#leola king

[aiiaiiiyo]

#Leola King #America’s first female traffic cop #1918. #brolbo #oldschool

[self-spaghettification]

Did you notice that Ezran has a unicorn patch? What do you think?

I didn’t, but now that you mention it…

That’s interesting! Perhaps it’s meant to symbolize his naivety, and general, childish attitude i suppose, with lack of a better word—what with children often believing in unicorns, a false hope irl. His full hope and faith in Zubeia and the ability to heal old wounds when everyone else is skeptical. His empathetic & forgiving & giving nature.

Unicorns also symbolize purity, and gentle, kind animals, which ezran both is and sees other creatures as often—or at least at first. ie, him saying he learned he can’t trust racoons., and well… the antagonists.

Additionally, unicorns are star arcanum creatures and we’re supposed to see/get a lot more information on the stars next season. Maybe Callum will bring another unicorn trinket back from the starscraper as a gift to ezran lol (such an absurdly normal, beautifully mundane thing to do amongst what terrible events i fear may occur next season, let us have this <3)

We also know leola had a last wish as a startouch elf child, and leola was a unicorn, and that unicorn horns grant wishes. again, symbolism of hope, purity and childishness, all that Ezran represents. And Ezran is a child with great wishes too…hopefully that doesn’t foreshadow anything too terrible.

It’s interesting because unicorns were also the ones to gift primal magic to humanity, they took pity on humanity and believed in it whilst startouch elves/other elves did not. It reminds me of how Callum’s the first human mage in centuries. They (Callum, and the unicorn pin, and Ezran by proxy) both represent the hope of how humanity can thrive without needing dark magic.

In many ways, Ezran is like a unicorn. and i would love to see him get to meet one <3

oh also…. Claudia capturing/dehorning a unicorn, and…

“Tell me everything you know, little king, or i’ll squeeze it out of you” with Ezran :)

#also the connection to star arcanum from the start for him…. making me wonder aughghg #those are my thoughts! #thanks for asking :) #unicorn #ezran #ezran tdp #the dragon prince #self spaghettification #asks #q&a #voiddragon97 #this actually really helped me understand his character better #Thanks! #character study #mine #tdp meta

[raayllum]

Kpp'Ar's research theory

So before he disappeared, we have reason to believe Kpp'Ar was researching unicorns. We don't know - could've been to heal Soren, given that their horns are powerful and star magic-y (and we have reason to believe Viren used star and dark - blood? - magic to heal Soren).

But given that Viren didn't know how far the staff could extend, and that he didn't know anything about Aaravos even once being given the mirror - that Kpp'Ar was high mage to the previous king as well as having a box that was a perfect sibling (put a pin in that) to the one in Aaravos' mirror...

It's likely that Kpp'Ar taught Viren just about everything he knows, but not everything Kpp'Ar knows.

The one solid link we have between Startouch elves and unicorns is Leola, who is both canonically a unicorn and possibly was a Startouch elf. She, like Aaravos, has mythic qualities - Leola's Last Wish and the Fallen Star. If she was a Startouch elf, then she would've been one of the Great Ones as well, as Ziard never indicates who precisely gave him a staff and Aaravos' involvement wasn't well known enough to Sol Regem at that time for "one of the great ones" to be a dead giveaway. And we know that like Aaravos, Leola also 'gave' humans magic, only she gave them primal magic, not dark magic.

So my theory is that Kpp'Ar

Is a descendent of the Jailer and/or Ziard (or both) and that's why he had the box and most likely the staff, which Viren then took to use to heal Soren

It could successfully do so because the gem in the staff is a corrupted quasar diamond (hence why it could put people in the coins, and all three of them uncorrupted are needed to pull them out)

Was looking into unicorns because he was looking into Leola (and maybe something adjacent that could grant literal wishes? or just more magical resources) and possibly Aaravos by proxy

This means that not only is Mr grumpy former old dark mage man gonna get released, but he's going to be having some plot relevant information regarding Aaravos and his prior defeat/history to boot

#kpp'ar #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp theory #leola

[w0rped-moss]

HE DEFINITELY ISN'T "PURE EVIL" ! I agree completely. The show has subverted expectations before and like let's b real they really shoved the "oh he's so evil and manipulative and gonna kill everyone" down our throats (like i feel like it gets repeated once every episode fr)

I'd be hella disappointed if there was nothing more to what we've heard. Thid has to be a set up for more. He's really cunning and manipulative, we've seen it, but we've only heard about him and what got him trapped out of the mouths of other characters. He is ancient, the things we were told about happened hundreds even thousands of years ago. Memories and events got twisted, forgotten and lost for sure and I've taken everything the archdragons and archmages have said with a generous pile of salt.

(also sorry if I'm overwhelming you with asks. I'm veryy excited to be talking about this with someone)

ITS BEEN CANONICALLY STATED THAT HIS PRISON CAUSED HIM A LOT OF EMOTIONAL PAIN AND TRAUMA. THEY DID A DTIYS OF HIM CRYING IN THE RAIN. I do think aaravos did all that shit. I also think the Aditi thing was literal because that’s so fuckign funny. like ok king get it ig?

also zubeia has personal beef with him so of course she’d be more biased against him. like I don’t think he’s a good person, but I do think that he’ll get a, well not redemption arc, but like. a domestication arc. simply give him exactly one (1) jelly tart (maybe some like. warhammer figures or something for enrichment) and he’ll be fine.

also you can’t solve the cycle of violence by beating the shit out of one dude. especially someone who HAS been as canonically wronged by people as aaravos has. Like he’s the ONLY reason that there were ANY survivors of sol regem’s FUCKING GENOCIDE. he clearly sees the archdragons as betraying him. It was considered a SPOILER by the creators to even answer the question if he had any friends (they eventually said that he did and that’s a big part of his motivation). and speaking of motivation, zubeia never brings up his motivations! I don’t know if she’s lying or just doesn’t know the full truth, but I don’t think her story is entirely accurate

personally my theory is that HE’S the star that rayla calls “leola’s last wish”. they both gave humans magic (she gave them primal stones, he gave them dark magic), leola’s last wish is the brightest star in the sky (even though he’s only at a fraction of his power, he’s still strong enough for like. four archdragons to not want to attack him head on), aaravos is kinda implied to be a guiding light in the elarion poem, leola’s last wish is used for navigation, there’s SOMETHING HERE.

do not apologize I’m also batshit crazy and I watched the season like two weeks ago I fear the blorbo brainrot is terminal

#tdp season 5 spoilers

[shatteredminds]

📂

For this

First spin- King Isran Lidio Deathbleeder

He didn't know about Lycaon and Lupa being born, nor did he know that they were his. All he knew is that he was going to give Azura a delicious punishment when he got his hands on her again.

Second spin- Exiled Ice God Ïshøvaňuř

He had a tendency to just shuck ice spikes at the other Exiled gods, which annoyed the hell out of them. He genuinely did not give a single fuck. This trait can be seen in who he was reborn as, Uriel.

Third spin- Viggo Halfden Zaishvaerii Strøm

He's not only the youngest of Azura's children but the weakest as well. He only has a sliver of immortality, next to no magic, and his soul is consistently dancing in the vale of life and death like his big sister Rosa's soul. On top of that, he has a sickness that causes him to cough up blood and his own fire burns him.

Fourth spin- Arrats Kilian Rhaghverii Lokison

He's half-elf and an absolute little shit. Often pranking his sibling and father or hiding things that belong to his family.

Fifth spin- Drerena Hedvige Neir

She's one of the quiet souls on the island. Never bothering anyone or causing fights. Though that doesn't mean she can't hold her own, she's just as dangerous as the others but with the element of surprise.

Sixth spin- Exiled Treasure Goddess Třiväní

She didn't hoard her treasure, she would give it to the other Exileds when they needed it. Though there were some who she had to turn away due to them trying to take more than they needed.

Seventh spin- Quean Aia Deathbleeder

She was definitely a piece of work. Often locking the Kingsland's and Tachovesh's in cages just to torment them. Toros was the one who put the end to her.

Eighth spin- Reidar Berhald Flovidalii Fevold

He's actually quite the kind soul once someone gets to know him. Though that doesn't mean he's a pushover, he was a player after his mate died yet somehow he doesn't have any other biological kids except Uriel and Gabriel.

Ninth spin- Spencer Derrica Uvalashala Winchester

She is a demon/monster hunter, a really good one at that. Though none of the other hunters know she's an immortal nor do they know she's a dire wolf shifter.

Tenth spin- Echo Leola Rossi

She passed at quite a young age for a vampire being at only sixty years. She was physically twenty-three in appearance. She was also one tough civilian vampire as she was able to fight for herself.

#king isran deathbleeder // grey eyes tormentor #npc; king isran deathbleeder #ïshøvaňuř // exiled ice #viggo strøm // dragon in the vail #arrats lokison // between light and dark #drerena neir // whispers of the dark #třiväní // lost treasure #queen aia deathbleeder // locking the cage #npc; queen aia deathbleeder #reidar fevold // bears growl #spencer winchester // demon hunter #echo rossi // a raven's vampiric lover #npc; echo rossi #shattered oc's #hidden in the shadows // anon ask #shattered answers

[roscoebarnes3]

[tferyal]

Amerika'nın ilk kadın trafik polisi, Leola N. King ,1918

[thechanelmuse]

Fillmore District: ‘Harlem of the West’ - The Glory Days of the San Francisco Jazz Scene

San Francisco’s Fillmore District used to be one of the hottest nightlife spots in the country. Hip as jazz, cool as the blues, sexy like the R&B music bursting from its bars and clubs, the ‘Mo was the place to be in the 1940s and 50s. Duke Ellington? Check. Ella? Yup. T-Bone Walker? He was a regular at the Texas Playhouse on Fillmore and Sutter. The neighborhood was a bastion of Black culture on the west coast. Like NYC’s Harlem, where a renaissance of Black music and art had emerged in the 1920s, the Fillmore showcased a cultural utopia by and for African Americans two decades later.

“Music in the Fillmore was organic. In the air. It was from the community and belonged to the community. You can’t look at the neighborhood without looking at the music that was coming from the people who lived there.”

— Wayne Wallace, musician

During World War II, the Fillmore became a hub for thousands of southern transplants lured to the Bay Area by the promise of jobs in the Kaiser shipyards across the bay in Richmond. They joined an already sizable community of Black San Franciscans and ethnic Japanese who’d decamped from Chinatown to the area near Geary and Fillmore Streets after the 1906 earthquake. In 1942, when the entire population of Japan Town was effectively evicted by forced internment, Black southerners took their place in the quickly crowding city. Young people with good jobs meant money to spend on fun, and the Fillmore’s already established entertainment sector took off like wildfire. Before long, the street was a blitz of nightclubs and late night eateries, record shops and shoe stores catering to the growing post-war middle class.

“Walking down Fillmore Street with my friends was so cool. There were movie theaters. Soul food restaurants. Pool halls. A bowling alley and a roller skating rink. You walked by different doorways, and you started to hear doo-wop. In the middle of the afternoon, these guys are cutting it up, singing in the doorway because the marble floor gives a better sound.”

— Steve Nakajo

In 1953, the Western Addition Project would begin by transforming two-lane Geary Street into a wider boulevard in an effort to ease movement to and from the city’s Richmond district. Eventually the project would subsume hundreds of city blocks in the neighborhoods west of City Hall, uprooting thousands of residents and turning what had been one of post-earthquake San Francisco’s main commercial districts into a veritable ghost town. By the late 1960s, all but a few of the great Fillmore music clubs were gone.

“The entertainment world for African Americans virtually ceased to exist in San Francisco. The great life that was Harlem-ish was destroyed by the redevelopment process. It was a blow to African Americans, a blow from which we frankly have never really recovered.”

—Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco

Source

A Brief History of Black San Francisco

San Francisco's reputation as one of America's most ethnically diverse cities is in question as its African Americans population erodes. In 1990, 11% of city residents were Black. Now that number is just 6% and is expected to drop below 4% by 2020.

Black San Francisco's numbers were low until the early 1940s, when workers began coming to work in the city's shipyards from places like Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. Before the 1940s surge, Black San Francisco's numbers were so low that there was a running joke that if you were Black, you probably knew all the Black folks in the city.

Newcomers from the South replaced Japanese Americans who were forcibly interned during World War II. After the war ended, the city's Black population continued to climb as workers remained in the city and developed roots. But the city's newcomers were limited in where they could live due to discriminatory housing policy and restrictive covenants written into property titles that did not allow African Americans the chance to live in other parts of the city.

The Fillmore District became Black San Francisco's cultural and economic heart. It became known as the "Harlem of the West," as all of the era's major artists performed in the neighborhood's venues. The list includes Count Basie, Etta James, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington. But the Fillmore began changing after the war ended as federal redevelopment projects demolished many of the neighborhood's homes and businesses. Many residents relocated to Bayview and Hunters Point.

Restrictive covenants were outlawed under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but by this point there were few incentives for Black Americans to stick around San Francisco, and many moved out to Oakland where a Black middle class came to flourish.

Some of those who stayed in San Francisco fought for better living and employment standards. An important group of activists during this period was the Big Five: five women activists who demanded more resources for Bayview and Hunters Point from city officials. One member of the group was Eloise Westbrook.

Read more

The Queen of San Francisco: Leola King and the “Harlem of the West”

Once upon a time, San Francisco had its own Harlem, and this Harlem had a queen. A “fast-talking,” “show-me-what-you-can-do” woman, one-part glamour and a million parts grit. Her name was Leola King and she got her start running a barbeque pit at 1601 Geary Street. An homage to King’s native Oklahoma, it was built out of a log cabin and featured a fifty-foot smoke pit. The menu included smoked buffalo, deer, and quail.

How popular was Oklahoma King’s? Judging from the swanky Scott Street mansion Leola King eventually bought herself, it wasn’t just popular, it was epic.

Leola King and her mother in her Scott Street mansion. 

Then one day she turned up to open the restaurant and saw that Oklahoma King’s had been laid to waste. Turns out the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency was fed up with trying to get King to sell her property. The restaurant was one of countless homes and businesses bulldozed into oblivion by the “urban renewal” projects that decimated the Fillmore jazz scene and eventually drove out the City’s African American community.

Leola King rallied—as phenomenal women will do. The Blue Mirror, King’s new club at 935 Fillmore Street, was small, but like its owner, it packed a mighty punch. Lena Horne, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Cab Calloway were just a few musicians that passed through King’s place. And Josephine Baker, Nat “King” Cole, Elizabeth Taylor and Sugar Ray Robinson? Oh, they were all her friends.

Josephine Baker, an unidentified man and Leola King

And then the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency came a second time. She built another jazz palace. That was stolen too. She built another one. Gone, like the rest. The last time, King refused to go quietly; she was forcibly removed by the sheriff. She spent the next quarter-century fighting for just compensation. She didn’t win, but when Leola King died in 2013, she died fighting. 

Lance Burton, who grew up in the Fillmore and knew King in her heyday, wrote this about her in 2015: “Mrs. King was like a big movie star to many of us, a star who brought some very bright moments to our community—maybe the most golden period of years ever to have been seen in San Francisco.”

Source

Every time Black Americans would thrive and mind their business, here comes some bombs and/or urban renewal aka Negro removal.

#fillmore #fillmore district #fillmore jazz era #san francisco #bay area #harlem of the west #eloise westbrook #leola king #billie holiday #ella fitzgerald #josephine baker #lena horne #louis armstrong #duke ellington #1940s #1950s #black american history #black history

[marcoreardon]

Leola N. King, First Female Traffic Cop, in 1918 in Washington, colorized by photographer Marco Reardon

Location: near the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C., USA.

____________________

Léola N. King en 1918, première femme policière de Washington aux États-Unis. Photo colorisée en octobre 2020 par Marco Réardon, photographe à Montréal.

Photoby: GHI/Universal History Archive

#leola n. king #washington #marco reardon #colorization #colorisation #trafic #police #cardinal copia #agent #1920 #street #costume #blue #first #woman #retro #vintage

[yearningforunity]

Leola King and her mother in her Scott Street mansion. During the 1950s, and before the city took her properties by eminent domain, King, a club owner, was one of the wealthiest women in San Francisco.

#Fillmore District #San Francisco #California #Afro #African Descent #African Diaspora #District #Neighborhood #Wealthy #Club #Owner #Harlem of the West #Eminent Domain #Unfair #1950s #mansion

[mabel-mark]

Fight For Blood | Vampire X OC

 Dear Reader,

"King And Queen Killed By A Bloodthirsty Monster. Who Will Ascend The Throne?' -Headline from the national newspaper of Serpentis, 13th June 1853 

This headline was enough to create an undeniable amount of fear and hatred towards Vampires in the minds of people living in and beyond Serpentis, including Crown Princess Darlene Adera Cornelia Bessie Beryl and her sister Evangeline Leola Dorris Dionne Beryl, Darla and Eva for now.

Everyone stuffed one sentence in Darla's mind, "Vampires Are NOT To Be Trusted" which was somewhat true. But will fate take a turn and tables flip when she finds out about the prophecy buried 1000s of years deep in time? Experience this mystical journey with Darla and discover the hidden secrets as the story unfolds. 

Welcome To The Land Of Magic, Welcome To Serpentis 

Love 

Author 

 [Vampire X OC] [Vampire X Human] [Vampire X Princess]

Click on this link to read: https://www.wattpad.com/story/302870669-fight-for-blood-vampire-x-oc

#blood #dracula #emotional #enemiestolovers #fantasy #love #magic #mature #romance #royalty #sacrifice #sadending #slowburn #twilight #vampire #vampirediaries #books #wattpad #amreading

[the1920sinpictures]

1918 Miss Leola King, America’s first female traffic cop. From The Jazz Age Vehicle Archives, FB.

[rheaitis]

For the headcanon meme: (any of these that you want to do) Kamala and/or Deval Devi, Roxane (Mary Renault’s version), female! King Arthur, Sudeshna?

f!King Arthur

Morgant is the last, best protector she has: the one who trains her to take up the reins when his hand grows slack, who lets her feel her burgeoning strength and helps her uproot the stakes that she has always thought could keep her bound. She has followed him into the deep places of the world, trusting always and never blindly, finding always his breath at her back, his mouth redolent with words of power.

She kisses Leola’s wine-sour mouth one breathless night when even the wind is asleep and they are two awake by the still flame of the watch-fire: a night when the sky is a bowl of stars and every village cresting the hills a cluster of fireflies. It ought to be a graceless young thing, to be laughed at when they are older, bound about with wounds and weariness, but Arthes carries its warmth in her heart like hearthfire embers carried in a sealed pot from home to home.

Mererid goes about beneath the cloak of her brother’s name, a truth and a lie and a deeper truth. Arthes bore her in pain and fury, Morgant’s hand in her red to the wrist hauling her one child out of her, but she is Morgant’s daughter and has been since he dragged her squalling into the world and told her her name. She has his colouring and the curl of his mouth and the tilt of his eyes. Of their resemblance to Alwyn Orcades they speak never.

Gwynfor is not the first love of her life, but he bids fair to be the last and longest-lasting, with his bard’s mouth and his scribe’s hands and his heart like a starving hunter that has stalked an autumn-fat bear to her den. Her husband, her boy, her king enthroned and lovely beside her, wise in council and shy in her bed. A young man, and likely to take other lovers for pleasure and for children, but hers first and hers forever.

f!Arthur Pendragon from this fic.

[raayllum]

Ok, I was thinking… Zym had less prominence these last two seasons (in s5 even Stella had more shine than him). Makes sense I guess, because this arc is called "the mystery of Aaraos", but the series is still called "the dragon prince". So… Do you think Zym is going to be a key piece for the development of the last arc? Like, do you think it's a piece of Aaravos's game or a piece to defeat him?

So while Zym is the 'central' figure in arc 1... he's effectively a macguffin, both in and outside of the egg. Like - Zym gets a small arc about fear and flying that is mostly tethered to Ezran in S2 (and carries over in 3x09) and a tiny, 2-ep arc of being scared to go see his mother (pretty much on her deathbed) in 3x08-3x09. Like, he has personality and importance, but he's mostly there to illuminate the other characters choices surrounding his existence. All of the dragons in arc 1 are, effectively, far more plot devices than characters with maybe the exception of Avizandum in 3x06 (and even then that's malleable) and possibly Sol Regem, but he exists more to be a bigoted obstacle than a character in 3x01 (save for the flashbacks).

S4 is the first season that changes this radically, featuring Zym, Zubiea, and Rex Igneous as fully realized characters. Zym has more emotional resonance as a character (his bond with Ibis, his love for his mother and Ez, his complex responses to Rex Igneous besmirching the father he'll never know, etc). While it's definitely on the back burner in S5, it's more so of a 'return to form' of the previous seasons than anything new or different in terms of prominence. After all, Zym only saves the kids once (1) in S2 as well, and he does the same thing in S5. However, Zubeia and Sol Regem keep us tethered to "having dragons as characters" element.

That said, I do think Zym's presence in the story will continue to be important - he'll likely have an arc of missing / reuniting / replacing (?) his mother next season, maybe having to look into the logistics of a draconic child king (if that's even a Thing) and some nice Ezran parallels. Aaravos also said that "the key is the dragon prince" in regards to Viren's plans for Xadia (and presumably Aaravos' initial plans for getting out) in 3x09, but it's not clear if that still holds. However, I do think that Zym plays some part in arc 2 - whether as an aspect of defeat or victory for Aaravos - simply because Zym is literally in the stars in the intro. (His existence being what Leola wished for, maybe?)

Like arc 1 was about Zym, long thought dead/gone, being returned to the world. Now Aaravos is on that same path, with his own two Katolian humans + one elf team. So Zym's still gonna be important. He'll just never be as developed as our human/elf main cast of characters, and I don't think he needs to be.

#azymondias #zym #thanks for asking #arc 1 #arc 2 #anonymous #s5 spoilers #the english major strikes again #bc that's my tag for Structural stuff

[leolabee]

Shirley Baxter pencil & sharpie on pine guitar 4x2 inches . . Leola was commissioned by Binky Griptite to place a portrait of Amy Winehouse on his guitar. The drawing is in a spot on the side, visible only to the player. It's a bit like having a tattoo on someone's shoulder. Binky Griptite is the former guitarist/emcee of the Dap Kings, Sharon Jones' band, who played on Amy's platinum album Back to Black. . The guitar is custom built from parts: with a pine body based on a Fender Esquire, a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and a Seymour/Duncan pickup. Griptite had brought the parts to be assembled at 30th Street Guitars NYC and picked it up on July 23, 2011. . Day nine in an advent calendar of my artistic works, posted every day at sundown. Days seven & eight are not yet open -weekend advent calendar operations were delayed due to travel... . Happy holiday party season!! https://www.instagram.com/p/B53eFV9F6eW/?igshid=1okj1tylyok4s

[pris-writing-blog]

New Beginnings

Summary: Sometimes, two people who would be perfect together are driven apart by tragic circumstances. Sometimes, they never see each other again. Sometimes, they meet again in the most unlikely of places. Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition

Pairing: Evelyn Amell and Cullen Rutherford

Word Count: 8.4 k

Warnings: PTSD, major character death, substance abuse.

A/N: I’m honestly surprised I actually wrote this, since my tastes tend to lean towards LGBT couples and characters. But the idea of Amell finding Cullen again during Inquisition just really spoke to me and inspired me to write this. I hope you all enjoy.

A diary recovered from Kinloch Hold after it is abandoned during the Mage Rebellion. Some pages are burned, torn out, or simply illegible. A page in the front states it is property of Evelyn Leola Amell.

Date: 9:23 Dragon, 20th of Harvestmere

The Revered Mother suggested I write in this journal. Stuff about my feelings and all that. I don’t know what I’m feeling though! I guess I feel scared, and lonely, and mad upset about leaving. I miss Mother and Father and the rest of the family. I remember mother crying as the Templars took me away. How is this supposed to make me feel better? I just feel worse now. I’m going to go lay down. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try burning this book, that’ll show the Mother.

Date: 9:23 Dragon, 23rd of Harvestmere

So I didn’t burn the book. I did put it away though, hid it under my pillow. I feel a bit better today. I made two friends! One’s name is Anders, a bit older than me, and he’s said he escaped once. He got caught though, obviously. He’s snarky and makes dumb jokes. I like him. Then there’s Jowan, he’s about my age. He’s real nervous, all jittery and easily spooked. But he’s nice and calming. So I guess I have friends now. I still miss Mother.

Date: 9:23 Dragon, 1st of Firstfall, Satinalia

This was the first Satinalia I ever spent away from home. I thought I would be sad, but today was a blast! There was a HUGE feast, with a whole bunch of different dishes than I’m used to. They were all so good, except for the soup. It was grey and tasted like… stuff? I didn’t like it. Anders tried to escape, and I helped! He had this idea to send my parents a gift, but it would really just be him in a barrel wrapped in pretty paper. But the Templars found him before he even got outside- how were we supposed to know they’d unwrap it themselves?

Date: 9:26 Dragon, 13th of Cloudreach

Anders told me today he “seeing” one of the older mages. When I asked what he meant, I regretted asking. I properly shouldn’t write it down, if the Mother found this she’d have me and Anders switched. But it has made me think… Anders wouldn’t say who he was with, but he said it was a man. If a man and a man can do that together, can a woman and a woman do it? Cecilia two bunks down is pretty, I think. I don’t think I want to do that with her, but it makes me feel better that what I feel isn’t too weird.

Date: 9:26 Dragon, 16th of Cloudreach

Anders did it! He really did it! Today when the Templars had us outside for exercise, Anders suddenly bolted off to the dock and jumped off the end! The Templars tried to go after him, but after Carrol almost drowned thanks to his armor, they had to try and take it off first before jumping in. That gave Anders enough of a head start to make it to shore and run off into the woods! He’s free! I just hope it lasts for him.

Date: 9:26 Dragon, 23rd of Cloudreach

It didn’t last. The Templars tracked Anders down and brought him back in shackles. I tried to run over to help him but Jowan held me back. He said I’d just get in trouble too. Knight-Commander Gregoir wanted to make Anders Tranquil. When he said that, Ander’s mentor- Karl I think his name is- yelled at Gregoir. I still don’t understand what becoming Tranquil means, but I know Owain and the other Tranquil creep me out. I don’t want Anders to be like that. First Enchanter Irving stood up for Anders, thankfully, but he agreed to have Anders go through with his harrowing tomorrow. I’m scared for him. Cecilia did her Harrowing last week and failed. I don’t know what happened to her, she just disappeared. I don’t pray to the Maker and Andraste as much as I should, but I’ll pray tonight for Anders.

Date: 9:26 Dragon, 24th of Cloudreach

Anders passed! He made it through his Harrowing. He was grinning like a maniac and his bragging was insufferable, but I’m just happy he’s okay. He’ll be moving up to the mage quarters later, but Jowan and I are going to give him a little party before he leaves. Well, a get together with some sweet bread I managed to swipe from the kitchen. But it’s enough for him that we said we’ll miss him. I wonder when my Harrowing will be.

Date: 9:28 Dragon, 25th of Haring

Damn the Templars, damn Gregoir, damn the whole bloody circle! I don’t care if anyone finds this journal anymore. I hope they do, so they’ll know I hate them all! They caught Anders after another one of his escape attempts. This time he gave him a YEAR OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT THAT MEANS HE’S IN THE DUNGEONS FOR A YEAR

There is a line of scribbles below this, dark and sharp as if the writer had been stabbing the page with the ink quill.

When they said that, Jowan had to actually hold me back physically. I wanted to hurt Gregoir. I screamed things that made the Mother mad, but I didn’t care. You know what I remember most? Ander’s face as they took him away. He had cast one last smirk over his shoulder at me, but I could see it in his eyes: fear. Damn them all.

Date: 9:29 Dragon, 1st of Bloomingtide, Summerday

We got some new Templar recruits recently. One of them, I think his name is Cullen, he’s cute. Blonde locks and stubble just growing in. And hazel eyes I could lose myself in. But anyways he’s alright to look at, yeah. Couldn’t do anything with him anyway, he’s a Templar and I’m a mage. It could never work. But I keep catching him glancing at me. Today in the Summerday festivities I was dressed in a pretty white dress like all the other young girls and I caught Cullen’s eye. I’ve never seen a face go so red so quickly! And he was dressed in a fine white tunic and pants, I’ll admit my face heated when I wondered what he’d look like with just the tunic. Of course, the mood was ruined when the Mother started reciting the Chant and the lessons. Oh Maker, why must you get in the way of things?

Date: 9:29 Dragon, 31st of Haring

Anders was released today. I didn’t even get a chance to say hello or goodbye before he disappeared again. The Templars are baffled, but they’re sure they’ll find them. I hope they're wrong, for Anders’s sake. I’m not mad at them anymore, I think. I understand their purpose. I just wish we had a choice. I don’t mind the Circle much, I’ve come into my magic well because of it. But for people like Anders, who value freedom more than anything, this place is a prison. It shouldn’t be like that. I’ve also spoken some more with Cullen. He’s so shy and nervous around me, as if just talking to a mage is prohibited. I asked where he was from, about his family, and he asked me the same. I just like talking with him now. I think I like him. Oh sweet Andraste I’m in trouble.

Date: 9:30 Dragon, 24th of August

My Harrowing is tomorrow! I’m scared and nervous and excited all at once. I still don’t know what they do to test you, I mean there are rumors but one can never trust those, so I am a tad worried about that. But I am confident in myself and my skills and I just know I’ll pass. Jowan has been more worried than usual, he’s upset that I’m going through my Harrowing before him, even though he’s older, but I’m sure he’s just being paranoid. One thing has made me a tad scared though: I saw Cullen earlier and saw fear in his eyes. Why was he scared when he looked at me? It almost looked like pity.

Date: 9:30 Dragon, 26th of August

I never did get to write about what happened yesterday. Too much happened. I suppose I should sort it out here. I went to my Harrowing. They pitted me against a demon. An actual Maker-forsaken demon. No wonder Cullen was scared. Apparently, if I had failed and became an Abomination, he was to be the one to kill me. I was terrified, but I passed. When I woke up, Jowan congratulated me, but still seemed nervous. I found out why later. Apparently, the First Enchanter had agreed to make Jowan Tranquil. Something about him being too weak to resist temptation or some other nonsense. He and his lover, Sister Lily, asked me to help them retrieve Jowan’s phylactery and destroy it, so they could escape without fearing the Templars finding them. And damn me to the Void, but I did it. I helped him. I believed him when he said he wasn’t a blood mage. And what did he do when he was backed into a corner like the rat he is? He used his blood to attack the Knight-Commander and escape. And now Lily is gone off to Aeonar- Maker watch over her- and I’m to be made Tranquil after the others return from Ostagar. Damn you Jowan. This is all your fault.

Date: 9:31 Dragon, 5th of Wintermarch

Once again, the Mother suggested I write down my thoughts to soothe my soul. Oh Mother, essays of my writing couldn’t soothe my soul. I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose at the start of this nightmare. I didn’t know it, but the mages and Templars sent to Ostagar returned, or at least the ones who survived. What happened at Ostagar was a tragedy, Teyrn Loghain quit the field and left the Grey Wardens and King Maric to die, along with almost all of their army. Uldred attempted to have the Circle side with Loghain, spinning a tale of lies for them. But Wynne countered him, exposing Loghain and Uldred for the traitors they were. What happened next, no one could have seen coming. In a meeting of the Enchanters, Uldred and a number of other mages turned to blood magic and demon summoning to free themselves. It went about as well as you’d expect. Almost half of the Circle perished in the fight. I barely survived myself. Still locked in the dungeon, I had to fight off demons and abominations while trapped in my cell. But I did it, I survived. Barely; I would have died of starvation if I hadn’t started screaming bloody murder. Apparently, the Templars had assumed me dead. The Hero of Ferelden saved us. Who’d have thought a boy from the Alienage, a bastard prince, an assassin, and an apostate could clear out an entire tower of abominations and demons? Sounds like a bad joke. After it was all over and they were patching me up, I saw Cullen. I didn’t even recognize him at first. He used to be so kind and shy and good and now- he’s a shell of who he was. It’s as though someone poisoned him with hate and fear. When I ran up to him to hug him he drew his sword at me, shouting to stay away or else. I was confused at first. I asked him, “Cullen, it’s me. What’s wrong?”

And he said- no, he growled, “What’s wrong is you. You mages, sick and vile and evil. All of you.”

It hurt. A lot more than I want to admit. But I said to him, “Cullen, you can’t possibly mean that. What about… I thought we-”

He cut me off, though, to shout, “There is nothing between us, mage! An ill-advised infatuation of a foolish boy. I know better now, and pray the Maker will forgive my sin.”

A sin. He called our feelings a sin. Well that was just the rotten cherry on the pile of the shit sundae wasn’t it? I yelled at him, I don’t remember what. It dissolved into a screaming match before others came to separate us. We avoided each other after that. And then he left; went off to Kirkwall, city of Templars. And damn me, but I still

No. I won’t say that, I won’t even write that. It and he are best left forgotten. After the tragedy, we were recruited by the Hero of Ferelden to fight in the Blight. I went to Denerim, saw the Darkspawn horde. It wasn’t as terrifying as what I saw during those weeks I spent trapped, assailed by monsters both human and demon made. And now it’s over. The Blight is ended and the Circle is returning to an uneasy normal. It was decided I would not be made Tranquil, seeing as how they would need as many Enchanters as possible to rebuild. Yay. The future awaits us. Let’s see what it brings.

Date: Dragon 9:37, 28th of Drakonis

Well, I found out what happened to Anders. He blew up a fucking Chantry! Words cannot express the emotions I feel about him and that, so I won’t try to write them. I’m more concerned about the Templar’s response. Mad Meredith invoked the bloody Rite of Annulment on the entire Circle, even though a single apostate caused the explosion. Thousands were killed in the chaos, mages, templars, and civilians alike. Thankfully, the Champion stopped the Knight-Commander. Apparently, I’m related to him! I heard Cullen was It was a mess, all of it. And now the Templars here are cracking down more and more. I heard there will be almost half of the contingent at the Enchanter meeting tomorrow. Anders, you really have turned the world on its head.

Date: Dragon 9:37, 29th of Drakonis

Well, Irving has fan-fucking-tastic timing. He has named me his successor. I suppose I am a good candidate, smart, skilled, not ancient. But in all seriousness, I am honored. I hope I can do well in my position. I do feel as though he’s just passed me the burning tongs though. It will be difficult to lead us through this, but I will do it, I swear to the Maker, I will lead my people through the storm.

Date: Dragon 9:37, 8th of Solace

And so we remain tied to the Chantry. I was attempted to agree with the Libertarians, but Wynne’s speech moved me. So we will remain, for a time. I returned from the Conclave earlier today and I am glad to be home. There seems to be a tangible nervous energy in the air outside, but here at least, we are safe. But the Templars… their gaze is troubling to me. As though they looking at spirits and demons instead of men and women. I pray they do not soon treat us as they see us.

Date: Dragon 9:39, 2nd of Guardian

Maker help us all. They disbanded the college. The Divine was attacked. Seekers everywhere. The world is on the brink of chaos, I can sense it. And now this, a letter from Wynne, begging me to come to Val Royeaux. There is to be a conclave of First Enchanters to discuss the finding of a cure for Tranquility. I am shocked beyond belief that such a thing exists, as well as overjoyed. But more than anything, I am scared. I am scared for my Circle, my family, and all mages across Thedas. A reckoning is about to come. And I fear the world is not ready for what it will bring.

This is the end of the diary entries. After the conclave dissolved into war, the mages fled to Andoral’s Reach. Kinloch Hold now stands empty, with accounts such as this left to be forgotten.

Find the rest of the story on my ao3 here!

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