Riona Cousland | Hero and Queen of Ferelden (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bryces_pup) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet2016-08-04 07:56 pm
bryces_pup) wrote in driftfleet2016-08-04 07:56 pm
Sixth Blight - video
Who: Riona and you!
Broadcast: Yus
Action: On the Blue Fish, if you'd like!
When: Now?
[There's the distinct sound of a canine sniffing nearby when the feed turns on. Anyone with an acute ear may also hear a different kind of sound, something akin to snuffling. The animal causing it is revealed a moment later. To those not from Thedas, it looks like a pink, hairless mole. But any Thedosian would know that it's a nug.
The camera pans over to Riona, who's feeding said nug while Kiter cautiously sniffs at the other animal. She shakes her head.]
A favor for a favor, I suppose. Sister Nightingale has fallen into one of those comas. For the time being, Schmooples here is in my care. If you were expecting to see her in the interfaith center, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. [She looks over at her puppy, smiling conspiratorially.] You and I will be brainstorming what to draw on her face. Tit for tat, too.
[When she looks back at the camera, her smile falters, and pronounced concern sets in its place.]
Also, Dr. Beverly Crusher seems to be missing. Normally I'd suspect she's gone home, but her things are still here and her name still shows up on the communication device. Something is amiss. If anyone has seen her the past few days, please do let me or any of the crew on the Blue Fish know.
[Her disappearance puzzles her, along with her obvious worry. It's not like Beverly to do that, and with them having left the planet, there are only so many places she could be.]
Those matters aside, we've now returned to the dull void of space and to confinement in our ships until we make land again. There's only so much to entertain in the fleet, especially when you've been here awhile. Recently, I returned home for a few months. Here only a handful of days passed, but it felt much longer. I find myself feeling a bit homesick. So, I have a request.
[She pauses, uncertainty flitting across her face. For a moment she glances down, and finds herself fiddling with her wedding ring, which she's recently gone back to wearing on her hand. She clasps her hands together and looks back at the camera.]
But first, I suppose I should introduce myself to those who don't know me. My name is Riona Cousland [And here there's the slightest pause, a moment of hesitation. She swallows the trepidation back.] Theirin. I've been here nearly eight months.
[Whatever caused her hesitation seems to have passed. She relaxes, and continues:]
In my time, I've heard quite a few things about people's worlds. Comparing them to Thedas - where I am from - always interests me. I love hearing stories, and I'm always happy to share ones from my world, in particular the ones of my home country.
So. Let's do an exchange. A tale for a tale. It can be anything you experienced, or perhaps a legend or fable from your world that you're fond of. And I will tell you one in return. Simple enough, and a good way to pass the evening, no?
[She smiles, wiggling her fingers in good-bye before shutting off the feed.]
Broadcast: Yus
Action: On the Blue Fish, if you'd like!
When: Now?
[There's the distinct sound of a canine sniffing nearby when the feed turns on. Anyone with an acute ear may also hear a different kind of sound, something akin to snuffling. The animal causing it is revealed a moment later. To those not from Thedas, it looks like a pink, hairless mole. But any Thedosian would know that it's a nug.
The camera pans over to Riona, who's feeding said nug while Kiter cautiously sniffs at the other animal. She shakes her head.]
A favor for a favor, I suppose. Sister Nightingale has fallen into one of those comas. For the time being, Schmooples here is in my care. If you were expecting to see her in the interfaith center, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. [She looks over at her puppy, smiling conspiratorially.] You and I will be brainstorming what to draw on her face. Tit for tat, too.
[When she looks back at the camera, her smile falters, and pronounced concern sets in its place.]
Also, Dr. Beverly Crusher seems to be missing. Normally I'd suspect she's gone home, but her things are still here and her name still shows up on the communication device. Something is amiss. If anyone has seen her the past few days, please do let me or any of the crew on the Blue Fish know.
[Her disappearance puzzles her, along with her obvious worry. It's not like Beverly to do that, and with them having left the planet, there are only so many places she could be.]
Those matters aside, we've now returned to the dull void of space and to confinement in our ships until we make land again. There's only so much to entertain in the fleet, especially when you've been here awhile. Recently, I returned home for a few months. Here only a handful of days passed, but it felt much longer. I find myself feeling a bit homesick. So, I have a request.
[She pauses, uncertainty flitting across her face. For a moment she glances down, and finds herself fiddling with her wedding ring, which she's recently gone back to wearing on her hand. She clasps her hands together and looks back at the camera.]
But first, I suppose I should introduce myself to those who don't know me. My name is Riona Cousland [And here there's the slightest pause, a moment of hesitation. She swallows the trepidation back.] Theirin. I've been here nearly eight months.
[Whatever caused her hesitation seems to have passed. She relaxes, and continues:]
In my time, I've heard quite a few things about people's worlds. Comparing them to Thedas - where I am from - always interests me. I love hearing stories, and I'm always happy to share ones from my world, in particular the ones of my home country.
So. Let's do an exchange. A tale for a tale. It can be anything you experienced, or perhaps a legend or fable from your world that you're fond of. And I will tell you one in return. Simple enough, and a good way to pass the evening, no?
[She smiles, wiggling her fingers in good-bye before shutting off the feed.]
Video.
As I would hope. A mortal can heal from such heartbreak, so I would see no reason a god could not. But there's a strange comfort in knowing that even love can make a god do something rash.
[She chuckles.]
The god many in my world believe in - the Maker - also loved a mortal once. It did not end terribly well. But I can tell you that story in exchange, if you'd like.
video.
[ Lauralae shakes her head before she leans forward. ]
I would be glad to hear it.
video.
[And speaking of-]
In a small village by the sea, over a thousand years ago, a girl of a powerful Alamarri chieftain was born. Her name was Andraste. It was said that she had a beautiful voice, and was haunted by visions for much of her life, ones she did not understand for a long time.
At the time of her life, the Tevinter Imperium was at its peak. It began to encroach on Alamarri lands, conquering and enslaving as it pushed its way further into Thedas. Shortly after Andraste married another powerful Alamarri warlord called Maferath, she and her father were attacked by Imperium raiders. He died and she was enslaved. Eventually she was rescued, but in her heart she suffered. She sang to the Alamarri gods of the wind and mountain, hoping to hear some answer as to why her people suffered so under the Imperium's heel. They did not answer. But one day, something else did.
Eyes sorrow-blinded, in darkness unbroken
There 'pon the mountain, a voice answered my call.
"Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing,
An ocean of sorrow does nobody drown.
You have forgotten, spear-maid of Alamarr.
Within My creation, none are alone."
[It's one of the verses that stuck with her during her childhood, when she learned the Chant like all Andrastians did.]
The Maker answered her. He explained to her that the last of his children had turned from him and forgotten him. He offered her a place at His side in Heaven, but Andraste begged him to give mortals another chance. Through her, she said, she would spread his light and the truth. He agreed, and after that encounter, Andraste dedicated herself to spreading the word of the Maker.
video.
[ Lauralae frowns, considering. ]
Is he the only God in your world? Did Andraste go to him, in the end?
video.
[She nods.]
The word of the Maker flew in the face of Tevinter's way of life. The Imperium believed in the Old Gods, powerful dragons that they had worshiped for centuries. Between that and their enslavement of many of Andraste's people, they became enemies. Tevinter became a symbol of everything wrong with the world at the time: abused power, magic used for nefarious means, slavery, suffering and war. With the Maker on her side, Andraste rallied the tribes and they marched through Thedas, intent on toppling the Imperium and its false gods. She spread the Chant of Light as she went, and many joined her, including the elves, who had been enslaved ever since the Imperium destroyed their empire centuries earlier.
Thus began the first Exalted March. Andraste gained many followers, while her husband led their ever-growing army. They clashed often against Imperium forces, with surprising victories. In those years, Tevinter suffered terrible floods, landslides, and a number of other catastrophes. Andraste's march seemed ordained, and fueled the growing unrest amongst the Imperium's people.
[She takes a breath before adding:]
She seemed poised to win, and they neared Minrathous, the capital of the Imperium. But she never got to march to the city's gates, as she was betrayed.
video.
[ Lauralae considers, listening, before she bows her head and resists the urge to turn herself away. ]
She was betrayed by who?
video.
[And now comes the painful part of the story.]
By her husband, Maferath. It's said he was jealous of Andraste and her bond with the Maker, of the way that she was loved by so many and he was ignored.
[She remembered encountering his "spirit" in the Gauntlet. "What is a mortal man compared to a god?"] Personally, I think there's a little more to it than that. Historians believed that, despite Andraste's successes, her army was overextending its reach, and that there was no feasible way for them to lay siege to the capital. They were doomed to fail. Whatever his reasons, he plotted with Archon Hessarian, the ruler of the Imperium in secret. His children and men would be spared in exchange for Andraste's life.
Maferath tricked her and she came to a supposed gathering. Waiting for her were Imperium forces, and she was captured. They brought her to Minrathous, where she was to be executed. They tied her to a pyre, and in front of her army and the people of the city, they set it aflame. Archon Hessarian looked upon her on the pyre, and guilt and pity overtook him. Out of mercy, he strode up and ran her through with his sword, giving her a quick death. And thus she died.
The Maker turned away from mortals that day, and he has been silent ever since.
video.
[ Lauralae frowns, considering for a moment, before she tilts her head up, looking back through at the camera. ]
The Maker was cruel to do that. Humanity is fickle and quick to change - he should have known. He should not have turned from them and left them to be alone.
video.
It nearly wiped out Thedas, and it crippled the Imperium. So perhaps it was cruel of the Maker... but we had wronged him before.
video.
[ Lauralae turns her head away, frowning. ]
The Gods should be respected and loved. Not treated as ill omens.
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