"I don't like it here. Shems everywhere."
Sitting cross-legged on top of a rock, Eldan Lavellan glances up to regard his companion, leaning against a nearby tree with arms folded and a dour expression on her face. Her Dal'Thanaan is planted in the snow alongside her, the axe's half-buried blades glinting in the light.
"You could always leave," Eldan remarks mildly. "I'm sure the Keeper would like to hear what happened at the Conclave firsthand."
"Not a chance, Lethallan. If I go back without the First, the Keeper will skin me alive. Besides, reporting on the Conclave was your job, not mine."
How can he forget? Revea only takes every possible opportunity to remind him. Trying to make him feel guilty. Often it works; they're a long way from home, and though they'd both been sent together, there's a lot more to interest and engage Eldan than there is Revea. She, however, won't leave without him, and sometimes it's difficult to acknowledge that his choice to remain in Haven causes his clanmate no end of stress.
"And now I'm reporting on the Inquisition, too."
Revea scowls at him and sharply tips her head forward, causing her floppy black fringe to drop into her eyes. It's an unspoken signal that she's done talking. Eldan tries not to sigh and goes back to perusing his book, a set of tales on Andraste and the Chant of Light. His companion, he knows, would have greatly disapproved if she was able to read the human language; she's already given him a piece of her mind on what she thinks of the human Chantry. It's a relief that she hasn't asked what the book is, because he's not sure that he's a good enough liar to come up with a story. Eldan's interest is scholarly, but he doubts Revea will see it that way.
Being away from the clan has been… well, the only way that Eldan can put it is exhilarating. He's never encountered humans outside of the context of driving them away, only met elves outside of Dalish clans a handful of times, and he's certainly had no experience of dwarves. Clan Lavellan aren't insular exactly, but that's by Dalish standards; taking an interest in human affairs and actually spending time in human society are very different things. They even have mages here, something previously limited to encountering another Dalish clan in the Free Marches. Clan Lavellan has never had more than three mages, counting himself and the Keeper. Children manifesting magically are adopted out to other clans as best as they're able.
Regardless, Eldan has always wanted to learn more about magic, although most of those around Haven have been frustratingly averse to his questioning. Words like 'apostate' have been thrown about a lot, and he's had plenty of dirty looks from the men and women with the sword sigil on their armour. It's not that he wasn't expecting hostility and suspicion from non-Dalish, more a sadness that sharing knowledge seems to be so little of a priority. The hole in the sky is a genuine threat; it seems to Eldan that everyone should be pooling what they know rather than questioning one another's motives.
Quiet footsteps from nearby, Eldan twists, noting as he does so that Revea has looked up and is already wearing a death glare.
"Uh… Andaran atish'an," the pronunciation is laboured, and the realisation is instant that the speaker is not elven. As a matter of fact…
Well, this is quite a surprise. The dark skinned woman approaching them is a person Eldan recognises, the one that they call the Herald. He's heard her name before, he's sure. Tre… Trevall… he can't recall. Human names are still difficult.
"What do you want, shem?" Revea is blunt as always, her hostility naked.
The Herald is obviously taken aback, and Eldan hastily tries to mitigate the damage. "I apologise for Revea. She has little experience of shemlen- humans. What can I do for you?"
"Don't worry. Right now, if the worst thing that happens to me in a day is hurt feelings, then I consider it a win," she smiles, taking any of the potential sting out of her words.
Revea's glower is something exceptional; Eldan can feel its presence almost physically, even without looking at her. "You didn't answer the question."
"So I didn't," she looks back to Eldan, scrutinising for a moment. "You're the Dalish mage I've been hearing about, right?"
"I'm unaware of any others, so I imagine I must be."
"Uh huh…" The Herald nods, and for a second seems a little unsure of herself. "Okay I'm going to be honest here, I've got one person telling me you're a spy and should be kicked out of Haven, one saying that we should imprison and interrogate you, and another two saying I should ask you to politely leave."
"Oh," Eldan can't muster much else of a response. This is unexpected, though he supposes that technically he is a spy, albeit a rather benign one as far as he's concerned.
Revea's reaction is less mild. Immediately she reaches for the Dal'Thanaan, and the Herald takes a step back as the slim elf lifts a weapon half her size seemingly without effort. "I'd think carefully about your next move, shem," she snarls. "The First is my responsibility, and-"
"However," the Herald continues on as if a weapon isn't being brandished at her. "So far as I can tell, your greatest crime has been curiosity, and I feel that's less than punishable. If it was, I'd have been locked in a cell somewhere a long time ago," her eyes are watching Revea's axe, but she's so very still. Her composure is remarkable. "Anyway, I'm not here to tell you to leave. You obviously care enough about the Breach to have not gone home of your own volition. So… how about instead of hanging around on the outside of things, you join the Inquisition? We try to treat everyone fairly, and the expertise of another mage would be-"
"Shem, if you think-"
"What are the terms?"
"First!" Revea's voice is appalled. Eldan glances to her, and his companion's face is just as stunned. "You can't seriously be thinking about this."
His temper cracks, just a little. His hand snaps out, pointing to the swirling hole in the sky. "That is everyone's problem, lethallin, not just humans or dwarves. It isn't going to go away by itself. The Keeper wanted to know what happened at the Conclave and we have an answer. If you want to ignore what that answer might mean, then you can go back home!"
Revea stares at him. Anger from Eldan is a rare sight. She lowers the axe, and then her head.
The Herald hesitates for a moment before speaking again. "Well, as part of the Inquisition you'd be expected to listen to orders, but we'd aim to put you wherever you could be the most effective, and we wouldn't force you to do anything that you didn't want to. We're not in the business of putting non-fighters on the front lines, apart from the really annoying quill pushers," she holds up both hands, and for a brief instant, the vibrant green mark on her hand is visible. Like a scar, and yet something more. Eldan can feel the magic humming around it from here. "Kidding, kidding."
"That sounds reasonable to me. Very well, I accept your offer."
"Then welcome aboard," the Herald puts out her hand in front of her. Eldan's eyes drop to it. There's an awkward silence.
"It's a hand," she says after a few seconds. "You… shake it."
"Oh," Eldan frowns. "Why?"
The Herald's brow furrows. "You know, I never really thought about it. I suppose it's just a greeting, or a way to show a deal has been agreed," she drops the hand after another awkward pause.
Revea makes a small noise of disgust as the Herald nods, smiles, and turns back towards Haven.
"Your friend is welcome too," the human calls over her shoulder. "She reminds me of someone I know!"
