riverviewlogs | Merry Month of March

Entry tags:

Merry Month of March

who: Cullen Rutherford and You?
what: March Catch-all
when: The month of March
where: The Wall, the city, miscellaneous
warnings: Nothing so much

Cullen is a creature of habit. He works as a member of the Perimeter Guard because it is something he's used to doing. He's even gone for a more specialized team because he doesn't do well with just waiting around for things to happen. A part of him needs to be out on the front lines again, after so long of waiting back in Skyhold on Thedas.

He goes from the barracks to his patrol area to the barracks most days. (After one very embarrassing digression into the part of the town that is holding most of the strange celebration that he'd rather not discuss, he takes extra care when traveling through the city.)

He makes a few digressions from his pattern, of course. He's promised to meet a certain young lady for drinks at the Quarantine Bar and Grille.

There is the day where decides to explore the inner city as a day off and wanders into the Sampremi celebration, pulled in by all the sounds and colors of the raves. (He'd rather not talk about that, but feel free to find him there.)

After that, he stays away from that particular part of the city and spends more time searching other parts. Shopping happens, of course, but he does end up at the beachy shores of the river a few times, face drawn and pensive each time.

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It's a curious thing to say, not least of which because Zelda isn't familiar with 'dwarves'. She can relate to feelings of nostalgia though. It's a piecemeal, fleeting thing, and tends to disappear if she looks too hard at the surroundings. The feeling is best kept at a little distance, where it doesn't become too clear.

"Do you live in the mountains, perhaps?" she asks, considering what areas might have a lot of stone. "I haven't heard of dwarves before, I'm afraid."

"Yes, where I live now is high in the mountain range that separates my homeland from its neighbor. They're very cold and snowy, not at all like the farmlands I was born in."

If he has to be honest, this reminds him a bit of the Emerald Graves of Orlais. It's not exactly a comforting thought, considering the history and struggles that happened in that particular area. But he's too good at concealing everything but disgust and anger to let it show.

"Dwarves are a race of people, along with elves and Quarni and humans. They tend to either live underground or in stone-heavy cities."

She nods, knowing exactly the kind of terrain he means. "I've been to mountains like that before. They're beautiful in their way, though quite unforgiving at their peaks."

Zelda remembers all too well the biting cold that had assailed her atop Mount Lanaryu, as she had stood in the icy waters of the Spring of Wisdom for as long as she could bear it. All pointless, in the end, despite her trembling determination. She shakes her head slightly, to dislodge the frown that threatens to grow.

"They sound like the Gorons of my own world. They live among the stones as well, especially since they eat them."

"It's as close to home as I'd been in a great many years. But they offer something that having your base of operations on flat land doesn't: protection."

Haven hadn't been that protected because it was too well known. It had only been a matter of time before Corypheus and his lackeys came calling. Skyhold had had the benefit of being lost for a great deal of time before Solas led the Inquisition there. "When one is at war, that happens to be rather important."

He frowns at her. "They eat stones? I... From what I understand, dwarves eat just like any other race. The Stone is rather sacred since they supposedly come from it."

Ah, war. No wonder he speaks in terms of protection and defence. It saddens Zelda a little to know that Cullen's world is in strife, but her expression is understanding regardless.

"It would be, yes. Most mountains I know are hard enough to conquer just by explorers." Absently, she runs a finger along the edge of the Sheikah Slate hooked to her belt. "Death Mountain in my own world makes it harder still just from the heat of the volcano."

At his question, she nods, not as surprised as she would have been a few weeks ago to find someone unclear on that point. "They do. They're great miners as well, for obvious reasons. Most gemstones in Hyrule are unearthed by the Gorons. It's... well, sometimes they try to offer you food and don't remember immediately that the rest of us can't eat it." She can't help but smile at the memory of Daruk doing just that, on many occasions. He'd been so worried about her not eating. "I can see why these dwarves might feel differently, especially if they don't need to eat such things."

"Death Mountain. That sounds rather ominous."

She's comparing rock-eating race of people to dwarves. Of course he's going to be a little surprised and confused.

"Well, dwarves are also very good at mining and refining a very important metal on my world called lyrium. It is magical and they happen to be resistant to its effects for the most part, unless it gets into their blood. To the other races of Thedas, to touch raw lyrium would mean poisoning at best and death.

"However, they're also rather talented in brewing ales and beers, so they have some decent trade in that as well."

Her lips twitch. "Yes, it does, doesn't it?" She hooks some hair behind her ear, explaining further. "I've been to Death Mountain before. You have to take fireproof elixir first, otherwise your skin will catch fire. It's why only the Gorons live there."

For the other peoples, it would be a death sentence to live that close to the lava and heat.

Her eyes widen at the description of this lyrium; it sounds like an important resource, and difficult to collect. "Oh dear," she breathes out. "At least they can mine it without too much danger. It must be valuable."

"Sadly, I've not heard of any place like that on Thedas. Although, stories about the Deep Roads do include lava streams that the dwarves use as a sort of architectural feature."

Who knows?

"Lyrium is the majority of the dwarven kingdom's economy. Since they live underground, they must have ways to get food, clothe and the link imported. Sales of lyrium to the Chantry for mages and the Templar Order kept them mostly comfortable. They have other lines of business, but in the recent years, nugs are rather common on the surface."

Zelda tilts her head, thinking all of that through. It's similar enough to the Gorons' trade in gemstones, though they also go on the road themselves when it takes their fancy. Food would never be an issue for them living in the mountains as they do.

"I can see why mages would want to buy it," she muses, considering what Cullen has said. "If it has magic properties I imagine it's useful for their craft. Would they make things like enchanted blades?"

"Not really. Lyrium is used in enchanting but dwarves and mages cut off from the Fade are really the only beings able to do that without killing themselves. And even that is questionable on a good day.

"No, lyrium's primary use is... To enhance mages' magical abilities and for Templars to consume so they can negative out of control magicks."

There's a lot being said here that Zelda doesn't understand. Confusion flits across her face briefly, not sure where to begin. Or if it's even appropriate to begin.

"So it's more... of an amplifier? An enhancing material?"

"Yes and no. Lyrium has different uses in different forms. It's.... Complicated."

And dangerous and addicting and volatile. And might possibly be the nlood of Titans. Who knows?

"I'm starting to find that a great many things about my home make very lityle sense outside of the understood context of Thedas. I suppose it's enough to say that it is a magical metal with many functions."

She merely shakes her head, hoping to set his mind at ease. "It's alright," Zelda says, clasping her hands behind her back. "I find the same thing when I explain my home. I end up having to explain things that I've never had to before, like the people there or what the land is like."

Peering up at the sky for a moment, she hums in thought. "But we're all equal in that, I think. Everyone who comes here must have to explain something about their world."

"Some things are easier to understand when you have to live through them I suppose."

This conversation has taken many turns, veering into rather personal places that Cullen wouldn't venture into with anyone from Thedas. He wouldn't have to, actually.

"Have you been here long? You sound as if you've both arrived recently and have always been here."

"Me?" She's surprised to have given that impression. "I've only been here for a couple of months, actually. Maybe I've just gotten used to it quickly."

And there's a strange thought in itself. Maybe having come from so many years essentially trapped has made her singularly suited at landing on her feet in a new place. After all ... Hyrule itself was unknown to her now, after so long spent away.

After a moment, she extends her hand to shake. "I do apologise, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Zelda."

"Maybe so, or perhaps it's because I've only just arrived about a week ago."

He looks down at her hand and finds himself reaching out to clasp it, but without as much force as he would with someone more his size. He is not a small man, and she is smaller than some of the elven women he knows but maybe a little larger than some of the dwarven women he's met. Besides, Cullen knows his own strength and would never use the full force of it unless he was trying to prove a point with someone who needed the lesson.

"Cullen Rutherford of Thedas. And there's no need to apologize. I hadn't introduced myself before now, either."

She shakes his hand a couple of times before letting go. It's a curious custom, but one she's taken up easily enough. Certainly she prefers it to bowing and curtsies.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cullen. A week is quite new," she adds, knowing how daunting she had found the Quarantine at that point. "I found once I got used to my work that it was easier to go along with things here."

Shaking hands isn't something that he does that often either, but it is a custom that's practiced on Thedas, so he's not completely lost. And, well, he's not certain he'd be so willing to bow to anyone but the Divine and even then she's not here.

"The position that the people in charge of the Quarantine assigned me is very much like what I was doing back on Thedas. Although, I've gone back to rank and file, instead of leading." He shakes his head. "There's less paperwork."

'Rank and file' puts her in mind of the military, and there's only one job here that seems to fit that bill.

"You're with the Perimeter Guard then?" she asks. "Well, less paperwork is good. It does take up a lot of time."

You would not be wrong, Zelda. You would not be wrong.

"Yes, is it that obvious?" He's pretty sure it is, considering how often he's been told to relax when not on duty. It's still a struggle for him when so much of his downtime was used for training or reports. He's bad at downtime, apparently. "I don't miss the paperwork, honestly. It takes up an exorbitant amount of time and never seems to end."

"I imagine with the Guard there are also more pressing matters at hand." Like fighting back monsters and protecting the walls. She shakes her head a bit, smiling once more. "Well, best of luck in settling in, Cullen. And thank you for speaking with me."

She appreciates it, even if she had interrupted his thoughts. Best to leave him to them at last.

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Merry Month of March

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