Alistair (Theirin) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fatherlesskind) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
entranceway2015-12-01 12:14 pm
fatherlesskind) wrote in entranceway2015-12-01 12:14 pm
[Video/Action]
-does this do? What about this? Helllooo?
[The video feed begins with a close-up of a gauntleted thumb and then twists nauseatingly around until there's a giant eyeball... that gradually diminishes in size as its owner pulls back from the device. Once it's farther away it reveals a large man in heavy armour with a sword at his hip and a shield on his back, looking rather put out. Alistair frowns down at the thing for a moment then shrugs and begins to speak.]
I heard I can use this thing to talk to people. People far away. I don't know if I believe it, I've never heard of magic like that. But this way it doesn't look like I'm crazy and talking to myself. Maybe.
I don't talk to myself normally of course. That would be crazy. But I do talk to myself - and little... boxes - when I get lost and wind up in a strange place I've never seen before. Especially when I'm supposed to be somewhere else doing something important. Then I might talk to myself.
[But only because he hasn't found anyone else to talk to yet and he's still trying to figure out what's going on. He isn't buying anything he's heard so far so he's reduced to thinking out loud at a little box.]
Well, I think I know what's going on here. This is the Fade, is it? I'm stuck in the Fade again.
What do you think box? Am I right? [His voice turns high pitched and squeaky and the video judders about as the device is waggled back and forth.] 'I think you are Alistair, you handsome fiend you, you must be in the Fade! Now we just have to go find the eeevil demon that trapped us here and make it let you go!'
[And back to a normal voice, the video steadying again.] I'm glad you agree and I am looking rather handsome today, aren't I? Now, let's go find that demon!
[And, companion... box in hand - and still broadcasting - he strides boldly off in search of something that looks like a demon, keeping up a running commentary until someone decides to interrupt him.]
[The video feed begins with a close-up of a gauntleted thumb and then twists nauseatingly around until there's a giant eyeball... that gradually diminishes in size as its owner pulls back from the device. Once it's farther away it reveals a large man in heavy armour with a sword at his hip and a shield on his back, looking rather put out. Alistair frowns down at the thing for a moment then shrugs and begins to speak.]
I heard I can use this thing to talk to people. People far away. I don't know if I believe it, I've never heard of magic like that. But this way it doesn't look like I'm crazy and talking to myself. Maybe.
I don't talk to myself normally of course. That would be crazy. But I do talk to myself - and little... boxes - when I get lost and wind up in a strange place I've never seen before. Especially when I'm supposed to be somewhere else doing something important. Then I might talk to myself.
[But only because he hasn't found anyone else to talk to yet and he's still trying to figure out what's going on. He isn't buying anything he's heard so far so he's reduced to thinking out loud at a little box.]
Well, I think I know what's going on here. This is the Fade, is it? I'm stuck in the Fade again.
What do you think box? Am I right? [His voice turns high pitched and squeaky and the video judders about as the device is waggled back and forth.] 'I think you are Alistair, you handsome fiend you, you must be in the Fade! Now we just have to go find the eeevil demon that trapped us here and make it let you go!'
[And back to a normal voice, the video steadying again.] I'm glad you agree and I am looking rather handsome today, aren't I? Now, let's go find that demon!
[And, companion... box in hand - and still broadcasting - he strides boldly off in search of something that looks like a demon, keeping up a running commentary until someone decides to interrupt him.]
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[How can she know that? He and Aedan had been the only ones to make it out of Ostagar alive and their role in the battle hadn't exactly been widely known. Alright, Morrigan and her mother knew as did their travelling companions but few others. Could a demon make itself feel like a Warden? Surely not, they'd have to imitate the taint somehow and he doesn't think that's possible. Even if it were, why not make itself appear as Aedan or Duncan to fool him instead of a stranger? And it gets even more confusing when she introduces herself.]
Cousland? You can't-
[Aedan never spoke of his family - not to him anyway - but he knew they were all killed or missing. So she can't be one of them. But again, why lie about it? Stepping away from her hand Alistair stares at her in mingled confusion and suspicion before finally nodding.]
Fine. Let's go.
[He needs answers and whoever she is, she's a Warden. That has to count for something.]
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It isn't much later that she stands in front of room thirty on the same floor, hovering at the threshold for a few seconds before opening it and allowing him to pass. ]
After you.
[ Her chambers have expanded since she arrived; she'd resisted living in the mansion at first, after all, preferring the open space of the outskirts of the field and settling near the woods. Now, it fits more truly to her Ferelden roots and lacks much of the strange design and technology of the rest of the building.
When they step into the living quarters, she stands off to the side. ]
I might ask you to sit if I thought that you would. [ There's a little smile before she can stop it, but she hastily banishes it again, fixing something more serious onto her features. ]
The truth of it is that there are a number of us from Thedas, though our... memories are a bit of a mess. [ How to explain when she hardly understands, herself? ] ... You know a man called Cousland, then. Whose family was killed at Highever by Arl Howe and who was then recruited to the Wardens just before Ostagar?
[ Well, technically, "another" man called Cousland would be more apt, considering the Dorian had told her that Fergus survived the slaughter. ]
Where I came from, I am that Warden. But others, including you, apparently, remember it differently.
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Cautiously making his way inside, Alistair finds himself staring about in surprise again. Her chambers look different from the rest of the manor and wouldn't be out of place in the Arl's estate in Denerim which is almost as baffling as anything they've spoken about. Really, this would make a lot more sense if they were in the Fade where buildings don't have to follow any kind of rules. But at least there's still no ambush waiting for him so he can relax a little.
Once inside he takes up position on the other side of the room from her, staying on his feet as expected. The odd familiarity she address him with is still just as off-putting as it was at the beginning and he's still not sure how far he should trust her, sister Warden or no. Warden Cousland's - Robyn's - story matches the one he heard from his Warden Cousland and while, like her knowledge of their role in the battle at Ostagar, that's not exactly a secret that no one else knows it's also not common knowledge. But it's too crazy. Even if she claims there are others who have had the same problem there's no way of knowing if she's telling the truth.]
So you're saying you're him only not? That doesn't make any sense! [Glaring again he points at her accusingly.] How do I know you're not just making that up? You could have heard about Howe's treachery from someone who worked for him.
[And maybe she come from Orlais like Riordan. And was lying for.... some reason. It would still make more sense than her somehow being the same Warden Cousland he knew while also being an entirely different person.]
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[ She can't help it; remembering the events at Highever which, really, weren't that long ago have her clenching her fists, shaking slightly. ]
We're working to end the Blight, but it isn't just that; somehow, we're responsible for dozens of political conflicts. Meanwhile, Loghain would have our heads on pikes, Howe has yet to come to any kind of justice, and you-
[ The Landsmeet. She'd not exactly forgotten about it, but had put it from her mind during her time in Wonderland. It hadn't been as if she could do anything about it, anyway. But, now, she looks at him, ceasing the fumed pacing she'd begun to look at him with a more somber, sympathetic look. ]
... don't want to be king. [ She finishes quietly. There isn't a way to prove to Alistair that she is who she says she is, not when he knows a man who's likely very different, not when he seems to have his mind made up.
At least the only person injured by this whole incident will be her. ]
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Instead he stays quiet, listening as she recounts the troubles that have plagued them - them as in him and the others he knows - the last few months. It's impossible to continue to make himself believe that she's lying the more she says. It all seems so ridiculous but here he is in a mansion that makes no sense with no idea how he got there and a fellow Ferelden Warden who knows too much for coincidence and who does seem to know him somehow.
The look she gives him makes him shift uncomfortably, unsure how to respond to such concern from a stranger. But she's also reminded him of his duty and his decision to take care of himself more. Squaring his shoulders Alistair draws himself up determinedly.] Maybe I don't. [Or maybe that's didn't. He's gotten used to the idea but it's still a terrifying level of responsibility.] It doesn't really matter what I want. Or it won't. [Of course if he misses the Landsmeet because he's trapped somewhere else then it won't matter what he wants either.]
We're Grey Wardens and we have a duty. So. Warden Cousland. [There's still no warmth in his voice, even if he's willing to believe her story. She might not be the same person he met in Ostagar but if she comes from the same family, with the same history, it's hard to believe she won't be just like the Warden he knows.] You said you've been here a while. Do you know what we have to do to escape?
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There isn't an escape that's been found. I've been here for over three months and there's yet to be a way back, save for whatever power controls this place choosing to take some home and bring others here.
[ Morrigan had left, after all. Dorian had, too, but he'd come back. ]
I don't understand it, but I do have an idea. [ She doesn't speak in the same way she might if it were the Alistair who knew her, or any of their party, with a bright-eyed, excitable air. It's more mature, now, and certainly more reserved. ] There's a man here called the Inquisitor; they revived the old Inquisition in Thedas for - well. A number of reasons, I think. But, he has the ability to close rifts from our world to the Fade. I thought, if there were a way to use that power to create a tear...
[ Then they would be lucky. But, luck has never seemed to be on either of their sides.
Meanwhile: having heard raised voices, Oren, the mabari, wanders out from Robyn's bed chambers. The hound perks up at the sight of a stranger, wagging his back half, but not approaching. ]
Easy. [ She warns the dog, who whines faintly, but doesn't move. ]
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[Months away from Ferelden while the Blight rages and Loghain continues to escape justice? Months at the whim of whatever magic brought them here? Yes, it's less time than they've already been fighting the Blight but that's not the point. Not when he was so close to finally making Loghain pay. He perks up when she claims to have an idea how to escape, though hope is quickly replaced with a dubious look.] You mean just tear a hole in the Veil? That sounds dangerous.
[Like just asking demons to come through and make themselves at home. But if this Inquisitor can close them too.... maybe they could do it without letting out every single demon.
He frowns at her, mulling over the idea. It's not as though he has a lot of options. If he has to come up with a plan to get back to Ferelden on his own then he'll be stuck here forever. And working alone isn't going to get him far either. She already knows people here and if she's been leading their group - her group - like the Cousland he knows then she must be a... confident leader if nothing else.]
If you really think it could work then I'll follow your lead. I'll help however I can.
[He's clearly reluctant, not sure he's not going to wind up in exactly the position he's been in since the start of the Blight but what other choice is there?
Alistair's distracted from his misgivings when the mabari appears and he smiles for what must be the first time this entire conversation. He can't say he's surprised, now that he's decided to just think of her as Aedan-as-a-woman. He-Cousland has a hound so She-Cousland does too. At least he usually got along with the dog.]
Did you come all the way here to look out for your mistress? You're a little late. [Given he had been sort of threatening that mistress earlier. Lucky for him then the hound hadn't been present.]
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I know. [ That it sounds dangerous, she means. ] But, it may be our only option. I'm not even sure that Brennan will agree to try, or if he can whether he wants to or not.
[ "I'll follow your lead." For a moment, she's taken aback, looks over at him with wide-eyed surprise, and a little hesitation. It's too close to the Alistair she knows, just a hair away from being one of her closest friends. Luckily, Oren's appearance is enough of a distraction (though, the fact that it makes the other Warden smile... doesn't help her dilemma). ]
He knows that he doesn't need to worry about me. [ She scratches behind his ears and the mabari pants happily, though his eyes are still on the stranger, who he desperately wants to sniff. ] Go on, then.
[ And Oren moves forward, neck lowered, watching Alistair closely, but also circling and sniffing away. No, he doesn't need to worry about her in this case, not when she knows Alistair's fighting style, has a few knives on her person and, at least, can outrun him in his armor. ]
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[Lost in his own thoughts he misses her look of surprise. Even if what she says is true - which if it is add another point to the 'ways this makes no sense' score - Alistair doesn't relish the idea of being away from Ferelden for so long. If he has no choice then he has no choice but he'd been so close to finally avenging Duncan. To have to wait even longer is almost unbearable.]
A plan is better than nothing.
[He'll just have to do his best to help convince this Inquisitor that it's worth a shot. They can handle a few demons.]
No, I guess he doesn't. Grey Warden and all.
[She's faced the same dangers he has and so must be able to take care of herself. Now that he thinks about it, it's a good thing he didn't make good on his earlier threat. And not just because they're going to have to work together. He has no idea what her fighting style or skills are like. He might be a lot bigger and in armour but meeting Leliana had proved that small and light could still be plenty dangerous. Getting injured when he just got here and has no idea if there are any healers around would be bad start.
He stands still and lets the hound sniff him over, glancing back at the other Warden warily as he does. Now that they've reached some sort of an agreement he's not sure what to do. He still has a lot of questions but the whole situation is so strange - not just for him but it's hard to recognise that fact right then.]
So. Cousland. [He pauses at how strange it feels to say that then pushes on.] Is there anyone else who's going to recognise me? [It would be nice to have some warning if he was going to have to do this again.]
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[ And she sighs, planting her hands firmly on her hips. ]
There are, in fact. Only one that you'll know, though, I think. [ Depending on his memories, which always seems to be The Problem. ] D'you remember Isabela, from Denerim? She, ah - The duelist?
[ Who'd wanted to sleep with the pair of them?? Not that Robyn had agreed to it, but the event did... rather... stick out in her memory. Even so, the pirate hadn't been anything but kind and helpful since she'd arrived. ]
And the Inquisitor, Brennan Trevelyan, of Ostwick. He arrived with a Tevinter mage called Dorian Pavus, but he isn't anything like what I imagined the Magisters to be. ... Sorry, no; he isn't a "Magister," but he is a mage from a noble Tevinter family. I've still got to get the details straightened out.
[ She's working on it, at least. ]
And... a man, Garrett Hawke, from Lothering.
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[Too stubborn to give her exactly what she'd wanted but it's a start, right?]
Isabela.... In the, ah. In the Pearl? Huh.
[The woman in the brothel who'd soundly thrashed two men and then looked him - and several of the others - over like, well like he wasn't used to being looked at by attractive women. Well, that was something. Not the looking bit, just that she could fight and seemed alright even if she had known Zevran from his assassin-ing days.
The other names, unsurprisingly, aren't familiar but Alistair jerks as soon as he hears 'Tevinter'. That was even worse than 'apostate' as far as bad words went even with the 'not a Magister' bit added. Even hearing that there was a refugee from Lothering around, with the spike of guilt that comes with remembering the people there, isn't enough to distract from that.]
A Tevinter mage. What's he been doing?
[Blood magic? Human sacrifice? Enslaving people? The Chantry had told him that that was what all mages from Tevinter did all the time. And while he didn't believe everything they'd taught him (the bits about serving the Maker being a noble goal all should aspire to was utter rubbish for starters) it was hard to forget the stories about the evil Magisters. And they had been right about apostates and blood mages being bad so he'd rather not be caught off-guard.]
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One that she does press, however, is the tone with which he refers to Dorian. True, he's a mage from Tevinter, but she's learned a lot about the other country... or, more than she had before, since her arrival in Wonderland. More than that, she's learned a lot about Dorian, both from the man himself and from the Inquisitor. The pair of them have been helping and looking out for her ever since her arrival, so she's quick to defend him, matching his distaste with some of her own. ]
Nothing you might be thinking. [ Nothing that she herself might have thought, before. ] He's a good man. He works with the Inquisition; they apparently closed a breach in the sky and defeated an ancient would-be god. That's all ten years in our future, so they've also been helpful in filling in the details of what's to happen during, and after, the Blight.
[ Most of which she won't be telling him; if what they've said is to be believed, then he's going to become king, which he never seemed to want. How it happens... is beyond her, considering that the Landsmeet hasn't happened, yet. ]
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[What's harder to believe - a hole in the sky, some 'ancient would-be god' or people from ten years after the Blight? None of them are easy to swallow but the ten years bit is the one that he really can't get down. She mentioned someone closing rifts into the Fade before and they - he-they not her-and-him they - saw something similar at Soldier's Peak where the Veil was weakened. And an ancient would-be god could just be an archdemon so the ten years bit is definitely the hardest to believe. It's even harder to accept if this information is coming from a mage from Tevinter, no matter what she says about him.]
You've got to be kidding. How can people be from after the Blight? That's not- That can't be right.
[Alistair practically recoils, staring at her in disbelief. She's crazy. It's the only answer. He can deal with being kidnapped to some strange place with no idea how or why and maybe even meeting someone who's his leader but not. But people from the future.... actually maybe isn't that much stranger. If she's not crazy. Or being lied to.]
Are you sure? How can you know that he's telling the truth or- Wait, wait. So he knows how we stop the Blight? That we do it? Really?
[Put like that he wants it to be true, to know that it will work out alright. Unless he's going to run into them and find out he's going to die horribly. Then he'd rather not know.]
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[ Brennan and Dorian had known Morrigan and Leliana... and Alistair, though the Inquisitor had only met him in passing. The other two he seemed to have worked with more intimately while they'd been working to close the breach. ]
It makes as much sense as our memories, scrambled as they are. [ It's not exactly cool, the way she says it, but matter of fact. ] And, yes; he isn't sure of the details, considering he wasn't in the area, but the Inquisitor says the story is well-known. The Fifth Blight ended with the Archdemon defeated.
[ She almost doesn't say it, but then adds, because it would be too cruel not to: ]
... If he's to be believed, then our entire party survives. [ Though, she's finding the happy stories a little hard to swallow at the moment, much more so than usual, what with the heavy, uncomfortable air between herself and Alistair. ]
So, yes, and no. The Blight ends, but he wasn't clear how, other than the Archdemon was killed.
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[Alistair scowls sullenly at her as he retorts, a lot more openly emotional than the other Warden is being right then. He hates the implication that there's something wrong with him because he doesn't know her. Like it's his fault. Yes, she'd said 'our memories' but he's feeling defensive and it's too easy to take it as the personal attack he's been expecting since she convinced him of her identity.
Yet, as aggrieved as he is by the whole thing, he's still relieved to hear that the group will all make it through the Blight alive and slay the Archdemon. He may not be friends with them all but he doesn't want any of them dead. Except, if he actually thinks about it, there's a small problem.]
But... if he knows you. [And I don't he doesn't need to say, the words hanging unspoken in the air.] It might not be true for me. Right?
[The defeat of the Archdemon or the survival of all involved. He wants it to be true but if the prediction was for a place where their leader is her and he's not from there then...
It's stupid to be upset by it, it's no different to the position he was in before when the best he could do was hope. But it would have been good to know for sure that it would all work out.]
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[ What's he like, she wonders? Are he and Alistair friends, or even friendly? How similar is the strange, other Cousland to herself? ]
And he doesn't know me. [ She might as well be honest, seeing as, in this situation, it'll help assuage some of his fears. ] Brennan - the Inquisitor - knows of a woman Cousland who helped to end the Blight. But, they've never met, as far as I know.
[ So, essentially, both of their futures are wildly uncertain, no matter what Brennan and Dorian have said, and no matter how they try to calm her worries. ]
It may not be true for either of us. Last I remember, we hadn't even begun the Landsmeet, let alone the real battle.
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[Women being men or vice versa. Or, apparently, humans being elves. It's not exactly reassuring to hear that neither of them have any certainty for the future. Not that they really did to start with but to have it offered and then taken away again is worse than not having it to start with. The best he can tell himself is that at least someone remembers a Ferelden that survives the Blight, so there's hope. It's better than nothing. And besides, he can't help pointing out-]
So it might be you he knows about. The one who ended the Blight. [A woman with the same family name, it could be her. There's at least a chance it is even if she doesn't know for sure and doesn't, apparently, know any more of how the Blight ends than he does.
Alistair remains silent for a long moment before finally offering-] That's all I remember too. The Landsmeet was supposed to be today. [Something he'd been both anticipating and dreading and had mostly wanted to be done with. But now he has even longer to worry about what might happen there. If he makes it back and there really hasn't been any time passed. He's still not entirely sure he believes that. But there's only one way to find out.]
I guess we both just have to wait to find out what happens. [So, back where they started.] If you really trust this Tevinter mage. [Because he's still not entirely sold on the idea.]
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[ He seems to understand, though, and she's grateful that there isn't any more arguing... for the moment. She tucks a wayward lock of hair behind her ear as Oren plants himself in front of Alistair, waiting for a treat, or at least a scratch behind the ears.
What he says next surprises her and she frowns, fleetingly, brows twitching at confusion. ]
It... might be, yes. But I've no way of knowing. And, anyway, it isn't any one Warden the ends anything. Not alone.
[ It'd be impossible, and the claim is monstrously egotistical in favor of the bloody Hero of Ferelden, besides.
They've both danced around the Landsmeet, now, but it isn't a discussion like they might have if he knew her. Instead, she merely nods in acknowledgment, but doesn't press the issue. Not today. In fact, she steps toward the door, glancing over in his direction. ]
I do trust him. [ Robyn says again. ] But you're welcome to meet Dorian for yourself, now that you've got loads of time on your hands. [ Beat. ] ... Well, I won't keep you, my lord Warden. You've the entire place to explore and dozens of messages, I imagine.
[ The way she's hovering implies she'll show him to the door, giving them both a way out of what has been an extremely strange and uncomfortable conversation between strangers. ]
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That's right. I should be on my way. Cousland. I'm sure you'll find me if you want something.
[He's no more eager to hang around than she is to have him there, despite all the questions that remain, so he doesn't argue when he's dismissed. Making a beeline for the door and ignoring the hopeful hound - the only one here he wouldn't mind seeing again soon - Alistair edges out past her as if she's go the plague and he's afraid of catching it if they so much as bump into each other. Once outside he sets off back the way they'd come without so much as backwards glance. He can manage here just fine on his own!
...What a wonderful start to his time here.]