[ A red dusk has faded deep into to the purples and greys of twilight; the first stars are already pricking over the bay when Richard clips his way up the dock from the ferry. ]
I’ve returned.
[ -- out of the blue, but in the nick of time, so far as he’s concerned. ]
[ Weed and blankies: the only kind of tower night out worth having.
Into the tower, up the stairs, Richard makes a brief stop in his room to unload his satchel and to pick up a heavier cloak, a hat and blanket of his own.
[ 3/4 the way through hunkering down into a blanketed slouch against the rampart, Richard leans to produce a moderately heavy dagger from the region of his hip, and drops it next to the pie -- deft, for a man with a splinted thumb. He doesn’t say ‘don’t be a coward.’
The arch look he sends after it says it for him. ]
[ Richard hisses an invitation under his breath, and Ribbon nudges out from his collar to see about it, a button of black at his throat that starts to emerge, feels the chill in the air, and seems to think better of it. She sinks s l o w l y back out of sight as Dick reaches from his blankets to take the offered joint. ]
Perhaps if we go in later, [ he says on her behalf, to assuage any disappointment before he tokes. ]
So, [ he says a beat later, still holding: ] The stars.
Dick lets go with a short cough and a clearing of his throat, with a shorter puff to follow, and so on. After nearly a year, the act has become routine. ]
[ Richard can only incline his head in acknowledgement that yes, he probably should have anticipated that was the case. The cushion of his hat makes it easier for him to rest his noggin against the rampart at his back, and he settles in the rest of the way where he’s sat, with a blanket around his shoulders and another under his seat. ]
I think so, yeah. But most of our history's been lost.
[ She hands off the joint again so she can fetch up the knife, give it a cursory wipe-down, and use it to slice the pie into wedges. ]
So mostly we use the regular Trade names for them, but the pictures they make are different.
[ Somehow because I'm not gonna describe flinging bits of floppy pie everywhere, the slice of apple pie she picks up stays together and barely dribbles. ]
So Voyager is an aravel instead of a ship and the Stallion is a halla, and so on.
Typical, [ says Richard, tightly. Athessa hands the joint over to him, and he tokes where he’s reclined, with some late thought given over to easing up the buttons at his collar and down his jacket. It’s clumsier work than it should be with his splinted hand, but the movements are already practiced. Easy enough to work in some airflow while he looks to the sky.
He’s clapped eyes on an illustration or two before bringing himself up to the tower tonight. He’s even been up here before on his own.
Still, utilizing a local expert is faster and more comprehensive. ]
They are, [ she has to wait to answer until she's done chewing. ]
Probably kinda the same way sailors use them. I'm pretty sure all the mentions of being guided by the gods in the songs my clan would sing are in reference to the stars, not the actual gods.
[ Athessa points to a specific formation of stars, tracing the outline with her finger in the air. ]
That one, Shadow, is depicted as an owl sometimes, a hawk others. The owl was Elgar'nan's sacred companion, and the hawk was Andruil's messenger. That's uh...the All-Father — also known as the God of Vengeance — and the Goddess of the Hunt.
On my plane, one deity rising up to eradicate or dominate all others would be considered an act of overt evil. [ A fun fact, casually shared as he tilts to follow her finger. ]
Was there ever any documented conflict between your pantheon and the Maker?
[ Is he referring to the Maker as overtly evil, or the All-Father? ]
The most I know about the elven gods as they relate to the Chantry is that an elf by the name of Shartan was allied with Andraste and burned at the stake alongside her.
For all of the good it did any of you. [ Richard evidently thinks the answer is apparent enough not to require clarification, bitter on her behalf. Thanks a lot, Shartan, 10/10 quality sacrifice with quality results.
One last long breath in, and he offers the joint back to her. ]
There are dozens of active deities where I’m from, [ he says, around held smoke. ] If not hundreds.
[ Joint met to gesture, Rcihard passes it, and hooks his reach down for the dagger instead, to cleave off the tip of a piece of the pie she’s already cut. ]
Clerics are conduits for the divine power of the gods that choose them. Depending upon the relationship, they might even communicate directly back and forth.
[ He leaves the knife in the pie, and snags up the one bite to push it into the side of his mouth, chewing matter-of-fact-like while he watches her. ]
[ Dick slants his brows in an unspoken, nebulous affirmative, and further nods before he swallows. A sniff, a pass of tongue over teeth, and he sets about the delicate process of sectioning off another small bite with his dagger. ]
I was initially angling for Dendar, [ he explains: ] the Nightmare Serpent, but Oghma had other ideas.
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no subject
Date: 2020-11-18 06:44 am (UTC)I’ve returned.
[ -- out of the blue, but in the nick of time, so far as he’s concerned. ]
Shall I meet you atop the tower?
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Date: 2020-11-18 07:32 am (UTC)Yep, yeah, 'course. Should I uh—
[ A pause that totally isn't a yawn, off-crystal. ]
Should I bring the usual stuff?
[ weed and blankies? ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-18 06:36 pm (UTC)[ Weed and blankies: the only kind of tower night out worth having.
Into the tower, up the stairs, Richard makes a brief stop in his room to unload his satchel and to pick up a heavier cloak, a hat and blanket of his own.
He also brings a pie. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-18 10:53 pm (UTC)But like a good friend she does wait for him to arrive before lighting up, offering him the first toke. ]
Is that a pie?
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Date: 2020-11-19 07:13 am (UTC)[ Are there even apples in Thedas?
Richard waves her off to smoke first, once he’s placed the pie down on the stonework between them. He has blankets to make a nest out of. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-19 07:42 am (UTC)Did you bring forks, too? I brought mead, but no glasses.
[ Though it seems like not having glasses for a drink is a less messy prospect than no utensils for a pie. ]
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Date: 2020-11-19 07:57 am (UTC)The arch look he sends after it says it for him. ]
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Date: 2020-11-19 09:15 am (UTC)[ She hunkers down beside him in her own blanket club uniform, keeping her hands free for puff puff passing.
So she puffs, puffs again, and passes the joint over to Richard. ]
Is our petit espion with us tonight?
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Date: 2020-11-19 07:22 pm (UTC)Perhaps if we go in later, [ he says on her behalf, to assuage any disappointment before he tokes. ]
So, [ he says a beat later, still holding: ] The stars.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-19 08:24 pm (UTC)[ There's yer problem right there. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-20 08:39 am (UTC)Dick lets go with a short cough and a clearing of his throat, with a shorter puff to follow, and so on. After nearly a year, the act has become routine. ]
Had you already been smoking?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-20 08:49 am (UTC)[ Back to the sky. ]
I think this time of year there's only three or four constellations we can see.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-20 10:50 pm (UTC)[ He hands the joint back across. ]
Do humans defer to your existing arrangement, or have constellations of their own?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-21 12:00 am (UTC)Nobody defers to elves for anything.
[ A drag, some smoke rings. ]
They renamed 'em and ignore that they were ever called anything else.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-21 02:52 am (UTC)Elves have the original claim, do they not?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-21 04:58 am (UTC)[ She hands off the joint again so she can fetch up the knife, give it a cursory wipe-down, and use it to slice the pie into wedges. ]
So mostly we use the regular Trade names for them, but the pictures they make are different.
[ Somehow because I'm not gonna describe flinging bits of floppy pie everywhere, the slice of apple pie she picks up stays together and barely dribbles. ]
So Voyager is an aravel instead of a ship and the Stallion is a halla, and so on.
tfw u realize u never posted the real tag
Date: 2020-11-23 02:51 am (UTC)He’s clapped eyes on an illustration or two before bringing himself up to the tower tonight. He’s even been up here before on his own.
Still, utilizing a local expert is faster and more comprehensive. ]
Are any of them used for navigation?
i thought i dreamt the other one
Date: 2020-11-23 05:01 am (UTC)Probably kinda the same way sailors use them. I'm pretty sure all the mentions of being guided by the gods in the songs my clan would sing are in reference to the stars, not the actual gods.
[ Athessa points to a specific formation of stars, tracing the outline with her finger in the air. ]
That one, Shadow, is depicted as an owl sometimes, a hawk others. The owl was Elgar'nan's sacred companion, and the hawk was Andruil's messenger. That's uh...the All-Father — also known as the God of Vengeance — and the Goddess of the Hunt.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 07:51 pm (UTC)On my plane, one deity rising up to eradicate or dominate all others would be considered an act of overt evil. [ A fun fact, casually shared as he tilts to follow her finger. ]
Was there ever any documented conflict between your pantheon and the Maker?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 07:56 pm (UTC)[ Is he referring to the Maker as overtly evil, or the All-Father? ]
The most I know about the elven gods as they relate to the Chantry is that an elf by the name of Shartan was allied with Andraste and burned at the stake alongside her.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 10:47 pm (UTC)One last long breath in, and he offers the joint back to her. ]
There are dozens of active deities where I’m from, [ he says, around held smoke. ] If not hundreds.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 10:54 pm (UTC)It got us The Dales until the Chantry got sick of us and had an Exalted March.
[ She finishes off her slice of pie, wipes her hands off on her trousers, and gestures for the weed. ]
When you say active deities, does that mean they... like there's proof they aren't just stories?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 11:20 pm (UTC)Clerics are conduits for the divine power of the gods that choose them. Depending upon the relationship, they might even communicate directly back and forth.
[ He leaves the knife in the pie, and snags up the one bite to push it into the side of his mouth, chewing matter-of-fact-like while he watches her. ]
idr if they've covered this already don't @ me
Date: 2020-11-24 12:58 am (UTC)[ Joint accepted for the tokin'. ]
i dont think they have at least not w specifics also *RICHARD
Date: 2020-11-24 06:45 am (UTC)I was initially angling for Dendar, [ he explains: ] the Nightmare Serpent, but Oghma had other ideas.
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