#☾⋆❝long before the sky would open❞ ➵ headcanons;; alnirafenen⋆☽

[xfrozendreams]

Pre-Veilguard struggles with the idea of not leading the search for Solas. Even if he is not romanced, he was very dear to her as a friend and a mentor, so she would want to do what she could to talk him down. Of course she trusts Varric and Harding to lead the search, but she would hate to be put on the back burner. Especially before shit hits the fan because she hates having to be the political pawn passed off at every fancy function where she has to wear shoes. gross. Let her live her life. Let her be out in the mud searching every loose end for him! Let her help Varric and Harding and eventually Rook!

Of course, once shit does hit the fan and the south is ravaged as badly as it is, she would struggle to find her priorities. Of course, the south has so many people that she trusts to take care of things. Her brother, Cassandra, Leliana (who is my canon divine), Cullen, the rest of her inner circle. Literally, all of them she knows can handle it without her. She would struggle, however, with deciding which of her priorities she should focus on. Keeping the south from dying? Helping take down the Evanuris? Saving Solas from himself? How would she react to what Solas did? Could she truthfully get over it? So many things to work out.

[xfrozendreams]

Where Does Your Power Lie?

the heart

your power is steady and driving. your power is fickle, it skips and it races and it bleeds and it burns. your strength is in how much you care, about everything. your strength is cold and it is stone and it is soft and it is on your sleeve. and you love. my god, do you love.

Tagged by — @wclfdreamt​ Tagging — All y’all lol

[xfrozendreams]

Things that Alnirafenen didn’t know when in Haven just as everything was beginning: 

How to ride a horse. The only animal that her clan kept were Halla. She had never ridden a horse before. She was incredibly intimidated by horses when she was shown them (they are huge, after all). She had to ride double with people until she learned to comfortably learn how to ride by herself. 

Offensive magic. Alnira was a healer in her clan. She knew some offensive spells, but not enough to actually use in a huge fight. She knew healing magic and some defensive magic. She had to be trained extensively in offensive magic in order to be useful in a fight. Her focus is in Winter/Frost/Ice, in case you didn’t know. She also later learns Rift magic. 

How to fight at all. Magic aside, Alnira has never really learned to fight. She knows how to shoot a bow and arrow because Vunleas taught her, but she has never used it practically. She will learn how to hold a dagger, a sword, and how to use her staff as a weapon. She asks to learn these things to better help in a fight, especially if she cannot use her magic for whatever reason. She wants to be well versed. 

[xfrozendreams]

Image in my head for the day:

Alnirafenen, out on a mission or something, in a camp. There’s a fire going, tents are all around. The sun hasn’t fully set yet, so things are still a bit aglow. Everyone is wearing flower crowns because she made one for everyone (she does this a lot). She’s got additional flowers in her hair here and there. Someone has an instrument maybe? Idk who. Music is being played and Alnirafenen, barefoot, is dancing as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Of course she tries to get everyone else in on it, but very few probably join her. 

[xfrozendreams]

Let’s just have a quick chat about Alnirafenen. She’s got this wild innocence about her. She runs around in the dresses that Josephine gets for her which often causes the hem of her dress to get pretty dirty. She’s usually barefoot, as she loves to feel the earth beneath her feet. Her long silver hair is usually down, full of flowers, leaves, and probably twigs. To humans, she probably looks the very definition of wild, untamed elf. She’s so carefree and happy and caring to other people. 

And then you see her sitting on the throne in Skyhold, ready to pass judgement. Her appearance is different. For one, she’s wearing shoes. Her hair is tamed, pulled back some, and she is the picture of Inquisitor. Her face is no longer the grinning sun that it is, but stoic and cold. She learns that she does what she has to do. The first judgement she has to pass is hard. The second one not any better. As time goes on, though, she no longer needs as much advice from her inner circle to pass a judgement. She’s able to decide on her own (although she always appreciates input). 

There are two Alnirafenen’s. The one that the inner circle get to see on a daily basis. The happy-go-lucky girl who makes them flower crowns, ready to go frolicking in nature, curling up with a good book and Eirlana. Then there’s the Inquisitor. The stoic hero that has been held up on a pedestal. She’s another person entirely. She’s more than that though. She’s a story, a legend, and she learns exactly what it means to have to be that. To put her emotions behind her and do what needs to be done. 

[xfrozendreams]

Some headcanons about Eirlana, because I love Alnirafenen’s wolf companion a lot. 

Alnirafenen was only going to keep Eirlana until she could fend for herself. Then they both got attached to each other and were very much kindred spirits that Alnira couldn’t bear to let her go, and to be honest, Eirlana would have come back anyway. 

When Eirlana is bigger than a pup, she roams Haven and then Skyhold on her own often. This kind of freaks out a lot of newcomers, but most are warned prior about the Herald’s/Inquisitor’s wolf companion. I imagine once, though, someone was not warned and they tried to attack Eirlana. Alnirafenen wanted to punish him harshly, but figured it wasn’t his fault he didn’t know that Eirlana was not an enemy. So she punished him with forcing him to clean up after Eirlana for a couple of months. 

Eirlana sleeps in Alnirafenen’s cabin in Haven and then her room in Skyhold. If it is cold enough, she even sleeps in Alnira’s bed. 

Eirlana will go on missions with Alnira and her inner circle. She fights demons and other enemies with a wild ferociousness. She also will protect Alnirafenen with her life — and has come close to losing it only once, which almost destroyed Alnira. 

The two are so in-sync that people wonder if Alnira can actually speak to wolves or something. They seem to have unspoken conversations, to understand each other better than most people understand each other. It’s a little weird to people who aren’t used to it. 

Eirlana loves scritches. Please give her all the scritches. Please. 

[xfrozendreams]

Imagine... Alnirafenen running around barefoot in Skyhold. Josephine would have a conniption. Like “Please, Lady Inquisitor, put some shoes on! There are dignitaries visiting! We have to maintain appearances!” And then Vunleas is like “You should be lucky she’s even wearing the dresses you’ve picked out for her...”

[xfrozendreams]

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