heaven, a gateway, a hope

[byblow]

WHO: Grey Wardens & You
WHAT: A daring and not at all ragtag group of Grey Wardens has walked all the way across Orlais to inform the Inquisition--just in case it hadn't already realized on its own--that everything is terrible.
WHEN: Harvestmere 22
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: This post has: (1) A single group "we just got here, we're freezing, who is in charge, what do you mean you haven't decided yet" starter that we'd like to keep to one chronological thread. (2) Open starters for individual Wardens set later in the day/week.

OOC Note: Regarding the first starter--threadjack away! Anyone is welcome to wander onto the scene to see what's going on and wander back out at their leisure, to fall silent for a while, etc. No tagging order. But let slower taggers get a word in edgewise!

Comments

[paperwing]

"I've seen so many qunari, yet-" -so many more than she ever saw as a child, but what does that matter, now? Of all those she expected to see, it wasn't one that she had befriended, one that her father had chuckled over when she spoke of her. When she was younger, anyway.

What matters is that it is Korrin, and she reaches to touch Korrin's arm appreciatively. Sabriel's by no means short, but as they're closer to one another now, it is almost like they are still children.

"I did," she admits, and then softly sighs. "Earlier today, actually, and not with the best of news. But I doubt that was on the minds of most... just seeing us caused enough of a commotion." Or disturbance in the mid-afternoon Skyold ritual to oggle or avoid a group of strangers, if naught else.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin doesn't hold back from giving Sabriel a brief hug, glad to see the other alive and well after all this time. Considering the chaos of the past few years and especially lately, that's not an insignificant feat. The qunari mage and her fellow Haven survivors can attest to that, though it's a story for another time.

"And a much-needed boost in morale, too. We've heard reports of Grey Wardens disappearing, just as the world's gone to shit. Not that I blame them or you, but it was obvious something was up. Whatever news you have, we'll deal with it."

She nods encouragingly, ready to hear what's happened. It's not going to be good, naturally, but at this point it's to be expected. Actual positive news would be more of a shock.

[paperwing]

Sabriel embraces her in return, but she's slow to respond, clumsy and clunky movements - as long ago as she last smiled, the last hug she gave was not exactly the most pleasant. But the moment passes without much else than her smile weakening, which would have happened anyway with Korrin's optimism about morale.

She runs her hands up and down her arms, as if hit by a sudden chill. It could just be the fortress; it's no Nevarra, but it's also the realisation of guilt. What should have, could have been a much-needed thing was just the opposite.

Sabriel sighs, gently. "It's a long story, Korrin - and very little of it good." She drifts towards the railing, her hands dusting against the rail. "Whatever reports you've had are likely to be true."

There's still time to not dig deeper, if she wants; though if she's anything like the girl she knew, Sabriel already knows what the answer will be.

[gatheringstorm]

That warning deters her not at all, and Korrin just crosses her arms, her face set and not interested in backing away from the truth. She shakes her head, sighing. "I haven't heard anything truly detailed, I'm not one of the higher-ups here. Just a mercenary mage who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time and got swept up in this."

Wait, was she a mage when they last knew each other? No? Oh well, it's out now.

"All I've heard -all the public at large has heard- is that they've been disappearing. It's connected to what the Inquisition is facing, isn't it? The timing is too convenient for it to be anything else."

[paperwing]

A smile flickers onto her face at the mention of one particular thing. "You came to magic?" Distantly, that... pleases, delights her inner eight year old, and the fascination they'd both had with Sabriel being able to create fire in her hands. But it doesn't surprise her.

But it's not a question she expects - nor wants - an answer for. Just a moment of nostalgia, as she sighs again, nodding.

"I can't tell you everything," she begins. Not that she does not want to, just that it's Wardens, and there are oaths, and despite being branded a traitor she will not denounce her order and its honour. "The disappearances are true - they would have worsened had the Orlesian commander not summoned the southern Wardens to her side. Do you know of the Calling?"

[gatheringstorm]

That smile brings to mind a simple, or at least less chaotic time, and the delight she found in her friend's magic. Korrin, at least as a child, hadn't thought she'd come into it herself but lacked the fear that Tal-Vashoth and Vashoth typically had of it. Perhaps it was instinct, as one day it would be hers as well.

She accepts Sabriel's limited information with a nod, not taking it personally. The Wardens had their reasons, but that didn't mean she wouldn't take what information her childhood friend had to give. "I only know that it's the end for Wardens, right? They leave the surface and don't come back."

And that's pretty much it. The exact details may not be known, but the fact that Grey Wardens don't have very long lives is a widespread fact. Her expression grows uneasy, not liking where this is heading, but she waits for Sabriel to continue.

[paperwing]

"It is," Sabriel nods in affirmation. "We go to the Deep Roads and give ourselves to our cause, fighting darkspawn one last time. It happens to all of us, one day, after a great many years..."

Sabriel trails off, biting down against her lip, as if wrestling with the information she has to give. She folds her arms again, fingers unconsciously tapping a rhythm against her forearm.

"We always hear something. Always, until the day it heightens and then you... you just know that it's your time." Months ago, she'd asked for more. She couldn't get a satisfactory answer, just that she would know, as her seniors would know when it was their turn. But she understood it now, intensely.

That's enough. Sabriel swallows. "I can hear the Calling, Korrin." And then, whispered, "all of us can. Every single Warden in Southern Thedas."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin instantly recoils at that news, her face blank with shock. "No...not you. How is that even possible? It can't be your time yet! You haven't have been one for that long."

All that is very true, and yet she knows Sabriel wouldn't lie about this. Her expression falls, not wanting to accept any of this. All the Grey Wardens at once...no, not a coincidence. "...it's that darkspawn bastard, isn't it. Has to be."

He had an archdemon at his beck and call in Haven, what more could he do?

[paperwing]

"Less than a year," Sabriel supplies, gravely. The how of it is an answer she doesn't have. Oh, they suspect something's amiss, but the specifics...

Alistair said the name. Corypheus. She remembered Clarel's face. The faces of the heads of the Inquisition had not been that different when they heard it.

"Perhaps he does. There was a... disagreement, before the five of us came here. We didn't leave the order of our own choosing, not initially. The Commander had a plan, and we saw the wrong of it." She pauses. "They'll move on it soon."

[gatheringstorm]

(*can't have been)

Grimmer and grimmer. Korrin's lips form a thin line, not liking the sound of any of this. "You wouldn't leave lightly, I know that. I remember you as having a good head on your shoulders, and I doubt that's changed in all this time. If you say it's a terrible plan, I believe you."

She sighs, staring up at the rookery. "Andraste's ass, it's contagious. First the mages in Redcliffe fall back onto servitude to Tevinter of all things, then this. The world's in danger enough as it is without adding a plague of horrible decisions."

[paperwing]

"Thank you." She's not sure why she says it, but she means it. Maybe it's the relief of having someone believe in her, even without all the facts. It would be wrong to say as such, but it's not an incorrect statement to say she was raised to be a Warden. She believed in them. She still does.

It was easier, when it was their lives they had to think about, when they just had to survive. But here, she thinks on all those that didn't make it out, even the ones that wanted to, but couldn't.

"When people are afraid, they make the worst of decisions." Mage or Warden, it doesn't matter. "Especially if moulded that way."

[gatheringstorm]

"Of course." There's no hesitation in Korrin's voice. Once she's made a friend, she'll back them up completely. And it might have been a while since last they met, but time's passage matters not at all to Korrin when it comes to such things.

"I bet. Wardens are meant to stop the Blight at all costs, aren't they? Do whatever it takes to get the job done. Not that there's a Blight now, but with all of you hearing that...Maker, I don't want to think about what will happen when there is one again."

[paperwing]

"I have," Sabriel says, quietly. "If there's anything to be done... the Wardens have to survive. We're the only ones that can." Just because it's ten years and it seems too recent for another Blight, it doesn't mean there can't be one. Darkspawn always tunnel. There's no guarantee when they'll strike lucky.

"We had few other options, but it's poor timing for the Inquisition." She means the loss of the Herald; some of the mages were saved, as were some templars. The breach was sealed. But the Herald didn't come back from Haven. She can see it, see how some wander directionless, how those at the top try to keep things as they always were. But it's a familiar floundering, and she can see it plain as day.

[gatheringstorm]

While Korrin doesn't quite understand why it always has to be a Grey Warden who ends the Blight, she can't dispute the fact that it's how it's always happened so far. It was true ten years ago, and every time before then. So she accepts Sabriel's statement without question, trusting the word of her Warden friend.

Mention of the timing provokes a deep sigh as Korrin can't help but nod. "It's not a great time, I'll give you that. Skyhold still has a long way to go in terms of reconstruction and morale is shit. I keep dreaming about Haven and bringing my staff everywhere I go, just in case he ever comes here. That isn't to say you're unwelcome, though. Just because we don't have a lot to offer at the moment doesn't mean you'd be turned away. I'm glad you're here, even given the state of everything now."

[paperwing]

Sabriel sighs. Corypheus would be mad to attack Skyhold as he had Haven, but he's no simple darkspawn, if that's what he is. He's much more than that, a much bigger threat; he could be gloating over his victory over the Herald and leave her forces alone, no longer a threat to him or his plans, or in turn, come back to finish them off, crushing the last shreds of hope Thedas had. Both are as likely as the other.

The only consolation is that the Wardens will be the first to know if he arrives. If that's even a 'consolation'.

"I'm glad for it. I just feel as though I should be giving, rather than taking. Or asking for help; our troubles are large, but they seem petty compared to more important things. Food, protection, loss." She's not blind, and never self absorbed. If there was any cause she would be hard pressed to pull away from, just like out on the road, it would be in helping the Inquisition rise up again. "What's it like, truly? Being a part of the Inquisition?"

[gatheringstorm]

"I wouldn't call your troubles petty, at all, but I know how it helps to distract yourself through helping others. And there's a lot the Wardens can do here, no doubt."

Korrin's silent for a moment, mulling over how to answer that question. "It's strange; I've never been part of something this big before. The only substantial connection I had was with my mercenary company, the Valo-Kas. There's nothing wrong with mercenary work, I'd never say otherwise, but...this is more than a job, it's a cause. I can live with that."

Her smile is a little melancholy when it returns. "It goes back to the Valo-Kas anyway. I wouldn't be here if they hadn't been hired to send some people to the Conclave, for security. I was backup, in case they needed more. They did, but I never got close before it all went to hell. Now it's as much about avenging them as it is the cause itself."