#Mages how to reverse tranquility and no one I see talks about it. it annoys me they Tommy Gun’d Solas’ charcater from the entire game in

[ziracona]

TLDR at the bottom, as I know this became very long. My apologies.

I would really like to clarify first that I am not arguing with you or attempting to make you like her and am just attempting to explain my stance since you seemed confused about specifically this: as someone who is very solidly for mage rights in the Dragon Age games and also really likes Vivienne, I do think you overestimate how many fans she has? Which is completely understandable as fandom has cooled a little bit in the last few years, which means there’s less discourse posts floating around, but it used to be that if I found Vivienne content it was vitriolic towards her—she has a canonical Ao3 tag labeled “Vivienne (Dragon Age) Is A Bitch” for example.

We’re not prone to criticizing her character on the regular because she already gets a lot of it, on about the same level as Anders (whom I also am very fond of) and most of it has already been said before.

For examples though, her arguments about mages are genuinely infuriating and make little sense.

She is fantastically racist in the game, which is also very frustrating, though to be fair to her, I’m having trouble thinking of a companion who isn’t at some point or another without ability to correct them (Dorian supporting slavery and his “elven harpy” comment towards, Cole’s “Never trust half an elf” comment which is bad regardless of if they were intending it to be about Michel, Solas and Sera’s everything unfortunately, etc. all come to mind.) Maybe Bull, Leliana, or Josie? I can’t remember them being so off the top of my head.

These things do suck and most Vivienne fans (except for a few, but typically fans who support the fantasy Catholic Church aren’t going to be the type of fans who will bother caring about a Black woman—they’ll usually go for Cullen, the white straight man who is anti-mage and who the narrative actually cares about) are very aware of her flaws, but generally we think it was a very stupid idea to have the first Black companion (that they will actually admit to being Black anyway, unlike Isabela who got whitewashed and Morrigan and Cole, who never really have the fact that they are mixed Black acknowledged or shown in the games) support the oppressive system and use her as a mouthpiece for a conservative agenda.

(Using characters as a mouthpiece for whatever agenda the devs are trying to push with little regard to their actual characters is a very common thing in Inqusition—ex. at one point they have Cole say Cullen was a “good Templar who remembered the mages are people” when Cullen literally has a line in 2 saying “Mages aren’t people like you and me.” which is a direct quote from him, and even though Cole should by all rights be terrified by Cullen. Also, all of Varric’s Inquisition characterization.)

I mean, her companion quest is just there to have you distrust her briefly (the quest is named after a classic villain line and the youth potion paper) before “surprising” the player with the the fact that she… has layers? Cares about someone? Which is so… incredibly stupid on the Dev’s parts for a variety of reasons that if I talk about now I will start getting genuinely angry over.

I also think she has some very redeeming qualities. I personally found that she was very compassionate towards an Inquisitor she was friends with. It doesn’t stop her from being opportunistic, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing necessarily. I think this bit specifically is probably something we won’t agree on however, since we have very different readings on these moments, so I’m going keep it at that.

None of this is meant to convince you to like her at all, but I wanted to explain my perspective in doing so since you seemed confused about it.

TLDR: I, and many other pro-mage Vivienne fans, are aware of her flaws, but we think that was a terrible writing decision and do see several redeemable qualities in her character. None of this is meant to sway you in your dislike of her, but I wanted to explain my perspective since you said you didn’t understand how someone could like Vivienne and be pro-mage.

(P.S. I am very sorry if any of this comes off as condescending or if this was completely unwelcome. I’m autistic and have a hard time with tone, both reading it and delivering it. I’m working on it, but I’m still not good at tone over text.)

I. I understand all of this. I’ve criticized the fact they made the first black companion a huge bitch and a bigot against her own kind from the second it became clear that was her personality? But her being the first black companion also doesn’t innately make her a good character. Being a minority doesn’t make what a character does automatically ok or less bad, and idealization is dehumanization as much as villainizing is. It makes BioWare’s writers and their decisions gross, and their agenda gross, any anyone who uses her sucking as an excuse to be racist or disproportionately hateful to only the black companion horrible, but it at the same time doesn’t just…make her good, or ok.

She’s written stupidly, but the character they made is a bigot given no real character growth who tries to ruin the advances for mage rights even if you put forth the best possible outcomes (Lelianna Divine, allied Mages) and befriended Vivienne. She straight sucks. She does. She is a bad, selfish, emotionally manipulative person with no empathy for those of her kind less privileged than her, and a species traitor. (Or whatever? Can’t think of a better thing to categorize Mages as. Class??) It’s not like I only complain about her. I’ve been just as liberal complaining about Doriana and Sera and every other fucked up choice the Devs made. If you’ve seen anything I posted the past week, you’ve probably seen me having a meltdown over how utterly unsalvagable Inquisition is as a game. As for Viv herself, she’s not devoid of good qualities. She’ll be nice if she’s your friend, you’re right, but you have to be kind of terrible to befriend her at all, and so? So is everyone on the planet. That’s what fair weather friends /are/. But beyond that, yeah. She’s not all evil. She cared about the guy she was mistress to. She’s not a monster. But she high key is a terrible person and sucks. You’re right, the devs making her quest a quote from the Queen from Snow White of all things, to encourage a player to lie to her, is fucked up. So is literally everything they did to her. So is how they treated Bull, and Dorian, and Sera, and all kinds of things. But that doesn’t make the character good.

From your own description, you don’t actually like canon Vivienne. You like the HC version you rewrote in your head. And that’s fair, and it’s a fair way to say fuck you to the devs—I do the same with Solas. But you’ll never see me not absolutely accusing the shit out of canon end game Trespasser Solas—he’s a racial supremacist genocide intellectual dude bro, which is a horrific choice for the devs to make esp considering his preTrespasser characterization, but that’s still what he was. I can ignore that and make my HCs, but I’m not going to pretend canon wasn’t what it is. It was. And I wasn’t complaining I see alternate takes on Vivienne, but that I see people talk about Canon Viv like she’s a girlboss while claiming to be pro mage, and those things just concretely do not and cannot go together. And that complaint absolutely stands. It’s cool and even good to hc and rewrite her as a different person. But that’s not canon Viv anymore then, it’s an OC that should have been in the game.

[saintlethanavir]

Inquisitor as a Companion: Updated

Inquisitor’s Name: Calliope Tarenan Lavellan

Alternate Name?: Calliope Tarenan Himanaris 

Race, Class, & Specialization: Dalish Elf, two handed warrior, Reaver ; mage, necromancer (loyalty and/or romance dependant)

Varric’s Nickname for them: Shortstack

Default Tarot Card: Death (Upright: Endings, change, transformation, transition)

Loyalty Tarot Card: Judgement (Upright: absolution, rebirth, inner calling)

Romance Tarot Card: The Star (Upright: Hope, faith, purpose)

Hostile/Unloyal Tarot Card: Death ( Reversed: Resistance to change, personal transformation) 

How they are recruited:

The Inquisitor will come upon a dalish elf loitering in front of the Chantry after completely the prologue. They’ve been trying to get the attention of any guard that walks by though most completely ignore them or say they’ll send word to the proper people. Upon the Inquisitor leaving the Chantry they call out in an annoyed tone to them, a definitive mix of an Irish and French accent. 

If they’re an elf: “Will you not help a fellow elf, falon? Lot of people coming and going, ignoring my requests. Could you spare some time? 

If they’re not an elf: “Would you kindly tell your people to stop pulling my leg? I need someone to actually help me and not completely ignore my requests. Think you can do that?”

At that point the Inquisitor can: 

1. Apologize for the people before them not taking them seriously and ask what’s going on

2. Sigh heavily and commiserate, make a sarcastic comment about shemlen if Dalish, and ask what’s wrong

3. Tell them their tone is probably what put them off but if it helps them feel better they’ll do their best to help. 

With any of these options, Calliope will say that a friend of theirs is being held in the Chantry on an assault charge. Their brother, Elessar, accidentally nabbed a templar in the shoulder while out in the woods surrounding Haven. The Templar is fine and they’d rather not let their friend rot down there. If you answered with Option 3. Calliope will be short with you, and you will start with a lower approval score. 

The Inquisitor can then tell Calliope to move on or that they will release Elessar personally, and they either owe them and would like to speak to them, or that they just want to speak to them. 

If the Inquisitor tells them to move on: Calliope will break into the Chantry and get their friend out. Later on in Skyhold there will be a chance to recruit them if you go down to visit a prisoner, both Elessar and Calliope were arrested for spying on the group as they settled into Skyhold. If you recruit both of them during this scene you will start out with the lowest approval you can obtain with them.

If the Inquisitor breaks Elessar out: Calliope will express their interest in repaying the Inquisitor or say that they want to repay their debt as quickly as possible so they can get back to their clan. You can either dismiss them at this point or take them on as a companion.

Where they are in Skyhold: In the reading nook Dorian stands in, usually sitting at a table and idly reading a book about dragons. You can also find them hacking apart training dummies near the tavern. 

Things they Generally Approve of:

Sarcastic dialogue options

Supporting magic/mages

Supporting Elves

Criticism of the Chantry/Circle/Templars

Fighting Dragons

Being friendly towards spirits

Things they Generally Disapprove of:

Cruel/harsh criticisms of magic

Supporting the Chantry

Supporting the Circle/Templars

Criticism of Elves

Major decisions:

Greatly Approves Allying with the Mages

If in the party: “They have spent enough time in cages. Let them spread their wings, let them be free.”

If Inquisitor is an elf/mage: “Falon/Lethallen, you know just as I that magic can only be stunted under oppressive influence. Let them be free of their cages, it’s up to them what they do with their freedom.”

Back at Haven: “You did the right thing, never doubt that. They’ll be singing your praises tonight.”

Disapproves Conscripting the Mages

If in the party/Back at Haven: “You would have them trade one cage for another? Lovely.”

If the Inquisitor is an elf/mage: “I hope you release them eventually. A caged dog will bite the hand that feeds it.”

Greatly Disapproves of Allying with Templars:

If in party/Back at Haven: “You would trust a bunch of fools who believe they have a right to cage other people? That’s rich.

If the Inquisitor is an elf: “Fen’harel ma ghilana, garas quenathra. They will be the end of us all, da’len. May you learn from your mistakes.”

Slightly Approves of Conscripting the Templars: 

If in party/Back at Haven: “At the very least they have to do what you say, no? I hope you know what you’re doing. “

Approves of letting the Wardens Stay

If in the party/Back at Skyhold: “The wardens have a chance to make up for what happened, thank you for giving them that chance. “

Slightly Disapproves of Exiling them 

If in the party/Back at Skyhold: You didn’t exile the Fereldan Wardens did you? I wonder what will happen when the next Blight comes. I hope I’m not here to see it.

Greatly Disapproves Briala/Celene getting back together and/or Celene being on the throne/saved. Slightly Disapproves Gaspard ruling alone, and Approves of Briala puppeting Gaspard

If asked their opinion at the Winter Palace: “You should put Briala at the center and let the Empress die. She burned down the alienage, elves lost their families and lives. It was bad enough Halamshiral was taken from them once.”

If the Inquisitor is an elf: “I will help you end Empress Celene myself if it comes down to it. Briala is who I would choose. I hope you would as well.” 

Greatly Approves Allying with the Ancient Elves and doing the Rituals

Disapproves Killing the Ancient Elves

Slightly Disapproves if a non elven Inquisitor or Morrigan drinks from the Well of Sorrows

Approves if an elven Inquisitor drinks from the Well of Sorrows

Any decision made to make a mage Tranquil will result in Calliope becoming hostile towards the Inquisitor and romance/loyalty is cut off

Friends in the Inquisition: Iron Bull, Dorian, Varric, Sera, Cole, Leliana, brief friendship/romance with Solas. 

Romanceable?: Calliope is romanceable by male inquisitors of any race or class! Flirting is available the moment you get to Haven, though they are a lot more receptive to kind/non rival Inquisitors. A full romance is available after Here Lies the Abyss and if you continue to flirt with them, express interest in them. They will slowly reveal to you that they suffer from hallucinations (both auditory and visual) and have since they were a child, they have gotten worse since their magic appeared at the age of seven. Pressing on this matter the first time will result in them saying they don’t wish to speak more about it, but maybe in time they can tell the Inquisitor why they don’t just use their magic to alleviate some of their stress. 

After Here Lies the Abyss the Inquisitor can approach Calliope about what the Nightmare said to them, as it called them Lethanavir. A non elven Inquisitor may be confused as to what that means or at least curious, but an elven Inquisitor knows that’s the title of Falon’Din. Calliope will of course explain if the Inquisitor is in need of it, but they’re just as confused as them about what that could mean for them specifically. They will joke about past lives and memory loss to lighten the mood, but will confide in the Inquisitor that what they hear in their hallucinations are the sounds of the dying. Last words and breaths. Their visual hallucinations come at times of high stress and will sometimes involve watching someone they know or don’t know die. Sometimes they become paranoid that the person is truly dead and has been replaced if it’s someone they know. They believed for some time that practicing their magic would alleviate some of these instances but it never has. 

Though they don’t believe it’ll help much, an Inquisitor can either support them in building their magical talents or telling them it may not be worth it. If they support Calliope they will seek out the help of the Inner Circle Mages, and if Dorian is within the Inner Circle they will latch onto his teachings. It is also possible in the course of this romance to begin a polyamorous relationship with Calliope, Dorian, and the Iron Bull if the Inquisitor expresses interest in all three of them. It is also entirely possible for Calliope and the Inquisitor to engage in a polyam relationship with Solas, but eventually Calliope will break off the relationship with Solas for ‘personal differences’. This is also true if Calliope is not romanced and Solas isn’t pursued at first or not at all by the Inquisitor. Then if Dorian and Iron Bull are not Romanced, or if one or the other isn’t romanced, they will enter into a relationship with both or one of them. 

You will get a dance scene in Halamshiral if you take Callie along with you, though the scene will go a little differently depending on what you’ve done so far in the game. If Here Lies the Abyss is done after Halamshiral you will not get a dance scene with Calliope but you will be able to flirt with them as per usual. 

Upon finding them in the palace gardens sitting on the pool where you toss the coins: 

Inquisitor: How are you finding the party? It must be nice to know what everyone is talking about.

Calliope: Ah yes, I love hearing about the various affairs of nobles and how they’ve been abusing their staff. At least the food is good, but I wouldn’t touch the ham no matter what Dorian says. 

Inquisitor, flirting: Do you think you’ll have time for a dance later?

Calliope (if in a relationship already): Vhenan, I will be whisking you away to the dance floor no less than three times if I have my way.

(If not in a relationship yet): I think I can pencil you in for at least one. Though I will be leading, I hope that’s alright (laughs). 

A romance will be locked in after Halamshiral or the completion of Here Lies the Abyss if Halamshiral was done first. They will meet the Inquisitor in their quarters and begin to show off what they’ve learned, commenting that their twin helped them perfect a barrier spell which they use on the Inquisitor. They will then share a tender moment and kiss, pushing the Inquisitor down on the bed. However, the Inquisitor can either choose to tell them they want to spend time with them but wish to not be physical, or they can continue that particular scene. Either way they’ll wake up the next morning with Calliope smiling at them and telling them they love them in Elven. 

There is a repeatable kiss scene with Calliope in the Inquisitor's quarters as well as a tarot card change! They will go from a two handed warrior to a necromancer as well, though will still use a sword along with their magic. At the end of the game there will be a cut scene where Calliope follows the Inquisitor into their rooms, then sweeps them into a near crushing embrace. 

Calliope: We survived, I cannot believe we survived. 

Inquisitor: You sound so thrilled! 

Calliope: (laughs) Asshole. You know what I mean. I am...just happy that we’re here together at the end of it all. 

Fear: The Dark 

What the Nightmare says to them: “Ah, Lethanavir. The Darkness will only consume you again, why do you struggle so? Wouldn’t it be better if you laid down and gave up?

Small side mission: 

Whose Faithful Sing: Calliope has tasked you to help them give final rites to the Dalish elves who have helped the Inquisition but died in the process. Take their remains to the Emerald Graves, the Dales, and the Hinterlands to lay them to rest. (Grants Approval all three times). 

This quest is given to you after unlocking the Emerald Graves on the War Table. 

Companion quest:

In the Dark, All is Revealed: This quest is given to you when Calliope asks to see the Inquisitor post Halamshiral and romance scene (if you romanced them). There will be a cut scene where Calliope lets the Inquisitor know that their twin brother recently joined the Grey Wardens after the events of Here Lies the Abyss, citing that he wanted to actually do something for the world for once. While Calliope had their reservations about this, especially because of the false Calling, Elessar did this anyway though has not had his Joining yet. He was recruited into the Grey Wardens of Ferelden and went with them on an excursion to the Deep Roads to block off some darkspawn hordes only to get trapped in a cave in. Calliope wants your help to get Elessar out of this situation. 

If Calliope hasn’t been romanced, and you are at low approval, and you tell them you can’t do this for them they will permanently leave the Inquisition. Refer to end card section for what happens post DAI and Trespasser. If you take this quest however keep reading! 

Calliope and the Inquisitor will go to the Storm Coast where the cave in happened and search for Elessar. They encounter the main group made up of grey wardens and Legion of the Dead soldiers, who mention the Elessar was cut off from the main group with Carver Hawke (Bethany Hawke if Carver did not survive DA2, or an unnamed senior warden if either are unavailable). After fighting through a horde, Calliope mentions that they’re having trouble with seeing things and that there are voices in their head. A romanced Inquisitor can ask if they’re alright and they’ll just say that they’re fine, it’s nothing. 

After another horde, there will be a cut scene where Calliope faints after they fell all the darkspawn. There’s a moment where the party freaks out only for Calliope to open their eyes wide and sharply inhale, with a two toned voice saying that there’s something big coming. And an ogre will show up! Their abilities will be slightly more erratic,either as a necromancer or a Reaver and halfway through the fight Carver (or whoever it was) will show up with Elessar. The twins begin to fight in sync and act much in the same manner until the ogre is felled and the Inquisitor can ask questions. The twins will reveal that they are Falon’Din and Dirthamen, a revelation to both of them, as the gods needed time to reveal and dedicate themselves to the cause. They explain that they are inhabiting the bodies of the twins not unlike how the Old God soul is inhabiting Keiran (if he was the result of the Dark Ritual. If he was not born they will liken it to being reincarnation. All references to being an abomination are met with scorn. They will then ascend to the surface after the gods release their holds, and the Inquisitor can interrogate the twins. Both mention they had no idea what was going on and will need some time to process, but they promise they’ll keep the Inquisitor posted. If they’re not elven they will also explain who the gods are. 

Once back at Skyhold a cutscene will trigger with Calliope asking to talk to the Inquisitor in their quarters. They’ll reveal that they’ve talked to Falon’Din, or what they believe is Falon’Din, and that while things are still murky they’re grateful for the Inquisitor helping them and their twin brother. If the Inquisitor is romanced, Calliope will mention that they understand if the Inquisitor is no longer interested, but the Inquisitor can reassure them that they still are and this doesn’t change who Calliope is as a person. 

End Cards/Trespasser: 

If loyal to the Inquisitor: ‘Calliope promised to stay at the Inquisitors side, as a bodyguard and friend. The Tarenan Clan are steadfast allies to the Inquisition, who hopes this will finally be a step towards peace for the Dalish.’ 

If romanced: ‘The Inquisitor and their paramour, the Lethanavir made quite the ripple amongst Chantry officials when they announced their partnership. Maker help anyone who should stand against them. Though some still grumble about and supposed elven god being in love with the Herald of Andraste.’

If they left the Inquistion: ‘Not much is known about what happened to Lavellan/Himanaris, though some say they’ve spotted the elf in the Emerald Graves. Though it was only ever for a moment. They left behind whispers of death and revenge, so the soldiers say.’

Trespasser: ‘They found traces of Lavellan/Himanaris between a section of Crossroads where it seems they have amassed quite the following. Dalish elves flock towards rumors of the reincarnation of Falon’Din and Dirthamen, but whether or not those rumors can be trusted is yet to be seen.’

If romanced: ‘What transpired at the Council leaves many questions for Calliope, but they know they will always have their Inquisitor close at hand. Come what may they will not let the growing threat of Fen’Harel and his plans overshadow theirs. There are fewer grumbles from the Chantry about their relationship with the Inquisitor, but the fires have been stoked once more after Calliope proposed. What will come for them next, its anyone’s guess.’

If loyal to the Inquisitor: ‘Promises to the Inquisition were made and they will be kept. Plans have come to fruition between Dorian and the Lethanavir, scouring the lands for any trace of Fen’harel and his spies (if Dorian is not romanced). Rumors have spread that the Magister may have even taken on Calliope as his paramour. The Magisterium has certain words for the pair, but they always fall on deaf ears. 

[witchdoodle]

DATISHAN VHENARIS

Elf / Rogue / Alchemist (Elf / Mage / Force Mage)

Male

Varric’s nickname: Sneaky - because he’s so damn quiet all the time he keeps accidentally scaring the shit out of people by approaching them from behind. “We gotta put a bell on you, kid.” 

Shan was raised in the Circle for as long as he could remember, and his gregarious, troublemaking personality made him popular with his peers and disliked by everyone else. His antics were harmless at first -- he was essentially the Ferris Bueller of his Ferelden Circle -- but gradually became more political over time until at seventeen he instigated a riot that resulted in two injured templars and a dead mage apprentice. He was made Tranquil rather than executed, and lived in the tower performing enchantments, making potions, and minding the stores until the rebellion, when he was abandoned by both mage and templar alike and left to fend for himself.

What would their companion card look like?: Shan in profile from the waist up, arms limply at his side, head tipped back, eyes wide, blank, and unseeing. A phantom hand is reaching down his mouth into his throat. 

Recruitment mission: You will find him at the gates of Haven, asking to speak to the Herald of Andraste. If you agree to meet him, he tells you who he is, and that he’s been searching for purpose since he was abandoned during the mage rebellion. He will ask you if he can stay on to work for you, because he thinks the burgeoning Inquisition is where he can  be the most useful. 

Where they would be in Skyhold / Haven: In Haven, inside the Chantry. If you talk to him he says he likes to hear them sing the Chant because it is familiar. In Skyhold, he’s inside the mage/templar tower, though his exact position changes depending on how you upgrade it.

Personal quests

* Quest 1: You approach Shan and Vivienne talking; Vivienne mentions that there are Circle artifacts missing in the wake of the rebellion, and Shan says he knows who took them and provides you with locations. You go track them down. At every location you find the rebel mage who took it and can either convince them to give it up and let them go, or just kill them for it. Shan approves of acquiring the items either way, unless you cured his Tranquility in his final personal quest, in which case recovering the artifacts is Approves but killing the rebel mages to do so gets a Greatly Disapproves if he’s in the party. * Quest 2: Shan is kidnapped by Venatori whilst he was out scouting for the Inquisition; they intend to use him to create another ocularum. You have to rescue him before they kill him. He can be killed during this quest in which case he obviously becomes permanently unavailable. You find him in the Hissing Wastes, and the quest goes into further detail about the shards and ocularum and how they’re made and why they’re important (i.e. why you’re doing these dumb collectathons.) It also goes into more detail about what happened to the majority of the Tranquil after the rebellion. This quest is unavailable if you did not trigger it before his final personal quest. * Quest 3: After you complete Promise of Destruction, regardless of your approval level with Shan, a cutscene triggers with Cassandra, Solas, and Shan. Solas has found out that Tranquility is reversible and is understandably angry that nobody has done anything about it. He insists on reversing it for Shan.

Shan will indicate he does not wish to pursue the cure. He says that if he regained his emotions he would feel distress about things that have happened to him since the Rite, and that he does not wish to experience that. You can respect his wishes, in which case the Inquisitor will say that being Tranquil doesn’t mean he lacks free will and if he chooses to remain in this state that’s his right, or disregard them, saying that experiencing discomfort is part of life and he deserves justice for what was done to him against his will. Despite initially saying he doesn’t want it, Shan greatly approves of either option. Curing him is arguably the “correct”/”good” option -- if you do he tells you how happy he is that you ignored his desire to remain Tranquil, and that he wasn’t able to freely choose to be so -- but. Yanno. 

If you decide to do it, you get a cutscene where Solas takes the Inquisitor (non-physically) into the Fade, regardless of whether the Inquisitor is a mage. You have a brief journey, and get the attention of a spirit of joy. You have to convince it to help you touch Shan’s mind and restore his connection to the Fade. It’s not hard, just dialogue options. Cue cutscene. Afterwards, Shan is distraught. Confused. Disoriented. Frightened. He’s unable to control his emotions and laughs until he cries hysterically. Much later he will approach you and thank you for helping him, saying that nobody has ever tried to help him before. He says it will be a painful adjustment, but he thinks he’ll heal.

If you decide not to do it, it skips to a cutscene where Shan approaches you on your way to your quarters. He thanks you for respecting his wishes and says that since he has been made Tranquil most people do not see him as a person and do not ask for his input on anything. He says it is kind of you to listen to his wishes, given how few of them he has anymore.

If you choose to reverse Shan’s tranquility his character does a complete 180. He becomes highly emotional but irrational and impulsive. His emotions are often inappropriate for the situation he is in. Any approval/disapproval he would have gained normally is doubled. His class changes to mage, his specialization from Alchemist to Force Mage, which is mostly field control abilities. All of his ability and attribute points are refunded so you can respec him as a mage.

How to get their approval: IHW/COTJ: Conscript the mages (approves), ally with the templars (approves). IHYSB: Save all the Haven townspeople (approves). HLTA: Ally with the Wardens (approves). WEWH: Celene rules alone (approves), all 3 forced to work together (greatly approves). WPHW: Skip the puzzles (approves), ally with the Sentinels (approves), Morrigan drinks from the Well (approves).

Shan generally approves of choices that are pragmatic and uphold the status quo. He very rarely greatly approves/disapproves of anything -- he has no strong opinions and few preferences -- and so building up his approval can be very challenging. However, he approves every time you fill a requisition, so his approval can be infinitely farmed, and most side quests that involve helping someone garner slight approval from him if he’s in the party.

How to get their disapproval: IHW/COTJ: Ally with the mages (disapproves), disband the templars (disapproves). HLTA: Exile the Wardens (disapproves). WEWH: Allow Celene to be assassinated (disapproves regardless of who you support as emperor afterwards). WPHW: Do the puzzles (disapproves), slay the Sentinels (disapproves), Inquisitor drinks from the well (disapproves).

Are they romanceable? No, you get several flirt options but he’s disinterested. He has no full romance. After his personal quest, if you never slept with him, you can continue to flirt with him but it goes nowhere - he says he’s flattered but he needs some time. In Trespasser, if you never slept with him, cured his Tranquility, and flirted with him but never romanced anyone else, if you flirt with him again he’ll express interest. Can you have sex with them? Yes as Tranquil, but it’s pretty obviously framed as a Bad and Immoral thing to do. If you slept with him while he was Tranquil and later choose to reverse his tranquility, the next time you talk to him you get disapproval and he seems conflicted and upset.  Are they open to polyamoury? Yes, but every romanced companion gains some level of disapproval if you sleep with him. Iron Bull will straight up break up with you, he Strongly Implies that what you did was rape. If you reverse his Tranquility the option is unavailable. 

If they can be romanced and are not, will they begin a relationship / relationships with other character(s)? If so, who?: No.

Who are they friendly with?: Sera. Surprisingly. She’s nice to him, you see a much softer side of her in their banter. You can trigger banter where she says awkwardly that she’s sorry that that happened to him. The Inquisitor can be like, I thought you didn’t like mages, and she’s like, no I don’t like /magic/, it’s not his frigging fault and it’s fucked up that they do that. Varric is also very nice to him, because Varric tends to pick up strays. He becomes close with Cole if you choose to reverse his Tranquility; Cole helps him talk out what he’s feeling. He becomes VERY close with Sera in that event as well. If you thought she was annoying on her own wait until she has a close friend egging her on.

Who do they dislike?: Solas, Dorian, Vivienne, Cassandra, in that he doesn’t dislike them so much as the former three are repulsed by him/pity him and the latter he is completely closed off towards. If you choose to reverse his tranquility his relationship with Solas changes, becoming very complicated and strained; Shan and Sera will often gang up on him. He has a very unique relationship with Vivienne, where his very presence makes her uncomfortable though she tries to hide it and clearly pities him rather than fears and loathes him like she does Cole. If you choose to cure him they have a lot of heated, spiteful banter, and he’s able to effectively call her out on her classism and economic privilege. He is very angry at Cassandra if you cure his tranquility and chews her out for the Seeker’s failure to do the ONE THING they were supposed to do -- CONTROL THE GOD DAMN TEMPLARS. He absolutely loathes her and everything she represents.

Companion card changes: (use a text descrip. if you have no images)

Loyalty: If you choose to reverse his Tranquility: he’s standing in a brightly-coloured field of golden blossoms, his cupped hands drinking from a waterfall, glowing and soft and at peace. If you choose to have him stay Tranquil: he’s standing in a waist-deep pool of still water, hands out by his sides, eyes closed, face obscured. Romance: (if any) N/A

Side Missions: (eg: fetch / gather / kill quests) His first personal quest is this, just designed to get easy approval with a character whose approval is otherwise hard to build up.

Opinions on mages / templars / how the world is going to shit? As Tranquil, Shan has very few opinions. He generally supports the templars because that’s what he’s been told to think; he’ll spout off a bunch of their party lines as if reading from a pamphlet. If the Inquisitor challenges his view on the templars he becomes confused and doesn’t know how to respond. If you reverse his tranquility his opinion veers sharply in the other direction. He is disgusted by them. He hates and fears them. He is angry, telling you that he thinks they should be disbanded and most of them tried for war crimes, and the Chantry is an institution of violent oppression. He views closing the Breach and stopping Corypheus as the most obvious priority and thus generally approves of any practical decisions the Inquisitor makes in pursuing that goal -- this results in some weird approval changes, like, he disapproves of you doing the puzzles (wasting time) but then approves of allying with the Sentinels (slaughtering potential allies is inefficient).

Something guaranteed to make them leave the party: His second companion quest can result in him dying permanently.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Imprisoned at Redcliffe: How is your Inquisitor holding up in Redcliffe, being slowly infected with red lyrium over the course of a year?

He is standing repeating the Chant in a monotonous tone of voice. He is not imprisoned because there is no danger of him fighting back or attempting escape. He does not understand where he is or what is happening to him, and is even more placid than usual; he will follow the Inquisitor and Dorian regardless.

At the Winter Palace: Does your Inquisitor enjoy the party, any special events with them at the Palace?

As Tranquil he is standing in the main ballroom, very straight and stiff, next to Josephine. If you talk to him he will tell you that people keep assuming he is a servant despite his Inquisition uniform and kept giving him orders and then he’d get lost. Josephine finally figured out why he kept wandering off and wrangled him close to her so she could tell people to leave him alone. If you ask his opinion on the ball itself he will only say that it seems excessive and inefficient. He does not understand the Game.

If you’ve done his personal quest by that point he’s hanging out with Sera, making fun of various nobles, but there’s an edge of discomfort to his voice and dialogue. He’s paranoid that people are staring at him or that they somehow know there’s something wrong with him. He’s afraid of saying the wrong thing and hurting the Inquisitor’s reputation. He’ll tell you you look pretty/handsome even if you’ve never flirted with him.

In the Fade: Your Inquisitor’s reaction upon entering the Fade? Archdemon’s taunt, and Inquisitor’s response? Epitaph on their grave?

If you bring Shan to the Fade before the completion of his final personal quest, you will, briefly, see the restoration of his personality before his Tranquility. He has all of his emotions and personality back, and is disoriented and distraught, fearful of everything, hysterical. (It’s quite a party if you bring him, Cole, and Sera.) The Archdemon will taunt him about having to return to the physical world and the return to his broken nature, how he will lose this forever and never be whole again. He will beg the Inquisitor to leave him behind in response, saying he’d rather die there whole than live fractured. His epitaph is Living.

If you bring him after the completion of his personal quest, he’s nervous but very interested. He wonders if you might meet the spirit who helped heal him. The Archdemon taunts him by threatening to sever his connection to the Fade again, and he will angrily retort that he will kill himself before he ever goes back to the way he was, that he will never allow anyone to hurt him like that again. His epitaph is Silence.

Trespasser: What is your Inquisitor up to two years after Corypheus’ defeat? Any special events with them over the events of Trespasser?

If he was kept Tranquil you can find him standing in the courtyard. When you approach him you get a cutscene where random important people keep coming up to give him orders and he walks off to obey them. The Inquisitor finally puts a stop to this and tells him to tell the next person who tries to order him about that he’s already under orders to stay put until the Inquisitor tells him otherwise. He says thank you; Shan always appreciates it when the Inquisitor respects his personhood and doesn’t treat him like an automaton. When you talk to him further he reveals he went to Kirkwall with Varric where he works as his valet. He finds it acceptable and seems grateful to have purpose in his life, and says that Varric is kind to him and has been watching out for him. He’s also been paying him but Shan doesn’t know what to do with money. He tells you that he’s perfectly content, and the Inquisitor will tell him if he ever changes his mind about having his tranquility reversed he can always come to them for help.

If you cured his Tranquility he’s a Red Jenny. You’ll find him in the tavern drinking with Sera and a group of random NPCs and get a cutscene where he enthusiastically invites the Inquisitor to join them for a drinking contest, which you can win or lose. (And if you lose your character has a wobbly stumbling walk for a minute when you leave and it’s cute.) Later if you talk to him he tells you he’s been wandering Orlais causing trouble for important people, and reconnecting with his magic. He’s fascinated by how he seems totally unable to do enchantments anymore, though he’s kept up his alchemy (and will offer the Inquisitor a mystery potion they will politely decline). Recently he came into contact with a Dalish clan and is hesitantly trying to reconnect with his elven heritage as well. If the Inquisitor is a Dalish elf you can speak a phrase of Elvish to him (”and how is that going?”) and he’ll respond fumblingly in awkward, not quite grammatically correct Elvish (”I not good at speak Elven yet”).

If you never slept with him, never romanced anyone else, and flirted with him at least 2-3 times in the main game, you can flirt with him again and he will now be receptive to it, having had a chance to heal emotionally and reconnect with himself and his personhood. You can smooch him and he’ll say he might be interested in something if you’re willing to be patient with him.

No major special events, but he has different commentary depending on his state. If he’s no longer tranquil he will strongly urge the Inquisitor to try to help the dragon, and has dialogue where he’ll say the qunari are just as bad as the Chantry when it comes to how they treat their mages. If Vivienne is in the party she’ll protest that the qunari are way worse, but he will angrily tell her that unless she’s ever been mutilated she has no idea how bad it was for MOST mages in the Circle, and she should not assume her life of privileged exception was the norm.

Other Major Events: Any other major events that happen with them over the course of the main game?

Shan, like Varric, has a unique weapon that can be upgraded and customized; those are the only daggers he can equip. As Tranquil, he is a rogue and can equip his daggers or any bow. As a mage, he can equip his daggers or any staves.

[luinquesse]

Part 18

Dorian was acting very strange when I first talked to him. He was... upset and angry, but not at me really. I was expecting him to be happier that most of us returned safely from Adamant. I... I don’t know what exactly I was expecting. Something... more.

Everyone is asking me whether or not I believe that the spirit in the Fade was the Divine. I don’t know! I think, whatever she was, wanted to help up. Maybe it was the Divine, maybe it was just a kind spirit that felt the need to pass on her wishes. I don’t think it really matters.

Blackwall told me some stories from his past. I respect him and his decision to stay with the Inquisition, even though I’m sure that the Wardens could have use of him now that Alistair is lost to us. He told me that he finally thinks he has found someone he truly wants to follow. I don’t really know how to feel about all that. It makes me happy, but also scared at the same time.

Well, it appears that Dorian was worried for me. He came to see me later in the night and told me how much he had worried the whole time I was away. And then, he told me that he loves me! I... I’ve never felt this happy and it’s surreal, because we just lost so many people and I should be sad, but I can’t feel sad now. 

He also said that from now on, he will accompany me for every trip I take, because it appears that I have the strangest luck when it comes to adventure, and that going into the Fade twice now is unbelievable, and the next time, he wants to be there too. I know he was joking... well, almost joking.

I did some pranks with Sera. Maybe not my proudest moment, but she meant well, and I think she had good point. Josephine was not very happy, she scolded me and told me that I should try to act a little more respectable as the Inquisitor, but I could see she was trying not to smile at the same time. She wasn’t truly mad, just annoyed.

It appears that the rite of tranquility can be reversed. This is good news, but it also makes me very sad. How many lives would had been spared if this had been brought into public knowledge earlier? Would there even be a war between the mages and the templars? I know there are other issues behind the war too, but still, I wonder.

One of Leliana’s agents contacted us. There is some trouble brewing in Wycome and my clan is at risk. Josephine is sending some diplomats there, to see if we can ease the situation before it gets out of hand.

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][x][19]

[sonic-biscuit]

The adventures of Scarlett and Sorus

I

They reached the castle as the sun was almost below the horizon, the shadows getting deeper as if harbingers of the night soon to fall. Dark shades of orange played on the vines that covered everything like blossoms of fire, with the cicadas taking the part of the mad emperor that fiddled as everything burned. “Let’s hope we are not too late” They tethered the horses to a nearby tree and went over to the wall, surveying it. “Those thorns look pretty nasty.” Scarlett said “I’ll scale it in my armor and hew off the worst of it on my way. Once I’m up I’ll throw you the rope.” Sorus nodded his agreement. The thought of having to climb past the thorny vines in his robes was not something he relished at all. Scarlett in her tough leathers was much better suited to the task. By the time they were inside the courtyard night had fallen. They advanced cautiously towards the tower, past the sleeping guards and castle folks. “Fucking fairies” Sorus muttered under his breath, which earned him reproachful look from Scarlett who held her finger to her lip and gestured toward the entrance. It was too dark to see anything once they were inside the windowless tower, so Sorus summoned some fireflies. He judged the risk of anyone being awake and hostile less than the risk of falling to their death if one of the old steps were to break or one was missing entirely. After all no one had done anything around the place in quite a while. Everyone they passed in the tower was fast asleep and they reached the bedchamber at the top of the tower without any incident. The princess was lying on her bed, her pale face as beautiful as the stories. Lying in her white gown in the white bed linen she was a perfect picture of beauty, peace and tranquility. The only thing disturbing the scene was the crimson stain where the dagger had pierced her heart. “Fuck all the gods, we are too late again!”

II

The princess Alease used to love to sing and dance before she was cursed. But now the music room lay silent and lonely as she was confined to her bed. Her only visitors were the steady stream of physicians, magicians, quacks and con men that her father the king had commissioned to heal her. So far none of them had succeeded in reversing the spell that a rejected would-be suitor had placed on her. The king’s newest scheme was to promise half of the kingdom and her hand in marriage to whoever could cure the princess, an idea that had been met with less than enthusiasm by Alease. She’d be damned if she’d let her father tell her who to marry, and had told him so in no uncertain terms. The king however thought his scheme quite clever, seeing that the oracle had told him that the only way to break the curse was true loves kiss. And so the king and his daughter had made a compromise: He invited the princes of the neighboring kingdoms to visit Alease and lift her spirits. Should she happen to fall in love with one he would of course not stand in the way of young love (provided that love happened to be between a prince and his daughter). Alease thought the whole thing was beyond stupid, but she was bored and ill and least it might be slightly entertaining and so she finally agreed to it.

III

“I don’t like this plan” “It’s a fine plan! James has never been to the court of Freeca, and being a confirmed bachelor has little interest in the whole thing. Plus he owes me a favor from our days at the academy anyway!” “Wait, you went to school with a prince? Should I courtesy to you? Call you your graceness or something?” “Very funny! His father thought it’d be good for him to know how stuff works, especially magic. So he went for two semesters and did the 101s. Anyway, I got him out of a tough spot once and we became sort of friends.” “Friends, hu?” “Oh for fucks sake Scarlett, get your mind out of the gutter!” “Whatever you say your graceness”

IV

The Princess Alease had deigned to be present at the reception of the visiting princes despite her illness. From what she had seen so far she had little hope that she’d be entertained by any of the visiting princes, let alone fall in love with one. Prince George had greeted her perfunctory and instantly started to expound the advantages of an alliance between their two kingdoms to her father. Prince Henry on the other hand had been more than happy to talk to her about the thrilling subject of falconry, but when it had become clear that she had little knowledge and even less interest in the subject he had wandered off to the buffet. Prince James just looked awkward and not at all at home in his clothes and Prince Humperdinck just seemed downright creepy, his eyes constantly moving to appraise not only her, but the room and everything in it. Just as she was about to make her excuses and leave Prince James made his way over to her with a small dark haired woman in tow that was quite unsuccessfully trying to hide how uncomfortable she was. “Princess Alease, I hope I find you well on this lovely day.” “As well as can be expected Prince James. I hope the journey was not to tiring for you. It’s quite a long way for you, isn’t it? Frankly we were surprised you took us up on our invitation.” “Not at all! What kind of man would refuse to come to the aid of a lady? I just hope and pray we can be of some small use to you, and be it only as an amusing diversion from your troubles. “ Prince James bowed awkwardly then continued. “May I introduce my niece Scarlett? It is my hope that she may serve as your lady in waiting while we are here. The poor thing grew up quite rural and lacks many of the refinements needed for court, but she is a good girl and knows a few herbal remedies that may alleviate your symptoms. That way she would get to experience life at court for a bit before coming out at home and you’d have a companion when it would not be decent for you to be in the company of men.” Alease looked at Scarlett again, who seemed part amused and part ready to hit her uncle over the head with a big stick indeed. It was true, the girl seemed to lack courtly refinement, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. Before her noble companions had left her for fear of contagion Alease had been frequent bored with their chatter and annoyed with their constant jockeying for her favor. “That seems like a splendid idea! I was quite exhausted and about to make my excuses anyway. Would you like to come directly with me Scarlett?” “I’d be honored your uh… Majesty?” “It’s your Highness for a princess, but never mind! I shall see you tomorrow Prince James. And I promise to take good care of your niece.” As the two women left Sorus breathed a sigh of relief. Scarlett was in position to be with the Princess at all times. If the princess killer were to target Alease as they suspected she’d be well protected. Scarlett might not look like much of a threat, but appearances can be deceiving and years spend ranging the wilderness and then adventuring with Sorus had made her a formidable fighter that many man had underestimated at their peril and to the regret of those that had survived an unfriendly encounter. And should she run into real trouble she had the runes he had given her for emergencies. The trap was set. The only question was would their quarry take the bait?

V

Scarlett followed the Princess through the castle taking in her surroundings and trying to memorize the layout as best she could while the Princess was chatting away at her. She seemed nice enough for royalty and Scarlett didn’t really like using her as bait. She promised herself she wouldn’t let this one die. Just as they had reached the Princess’ bedchamber Alease suddenly doubled over in pain. “It’s the curse.” The Princess whispered “I’m afraid I won’t be showing you around today after all. Would you be so kind and help me over to my bed?” Scarlett put Alease arm over her shoulder and slowly walked her over to the bed. “Does this happen often your Highness?” “It’s happening more and more frequently. According to the wise man the nature of the curse is that it’ll keep getting worse till I am in constant pain. Oh, and you don’t need to call me your Highness when it’s just the two of us, just at court.” They reached the bed and Scarlett put Alease down softly. “Is there anything I can do your Hi... Alease?” “I’m afraid not, unless you a secretly a more powerful mage then all the others that have been through here. But…” A fresh wave of pain rolled through the Princess, who refused to scream. “…you you don’t need to stay. I’ll be fine tomorrow.” “I’ll stay with you if you don’t mind. Even if there is nothing I can do it seems wrong to just leave you alone.” “That is very kind of you.” Alease finally screamed as the pain got worse. Scarlett held her hand and fought down her tears. “Clear head!” She thought to herself. “We knew she was cursed. That’s why we are here after all. The bastard always goes after the cursed ones.”

VI

After the castle had gone to sleep Sorus wove the shadows around him and left his room. He was not invisible as that took considerable effort and energy and he liked to be ready just in case , but as long as he stuck to the darkness people should not notice him. He silently made his way over to the Princess’ tower (“Why always towers?” he asked himself “What is wrong with a nice ground level bedchamber?”) when he noticed someone else crossing the yard. He froze in place, in his mind preparing spells in case he needed to use them. A guardsman came into view. “HI Mace” “Oh hi Mace” The same guardsman said. Was the fellow talking to himself? “You look lovely today Mace” He was indeed! “Why thank you Mace, so do you!” “Aw. You’re so amazing!” “I know” The guardsman took his position at the Princess tower. Sorus waited a while but the man seemed to be there for the night and didn’t move again, just happily chatting away to himself. “Well, time to call it a day I guess”. He never even noticed that he himself had been watched the entire time.

VII

Alease had finally gone to sleep. Scarlett looked down on the Princess’ sleeping body and sadness filled her. She never had understood the whole business with the curses. Why would someone take revenge for how a person feels? It seemed childish to her. Punishing people for not conforming to your expectations of them? If everyone did that the whole world would be nothing but pain. And there was enough pain in the world as it is. She stepped to the window and looked out. The moon was hidden behind the clouds. Sorus should have good cover for his reconnaissance. Not that she expected much of it. But Sorus did so love using his spells so she hadn’t discouraged him. But her instincts told her that this was the kind of hunt where you let your quarry come to you, not seek it out. Then she saw the figure standing in a window of the guest wing and froze. She knew immediately from the way he stood, motionless and intent, like an arrow notched. The pose of a fellow hunter. Their quarry was here, and it was one of the guests. And he had spotted Sorus. Quietly and slowly she stepped away from the window, opened her bag and got her bow. Arrow notched she softly stepped back, but the other window was empty but for shadows and the night.

VIII

Scarlett was woken up by Alease the next morning. “Father has requested that we join him and the Princes for breakfast in two hours. So as my lady in waiting you’ll have to help me get ready.” Scarlett, who had watched over the Princess until the break of dawn stifled a yawn. “Two hours? When do you need me? I’d like to get some more sleep if possible.” “Two hours is barely enough for both of us to get ready! Especially seeing how you don’t seem to have brought any suitable attire with you. So we’ll have to find something of mine that fits you.” The Princess smiled mischievously at Scarlett. “Regretting your new position already?” “Not at all! I just didn’t sleep all that well last night your… Alease. Right, what do I have to do?” “Start by fetching the dress and undergarments the maid has laid out in the next room. Then when I am dressed you can brush my hair. Afterwards we will see about finding a suitable dress for you!” “On it!” “And Scarlett?” “Yes?” “Thank you for staying with me last night. Most people can’t bear the screams.” “Think nothing of it.”

IX

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Scarlett had hoped to spot who someone that was lacking in sleep, but unfortunately that seemed to be everyone. She couldn’t really tell who was sleepy exhausted from travel and who from nightly excursions. Prince George was chatting away to the King, all but ignoring the rest of the company as he had done the previous evening. The fact the whole point of the visit was to lift the princess’ spirits seemed completely lost on him. Prince Henry was telling Sorus about the last hunt he had been on and Prince Humperdink just ate with the single minded determination of a man who might not get another meal. But Scarlett got the impression that this was simply how Prince Humperdink did everything, right down to tying his shoelaces. The Princess meanwhile hadn’t even touched her food and while she was smiling brightly Scarlett couldn’t help but remember her screams last night. What must that be like she wondered, to be expected to always be perfect even when you are literally cursed? Impulsively she took the princess’ hand in her own under the table. Her pose and smile did not change even the slightest bit but Scarlett could feel some of the tension leaving her. “Gentlemen” The King announced “It is time for the hunt!

X

After breakfast everyone went to get changed into their hunting gear and met in the courtyard where servants had prepared refreshments. Sorus was intensely uncomfortable in his leather garb. He looked over to Scarlett accompanying the Princess, both of them dressed in long flowing dresses that allowed for riding. He was willing to bet she was at least as uncomfortable as he was. It was noon before they actually set off and another hour before they arrived at the prepared camp in the woods. Each of them would set off individually into the woods and the one returning with the most impressive trophy would win the hunt. Sorus wasn’t quite sure what winning in this context entailed, but he assumed it came down to some sort of nobility version of bragging rights. He wished there was a good way to get Scarlett to come with him. Truth be told he had no idea how to hunt. Scarlett had taken care of it when they were on the road and other than that you simply paid people and they brought you food. So really, the whole business was a bit of a mystery to him. Still, might as well give it his best shot, the shot in question being a spell perhaps. He just hoped nobody would question why his quarry would be slightly singed when it came time to return.

The three Princes and the King all had set off in different directions, so he picked one nobody had gone in as well and went into the woods. And being not much of a woodsman he never noticed the falcon overhead circling and watching him as he went.

XI

Alease both liked and did not like hunts. She liked being outside, leaving the castle behind and just disappearing into the woods. She did not like the part where the man came back from the hunting and presented her their trophies to judge. They all seemed equally grizzly to her. A cut off head was a cut off head, no matter how large the beast or hard to track down it had been before you cut it off. But for the moment she was outside and even better, for once she was not alone. She looked over to Scarlett, who had not said a word since the men had left. “Scarlett, tell me, what do you do during hunts at home?” “Apologies your Highness, I don’t quite understand.” Scarlett took her eyes of the camp perimeter and looked at the princess. “During a hunt we hunt” “I mean what do you do to pass the time while you wait for the men to return? And call me Alease please, we are not at court.” “Well Alease, at home everyone on a hunt hunts and then everyone helps bring in quarry.” “You mean the women hunt as well?” “Well not all women, just as not all men hunt. The hunters hunt. If it’s a big hunt others will come along to cut up and carry the carcasses back.” “Oh!” Alease did not know what to say, which was a rare for her. At court she could sleepwalk through conversations without really paying attention. There was always a correct thing to say, a not correct thing to say and sometimes a thing that was not exactly correct but acceptable if amusing enough. But Scarlett did not only seem to know nothing about these unwritten rules; she didn’t even seem to care about them. Scarlett gave her a thoughtful look. “Your Highness. Alease. Would you like me to teach you? It would pass the time if nothing else.” “I don’t like killing. I find it is best left to the men, they are more suited to it.” “Shooting a bow is just a skill. Having it doesn’t make you a killer. But not having it might make you a victim.” Scarlett’s expression had gone serious and there was a fierce conviction to her words. Something had happened to the girl in the past, Alease was sure of it. But this was not the time or place to ask, she decided. She summoned her best courtly laugh. “Well, if you put it like that! Like you said it might pass the time and maybe it will even outrage some of the stiffer old shirts at court to have a Princess that can shoot a bow.”

XII

Scarlett stood behind Alease, correcting her stance. “It’s important that you stand the same way every time you shoot. Your stance must be solid and consistent arrow to arrow.” She moved closer, encircling the Princess from behind, taking her hands. “Relax and listen to me breathing. Try to match it” She could feel Alease’s frame relaxing slightly against her and starting to match her slow steady breath. “Good! Now lift the bow up. Slow and steady. Now extend your arm as far away from you as possible”. She let go of the hand Alease held the bow with to give her the room to do so. She may have never held a bow, Scarlett thought, but she does have posture and control. “Remember, slow and steady breaths. Draw the arrow all the way back to just under your chin. Use your stance to draw strength from.” Alease nodded, her face one of concentration as she drew the bow. “Now try hitting the tree over there.” Scarlett felt Alease breathing steadily against her as she took aim. The Princess fired and the arrow went wide. “Damn it!” “Don’t worry about it. The first shot I ever fired went so wide I nearly hit my brother who was standing next to me. That was actually quite good. Your mistake was to relax your hip and shoulders as you let go. Release with just the fingers holding the arrow. Everything else stays in place. Try again?” “Yes please!” Scarlett took position behind the Princess again, guiding her in the correct stance with soft touches. “Remember to release just the arrow, nothing else! No, don’t tense up too much. Breeeeathe and release.” The arrow went wide again, but this time it went through the leafs of the tree they had been aiming for. ”Getting there! Try again?” “Yes lets! I can do this I think!” “I’m sure you can your Graceness!” “Your Graceness?” “Just a joke between me and …Prince James. Apologies your Highness.” “Oh don’t apologize!” The Princess laughed. “Can you help me with my stance again please? I’m not sure I quite have it yet.”

XIII

Sorus had decided he hated hunting. He hadn’t seen anything that would make a good trophy so far. In fact he hadn’t seen anything except for the odd squirrel and by now he was sorely tempted to just fireball one of those and call it a day. But there was creek just ahead and animals gathered at creeks, right? Maybe he’d find something there. The strange thing was despite not seeing anything or anyone all day he had couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. He looked back at the forest but there was nothing there except trees and the shadow of trees. Grumbling to himself he set out towards the creek, the falcon still circling overhead. He didn’t even see the arrow coming.

XIV

“Very good” Scarlett smiled as she collected the arrows from the tree “If you ever get attacked by a tree you should be able to defend yourself. You will still have to practice your aim, preferably every day, but now I’ll show you the basics of hitting a moving target.” Alease smiled back at her. “This is more fun than I expected. But I don’t expect I’ll get to do much archery training once we are back.” “I don’t expect you will be doing much off anything in the future Princess. Seeing how this is where you die.” Scarlett spun around taking the bow from Alease and notching an arrow in one fluid motion facing the direction the voice had come from. A man stepped into the camp, dressed in dark leather. A hunter’s garb, except for the ornate mask on his face. Scarlett recognized his stance at once. It was the same man that had been in the courtyard the other night. He held a dagger in each hand and Scarlett could tell that she only would have one shot before he would close the distance. Better make it count! She fired and immediately dove to cover the Princess and broke the rune while in flight. “You better be quick Sorus!”

XV

Sorus felt the little jolt of electricity as the rune was broken. He stopped dead in his tracks and the arrow coming for him went through the air where he should have been. He dove for cover and the second arrow only grazed his arm instead of hitting him full in the back.

“Whoever you are, you are messing with the wrong guy!” As if in answer another arrow came flying toward him but by now his defenses were up and a not so chance gust of wind made it fly by harmlessly. “Look, don’t force me to set this lovely wood on fire! If you surrender now we can sort this out in a civilized manner” Probably by hanging, he thought, but I don’t need to tell you that now. I need to get back to Scarlett! From the silence came another arrow and he could feel the drain as his defenses deflected it. I can’t do this all day he thought. “Not one for talk, huh?” he yelled at the forest. “Well fuck you pal, I have places to be and you are really pissing me off.” He channeled and threw the fireball right at where the arrows had come from.

XVI

“Guards!” Alease shouted, but nobody came. At the same moment Scarlett fired her arrow and tackled her to the ground. Almost lazily the man in black deflected the arrow with his daggers. He started strolling over to them.

“You had your shot girl, and it was good one too. But you didn’t make it.” Scarlett pulled up Alease, positioning herself in front of her. “When it kicks off, run. Don’t look back, just run till you are at the castle and get help.” She drew her dagger from her boot. “I really am only here for the Princess. There is no need for you to die too girl. Just run along now and I promise I will not harm you.” “Why?” The man stopped, just out of Scarletts reach. “Why? She is cursed girl. Damaged goods! And over short or long I’ll be expected to save her, which I have no inclination of doing. So best for everyone really to end her suffering! So what is it going to be? Will you be a good girl and run along or will you die with her?” “Run” Scarlett whispered to Alease and then “FUCK! YOU!” to the man as she lunged at him

XVII

The fireball flew straight and true towards its target and Sorus was putting up his shields against the blast. But it never came. Instead another arrow hit him right in his arm. “It’s amazing what money can buy really” said the man coming forward, sword drawn. “For example it can buy you an education in Magic like it did for James. Or immunity from Magic like it did for me. Who are you by the way? I know James and you are not him.” “I’m the guy that is going to feed your soul to my demons! Provided you even have one of course.” “Oh, brave talk little Magician. But tell me, what are you even when you don’t have magic? Are you anything at all?” He swung his sword at Sorus who stumbled back. “Focus! Focus! Focus!” he thought to himself and released another spell. Nothing happened. “I’m afraid I am too close to you now for that to work. You Magicians, always styling yourself as special, but really you are just little bookworms who can’t cut it without cheating. I’ll show you how a real man does things.” And with that he swung again for Sorus who desperately struggled back, out of reach of the sharp blade. “You should have just stayed with your books, little magician. We were only after the Princess. But you had to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. And now you’ll learn what the consequences are for meddling in the affairs of your betters.” The man kept advancing towards him and Sous kept on backing up. He desperately looked around. If he ran he’d be cut down. In fact he was pretty sure the man could cut him down anytime he wanted to. He was just playing with him like a cat with a mouse. Arrogant fucking bastard. Think think think! “Betters? What do you mean by that?” “Are you stupid? We are your betters and we always will be. It doesn’t matter how much you read in your books. You are not even a real man. And we are so much more than that!” We! Plural! More than one! I really need to get back! He made a decision and lunged himself at the man without even trying to dodge the sword.

XVIII

I’m faster than him, but he has more reach and strength. I can keep dodging him but eventually I’ll get tired. And I don’t think Alease will be back with reinforcements anytime soon. Let’s just hope Sorus shows up soon. They were circling each, probing their defenses. The masked man clearly had experience fighting. “Are you waiting for your friend to show up? I’m afraid he is too busy dying right now!” the man said and launched another attack at her. He is trying to get you off balance. Don’t listen to him, don’t get distracted. Dodge, parry, weave counterattack. This is how this game is played. Nothing else matters right now. “I mean I would have been perfectly happy with just getting the Princess. But I’m afraid my friend has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about magicians. Silly really!” Another attack and again she dodged it. “Well done! You are rather good. I am impressed. Are you sure I can’t get you to just run along?” Nothing he says matters. Dodge parry weave. Look for the opening. “I mean I am rather enjoying myself, but we can’t let the Princess get away.” Parry! Dodge! “No? Well OK then, time to end this. Just remember it was your choice for it to go this way.” His blows came fast and hard. Dodge! Parry! Weave! Look for the opening. Stay calm. “Well, this has been fun. Goodbye!” He lunged at her, daggers coming from both side at once. There it was! Her opening! She made herself small, rolled away from him slashing at his feet. He jumped over her dagger, coming at her from above, both daggers pointing at her heart. She kicked at his legs, trying to get him off balance but still the daggers came for her. So close now! At the last second she rolled away his daggers hitting the ground full force and while he was off balance she struck at his unprotected back with her full strength. GOTCHA! Her dagger broke on his back. He snapped around with too much speed and grabbed her. “Well played little girl! But I’m afraid I was cheating all along. Isn’t Magic wonderful? I told you my friend is silly! But now we have played enough. Can’t let the Princess get away after all.” And just then a blooming red flower appeared on his leathers, and he collapsed. Behind him stood Alease holding a bow. “He finally stood still.” XIX

Sorus was lying in the dirt bleeding. The man in the mask was standing over him. “Time to die little magician” Sorus looked up at him, “Fair enough I guess, you got me. But before I die, who the fuck are you even?” “You haven’t even figured that out? For a little bookworm you sure a stupid! Well I suppose since you’ll be dead shortly there is no harm. I wasn’t kidding when I said we are your betters.” He took off the mask. “Are you surprised little magician?” “Well no, not really. I knew it had to be one of you princes. I just was a bit surprised it was more than one of you. “ “Oh it is a lot more practical that way. Me and George have been dreading the whole saving princess thing from an early age. It’s total rubbish really. There are enough pretty girls out there to last us a lifetime, but just because we are princes we are expected to go out questing to save those bitches that got themselves cursed? Easier for everyone to put them out of their misery, really!” “So just you and George then? Humperding is not involved?” “That guy? He would need to remove the stick from his butt first. But you shouldn’t worry about him really. He is sleeping soundly with the Kings and his guards. And when he wakes up together with us the Princess will be dead and the heartbroken King a lot more amenable to an alliance between our realms. And then a few years down the line when he dies without heir his staunch allies will be there to protect his people and take over the daily business. So this works out great for everyone, really.” “Except for the Princess I guess.” “Well obviously, except for her. Is your curiosity satisfied now little magician? Can I send you to the afterlife without those pesky questions on your mind?” “I wish you would stop calling me that. And just one more question if you please your Highness?” “Well, since you ask so nicely!” “Have you ever heard of blood magic?” Sorus finished the last stroke of the rune with his blood. “It is usually forbidden because it doesn’t follow the usual rules of Magic and really can only be used for one thing. Summoning demons! Prince Henry, meet Akazael, Akazael: Prince Henry!”

XX Epilogue

The King and his guards woke up to two dead princes, a prince that wasn’t one but heavily bleeding and one that was alive and actually a prince but decidedly not amused by the whole affair. “All I tried was to cure my daughter from this terrible curse and I nearly got her killed. I just don’t know what to do anymore. True loves kiss was my last hope. And now after all this I am still fated to lose her eventually. I thank you two for what you have done, but this is a bitter pill to swallow still.” “About that you Majesty. What exactly did the Oracle say?” “There is just one cure for what ails your child, true loves kiss, pure and mild” “Well did you ever try giving your daughter a kiss perhaps? I mean nowhere in there does it say anything about princess or marriage. People are so stupid about love sometimes…” The king looked at Sorus, then at his daughter. “Come here my darling child!” “Well father, under one condition!” “A condition? For me to give you a fatherly kiss? Very well, what is it?” Alease looked over at Scarlett smiling. “Archery lessons!”