[ But where to begin? Thinking back to other Rifters, how it had always been a strange thing never to assume they knew what you think everyone should know. ]
The elven people have a fucked up history, and it led to a division, of kinds. There are those that chose to live in clans, the Dalish people, separated from human civilisation, digging around for fragments of forgotten language and practice and then making sure no one else gets to experience it.
Even other elves, the ones that live among humans. City elves, like me. And it is just like a Dalish to think my being Orlesian overrides being an elf.
Oui, avoidance in the same way cautious nations do not mingle, but may seek trade between themselves. I believe some clans are more liberal this way.
As for Riftwatch in particular, it attracts many kinds, for their own reasons. I joined for having nowhere else to go, and acquired a shard in my hand.
[ The impulse to fake being an expert at this thing is very powerful, and it's purely because she already tried to inflict a dick joke on him that she does not. ]
I don't know. I have seen both kinds of people close rifts. Some can do more things, draw power from them, but not everyone. It was a native, who I saw do that.
[ A silence, before she resumes talking. There's something unusual about speaking to a crystal in an empty room, and on a topic to which she has -- jokes aside -- committed so much of herself to, biases or no. ]
People tell it differently. Like it was inevitable, or the will of the Maker. Which is the same thing, I think. But it was humans that conquered the last lands owned by the elves. The Orlesian Empire, if you wish to be precise, with the Chantry at its heart.
It is not so ancient, this history. Halamshiral is still the last elven city, in its way. Five years ago, the Empress ordered the burning of its quarters. To quell uprise.
[ There's the potential for it to all feel very abstract, like some kind of fictional genocide. But he's here. This place is real, and despite the fantastical elements — not that elves are strictly new, though he's put a hard line between the people here and invaders from space — this is real, too. ]
Well— [ A short pause, exasperation at the universe's ability to constantly disappoint. ] That's terrible. Does Riftwatch have an official stance on any of it? Or are you just meant to fend for yourselves.
Riftwatch -- and the Inquisition, for the most part -- have been places that an elf can expect to be treated well, and equally. I expect if I raised an alarm of abuses towards my people, there would be support in eliminating it.
But so long as it does not contradict our diplomatic priorities, say, towards the war against Corypheus. Riftwatch's purpose is not the revolution. The revolution is a sprawling and complicated thing, and belongs to elves, not this place.
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Fine, yeah. Then I'm a Rifter shem who's never met any elves. What was all that in the book?
[ research and gossip: a very fine line ]
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[ But where to begin? Thinking back to other Rifters, how it had always been a strange thing never to assume they knew what you think everyone should know. ]
The elven people have a fucked up history, and it led to a division, of kinds. There are those that chose to live in clans, the Dalish people, separated from human civilisation, digging around for fragments of forgotten language and practice and then making sure no one else gets to experience it.
Even other elves, the ones that live among humans. City elves, like me. And it is just like a Dalish to think my being Orlesian overrides being an elf.
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[ The clarification might be overkill, but "explains it" would've been better. ]
You said the Dalish elves avoid humans. They're still helping Riftwatch?
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As for Riftwatch in particular, it attracts many kinds, for their own reasons. I joined for having nowhere else to go, and acquired a shard in my hand.
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Do they all work the same way? The shard you've got and the shards Rifters have.
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I don't know. I have seen both kinds of people close rifts. Some can do more things, draw power from them, but not everyone. It was a native, who I saw do that.
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Someone should know that. We should be testing them, working out what they're capable of.
[ Test how?? Who knows, that's step two. It occurs to him, a bit late, that this isn't the conversation. She's an elf expert, not a rift expert. ]
Sorry. [ A short pause, recalibrating. ] The fucked up history— are humans responsible for it? That's why the Dalish avoid them?
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[ A silence, before she resumes talking. There's something unusual about speaking to a crystal in an empty room, and on a topic to which she has -- jokes aside -- committed so much of herself to, biases or no. ]
People tell it differently. Like it was inevitable, or the will of the Maker. Which is the same thing, I think. But it was humans that conquered the last lands owned by the elves. The Orlesian Empire, if you wish to be precise, with the Chantry at its heart.
It is not so ancient, this history. Halamshiral is still the last elven city, in its way. Five years ago, the Empress ordered the burning of its quarters. To quell uprise.
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Well— [ A short pause, exasperation at the universe's ability to constantly disappoint. ] That's terrible. Does Riftwatch have an official stance on any of it? Or are you just meant to fend for yourselves.
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But so long as it does not contradict our diplomatic priorities, say, towards the war against Corypheus. Riftwatch's purpose is not the revolution. The revolution is a sprawling and complicated thing, and belongs to elves, not this place.