Nostariel matched her stride to the considerably-longer one of the woman beside her as well as she could. Amalia had a way of moving that was just so oddly graceful that the Warden was honestly a little jealous. She seemed to be able to step just so, in such a way that she made no noise and disturbed nothing, while at the same time never hesitating. It was probably very difficult to make her lose her balance. Nostariel herself wasnât exactly clumsy, but she felt like it walking next to the former Qunari. Or at least ungainly.
Still, it wasnât the sort of thing that bothered her. Amalia had her strengths, and Nostariel had her own. She accepted this with an equanimity that she hadnât always had, but was grateful to have cultivated. The two trod presently through the forest near Sundermont, on their way to visit Aurora and her pupils at the younger mageâs request. Nostariel could see easily enough why she might be asked for, but to what end Amalia was coming as well, she didnât know. Perhaps it was only because sheâd done such a good job teaching Aurora, and might be able to impart some fraction of that ease and confidence unto the others. Either way, it was a pleasant journey, if mostly a silent one.
Well⊠it was until they came within a few hundred yards of the clearing, anyway. At that point, it was easy to discern that someone was shouting, a man from the vocal range. Nostariel shot a worried look at Amalia, biting softly down on her lower lip and approaching with caution. There were few things more dangerous than an angry mage. She drew no weapons, though Oathkeeper still rested across her back. Honestly, neither she nor her companion needed them to be effective anyway, something which was a bit of a relief going into an unknown situation.
As they reached the treeline, someone broke through it, a young man with dark hair. He seemed vaguely familiar to her, but Nostariel met so many people in her line of work that she wasnât immediately able to place his face as he brushed past the both of them, a thunderous expression clouding his eyes and blotching his skin with patches of red. Frowning, Nostariel broke the treeline in the opposite direction, finding Aurora and a few others standing in the wake of⊠whatever had just happened.
âWas that⊠something I need to be worried about?â
Aurora stood on the far end of the clearing with another man, easily the height of Lucien, but with none of the hair on his head and a red beard. Her forehead was cradled in one of her hands, gently shaking it back and forth as the man beside her hid his face behind both of his. She looked tired and a lot more older at the moment, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and forehead multiplied with the stress. Her hand peeled back when Nostariel approached and she offered only a shrug before looking up at the man.
"No, it's not. He's just... Frustrated," she said with the man's nod. Letting her hand fall back to her side, she leaned far more heavily on the tree before a smile finally made it's way to her lips. "Maybe some introductions are in order?" She asked the man, "These are my friends, Nostariel and Amalia. Guys? This is--" Before she was able introduce him, the man cut her off and chose to introduce himself.
"Donovan McGregor, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said without smiling, but with a subtle bow to his head. "And the angry one you saw is called Elias Pike. You must forgive him, he is still impulsive. We have been trying to work with him on that."
âHave you tried telling him it will get people killed?â Amaliaâs tone was sufficiently dry to indicate that, while the suggestion was serious in a way, it was primarily meant as an agreement rather than a critique of anyoneâs teaching method. Shaking her head slightly, however, she cast her eyes about her for a moment. This was, after all, the first time she had seen the clearing. It was clear from the state of the equipment that it saw considerable use, and indeed the types of damage evident made it clear that mages and not warriors practiced here. Still, it was not a poor choice of location overall.
âIs there a reason his anger extends to you as well? I would have expected it to be centered upon Templars and the Chantry, which you are clearly not.â Perhaps he simply felt they were not aggressive enough towards those other parties themselves.
"Like I said, he's frustrated," Aurora repeated, throwing a glance toward the other mages. A gesture with her hands and they went back to their practices and mediations. It was clear, this hadn't been his first outburst. At least enough to not leave everyone who knew him pondering after him for long. Aurora pushed off of the tree she leaned against and stood straight, her arms interlocked around her chest. "He was one of the mages we helped rescue, you know?" Aurora asked Amalia, "The one we saved from the rite, that was Pike."
Donovan beside her rubbed his red beard and nodded, "And that is where the problem begins. He still feels that powerless. He wishes to do something, but he does not know what, so he lashes out." He scratched his beard a little more before shrugging, "That is what we believe, anyway. We cannot know for certain, for we are not inside his head. I suggested that we take him to the Chantry, and pray that Andraste could give him more answers than us, but..."
"That might've made things worse," Aurora continued, shaking her head. "Not the Chantry itself, that was actually a nice change of pace. Thanks for that Donovan. No, but what came after." She clarified while he nodded. "Orsino and Meredith had a public spat, and it didn't help Pike any at all. He agrees with Orsino, and I do a little too. The Templars are overreaching with their authority-- and the last time that happened..." Aurora trailed off quietly, before shaking it out of her mind.
"However, there is nothing we can do as mages without inciting outright rebellion. So we do what we can," Donovan said, gesturing to the few mages that remained among them, still practicing and mediating. "We help other apostates find their center to strengthen them against possession. Despite what Meredith believes, we are not all murderers or a threat to be quashed. We're all just people just trying to survive, like any other. Perhaps if she loosened the boot on our necks, she would see that." Her last comment drew a worried glance from Donovan, but a quick smile from Aurora put him back at ease. "Donny, if you would? Make sure the others are okay in their studies. I should probably talk to my friends about something a little less dire."
"Of course," he said without a smile, and moved to the nearest group of mages to lend his assistance.
"He doesn't smile a lot, but he's a really good guy," Aurora said as she watched Donovan speak a few words of encouragement. "And don't worry about Pike too much, he'll come back soon and apologize. He always does."
It wasnât an especially uncommon story in Kirkwall, really, and that just made it worse. Nostariel also knew how it usually ended, and that was to no oneâs benefit. âPerhaps he only needs to feel productive.â That was, of course, not terribly easy, but maybe she could help. âIf heâs any good with alchemy or can hide his magic as ordinary treatment, youâre welcome to suggest that he come help at the clinic for a while. Goodness knows I have enough patients that an extra pair of hands wouldnât go awry.â Of course, she wasnât without help when she really needed it, either, but that was rather beside the point.
"He's not exactly a spirit healer like Donny, but he does have some experience with alchemy. If anything, he has two hands to offer," she acknowledged. However, it wasn't her choice, but his, and she couldn't rightly put him up to something he didn't want to do. "We'll talk to him about it when he gets back, okay? Andraste knows he needs more, better role models." Aurora said with a laugh.
Amalia wasnât exactly keen on the idea of someone that lacking in stability being anywhere near her friends at the moment, considering the obviously-increasing Templar presence, most evident in the Alienage. Someone acting rashly could easily expose others being more careful when the scrutiny was this overbearing. Her eyes narrowed with a keen displeasure, but she kept her thoughts to herself, as she usually did. This was Auroraâs situation to manage, and Amalia would not step in unless she felt it absolutely necessary. She was admittedly much more accustomed to being the last resort than the first.
âThe rest appear to be doing well,â she noted. For all the damage the targets had suffered, the surrounding area was surprisingly intact. This, she took to be a good sign.
"They are, though not because they can hit a few targets." Aurora smiled, she had seen Amalia glance at them. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of them if they only equated how well they flung spells at the targets to their progress. "Some of them aren't even that combatant and we don't teach them how to fight unless they want it." It wasn't always about how well they fought, Aurora wasn't training up an army. Far from it, she was giving them the tools in order to better themselves and protect themselves. "Besides, the physical application isn't near as important as the mental, right?" Aurora laughed.
She shrugged and crossed her arms, watching as Donovan knelt beside another mage and whispered a few words of advice, placing a gentle mitt on their shoulder. "We talk, we mediate, and we exercise. There's not as much sparring as we used to do," Aurora told Amalia with a grin. While their training methods were the same at their core, Aurora wasn't imitating her style. It'd be a waste of time if she did this any other way but hers. "We want their minds to be strong, and if they want it later we strengthen their bodies. But they should be able to think before they act. Pike is a work in progress," she added, scratching her forehead in the process.
"Still, they've gotten more confident in themselves. I... Haven't really taught them anything. I just guided them, let them grow into it themselves. Kind of like a flower, if you want to think about it like that," Aurora said, beaming. "It's not too much of a different concept." Some gentle encouragement, nourishment, and care was all it took. "They're stronger for it, because they found it on their own."
It was perhaps true that accuracy in hitting a target was not the most important skill here. But what Amalia had taken it to mean was that they were learning enough control that they would not accidentally incinerate anything they were not aiming at, and that was a hallmark of discipline more mental than physical. Still, she didnât bother putting the point on it too fine, instead simply nodding slightly. âIf so, you have done your part as you should.â It was good to see this, and it was better for Aurora to see it, to know it for what it really meant.
âAmalia's right. This is all really quite wonderful." Nostariel, as befit her temperament, was a bit more effusive in her praise, smiling brightly. âI never expected this result when I found this place, but I'm glad it has worked out this way."
Aurora offered them both a smile before turning back to watch Donovan work with another mage. It was a few moments later that the brush on the edge of the clearing began to rustle. She turned toward it and slowly began to walk toward it as the smile slipped away from her face. The source of the sound soon became apparent as the man who'd been identified as Pike calmly re-entered the clearing staring downward. Aurora met him halfway between her friends and the edge of the clearing, staring at him with the same look a disappointed mother would her child. The man tried to silently avoid her gaze, but eventually he had to look up at meet her eyes.
"I'm... I'm sorry," He offered, but Aurora said nothing in return and continued to stare at him-- obviously waiting for something more than an apology. Pike began to fidget and avoid her gaze again, but eventually he sighed and met it again. "I'm sorry for losing my temper like that. I know I should know better, but--" He said, but was cut off Aurora raising her hand.
"No excuses. Don't try to shift the blame elsewhere. You lost your temper, nobody lost it for you." Aurora stated before sighing. She then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and offered him a warm smile. "Try to think before you act next time, okay? That's all I'm asking. Come on, we've got a proposition for you," she added, tugging on his sleeve for him to follow her toward Nostariel and Amalia.
"We'll get you under control yet, Pike," she said with a laugh.
He sighed and nodded, her infectious smile slipping into his lips as well.
Still, it wasnât the sort of thing that bothered her. Amalia had her strengths, and Nostariel had her own. She accepted this with an equanimity that she hadnât always had, but was grateful to have cultivated. The two trod presently through the forest near Sundermont, on their way to visit Aurora and her pupils at the younger mageâs request. Nostariel could see easily enough why she might be asked for, but to what end Amalia was coming as well, she didnât know. Perhaps it was only because sheâd done such a good job teaching Aurora, and might be able to impart some fraction of that ease and confidence unto the others. Either way, it was a pleasant journey, if mostly a silent one.
Well⊠it was until they came within a few hundred yards of the clearing, anyway. At that point, it was easy to discern that someone was shouting, a man from the vocal range. Nostariel shot a worried look at Amalia, biting softly down on her lower lip and approaching with caution. There were few things more dangerous than an angry mage. She drew no weapons, though Oathkeeper still rested across her back. Honestly, neither she nor her companion needed them to be effective anyway, something which was a bit of a relief going into an unknown situation.
As they reached the treeline, someone broke through it, a young man with dark hair. He seemed vaguely familiar to her, but Nostariel met so many people in her line of work that she wasnât immediately able to place his face as he brushed past the both of them, a thunderous expression clouding his eyes and blotching his skin with patches of red. Frowning, Nostariel broke the treeline in the opposite direction, finding Aurora and a few others standing in the wake of⊠whatever had just happened.
âWas that⊠something I need to be worried about?â
Aurora stood on the far end of the clearing with another man, easily the height of Lucien, but with none of the hair on his head and a red beard. Her forehead was cradled in one of her hands, gently shaking it back and forth as the man beside her hid his face behind both of his. She looked tired and a lot more older at the moment, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and forehead multiplied with the stress. Her hand peeled back when Nostariel approached and she offered only a shrug before looking up at the man.
"No, it's not. He's just... Frustrated," she said with the man's nod. Letting her hand fall back to her side, she leaned far more heavily on the tree before a smile finally made it's way to her lips. "Maybe some introductions are in order?" She asked the man, "These are my friends, Nostariel and Amalia. Guys? This is--" Before she was able introduce him, the man cut her off and chose to introduce himself.
"Donovan McGregor, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said without smiling, but with a subtle bow to his head. "And the angry one you saw is called Elias Pike. You must forgive him, he is still impulsive. We have been trying to work with him on that."
âHave you tried telling him it will get people killed?â Amaliaâs tone was sufficiently dry to indicate that, while the suggestion was serious in a way, it was primarily meant as an agreement rather than a critique of anyoneâs teaching method. Shaking her head slightly, however, she cast her eyes about her for a moment. This was, after all, the first time she had seen the clearing. It was clear from the state of the equipment that it saw considerable use, and indeed the types of damage evident made it clear that mages and not warriors practiced here. Still, it was not a poor choice of location overall.
âIs there a reason his anger extends to you as well? I would have expected it to be centered upon Templars and the Chantry, which you are clearly not.â Perhaps he simply felt they were not aggressive enough towards those other parties themselves.
"Like I said, he's frustrated," Aurora repeated, throwing a glance toward the other mages. A gesture with her hands and they went back to their practices and mediations. It was clear, this hadn't been his first outburst. At least enough to not leave everyone who knew him pondering after him for long. Aurora pushed off of the tree she leaned against and stood straight, her arms interlocked around her chest. "He was one of the mages we helped rescue, you know?" Aurora asked Amalia, "The one we saved from the rite, that was Pike."
Donovan beside her rubbed his red beard and nodded, "And that is where the problem begins. He still feels that powerless. He wishes to do something, but he does not know what, so he lashes out." He scratched his beard a little more before shrugging, "That is what we believe, anyway. We cannot know for certain, for we are not inside his head. I suggested that we take him to the Chantry, and pray that Andraste could give him more answers than us, but..."
"That might've made things worse," Aurora continued, shaking her head. "Not the Chantry itself, that was actually a nice change of pace. Thanks for that Donovan. No, but what came after." She clarified while he nodded. "Orsino and Meredith had a public spat, and it didn't help Pike any at all. He agrees with Orsino, and I do a little too. The Templars are overreaching with their authority-- and the last time that happened..." Aurora trailed off quietly, before shaking it out of her mind.
"However, there is nothing we can do as mages without inciting outright rebellion. So we do what we can," Donovan said, gesturing to the few mages that remained among them, still practicing and mediating. "We help other apostates find their center to strengthen them against possession. Despite what Meredith believes, we are not all murderers or a threat to be quashed. We're all just people just trying to survive, like any other. Perhaps if she loosened the boot on our necks, she would see that." Her last comment drew a worried glance from Donovan, but a quick smile from Aurora put him back at ease. "Donny, if you would? Make sure the others are okay in their studies. I should probably talk to my friends about something a little less dire."
"Of course," he said without a smile, and moved to the nearest group of mages to lend his assistance.
"He doesn't smile a lot, but he's a really good guy," Aurora said as she watched Donovan speak a few words of encouragement. "And don't worry about Pike too much, he'll come back soon and apologize. He always does."
It wasnât an especially uncommon story in Kirkwall, really, and that just made it worse. Nostariel also knew how it usually ended, and that was to no oneâs benefit. âPerhaps he only needs to feel productive.â That was, of course, not terribly easy, but maybe she could help. âIf heâs any good with alchemy or can hide his magic as ordinary treatment, youâre welcome to suggest that he come help at the clinic for a while. Goodness knows I have enough patients that an extra pair of hands wouldnât go awry.â Of course, she wasnât without help when she really needed it, either, but that was rather beside the point.
"He's not exactly a spirit healer like Donny, but he does have some experience with alchemy. If anything, he has two hands to offer," she acknowledged. However, it wasn't her choice, but his, and she couldn't rightly put him up to something he didn't want to do. "We'll talk to him about it when he gets back, okay? Andraste knows he needs more, better role models." Aurora said with a laugh.
Amalia wasnât exactly keen on the idea of someone that lacking in stability being anywhere near her friends at the moment, considering the obviously-increasing Templar presence, most evident in the Alienage. Someone acting rashly could easily expose others being more careful when the scrutiny was this overbearing. Her eyes narrowed with a keen displeasure, but she kept her thoughts to herself, as she usually did. This was Auroraâs situation to manage, and Amalia would not step in unless she felt it absolutely necessary. She was admittedly much more accustomed to being the last resort than the first.
âThe rest appear to be doing well,â she noted. For all the damage the targets had suffered, the surrounding area was surprisingly intact. This, she took to be a good sign.
"They are, though not because they can hit a few targets." Aurora smiled, she had seen Amalia glance at them. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of them if they only equated how well they flung spells at the targets to their progress. "Some of them aren't even that combatant and we don't teach them how to fight unless they want it." It wasn't always about how well they fought, Aurora wasn't training up an army. Far from it, she was giving them the tools in order to better themselves and protect themselves. "Besides, the physical application isn't near as important as the mental, right?" Aurora laughed.
She shrugged and crossed her arms, watching as Donovan knelt beside another mage and whispered a few words of advice, placing a gentle mitt on their shoulder. "We talk, we mediate, and we exercise. There's not as much sparring as we used to do," Aurora told Amalia with a grin. While their training methods were the same at their core, Aurora wasn't imitating her style. It'd be a waste of time if she did this any other way but hers. "We want their minds to be strong, and if they want it later we strengthen their bodies. But they should be able to think before they act. Pike is a work in progress," she added, scratching her forehead in the process.
"Still, they've gotten more confident in themselves. I... Haven't really taught them anything. I just guided them, let them grow into it themselves. Kind of like a flower, if you want to think about it like that," Aurora said, beaming. "It's not too much of a different concept." Some gentle encouragement, nourishment, and care was all it took. "They're stronger for it, because they found it on their own."
It was perhaps true that accuracy in hitting a target was not the most important skill here. But what Amalia had taken it to mean was that they were learning enough control that they would not accidentally incinerate anything they were not aiming at, and that was a hallmark of discipline more mental than physical. Still, she didnât bother putting the point on it too fine, instead simply nodding slightly. âIf so, you have done your part as you should.â It was good to see this, and it was better for Aurora to see it, to know it for what it really meant.
âAmalia's right. This is all really quite wonderful." Nostariel, as befit her temperament, was a bit more effusive in her praise, smiling brightly. âI never expected this result when I found this place, but I'm glad it has worked out this way."
Aurora offered them both a smile before turning back to watch Donovan work with another mage. It was a few moments later that the brush on the edge of the clearing began to rustle. She turned toward it and slowly began to walk toward it as the smile slipped away from her face. The source of the sound soon became apparent as the man who'd been identified as Pike calmly re-entered the clearing staring downward. Aurora met him halfway between her friends and the edge of the clearing, staring at him with the same look a disappointed mother would her child. The man tried to silently avoid her gaze, but eventually he had to look up at meet her eyes.
"I'm... I'm sorry," He offered, but Aurora said nothing in return and continued to stare at him-- obviously waiting for something more than an apology. Pike began to fidget and avoid her gaze again, but eventually he sighed and met it again. "I'm sorry for losing my temper like that. I know I should know better, but--" He said, but was cut off Aurora raising her hand.
"No excuses. Don't try to shift the blame elsewhere. You lost your temper, nobody lost it for you." Aurora stated before sighing. She then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and offered him a warm smile. "Try to think before you act next time, okay? That's all I'm asking. Come on, we've got a proposition for you," she added, tugging on his sleeve for him to follow her toward Nostariel and Amalia.
"We'll get you under control yet, Pike," she said with a laugh.
He sighed and nodded, her infectious smile slipping into his lips as well.