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100jewels-between-teeth · 2 months ago

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Word count: 3055

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~ Summery: They both could not truly understand if this was the reality they were gifted, or elaborate hells that they were still stuck within. But through late night reassurances before their final fight, they both find themselves grounded in a crazed reality that could only be blissful as long as they are with one another.

Lucanis x f!Rook de Riva

Cw: Smut, just pure lovemaking smut, overstimulation AN: So... this is my first smut posting here so... well enjoy. Im def not nervous. Huge massive shoutout to @enterthedreams for the beta!!! Honestly youre my favorite person.

Something about the sound of his steady heartbeat harmonizing with the calm breathing that caressed her damp, flushed face, was nothing short of bliss. The couch had been abandoned at some point during their second round. Now they were just content to lay on the floor, surrounded by blankets and candles bathing them both in a romantic glow. Between that and the reflective veins of the aquarium above, Avantika could not help but think this all looked to be the most ethereal dream.

To see Lucanis like this, to even hear him like this, made him more godlike than any of the Evanuris could think to achieve. Lucanis must have noticed the silent adoration that Rook was giving him. A brow arched as he reached to move some hair that remained stuck to her skin away. His hand did not immediately retreat, taking a moment to trace the outline of her cheekbone. It followed down until the tip of his finger was resting at the bottom of her chin. Without even a silent command, Rook leaned in to have her lips grace his own – a kiss of gentle tenderness and love. “What has your mind distracted, mi diosa?” The look of concern on Lucanis’s features immediately tugged at her heart, wanting to eradicate any kind of emotion that was not happiness in this moment, in this little world they had created.

Concern was for what would take place in the morning, not now. Not here. “Would you believe me if I said you?” The smile that she gave him was one filled with dimples on her cheeks and teeth.

Lucanis’ own reflected straight back, a smile that would tear down the heavens. It was a privilege to Rook that she had been gifted his smile. His trust and comfort. That kind of smile could only be reciprocated with another kiss, moving from his lips to the bags under his eyes. For the first time, Avantika felt the exhaustion in those beautiful eyes was warranted. They both had given up on sleep a long while ago.

Lucanis was right.

How on earth could either sleep when the other was like this? “I could only hope it is good. I know it has been a while so my skills might take some ti – ” Before Lucanis could even finish the sentence, Avantika was quick to cut him off. “Oh, shut your fucking mouth.”

She all but pounced on his broad chest, attacking his face with her lips while tenderly pecking and nipping as his own laughter filled the room. Strong arms wrapped around the woman as he took her in a roll, accepting this defeat as he got Rook on her back. The sight of him above her, eyes filled with nothing but love looking into her own almost brought her to tears. But in this light, the reflections of water mixed with the flickering candlelight, she could not help but have her eyes drawn to that silver puckered skin on his chest. Which only brought her eyes to all the others that littered his body. It came with the job, the scars.

Lucanis probably noticed at some point with all the clothes flying off that Rook had her own. Some Crows – usually Viago – would tell anyone that scars meant a sloppy job. Crows were meant to be clean. Quick in and out performances. From what Avantika could assume, neither her nor Lucanis were exactly fitting that description.

Catching the direction of her eyes, a small smirk grew. He raised himself into a seated position on her lap as Avantika rested upon her shoulders. “My cousin gave me that one, funnily enough.” Lucanis shrugged, the pad of his thumb tracing over the two inch long pinkish line. “We were sparring in the garden, and snuck a couple of Caterina’s knives. You know how it goes, stupid kids playing with knives.” “So what you’re saying is that he beat you?” It took everything in Avantika not to let out a little snicker. “What?! No! I beat him and he gave me this because he is a sore loser!” Lucanis placed his hand over his heart in mock offence. But the flint in his eyes gave away that jovial mischief. “I killed a god, Rook! You think my cousin is going to best me?” “Okay, okay!” Rook lifted her hands in surrender, seating herself up more so that they were both level with each other. Lucanis made sure not to keep his whole weight on her legs or hips. “I'm just saying it only took until the second chance and – ” “And I did not have a demon, nor a woman like you, distracting my thoughts then, pequeña cuervo.” Lucanis’s voice dipped to a playful low growl, taking her face in his hands as he traced the tip of his nose against hers. “I'd say that is unfair.”

For as much as this man tried to play that intimidation game, they both knew with Avantika, he could only be this soft man. “Ah yes. My fault, I see your game, Dellamorte.” Avantika playfully pushed the man away, moving to stand with the destination of nowhere in mind. “I see how it is.”

The arm that wrapped around her waist was expected, Avantika letting Lucanis pull her back as he assaulted her neck with kisses.

“Forgive me diosa, I mean it as the greatest compliment.” His nose buried in the thick wild mass of her hair as he took a deep breath of her scent.

Rook felt him rock their bodies back and forth, his bare chest pressed against her bare back as his face travelled from her neck to the line of her shoulders. Avantika had learnt much from this night. Like how this man could spend literal hours just memorizing every dip and valley of her body. How there was not an inch of skin he would leave unappreciated, unadorned with his branding lips and igniting breath. How Lucanis could be so determined to find every spot that made Avantika shudder, whimper, bite her lip to suppress that moan he was chasing.

Maybe it was for the thrill of the sexual experience. That carnal desire both had suppressed for however long in their lives, let it be their choice or otherwise.

It was so much more than just a simple desire. It was reassurance, to make sure that what they were tasting, kissing, loving, was real and tangible. That what they were trusting with their most vulnerable hearts was real, that the safety and love they both wanted to shelter them was truly existing.

So the lingering touches, whether it be to explore a desire or just for the comfort of feeling they were there, helped the both of them. When Lucanis kissed from one shoulder blade to another, humming happily to himself as he felt the trail he left behind bloom in blush, she smiled, nuzzling into the skin. “And the others? Were those Illario too, or do you just have that many sore losers you fight?” Rook could not help but giggle at the small bite Lucanis left in warning following a growl.

She turned around in his arms. Now Avantika sat in his lap with both legs on either side. Leaning back, she could hear that stifled whimper Lucanis gave, not wanting her too far away from his adoring touch and gaze. Her fingers went to his lips, playfully hushing him. Those wide brown eyes looked to her with deepest reverence, his lips automatically capturing the pads of her fingertips between his lips and his beard tickled the skin he kissed softly. Finally breaking her focus away from that beautiful face, her amber eyes fell back to those scars decorating his body. Some were jagged, rough, and others seemed so precise and delicate. It truly was a strange kind of tapestry of his life he bore. Where some were faded, only a ghost of a story lingering, others seemed quite new, possibly no less than a year old. That thought made Avantika swallow the sudden lump in her throat as Lucanis reached to gently brush her cheek. Rook’s eyes flickered back to him.

A silent question being asked as her hand fell away from his face, instead ghosting over the scar they both had just focused on. Compared to the others, it was rather tame. Of course, if touching such wounds was far too fast, too personal for Lucanis to deal with right now, Avantika would stop immediately. But with a shivering breath, goosebumps appearing on his skin, he nodded. His right hand took hers softly, directing her to another, far more jagged scar over his right bicep. Her touch was featherlight. As if Lucanis would just shatter like glass if she applied any more pressure. Whether it was her touch, or his scar being touched specifically, Lucanis let out a shudder, his breath hitching in his throat as Avantika slowly traced over every curve. His hand fell away, letting Avantika fully explore the canvas of this man.

“Ambushed on a job.” For how jovial he sounded, Lucanis's voice was almost breathless. “Not that the target had any backup, but the attic I chose to enter seemed to have a hermit also residing there. Maybe I deserved it for disturbing the peace of his sleep.”

When he finished speaking, a few deep breaths followed. Avantika’s hand traced over the valley of his chest, finding a scar just on his shoulder. This one was much different – not a stab or a cut, but instead a burn just slightly smaller than her palm. “A couple years ago, one of my targets really didn’t want to go down without some sort of blaze of glory.” Something in Lucanis’s voice became quieter, more wistful as Avantika’s finger traced small circles within the taut skin. “Burnt their entire estate to the ground. Still managed to get him, but I didn’t really consider the falling debris.”

“Viago had told me about that incident.” Avantika could not help but snicker and flick the nose of the man whose expression went from light to deadpan. “Said that is the reason if you take a contract, make sure you case the home for the smell of oil.”

But hearing the woman laugh, he could not stop the smile reappearing. Seeing the smile too, Rook nuzzled her nose to the corner of his lips, eliciting another low chuckle from the Crow as she continued her discoveries. That finger of hers trailed from the shoulder down his arm, asking about every little story Lucanis could remember. Some were from little accidents; falling from roofs, lost drunken bets, Illario being the cousin that he is.

Others, she could feel his body stiffen at the stories, some much harder to stir in his memory than others. For those particular reflections, Avantika’s hand would reassuringly stroke Lucanis’s hair, not wanting such memories to take over his heart and mind from the small bubbled world they had created. There came a point where Avantika stopped asking. Where both of their voices just somehow drifted away as she traced over the scars over and over.

Then she felt, to herself at least, her touches were not enough. That just a lingering touch could not help heal the wounds of memories left behind. She may not be able to heal them completely, but the least she could do was make sure he was never alone in facing the dark. At this point, Avantika had homed herself behind Lucanis, the man’s back to her chest. When her finger disappeared, and for a moment there was just the ambient air around them, a soft and fleeting whimper escaped Lucanis, having grown so accustomed to her adoring touches. But what was once just the feeling of a featherlight finger became replaced with the burning warms of Rook’s lips, capturing the puckered flesh of the healed wound between her lips.

Where Lucanis had just let out near breathless whimpers before, this touch had made those sounds change to something far deeper, more guttural. The sound sent shivers and pleasured waves through Avantika’s body, only able to take that as the go ahead to keep moving forward.

For the next blissful eternity, Avantika worshipped every scar, every physical remnant of a memory on Lucanis’s body. Her lips, tongue, even teeth did everything they could to kiss away whatever metaphorical demons lingered within them. It did not take long for Lucanis to lose whatever sliver of control he had over himself in this moment, his body shuddering every time her lips graced another scar.

Bit back moans became guttural growls and whined pleading, words incomprehensible. But, slowly, so agonizingly slowly, Avantika made her way around the man’s body. From his back, down the length of his arms. Even his hands and fingers did not escape her worship, those small worn knicks and weathered callouses receiving nothing but love from her mouth and breath. By the time Avantika returned to straddling Lucanis’s hips, he had become a shivering, opened mouth mess. Gasping open-mouthed breaths, skin fire-hot and oversensitive. Avantika could only assume not once had this man ever felt this kind of care, this kind of much deserved appreciation given to his body. If together meant forever showing this man the love and adoration he deserved to feel for the rest of his life, Avantika would willingly take it.

For the next million lifetimes over. Her lips finally broke away from her journey. Then Lucanis’s arms shot up to hold her own, white knuckled like she was the only lifeline he could cling to. For a moment, Avantika saw the panic in his eyes – one that the two seemed to share. The panic that this was not real, that the two were in some elaborate and cruel dream. His mind still in the Ossuary partly, this being some new method of torture concocted by Calivan.

To her, this could have been another visage in the Fade. Solas being cruelly sympathetic and letting her live out the rest of existence in the Fade in some warped, tortured dream. But as his breath once again caressed her face, his heartbeat thrumming in his chest, Avantika knew that this was true.

This was real.

This was their eternity, together. And if she had to prove that, by the gods she would. Before he could speak of their worries, her hand found his lips again. Lucanis’s eyes rolled to the back of his head at the contact, his breath shuddering. Rook kept her own mouth nearly a breath away from his, drinking in every gasp and moan that he fed her with. His arousal was already quite prevalent against her thigh, exhausted and oversensitive from the prior adorations of the night, but still somehow more.

For a long moment, Avantika just kept herself still, falling into the abyss that was his gaze. A stare filled with love and pure bliss at what was being held in his arms. Letting her hand slowly slip away again, she silently allowed Lucanis to help lift her waist, their faces not breaking the miniscule distance from each other. Both wanted to drink this in, drink each other in. To witness their eyes, their breaths, their very beings connecting as one. And so it did.

Slowly, he sheathed himself within her warm walls once more. The overstimulation of the night prevented him from fully entering completely, letting out a long whine at the surge of overwhelming pleasure that shot through him. Avantika could not blame him, her own mewl following as her sex automatically tightened as much as it could from the entrance.

Both were well spent, well satisfied, but this coupling was far more than just sex, just chasing pleasure. This was the two solidifying themselves in reality, within each other. Drinking in her moans, Lucanis canted his hips upward, sharply letting the rest of himself become engulfed. The cry that ripped through his throat was quickly devoured by Avantika’s kiss. Not a kiss of precision, but one full of teeth and tongue – one that just needed to devour him completely.

He groaned into her mouth, his own kiss sloppily reciprocating as the two began to move together as one. Both of their hips rolled simultaneously as they cried out in a frenzied ecstasy. Rook finding all the scars again to drag her nails along, eliciting the most erotic and passionate cries from the Crow beneath her. That is when the first tear fell from Avantika’s face.

She did not know what exactly made her cry through all this. The immense pleasure he was giving her with every stuttering thrust, the wailing cries and whimpers they both fed each other, or just the knowledge that he was here with her.

That all of this was real. That their love was real.

So when the tear fell to his cheek, he immediately latched his lips to her face, kissing away every exhausted tear she produced as his own materialized. Neither knew how long they rocked with each other, neither really seemed to care. Avantika had let herself go, losing count on how many times Lucanis had made her unravel into jaded oblivion. He had come with her, his seed filling her core and overflowing, dripping like the tears on her cheeks, thighs slick with the physical representation of Lucanis’s adoration. It could have been an hour, to them they did not care if it was days spent like this either. But pulling away one more time, collapsing on their side to the floor as their legs were wrapped in a tangled heap, Lucanis kissed the remaining tears away, Avantika following suit. “Diosa mía, mi vida, mi corazón y mi ser son sólo tuyos. Te amo, mi pequeño cuervo.” Lucanis followed his words with a long, lingering kiss, one that carried the love of his words. Avantika could not help but let out a choked sob at the beauty of his words. A language she had to learn, that she thanked every god above she kept remembrance of. With her own reciprocating kiss, capturing his lower lip between her teeth, she looked up into his eyes, her hand wiping away the remaining tears staining his cheek.

“Lucanis… You're really here, we are really here. My love for you, truly, is here.”

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mi diosa - my goddess pequeña cuervo - little crow Diosa mía, mi vida, mi corazón y mi ser son sólo tuyos. Te amo, mi pequeño cuervo - My goddess, my life, my heart and my being are yours alone. I love you, my little crow.

#dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #datv #dav #lucanis dellamorte #lucanis #da lucanis #dav lucanis #lucanis x rook #rook de riva #rook #lucanis dellamorte smut #lucanis romance

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uhbambii · 1 month ago

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Sweet Mischief

The sun was setting over the lush estate of the Dellamorte Villa, its golden rays streaming through the arched windows of the spacious kitchen. The warm glow softened the edges of the old stone walls, the copper pots hanging above the counter gleaming like little halos. It was a scene far removed from the blood-soaked world of intrigue, blades, and whispered betrayals that Lucanis Dellamorte and his fellow Crows inhabited.

Tonight, however, was about something infinitely simpler. Cookies.

“Are you sure you’ve done this before?” Lucanis teased, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in that deceptively casual way of his. His dark hair fell loosely around his face, and those dark, calculating eyes of his watched Rook like a hawk circling prey. There was no menace in them tonight, only a gleam of amusement.

Rook glared at him, a smear of flour on her cheek. “I said I’ve eaten cookies before. That doesn’t mean I’ve made them. Details.”

“Details are everything, Rook,” he said with a soft chuckle, pushing away from the counter. He stepped closer, his movements smooth and deliberate, the way they always were. She knew he couldn’t help it—he could make baking cookies feel like plotting an assassination.

“Alright, master baker,” Rook said, rolling her eyes. “What’s next? Do I crack this egg or stab it first?” She held up an egg like it was an unfamiliar artifact, smirking when Lucanis gave her that slow shake of his head.

Lucanis sighed dramatically, stepping into her space. “I’m beginning to think you’re sabotaging this on purpose just to keep me here longer,” he murmured, his voice dropping into that velvet tone that made her heart trip.

Rook huffed, turning her face away from him—and directly into the cloud of flour she’d just spilled on the counter. She coughed, waving her hand to clear the air.

“Maker’s breath,” Lucanis laughed, the sound rich and rare, his shoulders shaking as he leaned closer. “You’re a disaster.”

“I’m your disaster,” Rook shot back, grinning at him despite her flour-covered state.

He froze for half a heartbeat, the amusement in his eyes softening into something warmer. “That you are,” he said softly, brushing a stray lock of her hair back behind her ear. His fingertips lingered for just a moment too long, and then he was stepping away, clearing his throat.

“Right,” Lucanis said, turning his attention back to the counter. “Lesson one: Don’t assault the eggs.”

Rook stuck her tongue out at him but followed his instructions this time, cracking the eggs—mostly successfully—into the mixing bowl. Lucanis moved like he owned the kitchen, measuring ingredients by eye, kneading dough with a precision that belied his reputation as a deadly assassin.

“You’re oddly good at this,” Rook observed, watching him shape the dough into perfect little spheres. She’d tried to mimic his technique, but her attempts looked more like misshapen lumps.

“Let’s just say baking requires the same patience and attention to detail as my other…skills,” Lucanis replied, glancing at her with a knowing smirk. “Besides, everyone has their secrets.”

“Not sure baking cookies is the kind of secret that makes you terrifying, Luc,” Rook said, grinning as she leaned a hip against the counter.

“Ah, but imagine how devastating it would be,” Lucanis said, leaning closer again. “An enemy expecting poison…only to find perfectly baked cookies instead. Psychological warfare at its finest.”

Rook laughed, shaking her head. “Maker help me, I actually believe you’d do that.”

“I would,” he said solemnly, his gaze dropping briefly to her lips before flicking back to her eyes.

The moment stretched, and Rook felt her breath hitch. Lucanis was close enough now that she could feel the warmth radiating from him, the spice of his cologne mingling with the sweet scent of the cookie dough. She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but before she could, he reached out and swiped a fingerful of dough from the bowl.

"Here," he murmured, his voice dropping into that dangerous, honeyed tone he reserved for when he wanted something-usually trouble. "Taste."

Rook raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Really? Feeding me dough like l'm some pampered noble's pet?"

Lucanis's lips curved into a slow, wolfish grin. "You're too spirited to be a pet. But I wouldn't mind taming you, uccellina." The nickname-a playful twist on her name, meaning "little bird"-rolled off his tongue in a way that made her stomach flip.

Rook narrowed her eyes, trying to ignore the heat creeping up her neck. "Fine. If it'll shut you up."

She leaned forward, her lips brushing against his finger as she let her tongue dart out to taste the dough. The sweetness of the batter hit her tongue first, but it was the sensation of Lucanis's gaze on her that made her pulse quicken. Her tongue slid along the length of his finger, slow and deliberate, as if she were savoring every flavor. She pulled back just slightly, her lips still grazing his skin, and gave him a sly look through her lashes to see how far she could push him.

Lucanis's smirk faltered for a heartbeat, his dark eyes flickering with something hotter, hungrier. His finger lingered against her lips, the pads of his fingers brushing her skin as she pulled away.

"Sweet," she said, her voice deliberately soft, almost sultry. "But... not quite as good as you were making it out to be."

Lucanis blinked, his mask of composure slipping for a fraction of a second. His jaw tightened, and a low chuckle escaped him-a sound that was all heat and danger. "You're playing a dangerous game, Rook," he murmured, his voice smooth but tinged with something darker. "Careful, or you might find yourself in over your head."

"Please," she replied, grinning as she leaned back, her hand brushing against the counter as if to steady herself. "You talk a big game, but all I see is someone flustered over a little finger-licking."

"Oh, you want to play this game?" he said, his voice a soft growl as he stepped closer, his frame towering just enough to make her feel cornered in the most thrilling way. "Careful, little bird. You might find I play to win."

Rook swallowed hard, her pulse racing. "What's the worst you'll do? Bake me into the next batch of cookies?"

He lifted his hand, the same finger she'd licked, and trailed it down the side of her cheek, brushing away the faint smear of flour there. "No," he murmured, his tone low and teasing. "But if you're this bold with dough, uccellina, I can only imagine how bold you'd be with something else." Lucanis leaned in until his lips were near her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "I'll make you beg for a taste of something better," he whispered, his voice low enough to make her knees weaken.

Rook's heart raced, and for a moment, her sharp tongue failed her. She swallowed, forcing herself to smirk even as heat bloomed in her cheeks. "Guess you'll just have to keep wondering," she shot back, though her voice was a touch breathier than she intended.

Lucanis blinked, then laughed, a real laugh that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Oh? Truly uccellina, I never just wonder," he said, his voice velvet and fire. "I make sure I find out," he smirked, grabbing a handful of flour.

“Don’t you dare!” Rook shrieked, ducking under his arm.

The next few minutes devolved into chaos—flour flying, dough sticking to everything, and laughter echoing off the walls. By the time they called a truce, both of them were a mess, their clothes and hair dusted white, but neither seemed to care.

Lucanis stepped closer, "You truly are trouble," he murmured, his voice low and smooth, laced with a teasing edge. But there was no mistaking the warmth in it, a heat that wrapped around her and made her pulse flutter. "An chaotic bundle of trouble."

Rook swallowed, forcing herself to find her voice despite the way his gaze pinned her in place. "But you like trouble, right?" she quipped, her tone light but her grin faltering under the weight of his attention.

Lucanis's lips curved into a slow, predatory smile, one that made her stomach twist and her knees feel weak. "Only if it’s you," he said, the words a quiet, unshakable promise. His hand fell from her cheek, only to find its place on her waist, the firm weight of his palm sending a shiver racing down her spine. He tugged her closer, just enough for her to feel the heat radiating off him.

"Maker's breath, Luc," she whispered, her voice softer now, almost vulnerable. "You're going to ruin me with that look."

He leaned in, his face so close she could feel the warmth of his breath brushing her skin. His lips hovered just out of reach, his voice dropping to a husky murmur. "Funny. You've been ruining me since the moment I met you."

The words hit her like a jolt, but she didn't have time to respond before he closed the distance, his lips claiming hers with the kind of confidence that left no room for hesitation. The kiss wasn't soft-it was firm, purposeful, like he was staking his claim.

Rook gasped against his mouth, her hands instinctively gripping the front of his flour-dusted shirt. Lucanis responded instantly, his hand sliding to the small of her back and pulling her flush against him. His other hand came up to cradle her jaw, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

His lips moved against hers with a skill that made her head spin, teasing and coaxing until she was practically melting into him. He kissed her like he owned her, like he wanted to savor every second but couldn't resist taking more. The faint taste of sugar and spice lingered between them, adding to the intoxicating pull of him.

When he finally broke the kiss, Rook was left breathless, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing. He didn't pull away entirely, though-his forehead rested against hers, his hand still firmly at her waist, keeping her close.

"You're dangerous, you know that?" she murmured, her voice uneven as she tried to catch her breath.

Lucanis chuckled softly, the sound a low rumble that sent heat pooling in her stomach. His thumb brushed her cheek, his smirk returning, though the heat in his eyes hadn't dimmed. "Dangerous?" he echoed, his tone playful but edged with something darker, something irresistible. "Coming from the woman who just made me forget the rest of the world existed, I'll take that as a compliment."

Rook's lips twitched into a grin, though her cheeks were still burning. "You're impossible," she muttered, though the words lacked any real bite.

"Impossible to resist, maybe," he replied, his smirk widening as his thumb traced along her jawline. His gaze dipped to her lips again, his voice dropping lower. "Care for another taste, uccellina?"

Before she could answer, he tilted her chin up and kissed her again, harder this time, with more fire. His grip on her waist tightened, his fingers digging in just enough to make her breath catch as he pulled her firmly against him. Rook responded instinctively, her hands sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck, her body molding against his like they were two pieces of a puzzle.

Lucanis shifted, guiding her back against the counter, his hands steady and sure as he deepened the kiss. His lips left hers briefly, only to trail a path along her jaw, down to the curve of her neck. The soft scrape of his teeth against her skin made her gasp, her fingers tightening in his hair as he kissed the sensitive spot just below her ear.

"Luc.." she managed, her voice a breathless mix of protest and plea.

"Hm?" he murmured against her neck, his tone amused but layered with heat. His hand slid up her back, his touch firm and possessive. "Distracted, uccellina? Should I stop?"

"Don't you dare," she shot back, her voice sharper now, though the flush on her cheeks betrayed her.

Lucanis chuckled again, the sound low and dangerous. He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze, his dark eyes burning with something that made her knees feel weak.

"Good," he said, his lips brushing hers in a teasing almost-kiss. "Because I'm not done with you yet." He claimed her lips again, his kiss so consuming that the world around them— flour-dusted counters, forgotten cookie dough, the faint smell of something baking— disappeared entirely.

When they finally broke apart, their breaths mingling and their cheeks flushed, Rook managed to find her voice. "The cookies," she said, though her tone lacked any real urgency.

"Let them burn," Lucanis murmured, his smirk back in full force as his thumb brushed her bottom lip. "I have much better things to taste."

And as his lips captured hers once more, the cookies were forgotten. For now….

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Trying to write more adult themes!

Advice is welcomed 🙏

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senseandaccountability · 2 months ago

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“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.”

A huge problem for me with the tone of the narrative is that outside a very carefully curated playthrough experience with preconceived ideas of and love for Solas, Veilguard is probably the least compassionate game I’ve played in forever, while spouting out lines about how everyone can find a new path in life because our nature isn’t written in stone, our fates are our own, as well as plenty of HR department lines about working together as a team.

“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.” The game says that, but it definitely doesn’t mean it. At least I don’t feel it. You are so very rarely challenged in your idea of who this wrong sort is and what they could bring to the table. Davrin speaks of the Wardens recruiting at the Gallows but you meet only adorable, righteous and charming ones. The Crows aren’t the wrong sort anymore, they’re just adorably Antivan upper class. And so on and so forth. Rook certainly isn’t the wrong sort either, they’re mentally around 19 years old and stumbling their way through the world like some romance novel protag. In one of the most thematically shallow plots, Rook gets thrown into a prison of regret fit to hold a god but unlike Solas, Rook doesn’t do regrets or guilt because Rook isn’t that complex. Rook hasn’t been allowed to feel any guilt for three acts, just how are they meant to be stuck in a regret prison?

Compare with Origins where you yourself could be just that wrong sort that would put the world right. ALL of my Origins PCs would get stuck in Solas’s prison due to the weight of their own fuckups. If not during the game events where you could make shitty moves en masse, then because of their origin stories. Brosca and Tabris would get out of there through sheer fury alone - fuck you, I am a wreck because YOU MADE ME ONE, WORLD OF THEDAS - but the nobles would stew. Amell would loop in some guilt trip regarding blood magic and Jowan and whatnot.

Compare with Origins where Loghain is a piece of shit for most of the narrative. He actively wants to kill you and your Order, it’s nothing personal (okay, a little personal) but he just needs you gone. If you want to, you can hack and slash your way through some release there and just have him executed. BUT the game also challenges you on that idea. It presents a very pragmatic alternative that comes with a very plausible downside (you lose Alistair). It presents not excuses but explanations - do with them what you will. Loghain has people in his corner through the entire trilogy, arguing his case. Cauthrien FALLS TO HER KNEES before you, pleading to spare his life. Threnn in DAI will stan him for the rest of her life. Anora tells you stories about the man behind the name. And Arl Eamon’s world view and idea of Loghain is shown to be more than a little self-serving when faced with the politics of the Landsmeet. Things around Loghain blur. In the Ostagar DLC they allow things to blur even further when Loghain’s pragmatism is countered by Wynne’s player character-moralism (ie “someone died, it’s always wrong if someone died even if that death prevented 9000000 deaths you KILLED someone!!!!!111”). Origins tells me - or hints at - why Loghain became the wrong sort, shows me ways in which he is also the right sort and leaves me wondering about him. Because the game is gritty and dark and weird but also yes, compassionate. If you execute him, Anora will mourn him because she loves him regardless. If you have him join the Wardens she will sit with him while he recovers because he is undeniably an asshole but he’s also her father who braided her hair and showed her the world. A good narrative never, ever forgets that. Veilguard feels so different here, maybe it's just me. I'm pretty sure I'm almost done being salty now, I just... feel a lot about narratives.

#datv spoilers #datv critical #salty on main

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viagostalons · 6 days ago

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Imagine being Lucanis Dellamorte — you are a master assassin. Some could argue, the best assassin of the current age. You are feared and respected. You are the favorite grandson of the First Talon.

and you love romance novels. You love their silly tropes and their steamy, romantic scenes. You read them cover to cover growing up and you fantasize, just a bit, that you could experience those feelings. That you can find your romance hero. The one person to sweep you off your feet. To live out those tropes with. But it’s just a fantasy and you have never had feelings like that for a real person before (Viago might have been it but that never went anywhere, mierda, you were terrible at flirting) and now you have a literal demon in your head. You’re stuck in prison and life is actual torture. and then, the most insane thing happens to you — more insane than the demon possession, more insane than Zara torturing you for fun: some de Riva Crow (who you haven’t met or even heard of, wtf Viago) shows up to break you out of prison?? And they sweep in and are an absolute disaster of a person; they trip over their own feet, they bash into crates constantly (for money???? Isn’t house de Riva wealthy??), they can’t jump to save their life, and they’re blind in one eye. Oh, and they’re hiring you to kill an elven god

They find out you’re a man with a demon possessing him and they’re fine with it? Like, they even seem to like Spite?

Worse: Spite likes them

And then, all of those romance tropes you’ve longed for your entire life start to happen to you. From this disaster of an individual. Rook comes into your life and literally sweeps you off your feet. Rook accepts you. Rook wants you.

it’s no wonder you start to panic. You want to bolt. You want to hide in your mind prison forever. But this amazing, beautiful, fascinating, walking hurricane of a person will not let you retreat. Rook holds out their hand and you finally get to be the main character of your favorite romance novels.

Rook de Riva becomes your romantic hero

#lucanis dellamorte #rook de riva #rookanis #datv #dragon age veilguard #dragon age lucanis #dragon age rook #dragon age the veilguard #spite dellamorte #spite dragon age #lucanis x rook

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curioussubjects · 1 month ago

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can we talk about this answer from corinne during today's ama about why some factions have more content than others because i am gonna lose my gd mind:

Corinne: "We always knew that some of the factions needed to have a larger presence in the overall story than others, so when we approached our content planning, we took that into account. They are inherently assymetrical. That said, I think there is a lot of interesting material to now work with in regards to the Lords of Fortune and the Rivain Coast if that's right for another story."

so like i'm sorry but that's a terrible answer. maaaybe if factions were more about companions than rook i could be fine with them being asymmetrical, but with factions being part of rp for rook, it's bonkers bananas that they were developed asymmetrically on purpose

that's terrible game design. i cant. just say yall ran out of time/money bc ea sucks

and by the way: story importance does not explain the asymmetry either, so idk what corinne is talking about. if that was the case, veil jumpers would have a lot more reactivity than mourn watchers! yet, this is not the case! i mean from what i can tell mourn watch is the most developed faction and they are waaay less important than the wardens or the crows to the story so what gives truly

if production didn't allow for the same amount of content for all 6 factions, the devs should've just stuck to 3 or 4. the cut factions could be represented via companions a la inquisition and harding. but having certain pc origins be more immersive to play than others bc some have ~*~a larger presence in the overall story~*~ is either a whole lot of prevarication, incompetence, or being beholden to the sunken cost fallacy

inherently asymmetrical. god.

#dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #datv #datv critical

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hannahwdraws · 2 months ago

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I want to draw the whole exchange that follows Magda'len Rook Laidir coming to dinner to meet Catarina as Lucanis' romantic partner but that will be a lot of drawing!! So I wrote it below instead.

Despite Lucanis' reassurances, Rook was having a difficult time convincing her armpits not to sweat, her stomach not to churn, or her nose to twitch in nervous anticipation.

Her first time in Villa Dellamorte had been under different albeit just as high stakes circumstances: rescuing the very woman they were coming to have dinner with. And during that first visit, she was nearly taken down by Venatori for how much she gawped at the luxuries on display.

A treasure hunter for much of her adult life, trying to earn enough coin to survive and turns out all she had to do was attach herself to the crown prince of The Crows and she’d be set for life.

Provided Catarina didn't kill her tonight.

Despite The Crow matriarch's gratitude on the night of the rescue and her promoting of Lucanis to first talon, her approval was in short supply tonight. There was no warmth in her welcome, and Lucanis all but shivered from the icy brush of her lips to his cheek when they met her outside the dining room. Her eyes slid over Rook like she wasn’t even there. Was it better to be ignored in this case? Rook would have to wait and see.

They made it through the first course (a light salad) relatively unscathed. Only polite comments on the weather, the markets, and how they might get tickets to a pantomime that swore to recount the most accurate depiction of the fight against the Elven gods in Northern Thedas and they wanted to test that claim for themselves.

Catarina found a biting comment to make in response to every one of theirs.

Rook was determined to smile through the discomfort and hope that none of the food was stuck in her teeth. Or poisoned.

Unfortunately, Lucanis caught the disdainful sneer Caterina tried to hide behind her napkin and evidently thought now was the perfect time to put his title of First Talon to the test.

"Aye, Catarina, don't make faces like that. I thought you liked Rook? Didn't you always ask me when I would bring someone home? Well now I have, and you're picking it apart," he said.

"I am happy Lucanis, but you have to understand, she isn't a Crow. How will your children continue the Dellamorte line as you need to with an untried, an untested thief?" Catarina immediately shot back.

Funny, Rook thought, that thief was worth such contempt from an assassin.

Lucanis' hands raised in disbelief, and he could only scoff,

"She rescued me from The Ossuary, she rescued you from Illario. She killed a GOD!"

"Yes? And?" Catarina sniffed, only as a grandmother with impossible standards could. "A soldier can kill a man just as well as a vagrant in the streets, a Crow is of a different stock entirely. She has no parents, so I don't know anything of her house. She has no fledglings she trained with to compare against. How am I to know she is worthy of you? For the family?"

"Mierda, Catarina," was all Lucanis had strength for. He had to rub at his forehead, realizing only now that this wouldn't be as easy as he initially thought.

"WE. LIKE! ROOK." forced through Lucanis' lips before he could clamp them together.

Catarina's eyebrows creased even more (if possible) and Lucanis flushed. It was the same feeling of shame and embarrassment as when he didn't hit every target when Catarina trained him as a boy.

His shoulders tensed. His eyes unable to meet hers. Damnit, Spite was supposed to stay quiet while they were here.

Convincing Catarina was difficult in the best of times, they didn’t need the added challenge of Lucanis’ inner demon making him look incompetent or out of control.

Rook reached over, rubbing his thigh hard enough to generate heat. She gave what weak smile she could. She was too busy biting her tongue to stop herself from jumping to Lucanis' defense. They needed Catarina's approval and ripping her a new one was the least likely way to get it.

"Thank you, Spite, but don't worry about it. We are still getting settled into life after all this... crazy Elven invasion. Marriage and kids are a long ways off, if they were to even happen at all!"

"Oh so you wish to deprive me of meeting my great-grandchildren? How selfish," Catarina scoffed.

Shit. There was no winning against this woman. At least the second course was being brought in. The words would stop coming out while they were busy putting food in.

The bowls of red had only just touched the tablecloth before there was a flash of silver coming from a butler's cummerbund.

"DOWN WITH DELLAMORTE, LONG LIVE ZARA!" was screamed, as the butler closest to Lucanis raised his blade. How he got so close, into the house, no one was sure. And it didn’t matter! All that mattered was surviving the next minute. Lucanis and Catarina both dove for their cutlery, the closest weapons they had.

But they wouldn't have a chance to use it, as their vision failed them.

A cold flash of light burned around them, a flash grenade? Smoke? They blinked away the stars in their vision, and only once their eyes started to clear did they come to find their ears were blocked too. A crashing roar of thunder rolled through. The light was at least brief, while it took their ears much longer to stop ringing.

Lucanis was on his feet, knife in hand. He appeared to be fine, no injuries, no wounds. He was a coiled spring but looking around, he couldn't see the assailant anymore.

He saw a knife fall to the tiles, clattering next to a black scorch.

Only two butlers remained in the dining room, both looking just as surprised and ready to defend the Dellamortes.

Catarina was as prepared for a fight, the knife hidden in her cane drawn and at the ready. But her eyebrows and hairline were both blown back.

Slowly, the two master assassins turned, looking at the only other person in the dining room they didn’t have in their immediate vision.

Rook's hand was extended. Sparks continued to crackle up her forearm. Her chest heaved in fury for a few more breaths. A deep shuddering breath and she let the tension leave her body. The threat was not longer in the room, so she could blink the rage from her eyes. She tossed her hand a few times, dissipating the sparks as thought they were flicking water from her fingertips.

She smiled at Lucanis and Catarina. This was a different kind of uncomfortable from before, but just as bizarre. So she might as well approach them the same.

"Is this gazpacho? It looks delicious. Is it the same recipe you make, Lucanis?"

Lucanis and his grandmother both slumped back into their chairs. Everyone was on much better behavior for the rest of the evening.

Later, Rook looked out to sea on the balcony attached to the guest room that was larger than her apartment over the canal. The wealth on display was truly mind boggling. She never would have guessed given how grounded Lucanis was.

Though he wasn't exactly grounded at that moment. He made a sinuous entrance, sliding down an eave from the roof, and dropping to the balcony. He earned the squawk of surprise Rook let loose. Her laughter didn't follow far behind collapsing into his arms.

"You scared me half to death! I couldn't have handled two assassination attempts in one night!" she laughed into his chest.

"You might have to, if you don't keep it down. Catarina will know I snuck out to see you."

"Mm... isn't this supposed to be your house now? Can she really forbid us from sharing a room?" Rook grumbled against the soft knit of his vest. Her fingers were already picking to get underneath.

"Not really, no. But it's another one of her little tests. If I'm an assassin worth my salt, she won't ever know I was here. But, if I didn't try to defy her in the name of love, she wouldn't think I was serious about you. So either way, I prove she taught me well," his eyes were hooded in a devilish smoulder and he brought Rook's gloved fingers to his lips for a gentlemanly peck.

Taught well indeed, as Rook's stomach turned molten. But it was hard to feel amorous with all the worries still piled on her shoulders.

"Well good thing you aren't the one she has a problem with. I might have bungled this beyond repair. i'm sorry if I ruined dinner. I can pay to replace the tiles if they can’t get the scorch out. At least I think I can afford to replace them."

Lucanis’ eyes were focused on the cut of her dress, on the rosy flush on her cheeks. Those were much more important than listening. He was too busy pressing his lips to her wrists, biting at the gloves and eyeing where they joined her dress. Could he take just them off just as gloves? Or would the whole dress have to go?

"Mm do not worry mi amore. You did wonderfully, genuinely, I believe Catarina will give us her blessing. As soon as she's done investigating the butler. She wants to be sure you weren't the one who hired him."

Rook snatched her hands back. Her fists clenched and pressed to her cheeks. Immediately she was confused and panicked.

"ME? She thinks I hired him?! Why? And why would she give her blessing to someone she thinks tried to kill her favorite grandson and first talon?!"

Damn the rich laugh Lucanis rolled out. He shouldn't be so relaxed around someone who allegedly wanted to kill him.

"No, she is impressed! If you hired someone to make you look good by saving my life! It shows dedication and a flair for the dramatic. Both things Catarina appreciates greatly. Or, if you didn't hire him,"

"I didn't! I swear! Lucanis I would never," she grabbed his wrist and hoped her emphatic tone expressed sincerity and not panic that her plot had been figured out.

"If you didn't," Lucanis drawled, all while taking her hands again and winding her close. Back into his arms she went, "Then you still showed great power, excellent reaction time, loyalty..." Lucanis' eyes were so soft, so glowing with admiration for this beautiful creature against him.

"And a flair for the dramatic. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is for Catarina and most Crows."

Rook hung her head, leaning forward to press her brow against his chest.

"I know everyone says their in-laws are crazy. But you have them all beat by 60 leagues."

"It's a good thing you love me then, isn't it?" Lucanis purred, only just able to hide the nerves that his family would be the reason Rook finally left.

She heaved a sigh, lifting her eyes to his, pursing her lips like she was really thinking about it. Really weighing her options. But she couldn’t let him dangle for long. She pressed upwards to brush her lips against his and slide her arms around his neck.

"Yes, it is."

#my art #dragon age #lucanis dellamorte #lucanis x rook #dragon age veilguard #da:tv #da:v #fic #fan fiction #dragon age fanfiction

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drakorn · 21 days ago

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Rewriting Veilguard Part 5 - The Antivan Crows

Rewriting Veilguard Part 4 - The Veil Jumpers

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Antivan Crows

The Antivan Crows might be the one faction next to the Grey Wardens of whom we know the most about. They’re hired assassins, cold and brutal and calculating. They recruit children and mercilessly raise them to be killers. The Crow training involves killing your own peers to emerge as the victor. They keep a prison off the coast of Antiva City, where they hold people for “fun and torture”. The life of a Crow is rewarding, true, but it is also filled with darkness and a lot of blood. With all this canonical info established, we can confidently say that the Antivan Crows, while undoubtedly resourceful and clever, are not very nice people.

So why are the Antivan Crows in Veilguard so nice?

When I pictured the Antivan Crows before DAV released, “idealistic freedom fighters” wasn’t exactly what I thought of. Yet this is their entire role in the game, slightly controversial freedom fighters who fight against impossible odds.

Well, as you’ve seen with my takes on the Shadow Dragons, the Grey Wardens, and the Veil Jumpers in earlier posts, such a depiction can make sense if you just take your time to explain it in the lore. Why would the Crows suddenly be so much more of a force for good than they were in the other games? This, along with many other questions, shall be answered in just a tiny moment.

This is my take on a potential Antivan Crow origin story. Have fun!

Creating Rook

So, for the fourth time (wow we’re really stuck in that starting phase, are we), we press the start button and listen to Varric’s narration introducing the general state of Northern Thedas. This time, we pick the Antivan Crows as our faction and get this as our little intro blurb:

“You are an Antivan Crow. Swift knives in the dark, the Crows are ruthless assassins, both respected and feared. Some see them as nothing but cold-blooded killers, others as Antiva’s shadowy protectors who hold the nation’s true power. As a member of house de Riva, now a full-fledged Crow, you are summoned to take part in a secretive Crow operation in the occupied Treviso. Your first true contract is waiting for you. But are you worthy of fulfilling it? Are your skills, and your blades, sharp enough?”

Straight off the bat, of all the factions in this game, the Antivan Crows have the absolute easiest way to explain the last name applying to all races. House de Riva is simply the last name all crows belonging to that house choose. It’s just the way it is, no matter what race you are or where you came from. The question is: how exactly did Rook join the Crows?

Well, here’s where we’ll tap into the organisation’s more controversial and darker side. Here we go:

If de Riva is a human, they will have been bought from a poor family as a child, their parents giving them away just so they could have some coin again.

If de Riva is an elf, they will have been bought from Treviso’s Alienage for much the same reasons. In fact, the Crows have a habit of recruiting elves into their ranks because they tend to make the best assassins.

If de Riva is a dwarf, they were picked up as a child beggar in the streets, as their surface dwarf family likely died in some way.

If de Riva is a Qunari, they were taken in as the sole survivor of a group of Tal-Vashoth who sought to escape further inland from the Qun.

The Crows don’t really care about race or status when it comes to recruitment. But no matter who they recruit, the training starts in their childhood and lasts all the way until Crow membership. It’s tough and brutal. And we need to reflect that, guys, Thedas is not a friendly place. Especially in the North. Especially at this time.

In all four cases, Viago, who is now the Fifth Talon and leader of House de Riva, took us in personally and often trained us himself, sometimes along with Andaratei “Teia, please” Cantori. They are, for the lack of a better word, the closest thing to parental substitutes we’re going to get. And we’re going to make this amusing because Viago relentlessly and mercilessly throwing shade at us while secretly carrying some level of fondness is a very very engaging dynamic.

For the sake of this playthrough, let’s go with something a little more unusual and pick a Qunari rogue.

Once we’ve finalised our de Riva, we press the start button and Varric continues his narration. And we get to learn a little bit more about the actual state of the Crows by the time we begin the game: First Talon Caterina Dellamorte called upon a special gathering of Crows in the city of Treviso, the organisation’s ancestral home, which is now being occupied by the Antaam, but not the official branch. This is one of those units that broke off from the Arishok, who is still waging war against Tevinter. This particular unit is led by a warlord called The Butcher. To ensure the liberation of Treviso, Caterina called upon as many members of the Antivan Crows as possible. House Dellamorte, House de Riva, House Cantori, and House Valisti, are now leading an underground fighting force against the Antaam, willing to use their skills to free Antiva.

So you see, we’re still including the freedom fighter angle because it certainly does make sense for the Crows to go against the Antaam. But we provided just a little bit of an additional explanation. Caterina wants the more idealistic and spirited members of the Crows to join the effort because this is something personal. And she needs those who care about a little more than coin and death to accomplish this. The remaining Crows are still out there, doing contracts, being cold and callous. But now, we give an in-universe reason for things to be the way they are presented to us.

Well then, now that we have created our de Riva, let us jump into the game!

The Treviso Chantry

Instead of using the Cantori Diamond, our Crow base is going to be something a little different. Let’s actually implement the lore and explore some history. The original Antivan Crows started out as monks in the area surrounding Treviso. In the years since, Treviso has been nearly destroyed on two occasions and a lot of rebuilding had to be done. So, instead of setting the main crow base in the HQ of one of their houses, we’re gonna set it in Treviso’s Chantry.

The idea is that Treviso’s Chantry is the ancestral base from which the Crows fully operated. But Treviso has been rebuilt so many times that people just forgot that. Well, not really forgotten, the place just looks utterly unrecognisable to its earliest incarnation.

Well, Treviso’s Chantry is grand and beautiful now, think of places like Notre Dame. And just like Notre Dame, it has its secrets. In the years since the last rebuilding, the Crows took the Chantry and secretly kept expanding on it, using House Valisti as the main financial donor. The upper areas were entirely turned into a maze-like collection of rooms that can house a multitude of Crows at once. And the walls were given tons of secret passages and hidden doors. This is the main Crow base, and only fully initiated Crows know how to access it. It is also, most importantly, the one base where Crows are bound by their code not to harm each other. We know how much literal backstabbing these guys get up to, so we absolutely need to establish some kind of neutral ground. Still, ever since the incident in Tevinter Nights, where most Talons met a most gruesome end, there is tension in the air.

We arrive to the Treviso Chantry by rooftop, accompanied by our Talon, Viago de Riva, as well as all the de Riva Crows that were able to join this effort. Like shadows, we traverse the rooftops and ascend the Chantry’s walls like a group of Ezio Auditores. We find some secret passage in the walls and enter the Crows’ main base.

Right off the bat, Viago pulls us aside and tells us to be on our absolute best behaviour. Four of the Crows’ leading houses are gathered here, and we will not tarnish de Riva’s reputation by being ourselves. Classic Viago.

The Nest

The wide attic areas of the Chantry are referred to as “The Nest”, for this is still where the first Crows “hatched”. And now, it’s used as a massive gathering place, including its own opera house-style auditorium. This Chantry is just the definition of extra but that’s what the Crows are about.

As we walk towards our gathering, we can have a few encounters:

We can encounter Viago and Teia Cantori exchanging in something that is obviously flirting to the knowing eye and ear but can very well be masqueraded as diplomatic conversation. Viago also produces his snake…EMIL, EMIL the snake, not…no! His pet snake, which he got in Tevinter Nights. If you join the conversation, Teia acts absolutely delighted to see you and greets you like the cool and loving mom she is, whereas Viago stares daggers into your soul for daring to interrupt this moment.

We meet Antonio Valisti, the current head of House Valisti. He is both a Merchant Prince and Talon, a very powerful combination. He eyes us up and down and seems even more critical of our very air than Viago, and we thought that wasn’t at all possible.

We find some notes and letters regarding Crows being sent out to hunt down Zevran, who is still on the run. He has stopped waging his one-man-army war against the Crows and is currently lying low.

We can overhear a conversation between Jacobus, his cousin Dareth, and Heir, talking about Jacobus’ training and what it truly means to be an Antivan Crow.

NOTE: In this World State, Zevran is still alive.

We meet Illario Dellamorte and can engage him in polite but tense conversation. He seems to still not having gotten over the death of his cousin, Lucanis, the Demon of Vyrantium. He can only hope to keep his memory alive by being the deadliest assassin he could possibly be. We can be friendly to him here, and he seems to appreciate the sentiment.

The Great Contract

We settle down in the Nest’s auditorium and Caterina Dellamorte, First Talon, steps on stage, and we immediately feel the sheer deadly power and authority oozing from her, despite, or maybe because of, her age. She delivers a short and deadly speech on how this broken part of the Antaam invaded Treviso, led by a man called Daathrata, or “The Butcher”, as the locals refer to him.

Caterina announces that all Crows gathered here have a contract now. All four houses have been bought to assassinate the Butcher and as many of his Antaam soldiers as possible. And who is the client with so much coin for this contract? Well, we’ll meet them later.

Caterina orders the Crows to rest up and prepare, they will be carrying out their plan soon enough. A few select Crows will be chosen to accompany their Talons and meet the client in another location.

Later that evening, Viago approaches us, declaring that he’s chosen us to accompany him to the meeting with the client. He’s incredibly grumpy and stiff about it and tells us to better not make him regret it. At the same time, he concedes that out of all the Crows of House de Riva, we have shown some of the most promise.

Meeting the Client

Heading to meet the client is, as with all Crow-related stuff, shadowy business. So we’re not going to take the streets but jump across the rooftops once again. While we do that, we can see a few things happening below:

We see members of the Antaam dragging a mage out of a house to expose them to the qamek treatment. The Butcher hates mages. Nothing we can do for this one, we must remain in the shadows for now. Even if we want to help them, Viago holds us back. There are too many eyes.

We see the citizens of Treviso being lined up for overall inspection by the Antaam, to see how obedient they are under the new regime.

Eventually, we arrive at our meeting spot: Café Pietra. There, we meet Rayan Ivenci, the Governor of Treviso. Now, for Ivenci, I have something slightly different and more elaborate planned than what we see of them in the game.

Turns out, Ivenci is the one who made the contract and paid the Crows to assassinate the Butcher. Antivan nobles do have a well-established history of hiring the Crows to take out political targets, so this is no exception. Since Ivenci is such a wealthy person, they had enough coin to hire all four houses currently active in Treviso.

If we’re feeling bold, we can even mention how superficial this contract is given that we’re planning to kill the Butcher anyway. Viago gives us another death glare and reminds us of the Crows’ ways of operating. A contract belongs in our very DNA.

Ivenci explains their plan to us: They’re planning on negotiating peace talks with Daathrata onboard his Dreadnought, which is docking just outside the Drowned District. And while they’re having these talks, the Crows can swoop in and perform their assassination. They mention that Daathrata’s main reason for breaking away from the Arishok’s Antaam is that, despite his cruelty, the Butcher doesn’t want to fight in a senseless war against Tevinter. Peace talks are, therefore, not outside the realm of possibility with him.

Our plan put in motion, Ivenci departs and the Crows prepare to gather all forces for a massive descent upon the Qunari.

An Old Friend

When Antonio, Caterina, and the Crows they brought along, leave, Viago and Teia remain. When we ask Viago why we’re not leaving, he says that we still have another meeting to attend. Another contract for after this one is over, so to say.

At this moment, Varric Tethras joins us at the table, with a mug of mulled wine, as he needs that alcohol and coffee is just not his thing. Viago and Teia obviously know him from The Missing so that connection is established. Varric greets us and we probably know him very well, as pretty much everyone knows Varric thanks to his books. And being the Viscount of Kirkwall and serving the Inquisition years ago obviously added to his reputation.

Viago and Teia start talking to him about the contract they have been discussing for a while now. We, as players, obviously can already guess what it is, but the language is kept very vague right now. At this point, de Riva may begin to wonder why exactly we were allowed to stay with two Talons discussing a contract with a new client.

Turns out, Viago has proposed we join Varric and carry out the contract. Even though he has his absolute grievances with us and thinks we’re an annoying baby, he can’t deny our skills.

Varric looks us over and we can have our first little conversation with him, in which we express our interest and curiosity in this strange new contract. This first talk is going to determine partially how Varric perceives us. We can be strictly business-like, as a classic Crow like Viago would behave, or perhaps be a little more idealistic towards the Antaam situation, like Teia. In any case, the meeting ends with Varric stating he’ll wait for us after the Butcher contract is done. Viago barks at us to leave and so we do.

Preparations

Back at the Nest, we have a final strategic meeting with the four houses and determine exactly what everyone will be doing. Here’s the plan: House Valisti, since they have the most and longest experience with Daathrata by having fought him the longest, will go straight for the Butcher’s Dreadnought. House Dellamorte will handle the Antaam in the streets of Treviso. Houses Cantori and de Riva will take care of the Drowned District. Now, we have a first choice presented before us, as there are two different sections of the Drowned District we can focus on:

The Prison Camps: We focus on Antaam’s prison camps and liberate those the Qunari have captured. It’s not entirely out of the goodness of our hearts; the Crows need a win in the public’s perception of them to show that they are both a group to be feared and relied upon.

The Military Camps: We focus on the Antaam’s direct military camps and fracture their overall defences and might. This will weaken them in the long-run.

Whatever we choose is what Houses de Riva and Cantori will prioritise first. If there is still time, we shall focus on the second. While Teia is very much for liberating the prisoners, Viago wants to weaken the Antaam’s overall strength. And this is where our de Riva comes in.

NOTE: As you may have noticed, I am referring to Rook as “de Riva” throughout this write-up, for the same reasons I stated in the other background write-ups.

Well, we have already established our de Riva to be a little more on the idealistic side, so we choose the Prison Camps as our battleground. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, though: we do not actually decide this in-universe. We are a regular Crow. Teia and Viago are Talons. Sure, they could ask us for our opinion, but we don’t get the end say. We just chime in with our own opinion and sway them to this decision. In this case, we support Teia’s idea and she convinces Viago to go along with it. Viago gives us a “this is so your fault” look, but lets it go.

The Crows Descend

What follows is a cinematic of Caterina sending us all to take up positions for what is to be a great shadow battle. The idea is to not engage in open warfare but more so in a Crow way, silent and deadly.

We get a scene at the Butcher’s Dreadnought. Governor Ivenci and some of their guards await to be let on. And this Dreadnought is massive, an absolute unit of a ship, easily overshadowing everything else in the docks. The gangplank is lowered and Daathrata, the Butcher, steps out. He’s an imposing, intimidating Qunari warrior who looks like he can snap anyone in two, including other Qunari. But when he opens his mouth, he is surprisingly well-mannered and soft-spoken, which kinda makes him look even more intimidating. He guides Ivenci and their guards on board. We see Antonio and the Valisti Crows hover on the rooftops surrounding the docks, ready to strike.

At the same time, in the streets of Treviso, we see Caterina and Illario getting the Dellamorte Crows ready to ambush groups of Antaam soldiers and clear the populated areas. Caterina pulls Ilario aside and tells him this is his moment to prove himself and lets him lead the house into battle. This visibly takes aback Ilario.

Lastly, Houses de Riva and Cantori gather on the rooftops surrounding the Prison Camps in the Drowned District. There are many guards around, and even more prisoners.

Now, we get to make another choice: How exactly do we approach this? Teia suggests killing the guards quickly and quietly and then let the prisoners out. Viago, on the other hand, wants to poison the guards and let them die from their food and drink. There are some nice campfires with pots of stew around. So, do we:

Attack the guards directly and kill them as swiftly, quietly, and efficiently as possible?

Or do we poison their supplies and let them choke on their own dinner?

Well, we are still a de Riva and at this point we’ve pissed off Viago enough times. Let’s try and placate him again. We’re in the poison camp. Viago comments that finally, a shred of reason still exists in our head. Since we’re a Qunari ourselves, we now get a bit of a unique flavour to this mission: We know that this particular unit broke off from the Arishok’s Antaam, however, unlike in DAV, they did not break off from the Qun, still holding their own belief to it. As such, they still have Qunari cooks and craftsmen among them. As such, we can play a bit of dress-up: we’ll play the role of a Qunari cook and poison the food ourselves. This is where playing a Qunari really comes at an advantage for us because they won’t suspect us nearly as much as anyone else.

Viago gives us some Adder’s Kiss poison, provided by Emil, and asks us to bring back some qamek for him to study if we find any. He asks this in a bit of a nerdy way, like this is the one poison that still eludes his collection. The other Crows will hold back for the time being while we…go in alone. Mierda.

The Prison Camps

Cut to a little later. Instead of the tight, badass, and sexy Antivan Crow leather attire, we now find ourselves in a plain dress and shirt (I’m going for a feminine Qunari de Riva here). We sneak into a tent filled with cooking supplies, and either knock out, kill, or convince the actual cook to go away. Either way, we are now the cook.

We look around in the tent and find ourselves absolutely aghast at the sheer lack of flavour and variety that is Qunari food. Antivans are supposed to be a mix of Spain and Italy, but the food aspect is definitely Italian-coded. So we look around horrified and mumble something along the lines of “Mierda, no wonder they are the way they are.”

We then set about brewing some fresh stew, which we are utterly disgusted by. As an Antivan, we are used to excellent food full of rich flavour and spices. We really have to reign ourselves in to not make the stew too tasty. This is absolute torture for our poor food-loving heart. This food deserves the poison.

Now that our food has become entirely disgraceful to our standards, it’s time to deliver it to the Antaam.

There are three prison camps aligned next to each other in total, meticulously placed upon the still-standing and dry parts of the Drowned District. We have to sneak the poison into three large pots, one for each camp. As we traverse the camp, we get the following encounters:

We see some prisoners, citizens of Treviso who somehow scorned the Qunari, being tested for potential new rules in the Qun. If we pass them, the Qunari will pull us aside and order us to show some people how to cook. We can play along and actually show them some excellent cooking skills.

But we also see those who actively volunteered into the Qun. They are currently being given weapons or infrastructural jobs. They are clearly under pressure but treated exponentially better than the prisoners. Why are we showing this? Well, if you recall DA2, some people actually did join the Arishok of their own free will. We must show that not everyone actually despises the Qun, or would rather join it than be killed. In any case, it’s important to see.

Whenever we pass one of the main cages with Treviso’s citizens inside, we can try to damage the locks to allow them to escape. This, however, adds the potential consequence of some prisoners trying to make a run for it and being swiftly executed. We choose not to damage them for now.

We see a cage full of mages who were exposed to qamek. They are utterly mindless, almost tranquil, but even…worse than that. In the huge tent next to them, we find a Qunari keeping watch over the poison. We quickly kill him and hide the body, and take a few vials with us for Viago.

When we reach the main pots, something happens each time that will allow us to make some more choices:

Pot 1: Another cook is already filling it. We can either tell them to fuck off or convince them that our food is better prepared since the other tents were befallen by rodents from the canal. Yes, we saw that. We do not lie. The Qun has no lies.

Pot 2: Pot 2 is broken because someone knocked it over and is now being punished for it. We can quickly scurry around and find a new pot to fulfil our duty here.

Pot 3: Pot 3 has a more merciful Qunari captain who let some prisoners have their fill first. You see some people eagerly looking up to you, waiting for food. Dammiiiiittttt. I don’t want to kill the citizens! So do we maintain our cover or find a way around this? Since we’re playing an idealist Crow, we choose to bullshit our way out of this. We make it look like as though one of the Antaam soldiers pushed us and we dramatically let our remaining food spill on the floor. Apologies, huge apologies, we shall get a new fill. The guard is being punished.

Once all is done, we get a very Ghost of Tsushima-style scene where de Riva stands amidst the Antaam and watches the soldiers slowly succumbing to Viago’s poison, except for the third camp. And some others obviously see the poison take effect before eating anything. We quickly dash to where we left our gear. A few minutes later, the Crows descend upon the camps. We re-emerge, once again dressed in our Crow outfit. Viago and Teia join us, and Viago begrudgingly admits that yeah, we’ve actually done a satisfactory job, whereas Teia nudges him teasingly, saying that he can be proud every once in a while.

We then battle against the Antaam, with Viago, and Teia fighting by our side. We mow down those who survived the poison. And because we didn’t break the prisoners’ locks, none of them prematurely escape into an early grave.

Ambush

As soon as we start letting out the prisoners, however, something changes. Something drastic. We see a strange light out on the water and look to the Butcher’s Dreadnought, only to see it go…

BOOM

The Dreadnought fully explodes into smithereens and the debris even reaches us here. All of House Valisti was on board that ship, as well as Daathrata and Ivenci. Before we can react, however, we are suddenly ambushed by a whole new wave of Antaam soldiers. Somehow, the military camp made it here in seconds. And they begin cutting down the escaping prisoners. Mierda, maybe letting them run earlier would have been a better idea. Some would have died, yes, but not as many as right now.

We engage in another, much fiercer battle against the Antaam, but the Crows are driven back. We are not used to open warfare. Now the Qunari have the advantage. We retreat onto the walls.

From there, we see how the streets of Treviso are crawling with Antaam as well and two great Dreadnoughts sail down the river. Where did those come from? Did the Butcher suddenly gain forces? How? Why? How did he know? How…how did he know that we would be planning this? This is too calculated to be a coincidence. Viago and Teia come to the same conclusion: someone betrayed us, betrayed Treviso, betrayed us all to the Butcher. Speaking of…if the Butcher knew this, then the exploding Dreadnought was no accident either. That means he has to still be alive. Maybe we can even save Antonio.

But we also see the Dellamorte Crows struggling in the streets. Teia and Viago begin to argue on what to do next, and we can make a choice here, another big one:

Do we follow Teia and aid the Dellamortes in the streets of Treviso?

Or do we stay with Viago and pursue the Butcher and try to save Antonio and Ivenci?

Well, Viago taught us that a contract needs to be finished, no matter what. We speak out in favour of pursuing Daathrata. Viago agrees with us and Teia rallies House Cantori to help the Dellamortes in the streets. We pursue.

The Butcher

As we race along the docks and fight our way through Antaam soldiers, we are joined by Varric who asks if now’s a good time to make it an outside operation. Viago doesn’t even hesitate to let him join, and so we fight. There are so many Qunari, it’s actually insane. The Crows are way out of their depth here.

While the rest of House de Riva is fighting, we, Viago, and Varric reach the remains of the Butcher’s Dreadnought. We see the corpses of all the House Valisti Crows floating in the water or burning on the wreck. We also find Antonio, who is barely alive and severely wounded. We pull him out of the wreckage and begin patching him up.

We then explore the still-stable parts of the Dreadnought for any signs of the Butcher. Just as we’re about to give up, we see a smaller Qunari ship sailing along the docks. We see the Butcher and Ivenci on it. Well, gotta save the Governor.

Without waiting for Viago and Varric, we hurry over the burning debris, acrobatically swing ourselves back onto the docks, shoot along the piers, jump over gaps and missing parts, see another ship, a fishing vessel, sticking out far enough that we could maybe risk it, quickly make our way there, jump on the boat, climb the mast, the Qunari vessel is almost past us, unsheathe our daggers, SWING OURSELVES FROM THE MAST, DESCEND UPON THE BUTCHER, EZIO AUDITORE!!!

Whoom

We are suddenly stopped, mid-air, as Ivenci stops us with magic, blood magic even; freezing our blood so that our fall is halted. The Butcher calmly turns around and gazes us straight in the eyes. Then, he slowly unsheathes a dagger coated in qamek, and slowly, almost sadistically so, stabs us in the chest.

Ivenci lets their spell go and we drop on deck, our vision blurring, our thoughts dissolving as the qamek spreads through our body. Ivenci is the traitor. But…he made the contract…why would he…

Ivenci looks at us with pure hatred, something unexpected. He looks even more into this situation than Daathrata. Slowly, we fight back and rise to our feet. The Butcher sighs and engages us in battle.

What follows is a very blurry, very short boss battle that basically ends with the Butcher stabbing us again and sending us into the waters of Rialto Bay.

Awakening

We wake up back at the Nest with Viago nursing us back to health. Fortunately, the qamek on that dagger was but a small dosis, so we are certain to recover soon. It’s always good to start acquiring immunity. Viago knows what he’s talking about. As we look at him, we see, for the first time that he’s genuinely worried about us. And no condescension hides that.

He explains that Varric found us floating in the water and dragged us out. If it weren’t for him, we’d be dead. He awaits us at the café when we’re ready. Ready for what? Well, for the other contract. Are you fucking kidding, Viago? Viago dismisses our incredulity by reminding us that contracts are what we’re all about. He asks us what happened with the Butcher. We come back to our senses and tell him that we need to tell something to the other Talons. Viago understands and allows us to get ready.

Slightly slow and wounded, bandaged, we make our way to the auditorium. Teia meets us on the way, glad to see us alive. We see that Viago and Teia are the only unscathed Talons. Caterina is heavily bandaged, as is Antonio. Illario is taking over House Dellamorte while Caterina recovers. Antonio is the only Valisti left. But at least, thanks to us, there is still a Valisti left.

We tell them that Ivenci betrayed us. That they’re a blood mage. That they and Daathrata work together. The Crows are furious, especially Antonio, who wants vengeance for his house. But they also commend de Riva for, albeit while not having finished the contract, at least getting this valuable intelligence.

After the meeting, Viago and Teia take us aside and prompt us to return to the café now. Ivenci and Daathrata think we’re dead and that the other Crows did not receive information on the betrayal. Let us keep it this way for now. Us disappearing out of Treviso on another contract with Varric is a perfect opportunity. We ask what this contract is about but they still won’t say, stating that it’s best for Varric to explain it himself.

Meeting Varric

We meet Varric back at the Café Pietra. He’s glad to see we’re alright and if we’re ready to depart. On our way here we saw that Treviso is currently in a bit of a turmoil. It’ll take a while before all of this is settled. And now, we have two main targets to kill here: Daathrata and Ivenci.

Yeah, the fact that Ivenci’s a traitor is a huge twist in DAV, but I think there is an interesting story to be told if we know they’re the traitor from the get-go. Now, we can wonder why they did it.

We ask Varric what this other contract is about, and Varric says he’ll tell us when we’re way out of Treviso. We can get a little impatient and ask what kind of target this could possibly be that it requires such secrecy. Are we hunting a god or something? Viago and Teia exchange some glances, but we don’t notice.

Instead, Varric encourages us to drop the de Riva name for now, as the Crows…do have a reputation. Best if we just come across as a normal Tal-Vashoth. We need a new name.

We lean back and think. Then, we simply say “Rook.” Varric raises an eyebrow. We shrug. “Close enough to a Crow while still sounding different enough.” Viago visibly and audibly groans in the background. “That’s not what secret mean-“ Teia can’t help but laugh. Varric smirks. “And the strongest piece on the chessboard. I like it.”

Leaving Treviso

Before we leave Treviso, we can have some final talk with Viago and Teia. We do get a little bit more insight into how both of them kinda raised us while still keeping us as a part of House de Riva. They are basically our parental figures, which is super rare among the Crows unless you are blood-related. Even though Viago demeans us all the time, it’s clear he has grown to somehow care for us. While Teia gives us a lot of advice for how to handle ourselves on the road away from all the Crows, Viago simply says something along the lines of “Get this contract done.” At this point, we exasperatedly ask “Mierda, WHO is the target???” and Varric leads us out of the café.

What follows is a cinematic of Rook and Varric sneaking through the streets of Treviso, dodging Antaam patrols. Once we’re out, we take a look back at the huge old Chantry. Still confused on what this is all about, we turn away and follow Varric into the unknown.

And there we have it! A potential origin story for the Antivan Crows! It’s getting really fun doing these. I’m very much enjoying it, and I hope you are too. Next time, we shall head to the Necropolis and explore a potential origin story for the Mourn Watchers. Stay tuned!

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mohntilyet · 1 month ago

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i read the wigmaker job recently and there’s an idea that really stuck with me, which may well have been discussed before, but it’s really been itching at me. it came from this exchange near the end –

“i don't want to quit.” / illario sat back. the distance between them suddenly felt much wider than a table. / “even if it kills you,” illario whispered. / “death is my calling,” lucanis stated, matter-of-fact. “just as yours is to become first talon.”

(the bits before and after this give important context, too, but these specific lines are what gnaw at me)

i. really wonder if this conversation – and the long-standing beliefs held by both of them that it’s indicative of – contributed to giving lucanis to zara.

like, illario coming to terms with the fact that lucanis really just will. not. stop. for ANYTHING. his cousin WILL get himself killed doing this and lucanis won’t have any regrets. he’ll leave illario to go this alone. (no one to follow after anymore.) combined with the envy of knowing that lucanis is and always will be caterina’s favorite, and she will likely pick lucanis to be first talon even tho lucanis does not want this At All…

i wonder if he thought that, well, if lucanis is going to die anyway… maybe it’s better to have it happen sooner, rather than later. why put off the inevitable? especially if this is the one thing that could shift caterina’s gaze to illario and give him what he’s wanted – what he’s earned.

lucanis wouldn’t be happy as first talon anyway (honestly, illario seems to see that what lucanis is NOW isn’t so much ‘happy’ as it is ‘obedient and content to accept the scraps that gives him’), and he’s GOING to get himself killed doing this, anyway… and sure, they COULD wait it out. wait for lucanis to do something foolish enough that he can't just walk away from it. maybe he’ll even last long enough to be made first talon (if caterina can ever bear to loosen her grip from the title) and be miserable for a while. years even, maybe. before he, again, does something he can’t walk away from.

OR. or. or illario could cut through all the pointless waiting and get right to the point. go straight to where this was always going to end up.

(and maybe part of it is an extension of anticipated grief, too – the loss will be agony. if illario controls when and how it happens, he can control his grief. …except he hasn’t accepted the inevitability of lucanis’ death quite as well as he’d thought and when he gets sloshed at the wake, real grief seeps through the cracks)

i dunno. something about both of them viewing lucanis’ death as a foregone conclusion and how illario Might have had that shape his decisions.

YEAH . YEAHHHHH. i do also think the “to reason” exchange is what solidifies it in illario’s mind. lucanis is like 'this has been a productive if tense talk with my cousin. surely he sees sense now.' and illario is like ‘what the fuck. i think he wants to die’ <- okay im exaggerating a bit but i do absolutely see the end of wigmaker’s job as the start of lucanis-illario’s downward spiral. there’s a reason that it’s something lucanis is stuck on during inner demons, and the exchange that you have very nicely broken down is what he hears echoes of, this is where he knows it started to go wrong

probably the worst part is lucanis WOULD have worked himself to death and it takes the series of events in veilguard for lucanis to see other options for his life, and still he ends up being shoehorned into first talon by the end of the quest. i thought his quest would parallel iron bull’s, in that rook shows them that living outside and away from crow influence is possible, and that he is much more than the weapon they turned him into, but it ofc doesn’t go through like that. it’s genuinely a bit heartbreaking that lucanis finally has support and like. FRIENDS. but with the way the game ends he’s pulled back into the crows and to a life that will be about protecting a cousin that the organisation he runs hates, and for as long as caterina lives, unable to say no to her. and meanwhile after lucanis has made connections outside of the crows, illario has absolutely nothing left (prison of his own making i get it but i still want to get his ass out of there. 😭) so the codependency that they used to share is gone as well. maybe lucanis has a foot out the door but i genuinely have no idea how illario goes on after this

#it's. so terrible that these are grown fucking men in their 30s and lucanis still feels like he can't refuse anything she tells her #and then ofc illario doesnt consider they CAN even change her mind so he jumps to fratricide .#i also of course think everything he does in the game is wildly stupid and out of character for him. but this is another fight #well. kind of. the direction they took with illario just confuses me to no end #the jealousy stuff is all there ofc i do not think that part is unrealistic. but the execution .......#AND SO SORRY I TOOK THIS LONG TO RESPOND!!!! i NEED to get unemployed i gotta treat thinking of illario as a day job #long post #just. yeah. sorry for adding my own two cents i just .....#i think the dellamortes seriously caring for each other and a rare example of a blood related family as a crow house #could have had a lot more done with it.#someday i will post my stupid little powerpoint #answered #cannibalisticskittles

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bitethedemon · 2 months ago

Text

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 1

Next Chapter ->

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

(A really messy Lucanis/Named!Reader/Illario love triangle set in Treviso. Lucanis/Rook isn't the main relationship, but reader is jealous as fuck about them)

You had been called River amongst the Crows for so long that you had almost forgotten your real name. It had been a stupid joke from when you were just a fledgling that had stuck. ‘The Rivaini de Riva’ had at some point turned into ‘River de Riva’, and that became who you were. Viago would always say that you were just as unruly as your namesake too.

Viago had found you in a sanctuary for the poor in Treviso five years ago.

…well…

That was the official story you had been ordered to tell the others and especially Teia. The real story was that he found you in a whorehouse. You were barely a human being by the time he found you. You had spent months in captivity by the Antaam.

They had burned down your village, killed everyone, and taken everything from you. They brought you with them to Treviso, but they were unsure what to do with you. It was bad luck to kill a seer, though the same superstition had not bothered them when they killed your grandmother, your mother, and all of your sisters.

However, you were not going to point out the flaws in their logic or tell them that you never got to finish your training. You needed to stay alive so you could get your revenge.

You used your time wisely. The elders of your village had always praised you for being observant, and by the gods you were going to mentally note down every word your captors said, how they said them, were they went, when they came to your cell, when they left, when they took a shit. Everything.

Viago kept an eye on you in the meantime and when they gave you over to the whorehouse, he swept in and presented revenge to you on a silver platter. The information you gave over to the Crows resulted in the downfall of the camp that had taken you. You became a de Riva that same day.

The Antivan Crows had not forgotten that the organization had roots stemming from the Chantry though. It was a tough pill for a lot of the Crows to swallow. They looked at you and saw a savage witch that spoke to demons and let spirits possess her. You did not fit in.

Even worse, you were utter shit with a dagger, much to the dismay of Viago. You were hopeless as a fledgling. Viago even hired mages to teach you more ‘appropriate’ magic, such as the way of the Spellblades, but with no luck.

You were no good at following orders either, having never been used to taking orders from a man because of the matriarchal society in Rivain. It was driving Viago up the wall. The two of you were constantly fighting and it was a wonder that he did not give up on you entirely.

He stopped your training after you had learned the mere basics. Instead, you took to poison-making. That was what you found out that you were good at, so you were left to do just that. You liked that better anyway. You were left to do what you were good at, and Viago did not get grey hair prematurely. Everyone was happy.

Except most of the other Crows, of course. They still kept their distance from you, though it mattered less when you were free to keep mostly to yourself. You had your own little laboratory to study and make poisons for everyone else in.

That was how you met Lucanis.

Lucanis was barely ever around. Being the most expensive assassin the Crows had to offer, he was always busy. You had never even met him until he was one day standing beside you in your laboratory. You had jumped at his presence and almost dropped a vial of wyvern poison on the floor.

“Three vials of Quiet Death, please,” he said politely. “If you’re not busy, of course. I can wait.”

You had blinked at him in confusion. No one ever came into your space except Viago.

“I’m…sorry…who are you?” you asked.

“Oh, forgive me,” he said and bowed his head slightly. “Lucanis Dellamorte. I have a difficult time keeping track of who I have met and not.”

“Oh,” you said quietly and looked him over. “You’re…yeah. I’m River. Sorry. Usually people go through Viago, instead of coming in here…”

“Why?” he asked plainly without a shred of judgment in his voice. “Quiet Death is a simple poison, no?”

Because they all hate me, so Viago hides me away here.

“Because…” you began. You had no answer that didn’t sound pathetic, so you changed the subject. “We are out of Deathroot, unfortunately, but I can make you something else.”

You began looking through the supplies.

“Do you have a weight estimate on your targets?”

He thought for a moment before giving surprisingly specific estimates. It was great to hear someone who knew what they were doing. If you had a gold coin for each time you had heard ‘small’, ‘average’, or ‘big’ as a weight estimate, you would have been a rich woman. Every question you asked was given a detailed answer by him.

He watched you closely as you were working, as if trying to figure out what you were doing.

“What are you making?” he asked in a curious tone.

“It’s uh…a mix of things,” you admitted. “It’s a Rivaini recipe, but I’m improvising a bit since I don’t have all the ingredients. Don’t worry though. It will work.”

“Oh, are you the Rivaini that Viago keeps talking about?”

You gave a tight smile and a small nod.

“That’s me,” you mumbled.

“Your name is River de Riva?” he asked with an amused smile that belied image of the serious master assassin that she had heard so much about. “He is going insane, you know? I have heard him describe you with many colorful phrases.”

“He does that,” you mumbled and carefully dripped the toxin into the vial you were working on.

“He says you can’t fight, but it seems you are good at this,” Lucanis said and watched the careful movements of your hands. “Did he teach you?”

“Well, first of all,” you protested slightly and put a lid on the vial to shake it. “I can fight…just not in any way that he finds acceptable. Secondly, no, poison-making was a part of my training back in my village. Viago just showed me which ones the Crows specifically use, since he doesn’t like me using the Rivaini ones that work perfectly fine. Which is why I never made you this.”

You handed him the first vial.

“Understood,” he said with a smile.

You began shaking the next one and then shook your head.

“Sorry for ranting,” you said. “I rarely get the opportunity.”

“It’s fine,” he said and studied the liquid in the vial. “You promise me that this will work?”

“It will.”

You handed him another vial and shook the last one.

“You said you received training before joining us,” he said. “As what?”

You froze for a second. The conversation was going so well, and this man seemed so nice, and now you were going to ruin it. You were sure of it. You sighed quietly.

“As a seer,” you replied reluctantly. “Though I never finished my training.”

“A seer?” he asked. “Interesting. Why did you stop?”

You look over his face for any trace of judgment. You found none. It took you by surprise.

“I didn’t.”

His brow furrowed ever so slightly at your reply. He didn’t understand. You handed him the last vial.

“My home was destroyed, and my family were killed by the Antaam,” you explained, trying your hardest to not to sound like a sad, pathetic mess. “Seer training can take almost a lifetime, and it’s taught by the women of your family. I am the only one left, so I will never finish my studies…”

His dark eyes softened when he heard, as if the words had hurt him to hear. There was some recognition of pain in his eyes, and you would only understand much later where it came from. He bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He mumbled his thanks for the poisons and promptly left the laboratory. You mentally hit yourself over the head for the entire day for opening up in that way to him.

A couple of days later you found a history book on Rivaini seers on the table in the laboratory when you came in in the morning. It would not help you finish your training, but you appreciated the thought more than anything.

That was the beginning of your relationship with him. You quickly learned that Lucanis was a crow in the literal sense: he left gifts and shiny things. That was his love language. He was not good at talking about his own feelings, though he did not mind talking about yours when the need arose. Lucanis did everything for you to not feel alone.

Half of the things he brought you, you had no idea how he even got his hands on. He would not tell you either. He always brushed away your gratitude. In the beginning it was mostly gifts that he insisted that he had simply stumbled upon. Later, the gifts became more personal. He even learned to cook Rivaini food just for you, which he would bring when he visited.

You adored him. It was hard not to, even though you knew he was simply being nice and that him being a Dellamorte meant that anything beyond friendship was no more than a naïve dream. Family was more important than anything to Lucanis, and he would be damned if you did not feel like you belonged to one, even though he seemed to be the only willing member for a while.

Eventually, more and more of the Crows started accepting you, simply because Lucanis did. You were introduced properly to Illario as well. You had always seen Illario as a rude bastard, but because of his cousin’s interest in you, he began warming up to you too. Illario eventually began flirting despite Lucanis’ interest in you. Or perhaps because of Lucanis’ interest, you realized later.

Either way, Lucanis was not fond of the situation, but he never said anything other than a few friendly warnings to you about how Illario treats women. Lucanis obviously cared and at the end of his life it only became even more obvious.

There had been an event at Villa Dellamorte that someone of your rank would never have attended had it not been because you were friends with Caterina’s grandson. Lucanis, Illario, and you sneaked off to the wine cellar sometime during the evening. At the end of the night, Illario and you were drunk and Lucanis was tipsy too.

You only remembered the night in fragments. You know that Illario flirted relentlessly with you that evening. You didn’t want Illario, but in your drunken stupor, perhaps you reciprocated. You weren’t sure. You only remembered that Lucanis was uncomfortable, torn between not wanting to be there and not trusting Illario enough to leave you alone with him.

You vaguely remembered Illario chuckling into your ear and then feeling his lips on your neck. It was when his hand ran up your thigh that you remembered sobering up and flinching slightly.

“I think I should get you home, River,” Lucanis had said and promptly gotten up from his chair.

You felt Illario huff against your neck before leaving a small bite there. You moved away from his touch.

“Why?” Illario asked and turned his head to look at Lucanis. “We are just having fun.”

“Illario…” Lucanis said firmly.

“She doesn’t want to go home, do you, River?” Illario said and put his arm over your shoulders. “Just a little seer possessed by spirits,” he joked with a smile and looked at Lucanis. “If you are tired, you can go. I will be sure she gets home safe.”

Lucanis looked directly at you.

“Do you want to go home?”

You nodded and got up. You stumbled slightly and Lucanis offered an arm for you to lean on. You did not even have to look back to see the hateful look Illario gave him. You could practically feel the tension in the air.

“You always get what you want, don’t you, Lucanis?” Illario said with disdain. “As if your intentions are any purer than mine.”

Then Illario mumbled something in Antivan that you did not quite catch, but Lucanis certainly did. There came a low growl of anger from him, and he led you to the staircase up and out of the wine cellar before turning to Illario.

“Go upstairs,” he said to you. “I will be with you in a moment.”

You stumbled up the stairs. The second you closed the door you could hear them arguing loudly in what was no doubt very colorful language. You had never heard Lucanis like that before.

When he came up and started to lead you home, he was deadly quiet for the longest time. It made you slightly nervous and you weren’t quite sure what to say.

“Are you..mad?” you asked, slightly slurring the words.

“Yes,” he answered curtly.

Another long pause of silence.

“At…me?”

“No, River,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “Not at you. At Illario. He acts like a child sometimes.”

You nodded and looked at his face as the two of you walked, trying to figure out what he was thinking. You often did without much luck. He noticed you staring and gave you a gentle smile.

“Not far now,” he said.

You kept walking. When you got to your house, you gave him the key. You could barely look straight. He unlocked the door for you to enter. When you saw the staircase up to your room, you gave a deep sigh. Lucanis took the hint and helped you up to your room.

“I didn’t mean to, you know,” you mumbled. “For that to happen, I mean. I don’t—”

Lucanis quickly caught you before you fell backwards down the stairs. He mumbled something in Antivan and held you by your waist from behind like a parent trying to teach a child to walk.

“I don’t even like Illario,” you said, continuing your drunken babbling. “I should have done something…”

“It’s not your fault,” he said and helped you up the final steps.

He opened the door to your room and sat you down on your bed. You looked up at him.

“Thank you for getting me home,” you said. “And even bringing me in the first place. I’m sorry it became such a mess.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” he insisted and pulled the blanket on the bed aside for you to get in. “It’s nothing.”

“You always say that,” you protested. “It means the world to me. Everything you do. I need you to know that.”

He gave you a smile.

“You are drunk, River,” he said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Can I trust that you won’t throw yourself down the stairs in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t want Illario,” you mumbled.

“You have already said that.”

“I want you.”

His eyes softened at your drunken admission. He looked over your face in almost comical confusion, as if it had not been the most obvious thing in the world that you liked him. His eyes flicked to your lips for a second and you leaned forward.

“No,” he said gently and put his hand on your shoulder to stop you. “No, no. None of that.”

Your heart sank and you must have looked like a beaten puppy to him. His rejection was a knife in your heart. You felt ridiculous for even thinking that might have been where things were going. He gently brushed his hand over your hair.

“Not like this,” he said gently. “Goodnight, River.”

He squeezed your shoulder and left.

You had kept on replaying that night over and over in your head. The mental hangover had been insane. It did not help that you did not hear from him for about a week after. When he finally came, it was early in the morning, and he sneaked up on you in your laboratory. You weren’t sure what to say when you saw him.

You tried to say something, to get any word out of your mouth, but without any luck. You became even more speechless when he walked right up to you.

“I have been thinking,” he said. “Since last time.”

At least five excuses were already at the tip of your tongue, waiting to spill out in a jumbled mess.

“Did you mean it?” he asked gently.

The excuses died on your tongue before they could ever make it out. You couldn’t lie. Not to him. You swallowed hard and nodded, readying yourself for another rejection. It never came.

Instead, he looked at you with those warm eyes of his and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

You froze completely for a long moment. When he broke the kiss, you finally snapped back into reality and leaned in to kiss him again properly. Your heart hammered in your chest. You felt truly alive for the first time since you arrived in Treviso.

It was only a week later that he died.

You were inconsolable. To have everything taken from you, just to be given a sliver of light in your life and then have it be taken away again. The only other person you could talk to who would understand was Illario, who was trying his hardest to drink himself to death. You and Illario found an odd solace in each other during that time.

Though even when you started dating him, it did not fill the hole in your heart of losing Lucanis.

In the evenings you would sneak off to read all the books Lucanis’ had given you on seer magic. You learned to contact spirits, but you could not find the one spirit that you wanted to talk to. Needed to talk to.

This obsession only made you feel even worse. You were Illario’s now, but even then, you were still obsessed with the man who he had been forced to compete with his entire life. Even in death, Illario lived in Lucanis’ shadow. The guilt kept you up some nights, but you could just not let him go. There was no closure.

It had been over a year now.

You were hunched over a tome on seer family lines in the laboratory, when you really should have been working instead. You kept reading the books he had given you. You weren’t sure why. Perhaps, you simply felt as if it was a way to honor him.

“River,” you heard softly from behind you.

You quickly shut the book closed and stashed it under a shelf. You fiddled with some equipment, so it looked like you had been working.

“What do you need, Illario?” you asked.

“River,” the voice called again.

It sounded odd. As if he was sick or something. The tone was all wrong. He sounded like Lucanis, you realized.

You felt a hand on being laid softly on your shoulder and you turned around. You turned white as a sheet and time seemed to stop.

You clasped your hands over your mouth and your legs gave in. You slid down to the floor and looked up at him. You couldn’t breathe. You frantically reached out to touch his leg to check if he was solid or just a figment of your imagination, and then you sobbed.

He crouched down and you clung to him.

“I thought—”

“I know,” Lucanis said and squeezed your arm.

As you were crying your eyes out, a grating, hissing voice flowed through your ears all of a sudden.

“Smells like earth. Poison roots and wyvern spit.”

Your eyes darted up and widened. Behind Lucanis stood a copy of him with grey skin and eyes that glowed purple. You knew immediately what that was. It smiled at you.

“Seer!” the demon said with excitement. “She sees. Hears…”

Your mouth fell slightly agape. Lucanis looked at you.

“You can see him?” he asked urgently.

“By the gods, Lucanis…” you mumbled quietly and looked into his eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“Help us. Now,” the demon said.

#lucanis #lucanis dellamorte #lucanis x rook #lucanis x reader #illario dellamorte #illario dellamorte x reader

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