[ OPEN ] Days too full, nights too dark

[fleurdesel]

WHO: Adelaide & You
WHAT: Catch all for end of Guardian & Drakonis
WHEN: All of Drakonis
WHERE: EDL, Skyhold
NOTES: some prompts to follow, poke me via PM or plurk if you want a particular starter!

[ The Healing Tents ]

Even if nothing else seems to be certain- this much she knows she has right. Every scrape, every wound, every cough she mends with a faint murmur and twist of Compassion's power. Here things are simpler. There is an injury, she is to mend it. No questions of morality or trust beyond that which her patients put in her to see them made well. It's simpler. It's a relief, honestly, after the current mess. Here if nowhere else she can trust her judgement beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now and then the lantern outside showing she is taking patients is shuttered- feel free to come in and find her drinking tea with a cold compress to her forehead. Migraines, Oh joy.


[ The Library ]

For every answer there are at least ten to twenty more questions- though the further along she goes the more precise she might make them and the less dithering about archaic academic footnotes she has to endure. Still she hunches over texts with notes, ink staining her fingers, tea at her elbow long since gone cold as she sketches and notes what scraps of something coherent she can find in these rituals on spirits, the fade, and demons. Either deep in thought, scribbling furiously, or dozing in her chair she is easy to find in the far corner, candle melting down the hours.


[ The Garden ]

Lessons in the morning, sparring in the evening, meditations around midday or tea with whomever she finds that has been overworking themselves just as much as she has which will not do. Adelaide sits here cool and calm at dawn, sculptures of ice spinning through her fingers in forms and shapes that meld and melt and meld over and over- in the early day with her students going over magical theory or discussing with them one on one their fears about demons and fade dreams, in the evening with a rapier, practicing forms, or late at night when she is unable to sleep, staring at scorched earth grass is only just beginning to grow over.

Comments

[bookish_lioness]

Adelaide doesn't have to voice her concerns. Hermione likely has similar ones, even if she doesn't have the same context of the lyrium to add to her fears. All things considered, that might be for the best.

Something she says gives Hermione a bit of hope, and she straightens up a little, interested. "Wands are a point of focus, just like what I imagine a staff to be. They're just smaller and easier to conceal, which I suppose isn't much of a selling point when magic isn't a secret here. We don't have the Fade, or at least if we do we certainly don't call it that; magic is simply primal energy that certain people have access to and certain people don't, little different from a reflex. But... you can cast magic by hand here? So if I practice with that hard enough, would I be able to work spells the way I'm used to? I'd really rather not have to learn to tap into the Fade, if such a thing is possible."

She's heard too many stories about demons, and quite frankly, she'd rather deal with those as little as possible.

[fleurdesel]

"I suppose that is similar to how magic works here, though the mechanism to which some are aware and some are not differs." Something to consider- and something to make note of. The realization that Hermione herself will be handling such notes eases a knot of tension Adelaide hadn't even been fully aware of carrying. Delegating does put a mind at ease, it seems.

"It varies from circle to circle, mage to mage. But if you know the gesture and the shape of the spell you wish to cast? You can do so without a staff. Some find it simpler to have that point of focus and it is an excellent means of self defense should magic fail. I do not know how magic works in your world- but if a certain gesture is required- it is possible you might manage, here, with your hands rather than a wand. I would recommend attempting both and seeing which suits you best."

[bookish_lioness]

It would be interesting to find out," she murmurs softly. "Someone mentioned something about magic classes, but I'm not entirely sure how useful they'd be to me. At least, not in a class setting, since everyone else would presumably be utilizing the Fade. Though I suppose sitting in on something like that would be fascinating."

Thinking it over, Hermione asks, "What do you mean by the shape of the spell? Wandless magic is mostly just a matter of concentrating our will so that we can use magical energy without filtering it through a wand. It can be tricky, since it's possible for it to not work at all or else to work a little too well, if you overcompensate and have poor control over it."

[fleurdesel]

"Lessons, yes, and we are arranging for a mentorship program for those that would like to learn- or had their learning interrupted by the war. I spend half of my time teaching." Less than at the spire- but there is more research that needs her attention now. "There are the common gestures associated with how one learns a spell- and there is the shape of energy and the veil when casting. If it is a matter of focus it is possible you might manage without difficulty, though I must urge you to only do such practice with supervision. The incident with Sina has left the opnion of those with shards that have magical capabilities a touch strained."

[bookish_lioness]

"It's my understanding that the general opinion of those with magical abilities has always been a bit strained here," Hermione remarks trying not to let her voice sound just as strained. But she shakes her head, willing to let that go and focus on more important things. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd enjoy sitting in on a lesson sometime, even as just a scribe. I'll try and keep any magic I do as connected to my wand as possible, but maybe seeing exactly how magic works here will help me advance a bit with my own."

[fleurdesel]

"That is an understatement." Adelaide snorts a soft laugh- 'strained' is putting it lightly. But they are attempting to build something better and that? Is worthwhile. "Of course. I think we've a printed list of what is offered and when- but mine all take place early in the morning in the gardens."

[bookish_lioness]

"Is that to deter the late risers and the lazy?" Hermione asks, smirking just a little as she tilts her had curiously. "Because I should really let you know that I tend to be the first person awake in my dormitory, and I'm often one of the last to go to sleep. I have no trouble staying awake and alert." No, she just has trouble staying asleep, especially given that she still sees green flashes of light when she closes her eyes and hears screams whenever she tries to bury her head in a pillow. But a little PTSD never killed anyone.

[fleurdesel]

"...honestly? It is habit. Such was my schedule in the Spire before the war. The familiarity soothed the students I brought from there and it has simply stuck." But it seems as though such habits will suit Hermione just as well. "Normally we take breakfast during or just after; if you've particular preferences? My oldest student, Roul, is the one that prepares it. Let him know and he will provide as best he is able."

[bookish_lioness]

"Oh, that doesn't much matter to me," Hermione insists with a shake of her head. "Breakfast is important, of course, but I can seek out something to tide me over well enough without having to bother anyone. Unless, of course, it's something of a tradition, in which case, I can go along with whatever's easiest."