Ayaami Mahariel: Redcliffe Fun
Well, you know how it is, you think you know someone and then they tell you they're really the king's bastard son. Oldest story in the book. So, this naturally drive a divide into Ayaami's blossoming friendship with Alistair, a kind of betrayed "WTF why didn't you TELL me?" combined with her complete tactless ignorance of human society, wherein she doesn't know how to address a prince. She doesn't know what this will mean for Alistair, what's expected of him, how it will effect their quest... she's just feeling in the range of do not want, I suppose.
But, Redcliffe is still his hometown, Alistair is still her friend, and the Wardens still need Eamon's help. That is, until the point where the smith won't open his door, Dwyn will only fight for gold, and the barkeep, Lloyd -- LLOYD! That man almost singlehandedly doomed the entire village. Tell Ayaami to get in the kitchen like a good woman, if you want - not that she'll listen - but do not insult her people. I'm convinced the only reason Lloyd survived the encounter was because Alistair and Wynne were on the scene, and they tend to act as a silent conscience for Ayaami when she's... in a more dangerous mood.
But, it wasn't hard to scare Lloyd into helping, in the end. The stupid elf spy off to the side was... annoying, but after getting the tavern all sorted, Ayaami was sick of the town's bullshit and broke into the smithy to strong-arm him into being less of a BITCH. Which wasn't hard when the damsel in distress thing came up, 'cause Ayaami seems very eager to serve when it's a matter of family in danger. Part of her Vir Adahlen upbringing - everything for the good of the clan, her family. She relates a bit too easily.
So. Okay. I didn't feel like playing the battle fifty times just to make sure nobody died, so I haxxed the next fight. And. Oh, god.
Oh, god. "So let it be." What is WRONG with me? WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?! I think her ears are shrinking and flattening out...... :x SHE SAID THE CHANTRY PRAYER. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO HER ELVEN PRIDE?! God, I feel like she should be begging the Creators for forgiveness! GOD! Or apologizing to Tamlen before she goes to sleep at night, SOMETHING. That was... UGH.
Okay, see, she's been reading the books in the Chantry, learning about it as a means of understanding the humans through their history and faith. But their history she already somewhat knew, especially since a large portion of it coincides in some way with the Elven history. But there's still so much she doesn't understand - why magic is so dangerous for these humans and the flat ears, why they need to study discipline and control their entire lives when the Keepers are de facto mages, and the elves never give a second thought to the rise of abominations, apostates, malificarum, or the like. But I digress...
The fact of the matter is, I don't know if this was a slip or politely following their customs during the humans' period of grief, or if she's... becoming more human, losing touch of her people just as the dwarves lose their stone sense when they leave Orzammar. I just... don't know what happened.
So, for her:
"We are the Dalish: keepers of the
lost lore, walkers of the lonely path.
We are the last of the Elvhenan, and
never again shall we submit."
RIGHTMOVINGON.
Damn shem Jowan wasn't giving me any reasons to spare him, so he made friends with Mr. Gut Dagger. I mean, okay, he might have been summoning monsters. That's bad. He was being hunted as a Malificarum. That... supports him being behind all this. Oh, no, you didn't summon undead, you JUST poisoned the king...? Yeah, why shouldn't you trust Loghain, he's a good guy. So what does that make Eamon, a pedorapist? ... though it might fit into why a grown man would take in an orphan that's not even related to him... ANYWHO. No. You be stabbed, blood mage. I've dealt with enough blood mages for a while, thanks.
Aaaaaand after pushing through the rest of the castle, we decide that we're gonna go ask the mages to help us deal with Connor.
... after we make a stop to Honnleath to pick up Shale. But that was mostly uneventful.
Took the time out to raid the castle, of course - empty the vault and give Alistair his mum's pendant. Of course, I think he misunderstood what Ayaami meant when she said he was special to her. I mean, he's all the family she's got, now - he and the rest of the group. But he's finally gotten up the nerve to start hitting on her. And god, I can just see her face BRIGHT RED, when he does.
"Duncan never told me what all happens after the joining, just said 'you'll see.'"
"Just you try that line on me!"
"Oh, I've got much better lines for you, believe me~ >:3"
"UHMM...! O//////O; Uh... Uhhmmmmm.... shut up, Alistair... >////<"
But yeah, I had Wynne go into the fade before I stopped to consider that I'd just sent my HEALBOT in to FIGHT ALONE. ... But was pleasantly surprised that she handled herself very nicely, all things considered. So we saved Connor and good times were had by all. Headed back to the camp and had lovely blush-y conversations with Alistair, as mentioned above.
And on an unrelated note, I was forced to confront why it is that Ayaami, who got along well with Morrigan in the beginning, has since stopped trusting her and grown less fond of her. It's still part of the Vir Adahlen thing again. Morrigan's learned to watch out for herself, at any cost. Friends, family, clan, they mean nothing to her. True, she does have the capacity, but she hasn't learned it yet, and I'm not certain now if she ever will. Because Ayaami saw in her before what she needed - the strength to move on, to be cold for the sake of survival - but she's also seen how lonely that is. She's seen her standing alone, apart, more distant even than Sten. She's seen her sneer and smirk at the confinement of the mages, condemn them for a life forced upon them. Ayami has seen the cruelty and the loneliness that Morrigan clings to, and wants no part of it. And in the end, that will be Ayaami's downfall.
What will lead to the selfishness that will be Alistair's death is her own distrust of Morrigan and her own selfish desire to have a clan, a family, of her own again. The mess of thoughts and emotions that will flood her mind and drown her sense: this kind of magic is unheard of, even ludicrous, no spell or enchantment is cast in such a way; there must be another way, there's always another way; she cannot take him from me, not when I've finally found him, when we're finally together; he would not want this, he would never agree; am I to believe that you bring us exactly what we need on the eve of battle. There is too much noise, too much chaos, that reason will never find its way through to her. And when Alistair is gone, reason won't much matter to her. What good is a family if it can be broken so easily? With Alistair gone, with so many more leaving, everyone leaving, her clan splitting at the seams...
I fear for Ayaami. She will never see Witch Hunt, never make it to Awakening. Her story ends when Alistair rushes past her on the top of Fort Drakon.
But, Redcliffe is still his hometown, Alistair is still her friend, and the Wardens still need Eamon's help. That is, until the point where the smith won't open his door, Dwyn will only fight for gold, and the barkeep, Lloyd -- LLOYD! That man almost singlehandedly doomed the entire village. Tell Ayaami to get in the kitchen like a good woman, if you want - not that she'll listen - but do not insult her people. I'm convinced the only reason Lloyd survived the encounter was because Alistair and Wynne were on the scene, and they tend to act as a silent conscience for Ayaami when she's... in a more dangerous mood.
But, it wasn't hard to scare Lloyd into helping, in the end. The stupid elf spy off to the side was... annoying, but after getting the tavern all sorted, Ayaami was sick of the town's bullshit and broke into the smithy to strong-arm him into being less of a BITCH. Which wasn't hard when the damsel in distress thing came up, 'cause Ayaami seems very eager to serve when it's a matter of family in danger. Part of her Vir Adahlen upbringing - everything for the good of the clan, her family. She relates a bit too easily.
So. Okay. I didn't feel like playing the battle fifty times just to make sure nobody died, so I haxxed the next fight. And. Oh, god.
Oh, god. "So let it be." What is WRONG with me? WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?! I think her ears are shrinking and flattening out...... :x SHE SAID THE CHANTRY PRAYER. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO HER ELVEN PRIDE?! God, I feel like she should be begging the Creators for forgiveness! GOD! Or apologizing to Tamlen before she goes to sleep at night, SOMETHING. That was... UGH.
Okay, see, she's been reading the books in the Chantry, learning about it as a means of understanding the humans through their history and faith. But their history she already somewhat knew, especially since a large portion of it coincides in some way with the Elven history. But there's still so much she doesn't understand - why magic is so dangerous for these humans and the flat ears, why they need to study discipline and control their entire lives when the Keepers are de facto mages, and the elves never give a second thought to the rise of abominations, apostates, malificarum, or the like. But I digress...
The fact of the matter is, I don't know if this was a slip or politely following their customs during the humans' period of grief, or if she's... becoming more human, losing touch of her people just as the dwarves lose their stone sense when they leave Orzammar. I just... don't know what happened.
So, for her:
"We are the Dalish: keepers of the
lost lore, walkers of the lonely path.
We are the last of the Elvhenan, and
never again shall we submit."
RIGHTMOVINGON.
Damn shem Jowan wasn't giving me any reasons to spare him, so he made friends with Mr. Gut Dagger. I mean, okay, he might have been summoning monsters. That's bad. He was being hunted as a Malificarum. That... supports him being behind all this. Oh, no, you didn't summon undead, you JUST poisoned the king...? Yeah, why shouldn't you trust Loghain, he's a good guy. So what does that make Eamon, a pedorapist? ... though it might fit into why a grown man would take in an orphan that's not even related to him... ANYWHO. No. You be stabbed, blood mage. I've dealt with enough blood mages for a while, thanks.
Aaaaaand after pushing through the rest of the castle, we decide that we're gonna go ask the mages to help us deal with Connor.
... after we make a stop to Honnleath to pick up Shale. But that was mostly uneventful.
Took the time out to raid the castle, of course - empty the vault and give Alistair his mum's pendant. Of course, I think he misunderstood what Ayaami meant when she said he was special to her. I mean, he's all the family she's got, now - he and the rest of the group. But he's finally gotten up the nerve to start hitting on her. And god, I can just see her face BRIGHT RED, when he does.
"Duncan never told me what all happens after the joining, just said 'you'll see.'"
"Just you try that line on me!"
"Oh, I've got much better lines for you, believe me~ >:3"
"UHMM...! O//////O; Uh... Uhhmmmmm.... shut up, Alistair... >////<"
But yeah, I had Wynne go into the fade before I stopped to consider that I'd just sent my HEALBOT in to FIGHT ALONE. ... But was pleasantly surprised that she handled herself very nicely, all things considered. So we saved Connor and good times were had by all. Headed back to the camp and had lovely blush-y conversations with Alistair, as mentioned above.
And on an unrelated note, I was forced to confront why it is that Ayaami, who got along well with Morrigan in the beginning, has since stopped trusting her and grown less fond of her. It's still part of the Vir Adahlen thing again. Morrigan's learned to watch out for herself, at any cost. Friends, family, clan, they mean nothing to her. True, she does have the capacity, but she hasn't learned it yet, and I'm not certain now if she ever will. Because Ayaami saw in her before what she needed - the strength to move on, to be cold for the sake of survival - but she's also seen how lonely that is. She's seen her standing alone, apart, more distant even than Sten. She's seen her sneer and smirk at the confinement of the mages, condemn them for a life forced upon them. Ayami has seen the cruelty and the loneliness that Morrigan clings to, and wants no part of it. And in the end, that will be Ayaami's downfall.
What will lead to the selfishness that will be Alistair's death is her own distrust of Morrigan and her own selfish desire to have a clan, a family, of her own again. The mess of thoughts and emotions that will flood her mind and drown her sense: this kind of magic is unheard of, even ludicrous, no spell or enchantment is cast in such a way; there must be another way, there's always another way; she cannot take him from me, not when I've finally found him, when we're finally together; he would not want this, he would never agree; am I to believe that you bring us exactly what we need on the eve of battle. There is too much noise, too much chaos, that reason will never find its way through to her. And when Alistair is gone, reason won't much matter to her. What good is a family if it can be broken so easily? With Alistair gone, with so many more leaving, everyone leaving, her clan splitting at the seams...
I fear for Ayaami. She will never see Witch Hunt, never make it to Awakening. Her story ends when Alistair rushes past her on the top of Fort Drakon.