therookery | The Judgement of the Dalish

FORM: Sending Crystal
SENDER: Beleth
RECIPIENT: Every Dalish. All of them. Even Twisted Fate. And Zevran.
WHAT: Merrick beat up a Templar, the advisers let the Dalish exercise their autonomy to punish him. Beleth is calling a sending crystal meeting to exercise this right and discuss what to do with him.
WHEN: Backdated to a few days after the soiree
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Beleth will be discussing punishment for Merrick relating to events in the log located here

[ People who know Beleth will recognize the way that she speaks is what she uses when she's trying to channel her mother--in other words, trying to do something political. Particularly, something political that she does not care to do, but must be done. This entire situation has her on edge and unhappy, but she's going to see it through if it kills her.

...Hopefully it won't, but, you know. ]

Aneth ara, falonen. Most of you know me, but for those of you who do not, I am Beleth of Clan Ashara, daughter of our Keeper and sister to our First. [ That second part feels a little weird, but. She wants to try to feel like she has some kind of authority to be able to call this impromptu meeting--or voice meeting, as it were. ]

This conversation has been filtered to exclusively Dalish, as I've come to you to discuss a grave matter and ask for your opinions. Ah--I've also invited Zevran Araini, because the subject at hand heavily involves him, and he's become fairly important to a great many of us. We could probably twist my mother's arm into adopting him in if anyone is particularly upset by his inclusion. [ That's a joke. Being able to convince her mother of anything, at least. Not Zevran being an honorary Dalish, that's true. Sorry, dude. ]

One of our own, Merrick of Clan Ashara, attacked a Templar the night of the soiree, in the Templar's own bedroom. However, the attack was...not entirely unprovoked. [ Beleth's voice falters for a moment, because she really didn't want to talk about this to a group of people, even other Dalish. But she can't let Merrick look like he'd just gone completely off the handle. ] This Templar...attacked me, several weeks ago. I know that this is news to most of you, because I wanted to avoid this kind of situation. I am fine, the situation was handled, and the Templar was punished to my satisfaction.

However, because the Templar was already disciplined for his actions against me, the Order and the Inquisition view Merrick's attack as unjustified and expect him to be disciplined in turn for his insubordination. The advisers have been good enough to respect the Dalish autonomy, and have left us in charge of his recompense. I've spoken to the members of the Templar Order, and they will respect our decision as long as we react reasonably.

And so, it is up to us to make a decision regarding what is to be done with Merrick. I would like to expand, somewhat, on Merrick himself, so that those who do not know him will be informed enough to make a decision.

Merrick--He's not a bad person. Not by a long shot. He's a good man, a trustworthy man, and he still is, despite his actions. Merrick--Has a history of struggling with his anger. He's been getting much, much better about it, especially since he started working with Zevran. This was a relapse--But it was not that Merrick attacked someone at random. He attacked that Templar because he hurt me. Not because Merrick is somehow untrustworthy or...a loose cannon. The rest of our clan would tell you this, as well. He's a good person. He's one of my closest friends.

He's just--Troubled. But he's working on it.

[ She hesitates, but decides that covers as much as she's willing to say. She's reluctant to go about explaining Merrick's full situation to people outside of the clan, even other Dalish. ]

I know that according to our customs, most of us would be perfectly content to shrug the incident off. A shemlen attacks one of the People, we attacked back. It doesn't matter if the humans already penalized him. That is our way. And, certainly, I don't want to punish Merrick. [ She falters again, but steels herself after a moment. ] But when we came to Skyhold, and joined the Inquisition, we agreed to certain rules. That includes abiding by Inquisition decisions and punishments. If we shrug off Merrick's attack, we open ourselves up to numerous problems.

Firstly, we must understand that the people of the Inquisition will be watching what decision we make. If we let this go, this will set a troubling precedent and send a dangerous message to everyone watching us. Those who are unhappy with our presence here will use this as leverage against us, that we are dangerous, and we will look the other way when one of our own attacks someone.

Secondly, this autonomy is a precious thing. And it's a thing that can be taken away. We must prove that we have the ability to be autonomous, that we can deal with our issues without the humans intervening, and that we can do it well. If we let attacks on humans go unanswered, the Inquisition may decide that we do not have the right to this autonomy, and take it away. Then Merrick will be punished by the hands of humans that don't know him, don't care about him.

And finally, if we do not answer to this fairly and justfully, there will be dissent among the humans. Templars who feel that one of their own has been slighted may take it upon themselves to retaliate in turn. If we don't stop this where it stands right now, we could have a cycle of violence on our hands that no one can afford. [ Her voice grows cold for a moment, deadly serious as she states: ] I would have my life ended before I see the People pulled into a blood feud because of me.

I've deliberated, and come up with a suggestion for what to do about Merrick. There are a number of Dalish clans in Orlais. I think that the best thing to do would be to have Merrick go to them and offer his aid for any situations that might need an extra skilled fighter. We tell the Inquisition that Merrick has been temporarily dismissed from his work with the Inquisition, and will be tasked with, ah. Community service, maybe.

Additionally, I think he should be assigned a caretaker who will be with him at all times to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't lash out at anyone else. I can't think of anyone better for this specific job than the qunari Metaari, as he was the one who broke up the fight between Merrick and the Templar in the first place. [ Okay so maybe they're also banging but DETAILS. ]

I think that this will serve as fitting discipline to ease the minds of the Inquisition, and give Merrick some time away to collect himself. However, the decision is not mine alone to make. Now that you know the situation, I open the floor to the rest of you. I will answer what questions I can, and Pel and Cyril may be able to help with that as well.

Ma serannas.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not like his family does.

And imagine, perhaps, how terrible he might feel should he have an incident and you should come to harm? Metaari is less likely to be injured.

And I think that Metaari would be more...suited to travelling with Merrick.

Alone.

Whether or not that would earn them more or less trouble on the road, who can say? It is a delicate thing.

[ She makes a small, amused noise in the back of her throat, as close as she'll get to offended her delicate sensibilities. ]

I hope they take it as a helpful lesson in discretion.

[There's a bit of a pause. Pel sort of hates letting someone else in to manage Merrick. She knows how to do it, she knows what he looks like when he's at risk, and she's seen the bitterest extent of the hurt that causes it all. It's a wrench to offer part of his care to someone she barely knows just because they're sleeping together.]

Fine.

At any rate, I'd rather see him treated than punished. And I don't want the humans to see us going to an extreme with him and taking it as an excuse to do the same with all the Dalish. The way we treat our own is going to show them how to treat us.

Edited 2016-04-02 04:05 (UTC)

He is being treated, Pel. What Zevran has been doing with him, and the work he's been doing here--You can't say you haven't noticed a difference.

But I don't want the humans to see us shrugging off an attack from an elf on a human and taking it upon themselves to exact revenge. I agree that whatever we do shouldn't be extreme, but my proposal is hardly such. I know that there will be more trouble in the long run, if we don't at least make some noise about punishing behavior that the Inquisition deems criminal.

If it was two humans, people would hardly notice. There wouldn't be layers of punishments. If Merrick was human, there would be one punishment and it would be forgotten.

[It's not exactly criticism. It's despair and fear both. Staring into reality and fussing because Merrick is more than just a brother figure. He could have been made of Pel's own flesh and blood, cut from her and shaped. He could be her child.]

I leave it in your hands, then. I can't...I can't be reasonable about this. I'm sorry you have to be, after everything you've been through.

...If it brings you comfort, lethallan, the punishment the Templar was given was far harsher, in my opinion. Another reason I knew we had to be the ones to decide.

[ She pauses for a moment, because she understands how Pel feels, she truly does. Merrick could have been--a lot of things, to Beleth. But it was what it was. ]

Such is my responsibility, I will bare it. This situation was crafted of my own hands, and I will see it put to rest.

How was this your fault, exactly?

[She doesn't sound convinced. She just wants Beleth to hear how it sounds when spoken aloud.]

Pel, I--I told him who the Templar was. I gave him the name. And I knew there was a chance that he might do something like this, and I didn't tell anyone. Not even you or Cyril. I just kept...hoping that it would go away if I didn't speak about it.

But I just made it worse.

Bell.

He's not a halla, whereby if you do the wrong thing you can expect certain logical consequences. He's a person, and so are you. It's not his fault, and it's not your fault. You were confiding in a good friend. There's no shame in that.

[ She makes a disgruntled noise because wow Pel stop making sense. After a moments, she gives a sigh of defeat. ]

You're right, I suppose. I still feel like I should have done...something, more.

Something more needed to be done, but not by you and not now. If anyone alive could've done something about it... [it was me, for not covering his eyes or grabbing him and carrying him away when Elan died]

You're going to want to do more, every time this happens. Just remember that someone who loves him as much as you do is already doing all they can.

...Ma serannas, lethallan. I needed to hear those words.

You're good to him. Good for him. But remember that when you take on a responsibility that is not yours, simply because the one whose responsibility it is will not take it, you hinder yourself, and cause yourself pain. You need to be whole.

Edited 2016-04-06 02:21 (UTC)

I would take pain and incompleteness if it could give him any measure of comfort. I would take as much responsibility as I could bare if it helped him. You know that, Pel, and you would do the same.

But...

[ Resigned sigh. ]

...I guess it's not quite as helpful as I thought.

It's...a lesson I'm learning. Trying to take on someone's pain only weakens you. You don't take the pain, you strengthen him. Support him. Trying to take on his pain will only double the pain, not halve it. You're strong enough to help him without punishing yourself for something that's been and done.

Edited 2016-04-07 23:03 (UTC)

The Judgement of the Dalish

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