Well sh*t... - M_mhazzard - Dragon Age (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: The sky is falling, The sky is falling

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter one

How many of you out there have ever taken the time to read the fine print of your gaming console's user manual? It’s okay if none of you have, God’s knows I never did. But if we had it would probably say that it should not be used during thunderstorms due to the chance of electrical overloads. If I ever make it back I’m going to have to tell them to add, “and may also send you to alternate realms.”

That comment though would likely have had me thrown into a padded cell or told to lay off the sauce, but what other explanation could I have after one rainy Saturday afternoon while I was getting ready to sit down and start a new playthrough of my most favorite game of all time, Dragon Age Inquisition, there was a massive thunderclap and a blinding flash of light just outside my apartment window which literally had me seeing stars before I passed out cold.

Next thing I know I’m waking up on the cold hard stone floor of the most rank and damp cell I have ever seen in my life. Not that I’m saying I’ve been in many cells in my life, but before I can even come to the realization of where I am my left hand swelled with what has to be the equivalent of 12000 watts of electrical pain coursing through it, causing me to scream out with every profanity a true sailor repertoire might have.

Just as I’m catching my breath after the equivalent of the most intense version of the Gom Jabbar test that anyone could ever contrive of, the most unlikely of people walks through my prison door followed by the second most unlikely of people. I even tried pinching myself to make sure that what I was seeing was real and not a dream. Later I would look back on the moment as a brain fart as only that could explain why me causing myself a small amount of pain to prove I was not dreaming when moments before I had just experienced my own personal Gom Jabbar and survived, would not prove the same point. I’m going to rack that one up to the shock of massive displacement.

I can just imagine what the right and left hand of the late Divine would be thinking of me when they got their first look at their prisoner gaping like a fish at their arrival. I always thought that Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast was a beautiful woman, but the game had not done her enough justice. Where before Cassandra’s black hair had looked as if it had been chopped short with a braid crown circling her head as more of a decorative add-on, it was now clear to see that in fact, the braid was actually her own hair that had been gathered from the top of her crown into a ponytail and then braided around her head while the underside and around her ears had been trimmed short to allow for no flyways. The scar that had been so blatantly obvious on her cheek in the game was actually rather faded and could almost go unseen until it caught the light in just the right way. One aspect that the game had been perfectly bang on about was her intense and sharp honey amber eyes, which at this moment were glaring intense and painful death upon me if I failed to answer the questions I knew were going to be volleyed my way any moment now.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now! The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead, except for you.” All I could continue to do was gape at her, my mouth wide and my eyes wider, as I turned over my left hand to look at where the mark was and then back to her again. What could I possibly say at this moment that was the least likely to end with my head on a pike? Before I could think of something logical to say she grabbed me by my left hand that I had been staring at and shoved it closer to my face. “Explain this.”

“I plead the fifth.” Was all my jumbled mind could come up with.

“What the hell does that mean,” Cassandra yelled as she and Liliana circled around me.

“I couldn’t explain even if I wanted to.”

“You’re lying!” like in the game Cassandra grabbed my shirt front and Leliana had to pull the other woman off me while reminding her that I was still needed. When I truly looked at Leliana for the first time I was surprised to notice that what I had previously thought was just a patterned brocade smock was in actuality a delicately fashioned chainmail tunic. Her complexion in the firelight had an angelic look about her even though her deep ocean blue eyes portrayed all the loss that she has experienced in her short life.

“Now I can’t quite believe how I got here, let alone what has happened to you all, but know this, I will try to help you in any way I can.” I hope that if I seemed remorseful for her situation Cassandra would go slightly easier on me. I myself could remember the pain of losing my own family and could only empathize with how she and Leliana must feel now.

“Do you remember how this happened? How this all began?” Leliana asked and it was at that moment that I had to make a choice. Play along and tell them nothing of what I knew, hoping that this real-life version of this sh*t show would play out like it always had in the game, or throw caution to the wind and tell them everything. I really needed more time to think and right now I was not going to get it. So instead I just shook my head and waited. Already my first change from the game as I didn’t mention anything about the Divine and being chased through the fade. Small though it may be, it seemed that where my conscious mind could not decide, my subconscious mind already had.

Next thing I know Leliana heads off to the forward camp without us and Cassandra takes the heavy shackles off my wrist, exchanging them for rope before continuing on after, with me following. I can’t help but stop and stare at the breach in the sky that is much more menacing in real life than the game creators could ever make it. The great green swirling vortex was making me feel sick even just looking at it and the air around us was heavy and charged as if a thunderstorm was about to start. Just then the breach swelled and flashed, spewing out large smoldering green masses that reminded me of falling comments coming to crash on the planet surface below. At that same moment, the mark on my left hand flashed off again in yet another round of Gom Jabbar that resulted in me on my knees cursing like a sailor.

“Holy f*cking makers ball sack!” I growled clutching my hand to my chest while Cassandra told me not to blaspheme. I look up at her with my best ‘are you kidding me’ expression and inquire “sh*t on a stick then?”

With the same confused expression as she had worn while I was in my jail cell when I had pleaded the fifth she asked me “Why would anyone want to put sh*t on a stick?”

With a half chuckle half-grown I stood from the ground and tried to give my best smile while retorting, “My thoughts exactly.”

Slowly we made our way through town. Cassandra was telling me about the people and their miss placed blame for their present fate and I shrug it off knowing that by the end of the day they will be praising my name instead, so ignore their looks for now. What fickle creatures’ we humans are. Once across the first bridge, Cassandra cut the rope on my wrists and we continue along the path up the mountain. Again Cassandra is telling me information I already know, like how the mark is expanding every time the breach does and how it is killing me. I can’t really doubt that after two rounds of Gom Jabbar and a soon expected third and maybe even fourth to come before we even meet up with the other members of my regular traveling party. After all, hasn’t it been proven that continual pain application can result in heart attacks even in the healthiest of people?

Thought of the two men we are meeting up with soon results in enough of an internal fangirl moment that I failed to notice us coming upon the bridge that falls out from beneath us dew to a fade asteroid hitting it until I am already mid-belly flop onto the icy river below it. “That’s smarts.” I grown to myself as I pick myself up off the ice and ready myself for the fight with demons I know is about to start. As Cassandra runs off to deal with the first actual shade demon that I have ever seen in my life, I turn to see what weapons are behind me. 'What class am I in today Mr. Bean' is all I can think of as I noticed a spiked mace laying on the ground. I suppose having had experience with baseball bats from my junior school softball team is about to make a comeback as I grabbed the weapon and stance myself as if waiting for a curveball.

“Batter’s up,” I cry as the shade demon finishes popping up out of the ground in front of me. I take a swing at its head and am happy when it staggers backward from the impact. Before I can ready myself again it leaps at me with claws fully extended and before I can even react I throw my left hand up to protect my face when a surge of something pushes out from me and the shade demon is blocked by a barrier. As I stand in shock over the discovery that I am a mage Cassandra stabs the demon from behind.

“Put the weapon down.” Without even arguing like I’m supposed to in the game I dropped the mace still staring at my left hand that my first-ever barrier just got projected out of. A part of me wonders if it was the mark that created the shield as a way to protect itself and not really me that had done that. After all, I don’t remember there being a staff behind me before and a quick glance over my shoulder confirms the lack of a mage’s weapon. “So you’re a mage.” Cassandra half accuses me as she raises her sword as if to protect herself from me should I by chance become an abomination in the next 10 seconds.

“Would you believe that’s new?” I asked trying to make light of the strange position I found myself in.

“You’re a bit old to just be coming into your mage powers now.” Cassandra had a point. At 28 years of age, one would assume I would have more than come into my magic and being fully trained by now.

“Well I can assure you I was not a mage yesterday. No Hogwarts letter for this girl and trust me if Harry Potter’s experience is anything to go by I doubt I would have missed that acceptance letter.” While I rattled this off Cassandra’s expression becomes more and more confused.

“If I am to make any sense of what you just said I take it to mean you have no formal training in the use of magic.” All I could do was nod in ascension as the strong warrior woman’s shoulders sagged. “You may as well pick up the mace then as it is irresponsible of me to expect at this point that I alone will be solely capable of defending you while we make our way up the mountain.”

“Lead on then fair maiden.” I quip after retrieving the abandoned mace and watching with some small amount of satisfaction to see a grin on the Seeker's lips. After another Gom Jabbar and a few more shade and wraith demons we finally made it to the first smaller Rift. Below me, I can see Solas and Varric fighting with some of Leliana’s scouts. With the mace tightly gripped in my right hand and the strange tingled I have come to recognize as my magic ready to create a barrier shield in my left, we jump down to join the fray. I hate to admit I spent more of my time trying to stay out of the way of friendly fire and was only really successful at blocking oncoming blows with my barrier shield. Before I knew it, strong and nimble fingers gripped my wrist as Solas screams out, “Quickly before more come threw.” With a grunt of pain much more manageable than the mark flare, magic streams out of the mark and into the rift. A loud pop rings the air as the rift closes and we all sigh in relief that it worked, and we won’t all be dying anytime soon.

“Thank you so much for that. I just love being manhandled. I’ll let it slide because you’re so cute but next time at least buy me dinner first.” I said to Solas with a glint in my eye. I could hear Varric chuckling behind me while Solas had a light blush tinting his ears. “At least this thing works as advertised,” I said looking at the palm of my hand with a smile.

“And here I thought we would be ass deep in demons forever.” Varric quipped while coming closer to the group. I almost stumbled and failed to respond to Varric’s comment as his copious amounts of chest hair that literally protruded from beneath his shirt came into view. Nowhere in any of the books, games, or comics had they ever accurately described just how plush that mound of chest hair really was.

“Not ass deep, more like ankle, maybe mid-calf if we’re really unlucky.” Again Varric chuckled at me and shook his head. My friends back home always did say that I had a strange sense of humor. I can only hope that Varric and I get along well. If his rich laughter was anything to go by I doubt that he and I would have any problems keeping the morale of the rest of the group up while we traveled in the future.

“Allow me to introduce myself. Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller, and occasional unwelcome tag along.” Purely because I wanted to see if Solas would still laugh I asked Varric if he was with the Chantry, true to the game a fangirl-inducing chuckle could be heard over my shoulder.

“Is that a serious question?”

“Technically I was a prisoner just like you.” Varric admitted while looking at Cassandra with a wink.

“I brought you here so you could tell your story to the Divine. Clearly, that is no longer necessary.” Cassandra tried to defend herself.

“Yet here I am. And lucky for you considering current events.” Varric glared back at the Seeker.

“Okay then… ooooh pretty, can I touch.” I asked while reaching towards Varric. This causes Varric’s eyes to widen and Solas behind me to cough into his hand to cover his own snickers. I blush when I realize just what my statement and motion had implied.

“Ahh… I’m flattered but,” Varric starts.

“Not you, the crossbow!” at this Varric chuckles again and heaves Bianca into his arms. I run my fingers over her lovingly. “Ironwood?” At this Varric nods “quad blade for power, quick release, multi-shot action. Rapid-fire?!” I questioned, “But how do you stop it from jamming?”

“Oh Seeker, I like this one. You and I will have to talk shop when this is all done.” Varric looked rather impressed with my knowledge of his weapon. Once Bianca was on his back again he continued “Don’t you worry about Bianca. I take good care of her and she takes good care of me.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you then and you make sure to treat your lady right. I may even know of a way of getting her some sweet upgrades to make her even more beautiful.” I told the dwarf with a wink of my own. Slowly I turned to look at Solas and could not help but drool internally a bit ‘Now if ever there was a god’ I thought to myself.

“My name is Solas if introductions are to be made. I’m glad to see you yet live.”

“He means I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.” Varric interrupted before I could say anything to the elven god standing before us. I took a moment before responding to admire Solas' appearance. Like was once described in Dragon Age Origins, Solas’s eyes were three-toned. The internal most ring of colour is a vibrant steal grey that blended into a bright blue zircon and then faded out into stunning green peridot. How Solas thought that his humble apostate get-up would ever disguise his denser than most muscle mass and his well over six feet in height as him being just like any other alienage elf I will never understand, as no amount of slouching was ever going to hide just how defined that man was. For all that he tried to blend in, I could still sense an air of superiority and confidence coming from him that would unlikely be found in any others of his race in this era. Like many of my fantasies from before this, I wished that he was still growing out his hair for if it were even close to the color of his brows it would shine a rich auburn in the sun. I must have been daydreaming too long again as Solas' next inquiry caught me off guard.

“Have you never seen a bald elf before?”

“Sure. But never any who wore it quite as well as you do handsome.” I told him with a smirk and a wink that had Varric snickering to himself again and Cassandra groaned at my obvious flirting. “Papa always said the maker made perfect heads. The rest he covered with hair.” Again Solas ears were tinting with embarrassment but he smiled nonetheless.

“Keeping with the current theme of introductions my name is Fenarla.” I told the others then turned to look to the path I knew we would need to take. I never saw Solas’ raised eyebrow at this as I pressed forward over the fence and down into the next ravine. I noticed right away that with the four of us, defeating the wraiths and shade demons was quite a bit easier. Still, I found that I preferred to stay closer to Solas and Varric, throwing a bubble barrier around us instead of running to the front with Cassandra. After dealing with the smaller Rift outside of the forward camp we went inside to see the rest of the troops preparing to make the last forward push through the pass to what was left of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Sure enough over the din of clanging armour I could hear Leliana and Chancellor Roderick arguing about what should be done with me. Even more so now with the man standing in the flesh in front of me, I can hardly believe his gall.

“I want her taken to Val Royeaux to face execution. Divine Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement divine and obey her orders on this matter.” Chancellor Roderick's voice bellow over the din of the noise around us.

“Seriously! I offered my help to close the breach, knowing full well that the effort alone could kill me. I choose to ignore what anyone else opinion is of me is for the sake of every person here and in Haven, and you want to ship me off for a trial that would take months in the planning let alone execution, during which time what… the breach just gets ignored and left to expand. Be logical man. How much has the thing expanded in just three to four days? Do you even want to think about how big it would be in a month, how about 2 or 3? Fenedhis lasa felasil!!

No, I’m going up that hill. I’m going to close that thing and when I’m done you’re going to thank me for saving your ass and enjoy your piece of humble pie, or so help me I will make you go up against the next shade demon with only the mace I have in hand and see how far you get before you soil your smalls.” And with that, I walked past Leliana and towards the far end of the bridge. After opening the gate that led to the rest of the trail leading up the mountain to the temple, I looked back and said. “I’m going up the mountain path. Anyone who is going to help me can follow. The rest of you are on your f*cking own.”

I was not surprised when Solas and Varric followed me, Varric asking Solas what I had said to the Chancellor in elven, which had both men snickering when Solas informed Varric that I had told the Chantry man to ‘Go suck a wolf’s dick fool’. Cassandra ran to catch up with us a moment later before the gate closed behind us. I could see Leliana rallying the troops for the charge through the southern pass as Chancellor Roderick and two of his accolades went out the other gate leading back towards Haven. ‘Take that you pompous prick.’ Was all I could think as we continued once more up the hill.

As we continue to make our way up the mountain path part of me wondered if I should be pilfering loot from the fallen as we continued up the hill, or if it would be seen as crass and insensitive to the dead. This question however was answered for me when, after killing the demons in the mines on the way to where the lost scouts were located I saw Varric emptying one of the fallen scouts’ pockets. ‘Not like they’re going to need that stuff anyway.’ was all I could think to myself as I stepped back out into the cold wind before we came upon the next rift with the rest of the scouting party.

Just as before I stuck close to Varric and Solas during this fight, however, due to the close quarters of this fights setting I was able to get in a few backhanded swings with the mace when a demon or shade got too close to the men I was trying to protect with my barriers. Without having to say anything I could tell that Solas was happy with me having taken over the group’s defensive barriers so he could focus more on offensive tactics.

When the battle was done and the rift closed, I had to sit for a moment as a combination of casting magic for the first time along with the higher altitudes was making my body feel weaker faster than I normally would have. Then again, I had probably done the equivalent of a whole week’s worth of exercising at the gym in what would amount out to an afternoon. At this point, I just did not have the stamina to keep going the same way one of my virtual characters would have.

“We need to keep moving. The others will be at the temple soon and if we are going to meet up with them we cannot stop now.” Cassandra informed me as she came closer to where I was resting on a rock slightly farther down the path from where the small rift had just been.

“You’re going to need to give me five, otherwise you’re going to find me face down in a ditch somewhere soon. I have not worked out like this in well, ever.” I tried to tell Cassandra as pleasantly as I could. After all, the last thing any of us needed at this point in our travels together was a pissed-off Seeker.

“Try this” Solas handed me a small vial that was a mud brown color. When I pulled off the lid I was somewhat surprised to smell a faint minty aroma coming from the bottle. “It’s a restorative draught. It is meant more to help with long-term wear upon the body as opposed to the instantaneous restoration of wounds and such one would find in a healing draught.” With a smile and a nod, I downed the potion and was happy to note that the minty aroma had carried over into the flavor as well. Good thing too, as I always hated taking medicine as a kid, do to the flavors of most of them.

“Thanks.” I responded as the potion started to work and again I was able to start making my way down the hill and towards the temple's entrance. Upon arriving at the temple however, I was forced to try and keep the recently ingested potion in my stomach. I was having a hard time due to the smell of burnt flesh and the putrid smell of sulfur that assaulted my nose. The black and burnt wood and stone that surrounded us was only the beginning but as we rounded the corner into the temple proper, that was when the sight of all the burnt corpses, caught in their final moments as some tried to hide from what was coming, while others were fleeing in a failed attempt to get away from the destruction, came into view. The battle to contain my stomach contents was lost and a moment later I had to run to the nearest intact section of the wall so I could lean on it while I lost my lunch.

“Thank the maker you’re here.” Leliana called out as we finally made our way inside to where the rift was located underneath the breach. As Cassandra and Liliana got their men in place, I went closer to the red lyrium I knew Varric would be commenting about any moment as being evil and to stay away from it. Literally, the moment Varric finished bantering with Cassandra about the lyrium a voice I will never forget broke through the air much like the projected voice from The Wizard of Oz. I knew without even having to pay too close attention that Corypheus was demanding the death of the late divine. Once again Cassandra was demanding answers out of me that I shouldn’t at this point be able to give her. Sure enough Solas came to my rescue like he had in the game and told the Seeker that what she was seeing was more a memory of what had happened and then been recorded by spirits beyond the veil.

There was only so much I could do to prepare myself for the pride demon that I knew would be coming through when I reopened the rift, so I waited quietly for things to progress like I knew they would. Sure enough, the next moment had Solas informing Cassandra of this and her yelling to the archers on the walls to prepare themselves for whatever was about to come threw. When everyone was ready I went and stood between Varric and Solas and thrust my left hand up into the air, allowing the mark on my hand to connect with the rift overhead.

The pride demon in the game had been massive but like all things when converting them from game to actual life, I found that the game had just not done the demon his full justice. The sheer terror I felt as I took witness of this beast was almost more than I could comprehend. First and foremost the size of the creature was taller than any tree I had ever seen growing up. The second point of interest was that I could actually see minor electrical impulses as they glided along the top scales of the creature’s body. This resulted in him looking as if a person would end up electrocuting themselves just by touching it. Thankfully this theory was proven false a moment later when Cassandra and some of the other soldiers that had made it through the southern pass with Commander Cullen had attacked the beast so violently that when some of the men lost their footing on the loose gravel upon the ground, instead of hitting the demon, had plowed into it instead.

I focused my efforts on trying to disrupt the rift so that the demon’s shields would come down, giving Cassandra and Varric’s attacks the chance to cause more damage. I would then cycle back to casting barriers around people until after what felt like hours of battle but could not have been more than fifteen minutes. All of a sudden the pride demon half flittered half imploded out of existence, leaving nothing but a nasty pile of demon ickour upon the ground and again people screaming at me to close the breach.

Making a snap decision I ran to where Solas was standing a few feet from the rift and grabbed his arm with my right hand as I thrust my left into the air. I then poured as much energy into the rift as I could. Whether I realized it or not at that moment, I also siphoned magic from Solas to help me close the rift. Every muscle in my upper body stiffened and my legs began to wobble to the point where had I not been holding on to Solas I would have ended up on the ground. When finally with a deafening bang the breach stabilized as the rift below it closed, the resulting shockwave threw all of us backward just like in the game. Before I could prepare myself for what was coming, my head made hard contact with the ground and it was lights out for me.

Chapter 2: Can you handle the truth?

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 2

When next I gained consciousness, I was in what looked like the same cabin I had been given in the game. I could see that I had been changed into the same heavy brocade fitted shirt and soft darker tan leather pants as I had been in the game. Yeah for in-game pajamas. This time however I was not being interrupted by a skittish Elven girl dropping vials of potions on my cabin floor while stuttering “At once” as she had in the game.

This allowed me a chance to take stock of everything that had happened and make some decisions as to what I wanted to do. Was I going to tell the rest of the council what I knew about the future or not? It was a matter of weighing the pros and cons of telling them and in so potentially changing the future. The main Pro that I could see about telling the inner Council the truth was that at least then I wouldn’t need to lie to them. The fact that I am such a horrible liar was also not lost on me. Now that’s not to say I couldn’t keep a secret; it was just better if I told people that I had it but it was not my place to say anything. The second Pro I could see with telling them all the truth was that I might be able to seriously cut down on information gathering time that Leliana and her people might need for the Inquisition over the next few months. The third Pro was not having to make up a story about where I was from because I could see trying to pick and stick to some fictitious tail would catch up to me rather quickly and I would slip. Not only that but once Leliana started looking into the validity of any story I tried to spin she would know that whatever I told them was a lie.

The two largest cons I could see had to be, first that without mentioning certain secrets that each of the Inner Circle had, I was not sure how I could prove that I was from where I said I was from without being thought of as crazy. The second was that Solas would be less than happy to find out that I knew everything about him, what he was up to, and had planned for the future. I can only hope that after getting to know me better that Solas would trust me enough to know that I was not going to tell anyone his secrets. On the flip side, the pros and cons list for not telling them the truth was rather small. If I didn’t say anything then nothing would change from the gameplay walkthrough, this would mean that many of the people that I might save would still die but at least I could guarantee the outcome of the defeat of Coryphaeus. Just even thinking about not saving everyone that I could just so I could know what was to happen next didn’t sit well with me.

“I guess I’m just going to have to tell them the truth then.” With that final decision made I slowly got out of bed and made my way over to a trunk that I hoped carried clothing and possibly a cloak or wrap as it had been colder outside than the clothing I had on now would accommodate for. I was glad when I found what I was looking for within the trunk along with what looked like a few changes of clothes very similar to what I was presently wearing.

My next largest shock however came when I looked into the mirror above the trunk, as I was wrapping the Lenox fur, Nug skin and Sable cloak around my shoulders. The face looking back at me in the mirror was not the one I had always had. On Earth, I was what many would call average. I was certainly not a model, but I also was not unfortunately male looking for a member of the female gender. I don’t like to think of anyone as ugly as that’s just mean and hurtful. I like to think that in those cases it was a matter of an imbalance of male-to-female genetic markers that resulted in the person portraying more of the opposite traits to those that their final gender dictated they were.

At 28 I have had more than a few years to finalize my growing patterns and begin the maintenance stage of my body’s existence. Because of this, the changes that have happened to my form are blatantly obvious to me. My hair for starters is a much more vibrant strawberry blond than it had been before. It now also fell in gentle waves around my shoulders instead of the straight and flat or the lifeless way it used to hang before. My eyes seem to have almost doubled in size even though they retained the same half-lidded almond shape as before. The color of them had also brightened as well so whereas before the gray-green with hinting specks of brown within that used to greet me every morning as I tried to apply my mascara, were now sharp steel grey with emerald green centers with a noticeable bronze ring just passed the outer edge of the steel gray. These were the kind of eyes I had always wished for while in high school and with them framed in dark brown long eyelashes I could now forgo the mascara, and no one would even notice the difference. My lips were still thin but not so much that wearing some lip color would be completely unnoticeable, my cheekbones and chin were more predominant than they had been before. The largest change however was my ears, which were now pointed. Not Solas, Sarah, or even Grand enchanter Fiona pointed but certainly not the rounded shape you would see on a human either.

“Well that’s new.” I said to my reflection while bringing my fingertips to my ears. The unexpected and highly erotic sensation that ran through my body to settle right in my core nearly had me weak in the knees and was forcing me to take slow calming breaths to help with cooling my now quickly boiling blood. That definitely answers the question of whether their ears are an erogenous zone. I was short of breath and had to give myself a little shake before I could contemplate just what this new development would mean for me. Why would my physical form change so much by coming into the game? Then again maybe this wasn’t a game but an alternate reality. After all, my Mama always said that everything a person could dream or imagined was real on one plane of existence or another. Why not have Thedas be just an alternate realm that some other poor sap had tapped into and shared as a story, and if every possibility were possible then why not turn it into a role-play where you might see all of the different possible universes all at the same time.

The thing was, that I still had some obvious traits that could only be human in nature. The wider than normal hips for an elf were a dead give away and the ample amount of bust that I had never seen before on any elf in the Dragon Age franchise, that still adorned my frame had me believing that perhaps I was a halfling in this realm. I was surprised to see, however, that my wolf and lion head heart tattoo was still upon my chest, and could only imagine trying to explain that one away. With one final look over my appearance, I finished placing the cloak around my shoulders just as the same skittish elf from the game was coming into the cabin. After grabbing the box from her hands, so she wouldn’t drop it on the floor, I addressed her.

“Before you even start or stutter, I already know about where Cassandra is and that she wants to see me at once. I’m just going to go head that way now. If you could have a tub brought in here and a light cold dinner left for me that would be great.” And with a pat to the shoulder of the shocked woman I left my cabin and started to make my way towards the Chantry. Thankfully, there was nowhere near the number of people about that had been present every time I had ventured from my cabin to the Chantry in the game. This probably had more to do with the fact that it was evening and I had more than likely woken up a full day earlier due to my pulling magic out of Solas to help close the breach. Many people did stop what they were doing when I came by and started to whisper and stare as I passed but at least no one was outwardly praising my deeds. I didn’t see Varric standing by the fire pit at the top of the first set of stairs leading towards the Chantry and neither did I see Solas standing outside his cabin when I passed right around the tavern, but I had to remind myself that this was not a game and unlike the game, you could not always count on them staying in the same location all the time just waiting for me to come and talk to them.

One thing that was very much like the game was just how loud Chancellor Roderick really was as I could hear him yelling at Cassandra and Leliana the moment I got halfway down the chantry’s main hall. Stealing my nerves, I slowly opened the door and waited for Cassandra to tell the guards in the room to leave us before I even started to address anyone.

“You walk a dangerous line Seeker.” Chancellor Roderick threatened those in the room when he failed to get his way in having me send to Val Royeaux for trial. Before Cassandra could comment I decided to lay into the man I had wanted to give a piece of my mind to every time I played Dragon Age Inquisition.

“Oh, goody more complaining from the clerical office. If you don’t shut it, I’m going to take your hat right off your head and make you eat it.” When Chancellor Roderick opened his mouth to start up again, I could not help but laugh. “I told you that you would be eating a slice of ‘Humble Pie’ and it looks as if you have assumed the correct mouth position to do so.” This caused the chancellor to close his mouth and growl at me instead of commenting any further.

“The breach is not the only threat that we have at this moment.” Cassandra started while Leliana took over.
“Someone was behind the explosion at the conclave, someone that most holy didn’t expect. Perhaps it was someone who died during the explosion or perhaps they have allies who still live.”

“I am a suspect?”

“Damn straight you are. You do realize how damning it looks that you wanted to send away the one person who could stabilize the breach right? If we had done things your way hundreds if not thousands would have died while you took me to Val Royeaux, elected a new Divine, and then finally decided what to do about the hole in the sky. I however have given us time to find a permanent solution to the problem of the breach as I will continue to work with these fine ladies and gents in the coming months to fix this and we will be doing it with authorities that are higher than yours. So you have two choices you can either stay and help or you can leave and don’t return and if so, don’t let the door hit you in the rear on the way out.”

“This is not for you to decide.” Chancellor Roderick growled at me in return before Cassandra threw down the late divine’s last writ giving Cassandra and Leliana the authority to call a renewed Inquisition into being.

“You know what this is chancellor. This is a writ giving us the authority to act. As of now, I am declaring the Inquisition Reborn. We will close the breach and find those responsible and we will restore order with or without your approval.” And with that, the chancellor walked out of the room.

“That was awesome!” I grinned like a fool at both Cassandra and Leliana before either one could start mentioning what they didn’t have. “Know that I will do everything I can to help and even if we don’t have allies or Chantry support, I want you to know that we will be fine. Before I can explain how I know I want you to call the other members of the war council together and I will explain everything. Also, if I could get something to eat that would be great. I came right here after waking up.” Leliana looks to Cassandra before she nods and left the room to gather the others.

“There are times when the things you say make me think you know more about what’s going on than you should. How is that?” Cassandra posed to me as I looked around for a chair to sit in and motion for her to do the same when I moved one away from the wall and closer to the war table.

“It’s complicated and it will take me a bit to try and explain, just keep in mind that what I’m about to tell you, no matter how fantastic it may seem, is no crazier than a hole in the sky that has demons falling out of it.” Cassandra had to grunt a chuckle in expense at my statement. Fifteen minutes later Leliana returned with Commander Cullen and Ambassador Josephine along with a few extra chairs and some platters of bread, meats, and cheese and a smaller bowl of fruit along with a few pictures of chilled sweet tea. I took a moment while the others were getting settled in the room to really take a good look at Cullen and Josephine as this was my first time seeing them since I woke up in Thedas.

Cullen was so much more to look a pone than the game creators had done for him. His wild curls that had been slicked back and barely tamed within the game were richer in color and fuller in volume than they had been presented before. His amber eyes were richer as well and resembled more of a finely aged scotch than I had thought they would be. The slight scar on his upper lip only had me wanting to kiss him more than I had during all my times romancing him in the past and if I ever got my hands on his lions' main cloak I was never giving that thing back.

Now Josephine definitely had to be the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in real life or in the game. No amount of praising that woman’s choice in attire would ever explain just how well the colors of her clothing helped to accentuate her skin tone or bring out her eyes. The deep brown orbs sparkled in a way that could never have been captured during the game and the poise and grace with which she carried herself had me thinking that the roomers back home that Josie was actually part of the Antivan royalty were true. Regardless it was the kind smile that graced her lips that invited me in the most.

“Hello all. Now before you try introductions, Cassandra, I am going to jump right into that explanation I spoke to you about. First and foremost I want all of you to know that I know who all of you are better than you might be comfortable with at this moment but, no I am not a spy Leliana, I am too horrible at lying to be one. Mama always said I have too many tells to play poker. There are many things that I know that will be able to help us with both closing the breach and dealing with the sad*stic asshat that caused all this Cullen, so don’t worry about the numbers of our forces just yet. Just keep training those that join us over the next while until we really get everything going. Also, I’m going to need your help, Josephine, getting caught up on the specific details about the present political climate of Thedas so that I’m not making a complete fool of myself.”

Of course, Leliana was the first to respond to everything I had said. “The very fact that you know whom each of us is and have given an indication as to what we will be doing for the Inquisition has me believing that you do indeed know all of us rather intimately. My main concern is how you know all of this information.” I clapped my hands together with a large smile on my face and pointed at Leliana giving her a thumbs up in approval.

“Bingo,” I shouted, “Now as I was telling Cassandra just moments ago to remember that no matter how fanciful my explanation might seem we have the asshole of the fade hanging in the sky with demons being sh*ted out of it, so after that what I’m about to tell you should seem pretty mild in comparison.” Looking at all of the others around the room I could see that Cassandra was smirking at my colorful language while Josie was trying to cover a giggle. Cullen however had an all-out blush going on and was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Rolling my eyes at his reaction I looked back to Leliana while I quickly threw together a sandwich and after eating half of it and following it with a full glass of the sweet tea, I continued my story. “First off I’m not from this realm. And no, I am not a spirit or a demon.”

“That is just what a demon would say to get us off our guard.” Cullen retorted pulling his hand over the top of his sword pommel.

“I know, which is what makes this that much more difficult. All I can say is that this, all of this” I waved my arms around us to indicate everything going on “is history and fiction where I come from. Try to imagine if you will if you could literally wake up one morning inside one of the world’s that Varric has written to page. What would you do or say to the people inside ‘Swords and Shields’ to prove that you already knew everything that was going to happen to them until the end of the events of that book? That is essentially what I am dealing with right now. Where I come from this is a multi possibility story that all eventually leads to the same outcome.”

“What do you mean multiple possibilities?” Leliana asked for clarification.

“Just that. Imagine again if you will, you’re riding your horse to Denerim and it throws a shoe. Because of this, you don’t meet a merchant who gives you a discount on an amazing new pair of boots.” I told the others while giving Leliana a wink to hopefully let her know that I knew about her love of foot ware. “Instead you get stuck in a rainstorm. As an alternate possibility, your horse is fine. You make it to Denerim and meet that merchant and bye the boots. Now imagine that both possibilities are happening at the same time. Regardless of what happens to your horse you still make it to Denerim both times it just matters what happens while getting there and what happens once you are.” I remember many times growing up when my mother would try explaining things to myself and my brother while using this method while I was growing up. It was like putting yourself into a storybook and then picking the adventure that you wanted to see happen.

“If this is true then tell us each something only we would know. Prove that you know what is going to happen.” Liliana demanded and I could tell she was trying to catch me in a lie.

“Has Farrier died yet?”

“What?”

“I'll take that as a no then. Now, this is what I want you to do. Call him in and all his team. Bartell, Farrier all of them. Keep them separate from the others for now and I’ll help you deal with that once they get in. Also, I’m going to need your assistance with finding proper footwear soon. Maybe we’ll take a trip to Val Royeaux.” I can see that Leliana was worrying about what I had just told her, but I knew she would follow the advice I was telling her if it meant she could possibly save one of her people’s lives. Turning to look at Cassandra I could see that she was on edge so I didn’t want to push her. “I’m sorry about Anthony.” I waited for a moment for that revelation to sink in before I added, “I know why you joined the Seekers.” Not wanting to upset Cassandra anymore than I already had I turned to Josie. “Ambassador I know about the current status of your family’s merchant capabilities within Orlais. And I also know how to resolve that particular problem.” Josie squirmed mildly uncomfortable with the beginnings of my statement but was ultimately excited when I mentioned I could help with what I knew. Lastly, I turned to look at Cullen and couldn’t help but smile compassionately at him. This man had been through so much recently that I did not want to remind him of anything unpleasant, but I knew that there was no other way around this. “Commander Cullen Rutherford. After everything you’ve been through between Kinnock and Kirkwall, man I just want to give you a hug.” Cullen blushed again at my words and shifted slightly in his seat. “Cullen you also need to forgive yourself. Know that in every possibility there was nothing you could have done to save or stop Meredith. Also, I know of a way to deal with the headaches.” I was happy to see that my final confession did not just confirm my truthfulness with just Cullen but also with Cassandra as well, for at this time she would have been the only one he would have told about his abstinence from lyrium.

“You know quite a bit about all of us from the reactions I have seen. My question is, what could you possibly need me to tell you about the political situation in Thedas if you already know so much.” Josie asked as she also started to nibble on it the food present before them.

“Well I need to confirm this realm’s possibilities so that I don’t make any errors. For example, during the fifth blight, the hero of Ferelden could have been either gender or race and they still would have defeated the archdemon. Or that I have seen both outcomes of Hawke choosing between the Mages and the Templars in Kirkwall and what they did to both Orsino and Meredith.” Looking around the room I could see that I had given the council much to think about and I felt that perhaps it was time I took my leave of them so they could think and go over everything I had mentioned. “For the rest of the night however I will be in my cabin and in the morning I will come to find each of you so that I can get your help in preparing to permanently seal the breach.” With that, I excused myself and left the War Room.

Chapter 3: Reasons and Answers

Chapter Text

Well sh*t

Chapter 3

When I got back to my cabin, I was happy to see that the poor skittish elf girl that I had seen just before leaving had indeed done what I had asked and had a tub brought in for me to use. I could also see the light dinner sitting on my desk. The cheese and vegetables along with a sweet plum were just what I needed to finish off my day. I figured that a long soak in the tub by the fire would do me a lot of good before going to bed. Gods know that I had a lot to do the following day.

While soaking I planned out what I would need to accomplish first. I knew I was going to need Josephine to help me with history and facts where Leliana would need to create a viable back story for me to use once Farrier had been saved and my loyalty had been proven. I was also going to need to work with Cullen to train in hand-to-hand combat and lastly Solas’ help for my magical training. I could only hope that between the workouts that I was going to get from the two men I would still be able to walk at the end of every day. I also wanted to find the entrance to the mineshaft I would be falling into once Corypheus arrived and maybe have the passage cleared and place some supplies I would need at the bottom. Maybe even find the exit and have a horse there for when I had to trek up the mountain after the rest of the Inquisition. Also, get Leliana and Cullen working together on an emergency escape plan and finding the summer pilgrimage path before we would need Chancellor Rodrick’s help in getting that information would be a good team-building exercise.

Regarding telling the others of what I knew would be coming I decided to wait and would dole that information out in smaller chunks so as not to overwhelm all the advisors too quickly. After all, between the Hinterlands, Storms Coast, and Fellow Mire along with side trips to Val Royeaux where I would be collecting Sara, Madame Vivien, and The Iron Bull, I would have more than enough to do all before I even got to closing the breach. As it was, I still needed to choose between the mages and the templars. A part of me was still on the fence as to rather or not, I wanted to recruit Thom Rainer aka Blackwall. If I did recruit him then I was not going to help him lie to the others about whom he was as that would just cause problems for the Inquisition later and if the man did indeed want to be a warden then I had ways of making that happen without having to send the man all the way to Weisshaupt fortress. After all, either Leliana had a way of getting a hold of the Hero of Ferelden or there was always Alister they could ask for aid from whether he was that he was king of Ferelden or not.

When I was more than satisfactory prunie from my bath I got out of the tub and climbed into bed after fishing a sleeping shirt and clean smalls out of the trunk. For all that the mattress was straw filled and down-padded, it still took me a while to fall asleep, so that between one thought and the next I found myself in what could only be the raw fade, it was enough of a shock that I didn’t notice the three spirits that were also present with me.

“Vhalla” (Welcome)

With a start I turned to see three spirits behind me, and I’ll admit to fearing them at first. After all, this was the first time I could recall being in the fade and after everything I had seen with the demon interactions of the past paly threw of Dragon Ages one and two, I knew that this could go bad very quickly.

“Ah… hi.”

“Ma dirtha Elhven?” (You speak Elven?) the first of the spirits spoke to me.

“Da’ gavem.” (a little bit) I responded. What I did know of the Elven language was from what I had read in the codices of the game and from translations online but not enough to have a full conversation in it. “It would be better to speak in Common though. You all know Common right?”

“Indeed, little one. I hope that we did not startle you too much. We are not used to interacting so readily with your kind. Normally the young fear us and so it sets our natures on edge.” This came from the second spirit of the three.

“We however have many truths to impart on you so that you might fulfill the purpose for which you have been brought to this realm.” This came from the last of the three spirits and it was at this point I could tell that none of the spirits in front of me were out to cause me any harm. A mixed sense of calm and excitement hit me as I looked between the three spirits and the fade around us. “If you will allow, we could form a more comfortable setting with which we could then converse in.”

“Sure, but before we do that could I just ask which spirits are you three are?”

“We are Wisdom, Fortitude, and Truth.” The first spirit that had originally spoken to me in Elvish stated. After taking a closer look at Wisdom I could indeed see that she did look a lot like the elven woman spirit that Solas had tried to rescue in the Exalted Plains.

“You wouldn’t by chance be Solas friend Wisdom, would you?” I couldn’t help but hope that she was indeed the same spirit as the one in the game.

“Yes, Solas and I are quite close. I am indeed the same spirit that you are thinking of.” Wisdom smiled brightly at my excitement and I couldn’t help the fangirl squeak that escaped my lips before I covered my mouth in surprise. This was so cool, and I had so many questions for Wisdom but those could wait for another time as she had said they had a reason for why they needed to speak to me.

“Could you show me something nice from Arlathan then?” I asked and started to look around us hoping that I would be able to follow the changes that they made so that if I found myself in the raw fade again, I could copy what was about to happen around me. Slowly, and almost as if Truth sensed what I was hoping to learn from my observations, the seen around us started to take shape.

The ground beneath us changed and started to resemble proper earth with grass and clover, even a few intermittently placed flowers could be seen. Next came the sky above us and the green tint of the fade disappeared somewhat as the sun and clouds started to form. This was followed by trees that were unlike anything I had seen before on Thedas in any of my gameplay threw. If anything, they resembled something closer to a cross between the trees seen in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies that Galadriel and her people lived in and something found in a fantasy painting I had back home. Lastly, a gentle river started to cut its way across the seen in front of us. Once the visual had been set I started to notice the sounds of birds in the distance calling out to one another and the buzzing or chirping of what could only be small insects started to permeate the air along with the crisp scent of the trees that were present and the sweet scent of the flowers that dotted the field.

When everything was set in place Wisdom then unrolled a checkered picnic blanket upon the ground where she, Fortitude, and Truth then sat down upon. Not wanting to be left out I also sat and smiled at everything I had just observed.

“That was amazing! I really hope one of you might help me do something like this again. I so want to learn all I can about working the fade. Not that I want to be an expert like Solas mind you but if I were also a somniari that would make explaining things to him later so much easier.” Truth chuckled at my excitement while Fortitude huffed and shook his head, for he indeed looked more masculine than the other two Spirits. Wisdom gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder while Truth explained Fortitude’s reaction to my excitement.

“You will have to excuse Fortitude as your abilities as a somniari was a point of much debate when we were tasked with bringing your spirit to Thedas. Fortitude felt that the ability of a somniari added to everything else that you would need to master could potentially be too much for you to learn all at once.” Truth informed me with another chuckle at her companions’ expense. Where Wisdom’s hair was shorter Truth’s was long and flowed far down her elven back. This was how I was able to tell the two female Spirits apart.

“Well I’m glad then, that you lost that debate, my friend, as out of all the things I am aware at present that I can do, that one is by far the coolest of the lot. After all, if I’m going to be a mage in this realm I may as well go all out. As Papa always said, ‘Go big or go home.’ Can you just imagine the look on Solas’s face when he realizes he’s not the only somniari present?” It was at that moment however that I realized that I would need to quickly learn how to guard myself against demons in my sleep otherwise I was likely to end up like Faynril.

“I see that the potential consequences of this ability have been realized. Know that after we are done discussing everything you need to know that I will take you to meet a friend who has offered to Boon you with how to guard your mind against unwanted attention.” Fortitude informed me.

“Boon me?” Was that like a gift? Or would I be expected to give something in return to the spirit in exchange for the boon I would be getting?

“A boon is a gifting of. It is something we spirits can give freely to those that have need of a talent or knowledge without fear that an exchange would be expected. If you however would like to Boon or gift something in return to the one who has given you such a gift, then it would be done by your own choice and it would be a good way to establish trust between yourself and the giver." It certainly helped to put my mind at ease to know that I wouldn’t need to be doling out gifts or knowledge of myself just so I could learn how to protect my mind from demons while I slept.

“So did I catch that right, that it was you three that brought me to Thedas?” That tidbit of information had not gone by unnoticed and I was hoping that if I brought it up that some explanation would be forthcoming.

“Yes that is what occurred. You see we have become aware that knowledge of our world and what is going to befall it in the coming years has been found in your realm. We have also had it brought to our attention of your realm's insatiable ability to create alternate events based upon a desire to see particular circ*mstances changed in some way. This has led us to question whether the path before us must remain as it was foreseen in your realm or if perhaps events could indeed be changed towards a more amenable outcome if someone such as yourself who had prior knowledge of what was to happen were to now lead the events that are about to unfold.” Truth smiled shyly at me as Fortitude and Wisdom started to explain to me how I had gotten here and why.

It was explained to me that after being told of my realm and its foreknowledge of what was about to occur, Wisdom had started to question the finality and necessity of the present plan Solas had for the veil. Much like I and many others from my world had questioned the necessity of pulling down the veil, Wisdom had also started to question as to whether or not this was the only way to set things back to the way Thedas had once been.

Solas being who he was, could not see the value in the inhabitants of present-day Thedas and was fixated on restoring what was, rather than allowing himself and all other surviving Elven to adapt to the changes that having the veil up now meant. They explained that when Wisdom had brought her concerns to Truth about Solas’s plan for the veil, it had been confirmed that if Solas were to continue along his present path that the survival chances for those in Thedas would be close to non-existent if left to go forward. When Truth had shared their concerns with Mythal, the Elder Mage had proposed that what Solas needed was some way of seeing the value of those now living in Thedas and that if a solution were to present itself that she would be willing to assist in any plan to change Solas’s mind about the world’s present condition.

Other spirits who were not present with us at this time, had also been consulted by Wisdom and Truth to find a solution for the ‘Solas problem.’ Knowledge and Creativity had supplied the information about my realm and an idea of how that knowledge could be possibly utilized. It was during these conversations that the plan to bring someone with as out-of-the-box thinking as I had, from my realm to this one had come about. It was their hope, that with my foreknowledge and with my understanding of Thedas that I might be able to show Solas another side to this realm. That he might have previously been unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge. In essence, I was being tasked with the challenge to make Solas give a damn enough about all the people of Thedas and not just those of ‘The People’ who were still in Uthenera.

With the puncturing of the veil an opportunity had also presented itself with being able to make changes to Thedas that before may never have been possible. First Knowledge had looked for a soul spirit from my realm who had the knowledge, understanding, and compassion necessary along with it the desire to make changes to the present path of Thedas that it was on. Second, Fortitude was needed to strengthen that spirit as it was carried between realms. Third Creativity, Design, and Wisdom used the explosion at the conclave and the presence of a living vessel within the fade to make the changes to that form so that it would be closely comparable with the soul-spirit that had been chosen to help with this task.

It was at this point that many of the participating spirits had given me boons already to ease my transition into Thedas. Wisdom had given me the ability to judge all actions so that they would benefit everyone in Thedas equally. Fortitude had given me both the physical and mental strength and endurance to see my tasks to completion. Truth had given me the sixth sense to tell when someone was lying to me. Creativity and Design’s boons came in the physical form that I now resided in being a halfling. The idea behind this was that as an outcast to most, I would have a unique understanding of many walks of life. Not quite human, not quite Elven. Looked down upon like a dwarf but unique like a Qunari. Lastly, my gift of magic had come from Mythal herself, who had also vaguely hinted that the full extent of her gift would only show itself with time. I can only imagine just how powerful that could possibly mean my magical strength would be. Knowledge had been the spirit to make sure my magic would include somniari but that I would need to receive the instructions with which to control it only once I was awakened again.

This is what then found me face-to-face with my fourth spirit of the evening in the form of Knowledge.

“Aneth ara”. (Greetings)

“Hello.”

“Ah, I see you have survived your transitioning. I am sorry that I could not gift you with my boon until after your mind was active again.” Knowledge informed me after Truth and Fortitude had transported me to his part of the fade.

“That’s all right, at least this way I can thank you for the information you will be gifting me with. When I had heard confirmation about me being somniari I will admit I was concerned with my ability to guard myself against undesired attention. To know that is one less concerned that I will need to deal with lifts a great burden from my mind. As such I would like to return your gift with something of my own. I will allow you to view all of my memories of Earth's history, such as I have. I would ask that Truth be used to help maintain that only what I have allowed you to see, is what you truly view. As I am untrained in how to separate knowledge into exchangeable allotments, I would hope that the use of Truth as a mediator will facilitate this exchange without any possible offense.” The last thing I wanted was for any information that could possibly cause Thedas harm in the future, based on the half understandings that I have of most topics, to fall into unprepared hands.

“I accept the terms of your boon and thank you for the historical information that you do have from your realm.” With that Knowledge held out his hand to me as if I were formalizing an offer of exchange. When mine and Knowledge's hands clasped however, I could feel pressure between my ears almost as if someone had my head in a hold. I closed my eyes in hopes to relieve the pressure. When I open my eyes again though it was to find I was no longer in the fade but in fact awake again inside my cabin in Haven. Next, I thought of situations in which I would need my gifting of somniari skills and like a book before my eyes all of the information I might need about how to guard myself while in the fade started to trickle into my mind.

The only comparison I could think of for what I had just experienced was like the ‘Matrix’ movies information download that Trinity did to fly the aircraft or Neo’s hand-to-hand fighting skills. I could see many instances where that kind of learning would certainly save time and others where it might make a student complacent. After all, were not most physical skills more a retention of muscle memory acquired due to the repetitious patterns of practice and not a learned trait that one might find within a book. Lastly, I could only hope that Knowledge had adhered to the terms of our exchanged agreement and that he had taken pleasure out of what he had gleaned from my head.

Glancing out the window of my cabin I could see that it was still too early to be awake and so rolled over so that I could go back to sleep. I would need to have a conversation with the spirits about ‘kicking me out of the fade’ before it was morning so that this sort of thing did not happen in the future. When again I found myself in the raw fade I set to the task of creating myself my own space so that I would have a pleasant area with which to start my evening dreaming in the future. Using the knowledge that I had just been given I set about re-creating the cabin that I and my family had spent many a summer in, while I was a child. I thought that this would be the best ‘space’ for me as it was the closest that I had to an environment that could possibly be found in Thedas and as such if Solas ‘stumbled’ upon it, he would hopefully assume that it was a memory of where I had grown up as a child. After all, I was not ready for him to know all my secrets yet as I had not had the chance to earn his trust.

First, I created the field of wildflowers with gently swaying trees that surrounded the property. Next, I tried to recreate the lake along with its coy fish, many trout, and frogs that had lived within it. It took me time to recreate everything that I knew about the lake from the glistening rocks to the tall grasses that the ducks had hidden into along with the lily pads that the frogs would sit on, and the bullrushes that the fish would swim around. I made sure to add the dock to the lake that my father had installed the second year that we had spent the summer there and the gravel path that leading to the dock that my mother had made my brother and I help with laying. Finally, I focused on the four-room cabin that my grandfather had built for my grandmother as a hideaway from all the stresses of being a society wife.

The cabin had a family or social room that was small enough that the stonework fireplace in the middle of the room could heat it nicely. The fireplace was a bit of an ingenious idea as the stone stack had been created in such a way that the heat from the fireplace heated the whole little house. Heat vents had been cut into the chimney so that it also heat the master bedroom on the backside of the fireplace and the loft up above that could be reached with a cleverly designed spiral staircase that was in the corner of the room. The last room was the large kitchen and dining space that I modified to have an old cast iron bot belly stove so that it would fit more with the Thedas theme and a water pump sink so that it also matched the technology of the present world that I was in. After putting in the furniture that would have been found around the house I changed the loft from the bunk bed that would have been there when I was a child into a cozy reading nook along with a sitting balcony so that if I wanted to view the stars at night I could.

After viewing my work inside the cabin I went out the back door and worked on both the vegetable garden and the flower patches, which I remember spending many a summer day weeding with my mother as my brother and father fished in the lake. I even went through the effort of recreating the outhouse that was just past the garden gate. I did not think I would ever use the thing but for the sake of posterity in the memory I still put it in.

Before I left my cabin space I decided to add only one thing that had not been in my original memory of the space and that was a small creek that would feed the lake and give its existence more believability. On the other end of the creek, I had it run off into a gentle waterfall and a heated pool that would have been used for bathing had it been in a real Thedas forest. Once I was satisfied with my created space I added in the final touches of sounds and smells that would have been present along with any of the insects that would have been present both in a garden and out by the lake.

Like the knowledge I had now gained from Knowledge, I had to press my will upon the whole scene so that it would remain so. Then I would not need to recreate it every single time that I visited the fade. I however also set the edges of the space to have a bit of a fuzzy feel to them so that if Solas were to look upon the space he would indeed think this was just a memory and not a permanent place that I had made for myself hear in the fade. Now it was time for me to ‘Wake up’.

Chapter 4: What's your thing?

Chapter Text

Well sh*t...

Chapter 4

The following morning, I was met with the unexpected and mildly embarrassing discovery in that I had started my monthly cycle again and had no idea what women in Thedas used to deal with this particular problem. After sacrificing the bottom half of one of my nightdresses to the moon flow gods and padding my smalls, I forwent putting on the breast band that I couldn’t figure out how to put on anyway and quickly went to the Chantry hoping that Josephine would be in her office.

Thankfully when I arrived not only was Josephine in her office, but it looked as if she and Leliana were breaking their fast with scones and black tea. “Oh, thank the Maker you’re here. I’m going to need your help!”

“Good Morning Herald. I trust you slept well.” Josephine smiled at me all calm and poised as always, so with a deep breath I tried to calm myself enough that I could return her smile before I tried to explain away my current predicament.

“I slept fine, waking up however was not so good considering it was done with women’s issues. Not that this is not normal or anything but normally back home I would just use a tampon during the day and a pad at night. I wouldn’t be cutting up my pajamas to make stuffing for my smalls and fighting with this monstrosity.” I commented while pulling the breast band out of my cloak pocket. The thing was nice with satin trim and lace frills. There was even beadwork decoration right in the center. “It’s pretty and all but I can’t even figure out how to put the damn thing on, and a girl my size can’t go about the day like it’s a lazy Sunday and have the girls flopping all over the place. I’m liable to poke someone’s eye out if I were to try that while training to fight. Which, by the way, I will be doing once I convinced Cullen to help train me.”

It was at that moment that I looked up from the breast band in my hand to Josephine who was trying to stifle a giggle then over to Leliana who had the beginnings of a smirk on her face. It took me another second to realize they were not looking at me, but at someone behind me. Turning to see who it was, I could only groan and facepalm myself when I saw none other than Commander Cullen standing behind me blushing as red as a tomato. His eyes were flitting around the room before finally coming to a stop on the very breast band I had just facepalmed myself with. With an equally embarrassed squeak, I shoved the breast band back into my cloak pocket and tried to smile in greeting at the man.

“Ah… I’ll ah… just be outside, you know… until your finished.” And just like that Cullen left Josephine’s office as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.

“Oh man, not again.” My shoulders sagged and I shook my head while pinching the bridge of my nose. “Not even a week in Thedas and that is the second time I have that man blushing like a virgin bride!” This statement had both women throwing back their heads with loud peels of laughter that I couldn’t help but join in on.

“Oh my, this is quite the way to start the morning. How about I go see what our poor Commander needs if you could be so kind as to help the Herald, Leliana.” Josephine was visibly trying to compose herself while she gathered up her clipboard and exited her office once Leliana had nodded her assent that she would help me.

“Oh and Josephine, please just call me for Fenarla. It seems rather pretentious of me to go around having people call me Herald when I’m not even Andrastian.” It would be bad enough when they all started calling me the Inquisitor but pretending to be the Herald of these people’s religious leader just did not sit well with me. After all Earth's history had many instances of people who professed to be doing the Lord's work as if that would excuse away some of the horrible things that they had done.

“You may not see yourself as the Herald of Andraste, but the people do, and that position comes with a certain level of expected decorum and respect. To call you anything other than Herald would be an insult to their beliefs.” Leliana informed me as she stood and started to make her way towards me.

“Perhaps, but at least while we’re in a private could both of you not just call me by my name. The last thing we need is the imposed fame going to my head.” Leliana tried covering an amused snort into a cough but regardless her opinion had been made known. I smirked at Leliana and then turned my imploring gaze back onto Josephine. The need for humility aside, I just didn't like the idea that even with the closest of my advisors I could not relax and be myself. I was also aware that even though I may know these people very well, they were still getting used to me, and did not yet have the same familial affections for me as I did for them.

“Very well Fenarla, in private I will endeavor to use your given name. After all, it is rather pretty is it not.” I nodded my thanks to Josephine as she turned to leave her office and I redirected my attention back towards Leliana.

“Why don’t you come with me and we will see about getting you some supplies better suited to your monthly flow so you’re not having to cut into good nightshirts and I will teach you how to put on your… monstrosity was it?” At this, I started chuckling again and after snagging a scone from the pile on Josie’s desk I followed Leliana out and across the main hall to the room that I now assumed was shared by Leliana, Josephine, and Cassandra. When we entered the room, Leliana walked to a smaller chest on the far side of the room and after opening it she extracted a small pouch that she started to fill with neatly folded strips of linen and flax cloth, second, she placed a few smaller vials into the pouch as well that I could only assume we’re pain potions.

“This should be enough to get you through the day. I’ll make sure to requisition you a woman’s kit. The flax cloth goes between the layers of linen as they are more absorbent but not very comfortable to have right against the skin. Also as with any pain potion try not to use them unless sparingly as you don’t want to build a tolerance, but three to four drops under the tongue should do the trick for any cramping or stiff muscles. Now as for the breast band I will teach you how to wrap it much as my own mother taught me.” Leliana took the offending garment out of my cloak pocket and after placing the band decorative side down upon the bed she made a loose loop wider than my shoulders and crossed the bands around each other in both the front once and the back twice before leaving the tail ends loose in the front.

“Do you have reservations about showing yourself?”

“No, after years of junior and senior school gym classes and the all women’s baseball team in college I have very little in the way of body shame left.” At the confused look in Leliana’s eyes, I just smiled while shaking my head and started to remove my cloak and brocade top. When I had barren myself to the spymaster I could tell that she was regarding me before she started to slip the band over my outstretched arms and then down over my head so that the decorative front was now covering my breasts.

“You’ll want to adjust yourself accordingly each time you tighten the bands, but just remember until you have the technique down to go slowly and remember when the band feels firmly in place without hampering your ability to breathe only then do you tie it off.” Within five minutes I had put on the band twice, once with Leliana’s help and again once on my own.

“Thank you so much Leliana, I know this is not quite a normal situation, but I really appreciate you taking the time to help me.” After I had redonned my brocade top I surprised both myself and Leliana by giving her a hug. After an awkward moment, Leliana patted my back in return.

“You really are not from this realm are you?” As the curiously surprising sound of Leliana’s voice tickled my ears, I could tell that she was starting to believe what I had told her and the rest of the council about where I was truly from.

“No, I’m really not. Stick with me kid and we’ll fix the sky, kill the bad guy, and save the world. How does that sound?” I asked as I pulled away from her with a stupidly large smile on my lips.

“You are defiantly unique.” Leliana chuckled and shook her head in my direction.

“Damn straight I am. Why be like everyone else, that’s no fun.” I patted her arm as I grab the small pack she had made up for me. “Now there’s one other thing you could do for me because it’s going to be needed sooner rather than later.”

“Which is?”

“Create a believable backstory that even your people would be hard-pressed to find a fake. We won’t need it just yet but know that at some point in the next year or two we will be going to the Orlesian court and you’re more than aware of how crazy those vultures can be if there is even the smallest hint of a scandal.” After that, I walked back across the Chantry main hall and into Josephine’s office once again.

“So now that the embarrassing part of the morning is done…” I said while leaning against the creature requisition table.

“Indeed, I think it will be quite some time before Commander Cullen will be comfortable walking into my office without fear of catching sight of your small clothes again.” Josephine both blushed and snickered at me. Just thinking about the look on the Commander’s face had a blush creeping up my face as well. “Was there something more I could help you with this morning Fenarla?”

“Actually yes. Do you have a book on modern events throughout Thedas? Anything that could tell me about the state of Thedas since the last blight? I can always get specific details from Leliana about the Hero of Ferelden and from Varric about the Champion of Kirkwall for the outcomes that took place in this realm. But as to any other notable events, not much else was discussed except for everything that is going down with Empress Celine and her cousin Duke Gaspard.” I knew we would be dealing with that eventually, but I was not looking forward to it. I also did not want to be the one to bring what had transpired at Adament with Cole to light just yet. After all, that had been part of the cause for the mage rebellion. Many may have thought that it stemmed from what had taken place in Kirkwall but the truth about the right of annulment had also been a large part of why the mages had rebelled against the Templars and the Chancery. Maybe if I could get Solas and his people on my side early, then we could get proof of duch*ess Florian’s involvement with Corypheus long before we even ended up at the Winter Palace.

“Oh yes, the political situation in Orlais is certainly heating up. I can only hope that things resolved themselves soon.” Josephine passed me a mug of tea and the plate of scones as she settled herself behind her desk after having grabbed a few items from the bookshelf in her office.

“Oh, they will be once we get involved but that won’t be for quite some time. That’s why I need to learn what the political climate is like. I need to know who to woo and who to tell to take a hike or who to tolerate if it will get us what we need. Things will get a lot easier when we get the help of Madame Vivienne de Fer after she joins us, as that woman has more connections within the court than a Chantry has sinners.” Josephine’s eyes widened as she snickered at my statement as she started to take notes of what I was telling her. No doubt she was going to have Leliana investigate everything I brought to her attention.

“These books should get you started they are the modern history of Navara, Antiva, Rivain, and Orlay. There are also a few books I think you may find interesting even if they are about some not-so-recent events. They do help to set the stage for why Thedas is the way we see it today.” Josephine was definitely in her element as she proceeded to instruct me. “If however, you have any specific questions I can always arrange for Leliana and I to instruct you ourselves.” I thanked Josephine for her help and decided to join her and Leliana every morning so that we could discuss current events. I could see this quickly becoming a routine if we kept this up. It might be a good way to start the day even once we had made it to Skyhold.

After promising to bring the books back I left to take them to my cabin. On my way there I ran into Cassandra who informed me that per Cullen’s request, she would be training me in hand-to-hand combat and that we would work more on my skills with my mace and shield or in my case my mase and barrier magic skills. A part of me was grateful for this as I was not sure if I was ready to speak with Cullen quite yet after this morning’s embarrassment and so agreed to meet Cassandra in the training yard after lunch for my first lesson. After dropping off Josephine’s books I asked Verric if he would meet me in the tavern for dinner as I had a bunch of questions for him about his books. He agreed and even offered to buy the first round of drinks.

Next, I made my way to Adan’s Hut, where I agreed to find his mentor's notes and get more ingredients for potions for him. I then went in search of Solas. At first, when I knocked on his door I had to wonder if he was even in his cabin when after a minute or two of waiting, he still had not come to the door. Then from around behind his cabin I heard sounds and became curious so ventured back there to see what was going on. What I found had me stopping to watch while leaning against the corner of the building.

Solas was moving in slow sweeping motions with his staff in a controlled movement pattern that reminded me of a cross between yoga and martial arts. At the end of each set of movements, the butt end of his staff would contact the ground and a small wave of electrical shocks would dance out of the bottom and into the Earth around us. I could feel the ozone in the air increase every time he completed a pass with his staff and I could hardly contain the giggles as the sparks in the air started to jump between the small hairs on my arms.

“Sorry” I called out to Solas as he came to an abrupt halt and quickly swung into a defensive stance while he waited to see how I would react. The very fact that I was able to surprise Solas was a testament to just how weak his magic had become since his time in Uthenera. “I didn’t mean to startle you it’s just, that was rather amazing to watch.”

“Indeed,” Solas raised an eyebrow at me. “Is your technique so different from mine when releasing excess stored mana from your own staff?” Solas asked me while leaning on his. I cannot help but marvel at just how gorgeous the elf was now that I was once again standing face-to-face with him. His storming eyes alone I felt I could get lost in for days. Now if I could just convince him to wear something slightly nicer. I can understand the hobo style as part of his façade, but after seeing him in trespasser I know that he is just hot stuff and if I have my way he is going to show that more this time around.

“I wouldn’t know I don’t really have a staff let alone the training to go with it to say one way or the other. This is all rather new to me.” I told Solas honestly after all I was here to garner his help with my magical training. No sense in lying about my lack of ability now.

“I find that hard to believe. One with your number of years, surviving without magical training is not probable let alone possible. After all your barriers up on the mountain though crude, were executed in a fashion which conveyed past use.” Solas tried calling out a bluff. What he did not realize was that I was not trying to deceive him.
“Sorry to say but you’re wrong this time hot stuff. Up until this,” I waved my marked hand at him. “I had no magic to speak of. Maybe it was dormant and getting this mark woke it up or something, but those barriers were so crude as you put it because I’ve never done that before.” Pushing myself off the cabin wall I came to stand before Solas and looked him in the eyes so he could see that I was not lying to him.

“As unlikely as it should be, that would certainly explain the fluctuating mana readings I have been getting from you both before and after you closed the rift below the breach.” Solas co*cked his eyebrow at me once again as if I were the most intriguing mystery in the world. This could potentially be both good or bad. I would have to be careful with how revealed my abilities and past. I needed to gain his trust before it was that he found out I knew he was Fen’Harel.

“Exactly my point,” I informed Solas.

“If this is indeed true then you are going to need formal instruction upon the use of your magic and as the foremost expert present, I am correct in assuming this is why you have come to see me today?” Solas enquired as he started to guide us around to the front of his cabin. I was happy to see that once his initial shock of the situation had passed that he naturally fell back into his routine of a humble apostate who was willing to help in any way he could.

“Got it in one. You really are a smart cookie.” I smirked at Solas and had an internal fan-girl moment when I realized he was smirking back at me and my incessant flirtations as well. “After all, only the best for this way-ward student. I think picking your brain about all things magical is going to be fun.”

“Perhaps, but it will also take an immeasurable amount of patience and practice. There are books I can give you about basic magical principles to get you started but otherwise, it will mainly be Hands-On training and repetition that will improve your skills.” With this, we entered Solas’ cabin where he started to remove certain books from those he had piled around the small building. “I would suggest that you read this text first and practice both the meditative breathing and rudimentary barriers for one’s mind before resting tonight. As a new initiate to the arcane, the last thing we would want at present would be for you to lose yourself while dreaming.” I did not have the heart to tell him quite yet that he need not worry about me or my ability to protect my mind from demons while sleeping. So instead I thanked Solas for the books and said I would see him the following morning to start the rest of my formal training.

I decided to take the long way back to my cabin in front of the Chantry and stopped in with our oh so fine and grumpy requisitions officer Threnn who tasked me with locating the supplies for weapons creation in the surrounding woodland area. Figuring I was headed out that way anyhow I would kill two birds with one stone. So after dropping off the books Solas had given me in my cabin and grabbing up a copy of the local area map from the books and scrolls Josephine had given me I made my way out of Haven’s main town and towards where Cullen and his men were training the recruits. After spying two of the soldiers standing off to one side who were not engaged in anything, I quickly slipped into Harritt’s forge and grab a few empty supply sacks before returning to where I had seen Cullen’s men standing around. After informing the two men to follow me and yelling out to Cullen that I was borrowing his people I left into the woods before the Commander could dispute my taking his men and told them that we were doing a bit of a supply run.

“Don’t you worry now; we are not going after demons or any of that rot. We’re just getting some local supplies so that I can get a few of the cranky pots back there in a better mood.” I informed Corporals Jacobs and Smithirson when they inquired as to what we were doing.

“Adan wants me to find his late friend's notes for a Lyrium potion the old man was working on and elfroot because he says Seggrit is charging too much for the stuff. Threnn wants iron deposits and the location of a logging camp that’s about 10 to 15 minutes that way.” I told the men as we started to make our way around the right side of the frozen lake. “Also, if we can catch a nug or two, alive mind you, I know Sister Nightingale would be happier than a clam.”

“A nug?!” Jacobs sounded shocked.

“Yeah, I have it on good authority she thinks they are cute. That or she just likes raising them so she can turn them into shoes. Which are also her thing.” At the men’s continued shocked looks all I could do was shrug at them. “What can I say, every woman has a thing,” I said while air quoting the sky. “You figure out what that is and, as the saying goes a happy wife makes a happy life so, by comparison, a happy spymaster…” and I left it open for them to fill how they wanted.

“And what’s your thing, Herald?” Smitherson inquired as we started to stuff the sacks with elfroot and iron deposits as we ran across them.

“Coffee, definitely coffee.”

“What’s that?” This question had me stopping short. I could not believe he had just said that. I would be sorely upset if this realm had no idea what coffee was.

“Only the best damn drink in the world. Way better than black tea any day and with a much richer flavor. Comes from a little bean about the size of your little fingernail. Normally they are green, brown, or red in colour before they are roasted. Then you roast them in a hot pot to release some of the oils in them. The smells alone during this process are so divine. Next, you grind them up, run boiling water over the grounds, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Once all the goodness has had a chance to come out then you press out the ground and I am telling you the rest is, org*sm in a cup.” I can hear the two men chuckling behind me as I reminisced over the drink.

“You can even add sweet milk and a dash of sugar to the mix if you don’t care for the mildly bitter aftertaste but I promise you once you try coffee you’ll never go back to tea ever again. Coffee is like a soft caress to your taste buds, like the first kiss you ever have with a guy, and as warm as a fuzzy blanket. If I cannot have that then definitely chocolate. Chocolate is a close second. Chocolate is like a secret lover that will never say no regardless of how demanding of its affections you may be and unlike a lover, it never tries of being ingested. The slow overload as it melts in your mouth and the sweet release as you’re filled with just enough to be needing more later is incomparable, but if you can get the two together, sweet sassy molassy” Just thinking about it had me shivering in delight. When I looked up at the other men, Smitherson was swallowing hard with his eyes somewhat blown and Jacobs was trying, not so successfully, to be discreet about adjusting himself in his trousers.

“Oh… ah, sorry I,” I stopped trying to apologize to the men however when I heard the unmistakable squeak of nugs further up the path. Quickly I grabbed one of the empty sacs from my belt and motioned the other two in opposite directions so that hopefully we could flank the critter. Slowly and steadily we crept to where the soft squeaking was coming from and I was thrilled when I saw it was a mother with her nest. If we could get them all then Leliana could start raising them for sale now instead of having to wait until we got to Skyhold.

I signaled to the others to ready themselves in case one or two tried to make a break for it and after a few calming breaths I threw the sack over the whole nest. With a quick tug on the closing string, I swept the whole thing, kits, mother, and all into the bag. The sheer level of squeaking coming from the sack was amazing until I shoved some of the Elfroot we had collected in with them and they started to settle. “Now that gentleman is what I call a fortuitous event. You’d almost think the Maker had a hand in our luck.”

After that, we quickly found the old healers’ cabin and located the notes for the Lyrium potion. It was a quick in-and-out job. Next was the logging stand which didn’t take that long once we left the outer defense wall past the healers’ cabin. With the five full bags of iron, elfroot, and the nug family alone and with a marked map for the logging stand we made our way back to Haven proper just as a rumble emerged from my stomach.

“See, what did I tell you. Back in time for lunch. Thank you, gentlemen, your help is most appreciated.” And with that, I left to deliver my spoils. Cullen’s men waved me off and offered to buy me a drink at the tavern later. I mentioned I would be there after the dinner hour anyway and that if I saw them there, I would not turn down any pro-offered drinks. I delivered the potion notes and the Elfroot to Adan, both of which he took with a surprised chuckle while praising the old codger who was on the brink of a breakthrough in regards to the potion and promised that if I brought him any more supplies that he would make sure I got first to pick of any of the potions he made in future.

Threnn was about as welcoming for the iron and location of the logging stand as I suspected the woman would be but was mildly surprised when she complimented me about the swiftness with which I had brought her the things she had been looking for and I knew it was the closest to praise I was going to get from the woman. Lastly, I went to see Leliana who was more than shocked when I gave her the sack with the pilfered nug family. When I mentioned I wanted one of the young kits when they were ready to leave their mother, the smile that graced Leliana’s lips was nothing short of divine.

As I entered the tavern, I could see Cassandra already sitting at one of the tables so after grabbing my stew and mead I made my way over to her. Since we would be starting my hand-to-hand and mace training after we ate, I figured we could discuss any of the theories that I might need to know while we started eating. To say I had a whole new level of appreciation for Cassandra’s skills once our meal was done would have been the understatement of the century. Once we got out to the training yard however I realized very quickly just how far I needed to go before I was going to be any good while in combat.

We started off slowly with footwork and simple jab and blocks. It took me a while to get my stance correct so that as I turned, I was not tripping over my own feet, but I knew that this was not the sort of thing I could just read about in a book like with Solas and my magic or Josephine and my history and politics lessons. This could only be learned the long and hard way.

When after an hour of slow movements so I could get the feel for what I was doing had passed, Cassandra felt it was time to test what I had learned. She then pitted me against another one of the new recruits who was training to become one of Leliana's spies. As all spies needed to have a thorough understanding of self-defense and hand fighting it was thought that they would be the perfect individual for me to spar with. After picking myself up off the ground for the fourth time in as many minutes I started to notice certain cues that my opponent gave away as to what their next move was going to be. The lifting of a shoulder as they prepared to throw a punch or the swivel of their stance as they began to block an anticipated low kick became obvious and I started to counter their moves with the ones Cassandra had shown me.

When Cassandra finally called time, I could feel the beginning of bruises in places I had previously not even known you could get bruises in. Cassandra praised my hard work and told me to go soak in an emblem bath which would reduce the swelling in my muscles, and joints, and that I was expected the following day after lunch so we could continue.

Painfully I dragged myself back to my cabin and after stripping down and slipping into the warm bath I had requested before I had even been halfway into the day’s training session, I followed Cassandra’s advice about the emblem and took one of the pain potion vials from my woman’s kit that had arrived on my desk at some point throughout the day.

Once I was redressed, I made my way towards the tavern, as I was really looking forward to picking Varric’s brain about everything that happened in Kirkwall. With luck Corporals Smithirson and Jacobs wood also be there and I could get those drinks they had offered as I still had yet to arrange with Josephine for a stipend so I could pay for my own food and supplies.

“Varric my good man, thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me. I have many questions about your friends and would rather hear the truth from you directly as opposed to having to speculate as to what happened in Kirkwall. If half the things in your book are true then I can’t really imagine that things have settled in Kirkwall. After all, that gives the impression that everything’s back to normal over there and we both know that’s going to be a long while in coming. Especially what with everything that’s going on over here.” I was glad to see that he had already ordered for us so I immediately sat at the table closest to the fire with the dwarf and tucked into the ram stake with what looked like either carrots or parsnips and a close relation to potatoes for all that they were a brownish-black on the inside. Smother the whole thing in a nice thick gravy and it was one of the better meals I had eaten in a while. After all single girls did not often make pot roast dinners just for themselves as it was a lot of work and even more leftovers that had a habit of going bad.

“Keep up those sounds Herald and I’m going to start thinking you’re having an affair with your dinner over there.” Varric chuckled as he watched me eat the first few bites of my food.

“Maybe I am. Just don’t tell anyone, I don’t want breakfast to get prematurely jealous before I can show it as much affection and appreciation.” At this, the dwarf let out a rich and boisterous laugh as he shook his head at my antics. His reactions only helped to cement my hopes for a wonderful friendship with the brilliant man. I just hoped that like Solas I could keep most of Varric’s suspicions of me to a minimum for the time being until we had the opportunity to become more acquainted.

“You certainly are going to be a lot of fun, aren’t you?” Varric asked with a smile.

“If I was like everyone else this would make for a very poor adventure and who wants to read and mediocre Varric Tethras book, which by the way I want first dibs in reading once it’s all done,” I warned Varric appropriately with my fork before skewering a cernip, or at least that was what my mind was referring the interesting cross breed vegetable as.

“You seem very certain we will make it out of this one just fine Herald. You know something I don’t?” Varric asked me as he started in on his tankard of ale as we both used a heel of bread to clear the last of the root gravy from our plates.

“Always, I’m a woman after all. Retainer of the world’s greatest mysteries and source of all its aggravations all wrapped up into one highly sought-after package of potential joy and sorrow for every unsuspecting male, or female if that’s your thing, in the world as we know it.” I gave a small sitting bow as once again Varric’s laughter rang through the tavern.

“Yours is going to make quite an interesting story than Herald.”

“Please Varric call me Fenarla, Herald is just too formal. At least use my name until you come up with a colourful moniker.” I requested while woefully covering my eyes with my left arm.

“Sure thing Fenarla, just means I’ll have to think of what to call you all that much harder.” I nodded my thanks to his easy acceptance to distance myself from the title the people had given me. After a healthy swig of my own ale, I redirected the conversation back towards the ‘Champion of Kirkwall’. “As my book suggests Marianne Hawke or the ‘Champion of Kirkwall’ as many know her arrived in Kirkwall almost ten years ago with her sister Bethany and mother Leandra. I met her when she and her sister were trying to get in on an expedition to the deep roads my brother Bartrand and I were arranging.” Varric started to regale me with facts about his friend. Any of this I could have learned from reading the book itself but I let him carry on how he wanted to.

“When you went in the deep roads did Bethany go with you and Hawke?” Knowing Bethany survived meant that Halk was either a warrior or a rouge and that Carver had died while they had been fleeing from Lothering.

“Yeah, regardless of how hard Hawke tried to convince the kid to stay back with their mother she wouldn’t hear it. I wish she had stayed home though then maybe she would have made it back too, I suppose alive is still better than dead after all.” With this statement, I could determine that Anders had gone with Hawke and Varric into the deep roads and that Bethany had become a Warden. I would need to look into that before Adamant as the last thing I wanted was for Hawke to lose her sister if I could possibly stop that from happening. I would also need to look into the fate of Nathaniel Howe and Oghren as well depending on how the ‘Hero of Fereldans’ story had played out. For those answers, I was going to need to speak with Leliana.

“And the rest of your friends? Whatever became of them?”

“Well, Merrill returned to her people after Kirkwall’s rebellion. Now she works on keeping her clan safe and as far away from harm as she can. Isabela is an admiral now or at least that’s what she’s calling herself. I’m not sure if it’s real or not but she certainly has a big enough hat to suggest it’s true and it’s not like many are going to dispute her after all. Aveline is still in charge of the city guard with her husband Donnic. I think if she were to leave her job the whole damn place would end up dropping into the sea. Sebastian returned to Starkhaven and took over his family seat there. Lastly, Fenris went off to hunt down slavers. All you would need to do is follow the blood trail if you really wanted to find him, but I would just suggest leaving that one to his own devices.” I smiled softly as I pictured each of the people Varric was mentioning. It may have been a few years since I last played their story but I could still recall some of the banter that had been exchanged between them all while I had taken my Hawke throughout the game.

“And Anders? Did it really go down that way?” I was not sure what answer I was hoping for in this situation. Did he survive? Was he now paying time for his crimes? Or had Hawke run off with him after some illicit affair? Maybe he was dead, killed by Hawke's own hand. The possibilities unfortunately were endless.

“What you have to realize Fenarla is that after everything Blondie did in Kirkwall, even though he had been helping people with that clinic of his, well there was only so much Hawke could do, and with both the Mages and Templars out for blood after what happened to the Chantry, even though it was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do, I like to think her doing it herself was probably the closest thing to mercy that he would have gotten at that point.” I gave Varric a moment to collect himself before I continued but at least this way I knew for sure that Anders and Justice had found some measure of peace.

“We’re Hawke and Anders…?” I left the question open for interpretation and was happy when Varric took the bait.

“Oh no, not intimate or anything but they were closed. No, if anything it was almost Fenris there for a while and Blondie never let him live it down that he walked away from her after it came to a halt. But no, Blondie and Hawk were never together or anything. Knowing what I do now I’m rather glad she never took my advice to start anything with him. That would have just made things worse at the end.” It was sad to hear that Anders was gone but knowing there was a good chance Hawke was off with Fenris right now made me smile.

“Well when you do get a hold of Hawke next, tell her to bring Fenris with her. I’ve always wanted to meet him.” At Varric’s surprised expression and the fact that he tried to dispute the location of Hawke so quickly, it only confirmed what I had already suspected about the two. “It’s okay Varric, I won’t breathe another word about my speculations to anyone. Just let them know that I’m happy they have each other. Maker knows I could really use someone like them in my corner right about now. I’ve got a bad feeling people are going to try and make a hero out of me and we all know how well that works out for the heroes.”

“Yeah, I’ve written enough of those to know they all end in tragedy. Perhaps we’ll make sure you’re something better, what do you say?”

“You mean like a legend?” I inquired with a smile that only grew when the door to the tavern opened and Corporals Smithirson and Jacobs walked through. Maybe I would get those drinks after all. This was beginning to look like it would be a pleasant evening.

Chapter 5: Third time's a... Blush

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 5

After the extremely embarrassing incident in the Ambassador's office this morning I will fully admit that my focus was divided all day. It is unbecoming of me to admit that my mind drifted back to the sight of our young Herald with her breasts band weaving in the air instead of upon her person.

I had meant to confront her later that morning to apologize for having stormed into the ambassador’s office without announcing myself first but was unsure if the apology was even required when by mid-morning the Herald had behaved as if nothing untoward had occurred. She then informed me and the rest of the training yard she was borrowing a few of my men before she ventured into the woods without so much as a by-your-leave.

When she returned about an hour later with numerous bags of supplies, I could only shake my head at her no-nonsense behavior and smile at the Herald’s determination. This was proven yet again when after lunch she and the Seeker had made their way back out to the training yard to start her training in physical combat skills. It was easy to see that the young woman was a quick study and when they had advanced to sparring matches between the Herald and one of Leliana’s spy recruits, she had started to pick up on the other woman’s physical cues after only a half-dozen times landing in the dirt. Being a woman with so obviously little experience in past combat situations she was learning faster than even some experienced combat veterans did. Many of the techniques that Cassandra had shown the Herald had taken some of my longest train Templars weeks to learn and it amazed me to see the Herald learning them within a single afternoon.

When I was finally able to make my way into Haven and towards the tavern, for dinner, it was already getting rather late. Just as I reached for the handle of the door to the tavern it opened from the inside, and the very object of my attention started to make her way out. Before I could even step out of her way that Herald had barrelled full-tilt into my chest plate and had grabbed around the edges of it to help hold herself up as my arm that had been reaching for the door instantly wrapped around the Herald’s waist to help keep her steady.

“Oh my… oh… oh smell so good. Yeah very good.” The Herald sing-song as she leaned her head upon my chest armour. It was a very good thing at this moment that I had not removed my armour like I normally would have before going to the tavern, otherwise the Herald would have had first-hand knowledge of just how much her presence affected me with how my heart was pounding against the inside of my rib cage.

“Ah… Herald do you need some assistance?” With the softest smile I had seen directed towards me by a member of the opposite sex, or any sex for that matter, and the sultry voice of a woman a bit too far into her cups, the Herald slowly pulled herself away from my chest and after patting my arm in a comforting manner she informed me of the intentions to return to her cabin and tried warning me that the ale was stronger than it looked.

“Do you require any help in returning to your cabin then?” I feared if I left her on her own that the Herald might end up face down in a ditch somewhere at the worst or turned around from her desired destination at best without someone to guide her to where she had meant to go.

“Oh Cullen you’re too sweet. You know that right?” The Herald sighed while she stroked my cheek “I could just eat you up,” she directed one of her sultry smiles at me “But I won’t,” this time she dragged her hand down from my cheek to my chest. “Cuz though I know you oh so well my love,” the Herald looked up from where her hand was on my chest and into my eyes “You don’t know me yet and that’s no good,” finally she pushed herself away from me. “Cuz well then hugs and kisses just get awkward and that would be bad.” With that, she slipped around me and slowly made her way towards her cabin while sing-songing to herself again.

For a few moments, I could hardly breathe much less think before I slowly started to follow the Herald as she stumblingly made her way towards her cabin. The Heralds statement had me wondering just how intimately she did know those of us in the Inquisition especially after her introduction to us all last night. Hugs and kisses and my love? I found I was constantly telling myself I was only following her to guarantee that she made it safely to her cabin, but I doubt that was my only reason. When I saw the Herald nearly fall, before she caught herself, I was very tempted to run to her aid and carry her to her cabin if need be. Thankfully, I refrained and a few moments later saw the Herald safely into her dwelling. I continued to watch the Herald’s cabin for a time, when I noticed I was not the only person present who had been observing the Herald. Slowly Solas stepped into the light of the first moon that had only just arisen for the evening.

“Good evening Commander. I trust you are well.” Solas greeted me with a raised eyebrow, almost as if questioning the presence of the blush I could feel upon my face.

“Yes, just keeping an eye out. I offered to walk her back when she ran into me but she insisted she was fine. I just wanted to…” I trailed off, unsure as to how to properly express my intentions.

“Guarantee her safe arrival?” Solas offered when I started to stare off into blank space.

“Exactly.” I smiled in thanks at how quickly the elven apostate understood what I was trying to get across. “I was just on my way to the tavern for dinner if you care to join me?” I found myself extending an invitation towards the other male. I had not really had the opportunity to spend much time around the other man and it was nice to see how understanding and discrete Solas could be when the situation called for it.

“Certainly Commander, I have not yet partaken of my evening meal. I believe I would enjoy your company this evening. It would definitely allow us the opportunity to become more acquainted.” Solas nodded in agreement as we both started making our way back towards the tavern. Once inside we were greeted warmly by some of my men who were sitting with Leliana, Josephine, Cassandra, and Varric. After grabbing two ram steak dinners for myself and Solas along with a pint of ale for myself and a half-pint of mead for Solas, when he indicated his preference, we joined the others already sitting at the table by the fire.

“I’m telling you Ruffles there’s just something about the kid. The way she excepts certain things to have happened about the stories I’m telling is almost as if she knows they are fact instead of just a plot device, or the way she asks questions to lead a conversation forward. I mean if I didn’t know any better, I’d think she already knew me from before the conclave and was just asking more like a memory refresher than because she actually wanted to know.” Varric’s comment had Cassandra and I sharing a pointed look before my gaze shifted to Josephine who had taken a sudden interest in finishing her glass of wine.

“Perhaps she’s just an intuitive person Varric, either that or she is as competent a storyteller as you are. After all, we have all listened to her rather unique word choices over the last day and a half.” Leliana stated so that Varric's focus was on her and not the rest of us who were having a hard time concealing what we knew about the Herald. From the other end of the table, Jacobs spoke up in a slurred voice while Smithirson snorted into his ale.

“Sweet sassy molassy.”

“Come again?” I asked in confusion, yet at the same time I was not sure if I even wanted an explanation of what my men meant by that.

“sad*stic ass hat.” This comment came from Cassandra which had Varric peeling with laughter.

“Smart Cookie.” Surprisingly came from Solas. This caused Leliana’s eyes to widen at the mage while Josephine giggled. I should have seen some reference to this morning’s incident in the ambassador’s office coming when both women looked at each other and at the same moment yelled out,

“This monstrosity.”

“Oh, Maker’s breath, don’t remind me.” I groaned into my hands as I used them to cover my face which was blushing again at the image of the Herald with her breast band in hand.

“Now there is definitely a story behind this.” Varric sat up straighter looking between Leliana, Josephine, and myself. I could only groan as Leliana and Josephine continued to twitter between themselves.

“Oh, come now Commander. I grant you it was not quite what I would have expected of my morning either, but it’s nothing to be embarrassed over. If anything, I think the Herald handled the situation rather well.” Leliana tried and failed to placate my embarrassed sensibilities over the whole situation.

“It does however raise the question of what alternative female intimate attire the Herald must be used to if she was unable to operate the breast band we had provided her with.” Josephine pondered while staring into the middle distance, no doubt trying to picture what the alternative could be. Varric’s belly roll of laughter only had me hiding my face in my palms again with the louder grown. If I had been looking, I would have seen the blush on my men’s faces and the raised eyebrow Solas was directing at me. I would have also noticed Cassandra’s surprised look that was directed at Leliana who silently whispered ‘later’ to her fellow friend about an explanation.

“Actually makes me think her description of her ‘thing’ this morning wasn’t so bad after all,” Smithirson mumbled before his eyes grew to the size of saucers as he looked between all of us, having just realized how that statement may have come across.

“Sweet Androstae what the hell does that mean?! You three were hardly gone an hour, there’s no way that was enough time to… I mean…” This however had every set of eyes now resting on me and all I could do was groan. This conversation was just getting gradually worse and worse by the moment.

“Well Curly, that rather unexpected. I never would have pegged you for quite so experienced a lover but, I have seen stranger things in my time.” Varric was the first to respond to my statement while Cassandra was now observing me with surprised appraisal and Leliana was nibbling on her lower lip trying not to laugh. Josephine however couldn’t even be bothered to try and hide her amusem*nt at the present situation. It was however Solas’s next words as he came to my defense that made me cursed my luck the most.

“Come now Master Tethras, one should hardly fault another if they determine that an hour is insufficient time to devote oneself thoroughly towards a task they find enjoyment in.” It was now my turn to gaze at the other man in shock at the statement he had just made, and the message it implied about both of us. My sensibilities were thoroughly being tested today resulting in a greater part of me just wanting to excuse myself and return to my bunk early. After all, tomorrow could hardly get any worse than today had been.

“That’s hardly what I meant and you know it.” I angrily whispered at Solas before I realized that his statement had thoroughly shifted everyone’s attention towards himself and off of me for the time being.

“All right, who are you and what have you done with our reserved humble apostate?” Varric joked while both the women and my men started to laugh at his statement.

“I hardly think my statement cause for concern Varric. Contrary to popular belief I am still a hot-blooded male after all.” This was met by a renewed round of laughter. “Besides the direction, your mind wandered was not my intended destination. I’ll have you know I have spent countless hours within the fade consecutively, while in the pursuit of lost or hidden histories. This time I myself thoroughly enjoyed, even though the process may have been lengthy or time-consuming.” Solas’s explanation of what he had said seemed to calm things down enough that we could return our attentions towards Jacobs and Smithirson.

“So why don’t you boys try explaining just exactly what you meant by the Herald’s ‘thing’?” Varric suggested which then led to the explanation about how the Herald had them looking for nugs for Leliana as she had said that raising them was the spymaster’s ‘thing’. Somewhere in the explanation a direct quote of “happy wives making happy lives” came out and already I could see the cogs in Varric’s head storing that one away for future publication purposes.

“So then Smithirson had the thought to ask the Herald what her ‘thing’ was,” Jacob’s told us while using his fingers to tick out the sky in a manner I could only assume he had seen the Herald herself using before. “It wouldn’t have been so bad but the way she was describing coffee and later chocolate… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at chocolate or morning tea the same way ever again.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this coffee the Herald spoke of but chocolate I can completely agree with. Especially if it is anywhere near as decadent as some samples I’ve had in Val Royeaux are.” Cassandra admitted to the table with a twinkle in her eye and a smirk of mutual understanding.

“The Herald said it was a morning drink that was better than black tea that came from a bean no larger than your smallest nail. It is normally green, brown, or red in colour, and that you are supposed to roast it to release the oils in them. Then you’re supposed to grind them up and steep them in hot water as you would tea.” Smithirson informed us.

“She mentioned something about sweet milk and a dash of sugar to taste but I’ll admit it was harder to pay attention after that when the Herald started to describe the flavor being as decadent as a lover’s kiss,” Jacobs admitted as he and Smithirson both started to shift uncomfortably in their seats and were having a hard time meeting any of the other occupants of the table’s gazes.

“Oh my,” Cassandra exclaimed while downing the rest of her drink as a flush started to appear on her face.

“I actually may know of what the Herald is referring to. My sister recently sent me a letter and in it, she mentioned a new drink that is quickly becoming very popular in Antiva. It’s called Kiva and it is also made from a small roasted bean. Apparently, there are quite a few of these trees that these beans come from upon my family’s lands and my brother had expressed interest in trying to find a trade market in the south for them.” Josephine told us all rather excitedly.

“You think you could make arrangements to have some of this Kiva bean sent out this way Ruffles? I mean after cheese that taste of despair anything referred to as resembling a lover’s kiss has got to be worth a try at least once.” I had to agree with Varric on that point, as even I found myself curious as to what this drink could possibly entail if it had the Herald giving it such high praise and it had even some of my most seasoned men blushing like green boys.

“I could certainly try to arrange something but it would likely be quite some time before I would possibly see anything come of this request.” Josephine however also promised that if this was indeed something that would bring even the smallest amount of enjoyment for the Herald, that they were pressing into the service of saving the world, the least that the Inquisition could do was arrange for a small if frivolous creature comfort for the young woman who’s mark so many of our futures were residing on.

“So, on another note, am I the only one who has noticed how often our Herald seems to unintentionally flirt with everyone that moves around her? Or is that just me seeing things?” Varric inquired with everyone around the table as he passed around everyone’s next round of drinks.

“You are indeed not alone in your assessment. As I have also observed even today alone when what might otherwise be terms of endearment were commonly used by the Herald with such ease that it had me at first questioning the significance behind their use until I determined that in fact, they were purely just a part of the Herald’s unique way of expressing herself.” Solas’s observations actually helped to remove some of my previous concerns with how the Herald may or may not have had any romantic feelings for me specifically. After all, it was not even an hour ago that the Herald had referred to me as her love. It had me wondering just how in-depth the stories of our world were in her own.

“That’s actually a relief to hear. Not that I’m suggesting I don’t appreciate our Heralds easily expressed affections mind you, but normally in the past I have only dealt with that level of quick affection from sources that I would otherwise not want to spend my time with.” I can recall some of the more colourful propositions I had received in my time when stationed to deal with any Templar incidents within the ‘Blooming Rose’ brothel house or some of the drunken escapades that my fellow Templars had been involved in at ‘The Hangman’ bar while in Kirkwall.

“Oh, come on now Curly. Don’t tell me you’re still sore about Isabel’s attentions are you? That was years ago and if you will recall Rivani used to flirt with anything that moved. I warned you back then not to take her advances too personally. Besides regardless of your opinions about any of Raviani's potential future career moves what with her easily redirected attention span, I hear she’s actually become an admiral in that fleet of hers.” Today was definitely looking to be a day of continual embarrassment for me. As if constant reminders of my interactions with the Herald throughout the day were not bad enough, now I had Varric reminding me of a very short-lived dalliance with one of his and Hawkes acquaintances from my time in Kirkwall.

“Well then express my congratulations to her and my condolences in regards to my opinions on her vertical move within her fleet.” I tried to pass along good-naturedly.

“I doubt vertical moves had anything to do with it, but I’ll certainly send along your regards.” At this comment, I could only grown again and decided to just lose myself in my cups. After all, if I were going to be in a perpetual state of embarrassment and arousal I may as well dull my senses enough that perhaps I would stop noticing either.

Chapter 6: You have nice eyes

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 6

When I decided to stay with the Inquisition under the guise of a humble apostate the last possible task I ever thought I would be performing was as an escort to the Inquisition’s Shemlen Commander after an evening of drink and uniquely entertaining discussions. Normally a night of drinking and revelry was no longer a source of enjoyment for me as it once had been during my youth. So, when the young human Commander extended an invitation for me to dine with him, I at first was surprised and then curious at both his intentions and later my own easy acceptance of the man’s company.

As the rest of our evening companions gradually retired to their sleep dwellings, I found the easy rapport that Commander Rutherford and I were establishing was a pleasant distraction from my otherwise chaotic daily routine. Most of the upheaval being brought about because of the interactions between The Herald and I. The young halfling who had been afflicted with my mark certainly had an unintentional habit of trying to get a rise out of me. Whether through unintended flirting or mere physical presence, I found myself distracted by the mystery that she was for more reasons than just the mark she harboured within her palm.

This evening however confirmed some of my suspicions that the inner council seemed to have gleaned more about The Heralds past than even my own spies had to this point. I hoped now that the Herald was once again awake that I might glean more from her dreaming than I had over the last few evenings, as an unconscious mind had more tendency to flit from one random thought to another while in the fade than a mind that was just resting.

I had hoped that once my people had a name to put to the halfling young woman’s face as it were, that they would have been more successful in finding information about her. After all the looks that The Herald herself supported were unlike any I had ever seen before. Typically, when one of the people mated with one of the other races in Thedas the offspring resembled more of the other parents' race as most, if not all Elven heritage was lost. The Herald was the first I had seen who was equal parts Elven and Human, and this had resulted in a rather attractive blend of both heritages. The Herald had the fuller curves of her Human parent and yet still the sharper and angular traits of her Elven parent. I could only surmise that perhaps her human parent had also been a halfling and that perhaps as more of the Elven traits were reintroduced during The Herald’s creation that this accounted for the more balanced appearance that she supported. It would also explain the lack of information that could be found about her as very few of the Dalish clans would even think of claiming a halfling child as one of their own. That and her lack of vallaslin led me to believe that she was more than likely born in a city in one of the many alienages that existed throughout Thedas.

“Solas?”

“Yes, Commander?”

“You think she’s pretty too right?” Commander Rutherford asked in that shy, somewhat hopeful way that one did when drunk, as if afraid they would be ridiculed for asking a question that they otherwise would never have voiced had they been sober. I could only assume that The Commander was referring to The Herald.

“I agree, the Herald certainly does have more than a few redeeming qualities to her.” At my response, Commander Rutherford jerk to a halt and tried to straighten himself enough to turn and look at me. With his left arm slung across my shoulders for support, doing so brought our faces within inches of each other as he blinked a few times trying to get his mind to clear enough to respond to my statement. This close I could see the gold and red flecks in his amber-brown eyes and found myself swallowing unintentionally at how vibrant they were.

“Well, that was… Why can’t you just say yes? Why does everything have to be big smart words all the time? My head hurts too much for big smart stuff.” With a small shake of his head, The Commander turned to look in the direction of the training grounds and at the larger officers' tent that had been pitched just beyond it.

With a chuckle of my own at Commander Rutherford’s comment, we continued the dozen or more steady paces towards his personal command tent. It was slow going as The Commander was a rather imposing individual. With a frame that was almost twice as wide as my own in the chest and with an additional four to five inches in height than even my own six feet, he was equivalently the size of most Avar I had observed in the fade. Once we had made it into his tent, I leaned The Commander against his travel desk while I helped him first with his Lions mantle cloak and chest plate before I maneuvered the man onto his sleeping pallet.

“Come ma falon, time to rest.” I even went through the effort of removing The Commander’s boots so he would not soil his sleeping furs, which I then tucked around his large frame. As I tried to pull away he however grabbed my hand. “Yes?”

“You have nice eyes.” Commander Rutherford whispered at me and I could not help but smirk at his simple flirtations.

“Ma serannas, ma falon, but it is now time for you to sleep.” I emphasized my hopes for him to rest while patting his hand with my own.

“No… can’t sleep… too tired to fight it.” The Commander slurred as he tried to keep his eyes open.

“Fight what ma falon?” I was curious to see if he would indeed tell me what the source of his ever-incurring nightmares was. I had felt the presence of them within the fade for many nights now since the destruction of the conclave.

“Desire de…” slipped from The Commander’s lips as sleep overtook him even as he tried to tell me. If Commander Rutherford was indeed being plagued by a Desire Demon that might also explain his confessions about his opinion of The Herald and my own appearance. I would need to investigate that this evening as the last thing ether our young Herald or Commander needed while in their presently intoxicated states was for such a demon to be closely lingering within this area of the fade. With this in mind, I extinguished the remaining light from the candle upon The Commander’s desk and left towards my own cabin. After finishing my nightly routine and quickly putting together two restorative drafts and two potent hangover cures that I had used many times while in my own youth, I eased myself into the fade and went in search of first The Herald and The Commander’s dreams.

The Herald I found calmly meditating in a field of heather and clover. I could feel as she slowly started to build the shields within her mind with which to block out negative spiritual influences, and was happy to see that she was implementing some of the shielding techniques that I had recommended she read about before retiring for the evening. Commander Rutherford however was once again indeed being tormented by a Desire demon. I watched for a moment to see what angle the demon would try to grasp ma falon’s attention with. The Commander sat kneeling on the floor with a magical barrier around him. He was praying to the Maker for mercy from the cries and sounds of death coming from a group of voices originating from above and to the left of him. Over his right shoulder, the demon stood, whispering into The Commander’s ear promises to make the pain and suffering all just go away if he would only just say yes.

“NO, leave me be!!” Commander Rutherford cried out as his shoulders shook, more screams could be heard again coming from above. Without really analyzing my reasons I quickly shifted into my wolf form and leaped through the magical cell and towards the demon. As the Commander continued to kneel upon the floor, I grabbed the Desire demon around the neck with my strong jaws and pulled it away from him and into another part of the Fade.

“You are not welcome here. This is my domain and I don’t give you permission to enter it. BEGONE.” I commanded it as I used some of my magic within the Fade to push it, along with any other negative spirits I could sense away from the area of Haven. Afterward, I erected a ward line around the surrounding area of Haven within the Fade. I then returned to The Commander and was happy to see that with the removal of the Desire demon he had slipped into the simple resting of non-dreaming sleep.

I quickly looked in again on The Herald to see if my expelling of the demon spirits had affected her and was happy to see that nothing had. With that done I then went further into the Fade to the place where a few of my spies and generals gathered so that we could plan our next moves.

My plans for the veil have come to a halt for the foreseeable future. As it was, with the lack of retrieving my now unlocked foci, the rendering of the veil could not be accomplished until my foci were found. I will not admit to any other of my agents but the fact that the ancient magister who wields my orb believing that he can use the device so he might enter the Fade and become a full-fledged God, is still alive, was an unforeseen outcome that I had not prepared myself for. I was now going to have to mend the tears within the veil before I could attempt to bring it down purposefully. So much destruction occurred when I had to place it upon the world, and I had hoped to mitigate how much destruction would happen when I finally take it down again.

This however also reminded me of my lack of control over my eluvians and the betrayal I still feel so strongly from my late friend Felassan. If he had just done his assigned job and gotten me the passphrase from Briala’s section of the eluvians then I could already be assisting with the relocation of the people within its network. My plan had been to gather as many of the people within the crossroads before I removed the veil. As the magic of the Fade would permeate into the crossroads, it would have given the people time with which to adjust to the changes in magical levels. Being within the crossroads would also allow the people the opportunity to avoid all of the destruction that would occur within Thedas until such a time that the world repaired itself to what it was always meant to be. When everything had resettled in the world, I would have then led the people out into the newly repaired world so that they could start again without the distraction, persecution, or interference of the other races who were now also equally predominant within Thedas.

There was also the problem of the stories and myths passed down through the Dalish and then taught to the ignorant city elves about the Evenuras. The very fact that I am seen as the enemy to the Dalish people for what I did to try and save them from my brethren, has me both angry and sad whenever I am reminded of it. If not for the promises that I have made to the many of my people still in Uthenera I would be tempted to re-enter the eternal waking sleep and leave the rest of Thedas to its own devices. Only my guilt at what my actions have wrought and my promise to the people stay any decision to do just that and enter the Fade for all time.

“Ar'melana dir thavaren.”

“Aneth era.” I greeted my spies and second-in-command. “Have we placed any operatives within the Nevarran palace yet?” I asked as I looked to the war table that had various tokens placed upon it. Currently, I was still gathering my spy network and getting them into locations of influence.

“We have two additional agents within King Marcus Pentaghast household staff and five additional agents within his top three most active rivals. If anything changes, I will inform you as such.” My second-in-command informed me.

“And the reports of rift activity in Navarra?” I was trying to make a working model of just how far-flung the damage from the breach had spread.

“Along the Imperial Highway from Solas to Cumberland 18 rifts and along the River from Nessum to Navarra City, we have reports of eight more with four placed in the fields of Ghislain.” This count would be bringing the total rift count within central Thedas up to 112 rifts which were still substantially lower in comparison to southern Thedas with Orlias and Ferelden having three times as many.

“On an unrelated topic, I would like one of our scouts in Antiva to procure a supply of kiva beans and have them transported to Haven for an experiment.” I know making this request would be thought of as odd even though it would get accomplished with the same speed and expectancies of all my request. The fact that the reason for needing them was closer to a personal reason did not mean that the request would be denied either.

“And when would the package be needed by?” one of my lead scouts asked.

“Between two to three weeks otherwise it will have to wait until Solas returns from the Hinterlands.” Most of my agents except for my second-in-command did not know who I really was. Most thought Solas was just my highest and best-ranked spy within my own network. It had worked for me many times within my long life to have people believe that Solas was a separate person from myself and not my real persona. If anything, it was more the other way around. After all, Fen’Harel was the insult I took as the badge of honour. In this age most had forgotten who I really was and I had no desire to correct that belief.

“I will be unavailable for at least a fortnight. Continue on with your assigned tasks and we will speak again when I return.” And after the others had given their ascent and parting regards, I removed myself from that part of the fade and made my way towards Wisdom’s glade. It would be interesting to hear its opinions about The Herald and her unique personality.

Moving threw out the Fade was not like moving through the waking world. One could travel grade distances with only a step while in the fade if you had been to that location in the waking world at least once before. The other problem that modern mages faced was that without the abilities of a somniari they could not control what they were seeing around them or recognize the need to let the spirits that they would interact with to shape what they were seeing as opposed to trying to change the environment to what they themselves were wanting it to be.

As I allowed Wisdoms’ glen to come into being around me, I began to relax as I always had throughout the thousands of years that the spirit and I had been acquainted. At one point in our past, this glen had been the home to many of the older spirits such as Peace, Compassion, Fortitude, Truth, Knowledge, and one of the rarest, that of Love. However over the millennia due to either corruption or a lack of continued stimulation many had left the glen for other areas of the Fade that would cater to their natures more readily than what was now the Exalted Plains and an area that had seen many travesties within its history.

“On dhea’lam,” (Good evening) Wisdom and I greeted one another.

“How fares the marked one?” I knew that if need be, I would not even need to tell the spirit the information that it might desire is it could easily find the information itself. That it was asking me at all was more out of a sign of respect for me and the knowing that I held.

“Well, though the source of her newly awakened magical abilities continues to elude me I sense that she is more than what she appears, though I have yet to figure out just to what extent that really is. It continues to amaze me that the Shemlen need to place labels upon situations or persons that are unnecessary. They are even worse for it than the Evenirus were in ages past.” The first time that I had herd one of the shems referring to the mark holder as the Herald of Andraste, I will admit that I had needed to excuse myself to the privacy of my assigned dwellings before I broke the facade that I was trying to maintain.

“I believe that would be the influence of creativity at work.”

“Indeed?!”

“There is a need for its presence within Havens area as those in positions of authority seek to close the fissure. Creativity’s usual dwelling of Val Royeaux has also been invaded by Fear, Despair, and Anger.”

“Understandable.” Everywhere that I had frequented in the fade seemed to be filled with only the darker spirits at this time as many of the more benevolent spirits had taken to the deeper hidden areas of the Fade for the time being.

“Tell me of your observations of this ‘Herald’ then.” I then found myself relaying everything that had transpired between the young woman and myself along with all of the stories that had been shared with me this evening in the tavern from the other members of the Inquisition inner council.

Chapter 7: A Rod

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 7

I will have to admit that the next two weeks of my life were perhaps the most physically demanding experience I have ever had. Between my history and etiquette lessons first thing in the morning with Josephine and Leliana as I had breakfast, then to training with my magic with Solas until midday meal, where I would meet up with Cassandra in the tavern for lunch while she and I would then discuss battle tactics as we eat and finally then moved towards the training grounds so I could continue my instructions with a mace, sword, and shield. I had also decided to add the basics of dagger handling which we would work on until just before the evening meal that I would take in the tavern after I bathed the day's sweat off my skin. Finally, I would retire for the evening so I could read the next chapters of any books that Solas and Josie had given me, before going out to Varric’s fire at night for any updates on local gossip and or storytime before heading back to bed and conversing more with my new spirit companions.

Fortitude and Truth were almost nightly companions along with a lovely young Elven girl-looking spirit of Creativity, who would help review all the lessons I was learning throughout the day. Fortitude would help with both mind and body endurance to reinforce the actions and movements needed for my physical defense training. Truth would help with history and cultural etiquette so that I might be as intellectually prepared for the tasks ahead of me. It was however my time with Creativity that I came to enjoy the most. I offered many of my memories of my world’s art and music in exchange for coming up with interesting and creative ways to use my magic. One of the nice things about not being from Thedas was that I was not limited to just the schools of magic that those in this world would have been taught to use.

After years of reading many different books that had magic in them and playing different video games, I would like to think I have a wide variety of possible sources for magical influence that I could draw upon. Everything from Skyrim’s thu’ums to Harry Potter’s charms, hexes, and jinx all the way to even Star Wars use of the force could be adapted to what I wanted. This was proven the first morning that I went to study magic with Solas.

Solas was already waiting for me outside his cabin the morning after my drinking binge. Thankfully, I did not have to deal with any hangover or other pains as some kind soul had left me both a restorative draft and what I could only assume was a hangover cure on my bedside table.

In a way it was nice yet strange to see Solas standing close to the retaining wall outside his cabin staring up at the breach like he had so many times in the game. I may have even snickered a bit at the image he cut as I got closer, for the next moment he was turning to greet me with a raised eyebrow in question at my excitement.

“Morning Hot Stuff. Didn’t mean to laugh, just a bit nervo-cited.” When Solas’ eyebrow continued to rise either from embarrassment over my easy flattery or confusion of my chosen descriptive is hard to say, as all I got in response was his standard in-game go-to of, indeed.

“Might I inquire how much of the book that I gave you last evening, were you able to read, and did you have any questions?” Solas asked as he led me over to the retaining wall so that we could sit, and I assume discuss the theory behind the magic that I was to be working with that day.

“Most of the book actually. I’ve been known to read quickly and the premise I gathered is that every spell is as much about the will and intent of the caster as it is actual ability to draw on mana from the Fade. Kind of gives the impression that if I can imagine it, I can make it happen… within reason of course.” I doubt that I could will food or say technology into being. I am not a human replicator after all. It would be so cool if I could though. Pastrami on rye, not a problem. Coffee first thing in the morning, done. An MP3 player with Bluetooth speakers, yes please!

“Have you tried any further magic besides your modified barrier spell?” Solas inquired with as much patience as I have come to expect from his character. It is good to see that some things that were standard in the game did indeed translate over to his actual interactions with me.

“Not yet but I have a few ideas. I have a feeling that I’m not going to be performing magic like the rest of you all do. I mean for starters your staff, awesome.” Solas chuckled at this with a smile. “But for me, tripping hazard. I mean look at you, tall, lean, body of a dancer, so fine.” I watched as a blush started to show on Solas’s cheeks and the tips of his ears. Then I gestured towards myself. “Me short, stocky, grace of a Nug.” And I tried to give him my most over-dramatized sad face. It transformed into a large cheek-splitting smile as Solas let out a full-throttled belly laugh.

“You certainly have a unique perspective on things Herald.”

“I try and please, just Fenarla. Calling me Harold all the time is like me calling you Fade Expert, instead of your name. Fade Expert is what you are not who you are.” At this, I can see that Solas was impressed with the distinction of my present title situation and I could almost envision the 'Solas Greatly Approves' hanging over his head.

“Very well Fenarla, I will endeavour to address you as you have requested. At least in private.” I could not help the excited squeak that resulted from Solas having called me by my name so early into our acquaintance. Normally even if you had chosen to romance Solas in-game he didn’t start referring to you as anything other than the Herald until at least Skyhold and that was only because he upgraded you to Inquisitor or Vhenan after a highly anticipated Fade kiss. “So, if you have reservations about using a staff then what might I ask had you intended to use to focus your magic?”

“Well I have been using a mace to fight with, and Cassandra is teaching me to use a sword and shield to go along with this very spell of mine.” I told Solas as I brought up my own magical shield on my left arm that reminded me of Agent Coulson's holographic Captain America shield. The only difference between the two was that mine had the Inquisition’s eye and sword upon it instead of Cap’s star and bulls-eye-themed circles. I was surprised when a moment later I could feel what I can only assume was Solas’s magic extending out towards my own trying to figure out how I had done the physical shield barrier that was upon my own arm.

Where my own magic had always felt like a warm fuzzy blanket against my own skin, Solas’s magic felt more like the soothing yet tingly feeling of menthol rub. Without even thinking about what I was doing I tried extending my own magic out of myself like an aura so that I could follow Solas’s own magic back to where his began. A part of me was curious as to just how large his magical reserves were at this time if at this point in the game he had always felt that he was in a diminished state. I tried wrapping my magic around the center point of where his magic was located within himself to see just how far it extended and then tried to slip a bit of my own within his to see just how deep his reserves went. What I was not prepared for was Solas’s reaction to my magic prodding at his own.

Solas wrapped his left hand firmly around my right wrist and had to brace himself up, with his right hand upon his own knee as his body bent upon itself. With his eyes dark with an emotion I was not expecting, Solas tilted his head up to look at me through his eyelashes, and in the most beautifully strained voice I have ever heard come from him he addressed me.

“Da’sa, Ma tel'eolasa ahn mar ajva sulevas.” (Little one, you know not what your act means.) The heated lust I saw shining from his eyes at me shocked me so much that my tenuous at best control, that I had of my own magic caused me to push more of my own magic into his magical core. “Diana,” (Stop) Solas hissed as he pinched his eyes tightly shut. “Ar gen'av'ahna or ma, mar elgar.” (I beg of you, your spirit.) By this point, Solas was breathing heavily and gripped my right wrist tighter. Afraid that I might have caused Solas pain I withdrew my magic from around and within him as quickly as I could.

“I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just trying to feel out how large your magical reserves are. You know, get to know your magical signature.” I stuttered and waved my left hand excitedly as I tried to explain my actions towards him. I watched as Solas breathed heavily for many moments and after having forced himself to calm his breathing and straighten himself up. Solas then cast a minor healing spell upon my wrist before letting it go.

“Ma din eolasa.” (You didn’t know.) With my own questioning look upon my face, Solas started to explain. “I have witnessed such similar exchanges of magic in the Fade, they were normally reserved between a parent and child during the early days of Arlathan and later between bonded mate before the fall of the Elven people.” Looking over his posture again it was now blatantly obvious to me what physical reaction Solas was trying to cover with his hands resting as they were classed together in his lap.

“Fen'harel ver em.” (Dread wolf take me.) I cried out an embarrassment as I hid my rapidly blushing face in my hands. Had I been looking I would have seen Solas’s eyes widen in surprise and darken once more in renewed lust as his breath heaved to try and keep himself calm. Thankfully by the time I had gotten my own self under control again, Solas was sitting as calmly as a cucumber. “I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean… Not that I wouldn’t mind… But we only just met… And my magic…” I knew I was stammering. It was a bad habit of mine when I was nervous, not that it happened very often mind you. The only thing I could think to do was redirect him back towards a somewhat safer topic. “A rod.” I cried out nervously.

“A what?” Solas squeaked in confusion, his eyes widening in surprise and no doubt misunderstanding.

“A rod, about the length of my forearm with a focus on the end that I could gather my magic around. Envision a stone-hard fireball or a frozen spiked ice chunk on the end, magic mace.” I could tell that my idea of a suitable weapon for myself was intriguing to Solas as he smiled calmly in understanding.

“If that is your wish Da’sa then you are going to require much more control over your magical abilities than you presently do.” Solas’ unsubtle reminder that I had just equivalently magically groped him because of my lack of magical control had me blushing yet again. “I would like you to continue reading the books I provided you. Focus your attention on any mention of extending spell casting and the strengthening of one’s control. I would like you to also cast small and controlled spells and see how long you can maintain them. If you intend to use this in battle, your control will have to be second nature.” In demonstration, Solas cast a small fire spell on the end of his finger to show his idea about the intended control size spell. “If you can maintain the continuous spell for more than five minutes then increase the size of the spell and start again.” Again, he demonstrated what he had in mind by having the fire on his fingers moved to the palm of his hand and increase in size.

“Ah, so flexing my magical muscles, I got ya.” Solas chuckled at my comparison with a nod.

“We will continue with your lessons tomorrow then.” And before I could say or do anything else Solas excused himself into his cabin where he had firmly closed the door before I even had a chance to stand from where I had been sitting atop the retaining wall.

I was still silently berating myself as I made my way towards Leliana’s command tent, about my behaviour with my magic seeking out Solas’s. Perhaps if I were lucky, I could encourage the spymaster to tell me about her time with the Hero of Ferelden. Anything to get the look of Solas and his heavy breathing or dark lust-filled eyes out of my mind would be a welcome distraction. And to think it was not even time for my midday meal yet. This was looking to be an exceptionally long day.

Chapter 8: Uth'min'ta

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 8

Nothing could have prepared me for the difficult realization that I came to today. After having the Herald, Fenarla, Da’sa extend her magic towards me and wrap her Elgar (Spirit) around my own, slipping some of herself into my own Elgar, I found it took all of my many years of control not to gather her into my arms and disappear into my cabin with her. The one that I have only just locked myself into with a hastily erected protection and sound barriers before the wolf within me could make its presence known.

Falling to my knees I tried to regain control of my body and center my magic even with the remnants of Fenarla essence swirling within my own. I understand that there was no way she could have known that extending her Elgar in such a way was normally a very intimate act that was only to be done between family members or those that meant to bond and share eternity. Because I had refrained from continuing the bond, Fenarla’s Elgar had left me in a heightened state of arousal. Had she not tried to blend her Elgar with my own and just caressed it like her initial explorations had indicated she was doing, I would have been fine. Had she also not asked Fen’Harel to take her when I explained to Fenarla what her actions had originally been intended for it in the early days of Arlathan, I may have been able to remain calm but as it was, my imagination was already taking that simple request and replaying it back to me in a much more sultry voice.

Between my physical arousal, my imagination trying to run wild with Fenarla’s unintended request, and my inner wolf howling at me to go after her, I could hardly think straight. The other painfully obvious and frighteningly difficult realization that I had just been greeted with was that Fenarla was my soulmate. Her magic sang with my own in a way that I have never encountered in all my thousands of years of existence. Even in the early days of Arlathan, true mated pairs were exceedingly rare, and finding one’s soulmate was even rarer still. Even amongst the Evaneras. I had only witnessed a proper mated pair once, between Dirthamen and Falon’din. I had witnessed both the joys and sorrows that such a match could bring. I had also seen what happened between Andruil and Ghilan’nain when one tried to force a mated pair bond where the pairing did not previously exist. It had led to Andruil’s eventual madness. With these thoughts in mind, I could see how this was going to pose a monumental problem regarding my interactions with Fenarla, my intentions for the veil, and even my plans for fixing the veil and mending the rifts throughout Thedas.

The more time Fenarla and I spent around each other from now on the stronger the draw to complete the bond would become. As quickly as these thoughts slid into my mind, they fled back out again as my inner wolf howled within me. Hunt, prowl, capture, claim, bond, pair, mate. Feelings, thoughts, desires, needs coursing through me, over-sensitized my very being. The very act of placing my hand's palm side down upon my thighs as I tried yet again to bring my sexual arousal under control had me hissing out in physical stimulus overload.

The longer I tried to ignore Fenarla’s Elgar coursing through me the more it started to swirl and collect low in my gut, fuelling my desires for her. Every appealing thought I had about Fenarla over the last fortnight returned to plague my mind. From observations about her physical form to her entertainingly amusing flirtations had my mind and inner wolf reviewing every instance, spinning those moments to reflect my new understanding of our connection.

After the initial rift below the breach had been sealed, the mark within Fenarla’s hand had settled more than I thought it would. Perhaps that had more to do with her magic and the part of my own that had been used to create the anchor in the first-place melding and blending together the way a bonded pair's magic was said to do. Fenarla being my soulmate would also explain why I could not remove the mark from her hand. As her magic and my own blended within her palm, it was already adapting to make the mark her own.

Heat surge through my body causing my skin to tingle and my breathing to quicken before I realized the cause was due to me running my fingertips along my own thighs. Fenarla’s Elgar danced under my skin, enhancing even the gentlest of touches I did to myself to the point that I would never be able to will my arousal away. The texture of my tunic began to feel too coarse for my skin to handle, forcing me to remove it before the irritation caused me to tear the offending garment apart. It was at this point that what little of my rational mind remained realized what my next actions were going to have to be. After strengthening the sound barrier and placing an unbreaking lock spell upon my entire cabin to keep out all unwanted guests, I slowly rose and made my way towards my bed removing my pants and undergarments before arranging myself as comfortably as I could upon my rough bed linens.

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Slowly my left hand began to caress the muscles of my left thigh while my right hand came to lay upon my stomach. Using barely even the tips of my fingers I started caressing each of my abdominal muscles with my right hand while the nails of my left hand drag along the inside of my thigh in a slow and agonizing motion that never once got any closer to my crotch and straining member, then I had while kneeling on my floor moments before.

I allowed my mind to flit back to Fenarla’s greetings from this morning and her excited smile that she wore as I brushed my fingers along my stomach muscles, imagining that it was her fingers upon my body instead of my own. My breathing hitched, my body flushed, and a tingle ran up my spine as my imagination began creating a picture of what Fenarla might do to me were she here with me now. I wonder if she would be more inclined to run her own fingers along my body, exploring it slowly much like my own hands were doing now or, if her hands would seek out my pleasure centers knowing how aroused I was and how needy I was becoming for release. The second thought had my hands wandering towards both my crotch and my chest in a need to feel some form of the release that both my mind and magic were demanding of my body.

A low growl started deep in my chest as my right hand dragged across the underside of my pectoral muscles. My eyes squeezed shut and my breathing became labored when my left hand caressed my balls before grasping lightly around my now weeping co*ck. I let out a crooning sound as my fingertips circled the quickly peeking nipple of my left breast, causing my co*ck to leak even more. The poorly guarded lust that had floated through Fenarla’s eyes as she described my tall lean form filled my thoughts as I used my leaking’s to lubricate between my member and my hand before I lifted my hips to thrust my co*ck up into it, my imagination imposing Fenarla’s hand in place of my own.

I found however that I could not agree with Fenarla’s self-assessment that she was either short or stocky as all I could see in my mind’s eye where her curving hips and ample bosom swaying enticingly much like they had the night before as I watched her stumble away from Cullen and towards her own cabin. It was an unfortunate opinion of her own self-image that I knew I would take great pleasure in rectifying again and again as I worshipped her body from head to toe.

Thoughts of my hands, tongue, and co*ck running, licking, and rubbing against Fenarla’s own body caused my administrations against my own to quicken. The thrusting of my hips became erratic as my right hand jumped back and forth between one nipple and the other. My imagination extended as I bit lightly at my own lower lip pretending it was Fenarla doing it instead. Fenarla’s Elgar was now running wild with my own as I used mild amounts of magic to first cool my hands and then heat my body and lastly allows small shocks to dance across my pleasure centers all to enhance what my hands were already doing to my own body. My altered recollections of Fenarla asking me to take her, seem to be the final straw in my own ability to remain quiet while I pleasured myself.

“Sathan uth'min'ta, Ar isala…” (Please [ever-present two/soul mate], I need…) my voice cracked as I increase the speed with which I was pleasuring myself. Harder and faster strokes had me beginning to thrash around on my bed.

“Ar islathe sul…” (I desire for…) my right hand abandoned my chest and join my left in my crotch, cupping my balls and fondling them before finally pressing my fingers to my premium. My eyes blew wide as my head tipped back and a strangled moan escaped my throat.

“Ma garun!!” (My org*sm) I cried out loudly as ropes of cum bathed my hands and chest from the strongest org*sm I have experienced in over a millennium. My eyes fluttered close as aftershocks of tingles rushed throughout my body and my breathing slowly started to calm. After casting a quick cleansing spell to remove my spending from my body I reached towards the end of my bed where my blanket had been pushed during my activities and covered myself against the cold air that I can now feel within my cabin.

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With my physical release now achieved I could feel what little of Fenarla’s Elgar remained within my own begin to settle in a new blending of both. I could also feel the wolf within me retreating into the back of my consciousness having gotten the release it so desperately needed even if I had not finished the soul bond with Fenarla. Ignoring the time of day it was, I decided to drift into the fade. I am in desperate need of counsel from my oldest friend regarding the newest revelations to my life. As Wisdoms glen begin to form before me, I finally acknowledged just how much Fenarla being my soulmate was about to change my plans for myself and my promise to the people.

“My friend, what brings you back so soon?” Wisdom inquired as I joined her on one of the sitting benches within her glen.

“An unexpected revelation about the young Herald I spoke to you about last evening has occurred and I find myself in desperate need of your counsel.” Again, I had to calm myself lest my anxieties affect my friend and its nature. Centuries of practice had me compartmentalizing my emotions so that I could focus on finding a solution to my problem. “Fenarla is my soulmate and she unintentionally tried to create a soul bond with me.” I then proceeded to enlighten Wisdom on the events that had taken place during Fenarla’s magical lesson this morning, glossing over my body’s physical reactions and moving on to my revelation and the theories about why our magics were behaving as they had for the last few days.

“You have already expressed my friend, the drive that even now your magic is pressing upon you to finalize the mate bond. Your next course of action seems clear.” Wisdom reiterated the logical progression of events that needed to take place now. The logical progression and practical application however of us bonding are not always the same thing. With how new and fragile our acquaintance was there was no present possibility that Fenarla and I would be completing our bond any time soon. “I would however suggest caution in regard to completing your bond until such time that Fenarla has come to know the truth of your intentions, both with her and the people.” Again, Wisdom gave voice to perhaps my largest concern with having a mate from this time. How was I going to fulfill my promise to the people in such a way that it would not mean her death? And what of the fact that she was a quick-ling? How would I survive the loss of her when she aged and died within the next century?

“Perhaps it is time to decide if the Din’an Shiral is still needed or perhaps there is another path.” That Wisdom now cautioned me upon a path it had always supported, made me wonder if perhaps my recent actions since waking from Uthenera had not just been more hastily made plans that were destined to fail or have disastrous outcomes like my creation of the veil brought about in the first place.

“Be the slow tortoise my friend, not a quick hare.”

Chapter 9: Trixie Tricks

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 9

Talking with Leliana about her time with the hero of Ferelden, Darrain Tabris was both enlightening and heartbreaking. For starters, the hero sacrificed himself to kill the archdemon. Before that happened however, he accomplished many great things. Apparently, Brother Ferdinand Genitivi also wrote the most accurate accounting of the hero’s journey throughout Ferelden at that time. He, Alistair, Morrigan, and their mabari dog named Vher (cat) of all things had helped the people of Lothering as much as they could to prepare for the darkspawn and the blight that was coming north from Ostagar. This was where they met the first of their companions that would join them on their journeys, Leliana and Sten, and rescued their faithful shop keepers Bodahn and Sandal Feddic from bandits. Darrain then helped broker peace between the Dalish clan and the werewolves in the Brecilian Forest, while also rescuing fallen elves, lost lockets, missing halla, delivering dying words, arranging for new love to blossom, and tricking old hermits into relinquishing entling seeds.

Once peace had been established, the group had then traveled to Redcliff hoping to gather aid from Alister’s uncle Arl Eamon. Before they could even speak to the Arl however they had needed to help defend the people of Redcliff from the demons and undead that Eamon’s son Connor had created when he had been possessed by a Desire demon. Darrain had been able to save Connor with the use of a de-possession ritual, performed with the aid of the First Enchanter Irving from Kinnock Circle. All of this however could only be done after having saved the circle itself from the right of annulment when one of its mages Uldred and his fellow blood mages had taken the circle over. Wynne had joined the group when the circle had been saved and Zevran had joined after a failed assassination attempt as the group had tried to make their way back to Redcliff so they could help Conner. Shale had joined them at that point as they made a detour to Honnleath on their way to Orzammar where they meant to call upon the help of the Dwarfs.

It was during Darrain’s time in Orzammar that the group finally acquired its last member Oghren, and where they also found out the truth of Shale’s becoming a golem, and paragon Branka’s madness as she searched for the Anvil of the Void. After Darrain participated in the proving and even promising to aid a lovely young Dwarven girl, Dagna, into getting a place within the circle tower so she could study magic, they had helped set the stage for King Harrowmont to succeed to the throne.

It was crazy to think that all of this had happened before they had even made it to Denerim to find Brother Genitivi so they could locate Haven and there in clues to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Leliana described in much greater detail just how difficult it had been to kill the high dragon that lived in the mountains above Haven and the sheer amount of faith they had all needed to get through the trials that were protecting the urn of Andraste’s ashes thus allowing them to take some to Redcliff where they could finally heal Arl Eamon from the poisoning that had been arranged by Loghain’s plotting.

With promises from the Dalish elves, Kinnock's circle mages, and King Harrowmont’s dwarves, Darrain had then returned to Denerim so that he could garner the aid of the nobles in the lands meet, now that Arl Eamon was well and had been able to send his brother Bann Tegan in his stead. It was at this time that they had uncovered Loghain’s plans to sell elves from the Denerim alienage to Tevinter to help pay for the costs of the rebellion that he and his daughter had in sighted so that Anora could remain Queen of Fereldan.

With the outstanding amount of evidence against Loghain and Anora, Darrain had been able to have Anora deposed from the throne and Alister put on it in her place. After all, the Fereldan Bannon would much rather have a Theirin on the throne than a Mac Tir, even if that Theirin was a bastard born.

Throughout all the time helping, and aiding people throughout Ferelden, and the companionable time that Darrain and his group of companions had spent together, a sweet but sad love affair had blossomed between Leliana and Darrain. Throughout the whole tale, Leliana had left out the most shocking and frankly confusing piece of information that was only supplied to me by Josie when she had joined us on our way towards the tavern for lunch a few hours later. Apparently, our resident fade expert was a dead ringer for our late Hero of Ferelden. Apparently, the resemblance was so close that had Cassandra not pre-introduced Solas as an apostate, Leliana would have sworn she was looking at the living embodiment of her own late lover.

I was unsure as to whether I should use this piece of information to my advantage or if I should instead just try to keep Solas and Leliana as far away from each other as was possible, if for no other reason than to avoid any unnecessary and potentially painful emotional moments between the two in question or memories that would be brought up by Solas interacting with the Spymaster.

As I sat with Cassandra for yet another tactics and theory session while we ate, she asked how my magic lessons were coming along.

“Much like us it is mainly reading and theory with most of our focus on control and endurance. I have a thought on how I might combine what we are working on Cassandra as well as my magic’s but that is going to take more time than we have before we leave.” When Cassandra and Leliana asked what I had in mind for combining my magic and physical attacks I told them about my idea of having a magic mace to go with my magical barrier shield.

Cassandra agreed that the idea was not a new one as it sounded like an adaptation to a knight enchanters’ powers. This had me trying to review anything I remembered about that specialty as it had normally not been one I had gone for in my past playthroughs. In the past I had always tended towards Rift Mage as the destructive powers of Shatter Stone, Punching Down, and Firestorm were my personal favorites. I also recalled that when in a tough fight I tended to rely on Smothering Vale a lot as well. If I was remembering correctly what I was, in essence, trying to do with my magical mace was a variation on the knight enchanters Defending Blade. However, I was thinking I would create a rod much like one of the magical wands from Harry Potter. I would need to speak to Harritt about that and discuss which crafting materials would give me the most bang for my buck as we were likely going to have to acquire some of the materials from the Black Emporium, and Maker only knows how expensive that was going to be. For starters however, we could always create a mock mace with what materials we had on hand.

After lunch, I went to speak with Harritt while Cassandra spoke with Threnn about our supplies and tent arrangements for ourselves and the troops that we would be taking with us to the Hinterlands. After all, since I knew what Dennett’s man Braun would need so he would give his approval to the old horse master I didn’t see the need to wait in bringing men to the crossroads to build the watchtowers or help in killing the wolves for Dennett’s wife.

Harritt and I had a much more in-depth discussion about my armour and what I was going to need seeing as I was more of a battle mage who used warrior tactics. This would ultimately change the style of armour I would use as neither that of a true heavy armour Warrior or a light armour Mage would work. Also having no past experience with armours in general we decided to create something that was closer to the Dalish Scout armour only with leggings instead of the foot wraps. After the incident, this morning with Solas and my magic or my breast band with Cullen the day before I figured asking for clothing help from either man would just be tempting fate.

Harritt was wary about the idea of creating a rod for me to use as a focus but when I described the wands that Ollivanders would create he agreed that it would be possible to at least try. My final permanent rod however I suspected I would have to wait for Dagna and Skyhold for. The new armour and template rod would not be ready for testing until after we had returned from the Hinterlands and so with that arranged I went out to the training grounds to continue working with Cassandra and more of the new recruits.

*****

Later that evening after I was done eating my dinner at the tavern, I ran into Solas again as he was coming in to get his evening meal. I still could hardly believe what had happened between us this morning with our magics and thinking of the lust that had filled his eyes when my magic had touched his, had my blood quickening and I faltered a step while trying to pass around him. This however resulted in me crashing into him instead. For a moment I thought I could feel his magic reaching out towards mine as his arms and circled me to help keep me upright.

“Ah…hi,” I stammered as I pat his chest with my hand that was pinned between us. “Feeling better?” Even to my own ears, the statement sounded strained and I tried to calm myself as much as possible. It was a very strange feeling, but I thought I could feel Solas’ embarrassment and maybe even a hint of his own lust for me. However, that could just be me and pressing my own emotions upon him.

“Quite.” Solas helped to straighten me into a more stable standing position before he stepped back from me. He then laced his arms behind his back just like I had seen so many times in the game. “Have you had the opportunity to practice any more of the endurance exercises that I showed you this morning?”

“Not yet. I was just about to head back to my cabin for the evening so I could work on my homework.” At my unusual word choice, Solas’s eyebrow raised in question, so I elaborated. “I was going to combine my endurance casting with my reading requirements for both yourself and Josephine. Our gorgeous Ambassador has me reviewing some of the ever-riveting recent history of The Free Marches and its trade histories with Nevarra, Antiva, and Rivain. She says it will help me to understand the reasoning behind their motivations as to why they will be calling for aid in those countries in the future.” As I said this, I could feel the reluctance to get started on my reading setting in. Solas snickered at my response and shook his head. I could almost imagine what he was thinking at that moment about the true relevance of that sort of information being important at a time like this, but there was really no way for me to explain just how important all of this background information was going to be when it came to wooing the nobles in about six months to a year’s time from now. After all, there was no way that I could explain to Solas just how long of a journey the Inquisition was in for without revealing how I knew that information.

“Might I suggest that you start with my assigned readings first then? I am sure that you will find them much more entertaining and helpful.”

“If only I could,” I told him with a smirk. “No, I save the interesting stuff for last. That way it’s like a treat at the end of an unenjoyable task.” At this Solas smiled with an understanding nod.

“Then might I suggest that you focus your spells towards ice or cyclone. The last thing Lady Montilyet would appreciate is if you were to lose focus over one of her books and accidentally scorch or mark thee, riveting was it, information within them.” At this, I laughed and was happy to see that the smirk had returned to both his lips and eyes. I did so love it when his eyes would scrunch up like that. It was so rarely seen within the game that getting to see it again now had me smiling a gentle smile of my own back at him.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I paused for a moment and looked discreetly around the tavern. Making a snap decision I pressed forward. “So, I have it on good authority that you, my friend, are the spitting image of our late Hero of Ferelden.” I may have said this louder than was perhaps necessary but was also happy to see when some of the closer patrons in the tavern stopped their conversations so they could overhear what we were saying. “Is this just something you forgot to tell me or were you ever going to mention that Darrain Tabris was your cousin?”

“Herald I,” But I cut off whatever Solas was going to say. Knowing anything it would be to dispute everything I had just said. I however think that this will help to give Solas a more believable back story as to why he is so prone to being helpful and yet being so secretive about his past.

“Don’t like to talk about it. I figured that part out for myself,” Solas did not comment further, as if he were waiting to see where I was going with my claims. “I mean if I were related to the Hero of Ferelden, I would be bragging about it. But I guess it’s a painful subject for you right?” This was the moment that Solas could now choose to dispute or use this fabrication that I had painted for all in the tavern to hear. Conversations threw out the tavern had quieted to a din of what they had been as everyone wanted to hear what Solas and I would say next. As Solas had yet to say anything I decided to cement the fabrication for him even if the tricksy trickster was having the trick done on him. “I’m sure that Darrain would have been proud to know that his cousin was taking up the family mantel of saving the world.” Around us, I could just barely see the other patrons nodding in agreement with everything I had just said. Others were whispering to each other obviously filling in anyone who had not heard the whole exchange.

“Darrain was a good man.” Solas finally commented calmly. Because of the unusual din in the conversations, everyone had heard what Solas said.

“Yes Solas, he was and without your cousin's work during the last blight many of us would not be here today.” This had the whispering from the others increasing in both volume and frequency. Not a moment had passed after I finished this then one of the other patrons pressed a pint into Solas hand.

“If not for Darrain Tabris, me and mine would have died in Redcliff when those abominations were coming out of the castle. I didn’t want to say anything before, but you really do look just like your cousin.” I watched as Solas looked around the tavern at all those gathered, and I figured that he was just now realizing we had the attention of everyone present. There was now also no way that he could try and suppress just how far this lie would spread.

From across the tavern, an older man stood and called out for everyone to hear as he spoke to Solas, “I was in Denerim during the blight. I saw what the Hero did. The blighted dragon he faced. He was the bravest man I have ever seen. There’s no shame if being proud of the things your family has done son.” At this Solas just nodded in the older man’s direction, if it were in thanks or acknowledgment of the elder man’s advice about family was anyone’s guess, but I think Solas did that one on purpose. After all, he was neither verbally agreeing or disagreeing that the Hero of Ferelden was his direct relation.

“If you ever want to talk Solas, I know from personal experience that remembering lost loved ones can be painful. Just know that my ear is always available if you want. Anyway, you however should go eat and I should get going. Riveting reading and all that you know.” With a pat on Solas arm and a nod towards Varric who had been watching the whole affair, I left the tavern.

I was a bit surprised when I walked outside and saw that the moons were already starting to rise but then had to remind myself that we were just about to enter the month of Solace or July as I was still inclined to think of it and that even in the mountains back home the days would now start to shorten as we reached the latter half of the year. That also meant I had a little over three months till Harvestmear to do all the work I needed to get both the Templars and the Mages on our side and help with closing the breach. I was not looking forward to trying to trek through the snow and blizzards that I knew would be coming in mid-Harvestmear or October as I reminded myself was the translating month of the year.

With all of these thoughts going through my mind however I had not been paying attention to where I was going and before I knew it, I was barrelling into my second victim of the evening with my stumbling. This time however it sent myself and my unintended target sailing down the stairs that would lead both towards my cabin and Seggrit’s stalls of wears. I curled my arms in close to my sides to prevent hurting them as I fell but the same could not be done with my legs as a moment later I found myself straddling the second most equally gorgeous man in Haven.

“Holy makers balls, Cullen are you all right?” When my questions failed to garner any response I then noticed just where his hands had landed after being tumbled down the stairs. I’m going to assume that in his attempt to stop me from bashing my face into his chest plate armour he had put his arms out to brace my shoulders, however when I had tucked my arms into myself it had inadvertently shifted his arms inward as well for at this exact moment whether intended or not Cullen Rutherford, leader of what little of the Inquisition’s army that we had at this moment, had both of his hands upon my breasts and was coping the most unexpected and arousing feel I had experienced in quite some time.

“Don’t worry Commander I can attest to the fact that my breast band is indeed upon my person and not in my pocket this time.” At the mention of my small clothes, Cullen’s hands shot away from my chest to above his head with his palms up as if surrendering himself to the authorities.

“Andraste’s Mercy,” Cullen whispered as I shifted myself to a more stable position while still straddling his lap. “I didn’t mean…”

I could not help but snicker a bit as the colour on Cullen's face started to rise first from under his armour and then up to his neck and into his cheeks and ears. It was one of the sweetest things to watch that I had seen in a long time.

“I know Cullen, it’s okay, and thank you for breaking my fall.” Without really thinking about what I was doing too much, I leaned over him so that we were chest-to-chest and gave him a simple and sweet kiss to his cheek before using his chest armour for the leverage I would need to push myself off of him. When I reached my cabin, I turned back to look at where Cullen and I had fallen in time to see Corporals Jacobs and Smitherson, and Captain Rylen trying to assist their poor Commander up from the ground. Cullen however was little help for the other men as he now had his hands covering his face that I knew was even redder than before, even without seeing it, and was no doubt cursing the Maker at this exact moment.

That man was far too easy to embarrass.

*****

After the stunt that I had pulled in the tavern earlier, it was no surprise when I received a knock at my cabin door partway through my evening reading studies. Nor was it any surprise when it turned out to be Leliana standing on the other side. Smiling at the Spy Master, I waved the woman into my cabin and asked if she wanted any refreshments before I went to sit on my bed, freeing up the room's only chair for her use if she wanted it. I waited as Leliana sat in the offered chair and then again for her to call me out on the fabrication that I had told to a tavern full of people. I could see that she was trying to wait me out and see if I would crack and admit to the lie. Finally, when she had failed to say anything after over a full minute of intense silence, I decided to throw her a proverbial bone of sorts.

“Do you recall how I said that this was a multi possibility story where I come from? A horse throws a shoe vs it not but both times you still make it to Denerim,” At this Leliana nodded. “I should have also mentioned that the Hero of Ferelden could also have been any number of people from any number of backgrounds that were all explained while in the game. For example, the Hero could have just as easily been Daylan or Salona Amell, human mages from the Kinnock circle tower who would have then been related to ether Gerret or Marrian Hawke who themselves would go on to become the Hero of Kirkwall in their own right. However, the Hero could just as easily been a Cousland, a Mahariel, a Surana, or even a Brosca.” I could see the cogs working behind the Spy Masters eyes as she tried to piece together everything I was telling her. A part of me was surprised that I had even gotten this far with my lie that Leliana still had yet to call bull sh*t on.

“I know you met some of Darrain’s cousins while helping him with the slaver incident within the Denerim alienage. I know that you helped in saving them from a Tevinter magister that they were being sold to, to help fund Loghains’ rebellion. I also know that Solas was not amongst those that you met yes?” Again, Leliana nodded. “Were you aware that Darrain’s mother originally came from the Amaranthine alienage?” At Leliana’s raised eyebrow I could tell she was surprised just how in-depth the information that I had was. I doubt that many others would have known any information about Darrain’s mother other than his real cousins or Leliana herself, dew to anything Darrain would have told her himself. “Was Darrain even aware that his mother had a sister?”

At the drooping for Leliana’s shoulders with that final statement, I realized that I had just successfully tricked the Spymaster of the Inquisition and jointly removed all suspicion of Solas’s past from the woman’s mind. “Good night Leliana.” I called after the woman who left my cabin without even having said a word to me.

Chapter 10: Political sh*tshow

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 10

The morning before the Herald left for the Hinterlands started off like any other with a quick running circuit around the lake before heading to the Inquisition’s mess hall for my morning meal. Listening to the easy camaraderie of my men was rather soothing for my otherwise frazzled nerves. Even with the sky splitting apart and our worst fears coming to attack us it was nice to witness that some things held constant.

After forcing myself to eat at least half of my portion of cooked oats, though my stomach protested loudly at the decision, I made my way back to my cabin to wash and don my armour before once again heading out towards the training grounds to continue working with the newest of the recruits that had joined our forces from those that lived inside Heaven itself and some of those from the smaller farms that had been destroyed during the aftermath of the conclave’s destruction. Though our forces were small, I hoped that the assured statement that the Herald had greeted me with upon our first meeting held true. We would need a much larger force if we were going to defeat the persons responsible for the conclave’s destruction.

It was during discussions of how to integrate the new recruits into Haven's existing guard rotation with my second-in-command Captain Rylen, that I received a summons to the war council room. I could only wonder what it was about, as normally the council meetings were arranged for later in the evenings just after the last bell for dinner so that any concerns from the day could be addressed before we all retired for the evening. I could not think of any last-minute discussions that would need to be done before the Herald and Seeker Cassandra departed for the Hinterlands but knew that the other advisors would not call a meeting without just cause. Upon entering the war council room, I was greeted with a smile and a wave from the Herald whom I had been avidly trying to avoid since our last encounter at the bottom of the stairs by Seggrit’s shop's stalls.

Even now almost a week after the incident I could still recall in great detail the feel of the Herald as she had sat in my lap after our landing. The supple feel of her athletic legs as they had hugged my hips, the weight of her body as she laid herself across my very chest, and the feel of her plump lips upon my cheek had ghosted across my skin to such distraction that only a dip in the mostly frozen lake had me able to think relatively clearly. With great effort, I forced my mind away from those thoughts before they started to affect my body which would only result in the need for yet another cold dip in the lake.

“Thank you all for coming. I felt that after this morning's theatrics, perhaps it would be a good idea to get certain balls rolling so you all have something to do while I'm gone.” Fenarla smiled at me and the other council members. Looking to the other women around the room I could see their shared looks of frustration at something that must have happened while I was working with my men.

“Morning's theatrics?” I questioned looking to Leliana for clarification. It was Josephine however who elaborated upon the situation.

“Marquis DeRellion approached me this morning to express his… concerns with the Inquisition’s continued stay in Haven as we are not directly associated with the Chantry.” Next to Josephine, I could hear Fenarla’s huff of indignation and the muttered ‘Whining more like it’ coming from her. “I gently... reminded the Marquis that the Inquisition had been founded by the late divines right and left hands at her own request and that she would have been saddened that her demise would in any way cause strife between us when in actuality it should be unifying us towards a common cause.” Again, more side commentary could be heard coming from the Herald as she questioned how an Orlesian could think they had any right to Haven when ‘It’s as clear as the nose on my face.’ that it was within the borders of Ferelden. I chuckled to myself at this, as I myself had also dealt with the arrogance of the Orlesian's many times in the past.

“Well, I have a solution to the prissy fancy pants, though I do still stand by my thoughts that this whole thing could just as easily and much more enjoyably be handled by letting Cassandra extract some slighted justice and challenging the man to a duel.” At this statement, Josephine pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation while Cassandra snorted her approval at the suggestion along with her own side commentary that the Marquis was just being an ass. All the while Leliana looked passive about the whole situation until you looked into her eyes and saw the mischievous glint within them. ‘Theatrics indeed’ I thought as I was once again reminding myself of just how grateful I was that the Inquisition had such a fine ambassador such as Josephine so that I no longer had to try and accommodate any of the nobles that would inevitably come to observe the fledgling Inquisition that we had formed.

“Your plan is Herald?” Leliana inquired trying to redirect everyone’s attention to the matter at hand.

“We all know that refugees from all over are starting to make their way towards Haven yes. We also know that not all of those refugees are going to be well suited to our army or spy networks and as much as they are needed, I doubt that Josie can just hire all the rest to do all the cooking, cleaning, or message running right?” I looked to the other advisors and could see that they also agreed with the Herald’s assessment of the impending situation. “Well, you do realize that Haven is sitting on top of an iron mine right?” Fenarla stated while giving Leliana a pointed look which I could only assume meant that the Spymaster was more than likely both aware of its existence and was also using its entrances and exits to slip her people in and out of Haven unnoticed.

“You suggest we get the refugees working the mine then?”

“Yeah, I mean if people are working the mine, coming and going as they will throughout the day, and some happen to come from outside Haven perhaps, or go and don’t return at the end of the day… Who’s going to really notice right? Besides then we can keep a portion of anything mined for arms and armaments for our own people and the rest can get sold. Part of the proceeds of the iron sold can go to paying the workers at a reduced rate, as the rest of their otherwise wage would go to food and housing costs that will be supplied by the Inquisition itself. Finally, a portion goes to our ‘gracious landlord’ for our continued stay yes?” The Herald explained using her air quote hand gestures as I had seen her use when describing something to Cassandra a few times over the last week. I can recall the conversations that Cassandra and I have had about yet more of the Heralds quarks, that seemed to be reminiscent behaviors from her own home. Fenarla is a very animated woman when she speaks to those around her. I was aware that Fenarla had been discussing military tactics with Cassandra every noon meal and politics and history with Josephine over breakfast with Leliana, but this was the first opportunity I had to witness the Herald’s mind in action and I found that the young woman was very intelligent even if she was also maddeningly flirtatious with everyone.

“That can easily be done Fenarla and you are correct that it would both appease the Marquis while also aiding the Inquisition.” Josephine’s praise could be clearly seen on the Herald’s face as she nodded her thanks. Observing Leliana I could see that she also liked the arrangement as it would benefit her people as well.

“Though I am going to insist that all three of you start looking for a personal assistant,” Fenarla said looking at Leliana “or two,” she then looked at me. “or a team of them.” This time she turned to Josephine. “Who will be able to help you out with day-to-day paperwork and planning for your positions alone. I know where this Inquisition is going, and we are in for a long haul. I will not have any of you burning out before we even make it to the end.” If the ever-increasing amounts of paperwork that I was already experiencing were only going to get worse then I was indeed going to need to train up a personal assistant. Between training the troops and my choice to stop taking Lyrium, I can see where added paperwork would result in unnecessary stress for me.

“On another note, we do have a decision to make in regard to a ‘political sh*tstorm’ that will be coming our way. I have yet to decide how we should deal with the situation and so would like all of your help deciding what to do about it.” I watched as the Herald then brought one of the room's chairs closer to the war table and sat in it. Fearing that this might take a long time and be a lengthy discussion I slowly started to move the other chairs around the room for the remaining members of the advisory council closer to the war table, while Josephine disappeared momentarily to ask a runner to, I would assume, bring refreshments for all of us to have.

“So as the situation stands Leliana has been trying to bring the disappearance of the Gray Wardens to all of your attention, as they have been disappearing for months now yes?” Fenarla gestured to the Spymaster for confirmation that she was correct. When Leliana nodded in confirmation I myself now had a bad feeling that my earlier dismissals of the Wardens disappearing being unusual were perhaps hasty and ill-informed. Unless darkspawn made small raids above ground most of the surface never had need of a Warden unless there was a blight and with the standing pattern of the occurrences of the last few blights, we should not experience another blight for at least an age or two. “Thing is our Spymaster is not wrong in her worries, though I couldn’t tell you where all of the Wardens have gone at this time. That information doesn’t become available until after the breach has been sealed.”

“But you do know where they will be,” Leliana stated.

“Yeah, they are headed for Adamant Fortress out in the Western Approach. Eventually, we are going to have to head out that way ourselves but again that will be after the breach is sealed. For now, however, the problem I was going to bring up is with one of our potential recruits who would normally become a member of my regular traveling companions.” We all stopped for a moment as the runner Josephine had sent off brought trays of snacks and tea into the room. Once everyone was settled again The Herald picked back up about this problem recruit.

“So, I know you all needed me to recruit as many to our cause as possible, and I have no problem doing just that. But there will be a core group of ten who will be traveling with me at all times. Normally it would be eight but I’ve decided I’m keeping Smitherson and Jacobs so you can’t have them back.” The Herald informed us while pointing a finger in my direction so that I would be aware that her decision upon keeping my men would not broker any disagreement.

“Herald that’s,” Fenarla however cut me off with a long-winded rant about how she thought the two men in question were funny and nice and that I would have hundreds of other recruits that I could have all to myself. That I should not even notice missing two out of the lot and that before long our forces would get so large that I would not even be able to keep track of all our men’s names. Something about claiming first and toys being shared may have come up, but I was no longer following as I covered my face with my left hand and started to rub at a tension knot in my neck with my right. I could feel a renewed blush covering my face as I unintentionally thought of what she might do with her ‘toys’. Finally, Leliana had to bring the Heralds wandering attention back to the task at hand of us helping to deal with this ‘political sh*tstorm’.

“I was merely going to suggest that they be posted as your personal bodyguards so that no unnecessary comments are brought forward that might tarnish your reputation.” I offered up once the Herald had a moment to collect herself.

“Actually, that would work rather well. I could formally announce it when speaking with other nobles as it is quite common for bodyguards or elite guards to be present for those in positions of authority.” Josephine stated as she started taking notes upon her clipboard.

“As long as we have some way of distinguishing their new positions that would work. I would suggest a family crest to state that they are with me personally, but I don’t even have one of those. After all, the last thing we need is for anyone to think I was being placed under guard again. But back to the original concern which also pertains to the Warden’s is this, in the Hinterlands your scouts will find a lonely Warden while Cassandra and I are in Val Royeaux speaking to the Chantry mothers. This will likely not take place for at least a month or two at which time you would normally speak to me about recruiting him after inquiring about the location of the other Wardens. Warden Blackwall unfortunately however is not who he appears to be. Not that he is a bad man, but I am fairly certain you all have laws against people impersonating a Warden.” Josephine would know more about those laws, but I believe the crime of impersonating a Warden is imprisonment. As the Warden’s have treaties with every nation to take what they need for the purpose of dealing with and killing darkspawn if someone was found abusing those treaties it could indeed have caused a ‘political sh*tstorm’ as the Herald had so politely put it.

“Would you like my men to apprehend this Warden Blackwall then?” Leliana asked before I could suggest my own men do the same task.

“No, well maybe. I don’t know. That’s kind of why I’m bringing this up now. You see it’s complicated. Do you prosecute a man for following orders even if they go as badly as his did?” At the look of confusion that I and the other advisors gave the Herald, she sighed in frustration and continued. “Warden Blackwall is actually Thom Rainier.”

“Oh my.” Josephine gasped.

“The same Rainier who is wanted in regard to the death of Lord Callier and his family?” Cassandra inquired with righteous furry laced in her voice.

“Unfortunately, but again do we of the Inquisition really have the right to prosecute a soldier for the orders he was given, even if they went wrong and resulted in more than just the death of the lord the orders were meant for?” I could tell that Fenarla was uncomfortable with the information that she knew. The decision that we were all being forced to make now sat heavy in the air.

“Explain,” Cassandra demanded.

“Thom Rainier originally from the Free Marches, Markham to be exact. Goodman, even better soldier. Won the melee of the grand tourney when he was a young man, became a well-respected captain in the Orlesian army, until one day he was given sh*t orders to execute a man he was told was a traitor to the throne. The problem is it was actually a power play between Duke Gaspard and Empress Celene.” Already I could feel my shoulders tensing at the obvious parallels between this man’s life and my own. Humble beginnings then you join a respected institution, make a name for yourself and it all goes wrong. Yes, this Rainier and I were more alike than I felt comfortable with.

“You see Gaspard wanted Lord Callier disposed of so it would weaken Celene’s claim to the throne, as Lord Callier was one of Celene’s strongest supporters at the time. So, the snake made promises with one of his own supporters Sir Robert Chapuis that if he arranged for the death of Lord Callier he would be rewarded handsomely for his efforts. Thus, Rainier was given his orders under false pretenses, and off he goes.

Problem is that Lord Callier decided to make a family affair out of that fateful trip to visit the other supporters of Empress Celene. So, unfortunately, Rainier and the rest of his men were unaware that lady Callier and their children were also in the carriage, until after it was a pile at the bottom of a deep ravine.” Cassandra looks grim where she stared at the map of Orlais, Josephine shook her head at the brutality of what had happened, and Leliana had adopted her stoney resting face. As a man who had also survived my own fair share of sh*t orders during my time with the Templars, I could understand how Rainier must have felt to be deceived while doing what he had thought was his duty to the institution he served.

“What makes it all worse is that when the whole thing came out Gaspard disavowed all involvement with Rainiers and Chapuis actions. Chapuis then committed suicide, Rainier ran, and the rest of Rainier’s men were arrested and sentenced to traders’ deaths.” At this point, I was not even sure that I had any right to give a sentence against a man who could have just as easily been one of my own fellow Templars had situations been differently. How many Mages had I ordered tranquil on Meredith's orders alone?

“The one and only silver lining that Rainier had was that a few years after the incident in question the real Warden Constable Blackwall had indeed recruited Thom into the Wardens. Problem was that before Thom’s joining could be finalized Warden Constable Blackwall was killed in a darkspawn attack and since Rainier had no proof to state that he had not actually killed the Constable himself he did the next best thing and assumed the man’s name and rank.” Josephine bemoaned this decision while Leliana voiced my own internal thoughts aloud for all to hear.

“Thus, the ‘political sh*tshow’,” she said mimicking The Herald air quotes.

“Yeah, but just imagine how bad it could have been for us had we recruited Thom under the premise of him being Blackwall, used the Warden treaties to the benefit of the Inquisition, only to have it come out later that he was in fact Rainier all along.” The looks of almost abject horror at the very idea of that sort of event happening that were openly worn by both Josephine and Cassandra led me to believe that it would have caused the Inquisition a great deal of trouble in the future.

“If I could, I would say we just ignore his presence in the Hinterlands but then that would leave Thom open to just being found by others who would be unable to help him out of his present situation. Thankfully, we do have a few different options at this time. One we conscript him into the Inquisition army and get him training our troops, which I would personally rather do given the choices. Two we arrest him and send him to Val Royeaux to face his crimes, even though technically they’re actually Gaspard crimes, or three we make arrangements with King Alistair to have Rainiers recruitment into the Warden’s finalized thus making him the very thing he has been telling everyone he is.” In an ideal world, I would also like to ignore this very volatile politically laced situation, as it had far too many variables that could go wrong and thus could cause undue stress upon the Inquisition itself. However, I could see that the Herald cared very deeply about what happened to this man and so felt that the options of conscription were perhaps the best move forward.

“Why not do a combination of these options. We could conscript him for his own safety while I inquire with King Alistair as to whether or not finishing his joining is even an option. We would not even need to inform Orlais that we have found Rainier until such time that any and all claim to him would no longer be within their grasp.” Leliana advised and I had to wonder how many other such situations like this she may have dealt with during her time as the left hand of the Divine. After all, it had been rumoured that many questionable things had been done by the woman on the behest of the late Divine.

“Since we have the time to make inquiries before Captain Rainier is even to be present within the Hinterlands, we should have the situation well in hand before it may even pose a problem.” Josephine was comprising an all-out report upon her clipboard over everything Fenarla had told us of Thom Rainier with what he had done and upon whose orders. I had a feeling that this information might even be saved for later use by both the Spymaster and the Ambassador while dealing with other such ‘political sh*tshows’ in the future.

“If the man is even half as accomplished as the rumours paint him to be, he will serve as a great help with the training of our men.” Was all I could add to the situation and I could see the Herald’s grateful and understanding smile at the proposal. The parallels to Thom Rainier's situation and my own past were somewhat uncanny. What the man needed was the second chance that was denied to him with the death of the real Warden Blackwall.

“I question however if our men will even be willing to take training from a man that is wanted for murder.” Cassandra pointed out one of the potential points of contention to this plan to conscripting the man into our service.

“I had a thought on that. What if we were to continue to refer to him as Blackwall. Not in so much as a name but more as a title. One that at a later date could be explained away as a Warden tactic used to describe an otherwise volatile politically compromise recruit. That is to in essence guard the recruit from prosecution until such time as their joining could be completed. Asylum in a name used as a title and none are the wiser about it until such time that all interested parties can’t do anything about it anyway.” Again, The Herald was showing just how intelligent she was at understanding overly complex and potentially dangerous situations. I would never have thought to use such tactics, but I now wish I had thought of them first.

“That is a rather ingenious idea to use in the situation.” Josephine voiced my own thoughts with praise in her own.

“Well, I have had lots of time to think about what sort of things I would have done differently had I been given the chance. Which also reminds me of another thing I am going to need your help with Cullen.” Again, my shoulders tense, and with them, my neck was now starting to cause my lyrium withdrawal headaches to resurface.

“Not another way word recruit we need to save I hope.” At Fenarla’s slight blush and subsequent rubbing at her own neck much like I was want to do a time or two, I could only sigh in resignation as I waved my hand at her to continue.

“Sir. Delrin Barris and his men along with any other Templars he can gather in Val Royeaux are going to be needed to help with closing the breach. However, he is in a bit of a pickle situation at present. You see the Chantry and the Lord Seeker have decided they need an advantage upon the rebel Mages and have started pushing a new brand of lyrium onto their men. We both know how dangerous messing with lyrium intake can be on a Templar, now just imagine how bad it’s going to get when it’s the wrong colour.” Fenarla stated giving me a very pointed look. Pure terror seized my very veins as the severity of the Heralds statement registered in my mind. As if everything with Knight-Commander Meredith had not been bad enough, now to think that the rest of the Templar order was using Red Lyrium as well… the look of painful understanding seen in Fenarla’s eyes as she nodded at what I had just realized did not help to ease my mind.

“Maker breath, have they gone completely mad?!” I could barely whisper.

“Obviously, as we all saw what the stuff did to Meredith. From what Varric has told me she’s still a statue in the middle of the Gallows that no one will even get two hundred paces close to.” Fenarla slumped into her chair almost as if the weight of her for-knowledge and the present situation were too much for her to bear. I wish there were something I could do to relieve her of this stress but found I could hardly fathom the extent of just how horrible the situation was myself.

“Sir. Barris is in Val Royeaux right now protecting the last of the Chantry mothers. You need to warn him of the situation and get him to join us here in Haven, preferably before I have to head out to Val Royeaux myself. I also hope you understand that he and the other Templars saying no to our call to aid is NOT an option. We NEED them to close the breach.” The emphasis that the Herald had placed in her final statement was not lost on any of us in the room.

“Between them and the Mages who are presently hold up in Redcliff, who we WILL also be recruiting to our cause, we will then have the power needed to formally close the breach.” Right now however, Fenarla just looked tired. A part of me knew I should be concerned at the idea of having both the Mages and the remaining Templars so close in quarters to one another, even if it were for the necessity of closing the breach, however I just could not muster up the energy to even care at the moment as the reoccurring pain I sometimes experience behind my left eye set in again.

Before I was even cognitively aware of what was going on, I had a cup of water in one hand and a sandwich in the other. Cassandra was smirking at me as Josephine giggled at my expense while the Herald stuffed part of her own sandwich in her mouth so I would not see the smug grin on her face that was not failing to shine in her eyes. “You need to eat more Cullen.” The Herald voiced a moment later and again I could feel the beginnings of a blush upon my cheeks. I watched Fenarla for a moment before I decided to follow her advice and started to eat the sandwich, she had made for me. I was so focused on eating that it took me a moment to realize Fenarla’s gaze was focused on me but not as if she were seeing me. She must have been considering something particularly important as a moment later her eyes focused on me and she nodded over a decision she had made.

“I want you to know first and foremost that under normal circ*mstances I would never give away a person’s secrets but in this instance, I think you should tell them what you're doing Cullen. I mean I know that Cass already knows and of course, I know. Now that I think about it Leli probably already knows, which means that Josie may already suspect but I’m not one hundred percent sure on that. But they need to know because strength in numbers and all that. Also, every one knowing and not saying anything doesn’t help when things get bad but…” Fenarla stopped as she looked around the room, almost as if second-guessing herself. I however was confused as to what she was even talking about. I looked to Cassandra with a questioning gaze and I got a shrug of confusion from the Seeker in return, as we all waited for Fenarla to start speaking again.

“You’re going to need a support system in place for when Cass and I are away and I know that both Josie and Leli will help you out in any way they can,” it was at this point that I realized what Fenarla was about to bring up in front of the other two advisors. A moment of panic passed through me as I looked to both the Spymaster and the Ambassador before I realized that the other two women probably did already know about my choice to stop taking lyrium but had not said anything out of respect for my own privacy.

“I am no longer talking Lyrium.” I blurted out before Fenarla could say it herself. I hardly noticed when Cassandra gripped my arm in comfort as I was so focused on the map of Ferelden. It even took me a moment to realize that my gaze was centered on where Honnleath had once been.

“The Herald is correct in her assumptions that I already knew of your abstinence.” Leliana calmly informed me.

“I however was not aware, nor had I suspected anything yet, but as I do know the signs of Lyrium withdrawal I would have come to suspect in due time. I am unsure as to your reasons behind this choice, but I suspect that they are good ones, as you do not strike me as a man who would commit to something of this nature without just cause.” Slowly I lifted my gaze and looked at the women around the room. Around me, compassion, understanding, and acceptance shone in the eyes of the other advisors.

“Oh, he has reasons, and damn good ones too. That however is not my secret to tell but know this, what you’re doing right now is great. No, it's amazing and cool and I am super excited to see just how much better you will feel when it’s done cause it’s like revolutionary game-changing sh*t your pulling.” At the Herald's continued praise for my choice to abstain from lyrium, I began to wonder if perhaps she did not already know the outcome of my choice. Around the room, I could see that Cassandra was proud of what I was doing and determined to help even more in any way she could. Leliana looked thoughtful over everything that the Herald had spoken of. Josephine was the most excited as she would more than likely try to use this situation to the Inquisition's advantage.

“The results of this decision are widespread then, yes Herald?” Josephine inquired.

“You can’t even imagine the half of it right now, I mean normally for Templars at the end it’s just lyrium madness and death. If they are lucky it happens at a ripe old age. If not, well then…” at this Fenarla just surged. “Thing is when Cullen is done and everyone sees that not only is it possible but that it also works and that you can come out the other side whole and hail, it changes everything. No longer do Templars need to fear their retirement years. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy and the symptoms are going to get worse before they get better, which is why you will need as big of a support group as possible Cullen, but you will come out the other side of this and not only will you help yourself you will also help countless others when you set up your own clinic and later town for ex-Templars, who I might add, will also be coming from all over Thedas to learn how you quit lyrium.”

“That is… I mean I had hoped,” I could hardly get the words out as the implications of what Fenarla was saying to me were even more than I had hoped for.

“I know right. But you see the thing is, since you have chosen this path, you can NOT, under any circ*mstances, give in and start taking lyrium again.” The Herald was both excited and cautious as she informed me of this. “There is going to be a point when things get really bad and you’re going to want to give in. The withdrawal symptoms are going to make you think you're almost dying right at the end cause that the lyrium’s and your body’s way of trying to get you to take it again, but know that is the last hurdle you will have to face and after that everything will be much smoother sailing again.”

I would like to think that I am a strong and determined man. After all of the experiences that I have faced in my past both with Kinnock circle and with Kirkwall circle that I would hope that I could withstand any challenge that I was faced with, however I could also see that line of thinking could be the hubris that caused me to fail. “I assume that this choice is one of the many things mentioned in your stories then.” To this, the Herald nodded. “What will the outcome be if I fail?”

“Death,” beside me Josephine gasped, and Cassandra grabbed my arm in concern. “I mean the body can only handle so much and like any drug, it weakens the body. If you try taking lyrium again after almost quitting it, your heart will give out and you will die. Most of the symptoms we can mitigate as much as possible as they show themselves and I am going to look into the idea of a dream canceling rune or maybe a potion to help with the night terrors, but the rest should be easier as long as you have the personal assistants that you ARE going to hire on and just generally taking better care of yourself. Also don’t think I won't sick Josie on you in regard to eating, after all, nobles just love having tea and dinner dates yes.” Leliana snickered at this and I could not help but stare at the Herald in horror over the very threat that she had just stated. I could barely stand the nobles that were even now visiting the Inquisition on the best of days, I was just as likely to challenge any of the fools to a dwell as I was to voluntarily eat with one of them where they could then bombard me with endless questions or advice about what the Inquisition was doing with the support that they were offering to us. If I was really unlucky, they would be interested in me for the purposes of forming alliances and that could mean anything as innocuous as trade agreements all the way to marriage proposals or even one-night trysts.

“You would not dare!”

“I think it is a wonderful idea Herald I can even draw up a schedule for such meetings.” Josephine informed the room and I groaned at the very thought that this was more likely to put me off eating altogether than having me eat more.

“Well then feed yourself and Josie won’t have to Commander.” Cassandra and the Herald then chuckled at my expense and I could see that if I failed to maintain my health that I would have a team of mother hens on my hands.

Chapter 11: Journey Begins

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 11

I have officially decided that walking is an overrated pastime. I get the importance of it, after all, they would not have running rooms or walkathons if it were just supposed to be a casual pastime. However, when walking is your only means of transportation it certainly loses its appeal quickly.

The mountain road we took out of Haven reminded me of hiking trips I used to go on with my family when I was younger. I even made a bit of a game of trying to name the many plants and trees that I could see. I was also happy to note that many of the plants had some of the same names I was used to from back home however there was always the one or two that had different names like elderberries that back home would have been blackberries or thistle that here in Thedas was actually witherstalk.

The first day of travel was fine, even setting up camp that night was easy what with how many of us there were. I had recruited Biggs Smitherson and Wedge Jacobs, which upon hearing their first names had me cracking up laughing and telling them their presents must be fate, to come along with the other soldiers that Cullen had sent to help out with the tasks that Dennett and his people would need so we could get the horses we needed from him. The only thing that would have made the first night better had been if we had the means to make smores, but with a good camp-out stew and Varric’s never-ending supply of stories, it made for a pleasant evening.

The second day on the road was where things started to get harder. Knowing that at some point you are going to have to kill someone in self-defense and actually doing it are two totally different things. So, when a group of bandits tried attacking our traveling party and I was forced to attack them back or risk being killed myself I found it harder to hit the areas of their bodies that I knew would cause the most damage. I guess all of the practice I had done with Cassandra and the other trainee scouts however had paid off as instinct and what little muscle memory I had kicked in. Combine that with the boons I had received from my spirit friends in defending myself, and next thing I knew there was the body of a young man laying on the ground in front of me with his chest caved in and blood on the mace in my hand.

Time seemed to come to a crawl as all I could do was stare down at the body before me. I didn’t register as a barrier surrounded me or as the sounds of battle came to a halt. I barely registered someone calling my name until I had hands pulling me away from the scene before me, hands that had strong and nimble fingers tipping my chin up, so I was once again looking into steel blue eyes and like a damn’s floodgates opening, I crumbled in Solas’s arms.

Around me, I could vaguely hear the others talking to each other as they must have realized that this was my first kill. I however was more focused on the strong arms and magical aura that was surrounding me as a larger part of my earthly innocence was torn from me one teardrop at a time. Solas said nothing as he held me, almost sensing that anything he was to say to me at that moment would more be seen as him trying to placate me than to truly soothe my aching heart. After all, this kill was inevitable and we all knew it. Better for it to happen now and not at the Crossroads where so many civilians would have seen me and judged. Eventually, my tears subsided and Solas was able to direct me away from the site of our skirmish.

“The act will get easier to perform and in time your mind will forget the details, but you will be forever changed after this. The key is not to let this take away from who you are or what you believe in.” Out of everyone here, Solas would know the most as to what it felt like to take a life and have to live with the outcome of that. I looked around at our companions and I could see some of them nodding in agreement with Solas’ words and was comforted to know that I was not alone in my grief. Varric then came up to me with my mace that I could see had been cleaned and gave it back to me with a comforting pat to my shoulder. Cassandra told me to remember my training and that if I had to dispatch a foe to try and make it as quick and clean as possible.

Jacob’s handed me a waterskin knowing that I was now parched from crying and Smitherson even gave me a hug as we set out once more. Varric then proceeded to tell the wildest and most outlandish stories I had ever heard in my life all in an attempt to make me smile. Later that night if I woke up in a cold sweat and screaming, thankfully all of the others were too kind to say anything about it.

*****

I hate to gloat about being right, but I could not help it when I got my first real look at an actual map of the Hinterlands. Varric may have given me a questioning look that unfortunately all I could do was shake my head at him over, and wave off Cassandra’s questions and looks. I always suspected that someone at BioWare had dropped the proverbial ball when it came to the Hinterlands area of the map after all. For starters, it always seemed weird that we would start out at the Crossroads Camp when technically Dennett’s Farm was physically closer to Haven. Also, unless some serious magic had been involved there was no way that the entire town of Redcliff with the castle, secret passage, and all included, could just pick up legs and deposit itself on the eastern shore of Lake Calenhad. The fact that the Eastern Road where the bandits had congregated during the game, could not have existed that close to Red Cliff like it did in the Inquisition game, considering before the Eastern Road had met up with the Western Road in Lotherin during Origins, had this as the final nail in the map error conflicts that I could not help but laugh over.

The fact that now Dennett’s Farm was directly south of Redcliff Village only made sense, as it would only be more logical to have the farmlands closer to the village. This way the farmers would be able to feed the villagers quickly and the farmers would not have to go so far if they needed aid for protection from their Arl. Thus, the first night spent in the Hinterlands was actually done at the camp near Dennett’s Farm.

After talking to Dennett himself, and then his wife and Bron to confirm that their task to get access to the horses within the man’s stables were still the same as they had been in the game, we then called it a night figuring that we would get started the following morning with our to-do list. Cassandra and I discussed what would be needed with Jacobs and Smitherson in regard to the watchtowers that in actuality just needed to be repaired instead of made from scratch, and how we would go about dealing with the wolves that had come under the influence of the Lesser Terror Demon. That evening was also one of the first instances that I had to work more on my magical education with Solas since we had started out on the road.

“I am going to teach you how to use your Elgar (Spirit) to sense more of the area around you. With this technique, you will be able to sense enemies, areas, or items of interest depending upon what you hope to sense." Solas had us sitting in a meditative pose by the fire so that he could instruct me as well as he cooked the ram that Varric had taken down that afternoon while we had traveled. The only thing I could liken this spell to was the sonar ping that was done in the game.

“First, I want you to think about what you are looking for, picture it in your mind as if you are looking at it before you. For the sake of our learning, I would suggest something simple like Elfroot to start out with and gradually work your way up from there. The more familiar you become with this technique the easier it will be for you to find what you were looking for. Next, you will want to gather a small amount of the fade around yourself and while wrapping your own magic within it, send it out of yourself as if reaching with your hands or seeing with your eyes at everything around you.” Slowly I followed Solas’s instructions and after a time I could sense the clusters of Elfroot that were located by the stream. Next, I tried to use the spell to search for anything magical in the area and was surprised when I sensed more than just Solas and myself.

Cassandra with her Seekers training and gifts that had been given to her by the spirit of Faith at the end of her trials, registered within my spells per few. I also sensed off in the distance in the direction of the northern hills leading towards Redcliff what I suspected was likely the Astrarium. A smaller ping south of that one was likely one of the Dwarven tiles that we would put together in Skyhold. To the south of us, I could sense old magic and wondered if that were the Elven artifact that Solas would need me to activate so that I could help strengthen the veil. It was, however, the disturbing feeling of rot or death that had me fearing that the Ocularum was not just an in-game plot device but in actuality a real-life thing. If the pillared skull did in fact exist that would mean ill things for the Tranquil that were within Redcliff. If so, I would need to send a message to Leliana about recruiting any and all Tranquil that the scouts saw from this point onwards.

“I can sense a few magical artifacts I think that way,” I said pointing north towards Radcliff and then south towards the Western Road. “And that way, but something seems wrong with the one down there.” I could feel as Solas sent out his own magic ping and watched as his eyebrow raised when, I could only assume, he had sensed what I had in the south.

“Interesting, should we investigate after dinner then? The artifact does not feel that far away.” Solas inquired as he finished cooking and signals to the others that dinner was ready. The Elven artifact was indeed in one of the abandoned farm homes just as we had seen in the game and as such Solas expressed his thanks when I activated it for him. A part of me still wondered just how helpful the artifacts really were in strengthening the veil, or if perhaps I was just helping to prep things for when Solas would inevitably try to take the veil down.

“Now that’s just disturbing.” I said while pointing out the ocularum that was just off of the horse’s race path a little while later.

“What is the meaning of this?” Cassandra’s indignation at finding the artifact was just as righteous in person as it had been in the game.

“Well, that’s not normal. What’s it for?” Varric kept his distance as I let Solas get closer to the pillar first. I was not looking forward to looking through the skull either and so left that task to Solas. Slowly he moved the artifact around and pointed off into the distance as he spotted the five different shards throughout the Redcliff farm area. Two of which we could possibly claim now, and the others would have to wait until morning. With a look to the others Solas, Cassandra, Varric, and I set off to collect the shards further down the path and the one next to Brons workshop.

“Of course, the skull statue finds stones that have skulls on them.” Varric tried to lighten the mood when we found the first shard.

“I wonder what they're used for?” Solas inquired as he examined the shard with both his eyes and his magic.

“I bet it’s some sort of key to some awesome loot in a far-flung forgotten land.” I know me saying this would potentially be giving things away but hopefully by the time Solas has figured out that I knew what I was talking about he would already trust me enough not to be wary of me. At Cassandra's questioning look I just nodded to let her know that I was indeed telling them the truth about what the shards were and what they were for.

The following morning, I took the others around the Redcliff farm areas so that we could collect the other three shards as well as the hidden stash in the cave north of the Astrarium. I solved the star puzzle after the second try, mainly I needed the first to figure out the controls of the device but after that, it was rather easy to do. The beam of magical energy that shot out of the thing was by far the coolest thing I had seen magically so far. After all, at least this magical thing was not trying to kill me. Finally, we made it back to the camp by the river and after making a quick lunch my team along with the soldiers that we had brought with us started to make our way towards the wolf den so we could kill the demon.

It took a carefully coordinated effort to deal with the rift at the bottom of the waterfall. It was a good thing I had so many soldiers with me as that rift was even more difficult to close than the one we had dealt with just past Tyradas memorial tree.

Slowly my group made our way towards the caves that I knew the demon influencing the wolves was hiding in. Upon seeing the first of the wolves I waited for Cassandra’s instructions on how she wanted to try and divide the wolves up, that way we would not be ambushed on all sides by their attacks. I stayed back with Solas and Varric much as I had in the past and helped throw barriers around Cassandra and the other soldiers as they tried to do a three-pronged attack and surround the wolves. In essence, we were trying to cut the first group off from the others that were still within the cave. As I watched the wolves slowly fell one by one and I wished that there was something more that we could have done for them. Just as in the game the cave forked into two paths and so again, we split the forces into two so that we could do a pincer move to get past the wolves and at the Lesser Terror Demon. I went right so I could cast barriers on half of our soldiers and was happy to see that Smitherson and Jacobs followed me while I noticed that Solas went left with Cassandra and Varric so he could keep them covered with the other half of the soldiers.

I’ll admit that when we finally came to the demon that was influencing the wolves, I may have yelled at it much as Cassandra was prone to do so that I could get its attention, and even tried to use the mark to see if I could force a rift to open much as I knew I would be able to do after Corypheus came and tried removing the mark from my hand. I was shocked to see that even though I was unable to recreate a rift I had however place a stasis of sorts upon the demon. This allowed Cassandra the distraction she needed so she could dispatch the demon from behind from where she had flanked behind it. The soldiers finished dealing with the last of the corrupted wolves as I turned to Solas in surprise at what I had been able to do.

“Did you see that Solas? I mean damn right?! I didn’t even know it could do that!! What else do you think this mark can do?” I am now curious to see what other things I can come up with and skipped over to where Solas was casting a minor healing spell upon Cassandra who had a set of claw marks on her left leg, where one of the influenced wolves has swiped at her.

“I would like to check the mark in a moment da’len.” Solas smiled at me and then returned his attention towards healing Cassandra’s leg.

“Oh, I see how it is. If that’s how it’s going to be ha’hahren (Old Elder).” At Solas' stiffened shoulders I tried to stop myself from laughing at his reaction but failed and giggled as I spoke, “I wouldn’t call you old if you grew your hair back.” From his position kneeling in front of Cassandra, Solas looked up at me through his lashes and corked eyebrow.

“I was under the impression you found my bear head attractive.” At this I smiled and winked back at him, feeling my blood start to heat and my heart double beat with the look he was sending my way.

“Oh, you knew you know I do, ha’hahren. But just imagine how much fun we could have if we could equally braid each other’s hair.” I told him as I skipped away while smiling to myself as I caught Varric chuckling and shaking his head at our antics.

Slowly I made my way around the cave area gathering all of the loot and resources that I could. I also made sure to both check and gather some of the Lessor Terror Demon Essence for the Pack Master token that I knew would be within its remains. Sure enough, I found the small pendant that had an unknown ruin on one side and a howling wolf on the other and pocketed the item before any of the others saw the pendant in question. It was however as I got closer to where the next Dwarven tile should have been located that I got my most shocking surprise.

At the back of the cave jut out was a dug burrow that I could just barely see the smallest of snouts and the most beautiful of blue eyes staring out at me from. I had to shush Jacobs when he tried to ask me what I was looking at and told him to make sure that the others stood back. “Varric do you have any of that ram jerky left?” I whispered at him trying not to startle the young pup within the burrow. A moment later when I held my hand out backwards towards him, I felt the package of meat placed in it, I then lowered myself to the ground and slowly started crawling towards the burrow.

“Atish da'fen, druathe en'an sal'in.” (Peace little wolf, I offer comfort.) I then extended my hand out with a chunk of the jerky that Varric had given me. “Sathan garas tor.” (Please come out.) I whispered while placing the jerky upon the ground just outside of the pup's reach. I then backed up and placed a second chunk of meat on the ground before backing up yet again and this time held the final piece still in the palm of my hand. Slowly with patience and continued cooing sounds the small wolf pup eventually came out of its burrow and slowly advance towards me as it ate the offered treats.

The young pup had the most gorgeous off-white coat I had ever seen with light streaks of grey around its ears and the most unusual dark grey markings upon its brow. When finally, the pup came close enough for me to pet its ears and eat the last piece of jerky from my hand, I laughed as I gathered the pup into my arms. I smiled wide at the others behind me as I turned and only just finally noticed the whispers that the others were sharing as they watched me with the young wolf.

Unsurprisingly it was Solas who stepped forward first, who then offered me a blanket to wrap around the wolf pup. “Do you think it is wise da’len to imprint yourself upon this pup?” I can understand his reservations upon possibly keeping the animal and acknowledged his concerns as I voiced my own inquiries as to whether or not another pack would even take the pup, I now held in my arms into their own pack. “No da’len, any other pack would likely either ignore this pup or kill it to put it out of its suffering.”

“As I thought.” I turned away from Solas and started to walk out of the cave. “Abelas da'fen, ar ju'ea'mar mamae.” (Sorry Little Wolf, I will be your mother.) As we prepared to leave the cave, I made a request to the other soldiers if they could gather the dwarven tile that was still in the alcove jut out and the wolf carcasses that had been killed so they could be skinned, and the pelts saved for later. Heaven knew that Dennett and his men could also use the wolf meat to help keep the other few farmers in the area fed as well.

After dropping off the wolf carcasses and getting a promise from Bron that he would set aside three or four pelts for my own use, we spoke again with Dennett who agreed to help send horses to Haven once the watchtowers had finished being repaired. With a bit of cajoling on Cassandra’s part, we even convinced the old horse master to join his mount so that they would get the proper care that they needed. We finished the day by joining Dennett, his wife, and his daughter for some good old fashion home cooking, which I may have gushed and fawned over after having eaten trail rations for the last few days. At this Dennett and his wife Elaina had offered up a small satchel of cooking herbs and spices that could be added to any meal we might make on the road to make it more flavorful.

“Sweet Mother of Mercy! Now, this is the good sh*t.” I proclaimed while half wilting to the side as I got my first taste of the wine that Dennett’s daughter Seanna was passing around. “What’s the name of this and where can I get more?” Around me, I could hear agreed opinions on the wine while Dennett slowly chuckled.

“We make it here on the farm. Old master Torn has been showing me how what with his hands starting to get the grip. Said he didn’t want the prize-winning recipe to end up with him alone at the Maker’s side, so he agreed to teach me.” Seanna smiled with pride at the high endorsem*nt we were giving her lovely creation.

“God’s, we need to arrange a supply contract for this stuff. This is so much better than the stuff Felisa has at Haven right now. I would so buy a case of this if I could for me alone.” A part of me wondered if I even had enough coin on me that I had acquired from all of the lootings we had done since leaving Haven to pull off such a task. Varric being the awesome person I know he is then offered to split the cost with me if we got a case to share when he noticed me trying to count my coin purse.

I was really starting to relax after my second cup of wine and was having a wonderful time showing off my wolf pup, who I had named Melar (Protected) with Seanna who was slipping small slivers of cheese to the pup, stating that since the pup still had her milk teeth that I would need to make sure I still gave the little wolf either goat’s milk or cheese until her adult teeth came in and she could switch to her proper canine diet.

“Are you intending to train her to follow you into battle like a war hound?” Seanna asked as we continue to play with the young wolf. I will confess that Seanna’s idea had not even once entered my mind. The more I thought on the idea however of Melar helping me through everything I knew was to come, the more the very idea appealed to me.

“What say you little Melar would you like to be a Night Guardian to my Fade Hunter?” I gathered the young pup into my arms and lifted her so that her brow and snout were flush against my own forehead and nose. As I looked into her vibrant blue eyes, I could see the intelligence in her eyes shining back at me. Without even realizing I was doing it I reached out with my magic to touch the wolf pup’s mind, knowing that training her and even daily care would be so much easier if only Melar could understand me.

“Ma dy ea' Era'vun Amelen sul ‘ma Rad Ghi'myelan.” (You shall be Night Guardian for my Emerald Hunter.) It took me a moment to realize that all other conversations had stopped around us, as they watched what Melar and I were doing. When I looked to Solas with a questioned eyebrow raise he just smiled at me and shook his head.

“You have just initiated an Elgar Felon (Spirit Friend) bond with Melar. It will greatly aid you in her training. She is now your Ghi Amelan or Animal Guardian.” I nodded my thanks towards Solas and tested out the new title a few times so I could cement the new phrase into my mind.

Finally, my group excused ourselves for the evening so that we could return to our own camp. After settling ourselves in for the evening and taking Melar out for one last quick run, so she could do her own business, I finally allowed myself the opportunity to bunk down for the night. With one arm around Melar, who had snuggled herself into my very bedroll with me, I drifted into the fade. I was happy when I saw Knowledge and Creativity waiting there for me.

“Aneth era.” I greeted them as we settled into the glen outside of my fade cabin.

“It would seem that you have acquired a Ghi Amelan. (Animal Guardian) If you would be amenable, I could exchange with you the knowledge upon how to train her as those of the rad ghi’myelan once did.” It was so helpful having the spirit on my side as I had learned much since my arrival in Thedas that had never been in any of the game code exes.

“I would like that very much. What were you hoping to glean for my world this evening?” I asked politely.

“Any information you have on something called a… Tela… Telephone?”

Chapter 12: Pure Blue

Chapter Text

Well sh*t

Chapter 12

When waking the following morning I came to the rather startling conclusion that honestly should not have surprised me so much. As we had started our adventures in the Hinterlands near the Redcliff Farms instead of near The Crossroads Village itself, that now meant that we would either have to head south to the broken bridge which would take us north of where the Renegade Templars had camped, so we could pass along the Western Road to reach The Crossroads Village itself, or we would have to take the Gully of the Burnt Man leading to the Witchwood and head south to Fort Connor where we would then meet up with the Western Road to take us to The Crossroads Village.

If we took the pass that would mean, we would bypass both the Templars and Mages encampments and would not need to deal with either group until we could get the reinforcements from Corporal Vale who was already stationed at The Outskirts Camp with Scout Harding. That would bring our standing forces in the Hinterlands up to 45 and I had already sent a message to let Leliana know she could send more people into the area as they were needed. If at all possible, I had hopes of reclaiming Fort Connor for the Inquisition’s uses as it would be a much more defensible location for refugees in the surrounding area to house them in, especially once we cleared it of the red lyrium that was growing in the basem*nt hall.

I told Cassandra of my ideas of taking the pass and heading for Fort Connor over breakfast. It was no surprise when she agreed with the idea of claiming the keep for our own purposes. I could only hope that the outer defense walls were not nearly as destroyed as they had been in the game otherwise, we were going to need stonemasons to help with rebuilding them.

Once again, we found ourselves making our way past the waterfall that had previously had the rift in front of it, however, instead of heading north towards the wolf caverns we went southeast and entered The Gully of the Burnt Man, which in the game would have had the prized winning druffalo in it. Thankfully, that however had been an in-game mechanic that I did not have to deal with. The giant spider however was not, and this time however there was more than just the one.

“Wrong, so so wrong, on so many levels.” I shuttered as I used a small flame spell to burn the spider ichor off of my mace. When Jacobs held out his sword for me to do the same, I smiled at him as best I could and burnt the ichor off his sword. I could feel the adrenaline in my veins very quickly leaving my system now that the spiders had been dispatched.

“Issues with spiders their Flirt?” Varric asked as he finished strapping Bianca back to his pack.

“Normal spiders, not a problem when they’re this size.” I told the storyteller while holding up my index finger and thumb into a circle. “Delicate webs with dew that sparkles in the sunlight. Eats flies and biting bugs. Give me those any day of the week. But this…” I screamed my frustration at the massive creature in front of me. “Hell look at the damn thing the wrong way Varric and it would swallow you whole. And if you’re dinner then poor Melar is nothing but an appetizer.” Varric’s laughter echoed off the gully walls and some of the other soldiers and scouts that were tagging along with us were also snickering to each other.

“This just screams as a Ghilan'nain prank gone wrong. Creator of monsters indeed. Lizards in your bedroll, no that’s too tame!” I rented as I started to walk away in a huff. Solas and Cassandra soon had to rush to my side so they would not lose me around a bend in the Gully. “No, you need spiders the size of a f*cking pony.” At this statement, Solas barked out a laugh that he then covered his mouth as if trying to hide his reaction to what I had just said. It made me wonder just how close to the truth my thought was.

“You certainly have an active imagination da’len. I doubt the creating of this creature was intended purely for the purpose of a prank. An unexpected mutation would perhaps be closer to the truth.” Solas tried to impart the reality of the ancient situation to me.

“Oh, even better, let’s just radiates the sh*t out of poor Charlotte and will create Aragog.” I shook my head at my own bad joke as I laughed at myself. If the others were confused by this statement none of them even thought to ask for clarification as to what I meant. “Why did it have to be follow the spiders, why couldn’t it have been follow the butterflies?”

*****

It was coming up on late afternoon by the time we reached the south side of the Witchwood where Fort Connor would be found as it paralleled with the Western Road. In the distance and through all of the tall pine trees my companions and I had been able to first see smoke rising from that direction and later had heard the fighting of what I could only assume was a skirmish between some of the Mage and Templar forces. The closer to the fort that we got the more fallen forces that we could see, and I began to wonder if perhaps this had not been a large-scale attack from either sides forces. For all that I hated to see the unnecessary loss of life, it did make me wonder just how many forces we would need to face when the time came to take ether sides encampments. I would also need to make sure that something was done with all these body’s soon if we did not want to be dealing with sickness in either the people, the water supply, or the animals that were sure to start feeding off all the corpses.

I allowed Cassandra, Smitherson, and Jacobs to formulate a plan as to how we were going to attack the fort and deal with the forces that were trying to stake a claim to the old stronghold. The fort itself was partially built into a cliff face allowing for only two access points into the main yard. The main gate looked to have been burnt to a pile of ash from Mage fire and the Southeastern wall had been blown apart to some extent, much as you might have seen in the game. Most of the outer laying buildings were on fire as we had also been seen in-game and that was the source of all the smoke.

Our team crept as quickly as we could towards the most intact portion of the southeast wall so we could observe the fighting taking place. I could see Cassandra and the other soldiers preparing for a charge so I gathered magic from both around and within myself to cast a blanket barrier spell over as many of our party as I could as I readied my mace to defended myself against the attacks, I knew would be coming in just a few moments. I was happy to see that any of our people that my barrier had not touched, Solas’s magic quickly did before we were off and running towards a thicket of Templars that jerked in surprise at the introduction of more combatant to the already intense fighting taking place within the courtyard of Fort Connor.

I vaguely heard as Cassandra yelled to gather the attention of the Templars before us, before I was already bringing my magical shield up to guard my left side against one of the heavy plated men. I focussed hardened stone into my shield a moment before I struck the fighter and then used a wave of telekinesis to push the Templar away from me. I did not even have a moment to recover or feel excited over the new magical combination I had tried before I had another combatant come up on my right side. I took a swing at the woman in light plate hoping that I would not need to kill her but had my doubts that I would be able to incapacitate the woman without causing her some form of damage. Before I could worry too much about this however a bolt from Varric’s crossbow was sticking out of the woman’s throat and I turned myself away from her before I could see the light leave her eyes.

I renewed the barrier spell upon myself, Cassandra, Smitherson, Jacobs, and Varric who had come close enough to fall under the purview of my spells range before we all started up the stairs and into the fort itself to deal with any of the stragglers that may have been inside. Inside the main door, the entrance chamber branched into three directions. Through the door to the left, I could see a large hallway with many doors branching off of it. To the right, I could see a fair number of weapons and armour racks and suspected that way might lead towards a guard tower. The door in front lead down into the greeting or receiving room with places to congregate in a tiered balcony style much as had been depicted in the game.

As I had suspected we would find, there were a few Mages along with a couple of mercenaries guarding them down in the receiving room along with a fresh pillar of red lyrium growing from the back wall. Without thinking I tried to recreate the stasis field with the mark, that I had used on the corrupting Lessard Terror Demon the day before, to freeze the Mages in place. With the Mages held in place and the mercenaries frozen due to Solas’s ice magic, I took the opportunity to have our forces surrounded those down here. After all, if we could recruit some of these people then maybe we would not have to kill everyone who was fighting.

“You have three choices as I see it. I hope you’ll choose the correct one. One, you stop fighting us, as we are not Templars and we don’t actually want to kill you, and you leave.” I paused for a moment to give our adversaries a chance to process what I was saying. “Two, you still stop fighting us however, you could join us as we are with the Inquisition and though that may not mean much now, we are the ones who are working towards close the breach in the sky. We could also offer you some level of protection that just leaving would not afford you.” I could tell that this option struck a chord with the youngest of the mages as I could see them trying to speak even though they were still held in place by my stasis field. “Or three, and I really hope you don’t take this option, we go back to fighting and you die, cuz I’m sorry but there are more of us than there are of you.” Slowly I started to remove the stasis-field upon the Mages and watched as they were glancing between each other. A raised eyebrow here, a shoulder shrug there, and a comment from one of the mercenaries that they were not getting paid enough to die for the Mages, and the next thing you know we had five more bodies to add it to our slowly growing forces.

The Mages, a middle-aged man named Charlus an Elven woman named Mihren, and a young Elven girl named Davhalla who could not have even been old enough to have even passed her harrowing yet, all of whom were from Ghislain Tower and had actually being on their way to Redcliffe to join the Rebel Mages that were there, had been cornered by Renegade Templars and had been forced to take shelter in the abandoned fort. The two mercenaries agreed to join the Inquisition forces as it was likely to be a better source of continued income in these trying times than to privately hire themselves out.

Varric called out a warning to me as I slowly started to advance on the spire of red lyrium that was along the back wall. I could hear the song within the blighted lyrium louder now that no other distractions were round.

“Solas can you hear it too?” I asked in a far-off voice. The song was whispering a darker melody into my ear but it still felt off like a radio that was just points off the actual radio station, or a guitar that had been left too long and needed its strings tightened. Varric rushed to my side and tried to pull me away. I could vaguely hear him as if he were in a fog telling me not to listen and to come away as the stuff was evil. It was a bit of a shock when a moment later I heard Creativity's voice in my mind asking me what I thought was wrong with the lyrium.

“The song is off like strings too loose or just off the station mark.” I thought aloud as I slipped my arm from Varric’s hold and took another step forward. The dark melody drew me in like a moth to a flame or an art critic to a masterpiece that begged to be examined.

“And how do you fix the song?” Creativity asked me in her gentle voice within my mind.

“Need to tune it, turn the dial. But it’s stuck.” I tilted my head as if trying to see the problem in a different way. Maybe not stuck so much as sick. Like a child who was trying to sing while dealing with a cold. After all, Bianca had mentioned in the game that red lyrium was just blue lyrium that had the blight sickness. Like any regular disease if you could cure the ailment then the host should return to normal.

“Why is it stuck? How do you unblock it?” I could tell now that Creativity was trying to guide me towards a solution that none had ever thought up before. Perhaps this, more than anything else, was why I was here in Thedas. I turned to look upon Solas as I felt his hand rest upon my forearm.

“Sickness inside that makes its throat raw. Need to burn away the bad and soothe the hurt.” I had always been told as a child to drink warm liquids whenever I was ill. I had always thought the purpose was to keep me hydrated as I sweated out the illness but was later told that it was also to increase my internal temperature so that I might help kill off the viruses that were flooding my system. Heat or more fire, in particular, had always been used when disposing of contaminants in the medical field and with this thought in mind, I believed that I might just have an idea as to how to remove the blight sickness from the lyrium crystal and return it to normal.

“How, how do we soothe the hurt da’len?” Solas asked in a pleading voice only loud enough for the two of us to hear. Solas stared at me with widened eyes as if seeing a gem for the very first time or a lost treasure one never thought to lay sight on again.

“Veilfire tied to the meat to keep the fire burning and a mother’s song to soothe and bring it back into focus.” Solas’s hand tightened on my arm in excitement and a half-excited half disbelieving guffaw erupted from him as he turned to look at the lyrium pillar in front of us as if seeing it with new eyes. “Burn it from the outside and it will explode but burn it from the inside and the fire will follow the sickness back to the bad route and kill the sick forever.” And with that, I could feel Creativity leave my mind now that I had voiced a possible solution that we could try.

“We would need to erect barriers to prevent any possible damage if we do cause the lyrium to inadvertently explode.” Solas looked as if he wanted to test out our theory right then and there but then looked around at the others that were watching us.

“We do have other mages that could help us now if you want to try it. However, I would recommend that the others leave this room before we do try anything. They do the barriers; you do the veilfire, and I can sing the tune into the crystal.” I looked to the other three mages who were looking at me with both fear and awe at what had just happened. I could only assume that I had sounded much like Cole might when speaking with him. After all, they had only heard one side of my conversation with Creativity and I must have sounded somewhat crazed if the look on Varric’s face was anything to measure it by.

“What exactly is it that you are thinking of attempting?” Cassandra asked us as she looked from Solas to me and back again. I could only hope that Solas and I had proven ourselves enough so that Cassandra would not be fearful of us doing any unusual and untested magic around her.

“Should you even be attempting anything there Flirt? I mean after… whatever that was, I thought we had lost you to that sh*t.” Varric stated with an angry and nervous gesture towards the room's back wall. I could more than understand his reservations regarding Solas and I doing anything to the red lyrium after what had happened to his brother. I however would not let his fears deter me in trying to fix the problem of the lyrium, especially if we intended to use Fort Conner for ourselves. There was no way that I was going to leave this red lyrium pillar here when other refugees could come into contact with it. After all, as I had also seen in-game the blighted crystal needed live hosts to grow and if we were to have the refugees using this space without having dealt with this problem then we were just asking for those refugees to become tainted themselves.

“We or more I would be fixing the lyrium after Solas removes the corruption from it with the use of internal veilfire.” I could tell that none of the others around us could understand what Solas and I were already starting to mentally and magically prepare ourselves to do. “It’s not like we can just destroy the red lyrium using fire as that would cause the crystals to explode and that would likely result in an explosion much like at the conclave.” Now that my mind had the chance to think on it, the fact that there had been lyrium beneath The Temple of Sacred Ashes that had been able to be corrupted when Corypheus had used Solas’s corrupted orb to tear the Vale made me wonder if it’s presence alone was what had made the explosion so large.

“Smashing the red lyrium pillar would only result in making smaller chunks of red lyrium and that doesn’t rid us of the corrupted lyrium itself. It would also result in the red lyrium itself being more transportable.” I did not want to come right out and say that the presence of this red lyrium was also the reason for the bandits and the carta that were in the area quite yet. Cassandra and the others would find out soon enough that their presence in the area was for the purpose of smuggling the stuff to the Venatori and that it could only be done when the corrupted lyrium was in its smaller broken-down form. “Also, if we don’t deal with the root of this red lyrium vein then who’s to say even if we were to remove what we see here that another pillar would not just grow back in its place.” The reality of the red lyrium situation I doubt had ever truly dawned on any of the others. I know that in the game Varric had always wanted you to just smash the red lyrium in certain areas and that made him happy. However, I had always thought it odd that throwing a meat shield at any of the red lyrium crystals that under other circ*mstances would grow out of a human body, as the way to destroy it just seemed rather odd.

“Well sh*t Flirt. As if that sh*t weren’t bad enough, now you’re telling me it can grow back even if we smash it.” Varric ran his hand through his hair in frustration as he shook his head at what I had just said. “You heard the Herald people. Let’s give the Mages all the space they need to deal with this sh*t properly.” Varric then started to direct the soldiers and scouts that had been watching Solas and I, out of the audience chamber. I was not surprised when Charlus and Mihren told Davhalla to go with the others while they helped us with the barriers we would need. Lastly, before we started, I passed my sack off my back that had Melar nestled inside of its to Cassandra.

Cassandra took up position by the door slowly stroking Melar’s head as the young wolf poked it out of the knapsack, while Solas and I explained to Mihren and Charlus what we were about to do. From the door, Cassandra asks clarifying questions so that she felt secure in what we were going to attempt. Afterward, Mihren placed her barriers around the four of us to guard against any potential injury and Charlus placed his own barriers around the lower part of the audience chamber to prevent any potential damage in case of explosion from getting out of the immediate space. I watched as Solas first lit a veilfire spell in the palm of his hand much like he had shown me to do with the endurance exercises. He then reached into the lyrium crystal much as he had told me to do with the pinging spell as if searching for a weak point in the crystal itself.

I used my magical aura to follow what Solas was doing and watched as he then lit a veilfire spell with his magic inside of the crystal itself. I then watched as he anchored the spell by weaving it into the very lyrium of the crystal itself to continue to fuel the spell even once Solas was ready to pull his magic away. When Solas started to pull his magical aura away from the flames we watched to see if the spell would maintain itself with the anchor that had been placed.

I brushed my aura against Solas’s to bring his attention to the fact that his spell was working as I moved my own aura to a point just behind the flame where the corruption within the crystal was already starting to burn away. Focusing on my will, I tried to find the note of the lyrium’s song that was out of key and started to hum with both my own voice and magic to bring its song into harmony. Slowly I pushed the harmonizing note out into the cleansed areas of the lyrium crystal, bringing to mind the memory of soothing medicine as it would have coated my own throat as a child and was incredibly happy to see the surrounding pathways that my magical note traveled caused the colour of the crystal to change from red to purple and eventually blue as my healing note continue to follow along the paths that the veilfire spell had just left behind. Slowly I noticed that the lyrium crystal was starting to harmonize itself the further into its core that the veilfire and healing note spells went and was finally able to pull my own magic away from the harmonizing spell.

Unparalleled exhaustion hit me as I tried to focus on the room around me and I barely registered as strong arms lowered me to the floor and wrapped around me as I rested my head upon the chest they were attached to. Slowly Solas tipped me back so I could lay in his arms with one of his knees bent up to support my back while he brushed my sweat-soaked hair off of my brow. From the shadows being cast upon the ground from the setting sun as it shone through the audience chamber door, I could see that more time than I had thought must have passed since we started our spells. The look of pure wonderment that shone in his eyes and the feel of his aura as it brushed my own had me smiling softly up and him.

“Ma on'ala ajuelan” (You amazing creator/miracle worker) Solas whispered as he smiled at me in return. “Ma hima ga'rahn.” (You change everything) Slowly he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead upon my own as he allowed his aura to brush along mine. I could only describe the feelings that he was projecting towards me as those of wonderment, surprise, awe, and excitement over what we had just done. I tried to focus joy, hope, and understanding back at him so that he might know that I shared his feelings about the pure significance of what we had accomplished.

With feather-lite fingers I trailed my hand up Solas’s jaw and ran my fingers over the top shell of his ear, smiling to myself as I felt Solas shutter against me as my fingers reach the sensitive tip. As my fingers trail back down the underside shell, Solas tipped his head back to look me in the eyes. A shiver of desire course through my veins as I looked into Solas’s lust-filled eyes. This caused me to become heightening aware of everywhere our bodies were touching as we sat on the floor. The lust and desire that was now being shared between us as my aura continued reaching out for his had me biting my lip between my teeth to keep from making any sounds as I felt his aura stroke my own in return.

The moment however was broken between us as Charlus and Mihren offered to help us up from the floor while Cassandra and Varric, who had joined Cassandra at the room’s door, came back into the room. Varric was intensely focussed on the crystal pillar that even now was continuing to lose the last of its red glow in its base, but the rest of the crystal was such a pure and vibrant blue, unlike anything I had seen either in the game or out of it.

“If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes, I never would have believed it.” Varric told me while looking at me with an expression of awe. I knew that the tale of us reversing the corruption of this lyrium was going to be told many times over to any who would listen for the foreseeable future. Any positive deeds were sure to be lauded over until the tails could be rehearsed by all. I also knew that it was these such tails that would garner the attention of Corypheus to myself and eventually bring him to return to Haven to attempt to kill me when I went to close the breach.

“After witnessing such a feat as this, how can one not believe you are indeed sent by Andraste. You have sung the crystals healing into being much as Andraste did to her own troops with the Chant of Light.” Cassandra’s praise at what Solas and I had accomplished made me somewhat uneasy and I just barely saw the eye roll Solas gave the woman over her words but neither of us commented as Charlus and Mihren gave praise to Andraste for having sent me to do her work. Even after weeks of being called the Herald I still felt uncomfortable being thought of as these people’s representative of a god that I myself did not even fallow. All I could do however was smile at the others as I slipped my hand into Solas’s where our fingers twined as I then leaned my head on his arm and closed my eyes so I could focus on the sweet melody now pouring from the lyrium crystal standing tall, and bright, and blue along the back wall of Fort Connors receiving hall.

Chapter 13: Oops

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 13

For the first time in millennia, I found I could scarcely focus on the events happening around myself as I thought over all that had occurred in the last weeks since even before we had even left Haven. After everything that had occurred between Fenarla’s fictitious tale of a past for myself, brought to light in such a setting that I could not have disputed it even if I had not seen the merit in utilizing the lie, to the previous day’s simply staggering feats of magic, there was no doubt in my mind that Fenarla and I were indeed well-matched as mates.

When Wisdom had first suggested that the Din’an Shiral was no longer my path I had struggled to see how that could even be. However, after having stripped the corruption from the Red Lyrium pillar within the lower room of the old fort I have now been given such a sense of hope for a brighter future where possibly some if not all of my ancient transgressions and those of my brethren might just be expunged from this world. I now find my mind is left wandering to the point of distraction. Parts of my rational mind have also continued to question and doubt how someone of Fenarla’s self-proclaimed limited knowledge of all things magical could have such a staggering control over her own magical ability already. The prideful part of myself wants to take the credit for her magical feets, basing their occurrence off of the tutelage I had given her. This however can not be the case as the things she has accomplished I had not even in my thousands of years thought to try against the blighted crystals that were now popping up all over Thedas.

However, after having witnessed her one-sided conversation with a spirit in the fade, that I have been able to sense near her for quite some time, I came to the realization that like myself Fenarla had no reservations with the spirits beyond the veil and had more than likely utilized their knowledge to make up for any lack of teachings her late magical emergence would have resulted in. This was but one of many things that had pleasantly surprised me about her nature since our departure from Haven.

The second realization that I came to was that Fenarla had been capable during the course of her short life of avoiding taking another’s life, even in the course of self-defense. This had both been an unexpected surprise due to the brutality of this age and had caused a need in me to protect her from that very brutality for as long as was possible. I had no misconceptions that I would be able to keep all of the horrors of the world away from her, but my inner wolf still felt the need to protect my mate in any way that I could for as long as was possible and in whatever way that she herself would allow me.

The feel of her body as she took shelter in my arms after what was obvious to all, had been her first human kill, would be ingrained in my memory for ages to come. My own pride in her resilience had only grown when I could feel her gratefulness across her Elgar (spirit/magical aura) that I was not trying to feed her false platitudes after the difficultness of the act she had just committed. Fenarla’s further choice to keep the young wolf pup that she had rescued from the Lesser Terror demon and had instinctually formed an Emerald Knight bond with, that she had then named Melar (Protected), amazed me and also gave further insight into the fact that most if not all of Fenarla’s magic seems to be instinctually based.

Fenarla’s unparalleled sense of humour and flirtatious tendencies had also continued to surprise me. I will admit if only to myself that the ridiculously redundant moniker she had chosen to bestow upon me had at first concerned me that she might somehow have surmised more of my true nature than I was perhaps ready for her to know about at this time before I could only see the humour in it as I had just finished calling her da’len (little child). Her choice to call me ha’hahren (Old Elder) with one breath and then attractive with the next had me silently chuckling to myself every time I recalled the moment.

I also had to wonder at her source of education in regard to her Elven heritage if she had such unprecedented opinions of the creators that gave the impression that she did not believe them to be the all-powerful gods that so many of this age blindly thought the Evenuras were. It had me questioning whether perhaps one of her parents had not been a Dalish elf that had been cast out of their clan and had thus been disillusioned to the ancient tales of my brethren. That would have then set the stage for Fenarla’s opinions of some of their past exploits. Giant spiders indeed. This might also account for her remarkable grasp of our ancient language that she had, as her Elven vocabulary was the most extensive example I had seen in ages. Some of the nuances that the language had did seem to elude her, but that was always something we could continue to work on together, as she had shown her willingness to accept instruction from me when I had told her of Melar’s new title as her Ghi’anelan (Animal Guardian). Fenarla’s Elven language resembled that of any Arlathan adolescence, it had much room for improvement but had an extensive base from which to start off of. Her unparalleled ability to extend her Elgar towards me when none of the other mages of this age could do so also meant that the subtle and unspoken parts of the Elven language, she would now also be capable of conveying with me given time and practice.

After yesterday’s amazing magical feet with the blighted lyrium, we had chosen to spend the night in Fort Conner as we checked over the structure of the fort itself and the viability of using Fort Connor as an outpost for our soldiers throughout this region. I myself could also see the merit of moving the refugees here for protentional purposes in the future to help mitigate any strain that having that many people in one area would cause in the small village that was the Crossroads. The Crossroads was more of a small hamlet than an actual village if I remembered correctly from my travels through this area on my way towards the conclave before it had exploded.

With the aid of a few builders and masons, it would be rather easy to repair the outer defense walls of Fort Connor and turn the fort into a renewed stronghold. I had suggested to Cassandra that the westernmost tower be closed off as it was structurally unsound but that we should leave the stonework alone for the time being as any masons the Inquisition were to hire would then be able to repurpose the stone for rebuilding the outer eastern wall.

This morning saw myself, Seeker Cassandra, Master Tethras, the Herald, and her two personally assigned bodyguards Corporal’s Smitherson and Jacobs heading into the Crossroads itself to finally speak with Mother Giselle and the Inquisition representatives of Corporal Vale and Scout Harding who were already at the Crossroads.

I watched the interaction between those in authority while I offered whatever magical aid that I could to those that were wounded due to the fighting taking place between the Renegade Templars and the Rebel Mages within the immediate area. It was also obvious during Fenarla’s interactions that the diplomatic lessons she had been talking with the Ambassador in the mornings before we left, were also aiding her greatly with instilling confidence in both the Inquisition and herself, within both the refugees as well as our fellow Inquisition recruits.

We were told of many ways to help those within the Crossroads as well as ways to spread our influence. The bandits attacking travelers on the eastern part of the Western Road concerned Cassandra greatly. Varric wanted to focus on hunting some of the many Rams and Fennec’s that were in the area for both the refugees as well as our Inquisition troops as lack of food was high on the list of complaints with the soldiers and scout trying to guard the area. Fenarla wanted to see if we could track down any supplies that either the Rebel Mages or the Renegade Templars had stashed throughout the area that we could then pass along to the refugees who had complained about the cold being one of the most difficult problems they were facing. It was however the plight of an Elven gentleman who had a wife with a breathing illness that caught my attention the most.

It was not so much his wife's plight that got my attention as it was where their son, a young herbalist by the name of Hyndel had run off to that intrigued me. To think that an entire group of people had fled to the hills to an old fort which apparently had an inactive rift within it, that those people had taken to praying too as if for salvation, that had piqued my curiosity. I am interested to see this rift for myself if the tear is indeed present and yet none of the spirits that would flock to the gathering of these praying people were being drawn through from the other side. Such gatherings of people were normally beacons for spirits to draw upon. Whatever could be causing these contradictions in circ*mstance would be something worth checking out.

It was decided that our first task would be to find and deal with the bandits that were plaguing the Western Road so that trade and other merchants could safely come back into the area. So, with a team of eight additional soldiers and scouts that were a part of the already dispatched personnel assigned to Scout Harding and Corporal Vale, we set out to find the bandit’s camp.

“Something seems very off with these bandits; they appear to be too well organized for simply being mere bandits,” Cassandra commented as we finished dispatching the first group of fighters as they had come at us from within the surrounding trees. The very fact that such a small force would even think they had a chance against our larger group led credence to the assumption that these were no mere bandits.

“Who said they were just bandits?” Varric commented as he continued to search those that we had felled. I also noticed that once again though Fenarla had both expertly defended herself and those around her with both barriers and a modified telekinesis push done through her magical shield spell, she had once again arranged it so that none of the killing blows were done by herself. I felt that I would need to bring this fact to the attention of Seeker Cassandra and the others so that we would all be able and prepared for Fenarla’s fighting style. This would also change how Cassandra continued Fenarla’s training, so she and her guards could work more as a cohesive unit until such time that Melar was fully grown and could be trained to assist in dispatching Fenarla’s foes.

After the second group of bandits tried and horribly failed to ambush us, both Varric and Seeker Cassandra found clues to the nature of our prey. It would seem that some nefarious group had chosen to hire these mercenaries to pose as bandits for the purpose of discouraging travelers into this area. Varric surmise that it was probably for some smuggling operation and I felt inclined to agree with him.

As we continue to travel further north, I observed before any of the others even seemed to notice that Fenarla looked to be searching for something specific that was not just the bandits we were hunting. I doubt that any of the others even paid close enough attention to her quiet mutterings as we traveled, and I might have been inclined to ignore them myself had she not stopped so suddenly to stare at a set of ruins that lead into a cavern just off of the main road.

“Where is she?” I heard Fenarla asked as she looks around in confusion. I then felt her sending out the finding spell with her Elgar (spirit/magical aura) and wondered what she could be searching for. After a moment more, her shoulders deflated, and she huffed in annoyance as a feeling of self disapproval enveloped her Elgar. “This is real now Fen, stop thinking they’re going to always be there just because you are.” Fenarla continued to mumble quietly to herself. If not for my Elven hearing I probably would not have even been able to hear what she had been saying myself.

“Is something amiss da’len?” I asked as I came closer to her side.

“She’s not here yet,” Fenarla mumbled then turned to look at me. “I just thought… “She started to say then stopped as if reconsidering her words. “I mean, I would like to check out those ruins on our way back,” Fenarla explained as she pointed to the ruins in question as a way of explanation for her unusual behaviour. At first glance, there did not seem to be anything of note about those ruins that might have drawn her or even my attention to them. At another time in my life, I might have been inclined to rest my head here to see what the spirits and wisps had to show me of ages past, but with the present state of the Hinterlands all I was likely to find would be more fighting and deaths.

“I am sure that can be arranged.” At this Fenarla smiled brightly and then turned to catch up with the others. When Fenarla was a fair distance away I sent out my own investigative search with my Elgar towards the ruins and was intrigued when I sensed multiple artifacts, one of which would help strengthen the veil in this area within the ruins along with a few demon spirits that were trapped behind the caved-in entrance.

It was however the presence of one of my own focus pendants that I had used and shared with my own followers during my ancient rebellion days of Arlathan that was the most surprising thing to sense. Its presence alone would be reason enough for us to return, and so with a carefully directed telekinesis push, I caused more of the ruins entrance to fall in upon itself to help guard its contents until we could return later and retrieve the items within those ruins. Satisfied I turned towards the others to join them myself.

When the main camp for the bandits was found in a gully not far from the entrance to the Western Road that wove around Lake Calenhad, a great part of me was happy to see that Fenarla stuck close to Varric and I, as we went up against an equal-sized force to our own. I was not concerned for our ability to survive the encounter but as I overheard Fenarla exclaim when the leader of the group showed himself, I was relieved that the other warriors could focus on taking out the Avar size men while we focussed on barriers or any of the rogues that tried to come up behind us.

As quickly as the fight had started it also finished. Fenarla then took the time to check the chest and tents of the bandit mercenaries, looking for any notes or items of value or use. Cassandra and Varric checked over the fallen while the soldiers and scouts started to strip the dead and piled their bodies so I could cremate the fallen. This had become the pattern for our group as Fenarla had brought a valid concern to our attention in regard to all of the dead bodies that were accumulating throughout the Hinterlands.

Soon enough if those dead were not disposed of properly there was likely to be disease from either the rotting bodies or from the animals eating the dead. A less likely, but still possible outcome, would be that spirits could start coming across the veil and possessing those of the fallen. With the weakening of the veil, I had to admit that there was a higher-than-usual possibility of that happening, but it still seemed unlikely. The spirits in the surrounding area would be more likely to try and use one of the numerous numbers of rifts in the surrounding area to come across that way instead.

Stripping the dead of all their wears also had the added advantage in that we were quickly acquiring many supplies that could be redistributed to both our own forces and those of the refugees in the Crossroads. It was during a discussion with Cassandra about what we wanted to do with the bandit's supplies that Fenarla came running towards us as if some of Andruil’s hunters themselves were on her tail and with Elven profanities, upon her lips, it gave us cause for concern. A moment later three dragonlings came racing up the path that she had just run from.

“Fenedhis,” (Wolf co*ck/Universally used Swear) I exclaimed as I threw up one of my own barriers around Fenarla a moment before one of the more mature dragonlings spit a weak fireball at her. Fenarla did not stop running until she had placed herself behind where I was standing. Cassandra, Smitherson, and Jacobs all ran towards the young dragonlings while the scouts and soldiers we were with took up positions so they could then flank the beasts. It still saddens me greatly to see how far these once-proud creatures had fallen since the creation of the veil, but I could ill afford to think on such things now as I used my ice magic to create an enclosing wall between the dragonlings and our soldiers. I was happy to see when a moment later Fenarla’s stasis-field further trap the dragonlings in place so the others could finish them off.

“I am so, so sorry about that,” Fenarla told us all from her spot on the ground where she had unceremoniously sat down after the fighting was done. “I forgot they would be nesting at the bottom of the falls.” Looks of confusion flashed upon most of our faces as we looked at each other hoping that even one of us might understand what Fenarla was trying to talk about. It was Seeker Cassandra who supplies a bit more information towards the theory that I was quickly compiling.

“What do you mean you forgot? Where did you even go that would have garnered the attention of dragonlings?!” Cassandra was less than impressed with this turn of events. I however only found myself more curious. Perhaps now I could get a straight answer for her odd behavior.

“This gorge leads to Lady Shayna’s Valley, and I only went to get a closer look. It was an accident that I caught the attention of those three.” Fenarla stated exasperatedly as she stood and pointed at the dragonlings that I was discreetly directing the soldiers and scouts on how to dismember for all of their useful parts. I did not want to seem too obvious in my need to listen in on their conversation. After all, the dragonling hide was excellent for lighter armour, while their bones were good for weapons, and even their organs had useful purposes that the healer’s back at Haven would greatly appreciate. In some circles, dragonling meat was also considered a delicacy. For all that it was unintentional, these three beasts would supply a fair number of people with some exceedingly rare crafting materials.

“A closer look at what da’len?” I finally voiced allowed the one question that Cassandra seemed disinclined to bring anyone’s attention to. The seeker’s lack of further questioning gave insight into the possibility that she was already aware of both Fenarla’s odd behavior and the reason for it.

“The… ah… Ferelden Frostback,” Fenarla rub at the back of her neck in embarrassment as her gaze quickly darted from one person to the another. Cassandra groaned as Varric gwaffed and I could only pinch the bridge of my nose at the recklessness of the Herald behavior. “I mean I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to be a problem, you know. After all, the last thing we need is some poor refugee to accidentally go walking in there and becoming lunch.” I could see the validity of this statement but that did not help to ease my fears at all. This incident also brought the question of how Fenarla had even known of the dragon’s presence within the valley if she had yet to even enter it before now.

“Dammit Flirt your as bad as Hawk. Didn’t your mother ever tell you to run away from dragons and not towards them?” Varric sounded exasperated and I could completely understand how he felt. The recklessness of youth, even though it was found in my mate, was likely something that would have caused me premature grayness if I had hair to show it. That is not to say that I myself had not had more than my fair share of misadventures while in my own youth, but those days now seem far off for me, and my need to protect my mate, even if from her own self, was making the wolf within me restless.

“Actually no, my mother was more of a ‘sh*t happens, now let’s deal with it’ sort of person.” Fenarla joined the scouts as they started to pack up some of the materials that were being salvaged from the dragonlings. Fenarla then told them to make sure they got a few vials of the creature’s blood as she had an idea that she wanted to test with the stuff. I made a mental note to keep an eye on whatever experiments that Fenarla was going to perform with the dragon’s blood since improper handling of the substance usually led to volatile explosions.

“I think we should leave some of the soldiers here to guard this pass. They can use the bandit’s equipment since it’s already here and that way we don’t have to rush them in breaking those three critters down.” Fenarla posed this to Cassandra and I could see that the Seeker was inclined to agree with her. After that, it was decided that three of the soldiers and one of the scouts would stay in the already-established camp to guard against anyone inadvertently going into the valley, where the dragons were residing. Once certain choice materials had been harvested Cassandra insisted we head back to the Crossroads so she could inform Corporal Vale as to the outcome of the bandits and the discovery of the Ferelden Frostback. It was as we were returning close to the ruins that we had passed earlier in the day on our way towards dealing with the bandits, that the final occurrence of Fenarla's odd behaviour occurred.

Fenarla’s Elgar flooded with relief and then excitement and finally anticipation moments before she declared “There she is!!” and started running towards an elven woman who was battling a demon that seemed to have come out of the ruins that were now partially open beyond them. I was now especially grateful that I had taken a moment to fortify the door leading to these ruins on our initial journey past them earlier in the day. Fenarla quickly flanked behind the demon that the elven woman was fighting and slammed it with her shield before setting the demon on fire. I had only gotten off one spell before the Lesser Shade demon was nothing more than a pile of ectoplasm upon the ground and Fenarla was excitedly making her way towards the woman whom I could now see was a Dalish mage.

“Anderan Ateshan (formal elven greeting), I did not expect to see another… Oh, you’re a city flat ear. I do not mean you any harm.” If I had not already been monitoring Fenarla’s Elgar I would not have noticed the shock, disappointment, and finally, anger that flowed off of her. I was not surprised at the Dalish woman’s reaction to another non-Dalish, as I had experienced it many times myself when I had first awoken. “By your weapons I see you come ready for battle. Perhaps we Face a common,” Fenarla however cut the woman off before she could continue and in a mockingly humorous voice addressed her.

“What?!? My ears are flat?!” Fenarla exclaimed and then turned to look at us with an overly dramatized concerned expression as she grabbed at her own ears. “Varric, why didn’t you tell me?” At this Varric snickered at Fenarla’s antics. She then turned to look at me and in a desperately pleading yet completely mocking voice and asked “Solas you can fix that right?” This caused the other scouts with us to join Varric in his laughter. All laughter however stopped when Fenarla’s eyes went flat and she rounded on the Dalish mage. “Or perhaps, the problem is with the prejudice Dalish elf that needs to leave before she gets hurt trying to deal with demons she knows nothing about, yes?” Fenarla’s stony face left no doubt in any of our minds just how angry she was. It was the hurt however pouring off of her Elgar, that only I could sense, which told the truth of this situation. This encounter had not gone as Fenarla had expected and her reaction cemented my theory in my mind as to why her behaviour seemed so odd at times.

“Then may The Dread Wolf take you fool!” The Dalish mage cried out as she turned and stalked off. I was about to offer Fenarla my condolences at this encounter when she responded in turn.

“I hope he does. I hear he’s HOT!!”

I froze in place. I could hardly breathe. My mind would not process what I had just heard as I slowly turned and my eyes shifted to look at the back of my mate, who was standing prouder than any newly appointed sentinel I had ever witnessed in Mythal’s court. When finally, I took a much-needed breath I embarrassed myself by choking on it and had to cough to reopen my airways. Fenarla then turned towards me with a raised eyebrow.

“Dry throat?” She asked with a straight face as she offered me her own waterskin.

“Ma serannas ma falon,” (my thanks my friend) I used the drink as a distraction to try and gather my thoughts in order. My efforts however were thwarted when a moment later she used her ridiculous moniker on me again.

“Not a problem ha’hahren.”

Chapter 14: Truths

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 14

Clearing out the rest of the demons within the ruins was a rather easy task. Watching as Fenarla directed her will towards lighting all of the wall torches so we might see our surroundings better during the battle had been impressive, especially from the distance that she had accomplished it from. When the last of the demons were nothing more than plasma and rags upon the floor, I sent out my own much gentler finding spell so that I could locate my amulet while Fenarla was distracted with reactivating the veil monitoring artifact within the room. Cassandra found an enchanted longsword that she was interested in keeping while Varric pocketed the coin that was both before the altar and in a few of the chests within the room. Any interesting armour and other smaller knick-knacks were shared between the scouts and soldiers as they cleaned out the last of the loot.

It was however when Fenarla started muttering to herself as she tried recreating the veilfire spell I had used the day before and was then trying to direct its light at the wall of the left alcove that I finally voiced my thoughts upon my theory for her odd behavior out loud. I felt it only fair to voice this in such surroundings that Fenarla would be unable to dispute my suspicions just as she had with her accusations about my relation to the late Hero Ferelden. The one difference that I had was I was almost completely certain that I was correct in my theory unlike her accusations had been about my past.

“Ha, found you.” She said lowly but triumphantly as she held the veilfire towards an old magical ruin that had been placed upon the wall. “Ho sh*t ah, that’s almost like… like a Thum… I wonder…” Fenarla rounded herself and looked at me with her head co*cked to one side. “Morgan did say they went to other worlds…” Fenarla was obviously thinking out loud.

“I see you found what you were looking for again ma falon (my friend). Almost as if you already knew it was destined to be there.” Fenarla was startled for a moment while a flash of confusion and then fear spiked through her Elgar (spirit/ magical aura). “It is rather remarkable how often you seem to be doing that today alone.” I allowed a bit of reassurance to drift over my own Elgar towards her so that she might sense that I meant her no harm. After all, I was confronting her about the truth that I believed she would much rather keep to herself.

“That’s ah because I’m ah… Using that finding spell, that you taught me. That’s… That’s all.” Fenarla seemed extremely nervous as she looked past me to where Cassandra was standing. I could not turn to look at the Seeker and thus being capable of gauging her reaction as I kept my focus on Fenarla before me. For but a moment she resembled prey staring into the eyes of an obvious predator, before a strength of will to match my own steeled her spine, and she straightened to stare me down. She would not reveal her secrets unless she had no choice. Within me, pride swelled at her determination and my wolf wanted to claim her more in this moment than I had any other in millennia.

“Perhaps I might be inclined to believe you ma falon had I felt your spell about us before you went searching for the veilfire ruin. After all, if you had cast such a spell it would have drawn you right to the ruin and its exact location without you having to search for it.” Again, the spark of fear passed through her Elgar while determined steel flickered through her eyes. I was going to have to call out the other two examples I had witnessed today alone of her obvious for-knowledge, for that was the only explanation for what I had been witnessing.

“Earlier this afternoon when we first passed these ruins you seemed distressed and were searching the area as if you had expected something to be present, but it was not.” Fenarla began to stiffen as if hoping that posture would not give anything she was thinking away. Even that response in itself was telling, so I continued. “And later after the bandits, when you happened to just ‘forget’ about the dragonlings while you were searching for the Ferelden Frostback,” At this Fenarla gripped the heft of her mace and clenched her jaw. It was as if she were trying to hold as still as possible so as not to respond to my accusations. “How could one forget, unless one had already known what they might find,” I concluded while raising my eyebrow at her questioningly.

“What are you trying to get at there Chuckles?” Varric did not sound accusing or concerned with my line of questioning. If anything, the dwarf sounded curious, almost as if wanting an answer to the very thing I was also bringing up. Perhaps I was not the only person who had noticed Fenarla’s behavior after all.

“Only that later, upon our return to these very ruins Fenarla expressed relief and excitement when she had spotted our less than friendly host outside. Even if that encounter had not gone as expected, you had still been expecting her presents, much as you did that very ruin behind you. I also believe that the Dalish mage was the thing you had been searching for when we passed through this area earlier in the day.” At this Fenarla’s shoulders finally sagged as she came to the inevitable conclusion that I was not going to let this go.

“Your starting to sound a little crazy Chuckles. What you’re suggesting is only possible if,” Varric came to stand next to me and ran his hand over his lightly stubbled jaw while giving me a certain look. I however cut him off and finished his and my own thoughts out loud for all to hear and Fenarla to potentially dispute.

“Our young Herald had the gift of foresight.”

“What? But how is that…“ One of the Scouts started.

“Can magic even?” A second scout started to ask.

“She don’t look Rivini,” Our remaining Soldier voiced.

“I believe this is the result of the Herald’s time in the fade, as was the latent emergence of her own magic,” I told those around us. Fenarla scanned at the faces in front of her and then rubbed the back of her neck before finally, her shoulders dropped in defeat. “Am I correct ma falon?” to this Fenarla just nodded.

“Mihris, the first of clan Virnehn. I saw her being here at these runes, and yes, I had been confused when she wasn’t here earlier. But I guess seeing tells you what, not when something will happen. And you’re right about the ‘forgot’. That part happened so fast in the dream I guess I thought it wasn’t important.” Fenarla used her fingers to air quotes again as she started pacing. I will admit that my wolf preened in pride that I had been correct about Fenarla’s gift of foresight but was also intrigued at her mention of these visions happening while she slept. If I could help her to master this talent it would be incredibly valuable in the future especially once I had been able to properly recruit Fenarla to my side.

“Herald, are you quite certain you want the others to know?” Cassandra asked with a level of concern as if this was likely to have a much larger impact on the future than perhaps we of the Inquisition could protect Fenarla from. The thought did bring a valid concern to light. If Corypheus or any of his agents were to find out about the abilities that the Herald possessed, they would most certainly try and dispatch her for the sole purpose of halting any interference to their plans.

“Cat’s already out of the bag already Cass. I mean how exactly did we all think we were going to keep this a secret forever? Me ‘Seeing’ what has, or is, or will happen, was going to come out eventually. What am I supposed to do if I come across one of these people I’ve seen?” Fenarla commented as she started to pace back and forth around the room. “Oh, this white-haired Broody guy glowing in the corner, who has more spikes on him than a quillback, no I have no idea who he is, or maybe I do cuz I read about someone like that in a book.” Fenarla heatedly responded at this and I was given further insight as to what it was that the Inquisition’s council had gained knowledge of about Fenarla that my own spies has not been able to discover. Perhaps if I had paid more attention to her dreams since she had woken for more than the moments to make sure that she had been properly blocking herself from the dangerous spirits in the fade, I perhaps would have seen some of these prophetic dreams myself.

“Or how about being able to look Solas here in the face after seeing him kiss Leliana only to realize it wasn’t him at all when in the next moment the guy is almost being squashed like a bug by the nastiest looking dragon I ever did see.” Fenarla must have been speaking of the final moments between Darrain and Leliana before they faced off against Urthemiel. “I mean after seeing that and then talking with Leliana, I got to say Solas, you really do look just like your cousin.” Again, I am reminded that I share a striking resemblance with the late hero of Ferelden. It had me beginning to question if perhaps I am not actually related to the man or not. Perhaps it was something I needed to look into after all.

I am not aware of having fathered any offspring myself, but if such an occurrence did indeed take place, especially during the end days of Arlathan, then it is likely any of the few and far between nights of respite could have borne me a child. After all, there were magical spells that could prove familial connection that could even be done on the remnants of a person’s belongings. I would just need to locate something that belonged to the late hero with which to cast my magic upon. Perhaps Darrain had left his lady with a treasured trinket with which to remember him by.

“Cousin? What cousin?” Voiced one of the scouts who was looking between one member of our group to the other. Before I could say anything to discourage this possible fictitious lie from spreading farther than it already had, Varric called me out on it.

“Seems our resident apostate here is the cousin to the late Hero of Ferelden. A fact that by the way, I’m hurt you didn’t mention yourself Solas.” Varric gave me a rather pointed look before turning towards Fenarla. Around us, I could see the scouts and our remaining soldiers looking at me with interest. It was not surprising as I was now a perceived connection to an icon for them, as most of the Inquisitions' present forces were Ferelden by birth. My presence would then be giving them back something that they had thought lost with the death of Darrain Tabris.

“So, then all that stuff yesterday with the red lyrium was what?” Varric then directed us back to yesterday's events. “Was that more of your seeing thing?” he questioned. This caused Fenarla to stop her back and forth pacing and focus on he and I once more. “I mean at the time I just thought that the lyrium was getting to you, but if you were just using your weird hoodoo…” Varric trailed off while Fenarla looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging her shoulders as she bobbed her head from side to side in an indecisive gesture.

“I mean, I guess maybe. It’s just, that’s never happened before.” Fenarla leaned against one of the fallen pillars and rubbed her hands over her face in thought. “That was almost more like… getting a sneak peek at a play script right before the scene happens. The other stuff is like watching a memory in the fade only there’s only one point of view and… sometimes it’s of stuff that has yet to happen.” Fenarla’s exact wording caught my attention as she described viewing memories in the fade. Was it possible that the fates had seen to gift her with the same abilities as I? I would need to discuss this more with Fenarla when we might have a moment alone. I could also seek her out in the fade later this evening to confirm if she was indeed a Somniari as I was. If her abilities did include dream manipulations then I would need to provide her with instruction on how to use these gifts to the best of her advantage. Being a Somniari came with both blessings and curses that she would need to be made aware of.

“Anything else of interest for today then Flirt?” Varric asked as we started packing up our treasures and loot.

“Nothing of any note. Just back to the Crossroads mainly. Messages to send back to Haven about acquiring masons and builders for Fort Connor, updates on the bandit situation out hear and then up the hill to the outskirts camp. Tomorrow, however… Now that’s another story.” Fenarla said with a twinkle in her eye and a smirk on her lips. In the next moment, she started reciting a laundry list of tasks that we would need to complete. “There’s another Ocularum up the hill that we need to activate, Rams to hunt so the people have food to eat, Templars to deal with and possibly recruit some of them to our cause, rings and bodies, and notes to find. We also really need to make it to that fort in the hills cuz Hyndle’s mother is not going to make it much longer if we don’t. People to recruit, rifts’ to close, and maybe even another red pillar to sing better again.” The ease with which Fenarla commented upon all of the future events both excited me as to just how powerful her gift was and also concerned me with just how much and how far forward or backward she may have seen. Had she seen my plans for the people and the veil? Had she seen Corypheus take my orb from my resting place and use it upon the conclave? Did she know just who I was? So many questions and so few answers.

“Damn Flirt, just how much have you seen?” Varric asked as we all walked back out to the main road. I tried to remain close enough to hear their conversation without giving the impression that I was eavesdropping on what they were discussing, but the answer to this seemingly simple question could ultimately change how I handled my mate from this point onwards.

“More than enough for now. After all, we are heroes on an adventure and there be bad guys afoot.” Fenarla snickered at herself as she struck a pose with her hands on her hips and her chin jutting proudly in the air over her right shoulder as if looking off into the far future. This had many of our companions snickering at her antics and even the Seeker had a faint smile as we resumed our walking. Breathing a sigh of relief at her answer, I too smiled at Fenarla’s playful nature and came closer to her and Varric so that I might join them in any discussion that they had on the way back to the village.

“Yeah, well I’ve written enough stories about heroes and we all know how that ends up for them.” Varric tried to bring the realistic reality of our present situation back to us. For all that the storyteller could be such an amusing fellow, he had a persistent habit of reminding us about the negative things that were transpiring around us.

“Yeah, I know Varric. Maybe we need to aim bigger than that, like… how about legends? At least in legends the good guys always live.” I could tell that Fenarla was trying to comfort and reassure those around us that we would all make it through our coming struggles. I wonder if she said these things more to convince them or herself, as we were all aware of the realities of our situation and though we would all work towards everyone's survival, there were going to be losses along the way.

“Well, legends aren’t much better as they seem to change with every retelling.” Varric countered and this was something I could indeed a test to myself. My own people’s history was little more than legends now, and I was now remembered as the harbinger of my own people’s destruction instead of the liberator of the oppressed.

“You’re telling me right! Give it a hundred years and not only will I be the most pious woman from some far-flung noble house, without a lick of magic to me, my ears will also be as round as Cassandra’s, but you my friend might even unrealistically be remembered as a friendly giant, or plausibly you may become an Avar.” Fenarla and Varric laughed over that as she turned to look directly at me. “It’s so hard to come by accurate history, right Solas?” Fenarla commented while looking me directly in the eyes. For the second time today, I could hardly breathe as a knowing flicker flashed through her eyes.

She knew…

*****

That evening I took to my tent early. My mind kept turning over every conversation that Fenarla and I had shared looking for the hints that she might have given away to her for-knowledge as to me being Fen’Harel. As the questions in my mind continued to mount, I found that I was equally grateful that I would not need to share my tent with anyone this evening as there were plenty to go around at the Outskirts camp. I desperately needed time to collect myself after the revolution that Fenarla knew of my other self. The very fact that not only did she know but chose not to speak of it or of what my involvement with the destruction of the conclave had me wondering just to what extent she was aware of my involvement with those events was.

For all that I had retired early, I found for the first time in many an age, I could not still my mind enough to enter the fade. Instead, I found myself listening to the conversations between Fenarla and our companions as they joined her around the fire. Smitherson and Jacobs had wanted to know more about what she had ‘seen’ of our future and if there were any interesting stories from our past that she was willing to pass along. They also wanted to know how the dreaming all worked. Fenarla tried to explain that things that had already happened were more solid as if you were watching a play that had been put on before. Whereas the future events seemed more malleable like clay that could still be shaped or changed depending on how the viewer wanted it to be. Neither Corporals Smitherson, Jacobs, or Seeker Pentaghast, could truly understand what Fenarla was trying to explain to them, but as a Somniari I had a more practical experience with changing the raw fade and therefore had a better chance of deciphering what Fenarla was trying to depict to the others. Later, when the others had gone to their own tents, Varric joined Fenarla by the fire to speak about some of the specific things she had seen that may or may not have been in his book about the Hero of Kirkwall.

“So, our discussions about my book when you first woke up, all those questions that you were hinting at instead of actually asking. I had thought it was just me, but it makes a lot more sense now that I know about your seeing things that already happened Flirt.” Varric’s voice was calm though I could hear a bit of accusation in it.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you Varric. Do you know that of all the people I have seen you are in a very close tie for my second most looked forward person to meet,” Fenarla spoke calmly though I could feel her Elgar as it gave off waves of regret at her deception and sadness at having potentially hurt someone she cared deeply about.

“Dare I ask whom I’m tied with or who out beat me for first place?” Varric joked to try and alleviate the tension that Fenarla was more than likely exhibiting towards the dwarf.

“Actually, first is tied as well but the person you're tied with we will be meeting later when we get to Redcliff. As for the questions I had asked, would you really have accepted that I was telling you the truth if I had told you that every experience mentioned in your books, and even a few that never made it in, I had seen firsthand almost as if I had been there with you. Fighting alongside yourself, Broody, Blondie, Daisy, Red, and Hawke. Would you have really felt comfortable with me mentioning that I had seen the hard decisions that all of you had to face both regarding unchangeable events like the Arashock, Hawks mother’s death, or even the destruction of the Chantry? Or how about the changeable ones like Merrill’s Clan, Fenris's sister, or even your own brother?” Fenarla continued to speak softly as she related these truths to our residence storyteller. The weight of the information Fenarla had kept to herself gave insight as to why she may have yet to share my own transgressions with the others of the Inquisition.

“So, what happened to Bertrand,” Varric inquired after a long moment of silence.

“Would have happened regardless of anything you had done. From the moment he found that Idol… Well, the only thing that would have changed was how he ended.” Again, I waited to see if their conversation would continue and any other information would be forthcoming. I had a sinking feeling I knew precisely of which Idol they were speaking of.

“So, you’re saying he was always destined to find that horrible thing?” Varric finally asked the hard question on both of our minds.

“Yes, that was one of those unchangeable moments I mentioned before. I have some thoughts on that, but ultimately Bartrand finding and keeping the red lyrium idol was destined to happen and that thing was also destined to make him lose his mind. Regardless of what you chose to do that day you asked Hawk for help in Bartrand’s townhouse, he still would have died. It was just a matter of when and how.” Varric must have done something or reacted in some way for Fenarla began to elaborate. “Bertrand would have either met his maker at the smart end of your crossbow or the long end of an inescapable hallucination. I personally would have preferred the quick end over six months of madness before my heart gave out anyway.”

“Damn that’s… Well sh*t.”

“I know but know this Varric. I don’t care what anyone else may think about that situation, but I think you did the most humane thing one could have done for him given the circ*mstances.” Again, both lapsed into silence while the quiet crackles and pops of the fire were the only sounds coming from outside my tent. I was just about to try once more to give myself over to the fade when Varric spoke up again.

“I wish he had never found that thing. I mean don’t get me wrong, Bertrand has always been an ass. It's just even from the very moment he found that Idol it changed him. I mean, he tried locking Hawke and I in the tige vault to die damn it. And all because that stupid Idol started speaking to him. Whispering it’s red lyrium lies. No good has ever come from finding that stupid thing. Meredith was even more proof of that.” The anger and frustration riddling Varric’s voice was evident to hear even at the low tone he was speaking with. A part of me could understand where he was coming from. I may not have always gotten along with my own brother Dirthamen but that did not mean I had wanted to lock him away behind the Veil. After all, at one time he and I had been close, and he had been the most understanding of all of the Evaneras to me, other than Mythal. The fact that the elves of modern-day thought that my brother was actually brother to his lover Falon’din was a joke that I had voiced the moment that I had heard the tails upon first awakening.

“I can’t speak for Meredith, but after seeing what I saw… it made me wonder if maybe there wasn’t more going on than what we saw ourselves.” Fenarla sounded as if she were trying to logically work through a riddle puzzle as if something were not adding up.

“How so?”

“I don’t know, I mean why lock you and Hawke in the vault with all of the loot? Why would he only take the idol? How did he even find that tige anyway? A tige that was older than dirt, that no one had ever found before unless…”

“Unless he was specifically hired to find the idol. But why him?” Varric was also trying to work out why he and his brother had been sent after the red lyrium idol.

“Maybe it has nothing to do with Bartrand being himself but perhaps with him being a dwarf, who was advertising the fact that he intended to go on a Deep Roads expedition, then the fact that he was Bartrand specifically. I mean any dwarf could have worked for acquiring a lyrium Idol, but perhaps it had to be a surfacer that would be able to pass it along to someone above ground. Whoever hired him wouldn’t have been able to use just anyone from Orzammar because then the shaper-rite would have known about the tige. Orzammar would have wanted to study the idol.” Fenarla theorized allowed.

“Why would anyone specifically want that corrupted thing? I don’t even want to imagine what they had planned to do with it.” I could hear the fear radiating out of Varric’s voice before once again everything became quiet out at the fire. Many long moments passed before Fenarla finally responded to Varric’s questions.

“Maybe they didn’t plan to do anything with it. Maybe they were just trying to keep it away from somebody else.” Slowly I sat up in my bed role while staring at the tent door. Could she have seen? Did she know that I was the one who had wanted the idol?

“But who are they? And who were they trying to keep that thing away from?” Varric asked.

“I have a few theories based on what I’ve seen but not enough information yet and no proof to do anything about anything,” Fenarla answered, and I let out a breath I had not even being aware I had been holding. I had sent my agents to acquire the corrupted lyrium Idol from its old resting place deep within the ground. When I had first sensed Corypheus consciously trying to reach out from his prison while in his deep dreaming sleep. I had watched as the ancient Magister had breached the heavens. I had watched as he and his corrupted brethren had caused the first blights. I had guided the dreams of the first Warden Mages on where to find the spells to lock away the corrupted Magister. Even though it had taken years for Corypheus to break free of his prison, I had not felt comfortable with how close his prison had been to the ancient tige and the last thing this world needed was for him to get possession of such an artifact like that. After all, it had taken wars, deceit, unlikely alliances, and immense amounts of magic and personal sacrifice to lock that cursed object away from the world.

“I can’t be certain, and ignore me if you think I’m wrong, but I would like to believe that Bartrand locked you and Hawke in that vault with all the other loot, not to kill you, but because he wanted to save you from the Idols corruption. Perhaps he knew about the alternative exit from the vault. Maybe some sort of stone sense you didn’t have. Maybe he could tell from the very beginning that the red idol would bring nothing but pain and was trying to keep you from that.” It spoke of Fenarla’s character that she was trying to comfort Varric about the tragic events that had taken place between him and his kin. I knew truly little about the dwarf my agent had hired to find the old tige, except that he had failed to relinquish the idol when he had returned to the surface. As none of my agents could get near the blighted artifact without causing harm to themselves, I had instructed them to keep an eye on the statue but leave it in the dwarf’s possession until another opportunity to acquire it arose. I was unaware that the idol had even changed hands until after it had made a statue out of Kirkwall’s Knight Commander, and by then it was too late for my agents to do anything about it as they had all had to flee the cursed city when the Chantry had exploded.

Hearing the outcome of Varric’s brother at the behest of my own orders had me reaffirming my belief in fate. After all, what other sources of cosmic intervention would have placed the brother of the very man I had damned to madness into my path. Bertrand’s death was like so many others on my hands. Be they either my ancient brethren or even those that had died at the conclave.

“I doubt that Flirt, but it’s nice of you to say. I guess we will never know the real truth now will we.” Varric commented before getting up and excusing himself to his own tent. And with that, I finally laid down one more time and forced myself to go to sleep.

Chapter 15: Hinterland Travel Agency

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 15

After the events of yesterday and the rest of our immediate group of companions finding out about me ‘seeing’ the future, I came to the realization that I could actually work with that assumption as to how I was going to get people to do what I needed them to do. Playing my knowledge of the future off as things I had seen in the fade would actually give me the opportunity to review everything, I had played in the games without worrying that I might be caught by Solas if he decided to join me in my dreams. If the old wolf's reaction to me mentioning my ‘seeing’ having happened during dreaming were anything to go by it was only a matter of time before he did stop by my dreams one night soon. I knew from my information exchange with Knowledge that because I am also Somniari I would be capable of sensing Solas’s presence within my dream space the moment that he entered it, just as I could any of the spirits or demons who tried to interact with me while I slept.

After directing Scout Harding along with a group of scouts and soldiers towards the wheat fields here and pointing out where the agrarian apostate should live as a viable location for ram and fenecx hunting grounds I set off with Cassandra, Varric, Solas, Smitherson, and Jacobs to deal with the remaining tasks along the way towards the Winter Watchtower fort in the hills. We had a Dalish promise ring to find along with Lady Velena's corpse to acquire a love note from so we could recruit her late fiancé. I wanted to see if we could get to Scout Ritz and her lover Eldredda before they were set upon by the Renegade Templars in the area. As I had stated the day before to Varric we needed the asthma potion from Hyndal for his mother and there were supply caches to find for the villagers at the Crossroads.

With that in mind, I brought an extra four scouts with us so they could act as runners if need be. I then set off towards the Arstrarium that I knew was past the farming fields. Again, it was easy to activate and I chuckled at Varric when he asked just how many times I had seen this puzzle played through. I wasn't going to outright tell him that I had over 1,000 hours of playtime between all three games not even taking into account all of the books, comics, and online research I had done about the franchise and just smiled and shrugged my shoulders at him instead.

The cave with the first of the supply caches was easy enough to find I also joked with Varric that he was a disgrace to all dwarven kind with his hatred of caves. He laughed when I told him that for his disparaging comments over the cold and damp conditions of the cave we found ourselves in that he was no longer allowed to refer to himself as a dwarf and that he must reduce himself to being referred to as a miniature stout want to be human. Solas even joined in the joking by stating that the lack of beard and copious amounts of chest hair actually led credence to my statement. It was after that, that we ran into a group of bandits on our way through the past that would have Lady Vellina’s corpse in it that I cringed. There were certain things in the game I had always wished were a bit off and untrue. This was definitely one of them.

“Oh man, I kind of hoped this would be wrong.” I voiced to the others as I went towards Lady Vellina’s corpse and started searching her pockets for the love note that we would need and also removed her engagement ring and what looked like a man's family crest ring that was on a chain around her neck.

“Herald who is this woman?” Cassandra asked when I started to arrange Lady Vellina's body into a position to make her look as if she were sleeping. I then rummaged in my pack for a stick of charcoal and started to quickly sketch the young woman's profile on the reverse side of the love note.

“The late Lady Vellina, her fiancé Lord Berand is up at the Winter Watchtower in the hills. He's waiting for her to arrive the poor sod. If we play our cards right, he and all of his men will join Cullen and our forces.” I informed Cassandra as I put a few minor details into the picture I was sketching. I looked over at Solas as I finished and beckoned him forward. I passed him the portrait then held out my hand to him so he could help me stand up. “Do you think I captured her likeness well enough?” When Solas indicated towards the charcoal I passed the stick to him so he could polish up the portrait. Solas then knelt closer to Lady Vellina and started to work. I crouched and leaned over his shoulder, admiring the work he was doing. “You're really good at that you know,” I told him with a smile. It was not until he had turned his own head to look at me over his shoulder that I realized just how close our faces were. Just a few more millimeters and I would be kissing his cheek, and that was exactly what I did when he went to hand me back the portrait when he was done with it.

“Ma serannas ma felon.” (my thanks my friend.) I noticed as Solas’s aura flared with feelings of surprise and caution or perhaps it was confusion as he looked at me as I accepted the finished work. “Do you think it's possible to place a spell on this so it won't smudge?” At this Solas just nodded and stood to show me the spell that created a light film over the charcoal picture that made it resemble that of a photograph from home.

From there we continued on collecting the Dalish promise ring from the Renegade Templars where I continued to try to avoid killing any of our foes. With Melar in a specialized pack on my back, her yelps and growls as I fought the Renegade Templars and bandits caught most of my opponents unaware, and it distracted them enough that I could usually deflect their attacks and funnel them towards Jacobs and Smitherson who had started flanking my right and left sides. This meant that I had to travel up front with Cassandra instead of remaining in the back near Solas and Varric to help guard them against any unwanted melee attacks. It however also meant that I could keep myself Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge, as they had insisted I start calling them, safe with barrier spells while we were fighting.

The conversation between myself and my two Corporal bodyguards about the use of first names versus titles went much the same as my conversation with Solas upon that matter. The one major difference was that Biggs Jacobs and Wedge Smitherson had agreed to use my first name as well if I started using theirs. That was a rather easy request for I would much rather my new friends call me by my name than by a title that I had not really earned.

I also decided to hold off on dealing with the Rifts in the area and instead went southeast towards the tower stairs that would take us to the Winter Watchtower and closer to where Scout Ritz was hopefully having her picnic with her Mage lover Eldredda.

“Aren't we going up to the fort there Flirt?” Varric asked when we went left at the top of the stairs instead of up the path leading towards the fort.

“We will be but I'm hoping to save someone from a Renegade Templar attack. Scout Ritz is this way just trying to have a quiet moment with her lady friend where they will be set upon by a group of Renegade Templars all because Ritz's lady is a mage.” I told the others as I started to run towards the cliffs where the picnic was to be taking place. “At least I'm hoping that is what's taking place right now because intruding on a private moment is just awkward, however coming to the rescue…” I trailed off as I looked upon the couple sitting near the cliffs and then further along to where a group of four Renegade Templars had just come up the hill using the old trade road. “Oh, sh*t there they are. Double-time it people.” And again, we were off running towards our scout and her mage.

As quickly as I could I cast a barrier spell over Scout Ritz and Eldredda as I ran to block the path of the Renegade Templar that was attacking them and cast a telekinetic push through my shield spell to deflect the attacks coming at me from the heavier plated Renegade Templar. I cast a stasis-field on the remaining Renegade Templars so that Cassandra and our scouts could get themselves into position as I dodge around the left side of my opponent's shield so I was flanking him as Biggs and Wedge were now boxing the largest warrior between the three of us. I aimed for crucial but not life-threatening locations on the Renegade Templars body and when Wedge was able to get his sword under the guard of the Renegade Templar and stick the man in between the layers of his breastplate and side guards I turned away towards another foe so I would not have to watch the Renegade Templar die.

To any other it might have seemed cowardice to not be capable of dispatching any of our foes myself, but with the way that Biggs and Wedge have now been sticking close to my sides instead of charging to the front with Cassandra it has left me open to not having to strike any of the deathblows that I cannot with my earthly conscience bring myself to do at this time. I know that eventually, I will need to harden myself to the deaths of others around me, especially by my own hand, but I just can't bring myself to do it if there is another who is more comfortable of doing it themselves for me.

“Are you two all right?” I asked Scout Ritz and Eldredda when the fighting was over.

“Yes, Lady Herald, thank you. I'm not sure we would have made it without you and your team.” Scout Ritz stated as she held Eldredda’s hand.

“That is incredibly good to hear Scout. I think it would be best if you continue with us. What's your name Scout and who would this enchanting flower of yours be?” I asked stepping closer to Eldredda and extending my hand in greeting to her.

“Scout Ritz your worship and this is Eldredda. She had been staying with the Rouge Mages until recently my lady.” Scout Ritz mumbled out with a blush on her cheeks.

“Well, this may be a slightly more unorthodox recruiting method, but the Inquisition is always glad to have more reliable mages on our side. So, Eldredda what's your specialty? Offensive or defensive?” With that statement alone I could see both Scout Ritz and Eldredda relax about having potentially been in any trouble because of their pick-nick.

“Um, Defensive your ladyship. Specifically, barrier spells and healing.” Eldredda stated in a shy voice as she blushed just trying to look me in the eyes. I guess she was not as used to casual flattery as I was to giving it out.

“Oh, sweet. Good job Ritz! We always need more healers.” I praised the woman as I pat the scout on the arm. “You, pretty flower will need to stick close to our amazingly awesome multi-talented magical expert Solas who I am sure would be more than willing to help you out with any magical situations that may arise.” I directed my statement toward Eldredda as I smirked widely and winked at the bald mage. I snickered when I saw a bit of a blush showing up on his ears and cheeks.

“You flatter me ma felon (my friend).” Solas was rolling his eyes at me but was also returning my smirk at my perhaps exaggerated praises as well. Behind him, I could see Varric writing every little exchange we were participating in, in his little book while the other soldiers and scouts were snickering at our continuous flirting.

“For you hot stuff, always.” I smiled back at him with a wink before looking back towards Scout Ritz “And you can take a position with your fellow scouts.” After the two women gathered up their supplies, we then turned back towards the Winter Watchtower and found Speaker Anais standing guard at the gate. I barely registered what Speaker Anais was saying to Cassandra about what she and her people were doing up here in the hills, giving praise to the rifts, as I was more focused on what felt like a much more in-depth version of the finding spell Solas had taught me creeping out around us, but for what purpose I could not ascertain and sent a wave of what I hoped translated to questioning towards Solas with my aura. In return I got a sense of explanation and later for which I sent thanks, patience, and anticipatory excitement. Behind me, I could hear Solas's quiet chuckle as I forced myself to focus on what speaker Anais was asking me.

“Are you indeed The Herald of Andraste?”

“That's what it says on the business card. Of course, that's if I had a business card.” I tried to joke off the fact that I myself still did not want to be called The Herald of Andraste at all, as I knew full well that was not who had sent me here. But it was not like I could just tell them that the old Elven gods actually still existed even though they were not actually gods and that it was a combination of a couple of spirits and the soul or the spirit of Mythal that was in the body of Flemeth that had actually sent me to this realm. I also could not explain to them right now that it was not actually Andraste herself that most of them had seen standing behind me in the fade and instead that of a spirit of Faith that had taken on the form of the late Divine who had been direct me threw the fade itself and into the waking world.

“So, you presume to tell me that the Maker has given you the power to close the Rifts?” I tried not to roll my eyes at the woman who would be apologizing for having doubted my abilities in less than a half-hour and confirmed that yes, I could close the rift that was at the far back of the fort she and her people were staying in. Even if I myself did not classify myself as the Herald of Andraste. Sure enough, she was demanding we prove ourselves and we were being given admittance into the Winter Watchtower.

Closing the rift within the tower was a bit anti-climactic as I focussed on disrupting the rift to make things easier for the other members of my party so they might quickly dispatch the Lesser Terror demons that came through at a bit of a snail's pace.

“Solas was it just me or did those demons seem to be coming at us really slowly?” I asked after I finish closing the rift.

“You are indeed correct ma falon, I believe it may have much to do with the Elven artifact that I sensed earlier.” When I inquired at what the in-depth finding spell was for he informed me that its purpose was to measure the strength of the veil and to help determine why even with the number of people congregated in one area and a rift present there had been no demon activity on this side of the veil.

“So, the artifacts not so much strengthen the veil as opposed to acting as a repellent for demons in an area?” I posed this to Solas. These were some of the questions I had always wished to ask in-game but due to the limited conversation wheel, I had been unable to do so.

“Not quite, the artifacts seem to create a new layer to fortify the already existing veil and cause the fade in this present area to be less mutable. As the fade in this area then has less of a foothold upon the waking reality it causes the fade, in essence, to thicken and makes it difficult for spirits to pass through it.” I had to think about that statement for a while as I tried to piece together the purpose of the artifacts that Solas had created to help him measure and interact with the veil.

“Do you think if enough of the artifacts were activated in a single area that they would start working in tandem with one another? Almost as if they were interlinked perhaps?” Solas tensed for a moment when I linked my arm with his as we started walking back towards the main courtyard entrance where I knew Speaker Anise was going to address us again. I tried to send a sense of reassurance to him with my aura and was happy when a moment later the stiffness in his shoulders melted away as we continued walking.

“Indeed, I do believe that the devices are meant to work with one another, much like the knot points in a Fisherman's Net. This can be both a blessing and a hindrance though.” Solas had cooked his arm that I was holding onto and placed his other hand atop my own without even thinking about those that were surrounding us or their opinions of what his change in behavior might say about his past or experiences. I also noticed that he gave up on his stooped walking and took on more of the regal airs of his ancient alter ego. I myself made sure to do nothing that might unintentionally draw the attention of our companions to Solas, in hopes that they might just assume he was passing on the experiences and information of a senior mage to their student.

“How so?”

“Just as a fisherman's net with a full load will be able to hold more in a knotted net as opposed to an unknotted net there is still the possibility that in the sections of netting where the knots are inconsistently placed or perhaps missing,” Solas began to paint a picture for my mind to follow his thoughts and logic threw to conclusion.

“That the netting in those areas still has the possibility of forming holes or tears.” And that would also explain why the tear that resulted at the end of the ‘Measuring of the Veil’ table mission even existed.

“Precisely”

“Could then not an artifact be relocated from one location to another? Could the addition of a new artifact then not make up for the discrepancies in weight load?” If this were the case, then we might be able to strengthen the veil in any of the locations Solas had mentioned it being weak within the game.

“The theory is sound however impractical as you would, in essence, be weakening the location from which you removed the new artifact from, and without properly calibrating the new artifact into the existing network of the area you would be moving it to you have the potential of upsetting the already existing balance within that physical location.” The idea that the artifacts could and needed to be calibrated also brought the question to mind that they might be used to weaken the veil as opposed to strengthening it instead. If that were the case, then could not the artifacts be used to help with bringing down the veil in a slow or controlled fall? That question however I would need to save for later when I had informed Solas about my knowledge of himself and his plans for the veil in the future.

“Do you think it would be possible to reverse engineer one of the artifacts so that we could make more? Then we wouldn't need it to move any of the already present artifacts, but we could still add more where they were needed or missing.” Solas smiled at me with pride and excitement laced within his aura that I could sense coming from him as opposed to him having it sent those feelings to me.

“Perhaps, but at present, I would be unwilling to remove any of the artifacts from their present locations for fear that their removal would weaken the veil in those areas any more than it presently is.” At this, I nodded in understanding and pat his hand that was holding my own in the crook of his arm before slipping my hand from his and walking to where Speaker Anais was waiting for me near the statue of Lornan’s Exile.

“By the Maker, Herald of Andraste. I was a fool to have doubted you. How may we serve you?” It was at times like this that it would be really nice to have something new and original happen. I then looked behind me at the people in my group and saw Eldredda smiling at me, Biggs and Wedge standing with us where normally they should not be, and the other Scouts that had joined our group for the day that normally during the game their presence would not even be possible. Having all of these people with us, being able to save those that should potentially be dead, would have to placate me as my positive changes for now.

“You and your people should spread the word of the Inquisition and our deeds.” I knew that this would help out Josephine, in the long run, better than having Anais and her people looking for secrets for Leliana would. Also, I had always liked the idea of keeping a balance between the people I recruited to the Inquisition so that none of the advisors would have thought I was favoring one over another when looking for help. Scout Ritz was going to help Leliana, Speaker Anais would be working with Josephine, and Lord Berand and his men would be helping out Cullen once I had finished recruiting the man in question myself.

“As you say Herald of Andraste. Some of my people will stay here and the rest will go forth to spread your word.” With that done I told Cassandra where she could find Hyndal to get the potion and its recipe from him for his mother while Varric used the chance to mingle with those inside the fort and to find out if there were any tasks that they needed doing while Solas took the opportunity to activate the artifact that was up in the north tower. I also mentioned to him to grab the Dwarven tile that was up there as I took Biggs and Wedge in search of Lord Berand.

As I had expected I found Lord Berand on the upper floor of the tavern fretting that his fiancé had yet to arrive. It pained me when I had to inform the man of Lady Vellina's death as I gave him her possessions and received a tearful thank you when I showed him the drawing that was on the reverse side of his love note to her. When I extended my invitation for him and his people to join the Inquisition forces so that no unnecessary deaths like his late fiancée’s would ever happen again, he accepted and said that he would head to Haven after he informed Lady Vellina’s family of her passing.

After meeting up with the rest of our group in the courtyard of the fort I assigned the delivery of Hyndel's potion to a pair of scouts and told them of a fallen Templar near the cliffs north of the Winter Watchtower. The fallen Templar had a phylactery for the Mage Enchanter Ellandra that I needed them to acquire on their way to the Crossroads, that I would then be able to use to help recruit her to our side so she could help Eldredda and Charlus as permanent healers for those at the Crossroads. With that task assigned I then set out south to mark the supply caches for Recruit Whittle before we took the old trade road to get to the south rift.

It was a good thing that we had so many people with us as even in the game the demons that came out of this particular rift were very difficult to kill. Between barriers cast by myself Solas and Eldredda and Cassandra, Biggs, Wedge, along with Scout Ritz and the remainder remaining two Scouts picking off the demons that seemed to come in droves, I was actually able to focus on disrupting the rift as much as I could. It was however as I was trying to stay away from one of the Rage Demons that a Terror Demon popped out of the ground directly behind me. If it had not been for Melar’s yelp's coming from her specialized pack on my back, I would have been skewered by the Terror Demon’s foot-and-a-half-long skeletal claws. On Instinct, I panicked and tried to run towards where Solas was located just behind a set of boulders, and in the next moment, I was beside him with only having taken a singular step.

Not wanting to have to deal with the Rage or Terror Demons anymore I thought of massive boulders crushing the various demons into paste and pulled down upon the veil with my aura hoping that my will and intent would be enough to deal with those demons. Large green fade rocks then fell upon the battlefield as I turned to focus the last of my energies into closing the rift. My knees felt like Jell-O and my arms felt as if someone had poured lead into my very bones. I hardly even noticed or was aware as I started to crumple towards the ground. Before my head could connect with the dirt beneath my feet, I felt familiar strong arms wrapped around me and soothing magic as it rippled over my skin as it tried to assess what was wrong with me.

“Solas, I don't feel so good.”

“I have you ma falon, just rest now.” Solas’s calm voice soothed me as much as the hand cupping my cheek. He then directed Wedge into removing Melar's pack from my back so he could check me over. I could hardly even feel or sense what Wedge or any of the others were doing around me and focussed solely on Solas’s hand upon my cheek.

“Thank you, ma fen (my wolf),” I whispered to him as I tilted my head enough that I could lightly kiss the pad of his thumb that had halted its progress over my cheekbone. I forced my eyes to open one last time as I smiled in reassurance at him before I allowed the darkness of exhaustion to envelop me as I rested in the ancient mage's arms.

Chapter 16: Sweet Dreams

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 16

You would think after all this time in Thedas that finding myself dreaming in the fade would not shock or surprise me anymore, but on some level it still did. One moment I'm staring at a canvas tent roof, next it's the log cabin roof above my loft bed with the cashmere blankets and artificial wolf fur pillows that were warmed by the specially designed tri-tier fireplace in my fade cabin. Or perhaps the sunny skies above the lake out back with a cool drink in hand and a light breeze upon my face as a fake sun warm my skin and the grass tickled my senses where I laid at the lake edge just as I had so many summer days with my brother oh so long ago. This time was even more jarring on my senses as I had not been mentally prepared for falling asleep and so finding myself in the fade was momentarily confusing. Luckily, Creativity was here in my dreamscape already so I might inquire as to what had happened.

“You magically exhausted yourself with two rather advanced spells consecutively that you had not magically prepared yourself to use.” Creativity glided over to where I was sitting on the lakeshore. When she drifted close enough, she gently caressed my shoulder and arm as was her greeting as she settled herself beside me so she could dip her feet into the cool waters of the lake.

“Which two spells? I can only think of the one. Shatter-stone I will admit it is probably well above my current pay grade, so yeah, not so smart to use that. But what was the other one?” I inquired as I started to braid Creativities hair on instinct. This was a relaxing activity that I had initiated with her not long after I had left for the Hinterlands. Braiding Creativities hair reminded me of moments when I used to do this and have it done for me by my own mother. Before she had passed my mother had been trying to teach me the layered braid. It was a very advanced level braid that I had only seen done once by my grandmother for my own mother upon the day of her wedding vow renewal ceremony when my parents celebrated 25 years together. Creativity had been working together with me to see if we could figure out the techniques for the braids off of my memories of having watched my grandmother.

“You also channeled Spirit magic into a fade step. It was not normally the house of magic one might utilize for that particular spell but given your affinity for spirit and fade magic I was not surprised when I witnessed your first attempt.” Creativity turned enough so that she could also start working on a simple over-shoulder fishtail braid for me. This in itself was one of the reasons that I loved coming to the fade so much. All of the things that the other spirits were trying to teach me were great but it was the constant companionship that I loved the most.

“Did you happen to record it? Can we watch it together? I would love to see if there is not some way to improve what I have done so I don't pass out again if I need to use that combination into the future that is.” Creativity smiled at me and waved her hand over the lake water. Like other evenings we had chosen to do this, a bubble of lake water floated up and flattened itself into a disk much like a television screen might be. Then upon the water's surface, an image started to form so we could watch the scene as I might a movie from home.

I was glad to see that I had fade-stepped before Melar had been hurt as I watched the Terror demon pop out of the ground behind me as I had been far too focussed on the Rage demon in front of me. When a moment after fade stepping to Solas's side I called down Shatter-stone I could see the problem that I had with my spells execution that had resulted in my fatigue. I had failed to draw any of the magic used for either spell from the fade itself and since the only mana fueling the spells had been from my own it had tapped out my personal reserves. I watched as I collapse into Solas's arms yet again and got to see a look of fear and confused concern flit across his features before he stiffened in surprise as I kissed his thumb that had been rubbing against my cheek.

“Wait go back,” I cried out as I sat up so I could get closer to the water-looking glass. Using my hands as if they were controls on a remote I rewound the memory by a few moments to just before Solas stiffened and use my other hand to raise the volume of what I had said to him.

“Thank you, ma fen.”

“Aw crap. Do you think he heard me?” I turned to look to Creativity in concern. This was not how I had wanted to tell the Dread Wolf that I knew who he was. I had hoped for more time and a more solid friendship to form between the man and myself before this moment arouse. I could feel my fear spike to such high levels that I could even sense some of the demons of this area trying to gain entrance to my dreamscape.

“I would say the probability is very high.” Creativity whispered in my direction as she looked over my shoulder to the far side of the lake where the largest wolf I had ever seen in my life sat staring at me and my companion.

“Holy sh*t. You are gorgeous.” I said in ah, loud enough that my voice would carry to wear the wolf sat. Slowly I stood and sent out the feelings of safety, acceptance, and invitation towards the wolf with my aura. If I was indeed correct and this was Solas come to me as Fen'Harel to test me, I did not want to show any fear of him or judgment like any of the Dalish of this time might have done in the past.

“Please don't be frightened. Would you like to come and sit with us?” I invited the wolf whose fur was the most amazing shades of dark grey and black I had ever seen. They seemed to shimmer in the very sunlight almost as if they were made of onyx and polished slate. The wolf blinked his green-blue eyes at me. One moment he went from having one set of eyes to having three sets. Three eyes on either side of his snout in a triangle pattern, and with the opening of the other sets of eyes, it removed any doubt of just who sat opposite the lake from me.

“Greetings, old one. I am honoured you would choose to grace myself and my companion with your presence. But would it not be easier to enjoy our company if we were all sitting together?” I gestured to the space beside myself with one hand and waved him to come towards us with the other. Fen’Harel slowly blinked his many eyes at me before slowly raising to his feet so he might walk around the lake at last. It was as he got closer that I noticed just how large Solas was in his Fen'Harel form. The top of his shoulders came up to my chest and the top of his head was taller than my 5 foot 8 inches. He was everything I imagined a dire wolf back home would have been.

“Now is this better.” I waved my hand over the grass near the lake edge and focussed on setting out a large picnic for us. Within moments meat pies, cheese platters, fruit pastries, and large jugs of steaming cider appeared. I also placed a large bowl that was at least three feet wide off to one side with fresh water in it in case Solas wanted to drink but refuse to change into his elven form. A comfortable 5-foot by 10-foot checkered hunter green and light and dark grey picnic blanket had arranged itself under our feast with comfortable white and black pattern sitting cushions and body pillows creating a comfortable place for us to relax. Without waiting to see if Fen’Harel would make himself comfortable I sat and arranged myself while started placing some of the treats I had created onto a plate before setting it in front of where I hoped that Fen’Harel would sit. I then started to serve myself and Creativity.

“Welcome to my home. I hope you don't mind if Creativity and I go about our nightly routine.” I told Fen’Harel after he had arranged his long limbs, so his front paws were draped over one of the larger body pillows that I had arranged his snack plate in front of. The snacks I had arranged he gave a quizzical sniff at before carefully selecting a meat pie from the plate with precision-controlled movement from his long wolf tongue. I waited a moment to see what his reaction to the food would be and smiled when a low rumble filled the air as feelings of contentment wafted off of him through his aura.

“Shall we see what is in store for me and mine over the next few days?” At this, I popped one of the cheddar cubes into my mouth as I closed my eyes and started to recall all of the memories of the immediate area of the Hinterlands that we were in, and key points that would need to be dealt with. I forced my skin to give off a light glow here in the fade so that Fen’Harel might think that I was using some sort of magic to ‘see’ the future.

The rift under the cliff overhang. The ash warriors refuge cave with the apostate mage within and one of the supply caches where the second of the red lyrium growths that we would need to cleanse was located with the Dwarven miner who had died trying to harvest it. The location of the Dwarfson pass camp. The Calenhad Foothold Ruins that Solas mentioned were rather impressive and had wondered what dreams he might see if he were to rest his head in them. The rift just outside of those ruins and myself climbing the wall to get into the blocked room that had chests and buried treasures in it.

I then brought up Lake Luthias where we would later find Warden Blackwall, or Thom Rainier as I had arranged for our people to be introduced to him as. I thought of the waterfall that had the entrance to the Dwarven trading post of Valammar where I focussed on the locked door and then brought up the frontal view of the great Forest Villa and the key sitting on the desk on the upper balcony. I pulled back from the Villa and followed the Mountain Pass back towards Lake Luthias to show making sure to point out the bandits that had set up the blockade along the way. I even arranged for the bandits to look as if they were flickering in and out of existence, so they would appear in one spot and then reappear in another a moment later so it would give the indication as to the fluidity of their possible locations within the bandit camp.

I also decided to throw in a moment from Skyhold. I even went through the effort of changing Solas’s appearance to what I hoped it might become once we reach Skyhold itself. In the altered moment, Solas and I were talking about having activated a large group of artifacts in the Hissing Wastes and that we could now test the strength of the veil to see if we could predict if any new rifts would form. I also gave the distant future moment a softer edge quality and a bit of a fluttering feel to it as I had the bandit locations at the blockade so that it would give the impression that certain aspects of the vision were subject to change. Once I had all of the memories from my playthrough’s arranged how I wanted them, and in the state that I wanted them in, so they would help support Solas's assumption that I was seeing the future while dreaming, I held my hand out over the lake water and called up my own reflective seeing surface so we could all view the images together.

Slowly the scenes started to play out and I paused at appropriate times so Creativity and I could discuss ideas on how to deal with the cliff rift as well as the second red lyrium growth. I posed questions to my companions about how I might mitigate the fatigue that I had felt after cleansing the first red lyrium growth. Creativity suggested that I seek the aid of a spirit of Harmony to assist in the next cleansing and when Fen’Harel nodded in agreement to the idea I asked that Creativity introduced me to one after we were done with the viewing.

We continued on with the scenes of The Calenhad Ruins, where Fen'Harel snuffed and send an agreeing feeling through his aura to me upon veiwing Solas's comments of dreaming in that location. Lake Luthias, the entrance to the Dwarven trade outpost of Valammar, and even the Grand Forest Villa got no reactions at all. It was however when we traveled the pass back towards the lake where Fen’Harel got his first chance to see the flickering locations of the bandits throughout their own camp that finally got a reaction just as I thought it might. A sentence of inquiry and mild confusion passed over me as he sat up higher on his lounging pillow. Fen’Harel then snorted a breath of hot air at me trying to catch my attention, so I paused the image.

“You're wondering at the ‘fliting’ of the people yes? There one moment and moved the next.” I posed to him as I used my fingers to air quote where appropriate. A feeling of agreement and confirmation settled over my senses and it had me wondering just how much of the Elven language had actually been spoken versus felt through this magical emotional exchange. If this emotional exchange had been a predominant part of ancient Elven ways of communication it was no wonder that Solas had mentioned that this age felt like walking through a world of tranquil, as he and I were the only ones I knew of who exchanged emotions for the purpose of communication at this time.

“The ‘flitting’ as I like to call it, is the viewing's way of saying that the scene is subject to change. The events are not pre-determined like the mage we will find in the ash warriors cave with the second red lyrium growth in the back.” I watched as Fen’Harel considered what I had told him before he sent me a wave of acceptance and huffed a breath at the viewing, indicating that we should continue. Before we did, I replaced all of his snacks with double portions of those I noticed he had focussed on the most. I also made note of which those were so I could try recreating them for Solas and myself in the waking world at some point in the future.

The next scene to play was the mildly altered future moment in Skyhold. In it, Solas and I stood by his desk in the rotunda much like I had done with him many times within the game. This time however I had changed his clothes to resemble something closer to those of Lord Elrond’s outfit from his time in Arendelle in Lord of the Rings. With the high collar, fitted flat-panel jacket in sage green with silver vines and leaf embroidery and complimentary buttons down the front. Along with a sleeveless over cloak left open in deep bronze, Solas cut quite the image. The coat itself went to mid-thigh and with a set of form-fitting bronzed leather pants that tucked into sage green Elvin foot wraps, I could hardly stop myself from drooling over him. Another notable change I had made was to Solas’s hair. I had given him rich auburn locks pulled back into a loose half ponytail. The top half was pulled back allowing for the bottom to hang freely down his back or over his shoulders and the direct sides above his ears were shaved clean much as I had seen in any of the Solas concept drawings. Fen’Harels reaction to seeing his altered alternate self was rather obvious to me purely because I had been focussing on him and not the scene playing out for him and Creativity to see.

“Well, I'll be damned. Would you look at all that glorious hair!” I commented to the others when the scene was finished and then rewound the vision to a point where we had a frontal view of the altered Solas. I pretended to fan myself with my hand and beside me, Creativity giggled on my one side while Fen’Harel huffed at my antics and rumbled in embarrassment and mild disgust as he focussed on the remaining fruit pastries on his plate.

“Don't be like that. If you would like I could braid your hair as well.” I told Fen’Harel as I went to his side and slowly extended my hands towards the side of his face. My breath caught as wonder and excitement rolled through my aura at just how soft his fur really was. “Oh wow, can I hug you? Please? You are so amazingly soft.” I waited a moment as Fen’Harel observe me with the three blue-green eyes that were on the left side of his face where I was standing before he finally relaxed and sent a wave of agreeability towards me. A painfully wide smile broke out on my face moments before I launched my entire body at him and sighed in contentment as waves of protection, safety, and comfort rolled off of the giant wolf. I giggled to myself when a rumbling growl emanated from deep within his chest. His responses had me wondering just how long it had been since he had experienced any physical contact. After all, wolves were supposed to be pack animals and Fen’Harel was now a wolf without a pack.

“Why don't I go find Harmony.” Creativity mentioned before subtly drifting away from my dreamscape leaving Fen’Harel and I alone. I however hardly noticed her leave as I continued to bask in the feelings I was sharing with the giant wolf. Finally, after what felt like hours but could not have been more than a few minutes I pulled myself away from Fen'Harel and after gathering some of the fur just past his jowls, I started to do a fishtail braid into it. I smiled softly at Fen’Harel as the contented rumble got marginally louder and his body relaxed, his eyes all closed and if I were to have looked, I would have seen his tail wagging slowly to show just how relaxed he was becoming.

“So great wolf Fen’Harel, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” I asked as I continue to focus on my braiding as I slowly thought of galaxy beads in blues, greens, and purples to slip onto the strands of his braid. A sense of curiosity and wonderment softly drifted towards me and I hummed softly as I started weaving strings of silver thread into new sections of his fishtail braid.

“And do you like what you have found so far of my home?” At this, I felt a wave of calm joy and acceptance flow over me as I finished his fishtail with a few reflective peaco*ck feathers hanging at the very end. As I stood back so that I could admire the work that I had done I hoped that both Solas and his counter self would also find my braiding skills satisfactory.

“Do you think you might talk with me directly or are you intending to just stick to these emotional exchanges for now?” At this, a sense of caution and trepidation at my potential acceptance trickled into the excitement and wonder he tried to express to me. I laughed gently at him as I continued to pet at his jaw even though I knew that he more than likely could use some form of projected thought voice to speak to me as he must have done with his agents in the fade over the years. “Shy, are you? I imagine it's been some time since someone interacted with you so readily.” I tried to be as comforting as possible and continued to send feelings of understanding and acceptance with hints of joy at his coming to visit me, happiness out of his comfort found in my presence, and excitement of what I might learn from him in the future. Slowly Fen'Harel opened his eyes and blinked first one set of eyes and then the next and finally the third in a lazy pattern that then started to repeat itself. I could see how other Dalish might have found this disturbing in the past. I however just found the movements both relaxing in one way and hypnotizing in another.

“Well, you can start talking to me when you're ready. Regardless I'm glad that you came.” Slowly I looked around the rest of my dreamscape and smiled. “Would you like a tour of my space?” I asked as I stood and offered my hand to him as if he might take it. I was excited to see when Fen'Harel stood and thrust his snout under my hand that was outstretched. I hummed at the great wolf in pleasure as I slipped my fingers into the soft fur on his jaw and noticed his eyes closed again in contentment as his rumble continued even louder than before. I would have to make sure that every time Solas visited me as Fen’Harel in the future I showed him as much physical affection as I could to help make up for the lack touch he had received over the last few millennia. I was inclined to believe that the ancient elf was probably suffering from touch deprivation, which was why he was responding with such heightened reactions to any of the physical touches I had been giving him.

Slowly we walked around the property and I told Fen’Harel all about how my grandfather had built this cabin for my grandmother, where they had then lived and raised their children. I told him about how my father had then inherited the small home when my grandfather died and how he and my mother had made the cabin their own. How my brother and I would spend springs digging up the garden to ready it for planting. I told him about the summers we would spend by the lake. I described how my brother and I would help my father in the fall with harvesting the vegetables from the garden and finally how my mother would join us during warmer winter afternoons to search the chestnut trees for nuts that we would then roast by the fire.

When I mentioned missing my family Fen’Harel sent me the questioning feeling of searching for something lost and started looking around the dreamscape in confusion and surprised that there were no friendly spirits re-enacting the roles of my missing loved ones. This brought to mind the last time I had ever seen my family or the cabin in the waking world. Without intending to an image of the burned-out cabin superimposed itself over my fade cabin. The destruction that was rot when a set of drunken vandals had broken into the cabin itself, showed all of the damage that was done to the building. It has taken an investigation by the local fire marshals to determine how the vandals had been able to burn the ancient cabin to its very foundations.

It had been determined that propane gas fumes from the cookstove had permeated the cabin. When the fumes had saturated the house and gradually made their way up to the second floor where the specially designed fireplace had a low fire present in it at the time to keep my parents and brother warm during the cooler spring nights over that fateful May long weekend had resulted in an explosion that took out the whole of the kitchen and half of the rest of the house. Because of the unique multi-tiered design of the fireplace construction, it acted much like a funneling tube for the explosion's flames and none of the people within the cabin had survived. Thankfully, it also meant that everyone had died before they had even had any idea of what was taking place due to the propane gas fumes having asphyxiated those within the cabin.

Feelings of distress, anger, and confusion swept over me from Fen'Harel as a few helpful wisps took over the roles of the drunken vandals as they broke into the house. Their clothing had been altered to match outfits that would have been more common in Ferelden as opposed to those one might find on vandals from Earth. Fen’Harels hackles rose as he bared his teeth before he howled his displeasure. He then turned towards me and brushed his furred cheek against my own to remove the tears, I wasn't even aware I was crying. Feelings of understanding and shared pain filled me as he carefully circled his body around me, enough that I was in essence being hugged to his side. Without needing further encouragement, I threw my arms around the great wolf's neck and cried into his side as we sat upon the ground just outside the door of the cabin. Even when my tears had subsided, I stayed curled into his side unwilling to leave the comfort and safety I felt coming off of him. It was at this point that I noticed Creativity had returned with another spirit who I assumed must be Harmony.

Harmony was the most unique spirit I had ever seen so far. They were the first spirit to ever truly present themselves as neither male nor female but an exaggerated yet balanced mixture of both. The large muscular form indicative of a male bodybuilder yet the obviously exaggerated hourglass figure I had only ever seen on a woman blended well together. Its long flowing locks and a hard square jaw that were softened by plump kissable lips and a small round button nose were contrasted by hard almond eyes surrounded by long black lashes that were below thick bushy eyebrows helped complete the distinguishing features of its face. Long Elven ears that were surprisingly dwarfed by a large pair of ram horns that were protruding from the top of its head finished the most unique look I had ever seen. A part of me could not decide if the spirit was trying to emulate an Elven or Quinari.

“Anderan Ateshan.” (formal greeting)

“Aneth ara.” (greetings) I called out to Harmony and gestured for both it and Creativity to join us by willing a few sitting pillows in front of where Fen’Harel and I had been consoling each other over our individual losses. When the two Spirits had settled themselves, I spoke about my reasons for requesting Harmony’s presence and help.

“You have chosen to take upon you a task that many before you have tried to rectify yet none have ever had your level of success in decorating the red lyrium. It is a very worthy cause that does indeed need to be done and I would be honoured to assist you with it in any way that I can. The effects of the red lyrium can even be felt here in the fade. Cleansing the lyrium not only helps you in the waking world but also those of us in the affected areas within the fade. As such I will willingly grant you the boon of heightened senses of awareness to find that natural harmony within every task that you do in your future. The fact that one so young has been capable of exerting such monumental change to a source of such discord is remarkable. Most only think to destroy that which has been corrupted by the taint of the ancient days. You are the first to try and cure the afflicted lyrium much like one would something sick or injured. It adds testament to your strength of will and character that you would even try.” Harmony then held out its hands to me so I might accept its boon.

“I would like to share with you my personal experience of healing the first blighted lyrium that I came across as thanks to the skills you are willing to readily share with me so I might continue this noblest of callings. I have thought of every aspect of the events leading up to, during, and after I had finished my part in removing the blighted taint from the ancient Titans blood.” I could sense tendrils of encouragement and excitement coming from my spirit friends and surprise from the ancient wolf as there was also a hint of caution and weariness, I am assuming over what I was about to do. It could however have also been over the fact that I knew that lyrium was indeed the lifeblood of a fallen Titan. I tried to send back feelings of reassurance in what I was about to do as well as determination so that he knew I would not back out of this exchange even if he did not approve of what I was doing. I tried to buffer those feelings however with my anticipation over the boon I was about to receive and a healthy level of calm so Fen’Harel might know that I understood just how important this exchange was. I then focussed on imparting only the experiences I had wanted to share with Harmony before I took its hand.

When heavy feelings of self-centering or balance washed over me, I looked to Harmony who had closed their eyes so they could focus on what I had shared with them. I used my boons from Wisdom and Knowledge to examine what Harmony had given me, trying to determine just how many uses for my new inner balance that I could apply this knowledge and these feelings towards other then just of the purpose of aiding in curing the tainted lyrium in the future. This boon had the potential to aid me with many of my future endeavorsand I was exited to see just how much I would be utilizing it.

“Ma serannas. (My thanks.) To experience the very act of bringing something so lost to corruption back into its proper balance. I hardly have words to express the experience. Ar ame myathem.” (I am honored.) I inclined my head towards Harmony again in acceptance for its praise. We sat in companionable silence for a while as I reflected over everything that has happened to me today alone. All too soon however Creativity and Harmony arose so they could leave my dreamscape. I allowed my mind to drift however as I snuggled further into Fen'Harel's side, glad to see that he, however, was not ready to leave me any more than I was him. So instead, I continued to review the boon I had just been given.

“Would that I could stay here in this moment with you for all eternity,” I told the old wolf as I turned my body so I could borrow my face into the ancient wolf side for a bit longer. I then wrapped my arms around him as much as was possible before finally, I had to pull away as the feeling of waking started to tickle the back of my senses. “Please feel free to visit me again whenever you have the inclination ma falon.” (My friend) And with that I allowed my consciousness to return to the waking world.

Chapter 17: Dealing with Bandit Mercenaries

Chapter Text

Well sh*t

Chapter 17

Dealing with the after-effects of magical exhaustion sucked. Even with an elf root potion for the physical pain and the lyrium potion for the magical drain I still felt as if I had been run down by a herd of druffalo and left out to wither under a hot summer sun. Slowly I extracted myself from the bedroll I had been placed on under a lean-to tarp and after drinking both of the potions left out for me and half my canteen of water, I forced myself towards the fire that was built not far from where I had been placed to recover from the overuse of my magic. I greeted Melar when she left Varric’s side and sent her feelings of love and affection through my aura and was mildly surprised when I could sense a muted version of love and trust in return from her. I would need to ask Solas about that later but for now, I just enjoyed having my pup by my side. Soon enough I was going to have to start her formal training and after asking Varric for some parchment and a charcoal stick I wrote a note to Josephine about hiring a kennel master who would not be afraid of assisting in the training of wild dogs.

“It's nice to see you up and about again Flirt, gave us a bit of a scare when you passed out after that last rift though. Thought poor Chuckles was going to birth kittens with how he was going on about you.” The mental image Varric was trying to paint had me snickering even if the act of doing so caused twinges of pain to course through my stomach and sides. Perhaps the magical strain was not the only thing that I had suffered from.

“Yeah, I think some of those spells I cast were a bit above my pay grade. I'll just bet I have twice as many magical lessons on control and endurance after this.” Varric smiled in sympathy at me and handed me a bowl of the field ration soup that we had been eating off and on for the last two to three weeks. It looked like someone had been able to catch some sort of meat to go into the pot, likely Fennec as I didn’t see the carcass of a ram about, along with the Cernip cross vegetable and wild onions that were abundant in this area made up most of the soup.

“Your assumptions on magical endurance lessons are indeed correct ma falon. I would also agree that the use of spells such as a Shatter-stone are indeed above your current magical training and I would advise not using that spell again until you and I have had a chance to work out the details and use of it.” Solas’s tone did not convey the level of worried that Varric had described but I was not about to call the elf out on his lack of emotional response. I knew he had already alleviated his concerns about my condition when he visited me in the fade as Fen'Harel.

“Welcome back Chuckles. Where did you get off to?” Varric asked after handing a bowl of the field soup to Solas.

“I took the opportunity to explore a minor set of ruins in the area. As I had determined we had the time until our Herald awoke, I assumed my presence would not be missed. I apologize if my explorations deny you an attentive companion with which to regale your tails to Master Tetras.” Varric just rolled his eyes at Solas and I snickered around a spoonful of soup. It was starting to get bland after so many times eating it and I would have to look into acquiring some cooking seasonings that could be made a staple in every field kit sent out with the patrols in the future. Nothing and no one ever said that you couldn’t still eat well even if you were on the road all the time and with how much I was going to be away from Haven and then Skyhold, I if no one else deserved a bit of seasoning salt for my soup.

“He means he wanted a chance to nap without anyone commenting.” I voiced and this caused Varric to laugh as he knew I was probably speaking the truth. Solas grumbled at me but there was no heat in it, so I just smiled at him in return. “You could have just curled up next to me you know. If anyone questioned you could just tell them you were checking on me in the fade as well. Which I'm assuming you did?” I wasn't going to outright call him on his visits especially if he chose to do them as Fen’Harel. But at the same time, I would also set the stage as many times as I could so he might admit that he was the dread wolf himself so then I would not have to call him out on it.

“Your assumption was indeed correct. But as you were not under any duress, I left you to your dreaming.” I smiled at Solas and his ability to tell half-truths. Solas may not have looked in on me in his elven form but he certainly had in his wolf form.

“Well next time just throw your bedroll down next to mine. No sense going off to a set of ruins where you could get attacked while dreaming.” At this Solas nodded in acquiescence and went back to eating his soup.

“Besides having my unintended siesta also gave me a glimpse of what is coming up for us. That and I also met two new friends. I would say that was time usefully spent, wouldn't you agree Solas?” I used this time to observe the subtle changes in Solas to see if I could pick up any of his deceptions or evidence that he had determined I knew who he was. After all, I had expected him to call me out about the ‘my wolf’ comment to him. The fact that he visited me as his wolf form but had only observed and comforted me as I reviewed game moments and my past led me to believe that Solas himself was also not ready to confront the possibility that I might have recognized the connection between his elf form and the Dread Wolf.

“That depends entirely upon the nature of your new friends da’len.” I could see that he was trying to portray the concerns of a learned teacher again to help throw me off his sent, or perhaps it was more of a show for Varric's benefit, but unfortunately for him, it was too little too late in this case. I might have almost believed his posture and tone if not for the slight sense of excitement and mischief I could detect coming from his aura. It was obvious that not being able to sense others' feelings for over a year since he awoke may have also made him sloppy with keeping all of his own emotions under wraps. I however was not going to even hint that I could sense these subtle emotional admissions for I would not want him to start closing himself off from me even if it were in fear of giving too much of himself away.

“My good friend Tivi who is a spirit of Creativity introduced me to their friend Harm who is a spirit of Harmony. Rebel however was an unexpected but very amazingly welcome surprise! Also, I found out that we have another rift in the immediate area and a second red lyrium growth to cleanse.” Cassandra and the rest of our team returned from what I could only assume were patrols of the surrounding area.

"Reble?" Solas arched an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, he is quite something. I think he even liked the braid I put in his hair. I would offer to show you but..." I tilted my head to look Solas over and had to hold in a snicker as I could feel excitement and exasperation coming off of him now. It was fun talking about him as if he and the wolf were two separate people.

“Herald I am pleased to see you recovered. If there is indeed a second rift in the area we should continue before it can also cause problems for any refugees in the area. I only wonder if going against a second rift so soon would be advisable after the outcome of this last one.” After reassuring Cassandra and the others that the upcoming rift was nowhere near as difficult as the last one we had closed. This new rift would only have one minor Terror demon, perhaps a single Rage demon, but for the most part, it would only be spitting out Wraiths. This thankfully seems to settle the concerns of the others and soon after finishing our lunch we set out again to deal with the rift.

Closing the rift was just as easy as I had stated it would be and we were quickly able to move on to the Ash Warriors Refuge cave where I knew we would encounter an apostate mage and wondered if perhaps he could be persuaded to join us much as Charlus and Meharis had back at Fort Connor.

“Eldredda I don't suppose you recognize whose magic this is do you?” I asked the mage when we came upon the magical frost barrier blocking the entrance to the cave. I watched as Eldredda sent out yet another version of the finding spell that was similar to Solas's diagnostic spell that he had done back at the Winter Watchtower to measure the veil’s strength.

“I believe I might just know this mage your worship. This feels like the work of a mage named Rodger. He and I were in Kinnock circle together before it fell.” It was the look that passed over Eldredda’s face however that had me concerned.

“What? Is there something we should know about this mage?” Cassandra came to attention when I said this statement and turned to look at Eldredda who was glancing nervously between myself to Cassandra and finally looked toward Solas. It was not until Ritz squeezed Eldredda’s elbow in encouragement and smiled at her to continue that the young woman finally spoke.

“Well, you see it's just, I don't want to make accusations in case... But there were always rumors you see. And sometimes the things he would say… back in the circle…” I didn't need Eldredda to continue as she was easily painting an obvious picture that this Rodger guy was most likely a blood mage. From the guarded looks that passed between Cassandra, Varric, and Solas they had also picked up on what Eldredda was not saying.

“All right, so possible blood mage. Might explain why he's out here on his own.” Behind us, I could hear the other Scouts grumbling in the background. If Eldredda was correct and this guy got spooked things could go bad for us very quickly. “I think we should go heavy on the shield spells upfront and maybe long-range attacks out first, especially if you see he might go…” and I mind the motion of cutting myself.

“I would agree. Rarely do rumors of blood practice start to circulate within a tower without just cause.” Cassandra voiced from beside me. I pat her arm in understanding and nodded at Varric in support when his own shoulders sagged. I could tell this was bringing up parallels with Blondie that perhaps the dwarf would rather not be dealing with at this time. I still wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt as I knew that not all blood mages were evil. Merrill had proven that to me and I knew that given the choices there was always the possibility that Hawk could have gone blood mage as well depending upon their choice of specialty.

Solas broke apart the barrier on the door and then cast one of his own barriers further along the mineshaft tunnel while Varric and our other bowman got into position. I tried to speak to our resident mage apostate, hoping to convince him to stand down but when a moment later he slashed his wrist to help summon demons to attack us it caused Cassandra and Solas to give up on trying to reason with the man. I didn’t even bother engaging this man or his demons and instead focused on placing barriers around our group. One quick Frost spell and a well-placed crossbow bolt and poor Rodger was felled. The demons he had summoned lasted all of a minute longer than the mage and finally silence descended upon us.

“You know sometimes I just wish...” but I shook my head as my shoulders slumped. I was comforted when Varric pat my arm and understanding. Solas sent me a wave of compassion and Melar licked the back of my neck from her special pack. Afterward, I helped the scouts gather the supply cache that was halfway down the cave and directed Cassandra, Varric, and Ritz to check out the hill outside for anything interesting and also to see if they could spot any pockets of resistance we might end up coming across on our way to where the Dwarfson past camp would be set up. Biggs and Wedge offered to watch over Melar as they stood guard at the mining entrance while Solas, Eldredda, and I took on the task of cleansing the large red lyrium growth at the back of this mining shaft.

This time I had Eldredda monitor what Solas and I were doing the cleansing ritual and told her that if she felt confident enough to join in with us that she should do so. Again, Solas cast the veil fire within the red lyrium crystals’ structure. I then followed behind his spell with the healing song spell that was much easier to find the correct harmony to use now that I had Harmony's boon to work with. I also felt the moment when Eldredda’s magic joined my own and our combined magic caused the spell to resonate the correct note for the crystal much sooner than I had the last time I had tried this. I was even able to switch over from the healing song to the veil fire spell that Solas was casting so that we could keep the fire a step ahead of the quickly moving resonance spell.

When everything was finished Eldredda had many questions for Solas and I about what we had just done and why it had even been needed. She, of course, had never encountered red lyrium before and so between Solas's explanation of what in essence red lyrium was and Varric’s description of what the stuff did if left unchecked she also came to agree that the de corruption ritual was important. Solas and I also discussed between ourselves the possibility of teaching this technique to other mages within the Inquisition so that we might have teams of purifiers. They could then go out and do the de-corruption rituals as Solas and I would soon become too busy to be the only mages who could do this task. I also knew that given enough time there would simply be too much of the red lyrium scattered throughout Thedas for Solas and I alone to properly deal with all of it. Because of how much red lyrium would be coming out of Empire de Lion in the future alone I knew we would need many teams working in tandem to clear out all of the growths that we would find in the area. This was also why I wanted to recruit as many of the mages that we came across and all of those within Redcliff that we could. The mages would not be sitting idle in Skyhold if I had anything to say about it. After all, the only way that we were going to change the opinions of the common people when it came to the mages would be for them to see all of the good work that they could do for the average man.

After that, my team and I cut across the Dwarfson Valley so that we could get to the last of the supply caches and the Broken Tower where we could set up camp for the evening and a forward base camp for future Inquisition efforts in this area. I asked Cassandra to send a raven to the Outskirts camp requesting that they send additional troops to meet up with us the following day near the home of the agrarian apostate as I knew we would need some assistance with the bandits both at the blockade outpost that they had set up out passed Lake Luthias and again with those that would be stationed in the Great Forest Villa.

When Cassandra asked what kind of force we would be up against I may have over-exaggerated so that we would have more than enough people to deal with both locations. After all, we were going to be heading into great bear country on our way to setting up the last of the forward camps as we swung back around the area towards Fort Conner from the southwest of its location. I have always thought it would be better to have too many people than not enough. Varric, of course, was less than impressed at the idea of going up against any bears and I could hardly disagree with his so also recommended that Charlus, Meharis, and Davhalla also come along for additional barrier support. Having the other mages would also mean that I could introduce Eldredda to the family unit that I hoped the woman would be working with, in both the Crossroads and Fort Connor. They would then be helping to heal any of the refugees that would be arriving between now and when we ultimately close the breach.

Varric took over the efforts of setting up camp while Cassandra wrote reports and Biggs and Wedge went hunting with some of the scouts for our dinner. Solas, Eldredda, and I took the chance to work together to help with my magical endurance training as I suspected that we would be doing most nights now, until I had a much larger mana reserve. Solas had me focused on casting a consecutive barrier spell while he then worked with Eldredda on casting simple offensive spells at me. After a time, we would switch and I would cast mild level spells such as Mind Blast, Blistering Pain, and Winter Chill at her. After an hour or two of practice, it was finally time for dinner where I collapsed onto the nearest log by the fire the scouts had made and asked if either knew the proper techniques to do Fade Step so that using that spell in the future would not tire me out as it had earlier in the day. Eldredda explained that she had never mastered the spell due to both her affinity to healing magics and due to the intense forward motion that resulted always making her nauseous.

Solas both showed and explained to us how he used the house of winter to do his Fade Step. He also explained that any magical school could be used to do the spell unlike what the Circles would like other mages to believe but countered that the circle mage's insistence on using the house of winter was probably enforced more due to the spell causing less destruction if done incorrectly while using that house of magic then any of the others. I could see the wisdom in that decision but could also understand how that might limit some students who were simply more attuned to a different house of magic. Solas then went on to further explain that as a mage became more proficient at Fade Step that the spell itself could even be used in an offensive manner by casting an additional spell while in the process of wrapping the fade around themselves to propel a person forward.

Solas explained that each house had an optimal spell to combine with Fade Step and that most were simple to mid-level spells. Winters was Frost Step which cast a Winters Grasp on an opponent as you passed through them. Infernos was Blazing Step which worked much like Blazing Trail only that the caster would be the one leaving the trail of fire as they passed beside their opponent. Static Step for Storm and Mind Step for Spirit were infinitely harder as those used the more advanced spells of Static Cage and Mind Blast that were cast at just the right moment on an opponent as you passed through or beside them.

Solas imparted this information in such a way to make one think that he may have read about it being done in a book or having possibly seen it done in the fade, but I suspected that he had probably seen or even done these spells himself in his own past. Even Cassandra who knew a fair bit about magical spells because of her training as a Seeker was impressed with the knowledge that Solas had, and it was at that point where Eldredda asked if she could work with me to see if she could adapt her creation magic to cast a healing step much like the spell Mass Rejuvenation would do. Then as a healer, she could just zip around our allies and do mass healing spells as she passed by people. Solas confirmed that he had indeed seen memories of a similar technique done by ancient elves in rare and almost forgotten memories but that he himself was unsure how to do such a spell even if he was more than willing to work with Eldredda to see if they could not recreate that spell.

My mind was buzzing when I went to sleep that night and called out to Knowledge when I entered the fade. There were so many things I wanted to discuss with him about what I had learned that day. I was also introduced to the spirit of Perseverance by Creativity that evening, who also offered to Boone me as well for memories of occasions when I myself had to overcome insurmountable odds while back on Earth. I tried to make sure that not all of the experiences I shared were depressing incidences like the refusal to give up after the death of my parents and brother, however, Perseverance understood that such pains in one’s life usually led to the most common moments when perseverance was needed.

With the help of my spirit friends, I was able to work on my fade step which was infinitely easier to do while in the fade. This meant I could also work on trying to cast Mind Blast on practice dummies I had set up around my fade space. The dummies would light up if I hit my spells correctly. Thow it did take a few circuits around the lake before I had all of the training dummies lighting up at the same time, I did eventually accomplish it. I then thanked my new and old friends for their help before Creativity and I finally settled on a blanket by the lake so that we could continue working on our braids some more before I would need to inevitably wake so I could start another day.

The following day we left the last two scouts and the single soldier at the Dwarfson Pass camp to secure the new location while Solas, Cassandra, Varric, Biggs, Wedge, Eldredda, Scout Lena Ritz, and I set out for the agrarian apostate’s home. I was happy to see the additional troops that Cassandra had sent word to the Outskirts camp for along with our other newly recruited Mages. This brought our group force up to a total of twenty people with nine warriors including myself, Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge. There were six rogues with Varric, and Lena included. And finally, Charlus, Meharis, and Davhalla joined Solas and Eldredda as our mage complement. Thankfully, those that had joined us also brought additional supplies so we could make camp at the plotted point I showed Cassandra the last of the forward camps would be set up at. I stopped to give the agrarian apostate's wife her Dalish promise ring back and told her that if she needed any further assistance to just contact any of the Inquisition patrols that would start frequenting the area soon enough. She thanks us for all our hard work with some freshly baked bread that we saved to have with our lunch later that day. We activated yet another of the Ocularum and took note on our map of the locations of the shards before heading towards the Calenhad ruins.

After dealing with the rift just outside of the ruins I encourage the others to follow behind me with Varric at my side while Solas went on ahead. After tapping the dwarf on the arm to get his attention I proceeded to mime out Solas's reaction to the ruins word for word. I tried smiling at Solas innocently when he turned back to see what had Biggs and Wedge trying poorly not to laugh at. When Solas raised an unimpressed eyebrow at me I huffed at him in exasperation.

“Ah come on Solas. If I'm going to have to live through everything I've already ‘seen’ before I may as well get to have some fun with it.” To this, the man just hummed at me. “After all I mean it's not like I ever get to see the really good stuff anyway!”

“And what would constitute as ‘good stuff’ in your books Flirt?” Varric asked while adopting my air quotes. I was amused to see that particular hand gesture was slowly catching on with the others as Varric was now the third person I had seen using it since I had arrived in Thedas.

“Normally I just get the long-winded monologues, or maybe a little bit of death, destruction, or mayhem. But never once any of the really, really good stuff.” I told the dwarf as I co*cked my head to the side and unabashedly looked at Solas from top to bottom and back again. This caused Varric to join Biggs and Wedge in their now loud and boisterous laughter while Solas just blushed and Cassandra's signature disgusted noise passed the Seekers' lips.

“Well Flirt it's good to know that some things continue to remain a mystery even for you.” Varric pat my arm in consolation as we continue to search the ruins which were quite a bit larger than they had appeared in the game. It was no surprise as these ruins had once been a location for the rebel Queen Moira Therian’s forces during the time of her rebellion days.

“Don’t go dashing all my hopes just yet Varric otherwise how will I ever know what it feels like to run my fingers through your glorious chest hair.” All of our other companions soon joined in the laughter which now had Varric slapping his knee in mirth.

“Well, if you're really feeling the desire Flirt,” Varric then grabbed the lapels of his jacket and held them wide open to me an invitation.

“Varric! But what of Bianca?” I tried asking the dwarf in a mock horrified voice. I quickly continued when I noticed the man stiffen in concern. He was probably wondering if I knew about the real Bianca Davri. “How could you even suggest I come between you and your crossbow?” This only resulted in another round of laughter while Varric visibly relaxed and waved me away before wandering off himself to write our exchange down in his notebook that I could already see him pulling out of his pocket.

“Now if I'm not mistaken…” I commented as I ventured into the far back corner near the blocked room. Under a few fallen Grey Warden banners, I found the crate with scrolls in them that I knew, because of the game, without even having to open them that these were some of the few remaining Grey Warden treaties left to the order here in Fereldan. “Does anyone have a spare sack I can put these in? We need to get them back to Sister Nightingale as soon as possible so she can then pass them along to the King.” One of the scouts dug one out of the supplies that were set aside for the last forward camp. The bag looked much like the ones I had used in Haven to gather resources in while out in the woods.

“What are these Fenarla?” Cassandra inquired as she looked over my shoulder at what I was placing in the sack the Scout was holding open for me.

“These are some of the few remaining copies of the Grey Warden treaties here in Ferelden.” At Cassandra's look of surprise, I nodded towards her. “Ya, I know. King Alistair may not be an active Warden anymore, but he is still a Warden. He'll know what to do with these and I know Solas's cousin would have appreciated it, were he still with us, if we could return these to their rightful owners.” I then carefully folded up one of the Gray Warden banners that was in the best condition and used it to wrap around the scrolls within the sack. “Make sure nothing happens to that sack,” I told the young Scout woman when I returned the sack to her.

“Of course, your ladyship. I have had a fair few family members in the Wardens in the past. I know just how important these treaties are.” The woman held the sack as if it were as precious as a newborn child. It was however her statement of having more than one successful joining in her family that caught my attention. After all, if I could isolate what it was that caused the joining to work with some people and not others, then I might even be able in the future to help the Wardens with no longer having to lose potential recruits to the joining process.

“What's your name, Scout?”

“Jezzca Renolds my lady.”

“Well, Jezzca if you're not too opposed I might call on you sometime in the future for a special project that I am going to be conducting.” If I could find more people that had varying degrees of resistance to the blight it would give me more opportunity to understand everything about how it affected people and potentially how to cure people of it as well. All of these preparations however would invariably have to wait to be worked on until after we got to Skyhold and Dagna had arrived. I knew that I was going to need the creative genius of that woman to recreate some of the rudimentary scientific equipment from Earth that I knew about, that would help me with my plan to cure those stricken with blight sickness or the Warden joining taint. Both would only be accomplished with Dagna assisting me.

“I would be honored my lady to help in any way I can. You can call on me whenever you have need of me.” I thanked her again and then went back outside and climbed up the broken wall to get into the blocked-off room where I collected the loot from the chest there and all of the stuff that was buried underground. Knowing ahead of time where all of the hidden cashes of loot were here in the Hinterlands certainly made things easier for me. It meant that I didn’t have to look for all of the clue drawings that I would have needed to find in the game before I could even dig these spots up. Something about the necklace I found buried here however called out to me through my magic, but I wasn't sure what was so interesting about it. So I just stored the necklace that looked like it should be a locket for an incense ball into my belt pouch and then rejoined the others. Wedge was rather impressed by the Warden shield that I had found so I gave that to him as it was sturdier than the one he was presently using.

Next, I directed everyone towards Lake Luthias where I pointed out to Cassandra the cabin that Leliana's people would need to keep an eye on for ‘Warden Blackwall’. I also made sure to gather some of the blood lotus flowers that were growing close to the lake's edge. I then gradually made my way around the lake and towards the docks that were attached to the small island in the lake's center. I directed our troops to search the abandoned bandit camp on the small island while I took Solas’s hand and guided him towards Valor's offering bowl.

“I think you'll like this ma falon. If you send out your aura you may just find what is hidden, but what is hidden also sees. Seeing the truth is hard, especially when it is hidden within. That is why we give the gift to see inside.” I told Solas as I held up the blood lotus flowers. I knew from codex entries that this was a common element used in most hallucinogenic potions. “What will be found remains to be seen but one only hopes it will be bravery, courage, daring, gallantry, heroism, nerve, prowess, and virtue. For what it seeks is valor.” I then placed the flowers within the bowl and stood holding my marked hand over the bowl and sent a flash veilfire inside. I then stretched out my aura and waited for the spirit of Valor within the lake to judge me. I could feel Solas reaching out with his own aura and I felt his surprise when he sensed the spirit that had claimed this place.

“How did you know this spirit was here ma falon?” Waves of wonderment and excitement were pouring off of Solas again, but just like the last time that I had felt his emotions without him actively sending them to me, I was not about to tell him that I could feel those leaking emotions. Instead, I just leaned toward him so that I could rest my head on his shoulder as we waited to see what Valor would do.

“I've seen many things in the dreaming. Some big, some small, but none have ever been as insistent that the moment be remembered as much as the likes of this one. I have seen this moment many, many times, which leaves me to wonder at its very importance.” Just as I finished explaining this to Solas a stream of water rose out of the lake. The object it held, however, was not the sword and scabbard I had been expecting but instead a very ornate-looking painted box about the size of my palm.

“Whatever that object is, it is very magical,” Solas warned me. I nodded in understanding, for all that I was confused, and took a deep breath to steady myself before I reached out for the box. Nothing happened when I first grabbed the box and upon further inspection, I could see no way of opening it either. I had a moment's thought to have Solas look over the box to see what he could make of it but before I could I hand it over to him, an intense feeling of secrecy washed over me. Whatever this object was or whatever was inside it was for me and me alone.

“Thank you, Valor for finding me worthy,” I whispered softly out to the spirit and then turned to look at Solas as I placed the box into one of my many belt pouches. Solas also sent out feelings of thanks to the spirit as well and smiled at me.

“I am continually amazed at just how accepting you are of spirits, what with your limited time with which to interact and form bonds with them. Normally this level of comfort would have taken months if not years to form.” To this, I just smiled and slipped my hand onto his arm much as I had in the Winter Watchtower.

“The same could almost be said of the people around here. For example, I have only known our friends in the Inquisition for a bit over a month now. I have spent most of my time with you, Cassandra, and Varric yet in that time I have also determined that each of you is not only worthy of my admiration over your skills in combat, but also because of your character, perseverance, and dedication that you use towards helping everyone we have come across to the best of your abilities. That you have been doing so since before we even left Haven is a mark to your own character.” Solas tipped his head at me in thanks even if he may not agree with my assessment of himself. I tried to send Solas feelings of compassion, acceptance, and understanding. When he co*cked his eyebrow at me in question over the emotions I was sharing with him I just smiled and softly shook my head at him. It was all right if he didn't understand yet why I felt the way I did about him.

“So, behind that waterfall is the door to the old Dwarven trade outpost of Valammar which unfortunately is locked to us at this time as the key is presently sitting on the lord's desk on the upper balcony of the Great Forest Villa about an hour's hike that way,” I told Cassandra, Varric, Biggs, and Wedge when Solas and I returned to the rest of our troops. I could see the Scouts along with Lena Ritz helping Eldredda and Charlus with gathering blood lotus flowers, while Scout Jezzca Renolds was assisting Mihris in collecting spindle weed around the lake shores.

“Problem is that between us and the Villa there is a rather large Bandit blockade that normally I wouldn't care too much about, but the size of the bandit mercenary leader in charge of this group has got to be an Avar as he's even larger than our Commander Cullen.” Other than the bandit leader that we had seen in the gully leading to Lady Shayna’s Valley, I had never seen a true Avar before while not in the game.

“I believe that with the number of our present forces we should have little to no problems defeating them,” Cassandra stated and so we planned out how we would attack the bandit blockade while we ate a quick lunch and enjoyed the fresh bread that we had gotten for the agrarian apostates’ wife before we then we set out again. I will admit that I spent much of my time looking over the box that Valor had given me and wondering what the purpose of the box could be. All I could tell was that I had a strong draw to it much like the necklace I had found buried in the Calenhad ruined earlier.

I hate to admit that Cassandra was correct in that these mercenaries were truly no match for the size of our force, as they were all taken out in short order. We even had two of the younger men surrender to us, stating that they had only just recently joined these mercenaries and that they had done so more out of desperation than an actual drive towards any specific cause. I told the men that if their real reason for fighting was due to the need for food to eat and coin in their pockets that they could just as easily join the Inquisitions forces and directed them back towards the Outlook camp.

I sent two of our scouts with them so they could aid with returning the loot we had gathered from the bandits that have been stripped and cremated along with anything useful that we had found within their camp and then told the new recruits to report to either Scout Harding or Corporal Vale. Before the new recruits left, I tried to get some idea as to what the standing number of forces in the great Forest Villa would be like and what the general layout of the villa itself was like the last time that they had been within the building so we could plan out how we were going to attack.

I was also beginning to see that the game had only made the buildings as large as they needed to be so that I could get the main missions for the game done, but there had usually been a lot more to most of those structures than what we had ever really seen. I was hoping that this pattern continued as I was really looking forward to seeing what the game creators would have left out of Skyhold. After all, there had looked to be whole sections even within the Inquisitor's chamber tower that we could not access in the game and it made me wonder just how much of the fortress had been built into the mountain face that we didn't normally see. Or if the roomers that there was a hidden valley behind Skyhold were also true.

Two smaller Bandit patrols and a run-in with a Great Bear were minor distractions before we came upon the villa and after two of our own Scout did a quick recon of the place to see where the forces were primarily set up, we split our forces into three groups so that we might attack the villa on three fronts and in so hoped that we might split the Bandit forces up inside. I went with Biggs, Wedge, Lena, Eldredda and one soldier and one scout to deal with any of the forces on the main floor. Solas, Varric, Jezzca, and Davhalla took two of the soldiers and one of the scouts and went around the south side to where the second floor was parallel with the side of the hill, while Cassandra took Charlus, Mihris, one of the scouts, and the remaining two soldiers with her up to the top floor where the leader of the bandit mercenary group was located.

My group and I set ourselves up on both sides of the main entrance door and waited for the signal that Solas would cast to let everyone know it was the moment to attack. I cast protective barriers around my group just as the signal flashed in the sky of a lightning firework and then we charged into the main entrance. I flanked left and pointed out one of the larger opponents with a two-handed heavy mace that was going up the stairs to Lena who steadied herself against the wall as she took aim for the small gap in his armour between his back and his helm. Before he was even aware of us coming up behind him, he was down with an arrow in his jugular. His fall however alerted the other forces to our presence and we were set upon by four soldiers that had been in the guard’s mans’ room just right of the entrance. Eldredda recast barriers as they were needed and healing mist spells where she could while I made sure to use my telekinesis pushes to make sure that we were not swarmed while Biggs and Wedge took out those that I directed towards them. Lena was rather a good shot with her bow as she continued to stay close to Eldredda but still managed to take out one of the bandits that had been trying to come up behind Wedge.

After a quick look in all of the rooms on our level to make sure we had not missed anyone as we made our way up the stairs in time to see Solas and his group direct of few bandits that had surrendered into one of the bedrooms before a barrier was placed on the closed door. I signaled to him that my group was going to take the west ladder to go up while he took the east ladder. Varric saluted in understanding and pat Solas on the arm before heading up the ladder that was at his end of the hall.

By the time my team and I reached the top floor where Cassandra's team had gone there wasn't much to do. Cassandra and her soldiers had taken out most of the weaker bandits I could see and the remaining scout of her group was standing guard over a young woman who had a bow pointed in her face but had obviously surrendered. I directed Lena and Eldredda to join her in guarding the woman as I told Biggs and Wedge to help Cassandra. With one mighty roar from Cassandra, the leader of the band of mercenaries fell, and then everything was silent within the villa.

“How many surrendered?” I asked Solas as I sat on one of the concrete planter ledges to catch my breath.

“Three surprisingly enough, all young at first glance, two women and a young man who are barely out of adolescence.” Over near where Eldredda was just finishing healing an injured scout, I could see that the woman they had been keeping guard of sagged in obvious relief. I can only assume that the others who had surrendered were likely the other woman's friends or even family members and she was happy to hear that they had lived.

“Well, we should take this one down to the others before we speak with them. I am inclined to try and recruit them to the Inquisition otherwise we will need to let them go. We are not in a position at this time to take prisoners and maybe if we are lucky one of them may have heard something as to why these bandits were even here.” Cassandra suggested as I stood and made my way out to the upper balcony that I knew would have the key to the Dwarven outpost sitting on its desk.

“I also want Leliana to set this place up as a way station for her scouts in this area. The last thing we need is another bandit group coming in and undoing all of the hard work we have done in clearing this place out.” Cassandra agreed with me that we could turn this into a usable outpost for our scouts and started directing the others in gathering up any and all loot or message that the bandit mercenaries may have left around.

When we took the young woman down to the second level and then to the room that Solas had put the other prisoners into, I could tell that this group would more than likely join our cause when I saw them. Solas had been correct about their ages as the oldest of the three within the room could not have been older than their early twenties. The youngest even looks younger than Davhalla. When the youngest woman ran to the new woman upon her arrival I could see the familial resemblance and assumed they must have joined these bandits looking for some sort of protection and possible occupation as opposed to actively agreeing with Corypheus or the Venatori’s cause. “So, which of you will be the spokesperson for this group?” I asked the four presents once they had all calmed down.

“That would be me.” The oldest woman who had been upstairs with us spoke up. I could see that the young man wanted to protest but he was too busy keeping the second youngest girl calm.

“So, as I see it your group has three choices. One we could arrest you, but we would have to turn you over to the Arl to prosecute you.” Gasps and shouts of protest greeted that idea as the youngest even burst into tears. “Two you all give up banditry and head for the Crossroads. You can join all of the other refugees there, and maybe make something of yourselves helping them.” This option caused the group to start settling down again as they could see a way out of their present predicament. It was an option but was not the one I was hoping they would choose. “Or three you could join the Inquisition. We would train you older ones to join our soldiers or scouts. You two younger ones however would likely become page messengers for our leadership which is back in Haven. You might also be interested to know that we recruited a few of your fellows who were out at the blockade an hour's march between here and Lake Luthias.” At this, the second oldest girl gasped in shock before bursting into tears again. The spokeswoman gathered the other into her arms and just let her cry.

“Were they by chance named Gerard and David your ladyship?” when I looked to Solas he gave a slight nod to let me know that those were indeed the names of the men we had sent to the Outskirts camp before I focused yet again on those in front of me.

“Yes, they should be on their way to our Outskirts camp near the Crossroads village. We could have a raven sent for them to meet up with us at Fort Connor where we have set up a more permanent outpost if you all decide to join us.” I watched as the four discussed what they wanted to do between each other. It didn't take long before they had all agreed to join the Inquisitions forces.

“You seem quite proficient at gathering forces to the Inquisition's cause ma falon,” Solas commented as he and I walked back towards where Cassandra was making arrangements for the dead.

“They are hardly forces Solas. Most are just scared children looking for anything that might bring them a sense of safety and security during these trying times. If the Inquisition can give them that until something better comes along then why not recruit as many people as we can.” I hated to think that even with the training that these people would get from Cullen and Leliana there was still a good chance that many of them might die before we were done bringing Corypheus to justice.

“The fact that you are aware of our present circ*mstances and the state of the people you surround yourself with just proves what an amazing leader you are setting out to become.” Solas was quiet for a moment and I could see he was coming to his own personal decision. I just waited to see if he had anything more to add. “I will stay.” At this, I just smiled. That he would stay with the Inquisition had never been in any doubt in my mind, but it seems that it had in his own as to whether or not he would. He may have given indication in the game that he had been thinking of running but I also knew that he would never abandon the mark in my hand.

“I'm glad. I promise you will not regret this decision Solas, and with your level head and my visions we are going to change the world.” I patted the old elf's arm before leaving him to make final arrangements with Cassandra for our group for the evening.

Chapter 18: The Three Way Rumble

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 18

The one thing I loved about having such a large group of forces with us was that only one giant bear even thought of trying to go up against us. Even though we had left four of our troops back at the Great Forest Villa, to hold the place while they waited for other scouts to join them, we had little to no resistance and even acquired a few more deserters when Keran and Marc the two oldest from the villa called out to the last of the bandit patrols we saw in the area.

So, with our troop of now twenty-three we made short work of the two rifts in the area. I did not even have to fire a single spell at any of the demons that had come through the two rifts. We left the last four of our added troops from the day before at the last of the forward camps and then set out towards the broken bridge and Fort Connor. I took a minor detour to activate the last of the Arstrariums in this area and hoped that the special loot that was within the mage hideout cave would still be there when I went looking for it.

“Cassandra we're going to be coming up on the broken bridge soon and after that is the Renegade Templar camp. This is going to be an awkward fight as their base is uphill with a cliff on two sides and a drop-off down to the river on the other. They're wedged in nice and only a frontal assault is going to clear them out.” Even on casual mode there had been four or five Templars near the Western Road and another six to eight up in the main camp itself, but as I had come to realize real-life hear in Thedas was almost a mixture of hard and insanity mode depending on the day.

“What sort of force complement can we expect?” Cassandra asked as we continue to on our way. Varric and Solas were walking close enough to hear everything that was said as I threw a knotted rope into the bush near the road and watched Melar run after the toy that Charlus had created for my pup. Solas had mentioned over dinner the night before that such games as fetch were good training exercises for bonding Ghi’ Amelan to their Rad Ghi’ Myelan. (Animal Guardian/Emerald Hunter) the more advice that Solas gave me as to how to train Melar that paralleled what Knollage had already shared with me the more I began to wonder if he himself was not also Rad Ghi’ Myelan and if so where was his Ghi’ Amelan at this time?

“Hard to say really. I've seen everything from ten all the way up to twenty-five Templars.” I informed Cassandra as Melar and I had a bit of a tug-of-war over her rope. With a sharp ‘release’ from me however, she let the rope go and started prancing around my feet until I tossed the toy again.

“That is a rather large margin for error their Flirt.” Varric was having difficulty trying to stay out of Melar's way when she came running back to us not even a moment after she had gone into the woods. I was happy to note that I had not even heard my pup as she had hunted for her toy. For all of her enthusiasm during her play, Melar was also incredibly quiet. Solas stated this was the sign of a true hunter.

“True but it can't be helped, those numbers are dependent on the time of day and whether or not the patrols have been sent out or not.” At this Cassandra and Solas just nodded in understanding.

“What if we were to take out the patrol groups after they left the base camp? Then there would be less of them within the camp itself to face on ground they are familiar with.” Wedge suggested from behind me where he and Biggs were walking with Lena and Eldredda.

“That strategy would likely only work for the first perhaps the second patrol. However, when those patrols failed to return they would be unlikely to send more out, and the Templars would then also be alerted to a probable attack.” Solas was also correct which was why I felt we should just charge the Templar camp so we could have the element of surprise on our side.

“This alone is why we need all of the Mages at the back, myself included casting barriers while the soldiers charged. Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge, I want you to try talking to those you come up against. Don't be afraid to flaunt your Seeker status or mention that the leader of our force was once Knight-Captain of Kirkwall. That may bring some to heal. Also, if any of them hesitated or surrender knock them out and we'll sort them out later.” I was happy to see when the others started nodding at my plan. We discussed for a time everything I could remember about the layout of the camp from the different levels of the camp along with all of the ways in and out of those areas.

It was decided that I would stay close to Solas during this fight with Eldredda on my left so she could cast healing spells where she could and barriers when she could not. Solas would work on offense of spells while I was to practice stasis or cage spells with Charlus and Mihris while Davhalla and Jezzca promised to stay at the very back with both Mellinee and Sashah the two youngest of our banded recruits. This also allowed Keran, Marc, and Allan to join Varric and Lena as our Rogue complement. While Donal and Fredrick joined Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge upfront.

The moment we spotted the broken bridge we stopped so people could heed the call of nature, have a quick snack, or in my case get Melar into her special carrier upon my back before we set out again. Solas and I used telekinesis magic to repair the bridge as much as we could so our forces could get across. Thankfully, the entrance to the Templar camp was a little further away than it had been portrayed in the game, so all of our troops made it over the bridge before we were even spotted by the Templars.

Cassandra called out to the Templars that first try to rush us invoking her position as Seeker and I was happy to see when one of the younger men called out to his lieutenant in question and so I quickly tried casting a Petrificus Totalus spell on the man. Just as Neville Longbottom had the young Templar froze up as if bound with invisible ropes and fell sideways where he had stood.

“Wherever did you learn that spell?” Charlus asked as he renewed the barriers around our archers so they could pick off any of the Templars that tried to get close to us as they were attempting to cast Smite’s on our Mages.

“In a book. It's a full-body bind but only works on the unexpected. That one hesitated so I took advantage. I'll teach you it later.” I did not wait to see what the other Mage's response would be however as we all followed Cassandra and the others up the hill that lead into the heart of the Templar camp. Again, I tried to keep an eye out for any Templars that seemed to hesitate when Cassandra, Biggs, or Wedge called out to them and was happy to see one and then another two others pause and then surrender to our forces as we made our way through the rest of the camp. Again, I used the Petrificus Totalus on them as well and directed Jezzca and Davhalla to keep an eye over them until the fighting was done.

Just as Cassandra was calling an all-clear up ahead a loan knife-wielding Rogue de-clocked behind where I was standing at the base of the cliffs overlooking the western side of the camp. Melar barely had a moment to cry out in warning as the Rogue vaulted himself at me from above. Charlus tried to cast a barrier at me but it was already too late. Pain flashed across my left shoulder blade and the weight of the Templar brought us both to the ground. Melar yelped in obvious anguish and tried to get away from the danger we were both in. This caused the dagger in my shoulder to sink further in and I cried out as well.

“Fenarla!” Solas yelled out to me as Cassandra tackled the Templar off of me. I did not see what happened to the man as Eldredda was already kneeling by my left side and Solas was at my right. “We need to get Melar off of her.” Solas took charge and was I was vaguely aware of the straps of Melar's pack being cut off of me.

“The pup has been slashed across her back left leg,” Charlus stated a moment later and I tried to look up at where his voice was so I could see the state Melar was in.

“Do not move ma falon.” Solas’s voice radiated concern. “I must remove the blade and heal your shoulder before the muscles try to seize.” Solas’s strong hands held me down and I tried to nod in understanding, but I could hardly move without causing searing pain to flash across my back. Instead, I reached out as much as I could and gripped Solas's leg.

“Mihris ready bandages for both Melar and the Herald. Varric if you could help me hold Fenarla steady, and Eldredda the moment I remove the blade I need your magic to stop the bleeding.” Solas pat my hand which was still on his leg before casting in a minor freezing spell around the blade entry point. I hardly had a breath to prepare myself for the spell he had cast when he yanked the dagger from my shoulder and Eldredda slapped a healing spell in its place. It took me a moment to realize that the scream I heard had come from my own mouth as I could hear both Varric and Solas trying to console me that the worst was over. A part of me wished I had passed out as the pain from the blade being removed started to set in. Varric however was trying to get me to drink a healing potion as Davhalla passed lyrium to both Solas, Eldredda, and Charlus who was working on healing Melar.

“Elfroot and Spindle weed poultice,” Mihris told Eldredda as she passed over the bandages she had prepared. Varric thanked her while I could feel Solas’s magic also start lacing through my upper back. A part of my mind could even track what he was doing and the path his magic was taking as it passed through muscle and vein, knitting flesh together again and trying to soothe nerves so that the pain would not be felt as intensely.

Finally, both Eldredda and Solas’s magic along with the bulk of the pain I was feeling left my body so I could finally sit up again. Varric wrapped a blanket around my shoulders to help cover me as they had needed to cut open my leather armor so that they could get at the wound. When I looked to where Charlus and Mihris were finishing up with wrapping bandages around Melar, the severity of what had just occurred finally sunk in.

Fear, anxiety, and finally anger at what had happened hit me so hard that I started to shake moments before I felt both of Solas’s hands on me, as he tried to ease my emotions by sending feelings of calm, safety, and protection my way. I looked at Solas as my vision began to blur and threw myself into his strong arms moments before I started to cry. Solas just gathered me up into his lap and whispered soothingly into my ear in Elven. Some of the words I recognized but most I did not right then.

When I had finally exhausted my emotions and tears into Solas’ shirt I thanked him for holding me and then turned to where Charlus was fussing over Melar. The other mage passed my injured pup to me when I started making grabby hands in his direction and cuddled Melar between Solas and I as I was not ready to leave the safety of his arms.

“When you are ready Herald we can move out,” Cassandra calmly whispered as she came closer to where Solas and I were now leaning against the cliff wall that the Rogue had jumped down from. “The Rogue has been dealt with. Our new recruits are preparing the fallen for cremation, Varric is watching over the prisoners with Scout Ritz and Renolds, and Corporals Smitherson and Jacobs are sorting through the Templars supplies.” This alone was one of the reasons I loved having Cassandra so close. She was amazingly efficient at organizing those under her command.

“Just give me a few more minutes and then we can talk to the surrendered before heading out to Fort Connor.” I smiled at the Seeker before resting my head on Solas's chest so I could listen to his heartbeat. “Ar'm abelas.” (I’m sorry) I whispered into Melar's fur before kissing the top of her head. “I should have been paying more attention.” This I spoke up to Solas as I tilted my head up to look at him.

“Tel' abelas (do not sorrow/ don't apologize) we were all as much at fault for letting our guards down.” Solas slowly ran his elegant fingers through my hair that had come out of the braids I had plated it into this morning. “I am merely glad that the damage was not permanent.”

“I am ashamed to say that a part of me had not really expected just how dangerous this all really was. I mean I know that those we have been going up against have been dying but none of our own people have really gotten seriously injured... until now. I've never really been in a situation before where I needed to worry about people actually wanting to attack me.” Solas just listens to me as I spoke, not saying anything or commenting on my foolish behavior. After all, how could I not have expected injuries to happen in the middle of what was essentially a war zone?

“It amazes me that you have not been subjected to the cruelty of this world before now.” At this, I just huffed a laugh at the ancient elf. I knew he was lying in that statement as he had seen the outcome of what happened to my parents in the fade already, even if that had been in his Fen'Harel form. I however decided to let his comment slide for the time being. If Solas wanted to continue behaving as if he and the wolf were two separate beings I would not call him out on it yet.

“I have seen cruelty and indifference but never war. I have never had a need to use violence to protect myself or others in the past. I'm having a hard time adapting my reactions to our present circ*mstance.” Solas pulled himself away from me enough that he could look me in the eyes. Feelings of surprise, confusion, and wonder leaked across his aura to my own and had me wondering if admitting to my lack of experience with dangerous situations in my path was perhaps out of character for elves in Thedas. After all, there was no way that I could explain to him at this time that I was not really from here.

“Would that I could keep the world's cruelties away from you.” His statement had me wondering if perhaps he did not think I was some strange treasure that needed to be guarded. Then again was that not in a way what Cassandra and the rest of the Inquisition's council had done when they assigned me combat lessons and my corporal bodyguards. Just as a parent teaches a child to be self-sufficient and independent does not negate the fact that they are also trying to protect that child from the harsh reality of the world for as long as possible.

“I doubt even you could ma fenor falon (my dearest friend). Nor would I expect it of you.” Reaching up I cupped Solas's cheek in my hand and brushed my thumb softly over his bottom lip. I could see the heat that my actions were inducing start to creep into his eyes and wished I had the courage to kiss him. “Just stay by my side as long as you can,” I whispered at him and felt his breath catch. “And teach me to be strong like you are.”

Just as quickly as the heat had entered his eyes it left as they glazed over in thought. I sent out feelings of acceptance and caring as well as how being with him made me feel safe and secure. Solas's shoulders lost their tension as his arms circled more securely around me, his breath now tickled my lips as he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on mine.

“Ma nuvenin.” (As you wish)

******

“Seeker Pentaghast I assume you had a chance to explain to these fine people what the situation is now in Haven and what we would like of them,” I called out to the woman as I approach where she was still standing guard over the Templars that we had incapacitated when we attacked. I was delighted to see that of the four Templars we had been able to incapacitate not all of them were young Templar graduates. If we could encourage more of the senior members to join our cause it might also help bring those still a field to us.

“Yes Herald, and they have agreed to return to Haven and submit themselves to Commander Cullen's authority.” I nodded in thanks to Cassandra who dropped easily into an at-ease stance.

“First off I would like to thank each of you for agreeing to join us. I realized that in times like this it can be difficult to set aside animosities towards individuals you have been instructed to regard as dangerous both to yourselves and others. But know this, regardless of the state of hostilities between yourselves and your former charges you are still needed for a greater purpose.” I tried to make sure I looked each of the new recruits in the eyes so that they would understand the seriousness of our present situation.

“I also want you to be aware that when the time comes we will be sending a delegation to the rest of your order to have them join us in helping to close the breach. Once you have reached Haven you will get a clear view of exactly what we are up against.” I paused as they began to murmur between themselves over what I had just told them. I knew that this was going to be a lot for them to all take in, especially once they had seen just what they would be going up against. “One final comment before we set out though. There are and will be more Mages also joining the Inquisition. They are no more conscripted to our cause than yourselves. If you have a problem with this then I suggest you not report to Haven and instead make your way peaceably.” I watched as the three youngest glanced between themselves but returned their focus on me when they noticed that their Lieutenant had not even flinched at my words. “If you do choose not to join us then note that if we cross any of you again in combat situations we will not hesitate to attack you.” I waited a moment to see what their reactions would be and if there had been any objections to anything I had said to the four before me, but they apparently had nothing to say.

“Very well, we are heading out for Fort Connor where you will restock provisions and then likely escort other fellow recruits to Haven for training and assignment. Welcome to the Inquisition gentleman.” After checking with Varric and Solas to see how the loot liberation and deceased disposal was coming along we made arrangements for all of the gathered supplies to be loaded into one of the Templars wagons. I was incredibly happy when the Templar Lieutenant who had joined us informed us of draft horses that were being kept in a shallow cave near the river's edge that we could use to pull the now full wagon of supplies. These horses and supplies would go a long way in regard to setting up Fort Connor as a viable outpost.

When we arrived at Fort Connor I was happy to see that most of our forces in the area had indeed taken over the place and were working in teams to make the place as habitable as possible. I watched the reunions between Jerard and Davad, the two bandit recruits that we had taken in from the bandit blockade between Lake Luthias and the Great Forest Villa, and Keran, Marc, Allan, Donal, Fredrick, Sashah, and Mellinee the other bandit recruits we had acquired at the villa and those out on patrol.

Scout Harding had moved her Scouts here and was amazed when I told her that we had liberated the Great Forest Villa with the intentions of having her move her people in at the earliest convenience. Scout Harding quickly arranged a troop of her people to go and reinforce those that had stayed behind with the aid of some of Corporal Veil's soldiers. The wagon from the Templar camp was split of its supplies, some of them were to then go towards the Great Forest Villa while the others would remain here. Warnings about the great bears in the area between the last forward camp we had set up and the villa itself were also taken into account when planning the re-enforcements to both locations.

Corporal Vale and his Irregulars were already clearing the way for the break in the eastern wall to be repaired into a secondary entrance complete with its own gated door. This reminded me to send a request for Josephine to find and hire Gatsi Sturhald, the Dwarven Stone Mason we would normally be introduced to when we arrived at Skyhold, to see if he would be willing to help with any of the repairs to Fort Connor. This would then mean that when the time came for him to move on to Skyhold we would not have to wait so long before repairs could begin there. I also suspected that he might know of some Dwarven surface miners that would be capable of harvesting lyrium from the de corrupted pillar in the basem*nt hall of the fort. This would be an excellent source of lyrium for any of the Templars that we had in the Inquisition already without us having to go through Orzamar for a lyrium supply.

In a way, I felt sorry for all the work that I was creating for Josephine since I have started liberating these two locations for the Inquisition's use at present what with any of the potential problems this could cause with King Alistair and more importantly the Bannon of Fereldan. I knew from events that would be happening in the future after Coryphaeus had been dealt with that taking these locations for ourselves was part of the reason that the Exalted Counsel had been called in the first place. I felt however that with her more than capable diplomatic skills Josephine could make the King aware that we were only borrowing the use of Fort Connor and the Great Forest Villa due to the present problems the Inquisition was facing because of the breach.

“Herald you do know that we still have the Rebel Mages to deal with. I assume you know of their location?” Cassandra asked that evening after we had gotten the supplies from the Templar camp unloaded that would be staying at Fort Connor and then sorted and stored. After having seen just how far Fort Connor was built into the mountain I began to wonder if we could not maybe use this as an emergency evacuation practice point with which we could send all of the civilians within Haven to when the time came to close the breach. After all, I would much rather none of the civilians be present in Haven when our forces would have to go up against Corypheus men for the first time. It would also make the exoduses to Skyhold that much easier. Most of Fort Connor appears to have been built back into the mountain itself and most of that was all underground. All told the fort was probably twice again the size of what we had seen above ground.

“Yes, they are in the cave within the Witchwood to the Northeast. We will need a team of Scouts mainly to come with us. The cavern is tiered upwards towards the back and with them being able to cast from a distance it means close-range combat is pointless. Also, I don't want any Templars there as it may just set them off that much worse, and if any Templars were to try smiting them while we fought that would just hinder our own Mages who will be casting barrier spells around our own people.” I could see that though Cassandra did not like the idea of not using some of the Templars we had just recruited to fight the Mages, she also understood the reason for not having them as part of our present group.

“Understood. However, I must ask, are you well enough for this next fight what with the injury you just sustained?” Cassandra inquired pensively. I could see from the looks on the other's faces that she was not the only one concerned. I could also see the glances passing back and forth between Biggs and Wedge that they blamed themselves for what had happened to me at the Templar camp and would feel more comfortable staying as close to me as possible. I also knew that no amount of me trying to dissuade them of any fault would make them feel that they had not failed in their duties to protect me any more than I could Solas who had started hovering closer to me since earlier today when we fought the Renegade Templars.

“I am also hesitant to send you into battle again so soon ma falon.” Solas voiced his own concerns, and I could see that Varric, Biggs, and Wedges were in as much agreement as the other two had been. I was also aware however that this was not a fight I could just sit out. If we wanted to recruit any of the Rebel Mages that were within the Witchwood cave I would need to be there to help convince them. I did not doubt Cassandra’s ability to recruit individuals to our cause but the last person the Mages were likely to listen to was a Seeker of Truth. Even if she was one who was not presently working with the Chantry.

“All right if you all feel so strongly about it I will stick to the rear guard, barriers only, with Biggs and Wedge as my shields. But I want Eldredda, Charlus, and Lena with us as Charlus has better offensive spells that he can pair up with Solas, and Eldredda and Lena can act as character witnesses to the Inquisition. After all, Eldredda was with these free Mages before she joined our merry band. Perhaps seeing a familiar face with us will cause some of them to pause and perhaps join us like those of the Templars did.” These comments seem to settle the concerns of the rest of my group who then split up so we could gather the people and supplies we would need to help deal with the majority of the Mages who were still in their camp. As a last-minute decision, I decided to leave Melar with Davhalla and Mihris back in Fort Connor. With her already being injured I did not want to take the chance that it could happen again while going up against the Mages.

It was obvious when we got close to the Rebel Mage camp location, because of all of the obvious signs of magical battle that could be easily seen throughout the woods. Massive pillars of ice dotted the field and scorch marks from fireballs and mine traps upon the ground and trees almost laid a path for us to follow towards the entrance of the cave they were hiding in.

Cassandra directed people where she wanted them before we attacked. She stationed three archers to cover the cave entrance in case anyone actually made it out then took the other two dagger wielders upfront with her. Next was Solas, Charlus, and Varric with Eldredda, and Lena close behind them. The hope was that with so many Mages on our side present, one of their own included, that we might convince some of those within the cave to surrender peacefully. I was to bring up the rear with Biggs, and Wedge acting as my guards so I could cast my Petrificus Totalus spells on as many as I could or any who showed signs like before with the Templars that they might be willing to surrender. Cassandra also agreed with me that she and the rest would not actively attack anyone unless they were attacked first and would try to announce that we were with the Inquisition and we were just hoping for their peaceful surrender.

After Solas and Charlus brought down the frost barrier guarding the cave's entrance Cassandra advanced with her group and quickly dispatch those closest to the door. Thankfully, none of our people got hurt all that badly because of the barriers that Eldredda and I tried to keep up around those of our party. Eldredda also did what she could to convince people within the cave not to attack, and I was able to cast a wide field bubble barrier over the people who stayed near the tents set up closer to the waterfall on the second level of the cave. The cave itself was almost three times the size it was in the game and I could see that there were not just adults here but also a group of four or five children. These youngsters were being guarded by a pair of women in apprentice robes and a man in a set of senior enchanter robes.

I was almost too late in casting a barrier around Cassandra and the Rouges she had around her when a trio of Mages all cast chain lightning at the same time at them at close range. Thankfully, a moment after I cast my barrier over them Eldredda followed with a healing mist spell on Cassandra before she yelled at the group of men who had thrown the lighting spells for attacking them at all and again tried to convince them that if they did not stop attacking then the novices would likely get hurt.

This seemed to cause those presents to pause at the reminder that we were fighting in close quarters and that there were children present. I took their distraction from fighting to gather the ambient magic I could feel in the air within the cave and also used my own aura to cast a Petrificus Totalus Maxima over everyone still alive within the cave. I was grateful when a moment later Biggs caught me before I could fall to the ground and guided me over to where a boulder was so I could recover from the massive spell I had just performed. Solas came to me first to look me over and make sure I had not been hurt worse than the magical drain I had caused myself.

“I am glad to see you learned from the last time you cast a spell of that size and thought to draw from the fade before you cast something that big. However, I would still suggest that this new spell you just did you also add to the ‘needs more training’ list much likes Shatterstone.” All the while I could feel as Solas' aura washed over me checking for any additional damage that I may have sustained. I will fully admit that I lost myself in the moment as I would never get used to the feel of his ancient magics whenever Solas would use them against me. Even now after having felt his magic more than once it still made my skin tingle in excitement and was a comfort that I dought I would ever find again even in the warmest of fuzzy blankets.

“How many did I freeze?” I finally asked when I could focus on more than just how his magic was making me feel.

“Twelve all told, and that excludes the children,” Solas informed me as he passed me a restorative draught. After wincing the potion down due to its awful taste I smiled and handed the empty vial back to him.

“Could you help me make the rounds so I can address the frozen? The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get out of here. I'm actually even looking forward to the long trek back to Haven.” I tried to joke as I leaned into Solas's side and began to make the slow and lengthy process of explaining to all of those still alive what their options were. Most accepted joining the Inquisition. A few preferred coming to Haven as refugees for the purpose of observing the newly formed organization before making any further decisions. It was the three that would rather just leave that I had to give the largest warnings to. We would not arrest or prosecute them unless they cause trouble in the future. They were extended an invitation that if they wanted to change their minds at any point in the future they could but that none of the Inquisition would show any of them any leniency if we came across them in battle again.

The young novice children were gathered together with the apprentices and the senior enchanter who had tried to protect them during the fighting and told that they could either come to Haven or stay and help out those in Fort Connor. This at least would get them out of this damp cave and to a place where they could be comfortable and warm. Senior Enchanter Marmax stated that he would much rather take his students to Fort Connor for the time being instead of them trying to make the long trek up the mountain towards Haven and I could not fault the man for this decision. I may have even hinted rather pointedly at how the Senior Enchanter could help those that were and would be arriving at Fort Connor. I suggested that he and his students focus their training lessons on safely bringing down the abandoned tower that needed to be demolished for the purpose of rebuilding the outer wall. I also suggested that the damaged Tower closest to the broken eastern wall could perhaps be converted into a rudimentary Mage Tower for him and his students. Senior Enchanter Marmax smiled at my suggestions, understanding that I was both trying to give him and the apprentices some resemblance of familiarity while still allowing them to keep their own autonomy to train the young novice children.

Before we could leave the Mage cave however I needed to check out the Arstrarium vault chamber that I knew the entrance for should be further back in this cave network. Much as the Mage caves had been larger in real life than they had been in the game, the entrance to the Arstrarium vault was much further back in the cave than just at the top-most tier of the cave itself. If not for the torch I had snagged from one of the braziers near the tents that had been set up in the main cave area, I would have missed the entrance to the vault all together.

The light from the torch shone off the lit lock stones just enough that it caught my attention to where the vault door was hidden behind a recess in the surrounding cave wall. Without the lock stones being lit up I probably would have missed the vault entrance as my eyes would not have seen the entrance itself unless I was literally upon its front step. Slowly I guided Solas and Varric whom I had snagged for this minor side project while Cassandra and the others were helping to organize the Mages in gathering their supplies and belongings for transport.

“So Varric, you up for a little treasure hunting?”

“I would be more excited about a side adventure if the treasure were not found in a dark and forgotten cave. After all, we both know how treasure hunting in caves worked out for me the last time.” Varric quipped while reminding me of his expedition into the deep roads that had resulted in his acquisition of the Red Idol.

“I promise this is a quick in and out. Those Arstrarium star puzzles we have been running across lead to this.” I stopped in front of the vault door and pulled my best Vanna White showcase pose. Varric and Solas slowly entered the vault, and I could sense Solas’s aura reaching out in a finding spell looking for understanding to what this place was really for. I knew that the Arstrariums were remnants of an ancient Tevinter cult that had hidden away treasures and ancient secrets that would aid this group in bringing about the destruction of the then magisterium. They had hoped to reinstate a group of dreamers as the most predominant group of Mages within the Tevinter Empire and its ruling body. This of course never came to pass but these caves were still scattered throughout Thedas and the content of them was still hidden.

I suspected that there was much more to these Chambers than just what Magister Pelidanus had suspected about his fellow countryman. As it was, too many of the constellations that these Arstrariums depicted had more to do with images important to the ancient elves and their gods than to the Tevinter Empire of old. Again, I would need to ask Solas more about this later when we had more trust in each other and he knew the truth of me and where I was from.

I made my way forward to the altar within the vault and did the one thing I had always wanted to do while in the game. I pulled all of the vines away from the patron god's statue that this vault had been erected for. Behind me, I caught the light gasp as Solas breathed and emotions of pain, loss, anger, and regret hit me for a flash of a second before I could sense nothing at all from Solas who stood behind me. I so desperately wanted to ask who this was depicting and why it caused all of the emotional upheavals within him that it was but I also knew that now was not the time for such questions. Before long I heard Varric exclaim from where he was looking through one of the chests found behind a smaller ledge next to the altar.

“Now that is a nasty piece of work if ever I saw one.” Varric was very carefully removing a long blade from within the chest that looked about the length of my forearm and was shaped like a slithering serpent.

“The Snake Blade.”

“You know of this artifact?” Solas asked as he came closer so that he might examine the dagger that Varric had found.

“Saw it. Don't know much of it though.” Solas only nodded in acceptance much like most people did when he informed them that he had ‘seen it in the fade’. I had a feeling that I was going to be claiming something similar many times in the future.

“I can sense a rather powerful poisoning enchantment upon this weapon and suggest extreme caution in handling this artifact.” Solas told us and Varric accepted this while using one of the leather studded armor coats within the chest to wrap around the blade so it could be transported then gave it to Solas who stashed the blade within his bag. We then took everything else that looked of value both monetarily and possibly historically and left to rejoin the others.

When we rejoined Cassandra and the others we saw that they were ready to head out with the seven Mages that we had recruited into the Inquisition and the five novices that would be coming to Fort Connor for additional training before they would be joining us later. I wanted it set up that instead of civilians making their way to Haven they instead would stay at Fort Connor until after we had closed the breach and our troops had reached and prepared Skyhold for habitation.

We stayed the night again in Fort Connor before making our way towards Master Dennett’s farm and the camp there. I was so exhausted from my recent injury and having battled the Mages that I did not even make it into the fade that evening. The next morning we spoke to Master Dennett where we informed him that the watchtowers had all been repaired and of the other immediate threats to the area had been dealt with.

It was at this point that Dennett gave my immediate team our own horses that we could ride back to Haven itself with. We got three Ferelden Forder's for Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge which they named respectively Grace, Cid, and Han respectively. A Taslin Strider in a light caramel color was given to Solas who decided on Da’gen Elgar (sand spirit) for his mount and a Shetland pony was finally given to Varric who insisted on naming him Potbelly. I was given the most beautiful Red Hart I had ever seen for myself to ride that I named Mahtar after Thranduil’s mount from the Hobbit. It was at this point that I had to inform my companions that I had very little experience riding a horse and so Solas offered to ride with me until I felt more confident riding on my own.

After Master Dennett assured us that my Hart could more than handle the lightweight of Solas and I, I then had Elaina and Seanna help me rig a special riding pack for Melar to ride in and we used Solas's horse for carrying additional supplies along with a full case of Seanna's wine that she had given us as thanks for all of the hard work we had done in the area. We then settled for one final evening in the Redcliffe Farms camp before setting out on the four-day journey back towards Haven.

*****

It was on our last night back towards Haven that we were attacked by Bandit as they tried to take our horses after we had all settled down for the evening, that I killed someone for the second time. Biggs and Wedge had drawn the short straw on getting second watch, which in my opinion was the worst watch of all as it meant you got to sleep for a few hours before you then had to try and be attentive to your surroundings for a few candle burn marks before finally switching out with Third Watch so that you could get a few more hours of sleep. The closest I could liken it to would be the midnight feeding schedule of a mother with a newborn babe.

I had just fallen asleep in the tent Cassandra and I shared after we had finished the first watch of the evening when Wedge sounded the alarm. Quick as I could I jammed my feet into my boots and reached for my armour jacket and my mace as Melar and I ran out of our tent to join the others who were already engaged in stopping a group of ten men that had surrounded our camp. Varric and Solas were engaged in trying to defend against any archers that were still somewhat hidden in the trees. Cassandra, Biggs, and Wedge were faced off against the would-be horse thieves and I was left to cast what barriers I could around my team and stasis cages around our enemies.

I was even pleasantly surprised when Melar jumped into the fray and tried biting the legs of a bandit who thought to attack Solas from behind. Running to my pup's aid I used a Shield Bash on the man to send him flying into one of his comrades. Solas directed a mind blast at the two men and Varric quickly put bolts into both of them to finish them off. As I looked over to where Cassandra and Wedge were dealing with the last of our attackers I was happy to see that none of our team had, be people or horses, been taken or hurt.

Before I could relax however I felt the presence of someone behind me and turned in time to see a final Rogue, charging at me from the trees as their stealth grenade finally wore off. Bringing up my magical shield I tried to angle a Telekinesis Push through the shield itself as I did not have the distance between myself and my attacker to try a second Shield Bash. I slipped however in my swing with my mace when I tried in the next moment not to hit Melar as she jumped onto the attacker in her own efforts to aid me. The Rogue was taken off guard with the arrival of my wolf pup but still managed to get in a few good slashes with his knives that I was only able to block one of, as the second cut a path along the inside of my right arm.

I however did not allow myself to become distracted by the injury as I brought my mace around in the wide-sweeping ark that Cassandra and I had practiced so many times. Melar bit hard onto our attackers’ leg at just the same moment that my mace would have made contact with the men's collar bone. This would have severely hurt him but would not have normally killed him if he had not bent to slash at Melar instead of focusing on me. My mace caught the side of the Rogues face and with the force of my swing, I could hear as it both broke his jaw and cause his head to whip around with such force that his neck snapped. Like a discarded marionette he fell to the ground and again I could hardly move as the realization of what I had just done hit me.

Shock, confusion, and finally horror at what I had done radiated out from me, and within moments Solas was at my side, pulling me away from the man I had just killed. I looked up at Solas with clouded eyes seeking what, I was not quite sure. Perhaps I wanted comfort or understanding. Maybe it was even forgiveness for the life I had just snuffed out. Regardless I could hardly make sense of what I was feeling and just let him move me as he willed.

“Fenarla?” Solas called to me in a quiet and soothing voice as he began looking over my arm that had been slashed. I sniffed quietly and tried to rub away the silent tears I could feel making tracks down my cheeks.

“Why?” It was the only word I could force past the ever-growing lump in my throat. I do not even think I was really aware of what I was asking why for. Perhaps it was why the horse thieves had attacked or why we had to kill them? Perhaps it was a broader why of the world being in the state it was in, where people could not even travel the road without having to worry about highwaymen and thieves.

I suspect Solas could sense all of these thoughts coming from me as he applied a bandage wrap to my arm after healing what he could of the slash on it. A large part of me was also too in shock to call him out for not having used the magic I knew he had to completely heal my arm either. After all, he still had to portray the humble hedge mage apostate that the others all thought he was instead of the extremely powerful and competent ancient elf that I knew him to be.

“I wish I had a sufficient answer for you ma falon.” And once again I found myself in Solas's arms, wrapped in his warmth and comfort with Melar on my lap until the shakes and shivers that were rocking my body finally ceased.

Chapter 19: Expect Nothing, Get Nothing

Chapter Text

Well sh*t…

Chapter 19

A part of me could hardly believe that it had been almost a month since the Herald of Andraste had left for the Hinterlands. She went to speak with one of the few Chantry Mothers that was willing to speak with the Inquisition. Fenarla and her team should be returning to Haven sometime the following day and after all the reports coming out of the Hinterlands, and all the new recruits that have been streaming into Haven over the last two weeks, I could tell that her recruitment operations were going better than any of us had thought that they might.

Between those presently under my command and those who had reported to Sister Leliana, there were well over 100 new faces in and around Haven whom we were trying to train as quickly as we could. The hope was that we could then set up stabilizing patrols in and around Fereldan, and Western Orlais. I was also pleasantly surprised when some of the new recruits coming in had sufficient training so that they could be quickly reassigned to patrols and assist in training any of the refugees or young farmhands who were looking for a better life for themselves or free training in a possible career other than the one to which they were born to.

Mother Giselle and her flock of Sisters had arrived with Lord Berand and his men the week before and already they were aiding with the logistics of feeding, caring, and administering to all the faithful who were still recovering from the trauma of the Conclave exploding and the Breach itself.

I will admit that when Fenarla had first told myself and the rest of the Inquisition council members that she was not from this realm I was at first concerned that she was a madwoman. To think that she had seen, and knew the outcome of our present plight, because of books her world had about us all seemed more far-fetched than anything I had ever heard before. That was of course until far too much of the information she was providing us with all started to prove true.

The life of Sister Leliana’s man Ferrier had been saved because of Fenarla’s warnings and the spy Butler had been caught because of it before anyone else had died. Ambassador Josephine had been able to arrange for the iron mines under Haven to be re-opened just as Fenarla had suggested. Many of the refugees that were arriving daily were now working steadily in those mines. Already I could see the benefits of this arrangement as many of my men were steadily becoming equipped with better armor and weapons that Harriet and his fellow Smiths were putting out as quickly as they could.

Reports from Cassandra had also informed me that a promising group of ex-Bandit Mercenaries and some of the Templars that had previously been causing problems in the Hinterlands had agreed to join the Inquisitions cause as well. They had arrived the day before with messages to expect Merchants and perhaps even some of the Mages within the coming week as Fenarla and her team were intending to deal with the last of the Rebel Mages that were not still held up in Redcliffe Village itself. It was a relief to hear that even with all the fighting going on at present between the Mages and the Templars there were still a few cooler heads within the ranks that could see the importance of aiding us with the breach.

“Commander, Tea-time.” I heard one of my older recruits Bail state loudly as I looked up from the reports I was reading to see the portly man, Steven his name was, that Josephine had assigned as one of my scribes, was now heading in my direction from Haven’s main gate. When Fenarla had stated that we would each need to hire a few aides or personal assistants for each of our departments I had thought the idea seemed ludicrous at first. That lasted of course until I had gotten my first glimpse of the sheer amount of paperwork that would be shuffled my way every day.

It had taken me all of two days to begrudgingly admit that the Herald was correct with my need for clerical help. It was however Stephen's ever-persistent reminders around the time of the noon bell that I was under strict orders to feed and hydrate myself with that had resulted in my recruits dubbing the man Tea-time with affection as he always arrived at my command tent with additional paperwork around that time of day.

“So it would seem. You know the drill Bail, one candle mark and then I want you all reporting to the lake for afternoon drills with Captain Ryland.” I knew that this would happen again later in the day when my other scribe Albert arrived with the new recruit files. The man was very good at creating files on all those that had arrived every day and would also keep track of any of the reports from any of my men who were presently out in the field. Those reports I would receive daily when Albert would appear just before the dinner bell. Albert had been jokingly dubbed Freedom for what his presence meant for the men in training. Between my two scribes and my second in command, I was now able to survive the symptoms of my lyrium withdrawals much better than I had before Fenarla had mentioned anything to the rest of the council. Captin Ryland would drag me from my tent every evening and force me to play either a few rounds of chess with him or diamondback before he insisted I head to the bathhouse most evenings to help my body relax before I would then call it a night.

I had originally had reservations and concerns as to what Josephine and Leliana’s opinions of me might be once they had learned the truth of my choice to give up lyrium, however, I was pleasantly surprised when our Ambassador was nothing but polite and discreet about my endeavors and I found a surprising confidant in our Spymaster who extended an air of reverence and tranquility that I normally only found in the most seasoned of Mothers within the Chantry.

“What have you got for me today Stephen?”

“Ambassador Josephine would like to inform you that the ground has been broken for the third training barracks that you had requested, and I am to inform you that the second barracks is ready for its final inspection. We will need to do that inspection before we can begin assigning bunks within it for our more senior staff. The Ambassador has also requested a rotation schedule be posted for our troops in the use of the bathhouse, as complaints have started to surface from the healers that most of the ailments they are being unnecessarily overwhelmed with are due to cases of crotch rot that has started circulating amongst the troops.” Steven was very efficient at his post and thankfully was also unfazed by any of the less than glorious aspects of training a group of troops the size that the Inquisition was very quickly beginning to support.

“All of these details of course we can continue to discuss over our noon meal Commander.” Steven not so subtly informed me as he passed me a large water skin and began directing us towards Havens gates so we could frequent the mess hall that had been built near the chantry for the purpose of feeding all our troops.

“Lead on then. We can go over the finer details some more before you report back into Josephine.”

*****

The following day my men and I were just returning from our noon meal when the Herald and her team returned through the gates of Haven. I was excited at first to see them all whole and hale until I had the opportunity to get a closer look at Fenarla herself. Saying she looked tired and worn out would be as obvious as saying there was a breach in the sky to anyone who could just look up and see it. After directing my second in command Captain Ryland to take over our men’s afternoon drills, I made my way to the Heralds side as first Sir Solas and then Fenarla dismounted from one of the largest Red Harts I had ever encountered.

“Welcome back Herald. I hope you are well?” Fenarla turned to me with a tired smile but it lacked the bright twinkle I remember seeing in her eyes before she had left for the Hinterlands.

“I’m alright Cullen. I am just tired. Nothing a good meal, a stiff drink, a warm bath, and a full night’s rest shouldn’t cure.” Fenarla tried to wave away my concerns but I could tell from the reactions of the others that everything was not alright with our Herald. When I looked to Cassandra, she gave me a slight head shake and an obvious look that said that we would discuss whatever was bothering the Herald later. After nodding my understanding, I turned and watched as Fenarla lifted the most unique-looking wolf pup from within a special carrier on her hart’s saddle.

“Cullen I would like to introduce you to Melar. She is my Gai’ anelan or Animal Guardian. We rescued her from a demon who had taken over the rest of her pack.” This introduction brought a brief flash of that spark back into Fenarla’s eyes. However just as quickly as the exited spark had appeared it was also gone again.

“The Herald has been training Melar with the intentions of bringing her wolf into battle with her,” Cassandra informed me as she removed her own packs from her mount before handing the deep chocolate brown Forder to one of the stable hands. I am glad to see that our new Horse Master had given the Herald and her team mounts and that he had agreed to join us along with all of the other mounts that should be arriving sometime within the next month.

“That would also explain why I got a request to hire a Kennel Master even though we have no War-hounds.” Though the idea of such beasts would also appeal to most of our soldiers. I myself had always wanted Minbari of my own while growing up and the idea of having the proud hunting dogs as a part of our forces appealed greatly to the Fereldan in my blood.

“Master Dennett offered to speak to one of his retired colleagues about perhaps joining us to help the Herald train Melar,” Cassandra informed me and the look of love and affection that Fenarla was giving her young pup brought a gentle smile to my lips and had me remembering simpler times when I was a child, and my sister Mia found and claimed her first kitten. It was one of the few times I had seen my sterner older sister so affectionate.

“Why don’t I send off a message to inform the rest of the council that a session could be planned for say, the seventh bell. That should give you plenty of time to tick off a few items on that list of yours beforehand Herald.” The full smile Fenarla gave me in return had me remembering just why I had been having troubles with constantly dreaming of her most of the nights that she had been gone.

“Thank you so much Cullen, that would be wonderful.” And with that Fenarla accepted her pack from Sir Solas and turned towards her own cabin with Melar dogging close on her heels. I watched her go for another moment before turning to look back at Seeker Cassandra.

“I will speak with you after I have had a chance to wash some of the road off. An incident happened last evening that will affect the Herald's future training while in combat." If anything, Cassandra’s comment now had me more concerned than I had been before. But I held off on making any comments for the time being as she had stated we would discuss whatever it was that was affecting Fenarla later.

“You will be happy to note then that the bathhouse has finished its construction while you were away.” Cassandra smiled and nodded to me in thanks, and I could hear Varric’s excitement as he offered to show Sir Solas and the two corporals where we had built the washhouse. I was surprised to hear that Varric had been consulted on its design before construction had begun. With that settled I then returned to my command tent to work on all of the ever-amounting paperwork that Stephen and Albert kept piling onto my desk.

After an hour or two Cassandra joined me, and we decided to take a walk around the lake so we could discuss in private what was affecting the Herald. This would also ensure that our conversation was not disturbed or spoken about by others that might overhear it.

“As you may have expected, until the Conclave itself Fenarla had little situation in her previous life where combat as we know it was required in her daily living,” To this, I nodded to Cassandra as I had witnessed the Heralds training and though she was a quick learner Fenarla had definitely been a novice in self-defense. “As you will have seen in my reports about our trip out to the Hinterlands our group was set upon by bandits and we were forced to defend ourselves. This resulted in the Herald’s first kill.” Again, I nodded grimly for I could only imagine how such an act as taking a life for the first time would have affected such a sweet and bubbly person such as our Herald. Even after all my years as a Templar, I could still remember my own first kill. It was not something one could, nor should easily forget.

“Like most, Fenarla froze up like a startled deer and retreated into herself. Thankfully this occurred near the end of that particular skirmish and we were able to work around her. Solas then offered her consolation until her physical reactions had passed and comforted her as best he could. Afterward I never really paid it much mind as the incident never occurred again.” Cassandra had stopped to look out over the lake while standing on the docks near the old apothecary cabin. I watched as her proud posture caved in upon itself in self-reprimand. I could tell she felt negligent in her role as leader of her team having failed to notice an important detail that could have resulted in injury for one or more of her squad. I had seen this reaction many times throughout my career in other fellow Templar squad leaders.

“But it did happen again.”

“Yes, last evening we were set upon by thieves hoping to relieve us of our new mounts. Melar was trying to aid Fenarla against one of the Rogues that was attacking her. Fenarla defended herself and Melar with the same efficiency as we had practiced many times before. Fenarla’s movements and technique have greatly improved, and she struck the man cleanly in the jaw. This resulted in his neck-breaking due to the angle that he was standing at when her mace swing connected with him.” So far, I could not see how this should have resulted in the Herald freezing up as she had. After all, the rest of the reports coming out of the Hinterlands had stated they had dealt with many opposing forces while in the area.

“It was only after Sir Solas once again was able to console the Herald, when he informed me that last evening’s attacker was only the second time she had taken a life.” From the look on Cassandra’s face, I could see that she had been as confused by this revelation as I was now.

“How is that possible? You’ve been with her in the Hinterlands for well on a month now. How did she avoid killing anyone else?”

“I asked myself that same question after Solas informed me of the situation and I came to a simple conclusion. As Fenarla is dual classed she would only spend limited time with me at the forefront in any initial charge. Any of those incidents she would have had Corporals Smitherson and Jacobs flanking her. Otherwise, she stuck close to Sir Solas or Master Tethras or to one of Leliana’s Scouts, a young woman by the name of Lena Ritz and her Mage lover Eldredda to whom we recruited while in the Hinterlands. Fenarla became rather fond of the two women during our time together.” Cassandra then turned to look at me directly as she continued her report.

“Fenarla’s instinctual fighting style is to injure when necessary, incapacitate with spells the likes of which I have never seen before whenever possible, or redirect any foes backward to her guards to dispatch as she herself cannot bring herself emotionally to strike any deathblows unless it is as a last resort or as I have seen so far an accident.” My shoulders sagged at the implications of this assessment. This was not the first time I had seen this happen with a new recruit and either one of two things happened, the recruit either got past it and numbed themselves to the act of killing or they quit. On a very few occasions the recruit would be reassigned to a more clerical position within our forces, however, this normally only occurred when a high-ranking Lord’s son, that our forces could not afford to embarrass with the knowledge that their heir could not perform on the battlefield, was involved.

“We are not in a position where she could just be removed from any fighting, and I am remiss to take her into battle with the hopes that she will just overcome this. If the severity of Fenarla’s past reactions to any deaths she causes are any indication to go by, I would have to admit that we have been rather lucky that we were able to work around her or that the incidences happened during the end of any of our skirmishes.” Cassandra was correct and I would need to think more on this as to how we could help prepare Fenarla and her guards so that this did not happen again.

“There are options we could try but I will need to think on how to implement them some more. It may also require me working one on one with Fenarla and her guards to come up with a more fluid fighting style for them.” Cassandra nodded in acceptance of this, and we started making our way back towards Haven itself. As we walked, I informed Cassandra as to all the changes that had been happening within the town itself and how I was also faring with my lyrium withdrawals. I arrived back in time to start up some drills with a few of Lord Bernard’s men and offered to have dinner with Cassandra later in the mess tent before she nodded and went off in search of Leliana.

*****

Slowly I sat back in my chair at my desk in my command tent as I went over the last of the reports for the day. Normally I would have had these done hours ago if not for the council meeting to discuss in detail the reports that Fenarla and Cassandra had sent from the Hinterlands. In the last month alone, the Inquisitions forces had risen from the 27 surviving soldiers along with the 8 Templars and 6 Mages that had stayed after the breach opened to now having a working force of over 110 soldiers with 15 Templars and 22 Mages that reported to me alone. Those numbers didn’t even include any of the Rogues or Spies that were a part of Sister Leliana’s network. This was just yet another piece of evidence to Fenarla’s claim that she could see the future, as when she had told me upon our first meeting not to worry about the state of our forces, I had a hard time believing that everything would work itself out.

Leliana and Josephine had confirmed contact with some of the Chantry Mothers on a list Mother Gisele had given them upon her arrival. It had been agreed that the next course of action for Fenarla and her team would be to go to Val Royeaux, but that she would not be able to leave Haven for at least a week as arrangements were made for transportation from the port city of Jadar to Val Royeaux itself. Cassandra had even sent word ahead for the Pentaghast apartments in Val Royeaux to be prepared for their arrival. This would alleviate Cassandras' team having to find lodgings within the city in a tavern that would even allow for Elves to rent rooms without them having to look for rooms within the cities Alienage. After all the differences between Orlais and Tevinter when it came to the Elves that lived within their borders were slim. For all that Orlais referred to their Elves as servants instead of slaves was about the only difference that I could see between how they were treated sometimes.

It was also at this time that Fenarla reminded me that any follow-up correspondence with Knight Templar Delrin Barris would need to be concluded before she and her team arrived in Val Royeaux. This then brought about discussions of how best to convince Sir Barris of the corruption that was within the remains of the Templar order. Many suggestions were posed that I could use to try and convince Sir Barris with but it was when Fenarla had hinted that he would only really question his continued stay with the Templars because of an event that would be taking place within Val Royeaux once she had arrived that a decision was finally made.

I would be joining the Herald and her team on this particular trip to Val Royeaux so that I could speak directly with the Templars still stationed within the White Spire about the events that had transpired while I was in Kirkwall’s Gallows and what had happened to Knight-Commander Meredith when she had been exposed to red lyrium. Until then however, I would be working one on one with Fenarla’s team to assess their cohesiveness as a unit so any suggestions could be made to increase their effectiveness together.

When I described to Fenarla and Cassandra the drills that I was going to have her participate in with my more seasoned soldiers, Fenarla admitted that they sounded much like something similar that her own military would have done to hone their Soldiers skills. She called these maneuvers 'War Games' and after going into an explanation for their purpose I found I much liked the idea of conducting our own. This would give me and my second in command Captain Ryland a chance to evaluate our own recruits adaptation skills to new situations as well.

We then went through a great laundry list of messages that would need to be sent out. Josephine felt that the message to go out to the King and Bannorn of Ferelden about the Inquisitions intended use of some of the old fortresses throughout the countryside was the most important. We also wanted to request the King's aid with our ‘Warden Blackwall’ situation. Instructions for Leliana’s scouts would need to be sent to keep an eye out for the same said Warden Recruit, as well as Cremisius Aclassi, a man from a mercenary band known as The Bulls Chargers who would be coming to Haven soon to offer their services to the Inquisition. After all these messages had been drafted, we were then finally able to call the meeting to a close for the evening.

I looked out my command tent as a shadow passed over its entrance and wondered who could be up at this time of night as the century patrols I had arranged, had never passed in front of my command tent before. Curiosity got the better of me and I left my reports behind to investigate the unexpected disturbance. Farther along the path leading from Haven’s main gate out towards the lake just past my training yard, I caught sight of the familiar figure of the Herald making her way out to the water’s edge.

I watched her for a time as she finally stopped to stare out over the lake with her head tipped back as if she were looking up at the stars and wondered what she was doing awake at this time of night. As I observed Fenarla I watched as first her head lowered so her chin was resting on her chest before slowly her arms wrapped around her midsection almost as if she were giving herself a hug. Just as I was about to turn away back to the paperwork on my desk I watched as Fenarla’s shoulders started to shake. I was hardly even aware that I was moving towards the Herald until I was halfway across the training yard. I stumbled a little when I realized what I had been doing and perhaps it was for the best as the shuffling of my feet alerted Fenarla to my presence and she turned to look at who had interrupted her solitude.

“Cullen…” The Herald whispered just loud enough for me to hear her on the cool evening breeze.

“Lady Herald, is everything alright this evening?” I inquired when I noticed the tears making tracks down her cheeks.

“I’m… I don’t… no.” She finally confessed as she tried wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand as she observed the ground beneath us. “Nightmares.”

“Ah… I can relate.” After the conversation with Cassandra this afternoon I had a fairly good idea as to what these nightmares were likely all about. Witnessing the death of another, especially one by your own hand was not something one just overcame unless they had become numb to the act of killing as many of us eventually did. I could only hope that unlike myself Fenarla’s dreams didn’t attract the attention of demons what with her being a mage.

“I suppose you can.” Fenarla tried smiling sympathetically at me but I could see that the cause of her disrupted sleep was still weighing heavily upon her shoulders. “It’s all so much harder than I thought it would be.” Fenarla’s soft and melodic voice washed over me as she tried to explain the pain she was feeling and a part of myself I had once thought lost pushed me forward like a moth to a flame.

Before I was even aware of my actions, I had gathered the Herald into my arms as she broke down and the tears along with their accompanying emotions poured out of her as I held Fenarla in my arms. If not for the way that Fenarla was clinging to me I would have thought my actions with her far too forward for the short amount of time we had known each other. I however could not bring myself to regret my actions as Fenarla leaned into my chest and buried her face into the mantle of my cloak.

After a time, I could feel how Fenarla pulled harder on my chest plate where she had gripped it to help pull and keep me close to her. She was now using that grip to keep herself standing as the exhaustion of her emotional release caught up with her. Looking over Fenarla’s shoulder I spotted and decided to direct us over to a set of boulders that we could sit on while she continued to take strength and comfort from my presence. When we were situated side-by-side upon the rocks I was finally able to take a good look at her face and could see the stress in Fenarla’s eyes and the lack of sleep in the discoloration of her skin.

“I have heard it said that Speaking of one’s fears or anxieties can often alleviate them.” Fenarla looked into my eyes with her own red-rimmed ones fresh from crying and could see her apprehension about talking of her troubles. After many long moments of gazing into my eyes, she finally nodded, as if she had seen something in my own gaze that told her I could be trusted with her fears. Having had little experience in the past with being a person’s confidant I was relieved when she finally started speaking.

“I killed a man, two actually, and both times I felt as if I had killed a part of myself when I realized what I had done.” As I had thought the lives that she had taken were weighing heavily upon her. “I’m not sure I will be able to do what needs to be done as I have seen it, without losing myself in the process.” I waited a moment as Fenarla gathered her thoughts before she finally continued. “How long does it take before killing someone no longer hurts?”

“It doesn’t stop hurting. Nor should it. Those that can kill without feeling anything are not persons to be emulated but rather pitied. Taking a life even in the service of self-defense is a hard task and one that should never be done lightly. Even after all these years, I still feel a level of pain when I am forced to dispatch another’s life.” The one and only time I had not felt anything upon the death of another had also happened on the day I had chosen to leave the Templar order for fear that I was losing more of myself than I was willing to give. That decision resulted in me giving up lyrium as I was losing too much of my humanity to an order I could no longer even recognize as the one I had wanted so fiercely to join when I was but a small boy.

“Solas said something much the same last night. Hearing those same words and understanding that I have now found myself in a kill or be killed situation has not however stopped me from seeing that man dying, again and again, every time that I close my eyes.” The parallels of Fenarla’s nightmares to my own were not lost on me, however, I still felt that she was one of the strongest women I have had the honor of meeting.

“Sir Solas is a smart man, and I am fairly certain that there are many others who would also tell you the same thing as we have. I can promise that with time and more training the act of defending yourself against the ‘you or me’ fighters will become easier.” To this Fenarla nodded in acceptance before leaning her head on my shoulder. Neither of us said anything for a time as we watched the stars twinkle in the sky above. It was just as I was about to ask Fenarla if she was feeling somewhat better that I heard the crunch of packed snow underfoot off to my side. Only then did I notice Sir Solas approach of where Fenarla and I sat.

“Commander,”

“Sir Solas, what brings you out so late?”

“I had felt the Herald’s distress while in the fade and had wanted to check up on her to make sure that she had not attracted any unwanted attention.” Solas’s words of concern helped to alleviate some of my own fears. Knowing that Fenarla had someone with the apostate's unique ability to work within the fade to help keep herself safe from demons that might want to try and pray upon her, was a great comfort. “You can imagine my surprise when I went to the Herald’s cabin after she had left the fade only to find that she was not within her dwelling.” Solas’s eyes displayed a look that I could not interpret as he continued to observe the both of us.

“Yes, she was quite distressed about the unpleasant experience you all found yourselves in while returning from the Hinterlands. Fen… I mean the Herald sought consolation over the morality of having taken a life. I simply tried to offer what little wisdom I have regarding some of the more unsavory parts of war.” To this Solas inclined his head at me. As much as I am happy I could offer Fenarla any emotional support she might need, I also had to admit to having little to no experience doing so as not many of my subordinates under my command over the years had ever admitted to such feelings. I was quite literally in uncharted waters with my attempts to help the Herald.

“Yes, the horse thief’s death was rather distressing for Fenarla. However, I do believe she has recovered for the time being.” At my confused look, Solas continued. “Our Herald has fallen asleep upon your shoulder Commander.” Looking over a Fenarla proved Solas to be correct in that the young woman in question was indeed asleep with her head upon my left pauldron.

“If you would like Commander, I could perhaps support Fenarla enough for you to stand so we might return our less emotionally distressed Herald to her own cabin. That is of course unless you would rather spend the rest of your night sitting upon this rock.” I could both hear the teasing tone and see the mischievous glint in the Elvin Apostates eyes but found my mind catching itself upon the use of the word our as if he and I had some sort of claim upon the young woman now resting upon me.

The very notion that Fenarla could in any capacity want that statement to be true had a rush of heat racing through my veins. I could only hope that the darkness of the evening helped to hide the blush that I could feel trying to take purchase upon my cheeks. I nodded agreement to Solas’s offer of supporting the Herald while I stood, so I could carry the young woman back to her resting place.

Once Fenarla was carefully lifted into my arms I was happy to see as Solas followed me across the training grounds, through Haven’s gates, and up the stairs towards her cabin. Solas opened the door to Fenarla’s dwelling for me so I would not have to put the Herald down, and then followed me in. After using a minor fire spell upon the hearth to help heat the cabin’s interior he then came to assist in removing Fenarla’s cloak and boots while I got her situated in her bed.

I watched a Solas then etched a protection ruin into the headboard of Fenarla’s bed that I had seen many times before while in the circles. Senior enchanters would often place them above the heads of any young novices that may have had an emotionally trying day. Such emotions might inadvertently draw the attention of demons to them while they dreamed in the fade. At my questioning glance, Solas just smiled and co*cked his head at me.

“I doubt there is such a need but, better to air on the side of caution than regret the oversight later.” I could only nod in agreement again as that was the last thing I or anyone else in Haven would want Fenarla to have to deal with while she was still distressed over the life that she had earlier taken.

“I take it that this is not the first time you’ve had to place such a protection ruin?” I asked the Mage as we both silently made our way out of Fenarla’s cabin.

“No, even I myself had been known to place them for myself after particularly trying events that happened to me in my youth.” To hear a mage willingly admit that they had been compromised enough to fear for themselves while dreaming was a bit of a surprise. In my experience it was almost unheard of that a Mage would want to admit to any form of weakness towards a Templar, former or otherwise.

“Of course, it has also been quite some time since I have had to place such a warding ruin as my abilities as a dreamer have afforded me a much more practical and efficient method of protecting my dreams. This revelation brought me to a halt as Solas and I neared Seggrit’s stall and the stairs leading both down and out of Haven’s main gate and up further into the town proper.

“It is surprising to hear you admit that aloud that you are a dreamer.”

“Yes, well given the Chantry and the Templars policy on individuals such as myself you can understand my caution in originally stating all of my particular skills to yourself or the rest of the counsel until I could be more certain as to your reactions.” Solas flashed me a look that one could almost say was a challenge with regards to what I would do with this confirmed knowledge of himself. The standing policy for any Mage suspected or confirmed of being a dreamer was that they were to be killed if young or made tranquil for the danger that they posed both to themselves and those around them, as they were said to be like beacons to demons within the fade, and their chances of possession and becoming abominations were severely higher than those of normal Mages. As I was no longer a Templar, however, and the circles were now gone, there was nothing I could do about this information even if I had wanted to.

“Do you mind if I ask what these more practical methods are? I mean I have never met someone with your unique dreaming abilities.” I tried to ask as politely as I could, after all, it had been Solas who had offered his help to the Inquisition when the breach first formed knowing full well the animosities between the Templars and the Mages at the time. My question also brought Solas to a stop as he first regarded me as if trying to determine the motives behind my question. For the second time that evening, something must have been seen in my expression that alleviated the obvious fears as now Solas nodded at me and smiled much as the Herald had.

“Dreamers have the ability to exert their will upon the fade around them while they sleep, thus allowing them to alter their very surroundings to suit their needs. As such I have impressed my will upon this area within the fade and have placed warding lines and protection barriers to dissuade any of the less savory spirits from entering this area of the fade.” I could not help but stare at Solas in shock. If what Solas was saying were true about his abilities and those of others like him then the Templar's reasons for disposing of dreamers were completely false.

“If what you say is true then I would think the Chantry would want more of your kind if they had the ability to protect others and not just themselves from demon attacks while dreaming.” Solas smiled at my emotional statement and then gestured to the steps leading towards the gates of Haven so we might start walking again. It seemed Solas had decided to follow me back out of Haven and towards my command tent that also served as my sleeping quarters.

That particular situation had been a minor point of contention between myself, Leliana, and Josephine since they found out that I was not using the cabin to the right of Fenarla’s that had initially been assigned for my use. I however had given the space over to a visiting Noble who had been attending the conclave who had then, unfortunately, died at the same said conclave when it had exploded. When this fact had been brought to light by Josephine, I had declined taking over the cabin again in favor of letting it out to a refugee family of five who all seemed to cram themselves in and find sleeping space in a cabin originally designed to hold no more than two people. It was at that point that Josephine had given up and accepted that I would much rather be closer to my men. It was at that point however that she also requisitioned me a double-wide sleeping pallet.

“The fact that you recognize the true potential of having trained dreamers’ presence to help protect multiple mages from fade-related attacks shows more of an understanding of our importance than most of your fellow Templars,” Solas remarked as we walked into my command tent. When I gestured for Solas to take the desk chair I then went and sat upon my pallet. He again nodded in thanks as I slowly started to remove the various pieces of my armor and began placing them on the stands next to my bed.

“Solas, you have nothing to fear from me in regard to you being a dreamer, nor would you have needed to fear even if I were still a Templar. I am well aware of everything you have done for this Inquisition since even before its founding and I will not allow anyone to attempt harm on you for what you can do.” Solas’ raised eyebrow spoke more to his surprise at my statement than if he had said anything out loud.

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Please Solas, just Cullen. It’s not as if you’re under my command anyway. Nor would I want you to be.” I told the Mage while reaching into my trunk to pull out a bottle of Starkhaven scotch and two glasses. Solas accepted the glass I presented to him and gave the glasses sniff. I smiled as his eyes widened when he identified the liquor in his glass before giving the measure a taste.

“I don’t know Cullen under the right circ*mstances it might meet quite enjoyable being under your command.”

I coughed and sputtered and tried not to spit the scotch I had been drinking into Solas face, who now had the most wicked smirk on his lips and a devious twinkle in his eye. All I could do was gape at the man as I wondered if I had indeed heard him correctly.

“Cullen,” Solas voice was almost as smooth as the scotch in our glasses, and I had to force myself not to blush as the timber of his voice did things to me, I had not thought about since my early training days in the Templar Academy when we were all more hormones than brains.

“Yes,” my voice squeaked in a way that it had not since my voice had finished cracking in my youth and even once it had finally settled, I had very rarely had it sound like that since. I watched as the smirk on Solas’s face bloomed into an all-out smile. For many moments, the Mage across from me said nothing as he once again watched while seeming to look for an answer to a question that he was unwilling to voice out loud. The more the other man watched me the more I noticed aspects about himself that I had not previously noticed before.

The green in his eyes was much more noticeable when the candlelight from my desk shone on them. The cleft in his strong chin and the plumpness of his bottom lip were rather distracting as I waited for him to speak. My eyes flickered up from Solas’s mouth to his own eyes in time to notice that spark of mischief flash like fire as he had also noticed where my attention had been focused on just moments ago.

“Solas, was there something you wanted to ask me?” I asked once I was finally able to calm my beating heart. The man was far too good looking for his own good and he knew it. His flirtations were starting to stir feelings within me that I had not felt in years.

“How long is it been since you last had lyrium?” I watched Solas with his lean arms resting on his knees and the glass of Scotch dangled in the delicate grip of his long tapered artistic fingers.

“Ah… Why, why do you ask?”

“Testing a hypothesis.” It was now my turn to observe the other man as I wondered what he hoped to gain from this information. Nothing Solas had ever said or done around me gave an indication that he had malicious intent towards myself or the Inquisition, so I could not see the harm in answering his question.

“Around 3 ½ months. Just after I arrived here with Seeker Pentaghast for the start of the Conclave.” To this Solas just nodded as if what I had just admitted to him was as normal as answering a comment on the weather.

“And was the decision to stop partaking of lyrium by force or by choice?” Now I was beginning to wonder where this line of questioning would end up leading us to.

“Choice.”

“Good. Next question and I apologize if this is rather personal, though if you will indulge me, I promise there is a purpose to my inquiry.” Solas now almost looked excited and hopeful with my answers.

“Alright.” I tried not to let my apprehensions bleed into my voice, but I could see from the look Solas gave me with his calming and supportive smile that I had not succeeded as well as I had hoped.

“How thoroughly are you experiencing the withdrawals? Headaches, muscle pain, lack of appetite, unexplained bouts of anger or doubt?” As Solas continued to list every symptom I had been experiencing I began to wonder if his questions did not have an alternative reason than the one I had been originally imagining. I had initially feared that the Mage might try to use this information against me for some reason I had yet to determine. Now however I began to wonder what his real reasons for asking were.

“How did you?”

“Know? Well, let's just say, we were all young and foolish once. I will also surmise that your question is an indication that you are indeed experiencing all of the previously mentioned symptoms of withdrawal.” To this, I could only nod as I pondered over what Solas had just told me about himself.

“I’ve never heard of a mage suffering from lyrium withdrawals.”

“Oh, you might be surprised as to just how many Mages do, most without even realizing that is what they are suffering from. After all, it is not until one has abstained from taking the substance for a successive period of time that its negative effects are felt so acutely. With proper training and attention to one’s own abilities the threshold with which a Mage needs to ingest lyrium to replenish spent mana need never be reached. On the rare occasions that such an imbalance happens a restful night spent dreaming in the fade usually allows most mages the opportunity to draw upon the faded energies itself and that is far more restorative than any lyrium draught ever could be.” It was at that moment that I realized that Solas was asking me these questions more out of a place of mutual understanding and a wish to encourage me on my chosen path than it was with intentions to cause me any harm.

“So, you?”

“Yes, and just like you will, I too also overcame the withdrawal effects. I even have a few recipes for tonics and remedies that I can make for you to help mitigate the worst of your symptoms. I can also provide you with a rune that will, for a time, limit your access to the fade at night. This should also allow for better rest. As you might surmise the more severe the lyrium withdrawals become the more difficult it becomes to avoid unwelcome fade attentions. As you can imagine, being unable to experience the fade to its fullest due to negative spirits was a source of great aggravation for myself. Purposefully cutting myself off from the fade for a time however did teach me one valuable lesson.” Solas informed me as he sat back in my desk chair and sipped at his drink.

“Which is?” I asked as I waved the scotch bottle in Solas direction and was happy when the man held out his glass for me to fill again.

“That to experience new and interesting parts of the fade I had to be willing to travel and experience more of living and the world around me so that my dreams were new and interesting. The fade itself is limited by the living world around it and the active imaginations of those within the exact surrounding area.” I could see how the fade relying on the living world would greatly affect what Solas had been able to find within it. The reality of this statement made me glad in a way that Solas had needed to travel so that he could find new and interesting places as that need to travel had ultimately resulted in him being near Haven now to help the Inquisition during its hour of need.

“Do you not also encounter demons within the fade though as you dream? How do you avoid their temptations?” Again, Solas flashed me one of his full smiles that I could see his emotions reaching all the way into his sparkling blue-green eyes.

“Yes, dreamers especially encounter spirits both positive, negative, and benign. The nature of a spirit is as much a reflection of their nature themselves, as it is a reflection of our own expectations of what we will see. As to the temptations they try to pose to you, those are no different than the sight, scent, or flavor of a favored dessert as it sits upon a table beckoning you to try apiece. As if to see if the new offering lives up to the expectations of your past experiences. Once one understands the nature of the temptations of the spirit they can be easily avoided.” One thing about Solas’s explanation confused me though, so I circled back around to it.

“A reflection of our own expectations?”

“Yes Cullen, and this is something that may assist you in your own dreaming. You see if you dream and expect to run into a spirit of Pride instead of a spirit of Wisdom the spirit you encounter will adapt to what you expect to see. However, if you go into your dreams expecting to see the more positive or benign spirits first and foremost, then that is what you will encounter. Thus, you yourself must also discard any negative or harmful expectations so that your will does not press upon the natural nature of the spirits that you might encounter.” A part of me could hardly believe that in less than an hour of talking with Solas, so much of the teachings I had been taught as a Templar about demons in the fade and their very natures could be called into question so thoroughly.

“But I’m not a Mage. How am I supposed to affect anything that takes place in my dreams? I thought only dreamers such as yourself could affect the fade directly.” To this Solas chuckled and it could have again been the cadence of his voice or perhaps the now third glass of scotch that each of us had partaken in, but I found I wanted to do whatever it took to hear that musical sound from him again.

“True you are not a Mage, but the same expectation stands. If you expect to see Demons in your dreams it is as if extending an invitation to any present within the area of the fade you are visiting. However, if you expect nothing more than a dreamless sleep that is exactly what you will have.” I so wanted to believe what Solas was telling me but there was no way that after all these years of dealing with Demons invading my dreams that it was as simple of a situation as that. I also doubt understanding Solas theories would resolve my ever-constant nightly visitor problems.

“So in essence you trying to tell me my own nightmares are cured with a ‘mind over matter’ situation?” I asked this rather skeptically.

“In the most simplistic of terms, yes. Expect nothing and you shall get nothing.” Solas then leaned down to pick up a stone that had made its way into my tent. After reaching into a pouch on his belt he pulled out a small carving knife and set to work inscribing a rune onto the stone. When he was done carving, Solas then wrapped his hands around the stone. He encased it with his palms, and a flash of magic later Solas pulled his one hand away from the rune which I could see was now glowing.

“This should work for a few days while I construct a permanent rune to help block you from the fade. Note that this will only partially alleviate your problems with negative spirit encounters, the rest is up to you and the mindset you enter your dreams in.” Solas imparted this information to me as he used his delicate fingers to wrap my own around the stone. “Place this beneath your pillow and you should no longer be plagued with any unwelcome night guests,” Solas whispered this to me as I saw him looking at my own mouth as a light blush started to creep up the Mage's neck. Slowly Solas's thumb started to cast lazy circles over my own knuckles while his hand continued to hold mine that the fade blocking rune was still within.

“Solas,” I tried to grab the other man’s attention as my voice thickened and my breathing became labored. “Perhaps we should…” I trailed off as I watched him lick his lips, whether the gesture was to entice me in some way or to taste the remnants of the scotch we had just been drinking was anyone’s guess. Solas however was the one to determine what exactly we should be doing as he cleared his own throat and stood. I also had stood up with our joint hands still holding the rune stone stayed clasped, but I did try to clear my throat as well to help bring us both back to ourselves. Ever so slowly Solas let go of my hand and turned to leave my command tent.

“I will bring you the first of the recovery potions tomorrow Cullen. Until then… pleasant dreams.” And with one final smile, Solas left me standing alone in my tent equally dazed and confused. Slowly I opened my own hand and looked down at the small stone that glowed the same blue-green as the mage’s eyes and sighed.

“Expect nothing, get nothing.” Walking to the entrance of my tent I watched the other man walk back into town. Slowly I raised my hand to my mouth that even now I could hardly remove my ginning smile from. With my new mantra in my mind, I finally turned to my palate to sleep.