[semi-open] Solas Returns

[singularwill]

WHO: Solas, open to: the Advisors, the Inner Circle, and peeps who want CR that have checked with me first. Hit me up here if you aren't sure
WHAT: Solace returns to Skyhold
WHEN: Drakonis 25 and onward
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: general warning for eggheads

Advisors

He brought the Rifters to the castle, but spent little time getting them acquainted, other than introducing them to a few of the scouts, who then were told to show them around the castle and find out who they were supposed to report to.

Solas had his own reports to make. And his own questions.

So when he burst into the War Room, mid-meeting, he was already starting on them before anyone had the chance to question him.

"Exactly how many shard bearers does the Inquisition have? I have just brought four with me, and I have heard rumours of the others, but--"


Inner Circle/Previous CR

He also made careful note to visit the others of the Inner Circle, whether or not he was personally fond of him. He needed to be brought fully up to date with the workings of the Inquisition, and the Herald's original Inner Circle were the best way to ascertain that.

So he sought each out, wherever they could be found, and offered a greeting. Some more formal than others.


[ooc: just go ahead and set up where they are and I'll have Solas approach them individually. Cass: you can have a post-advisor thread for one-on-one if you like!]


For Everyone Else

[Contact me OOC and I can set you up an individual starter.]

Comments

[fleurdesel]

"The longer we go without answers the worse the potential fallout when something goes wrong. Again. Did you know of those of our world that have been struck by shards from the rifts? The rifters in general- some have magic and some do not-" Flicking through thoughts as quickly as she flicks through notes, trying to find the first sheaf from several months ago, going from point to point without considering the fact he might not have context to follow. Trusting he'll manage all the same.

If not she can go back and explain properly.

"Mages in particular- mage singular- Sina, a Dalish First opened a rift in the courtyard some months ago. We had assumed somewhat foolishly that such a thing could not be done- much of my research concerns whether or not those that aren't mages of our world have the same connection to the Fade that would make such a thing possible. However so far it is terribly inconclusive. Too many variables, too many worlds, no real base reference material to go from- everything I have been able to find on The Late Herald has been vague at best or poetic and useless."

[singularwill]

He was, thankfully, far more patient than he had been in his youth, and just listened as she flitted about from thought to thought.

"It is not only possible, it is how they manage to close the rifts at all," He murmured, once there was a lull for him to do so. "Imagine the anchor as... the key. It can open a door, as well as close one. The magic of the Rifts is not the same as the magic of our world - at least, it is a magic that is far different from most. The Anchor would have given a non-mage the same ability as it gave the Herald - it was separate, from her own power." His voice was low, even, and measured. "I doubt the origin of the other-world shard bearers will matter greatly, against the power of the shards themselves. They are a vessel."

[fleurdesel]

"...which renders a fair deal of my research irrelevant." She stilled for a moment, wondering why in the Maker's name that did not occur to her before taking a deep breath and moving onward. Asking every question when one knew nothing did some good and some ill. Having a specific point of reference from which to work? Will make this run a great deal smoother. "A vessel that might be killed by the shards. They experience pain when near rifts or veilfire; when Sina opened the rift in Skyhold the shard in her chest reacted with it in such a way that it nearly killed her."

Adelaide found the notes in Common and slid them over to Solas without question.

[singularwill]

"Yes. The Anchor itself would have killed the Herald eventually, even if she had done nothing. It would have killed her far sooner, if fate had not intervened, and ensured that I happened to be close enough to help. The shards - I am not yet sure how much power each individual piece contains, but I have no doubt that they are still incredibly dangerous."

Sina's probably more so than other's, but he didn't mention about meeting her in the Fade. Maybe later. There were more important points to make.

"The truth is that we have have both a more complicated problem, and a more widespread solution, than we did before. The hearts and minds of men and elves are harder to predict than the anchor itself, and while it was in one piece, we only had one heart - one mind - that mattered."

[fleurdesel]

"It takes anywhere from three to five shard-bearers working in tandem to close a rift. This much I have seen." Whereas the Herald had been able to do so on her own- or so she has been told. Adelaide flipped through her notes again, frowning down on what little she had on the Herald and her mark. Her anchor. "I feared they might make rifters susceptible to possession or demonic influence but found little to support that fear."

Thank the Maker for small blessings.

"But they still offer a physical danger. The shard, when active, stopped Sina's heart. She could not breathe. Most may only be on hands but how long until it does more than simply ache? None have reported lingering discomfort or numbness." If he could, and did, handle the abstract, she might handle the physical. Look at this with a physician's eyes first and foremost. Gently- as much as she was capable of speaking kindly to someone she did not know well or of a woman she never met, Adelaide murmured. "Evelyn."

[singularwill]

"Yes."

Evelyn.

A grief he had never expected, or wanted, but that slotted along with so many others that he had carried for so long.

He finally pulled her notes toward himself, glancing over them with a small frown.

"It is impossible to say, when or how they will flare up, but I would not suggest complacency on the matter. The Anchor itself was incredibly volatile, but seemed to calm, once the Breach was quieted. I am afraid we will simply have to wait and see, what damage these will do to their hosts."

[fleurdesel]

"...My condolences." She couldn't think of anyone in the Herald's inner circle that hadn't been cut deeply to hear of her death. As much as the night of the Wake ended violently for her in particular-

Many grieved and yet carried that pain.

"Around rifts or around veilfire. I have attempted to keep notes of the size and shape of the shards- those that have used them to close rifts and those that have not seem to show no true difference. But for some it has only been a few weeks, others? Months. There is too much here that I do not know."

[singularwill]

"Thank you."

It was a simple acceptance, and given with nothing more than a slight nod. But it was a recognition all the same.

He had forgotten, how he would have to deal with her memory on his return. The fact that something so fresh could bite so deep never failed to surprise him. But there were wounds far older, and far deeper, that it only scratched the surface.

"It is a magic that is far older than anything we know, and with almost no record of its existence, let alone its use. It will take time, to compile the knowledge necessary. We will simply have to work with what we have, while we do."

[fleurdesel]

"Which more than likely means Tevinter, some manner of antiquated Elven magic, Avvar, Dwarven though that is terribly unlikely, or something else that has been lost to time or deliberately erased out of idiocy - and probably why there are no records. 'Declare a group heretic', says the chantry, 'destroy all their books, it cannot possibly bite us in the future.'" The control and compartmentalization of relevant information when by all rights it ought to have been spread and preserved was an old bone with the Chantry Adelaide had picked time and again.

Of course now it may or may not be connected to the ending of the world, so whatever dregs of smug satisfaction she might have felt for being right were short-lived. "I could say I have done more with less, but that would be a lie."