crystal; ota

[aberratic]

FORM: Sending crystal
SENDER: Ness Tavane (tadfool)
RECIPIENT: Errbody

[ the sending crystal comes on, and a feminine voice clears their throat; she is clearly entirely new to this, and perhaps to public speaking in general, but she wants to make a good impression!! ]

Hello, Riftwatch. My name is Ennaris Tavane, I'm a recent arrival to your organization. If Ennaris is a mouthful, Ness will also do! I wanted to introduce myself, and I also have a request, should anyone be willing to assist me.

I've joined the Diplomacy division [ cuz damn do y'all seem to be the most in need of bodies ] and am eager to get my feet beneath me as far as work there goes. I can read and write with proficiency, and am an excellent note taker, should those skills be of use to anyone. I... can scribe, [ said with all the enthusiasm of someone admitting to being physically capable of mucking out the stables, yes, but— ] though my real skill lies in research and compilation of disparate sources of information. I'm happy to offer my assistance to anyone who needs it while I suss out what jobs need doing and where my skills would best be applied.

As for my request, I was hoping there might be someone—or even multiple someones—who would be willing to tutor me in history. I have several gaps in my knowledge, and would prefer to fill them in as quickly as possible. Please feel free to reply back to me here, on the crystal, or to get with me privately if you're interested. We can discuss compensation, though I admit I've not got a terribly deep purse at the moment.

Erm. Thank you for your attention. Have a good day? Binder's knots, feels like I'm talking to air...

Comments

[bouchonne]

What are your primary gaps in knowledge?

[ He suspects: all of them, unless binder's knots is some cool youth slang rather than something Rifter-ish. ]

[elegiaque]

( hm, proactive— )

I'm not a historian, but I have a lot of notes on recent Riftwatch history and context for the past ten or so years that I can share.

[aberratic]

[ oh cool, someone who wants to help!

...oh no, someone who wants to help. talking around the rifter thing, maybe... ]

I've spent most of my time here already reading some of the historical texts available in the library, but I find that one can miss a little something when learning only rote facts without further context. For instance, I can say "the Orlesian occupation of Fereldan began in 8:24 Blessed and lasted until King Maric Theirin killed the Orlesian-installed Meghren in single combat in 9:00 Dragon" but without broader context, I'm just just reciting facts, I'm not really learning anything.

[bouchonne]

Ahh. So you want to know about things like - oh - the box of dried ears taken from Orlesian collaborators that I found in the attic of my uncle's home.

[aberratic]

I would very much appreciate access to any such notes, recent history is the subject I'm least versed on. History books can't quite keep up with the pace of a war, it seems.

[aberratic]

[ fereldans: likely still salty about the occupation. noted. ]

I'm sorry if my tone was glib, sir, I merely meant to point out the difference between knowing a fact and understanding the meaning behind it.

[bouchonne]

Hm? Oh, no, I'm not offended. I was genuinely offering up this anecdote. Something to add a bit more texture to your understanding of the history.

In this case, a very leathery sort of texture.

[elegiaque]

When I was — a civilian guest of the Inquisition, which is sort of the mother organisation of this one, I wrote propaganda for them for a short time and I was given a great deal of access in order to do it. So I've been in the habit of taking meticulous notes.

( she also sort of plans to write a history book, at some point, after all this; she is sometimes more and sometimes less still committed to that plan, but by now it feels as if not to do it would be a waste. )

You're new, I take it. Gwenaëlle Baudin — ( and an afterthought, like she isn't used to it yet: ) Captain of our Watch. I have a few questions for new arrivals that are probably going to sound more alarming than they actually are.

[aberratic]

[ press x to doubt... ]

That sort of context is the kind of thing I'm interested in, yes. I suppose... I'm interested in personalizing the history, as best can be accomplished.

[bouchonne]

Well, I'd be most pleased to help where I can. Byerly Rutyer; a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Tell me, from where do you hail?

[ c'mon, out with it. ]

[aberratic]

[ meticulous notes, her siren song— ]

[ with all the breathy yearning of a schoolboy asking to see up someone's skirts, ] I would very much appreciate access to those notes, [ aaand now the realization she's being weird and has had to shake herself out of it, ] as well as their author, if you'd permit me some of your time. I can't imagine a better person to ask questions than someone who was there taking notes on all of it.

Ah—is this like the Personnel Officer and the Griffon Keeper? I've got nothing going at present, I can answer questions when and wherever you'd like.

[wythersake]

[elegiaque]

( down, stephen junior. )

I'll wrap up in my office and you can come and meet me down by La Souveraineté— the houseboat, at the slip near our ferry.

( whether she's a rifter or not (sounds likely, but you never know, she could be a shut in mage?) she will have had to cross the harbour to get to the gallows, and the houseboat is difficult to miss going by on the way to the fortress. )

We can take two birds with one stone.

[bouchonne]

[ not in a weird blood magic way in a cool war crimes way so you're not allowed to be mad. ]

[aberratic]

Nowhere you'd have heard of, certainly. Though we did have an excellent library.

[ her inability to avoid talking up candlekeep will be her undoing, but also candlekeep is the fucking best and every other library wishes they were as complete and cool as candlekeep. ]

crystals;

[wythersake]

I should be happy to act reference for any gaps in Circle history.

[bouchonne]

[ gIRL ]

Ah, so you're a Rifter, perhaps?

[wythersake]

[ some of us are hereditary traitors, thanks ]

[aberratic]

[ they've already met; gwen will never again know peace from overenthusiastic nerds. ]

The house—? The houseboat, yes, I do recall seeing it, come to mention. I'll—well, to be frank, I'll probably be waiting for you there, I imagine it might take you a bit more time to wrap up your official business than for me to walk down a few flights of stairs. I'll be the blonde, hair in a braid.

[ probably the description is not necessary, ness is nerdy enough to stand out on the docks. still, seems polite to let her know what she's looking for. ]

[aberratic]

That would be very much appreciated, I'm not terribly clear on their history—I'm only 20, so.

[ conceivably, she could have come into her magic in a world after the circles fell and never had need to learn too much about them. she didn't! but she could have. ]

[aberratic]

Must everyone from somewhere you've never heard of be a Rifter?

[ how long can she get away with this, this is turning out to be fun. ]

[bouchonne]

[ giRL ]

If it's cosmopolitan enough to have a library of any size, I've heard of it.

[aberratic]

[ what, she can do this all day. ]

A library of any size? You know all the local libraries in Nevarra, then? Rivain? That's very impressive, I wonder if you would know mine.

action ∞

[elegiaque]

( some polite acknowledgment of that, and then—

ness is right, it does take gwenaëlle longer. she emerges from the fortress, a diminutive brunette with pinned back curls, not looking immediately much like a captain of the watch in tightly-laced burgundy with summer-weight skirts hitched with hikes, carrying a packet of papers beneath her arm that's probably not got anything to do with their particular ends. the closer she gets, the more striking: the burned-in claw scars that drag down her decolletage from beneath the low neckline of her dress, the blank, golden eye that sees nothing beside the amber one that measures ness on first impression.

there is a knife at her hip. it is improbable that the only visible knife is the only one on her. )

Ennaris, ( she greets, voice and accent both distinct; the name isn't difficult to pronounce, but if she hadn't made a particular effort to mimic the way ness had said it, it'd probably have sounded more changed by her high quarter orlesian voice. ) Thank you for waiting.

( (she smells nice, brushing past her to lead them onto the deck, and up the porch steps.)

there's a key in the chatelaine at her waist, and the ... uniquely idiosyncratic nature of the houseboat's exterior gives way to luxuriously plush interiors, costly and particular. the most striking thing, first of all, is the portrait that occupies the far wall of the foyer: a beautiful elven woman of indeterminate age, wearing a loose man's shirt that covers her to upper thigh slid down a shoulder, sat in a plush armchair as if it's a throne and regarding the viewer with a confidently unreadable gaze. she bears a striking resemblance to the mistress of the boat, and a glance will confirm: the necklace hanging around her throat hangs around gwenaëlle's. )

La Souveraineté, ( she says, with an expansive gesture. check out her sick boat. a mildly alarming looking cat (sort of bald, sort of... not exactly bald? looks like if a werewolf had a furball that was a cat,) strolls to the doorway of the gallery adjacent, examines ness and gwenaëlle with equal diffidence, and then swishes its tail and leaves, unmoved. )

[bouchonne]

I certainly know of all the individuals wealthy enough to keep a library, yes. There aren't that many of them.