𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘋𝘠 𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘌.

𝐈𝐍   𝐖𝐀𝐑,  𝑽𝑰𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀. 𝘴𝘦𝘭. 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 —— 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘫.

[greywrath]

❪  𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐍. ❫

That possibility didn’t sit well with Teagan all. “I… couldn’t say for sure,” he admitted with a sigh. “It’s distinctly possible. The perpetrator is a mage – an apostate.” Teagan’s face darkened with a scowl at his own negligence in that.

“For now however, the immediate need is help for the village.” He nodded towards the west, where the sun indicated that it was already late afternoon. “Come nightfall, those creatures will be back to attack the village. The townspeople have shown remarkable courage and fortitude but…” He trailed off.

But they weren’t soldiers. These were farmers, and merchants, and cobblers. They were women with young children, youths scarcely able to grow whiskers, and old men who should be resting by a fire rather than taking up arms again.

“Murdock, the mayor of Redcliffe, and a small group of Eamon’s knights, lead by Ser Perth, are doing most of the primary organizing of Redcliffe’s militia, if you can call it that. If you could see what help you might provide them.” As it was, Teagan himself needed to get cleaned up, and the myriad of wounds he bore looked after before nightfall.

𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, mairi finished the thought for him, at least; what she thought the rest of it was.   ❝ but they can only keep it up for so long. ❞   everyone had a limit, especially those not prepared to reach it in the first place. mairi would have reached her’s long ago, had her parents not prepared her for PERIL. 

sometimes, she wondered if she had reached her limit; but now was not the time to think about that. mairi needed to be STRONG, a cousland couldn’t have a limit------a warden couldn’t have a limit, not when there was a blight in the works. 

her brows knit together, suddenly, a few contemplative blinks before she looked at teagan again.   ❝ got it. we’ll do what we can------help them fight for another night, at the very least. ❞   she spoke in rapid succession, as if trying to move from one point to another.  &  she was.   ❝ these creatures ... do you know anything else about them ? ❞   her face turned weary, weathered in a way, wondering what the answer would be. something else terrible  &  impossible, she had to assume.   ❝ are they demons ... darkspawn ? ❞

[greywrath]

❪  𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐍. ❫

       ‘you’re pulling your punches there, pup. afraid you’ll break your old man’s brittle bones? ‘ bryce let out a chuckle through his teeth, a harmless jab at his youngest.

       taller and taller she grew as the years went by, it almost startled him how close she was to being eye level with him at times. although his old heart swelled with pride, the speed at which his two children grew tall and strong was almost terrifying. the more they prepared themselves to face the world, the more tired he felt getting out of bed every morning. still, he dared not show mairi how his joints ached as they sparred together, at least not yet. he wanted to enjoy being her hero for just a little while longer.

       ‘ you’re lucky fergus isn’t watching today, you wouldn’t hear the end of it. ‘

                                                                          PLOTTED  ||  @greywrath

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, a glimmer of playfulness shining in the young cousland’s eyes.   ❝ maybe, ❞   she taunted, a youthful smirk tugging at her face,   ❝ they are getting brittle. ❞   his harmless jab was met with her own, the look on her face speaking leagues; telling that she wasn’t quite done, yet.   ❝ the CRACKING tells us you’re coming from halfway across highever. ❞

in truth, mairi did worry about her father now  &  then--------he was getting up in age. as was she; old enough to WORRY, but still faithful in his capabilities. both of her parents were strong, still, they’d made her  &  fergus strong; they weren’t going anywhere any time soon. 

she swung her arms about, stretching them out.   ❝ if you really want me to deck you, i WILL, but i can’t say i actually want to. ❞

[anthropologyofwater-deactivated]

from now on i’m only referring to people by their last name so we can have an emotionally charged moment months later when i finally use their first name 

[daeneryskairipa]

[greywrath]

❪  𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒. ❫

“No worse than the ones I already had,” he admitted. Actually, they were probably better. At least nightmares about darkspawn were about legitimate monsters. His previous ones were of men who’d become them.

“Nathaniel still hasn’t quite warmed up to me,” The mage’s slender shoulders raised and fell in a careless shrug, “Though it seems like he’s adjusted far less than I.” To say the least. Anders didn’t really know much about the interpersonal issues between Mairi and Nate, but there were things he could pick up from rumors and common knowledge, as well as from the few remaining Howe servants still working at Vigil’s Keep.

Nate’s father was rumored to have had Mairi’s family killed. Mairi then killed Nate’s father. And then made him a Warden… seemingly as punishment.

Talk about awkward. There were a few things about Circle life that weren’t so bad. Avoiding noble political drama was definitely one of those few things. Anders didn’t think he’d have ever really be able to handle that.

“Is it true that Wardens that get their Joining during a Blight have worse nightmares than other Warden?”

𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫, a new tenseness forming in mairi’s limbs at the mention of the howe boy. teeth gritted together, a subtle flash of hatred  &  rage flashing in her eyes.   ❝ you don’t need to worry about nathaniel. ❞   she spoke sharply  &  stern, LOUD enough so the man could hear her from across the room.   ❝ there are better people to get warmed up to. he’ll adjust, and if he doesn’t, that’s his problem. ❞

&  that was where she left that, immediately jumping onto the previously mentioned topic. speaking of nightmares seemed more comforting than speaking of howe’s, a family of walking nightmares themselves. at least the worst of them was DEAD.   ❝ that is true, though. ❞   her voice went weary, now, crawling away from its short-lived anger.

❝ at least, i think it is. i can’t speak for other wardens, though there aren’t many to speak of in the first place, anymore. ❞   her thoughts went to recollections of her own nightmares, brows pinching together to remember the DISCOMFORT.   ❝ some nights it was like the archdemon was staring me in the face, breathing down my neck. i hope your’s are nothing like that. ❞ 

[greywrath]

❪  𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐍. ❫

“We’ve not the means to do the Joining.” Lenan’s frown deepened. “Not only do we need a mage to assist in preparing the… concoction, but we need the methods and spells used.” He glanced surreptitiously to Morrigan before focusing on Mairi and Alistair again, his meaning clear. Without the Warden mages, those few among the ranks having died at Ostagar along with the other Wardens and Duncan, it was unlikely they would be able to make more Wardens, on their own.

“With luck, the Orlesian Wardens will be able to find a way in, and find us. Until then, we are on our own along with any non-Warden allies we manage to convince to our cause. Perhaps we will find those who would wish to accompany us as recruits, to have their Joining later.” If they survived this mess in the first place.

“For now, I’d suggest getting supplies in a timely manner, and then moving on. We should not linger here longer than necessary.”

𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. it was important for fighting the darkspawn, she supposed, though it seemed more useful for causing nightmares  &  dying young, than anything. warden’s who’d done their joining could sense the darkspawn coming, but anyone with eyes  &  smarts could SEE them,  &  that was what mattered. 

&  that was exactly what mairi said.   ❝ screw the joining. its not important--------if someone has working eyes, the skill to fight, and enough smarts to not touch any darkspawn, they’re good enough. ❞   they would be more susceptible to the blight’s corruption, of course, but dying in battle by such means would be no greater loss than dying by a darkspawn’s SWORD. as long as someone was fighting, right ?

❝ we’ll go as soon as we can. ❞   that, in her mind was a promise. if it had not already been made clear, mairi’s patience was depleting more by the day.   ❝ you’re sticking with us, i assume ? we could use the extra hands. ❞

[greywrath]

❪  𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐄. ❫

Even before… all this, one could never have accused Mairi of being patient. He hadn’t expected anything different now. And really, he understood her… antsy behavior. Certainly staying here, with the castle and its inhabitants as they were, didn’t exactly make him comfortable either.

“We also need to be able to talk to the First Enchanter without falling over from exhaustion. If they can help us, we’ll probably not be able to rest before coming back and actually doing… whatever magical things they will need to do.” Like Mairi, Thomas had quite limited experience with magic and mages; the first mage he’d met, other than the occasional healer when he was a sick child, was Morrigan herself.

“If nothing else, we’ll all need to be rested and have clear heads if the Circle can’t help us, so that we can decide the best thing to do from there.” Thomas knew she didn’t want to sacrifice Isolde to allow the blood mage in the dungeons to perform the ritual he’d described. But if the Circle couldn’t, or wouldn’t, help them… they’d have to figure out something. Whether that was everyone ‘donating’ a bit of blood to see if that would make the spell work, or sacrificing a condemned criminal that was already slated for the gallows or… finding a means to lock up Connor until better help could be found.

Regardless, it would be a discussion that wouldn’t be helped by exhausted decision makers.

𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤  &  𝐤𝐞𝐲, swords, shields,  &  walls forming some emotional barricade around her heart, all up until this day. this day had been nearly too much for mairi--------the state of the child, the willingness of his mother to die for him, everyone looking to her to make such a tremendous decision ... she BROKE, in front of everyone,  &  hated herself for it. mairi could barely protect herself today ;  &  it made her too vulnerable. 

especially then, as the topic came to words again,  &  she visibly tensed in the light of the moon, fingers digging into her sleeves.  if the circle can’t help us.  the words were dreaded,  &  her face went GRAVE.   ❝ i can’t------ ❞   mairi’s voice shook  &  trembled, so she stopped herself with a sharp breath, refusing to seem a scared little girl again. she mustn’t be. 

head shook as she glared out the window, knuckles white from holding onto herself so tightly.   ❝ if the circle won’t help us ... ❞   eyes squeezed shut to settle her mind, desperately clinging to what STRENGTH she still had. you are the daughter of the soldier and the seawolf, she thought, you cannot falter. you owe it to them.   ❝ i can’t make that decision. ❞   vulnerable words poured from her mouth like water, as if her parents had coerced her into saying them.   ❝ exhausted or not, it won’t make a difference. connor is a child, isolde his mother, i ... can’t. but i don’t know what other options there are. it feels like there aren’t any. ❞

[greywrath]

❪  𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐍. ❫

“It’s in the Maker’s hands now,” Teagan’s hand on her shoulder gave a final squeeze before he let go of her completely, “He’s a strong man. He’ll be fine. And thank the Maker you’re a strong young woman yourself.” There was plenty more he could say. He could say how proud her parents had been, and would be, of her. He could offer more condolences over their deaths. But that… would fall a bit short now, he was afraid.

Clearing his throat, he glanced over to Alistair again before looking back to her. “I’m afraid however that Eamon… isn’t fit company, these days. I’m sure you heard that he is ill.” Alistair’s nod confirmed it. They had heard that, in Lothering. “I’m afraid he isn’t just ill. He was poisoned. The perpetrator was caught, thankfully, but he has been of little help. He didn’t make the poison he gave Eamon, he doesn’t even know what kind it is. And Eamon has been… unconscious, completely unresponsive, for some time. An unending sleep.”

Just what they needed. Teagan however, seemed just full of bad news, “Several days ago however, something… changed in the castle. The gates have been closed, and each night…. creatures have been pouring out of it, coming down and attacking the village.” His brow furrowed, “I’ve been trying to help as I can, leading what militia, templars, and knights we have to defend but… we are limited. And there’s no one to ask for help. Most of the army is dead, and what remains is under Loghain’s command.” That explained the Bann’s somewhat battered appearance, at least.

𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, issue after issue thrown onto the wretched pile of troubles, now crushing mairi’s shoulders more with each passing day. there were too many problems in thedas for so few people to handle. it was as if everywhere they went, something was wrong, with something else wrong behind it, pushing it along. mairi DEFLATED, looking more lifeless than she already did, eyes trailing to the side as she expelled a heavy sigh. all of thedas had formed a line to kick her.

❝ i’m starting to think no one has any good news, anymore. ❞   her voice darkened, a quick  &  weary glance paid to alistair. how foolish of her, to think their plans would play out so easily. of course eamon wasn’t just sick, of course there was treachery  &  creatures  &  every other thing that could possibly go wrong in the world. it was simply the way of life. always BRUTAL, never kind.

there was so much to deal with, she didn’t know where to begin--------looking blankly at teagan for a moment before managing to speak again, leaping for solutions.   ❝ so what now ? we’re here, we can help, but with what ? ❞   her voice was not her own, not to her ears ; it was something more akin to a TIRED SOLDIER, some mix of her mother  &  father. ❝ we can fight, if you need, or if you can get us into that castle ... do you think that has anything to do with this useless poisoner of yours ? ❞

[aleksanderblake]

[greywrath]

greywrath‌:

here tomorrow probably uwu

[greywrath]

here tomorrow probably uwu

[carisi-rollins]

[ruzekburgess]

Octavia Blake + grounder braids

[greywrath]

❪  𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐔𝐒. ❫

       ‘ oh, he used to bother nearly the entire CASTLE. the only reason we kept him was because you were stupidly in love with him. he was too witty for his own good, ‘ fergus grinned as more memories of their childhood rushed in like waves. he remembered mairi’s big toothy grin whenever she and the mutt rough housed and tossed each other around like ragdolls. he always loved rufus and always tried to find time to play with him, but it was clear from the very beginning that mairi had a special place in his heart. rufus would die for her, just like fergus would. but from the ten year old scars the old mabari adorned on his body, it was evident just how prepared he really was to protect his little sister.

       ‘ nan always had a point about you spoiling him all his life. he always expects a beefy bone from me whenever i visit, i’ve been avoiding him like the blight because i know for a fact he’ll bully a bone out of me, ‘ he patted his empty pockets. ‘ besides his hearing, how’s he doing? ‘

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. fergus made his mistake, pointing out that he’d been avoiding rufus, his apparent bully--------so mairi raised a brow,  &  began to walk towards the dog. she walked backwards, answering his question as she went.   ❝ oh, besides the hearing, he’s just the SAME. ❞   if one squinted, she almost looked amused.   ❝ he bullies me, too, sometimes i swear he runs off to jump on people just so i’m forced to speak to them. ❞

she reached her beloved dog  &  gave him a gentle tap on the head, his eyes averting from the tree to look at her, instead. crouching down, she gave rufus a hug, ( which would have seemed alarming GENTLE, to anyone but fergus, ) before pointing the dog in the direction of her brother. ❝ look who’s here. ❞ the words were almost like a playful threat--------&  rufus began bounding happily in fergus’ direction.

[greywrath]

❪  𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐍. ❫

@greywrath liked! Mairi Cousland + Lenan Mahariel

That had to be… the biggest elf Mairi had ever seen.

The average elf, certainly of the ones the youngest Cousland had ever seen as servants around the castle that had once been her home, were… rather small things, compared to humans. A little shorter, more slender. At times even willowy and dainty.

This elf… was not that. He stood several inches above even Alistair, with shoulders even wider. Long, dark blond hair was loose, for the moment, braided at his temples and reaching halfway down his broad back. Add to that the elf’s thick beard (elves could grow beards?!), and he certainly stuck out. And walking along Lothering’s main ‘street’ with a hulking, painted mabari at his side, it was understandable that some might find him intimidating.

But perhaps what might catch the warrior’s eye the most however, was his armor. Now familiar Warden Blues.

“Alistair.” He spoke only when he drew close enough that he need not yell, deep voice rich and steady. He reached out, one giant hand clasping Alistair’s forearm in greeting. “I feared you had not made it through the battle, with the rumors that refugees have been spreading.”

Only now, did he finally seem to realize that Alistair wasn’t alone. “My apologies,” fist to his chest in a respectful salute, the giant elf nodded, “I am Lenan Mahariel. The Warden-Commander had tasked me in continuing recruitment but…” He glanced over the little group, passing over Morrigan with little pause to settle blue eyes on Mairi. He could sense the taint on her as surely as he could in Alistair. “I suppose that is no longer a priority.”

𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩   was mildly annoying, for mairi, but annoying her was no longer a hard task, these days. people annoyed her by existing, she annoyed even herself for just the same. being practically hidden against her will behind alistair made her feel SMALLER than she really was, causing her to push her way to his side, rather than be behind him.  &  then she felt even smaller. 

she couldn’t tell if the sight of warden colors was comforting, given the circumstances--------or troubling. a reminder, they were, of how FEW sported those colors now, that she was one of the few,  &  had no choice in how needed she was. she hadn’t asked to be involved in this, hadn’t asked to be needed. 

still, she offered a tight nod to this lenan, no smile or softness to be seen, uncaring whether or not she appeared unfriendly.   ❝ mairi, ❞   she replied, her surname caught in painful hesitation on her tongue,   ❝ cousland. ❞   at her lack of hellos or further greeting, alistair paid her a particular glance,  &  she knew she was being COLD. but, she shrugged  &  looked to morrigan, who only rolled her eyes. two against one. 

❝ i’d say recruiting new wardens just became an even bigger priority, though. ❞   she spoke darkly, stoic as stone, hands folded behind her back. how she longed for other wardens, BETTER wardens, someone else to deal with all this ; rather than her  &  alistair. duncan should have lived.   ❝ not our ... biggest priority, anymore, but ... important. the rumors aren’t so far off. ❞ 

[greywrath]

❪  𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐄. ❫

       evee watched mairi’s body language as she listened to her words carefully, saving them for memory. she was never this candid with her thoughts among the other advisers, always blunt with her opinions but never laid her cards out on the table for everyone to see. the inquisitor briefly wondered how long it had been since she last felt comfortable sharing such advice, or even sharing one’s own flaws.

       ‘ i think cry babies are good at talking about their feelings in general, ‘ a soft giggle escaped her as she wiped at her eyes. she felt relieved enough to make fun of herself. ‘ i cry too much for my own good, and i’m bad at hiding when something is bothering me. so i’m naturally forced into a position where i talk about my feelings and such. ‘

       only partly true. evee had always been one to seek out comfort when she felt alone and troubled, though it was something she had began to doing less and less often the moment she was named inquisitor. a symptom of growing up too fast and having impossible expectations set at such a young age. for a while she HUNGERED for the day that the soft part of her would die, but now she wondered if she should be worried instead.

       ‘ i’d like to be tough like you one day. ‘

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, empty eyes trailing away while she listened to evee’s words. promptly, mairi decided that evee was better at dealing with the monstrosities of life than she was. evee cried, whether she wanted to or not, lacked skill in hiding what was truly on her mind. mairi knew nothing of the sort--------she’d cried all the way to ostagar, enough to swear duncan only knew her by the sound of her sobs. but when they arrived, she DIED completely ; grief stole her tears, built a wall around her heart that insisted no-one knew her, how she felt, who she was. she didn’t feel like anyone. a corpse, maybe.

she became nothing but a warden, her moments of humanity coming briefly, quickly forgotten by those who didn’t care. she didn’t share moments like these with anyone--------didn’t TRUST anyone enough for it. how thankful she was, that evee hadn’t lost the ability to trust.

❝ i don’t think that’s such a bad thing. ❞   she answered honestly, softly, careful not to insult evee’s self proclaimed title of ‘cry baby.’   ❝ i meant it when i said holding it in adds to the madness. its good that you can still cry, even if it doesn’t feel that way. ❞

&   darker still, she grew, to a level of discomfort, shifting where she stood.   ❝ you are already tough, evee, but for your sake ...  i hope you’re never ANYTHING like me. ❞

[greywrath]

❪  𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑. ❫

              𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒, although her head was faced the opposite direction of the dark haired woman to avoid her from seeing her action. DEMONS were becoming an everyday nuisance, half of the job offers she has gotten lately were to EXTERMINATE them as if they were pests that could easily be disposed of. she hda more scars to tell more stories over a pint, at least. “ if you gave me your name, love, i wouldn’t have to call you MISS and you seem to despise it so. ” she speaks SIMPLY, hands and scarred knuckles stuffed into the pockets of her coat.

𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢’𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, though she makes no effort to look away or hide it. being called love is almost as annoying as miss, but she keeps this thought to herself--------she’s old enough by now to know that half her current annoyance is sprouting from the pain in her leg. this redheaded stranger probably isn’t so bad, on any other day. ten years ago mairi wouldn’t CARE, but she does now, even if only a little. even so, she is annoyed,  &  lets loose more of her icy words.   ❝ you didn’t ask for my name, ❞   she states, a shrug in her tone,   ❝ but its mairi. ❞