bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas, @ 2010-01-20 00:28:00
Who: Bethen Avilla & Coan Bryland Where: Kinloch Hold, Library. When: Evening. 5 Eluviesta, 9:45 Dragon. Summary: On the eve of the Warden-Commander's departure from Kinloch Hold, a noble and his dog wander around the Tower and meet an equally restless mage. Rating: K/G. It's just two kids and a puppy. Nothing bad could possibly happen! Status: Complete
If there was one thing that Bethen wouldn't miss about this place, it was trying to lug a heavy book up the entire length of the shaky old ladders. She remembered the first time she had laid eyes on the library, and believing that the looming shelves were so tall that if she stood on top of one, she would be able to brush the ceiling with the tips of her fingers. It would prove to be untrue, but by the time she was finally allowed to scale those heights, she would be glad of that fact. One hand gripped the last rung tightly, while the other clutched a tome nearly as thick as her torso; it took effort to hook her arm around a stringer and then shift the weight of the book into both hands. Completing the task of putting the book in its place had been exhausting, enough such that it seemed like a far better idea to perch herself on the dusty top of the shelf, legs dangling off the edge, than climb all the way back to the floor.
The library was almost completely empty at this hour; the youngest of the apprentices were likely in their quarters getting ready for bed, and few other Tower residents ever sought to spend extra hours there unless absolutely necessary. Beth wasn't completely alone, as she could hear the scratching of pens taking research notes, and see the shining tops of the templars' helmets reflecting the orange glow of the lanterns like little beacons. Not a single one of them had spotted her and yelled at her to get down just yet, though she didn't stray far from the ladder just in case she needed to make a hasty descent. But for now she was being left well enough alone with her thoughts.
It was an appropriately surreal place to be sitting, to match the completely surreal day she'd had. There had been whispers for weeks that the Circle would be receiving some very important guests, but she couldn't have even begun to imagine that it would be the Fereldan Commander of the Grey Wardens. Two assemblies were held in their honor that day -- first was the reception in the afternoon that disclosed the purpose of the Warden-Commander's arrival, and the second was the large dinner banquet for the man and his sizable entourage. The excitement over the former event had made the latter much harder to swallow. Everything was still sinking in, most of all the possibility that she would be entering the ranks of the legendary order.
After First Enchanter Terraster had made his speech welcoming Warden-Commander Alistair and his companions into their Tower, he proceeded to announce that they were looking for the best and brightest magi to join them. It was not a decision to be taken lightly, he had said, and not everyone would qualify for the opportunity to travel to Amaranthine. Nevertheless, Bethen had been among the first to line up in front of his office door, where the Grey Warden, the First Enchanter, and the Knight-Commander had been meeting with potential recruits. She felt sickeningly nervous sitting under the scrutinizing stare of those three men; to her surprise, the one who made her feel the most at ease was the man she had only ever seen once before in her life. And he was just as dashing and heroic in her eyes now as she remembered him to be then. Even hours later, speaking with him and introducing herself as a candidate to join his order felt like part of a strange dream, though she knew he was quite tangible and possibly still arguing with the other two upstairs over who to choose.
It was difficult to tell, but she thought she had made a positive impression, at least upon the Warden-Commander, who seemed immediately interested in her skills as a healer. Though Bethen hadn't drawn the favor or attention of the new First Enchanter after Irving's passing, Terraster seemed almost warm toward the idea of extending her services to the Wardens; and as for Knight-Commander Cullen, he had never had a problem with her, which set her above the majority of her peers in his opinion. She could only wonder what they had said about her after she left, though she certainly hoped it was favorable. Being chosen for such an important position would be more than an honor and a way to serve the greater good; it was also an opportunity for freedom -- or at least a small sliver of it, even if there was danger attached. It was all she had ever hoped for, and still even more than her greatest ambitions.
Her giddiness over the prospect of leaving was tinged with sadness, though. If she was selected to leave the Tower, there was a very real chance that she might not ever return to it, and that had been a sobering thought. Some called it a prison, but to her...this was home. It was only natural that she would have come to the library, the place where she held the most memories, to contemplate her future. The seventeenth of her birthdays within these walls had passed only days ago, and the thought of never spending another one with her friends, her surrogate family, was more than a little jarring. Certainly leaving this place, at least temporarily, was something she had wanted for a long time, but to become a Grey Warden and to give up everything she knew, as well as her position within the Circle, in order to fight off an ancient evil that plagued the world and face the risk of dying in combat -- that had surpassed all of her expectations of her life. It wasn't the calling she had imagined for herself, but everything in her being told her that this was the right path to take.
But it wasn't a good idea to count one's eggs before they hatched; or so Beth had heard before, but she had never lived on a farm and couldn't gauge the accuracy of the saying. She wouldn't know her fate for certain until the next morning, anyway. Still, here and now was as good as any a place to take everything in; after all, it was possible that this would be the last chance she ever had to see her favorite room in all of Ferelden from this view.