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"Perfect dancing fare," he says with a brief smile. "Though I suppose I don't have any room to talk, Ferelden songs have a lot of maidens drowning themselves because their lover deserted them, or their lover died in a Blight, or someone's father didn't approve and they both drown themselves."
Athessa's smile is less brief, but warm. She looks back over towards the shelves, thinking for a moment, then stands to peruse the shelves.
"I don't think I should be, at this point, but I'm always kinda surprised to hear the similarities between Dalish songs and ones from Ferelden or Orlais, or wherever."
"I don't think I should be, at this point, but I'm always kinda surprised to hear the similarities between Dalish songs and ones from Ferelden or Orlais, or wherever."
"No ... I know what you mean. I'd never left Ferelden until a few years ago, and I remember being surprised that people weren't more different. I'd read about the Free Marches, Antiva, but most of it was about things unique to those places. But beneath it... I think people are people. The differences matter, sometimes, but they aren't everything." A rueful smile. "At least, that's my opinion. For whatever it's worth."
"I think you're right," she agrees, trailing her fingers along the spines of the books she's considering. Waiting for a title to jump out at her.
"I think focusing on the differences just makes everyone think they have nothing in common, when really we should be looking at what makes us the same. I bet we'd have fewer stories about shit like the Dalish luring travelers into the woods to eat them."
"I think focusing on the differences just makes everyone think they have nothing in common, when really we should be looking at what makes us the same. I bet we'd have fewer stories about shit like the Dalish luring travelers into the woods to eat them."
I can't claim any special knowledge of Beatrix beyond the information that was circulating about her when she was still a candidate, and not the Divine. But based on that... I think if she'd negotiated at all, it would have been in good faith, if with a playing field tilted heavily in the Chantry's direction. Any agreement that was reached would have been honored.
But I'm not certain that the negotiations would have happened in the first place. If they did, it would have been because she decided cooperative mages were important enough to the fight against Corypheus that the risk of losing them was intolerable. That's a high bar, though it was more or less the one those of us who were striking were relying on in the situation as it played out. I expect her calcuation would have depended how the war was going at the precise moment the Inquisition resisted the pre-strike requests that it allow mages a say in what happened to their own phylacteries.
But I'm not certain that the negotiations would have happened in the first place. If they did, it would have been because she decided cooperative mages were important enough to the fight against Corypheus that the risk of losing them was intolerable. That's a high bar, though it was more or less the one those of us who were striking were relying on in the situation as it played out. I expect her calcuation would have depended how the war was going at the precise moment the Inquisition resisted the pre-strike requests that it allow mages a say in what happened to their own phylacteries.
Edited (get out here, typo) 2020-08-23 00:09 (UTC)
"That does seem likely. Probably fewer about just how much Fereldans love thier dogs, too." The delivery of that is gloriously deadpan.
[ Julius echoes what Commander Flint had said, and that assessment eases some of her worries. It carries just a little more weight to hear these words from Julius, though maybe that's unfair to the Commander. ]
Do you think we're important enough to this war for her to bargain with now?
[ At some point she should sip her tea, so as not to waste it. But. ]
Do you think we're important enough to this war for her to bargain with now?
[ At some point she should sip her tea, so as not to waste it. But. ]
"That is a trap I am not going to fall for," he says. "Though I confess, a fraction of the people writing romance novels could write novels about heroic dogs instead."
[He takes a moment to truly consider the question.]
Yes, but we'd have a harder time proving as much now. For one thing, Riftwatch isn't the Inquisition, by design; we've taken a step further away from the Chantry, in the eyes of many of those who stayed.
[And, presumably, many in the Chantry itself.]
We have a record of doing good, yes, but also a record of being somewhat unruly in our methods. And we're presently light on Templars within our own ranks. A lot of the original negotiations centered on internal oversight options that were alternatives to the Chantry holding on to the phylacteries. We'd also just shown that they made Inquisition members vulnerable to outsiders -- not only mages, but people who happened to be standing near mages at the wrong moment. I think some of our arguments about external risk helped.
[After a moment:]
May I ask why it's on your mind, particularly?
Yes, but we'd have a harder time proving as much now. For one thing, Riftwatch isn't the Inquisition, by design; we've taken a step further away from the Chantry, in the eyes of many of those who stayed.
[And, presumably, many in the Chantry itself.]
We have a record of doing good, yes, but also a record of being somewhat unruly in our methods. And we're presently light on Templars within our own ranks. A lot of the original negotiations centered on internal oversight options that were alternatives to the Chantry holding on to the phylacteries. We'd also just shown that they made Inquisition members vulnerable to outsiders -- not only mages, but people who happened to be standing near mages at the wrong moment. I think some of our arguments about external risk helped.
[After a moment:]
May I ask why it's on your mind, particularly?
[ Light on templars, well. That's a fair assessment. As far as Derrica understands it's only Barrow, outnumbered by a whole mess of mages.
She sips from her teacup then, letting what he said sit for a long moment before he replies. ]
I want my phylactery back.
[ Simple, direct. ]
I don't know if it still exists, but I don't want it in the Chantry's hands.
She sips from her teacup then, letting what he said sit for a long moment before he replies. ]
I want my phylactery back.
[ Simple, direct. ]
I don't know if it still exists, but I don't want it in the Chantry's hands.
She hmms in amused agreement. "Yeah I'd much rather read about dogs in love than...Virtue Rewarded." That one, pulled directly from the shelf just to read the title, make a face, and slip it back into place.
"Benedict and I paged through some of the racy ones that someone'd stashed in the back, but they were awful."
"Benedict and I paged through some of the racy ones that someone'd stashed in the back, but they were awful."
"That's a shame," he says. Then, thoughtfully: "Did you ever meet Knight Enchanter Amsel, while she was here? There's a series you might have come across ... what was it, Knight's ... Honor? Knight's Code, that was it. Oh, they might be in Orlesian, though. I didn't actually look, because it seemed rude while she was still here, and I didn't think of it again until just now. But evidently someone used her as the pattern for their series' romantic hero."
Ah.
[He sits back.]
That's perfectly understandable. And I suppose there was always going to have to be a first test case, if we wanted to see whether the agreement will hold under the new Divine -- and extend out to Riftwatch, since they were technically negotiating with Inquisition mages.
I think it's something worth fighting for, but that will have to be your decision, in the end. After all, we didn't negotiate the Chantry destroying them outright; we negotiated them letting mages decide what to do with them.
[Even if, in most cases, that was "destroy it."]
If you're comfortable, I might mention the situation to Madame de Cedoux, also. She's no longer the head of Diplomacy, but she was, and she also was instrumental in the negotiations, even she wasn't present. She might have additional ideas of how best to approach this. But it's up to you; I won't say anything without your permission.
[He sits back.]
That's perfectly understandable. And I suppose there was always going to have to be a first test case, if we wanted to see whether the agreement will hold under the new Divine -- and extend out to Riftwatch, since they were technically negotiating with Inquisition mages.
I think it's something worth fighting for, but that will have to be your decision, in the end. After all, we didn't negotiate the Chantry destroying them outright; we negotiated them letting mages decide what to do with them.
[Even if, in most cases, that was "destroy it."]
If you're comfortable, I might mention the situation to Madame de Cedoux, also. She's no longer the head of Diplomacy, but she was, and she also was instrumental in the negotiations, even she wasn't present. She might have additional ideas of how best to approach this. But it's up to you; I won't say anything without your permission.
Her answer to whether or not she met Knight Enchanter Amsel is a slight shrug and a shake of her head. Athessa either hasn't had the pleasure, or has forgotten. She's never been the best at remembering names.
"If they're not in Orlesian, I think I should like to read them," Or at least try. She pulls out another book, looks at it, and puts it back. "Though I expect sooner or later learning Orlesian might prove useful. Are there more lady heroes in Orlesian books, do you think?"
"If they're not in Orlesian, I think I should like to read them," Or at least try. She pulls out another book, looks at it, and puts it back. "Though I expect sooner or later learning Orlesian might prove useful. Are there more lady heroes in Orlesian books, do you think?"
"You know, I've no idea. I'd be interested if anyone has looked into it. There's probably some poor Orlesian trying to interest the University in a monograph on the subject as we speak," he adds, lightly. "Comparative literature and the Orlesian mind, or something similar. My Orlesian is decent for reading, though my accent is quite bad, I've been reliably informed. If you eventually want to add a second language for lessons."
"I would very much enjoy the look on Bastien's face the first time I'm able to respond to him in Orlesian..." Her own accent, at least so far as single words and phrases are concerned, is passable only when she's not trying. "But I wouldn't want to take up all your time."
"Well, if there's no particular time constraint, I could always slowly work it into the existing curriculum," he says, thoughtful. "The two languages use the same alphabet for the most part, so it isn't as if you'd be starting from scratch. Though the tricky part about Orlesian if you want to speak it is that a lot of the letters are evidently decorative, since they indicate nothing about pronunciation."
Spoken like a man who learned how to read Orlesian years before he heard anyone speak it, and was very confused when he finally did.
Spoken like a man who learned how to read Orlesian years before he heard anyone speak it, and was very confused when he finally did.
Thank you.
[ For his discretion. It must come easily to every mage. They keep each other's secrets. ]
I need to see this through, [ she continues, looking briefly down into her teacup. ] I've spoken to Speaker Fabria about it, and if Madame de Cedoux has advice, I'd be foolish not to hear her.
[ Even though it might all lead to nothing, or worse. Derrica isn't unaware of the risk ]
[ For his discretion. It must come easily to every mage. They keep each other's secrets. ]
I need to see this through, [ she continues, looking briefly down into her teacup. ] I've spoken to Speaker Fabria about it, and if Madame de Cedoux has advice, I'd be foolish not to hear her.
[ Even though it might all lead to nothing, or worse. Derrica isn't unaware of the risk ]
Just because there was always going to have to be a first case, it must still be uncomfortable for it to be yours.
Did Speaker Fabria have anything to say, initially?
Did Speaker Fabria have anything to say, initially?
He gets up and looks to find a book in Orlesian to illustrate. "Alright, so you know in Trade, most of the time the letters in a word indicate the sounds, either on their own or with their neighbors. Ah." He comes and opens the book to a random page.
"In Orelsian, as I understand it, a lot of them indicate things about where the word came from, but you don't actually pronounce all of them. For example, this word, all of the last four letters are silent. I suspect it's why Orlesians with a thick accent swallow the ends of words in Trade."
"In Orelsian, as I understand it, a lot of them indicate things about where the word came from, but you don't actually pronounce all of them. For example, this word, all of the last four letters are silent. I suspect it's why Orlesians with a thick accent swallow the ends of words in Trade."
"I think it's to make everyone who isn't from there look foolish," he says, solemn. "I can't think of another reason."
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