as he finishes healing you and the light fades out of his eyes, jiaoqiu, anders actually gives you a bit of a weird look. but he doesn’t say anything about it, except a nod in return for the healing. ]
Glad you all made it.
[ and then he’s standing up and going back to whatever else he was doing. wynne will give charlie a look and pass a hard over her too. Only Shadowheart is apparently a good enough faker to get away with this hardass act.
As you head out past the templar - he gives you a stare through the silverite helmet - and for whatever reason whoever is last to pass will find themselves tripping over a sudden armored foot in the way.
well, that’s fine. that’s normal. as you enter the hallway, you know your way around here. You are on the first floor, where the kitchens, laundry and infirmary are, along with the Chantry for the mages in residence. On the floors above are libraries, classrooms, storage, and of course the dorms. All the apprentices spend their entire adolescence crammed together with very little privacy. One of the main privileges of full magehood is a whole entire curtain to separate you from your roommates. Only the Senior Enchanters are granted something as luxurious as a wall.
You also know that below this floor is more storage, much more secure and difficult to enter, the cells for very ill-behaved mages are down there too, but also passageways most certainly crawling with giant spiders. Ugh. Yucky!
Templars are posted along the hallways, outside of almost every door. They’re all varying levels of attentive - one outside of the kitchens is almost certainly asleep.
The First Enchanter’s office is near the very top floor.
[she gets angry at the templar trying to trip them, it always makes her angry, but she knows better to say anything or, really, even act as though she noticed.
they were called to the first enchanter's office, so that's where she'll be going, at least.]
[The templar's foot does catch Kaworu 's foot and he stumbles forward, using his hands to brace himself against the wall. He freezes for a second. In his past circle, the templars mostly stayed clear of him. They looked at him like he was some sort of diseased animal, too unpleasant to touch.
He rights himself and then heads up towards the First Enchanter's office wincing a little as he steps on the foot that caught against the templar's boot. He was sent here for a reason, he thinks. Surely that reason was the Harrowing. So what now.]
[ power move, establishing kaworu as the one tripped ]
[ charlie reaches out a hand to steady him after she trips, and then he will also go to the enchanter's office because she is also a good girl. disgusting. ]
[ You’re all so well-behaved. You all make your way upstairs to the First Enchanter’s Office. It’s a lot way, and a lot of stairs. As you’re heading up, several others pass you on the stairs heading down - carting another mage between them and all yelling at each other. The mage in the middle is complaining loudly about a burn, and a Templar is huffing and puffing her way down after them, clanking all the way.
Irving’s office is grand, actually. One of the nicest parts of the tower, if it weren’t run down. He’s an older man with a heavy beard, and heavily wrinkled eyes. He’s been in this job a long time. As you enter, you can hear a muffled argument through the door. Not enough to pick out what exactly is being said, but it’s loud, and heated. Right as reach for the handle, the door slams open and Knight Commander Gregoair storms his way out - shooting all four of you a nasty look, and muttering under his breath about blood mages in our midst.
Hm! Well. that’s probably fine? You’re left with Irving in his office. ]
Ah, yes. You’re all here. I … wanted to apologize for such unusual circumstances. It seems there was a bit of a mixup on scheduling.
[ sure. ]
It doesn’t matter now, however. You’ve all successfully passed, and are no longer apprentices. You should all very proud of yourselves. Now, of course, we’ll need to discuss …
[ its a very long and boring speech. The point is, you get to move to the mages dorm, instead of the apprentice’s. A Tranquil - eyes dim and silent as the grave - is here as well, politely standing in the corner of the room the entire time and waiting for exactly the right moment, to be summoned. You all are given a beautiful lyrium ring, and new robes in the colors of full magehood, instead of the blues of apprenticeship, and then … off you go. To your every day lives.
You’ll likely be busy the next few days, with moving and recovering from your adventure, but as you settle in …
Jiaoqiu … aren’t you so much better than this place? You’re a talented healer, and they won’t even let you work in the infirmary. You’re an excellent cook. That’s a skill that not many have, you know. You can take care of yourself better than most people in this place. You can see. You can see yourself so many places now. On your own. Free.
Kaworu, it’s funny, you start feeling something under your skin that says maybe you … should get out of here. There’s so much world to explore, so many people to meet. It feels crazy, that you’d be stuck here, forever, with these same boring people. These same boring faces. You’ve been shuffled around to all of these different Circles meant to imprison you, meant to contain you. Like you’re some sort of puppet to them.
Charlie, doesn’t it make you angry? How forced into a box you are? These Templars do nothing but antagonize you day after day, night after night. You keep a cheerful face, a cheerful attitude, but it wears on people, you know? You feel it building in your gut, somewhere deep inside, an anger. Shouldn’t you deserve better? Some respect? You could really show them all. If you wait for the right time, the right place.
Shadowheart, you feel your own thoughts. Whatever those are.
That’s all probably well and good. What do you do for the next few days? Feel free to take some general actions. Who are you hanging out with? Do you do anything special? Do you try and go anywhere in particular? ]
[shadowheart feels her own thoughts, but that doesn't mean they're all that different. she also chafes at the restrictions, at being confined to this place.
she wasn't born into a world where she assumed she'd be captive for all of her life, though she was young when she left it. she doesn't have all that many memories of the clan she came from and she doesn't particularly feel any loyalty to the people who abandoned her. but she knows that there's a version of life that isn't like this, where she can see a world other than this small and very crowded one.
it's just that she's never been particularly brave, her bravado just a facade learned over time as a good way to discourage others from trying to hurt you. but as much as she dreams of being free, the shape those dreams take isn't escape. these are the only people she knows, the only people she has, and she wants their approval more than she wants to admit. she wants to be chosen, found to be good enough, given special orders, perhaps to fight or to see court.
she works hard, but she isn't all that naturally talented, and it never seems to pay off. she's always told she's not good enough, doesn't have enough control. but she's learned other ways of making up for her own shortcomings, and she practices that, too.
she doesn't have much time for the others, but i'm sure they wind up sharing spaces. she'll be assigned to assist the healers for a while and might see jiaoqiu. no particular talent for it, but it's a skill she knows she should have. she'll see charlie all around, always a busybody, or kaworu in the dorm. despite her attitude, she'll show a little concern or worry for them, if they're still having a hard time after the harrowing. after all, it is something they all went through together, and there's some camaraderie there for her at least.
as for what she does in particular, maybe she'd like to learn more about whether there are actually blood mages practicing here?]
[ i will say that, just like anybody, the tranquil really bother him. he's uncomfortable every time he has to interact with one because it'd just be... so easy to be that, he thinks. it'd be so easy to just give up all of his emotions. he doesn't want to. he just has the feeling that... it might be familiar, to sink into nothingness.
but over the time he's here, he's enjoying his new life as a mage. kind of. it's just that over time, he gets a little more annoyed about how he's being limited. he could help people, if only they would let him.
he does check on the others sometimes. jiaoqiu is a generally private person and he keeps out of the view of templars especially, but he sneaks the others food. he asks them what their favorites are, and he brings those to them whenever he can - not spicy versions, because he does have actual tastebuds in this universe, but just normal sweets or meals. if there's ever a point that they're too bullied by the templars, he takes care of them - wraps wounds or heals them, if he can. when shadowheart is with the healers, he asks her questions, he tries to get to know her - asks what her favorite flower is, what she likes to do. when kaworu seems particularly restless, he offers to talk. and charlie - of course he's always gotten along with charlie. who doesn't really. he shares meals with her and while he's quiet, he is always listening, always there to lend a hand.
as for what he does...
well. it starts to get to be a little much. he should be doing better. he should be out somewhere, not cramped and held in this tower. he tries so hard to make himself noticed with spirit healing - he asks wynne what to do, he studies hard. but he's still just stuck here, doing nothing. maybe if he can just force his way into being useful, his potential will be evident.
is it possible to sneak into the first enchanter's office? maybe he can assign himself somewhere, if these bitches won't do it for him!! ]
[Kaworu doesn't look at the tranquil. He used to stare at them when he was much younger, a baby, trying to understand their strange ways, only to be reprimanded or pulled away by the enchanters of the circle. He saves his stare for the First Enchanter. He's long learned that people think you're listening if you stare.
As he goes about his days... he struggles to feel anything at all. Being a true mage is neither happy nor sad. Just something else. Most everyone ignores him because of his age and he's often left to his own devices. No one looks at him, but everyone seems to watch him. Sometimes he misses his old circle, where they were content to just let him experiment and play with his magic for hours on end. He'd forget they were watching.
Jiaqiou will speak to him sometimes and Kaworu moves between having little words for him and too many words to even find the right ones. He'll acknowledge Shadowheart, sometimes trying to catch her eye during study. Charlie is someone he'll smile at on occasion.
But eventually, he starts to feel like he's suffocating. Like every circle is a smaller and smaller box they're putting him into until it's so tight he cannot breathe.
Kaworu starts to think about what life would be like outside. Wynn's apprentice had escaped, hadn't he? He's always been brought back for some short and glorious amount of time: he saw the world.
How does the escapist do it. Kaworu starts to investigate.]
[ it does make her angry, actually. seeing the tranquil. the way they're treated. but she shoves it down behind a smile. plays the role of good girl. she doesn't want to act out of turn, after all. she doesn't want to hurt anyone, or scare anyone ]
[ she, of course, tries to spend as much time with the other mages as possible. be that their little group -- trying to lift their spirits, keep them together -- or the escapist. trying to get to know him better. helping wynne out whenever possible. trying to get on the templars' good sides--- if only to try to convince them to be kinder to the mages. ]
Both Jiaoqiu and Shadowheart - Charlie and Kaworu too! All of you - are more than welcome to help with the healers. They need the hands. You treat all sorts of everyday mundane things that happen to mages all the time. A pair of scuffed knees from a Force spell sending a Junior Enchanter sliding across the floor to the riotous laughter of her students, ice from a scorned girlfriend who saw her lover flirting with someone else over last night’s horrible stew, an apprentice covered in horrible burns he’d obtained trying to set himself alight instead of living in this tower for even one more day. A Tranquil who was assigned to kitchen duty who had accidentally gripped a tray of bread from the oven without gloves and hadn’t noticed at all until his apprentice assistant had smelled the flesh searing and screamed. A heavily pregnant mage who is anxiously visiting twice a day seemingly more to spend time here in the quiet medical bay than out there where a certain Templar looks at her for far too long and with too much malice. A boy who complains of sore wrists from writing too much all day and then giving himself a migraine by insisting on doing all this feverish writing in low light.
Shadowheart, you do some subtle (or not so subtle) inquiries - and you’re met with several answers. Of course there aren’t blood mages here. Anyone she asks will be disdainful, dismissive of the very idea. In fact, it’s highly suspect you’re even interested! Though she’s probably deft enough to poke around without making too many waves. But … you aren’t stupid, or unobservant. You can see, especially now you are amongst the adults, there are certain groups that only hang around each other, huddled in corners of the library, or in the darkest shadows of the Chantry after everyone has cleared out.
No one will talk to you about blood magic, though one night you find yourself poking around the library and you see some rusty stains on the floor, some books shoved hurriedly back onto the shelves. You pull one down and a note flutters out. It’s in code, but it’s not a difficult one to crack. It seems to say not to panic. Just meet in the catacombs when it happens. When what happens … ? It seems something is planned. And soon.
Jiao you can definitely try and sneak into the First Enchanter’s office. It actually isn’t even all that hard, if you time it right. There are Templars guarding it, but you can spot them dozing off or wandering from their post a mile away. You slip in past the door the second you have the opportunity. There’s mostly just a lot of paperwork and mess in here. Irving is old and has held this position a long time. You’ve never been that badly behaved, so you haven’t been sent up here much to be sat in the low chair across from his desk and lectured on the virtues of good behavior, but you know others who have. Your strongest memory is first arriving here. You were young, but old enough to know what outside is like, what having a family is like, but they had so easily handed you over. In fact, they had seemed rather relieved to do it, to pass the burden of raising you off to someone else. When you’d first been brought here, you’d been dragged up to this office. Irving had been here, and he’d been so kind then, especially compared to the Templar woman who had practically dragged you by the scruff up the stairs and thrown you to the floor. `Don’t worry.` He’d said, as he’d pressed the sharp glass of the phylactery into your palm. `We take a bit of your blood to keep you safe. To make sure we can always find you, if you get lost.`
As you dig through the drawers, you find reports written by the Templars. Suspected blood magic, always, but what else is new. Still, there seems to be more of these lately, and the feeling is like something building to a fever pitch. And insistent requests for apprentices to be Harrowed faster and more at a time. They’ve been coddling you all too much, it seems. Funnily enough, these requests don’t come from the Templars, but from a Senior Enchanter. Uldred? Evil-ass sounding name.
Kaworu, life is difficult for one so young who separated from his peers. It makes you an outsider. You aren’t an apprentice, but you aren’t really regarded as an adult either. The boys are all a little too old in the new dorms, and the ones your age seem a bit frightened of you. But starting to investigate gives you a reason to talk to people. It turns out it’s not actually that hard to figure out how the escape artist did it, because he’s a loud-mouth braggart, at least according to the very annoyed girl you’ve cornered in the cafeteria to ask about it. Maybe she’s just mad she got dumped. Whatever! Hater.
Still, maybe it’s better to go straight to the source on this one. even if it seems like the source might be prone to inflating his stories with half-truths and exaggerations. Charlie is there too, tagging along to talk to The Source. Anders is easy to talk to, and charming in a kind of mean way, and tells you a lot about outside, which is mostly how muddy it is and how many dogs there are. Also, far too old for you Kaworu, sorry. But he’s more than happy to tell his tales. He claims he once swam across all of Lake Calenhad to escape, which seems insane. You’ve heard of other escape attempts drowning in the process, and he doesn’t strike you a strong swimmer. The more you talk to him though, the more he’s willing to share. He needs to make it to Kirkwall, you see. Someoone is waiting for him. He has a bit of plan for his next crack at it, you see. Don’t tell Wynne, but he’s been squirreling away herbs, powerful ones. Enough to knock out the entire Templar squad, if he catches their dinner at the right time. And then once they’re out on their asses, he’s heard the catacombs actually run all the way under the lake. Dry the whole way! A big improvement. Apart from the spiders.
Charlie, you also try and get onto the Templar’s good side … it isn’t actually that hard. They’re still humans. All, humans, for the record. They don’t accept elves in their rants. Still, not all of them are terrible. There are bad apples in every cart, right? And in talking to them, about their childhoods, their lives, you hear some interesting stories. It turns out, a lot of Templars start young too. Very young. Second sons and third daughters, sold off to the Chantry to lessen the burden on a family. Boys and girls from poverty stricken ratholes, seeking a life of meaning with the Chantry - and conveniently three meals a day too. You also learn, by hanging around them, a bit about the lyrium. They all take it - everyone knows that. It helps them to resist magic, to defeat demons. But it’s very … very addictive. Once you join the Templars, you can’t exactly leave, or they’ll cut off your supply. Lyrium is too expensive, too scarce, to get any other way. Funny, that.
You also learn that the Templars are all quite antsy lately. They feel something in the air. They can’t quite tell what it is. But a friend of yours, a young woman almost exactly your age pulls you aside one night and whispers in a hushed tone to be careful. Something is going to happen soon. ]
[she definitely knows better than to make obvious inquiries about this, yes. but she'll poke around and learn what she can. still unsure if she plans to use this for herself or if she plans to turn in whoever is responsible and use it for her way out. probably the former but the latter is a good excuse if she gets caught.
anyway, she will wait until it seems that something is happening and then meet in the catacombs.]
[ the injured really... get him, sometimes. specifically the one covered in burns. he thinks about that for a long time afterwards, wondering if there's a universe where he might have tried to do the same. he might try to tell the others about the harrowings if there's ever a point where he's able to catch them without the templars lurking.
can he find his phylactery somewhere... is it a physical object. if he can find it he wants to take it back. that's HIS blood.
he can't say he's not interested in blood magic if it helps him heal people, honestly. he wonders what he could do with it, absently. ]
[Well, Kaworu can't swim so the lake is a non-starter. But he looks out at it every day and imagines being a bird and just flying over the water, away, to wherever he wants to go.
The nice thing about being young and small for your age is people underestimate you, so it is much easier to sneak around. Most of the templars are unconcerned and the other mages seem to ignore per someone's command.
So one night, he'll creep down to the catacombs and lurk in a corner. Hoping to find Anders so he can beg the older mage to take him away from here. Kaworu will go to Kirkwall. He'll go to Antiva or Rivain or wherever. Any place that isn't here.]
[ charlie does indeed help heal and and take care of mages. even the templars she'll help out :( she can't help it, she wants to help everyone ]
[ she keeps up everything she's doing with no indication she's thinking about the catacombs. she does investigate the lyrium-- where it's coming from, if the higher ups are purposefully trying to keep the lower ranks hooked on it, and how dangerous it is ]
[ but that night, she will meet in the catacombs as well ]
[ I love how none of you were like. better check in with my friends about this very ominous information I’ve found. Time to go to the DEPTHS. I support literally all of you.
Shadowheart, you aren’t on your best observation skills here. You awake one morning to silence. Which is very fucking odd, considering how loud the damn tower is most of the time. With all the people milling around, all the Templars and mages and even the Tranquil have their own rhythms and sounds. But not now. There’s only you, and when you exit the dormitories, a templar slumped over on the ground. If you go over to him and try and rouse him, he doesn’t respond. You are moving under your own power, you own mind, and you don’t really notice anything else off … but you suspect that something might be happening. You head to the catacombs.
Jiaoqiu you feel all your senses alight this morning. You’ve felt your vision returning, but now it’s full force. It’s a wonderful feeling. It could even better than it was. Everything feels better. You can even hear better. As you awake, you realize that it isn’t silence. From the floors above you - it’s distant, as if through water, but screaming. crying. terror. and you can smell it, that coppery scent in the air. but … you’ve thought about your phylactery. and something inside of you latches onto that idea. what a good idea. Yes. Your phylactery is a physical object, a little vial of blood, and they store it in the tower until you pass your Harrowing. It probably hasn’t had time to be moved yet. If you’re quick, you can get to it in time, get rid of it, be free of this horrible place. You hear the screaming, and even if every part of you wants to go investigate, by the Maker to fucking help …
you don’t exactly get a choice. you find your feet moving you towards the catacombs into the depths against your will. A comforting presence presses against your mind, guiding you. `I promised I would be here.` And you feel warm. And safe.
Kaworu, you also don’t seem to notice much of anything amiss as you head for the catacombs except for the fact that the Templars who normally guard the door are face down on the ground. One of them appears to be weakly moving, but sluggish and groggy. the other— the armor is scorched, and they aren’t moving. But maybe that’s not important right now. What’s important is this opportunity. Getting the hell out of here. You bolt for the door and make it - it seems someone might have been this way already. You did beat my pathetic DC3, so yeah, it doesn’t take long to run into Anders. He hasn’t made it far, but seems in something of a goddamn panic. He didn’t think it would hit the Templars that hard? And where is everyone? Maybe there’s just an assembly he forgot about this morning. It doesn’t matter, though. If you’re here, you’re here. He’ll agree to take you, but you’ve got to fucking move.
Charlie.
Oh Charlie. You can do a lot of reading about the intricacies of the Lyrium trade. She’ll find out that Lyrium is the Chantry’s greatest resource. A powerful substance that in its raw form can kill a mage outright, but in its refined form is the most important magical tool there is. Everything is made with this stuff. It’s necessary for enchantment, for magical items, for even the most basic of mage staves. The ring you wear is lined with lyrium, and the walls of the Circle are lit with lyrium lamps. It comes from the Deep Roads, and is mined by the dwarves, and its trade is the most expansive and powerful network across the entire continent. There is no seat of power too high that does not have a hand in it, from the Tevinter Imperium to the Empress of Orlais.
Of course it’s very dangerous.
And there’s nothing you can really do about it. Not from here. You’re helpless. And that makes you so angry as well. You’re seeing so much red that you barely notice when you’ve made your way all the way to the catacombs, all the way down here without paying much attention at all to where you’ve even come from.
But uh. You’re all together now. I don’t think anyone successfully hides.
[that also sounds extremely dangerous. she was prepared to break the rules, but just escaping isn't a decision you could undo. she isn't interested in helping any slumped over templars, but she doesn't want to get caught and ruin her life for these people, either.
on the other hand, maybe by virtue of being here at all its already too late, she'll get blamed for being part of whatever this is no matter what she protests.]
[ i promised you i'd be there. she is. she's there. and he trusts her, more than anything, so... he goes.
he's down here just... hanging out, watching the rest of them quietly. but when they speak up, when anders suggests they leave, he smiles a little. pleasant, placid, as always. ]
If we destroy our phylacteries, they will not be able to follow us. [ ... ] I don't see why we can't leave.
[ it's not like the templars care, right? not about them, just about their magic. and jiaoqiu doesn't have anywhere to go, but... maybe he can find somewhere that he can have purpose. maybe she'll lead him to it. ]
[ her mind is pulsating red, angry thoughts -- at the system, at lyrium, at everything, but she takes a deep breath, tries to calm her neves ]
... I don't know.
[ it doesn't feel right to just abandon the other mages, leave everyone to something potentially dangerous. even the templars, she doesn't want them badly hurt or worse ]
[ it is a little too late. maybe? you could always run back into the tower. you could certainly try. but there is a force inside of you now, charlie, that is leaning in close with all of a mother's warmth and telling you that it is `going to be okay.`
anders will take one look at almost all of you except the child who seems to be looking to him for guidance and instantly decide you're all being very fucking weird and it's giving him the heebie jeebies. ]
Your phylacteries will be here.
[ there's a little bit of bitterness there, because his isn't. but he's known that. this is all very unusual, he's never had people try to escape with him. if they are doing that at all. ]
I know where they are. And I know the way to get out I think.
[ so confident!
well, despite all of that - you hear a sound in the distance - it sounds like ice cracking and then glass shattering. A lot of glass. there's also a shout, but it's indistinct.
so. whatcha up to. Are we going for phylacteries, are we leaving, are we turning tail and running? ]
Listen. I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of living as an apostate in the woods for the rest of my life, but I do not exactly relish sticking around and finding out what they do to us for this when they wake up.
[it doesn’t matter that they weren’t involved. Heads will have to roll for this, and they’ll find whatever heads are convenient to blame. All it will take is someone reporting that they saw them acting suspicious, going somewhere they weren’t meant to go. At best they’ll be watched and under suspicion and subject to random acts of violent vengeance but more likely they’ll be accused and thrown in a cell or made tranquil. She’s not optimistic and there is not a single authority figure in this place she would trust to defend her from any of that.
she doesn’t hate the idea of freedom either, it’s just that she dreamed of a freedom that wouldn’t mean being hunted, hiding. she nods at jiaoqiu.]
If we’re doing this, let’s be smart about it. Destroy the phylacteries first. Even if it doesn’t stop them looking, it slows them down.
[ yeah like listen jiaoqiu has not spent a single day of his life outside in the cold. he is a somewhat spoiled child who came to a place where everything was decided for him, and so while he can cook and take care of himself... being out in the world is going to be a huge adjustment.
but shadowheart is right. if there's any sort of indication that the four of them were here, the templars will not care if they did something or not. they will be held responsible, and the last thing in the world that jiaoqiu wants is to be made tranquil. the little voice in his head tells him that it'll be okay. that they can make it work. and she's never lied to him, so he believes her.
[Wow, he is not a child, he is a teenager, thank you very much! He doesn't feel like his phylactery is here. There were too many hushed whispers and glancing looks his way.
But he now realizes that saying so would raise suspicion and they might view him as a liability and leave him behind. Then he'd be stuck there and his plans of escape would fade back into dreams.]
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holyspirits) wrote2025-03-23 03:14 pm
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I think we're all ready... right, guys?
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Glad you all made it.
[ and then he’s standing up and going back to whatever else he was doing. wynne will give charlie a look and pass a hard over her too. Only Shadowheart is apparently a good enough faker to get away with this hardass act.
As you head out past the templar - he gives you a stare through the silverite helmet - and for whatever reason whoever is last to pass will find themselves tripping over a sudden armored foot in the way.
well, that’s fine. that’s normal. as you enter the hallway, you know your way around here. You are on the first floor, where the kitchens, laundry and infirmary are, along with the Chantry for the mages in residence. On the floors above are libraries, classrooms, storage, and of course the dorms. All the apprentices spend their entire adolescence crammed together with very little privacy. One of the main privileges of full magehood is a whole entire curtain to separate you from your roommates. Only the Senior Enchanters are granted something as luxurious as a wall.
You also know that below this floor is more storage, much more secure and difficult to enter, the cells for very ill-behaved mages are down there too, but also passageways most certainly crawling with giant spiders. Ugh. Yucky!
Templars are posted along the hallways, outside of almost every door. They’re all varying levels of attentive - one outside of the kitchens is almost certainly asleep.
The First Enchanter’s office is near the very top floor.
Where ya headed?]
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they were called to the first enchanter's office, so that's where she'll be going, at least.]
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also, jiaoqiu like that templar is getting his food laced with laxatives later.
anyway, he's a good boy and probably will go right to the first enchanter's office, yeah, but... the kitchen... it calls to him. ]
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He rights himself and then heads up towards the First Enchanter's office wincing a little as he steps on the foot that caught against the templar's boot. He was sent here for a reason, he thinks. Surely that reason was the Harrowing. So what now.]
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[ charlie reaches out a hand to steady him after she trips, and then he will also go to the enchanter's office because she is also a good girl. disgusting. ]
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Irving’s office is grand, actually. One of the nicest parts of the tower, if it weren’t run down. He’s an older man with a heavy beard, and heavily wrinkled eyes. He’s been in this job a long time. As you enter, you can hear a muffled argument through the door. Not enough to pick out what exactly is being said, but it’s loud, and heated. Right as reach for the handle, the door slams open and Knight Commander Gregoair storms his way out - shooting all four of you a nasty look, and muttering under his breath about blood mages in our midst.
Hm! Well. that’s probably fine? You’re left with Irving in his office. ]
Ah, yes. You’re all here. I … wanted to apologize for such unusual circumstances. It seems there was a bit of a mixup on scheduling.
[ sure. ]
It doesn’t matter now, however. You’ve all successfully passed, and are no longer apprentices. You should all very proud of yourselves. Now, of course, we’ll need to discuss …
[ its a very long and boring speech. The point is, you get to move to the mages dorm, instead of the apprentice’s. A Tranquil - eyes dim and silent as the grave - is here as well, politely standing in the corner of the room the entire time and waiting for exactly the right moment, to be summoned. You all are given a beautiful lyrium ring, and new robes in the colors of full magehood, instead of the blues of apprenticeship, and then … off you go. To your every day lives.
You’ll likely be busy the next few days, with moving and recovering from your adventure, but as you settle in …
Jiaoqiu … aren’t you so much better than this place? You’re a talented healer, and they won’t even let you work in the infirmary. You’re an excellent cook. That’s a skill that not many have, you know. You can take care of yourself better than most people in this place. You can see. You can see yourself so many places now. On your own. Free.
Kaworu, it’s funny, you start feeling something under your skin that says maybe you … should get out of here. There’s so much world to explore, so many people to meet. It feels crazy, that you’d be stuck here, forever, with these same boring people. These same boring faces. You’ve been shuffled around to all of these different Circles meant to imprison you, meant to contain you. Like you’re some sort of puppet to them.
Charlie, doesn’t it make you angry? How forced into a box you are? These Templars do nothing but antagonize you day after day, night after night. You keep a cheerful face, a cheerful attitude, but it wears on people, you know? You feel it building in your gut, somewhere deep inside, an anger. Shouldn’t you deserve better? Some respect? You could really show them all. If you wait for the right time, the right place.
Shadowheart, you feel your own thoughts. Whatever those are.
That’s all probably well and good.
What do you do for the next few days? Feel free to take some general actions. Who are you hanging out with? Do you do anything special? Do you try and go anywhere in particular? ]
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she wasn't born into a world where she assumed she'd be captive for all of her life, though she was young when she left it. she doesn't have all that many memories of the clan she came from and she doesn't particularly feel any loyalty to the people who abandoned her. but she knows that there's a version of life that isn't like this, where she can see a world other than this small and very crowded one.
it's just that she's never been particularly brave, her bravado just a facade learned over time as a good way to discourage others from trying to hurt you. but as much as she dreams of being free, the shape those dreams take isn't escape. these are the only people she knows, the only people she has, and she wants their approval more than she wants to admit. she wants to be chosen, found to be good enough, given special orders, perhaps to fight or to see court.
she works hard, but she isn't all that naturally talented, and it never seems to pay off. she's always told she's not good enough, doesn't have enough control. but she's learned other ways of making up for her own shortcomings, and she practices that, too.
she doesn't have much time for the others, but i'm sure they wind up sharing spaces. she'll be assigned to assist the healers for a while and might see jiaoqiu. no particular talent for it, but it's a skill she knows she should have. she'll see charlie all around, always a busybody, or kaworu in the dorm. despite her attitude, she'll show a little concern or worry for them, if they're still having a hard time after the harrowing. after all, it is something they all went through together, and there's some camaraderie there for her at least.
as for what she does in particular, maybe she'd like to learn more about whether there are actually blood mages practicing here?]
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but over the time he's here, he's enjoying his new life as a mage. kind of. it's just that over time, he gets a little more annoyed about how he's being limited. he could help people, if only they would let him.
he does check on the others sometimes. jiaoqiu is a generally private person and he keeps out of the view of templars especially, but he sneaks the others food. he asks them what their favorites are, and he brings those to them whenever he can - not spicy versions, because he does have actual tastebuds in this universe, but just normal sweets or meals. if there's ever a point that they're too bullied by the templars, he takes care of them - wraps wounds or heals them, if he can. when shadowheart is with the healers, he asks her questions, he tries to get to know her - asks what her favorite flower is, what she likes to do. when kaworu seems particularly restless, he offers to talk. and charlie - of course he's always gotten along with charlie. who doesn't really. he shares meals with her and while he's quiet, he is always listening, always there to lend a hand.
as for what he does...
well. it starts to get to be a little much. he should be doing better. he should be out somewhere, not cramped and held in this tower. he tries so hard to make himself noticed with spirit healing - he asks wynne what to do, he studies hard. but he's still just stuck here, doing nothing. maybe if he can just force his way into being useful, his potential will be evident.
is it possible to sneak into the first enchanter's office? maybe he can assign himself somewhere, if these bitches won't do it for him!! ]
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As he goes about his days... he struggles to feel anything at all. Being a true mage is neither happy nor sad. Just something else. Most everyone ignores him because of his age and he's often left to his own devices. No one looks at him, but everyone seems to watch him. Sometimes he misses his old circle, where they were content to just let him experiment and play with his magic for hours on end. He'd forget they were watching.
Jiaqiou will speak to him sometimes and Kaworu moves between having little words for him and too many words to even find the right ones. He'll acknowledge Shadowheart, sometimes trying to catch her eye during study. Charlie is someone he'll smile at on occasion.
But eventually, he starts to feel like he's suffocating. Like every circle is a smaller and smaller box they're putting him into until it's so tight he cannot breathe.
Kaworu starts to think about what life would be like outside. Wynn's apprentice had escaped, hadn't he? He's always been brought back for some short and glorious amount of time: he saw the world.
How does the escapist do it. Kaworu starts to investigate.]
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[ she, of course, tries to spend as much time with the other mages as possible. be that their little group -- trying to lift their spirits, keep them together -- or the escapist. trying to get to know him better. helping wynne out whenever possible. trying to get on the templars' good sides--- if only to try to convince them to be kinder to the mages. ]
cw: suicide ment
Both Jiaoqiu and Shadowheart - Charlie and Kaworu too! All of you - are more than welcome to help with the healers. They need the hands. You treat all sorts of everyday mundane things that happen to mages all the time. A pair of scuffed knees from a Force spell sending a Junior Enchanter sliding across the floor to the riotous laughter of her students, ice from a scorned girlfriend who saw her lover flirting with someone else over last night’s horrible stew, an apprentice covered in horrible burns he’d obtained trying to set himself alight instead of living in this tower for even one more day. A Tranquil who was assigned to kitchen duty who had accidentally gripped a tray of bread from the oven without gloves and hadn’t noticed at all until his apprentice assistant had smelled the flesh searing and screamed. A heavily pregnant mage who is anxiously visiting twice a day seemingly more to spend time here in the quiet medical bay than out there where a certain Templar looks at her for far too long and with too much malice. A boy who complains of sore wrists from writing too much all day and then giving himself a migraine by insisting on doing all this feverish writing in low light.
Shadowheart, you do some subtle (or not so subtle) inquiries - and you’re met with several answers. Of course there aren’t blood mages here. Anyone she asks will be disdainful, dismissive of the very idea. In fact, it’s highly suspect you’re even interested! Though she’s probably deft enough to poke around without making too many waves. But … you aren’t stupid, or unobservant. You can see, especially now you are amongst the adults, there are certain groups that only hang around each other, huddled in corners of the library, or in the darkest shadows of the Chantry after everyone has cleared out.
No one will talk to you about blood magic, though one night you find yourself poking around the library and you see some rusty stains on the floor, some books shoved hurriedly back onto the shelves. You pull one down and a note flutters out. It’s in code, but it’s not a difficult one to crack. It seems to say not to panic. Just meet in the catacombs when it happens. When what happens … ? It seems something is planned. And soon.
Jiao you can definitely try and sneak into the First Enchanter’s office. It actually isn’t even all that hard, if you time it right. There are Templars guarding it, but you can spot them dozing off or wandering from their post a mile away. You slip in past the door the second you have the opportunity. There’s mostly just a lot of paperwork and mess in here. Irving is old and has held this position a long time. You’ve never been that badly behaved, so you haven’t been sent up here much to be sat in the low chair across from his desk and lectured on the virtues of good behavior, but you know others who have. Your strongest memory is first arriving here. You were young, but old enough to know what outside is like, what having a family is like, but they had so easily handed you over. In fact, they had seemed rather relieved to do it, to pass the burden of raising you off to someone else. When you’d first been brought here, you’d been dragged up to this office. Irving had been here, and he’d been so kind then, especially compared to the Templar woman who had practically dragged you by the scruff up the stairs and thrown you to the floor. `Don’t worry.` He’d said, as he’d pressed the sharp glass of the phylactery into your palm. `We take a bit of your blood to keep you safe. To make sure we can always find you, if you get lost.`
As you dig through the drawers, you find reports written by the Templars. Suspected blood magic, always, but what else is new. Still, there seems to be more of these lately, and the feeling is like something building to a fever pitch. And insistent requests for apprentices to be Harrowed faster and more at a time. They’ve been coddling you all too much, it seems. Funnily enough, these requests don’t come from the Templars, but from a Senior Enchanter. Uldred? Evil-ass sounding name.
Kaworu, life is difficult for one so young who separated from his peers. It makes you an outsider. You aren’t an apprentice, but you aren’t really regarded as an adult either. The boys are all a little too old in the new dorms, and the ones your age seem a bit frightened of you. But starting to investigate gives you a reason to talk to people. It turns out it’s not actually that hard to figure out how the escape artist did it, because he’s a loud-mouth braggart, at least according to the very annoyed girl you’ve cornered in the cafeteria to ask about it. Maybe she’s just mad she got dumped. Whatever! Hater.
Still, maybe it’s better to go straight to the source on this one. even if it seems like the source might be prone to inflating his stories with half-truths and exaggerations. Charlie is there too, tagging along to talk to The Source. Anders is easy to talk to, and charming in a kind of mean way, and tells you a lot about outside, which is mostly how muddy it is and how many dogs there are. Also, far too old for you Kaworu, sorry. But he’s more than happy to tell his tales. He claims he once swam across all of Lake Calenhad to escape, which seems insane. You’ve heard of other escape attempts drowning in the process, and he doesn’t strike you a strong swimmer. The more you talk to him though, the more he’s willing to share. He needs to make it to Kirkwall, you see. Someoone is waiting for him. He has a bit of plan for his next crack at it, you see. Don’t tell Wynne, but he’s been squirreling away herbs, powerful ones. Enough to knock out the entire Templar squad, if he catches their dinner at the right time. And then once they’re out on their asses, he’s heard the catacombs actually run all the way under the lake. Dry the whole way! A big improvement. Apart from the spiders.
Charlie, you also try and get onto the Templar’s good side … it isn’t actually that hard. They’re still humans. All, humans, for the record. They don’t accept elves in their rants. Still, not all of them are terrible. There are bad apples in every cart, right? And in talking to them, about their childhoods, their lives, you hear some interesting stories. It turns out, a lot of Templars start young too. Very young. Second sons and third daughters, sold off to the Chantry to lessen the burden on a family. Boys and girls from poverty stricken ratholes, seeking a life of meaning with the Chantry - and conveniently three meals a day too. You also learn, by hanging around them, a bit about the lyrium. They all take it - everyone knows that. It helps them to resist magic, to defeat demons. But it’s very … very addictive. Once you join the Templars, you can’t exactly leave, or they’ll cut off your supply. Lyrium is too expensive, too scarce, to get any other way. Funny, that.
You also learn that the Templars are all quite antsy lately. They feel something in the air. They can’t quite tell what it is. But a friend of yours, a young woman almost exactly your age pulls you aside one night and whispers in a hushed tone to be careful. Something is going to happen soon. ]
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anyway, she will wait until it seems that something is happening and then meet in the catacombs.]
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can he find his phylactery somewhere... is it a physical object. if he can find it he wants to take it back. that's HIS blood.
he can't say he's not interested in blood magic if it helps him heal people, honestly. he wonders what he could do with it, absently. ]
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The nice thing about being young and small for your age is people underestimate you, so it is much easier to sneak around. Most of the templars are unconcerned and the other mages seem to ignore per someone's command.
So one night, he'll creep down to the catacombs and lurk in a corner. Hoping to find Anders so he can beg the older mage to take him away from here. Kaworu will go to Kirkwall. He'll go to Antiva or Rivain or wherever. Any place that isn't here.]
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[ she keeps up everything she's doing with no indication she's thinking about the catacombs. she does investigate the lyrium-- where it's coming from, if the higher ups are purposefully trying to keep the lower ranks hooked on it, and how dangerous it is ]
[ but that night, she will meet in the catacombs as well ]
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Shadowheart, you aren’t on your best observation skills here. You awake one morning to silence. Which is very fucking odd, considering how loud the damn tower is most of the time. With all the people milling around, all the Templars and mages and even the Tranquil have their own rhythms and sounds. But not now. There’s only you, and when you exit the dormitories, a templar slumped over on the ground. If you go over to him and try and rouse him, he doesn’t respond. You are moving under your own power, you own mind, and you don’t really notice anything else off … but you suspect that something might be happening. You head to the catacombs.
Jiaoqiu you feel all your senses alight this morning. You’ve felt your vision returning, but now it’s full force. It’s a wonderful feeling. It could even better than it was. Everything feels better. You can even hear better. As you awake, you realize that it isn’t silence. From the floors above you - it’s distant, as if through water, but screaming. crying. terror. and you can smell it, that coppery scent in the air. but … you’ve thought about your phylactery. and something inside of you latches onto that idea. what a good idea. Yes. Your phylactery is a physical object, a little vial of blood, and they store it in the tower until you pass your Harrowing. It probably hasn’t had time to be moved yet. If you’re quick, you can get to it in time, get rid of it, be free of this horrible place. You hear the screaming, and even if every part of you wants to go investigate, by the Maker to fucking help …
you don’t exactly get a choice. you find your feet moving you towards the catacombs into the depths against your will. A comforting presence presses against your mind, guiding you. `I promised I would be here.` And you feel warm. And safe.
Kaworu, you also don’t seem to notice much of anything amiss as you head for the catacombs except for the fact that the Templars who normally guard the door are face down on the ground. One of them appears to be weakly moving, but sluggish and groggy. the other— the armor is scorched, and they aren’t moving. But maybe that’s not important right now. What’s important is this opportunity. Getting the hell out of here. You bolt for the door and make it - it seems someone might have been this way already. You did beat my pathetic DC3, so yeah, it doesn’t take long to run into Anders. He hasn’t made it far, but seems in something of a goddamn panic. He didn’t think it would hit the Templars that hard? And where is everyone? Maybe there’s just an assembly he forgot about this morning. It doesn’t matter, though. If you’re here, you’re here. He’ll agree to take you, but you’ve got to fucking move.
Charlie.
Oh Charlie. You can do a lot of reading about the intricacies of the Lyrium trade. She’ll find out that Lyrium is the Chantry’s greatest resource. A powerful substance that in its raw form can kill a mage outright, but in its refined form is the most important magical tool there is. Everything is made with this stuff. It’s necessary for enchantment, for magical items, for even the most basic of mage staves. The ring you wear is lined with lyrium, and the walls of the Circle are lit with lyrium lamps. It comes from the Deep Roads, and is mined by the dwarves, and its trade is the most expansive and powerful network across the entire continent. There is no seat of power too high that does not have a hand in it, from the Tevinter Imperium to the Empress of Orlais.
Of course it’s very dangerous.
And there’s nothing you can really do about it. Not from here. You’re helpless. And that makes you so angry as well. You’re seeing so much red that you barely notice when you’ve made your way all the way to the catacombs, all the way down here without paying much attention at all to where you’ve even come from.
But uh. You’re all together now. I don’t think anyone successfully hides.
Anders is the first to clear his throat. ]
… Do you think we should just try and leave?
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[that also sounds extremely dangerous. she was prepared to break the rules, but just escaping isn't a decision you could undo. she isn't interested in helping any slumped over templars, but she doesn't want to get caught and ruin her life for these people, either.
on the other hand, maybe by virtue of being here at all its already too late, she'll get blamed for being part of whatever this is no matter what she protests.]
I don't see how we do it.
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he's down here just... hanging out, watching the rest of them quietly. but when they speak up, when anders suggests they leave, he smiles a little. pleasant, placid, as always. ]
If we destroy our phylacteries, they will not be able to follow us. [ ... ] I don't see why we can't leave.
[ it's not like the templars care, right? not about them, just about their magic. and jiaoqiu doesn't have anywhere to go, but... maybe he can find somewhere that he can have purpose. maybe she'll lead him to it. ]
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Getting our phylacteries will just slow us down. Even if the track us, we just keep hiding.
[He steps closer to Anders and looks at the rest. He's willing to risk it. Plus he has doubts his phylactery is even here. So what is the point.]
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... I don't know.
[ it doesn't feel right to just abandon the other mages, leave everyone to something potentially dangerous. even the templars, she doesn't want them badly hurt or worse ]
[ but then again, it's too late, isn't it? ]
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anders will take one look at almost all of you except the child who seems to be looking to him for guidance and instantly decide you're all being very fucking weird and it's giving him the heebie jeebies. ]
Your phylacteries will be here.
[ there's a little bit of bitterness there, because his isn't. but he's known that. this is all very unusual, he's never had people try to escape with him. if they are doing that at all. ]
I know where they are. And I know the way to get out I think.
[ so confident!
well, despite all of that - you hear a sound in the distance - it sounds like ice cracking and then glass shattering. A lot of glass. there's also a shout, but it's indistinct.
so. whatcha up to. Are we going for phylacteries, are we leaving, are we turning tail and running? ]
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[it doesn’t matter that they weren’t involved. Heads will have to roll for this, and they’ll find whatever heads are convenient to blame. All it will take is someone reporting that they saw them acting suspicious, going somewhere they weren’t meant to go. At best they’ll be watched and under suspicion and subject to random acts of violent vengeance but more likely they’ll be accused and thrown in a cell or made tranquil. She’s not optimistic and there is not a single authority figure in this place she would trust to defend her from any of that.
she doesn’t hate the idea of freedom either, it’s just that she dreamed of a freedom that wouldn’t mean being hunted, hiding. she nods at jiaoqiu.]
If we’re doing this, let’s be smart about it. Destroy the phylacteries first. Even if it doesn’t stop them looking, it slows them down.
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but shadowheart is right. if there's any sort of indication that the four of them were here, the templars will not care if they did something or not. they will be held responsible, and the last thing in the world that jiaoqiu wants is to be made tranquil. the little voice in his head tells him that it'll be okay. that they can make it work. and she's never lied to him, so he believes her.
he nods. ]
Agreed. I will not be made an example of.
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But he now realizes that saying so would raise suspicion and they might view him as a liability and leave him behind. Then he'd be stuck there and his plans of escape would fade back into dreams.]
Fine. But we should make it fast.
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