A good heart. A kind one, and concerned with justice. Leliana's gaze does not avert. Instead she watches Hermione for a moment, gently curious, almost tentative, as if looking away might fracture what she is observing. It is not so rare as to be unseen, but human concern for elves was so often lacking. It was easier to see them as servants or to empathise better with those whose concerns could reasonably be deemed their own. "I know," Leliana finally replies, very quietly. "This world is built around cruelty. It needs to change, all of it. And it will - it must."
She is not sure when or how, though she has come to learn that one can never expect others to take up arms. You must be prepared to do it yourself. Though she does not reach out for Hermione (Leliana does not reach out for anyone, these days, where ten years ago she might have pulled her into an impulsive hug) she does draw out a pristine white handkerchief and holds it out. Perhaps her expression is hard to read, some mix of empathy and surprise, painted over with a quiet control, the way she must mask so much.
After long moments of consideration, she speaks.
"And they, these... Death Eaters," Leliana starts, very carefully, eyes narrowing a little as this reminds her of a conversation she'd just recently had with Morrigan, "Call to mind certain figures within our own history."
Not precisely, of course. There are differences, always would be, but to have similarities raise up again, and so quickly, has her mind reeling a little.
"Have you heard of 'magisters'? Again, of the Tevinter Imperium, but... the Chant of Light teaches us that great evils in our lands originated from a group of magisters so proud and vain that they thought to enter the Golden City, and then they did, they corrupted it. The Maker turned his back on us, and these magisters became the first darkspawn - monstrous mockeries of each race that sweep over the lands inflicting death and suffering wherever they might go."
Not easy subjects, indeed. That finally gets a smile out of her. "In my experience the topics that most need discussion are never the easy ones. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hermione. It is not... often that I find people whose passions seem to so greatly reflect my own." A moment, Leliana turning a thought over in her mind, before she continues. "If ever you find yourself in need of information or recommendations, please seek me out."
Leliana nods, then, to a nearby staircase that leads up to the Rookery. "That is where I am most often found."
I AM SO SORRY
She is not sure when or how, though she has come to learn that one can never expect others to take up arms. You must be prepared to do it yourself. Though she does not reach out for Hermione (Leliana does not reach out for anyone, these days, where ten years ago she might have pulled her into an impulsive hug) she does draw out a pristine white handkerchief and holds it out. Perhaps her expression is hard to read, some mix of empathy and surprise, painted over with a quiet control, the way she must mask so much.
After long moments of consideration, she speaks.
"And they, these... Death Eaters," Leliana starts, very carefully, eyes narrowing a little as this reminds her of a conversation she'd just recently had with Morrigan, "Call to mind certain figures within our own history."
Not precisely, of course. There are differences, always would be, but to have similarities raise up again, and so quickly, has her mind reeling a little.
"Have you heard of 'magisters'? Again, of the Tevinter Imperium, but... the Chant of Light teaches us that great evils in our lands originated from a group of magisters so proud and vain that they thought to enter the Golden City, and then they did, they corrupted it. The Maker turned his back on us, and these magisters became the first darkspawn - monstrous mockeries of each race that sweep over the lands inflicting death and suffering wherever they might go."
Not easy subjects, indeed. That finally gets a smile out of her. "In my experience the topics that most need discussion are never the easy ones. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hermione. It is not... often that I find people whose passions seem to so greatly reflect my own." A moment, Leliana turning a thought over in her mind, before she continues. "If ever you find yourself in need of information or recommendations, please seek me out."
Leliana nods, then, to a nearby staircase that leads up to the Rookery. "That is where I am most often found."