“Prejudice and discrimination!” Aela announced as she arrived from the armoury. “Men aren't generic either.”
Esbern opened his mouth to argue the point, then noticed Delphine come in to see how far he'd got with the Wall, and decided that three armed warrior women were not the audience to argue this with.
“Yes, very true, Aela, but this was back in the First Era and standards were different back then, in fact it could be anyone under all that armour.”
“So it could,” Delphine replied, taking a seat and putting her feet up on the table. “Got anywhere with finding out how they defeated Alduin yet?”
“Ah yes, well, the first defeat of Alduin is the centrepiece of the whole panel,” Esbern explained, indicating the huge dragon in the middle. “Look, this is Alduin falling from the sky, and here are the Tongues arrayed against him.”
“I know that, Esbern,” Delphine sighed, closing her eyes and leaning wearily back in her chair. “What we need to know is how.”
“Well, I've been thinking about that,” Esbern said, indicating the three Tongues and the swirls emanating from their mouths. “This looks like the Akaviri symbol for a Shout, yes, see how it's coming from their mouths in unison. It seems there was a Shout used to defeat Alduin. Unfortunately there's no way to determine what Shout was used.”
Delphine took her feet off the table, folding her arms and resting her head on them, slowly shaking her head and cursing.
“Well, a Shout makes sense,” said Aela thoughtfully. “You're a Dragonborn, stands to reason if you're meant to fight Alduin it'd be the Thu'um you'd use to defeat him. So where do you learn your Shouts from?”
“Word Walls,” said Elisif, staring at Alduin's Wall as if the Thu'um would leap out of it at her. Alas, no such luck. “But that isn't one. Otherwise, the only other place I've learnt Shouts from is the Greybeards.”
“Knew it!” Delphine sighed, finally sitting up. “Damn it all. I suppose that means we'll have to ask them for help. Good thing they've already let you into their little cult.”
“It is not a – look, just what have you got against the Greybeards anyway?” Elisif snapped, having had just about enough of Delphine's attitude. “They're the sacred holders of our traditions! Dedicated to peace and learning! They've done nothing wrong!”
“No, because they've done nothing!” Delphine shot back. “All they do is sit up on that mountain, hoarding the sacred knowledge of your people for themselves. Think about it, have they tried to stop Alduin, or do anything about the war? No. They've left all that up to you.”
“I am Dragonborn and Queen, I know my duty when I see it,” Elisif said firmly. “And it's probably a good thing not all Nords know the Thu'um. Power in the wrong hands is dangerous!”
“Power's no good to anyone if no one ever uses it!” Delphine cried. “The Greybeards are afraid of it, and they're afraid of you, of your power. So they drip-feed you with knowledge, make you work for it, just a few Shouts here and there, simple ones, weak ones, throwing people to the ground, running fast, limiting your knowledge because they're afraid of what you might do with it.”
“So they should be!” Elisif shouted, getting to her feet. “Unrelenting Force might be weak but it still felled a king! Are you surprised they keep the knowledge secret? If you're not afraid of this power, you've not understood it.”
The room had gone quiet in the wake of her outburst, Esbern and Aela both looking away uncomfortably, Cicero hopping over and wringing his hands nervously,
“You don't need to be afraid, Elisif,” Delphine said softly, and she met Elisif's eyes without flinching. “It's not a curse. It's a gift.”
From a god with a sense of humour, clearly. Why not give a grieving widow the same power that killed her husband? Clearly nothing could go wrong there, oh no, not at all.
“Some gift,” Elisif whispered. Delphine at least had the grace to look a bit sympathetic.
“If not you, somebody else would have it. Someone has to stop Alduin, why not you? At least you won't misuse it. Just don't go too far the other way either, that's all I ask. We need you, Dragonborn and we need you strong.”
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timeasmymeasure
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 11.8
Date: 2013-11-03 10:04 pm (UTC)Esbern opened his mouth to argue the point, then noticed Delphine come in to see how far he'd got with the Wall, and decided that three armed warrior women were not the audience to argue this with.
“Yes, very true, Aela, but this was back in the First Era and standards were different back then, in fact it could be anyone under all that armour.”
“So it could,” Delphine replied, taking a seat and putting her feet up on the table. “Got anywhere with finding out how they defeated Alduin yet?”
“Ah yes, well, the first defeat of Alduin is the centrepiece of the whole panel,” Esbern explained, indicating the huge dragon in the middle. “Look, this is Alduin falling from the sky, and here are the Tongues arrayed against him.”
“I know that, Esbern,” Delphine sighed, closing her eyes and leaning wearily back in her chair. “What we need to know is how.”
“Well, I've been thinking about that,” Esbern said, indicating the three Tongues and the swirls emanating from their mouths. “This looks like the Akaviri symbol for a Shout, yes, see how it's coming from their mouths in unison. It seems there was a Shout used to defeat Alduin. Unfortunately there's no way to determine what Shout was used.”
Delphine took her feet off the table, folding her arms and resting her head on them, slowly shaking her head and cursing.
“Well, a Shout makes sense,” said Aela thoughtfully. “You're a Dragonborn, stands to reason if you're meant to fight Alduin it'd be the Thu'um you'd use to defeat him. So where do you learn your Shouts from?”
“Word Walls,” said Elisif, staring at Alduin's Wall as if the Thu'um would leap out of it at her. Alas, no such luck. “But that isn't one. Otherwise, the only other place I've learnt Shouts from is the Greybeards.”
“Knew it!” Delphine sighed, finally sitting up. “Damn it all. I suppose that means we'll have to ask them for help. Good thing they've already let you into their little cult.”
“It is not a – look, just what have you got against the Greybeards anyway?” Elisif snapped, having had just about enough of Delphine's attitude. “They're the sacred holders of our traditions! Dedicated to peace and learning! They've done nothing wrong!”
“No, because they've done nothing!” Delphine shot back. “All they do is sit up on that mountain, hoarding the sacred knowledge of your people for themselves. Think about it, have they tried to stop Alduin, or do anything about the war? No. They've left all that up to you.”
“I am Dragonborn and Queen, I know my duty when I see it,” Elisif said firmly. “And it's probably a good thing not all Nords know the Thu'um. Power in the wrong hands is dangerous!”
“Power's no good to anyone if no one ever uses it!” Delphine cried. “The Greybeards are afraid of it, and they're afraid of you, of your power. So they drip-feed you with knowledge, make you work for it, just a few Shouts here and there, simple ones, weak ones, throwing people to the ground, running fast, limiting your knowledge because they're afraid of what you might do with it.”
“So they should be!” Elisif shouted, getting to her feet. “Unrelenting Force might be weak but it still felled a king! Are you surprised they keep the knowledge secret? If you're not afraid of this power, you've not understood it.”
The room had gone quiet in the wake of her outburst, Esbern and Aela both looking away uncomfortably, Cicero hopping over and wringing his hands nervously,
“You don't need to be afraid, Elisif,” Delphine said softly, and she met Elisif's eyes without flinching. “It's not a curse. It's a gift.”
From a god with a sense of humour, clearly. Why not give a grieving widow the same power that killed her husband? Clearly nothing could go wrong there, oh no, not at all.
“Some gift,” Elisif whispered. Delphine at least had the grace to look a bit sympathetic.
“If not you, somebody else would have it. Someone has to stop Alduin, why not you? At least you won't misuse it. Just don't go too far the other way either, that's all I ask. We need you, Dragonborn and we need you strong.”