congrekate | dragon age au!

dragon age au!

The rumor mill is still going on as to why Jonathan Strange fled the circle to become an apostate mage. Some say that it's as simple as an argument with his former tutor. Others say that the man never really recovered from his actions in the Mage-Templar War. The most likely answer is that something snapped after the death of his beloved. The one thing everyone can agree on is that it's really a shame someone with such potential threw it all away. He could have easily made his way up the social ladder, working at a court somewhere!

To which Strange would respond that he was doing perfectly fine right now, thank you very much, even if he was currently living in a shack that leaked when it rained, he had not even half of the books he was used to, and he heard people whisper behind his back, calling him the 'mad mage of the Dales'. So be it. His plan was probably a bit mad to begin with: Jonathan Strange planned to summon a god.

Not just any god, of course. He had gone through the various pantheons, trying to find the perfect one to grant him what he wanted (power, mostly, a way to take the tools and trade of necromancy and make it more solid, to raise the dead instead of raising spirits.) And eventually, Strange settled on Fen'Harel. He could draw upon the power of the location of the Dales as well as his status as an outsider himself to appeal to the god. The ritual itself was the most complex part, but modified necromancy bindings and a few of his own additions should suffice.

And so, Strange performs the magic. And poor Solas is probably just damn confused as to what he sees when he's forcibly woken up from his nap. The shack is small, covered head to toe with knick-knacks and trinkets, some of magical significance, others not. Dried herbs cover a table and books cover almost any other flat surface. Good luck trying to find where Strange sleeps as the bed has also become storage space. The mage himself looks wild: a middle aged human with scruff and hair that looks like it hasn't seen a brush in years, clothes ragged and dirty. And he just regards Solas with sheer confusion.

"I thought the wolf part was literal."

This is an elf. This isn't a dog. Did he make a mistake in the summoning? And if he didn't summon a god, then who the hell did he summon?

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Unfortunately for Strange, Solas would go at his own pace. He walked in an even stride as he had for the majority of the trip, himself eager to reach their destination. If they had any luck, an eluvian would be there and it would be one he could unlock to gain passage elsewhere. It would be far easier than trying to travel on foot.

He eyes Strange in annoyance, but gestures for the man to continue going on.

"Do not let me stop you," he says dryly, knowing damn well Strange would not be able to outpace him that easily. "After all, you are a grand expert in all matters elvhen."

"I am a grand expert in all things magic," Strange corrects Solas. And yes, he did just correct sarcasm with egotism, but that's apparently the sort of morning Jonathan Strange is having and the sort of person he is. He puts a bit of pep in his step as they continue walking towards the ruins.

Once they've reached the ruins, Strange can't help it: he starts to geek out a little bit. He's looking over the outside of the ruins, inspecting the walls, looking over every nook and cranny just to see what he can find.

Much of which originated from the elvhen, but that was something many 'experts' in the field often forgot. Witnessing what the Tevinter Imperium had done to what they pilfered from the collapsing Elvhenan Empire had been more than enough for him during his time in the Fade. Apparently, he would get to see more of it from this supposed expert too.

"If you are done staring--" he says pointedly and gestures to the entrance. He will be making Strange walk in first though he is keeping a cursory look out for traps and warning runes. At the first brazier, he conjures up veilfire and takes it up as a torch.

As the veilfire lights up the room, something glints on one of the walls. And, like an easily distracted animal, Strange moves over to inspect it. It's a veilfire rune of some kind.

"Bring the torch over here!" Strange yells, gesturing for Solas to come near him. "I need more light if I am to read the rune."

Unfortunately, that yelling's loud enough that further back in the temple, something big and nasty and murdery becomes aware of their presence.

Oh, there were so many terrible, awful, no-good monsters that could be lurking in the depths of the ruins. Ones Solas was almost counting on to be here still and perhaps a death triggered by an outside source would free him from his bonds. He may be able to test that theory soon, at least see if the magic began to grow weaker when the man was truly harmed.

But he's bringing over the torch and holding it to the rune, more curious of Strange can actually read it.

"And?"

As Solas brings the torch over, Strange frowns, peering at the rune. It certainly is a rune. And his elvish is weak to begin with (nearly nonexistent would be a more accurate descriptor) but Strange knows enough to take a stab at the rune's meaning. And, after a bit of frowning and hemming and hawing, that's what he does.

"Well, it involves fire somehow."

He's kind of right. The rune's more along the lines of a literal conflagration than just 'fire.' But hey, Strange got part of it correct.

Solas could translate it easily. Elvhen is his native language. Instead, he lets Strange struggle and merely nods. Closer than he thought the man would get though not quite. He's not in the mood to correct him though he will add,

"With the enchantments in place, it would be unwise to go without Veilfire in hand," he says and gestures to the torch he carries, created by magic. This would not be the first rune they came across if they were to wander far. It might become a game of how many they could find before Strange landed himself in a deadly trap.

"Well then, I'll have you lead the way," Strange responds, as if its obvious. He could go back and get a torch of veilfire himself...or he could just let Solas lead.

Though Strange will go ahead and get his staff out, just in case something creepy this way comes. It's always a good idea to be ready to blast the shit out of some sort of nasty cave thing if needed.

"Have you never conjured veilfire before?" he asks, brow raised. A magical flame that never went out even when set in water and allowed him to see more than was clearly there. Not that it'd surprise him if Strange had never done it before, the man knew magic, but had only so many years of life he's lived. He'd never truly experience it.

But he'll lead. For now. He doesn't even glance at Strange as he steps forward with confidence as if he's traversing a familiar path.

He's had only so many years of his life lived, a good chunk of them were in the Circle, and a good chunk of the rest were spent studying Tevinter necromancy and other forms of black arts and blood magic. He hasn't conjured veilfire before.

Still, Strange is trying to make it seem like no big deal as he idly shrugs. "Perhaps when this is done you can show me the specifics of the spell" he says, knowing full well that there's no way Solas would teach him. He follows the elf as they continue walking, though Strange remains constantly distracted by the surroundings, eyes darting from crumbled pillar to a different wall-marking to a hole in the ground for some reason.

"It is a simple one," he returns in equal tons of nonchalance. "I am sure even you could learn the intricacies if you attempted it." A shaper jab than needed, he had at least seen that Strange knew magic, but it was hard to resist. He'll chalk it up to still being cranky from being woken up early.

Solas leads them down winding passages, frowning slightly when they come at crossroads before changing directions. If there was an eluvian in here it would be well hidden and if it weren't for the binding spell, he'd leave Strange at one of the libraries within while he left through it. He's clearly searching for something as walks further into the ruins, ignoring what could be a wealth of knowledge hidden away in side rooms.

The binding spell tugs at Solas almost instantly. Strange is distracted by the other direction of the crossroads and, like a child, wanders over to see what it contains. A small room juts off of one of the passages, containing a rudimentary library and a few books. He's picked up one of the books and is currently reading it, eyes lighting up at a certain passage.

When Solas inevitably comes back to tell him to keep moving, Strange looks up at the elf, pointing at a specific passage. "This text does seem to have some interesting applications for spirit magic...of course, it won't help with my current predicament but perhaps later..." And Strange's attention is drawn back to the book for a moment.

He is 100% going to steal this book.

Solas scowls when he feels the binding spell pull at him, stopping him from going further. They had places to go, somewhere else to be instead of trapped here so the man could poke and prod at all corners of this place. It's with disdain that he backtracks until he finds Strange. Normally he'd be pleased that someone had taken an interested in knowledge and learning, but given the circumstances it was difficult.

"Elvhenan was built on magic," he says with a shake of his head. As if it would be a surprise that they had far better applications of magic than those now. "Are you finished or do you require time to read the rest of the library?"

His question is dripping with dry sarcasm, but part of him has an odd feeling he will need to pry the man from here if they are to continue.

Strange rolls his eyes as he gives Solas a bit of a glare. "I intend to read every book in here," Strange responds. Though, he only lets the room pause for a moment before continuing, "but I suppose that can wait until later."

After all, they're books. What's the likelihood that they'll up and vanish any time in the next few days or so? Hardly likely. Though, as he exits the library, Strange doesn't put down the book that he was reading. It's straight up getting stolen.

Though, he has to ask... "Do you think there would be other libraries in the ruins?"

Of course, the man does. At least he was finally moving. Solas is less concerned about the stolen book since he's fairly certain Strange will end up dead at some point during this venture. It will make retrieving it easier later so long as blood is not splattered over it. Though he refuses to let it pass without comment.

"Yes, by all means, pilfer from the graves of my People." What was yet another thing stolen from them. "That would depend on the nature of this place. The knowledge of Vir Dirthana was easily accessible to those allowed to use such libraries."

It was a journey through the Crossroads, faster than any sort of travel he's seen those now capable of.

Whoo hoo graverobbing!

Strange doesn't really seem to care about that whole 'pilfer from the graves of my People' bit as he shrugs and starts following Solas's lead again. They're not using them, he might as well get some use out of them. And as they continue walking, Strange continues to look down every passageway, like an easily distracted small child.

Though Strange did have some more questions. "I've not heard of Vir..." oh god, his elvish is terrible, he's going to mangle this word "...Darthira?" That is not it but it's the best it's getting. "Some other set of ruins, I'd assume."

"Vir Dirthana," he corrects immediately. He doesn't expect the uncouth human to know how to say a lick of elvhen, but he would have hoped the man could repeat something so simple. Never mind that elvhen is a strange mess of rolling vowels and gibberish.

"Ruins now, shattered from what it once was. It is our grand library and not far from reach," he repeats. "This is likely the remains of a personal collection."

Or what had been needed immediately on hand. He pauses in annoyance every time Strange's attention is diverted, if only so he doesn't activate the even more annoying effects of the bonding spell.

"That's what I said," Strange responds, knowing perfectly well that isn't what he said. His stubborn pride won't let him admit that he fucked up the pronunciation. Besides, they're talking about books anyway, time to change the subject.

Though as they talk about the library, Strange's eyes light up. A grand library? How wonderful. All the knowledge, all the magic, all the things he could learn if he even spent a day there. A expression of amazement plants itself on Strange's face just at the thought of the library.

"How does one get there?" he asks. Because of course Strange is going to try and find a way to get to the library, why wouldn't he? Again, it sounds amazing. "Vir Dirthana, how can we find the ruins?" At least he pronounced it right this time.

He gives Strange a look that tells him that he knows exactly what Strange said and he wasn't going to acknowledge it further. The man didn't deserve that. Though he is hardly surprised a human would have difficulties saying it, Solas always found Common to be an ugly language. That elvhen was as lost as it was even to those claiming to preserve the culture of his People was an annoyance beyond measure.

"We found an eluvian," he says as if that is the simplest matter in the world. And as if Strange should know precisely of what he speaks. "One that is working. We need access to the paths of travel used in Elvhenan if we are to get there."

What remained of Vir Dirthana was less than Solas would like, but he doesn't expect Strange to make it there. The Crossroads held their own dangers that would make quick work of an unsuspecting traveler.

Maker's breath, why is this elf so...elfy. Strange doesn't know what an eluvian is, though he's able to put enough context clues together to take a guess. A mode of transport of some kind? Though why it was needed to access certain paths, Strange couldn't guess. Couldn't they walk to Vir Dirthana?

"You'll have to tell me about these eluvians later. If I could find one for myself, the amount of knowledge I could—"

Something dangerously rumbles in the background.

"What was that?"

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dragon age au!

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after doing a ctrl + f through 200 comments to see if eluvians got mentioned somewhere before...