eachdraidh | 02 ♘ video ♘ locked to seelie (backdated to around the fifteenth)

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02 ♘ video ♘ locked to seelie (backdated to around the fifteenth)

[ Cullen cannot quite say that he's particularly in the mood for anything as of late. There had been the matter of the silver sickness earlier in the month (something that still troubled him as to how much it seemed to resemble Red Lyrium's corruption, and though it had vanished, it still troubled him). And now, there was this. ]

For those of you that knew him, Ser Tarz, the Knight of Dawn, passed away. [ As it would seem common with the seelie champions as of late. ] For those that did not, as a Knight of the Golden Cadre, Ser Tarz was a man who believed deeply in this Court's cause, even until the end. Some found his methods... harsh... [ to say the least ] yet he did his part in always reminding us what all of this truly means. What was truly at stake.

[ Something that he could never forget. And though he couldn't ever fully believe in the Seelie cause... If there was truly no other way... ]

To honour his memory, I will... try to impart some of his wisdom.

[ Though he might not fully agree. ]

I know that there are many of you with... comrades in the opposite court. Perhaps they were friends from your own world, or perhaps you met them here during a less dire time. [ A sigh. ] Perhaps they were closer than that, as your family, or as your lovers.

[ His face hardens. ]

It would be... kinder to forget them. Punishments for fraternization are harsh in our own court, and who knows exactly what tortures the Unseelie rulers might inflict on those you profess to care about. Do what you must to keep others safe. For one day, you might very well see the face of your "friend" staring at you from across the battlefield.

[ It is not a lie, far from it. But it might be... better for the new arrivals to hear it, to understand.

Somewhere, he hopes that they understand the message: be discreet if you must. ]

That is all that I wish to say.

[ Wear the mask, but do not become it. As he closes his locket, he cannot help but wonder yet again what this war will make of him. ]

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Harsh words indeed.

[It's something Terra's thought about since arriving. What if Ven was over in the other castle? Keeping Ven and Aqua safe fell to him, as the oldest of Eraqus' pupils, since the Master wasn't around and...gone otherwise. He purses his lips together, brow furrowing. He didn't want to think about what he might have to do, just to keep everyone together.]

Sometimes it's impossible to keep everyone safe, even if we do what needs to be done.

They need to be said.

[ He says it too bluntly, perhaps, but it remains the truth. Still, while it might be kinder to sever ties to friends in the opposite court, that hardly means that is what is going to happen. ]

The choices we are meant to choose from are not easy, but no one has shown us another alternative yet.

[ As much as some might wish for them. ]

...I hope you do not have any that you know in the opposite court.

I can only hope people will listen to you.

[Loras doubts they will. People never listen until it is too late.]

As do I.

[ No one ever listens, until it's far too late. He'd spoken those words as a young man, confused and convinced of his own righteousness.

He had been wrong, then. ]

It is difficult to ask. I know that if any of my family found their way to the side of the Unseelie...

...It would be difficult to continue fighting.

[ And it is, at this moment. Though he dares not reveal much of his connections, even to those he trusts. ]

...I can't disagree. Family is all, to myself. I'd destroy the world to keep my sister safe.

[And he speaks honestly, of truth.]

But the needs of the many...

[The words of a selfless man. A man he is not.]

Is it not troubling for so many of those in power in this Court to be...dying?

[Odd indeed since she has not heard of it before now but she is woefully distracted. A man is dead but still her mind has drifted to the second part of this. A warning.]

But if we were all friends, instead...

[Stupid. Foolish. She regrets it and that's obvious the moment it is out of her mouth.]

I am sorry, monsieur. Did you know Ser Tarz well?

Yes, it is. Though I wonder if it has more to do with the fact that the war seems to be coming to its close.

[ What with the Void sitting on the edge of Leathann. ]

If we were all friends, we'd find ourselves subjected to the same fates we saw those traitors face a few months ago.

[ And she really shouldn't regret it. Though he would not voice it, it was his wish too. ]

Thank you, Lady Lia. We were... as close as any of his comrades, I imagine. He was a good man that came to my aid during the Treun tournament, and continued to assist me as I settled into my position throughout the year.

[ Yet he tortured Katsa... ]

[Prior to this moment, it had been Fenris' goal to disassociate entirely from having anything to do with this land's society, barring what might be necessary for survival. Still, that had been before he realized the possibility that he may not be the only Thedosian here. It's only made more apparent when the man brings up comrades so uncertainly that despite feeling tricked into coming to where he does not wish to be, perhaps his own acquaintances and friends may have been as well.

Despite the man's ultimately solemn advice, seemingly personal though it isn't much his business, Fenris, ever without manners, replies on the more obvious matter to him which has little at all to do with nobles, war, or possible fraternizing and more to do with the fact that the voice and furrowed brow are familiar in the strangest way.]

My apologies if I am in fact mistaken, but... I feel as if I know you. Were you ever a member of the Templars? If I may ask. Stationed in Kirkwall, perchance.

I was. Meredith's Knight-Captain, actually.

[ Someone else from Thedas, and with a distinctive look that he was not sure to forget. One of Hawke's close comrades, and (perhaps rather rarely given the circumstances), one that had always seemed to support the templars. He'd hoped that he wouldn't see anyone else dragged from Thedas to this war.

But, it would seem he wouldn't be so lucky. ]

You're... one of Hawke's friends, aren't you? Fenris?

Yes, Meredith's—

[He cuts off at the realization that it may be a sensitive matter, the woman having lost herself to madness brought on by red lyrium. Fenris himself had never viewd her too poorly prior to that moment, Hawke being the more outspoken against her ideology in general, but it did not change the fact that Fenris had participated in taking her life, even while nearly losing his own. Cullen had always seemed a fair individual. There is no sense offending him over the past.

He makes a noise at the back of his throat before switching paths.]

Then you are indeed Cullen. You remember me. [A small note of surprise.] Though I imagine my markings and hair do not make it a difficult task. [Have an amused, short laugh.]

You look different than before. A little. [More worn, perhaps.] But I remembered your voice. You've been here a while, I presume?

[ It was something that he'd had to come to terms with, what had happened with Meredith, and what he'd allowed to happen.

He sometimes worries that it is much the same here, trading one leash for another. That his cause is unjust. And perhaps it is those doubts that keep him looking for another way.

Well... doubts and his friends. ]

They did make you stand out more than some. But, Varric made it rather hard to forget any of the Champion's friends.

[ Save for Anders, who he did not speak of. ]

I suppose that I do. [ For one thing, his hair is not quite as curly, which surely has nothing to do with any hair care product. ] I've been here for almost a year and a half, now.

Guard-Captain Aveline was also here during that time, but she is... gone now.

[Ah, Varric. The mention is enough to remind Fenris of how he misses the dwarf's stories. Unfortunate that the last letter Fenris received from him was far too somber to include any of his usual tales of fancy.]

So long? How strange. I'd thought... Though perhaps it was a stretched truth? Varric had mentioned in one of his letters that you were a subordinate of his. Following his...erm. Voluntary dwarfnapping...

[Wow, out loud it sounds even sillier that it looks on paper. He'd use other words, but Varric was never one to detail his circumstances succinctly, without punctuation from some dry humor.

Fenris clears his throat.]

Erm. But you say you've been here, and that's...

[Another thought bumps into his mind while he is pondering this conflict, and he mutters it in aside.]

Good that she has returned. If Aveline was not with Donnic, I can only imagine him having been quite troubled.

He said-- [ For a moment his tone is one of disbelief when it occurs to him that is exactly something the dwarf would say, and instead it shifts to irritation. ] --of course he did. [ a sigh. ] I was the Inquisition's commander, and Varric was... fond of telling me that if I continued to frown, my face would get stuck.

[ The more he speaks of them, the more he is reminded of how he misses them all. ]

Time does not quite work the same way here as it does in other places. For instance, Hawke's sister is here when I clearly remember her having a brother, and Aveline did not recall the years we worked together rebuilding Kirkwall.

[ And back to the topic of Aveline. ]

I... suppose.

[ But truthfully, he does not quite believe the idea that she has returned to Thedas. Not with some of the rumours that he has heard, of those left to drift in between words, in a place little better than the Void.

Then again, no one could be truly certain now could they? And so, he says nothing further on her. ]

What of you? How are you... adjusting to things?

[Fenris chuckles at Cullen's reaction. He has never seen the mean speak in such a way before. It's rather revealing, and he wonders what he might have missed before with the man having held his role as a professional with far greater importance in the past than he appears to now.]

He's said similar to me before as well. Though as has Isabela. I'm not certain why they are so concerned with my facial expressions.

[Or, really, he's actually too dense to realize that they're attempting to encourage him to not be so angry as his friends, but no one has pointed that out to Fenris yet.]

You suppose? You seem uncertain.

[That's usually never a good thing.]

I'm...all right. It's a fair amount to take in at once...but I don't suppose the truth of it feels any more comfortable as time progresses. It's a war. Another one.

[He doubts it needs to be articulated how tired he is of them.]

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02 ♘ video ♘ locked to seelie (backdated to around the fifteenth)

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