This took me forever, friends, so apologies for my tardiness, but at last, here is Embria! @rookfest-eluviana
So.... I checked the rivalry box in case anyone wanted to dare try to be Embria's rival, lolol. I'm hard-pressed to imagine any Rook she wouldn't befriend!
I couldn't come up with a motto for her and so I left it blank. I am open to suggestions!
For today's prompt I got the permission of the lovely @veil-song to play with their dolls for a bit! In this the children of Emmrich and Siobhan and those of Nova and Lucanis meet and swap factions for a bit.
Another thank you goes to @hedwigoprah for the additional word "Coterie"
A circle of people associate with one another
An exclusive group of people, who associae closely for a common purpose; a clique
A communal burrow of prairie dogs
So without further ado please meet Ceridwen and Rosemarie Volkarin as well as Némi, Lotario and Lace Dellamorte.
Jealous bones
Ceridwen wanted to bite someone. Lotario had been in the Mourn Watch for the awful passage of three weeks and she loathed every single minute.
Despite him being only three years older than her, he had taken a long look at her direction with those deep brown eyes and ruffled hair, speaking a polite but short greeting, before turning to his own parents again. Ceridwen knew Nova and Lucanis, as the families frequently visited each other with the help of the Eluvians, and had taken quite a liking to them. After all, they were a Coterie after banding together as the famous "Veilguard". The Crows didn't scare her, despite the claims of them being cruel. After they had bid him goodbye, Lotario had stayed with Ceridwen's family, aiming to study under Emmrich, Manfred and Siobhan.
Rosemarie had taken to the calm and studious boy her age like a beetle to a corpse, joining in his Necromancy training sessions and taking him to the hidden places of the Necropolis in their free time.
Manfred, who had been going on long excursions now that his training was finished, also liked the Dellamorte. Usually, it would be Manfred who would be most excited to see her drawings of the family but now she found them both talking about the demon that was attached to Lotario's father. Spite.
It only got worse when her mama also took Lotario underneath her wing. Preparing him tea and teaching him all about her trade, while smiling so warmly at him that Ceridwen's chest hurt, as she watched from behind the crack in the door. Usually, she was one of the flowers or a big strong warrior princess in her mother's stories but now her words were all reserved for the Crow and her older sister.
That her older sister was nice to him was something that she could take. That Manfred ignored her in favor of him, was irritating but manageable. Her mama was a painful prick in her watery eye. But all hell broke loose when her father didn't have time for her.
Lotario had been training with him the most, asking many questions her papa had remarked as "impressive" and "far beyond his age". Pressed tightly into the palm of her hand, was a small, falsely healed femur of a mammal that she had found in the part of the Forgotten Whispers. Her papa would surely tell her how proud he was of her - calling her his little joy- and hold on tightly to her hand as he did so. Then she could grin at the Crow-boy and show him that he couldn't take her place however he wished.
To her surprise and utter heartbreak, her papa seemed confused at her knock at the door and dismissed her quickly, claiming that he would see her after dinner and that they were in the middle of an important project. Then the door was shut tightly in front of her.
It hurt. Her magic had come in only a year ago and she struggled with it more than her sister and LoTarIO did.
After dinner, her father said? Well, he was going to be very surprised then, because Ceridwen wouldn't be there anymore. It had been nice ten years with her parents but this was now enough, it seemed. Her mother had spoken about running away as a child, so Ceridwen didn't fall too far from the stem.
Her plan pulled off masterfully. Before dinner, she pretended to have stomach issues, letting her complaints carefully grow louder over time before excusing herself from the table right when everyone was eating.
She denied her mother's offer of tea and Lotharios and Rosemaries questions about a shared book night, skittering off to bed as quickly as she could. There patted the hidden packed bag underneath her bed and laid down, waiting until the right moment arrived. Outside, she heard the conversations continue without her. Good, she thought. You won't miss me when I'm gone.
Just to put a cherry on top of her broken heart - and theirs!- she wrote a letter.
Dear Mother, Father, Manfred, Rosemarie Elannora and you, Lothario,
To whom it may concern,
I won't be coming back. Don't look for me.
Sell my stuff or gift it to someone. But not the Crow boy.
Yours
With much love
Goodbye.
Ceridwen Marigold Volkarin
As soon as the letter was done, she hid it in an envelope underneath her pillow and waited.
Her resolve almost broke when her papa came in and kissed her brow as she pretended to sleep. With how long he knelt beside her bed, just brushing her hair out of her face before kissing her again and leaving, she thought that maybe he would miss her a little bit. But it would be alright. He had the others to focus upon.
When everything was clear, she slipped out of bed -adjusting the pillows with her hands and the tiniest bit of illusion magic-before making her way outside the door. She all but ran through the upper parts of the Necropolis until she finally reached the Eluvian that would lead her to the Crows.
Treviso was as beautiful as always. Shimmering purple and silver, it was one of her favorite places to be. She hid behind crates and in alleyways, using the technique Uncle Lucanis had taught her once before, until she darted around the last corner that stood between her and the Dellamorte estate.
Her chest felt less heavy and she scrunched her nose. Now, everything would be better.
When she was sat down in a chair in front of a fireplace, she wasn't so sure anymore. Usually, Aunt Nova was the more intimidating one -despite her being smaller than Uncle Lucanis- but today it was their oldest daughter who was frightening. Némi was standing above her, fists put on her sides and glaring. While she was chewing Ceridwen out, Lucanis and Nova looked at her with a mixture of worry and pride, while Lace was peacefully sleeping in Lucanis' arms.
"What were you thinking?" the teenager spat at her, her brown eyes fixated on Ceridwens face. Usually, the older girl was demanding but kind, playing music for her or showing her fighting stances. "You could have gotten hurt, coming here alone. It's only good that our spies had their eyes on yo-"
"Némi," Lucanis murmured from behind her, as he quietly watched the tears fall over Ceridwens face. "That's enough."
Némi turned around, obviously affronted. "Papa, she could have gotten hurt."
Now, it was Nova who spoke up. "Yes, my dear. You are right. But I think this is enough for now. We will take it from here."
Even when Némi looked as if wanting to protest, she must saw the glance that passed between Nova and Lucanis, speaking more than many words could.
The girl sighed and lifted her hands. "Alright."
"You can take Lace to bed," Nova offered warmly and only shook her head lightly at the slight groan from Némi.
Ceridwens heart clenched. It reminded he all too much of Rosemarie and her, when her sister was asked to help her out, when she really didn't want to. And the same way Rosemarie would take her to her bedroom when she had nightmares and help her sew up her stuffed animal. Her face held the same mix of exasperation, pride and sisterly love that Némi now showed as she took Lace and vanished out of the door. But not without giving her one last stink eye at which Ceridwen could not help but give a watery smile.
Némi liked her or else she wouldn't be so angry.
When Nova and Lucanis were alone with Ceridwen, they exchanged another look before slowly creeping up on her.
"So," Nova joked. "You want to become a Crow, huh?"
Something about the tone broke another dam inside the child's chest. If Ceridwen had been crying before, now it was a flood. It took a greater portion of an hour for her to calm down and even longer to coax the story out of her mouth.
No, her parents did not know about her coming here. Yes, she was sure. (Lucanis eye twitched and Nova had to lay a calming hand on his shoulder).
Yes, Lotario was doing well. No, she didn't spend much time with him, because he didn't like her. (Nova's eyebrows rose to the ceiling in disbelief, while Lucanis snorted quietly).
Yes, she liked the idea of training more with Lucanis and Nova but she didn't know if she wanted to be a Crow just yet. (But she liked them both complimenting her managing to come here unscathed, even with one or two assassins shielding her).
It only took twenty minutes more until Némi reentered, bringing news of Ceridwen's parents upcoming arrival. When Ceridwen shot her a betrayed look, Némi only shrugged. "They were already searching for you. Uncle Emmrich is apparently so sick with worry, that he has corpse whispered almost everything in a two hundred mile radius."
At the thought of her papa being so afraid, Cerdiwen felt shame creep up on her. Knowing him, he was already crying so much that her mama had to console him every few minutes. Nova put a consoling hand on her shoulder.
"You'll be alright. They love you too much to be angry for too long."
She was right. When her parents barged into the Dellamorte household, two pairs of strong arms swept her up and subjected her to minutes of teary kisses and scoldings. Luckily, the relief was greater than the anger and they even took her jealousy of Lotario well enough - maybe partly to Lucanis getting a sad look in his eyes when she admitted to that- and held her through her apology.
Just out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mama and Nova exchange some words, glancing towards her every now and then. Right now, she didn't care about what they said. She wanted to go home.
In the end, it turned out really good for her. Except for the watchful eye her family had her under for a good portion of the next year. She and Lotario spend more time together and after a while she realized his behavior to be more of a shy kind than a mean one. When she didn't know how to deal with her magic, she would go to him - and sometimes Rosemarie- and he would help her rehearse the spells until she got them right.
At home everyone made sure to let each other know, how appreciated they were, even more than ever before -although affection never had been little in their home, quite the opposite- so that even when Lotario moved to the Necropolis full time, she did not feel as if having something taking away from her.
But the best thing was that she got to train more with Nova and Lucanis. Every other weekend, she would get to sleep over at the Dellamortes house, engaging in many forms of teaching. If Lucanis could peel himself away from First Talon business, he made sure to spend time with her and teach her about acrobatics and the wielding of knives and rapiers.
When Nova had her turn, she was practicing a combination of magic and knife-work with her. The woman was quick on her feet and skilled with her magic and Ceridwen had to admit that she wanted to be just like her when she grew up.
Soon enough, she would stay longer and longer in Treviso switching back and forth between her time in the Necropolis and in the Crows nest.
She didn't know where her path would lead her but she knew that both families adored. That was enough.
Oh here we go! I was inspired by The Bear and all the food shows I used to watch so this was easy to come up with for me. I'm not going to write this but I'd like to draw a couple things from this AU.
I started with House Dellamorte and my Rooks Serena de Riva and Kala Ingellvar but I'd like to expand this AU to include other Rooks, the Veilguard team, and the other factions. So, without further ado...
Lucanis is the chef and Illario, also a chef, runs the front of the house of Ristorante Dellamorte. Caterina is the owner and manager. (Imagine, if you will, Lucanis and Illario arguing behind their restaurant like a scene right out of The Bear.)
De Riva Restaurant is their competition but provides different dishes and atmosphere.
The Cantori Diamond is still a casino but they boast the best buffet in the city and patrons agree!
Serena from de Riva Restaurant is a new hot shot chef. While Lucanis is a traditionalist when it comes to Antivan food, Serena, likes to experiment. Her signature dish is a fusion of Antivan and Rivaini cuisine. Lucanis and Illario go to try the food of this new chef. Lucanis is both offended and impressed. Illario loves it.
Kala Ingellvar is the new food critic for THE food magazine in the city. She has a reputation for being hard to please but when she praises a restaurant's menu, you know it's going to be good. Ristorante Dellamorte just started a new season with a new menu and Kala's first assignment is to taste it. Illario, knowing her reputation, does everything he can to make her experience go as smoothly as possible. What he didn't expect was to fall for her and for Kala's part, he throws her off her game just a little bit. Maybe their restaurant will get a good rating after all.
Regarding other Veilguard members:
I think Neve could be a food inspector. She's very thorough so restaurants all over get a little nervous when she stops by for inspection.
Lace Harding runs a small hole in the wall serving her creative food experiments. She has a dedicated fan base but one wonders how she stays open.
The conflict: two new restaurant groups are opening several restaurant establishments throughout the city. The Venatori Group is trying to poach recruit Illario to be their Executive Chef (the role he ultimately wants) at one of their new restaurants. Antaam, Inc. is encroaching on the Antivan quarter with their own ideas about Antivan cuisine. Both companies are backed by two mysterious investors.
That's all I have for now! Feel free to throw in your own ideas. This AU is so fun to me.
Day 2 Rookfest! Sticking with my canon Rook - Teleri De Riva
Her interests and hobbies below the cut!
1 -Teleri loves making potions and poisons as much as her 'brother' Viago and she grew from cuttings a selection of plants from his villa's garden in Salle which she grows in her apartment in Treviso (and Viago looked after whilst she was..away.) Harding let her have a section of the conservatory, once they talked about it and the conservatory obliged.
2 -She enjoys playing the lute though would say she isn't as skilled as her mother was, but she was taught how to play a number of Dalish tunes and learnt a few Antivan ones later. It calms her as it allows her to focus her mind on just the notes. She also enjoys dancing when the opportunity allows it. Though she would say when she fights it is very much a dance of it's own.
3 -She enjoys cooking, though tends to stick to what she likes rather than experiments. She cooked a lot for Varric and Harding after finding out about Harding's...creativity in her cooking. She didn't have much time for it at first in the Lighthouse with the few of them scrambling to figure things out, but once Lucanis and Bellara joins she shares what she knows of her Dalish clan's recipes along with a couple of Antivan ones she got very good at and cooks with them.
4 -This extends to her love of sweet things - chocolate, frilly little cakes and deserts. The latter two she lets Lucanis make those as she loves watching him work.
5 -She has a interest in her appearance and even made some of her own makeup and skincare - an extension of her potion making, that she has shared with the others of the team who enjoy it too, especially Neve.
6 - She has a collection of items that remind of her events and memories in her life that she takes great care with - a ring her father made, a small silver halla statue from her grandfather, a poison bottle from her mother's collection she saved from her family's burnt aravel, her first poison vial from Viago, a blue feathered Crow mask from a favourite contract, a dagger from Lucanis. All her weapons are very much extensions of that, carefully curated and maintained and connected to events in her life during the Veilguard.
7 -Lastly she enjoys the thrill of a contract - the hunt of the target and the payoff at the end. She loves being a Crow.
Former Ben-Hassareth Agent - its thanks to some other Rooks (including @wukodork 's Patience, aka his wife) that he left the Qun and ended up at the Lighthouse.
He's looking for people to fight - whether you want it to be as rivals or friends that's up to you. @rookfest-eluviana
