SIGNY [ the dwarf mage ] (signyature) wrote in thedas, @ 2010-02-16 22:44:00 |
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It was, Signy discovered, a bit difficult to climb steps while gaping upwards in awe; she was staring, eyes fixed on the towers of the Keep, and not watching where she walked. (She'd never had to, before, not in Orzammar where familiar paths and stone sense made looking unnecessary. But here, though it was made of stone, she had no sense of it.) Something loomed into her vision, and she just had time to stop before she bashed into the back of one of the Dalish Elves from the forest. "Ah--Oh, pardon."
She craned her neck downwards a bit, settling on Faer--still above her, but not nearly as high as the towers of Vigil's Keep. "No, no, I wasn't even looking, I should mind where I'm going." She looked a bit sheepish herself; here she was, still stopping on the steps like a nervous child. After a second's hesitation, she continued: "It's impressive, isn't it?"
She regretted, briefly, that she'd traveled all this way with the elf (with the two elves, in fact) without learning their names; she dipped slightly, a polite dwarven gesture, though she stopped herself from actually greeting him in the traditional manner. Somehow, she didn't think he'd need or appreciate her extending the stone's greetings. "It is good to meet you, Faer Arandil. I am Signy." Of House Dagna was becoming less and less important, the farther from Orzammar she travelled.
"I.... I think not all of us," she said, shaking her head slightly; "Not many of those who have come from Orzammar, at least," she clarified, "and I cannot speak for the humans who were with Commander Alistair before." As far as she could tell, he'd selected the younger humans--the noble with the dog, the shady elf, the pretty blond--in addition to the three young dwarves. "Just me, L--Rhocanth," he was no Lord anymore, as much as she was no member of House Dagna anymore, "and Falina," she added with a short hesitation, and decided not to clarify with 'the short dirty one'.
She was, indeed, seeing the crowd of people ascending behind them--one small dwarf wouldn't block them but some of these topsiders were tall enough that they might just stumble over her without meaning to and Signy had no interest in being tripped over. But the elf had brought up something that had been bothering at the back of Signy's mind for days now, and she hustled along so that she could better ask her question. "They were chasing you for---for being a mage, right? Was that really the only reason? We don't have anything like a Templar in Orzammar and no sensible guard would let them in the gates anyway, so I'd never seen one before coming to the surface."
"Ah." She frowned and looked downwards, for once, glance going to the stones of the Keep's entranceway. "And that's sort of what they--they usually do?" There were Templars here, after all, and Signy was under the impression that unless she spent all of her time cowering behind Imenry or the Warden Commander, she'd eventually run afoul of them. She laced her fingers together and resolved to be exceedingly careful, at least when not within easy reaching distance of someone tall and authoritative. "What kind of magic did you use? Is Dalish magic much like the magic they use in the Circle or is it very different, do you know?"
Signy couldn't stop herself from making a distinctly fascinated sort of sound --a short "ooooh"--when he explained the way in which he used magic offensively. "That's... is it very effective? Is it singularly Elven?" Oh, she had more questions, after this, too. "Your Keeper? What's a Keeper? I was taught magic came from lyrium--at least, well, partly, and from some strange disposition surfacers have towards the capacity to manipulate that force, or perhaps from the--that funny place, what do you call it," she waved a hand in a short circle. He seemed to be responding kindly, was even amused by her barrage of curiosity--this encouraged Signy.
She just nodded, accepting the information about a Keeper at face value--it made as much sense as anything else might have. She was beginning to realize the surfacers had not only one strange culture, but a collection of them. "So what were you taught was the essence of magic, then?"
She pursed her lips, torn between thinking and laughing. Good naturedly, of course, but it was such a strange view point. Even if his people had had magic for aeons and aeons longer than hers, to think they were content with an explanation like 'it just comes from nowhere'. "That's a very mystical way of putting it," she said, smiling, unable to hide a sort of friendly amusement. "But even air comes from somewhere. I guess living up here with so much of it, you don't see it the way we do. Air comes from vents in the stone... small cracks leading to larger chambers or to columns that lead to the surface. It's not just.... from nowhere. I don't think magic could be, either." This second aspect, she was less sure of. "And it can be. Um. Bartered, I guess." That, she admitted with an uncomfortable laugh; if you could call Dagna's acts a bartering, then certainly it could be.
She twirled a long, loose tendril of hair around one finger, thinking. "Or influenced, at least." She swallowed, hoping she hadn't said something offensive by accident; she knew people on the surface had odd believes about who made things, placing faith in gods of all odd creatures, and maybe she'd inadvertently insulted one of his?
"Ah." That was the crux of it, wasn't it. "I.... Well, I'm a mage?" My, if she could sound less sure about it, she would probably have had to make a really sincere attempt. "I mean, that's why I know that magic can be manipulated--that it has to come from somewhere, a specific but yet unidentified source, the way the Paragon theorized, because, well, here I am!" The last was accompanied by a smile and a sort of little shrug, equally cheerful and self-conscious.
"Oh, uh," she looked a bit pinkish at the cheeks, which otherwise were still mostly ivory-pale from her long life underground. "I... I think you're thinking of my teacher, Paragon Dagna. She? Was the first dwarven mage, and the one who discovered how to give us magic. I'm just one of her students. But you've heard of her? That's wonderful!" She beamed, proud of her older cousin. "I'm flattered to be mistaken for someone as incredible as she is, really."
"It's certainly exciting," Signy said, nodding; she was picking up on some of Faer's excitement, and it made the dimmer, harsher aspects of being a dwarven mage fade back in her recollection. "And to be recruited by the Grey Wardens--we're both lucky in that, too." She knew firsthand how lucky Faer had been, and hoped (after she'd spoken) that what she'd said wouldn't bring back any sour memories. Her own luck had been less marked but quite welcome none the less.
She tucked that loose strand of hair away behind her neck, and felt a bit more self-conscious for not having it to fiddle with. "I, well, I was forced to leave Orzammar and the Warden-Commander found me in Gherlen's Pass. When he found out I was Dagna's apprentice, and a mage, he offered me a place with the Wardens. He knew Paragon Dagna from her time on the surface, you see." Or something close to that - Signy didn't feel the need to go into the actual details, and, to tell the truth, she was a bit fuzzy on them.
She nodded. "Definitely. And, well, I'm here to do my best." It might not have needed saying in Orzammar--here, Signy was unsure. "And perhaps we can learn from each other." At that, she smiled broadly, that curiosity coming back strong and full. This was a kind of magic Dagna had not studied, Signy didn't think - she could learn so many new things!
Signy was about to say more, but she caught sight of someone further down the hallway, waving at her, and winced; she'd left her things, meager as they were, to be portaged into her rooms by someone else. Imenry? One of the knights from Gwaren? She winced. "It was nice to meet you--well, for real. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon enough?" With a smile, she bobbed, and turned to scurry off through the crowd. The two apostates went their separate ways, to find their lodgings in Amaranthine and get settled, for however long they might have them.