#but i keep thibking abiut it so im making it a whole post

[musingmycelium]

so im writing a Thing set in the immediate aftermath of noure leaving the circle for the last time and i have Thots about them and their path so like: dump time

directly after ellanis 'conscripts' noure after broken circle noure takes off and just, runs. they don't really have any direction at first, they're too overwhelmed to know what's going on and what to do. i think they flee ferelden quickly, they want nothing to do with this place anymore and they head north as quickly as they can.

and im not sure they contact their parents after being freed. i think its too big for them, thinking about it makes their freedom feel too real and they dont know how to handle it so noure just ignores it. but they think about them, a lot.

they end up in nevarra after a couple of months just slumming it in the woods and in really small villages and in nevarra they meet a mortalitasi by the name viuus (yes that viuus) who, due to a conflict of interest, finds himself in need of an apprentice. Viuus offers to take noure in in exchange for fullfilling the duties of an apprentice and noure takes it on the spot since they don't really have a better option and they're interested in learning from a mortalitasi since their own magic is pretty heavily focused on spirits and shape changing.

which, sounds kinda odd but ive been thinking about it. i write about noure's elemental connection with fire but i dont think its their most powerful magic, nor is it their most natural. i think, in the circle, the fire magic is a manifestation if their mental state (a burning, seething hatred wrapped inside a deep terror) and their more familiar magic falls to the side because they associate it so heavily with the alienage and the past. it becomes too painful for them to access and it blocks itself off from them.

but once theyre out of their circle? i think it comes back to them slowly. it becomes a part of their healing process, reopening those channels of magic which made up so much of their sense of self. noure's first shape shift after leaving the circle is taking the form of a sparrow. they stay in that form for nearly a full day and when noure shifts back they're drained and exhausted but theyre also so overcome with the freedom of it, with how far they've come, noure just collapses in the forest and cries.

but anyways, their spirit magic is another large part of themselves and in nevarra theyre able to explore it. viuus takes them under their wing and shows them how mortalitasi communicate with spirits and noure molds their own history and knowledge with what they learn from viuus into something different.

it works out for the most part. noure's phylactery got destroyed so no templars come for them at first. they're also sheltered by viuus and he makes fake papers for noure when they come under some heat about where noure is from. they work there in viuus' shop and in the catacombs, cataloguing inventory and spirits for the most part but also working with sigils some.

noure becomes really adept at spirit to mortal communication. their time in nevarra also marks a time when theyre exploring their faith in andraste. there was a post i saw once talking about the possible differences between human andrastianism and elven andrastianism and i loved it. ive done thinking about it and noure isn't someone who prays to the maker but rather puts all of their faith into andraste herself. the maker is more.... hmm a little more inconcrete than andraste. when noure prays their pleas are meant for andraste and they fall into a habbit of just, conversing? with andraste? just out loud when they're working on something or when theyre out gathering supplies or any time they feel they have something to talk about noure just addresses those thoughts to andraste and it shapes their experience. they dont thinj andraste is a spirit per say but they do think she's something similiar

that and the whole thing about spirits being the makers first children gives noure a sense of something holy when theyre working and developing their spirit based magic

they make friends with a bunch of spirits. wisps are kinda difficult to talk to because they just don't have a lot of substance but noure talks with higher spirits like Purpose and Joy and Ardor. but theyre closest with Valor. noure does a lot of soul searching in those two years. andrastianism is pretty strong in nevarra and noure's faith was really tested -lost honestly- in the circle and so they come to terms dealing with their trauma and experiences and relate it back to andraste's struggles. honestly this is where noure's habit of talking with andraste develops

at the End of those two years templars find noure quite on accident and one of them is recently transferred from kinloch. the templar recognizes noure -since they uh, stand out a bit- and tries to arrest them. which! historically! has never gone well for anyone involved. noure kills the templar that recognizes them in the struggle but a second one lands a pretty solid blow on noure -opens them from hip to shoulder with a nasty swing. the templar leaves them to die alone and he isnt wrong for doing so. noure is, Real Close to dying. but Valor comes to their rescue and they merge.

merging with valor definitely terrifies noure but its not a bad kind of fear? if that makes sense? it does mean they have to book it out of there fast.

but this time they know where they're headed. rumor has it karl's been moved to kirkwall and noure doesn't know that anders is still alive -when they left kinloch anders was in solitary and noure was going to be made tranquil so they never knew what happened to each other- so they head to the free marches and oops! da2 happens and i havent given as much thought to fleshing out da2 with them yet, but i think i Will be sooner rather than later