faderift | (no subject)

After he gets a response to the letter, Cyril requests that the elves who sign it meet up. Some of them he talked to about the response before this meeting, others might be reading it for the first time now. Really, he just wants a place for them to safely discuss what they need to about it.

"So, I thought we should all talk, figure out what to do next."

Sina is out of bed just for this, and the letter yields a disgusted noise from the diminutive elf. Despite her state of ill health, she sits straight and tall as she hands the letter back to Cyril, her brow furrowed pensively. "We can't allow this to stand," she says, her voice quiet and serious. "I know not of what Asha'dhea said to her in the interrogation, but I do know that it was a direct result of the rift. ..that I opened." She falters, the guilt of it managing to penetrate the dignified face she's put on. "...I will do anything I can to right this."

"I think we deserve a better answer than this. And I would love to tell her that a human woman doesn't get to dictate what has historical weight to the elves and what doesn't." Perhaps a surprising answer from the one of their number most likely to be called a race traitor, but if they've been paying attention, they should know that the People matter to Ellana.

In this situation, she is clearly in support of Galadriel. If it turns out that she someone managed to secretly murder a bunch of innocent people, than Ellana's view will change, but right now all she knows is Galadriel refused to swear an oath, and that is not an offense for which one should be arrested.

After the meeting with the elves, Cyril goes to speak with the spymaster. He knows from this interactions with Rifters and others that she seems to be a little more prone to being on their side. He's still wary, but at least the response was signed by Cassandra only and not the entire leadership. Maybe Leliana was completely unaware of it?

"Sister Nightingale?" he asks when he sees her.

"Yes."

She is aware of his presence, of someone drawing closer, a little before he speaks. When she looks up, Leliana's expression is serious, focused and sharp. Not immediately unfriendly or unpleasant, but there is certainly something severe in her. From memory he is one of the Ashara, though she cannot say she has had a great many dealings with them personally beyond Beleth.

"Did you need something?" Not cold, but definitely not yet warm, either. Neutrality, the byproduct of being far too busy.

He seems pretty neutral as well, because he doesn't know what approval she had of the response and doesn't know if she is an ally. Beleth says good things about Leliana, which does make him lean towards respecting her. He doesn't bother with a lot of flowery introduction or small talk, which might have been a sign of how bothered he was by someone who knew him.

"My name is Cyril Ashara. I'm not sure if you're aware, but there is a small collection of Dalish elves here who have had..." A pause, as he considers the wording here. "Rather emotional reactions to current events. We drafted a letter and the response that we received..." Another pause. "It was less than satisfactory. I was hoping to get your input. I have a copy of the letter and the response here." He had written two of the letters just in case he needed to reference what he had written. He pulls out the two pieces of parchment and hands them to her.

One of them is written in very delicate hand, neat, almost feminine writing. The other is Cassandra's.

"Current events," she repeats, allowing her eyebrow to quirk just a little. "By which you refer to the imprisonment of Galadriel, I presume?"
There is something a little softer in her voice with that, gauging the reason he's here. Still, the matter of the letters is one that has sharped her as soon as her temper is softened and her already upright posture corrects, tension pulling her shoulders back.

"To whom was this letter drafted? The Advisors certainly have not received any such missive." She's speaking even as she accepts the letters, gaze cast over each. Though her hands are gloved, the slight tightening pinch of the paper is visible enough to give away her tensing. It is not the rehearsed and schooled action of a bard but something more visceral, anger rising in her that makes her cheek flush.

"'Be assured?'" Her mouth has snagged, curling into something close to a snarl. "This was not the response of the Advisors. This is cruel. That she is so completely without empathy for what Galadriel means to--"

Leliana stops herself, breathes very slowly. A human lamenting what a figure means to the elves to the Dalish would be rather rich, no? "Galadriel's imprisonment is reprehensible, Cyril. She is being subjected all the small-mindedness that so flourishes in Thedas, and my hands are tied."

By a stalemate between the Advisors, by the aftermath of Anders and the sheer tide of work that comes with being Spymaster. Even after Cyril has arrived two more ravens have just arrived with letters, and she gestures to one of her scouts to see to them, indicating for Cyril to walk with her to a more secluded corner of the Rookery.

Leliana's reaction - a proper reaction, in his opinion - makes Cyril's body relax a bit. The fact that she at least seems to understand, as much as a human can, means the world. It means that everything isn't as dire as it felt.

"Your hands are tied?" he asks and there's a frown on his face now. "Does that mean nothing can be done? Can you at least tell me what she has done wrong?"

"It means..." Leliana pauses a moment, resting her hands against the railing and leaning forward. "It means that one member of the Advisors cannot overrule the others when their minds are set upon a course of action. It means that while the Ambassador and I disagree with Seeker Pentaghast's actions, we cannot simply release Galadriel because that is our wish, and any good favour I held was exhausted with bargaining for Anders life." Of all the people, him. It could make her sick, but she refuses to allow the likes of him such power over her.

There is an edge of bitterness in her voice, of frustration that she allows to shine through. "The Seeker perceives Galadriel as a threat, a very real one, and in the past the Seekers had only to answer to themselves and the Divine. She claims that Galadriel made threats against the Inquisition, ones severe enough that locking her up was necessary to prevent a catastrophe, but she is trained to look at everything with suspicion."

For all her anger and for all that she makes no move to veil it, she does respect Cassandra. She would not hear anyone maligning her for doing her job and for carrying out her duty, each criticism countered with reasoning, because Cassandra is no monster even if she is headstrong and acts without thinking. But this? This seems like paranoia. Leliana cannot but wonder if it might have been different, were it not so fresh on the heels of Anders' coming forward and so much betrayal.

And worse still, she cannot in good conscience tell Cyril why Galadriel what the threats Galadriel made were, lest it stir others to the same action. "For the security of the Inquisition I cannot reveal the nature of the threats she made. To do so might spark others to take the same course, and that is a risk that cannot be afforded for the Inquisition nor to Thedas. However, I know Galadriel and like her well. I do not believe she should be in a prison cell and I will see to confronting the Seeker regarding this-- deception."

Cyril's shoulders sink a bit and then he shakes his head. "That's the issue that we're most worried about," he tries to explain. "The idea that whatever she did must remain secret. Lady Galadriel states she was put in her cell for refusing to swear herself to the Inquisition. The implications of any elf, Rifter or not, can be locked up for refusing to bow to a human organization is troubling and without details of her crimes to counter that, it... It," he pauses now, careful. He doesn't want to give the impression that he thinks something of Cassandra or Leliana that he doesn't.

"You have to understand, I don't believe that the Right Hand or you honestly are doing this just because she's an elf. I've heard nothing but good things about you from my clanmate, Beleth, and I think your points about the Right Hand are probably very accurate. I've never had the opportunity to speak with her, but she seems a righteous woman." He doesn't believe either of them are racist monsters. If he thought that, he wouldn't still be here trying to make things right. He wouldn't care as much. He would have gone back to Clan Ashara.

"I'm not accusing either of you of hating elves or seeking to upset us. The issue is that without a solid reason for her to be imprisoned it gives the impression that you are hiding behind vague excuses to control an elf. An elf mage, on top of that, and one that most Dalish I know would easily feel kinship towards. You seem to understand that, and I'm very grateful to hear that in your voice, but I fear how others will view this. I fear that someone who doesn't understand all of the interacting politics of this will just see a powerful elf mage locked up for disobeying and assume that means in the Inquisition all elves are easy pickings for outrage."

That's really why he's here, why he wrote the letter, why he was so careful to be so polite in its wording. This isn't just about Galadriel, though he still has deep and complicated feelings about what has happened to her, it's about every elf who has chosen to join the Inquisition.

"That is not why she was imprisoned," Leliana starts, surprise entering her voice, though it is only slight. "However, I understand your reasoning and your concerns."

Leliana pauses, lapsing into silence for a long stretch of moments. Each of his words is carefully considered, his points weighed up. She knows the urgency of why Cassandra acted, even if she thinks it was wrong - foolish, even, and perhaps cruel when she is in a mood foul enough to let her paint Cassandra in such a way.

"I fear that elves and mages have been considered, as you said 'easy pickings' for far too long, as it stands. If our actions appear to condemn them further then no good will come of it, and I will not see the Inquisition stand to support the status quo. Both groups have suffered too much to see it sustained, and especially not within the very forces that would save Thedas from what it has become."

A slow exhale - deliberate but genuine, a mark of a decision made, jaw set. "I must speak with the other advisors on this, immediately. Do you have further matters you'd raise with me?"

Cyril shakes his head. "Not at this time." He pulls back a bit, ready to leave her to let her get to business.

"Thank you for listening. It means everything to know that someone is tending to this."

"Do not thank me for that," Leliana replies, mouth drawn into a stern line - not at him, moreso at the entire world and everything in it for being ridiculous. "All people should be protected, Cyril. It is not a matter that justifies thanks when it is simply how the world should be."

She shakes her head at herself. Even now, after everything, she is a foolish idealist. "I will advise you when I have more information," Lelina offers, as she straightens and begins to move forwards where she keeps her communication crystal.

He bows his head at that and then pulls away. "Then thank you for your time, I'll not take any more of it and I'll look forward to hearing from you." He leaves her with a polite good bye. He feels better for having spoken to her. She seems the type of person to have that affect on people, maybe that's why she makes a good bard.

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Letter Signers.

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Leliana

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