driftfleet | Iskaulit Mingle - Problems with Psychics

[Ostagar.

Her face falls at the mention. She doesn't hold it against him for bringing it up. It's certainly not the first, nor the last, time someone's asked her about it. But it doesn't make it any less painful.]

The short of it? A disaster. King Cailan called on the lords and ladies of the kingdom to send their soldiers to Ostagar to meet the darkspawn head on and put down what they thought was only an incursion. The Grey Wardens were to assist. Cailan's army was to meet them head on. When the signal was given, Teyrn Loghain was to charge and flank them.

Alistair and I were tasked with lighting the signal fire. We... were delayed. Darkspawn broke into the tower where the beacon was, and we had to fight our way up. When we lit the fire... Loghain retreated. Cailan was killed, along with all the Wardens save Alistair and I.

[Her face bunches up in anger.] That bastard left us all for dead, and then had the audacity to say he did so to protect lives.

[Fenris notes the discomfort in her features, in her tone- he understands this isn't a good subject for her, almost feels sorry for asking. Still, he listens carefully to everything she has to say, arms folded, and when she finished, he nods gently. ]

I see. Do you think he would have made a difference? If he has taken his troops into the fray?

Would it have won us the battle? I don't know. We were outnumbered. But it may have saved Cailan's life. It may have saved more Wardens.

[How many innocent people might have been saved, if more darkspawn had been cut down?]

It doesn't matter. I fully well believe Loghain never intended to charge, well before they ever stepped foot in Ostagar.

[Fenris could understand pulling back, if Loghain thought he was going to lose men. It would make sense he would take care of his own- people he would knowingly lead into doom. But the thought he knew it was that way from the start...that was a different story. ]

So you think he willingly left Cailan to a death trap?

[Riona nods. It's not something she's ever really brought up with anyone. The wounds were still too fresh back home, in her time, and really, it would do no good but rub salt in those wounds.]

Yes. For two reasons in particular.

One - when Alistair, Wynne and I returned to Ostagar a few months later, we found Cailan's personal effects locked in a trunk. Once we got it open, we discovered letters between him and Empress Celene. They were very... familiar with each other. And they spoke of a more solidified union between Orlais and Ferelden.

[Absolute madness. Riona still wonders how Cailan thought he would get away with that.]

Loghain was notoriously anti-Orlais. You've heard me spit on them, but he put me to shame in how much he loathed them. The whole reason he turned away the Wardens that were supposed to arrive to help with the Blight was because they were from Orlais. His loathing veered into paranoia. Given how closely he worked with Cailan, I can't imagine he didn't at least have some idea what he was planning.

[She sighs.]

Not to mention that Cailan marrying Celene would mean he would toss aside his current wife... who was Loghain's only child.

[Fenris never really involves himself in political intrigue. The few times Hawke- his Hawke- got involved in that kind of thing, Fenris was there to be the muscle, nothing more. He does remember the Arcanist Hall in Minrathous, though. Listening to the whispers of people influencing one another's lives the same way some would play at chess. It's always left a bitter taste in his mouth. ]

Sounds like he wished to be the first to strike a knife into the back of his friend- before the same treatment was done to him. Not that I'm condoning his actions, they seem more...paranoia-fuelled than anything else. A paranoia that almost cost Ferelden its very existence.

[And, oh, how Tevinter would have been so very pleased with that. ]

[A wise choice on his part. Politics suck.]

It's rather sad. He fought so hard to help free Ferelden and keep it that way... so much that his drive almost destroyed what he loved most.

[A tragedy. He was a hero, the one who bore the title she now has. And look what it did to him. She wonders, sometimes, if the same won't happen to her someday.]

His paranoia nearly destroyed my home. I'd almost feel sorry for him, if his paranoia hadn't cost me almost all of my family.

[Her face hardens.]

Reason number two I know he planned this, he-

[Ice builds up over her fingers and hands. She swallows forcefully, trying to keep her emotions from going haywire.]

I don't suppose up in Tevinter or in Kirkwall it's been told what happened to the Couslands?

Sometimes, we are blind to the damage we are truly causing to everything and everyone around us.

[His eyes fall immediately to the half-formed magic, and he instinctively steps back a little. Distance. Safety. It's nothing against her, just a natural reaction hard formed. ]

I...do not know, I am afraid. Chances are nobles know of them more than I. I...do not exactly fall into the sort of circles that would hear of such things.

All too true. I wish he had listened to reason at the Landsmeet and realized what he had done. Perhaps things may have turned out differently. [She'd always feel awful about Anora watching her father die in front of her. That isn't at all how she had hoped it would go, but Loghain forced their hand.

She murmurs an apology to him, clasping her hands tightly against her.]

It's all right. I merely wanted to know so I didn't make you hear it twice.

[Of course, she also hoped he knew so she didn't have to tell it, but luck was not on her side today. She inhales deeply; it never gets easier, telling it.]

My family rules over the teyrn of Highever. The Arling of Amaranthine was a part of that teyrnir. Arl Rendon Howe of Amaranthine... he betrayed my family. When my father called all his bannermen to Highever to prepare to answer Cailan's call for troops, Howe had his men attack the castle. He killed my parents, my brother's wife and child, and most - if not all - the servants and guards.

[It was an utter bloodbath.]

I only escaped because a Grey Warden named Duncan was there to help me out. The one who recruited me, as you can imagine. We fled Highever, and Howe took over.

[Her body is rigid, stiff as a board. She tries to force herself to relax.]

A rather ballsy move, don't you think? Especially since, when I told Cailan, he was outraged and swore to see him to justice when the battle was finished at Ostagar. Howe was... many things, but he wasn't that stupid. He must have known Cailan would not just let him forcibly take over the teyrnir. [She glances over at Fenris.] Not unless he knew Cailan, somehow, wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

[Fenris listens, patiently. He can't say he's surprised by the tale, the nobility are horribly good at turning on one another for more power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all. ]

That...would suggest some implication on their part, yes. I am sorry it happened to you, to your family. It was undeserved.

[And he means that, truly. Riona is Good People. ]

...I have heard that name before. Howe. Someone Anders knew.

[She wonders if it'll ever stop hurting so much, one day. But then, she reminds herself that it used to hurt much worse.]

Thank you. I still have my brother, at least. It could have been worse.

[Her brow briefly raises in surprise at the mention of Howe.]

Ah, that would be Nathaniel Howe, Rendon's son. Looks like him. [She pauses, frowning thoughtfully.] Thankfully, that's where a lot of the similarity ends. But yes, he and Anders served under me in Amaranthine.

That is, at least, something. Family is important.

[He says that in a detached kind of way because well, things with his sibling didn't exactly go swimmingly. ]

Hm. I met him in the Deep Roads. His sister had asked us to seek him out, afraid for him. There were some troubles with darkspawn. He seemed a decent enough man.

[By Fenris' standards. ]

Delilah came all the way to Kirkwall? Then she must have been quite worried. Maker, how long was he gone for? Or... will be gone for, I suppose.

[She shakes her head. Anders mentioned that Nathaniel had been sent away, and the others scattered. Had she known? Or had she been left in the dark once she returned to Denerim? Her mind turns over the possibilities, but there's little point in wondering. Right now, no one can answer that.]

I do believe it's your turn to tell a story, though.

Some months, I think? Long enough for her to be concerned. He was fine though, at the end of it all.

[Because Grey Wardens are plucky little fuckers like that. He gives a soft, amused huff. ]

Most of my stories are not pleasant ones.

[Of course he was. Riona smiles a bit; Nathaniel was the most level-headed one of that bunch. He survived breaking into and trying to rob Vigil's Keep, and frankly, he survived her. A bunch of darkspawn weren't going to down him.]

Hmmm. I don't know how pleasant this will be, but I'm curious. How did Hawke wind up Champion of Kirkwall? If it's anything like the title of Hero of Ferelden, they don't hand that out to just anyone.

[Oh, okay, this story he can tell. He smiles a little. ]

There was a...settlement of Qunari in the city. They were wrecked for...complicated reasons [he's not about to drop Isabela in it. He can omit her part for now. ] and had to take refuge in Kirkwall. They did not like what they saw. They are not really shy when it comes to their views on Southerners, and Kirkwall was no exception.

No, they are not shy. I traveled with one. I cannot imagine how an entire settlement handled living in a non-Qun city.

[And frankly, Sten was more... open-minded about culture outside the Qun than most Qunari were.]

I take it things escalated to a breaking point?

They did. There was...issues with a missuse of Gatlock and a very anti-Qunari member of the Chantry. The Viscount's son also converted and was killed. These raised the problems, and the Arishock grew ever more discontent with the city.

[It's a simple way of putting it, but if he talked about all the bullshit that happened in Kirkwall to make the situation worse they would literally never leave. ]

It hit boiling point when some elven murderers sought religious sanctuary within the Qun. They killed because the guard had raped their sister- the Arishok had already decided that Kirkwall's justice system was broken, and would not release the elves. He decided to sack the city, beheaded the Viscount and...well, Kirkwall burned.

Edited 2017-01-23 22:42 (UTC)

Maker's bloody breath.

[All these incidents were stones that caused the rockslide to roll. A situation she's all too familiar with. One thing after another building up and just finally becoming too much to bear, spilling over and taking out everyone in its path.]

Chaos. And Qunari are powerful fighters, from what I've seen and heard. And it doesn't surprise me that Adalwolfe or Marian would hurl themselves into the fray. I'm assuming that's what happened, anyway.

[And then suddenly everything is on fire and you're trying to put it out. ]

They are very powerful fighters.

[There's a horrible darkness to his tone when he says that. He knows first hand how formidable they can be. And not just from Kirkwall. ]

They did. Eventually, the...reason the Qunari remained in Kirkwall became apparent, but they demanded a retribution for it that Hawke would not meet. I- have some knowledge in the Qun, I suggested a one-on-one battle with the Arishok, something that would satisfy the rest of them, should things go ugly. Hawke agreed and battled. He very nearly died, but he was victorious. It was that act which named him the Champion. For he risked his life to save the city.

[while trying not to burn, too. At least Kirkwall didn't have dead darkspawn corpses to deal with?

His tone doesn't escape her, and she almost asks, but refrains. Some things are better left unexplored.]

A one on one battle with a Qunari commander? [If she remembers how Sten once described the hierarchy to her. She looks pretty aghast at the idea.] Piss and shit, I'm impressed he wasn't killed.

[Only under it at least, wee. Well, until they went to that prison anyway. That was super duper not fun. ]

As am I. But he made it through, and the city regained some level of stability for another few years. Until Anders, anyway. But that is how he got the title. It was well earned, in all honesty.

[Ahahahaaaa... let's not talk about darkspawn prisons. Or Anders blowing things up.]

Indeed. I'll have to ask Marian and Wolfe about their experiences, if they are willing to speak about them. Comparing experiences between the different Thedases can be interesting, if not extremely rife with risk.

[BUT THEY'RE IMPORTANT AND TERRIBLE.]

I am sure they will have slightly different accounts. It's well worth hearing them out.

[AL THE MORE REASON TO AVOID THEM.]

I suspect as much.

[She glances down at her hands, relieved to see they aren't swathed in magic.]

How are you feeling?

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wolfuncaged - 2017-02-05 01:45 (UTC) - Expand