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[vardensuk]

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[tonhalszendvics]

An Inheritance Cycle story I'll probably never write, but this sucker doesn't want to leave me alone. Long story short under the cut.

Selena was said to be a super spy/assassin type of character, except that people knew about her. I mean, Jeod did, and Brom was a very secretive guy, I am pretty sure that Jeod didn't hear about her from him. And then Galbatorix named his secret service after her, because there was fear connected to the name 'Black Hand'. Thanks, Selena.

Okay, so the AU goes like this: Selena is a super spy/assassin. Nobody knows, who is she, what is she doing, who is she working for. Some people suspect the king, but then she shows up and asks someone else for a favour in a name of a lesser lord or something. She is changing like the weather, nobody knows what does she look like exactly. Want to hire her for a job? Good luck. You were able to get into contact with her? Consider the job as done and yourself as absolutely poor, because even her smallest service costs a fortune.

And then Brom meets her. They don't tell shit to each other, for sure, but the spark is there. So, things are going on their way, Eragon is born, but in this AU, there is no egg-race, Selena just hands the kid over to Brom and says that he'll be more safe with him. Their meetings are scarce, but Eragon gets to know his mama.

Until he's around six or seven years old. Because then something happens in Uru'baen, there is a big boom and a shitton of dead people in the castle. The king and Morzan are furious. A blue egg vanishes.

Mere days later – too soon, so Selena was already on her way when that shit went down – Selena comes to meet Brom and Eragon for the last time, with her eyes blindfolded, because then she'll be able to say that she didn't see them. She tells Brom that she has a husband in Uru'baen. Her and Brom's thing started on the ground that she was missing the night-time company, but she started to have feelings for him. But now, she has to go back to her lord, whom she had sworn to. She has to, because otherwise her other son will be hurt. She doesn't say names. Brom knows, that it's too dangerous.

It also dawns on him that most of the information he's got from her was via her husband. That guy must be a big shot in the Empire. They promise each other that if the Empire goes down by a miracle or something, they'll meet in the end, and if they still love each other, they'll find out what the hell to do.

Then time flies and war-wise most of the canon happens. There aren't much from Selena, but she still succeeds telling this and that to the Varden via secret letters and always changing ways. She was able to hand over some top-secret, very valuable information to the Varden. The communication is one-sided, though, they cannot reach her.

A bunch of victorious Varden are cheering in the occupied capital, when the news come that after the king's death, Morzan put down the sword without anything. He even kneeled on the ground and let himself be tied up, while Brom was trying to avoid having an aneurism. I mean, Brom wanted to kill the guy since forever. Their epic dramatic duel, however, was nowhere near to the end, when the king died. And it wouldn't be honourable to kill a surrendered soldier, especially if his son returned back from the palace right in the moment when he wanted to behead him. Nahh, he has to be the bigger guy.

If Brom is not able to kill Morzan in the battle, then he'd do that through a trial. Everybody is very happy to attend and throw in their two cents, Eragon understands all the hatred, but he still feels very uncomfortable because of all that combined hatred. And Morzan doesn't say anything, he takes it without a word, maybe corrects people here and there when they mess up listing his sins.

And boom, there is Selena. She comes, bows, smiles to Brom then says to Nasuada, that she was promised amnesty for her and her family for her services, and his son is in big trouble because of the occupation, so if they would be so kind to provide her the needed document, she is off already, she and her family won't mess with their schedule for the rest of the day.

Eragon is obviously overjoyed, that A) mama is alive; B) he gets to meet his big brother. So he obviously prods everybody to hurry up with that amnesty.

Document in her hand, the ink still wet, she turns on her heels and in front of everyone, she asks Morzan, that what does he know, where is their son. And Morzan answers. Then with a word, loosens the ties on him, stands up, and when people draw swords, he adds in a mocking tone, that pardon, I was granted amnesty just now via my wife, and as you've heard, my son is in grave danger, if you'd excuse us. Eragon, dear boyfriend-in-law, want to come?

It takes three seconds for Brom to realise, that Morzan meant him, and then he has to try very hard the second time that day to avoid an aneurism.

Anyway, they go, get Murtagh out of that dire situation, because it turns out that little children are actually pretty cute and able to melt a war criminal's ice-cold heart, so Morzan was a good dad this time, and he and Selena were blackmailed with him. That trouble thingy back then, that separated Selena from the other side of the family was when the king found out that his general's heart changed, and that Selena was also a double-spy, so boom, he took Murtagh away, and suddenly the parents were absolutely A-class thralls again. Idk if Murtagh was even out in the battlefield this time, or every stuff he did was handed over to Morzan, while he was in house arrest somewhere. (Does he even know how to fight or is he Orrin No. 2 with all the science?)

Anyway, Murtagh and Eragon bond over dragons in zero second and decide it's the best for them if they just leave their parents to be. Brom needs a bit of time and a bit more cajoling from Selena to loosen up, but in the end they are a traumatised and super messed up polycule. Morzan regrets that in the moment he says something and Brom answers with a mortifying secret from their childhood. They might end up in a fist fight. Selena doesn't say anything to them (too busy getting slate tablets), because in the end they kiss (and she has to make fairths).

That was the AU in a nutshell. I hope this one will leave me alone now. :') Thanks for coming to my story night, take care!

[modern-inheritance]

The Trauma Twins! (Crusader Kings 3 reference attempts)

Guys! I did some edits/attempted this again. Check it out!

I didn't do the scars on the side profile because I got lazy, but look! I added my attempts at Arya's post Gil'ead jaw scar and the scar through her eyebrow. Still not quite happy with the model but I lost the dna code I made for it.

Hair options were limited so no wild hair fringes, and no pointy canines and premolars. Booo!

and now Look! At! This! Baby! Boy!

Glen's facial scars ar far less mentioned in the stories, in part because Glen typically heals his injuries fully but also because his facial scars faded naturally and blend in with his skin a bit more than Arya's (she may have used magic at some point to prevent hers from fading, that weird sense of vanity kicking in lmao). Glen is a high speed brawler, he excels at very close quarters combat due to his medical training and has taken quite a few blows to the face during his service. The two scars on his cheek are from the same battle, the first time he was down and out and nearly died. That's what happens when you take on 50 men trained and bolstered by an insane Forsworn. His single-man-army attack stalled them long enough for Arya and Varden units they were protecting to rally and cut off the actual Forsworn, saving a Surdan settlement and leading to an eventually fatal wound to the Forsworn in question. So he kept the scars as a sign of his own commitment and pride in his service.

He usually has a ponytail but options were limited

Again, I got lazy and didn't recolor his hair for the side profile. But Glen's got golden eyes and silver hair. I tried to make him have a bit of a small smile. :3

...oh yeah, I couldn't cut off his arm. but he's got his cool prosthetic.

[glbtrx]

Books Galbatorix: I will expand the borders of my Empire, subjugate the elves, conquer the dwarves and suppress Surda. The Varden will bow down to me when I will oblige Eragon and Saphira, thanks to the True Name of the ancient leanguage that I found out personally, to my service. Once this is done, I will use the same to command the wizards of Alagaësia and rebuild an order of Dragon Rid-

Movie Galbatorix: durza where is my stone

Movie Galbatorix: I suffer without my stone durza give it to me plz

Books Galbatorix: what the hell

[alagaesia-headcanons]

! I made an interesting realization just now in the shower! On a couple of occasions, Eragon and Nasuada suggest that Murtagh should act in the way Tornac would have as a way to change for the better and, ultimately, change his true name to free himself from Galbatorix and fight for them instead. Eragon insinuates this without directly mentioning Tornac: "Look at someone whom you admire but who has chosen paths other than your own through life and model your actions upon his." But in the context of Murtagh's backstory, this advice strongly evokes Tornac. And Nasuada outright names him: "Ask yourself: what would Tornac have wanted you to do?"

But that's a very curious demand for them to make because Murtagh is already emulating Tornac. Consider what we know about him. Tornac served Galbatorix, he would have had to for the king to entrust him with Murtagh's care. They lived in Uru'baen together as Murtagh grew up with Tornac raising him and he would have had to be in Galbatorix's service for all that time. Yet, he had no love for the king given that, when Murtagh wanted to abandon the Empire and flee, he was immediately ready to join him and help him leave that very same night. So he served the Empire for many years even though he had no true desire to be support them or the king, in order to provide the care and protection that Murtagh needed, until Murtagh was ready to make his own choice and take his own risk and Tornac turned his back on the king for him without hesitation.

That's exactly what Murtagh is doing. By yielding to Galbatorix and complying with his commands, Murtagh is doing the same thing for Thorn. He's bowed to this broad, great evil so he can look after the needs of an individual when no one else is willing nor able to. He does what he does to prevent Thorn from being tortured, to keep him from being broken, helpless against the king were Murtagh to abandon him. So he doesn't, the same way Tornac never abandoned him. And in the end, they rebel in a very similar way too. When Thorn is ready to carve his own path and fight for the right to claim his own life for the first time, and Murtagh wants to reclaim the life he desired but thought lost, they stand by each other and break free from Galbatorix.

For him to act the way that Tornac would requires that period of reluctant subservience so he can save the one he loves most. They ask Murtagh to follow Tornac's example, ignorant to the fact that the actions they so disapprove of are doing exactly that. And I wonder if this is a root of Murtagh's defining anger, an anger at Eragon and Nasuada's implication that the compromises that saved his own life and provided him much needed love and support through his childhood- the compromises that saved Thorn, the partner of his heart, when no one else (certainly no one from the Varden) would have helped him- were wrong. That they were immoral, they were not worth while, they were not enough, they fell short, they were wrong. Because such an implication is really a dismissal of Murtagh and Thorn's wellbeing- arguably of their lives.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story The Guardian:

Dozens of rivers and streams in Alaska are turning rusty orange, a likely consequence of thawing permafrost, a new study finds.

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region in the globe, and as the frozen ground below the surface melts, minerals once locked away in that soil are now seeping into waterways.

“It’s an unforeseen impact of climate change that we’re seeing in some of the most pristine rivers in our country,” said Brett Poulin, study author and assistant professor of environmental toxicology at University of California Davis.

The permafrost thaw is exposing minerals to oxygen in a process known as weathering, which increases the acidity of the water and dissolves metals like zinc, copper, cadmium and iron – the most apparent metal that gives the rivers a rusty color visible even from satellite images. The study highlights the potential degradation of drinking water and risk to fisheries in the Arctic.

“When mixed with another river, it can actually make the metals even more potent [in its] impact to aquatic health,” Poulin said.

The phenomenon was first observed in 2018, when researchers noticed the milky orange appearance of the rivers across northern Alaska’s Brooks Range, a stark contrast to the crystal clear waters seen the year prior.

Within the year, a tributary of the Akillik river in Kobuk Valley national park saw the complete loss of two local fish species: the dolly varden and the slimy sculpin.

“Our data suggests that when the river turned orange, we saw a significant decrease in macroinvertebrates and biofilm on the bottom of the stream, which is essentially the base of the food web,” Poulin said of the rusting phenomenon. “It could be changing where fish are going to be able to live.”

The rusting is a seasonal phenomenon, occurring in the summer typically during July and August, when the soil is thawed the deepest. The researchers at the National Park Service, US Geological Survey and University of California Davis now want to better understand the long-term implications of the changing water chemistry in places with continuous permafrost, which includes Arctic regions such as Alaska, Canada, Russia and parts of Scandinavia.

[everythingloveandanimated]

I may have already said this, but I’m going to say it again.

Something I want to happen in Carvahall.

Murtagh tries to convince the folk of Carvahall of his and Thorn’s situation under Galbatorix, unwilling treason, and his present intentions.

It gets to the point where the Red pair have to share their memories with Roran, Horst and his sons, and a few others.

He shows his escape from Uru’baen, saving Eragon from the Ra’zac and Gil’ead, his capture by the Twins, his torment in his cell, Thorn being tortured leading his to swear his fealty. (He doesn’t share the Ancient Language words.) He shows being ordered to capture Eragon and Saphira, the Battle at the Burning Plains, Thorn convincing him to let Eragon and Saphira go. Their torture once they returned.

(Scenes of their imprisonment sprinkled between the key moments from the Rider’s War)

Murtagh hearing about the plans to assassinate Nasuada, convincing Galbatorix that they can turn her to their side. Nasuada’s torture and Murtagh’s attempts to comfort her.

Murtagh’s attack on Galbatorix stripping him of his wards, their departure from Eragon and Saphira.

When the memories are over, it leaves the Carvahall folk reeling. They had no idea things were that bad for Murtagh and Thorn. Sympathy towards the wayward pair is higher now.

Once they get their breaths back, talk begins.

There’s questions of why didn’t Murtagh commit suicide to escape Galbatorix. Murtagh explains, quite annoyed, that he had escaped Galbatorix once, and he was useful to his plans, so Galbatorix made sure he couldn’t escape him. Besides if the thought came to mind, he would be attacked mentally or physically. (He briefly considers doing a demonstration of mental attack on the person who asked.)

Someone, probably Roran, points out that Murtagh swore in the Ancient Language and you can’t lie in the Ancient Language. Murtagh gives a translation of the oath that bound him to Galbatorix. He swore his life and body to Galbatorix’s cause and service. Murtagh explains that Galbatorix knew Murtagh wouldn’t give heartfelt loyalty. He just needed Murtagh’s as a tool and slave. The words didn’t need to be heartfelt, they just needed to be said in order to permanently bind Murtagh.

Roran’s not sure where to stand on this. It’s obvious that Murtagh was heavily coerced/twisted into serving Galabtorix and attacking Eragon and the Varden… but he’s not sure if it’s safe to trust Murtagh given how his mind was broken into.

Some other questions are brought up, Horst steps in, saying that it’s obvious that Murtagh’s treatment was not that of a man who was a willing traitor. He’s on Murtagh’s side. One of his sons objects, to which Horst asks if his son would do better if he was in Murtagh’s place and Hope was in Thorn’s. That silences any further questions.

Horst turns to Murtagh.

Horst: I speak for myself when I say this, thank you for doing what you could to keep Eragon and Saphira safe. I’m sorry the cost was so high for you and Thorn.

Murtagh is touched and grateful.

[ulkaralakbarova]

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are ‘The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta’. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Rigby Reardon: Steve Martin Juliet Forrest: Rachel Ward (in “This Gun For Hire”) (archive footage): Alan Ladd Juliet’s Butler / Field Marshal Wilfried von Kluck: Carl Reiner (in “Sorry – Wrong Number”) (archive footage): Barbara Stanwyck (in “The Lost Weekend”) (archive footage): Ray Milland (in “The Killers” / “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Ava Gardner (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Burt Lancaster (in “The Big Sleep” / “In a Lonely Place” / “Dark Passage”) (archive footage): Humphrey Bogart (in “Suspicion”) (archive footage): Cary Grant (in “Notorious”) (archive footage): Ingrid Bergman (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Veronica Lake (in “Deception”) (archive footage): Bette Davis (in “Johnny Eager” / “The Postman Always Rings Twice”) (archive footage): Lana Turner (in “Johnny Eager”) (archive footage): Edward Arnold (in “I Walk Alone”) (archive footage): Kirk Douglas (in “Double Indemnity”) (archive footage): Fred MacMurray (in “White Heat”) (archive footage): James Cagney (in “Humoresque”) (archive footage): Joan Crawford Carlos Rodriguez: Reni Santoni (in “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Charles Laughton (in “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Vincent Price Dr. Forrest: George Gaynes Waiter: Francis X. McCarthy Hood: Gene LeBell (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): William Conrad (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Charles McGraw (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Jeff Corey (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): John Miljan (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Brian Donlevy (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Norma Varden (in “White Heat”) (archive footage): Edmond O’Brien Puppy Secretary: Britt Nilsson Duty Secretary: Jean Beaudine Film Crew: Editor: Bud Molin Screenplay: Steve Martin Director: Carl Reiner Screenplay: George Gipe Producer: David V. Picker Director of Photography: Michael Chapman Producer: William E. McEuen Costume Design: Edith Head Production Design: John DeCuir Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Kevin O’Connell Set Decoration: Richard C. Goddard Supervising Sound Editor: James J. Klinger Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Maslow Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Bill Varney Original Music Composer: Miklós Rózsa Stunt Coordinator: Ernie F. Orsatti Stunts: Charlie Picerni Movie Reviews:

[glbtrx]

Oh, are we competing with the Varden? Then I'd say improve the Helgrind worshipers' church. They may be brutal but they are people.

(By the way, I'm offering $100 and a bottle of wine to buy Murtagh; I need his services.)

didn’t Brom kill you (and take your girl)?

He can have her.

[simmerianne93]

Simmerianne93′s Varden Golzen daggers conversion

Hello people.

I have being thinking about doing this since some time ago and now I decided to make it. The principal thing is that I made some poses modifiying one of them, and 'cause I know I'll need them in the future for more poses.

I have being trying to look out for Varden-Golzen to ask them to convert these to use them better with poses but there is no sight of them anywhere and the only post I have find about them is a post someone else made about their cc to be found. So, I decided made them on my own.

Obviously they have to be public for everyone 'cause it is not my cc, so here you have all daggers converted to be use with stigmata on poses. All the poses that alredy exist with the old daggers work good 'cause they have the same position. They just work now with stigmata unless hand.

hope you like this service and it helps you (if you are a posemaker) to make your own.

PD 1: I'll be doing the same with the swords in the future.

PD 2: There is a merge package that you can download if you want to have them all in one.

GO FOR IT HERE!!

@ts4-poses​ 

[vardensuk]

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[autochthonousone]

Better With Age: Barengar Requingris

Bull-headed and idealistic; at this point in his life Barengar is at the height of his activity in the Ala Mhigan Resistance. He has recently been given the epithet "Armsbreaker" for a great display of strength. He and his brother Bertram put their all into fighting to free their people from the Garlean Empire. It is a fight that he earnestly believes that they can win and is rapidly assuming more and more leadership within his cell.

Though Barengar is immensely protective of his younger brother he doesn't have the heart to prevent Bertram from doing what he did at that age in joining the Resistance. Little did he knew that his worst fears (and more) were soon to come to reality.

From Ala Mhigan revolutionary to Ishgardian noble it can never be understated just how drastically a life's course can veer in the span of twenty turns. As Baron of House Requingris, sometimes called "The Beast of Requingris", Barengar has slowly come to understand his place within Ishgard. He is devoted to his service and his House though it doesn't seem to stop him from finding excuses to go abroad at seemingly erratic intervals.

Though he doggedly refuses to play "The Pillars Games" -- sometimes to some degree of complication -- he and Eliane have found a powerful balance between the two of them that keeps the House's footing strong and its honor intact.

A father to more children than he ever thought he'd be blessed to have, Barengar takes to the responsibility like the privilege he knows it to be. The frequency of warm smiles upon his lips only seems to grow with each passing sun. Already he can see the self-same sense of indomitable forthright justice in his son Trevain and fosters it closely. Though Celeste takes to interests than he is familiar with they bond over his love of woodworking. Meanwhile he actively guides the introspective Varden in exploring his heritage and encouraging visits with his uncle Bertram. Meanwhile he relishes in nurturing the soaring independence of his youngest children.

It takes a great amount of time and cajoling from Trevain and Eliane both before Barengar finally decides to pass the responsibility of House Requingris' knights to his son. It is not for lack of qualification on Trevain's part; Barengar is simply a stubborn man. His body is aging, however, and he simply cannot continue to take to the vanguard in good conscience any longer. Though he remains active as a strategist and counsel for his son.

It's a difficult transition for man who has lived his entire life fighting for his life in various forms and he never acquired a taste for politicking. He provides staunch backup to Eliane should she ever require it however.

Instead, with his sudden surplus of free time, he devotes his time to internal matters and his ever growing family. It is through the latter that he finds a untapped passion for cooking. He spends many bells within the manor kitchens -- both by himself and with his children -- learning to cook and bake. The latter of which brings no end of happiness to his beloved wife who finds confections in her path more and more as he learns.

The Ala Mhigan seems content to spend the rest of his days seeing to his House's legacy and being a caring, loving (grand)father to his family.

Tagged by: @tea-and-conspiracy !!

Tagging: @snowbird-down @endangered-liaison @lettersnorth @nutley-rp @brave-horizon @high-and-away @fairwindsandblueskies

[modern-inheritance]

your posts keep popping up on my dash and I’m stupid, who’s glen?

I assume it’s glenwig, but I’m just checking to be sure.

Heya! Yes, Glen is the same as Glenwing. In Modern Inheritance Glen survives the ambush but loses his left arm above the elbow. He had been serving with Arya for about 60 years before then, as a medic, doctor and hand to hand specialist. Their relationship is deep, but platonic, to the point of them being called twins despite their physical differences, and in more I guess terms we would use, they are the most platonic of soulmates. He returns to service with Arya when she returns to the Varden and continues to through the war.

Glen/Glenwing is called by either name just depending on the situation or feel. He’s not picky.

And thanks for interacting despite only seeing me on dash! :D hope you’re enjoying what you see!

Cheers mate!

[weirdponytail]

Modern Inheritance: The Medic

(A/N: Takes place somewhere around ten years after Arya leaves Ellesméra and joins the Varden. I’ll probably do another fic going into the injury that sent her back to Ellesméra for further healing {something that occurs probably every other year or so, as she’s not a skilled healer and none of the medics in the Varden know elf biology} at a later date. Cheers! Oh, and a reminder, 20 years old is around 10 in human years apparently, or at least how we’re going for MIC. Cheers again!)

Arya leaned back in her chair, eyeing the elf across the small camp table as he scribbled out another note in the Varden medical file spread before him. 

Glenwing was the first and only person on Arya’s personal, official squad. He had trotted up to her a day before she was to leave Ellesméra and handed off orders straight from the Queen that he was to become her medic in the field. Even after multiple readings and consultations with Oromis, the orders were clear and gave no leeway or loophole through which Arya could escape. Despite her obviously annoyed acceptance at his sudden addition, Glenwing seemed unfazed and calm throughout the entire process, and set out with his new commanding officer the following morning. 

They had reached the edge of the forest now, camped upriver from Ceris at Arya’s request. Three weeks in Ellesméra had left her antsy and entirely fed up with the prim and proper etiquette that made open speech so damned difficult in the pines, something she had not missed in her years with the Varden. Glenwing hadn’t protested in the least, and had spent a majority of the time setting up camp asking her questions about her previous injuries, examining scars, and doing his best to ease into the more personal questions of mental health that he hadn’t had time to ask before they left Ellesméra.

The silver haired elf signed a stop glyph at the end of his most recent note in the margins of Arya’s file before tapping his pen against his lip. “Any trouble sleeping in the past six months? Falling asleep, staying asl–”

“Are you going to report all this to the Queen?” Glenwing looked up, somewhat startled by the sudden interjection. Arya had her arms folded now, regarding him with that solid stare that expected answers and would take no deflection or lie that he could give. “I’m assuming that’s why she assigned you to me. People weren’t exactly lining up behind me to join the Varden, so I doubt you volunteered. Plus, after this long she’s probably realized that I need to return to Du Weldenvarden to be fully healed after larger injuries so she’s probably not keen on giving me more time away from her influence and reach. So there has to be another reason that supersedes that. A way for her to influence and keep tabs on me while I’m away as well as while I’m in the pines.”

Glenwing straightened from where he had been leaning on the table and carefully placed his pen parallel to the top of the file before meeting Arya’s hardened gaze with his steady one. “Do you want me to?” There was a soft curiosity behind his golden eyes. 

The question seemed to catch the other elf off guard. Arya blinked, lips parted to snap a retort that now didn’t seem necessary.

“I won’t lie to you.” Glenwing continued. “The Queen has asked– or rather, she has ordered– that I report back on your status and any developments in your mental and physical health.” Anger flashed through Arya’s countentance, but before she could spit out a string of swears the elf across from her held up a finger. “However. You’re wrong about me volunteering. I’m here because I want to be, not just because the Queen accepted my offer. That means that I have willingly taken you on as a patient, and while I am a subject of our Queen’s rule, I am also your medic and doctor.” 

“Look, I don’t care if you’re a ‘subject of the Queen’ first.” Arya snapped. The phrase seemed to have set her off enough to break through the final barrier of elvish manners that remained as she cut him off. “If you’re going to be telling the Queen every little thing about me, I’m just not going to accept your help. You might as well go back home, alright?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Glenwing replied, voice calm yet lacking the patronizing edge that Arya had expected. “I’m saying that as my patient, you have complete control over your care, including who, and when, I give information to regarding it and your status in the past, present and future. 

“If you don’t want me to inform the Queen as she ordered, I won’t, and I’ll tell her as much. I’m one of the Queen subjects, yes, but now that you are my patient my purpose here is to keep you alive, and I can’t exactly do that if you refuse care or don’t trust me.”

Arya was silent for a long moment, the silver haired elf’s words sinking in. The elven nation was a monarchy, yes, but there was always an understanding that any elf could act independently unless called to war in defense. Even then there was a choice of remaining behind to tend to the forest and those who returned. Orders given in common elvish, even from the Queen, were considered the rule of law, but in actuality could be challenged or even ignored if the individual thought the orders would cause more harm than good. It could incur the wrath of the Queen, yes, but there was no formal system of punishment beyond the decision of the council. Or, in personal cases such as Arya’s own, the decision of the Queen herself.  

That being said, most people followed their orders when they were given, and as such things were rare it was unusual to find an elf that was quite as willing as Arya to bend or break the rules so to speak. Yet here one was, practically raising his eyebrows in quiet eagerness to open loopholes and ignore centuries of custom all for a chance to…

...to what?

Arya chose her words carefully. “Glenwing...why are you doing this?” She gestured to the square photographs that were scattered on one side of the medical file, images detailing the numerous wounds of note, most in their unhealed state, that the young elf had incurred over the course of just a little over a decade of service in the Varden. “You’ve seen what it does physically. Magic can heal but I think we both know that the scars of the mind do not close so easily. I’ve almost died more times than I can count and watched countless others who were not so lucky lose their lives on and off the battlefield.”

“I’ve seen war, Arya. I’ve not participated in one, but I’ve seen the damage it does.”

“Then why join me?” Arya leaned her elbows on the table, shoulders hunched as her brows furrowed. “Why? I have my reasons, some of them more morally sound and others more or less reprehensible, and the things I’ve already done to further the goal of toppling Galbatorix… I’ve done some terrible shit. I’m not going to skirt around that. You know that you’ll probably have to do similar things, get blood other than that of your patients on your hands. So why? Why risk everything like this?”

Glenwing held her gaze for a time before lowering his eyes to the table. With a fingertip he rearranged the pictures, aligning the edges so that they fanned out and displayed a gruesome line of war wounds over the years. “...I’m not much older than you are, you know.”

“...Pardon?”    

His lips twisted up slightly in sad eyed grin. “I was eighteen when the Fall began. My father was a healer, my mother a warrior.” Gently, with the back of a fingernail, he dragged out one of the pictures, the one of the ragged stab wound to the abdomen that sent Arya back to Ellesméra most recently. “She died of an injury similar to this one. That’s what they told me at least.” Glenwing raised his eyes to meet Arya’s, gauging her reaction to his next words. “She was in the final group that the King led. My father died beside her as he tried to heal her. They were bathed in dragonfire. Nothing to bury. 

“I watched my father treat wounds like all of these as the injured returned. He never stopped trying to help, down to the last second of his life, and mother never stopped fighting for our people.” He spread his hands out. “I cannot sit by knowing that I could do the same.” 

The he paused. “And there is another thing.” 

Arya swallowed. The mention of her father and the battle that had felled not only him but Glenwing’s parents as well made her mouth go dry. The final moments of the conflict before Galbatorix hunted Vrael always did. “Oh?”

“You said that I should go home if I was to report on your condition to the Queen. I cannot return home, which only leaves obeying your orders and remaining as your medic my only option.”  

Glenwing’s feral, bared tooth smile shocked a flash of familiarity and kinship through Arya’s mind. She had seen that smile on her own face before, that wild unrestrained drive to right the wrongs of the world, to take on war and violence so that others could be at peace, tenuous as it was.   

“You see, Arya...I was born in Ilirea. With Galbatorix on the throne, I have no home to return to.”

~~~

To Queen Islanzadí, Your Majesty. 

After a lengthy consult with the combat liaison I have been assigned, it has come to my attention that the mentioned patient, Arya, house of none, is against the sharing of medical information beyond a set of predetermined ailments and injuries. As I am bound first to act in the best interest of my patient, I must oblige by her requests. Arya has also indicated that any sharing of information without her consent would result in her refusing any treatment or healing by my hand, which has further forced this issue as she has displayed sufficient aptitude for wards that would block any of my attempts to heal her if the conditions presented were broken in any way. 

However, Arya has agreed to allow the sharing of some small yet vital pieces of information concerning her health as seen fit. Thus, any injury resulting in amputation, permanent blindness or hearing loss, traumatic brain damage, complete mind breaking or death will be reported. Arya has impressed on me that she will continue to aid the Varden in the event of non-lethal injuries, and any report of the previous wounds will also include an evaluation on how she can continue to aid the Varden in her current state.

I apologize that I cannot carry out the full extent of your orders. Unfortunately, it is clear that any deviation from the agreed upon conditions that Arya has set would likely result in severe injury to Arya’s person and would constitute reckless and wanton disregard for my patient’s safety and health on mine. I cannot in good conscience go against her wishes, nor can I do so if my conscience were to tolerate it. Arya has forced me to agree to these conditions in the Ancient Language, and I cannot break my oath. 

I continue to serve to the best of my ability, and will do my utmost to ensure Arya’s health is taken care of. 

May the stars watch over you.

Yours in service,   

Glenwing of House Svanran.

Islanzadí folded the letter again, put her elbows on her desk, and allowed herself a long, frustrated sigh. 

Leave it to Arya to ferret out her reasoning for accepting Glenwing’s offer and so quickly appeal to the young elf’s sense of ethical duty. A political force the Queen’s daughter was not, but she still had a knack for picking up on a person’s true motives and finding ways to fit them around her own.

However, this was faster than anticipated. Maybe this Glenwing’s true motives weren’t what he presented to Islanzadí at all. There had been something about his energy that seemed familiar. The Queen now recognized it as a glimmering thread of that determination and wild resolve that Arya so openly displayed. 

But what to do now? Islanzadí rubbed her temples, a headache coming on. She knew that there was little she could threaten them with if she ordered Glenwing to return to Ellesméra. The young elf had volunteered after all, and even under duress Islanzadí doubted she could convince any other elf as skilled as he was to abandon their calm life in Du Weldenvarden for years of conflict and uncertainty outside the forest’s protective stands. And she couldn’t just call him back and not send a replacement, not with the state Arya had been in when she finally made it back to Ellesméra. What little Oromis had told the Queen of her wayward daughter’s injuries past and present clearly indicated that an attached medic was a necessity if there was any hope of Arya making it through the war alive.

So what to do….

The clatter of talons on well-polished wood sent a cascade of jolts through Islanzadí’s burgeoning headache, the pops and clicks that followed doing nothing to help the pain. 

“The latch is open, Blagden.” The Queen leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead as the white raven swooped in. Blagden alighted on the desk with a gentle flap of his wings to slow his speed and cocked his head at her, looking smug as he always did. He parted his beak slightly. “Don’t you say i–”

“Wyrda!”

Even as the Queen winced at the cried word the raven flipped a small, densely folded paper onto the desk with a flourish of his leg. He pecked at it twice before fluttering to his carved stand on the back of the chair, settling in before starting his usual fastidious preening.

Confused, Islanzadí picked up the folded note. It hadn’t been but an hour since Glenwing’s letter had arrived, but the glyph that graced the fold of this paper was the one Arya always used. Blagden must have dropped it while flying and went back to retrieve it. The Queen unfolded it with a hint of trepidation in her heart, as always accompanied any correspondence with her banished child. 

The young elf’s handwriting had started to take on a sharper shape, but was no less bold in its strokes. It still held the same familiar base that reminded Islanzadí so much of those days that Arya would scamper into her mother’s study and throw notes of love for her mother and records of her daily adventures onto the desk before scampering out, giggling as she departed for her next escapade. All those notes still sat in the drawer to Islanzadí’s left, bittersweet. 

The headache throbbed, chasing away the memories. The Queen focused in again, and was somewhat surprised to find only a few short sentences. 

Stars watch over you.

Good medic. Intelligent, can toe lines if needed. Fixed a scar issue in short order. I like this one. Requesting permanent assignment. 

~ Arya of Du Weldenvarden, combat liaison officer  

Islanzadí frowned slightly as she caught sight of a different handwriting in the bottom corner. It was Glenwing’s, and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she read it aloud. “Please?”

Maybe this Glenwing would be a good influence after all. With that in mind, and the comfort of Arya now less likely to return maimed (or not at all), Islanzadí picked up her pen.

Granted.  May the stars watch over you. Queen Islanzadí.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

Sorry I snatched this screenshot from a different post, but this drives me insane and I don’t want to derail that post

*adds this to the list of reasons I would throw hands with chris*

Inheritance is the titular theme of the Inheritance Cycle, yet Paolini seems so incredibly inconsistent about what he wants to say about it. On one hand, the series has so many examples of how circumstances can frequently push children into the roles their parents once had, either willingly or forcefully. A lot of the growth of the characters and themes comes from the idea that such fates aren’t binding and these people can leave behind the roles of their parents by growing beyond them and making something entirely their own or by rejecting the role entirely and carving a new path outright. It’s a theme that means a lot to me and think is very valuable to consider for the truth it carries and the beauty of the idea that our lives are our own to shape.

And then he turns around and says shit like this that undermines all of that.

The idea that Eragon inherited his determination and his “deep seated sense of what’s right and wrong” from Selena makes me so mad. Morals are not inherited. Remember, Selena didn’t raise Eragon at all. She left right after he was born. She had no influence on his upbringing. To declare that she passed on such complex moral characteristics by merit of having conceived and given birth to him is so reductive.

This does a disservice to the people that actually interacted with Eragon as he grew up. If anyone had a formative affect on Eragon’s personality, it would likely be Garrow and Marian first and foremost. And after that, Roran growing up along side him and the rest of the villagers he interacted with frequently. These people around him are the ones who could pass on their knowledge, their experience, and their beliefs.

But far more important than that, enough to make that close to irrelevant, it that this does and incredible disservice to Eragon himself. Despite the influence of the people who were actually around him, it is still up to him to decide how he wants to live and what he considers important. Throughout the series we see as Eragon fights with himself to figure out how to use the power suddenly thrust upon him, for example, when he makes the choice to prioritize his service to the Varden and subsequent training with the elves out of his devotion to the peoples of Alagaesia as a whole over his quest to slay the Ra’zac out of a sense of loyalty to his family. He has to examine himself to understand why that desire to fight for (what he sees as) the greater good of the public is the most important to him and what he is willing to do to achieve that.

We see him struggle when presented with people who have moral systems different than his own, such as Murtagh, who feels no obligation towards a large group or a ideological cause, but has an incredibly loyalty and devotion to the individuals he loves. And Roran, who, in the end, fights for the same cause as Eragon does, but for wildly different reasons based on the wellbeing of a smaller group and the immediate, tangible things they need to be cared for, like housing, food, and safety from military threats.

Eragon’s sense of right or wrong, is not inherited because it’s not innate. I wouldn’t even say it’s deep seated. It changes. It’s something he learned as he grew and then had to personally refine as it wavered and strengthened and shifted in response to the far reaching dilemmas he found himself in. It was a journey Eragon had to personally take when formerly abstract ideas of what is good and what is evil became much more tangible when he became a Dragon Rider with incredibly influence. It’s not a journey anyone did or could have taken for him.

How Paolini managed to write all that and then just say he got his moral compass from his absent mom is beyond me. It’s a condemnation.

This idea degrades a persons autonomy. It declares that even something as deeply personal as morality is subject to an outside force, to someone else, and not something built and shaped by our own actions. This idea binds people to the character of their parents, which seems benign and inoffensive enough when talking about positive characteristics, but it implies vile things about those with bad parents.

Sorry for being a prick and quoting myself, but I touched on something similar to this in another post about Murtagh and said, what does it mean to say, “Oh, you aren’t like your father, so you’re not damned to follow his path; you’re like your mother instead!”

I think the temptation is to attribute good characteristics of children to parents as something those children can then depend upon as something innate that they don’t have to struggle for and something that won’t fail them. It makes things nice and simple. But that’s not true, it never is, and the idea falls apart when considering the possible inheritance of negative traits. Using Murtagh as an example, cherry picking positive traits from Selena that he has in common to negate the idea that he got negative traits from Morzan is still damning him to the exact same idea that he is solely a product of his parents and that his actions don’t truly belong to him. Murtagh literally states that his frustration in being compared to Morzan isn’t because he’s being compared to someone who did horrible things, it’s that he isn’t being regarded as an individual who can make his own choices independent of someone else’s influence. He longs to be seen as his own person, not a continuation of someone else.

Attributing Murtagh’s qualities to Selena, or Eragon’s, or any other character’s qualities to their parent is continuing the exact same problem, no matter how complimentary the comparison may seem at first glance. Morals are not inherited, they are learned through the world and our experiences as we go through it. The books do a great job of showing this in many places which makes me even more angry and sad to see the author himself say things like this. I think it demands a critical eye not just in the way that we view these characters, but how it relates to the way we see real people.

These are just my thoughts for consideration if you want them.

Edit: got the source of the screenshot just bc I wanted it here

[trickstertris]

The Return

Once more, a letter would arrive in a rather strange way to Quinn. Sliding in under the door but not a soul would be seen bringing the enveloped message. Upon unveiling from the envelope prison, Quinn would find the words written to her by her newest friend, Triststain. Following onto such, the letter would read as: Dear Quinn, As fast as those undead came, they seem to have vanished. I didn’t even seem to find the end of their trail. I swear there was hordes of them and then i wake and there is none at all. Perhaps the new lich or whatever got control of them again? I haven’t seen any of the Ebon knights, so trying to get answers has been defincult. For now, they have paid for my services and have sent me back home. I’m just packing everything up now. I should be home soon, or likely by the time you get this. I will warn, i did have a close call, but i promise it’s nothing bad. I just broke my arm is all, it’ll be in a sling for some time.  I’ll be the one armed parent. Think i can handle twins with one hand. Well, mostly just Tay. I missed them. Sorry, going on about them already. I missed you too and i hope to see you soon. Winter’s veil is on it’s way soon, isn’t it? Think you can help me look for presents for the kids? Well mostly i’m using that as an excuse to see you, i’d like to get something too so you’ll need to help me with that too.  For now, i hope you are still safe and i look forward to seeing you again. Till we next meet, Triststain. ( @quinn-varden )