bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
After setting the sizable volume in front of the dwarf, the human returned to her own seat, not quite settling back into it, but perching herself on its edge. Beth folded her hands together again, resting them on the table as she took in Signy's further questioning. Though they both thankfully spoke fluent common, there was still enough room for confusion in translating ideas. She hadn't really taken into consideration that the words would have sounded odd to someone whose culture never had use for the words until recent years; the origins of the Fade and Veil weren't just Circle terminology, but deeply rooted into the early teachings of the Chantry. For the average Fereldan, the human child raised in an Andrastian household who was paraded to the chantry for services, it was uncommon not to be aware of such things. But her new pupil (at least for this first lesson, even if it was possibly doubling as their last one) had given her pause, to think of how better to phrase things.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally answered, "I suppose it is just that, though maybe more like what keeps us from going into the Fade, and things from coming out of it. It's like...an invisible wall. Just a word, a metaphor to describe what separates our mortal realm from theirs. But," Beth paused for slight dramatic emphasis, "that doesn't make such a boundary unimportant. Places where this barrier is weak are dangerous. Demons can slip through to the physical world even without a mage present to inhabit, and that, as you already know, isn't a good thing." For the moment, she omitted the reasons why such a tear could happen; unless Signy asked, she didn't think it was necessary to admit that there were many times when the damage had been created by errant magi in the first place. There were other methods, as well, but such a morbid discussion of the connection between places of mass death and rifts in the Veil was not appealing to bring up at the moment if she didn't absolutely have to. They had seen enough death lately, such that Beth had little desire to speak of it any more.
She shook her head at Signy's suggestion, a wry smile forming at the corners of her mouth, "No, not quite sleeping. I would take you in if it were that easy, but it isn't. There are different ways to cross the Veil besides dreaming, though there's only one ritual that I would consider performing. It involves the use of lyrium, though, and I don't think I have the materials, qualification or authorization to do something like that." But who would stop her, really? Neither Enchanter who had been brought along would likely interfere in her business, and were no longer able to pull rank on her, anyway. She thought of the Warden-Commander, a former Templar, who wouldn't likely approve of such a dangerous task, though he could be convinced, especially if Mona supported her in giving their newest apostate a formal education. There just wasn't enough time to prepare, though.
At least she had done something for Signy in getting this book for her. Beth lifted a hand to wave at it, "I'm uncertain about that edition, but there ought to be illustrations in the book to support the text, should you find yourself wandering on your own. You might not always be able to identify demons by appearances alone, though. Some of the cleverer ones can change their forms into images that are familiar to you, so they can trick you into feeling some sort of...comfort. Not every spirit is malevolent, and a few are just...curious. But you should still be cautious."