kallian_endris | IC INBOX

Come share a spot of tea with me, would you? I'm not long back from Antiva and I wish to hear all that I've missed.

[Which is a warning that she knows and intends to grill Kallian for it.]

...I'm sure tea would be lovely, Madame. Thank you for the invitation.

[She's nervous, yes, but she knows Vivienne won't accept that as an excuse for poor manners.

She arrives promptly at tea time, clean and scrubbed and as presentable as she can make herself.]

...you asked me to come, Madame?

Ah there you are, darling. Do have a seat. We have so much to talk about.

[There's not an invitation to get comfortable. Vivienne is just irritated enough about the deception that she's not feeling that charitable.]

I heard there was illness while I was away?

[Kallian obediently sits down and nods at the question.]

Yes, Madame. Fevers, hallucinations... All of the healers were working night and day. The source turned out to be contaminated water. You are fortunate not to have been affected.

Very fortunate indeed. And how did you fare with so many to treat?

It... it was exhausting. I became ill myself. So many people needed help... I wore a cloth over my nose and mouth, trying to help mitigate it getting any worse. Parts of it still feel more like dreams than memories...

I am hardly surprised. It sounds perfectly dreadful and virulent.

[To the point. Oddly enough she's concerned as much as she is angry. It makes perfect sense to the Iron Lady who has calmly folded her hands on her lap.]

And how well did you do pacing your expenditure of magical energy? It's entirely possible to burn yourself out to a husk without careful and judicious care for your personal reserves and stamina.

[She knows. Look at that calm, collected expression. No flipping tables or even a twitching nerve to give her away. But she knows.]

...yes, Madame.

[The small elf sags a little, shrinking in on herself protectively, becoming smaller still.]

I did the best I could. I used mostly herbs, poultices, tinctures. Mundane means of healing, as I always have in the tents. Other talents... only when I had to. When I had no other choice. And if my strength grew too thin... I had Hope there to help me.

Mmm.

[Just a hum, taking in the information and filtering it for bits and pieces of truth. That folding in on herself certainly isn't good. Vivienne doesn't mind frightening people in the least but that's not a good start for a young mage.]

Let's not having you shrinking in on yourself. You're a mage, my dear, which is nothing to be ashamed of. I simply do not understand why you didn't tell me in the first place.

Now then, about Hope. You are a spirit healer then? And have you had any formal training whatsoever? I'm certain I could arrange for you to sit with Adelaide and her students.

[She shakes her head.]

In truth, madame, I... really haven't told anyone. Where I come from, that's a good way to end up dead. The other spirit healers could sense it. They were drawn to it. Adelaide already knows. She found me months ago because she found Hope first. And then a friend of mine... he almost died fighting demons at a rift. It was either letting him die or using magic, and... people saw... I panicked, tried to run, but Anders found me and brought me back. Now... everyone knows, because they could see Hope with me during the sickness. I couldn't insult them by denying it when asked.

[She looks up again.]

I have been trained since I was eleven. When the slavers took my mother, I was taken in by an elderly woman. She'd escaped the Circle years before and said she'd seen signs in me. She taught me everything she could over the last twelve years until her death late last year. After her funeral, I left Denerim and came to Skyhold.

[Apostacy upon apostacy. Maker, what a mess. Still, Vivienne is already trying to think of ways to turn this into a benefit. After she frowns at Adelaide for hiding information from her.]

This does rather change things. Clearly your gifts are far better suited than dusting and polishing for the Du Poivers and I would never dream of hiring a fellow mage for a meager household position myself.

Still, I would feel so much better knowing that you've formal tutors to rely upon fulltime. With the Circles in disarray, I fear that education has suffered greatly, as has the due respect of the diligent.

[She quietly sips from her tea, letting the silence convey her disappointment and disapproval.]

It must have been perfectly dreadful for you in Ferelden having to hide and fear for your life. A shame you had not been at Montsimmard, there would have been no question over your lineage whatsoever and you would have been treated as an equal based on your own hard work.

Please don't be angry at the other healers. I begged them to keep it quiet. I was afraid of anyone knowing.

Both Adelaide and Detlef have been helping me, quietly, to polish my skills.

[She shrugs a little.]

Life isn't easy for elves. Harder still with a background like mine. But I've managed to survive.

[Ah there we go. Vivienne relents in her annoyance, though not for the reasons one might think. Adelaide as a mentor is well and good. Madame de Fer approves of anyone tough enough to overcome the hardships that Kallian has had working against her.]

Well you need not fear any longer, my dear. I am terribly disappointed but I'm certain I'll recover in time.

Now that your secret is known, we simply must see that you're adequately cared for. You would have had a mentor to study with in the Circle, though it seems you're well past that stage in skill if you've already a spirit partner. Are you only familiar with the healing arts or have you shown any aptitude for the other schools of magic?

Well... the very first thing I did was cause a fire. It was an accident.

Otherwise, Niella trained me mostly in Creation and Spirit magic. Though... I don't like doing some of the spells. Like the ones that draw on the dead.

Ah the practices of the Mortalitassi. I should think you wouldn't care for them. It is a matter of importance in Nevarra, but I find it ghastly.

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