ELF
“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on Apr 28, 2014 19:34:38 GMT
some do magic some do harm
| One, two, three, four. Leithian picks her way carefully across the cobblestones, one foot in front of the other. One, two, three, four. These streets are not her home, but stone and steel is in her blood just as much as the forest and the waters; she knows that. She's her mother's daughter.
Kirkwall is not what it once was, but Hightown is still bustling with human nobility. Few of them spare her a glance at all as she works her way through the streets. She's just an elf, small and trim, her long blonde hair framing her face and falling over her shoulders. She's just an elf, wearing a loose white tunic and brown leather pants, running an errand for a master or mistress. They expect nothing from her.
Leithian walks with her head down and feels the bones of the earth with every step as she walks through the city. She can feel them singing in her blood. The Grey Wardens are the last thing Kirkwall has to justice, if you know how to ask, now that the templars are loosed dogs guarding an empty house, and the Guard is as ineffective as it was in the years before the Champion. Leithian doesn't want human justice; she deals out her own if it must be dealt.
Bu she's not here for herself. The building rises up high above her, high enough to touch the empty blue sky about Kirkwall--but she knows nothing can fly except dragons and birds, and Kirkwall is a city of chains. Without knocking on the door of the converted mansion, Leithian slips into the Grey Warden compound, an uninvited guest.
"Hello?" she calls out. "I'm here to request Grey Warden assistance."
Mira Mahariel
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LAIKA OF GS! |
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ELF
“ We are the last of the elvhenan, and never again shall we submit. ”
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Post by Mira Mahariel on Apr 29, 2014 1:15:26 GMT
I see who you are behind the skin and the muscles. I will see the same girl, the same soul. Leithian
| They were punishing her, that much Mira knew for certain. She may have been one of the most senior Wardens at the Kirkwall outpost, but even that didn't negate the fact she was labeled a runaway. Once an escapee of the Grey Wardens, always an escapee. That meant while the rest of the Wardens were out patrolling the city and Wounded Coast, she was stuck inside. They were outside of this Shem of a city while Mira was trapped in the cage, brooding, snapping at the bars, dangerously anxious.
Growling, Mira slammed her hand on the desk, shaking the bottles of ink. Paperwork. This was her life now. She wasn't the strength of her people, just another slave to an organization Mira didn't belong in. It was demeaning. Perhaps Mira could do something about it, though, and with no one around it meant the rogue could do whatever she desired. Including seeking out routes she could use for later nights. Nights to be free of an old slaver city now converted to confine different peoples.
Rising from her chair, Mira stretched, pushing at the base of her back. Her reward a few pops and a heavy sigh from her lips. Enough loitering, there were things (non-Grey Warden things) that Mira had to attend now that she had an empty house.
"Hello? I'm here to request Grey Warden assistance."
Or rather, she thought it was an empty house.
"I will be right down" Mira called from the upstairs office, her fine features frowning at the interruption. This building wasn't open for home calls, Mira thought bitterly, marching down the stairs as her Dalish leathers swayed in the movement. Wearing her own Clan armor, despite the lack of protection it served for fighting instead of the hunting purpose it was designed for, was probably another reason her fellow Wardens punished her.
We are happy you are Dalish, they patronized, but that armor just isn't practical. How will anyone know you are a Warden in the city if you don't wear Warden colors?
Mira spat on Grey Warden colors.
Finally reaching the bottom of the staircase, Mira was able to see just who had barged into the converted base. An elf. Mira's blue eyes widened a bit in surprise, hints of suspicion running through them as she took in the other female's garb. A city elf. Flat ear.
But elf company was better than human and the woman obviously wanted something. "What do you want?" Mira questioned, folding her arms across her chest, the lower half of her torso exposed in Dalish fashion to any straying eye. Not that Mira cared. |
CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE |
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ELF
“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on Apr 29, 2014 14:10:26 GMT
some do magic some do harm
| Her eyes lighted on the other elf: the familiar lines of leather armor, the blood writing on her face. Leithian had known the creed of the Grey Wardens: that they prioritized ability over race, accepted all as long as they believed they had some quality necessary to the defense of Thedas against the darkspawn. She had even known the Hero of Ferelden--rumors of the woman's betrayal had reached as far as her clan--to be an elf and a Grey Warden both, but she had considered her an outlier. She had not truly believed in their words.
"Aneth ara, Grey Warden," Leithian said, her face carefully composed. "It's rare to see one of the people in this city. You are a welcome surprise."
She glanced about the entrance hallway and then back to the other Dalish woman.
"If it is not too much trouble, is there perhaps somewhere more private we could talk?"
Mira Mahariel
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LAIKA OF GS! |
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ELF
“ We are the last of the elvhenan, and never again shall we submit. ”
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Post by Mira Mahariel on Apr 29, 2014 17:42:57 GMT
I see who you are behind the skin and the muscles. I will see the same girl, the same soul. Leithian
| Mira's expression didn't change as the other woman studied her. What, Mira wanted to snap, never seen a female Warden before? Never seen an elf Warden? Or a Dalish one? Not that Mira belonged to the organization, willingly at least, that was the reason why she never donned their symbol on her clothes or used their provided weapons. The only thing that linked Mira to the Wardens was the taint running through her veins, but she had that days before she underwent any ritual.
But then the stranger spoke, lips parting to reveal sacred words belong to the Dalish and the Dalish alone. Mira's eyes widened for a second, unused to hearing her native language for so long in this Shem's city. How did that elf know her language? Was she one of the Dales? She didn't appear it: no Vallasin, no Dalish garb or sense of the culture about her. Perhaps the Flat Ear picked it up on her own, overheard it by a true Dalish elf.
"Be careful not to speak words you don't understand," Mira replied curtly, defending her home and culture as best she could from pollution.
Yet, she was Dalish hunter no more, reduced back to her Warden position as the female elf spoke once more. "There is an office upstairs, come," the huntress replied, leading the way up the stairs, not looking back to see if the stranger followed.
"What is your name and purpose here?" Mira threw behind her, annoyed this would eat up more of her exploring time. |
CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE |
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ELF
“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on Apr 29, 2014 18:07:09 GMT
some do magic some do harm
| Leithian turned over the other woman's words in her mind as she followed her up the stairs. Had she been too informal? At the sight of another Dalish, she had assumed that such warmth would be welcome--maybe she had drawn offense where she meant only to offer companionship.
Her right hand rose to her cheek, resting thoughtfully for a moment on the unblemished skin. It was likely the woman was offended by a child speaking so carelessly to her; it was a truth Leithian had often forgotten within her own clan, where her magic and the status of being the Keeper's First had afforded her a measure of respect not often extended to other children.
She shrugged, although it was a useless gesture when the Warden had her back to her. Wherever she had misstepped, it was pointless ruminating over it now. The damage was done, and she had a task to fulfill.
"My name is Leithian," she said. "I admit, I know little of the Grey Wardens other than what came out of Ferelden a decade ago, but I know that your organization deals in darkspawn. That you are perhaps the sole experts on darkspawn. I have come in regards to that knowledge."
Mira Mahariel
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LAIKA OF GS! |
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ELF
“ We are the last of the elvhenan, and never again shall we submit. ”
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Post by Mira Mahariel on Apr 30, 2014 1:42:34 GMT
I see who you are behind the skin and the muscles. I will see the same girl, the same soul. Leithian
| Settling behind the desk she'd been sitting at earlier, Mira waited for her new guest to arrive. Bitter and jaded by her life, no one could call Mira the warmest of welcomes, but at least she would get the job done- for this female elf at least. Had it been any human wandering in uninvited, they would've been forced to wait, perhaps even thrown out altogether. Mira toyed with the feathered quill laying on the desk, fingers a flurry of movement as she longed to be active. She was a huntress, not a page boy.
"Mira," the Dalish responded coolly, trading names as if they were trading trivial facts about the weather. Lethian's name struck peculiar for Mira, ringing of old Dalish but not matching up to any words that Mira knew. Had this city elf really gone this far as to take up a psudeo-Dalish name just as she used a greeting of the Elvhenan? Or was there some other story that Mira could not track down at play?
"If it is Darkspawn you wish to talk about," Mire droned, dissapointed that this was the matter at question. "Then I will answer your questions as you seek fit to ask them."
It's not like Mira had any choice in the matter. |
CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE |
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ELF
“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on Apr 30, 2014 2:34:20 GMT
some do magic some do harm
| Leithian didn't sit down--she barely noticed the furnishings of the office at all, in truth. Now that her justice was nearly before her eyes, the answers she had sought on the brink of unfolding in front of her, she could think of nothing else.
She stood silently for a moment before the desk, hands folded behind her back, riding out the maelstrom in her mind. As the sapling bends, so must you. In yielding, find resilience; in pliancy, find strength. It had been a long, long time since she believed her fate lay at Andruil's feet, but she knew the code as she knew her own heartbeat. Repeating the mantra internally calmed her, and she faced Mira with a steady gaze.
"All I have heard of darkspawn tells me that they are beasts. Twisted, vile creatures, dangerous and cruel, but only mere beasts. They have no society, no language, no culture. All they do is destroy and feed. This is what we know; this is what was taught to me when the legends of our people happened to speak of them."
Which had been rare--mostly it was only in the context of warning about human arrogance and greed that the darkspawn were mentioned to Leithian in her lessons.
"But recently, I learned this is not so. I learned of the existence of intelligent darkspawn."
Mira Mahariel
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LAIKA OF GS! |
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