A/N
I AM BACK… from the dead. Sorry for my long absence I had some personal drama to deal with…I won't bore you with my baggage so… On with the story we go!
My plan for an early breakfast was going just fine, but my silent departure was thwarted by a runner.
The steward must have gotten my letter yesterday night. How did I figure this out? This morning I received three letters in return, all of which bore the royal seal of Ferelden.
One of them was a letter of introduction for the assembly in Orzammar, one was for the circle of magi and the last was a stack of promissory notes (an early form of paper based money).
This guy was good. He had thought of everything…
After some fruit and bread for breakfast I grabbed my new cloak and backpack and left the estate. The city was dark still. In the pre-dawn hours, the sun was not yet visible as I navigated the streets of Denerim.
I had enjoyed my visit to the capital and resolved to explore more of it once I came back. There were too many secrets and opportunities still left for me to discover.
The gate guards looked at me with suspicion until I showed them the royal seal.
It got me some raised eyebrows, but they let me pass without much trouble thereafter.
My first point of interest on this journey would be Soldiers Peak.
The old Warden base had been the site of some truly horrifying and yet fascinating research. With any luck I could still find left over research notes.
Admittedly I was a lazy sort of traveler. All of the walking was totally unappealing to me. I was looking forward to the day I could portal from one point in Thedas to the next within a day. I loved magic!
Until that day I would go for the slightly more convenient way of transport: Wolf sprint.
I walked down the main road until I was out of sight of the gates. Then I skipped into the bushes and thickets on the north side.
When I was sure I would not be visible I undid my backpack straps, rolled up my cloak and attached it to my pack, dropping the bundle on the floor.
My transformation was as smooth and disorienting as ever.
I shook my head and adjusted to the new scale of olfactory input.
The creatures of the wilds around me reacted with sudden panic to the new predatory presence in their woods.
It did not bother me much. I snapped up my bundle and let it hang from some of my teeth, before I started my way west, north-west at a reasonable pace.
If my geographical understanding of Ferelden was accurate I would only need 2 days to reach Soldiers Peak. It was a Mountain fortress in the lands east of Highever.
With its position it would be easy to spot, or so I thought.
As it turned out it would take me a bit longer. A day into my trip the weather turned.
The sky turned grey and torrents of rain were unleashed from above.
Scent trails were washed away. Vision was only possible in a 2 meter radius and the ground turned into a sludgy mud bath.
Within half an hour I turned from majestic white wolf into Sylva the swamp-monster.
My beautiful fur was brown and grey and filled with sticks and leaves, which had stuck to the mud. From time to time I stood still in the open terrain, using the rain as an instant shower.
The waterlogged fur was clean but heavy.
In the end I decided to slow down my sprint to a walk and find shelter.
When I found a nice, dry cave to crawl into I remembered my backpack!
Please, please, please be okay….
The water barely got inside, it was marvelous. Thank the spirits for oiled leather!
There was really nothing for me to do, so I laid down onto the cave floor and watched the rain from the entrance.
It took quite a while for the storm outside to calm down to a drizzle.
I really wanted to get this part of my trip done, so I decided to run despite the leftover mud and rain.
On a hunch I decided to focus some Mana onto my paws.
I know I was not a water-walking ninja, but maybe the principle of energy barriers would work the same way.
Carefully I took a few steps onto the sticky ground to find that my paws did not sink into the mud…as much.
My progress was still hampered, but at least I could run.
The next day was filled with me running, drinking from clean streams and occasional snatching a rabbit.
Soldiers Peak fortress was not hard to find. It jutted out of the ground like an ugly splinter.
Even from the distance it exuded a sense of foreboding and ill will.
Something was very wrong about this place and it sent my senses into overdrive. When I tried to scan the place with my aura I immediately wished I hadn't.
I was overwhelmed with the lingering feelings of pain, sorrow and hopeless rage. The emotions had been so strong and the death count so high it had ruptured the Veil and burned after images into the physical plane.
With a shiver I recalled my aura and wrapped it around me like a blanket. It would not do to get distracted or lost in the turmoil of the dead.
My mind was made up: I would not even attempt to sleep anywhere near the fortress.
In the future I would avoid this location until I found a way to purify it.
There were two ways for me to reach the top. Either I would scale the mountain side or I could try my luck in the tunnels below. Neither option was very appealing.
Climbing a wet, slick and rocky mountain side seemed a tad bit suicidal to me so I went with option B: the tunnels.
Before I entered the mining shaft I sent a quick prayer to spirits of guidance and went inside.
The immediate musty smell of basement set my hairs on end.
My delicate canine nose noticed several different nuances of mold, mushrooms and fungi.
Reluctantly I moved onwards, I would just have to live with this smell for the next hours. Charting a path through the labyrinth of tunnels was challenging. More often than not I would discover a dead end. Sometimes I went round in circles and only noticed the third or fourth time.
Eventually I caught a whiff of fresh air. From that point onwards I followed my nose out of the underground maze.
I reemerged from the ground and immediately shook myself. My hope was to rid myself of the musty smell, but it was in vain.
With a shudder I transformed back into my bipedal form and observed my surroundings.
A small road led up to the portcullis of the fort. The stone-masonry, despite its age, was spotless. Build by dwarves, is my guess.
I shouldered my backpack and made my way up to the entrance.
The gate stood wide open.
The warden party had entered, cleaned house and left the place. Smashed and slashed skeletons littered the ground in the inner courtyard.
My magic almost vibrated with the amount of pressure I could feel from the spiritual realm. It is fortunate that Cousland and Co. had already destabilized the fade-portals from before, otherwise this would be a true nightmare.
As much as I would have loved to just skip this level, I could not risk leaving valuable information behind.
The fortress walls stood silent and undamaged, but structural weaknesses of the buildings and rooms inside had led to cave-ins and broken doorways. My way through the complex was a slow and steady walk over and around piles of rubble.
I found a relatively intact library, however none of the books were in any way salvageable.
The cold and damp had destroyed the paper and he ink thoroughly.
Close by I found the office of the former Warden commander Dryden. The room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.
Several hallways further inwards I gained access to stairs leading to the lower floors.
If my memory serves correctly, this is where I would find Avernus Laboratory.
While his research had been highly unethical and slightly primitive, he had still gotten feasible results.
With any luck, some of his research notes had been better preserved. He had been a mage after all and they tend to be more finicky about the safety of research documents.
I noticed my imminent arrival by the scent of rust and left over chemicals.
In case of the lab equipment the cold and the damp must have helped to keep some of them … well not really fresh, but maybe usable?
Some ceramic jugs still held the scent of alcoholic solutions, while other nameless appliances were rusty and crusted with unmentionable liquids.
Cages at the far side of the room had left over blood stains on the bars and on the floor.
The entire lab held a feeling of absolute misery.
It made me feel sick in a very physical way.
Why did I do this to myself?
Why?
On a desk in the corner I spied some empty vials and two notebooks, filled with handwritten scribbles. This is what I was here for!
I pocketed both books and left the room through a door on the left.
What greeted me beyond the door was a vast hall.
The ceiling was two stories high and the room itself could have fitted two basketball courts.
Both sides of the hall were covered in bookshelves and the center held some minerals and cracked gemstones on pedestals.
The far side of the hall was elevated by half a level and seemed to hold altar like structures, which were littered with papers and vials.
Bingo!
Despite my discomfort I took the time to browse through the bookshelves and brought any intact books to the staircase.
Most of these were historical documents and warden reports. Some few books remained, which discussed topics of blood magic. I pocketed two of the more promising ones after I cut out the paper and gave them a new cover. This way I could read them in public without drawing the ire of literally everyone.
After I had sorted through the books I focused my attention on the upper level.
I carefully sorted the notes and began to read.
Avernus had kept meticulous notes on all his experiments and the progress of each subject. Some of his work was absolutely inhumane. At points in his notes his methodology was interrupted by borderline mad ravings.
The more failures he experienced the madder his subsequent experiments had become.
All this culminated in his deal with demons and his sundering of the Veil.
I was the first to admit that old spirits held a lot of knowledge. And dealing with them can be useful if done sparsely and with care. However Avernus method had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face.
He had killed the rest of his comrades and used their blood and pain to rip open a hole in the Veil. In his madness he had not even considered which spirits to call for.
Any and all spirits in close proximity to the tear had been drawn to it, through it and had been corrupted by the overwhelming fear, despair, anger and pain of the dying wardens.
At that point in time Avernus had stopped making concise notes and had drawn confusing diagrams and sketches instead. I stopped reading and took a moment to mentally cope with this horror show.
When I had calmed down I approached the second altar and looked at his labeled vials and lists of ingredients and recipes.
Avernus had started by using different degrees of blood magic and lyrium on warden and darkspawn blood. He had later mixed the two blood types in different ratios and repeated the experiments. He also had research notes on the different spread of the taint in mage versus non-mage wardens, interesting!
Later in his mad stage he had penned a progression report on the possession of wardens.
I took out my own research notebook and copied some of his notes and summarized some of his reports as well as a list of his failures.
There would be no human experiments and blood magic in my research!
When I was finished I took one last look around the room, just to make sure I did not miss anything.
What I did next was an overly emotional, stupid and spontaneous move. And yet it felt immensely satisfying.
I put my hand on the pile of books and on the bookshelves and set them on fire.
Every room I came through on my way out was set on fire in some way or another.
When I finally stood outside the portcullis the main complex had started to smoke and the gleam of fire was visible through the shattered windows.
There would be one less place of misery and danger in this country.
The risk of the fire spreading was minimal. The walls around the castle were high, made from stone and currently wet with rain. No trees stood anywhere near the building.
I watched as the fort was consumed by fire. No one could have repaired this place. No one could have made it habitable without still being haunted by previous bloodshed.
Logically I was doing Cousland a favor, but I knew she would not immediately see it as such.
I would deal with the fall out when I hand in my report.
With one last look at the fiery fortress I turned back to the wilds.
From here it would be equally helpful to visit the circle tower or the dwarven city.
I walked south for a day in my normal elven form.
It felt good to stretch my legs and my magical aura, which I had restricted for the entire visit on Soldiers Peak.
While I was very curious about Orzammar, I needed to go over Avernus notes in detail and would like to peruse a wider selection of literature first. Besides I had contacts and friends in the mage tower already and I wanted to check on their progress.
My mind was made up and so I shifted and ran south and west.
It did not take long for the area to look familiar. I had been running through here 3 or 4 times already.
One last leap over these hills and I would be able to see Lake Calenhad.
The closer I got to the tower the more excitement spread through me. Up until now I had primarily worked my magic on instinct and with the help of downloaded memories. Now I got the chance to sit down and work on my understanding of this world's magic.
I wanted and needed to understand the logic behind it all.
Theories and guesswork would not be sufficient any longer.
My inner nerd trembled with anticipation as I jogged the last few steps through the evergreens of Lake Calenhad's shore.
Now in my bipedal form, I once more stood on the sandy beach and watched the serene sunset on the other side of the lake. The last light of the day colored the waves in a fiery red orange. Despite their fiercer appearance they gently rolled over the dark sand in a never ending rhythm.
It was very soothing and prepared me for the headache that was bound to come from arguing with the Templar order.
To my surprise the Templar in charge of the boat was the same cookie obsessed idiot form the Origins games.
I did not remember him from last time, but then I was lost in thought and left the talking to Theron. Once I approached I showed him the letter of introduction with the royal seal and asked for passage.
He just mumbled something about self-important visitors and shipped me over to the tower.
Two tower guards led me inside to the entrance hall and asked me to wait for the Commander.
While I waited I checked on the integrity of the Veil. In my absence my glyphs had done their work well. The Fade was always more tangible in places were magic was worked regularly, but at least I had given the tower some protection from the oppressive forces of blood magic and demonic influences.
The metallic clunking of armored boots on the stone floor alerted me to the immediate arrival of more Templars.
In deed Commander Greg… something appeared with two knights and one mage apprentice.
"Good Evening Commander. I hope you and your charges are doing well." My voice echoed through the entry hall.
There was no sense in waiting for him to make the first move. I was no longer under the protection of the Warden Commander and I was technically no longer a captain either, but they did not know that.
As long as I portrayed a position of strength I should be able to deal with any uppity bucket heads.
"Ah yes, Captain Sylva, was it? I seem to recall you having been our guest a while back. As you can see the tower is well under control now. The repair works have been going well."
He waved off the two guards that came with him.
"I doubt you came here just to ask about the reconstruction though." His brow furrowed and he looked at me expectantly.
"Very true. I was send here by her majesty to do some research. I have all the relevant documents if you and Irving wish to read up on those." I waved around my letter of introduction.
"It seems all is in order. My guess is that you will require accommodation and entry to the library?"
I nodded.
"I would like to make the tower my temporary HQ. I am sure I will find much promising material here, however I also have a trip to the city of Orzammar planned. Occasionally I will need to report to Denerim as well. Would this be acceptable?"
"I see no reason why it would not be, as long as the research does not endanger the tower inhabitants and is in line with the chantry's teachings. I will need those documents you spoke of and I shall talk to the senior enchanter about this."
Carefully I unfolded the letter from Queen Cousland addressed to the Circle tower and handed it over.
"Faris will show you to your guest quarters."
Faris was the young mage apprentice, which had stood silent and observing until now.
"Mistress Sylva. I remember you from some of the lessons on barriers. It is a pleasure to have you as our guest again. I shall show you where you can rest your head. The journey from Denerim to Calenhad must have tired you."
"You are very well spoken Faris. My apologies that I had not in fact recognized you from my classes. I would welcome the rest and respite of my new quarters. Lead on."
On our way up the tower I gave Faris a brief explanation of what I hoped to find in the library. He told me that I might need a bit of time and patience for while the reparations had gone well, the library was still slightly unorganized.
He also warned me of unpleasant dreams although they had lessened as of 2 months ago.
I took this as another good sign that my effort to strengthen the veil integrity of the tower had worked.
Before he left me at my guest room door I inquired about my two favorite, inquisitive apprentices, Lysas and Neria.
Both had done very well in their studies since I left. Their determination to improve had inspired the senior enchanters to test them. Both had been awarded a higher rank within the circle hierarchy.
I felt a sense of pride for their accomplishments.
I thanked Faris for his escort and information and turned in for the day.
It was admittedly early, but I had been on the road for a while and the experience of Soldier's Peak still grated on my sensitive nerves.
Without much delay I slipped into the Fade and found myself enjoying simple dreams of running free through endless emerald glades. If I had to venture a guess I'd say my prolonged travel in my animal form had influenced my dreams.
Whatever the case I awoke refreshed and content as small rays of sunlight flittered through the high window of my room.
After a quick wash and a change of my wardrobe into the more comfortable loose tunic, I exited my room.
Adopting a leisurely pace I made my way down to the mess hall and found most of the apprentices and mages already seated and in small debates over breakfast.
As soon as I walked in I was waved at by former students of mine.
News traveled fast as lightning within the walls of the tower.
Sitting alone would not be an option, I decided. It would simply sent the wrong message.
With a slight smile on my face and a blossoming warmth of fondness in my chest I made my way towards the combination of shocking red and raven black hair I associated with my two favorite magelings.
Neria had waved most enthusiastically and seemed to preen when I made my way over. Lysas shook his head, equal parts amused and embarrassed, going by his smile and slight blush.
"Sylva! You came back! Are you here to give more lectures?" Neria immediately started as I sat down.
"Neria… let her eat breakfast before you ambush her. I am sure she will make time for questions later." Lysas mumbled, exasperation in his voice.
Turning to me he added: "It is nice to have you back, Lady Sylva. We are looking forward to showing you our progress."
"I am sure you all did splendidly. Faris told me you two had gained a new rank since last I visited, congratulations."
Their ear tips turned red from the praise.
If that was all it took, the teachers here really did not do their job too well.
Positive acknowledgements and verbal praise went a long way to motivating students and encouraging advancement.
My inner self shook her head in admonishment of the educational system, or lack thereof. Another mental note to add when building my nation: make sure to add mandatory education and teacher screening to the growing list of concerns.
"Before anyone interrupts my breakfast with their enthusiasm…" I continued with a nod to Lysas, "I am mainly here to avail myself of the tower library. My focus is on research this time. I will need to leave occasionally, making trips to Denerim and Orzammar. However I do not see why I should not be able to fit in the occasional lecture or group discussion into my schedule. If and when that happens I will let Irving know to announce it to the relevant people."
With that I focused on my breakfast and let the news spread from table to table.
After a short pause normal conversation started up again, ranging from gossips about relationships to class assignments and projects.
After a hearty meal I excused myself from the table. The hall had emptied out substantially by then. Classes must have started.
I let my feet carry me up to the library levels and almost ran into one of the retainers.
Such occurrences would be more common as I had restricted my magical aura to a bubble of a 2 meter radius. While not entirely comfortable it was preferable to the feeling the tranquil and Templars gave me.
Last time I was a guest here I had made the mistake of stretching my aura to feel for fade anomalies and ended up almost pulling my hair out in distress. The mages had flickered like candles in the dark, they could have been, should have been bonfires, stars in my vision. That alone was sad to watch.
But the hollow wrongness of the tranquil and the icy yearning echoes of the old songs coming from the Templars had been overwhelming.
How people could exist like this was beyond me. Their inability to see the world as I did was a blessing in disguise for them.
Subsequently I had resolved to restrict my presence to my own person and students in very close proximity.
The tranquil I had run into blinked up at me impassively and tried to apologize for being in the way, which I waved of immediately.
Rather than focusing on the run in I asked if he could direct me to the parts of the library which held literature concerning the Fade, basic theories on the workings of magic and Lyrium uses.
Helpfully he escorted me to the relevant wing and left me with a slight bow.
I spied an unoccupied table next to the wall and decided to claim it as my working space.
Several minutes after browsing the different sections and bookshelves my table was loaded with three separate stacks of books. One of the librarians had quirked and eyebrow at the size of them. In response I shrugged and told her not to concern herself, I would put everything back into place myself. Once I was finished that is.
With a stack of parchment and a notebook at the ready I immersed myself in my literature.
It was truly a blessing that I was a fast reader by nature.
I could finish a moderately sized book in around 3 to 4 hours without problems.
All the while I would take notes for my research and separately note down good references for future educational purposes.
In this way I worked myself through the first stack of books within the span of 3 days, only stopping to eat, bathe or sleep.
In my old life I would have gotten stir crazy by now. Admittedly I missed the feeling of wind and sun on my face, but I forced myself to focus.
Until this point I had remained largely undisturbed.
Day 4 marked a change.
Neria's patience had run thin enough by this point that she had approached me boldly during lunch time and had physically dragged me off for a luncheon with Lysas.
I let it happen, but raised an eyebrow at her physical forwardness.
"What?" she had snapped, "It's not as if I could have argued you out of your solitary book fortress."
"You have a point." I admitted and proceeded to enjoy the break from my work.
"So. What is your mad genius cooking up this time Sylva?" Neria started the conversation after the meal.
"Mad genius?" I smirked. I secretly loved the title.
"Do you deny it? You are as mad as you are brilliant and blasphemous." Lysas added.
"My dear magelings. Blasphemy would require me to have been Andrastian at some point in my life, which I have not." My chin tilted up in challenge.
"So you agree with the first two attributes." Neria cackled in triumph. Let her have it.
"Certainly." I agreed with as much pomp as I could muster.
After a pause we all dissolved in some laughter.
"So will you answer or do we have to puzzle this out by ourselves again?" Lysas turned semi-serious once more.
"I thought I made it clear during my first day: I am here to do research. Very formal, very official, mind you." I tilted my head quizzically.
"Researching what? And for whom? And more importantly… can we join in?"
Neria was bouncing up and down in her seat. Where did she get all that energy from?
"Can you not tell us?" my raven haired protégée leaned forward in anticipation of my answer.
Those two always so eager and so much brighter than the rest. Was this in response to my nurturing them or had they been naturally more aware than the rest. Who could tell at this point?
"I can tell you. Though you might not find it as fascinating as my previous lectures." I sat back and ordered my thoughts.
"I am currently researching the blight and possible cures by order of her majesty Queen Cousland."
Before I continued I let that information sink in.
"I will look into warden history, reports of the Legion of the Dead, maps of the spread of the Blight throughout Thedas and in the deep roads. I need to collect samples of blood and tissue from flora and fauna effected by blight sickness, as well as from different wardens.
Also I need to get some research material commissioned by the dwarves of Orzammar."
"If that is the case, why look into Lyrium and basic magical theory?" Neria smirked at me like she had caught me stealing from a cookie jar.
"Admittedly. I am still figuring out the limits and applications of magic in this age. By now I assume you have dissected my knowledge and behavior enough to notice… I am not originally from here."
"You are speaking in a temporal sense, are you not?" the raven haired mage whispered.
"This seems more and more like a conspiracy." Giggled the redhead.
"My spirit has been imprisoned before the first age of man and has been released just before the 5th Blight. The Veil was an unforeseen complication, which I am most curious and unhappy about." I could not stop myself from frowning.
"We had already guessed at something similar. After the rumors of Dalish elves who have rediscovered the immortality of the ancient elves… You are one of the originals though?"
"I have not survived the age-long imprisonment unchanged, but I retained a lot of my knowledge and attitude."
"So now you are looking into the Veil because it is blocking your magic in ways you had never experienced. Makes you wonder how it feels, a world without a Veil." Neria got a dreamy look on her face. I nodded at her train of thought.
"If at all possible I would like to loosen it up or take it down altogether. You might not believe me, but magic was everywhere and it came to us as natural as breathing. I wish to go back to this state."
Lysas sighed. "A place where magic is part of everyday life and not something to be feared. It almost seems too good to be true."
Neria interjected almost immediately. "But it's definitely worth working towards. Just thinking about it… How many of us mages just take the Veil and origin of Magic for granted? And how many are being damned by the chantry for even asking questions of origin?"
"In any case: if I wish to educate everyone in matters of magic regardless of their own magical potential, I will need a proper comprehensive lesson plan. I need literature reviews and reading lists and references for future schools and academies. If you wish to help me with these menial tasks, be my guest."
"It would be interesting to visit the shaperate." Lysas said almost dreamily.
"Oh here we go, Lysas the bookworm and history fanatic is hooked already. So tell me Lady Sylva what will you teach us in exchange for our help?" The cheeky red-head looked at me expectantly.
Clever little thing. "Quid pro quo, hmh?" I nodded at her.
"Was that ancient tevene?" Lysas mumbled, brought out of his stupor.
"What would you like to learn?" both perked up at my offer.
"I always wanted to know how to shapeshift. You seem to do it so effortlessly. Can you teach me?" the studious elf looked at me hopefully.
"Certainly Lysas." I was happy to see someone other than me, interested in shapeshifting.
Neria considered a moment.
"I want to learn more about battle magic. My talents are in the direction of elemental energies, but I have no practice or combat experience. Could you train me?"
"I doubt we will have any realistic battle encounters within the tower. However I could teach you how to manage battlegrounds and how to read warriors movements. In short I can teach you strategy and tactics. Will that suffice?"
"Sure." Neria nodded.
"Perhaps I can sweeten the deal… I will speak to Irving to get you to come along as my research assistants. You could leave the tower for a time…"
"We could?!"
"Fantastic!"
"No guarantees." I tried to stop their over enthusiasm, but it was difficult.
"So I will talk to the senior enchanter and you two busy bees will help me with my research?"
"Sure. I would like to come with you to Orzammar. Warden History sounds fascinating…"
"Yeah, sure, absolutely riveting." Neria rolled her eyes, "I would rather help with lesson plans. I really enjoy helping the young kids and apprentices, so you know…" she shrugged her shoulders and blushed a little.
She looked at me with interest, but did not comment.
"Sounds like you have even more specific ideas about your state." Lysas tilted his head.
"Certainly. I have made some plans for governmental and educational organization. Furthermore I have an idea for gaining a financial capital, both for the national bank and the financing of most building materials…" I trailed off, noticing the odd looks the two exchanged.
"What?!"
"Do you remember, last time you asked us if we would be willing to join in your crazy venture." Neria asked crossing her arms in front of her.
"Both of us thought about it for quite a while after you left. It seemed so …" he trailed of at a loss of words.
"Big, impossible, blasphemous, dangerous, fun…" the red-head had no problem providing some colorful adjectives. They really worked well together.
"Yes thank you Neria." Lysas frowned at her.
"In the end I wished I had more information. I needed to know if it could become reality. Now I know for sure. You do not doubt. You plan and become active and stay patient. If anyone can do it, you can and I…"
"We!"
"Yes, we want to help." Neria nodded towards Lysas in apology.
I stood from the table.
This was… unexpectedly pleasant news.
Before I could even breathe my next question I was again interrupted by Lysas.
"Before you ask if we are sure. Yes. We absolutely are."
"I…thank you, you two. It means a lot. To have some people who listen and believe. It makes things more real for me as well as fun."
A shy smile appeared on my face.
In response these little lovely imps grinned like cats that got the cream.
"You two stop smirking and get to work. Lysas look for books which have info on the formation and quantification of the veil. Get going on compiling some notes, pay close attention to repeating patterns and themes. Neria you could start with school plans. We will need lessons in basic math, basic literature and basic magical concepts. Try to keep an open mind, avoid chantry scripture and censoring."
Still smirking those two… "Hop to it!"
Walking back to my fortress, I sat back down in my corner and took a moment to enjoy this feeling.
My plan was still eons away from completion, but I had made some wonderful, real connections… the first buds of my network had started to emerge.
The lady, my mother figure; Theron, my little adopted brother; Velanna my Dalish research confidant; Elissa Cousland, my queen and now Neria and Lysas my two fabulous apprentices.
I felt … warm.
After thoroughly enjoying this glee I refocused on my work.
I did promise to come up with a lesson for the kids and the older apprentices, so I frisked my available memories and decided on a few topics.
Three hours later I had several lesson plans, some material, references and homework set up. I hoped it would be enough and trudged to bed.
When I entered the Fade this night I was pleasantly surprised by the library that surrounded me.
Browsing the selection of books I recognized some titles from the physical version of this library that awaited me in the morning.
There were a lot of other titles I had not seen before. My guess was that this Fade based library held representations of old books, which used to be here, but are not anymore.
Only one way to test the quality of these recollections.
At random I drew out three unfamiliar books with the same sort of aura.
The level of detail in the books was superb. This could not be a collective memory. They tend to get some details mixed up due to the difference in accuracy of memorization.
Someone was specifically focusing on this knowledge and kept up with reconstructing books of this tower.
"Correct. Your deduction took a little time, but was very accurate." A calm, soothing voice uttered from one side.
Turning to find the source of said voice I came face to face with a male mage.
He was of average height, had medium length grey-brown hair, looked about mid-forties age wise and well… he just looked very plain.
Everything was unassuming about him, with one exception: his eyes.
They were steel grey. In stark contrast to his so-so appearance they were sharp and focused.
I would think this was a…
"Spirit. That is also a correct deduction."
His voice was really nice. It sounded like the audio equivalent of drinking a hot cup of chocolate.
"You have amassed quite an impressive amount of…"
"Knowledge. Yes, that is my purpose."
I think this spirit likes finishing other people's sentences.
"Would it be alright if I came here sometimes? You know to read?"
"Of course. This is my purpose. This is a library. You can read books here." At this point in our conversation he lost interest in me, turned back to a shelf, took a book out with his right hand and started reading. At the same time he fished out another book from another shelf with his left hand and started filling the empty pages by moving his fingers over the blank paper.
I guess this would be the start of an interesting relationship.
For the rest of the night I sat on one of the conjured chairs and skimmed books on history and architecture and anything else that seemed interesting to me.
This would be my new me-time. I could do some leisure reading at night and relax here for a while before I have to wake up to work.
With a smile I turned to the next page.