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[laurenande]

(Galadriel is fairly used to getting mail but she'll be a bit shocked to receive any in Thedas. For any notes, missives, letters, or other communications.)

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[elegiaque]

I would like to have a portrait of you sketched for publication.

( there is a small pause. this would be easier if she'd asked thranduil - she's sure he'd agree if only to swan around about winning an argument she pretended not to notice they were having.

that's almost entirely why she's not asking him. not exclusively; there are other reasons to do this with galadriel, not least of which being she rather thinks leliana would like it, but. it's not irrelevant. )

I don't know if you're aware; my name is Lady Vauquelin and I have begun publishing an editorial on Skyhold. Sister Nightingale proposed that I might write on the subject of rifters - and what they are not. I have reinforced some of those points by using diagrams and notes given to me by Knight-Commander Norrington, but I think that it would be ... striking and -

To draw a sharp comparison. Look at this demon. Now look at this pretty lady, who is obviously not a demon. See her face and think of it when you think of what a rifter is. You see?

( her personal views on rifters, demons and fucking elves are not without a great deal of complication and in large part much less charitable than those she is prepared to espouse on behalf of the inquisition, but ... she does feel strongly about what she's doing. about the support that she is trying to create. and leliana is right; either they must be seen as trustworthy or they must not be spoken of at all, and frankly, the latter is not an option. )

[laurenande]

You wish me to sit for a portrait? Specifically one that will contrast how little I resemble a demon?

[It is an odd request, but by her tone Galadriel sounds rather more bemused than anything else.]

I can see no reason to refuse, not in light of so high a compliment, but I would request a kindness in turn...assuming you are not opposed?

Many in these lands would call me Rifter, and that is true, but I am before all else an elf. If I am to be used as an example of what we are and we are not, at least in passing, I would ask you to make mention of that fact, somewhere in your work.

[elegiaque]

I had already intended.

( two obligatory birds with one stone. it's a sort of soft opening, she supposes - leliana wants her to include elves in her work, but making a great song and dance out of doing so is...a little unsubtle.

galadriel is a compromise, and a way to introduce them more smoothly into her narrative. subsequent mentions of true elves, and not these presumptuous foreigners, will be less stark. )

Thank you extremely for your participation - I will make arrangements for the artist. Would you like a copy of the picture? I am also happy to make you the same offer as I have done the Knight-Commander, and forward to you a portion of the proceeds of the work your image appears in.

[laurenande]

[She had agreed quite readily---it is, at once, a mark in her favor and somewhat suspicious. Galadriel doesn't recognize the voice on the other end of the crystal, but whether she was human or elven, it made very little difference. In every single instance where she'd called herself an elf, there had been more than a touch of resistance to her claim. That there isn't any, now, is...worthy of note.

But...her ready thanks and generosity are refreshing and, fortunately, enough that Galadriel overlooks the strangeness of her immediate agreement.]

Do not trouble yourself; I require no recompense. I ceased caring for money long before I came to Thedas. If you honor the heart of my request, I shall be content.

[But now she wants to know more.]

I would, however, enjoy reading what you have written. Perhaps we might meet, Lady Vauquelin, and I might see some of your work.

I admit, I am also curious as to how one might draw up a chart regarding rifters. We are few and very strange, it must be terribly complex or exceedingly simple if it can capture the whole of things.

[elegiaque]

( there is a necessarily bracing pause before she says, ) I would be glad to meet with you. My previous edition is already available in Skyhold - perhaps you might have a look at it and we could discuss it.

( for all that she's clearly making an effort, she also sounds noticeably less enthusiastic about the prospect. )

But I don't intend to make such a chart. You are - people.

( probably. )

People shouldn't need a chart made to demonstrate their component parts in order to be seen that way - I think that it would undermine the message ( 'the' message; not her message, necessarily ) to do so. I think it would validate the idea that you must be proven.

What I mean to do is show the foolishness of that thinking.

( her own private reservations about trusting them are just that: private. she might not share the trust she's prepared to advocate for them, but what she does trust in is the inquisition, and if leliana is wrong then it's on leliana's head be it.

people shouldn't be afraid of the only solid attempt to protect them because of some - some -

... people. )

[laurenande]

Strange, perhaps I heard you wrongly. Did you not mention diagrams from a Knight Commander?

[She pauses and the silence is nothing if not polite and thoughtful.]

Of course, I agree. Demanding one prove their own identity is a foolish errand, and yet it is frequently required. Thedas has proved no exception to this.

Ah! But, I am not a writer, nor do I know the contents of your work, old or new, nor how directly they might concern me or my portrayal, if I have any at all. I shall not burden you with my suppositions, but I do hope I shall be granted a glace beforehand.

For curiosity's sake.

Once you have found your artist, please, call me hence. I shall do my utmost to be available.

[elegiaque]

Knight-Commander Norrington provided me, rather generously, with copies of the diagrams and notes that he has used with his men for training purposes. The better understanding of demons and how to fight them. The notion of including a portrait just sort of struck me as I was looking at them. A contrast. Demons can be defined and diagrammed and noted upon. People, on the whole, cannot.

( her laugh is brief. ) Well, not philosophically, I don't speak for physicians. But nobody in Orlais need be as acquainted with you as your personal healer. And people aren't puzzles to solve, or to slip into neat arrangement -

But a face. A face is something that a person has. Eyes are something that you can see yourself in.

( a diagram of a demon is to frighten and educate. a portrait of a woman can be empathised with. )