#ElfrootAddict's FanFic

[elfrootaddict]

I’m on AO3!

Thanks to @noire-pandora​ and @queen-kass-the-writer​, I decided to post my Halla & Wolf series onto AO3 ❤

[in-arlathan]

17 Facts About Me

Thank you @starsandskies! I haven't done one of these in a while, so it has been great fun!

____

Name: Rina

Age: 35

Height: 165 cm/ 5'4"

Zodiac sign: Leo

Where do you call home? Germany

Any tattoos or piercings? Two tattoos, both on my left arm. One shows the symbols of the four elements, the other is the symbol of the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars. Yes, it's that close to my heart.

Last song you listened to? "The Wolves" by Cyrus Reynolds

Last movie you watched? It's been a while since I watched a movie. I recently finished "The Queen's Gambit" though (and loved it)!

Last book or fanfic you read? Book: "The Tower of the Swallow" by Andrej Sapkowski Fic: "Pour Forth Thy Soul In Ecstasy" by @midnightprelude and @oftachancer

Do you collect anything? I'm not a collector. I do like to keep to bare essentials most of the time, I even dispose of books after a while when I know I won't read them again. My brain gets overwhelmed otherwise.

Morning person or night owl? I used to be a morning person but I turned into a night owl over the course of the last two years. My workday doesn't start until 11 am anyway, so I prefer to work in the afternoon and evening and sleep in in the mornings.

Are you an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist? Oddly enough, I think I'm an optimist despite all the shit life threw at me. I can be very realistic about people though.

A quote you live by? None in particular.

Are you an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert? Hm, I think I'm an introvert who can act extroverted on demand. SO, I'm an ambivert I guess?

Do you believe in an afterlife? I haven't decided yet. It's complicated.

A weird or fun fact about yourself I hate wearing socks with a passion. I'd rather have cold feet!

If you could have coffee with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? My granddad. I miss him very much.

____

Not quite sure who of you would like to do the tag but I'd like to leave some love. Please feel free to disregard this one: @noire-pandora, @musetta3, @juliafied, @elveny, @elfrootaddict, @fiadhaisteach, @the-dreadful-canine, @dreadfutures. <3

[dannibcreations]

📝 Cullen Rutherford 😍🗡

I’ve decided to render out the series of #dragonagefanart I did almost a year ago 😀✨ In my ElfrootAddict’s Halla&Wolf fanfic, I’ve been writing some #cullenrutherford dialogue with my #inquisitor and just had to draw this handsome man first 🥰

I don’t typically go for blondes, but I make an exception when comes to this guy - and #alistairtheirin of course ❤️ which I have every intention of drawing someday, too! Did you romance this dream hunk?? . . . 🖊 Created with #procreate #ipad #ipencil 💚 Commissions are OPEN 💬 Ask before reposting 💕 All likes, reblogs and comments are hugely appreciated! Thank you 🥰 . . . 

[an-egg-broke-my-heart]

I’m late!!!! But @im4egghead​ and @faelavellan​ tagged me for this, thanks loves!

Rules: Tag nine people you’d like to get to know better/catch up with.

Top 3 ships: I can’t choose three so I'm giving 4, all DA for blog purposes. Solavellan 👀 (ofc), Cullen x Trevelyan, Fenris x Hawke, Zevran x Tabris. 

Last song: Meet Me on the Battlefield by Svrcina

Last movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1, but more recently I binged all of Killing Eve. 

Currently reading: I don’t have the attention span to read full novels unfortunately. I’m slowly making my way through Tevinter Nights, but more often I just read DA fanfic. I also read a ton of marketing and video production articles for work.

What food I’m craving right now: I really want a coconut milk latte but at the same time I want Twizzlers. I have a big sweet tooth. 

I’m not sure who’s already done this?? Tagging: @isalavhenan, @thedalishdelight, @elffyness, @waterwhisp-rivergoblin, @kirkwallgremlin, @its-dragonage-trash, @i-think-mabari-should-vote, @themultifariousweirdo, and @elfrootaddict!

[elfrootaddict]

WIP Wednesday (like, super-super WIP lol)

Whoops! The day got away from me guys! So I’m posting this on Thursday 🙈🙃

Here is a snippet from my Halla & Wolf series - vol. 4 Growing Pains

This weeks tags: @kita-lavellan @mrstethras​ @silvanils @noire-pandora @followingthewolf @queen-kass-the-writer @faelavellan @jarakrisafis @superstitious21 @medlilove 

Context: My inky, Lana, is in the Hinterlands to meet mother Giselle but Lana and her party come across mages and templars fighting in the Crossroads Village. Lana has only fought demons and never people. She’s never taken another’s life.

WARNING: This contains describing death and dying - please only read if comfortable.

“Is everyone alright?” asks Cassandra as she rests her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “Herald? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine,” answers Lana with relief. “You’ve got a nasty cut on your forehead though. Here, let me heal you.” 

“No that won’t be necessary,” refuses Cassandra with a brief wave of her hand as she stands up straight. “We can attend to our wounds after we’ve found the villagers.” 

“Agreed,” adds Solas with concern. “Let us search for them.”

“Very well,” remarks Cassandra with a subtle nod before turning to Varric. “Varric, stay here with the Herald. We’re going to look around.” 

“You got it,” agrees Varric as Cassandra runs east and Solas west, and then turns back around to regard Lana with a gentle smile as he folds his arms across his chest. “You did good, kid.”

“Thanks,” murmurs Lana sheepishly, but then turns sorrowfully around as she sees the bloodied village with all the corpses surrounding her and Varric. “It’s uh... it’s just a lot to take in right now. There’s so much-”

Suddenly and unexpectedly, at the corner of Lana’s eye, she catches a glimpse of a templar viciously leaping off a boulder's edge just behind Varric with their sword aiming straight towards his back. With his helmet removed, she sees the murderous, vengeful and monstrous intent in his eyes and his mouth stretched wide as he cries out a loud warrior cry.

As if in slow motion and in a blink of an eye, Lana instinctively pushes Varric aside with her left arm while simultaneously slamming her staff onto the ground, just as Solas did moments before, with her right. With her connection to the Fade still strong she expels an explosive direct force that sends the, still mid-air templar, flying several paces back and across the village. The templar violently crashes into a fallen tree at an alarming force, and once the dust surrounding the templar settles, her heart immediately drops to her stomach as she notices a razor sharp, broken branch the size of a man’s arm sprouting through the left side of the templar’s chest, just above breastplate. Panicked over what she has just done, Lana gasps for air as she sprints towards the impaled templar. 

Flailing her staff to the side, she crashes to her knees and tries to assess the damage she has just done, “No! No! No! Creators, no!” her hands begin shaking uncontrollably as she hovers over the templar’s impaled body, unsure of what to do next. “You’re… you’re going to be okay! I’ll… I’ll heal you! We just got to get this out!”

“Lana!” shouts Varric from behind as he starts running towards her.

Still on her knees and eyes filled with frightful tears, she turns to Varric panicked, “No, please! Help me! We need to help him!” and turns back around to regard the unconscious templar. 

Having finally reached her side, Varric cries out sympathetically, “Listen, even if we got it out-”

The templar eventually gains some sense back and quickly notices Lana assessing his fatal wound, and swings his right arm to tightly grab her by the throat and shouts. “Don’t you fucking touch me… you demon!” and spits directly into Lana’s face. But with so much blood loss, the templar quickly loses his remaining strength and releases his grip around her neck. With his blood starting to slowly choke him from within, the templar begins coughing violently with blood spilling out his mouth and running down his armour.

Ignoring the warm blood and saliva on her face and the dying templar’s demand, Lana presses her hands lightly around the branch sprouting from the templar’s chest and then releases a white-blue pulsing energy as she desperately attempts to heal him, “I’m sorry…” cries Lana hysterically. “I'm so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it… I didn’t want to hurt you… I only wanted… I only wanted you to get away...” 

“Herald!” cries Cassandra from afar as she runs towards them. “Step away!”

Solas also makes his way back, and once hearing his arrival, Lana looks up from the templar and cries, “Solas, please help me! There must be something you can do! We have to try! Please!” 

Cassandra and Varric look at Solas with concern as he drops his head and sighs, “Ir abelas, lethallan,” and slowly kneels down next to Lana sympathetically. “He’s dead.”

Unable to remove her wide, lavender eyes from Solas, they begin to fill with more tears as she cannot believe what she is hearing. Ever so slowly however, Lana reluctantly turns back towards the templar and sees his lifeless body lying pinned to the fallen tree and his eyes glazed over, staring into nothing.

With Lana still using her healing magic on the dead templar, Solas subtly lays a hand upon Lana’s and gently guides them away. Upon releasing his touch on her hands, Lana slowly brings them to her lap without removing her gaze on the templar. The templar’s warm blood drips from her hands and starts to stain her specially made Dalish robe. 

Having realised it is truly over and there is nothing more she can do, the true shock and reality hits her like a ton of bricks falling on her chest. With no more tears left to shred, her breathing slows and she just blankly stares at the lifeless eyes of the templar before her. The man she killed. 

[elfrootaddict]

Thank you for the tag last week @in-arlathan​ ! 🥰

~~~ Here is a snippet from my Halla & Wolf series: vol.4 Growing Pains (chapter 6)

~~~

“We must help!” cries Lana as she immediately runs ahead of the party, who quickly follow her lead. 

As Lana reaches the fight first, she connects with the Fade and draws from its magic to create a large fireball at the top of her staff. With her stance firmly planted on the ground, she lunges her staff towards the demon in a wide arc, perfectly hitting the perverted spirit. The demon shrieks out in what Lana can only perceive as pain, and watches it to evaporate into tiny particles of ash until nothing is left. 

With the demon now destroyed, Lana and her company sheath their weapons as they approach the stranger. As they reach closer however, Lana suddenly catches her breath as she notices the stranger wearing green armour with an intricately laced pattern upon their robe, similar to hers, and the all-to-familiar vallaslin of her god, June. The beautiful earthy and subtly red in colour design starts from the forehead, travelling down the cheeks and connecting to the wing of each eye with a single stroke, and then to perfectly balance the symmetrical tattoo, begins a single line from the chin travelling down towards the neck. 

Just like Tamara’s. 

“Adaran athis’an,” greets the stranger looking pleasantly surprised, fulling Lana’s heart with immeasurable warmth over the simple use of the greeting her people use. “I did not expect to see another Dalish blood here.”

[elfrootaddict]

It has been a looooooong time since I posted anything regarding my Halla & Wolf series but I have recently managed to start the next volume: Keeping Company

Here are two small extracts from chapters 1 & 2 🤗

Chapter 1 of vol. 5 Keeping Company:

...

Lana then spots Commander Cullen shouting inaudible instructions towards his exhausted recruits, and then peers up at Solas, “You go on ahead. I just need to speak to our Commander before I head inside. See you at dinner?”

“Of course,” concurs Solas with a smile. “See you then.”

With a respectful nod towards Solas, Lana turns and walks towards the soldiers in training, “Cullen!”

Before leaving Haven for the Hinterlands, Lana often found herself wandering around the camp when she wasn’t either talking to Solas, playing Wicked Grace with Varric or sketching in her cabin. By the second day, she found the Inquisition’s military adviser training new soldiers or improving strategies with the experienced ones near Haven’s frozen lake, with the snowy mountains stretching up towards the scarred sky. In the quieter moments of her day, she would often enjoy watching the soldiers train under the guidance of Cullen’s experience and expertise. And since she has no training, or use, when it comes to utilitising a sword and shield, Lana found the number of different ways a sword can be used to strike down one's opponent to be equally grotesque and fascinating. It was a whole other world of defense she never knew and it piqued her curious mind.

Not wanting to get directly involved or noticed, Lana would quietly sit and observe to learn what she could from a distance. And on the few random occasions, Lana and Cullen would quickly share a couple of glances from afar and release mutual smiles of respect towards one another. This would be the only time they would interact, albeit from a distance, when they were outside the war room.

That is until by the fifth day, when a soldier in training managed to parry a sword out of another’s hand and accidentally fling it straight towards Lana, piercing the ground only an arm-stretch away from her feet. Irritated with his soldier’s negligence, Cullen orders the soldier to retrieve the sword and the young man immediately hurries over in panic, “Please forgive me, Herald! It will never happen again!”

Lana waves her hand in the air in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, “No, no, it’s fine. Please, don’t worry.”

The soldier simply offers a respectful bow and turns on his heel, passing Cullen as he heads towards Lana himself, “Maker’s breath,” remarks Cullen looking embarrassed. “I apologize on behalf of my soldier, Herald. Clumsy fool.”

With a sympathetic laugh, Lana looks up at Cullen, “It really is okay, Commander. It was just an accident.”

“Regardless,” reiterates Cullen with furrowed brows. “It should not have happened.”

Still looking up at the Commander, whose appearance Lana felt was easy on the eyes for a human, and his shining armour with a deep red fur wrapped around his shoulders, offers a simple smile. “That was still quite an impressive move.”

Cullen releases a soft laugh under his breath, “Disarming one’s opponent like that does not happen often.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” begins Cullen looking down at the ever curious elf peering up before him. “To get such a bind on your opponent’s sword like that means that your opponent isn’t very experienced or they are beyond exhaustion and are no longer concentrating. Usually your opponent will be able to parry such an attack if they know what they’re doing before the sword is twisted out of their hand.”

“Parry?”

“It means to counter a move,” explains Cullen casually, however based on Lana’s curious but perplexed expression, he releases a polite smile, “Perhaps it would be best if I showed you? If you’re interested, of course. I understand if you are needed elsewhere.”

Delighted by the invitation to know more about the world of swords and shields, Lana stands to her feet with a wide grin, “Of course! That is if you don’t mind? I can always come back another day.”

With a sincere smile, Cullen cocks his head towards his soldiers and reassures Lana that it would be of no inconvenience at all to show her some of the basic techniques of fencing and mastery of the sword. Since then, Lana and Cullen would often spend some time discussing other off-hand topics while watching the soldiers practice their techniques. Igniting another unexpected friendship.

~~~

Chapter 2 of vol. 5 Keeping Company:

...

“Now what?” murmurs Lana eventually to help snap her mind out of her obscene thoughts and back to the present. Back to reality.

Solas releases a wide smile at Lana’s eagerness as he cannot help but feel his own giddiness swirling inside him. The idea of bringing someone from this world into the Fade with him was quickly denied by the overly cautious, frightened and grossly misunderstood people of Thedas. Nobody cared to know more about the Fade than what the Chantry already preached. The Dalish were far too superstitious and did not want to disturb the resting place of their pantheon, lest they catch the wandering eye of Fen’Harel. Their minds were all made-up and nobody could tell them otherwise. Especially a wondering, lowly elf nobody had ever heard of before.

Reaching for his side of the fireplace, Solas grabs a small clay bowl with crushed, dried elfroot, “Now, before I light this I want to mention a few key aspects about the Fade that I believe you already know, but I feel should be said regardless,” Lana takes small shallow breaths as she listens intently to Solas’s every word. “Your beliefs and willpower is paramount in the Fade. Everything that exists there, exists by your expression of thought. If you are expecting a demon, the Spirit will adapt. Magic can be used if necessary but I strongly advise against it. Magic in the Fade is incredibly unpredictable and may end up causing more harm than good. As a somniari, I have far more control over my surroundings and abilities, so you will follow my lead and enter my dream.”

Lana slowly nods in acknowledgement, “Okay.”

“Now, I remember you mentioning that you have only entered the Fade once with your Keeper. So, I have taken the liberty of drying up some elfroot to help you relax. Making the passage easier for you,” Solas brings the bowl closer to his face and creates a small flame, lighting the dried healing plant before blowing all the flames out. A plume of smoke rises from the bowl as Solas places it on the grown between them. “Take my hands and close your eyes,” Lana looks down at the open palms laying before her and gently places her hands onto them. Solas then curls his fingers around, sealing her hands in a firm but gentle grip and murmurs. “Now, just focus on breathing in the air and connecting to the Fade. I will do the rest.”

With her eyes shut and seeing nothing but darkness, Lana focuses on her other senses: the elfroot fumes burning her nose as she takes in sharp, deep breaths, her aura humming alive as it connects to the Fade, the heat from the fire almost too hot against her face, her hands slightly damp in Solas’s grip, and the hairs standing up on the back of her neck as the magic begins to swirl around her. Suddenly her head begins to feel as light as a feather and slowly spins around, giving her the feeling she might lose her balance. But with Solas holding her securely in place, she knows she is safe from falling.

[elfrootaddict]

Thank you for the tags @medlilove and @in-arlathan ! 💕 Sorry for taking so long! 🙏

Here is a small extract from my Halla & Wolf series, volume 5 chapter 3. I haven’t been able to write as much as I used to, but I’ve managed to make some progress 🥰

~~~

Cullen releases a soft laugh under his breath as he kicks the snow beneath his feet, “I wish it were that simple, Herald.”

“Why can’t it be?” urges Lana ignorantly. “Things will never be the same again since the Conclave, and the Chantry will never accept an elf. I’m already a problem just because of my ears, never mind being called the ‘Herald’. Which to be honest, I really wish they would stop calling me.”

“You don’t think you were saved by Andraste?”

Lana releases a loud sigh, “I believe she existed, but I don’t believe she saved me,” and then turns to look up towards the Breach with furrowed brows. “There must be another explanation.”

“Commander,” cries Josephine as she elegantly strolls towards them in her infamous gold and blue attire, shimmering blightly in the morning light, “I heard there was a bit of a commotion with Chancellor Roderick. I hope you left things as amicably as you possibly could.”

Cullen stares at Josephine as he takes a loud, exhausted breath, “Sure.”

Josephine sighs, “Right, well. I will deal with him later. For now,” and turns to face Lana with a sweet smile as she extends her arms out towards the Chantry doors. “Shall we, Mistress Lavellan?”

Lana forces a gentle smile at the Inquisition’s incredibly kind and darling Ambassador before quickly giving Cullen a “help me” glare as Josephine continues on, “Today we shall be learning more about the Vicomtes and Vicomteeses. Particularly Vicomte de Melun, who is rumored to be conducting an affair with his stepdaughter!”

Cullen turns as he laughs under his breath relieved to not be involved, but is then quickly stopped by a raging Cassandra, “Seeker?”

Cassandra ignores Cullen’s concern and marches straight past the Commander and into the Chantry. Cullen turns around to follow the furious Seeker but then hears Liliana murmur calmly behind him, “We have news. Come, let us go to the War Room.”

[elfrootaddict]

My Halla & Wolf fanfic series cover art 💕

Done! Phew this took longer than expected but I had so much fun 🥰 now it’s time to do the other headers for the chapters 😁

[elfrootaddict]

Six Sentence Sunday

Thank you for the tag @in-arlathan 🥰 Also, @noire-pandora thought you’d like to read this, too 😘

~~~

This is a “small” extract from my Halla & Wolf series: Growing Pains (Chapter 5)

El’lana is writing to Keeper Deshanna while in the Hinterlands.

...And then there is Solas. No family or clan name. I must admit, I am yet to determine if I know him well enough to describe him to you or I am grossly mistaken and I do not know him at all. Firstly, he is one of the People but yet, he is not Dalish or from the city. Even the humans do not know what to make of him. He claims to be a simple wanderer and explorer of the Fade being somniari, yet I cannot help sense he is more than what he appears. There is a story there, but we are not familiar enough for me to pry.

His behaviour reminds of you actually, Keeper. He holds himself quite similarly and I am truly fascinated by his intelligent, philosophical mind. He’s seen such wondrous things in the Fade, even memories of the Elvhen in the days of Arthalan. He holds so much wisdom that, due to our separation from one another, I find myself drawn to seek his guidance more and more. I enjoy listening to what he has to say and he has so many stories to tell. He is quite simply put: fascinating.

Aside from his behaviour and intellect, he also has a good heart. He’s been very attentive to the refugees and ensuring the safety of others. And the fact that he is a mage, all things considered, and here helping of his own volition speaks volumes to his character. I admire his perseverance in helping us seal the Breach, and the courage to do what is right.

It seems I must conclude this letter, Keeper. I am on my last sheet of parchment and I would also like to forage before the day truly starts. We are looking for abandoned supply caches in the forest for the refugees. I must admit, the comradery in helping those less fortunate is quite fulfilling. It feels good to help.

I think about you, Lhoris, Tamara and our clan daily and I hope Leliana will find you soon. Know you are all in my heart and I will treasure the day I get to look upon your faces once again.

Dareth shiral,

El’lana Aemma Lavellan

[elfrootaddict]

New Cover Art for volume 1: Clan Lavellan of my Halla & Wolf series ☺️💕

If you want, you can read my dribble here lol 🙃🙈

[elfrootaddict]

Six Sentence Sunday ✍️

~~~

Thank you for the tag @in-arlathan 🥰 Let me see what I can scramble together lol! @noire-pandora thought you would want to read this little snippet 💕

From my Halla & Wolf series: vol. 4 Growing Pains chapter 6

~~~

Lana and her companions walk towards the hill, and once utop, find poorly hidden boxes and crates filled with namely flour, wheat, vegetables and some fruit.

“These supplies must go to the village,” remarks Cassandra. “We need to mark it’s location.”

“Already on it,” adds Lana as she kneels to the ground, swinging her backpack to her front, and removing a map, quill and magically sealed ink pot. With the piece of parchment spread out on the ground and using her finger as a guide, Lana re-traces their movement from camp to their current location to the best of her ability. “This should be where we are... more or less,” and turns to look up at Solas. “What do you think?”

Solas leans slightly with his arms across his back and peers down at the tip of Lana’s finger on the map, “Hmm…” and pauses to do his own assessment. “Close. I would say just three more finger spaces to the left.”

“Ma serannas,” remarks Lana as she adjusts her finger’s position on the map and then uses her other hand to magically unseal the ink pot beside her. Taking the quill, Lana then dips it into the ink pot and scratches a neatly marked ‘X’ just above her finger. “There. Hopefully the scouts will find it.”

“They will,” remarks Cassandra looking out over land ahead of them. “Let us be off then. We still have a lot of ground to cover.”

Lana then places everything back into her backpack just as she retrieved them, and stands to her feet, “Alright, let’s go.”

~~~

[elfrootaddict]

WIP Wednesday (Thursday)

Some more WIP stuff for this week :)

This weeks tags: @kita-lavellan @mrstethras @silvanils @noire-pandora @shadowcrow @jarakrisafis @followingthewolf

~~~

Extract of my Halla & Wolf series: Growing Pains (chapter 3)

“Andaran athis’an,” murmurs Knowledge as it slowly approaches. “Mir falon.”

“Mirthadra Ghil-Dirthalen,” answers Solas in return. “I am glad to have found you.”

The Spirit stops their approach and offers a respectful nod to an old friend. With only a luminous green, opaque form of a body and no legs to speak of, the Spirit naturally hovers above the ground in a steady vacillating motion, “What may I share with you? What is it that you seek to know?”

Solas places both hands behind his back, a stance he always takes when he feels calm and safe, and begins a slow stride next to a steady flowing stream beside large blossoming trees. As Solas steps lightly and purposefully, he enjoys how soft the green grass is underneath his bare feet and notices the white fallen flowers that litter the ground around him. Knowledge promptly follows Solas and hovers beside him.

“I am seeking artefacts that measure the strength of the veil,” begins Solas looking down at the ground. “However, I know not where to find them since Arlathan.”

“Ah yes,” murmurs Knowledge looking out ahead. “I know of what you speak.”

“Do you know where I can find them?” inquires Solas as he lifts his head up to regard the faceless Spirit.

“I do not,” Knowledge politely turns its head to regard Solas’s gaze. “Although, might I suggest that you speak with Curiosity? I believe they might know where you may find these artefacts.”

Solas stops his slow stroll, and so too does Knowledge, and offers the Spirit a gentle smile of gratitude, “Ma serannas. You have been most helpful.”

“You are always welcome, lethallin.”

~~~

Extract from my Halla & Wolf series: Growing Pains (chapter 4)

Solas eventually breaks the silence between them as he looks out ahead towards the pond, “There is actually something I wanted to discuss with you, especially since we’re headed east today.”

“Yes?”

“In my journeys, I heard of ancient elvhen artefacts that can measure the strength of the veil. However, I did not know where I could find one. So, I approached a Spirit of Knowledge in the Fade as I slept and asked if it knew where these artefacts are.”

Lana looks towards Solas intrigued, “And, did the Spirit know?”

“It did not. Fortunately, a Curiosity Spirit knew and informed me that there happens to be one nearby us somewhere in an old, abandoned ruin east from here,” and decidedly pauses in anticipation. “I was wondering if the Inquisition would agree or perhaps see the value in finding these artefacts?”

“Well,” Lana pauses as she thinks about her answer carefully. “I can only speak for myself and say that finding these artefacts sounds really important. You said they can measure the strength of the vail? Does that mean they could somehow tell us where a rift might occur before it even happens?”

“Yes,” answers Solas sounding surprised and impressed over Lana having immediately grasped the artifact's capabilities. “And it can strengthen the veil, too.”

Lana is quiet for a moment and shakes her head in disbelief, “That is just… it’s just so fascinating. The lives our people must have had back then…” and pauses with a look of a far-off wonderment in her eyes as she tries to picture the days of Arthalan. But soon comes back to reality and looks back up at Solas with a polite smile. “Did the Curiosity Spirit tell you where the others are?”

“No, but I did ask it to search. I will return to the Fade at some point and see what it has found.”

Lana then suddenly stops walking, and noticing her absence beside him, Solas also stops to turn around to see why. Appearing somewhat nervous as she fidgets with her fingernails, Lana looks towards Solas longingly and murmurs, “Solas. Would it be possible if I could join you?”

“Join me?” echos Solas confused.

“When you speak with the Curiosity Spirit?” explains Lana eagerly with a gentle smile. “Ever since you told me about the type of Spirits you encounter when dreaming, I find myself wanting to meet one more and more. I’ve only ever seen demons and whisps, but never the type of Spirits you meet.”

Solas’s mouth almost falls agape as he cannot believe what Lana is asking. His heart is leaping inside his chest over just the idea of being able to share his journeys with someone so open to the world of Spirits, just a piece of his world. Telling stories is one thing, but to actually bring Lana to the Fade while dreaming and meet one of his friends? To say Lana continuously surpasses his expectations would be an understatement.

Having been rendered uncharacteristically speechless for a moment, Lana snaps Solas out of his surprised expression, “Solas?”

“I - well, yes,” Solas clears his throat as he composes himself to appear more nonchalant. “If that is what you desire. But I would not let anybody know. They might get the wrong idea. Especially Cassandra.”

Lana's smile widens from excitement, “I understand. It’ll be our little secret.”

[elfrootaddict]

HERALD OF ANDRASTE - Chapter 4/4

DESCRIPTION: El'lana’s entire world is turned upside down when she, a proud Dalish elf, is bestowed the title “Herald of Andraste”.

SERIES: Halla & Wolf

VOLUME: 3

Lana bursts into her cabin, slamming the door shut behind her and drops to the floor. Releasing her belongings from her tense grip, she allows them to fall where they may. Her breathing is heavy as her heart thrashes wildly inside her chest. With so much adrenaline surging through her body, her hands begin to shake uncontrollably as she brings them to her face.

Lana is all too familiar with having a temper, but the pure rage she’s feeling from this outburst has never happened before. Not ever. Especially towards someone she barely knows. How is it that possible that only moments ago she was laughing and enjoying his company. But now? Now she feels like a wild, savage beast wanting to claw Solas’s face off.

How dare he say such things? How dare he have such hatred towards people he’s never even met before? People, who I love more than life itself!

And yet, how can she allow herself to get so provoked? He was only expressing his opinion. Is she to get this enraged every time somebody vexes her? Shouldn’t she be used to the notion that the Dalish are ostracised, perhaps even by her own kind?

Lana brings her knees in towards her chest as she scrapes her fingers through her hair. She closes her eyes and takes several minutes to try and calm herself down; taking in deep breaths through the nose and exhaling out the mouth, just like the Keeper always instructed her to do.

Except this time, it isn’t working.

Resting her arms on her knees, she drops her head and quietly begins to weep. Her chest pounding at a rapid rhythm until finally she takes in one deep breath and releases a much louder, desperate wail. She brings her head back, hitting the cabin door, and brings her trembling hands up towards her face to help quieten down the volume of her cries. 

And the tears keep falling. And falling. And falling.

Is she really that angry at Solas? No, not particularly. She is indeed offended towards his tackless accusations but when it comes down to it… 

Lana is terrified. Beyond belief.

“Blend-in as best as you can mir da’vhenan, and discover the nature of this meeting. Return to me and report what has happened. Nothing more and nothing less. Ar lath, ma da’len. May the gods guide your steps.” 

Lana realises that once word of the Conclave got to the Free Marches, and then to her clan, the Keeper would logically assume Lana had died with all the rest. In fact, Keeper Zatlen of clan Alassan has probably already sent word to the Keeper, and the clan has already planted a tree in Lana’s memory somewhere in the forest. Knowing the Keeper’s cautious behaviour, she would most likely move the clan to the safest location she knows because of the anticipated chaos between the mages and the templars. 

And Lana knows that once they move, there would be no possible way of finding them again on her own. She is no scout or hunter, and only just managed to get here by following the Keeper’s strict instructions. Sure, she could go back to Kirkwall’s harbour somehow and travel through the cravis in the Vinmark Mountains, but then where would she go? East? West? North?

I will never see them again. The Keeper. Lhoris. Tamara. My home. I won’t be there for Lhoris and Tamara’s bonding ceremony. I won’t be able to see them raise their little ones. I won’t even be there to help the Keeper as she ages.

Lana looks down at the papers scattered around her with the ink spilled across the floor, and quietly whimpers as she begins to clean up the mess.

Lana wipes the tears from her face and looks around the cabin. With the sun almost completely set, the cabin is nearly pitch dark, and she can hardly make out much, save for a single candle’s silhouette on the windowsill. With only a flick of the wrist, Lana murmurs a spell and lights the wick. The small flame fills the room with a warm, soft glow which is when she notices a large bowl laying on the table. 

Taking in a long, deep breath, and feeling somewhat calmer after that much needed cry, she forces herself up as she wipes her dripping nose with her sleeve, and slumps towards the bowl.

Lana murmurs a basic enchantment and fills the bowl with cold, fresh water. She then cups her hands in the liquid and splashes the water against her blotchy and tired face.

Lana leans against the table, hands placed on either side of the bowl and stares at her distorted reflection in the water’s rippling surface. As the water slowly begins to settle, Lana leans in closer and notices a large, dark line across her mouth. And with a quick gesture, she stills the water to get a better look. 

“Creators…”

Still struggling to see under the current light, Lana glares at the meek, little candle light and significantly enhances its flame size. 

Now satisfied by the more sufficient lighting, Lana uses one hand to hold her hair back as she leans in even closer to the water’s surface. And that’s when she gasps.

Using her free hand, Lana slowly glides her fingers across the massively brazen laceration starting from the left corner of her top lip and all the way down to her chin.

By the dread wolf, how long have I had this?

Lana turns her face from side to side and notices another laceration across her right cheek. This one is not as large, but it's deeper and also new. She’s grateful that at least her vallaslin is still intact. 

Suddenly, a knock at her cabin door startles her. Lana whips her head around, stabilises the candle’s flame, and pretends she isn’t there. She is in no mood for any company.

“Lana?”

Nope.

“It’s me... your friendly neighbourhood dwarf.”

Funny. But, still no.

And for a short while, neither one says anything until…

“I have food...”

Lana’s stomach instantly grumbles. Releasing a soft sigh, Lana realises that she needs a warm meal more than pretending to not exist at the moment.

Desperate to appear nonchalant, Lana quickly brushes her fingers through her hair and straightens out her clothes as she walks towards the door. Taking in a deep breath, Lana opens the door by only a few inches, and peers through the small gap, as she is still in shock and deeply insecure about the scar across her lip.

Standing in the cold on the cabin’s porch is Varric, with two steaming bowls of Fereldan’s typical, hearty stew; chunky vegetables in a broth, and if the hunters had been lucky, there would be a few pieces of animal meat, too.

Varric stretches his arm out with one and Lana takes it gratefully, “Thank you, Varric. That’s really nice of you. I could have helped myself, you know? You didn’t have to come all the way here.” 

Varric huffs with a playfully dismissive hand wave, “It was no trouble. And I figured with everything going on, you most likely haven’t eaten anything today, have you?”

Lana releases a gentle smile and sways her head from side to side.

“Thought so. Well, now that I’ve fulfilled my neighbourly duty for the day. I’ll see you ‘round, El.”

Lana smiles sheeply at Varric for calling her El, as it reminds her of Lhoris, and as much as she wants to wallow in self-pity, she could really talk to somebody who isn’t in the Inquisition's inner circle, a Chantry priestess or Creators-forbid… Solas. 

She could use a good evening with somebody who could potentially be called a friend.

“Varric...” calls Lana, and Varric turns around to regard her with a gentle smile, “You can come in if you like? If you want to, of course. I don’t want to intrude on your evening plans or anything.”

“If by ‘plans’ you mean waiting around for the world to end?” and shrugs his shoulders sarcastically. “I think I can push that back.”

Lana laughs and lets Varric in.

Once Lana closes the door behind them, she frantically looks about the room for a place to seat her guest, “You can sit... here.” and quickly puts her evening meal down on the table as she drags the only chair in the cabin out for Varric.

“Hey, don’t worry about me, I’m happy standing.”

Lana stops moving the chair towards him as she is unsure of what to do next. She isn’t used to entertaining “guests” and doesn’t know what the “rules” are. So instead, she settles for an awkward stare down.  

“Come on,” persists Varric as he moves himself to the corner of the table, placing his bowl down. “I insist.” and gestures for Lana to take the chair. 

Lana releases a sheepish grin, brings the chair in towards the table and sits down, “Thank you.” and brings her bowl in closer as they both dig into their meal.

“So,” begins Varric. “Now that Cassandra’s out of earshot, are you holding up alright? I mean, you go from being the most wanted criminal in Thedas to joining the armies of the faithful. Most people would have spread that out over more than just one day.”

Taking a big gulp of her stew, “I have no idea what’s happening anymore.”

Varric chuckles, “That makes two of us. For days now, we’ve been staring at the Breach, watching demons and Maker-knows-what fall out of it. ‘Bad for morale’ would be an understatement,” Varric pauses and looks down into his steaming meal. “I still can’t believe anyone was in there and lived.”

“If it was that bad, why did you stay? Cassandra said you were free to go.” 

Lana brings a spoonful of hot broth up-to her mouth and then slowly sips at the edges of the spoon.

Varric stops stirring his vegetables around and sighs, “I like to think I’m as selfish and irresponsible as the next guy, but this,” shaking his head and looking mournfully at Lana. “Thousands of people died on that mountain. I was almost one of them! And now there’s a hole in the sky? Even I can't even walk away and just leave that to sort itself out.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, thank you for staying. The Breach needs to be sealed. The sooner the better.”

“If it can be sealed,” Varric leans against the cabin walls and looks at Lana for a moment as he contemplates something, and then moves in closer to whisper. “You might want to consider running at the first opportunity. I’ve written enough tragedies to recognise where this is going,” and leans back to take a spoonful of stew. “Heroes are everywhere. I’ve seen that. But the hole in the sky? That’s beyond heroes. We’re going to need a miracle.”

Lana looks down at her bowl and begins to lose herself in the bobbing vegetable chunks in her stew, “I wish everybody else saw it that way. I’m just... me.”

Varric pushes away his empty bowl and sighs. “Look, I’m just going to say it…” and Lana looks up at Varric puzzled. “That stew was... terrible!”

Lana relaxes and laughs with a light and pleasant sound, “It’s not the best, is it?”

“Are you kidding?” Varric fans his fingers across his chest dramatically. “Even I could make a better stew than this nug-shit, and that’s saying something.”

“Yeah, I’m not a very good cook either. I suppose I never had to really learn. We always had at least two people dedicated to preparing the meals back home.”

Varric leans against the cabin wall again and crosses his arms over his chest, “You’re from the Marchers, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Pointing his thumb up towards himself, “Kirkwall.”

Lana smiles widens as she cries out, “I had no idea! What a small world! I’ve only been to Kirkwall once, although I’ve only been in the harbour mind you. Up until recently, I had never been anywhere else. Only Tamara would go to the towns or cities to trade with the shems.”

“Tamara?”

Lana shakes her head at her foolishness, “Oh right, sorry. Tamara is one of my clan’s merchants,” and pauses before murmuring. “But to me, she’s more like a sister.”

With kind and caring eyes, Varric attempts to console Lana. “You must miss her. Has Liliana managed to contact your clan yet?”

Digging and fumbling around in her almost empty bowl, Lana looks up at Varric with confusion. “No?”

“Maker’s breath!” cries Varric. “Okay, first thing tomorrow morning, find Liliana and tell her you need to contact your clan.”

“That’s sweet Varric but news of the Conclave would have reached them by now. They probably think I’m dead and moved on. I wouldn’t know how to find them.”

Varric leans across the table and looks at Lana with a confidant grin. “Trust me, Liliana can find them. Don’t you worry about that, kiddo.”

“Really?” 

Varric stands up straight, crosses his arms over his chest and simply nods.

Lana quietly judges Varric’s confidence, and realises that if Liliana really can find her clan, then that means she can allow herself to hope to be reunited with her family once everything is over.

“I would be truly grateful! Thank you, Varric.”

“No problem,” Varric drops his arms and scratches the back of his head, “Man, I’m glad to have a warm meal but Maker’s breath, that was just awful.”

Lana releases another carefree laugh but is instantly interrupted by another sudden and unexpected knock at the door.

Varric turns his head towards the door and looks back at Lana with a cheeky smile and raised eyebrow, “Expecting someone?”

Realising his carnal insinuation, Lana blushes and cries out, “Creators! No!” and Varric laughs wildly while she calls towards the door, “Who is it?”

And a quiet, soothing voice answers back, “Solas. Apologies for the intrusion, but I was hoping for only a moment of your time?”

Lana's pleasant mood visibly dissipates and she slumps into her chair, rolls her eyes and releases a loud groan. Which causes Varric to raise both eyebrows in surprise at her sudden, dramatic shift in mood. She then shoves the chair back, causing a loud screech on the wooden floor and marchers over to the door. 

With one swift motion, Lana opens the door wide enough to clearly indicate she isn’t alone and that Solas is indeed intruding on her very pleasant evening.

“Oh,” gasps Solas as he looks at Varric, who waves back at him awkwardly. “I didn’t realise you had company.” 

With one hand on the door and the other resting on her hip, Lana snaps. “Is there something you need, Solas?”

Solas looks back at Lana, “It’s no matter. I will find you-”

“You know what,” mutters Varric from inside the cabin as he grabs both bowls. “I was just about to leave anyway,” and walks towards the door, and past the two very clearly, upset elves. “So if you don’t mind me El, I think I’ll be heading off. It was good catching up.”

Varric staying is the only reasonable excuse Lana can use to dismiss Solas. But with her excuse literally walking out the door, Lana desperately cries out, “Varric, there’s really no need-”

“It’s no problem,” insists Varric. “I need a few mugs of ale to wash down this stew anyhow,” and begins walking questionably fast as he shouts without looking back, “See you kids in the morning!” and leaves Lana and Solas to watch him disappear into the darkness.

Eventually Lana murmurs, “Good night...”

Shit.

With his arms behind his back, Solas turns back around and looks down at Lana, who is still blocking the entrance to the cabin. 

Feeling his gaze on her, Lana ultimately looks back at him in return. Neither one says anything.

Well, this is just GREAT.

And as if they were in one of Varric’s cheesy romance novels, they both speak up at the same time. 

Lana releases a forced, awkward laugh and averts her gaze while Solas holds his own without managing to break eye contact. 

Clearly uncomfortable and wanting to get out of the cold, Lana attempts to speak first, “Do you... do you want to come in?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lana steps aside, allowing Solas in and closes the door behind him. Still lingering at the entrance, she turns around and watches him stride to the middle of the room and then turn back around to face her. His shoulders pulled back, standing perfectly poised and straight.

Lana isn’t sure what to do now, so she folds her arms across her chest and looks around the room awkwardly. 

Why is he just staring at me?

With a calm and controlled voice, Solas finally breaks the tension, “I wanted to apologise. Again. It seems I am constantly finding new ways to offend you,” Lana flicks her gaze back at him, visibly surprised. “I should not have allowed my previous experience with the Dalish to cloud my opinion of your clan. I regretfully admit that I have indeed ‘painted you with the same brush’ so to speak. And for that, I’m sorry.”

By his mannerism and delivery, it is clearly evident that Solas really means every word. He truly is regretful and Lana finds herself shamefully surprised.

After their confrontation, she had decided that he was an arrogant, selfish man who relishes in being superior in knowledge, intellect and rare experiences as a dreamer. 

But now?

Lana visibly relaxes her tense shoulders and feebly murmurs, “Thank you.”

Solas turns his gaze away from Lana and walks towards the window, the candle’s light subtly highlighting the edges of his silhouette, “You see, I have wondered many roads in my time, and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion. I have offered to share my knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition. Most care very little about improving their lives. They already consider themselves perfect, the sole keepers of elven lore,”

Solas drops his head and closes his eyes, ��Liar. Fool. Madman. There are endless ways to say someone isn’t worth listening to,” and he turns his head around with his eyes giving away his pain. “Over time, it grinds away at you.”

Lana can’t stop herself from staring at him as she left completely lost for words. His misery and suffering tugging at her empathic heart.

Lana takes a small step forward, “Solas-”

“Until today,” interjects Solas as he turns around fully with a gentle smile. “You are the first of your people to ask me about my travels, my stories,” and awkwardly tugs at his sleeves. “It’s been... a long time since anyone has shown genuine interest in what I have to share. And if you’d like, I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions, to the best of my ability.” 

With a subtle nod, Lana smiles sincerely, “Thank you, I would like that very much.”

Solas smiles back and moves closer to Lana, his tall and broad physique blocking the candle’s light. 

“Before I take my leave, I have something of yours,” and removes a rolled piece of parchment from his belt, and hands it over to Lana. “I believe you might be missing this.”

Confused, Lana takes the parchment, looks at Solas for a moment, and proceeds to slowly unravel it before him as she gasps. It’s her unfinished sketch of the Keeper. 

“I had no idea I dropped it!” and looks up at Solas with a sincere smile, “Thank you.”

Solas nods with a gentle smile in return, “You’re welcome. And I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time.” 

Solas walks towards the door as Lana follows him. He opens the door, steps outside and looks down at Lana with a sincere smile, “I will see you in the morning.” and begins closing the door.

Impulsively, Lana leaps forward and grabs onto the side of the door and calls out, “Solas, wait...”

Solas lets go of the door handle, turns around and stares at Lana curiously. 

Lana opens the door a little further and looks down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Solas with remorse, “I would like to apologise for my behaviour, too. I said a lot of things to you which were unkind and hurtful, and I let my temper get the better of me... ir abelas, lethallin.”

Solas releases a heartfelt smile and nods, “Thank you.”

After hearing Solas’s tragic story about how the Dalish have treated him in the past, she cannot help but feel embarrassed and ashamed, and feels she needs to apologise on behalf of her people, too, “And I’m sorry for how the Dalish have treated you in the past. I truly had no idea,” and with her deep set frown and pale, lavender eyes peering up at him, she bravely declares, “It isn’t right and if I am ever in the position to change things, I know exactly where to start.” 

“You are a rarity amongst your people, da’len. And thank you for allowing me to speak with you this evening. I look forward to our many academic discussions moving forward.”

And with that, Solas turns around and walks away. Only once she can no longer see him, does Lana slowly close the door and look down at the unfinished picture of Keeper Deshanna. A bit crinkled, but no matter. She’s just happy to have the Keeper back with her.

Unbelievably exhausted, Lana decides to call it a day and puts the Keeper back with the others. She then takes the candlestick from the windowsill and places it in the middle of the room. 

She then proceeds to take apart her nicely made bed and apologises, in her mind, to whomever makes her bed for her as they will find everything on the floor. Again.

Using the thin cotton sheet, she lays it neatly on the cabin floor next to the bed. Then, taking her loose wolf fur, she lays it down on the sheet and immediately follows with laying out the softer, stuffed blanket on top of that. 

Once nicely centered, she visually divides the blanket into thirds, folding the right-third inwards and then the left-third over that. Then she tucks the bottom of her makeshift cocoon underneath itself and stands back to admire her work. 

Well, if this is the closest I’ll get to what I have back home, then that's fine with me.

Satisfied, Lana grabs the last crucial element of her creation - the pillow. 

Once changed into her sleepwear, Lana wiggles her way into her bed and turns around to face the candle, and stares into its dull, dim glow as it reaches the end of its wick.

First thing tomorrow I will find Liliana, so that she can try to contact the Keeper before Cassandra keeps me busy all day.

Then, I’ll find Solas in the evening to learn more about the ancient elvhen.

Lana closes her heavy, tired eyes and its not long until the flame of the candle runs out. 

Oh, and don’t forget to ask him about that strange shoe-thing across his neck.

Oh wait, it can’t be a shoe - doesn’t it have teeth?

Elvish to English Translation:

“Mir da’vhenan” = my little-heart

“Ar lath, ma da’len” = I love you, my child

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

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Halla & Wolf Series

[elfrootaddict]

HERALD OF ANDRASTE - Chapter 1/4

DESCRIPTION: El'lana’s entire world is turned upside down when she, a proud Dalish elf, is bestowed the title “Herald of Andraste”. SERIES: Halla & Wolf VOLUME: 3

It was only yesterday that Lana woke up to find herself on a large bed, in a warm cabin - instead of lying outside on the cold stone floor of the temple’s ruins.

Confused by her surroundings, Lana abruptly sits up and frightens an unexpected young elven woman who immediately drops her supply box as she falls to her knees, plants her hands on the floor and exclaims, “I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant.”

Lana’s heart leapt when she saw a fellow elf kneel before her, “Creators lethallan, what are you doing?”

The elf only bowed lower as her forehead almost touched the floor, “You are back in Haven, my lady. They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand,” 

Lana looked down at her hand and noticed the magic subduedly illuminating underneath her skin. It felt suppressed and dormant.

“It’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days.”

“Three days?!” shrieked Lana as she looked up from her hand.

To Lana, it felt as if she had merely fainted for a brief moment. However, instead of a minute or two, it had been days. And instead of waking up at the temple, she was back in Haven, in a cabin, and with an elf claiming to be her humble servant. 

To say Lana was wholly confused would have been the understatement of her lifetime.

Lana stared out the window of the cabin, watching the snow slowly trickle down as she tried to make sense of her rapidly evolving situation. While deep into her thoughts, the elven woman rose to her feet and nervously headed for the door, “...she said, ‘At once’.” and left the cabin in a great hurry.

Desperate for answers, Lana decided to get dressed and find Cassandra. Once changed out of the night dress, someone had put her in, and back into her old, filthy human clothes, Lana opened the door of the cabin and found herself standing in front of a horde of humans. One by one, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared with mouths agape.

As she slowly walked through the crowd of gawkers, she heard many whispering, “The Herald of Andraste! That’s her! That’s the Herald!”

Lana felt she needed to do a few double-takes to make sure she had heard them correctly, and to her astonishment it seemed there was no denying what she had heard. 

The Herald of Andraste? Mythal, ar halani lasa ghilan. I fear I may need it now more than ever before.

After awkwardly walking her way through the crowd and into the Chantry, Lana eventually reached the closed internal door within and immediately overheard people shouting on the other side. One voice she recognized to be Cassandra, and the other belonging to the senior Chantry gentlemen on the bridge days before. 

“Have you gone completely mad?” cried the Chancellor. “She should be taken to Val Royeaux immediately and be tried by whomever becomes Divine!”

“I do not believe she is guilty.” Cassandra insisted.

“The elf failed, Seeker. The Breach is still in the sky! For you all know, she intended it this way.”

“I do not believe that.” 

“That is not for you to decide,” demanded the Chancellor. “Your duty is to serve the Chantry.”

“My duty is to serve the principles on which the Chantry was founded, Chancellor. As is yours.”

Deciding that was as good of a time as any, Lana opened the door to find Cassandra, the Chancellor and Liliana standing around a large, wooden table. If they were going to be talking about her, she might as well be part of it. She was not going to allow these humans decide her fate. That’s what Lhoris would have done. 

“Chain her!” cried the Chancellor to the two Templars situated on either side of the door. “I want her prepared for travel to the capital, for trial.”

“Disregard that,” Cassandra ordered. “And leave us.”

And, so they did.

Lana stood awkwardly as Cassandra and Lilliana fought with the Chancellor over who had authority to do what. It was a dual, where their weapons of choice were their words. Each sentence cutting their opponent down precisely where they knew it would cause the most pain.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, a loud bang filled the room and Lana noticed Cassandra pointing to a thick, ancient book on the wooden table between them.

“You know what this is, Chancellor. A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act,” Cassandra paused as she looked about the room. “As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn,” and walked towards the Chancellor threateningly. “We will close the Breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order. With or without your approval.”

Cassandra, having clearly won their verbal-duel, left the Chancellor with no other option but for him to leave the room defeated. Although she had been victorious, Cassandra did not look happy about it. 

Liliana turned to Lana and explained, “This is the Divine’s directive: rebuild the Inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos,” and then sighed with a heavy heart. “We aren’t ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now... no Chantry support.”

As a Dalish elf, Lana's knowledge was understandably focused on elvhen culture, history, and magic. Up until recently, she never had any reason to know about human history. However, considering the situation, this had needed to be rectified. 

Lana was pleasantly surprised to find that, despite her numerous questions, Cassandra and Liliana seemed more than happy to divulge their understanding of the ancient writ and answer all of Lana’s immediate questions as best they could.  

“The Chantry will take time to find a new Divine, and then it will wait for her direction.” advised Liliana.

“But we cannot wait,” insisted Cassandra. “So many grand clerics died at the Conclave,” looking fiercely towards Lana. “No, we are on our own. Perhaps forever.” and then Cassandra turned her glare from Lana’s eyes to the dormant magical mark on her hand.

With her hand extended, like equals, Cassandra regarded Lana as she asked a heavy question with ease, “Help us fix this Mistress Lavellan, before it’s too late.”

The moment had demanded an immediate response, and with no time given to mull-over the decision or to find some way to escape this madness, Lana looked down at the Seeker’s hand and took a deep breath as she stepped forward, and shook Cassandra’s hand in agreement. 

Cassandra and Liliana then excused themselves so that they could inform the others, which meant leaving Lana alone in the room.

Immediately, Lana regretted her decision.

What. The. Fuck. Have. You. Done?!

When Cassandra asked her to help seal the Breach days before, Lana naively assumed her responsibility would end then and there. 

But now, Lana had agreed to become apart of this human ‘Inquisition’. 

You fool! Why are you like this? You should be heading back home so the Keeper can find a way to remove this damn magic from your hand! Not keep helping these shems!

Lana then looked down at her hand as her heart thrashed around inside her chest, and fear roared in her eyes.

As each moment passed with Lana staring into her palm, she slowly realised the full weight of her responsibility and the true reality of the situation. Her responsibility and role in this mess was far too great to ignore, no matter how hard she willed it away. No matter how nauseous her decision made her feel. No matter how harshly she scolded herself for the decision she made just now. 

This Breach threatens not just these shems, but the whole of Thedas… which includes everyone back home. The Keeper. Tamara. Lhoris. Everyone. 

And with this mark…

This mark is the only thing that is able to seal these tears in the Veil. So what choice do I really have? If I run, what does that say about me? Could I honestly leave knowing I’m the only one capable of sealing these tears? What would the Keeper say? 

Lana closed her eyes, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and walked out the room closing the door behind her. 

She would tell me to stay. She would tell me to take this as an opportunity to mend the bridge between the shems and the elvhen. Show the shems that the Dalish are capable of helping others beyond our kin. 

As Lana slowly walked through the Chantry, she began admiring the peacefulness within. The Chantry sisters praying quietly in front of the dimly lit candles, the hushed ambiance, and the small trickle of sunlight creeping through the windows above its great doors. 

She would tell me that I can do this. That I have the fire of mamae and the caution of papae. That if I’ve made it this far, then I can do what comes next. Helping these shems is the right thing to do.

Once Lana exited the Chantry, she found herself once again in front of a crowd of on-lookers. However, this time Cassandra, Liliana, Josephine Montilyet and Commander Cullen immediately turned and gestured for her to join them in formation as they officially announced the rebirth of the Inquisition. 

Okay, Keeper. Then that is what I’ll do. For you and for the People. I will help fix this mess. For I am a proud, Dalish, elf. Arlathvhen, Mythal ar lasa ghilan.

Elvish to English Translation: 

“Mythal, ar halani lasa ghilan” = Mythal, help me and guide me

“Arlathvhen, Mythal ar lasa ghilan” = For the love of the People, Mythal guide me.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

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Halla & Wolf Series

[elfrootaddict]

Cover Art for vol 2: She is the Key of my Halla & Wolf series

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