(open-ish) out of the slumbers of my head

[fightingale]

WHO: Leliana & open-ish - see notes
WHAT: FREEDOM. talks about freedom/the Chantry/wherever it takes us.
WHEN: throughout late-late-late Drakonis and early/mid Cloudreach, can be after hearing some rumours.
WHERE: Default setting will be the Rookery, others possible on request.
NOTES:
1. Likely referral to imprisonment and torture in narrative, others to be added if they come up.
2. It's not exactly open-open because I'd like to be able to keep the different threads unique and avoid burn out on the topic, but if you are interested then just shoot me a pm or talk to me on plurk and we can figure it out!
tldr I am flexible with who/when/where and such, but hammering out some info first would be greatly appreciated.
3. Prose or brackets are totally fine, I'll match style :]b

Too long has she stayed her hand. First it was her ignorance that silenced her, and then it was loyalty, the belief that Justinia wished to make the world better, stronger. A more just world, where all would benefit rather than a rare few. As time has passed, though, and as the Inquisition grows, Leliana has realised more and more that Justinia's peace and her vision for the Chantry were not enough. For all that Justinia had once been a worldly woman she had not fought in the Blight, had not fought side by side with mage and elf alike. She had moved as a player of the Grand Game must, small moves, small changes, and stability had always been her first thought. It was Justinia who had threatened to deny aid to Celene in the settling of mage and Templar if Celene did not cease the elf rebellion simmering in Orlais before the burning of Halamshiral. Justinia was a good woman, a good friend and teacher and mother, and she had great vision. Even so she had been blinkered by the prejudices that ran rife throughout Thedas, the small mindedness that seemed to define each country in different ways. No one should be enslaved or punished simply for being; no one's personhood should be compromised by the simple facts and circumstances of their birth.

Most often she is in the Rookery and must be sort out between scouts and ravens bringing reports, or meetings with the other Advisors. The tower is cold, and candles flicker from a shrine to Andraste and make shadows dance. (And, if visitors come late in Drakonis and early in Cloudreach, they may find evidence of Dorian's prank, for which there will be dire consequences.)

Comments

[failedfirst]

Velanna typically is quite content to sit and quietly stew and let the humans run themselves into the ground. She's done her good deeds here and there, but they largely outweigh the general exhaustion she feels when looking at the injustices surrounding her.

After the foolishness about the "elven" rifter and one of the Dalish being imprisoned got out, however, and everything the Wardens have dealt with concerning Anders, Velanna finds herself climbing the stairs to Leliana's rookery, when usually she'd have stopped in the library. She notes the scouts leaving the advisor's presence with a neutral expression, before continuing on, until she's standing before Leliana.

"Jonas used to speak of you," she began, pursing her lips for a moment and crossing her arms. "The picture he painted differs greatly from the one that has been leading an organization that seems to be Void-bent on wrapping itself in old prejudices while claiming otherwise."

[fightingale]

Ah, joy upon joys. A Warden, and a self-righteous one at that. Leliana sets her papers on the desk.

"Speak plainly. I have little time and less inclination to talk around issues," Leliana replies, a little sharply. Whether this involves Anders or another matter she does not know, but the appreciation for the Wardens is at something of an all time low, on a personal level. Professionally is a different matter, but Leliana has always been a little petty, has always held onto things.

"There are myriad prejudices that need to be addressed. If you expect me to guess at which particular one vexes you we may be here until the next Age."

[failedfirst]

The accusation of not speaking plainly is a bit of a surprise to Velanna, usually she's in trouble for being far too blunt. Perhaps she's been around the humans too long. That throws her off a little, and she straightens her posture somewhat, before reassessing how she's addressing this situation.

"The treatment of elves here is as good a place to start as any. I've seen just as many of us here as there are humans, and yet the segregation is still obvious." She knows that isn't something so easily changed, but still. "The humans are attacking elves, there are elves sitting in your jail, and it seems that those of you in charge are content to let that continue to be the state of things."

wrote "danish" like five times before I got it right ngl

[fightingale]

"It is obvious," she agrees, leaning back a little as she stands, left hand holding the right wrist behind her back. "We have a greater gathering of the Dalish in a human settlement than I would have ever anticipated, displaying a willingness to pull together to protect Thedas and by virtue of that place a degree of trust in us that I do not believe we deserve."

Leliana shakes her head. "The Templar responsible for the attack has been disciplined. As for Galadriel's imprisonment, that I assume you are referring to, I agree. It is unacceptable, and I am putting pressure on my fellow Advisors to see the situation changed. I would ask," she continues, crisply, "that you do not presume to know my opinions, Warden, nor my beliefs."

;fdlasjf jfc this tag got lost in my inbox sorry

[failedfirst]

...Well. That was certainly not what she was expecting. Velanna looks stunned for a moment, before shaking her head.

"I... apologize. I am accustomed to sh-humans being more dismissive of what those different from them face. Especially those in power." Jonas even often made a joke about Velanna's enduring passion to see the elves elevated beyond slaves and beggars.

no apologies are ever necessary with me tbh C:

[fightingale]

Leliana is not sure the apology is necessary, but she makes no particular indication of her feelings.

"I am not innocent of ignorance," Leliana states, quietly. "Nor have those to whom I have promised my service in the past been without fault in that regard."

Without fault sounds bitter on her tongue, as if it were not Justinia who had done so many wrongs and Leliana who had stood by.

"But the Inquisition's very purpose is to ensure change, is it not? To make things better than what they have been."

[failedfirst]

"That is what I had hoped," Velanna replies, a little slowly. Since the Inquisition had so many Dalish among them, as well as were openly standing against the Chantry, she'd be lying if she hadn't had some small hope lit that this could be a turning point for the people of Thedas.

"At the very least we should be working together to save our home."

[fightingale]

"We should. It was a supposed threat made against that home that saw Galadriel imprisoned, though when it is a matter of one woman's word against another's, I am hard pressed to be satisfied. It cannot stand."

Walking towards the centre of the room, where light filters in from above and she can look down to the levels below, Leliana sets her hand on the railing.

"Change is not so easily implemented when so many cling to the small-mindedness that runs so rife in Thedas." The line of her mouth is stern and unhappy in the same moment. "That the Chantry teaches."