faderift | Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

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Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

WHO: Hermione Granger and Open!
WHAT: There's a new ~~witch~~ mage wandering around Skyhold. Come say hello?
WHEN: Backdated to her arrival near the end of Guardian and onward throughout Drakonis.
WHERE: ~~The library.~~ All over Skyhold. ~~But mostly its library.~~
NOTES: Feel free to run into her pretty much anywhere, or have her run into you. And be prepared for all the questions about your character and Thedas/their homeworld and everything in between.

If not for the fact that Hermione had spent so many of her formative years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Skyhold might have been overwhelming

As it was, the sprawling fortress was a little hard to get used to, since the academic environment that had given Hogwarts some sense of structure amidst the chaos wasn't present here. There was a library, thankfully, and she spent much of her time there, though it was so small that she was certain she'd end up reading every book in there in two weeks' time if she didn't actually go out and explore the rest of her surroundings.

And so every so often, she pried herself away from the cold little corner she'd set aside for herself and wander the rest of the area, though granted, she more often than not was carrying at least one book with her. Usually it was one of the books that had survived the trip through the Fade; anyone who might spot her in the garden or tavern or a safe distance away from the sparring going on in the training grounds might notice her engrossed in such unfamiliar titles as Hogwarts, A History or occasionally digging through Spellman's Syllabary in the vain hope of finding recognizable runes on various inscriptions throughout Skyhold.

After all, just because she was endlessly fascinated by all the new people and cultures and history and magic, it didn't mean she didn't occasionally need a bittersweet reminder of home. Especially when her other major reminder was her wand, which - despite the fact that she'd taken to finding the most solitary places she could find and practicing with it harder than she ever had the night before an exam - still wasn't behaving properly at all. Apologies to those of you who end up slipping on some wayward ice or getting sprayed with pebbles from a spell gone wrong.

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Hermione has learned to block out all sorts of background noise, from games of Exploding Snap to magical pranks being pulled. So long as no one addresses her directly or says anything that would ring any internal alarms, it takes a lot to actually distract her from a book.

Even a book she's read a hundred times over still has its charm, and so she's completely engrossed in the one she's reading now before she feels someone standing fairly close to her; given that she doesn't sense anyone else in the immediate vicinity, she can only assume that the greeting is meant for her, and so she looks up, smiling a little in greeting.

"Hello," she returns, before noticing the state of him. Gaze shifting over to the training ring, she asks, "Been sparring a bit, have you?"

"Just finished actually, yes." Saying that, Sam looks over at his shoulder at the training ring as well for a moment before turning his eyes back. "Don't see many people choosing this spot to read. Interesting book? Can't say the title of it is familiar."

That's not the only unfamiliar thing here. He doesn't know everyone by name, but he's pretty certain he hasn't seen her around Skyhold before. Not only that but her accent isn't like anything else he's heard. "Did you just arrive to Skyhold?"

"I don't see what would make it a bad reading spot. There's plenty of natural light, after all." Clearly, that's about the only prerequisite for choosing a spot to read. She can deal with just about any other difficulty or distraction.

Glancing own at her reading, she smiles a little as she replies, "The book is from home. I only just got here a few days ago." Looking back up at him, she offers, "My name is Hermione. Are you native to these parts?"

He chuckles lightly at that, bringing a side of the towel up to wipe at his neck. "Most like a bit more privacy and silence when they're reading, not to mention someplace a bit warmer where you can easily have a drink on hand."

Ah so she was new. "Samouel," he offers in turn. "Well I'm not native to here exactly. I'm from Ferelden to the east of these mountains. And how about you? Where is home?"

"If the book is good enough, you don't notice the cold," Hermione returns with a shrug. "As for distractions, you'd probably understand it better if you met my friends. If I can study for exams while sitting at the breakfast table with them, then there isn't much that can pull me out of my reading."

Much as she's been trying to keep track of the geography of Thedas, it's not exactly easy to completely acclimate herself to the names of all these countries (or cities? or villages?) that she'd never heard of before. "Home is a place called England, though I was away at school in Scotland when I... landed here. This is a... bit of a shift." Granted, it would have been harder for a Muggle who'd never had to live in the magical world to acclimate to Thedas, so at least she's better off than the average person from home.

Gesturing back to the training ring, she asks, "Are you a soldier, or are you just preparing yourself in case this war everyone's talking about shows up on your doorstep?" He certainly looks like he can be a soldier, but she's not the type to generalize.

"Your friends must be a handful. Though I'd be careful what you say. There's plenty of things that happen around here that can easily break the best of concentrations if you're not ready for it." Elves falling from tall places, rifts opening up... and a number of other things.

England? Scotland? He's never heard of those places before - not even a mention. It's only at that point that he finally takes notice of her left hand, his eyes widening just slightly in recognition. Oh, well that would make things a lot easier to understand now. "I can imagine this is a big change for you then."

Was he a soldier? Well that was a reasonable guess. "Well considering I got out regularly onto the field it's best to practice and keep prepared. I suppose I can be considered a solider, but I'm actually one of the healers... and blacksmiths."

"So long as you don't mean a round of demons crashing through the library, I still say I can handle most distractions," Hermione replies easily enough. Dealing with demons just once had been one time far too many.

When he notices her hand, Hermione's smile tightens just a little; she's going to have to remember to start wearing gloves or some such thing, rather than go around and practically wave a rifter flag in front of everyone's face. "I'm adaptable," she says as casually as she can. "More so than I'd ideally like to be."

At his explanation of his role in things, she appears pleasantly surprised. "Oh! So you're something of a jack of all trades." Realizing that she isn't sure how seamlessly some idioms might translate here, she adds, "It must keep you busy, doing a little of this and a little of that."

"Well I think being adaptable is pretty good in this case." Getting tossed out of your world and into another? That seemed like a rather good trait to have in such a situation.

Jack of all trades. The idiom is familiar enough, though they aren't called 'Jacks'. "It certainly does, but I've pretty much got everything figured out. Typically mages here don't dabble in so many things. I was being raised to be a blacksmith before I started learning my magic... so I guess I'm just stubborn because I don't want to settle."

"True enough," she admits. "I suppose what I meant is that I have more experience with adapting than I care to have." It's useful experience, but she'd really been hoping for some stability this school year.

Hermione hadn't known whether "healer" is a mage-specific title here or if it's a more general term, so when Sam implies that he is, in fact, a mage, her face lights up and she straightens a bit with interest. "You're a mage? There are so many of you here! Back home, magic is largely kept a secret, and the wizarding community - wizards and witches are the men and women who can do magic - is so small, relatively speaking. No wonder everyone knows about magic here if I seem to keep running into mages."

"I take it that you're a witch... from your world then?" He pauses a bit when he says 'witch' not sure if he had picked on the terminology from her explanation. She's obviously a magic user though if magic is a secret thing in her world and she knows of it.

"Yes, I am a mage," he confirms with a laugh. Well didn't she seem rather excited to hear about that. "Magic is no secret here and there is indeed many of us. Course being one is rather complicated to say the least."

"I'm not a wizard, at least," she replies with a small, wry smile. "I understand that witches tend to be something else here, but it's just a general word for any woman who can do magic."

Her smile falters a little when he mentions things being complicated. "I've... heard. I'm sorry. Were you part of a Circle?" She hasn't heard much, and what she's heard has been complicated, but she knows enough to be of the opinion that any mage that had once been part of a Circle is likely better off now.

"Well anyone who can use magic is called a 'mage'. 'Witch' is usually another name folks call mages from certain parts... not usually in a good way." Sam's still smiling, but grimacing a bit at having to say that.

At being asked about the Circle, Sam raises his brows. She's heard quite a bit since coming here. "I was in a Circle, yes. I was in a place called Ostwick when I went in."

"Oh, that's all right," she replies, noticing his grimace. "Non-magical people use witch as an insult all the time. But then, they don't know about us, so they're just basing that on stereotypes in Muggle fiction and folklore."

She knows enough to know of Circles, but not to differentiate between the different ones. "I've heard some unpleasant things about Circles. I'm sorry you had to experience something like that just because you can do a bit of magic."

He blinks, tilting his head slightly. "What's... a muggle?"

At the apology he shrugs. "I don't like the Circle, nor did I enjoy being locked away, but... I'll be first to admit that there were some good things to it as well. I did learn about my magic and how to use it there. I wish it had been different though."

"Oh! Sorry! Muggles are what we call people who can't do magic. They're kept in the dark about the magical world, unless they have reason to know about it. Like my parents. I'm a Muggle-born witch, so my parents of course had to be told what I was when I'd been accepted into wizarding school."

Which brings her to her next point, which she brings up carefully. After all, she doesn't want to be accused of telling anyone here how things should be, not when she's not even from around here. "In my world, magical children are accepted into schools run by other wizards and witches, where they learn about their magic. We also learn about our history and about the ways of the non-magical world, so we can better assimilate without being noticed, since there are some very marked differences between the two. Anyway, once we graduate, we have the chance to work in all sorts of places, including our government, the Ministry of Magic, where we may influence or even become the Minister of Magic, who works directly with the Muggle Prime Minister to keep him abreast of any magical situations he should know about for the safety of his people. So no one really knows who we are, and so they don't bother us, yet we still work together to keep the world safe from any ill-effects of magic. Or as safe as it can be, at any rate. I don't see why something like that can't be developed here."

"Interesting. Course I wouldn't go around calling people that, they could take it the wrong way," he mentions with a small chuckle. He knows she wouldn't mean anything by it, but with everything going on with Rifters and other things, no reason to give anyone something to latch onto.

A school run by wizards and witches to teach those younger with magical abilities? That sounds a bit similar to what they were doing here in the Inquisition. Course their numbers here were not many, even if there was a lot of them for one space.

"It sounds like a wonderful idea. I think there have been times where the mages did try to do just that, but... that would be hard to achieve. People who can't do magic here still know of it and we also have the Fade. If demons weren't a thing to worry about we possibly would be treating magic much differently."

"I don't mean anything by it," she replies. "It's nicer than what some people might use, and easier than saying non-magical or non-mage. That's a little cumbersome, unless you have a term for people who can't do magic."

Hermione's about to explain that it's still perfectly possible to institute a sort of magical educational system here in Thedas, but then he brings up the issue of the Fade and the demons. Frowning a little as she looks up to the sky as though she could see the Fade from where she sits, she responds, "It does make for a rather difficult complication. But there have to be ways to safeguard against that, aren't there? Ways that don't involve keeping mages under the thumb of Templars who may or may not have their best interests at heart?"

"I know. Some people just get weird when they get a label, especially by something they don't understand." He smiles then hums lightly as he considers if there are any terms. "Not that I know of. Everyone is just called 'people' or referred to where ever they're from. 'Mage' just gets added on if that's what you are."

The smile on his face widens a bit more when Hermione looks up at the mention of Fade, as if it's there. It's not quite that simple. The questions though have him sighing and rubbing the back of his head, fingers feeling out the bit of sweat that hadn't cooled from the air yet. "The ways to safeguard against that are... few, and rather simplistic, a couple of which you'd probably not like to hear. Pretty much staying vigilant and having the will to say 'no' is the only way. Not a rather fail-safe method, which is why there is so many issues when it comes to mages."

"Well, if people could call me a mage and have to explain what they mean by that before I got the wrong idea, then they can probably take being called a Muggle and asking after what I mean." She's joking now, mostly. She knows full well how finicky and pretentious some people could be, and she has no desire to maneuver in those kinds of social circles.

Despite herself, Hermione finds herself chuckling a little under her breath. "Constant vigilance," she murmurs softly, mostly to herself. Not wanting to seem as though she was making light out of something like this, she explains, "I had a professor who said the same thing. He was prepared for just about any eventuality. With a little planning, one can easily eliminate all kinds of dangers."

"Hey, I don't make the rules, I just caution about them." She had a fair point, even if she's mostly joking, but she's come into their world, which is what people will go by.

"That sounds like someone you really respect." That was something rather important to always consider - being prepared for anything. Not that it always worked out, but better to be than not. Speaking of vigilance-

"So I take it you do not have something like the Fade where you come from? How does your magic work? Has coming through had any affects on it?" He's heard that other users of magic from other realms have had issues when they first came here.

"And I appreciate it," she tells him. "Though all things considered, I highly doubt I'm among the rudest of the foreigners here. I try to be mindful of what I say and apologize when I'm not."

Silent for a moment to allow herself to school her features, Hermione softly responds, "I did. A great deal. It was a great shock when he passed away." Apparently, constant vigilance can't always prepare you for the cowardice of someone who was supposed to fight by your side.

She's glad to answer his questions, since not thinking about the war is quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. "We don't have the Fade, no. I'm assuming we would have found out about it, if we did. Magic is just energy, very old and very primal, something that fewer people are born with the ability to use every generation, it seems. But it seems as though that energy is... dampened here. Or that the Fade may be directly interfering with it. Or that my wand might have suffered from unseen damage when I'd arrived here. Either way, things aren't coming out quite right, so I've been practicing with it on my own every so often to try and get it back to where it's supposed to be. I haven't had great success."

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear about that." From how she had talked and smiled about him before, Sam would not have thought that- He falls silent for a moment, giving a light sigh as he rubs the side of his neck slowly.

Good thing they had a change of topic.

Each generation had fewer people who could use magic? Wouldn't the Chantry just love something like that here. "You use a wand to cast magic? How does that work?" He knows of wands, but they're not exactly the best thing for a mage to use to focus their magic here. "Well, I'm not sure what kind of energy you're pulling from. Here magic is tied to the Fade. If you aren't able to connect to it..."

It's sort of surprising how many people she has fond memories of are no longer among the living. Surprising and depressing. But that's what happens after a war.

"If I'm not able to connect to it, then I'm out of luck," Hermione murmurs, smiling mirthlessly as she carefully tugged her wand free from her sleeve, holding it do that he would be able to examine it, if he wants to. "I focus all of my energy through it, as always, but nothing haas been coming out quite right. Of course, I can still do some magic, and I've heard it theorized that those of us who came through a rift have some sort of direct connection to the Fade anyway, but... all I want to know is how to do my basic offensive and defensive charms. I don't like not having any way of protecting myself, especially considering what things had been like when I'd arrived."

He might not have put it that way, but yes, not being able to connect to the source of magic here would leave her in a bit of a bind if magic was what she relied on.

It takes a moment for Sam to realize that the item that she is pulling out is the wand in question, but when he does his brows raise and her carefully takes it to give it a look. The design is certainly nothing he's used to that's for sure. He's definitely still paying attention though - so she has been able to do some magic.

"Well the shard in your hand does seem to give you a connection to the Fade considering we've seen them close rifts. Course I wouldn't suggest trying to channel energy from it to do magic... might just open up a rift." And no one wanted that. "Considering you can do some magic, it sounds like you're just not used to tapping into the Fade. Can you only cast spells through the wand?"

She holds her breath when he takes hold of her wand, half-expecting for his magic to have some sort of negative reaction with it. Nothing like that happens, of course, so she breathes easier after a few moments.

"I'd rather not have any interaction with this Fade or these rifts if I can help it," she murmurs. "It's not impossible for someone like me to cast spells without a wand, but wandless magic is usually more difficult and requires a huge amount of focus. I'd rather work my way up to that, if I ever attempt it at all. If I can't even handle the spells I've been performing as a child, there's no sense in getting ahead of myself."

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