some. The Fade is where spirits dwell... and it's an afterlife of sorts, from the sound of it, but certain magic can access it as well. Isn't the Veil simply a barrier of some sort, separating this world from the Fade? How does this mark connect to it?" Kain almost wonders if he'll want to know what she'll say, but... it's better to be aware, to be informed. If there's a danger surrounding these shards, he'd like to know all he can about it.

[arcaneadvisor]

She’ll need to start at the beginning then, though that isn’t as terrible as it could be, falling silent for a moment as she considers how to phrase it exactly. The last time she explained this it was to Kieran, and Kieran was never most boys.

“The Fade - you may hear the Dalish call it the Beyond - is more than just an afterlife. Tis where all but the dwarves go when they dream, what mages access to cast spells, and yes our spirits will go there when they depart our bodies. Most do not have a memory of their time in the Fade though we mages are able to remember it, to access it consciously compared to others. There is no geography as such either, divided up amongst the spirits and demons dwelling there yet also shaped by the mind of the person visiting it.” It’s a strange thing to explain this to a person who might have a completely different experience of such things - does he even dream at all? “As for the Veil, whoever told you of it was correct, that is indeed what the Veil is, though it cannot be touched though it can be torn. The Breach? An especially large tear in the Veil the same as all the smaller rifts that have been encountered. The Herald was the one with the power to seal them, with the shard bestowed upon them that has since been split amongst all of you. Within that mark lies the power to seal rift and to perhaps end this chaos.”

[dragoon_pride]

Dreaming and spells... It definitely explains a thing or several about this mysterious place people refer to. Kain nods in understanding at points as she explains, acknowledging that he's getting a good idea of what she's talking about. So that's what this whole mark is truly about, this shard... Kain raises his hand a moment, opening it up and staring at that shard. He normally ignores it, or tries to, so this is the first he's examined it in a while.

"I had no idea that we visited an entirely different world in dreams... Does time pass any differently in the Fade? If you visit it in some means other than a dream?" He's thinking, of course, of the world of the Eidolons back home and how time flowed apart from the rest of the world. "And do you think it could truly be possible for us to seal... not only the rifts, but the Breach itself?" Though the way she describes it, that sounds like something easier said than done.

[arcaneadvisor]

"World is...perhaps not the best term for it, that would imply something rather more fixed and solid than what the Fade is. The raw Fade is malleable, it twists upon itself, tis always night and where there is not raw lyrium or barren rock then there are gaps that are void places. In the distance there is the Black City, the once Golden City of the Maker that the magisters breached and corrupted." Magisters such as Corypheus but there is a time and a place for all things and right now the time is for explaining, for helping him to understand better. "Tis always night in such a place, how can we truly say how time passes in the Fade when there are so few rules.

"The Fade is split into areas ruled or controlled by spirits or demons, and they change the landscape according to what they see in our dreams. They can copy things but they do alter, they shift as the Fade itself does. Your willpower is what matters, and your belief." Such as how she could not be fooled by what pretended to be her mother when she was forced to dream by the sloth demon. Staring at his hand, she sighs, weighing her answers; the Blight was ended by two Wardens assembling an army by themselves with only the support they gathered and within a year. All things are possible, yet she does have some doubts. "I cannot say, your marks all belonged to one person and a native, now they are split and fractured, so many of you unknown and untested elements. Can so many work as one? Will all the pieces add up to a whole? That is much more difficult to say but I know that if we fail, Corypheus will tear this world asunder."

[dragoon_pride]

Then it’s a far stranger place than Kain had realized before, not even following the typical rules of other worlds. He’s a bit unsettled by the thought of something so intangible existing like that, a place of night and impossible to navigate terrain, from the sound of it. “That’s… not a place you want to get lost in, I’d imagine.”

“If someone’s willpower is compromised somehow… does that mean… could these demons take over anyone they wanted to?” He’s asking for a friend. Kain make the question come across as neutral as possible, not even allowing his fear to the surface. True, the source of his mental weakness isn’t here, there’s no risk of turning evil and kidnapping Rosa when there’s no Rosa to kidnap. But he still worries. Can these demons expose him, take advantage of his inner darkness? He has yet to conquer it the way Cecil did, after all. “Then we must do all it takes to defeat Corypheus, work out what we’re capable of as soon as we can. I doubt we can delay for long...” He’s avoided rifts, avoided using the shard, but if it were a means to end this demon and his kind, so be it.

[arcaneadvisor]

“Indeed, tis the very last place one would wish to become lost in beyond the Void itself.” Which is another matter entirely but she has been there and done that, and laughed at the poor reflection of Flemeth the Fade made for her, as if it might trap her so easily. “The body still lives, though what happens in the Fade can have some impact upon it but dream long enough and the body will wither and die eventually. That is less of a concern unless you are one of the dreamer mages, something else entirely.”

With a frown, she gives a slight nod. “T’would depend on the demon but they seek a body and a way to influence this world. Mages are what they will choose first though I do not doubt the shards on your hands would make for a pretty prize for many of them. You would need to let it in but some demons are very cunning, they will appeal to the deepest and darkest parts of you in order to get what they want.” Still, falling out alongside demons would likely plague the unfamiliar with questions they wanted answered as soon as possible. “Sealing the breach and killing his followers thus crippling his army would likely do it though there is no single leader within the Inquisition as it stands. That does pose something of a problem and there is so little support that has been garnered.”

[dragoon_pride]

"These demons sound like a force to be reckoned with. Knowing all of that about them makes me all the more eager to kill them. No one deserves that fate." Kain's voice gets stronger, more harsh and emotional when he says that last part, clearly the matter strikes a nerve. He can't help but think that... well... he's already been through that very same process. He's had his deepest desires manipulated in order to call forth his darker self, one who would harm his allies without a second thought.

He's terrified not to experience that again here. That dark side of his is always in there, waiting... it's much more present after being stirred up as it was. Sigh. He's going to have to be on guard at all times. "Is there no way to find a leader from those among you? One of the better warriors, someone skilled enough for it... Though, I suppose that would mean getting everyone to agree." And given what he keeps seeing and hearing... that may not happen much between some factions.

[arcaneadvisor]

"In battle they are fearsome. I have fought each and every type almost 'twould seem but they cannot do as we do - they do not learn or adapt their strategies so survive long enough and you will always know how to fight them off. Tis elsewhere. When they come to tempt you. They will know you so well at times, as if they have plucked the very strings of your soul, you will be an open book to them. Your pride, your lusts, your hungers, your rage, your weaknesses, those they will seek to plunder and turn against you. Their offers might be tempting but you will not survive what is to come. You will be possessed, and one day you will twist and turn upon yourself until you are a creature none will recognise. An abomination, that is what becomes of one with magical abilities and with the mark on your hand? Not a risk I would take." Tis all well and good that he wishes to fight them but retribution and vengeance are tricky things, and there is hunger, even a lust for the battle. And pride. Ever and always it is pride that brings out the worst without a person knowing. "You would do well to learn what you can before you go into battle with them, you will not lack for opportunities."

Sighing, she gives a shake of her head. "The last Inquisition was long, long ago, so long ago that the details blur, twas prior to much of what we know now, when the world was between the First and Second Blight. The library might inform you of more. Perhaps had she lived, the Herald of Andraste would be her leader but of present, we must look to her advisors. Josephine Montilyet is the ambassador, in charge of diplomacy, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast was Right Hand of the Divine to Justinia and the Divine before her as I recall, Commander Cullen is a former Templar in charge of the troops now, and Sister Nightingale is a bard, Left Hand of the Divine, in charge of the largest spy network in Thedas, one set only to grow larger and more feared.

"But a warrior leading? A blunt instrument used to smashing and hammering? A deft touch is needed. Leadership for such a thing as this is nothing to do with leading in battle, and we have the commander for that. No, something more delicate is needed before this crashes to the ground and burns."

[dragoon_pride]

...as if they have plucked the very strings of your soul... Your pride, your lusts, your hungers, your rage, your weaknesses, those they will seek to plunder and turn against you. That alone is the most disturbing thing for Kain to hear. He's had that experience back home and he fears now if that's somehow weakened him to these sort of attacks. He doesn't want to find out. He hates this so much, knowing that he's not over Rosa or his jealousy toward Cecil... that he still has so much darkness inside him.

He tries to keep a straight face, but the fear is probably evident in his eyes, something that goes beyond just a little bit of worry. Kain also sighs. "I'd not chance it, of course, falling to them... but if I have no choice in facing them, I'll fight with all my strength. I'd sooner not take risks regarding them, all the same..."

Kain nods agreement to what she's saying, considering all of those options. "As a warrior myself, I couldn't agree more. I belong on the battlefield, and have little patience for politics. I could imagine many others feel the same. Still, it sounds like the diplomat might perhaps be a worthy choice..." But he doesn't know her personally, nor any of the others, aside from what he's heard of them.

[arcaneadvisor]

Morrigan doesn't look away, not once, and what she sees...well concern is perhaps too strong a word, there are many rifters compared to only having the Herald previously, and he means little to her but his reaction is certainly noted. She has always had confidence in her abilities, there is nothing a demon can offer that will ever tempt her when her own mother was a worse threat but it does prompt a question, after her exchange of letters with Leliana. "Do you have demons where you come from? Or something akin to them? Perhaps named for traits that would be used against a person?"

It would be something to report back at the very least, a new project to distract the both of them or to stop their attentions from turning inward constantly.

"Diplomats are quicker to capitulate." What they want is a bard but that is another matter entirely and whilst there is much that is easily known about Leliana, that's something that can be found out from people that aren't her. "Suffice it to say, our spymaster and her working together will give us what we need but the scouts? They all report to the Nightingale, that gives her the distinct advantage."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain feels unsettled, having to bring all of this up. He's all for testing himself physically, putting himself through impossible challenges and seeing what happens. But mentally? Emotionally? He's certain he'd fall to a demon in no time. He can't hide his fear at all, but he manages to do so for some of his explanation, since there's a lot more to it than one type of creature alone.

"We have plenty of monsters in my world... We even have summoned beasts, called Eidolons, which live in an underground world called the Feymarch, and only come to the surface when called by a mage known as a Summoner. These Eidolons will fight without question for the caster... but they aren't evil, nor can they possess people. They have many forms, one is a mighty dragon, one a small fairy, many are human in appearance." He hesitates. "There was a mage, a powerful one... who... had the ability to posses minds and bend people to his will. The way he controlled people involved manipulating their weaknesses... exploiting their desires..." Again, trailing off into silence.

He nods to the rest of it. "I've no mind for politics, so I'll take your word for it. Spies certainly have their use." There, Edge, he thinks, for once I support you indirectly. "I hope that their combined strengths are enough."