open; Speaking words of grace while spellwork delights

[arcaneadvisor]

FORM: Sending crystal
SENDER: Morrigan
RECIPIENT: Open
WHAT: Summary of content
WHEN: Early Wintermarch
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: A post will be linked on Morrigan's journal for research things and she has an ic/ooc contact post if further plotting is wanted, currently it'll be mostly what she would know pre-Temple of Mythal

[A message to the board was tempting but some things are best done with a more personal touch and short of visiting each and every possibility in person - and she has far more to do with her time whilst being unwilling to entrust such a thing to a messenger - and so the sending crystal it is.  A new year and, once the weather clears, a new delivery for Skyhold though that can be addressed much later.]

Since the arrival of those who came through the rifts, tis more certain now than ever that much more knowledge is needed.  To that end, I seek those of like minds to aid in research I have brought with me to Skyhold.  Much of it is on magic so I would seek mages over any others, though so long as certain parties can keep civil tongues in their heads, I will not turn away whatever aid can be rendered.  [Templars aren't strictly forbidden in the rare spirit of cooperation but well she knows Templars and ancient forbidden things.]  The research I seek to carry out has a focus on elven magic and lore, as well as my own knowledge being that which is untouched by Chantry teachings.  As such, my own supplies have been brought from Orlais and my former post, though if you wish to avail yourself of them, I ask that you do not remove them, they were...difficult to acquire.  Some will have to wait until better weather allows safer travel up the mountain with more delicate items.  Whatever tale, whatever scrap of knowledge you might hold no matter how small or foolish it may seem, it will always be valuable and I have spent a long time indeed delving into such matters.

If you wish to discuss this in person rather than a crystal, you will find me in the gardens of Skyhold, you are seeking Morrigan, if introductions are still to be made.

Comments

[arcaneadvisor]

“Men like to believe two things about women: that they are helpless, and that they find them attractive. There is a time to use that to your advantage or a time to defy that, practice makes it easier to tell which one is best for a given situation, there is much to be said for lulling them into a false sense of security,” a laugh follows, old games she played and still plays to this day though the stakes are less than they were when she was a girl, when the game wasn’t played by everyone else as well. “Still, there are some situations where it seems you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t - hold your tongue and they will read what they please into your silence, there are always far too many willing and waiting to put words in your mouth. Yet deny it and they will accuse you still, listen to the evil Dalish maleficar, of course she would deny it.”

Always that word. Always dogging her every step though it troubles her little but for Kieran’s sake, too many people with too little understanding of what magic truly is, let alone blood magic.

“Had I stood where you did I would have cut them down to size. Make mock of them so others will laugh, call them fools and drunken oafs, two grown men against a woman, how brave they must be, to accost her as she simply attempts to leave and troubles none. You must always be sure and confident in what you say but there is little need to shout, simply pitch your voice loud enough to be heard in some instances though in others, leaning close with a whisper they must strain to hear will have them shrinking back as though you have put the fear of the Maker in them.”

[serannas]

It sounds like such a simple solution, and she wonders if in practice, she could have spoken in such a manner to cause the tavern to turn on the men and laugh at them. To point out that she was leaving and harming none while two men shouted insults at her retreating back, not her face, would have surely gotten a reaction. Could she be that brave? Could she risk the consequences if she was?

Some things about the clan can be good, like knowing there's a support system to protect you from harm. Here, Clan Ashara are scattered, and a fight could break out without any near. But Ellana has other friends, as she did that evening. She could be brave knowing that she doesn't stand alone. And Morrigan's advice is perfect for those times in the future where she might be alone after all.

"They're only words," she murmurs, nodding along. "If my actions show that I've done nothing wrong, then their words are meaningless." Confidence is something Ellana needs to work on. She can't allow her voice to shake in moments like those. She is doing better since becoming a part of the Mage Council, and these tips can only help her.

"Thank you. I feel I can do more for myself in the future."

[arcaneadvisor]

“There are times when the truly obstinate will be worse than a mabari with a bone, we learned that during the Blight thanks to the word spread by Loghain that the Wardens abandoned the king but even then a person can be talked down. Phrase something the right way if your wit is quick enough and it will cut them deeper than any blade ever could.” An easier feat when you were raised as she was, speaking her mind and venturing off alone, taught that survival was the most important thing in this world. And whether she is Flemeth’s daughter by blood or not, Flemeth’s daughter she is so there are parts of her that have always been this way, reluctant to ever give an inch, always with an opinion, always looking to gain.

Motherhood has softened her the sharpest edges, but time has made her more resilient. The worries she still had then? Gone, replaced by worry for Kieran and the ever-present spectre of her mother but she knows what she’s capable of now, and there is no better teacher than that.

“Remember, you are Dalish. Elven blood is older than the blood of any human. Your people, ancestors, gods, whatever your Creators may be walked in places we can only dream of knowing an empire full of such wonder. You are a mage, drawing from the Fade, a place only we can truly manipulate beyond our dreams. Never allow them to make you feel that you are anything less than powerful.”

[serannas]

From the stories Ellana knows of the Fifth Blight and the Hero's travels, she knows that Morrigan and Alistair did not get along at all, and so she won't reveal that the greatest partner to practice her wit on has been Alistair. They joke together, always trying to go one step further and one up each other. With time, surely she can improve this skill and always have a ready comeback.

Morrigan's words just... make sense when she says them. For a long time, Ellana hasn't felt like a good enough mage, not because she is weak, but because her Keeper didn't think she was worth training as a full apprentice. She was only taught her basic spells and how to resist demons, and was taught nothing about being a Keeper. It's given her all kinds of issues over the years, and anyone who has tried to help her see past her supposed shortcomings hasn't made a deep impact. But those people? They were friends. They were trying to make her feel better about herself. The reason Morrigan's words are reaching her is because she and Morrigan aren't friends. Morrigan doesn't know her. And yet this woman knows Ellana's potential as both an elf and a mage. Ellana doesn't have to prove anything first.

It's a revelation, and her spine straightens. "I'm not ashamed of who or what I am, but I've never really looked at it this way before. It's about attitude, isn't it? They wouldn't pick on the powerful, but the ones they think are weak."

[arcaneadvisor]

If ever brought up, Morrigan would have to ask what wit because well, it's pretty limp. Or it was back then, something to make her roll her eyes more often than not but then he had his upbringing and she had hers; humour did not do as well with Flemeth as it might seem, not when she expected as much of you as she did of her daughter.

She is self-made now. She is her own person, the past always serving as a reminder and it allows her to nod in approval, rolling up the parchment she's been taking notes one as she waits for Ellana's response. It's a strange thing to teach one of the Dalish when most stories paint them all as so proud, not prone to shrinking back the way those born in the alienage tend to shrink back until pushed too far. There's more she needs to know of them, not just their lore, because understanding how different clans function and how they feel might help to cast some parts of stories getting handed down in a new light.

"Tis a certain sort who will pick on the powerful, the ones with backing and sometimes more surety than sense but that is more common when vying for true power. Such as the current civil war in Orlais with Celene, Gaspard and the rest circling and leaning one way or the other. There is something to be said for not making yourself appear as a target outside of battle."

[serannas]

It's a part of who Ellana is. All the stories of the shems destroying everything good in the elves' lives hasn't been enough to make her believe that all shems are terrible. She wouldn't be talking to Morrigan now if she believed that. Her heart is open to possibilities, but that also leaves it in a position to be easily damaged, should she not guard it carefully. She does try, but some things get to her more than others. She still has to teach herself that words are just words. Actions hurt far worse.

"I never try to make myself a target. I don't go looking for fights." Unlike some Dalish who want a shem to insult them so they can retaliate.

[arcaneadvisor]

"I speak not of fights, fights are more easily avoided. How many eyes do you think there are here belonging to those who would see this as a chance to set the world back to just the way they like it, hmm? Or others who would take further steps? There are many wishing for the mages to return to the Circles after all, for the elves to all go to their alienages, and mages in alienages are always sent to a Circle as soon as they are found."

Thedas lurches from one crisis to the next, unable to draw a breath between, none of the wounds healing and if they ever do, they are quick to open anew. Expect the worst outcome, prepare for it, ready yourself, then you will be pleasantly surprised the times that something good comes your way. But when there's so much bad? You'll be alive, and you'll have learned a valuable lesson.

[serannas]

Ellana's mouth forms a firm line. No matter what, she won't be dragged into a Circle. She'd die first. It was always assumed that that was precisely what any Templar who found her would do anyway. Why waste time and effort dragging a non-cooperative elf mage back to a city and their Circle? Just kill her in the wild and no one would know.

"This sounds more like something I should be listening for. Whispers and looks that suggest some want a role in making the world in the wake of all this just like it was, only worse. And I would say, if it worked so well, then why were so many unhappy? Why were so many being murdered on both sides? Obviously the old system does not work."

[arcaneadvisor]

"And their argument will be that you are selfish though of course they forget that their own argument is based upon the same. I often wondered, who was worse: those who built the cage or those who allowed themselves to be caged? People fear change, even when it is what is needed, because all will change and no one knows how it will look when the dust settles. Those with the power to make the world be the way they wish it have a vested interest not only in maintaining their position but in ensuring that as many as possible agree with them. All eyes are turned upon the Inquisition for that purpose, the fate of nations and orders might be decided here and now."

This is why there have always been mages and most often witches when the balance of power shifts and changes. Because there's a way of looking at the world that a man with a sword cannot see, or a ruler upon a throne. If a mage is strong and without fear, able to resist the temptations of demons should they come? Who better to offer advice, aid and wisdom. All things much feared for what can be used to help can be just as easily used to hurt.

[serannas]

Ellana knows her people fear change. They want to stay stuck in their lives while continuing to cast dirty looks at the past that cannot be undone. She would rather they try looking forward towards the future sometime. They don't have to ignore the past, but they could have so much more. And so she understands what Morrigan means.

"All the more reason to make friends with people to show them that rumors about mages aren't facts."