There's No Hope To Be Found Amongst Tyrants

[thelastking]

WHO: Aragorn & Whomever joins him. [OPEN]
WHAT: After being denied permission to see Galadriel, who still lingers within the dungeons, Aragorn finds himself questioning the intentions of the Inquisition.
WHEN: Mid Drakonis (??)
WHERE: Courtyard, Skyhold
NOTES: Nothing to really note here other than it loosely ties in with the Civil War plot. Just Aragorn being Aragorn, if anything.

"Too often do men give into tyranny." Aragorn said as the guards approached.

A few days after Galadriel's arrest, Aragorn had tried a numerous times to see her only to be turned away by the guards. No one within the Inquisition ever bothered to officially state as of why she was imprisoned. Other than them constantly bringing the Seeker's involvement in her arrest, Aragorn was left within the dark regarding Galadriel's fate. While he wasn't alone given the few who've shown concern about her, Aragorn couldn't help but feel alone. The Inquisition is quick to mock Galadriel for she is of Elvenkind but even quicker to claim her to be a danger because of her sorcery. Unable to persuade the guards to let him see her, Aragorn settled within the courtyard before the guards could make good on their threat of arresting him as well.

Life within this gigantic fortress has been daunting for Aragorn. His mind lingered upon the future of his Middle-Earth and the battles of this one. While he wished nothing more than to be freed of Thedas, Aragorn wasn't about leave the Lady of Light to her burdens. The temptation of sneaking her out of Skyhold did come to mind a few times but Aragorn didn't want to jeopardize her safety by doing so.

If the Seeker was willing to jail an innocent woman, then what was to stop this tyrant from killing her? This is the thought that plagues him now. While he doesn't know what prompted Galadriel's arrest and knew very little of the strained ties between Men and Elves, Aragorn knows that none of this bodes well.

Seated upon a few crates lined against the stone grey walls of the fortress, Aragorn could be heard sharpening his dagger through the usual hustle and bustle of the ever busy courtyard. For the most part, refugees and rifters both call the courtyard "home" for now. The Inquisition has done very little to accommodate their charge and even less to make the rifters feel welcomed here. While Aragorn had thankful met a few who seemed kind, the ranger honestly hasn't met anything other than scorn from those who claimed to be native of this realm. Too many Thedasians seem to think of the rifters as poorly as the Darkspawns themselves. From all the dirty looks he received and all the scornful comments he heard, there's none here who welcome the Rifters other than a mere handful.

It's disheartening to say the least and Galadriel's imprisonment was just the icing on the cake.

Too involved in his thoughts, Aragorn hadn't noticed that he accidentally nicked his hand. A thin stream of blood flowed from in-between his thumb and index finger before he even noticed.

Comments

[serannas]

Lucky for Aragorn, Ellana is one of that minority who tries to be welcoming to rifters. The task is made easier because few rifters have any animosity towards elves, either not having the race in their world, or having the race but not the history attached that Thedas has. Those rifters without gloves are easy to root out, and those who do hide their shard can usually be discovered to be otherworlders after a random conversation.

Today Ellana happens by Aragorn as he works, and she only takes a quick glance over to see what he's sharpening, thinking to leave him be. But then she notices the blood and she moves a little closer.

"Your hand, ser."

[thelastking]

Aragorn doesn't startle easily at the sight of blood but he's surprised to see it. "Careless." He admonished once he noticed the red stream trickling down his wrist. Somewhere between mulling over about the One Ring and his current plight here in Thedas, Aragorn lost track of what he was doing. It's truly uncommon for him to be this careless but a troubled mind often begets trouble. He picked up a cloth he's been using to clean his dagger and pressed it against the wound. His gaze drifted over towards the she-elf. A hint of curiosity lingered within his gaze once he noticed her tattoos.

"You're Dalish, aren't you?" The ranger asked as he studied her face. Only the Dalish proudly wear tribal markings upon their faces from what Aragorn knew. Cyril possessed similar tattoos that matched this elf's but his had been bolder in design. Nevertheless, he could tell that she hailed from Ashara.

[serannas]

There was a tiny frown on her face as she saw the blood trickle, but thankfully he took care of it quick enough. She didn't carry anything on her that she could have used to press against the cut, and she knew no healing magic.

"I am, yes. You must be a rifter?" she asked in return, since it seemed unlikely that a native would be asking her that question.

[thelastking]

"Is it so obvious?" The ranger asked with a slight smirk. Besides the strange glowing shard he tried to conceal within leather, Aragorn actually looked as if he could be native to Thedas. However, his question alone gave away his identity well enough judging from the Dalish's gaze.

Aragorn gave the cut upon his hand another glance before turning his eyes towards her again. "Never have I known Elves to wear such marks." He gestured to his cheek to indicate that he's talking about her tattoos.

[serannas]

"Oh, you have elves where you come from?" That made her perk up a little. "We Dalish elves get them when we reach adulthood, to honor the elven god of our choice." And hers were rather sparse. Though she held Mythal most high, she didn't want her vallaslin to encompass her entire face. She wanted Ellana to show through.

[thelastking]

A slight smile etched itself upon his lips as he nodded. "Yes, while the Elves do not often seek the company of others--I have seen them." Seen and lived with them, no less. Aragorn refrained from mentioning that part.

"It took a skilled hand to draw the branches upon your cheeks." He acknowledged with a somewhat wider smile. "I could tell they hold value." Even though most of the people of Arda shun the practice of marking oneself, Aragorn knew that the Haradrim often wear bold tattoos upon their skin to differentiate which clan they hailed from. Even some of them practiced the art of scarification to prove their dominance. The only reason Aragorn knew all of this was because he battled the Haradrim tirelessly in ages past.

"The Elves of Middle-Earth are quite different from your Dalish Clans. None of them wear markings of any kind but they still give praise to the Valar."

[serannas]

"Most Dalish elves are the same way," she replied with a sad smile. Her people could not be blamed for their wariness towards others, but that life wasn't for her.

The compliment had her dipping her head in thanks. Though she had a complicated relationship with her clan's Keeper, the woman had a steady hand and all the vallaslin she inked into the skin were perfect.

But then he mentioned Middle-Earth and surprise overtook her face. "Oh! You are from the same place as Galadriel and Sam!" She had only spoken to Sam once, but Galadriel was a dear friend to her. All at once, her enthusiasm was dimmed knowing that the woman still wasn't free. Diplomacy had gotten the elves no where.

[thelastking]

Aragorn tensed subtly once the elleth mentioned two very familiar names. It seemed that dear Sam had indeed made a couple of friends since arriving here in Thedas and the same could be said for Galadriel. However, none of these friendships seemed to hold much weight if the elf still lingered within a cell. At the very least, Aragorn was grateful that the hobbit didn't occupy a cell as well. It's already crime enough that the Seeker would try to snuff out the Lady of Light.

"You know of what transpired here." That may have sounded like a question but it wasn't. The elf's expression changed dramatically once she stated Galadriel's name, indicating that she indeed knew of the injustice afoot here.

"They will not let me see her." Aragorn stated calmly despite the building frustration that churns within him. "Nor will they tell me why they keep her."

[serannas]

"Yes and no," she replied, her face darkening with something that wasn't quite anger, but was getting close. "I only know Galadriel wouldn't swear an oath to the Inquisition. When several others and I drafted a letter to Seeker Pentaghast to ask what the charges brought against Galadriel were, we received a message back saying that she was a threat to the Inquisition and we wouldn't be told more."

It was frustrating, but sadly not wholly unexpected to the group of elves to have a human talk down to them. Ellana had always tried to see the best in people, and tried to see them as individuals instead of a group who would oppress the,. She didn't throw around the term shem half as much as other elves did, and she believes relations between humans and elves could be better if they were more open and understanding. But instead the Seeker had been closed off and denied them information.

[thelastking]

Aragorn arched his brow a little. "What is there to swear?" He asked looking a tad perturbed.

What does the Inquisition expect from them? Did they expect all of them to pledge fealty to their cause? Certainly seems like it given the issues they face currently. Aragorn doesn't doubt that Galadriel has her reasons for not pledging her loyalty to them but for the Seeker in turn to claim her to be a threat is a tad absurd. That's a clear abuse of power and the entire affair reeks of bigotry.

"Let it be known that Galadriel is no threat." He said defiantly to the alleged claims that state otherwise. "She hasn't done no harm to me or others."

[serannas]

"I suppose it's the standard for any organization that you reside under, if you eat and sleep there. You promise to not harm any member of the organization, or do anything to undermine its efforts. But Galadriel spoke to me of the oaths of your world, of Fëanor and his sons. I don't blame her for not committing herself to an oath here."

Ellana bobs her head in understanding. "She is a wise and kind person. I can't see her ever harming any innocent person."