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Entry tags:
ooc: inbox/plot with me
{sending crystal | notes & letters | personal visits}
Note: I work Mon-Fri and I'm basically away 11 hours a day but I do tags in gdocs and I try to do a round a night. Timezone is GMT.
{sending crystal | notes & letters | personal visits}
Note: I work Mon-Fri and I'm basically away 11 hours a day but I do tags in gdocs and I try to do a round a night. Timezone is GMT.
no subject
There's just enough time for her to mark her place before Korrin appears. She'd seen the notice herself and thanks to what Bruce had spoken of, she'd slotted the pieces together.
Rescuing Zevran does not make up for igniting a war.]
Korrin... [Rising carefully, she swings open the door to take a quick check before she locks it and moves to set her hand at the small of Korrin's back, a touch that can easily be shrugged off but one that will let her know she isn't alone in the room.] They are probably thinking about how best to limit the damage when this is certainly an embarrassment, at the very least for the spymaster, and a betrayal that could be seen as bordering on treason. Well, perhaps not treason, the Inquisition is not beholden to one nation or one crown, or even one leader, more a mutiny if I am any judge.
[Talking gives Korrin her voice to focus on, even if there's anger and worry in Araceli's voice. It's Araceli's guard voice too, more measured than her usual, less cheer in it but mutiny is serious where she comes from, where a captain has either failed utterly or a crew has betrayed them in the worst possible way. A rare thing with Castileans but still ugly and grievous.]
Such things have to be handled with grace and tact, though simply taking the judgement of this Champion when they are not here...I find that troubling.
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It's beyond troubling; it's idiotic. The man is possessed, Araceli. An abomination. He's a primed gaatlok barrel, liable to go off at any time! He could have when we were in Antiva, easily. [She shivers, disgust clear on her face.] I fought alongside that piece of shit, trusted him with my life. With your life, too. Now I wish that flesh golem had killed him and saved us this current bullshit.
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Of course Korrin understands the dangers best but better not to risk setting a precedent.]
I will assume gaatlok is to you as gunpowder is to me. He did not, however, explode. It may be the case that there is a long fuse to reach the barrel but for now, watching, waiting, listening, those are the advantages we have. Everyone within Skyhold knows and soon those outside the Inquisition will know. Both of us are experienced fighters in our own way and we all placed trust in one another; Alistair, Twisted Fate, Beleth, Iron Bull, Taashath - if something had happened, I am sure the matter would have been dealt with. Though I don't know fully where any loyalties would lie but I would hope that all but the mad would take steps to avoid further friendship with him.
[After what Kaisa told her of the Wardens however? Well whatever was simply just respect has turned into a possible threat. Bard training is waking the guard instincts she'd allowed to sleep because it's easier to just be a thief, a gambler, a pretty girl that smiles at everyone. Play to your strengths when you don't sure footing.]
However easier it might have been had he died in Antiva, the fact remains that he did not. Causing any sort of scene and losing our tempers in a public space gives him room to argue, to protest, and that could give him a measure of legitimacy in the eyes of some. The Grey Wardens could also decry his treatment and from what I have learned of them thus far, they might feel their authority is challenged and decide it is time to remind people that only they can do what they do. Do not give him the satisfaction Korrin, people like that will seize any opportunity just as a stray cur would.
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...I won't. The council means a lot to the mages here, as a stepping stone to building something better after the war. I don't want to endanger that in any way, much as it kills me to let the Grey Wardens have their way on this. The Mage-Templar War can't afford to reignite again, especially not in the middle of a greater crisis. Damn the Wardens, they know we need them. But they'd better keep that abomination as far from the rest of us as possible, for everyone's sake.
[She huffs and leans back, a little calmer but still irked.] Those friends Anders knew from Kirkwall, they must have known. Varric, Merrill...he couldn't have stayed hidden this long without help. I don't know if I can look at them the same way again, when they knowingly endangered us all. They can dress it up any way they like, but that's what it comes down to, doesn't it? Fuck....
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I assume you'll all have some sort of meeting about this, if you want me to meet you after I can take some of my reading and wait outside for as long as it takes, I have plenty to keep me occupied and you'll know that I'm right outside, as soon as you'll need me. Hopefully everyone can talk, allow for cooler heads to prevail but I admit...if there are not punishments placed against those involved, reprimands of some description I would be- [there are a hundred ways to phrase it but she'll settle for a more polite one] less than pleased. At the very least, they should be removed from Skyhold, I can imagine there are others just as angry as you.
[Skyhold can't afford to have another attack within the walls. There was the first abomination, Sina opening a rift, Zevran being snatched by the Crows that had involved Merrick being poisoned; the guard in her angry, and she wonders how the Inquisition will address how these events seem to stack up.]
You know I'm not one for putting people in shackles but this is one situation where I think it should be very clear. We might not be religious the way any of you are here save maybe the Dalish or the dwarves, but to blow up a building for your cause and to know that you are murdering people in cold blood is abhorrent but there are things we do for our friends because we love them, irrational though they may seem. I won't tell you how to be with them but I would say more fault lies with the Wardens given that they're a whole order of sorts within Skyhold.
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Assuming said Wardens even listen. They're used to getting their way, you know. Anything to combat a Blight, not that there's one now but no one wants to alienate them should another one arrive. I used to think of that as a good thing, them having as much leeway as they have to do what's necessary. But using it to get away with shady shit like this...abhorrent is exactly the word. Given how close they keep everything to their chests, I can't even count on those I know better to really explain what the fuck they're thinking.
[What a clusterfuck. Korrin manages a faint smile for Araceli at her offer, though, leaning in to brush her lips against the tiny woman's forehead.]
That means the world to me, Kadan. Thank you. There's no way we can avoid a meeting, or the headache it's going to bring. We don't have any power to overturn the advisors' decision, but we can still take measure to protect people, and that's what I plan to do. That and make sure no one has reason to romanticize that piece of shit as a martyr.
I'll be surprised if they don't leave Skyhold proper on their own, they can't be so stupid as to think sticking around would be a wise plan. The sooner they get the abomination away from everyone, the better. Preferably to the Deep Roads.
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Kaisa mentioned as much when we first met, that they are the only ones who can know. Nothing as such would be allowed to operate in such a manner where I come from, even the greatest assassins in Ebeos are known to another, to a person that is half their soul and they are the deadliest assassins for they will never be known to any other. It is the the Warden mages that I wonder about. I realise that they no longer are constrained by your Circles, I know that much, but is there no kinship in those that are alike? Such a man can only hurt the cause for freedom, not better it, spite can be a good motivator but all too often it is an ugly thing, to cut your nose from your face.
[With Korrin this close she can lean up, to strong from the tips of her horns to where they meet her forehead, massaging gently with her fingertips.]
Offer the hand of friendship to them. Say that you respect their decision, do not give them any cause to read too deeply into your words; they will be on edge, they will be waiting for an attack to come from any corner. That the Templars have been so silent? Get in before they do, say that you understand they abide by the Champion's judgement, that you wish no further bloodshed, that you are willing to work with them on this matter. Think whatever you all will in private, discuss possibilities amongst yourselves but I know advisors, Korrin, I know what they are like with Leandra when she simply wishes to impose tariffs on certain luxuries that they take for granted, and this is so much worse. If you all as free mages are able to seem more reasonable and to offer a response long before the Templars – who I believe are known for their histrionics, at least within Skyhold.
[Her smile is sharp as a knife, a hint of bared teeth.]
The Council is in a good position – you have former Circle members in Madame Vivienne and Adelaide, Ellana is elven and Dalish so removed from the Circles, as are you as a Vashoth, and Lady Benevenuta is from a Circle very different to the Orlesian ones. [There are more she's missing but those are the councillors she's heard of or has met, and it's like the benefits of the queensguard: a girl from each country, all of them armed to the teeth in every way they need.]
But please. Do not say such things of the Deep Roads. What I was told…it chilled me to the bone Korrin.
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Alright, no more Deep Roads. And I can't say I know where the Warden mages stand, not exactly. The one mage Wardne friend I have -Sabriel- hardly seems as though she'd support anything Anders did. She's as Nevarran as Benevenuta, and they do Circles differently there. In this case, I suspect it's less mage solidarity and more Anders' friends from Kirkwall pulling some strings.
[Which galls her in an entirely different way, of course. Bethany is a Grey Warden, sister to the Champion. There's no way she couldn't have known about Anders. True, he'd arrived here before her, but the gap between her arrival and this reveal is not insignificant. She had to have known.
That feeds into her somewhat bitter smile as she responds.]
Fair point, we can't come out of this with the Templars looking sane and reasonable. As much as I don't trust the Wardens at this point, I still trust them even less. Benevenuta and Adelaide will likely promote your idea; Vivienne's likely to be even more enraged than I am, given her loyalty to the Circle. But she won't have the power to overturn this decision any more than the council at large.
Ugh, I despise this situation so damned much. The Wardens have gone too far with this, and dealing calmly with them...well, I'm lucky there are those on the council far more diplomatic than I. But I'll keep your advice in mind, kadan. Anders has made a terrible situation even worse, but if something good can come of this, even in the slightest way...we have to seize it.
no subject
Lady Thevenet was kind enough to explain a little of Nevarra to me when we first met, the Circles and the Mortalitasi. The Champion's judgement is her own, if friends from Kirkwall listened then it could be loyalty to her and her wishes. I read the book like most here have I feel, for how famed it is, this is a time to go with the politics and to use whatever you can. A tool exists for every task; Leandra can send the others more easily to the fancy parties but if there is a deal going down in a tavern that might be dangerous, I am always the one to go and to report back. Play to your strengths here and none of them can fault you. [Not that she truly knows the advisors beyond reputation, a thing she knows not to trust in fully but it's the best plan to go with. There are always vested interests; no one volunteers for the amount of time and effort involved in a council unless there's something they want out of it.
The ones who do the long hours, collating and organising and disseminating? There are times when they take the task because someone must or they're given it with no choice. The wise ones take it because there are jobs you have to do yourself to make sure they're done well, she'd put money on the latter, even without knowing who does what within the council.]
The sun rises, the sun sets. The moon will wax and wane. The tide rises and falls. Sometimes you have to let the dust settle. So long as he's being watched and the situation is known to all, it means that if he ever slips, there will be a hundred eyes on him. People make mistakes when they're being watched too. I don't know how many chances a man that blows up a building and ignites a war is allowed, I'd be interested in finding out, wouldn't you? [Araceli, after all, is rarely still in Skyhold. She's a strange girl from a rift, what could she possibly know really?] No one wants to turn around and say that the Wardens were treated unfairly either when the Inquisition doesn't really have support and they have such a long and storied history. Whenever you need to rant, come to me, I will always listen and make it better.
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You and this effect you have on me, kadan. I had the perfect storm of a mood going, and you just had to go and utterly ruin it. That's a rare gift, and one I'll treasure. I wish I could say that it'll never be needed, but...this place has a way of getting to me, sometimes. It's rarely that bad, though.
[Anders just hits a lot of her buttons in the worst way, as she's made abundantly clear by now.]
But you're right; given enough time, it might be that the issue resolves itself before long. Now that people know who he is, what he is, that scrutiny might make him crack. I still don't like it, it's risky given what he is, but it's out of my hands. That's something I'll have to accept, as much as I hate it.
[Reaching up with a free hand, she gently tucks back some of Araceli's curls before running the back of her fingers along the side of her cheek.]
You have such patience, kadan. I know it'll never be my forte, but I admire it in you all the same.
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Some storms can be reasoned with, or sometimes you simply need to navigate your way through the eye of them. Worse will come that we simply have to weather, but I understand what you mean. Why do you think I take the rooftops places? I can avoid much of the chatter that would drive me to distraction, even the tavern hasn't been worth going to for gambling lately.
[Everyone is on edge, that seldom makes it a worthwhile night, when tempers are already frayed.]
We don't know if there were any terms given to the Wardens that aren't being made public either, given that it has a reputation for secrecy it might have asked that that remain the case with this too.
[But she does snort, because patient isn't always a good way to describe her but there are certain luxuries afforded to her at home that she doesn't have here. Or doesn't allow herself to have; how can she trust that the actions of one aren't going to impact on the others?]
If my mother could hear you say such things. Sometimes you have to make yourself wait, a thief knows that, if you don't want to land yourself in trouble.
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...that's a fair point, about secret terms. I hate the thought; what Anders did was public enough, everything about him should be made public as well. But if the Grey Wardens have a hard-on for anything, it's keeping their secrets close. Nevermind that their secrets could affect the rest of us, especially in this case.
[She huffs at that, shaking her head.]
Would that I had your skill with climbing...and the body type for it. The most I can manage is Fade Step, and that isn't vertical. The thought of rushing around with you in my arms is oddly calming, though. [Sliding around on the ice, under titsicles...it was the best part of Emprise du Lion.]