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Post by alya karimi on May 18, 2014 4:07:44 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big!  alya shrugs. "i'm supposed to stop bad things before they happen, not after. that's why i became a templar warden at all." a bandage would never be superior over an arrow that has been shot true. "i'm not about to let you walk into an ambush before i do"alya follows him without question, assuming that his mages-senses are tingling and leading them around. she sure as hell doesn't know where they are headed. nevertheless, she decides to stick close to gabriel, just in case the darkspawn try anything again. "clearing out the taint. the usual. my translator had a hell of a time with the handwriting." alya pulls out a folded piece of paper. "escort the 'scrawny kid' through vimmark, signed by one of your wardens. some man named peter, i think." she squints a little at gabriel. "huh. come to think of it, you are kinda scrawny. guess that comes with the unfortunate flaw of being a mage" she grins and gives him a hearty pat on the back. "it wasn't as if my men don't have enough to be doing." tabris had only very recently began to rebuild the ferelden wardens, and orlais had risked nothing by holding her men back. "so i volunteered. best thing about being kinda in charge? picking your own assignments, man."she wrinkles her nose. "nobody ever told me that gabriel cazal was such a fox, though. thought you were some junior enchanter who barely passed his harrowing, from the sound of that letter. didn't think you could actually fight. how come you don't got your officer badges, huh? don't orlesians promote on merit?"GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 18, 2014 15:00:58 GMT
He nodded along as she spoke, winding deeper into the underground.
"I'm probably older than you," he said, twisting away from her pat on the back. "I mean what are you, twelve? Fourteen? It is my understanding that the Ferelden Wardens are a bit desperate, after all."
He hummed a little under his breath for a moment, lapsing out of the conversation.
"Well, if Peter wanted to keep you in the dark about the truth, it's hardly my place to cross him," he said. "He is technically my superior now, given that he received a promotion and I didn't. In fact, I'm the longest serving Warden-Ensign in the ranks, clocking in at over a decade of service. We do promote on merit. However I possess other qualities that have barred me from scaling up the old hierarchy." LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 19, 2014 6:03:54 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! he can do so much better than that. except maybe she doesn't want him to do better, if the orlesian charade earlier was of any indication. "i'm like...twenty-nine, so you can totally get off my back about the age thing!" she puffs out her cheeks like a kid. which is probably a slightly strange sight to see considering that everything below her shoulders is covered in darkspawn blood. "well, if we are a little desperate, then maybe it's because we've been invaded like. a million times! unlike some other country out in the west that i know." creator, and to think that she was trying to show their appreciation to the orlesian branch for their support in the deep roads. "i saw his wax seal - i outrank him!! there just wasn't the time to send him a clarification request. spill the beans, man." this time, alya puffs out her chest a little. "creator, is this how you treat all your non-orlesian wardens? charades and farces?" thank the creators alya slotted herself in for this assignment before it ever reached the desk of the warden-commander. "...what kind of qualities?" somehow, alya thinks that she already knows the answer just by asking herself if gabriel cazal is someone that she would have promoted. although...if they were really lacking on firepower... "well...you could always transfer? making qualified wardens run grunt work is just dumb. besides, i probably would have sent you an ensign if i knew that you were actually a ridiculously capable mage." she didn't feel like losing sleep over sending anyone less than a senior warden for a place like vimmark, though. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 19, 2014 13:15:28 GMT
"No, it isn't a joke about elves being short," Gabriel said. "That would be far too easy, don't worry. I like to tailor my jokes to the individual. In this case, it's a simply a joke about the fact that you act like a twelve year old. And I'm still older than you, so it doesn't really matter how old you are. You're a kid to me."
He snorted. "It's been a decade since the Blight, and much longer since you threw Orlais out. The woe-is-us excuse for Ferelden ran a bit thin five years ago. It's in tatters now. You're just an incompetent barbarian country, you can't help that you can't rise above your inherent limitations! But there's no shame in being such. For the light of glorious Orlais to shine so brightly, we need all those dark little backwaters to dot around us. Makes us look more radiant. And yes, this is how I treat all non-Orlesian Wardens. Although mind, I'd treat an Orlesian Warden the same, if they acted like you. I'd just have to pretend I only spoke Tevene."
Gabriel stopped for a moment at a crossroads between two tunnels. One lead deeper, downwards, while the other arced up towards the surface. After a moment, he followed the surface tunnel.
"Anyway. This isn't grunt work. I don't need a transfer. I simply run the important missions on my own, rather than commanding my own bright-eyed and bushy-tailed little legion, because I have an abrasive personality. How much do you know about the origin of darkspawn?" LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 19, 2014 18:40:16 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! she wrinkles her nose and looks at him the way that a proper dalish elf would for once. elder ravithas would have been proud. leithian probably still has her beat, though. the barb practically rolls off of her; alya has gotten plenty of practice with being regarded as a child. she rolls her eyes at his tirade. "are you done yet?" like. wow, if ferelden is a pretty shit place for self-righteous humans, she can only imagine how bad orlais is . "go write a complaint letter to anora or something. i was talking about all the darkspawn, dweeb. y'know, the part at a dalish elf would even give a shit about." and far too late. she probably wouldn't have even known that orlais existed without neo, prior to becoming a warden, but she didn't feel like being made fun of again. she could point out that she speaks better elvish than he probably ever will, but alya has learned from the fereldens that it's just going to spark another argument on cultural superiority that she really does not want to get into right now. especially when punching him in the nose isn't really an option. she can't just punch another warden in the face!! that only left one other option. "i bet we could be friends" she declares confidently. "we could totally be friends if we tried hard enough"gabriel's words only translate to 'he's capable' rather than 'he's expendable'.
"i got the lowdown from a chantry sister" she nods. embarrassingly enough, it's one of the few stories on which her clan never had their own version. neo invented a few theories of her own, certainly, but she never sold them as any absolute truth. alya liked that about her keeper. "i like the dwarf version, though. less religious exposition and more darkspawn-killing."
"uhhh if this has anything to do with clearing them out, we'd be in the deep roads, wouldn't we? 'sides, i'm sure that peter wouldn't have sent...two wardens to slaughter a few thousand darkspawn. peter told me that i would be babysitting" alya's newfound reading comprehension skills weren't exactly scholarly, but she's pretty sure that's exactly how the senior warden put it. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 21, 2014 14:06:46 GMT
"All the darkspawn?" Gabriel almost choked on his own laughter. "That's even less of an excuse. You've had one Blight! Over a decade ago! The shortest Blight in history. Your country didn't even exist in the other Blights. I mean I know you're Dalish and you probably can't even read trade tongue, but there's no excuse for being this bad at history, Maker."
And then he sighed.
"You assigned yourself this mission? Andraste's tits. Next time you get an escort request for a covert recon mission involving the origin of darkspawn, try not to abuse your position to go haring off for an adventure even when you're absolutely clueless. Send me some strapping handsome young scholar-warrior instead. The kind who will carry all my notes for me while he fights off hordes of darkspawn. The lowdown from a Chantry sister. Not that it matters, anyway. We're almost there now."
And then he added, offhand: "Besides, we are being friendly." LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 21, 2014 21:39:30 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! alya's hand is quick to grab the scruff of gabriel's robe from behind. "don't you lecture me about my history. yes, tell me about this country of mine." she snarls like an animal, and much less like an embittered elf. "tell me about the dozens of towns that the dalish have dotted all across ferelden, and how utterly inconsequential a single darkspawn attack is. tell me that i had not lost an entire world in the wake of the blight, i dare you, shemlen--"perhaps it is only through the catharsis of pain that they have any right to call themselves elves at all. or grey wardens, for that matter. the uniform is the only thing that brings alya back to the reality of their situation, as it always has. she loosens her grip before slowly releasing it entirely. really, what did all this help? nothing, and alya knows it. she can't do it alone. she cannot fight the darkspawn alone. hell, he couldn't even protect her own people alone. her mother had wanted her to take on the image of the guardian. she had wanted to take on the image of the dread wolf. in the end, she could not become either. she bites her lip. "...i'm sorry, gabriel. forgive me. i shouldn't have."maybe her elders would have been impressed by her improvements in reining in her temper. perhaps they would have been disappointed that she didn't introduce his face to the floor. alya attempts to improve the situation a little, albeit with a lot less enthusiasm than before. "she was a very educated sister. 'sides, i've been on research recon before. back when my keeper and i vowed to compile the greatest bestiary in any language." her expertise had been much more valued back then. alya thinks that it would be pretty neat if they met a rock wraith here, but her hopes aren't high. she settles back into a guilty silence, which was so heavy that she does not even notice a genlock rogue creeping up to her from a particularly sharp turn until there is already a flash of silverite. silverite. in these tunnels. the knife gets between the spaces in her armor, but it's still a puny punk dagger. alya ignores the blood running down her gash and decapitates the darkspawn with one blow. if anything, anger against the darkspawn is the only safe emotion to feel these days. she cuts down the coming waves with assured ease. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 27, 2014 2:24:57 GMT
Gabriel stepped backwards from her, adjusted his collar.
"Do you need someone to tell you the facts of life? I heard stories of that when I was a child. A land far over the sea, where every king and queen had an appointed servant who spoke the truth to their face and could not be punished."
He rubbed at his eyepatch.
"Yes, it was utterly inconsequential, your Blight. The deaths. The shortest Blight in recorded history. It was nothing, in the scheme of things. How did you make it to Warden-Constable and not internalize that? There were so many horror stories over here about how ruthless and pragmatic the vaunted Hero of Ferelden was--although she's gone now, isn't she, so what does it matter."
Gabriel watched her behead the grenlock impassively.
"Before we go on," he said. "I suppose I should get any misconceptions out of the way. What did your Chantry sister tell you about the darkspawn? Exactly. Tell me whatever scrap you know about their origins." LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 27, 2014 13:17:08 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! alya snarls. at the darkspawn. not at gabriel. "i'm sure that king still had a brain. i'm sure that he still had the ability to choose what to believe, as we all should." that, and he just bullshitted her for an hour to convince her that he only spoke orlesian. if she needed some kind of advisor with diplomatic immunity, she probably wouldn't have picked gabriel. the scheme of things. the scheme of things. oh, how the elders did love to prattle to her about the scheme of things. come sit near our fire, young alya, so that you may learn the grand scheme of the dalish fate and all the other five millions reasons why we don't give a damn about anything but ancient elven kingdoms, dusty eluvians that don't work, and elven deities who don't give a shit about their people being gobbled up by the darkspawn. alya decides to focus her anger on beheading more darkspawn instead of accidentally punching gabriel in the face with a greatsword. multiple times. "i don't...usually look to the wardens of other kingdoms to tell me who the hero of ferelden was" alya smiles grimly as she puts the last genlock into the cold hard ground. "don't worry, i'm not her." although gabriel would probably just turn that into an insult. "i won't ever be a woman like her, regardless of your nagging." she says it with more determination than self-depreciation. alya does not mean to speak ill of the former warden-commander. tabris left the ferelden wardens with quite the legacy. but tabris' way of doing things is hers and alya will keep to doing things her own way. hopefully with less untainted blood seeped into the ground. the constable sheathes her sword when the current wave is bleeding across the floor and reaches back to re-tie her hair. "...no" she says finally as she tightens her bands. "before we go on, i think's more important that we clear up some misconceptions about you. i know that you're an absurdly competent mage who can't get promoted on the basis of bad behavior. i know that you speak orlesian and the common tongue at least." she turns to face him, her bloody armor glistening crimson in what little light that they have down here. "but what i don't get about is why you're here. why did you give up everything for the order if you don't think that the blight matters any? what are you here to protect?"with any luck, it'll be something that invokes more sympathy than the urge to punch him in the face repeatedly. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 27, 2014 17:04:02 GMT
He smiled.
"I didn't give up anything at all for the Wardens," he said. "I just wanted out of the Circle and they wanted a mage. If you're looking for noble intentions and lofty goals, you should have burrowed down here with Peter. Now what do you know about the origins of darkspawn?" LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 27, 2014 17:23:52 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! she blinks. "and yet you're here. you're down here in the tunnels with me, on time and with nary a real complaint. 'sides, i'm fine with you anyhow. i'd take someone who can defend themselves over some bureaucrat looking to build their influence." unlike a certain other person sitting on their padded chair in weisshaupt. the constable crosses her arms. "i'm not here to make fun of you, you know." at least unprovoked, she's not. alya thinks that it must be a masculinity thing, this confident aloofness. she can see the need, if she spent all day fighting darkspawn in a skirt. "the chantry has lectured me time and time again on the tevinter's folly, of course. the corruption of the golden city and the old gods." alya bites her lip. "anything beyond that might be a little beyond your pay grade, unless you know already."alya tries not to think too hard about the female wardens who are about to head to their calling. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 27, 2014 17:41:16 GMT
"Of course I'm down here," Gabriel said. "It's fun! I get to set things on fire and listen to them squeal."
He shrugged at her next words.
"Well if that's all you know, that's all you know," he said. "Just stand around and look pretty and kill darkspawn if they pop up up and try to kill us. I'll be otherwise occupied."
He strode off towards the end of the tunnel. It opened up topside--finally some fresh air--high in the Vimmark Mountains. Just ahead, Gabriel could see a simple stone bridge that lead to what looked like a temple set over a chasm.
Even from here he could feel the power that had been wrought here; the deeper, blood-dark hue of Corypheus's magic overlaid with a shimmering golden sheen that must have been what was left of Hawke's. There was something else beyond those two, weaker and fainter but still there: not as tainted as Corypheus's workings, but not entirely as clean as Hawke's. Anders, he supposed. The erstwhile Ferelden Warden. He hadn't known he'd been here. There was too much he didn't know, that none of them knew.
"Did you know Anders when he was a Warden?" he asked Alya. "Or was that before your time? He had a very brief stay, if I recall." LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 27, 2014 18:22:09 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big!
"you mean you weren't already doing that in the circle of magi?" seeing that alya hung out with a lot of templars, the stories were often exaggerated more often than not. especially when she wouldn't have known much about the circles as a dalish elf. meeting anders did nothing to quell the colorful stories. not even someone as oblivious as alya could miss the cloud that settles over her mind when she follows gabriel to -- wherever they are going. she takes some dalish bark from her pockets and begins chewing on it and focuses on her templar training to make sure that she's composed enough to protect them from whatever is to come. "huh?" gabriel's question catches her off guard for a moment. "oh.,..oh, yeah. not for too long, but i always liked anders. funniest mage i ever knew. we had a bit of an understanding while i was stationed at vigil's keep" even if she was often the only one who laughed at his jokes. "thought it was a hoax when i heard what happened at kirkwall -- did you know him?" she has no idea why he would be asking otherwise. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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HUMAN
“ self-fulling prophecy of endless possibility. ”
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Post by GABRIEL CAZAL on May 27, 2014 18:33:34 GMT
"Never met him. He was here, though. With Hawke."
Gabriel padded around the center of the temple for a moment. There was wreckage here: places where the stone walls had been melted into slag by fire or lightning, pitted holes in the floor from earthquakes and boulders. If he closed his eyes, he could almost retrace the battle that had taken place. Here, a hurried blast of ice, chipping away at the iron railing. Here, a warrior had gouged his sword in the floor, hacking furiously at some enemy unknown to Gabriel.
He opened his eyes and looked at Alya.
"I'm going to find out exactly what happened to our errant little ancient magister prisoner," he said. "It's going to light me up like a bonfire for anyone with a shred of magical talent in a mile radius and I'm going to be completely helpless while I do so. You have fun. Try not to let me die."
With that, Gabriel sat down cross-legged in the center of the temple floor. He sketched a few glyphs in the air in front of him, where they hung motionless in fiery script. His back was ramrod straight, perhaps the first time he hadn't been slouching since he entered the tunnels. He closed his eyes again and focused.
LAIKA OF GS! |
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Post by alya karimi on May 27, 2014 19:07:57 GMT
island soul of me cast off to cross the ocean
ah, the world is so big! for the first time since they entered, alya finds herself feeling frightened at what is about to take place. it's too familiar -- all of it, from the old crumbling tunnels to the shimmering glyphs that she can't read to the flippant mage who won't tell her a thing. (neo, stop treating me like a kid) she does not draw her greatsword. instead, the templar keeps her righteous strike in mind and opts for her set of quicker dual blades. "gabriel...i trust the orlesian wardens, but if you summon anything, anything here, intentional or not, i'm going to cut it down." she had certainly let gabriel speak to the emissary, but that was an emissary. a familiar enemy on the brink of death. here, alya feels the familiar ominousness of watching neo summon dangerous demons and the like. she won't let that happen again. she's done with losing mages to forces beyond their control. she smiles grimly. "you won't die. i stake my honor on it"when gabriel's glyphs set in, corpses start rising from the ground. perhaps it was a trap set by whomever was here before them. maybe they were only curious spirits from the fade. alya didn't care. they were era"harel, and therefore easily felled by her talents. or as easily as magic-less elves went, anyway. alya strips the flesh from their bone before finishing the stragglers with holy smite. when one of them wandered too far from her reach, alya's greatsword solved that problem. if all else failed, wrestling a corpse to the ground was always a crude, but effective option. GABRIEL CAZAL LAIKA OF GS! |
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