The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Carver Amell]

Car squeezes Merrill's hand tightly. "I... I don't know yet. I..."

He hesitates, the family tree -- the name he'd traced over and over as a child -- lingering in his mind. But he doesn't, can't, say it aloud. Not yet. Not until he's sure.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian stares at her sibling, hugging her knees. This is all so strange to her -- she can't imagine feeling that strongly about something like this. But... it seems to be helping. And if anything can help Carol, Marian is in favor.

[Bethany]

Beth can remember a name to, though she can't quite put her finger on what exactly it was. Something like Carol, something that starts the same maybe? But what other names start with c-a-r? Taking a deep breath, she forces herself to stop stalling and lets her head. "I'm glad.That... that you might have... Finally found the thing you need, what was missing all these years."

[Carver Amell]

"This won't-- I'm not-- this isn't fixing me, just... just..."

[Shisou]

"You'd be surprised," says Shiori, hesitantly. "I... I st-stutter, a lot. I'm shy. But not when... Not when I'm really myself."

[Haliel Lightsong]

"My brother..." Lightsong hesitates, feeling uncomfortable at the idea of sharing a rather sore familial secret. "Both my parents are Bastionites. Paladins, no less. All four of my grandparents worship Bastion as well, or did when they were alive. My brother and I were raised with the absolute certainty, the conviction, that we would as well. I haven't seen my brother as happy as when he told me that he was worshipping Alydra since he was a small child."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene finally speaks up, having been unusually quiet this whole time. "This one... This one recalls the day this one found Alydra as well. This one needed a place to belong. This one found such a place in the worship of Alydra. This one chose to be a Seeker, chose to... This one desired to cease being called Miss Helene."

[Bethany]

"Because Miss and 'ne' wouldn't fit," Beth says quietly. "Is... is Car still fine? Mister 'C' sounds like a bad spy novel or something."

[Carver Amell]

"I--" he whispers, swallowing hard. "Don't make me pick right now," he begs. 

[Varric]

"Fair enough," Varric says with a shrug. "Just keep using the alias for your disguise for now then- Storm works for anyone really. You two should sit and get some breakfast so we can get going."

[Carver Amell]

"Okay," he whispers, still clinging to Merrill's hand. "Okay."

[Bethany]

Getting into town was almost anti-climatic really. No-one demanded answers, no-one searched their things, nothing. A few people waved, more stared a bit, and one or two even called out a greeting. That's it. Varric, Helene and Roland head towards the only inn, where most of the party can stay a few nights until Varric can secure less temporary lodgings. Place isn't exactly a bustling trade hub after all. Lightsong decides to escort Carol, Shiori and Merrill to a general store to see what they have for clothes and gifts.

Which leaves the two sisters to wander the town, Vigile following after them discretely. Neither have any sort of goal in mind, half just sightseeing, half just wanting to fumble their way towards being sisters in more than just blood. "So... Alydra. Ummm. And a... sage? Or is it scholar? What's the difference actually?"

[Marian Hawke]

"A scribe," she says, blushing faintly. "I am qualified to work as a scribe, that's about it. I can do research, but I'm not really a scholar, I didn't... I haven't authored anything noteworthy. Maybe if I'd stayed in Draslina."

[Bethany]

"Oh. What.. does that entail, exactly? I mean... I assume it has to be good or something, not just some random paper?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Well, yes. There's... Okay, so there's review papers, which basically synthesize findings from multiple sources, like... like if I read every travelogue that mentions goblins and I came up with a thesis about how goblins treat adventurers. Those come in two forms, argumentative -- meaning, I think X and here's why, now you should think X too -- and analytical -- meaning, huh, I wonder what X is, okay I figured it out and it seems to be Y. Those are the easy kind -- they only take, uh, maybe a couple weeks, depending on the number of sources you have to synthesize. Then there's research papers, where, essentially, you have to do new research in some way. Travel somewhere, or discover a new primary source, or divine things using oracular magics. Or just interview a lot of people, or run an experiment. You have to do one of those as a thesis to be awarded the title of scholar. It doesn't have to be super significant -- Helene's was on the most effective phrasing of questions for extraplanar communications, which, basically, she-- ne asked a whole bunch of questions and narrowed down some phrasing that might work well for general use questioning when faced with an extraplanar being that is under restrictions as to what can be said. Ne was able to prove that a devil under a geas would slip up and answer the question four times out of ten with nir phrasing, as opposed to only twice with the standard phrasing."

Marian pauses, then, rubbing the back of her neck. "Um. Which is all to say, yeah, it's not just any paper."