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girlwithadragonheart · 2 months ago

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Chapter 1 - The Demon of Vyrantium

This story will have spoilers from the game. Like entire quests. If you don’t want those don’t read this. You have been warned.

Rook x Lucanis

Summary: The gods strike at D’Meta’s Crossing. Neve suggests hiring the Antivan Crows and the most respected mage killer out there, turns out he has problems of his own.

Word Count: 8.9k

Warnings: graphic violence, mentions of slavery, cursing, let me know if I missed something it's so long I lost track

A/N: I told you I’d take more creative liberties with the next one didn’t I ;3

Prologue DATV Masterlist Chapter 2(WIP)

I sat across from Neve and Harding at the circle table in the lighthouse to go over next steps.

“So. We stopped the ritual,” Neve said.

“And Varric paid the price,” Harding answered.

“Hey. Varric made his choice to go talk with Solas. He knew the risks. We all did,” I said.

“And now Solas is… gone. And we’re here, wherever here is—besides in the Fade,” Harding thought.

“Solas called it the lighthouse,” I told them.

“He did?” Neve questioned. “When?”

“While I was out cold. He showed up in my dream, and he’s really mad that we stopped his ritual.”

“Good,” Harding said smugly.

“He’s also trapped in some kind of prison in the Face. Not happy about that either,” I explained.

“You’re sure that wasn’t just a dream? It’s a reasonable reaction,” Neve said.

“Solas can speak with people in their dreams. Even kill them,” Harding told her.

“I’m safe on that front. I bled a little when I got knocked out. Enough that he can gripe at me, but not enough that he can make my head explode.”

“So Solas is using blood magic. Like any normal mage would to play with your mind,” Neve replied.

“But he’s not a normal mage. Like I told you, he’s an elven god,” Harding said.

“Putting together a nice ritual doesn’t make him a god,” she shot back.

“The gods of my people were incredibly powerful,” I interrupted their squabbling. “I don’t mean they were powerful like a skilled mage. I mean they destroyed entire cities. They shattered mountains. So no, they might not literally be gods, but they’re a lot worse than whatever you’re thinking.”

“Alright. Well, we’ve stopped the ritual, and there doesn’t seem to be an immediate danger. For now. You’re certain Solas can’t use blood magic to affect your mind?” Neve asked.

“I’m certain that if he could he already would have, but I’m still pissed at him as ever. I’m not certain of anything else, but we’re not out of danger,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Harding asked.

“Solas had two of the other elven gods imprisoned. When he got trapped, they escaped.”

“So those things we saw come out of the fade when the ritual went wild… those are…” Neve’s voice faded.

“Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. Two of the ancient elven gods that Solas rebelled against. Solas warned me about them being evil, which is pretty rich coming from the guy who just tried to tear down the Veil,” I said.

“You don’t believe him?” Neve questioned.

“No, that’s the problem. I do believe him. He said they were horrific tyrants.”

“Tyrants so powerful elven history remembers them as gods,” Harding added.

“Solas says Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain drew on the blight for power and became corrupted. That was when he imprisoned them.”

“So instead of one… god… running around, we have two. And they’re not just powerful, they’re blighted,” Neve scowled.

“We need to get out there and stop them,” Harding said firmly.

“Just like that? Without Varric? And you’re still getting back on your feet,” Neve looked over at her.

“I’m fine. We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“We need to investigate. Figure out what we’re dealing with before we rush in and make things worse,” Neve told her.

“And how many more people will get hurt—get killed—while we spend time investigating?”

I cut them both off. “If Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain are worse than Solas, we can’t go in blind. We need to know what they can do and what they want.”

“But we only have Solas’s word about all of this,” Harding said.

I shrugged. “Then let’s go investigate for ourselves. We find out what we’re dealing with, and then we take our shot.”

“Fine. The eluvian led us here instead of back to Minrathous.”

“Let’s hope it goes back to the ritual site,” Neve said. “Maybe we can find some clues at the scene of the crime.”

“All right, then. Let’s get back to the ritual site,” I said.

—------------------------------------

The second we stepped through the Eluvian, a group of Veil Jumpers were running at us for their lives. Some kind of old elven construct was chasing them, swinging a massive golden axe at their heads. One of them, a woman, was using her magic on a device in her hands, trying to stop the construct, but it didn’t look to be working.

One of them got knocked to the side against a boulder, groaning from the impact. An older dark skinned elf parried the swings of the mighty axe, giving the girl time to work. The construct swung past the elf, the blade going through the device in the girl’s hands. As the device broke, the construct shut down, falling limp.

Harding seemed to know the older elf and the girl. She addressed them as Strife and Irelin. She told us that she met them with Varric when they first started the hunt for Solas. Veil Jumpers, she said they were called, experts in ancient elven magic.

Strife told us millions of artifacts are being faulty and coming alive because of Solas’s ritual, pointing the finger at us because we were supposed to stop him.

I informed him that we did, in fact, stop him, but Solas was now trapped in the Fade and two of the Evanuris escaped. The Veil Jumpers knew the extent of the horrors the Evanuris caused centuries ago.

“I was really hoping Solas was lying about all of this,” I told them.

Strife frowned. “The god of lies, but some things are sacrosanct, even to him. He might be a bastard, but he’s a damned sight better than the Evanuris.”

I snorted. “No kidding.”

They still had dozens of Veil Jumpers unaccounted for, but Irelin said if we could find Bellara Lutare it would be a massive assist. Apparently, she was the best there is at working with the ancient elven artifacts. She was off looking for one before the ritual shook everything loose.

Harding told them we would go and get Bellara, but I told her to stay behind and help the Veil Jumpers because they needed her. Definitely not because she was still injured and way too stubborn to see sense.

—--------------------------------------

“Protocol is to wait at least a week before sending anyone to look for me, I’ve only been gone for three days,” she said, twisting her hips back and forth in place like a child being scolded.

“Well, things have taken a turn for the worse, I’m afraid,” I told her. “Our gods are back and they’re trying to take over the world.”

“Our gods… I need a moment,” she said.

“Take all the time you need. It won’t help, unfortunately, I’ve known for days and it still hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” I replied.

“That is quite a predicament.” She sighed, looking around. “All right, but I need your help first, I’m on to something big here.”

“Just tell me what you need,” I smiled.

“We’ll take what we can get,” Neve told her.

As it turned out, Ancient Elven ruins could be tricky. Barriers and old mechanical devices that were rare in these times. Luckily, it was pretty straightforward to figure out and Bellara was a great help finding our way through the ruins. Whatever work she had done with elven ruins and artifacts would definitely come in handy.

It was all fine and dandy when we found what we were looking for, except for the ogre that decided to pay us a visit and try to wreck our shit.

A lot of its attacks I could parry or at least redirect. Some I could only dodge, and I spent most of the fight doing so, shooting firebolts in between its attacks.

It finally fell, and I sheathed my dagger, fighting to regain my breath.

Bellara found what she was looking for, the “Nadas Dirthalen” or the eighth archive or the archive spirit. Pick whichever you want to describe it, it was an artifact crafted with the knowledge of the gods and it could give us information we might need. If she could fix the crystal, that is.

We headed back to the Veil Jumper camp and they told us one of the towns they work closely with had gone dark. A place called D’Meta’s Crossing. With everything going on, it likely wasn’t a coincidence. Harding rejoined the three of us and we boarded a boat to go check it out.

—----------------------------------

D’Meta’s Crossing was on the far side of the lake. It was bleak when we approached on the water.

“This isn’t right,” Bellara said. “The dock usually has people bringing goods to market, bartering and shouting… It’s always busy.”

“Stay sharp,” I said as I climbed out of the boat.

The main entrance to town was barricaded. Clearly not to keep anything out. We moved to the side, seeing a smaller barricade. I pulled myself over it, eyes going wide as I dropped down. The place reeked, and there was blight everywhere. These masses, they looked like rotting tumors, not the decay or stagnation of the normal blight, this was alive.

There were cysts that popped like blisters when fired at or hit with anything and exploded. The second I stepped foot in this place I felt I needed a shower.

We moved further in, sticking close together. There was a villager standing by a home completely taken over with the blight.

His face was drained of all color and his eyes were black. “What happened here?”

He stared at me. Well, through me. “Keep them inside. Listen to the mayor.”

My brows furrowed. I waved a hand in front of his face. Unresponsive. “What’s controlling them? Blood magic? The blight?”

We moved deeper in. The town square was even worse for wear. There were bodies everywhere taken over by the blight-cysts. We continued on, keeping an eye out for survivors. There was no one that the blight hadn’t taken over, either their bodies or their minds.

We came to a part of town blocked off by a wall of the blight. A bright red bulb pulsated at the center of it. I shuddered, taking a couple steps back and blasting cold from my fingers to minimize the explosiveness.We had gotten through it, but only a narrow passageway. Squeezing between a corridor of the blight was not on the top of my bucket list.

I would desperately need a bath after this.

We came to the other side and a giant mass of the blight stood in the center. At the center of it looked like a person was being held there.

“Mihlva!” Bellara gasped, running over to one of the bodies.

“One of your fellow Veil Jumpers?” I asked, watching the blight tendrils wrap around them and pull them away. I moved to the mass at the center. The man in it was moving. “Bellara!”

She looked over. “Jahel! He’s alive!”

“Bellara?” The man groaned.

“We’re going to help you… we’ll get you down, Jahel,” Bellara said.

A tendril snaked around his neck. “No… listen. The gods… the gods have returned. I saw… them. I heard their voices.”

“The gods did this?” Bellara questioned, panic evident in her voice.

“A blood ritual,” he said. “To release the blight. The villagers… they said they needed power… Bellara… be careful…” That tendril looped around his neck twice over, caressing his lips as he spoke before tightening around his throat.

His body was strangled, blood spilled to the cobbled streets, the blight pooling at our feet. The ground shook, and I heard someone shout for help.

We ran through the remains of the village, shooting down the blight we could along the way. Coming through an archway of it, we came out to the other side of the village. A man was wrapped in barbed fleshy pink tentacles, a writhing mass of the blight.

“Help me! Hurry!” He yelled, panicked.

The ground shook and a dragon shot up into the sky, screeching as it landed, crushing debris underfoot.

“No! Please!” The man yelled as the writhing mass drew tighter around him. I looked between him and the dragon, feeling my chest tighten. I stepped forward, putting two fingers to my lips to produce a loud whistle.

It took a step toward me, and I stared it down as embers floated from its mouth. After a moment, as though fighting a command, I watched it back off and fly into the horizon, roaring as it went.

I took a breath, approaching the man in the mass.

“I know you,” Bellara said. “You’re the mayor of this town.”

“The village… the people… are they…?”

“Blighted. Dead. All of them,” Harding said.

“You gave them to the gods, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Bellara spat.

The mayor sobbed. “They were in my head… infecting my thoughts. They made me do it… Please, help me!”

“Deep breaths… Tell me what happened,” I said gently. If it really was blood magic he may not have been acting completely of his own will.

“I tried to protect people. You have to believe me. The gods told me to lure the Veil Jumpers to the center of town. The others were to be rounded up and kept safe. They would be the first to witness the glory of Ghilan’nain’s new creation… She showed me gold. So much gold…”

“So you brought the Veil Jumpers to the middle of town…” I said.

“For a blood sacrifice!” Bellara cut me off.

“Because the gods needed power,” Neve concluded.

“Did you know what the gods would do?” I questioned him.

“The Veil Jumpers… they were just strangers. I thought if they were taken first, everyone else might be spared.”

“So you did know!” Bellara yelled.

“The gods exploited his greed and fear,” Neve said.

“I’m supposed to feel sorry for him? I say we leave him right here,” Bellara said.

“But I’ll die. The blight’s everywhere. What if the dragon comes back?” He panicked. “I understand what they do now. I won’t be tempted again! I swear!”

“Rook?” Harding asked.”

I sighed. “Let’s get him out of there.”

“What? This entire village is dead because of him.” Bellara argued.

“I know.”

“Then why spare him?”

“We don’t kill people. Not like this. We’re not murderers. We’re not like the gods. We are better than them,” I explained. “If we leave him to be a source of their power we’re no better than he is.”

“Thank you… I think,” he said.

“I didn’t ask for your gratitude,” I snapped.

“Then if I may offer some advice: steel yourself. I felt their power, the promises they made. It’s irresistible.”

“Then try harder next time. Don’t make me regret saving you,” I said firmly.

“Yes, of course. But you should be worried about the rest of the world. Or this will be our future.”

—---------------------------------

We made our way back to the Veil Jumper camp. We were speaking with them when an old friend of the Inquisition, Morrigan, made an appearance. She told us to find Solas’s ritual dagger and that the eluvian at the lighthouse should go anywhere there is an existing eluvian. Bellara offered to come with us to fix it.

I just wished Varric was here to give better advice. He was always stronger at speeches than I was. Doing this without him to guide me felt wrong.

Neve, Harding, and I made our way back to the ritual site. After a wild goose chase after a darkspawn that stole the dagger, and watching Harding get possessed by some kind of new strange dwarf magic—which doesn’t exist, mind you—I was ready for a nap.

We came back to the Lighthouse and talked about Harding’s new abilities. I encouraged her to explore them but be wary. It wasn’t like any magic I’d seen before, and dwarves didn’t have any connection to the Fade, so it was completely new territory.

I went up the stairs, seeing a new area branched next to the hall leading to the infirmary. I could hear Varric snoring from here. At least I knew he was still alive.

I headed down that hall, pushing the door open to see an aquarium of sorts. There was a bookshelf to the right and a wardrobe to the left. In the center of the room was a chaise lounge with a bookcase behind it.

I saw my pack sitting in front of that bookshelf. Neve or Harding must’ve brought my pack in here. It made sense, it was a better place to sleep than the infirmary. I suppose I could spare a few moments to unpack my things.

I pulled Varric’s shaving mirror out, placing it on the bookshelf behind where I would be sleeping. Varric and his life lessons. I asked him how we were supposed to stop Solas, and he gave me the mirror.

“Take a long hard look in it, kid. It’ll always show the face of a hero who can get it done,” he said.

I don’t know if I see a hero’s face, but it’s a face that has seen a lot. Got a few new scars. Some that show up in a mirror, some that don’t. But Varric believed in me then, and he believes in me now. I can do this.

I moved to the small armoire on the right side of the room, placing an elven scroll down. A peddler gave it to me after I saved his caravan from bandits. He said the scroll went back to even before Tevinter. Said that elves had a rich history, “even more than the rest of us.”

Too many humans look down on us, even though elves were here first. It was nice to have someone see how much our people have done. I just wish I could’ve been a part of it.

On the opposite side from the mirror, I put my broken chains. I helped a lot of Minrathous slaves escape to freedom the night I met Varric, including my mother. Freed only to be killed in the chaos. Another time Varric had shown up for me. I remembered his hand on my shoulder as I wept over her.

“Come on, kid. It’s time to go. I’m sorry.”

Then the magisters cracked down in retaliation, and the Shadow Dragons decided I was too much trouble to keep around. We could have taken a stand and dared the magisters to come after us. At least people are free because of what I did.

I sighed, brushing my fingers over the cold metal before going to sit in the chaise lounge. Carefully, I laid back, letting my eyes drift shut. I was wound tight despite my exhaustion. I don’t know how long it took me to actually fall asleep.

I woke in the Fade, Solas’s voice already penetrating my thoughts. “Back so soon. It must have been worse than I thought.”

“Hello, Dread Wolf.”

“Ah, but perhaps I am mistaken. You may be here to correct me, to tell me that my concerns were unfounded. I am, after all, remembered as the god of lies, treachery, and rebellion.”

Haunted, hopeless, hurting… a voice nagged at the back of my head. No, not nagged. Soothed.

“So you’re gonna be insufferable about it. See, this is the reason nobody likes you,” I told him.

“I led a rebellion for centuries that culminated the creation of the Veil and the destruction of the elven empire.”

“Okay, this is among the reasons nobody likes you,” I corrected.

“My information was accurate. Now you realize that the danger is real.”

“I need to know what the gods are planning,” I said plainly.

“You are asking for knowledge no mortal in this world is privy to,” he replied. “If I am to share it with you, I need to know what makes you the right person to lead the fight against Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain.”

“Well, for starters, I’m the only one here,” I said, throwing my arms out and looking around the desolate prison. “And I stopped you, didn’t I?”

“You disrupted the ritual.”

“Yeah, I did. Even though I’m nowhere near as powerful as you. Even though I’m just a slave.”

His brow furrowed, and I saw him blink as the only hint of surprise. “You were a slave?”

“Yeah. Varric said you hated slavery. I suppose that’s one thing we can agree on.”

He only nodded. “Your plan is to tell me how powerful you aren’t?”

“I met Varric when he asked the Shadow Dragons for help with freeing an old friend from Venatori slavers. The Shadow Dragons had a safe plan that wasn’t going to work, and Varric wasn’t the only one with something to lose if we failed.”

“So you and Varric led an armed rebellion and dealt a devastating blow to the Venatori,” he finished for me.

“You did your research,” I said, looking him up and down.

“I would’ve been a fool not to. You and Varric were pursuing me for the better part of a year. I needed to learn who was hunting me.”

“Then you obviously also know that powerful opposition doesn’t frighten me. I find a way to get the job done, whatever it takes.”

“I suppose I was not so different when I started.”

“No,” a voice said, inches from me and lightyears away all at once. “You were not different. You are not different.” The voice of a friend.

“Cole.” Now, I did see the Dread Wolf’s surprise evident in his expression. “How did you…”

“You are trapped,” he said. “She is hopeless, haunted, hurting, just like before. Escaped one master just to be fighting another. You are not different,” Cole said, looking up at Solas. “Hello, Solas.”

“Hello Compassion,” Solas dipped his head in greeting. “It has been an age.”

“You left the Inquisition to free us, but it didn’t work. Instead you freed them. The Evanuris.”

“Someone got in my way,” Solas leveled a condescending glare at me from his high horse—or at least his slightly higher piece-of-floating-rock.

“People were dying. I heard their screams,” Cole said. “The Veil needs to stay.”

“Oookay, this is all fine and good, but what are you doing here, Cole?” I asked, turning to him. “I thought I’d seen the last of you when Dorian freed me?”

“I felt the Veil weaken, and I knew. I knew it was Solas behind it, I always knew, even when he didn’t want me to, even when he hid it from everyone else. I went back to that place where it’s still weakest, and I felt your despair. I followed it here.”

“The gods need two things to reclaim their dominance of the world,” Solas interrupted, clearly growing bored. “First, the blight. What exists in this world is a bare fragment of its power. The rest is imprisoned… until they release it.”

“What would they need to do to free the blight, and how do we stop them from doing it?” I asked.

“They will need to pierce the Veil to reach the blight’s prison. My lyrium dagger is one of the few artifacts capable of doing so.”

“We’ve already recovered it from the ritual site.”

“Excellent,” I could’ve sworn he almost looked proud, but I doubted the smug bastard was capable. “Then they will have to make their own. That will give you time. The second is followers. They have called themselves gods, and what is a god without worshipers to sing their praises?”

“I’m not gonna bend a knee to blighted murdering monsters just because their ears are pointed like mine. I don’t think many other elves are going to either.”

“Agreed. Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain care little for the elves. They will find worshipers among those hungry for power. Tyrants and bullies. The cruel and corrupt, who fear their own vulnerability and seize any chance to feel strong. If you hunt them, they will lead you to Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain.”

I laughed without humor. “You want me to pick fights with tyrants and bullies? Sounds fun.”

“I gave no orders. All I can offer are suggestions.”

“I’m on it. What else?”

“The Vi’Revas, the Lighthouse eluvian, can take you anywhere, if you master its secrets. Have you done so?”

“Not yet, but we’ve got one of the Veil Jumpers working on it. She’ll get it sorted, and we’ll see how it goes.”

“Yes. I suppose we will. And when you speak with Varric, please tell him that I… regret what happened.”

Cole put his hand on my arm, and the world spun for a moment before I opened my eyes. We were in a grove, the stars above us, trees towering around us.

“Woah.” I put a hand to my head. “Where are we?”

“The Fade.”

“Right…” I took a seat in the grass with a sigh.

Cole crouched down, fingers fidgeting with the blades of grass. “You feel heavy again. Like before.”

“Varric picked me up to help him, but I disrupted the ritual, Varric got hurt, and the gods escaped. That doesn’t much feel like helping.”

“Varric used to help me. He wanted me to understand things, I think.”

“I don’t know how to lead, Cole. I’m barely used to being in charge of my life.”

“You’re already leading,” he said simply. His head bowed, and he glanced back behind him, as though listening for something. “They need you, it’s time to wake up.”

I gasped sitting upright, my chest heaving and my palms sweaty. I hadn’t seen Cole in years. Not since I was a slave. Not since I was at my lowest in life. Shit…

I needed to talk to Varric. I wiped my hands on my pants, standing with a huff. Having Solas in my head might prove to be more hindrance than help if he wouldn’t let me sleep in peace.

I made my way out, rubbing out the kink in my neck, hoping he might be awake. If not, I would let at least one of us get some restful sleep.

I approached him, sitting on the end of the bed, legs crossed opposite where he was sitting up against a pillow.

“So Solas told the truth about the gods,” he said as I sat down.

“You heard? It’s bad, Varric,” I shook my head. “If you’d seen D’Meta’s Crossing…”

“The team needs to act fast… and it can’t do that with me leading from a bed,” he said. “You’ve gotta take point on this.”

My chest tightened. “I can’t do what you do. I’ve barely been holding it together in the short time you’ve been out.”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to do what I do. You just need to get it done. Rook, when I put this team together, what did I look for? A detective to find the Dread Wolf and a scout to get us the lay of the land. Exactly the people he’d expect me to recruit. Disciplined. Predictable. And then there’s you. Remember when we first met, kid?”

“Of course I do.”

“You risked your neck to bring down an entire slavery ring. Pretty much by yourself,” he grinned.

“I had help.”

“Sure. I got winded about five minutes in. You did most of the work. Ticked off a bunch of Minrathous big shots, but… You’ve got a knack, kid.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. “A knack for what? Almost dying?”

“Exactly. You’ve got a knack for finding a way through the wildest shit I’ve ever seen. With a plan that no one expects. You can do this,” he said with a softness in his eyes I’d only ever really seen when it was just us. The protective kind. “And don’t worry. I’ll still be here to talk if you need me.”

“There is something… D’Meta’s Crossing was awful. While we were there, we found one survivor—the mayor.”

“You took him back to the Veil Jumpers,” he said. Harding must’ve filled him in.

“Not everyone was happy about my decision…” I told him. “We’re just starting out and I’m already losing their trust.”

Varric sat up a little straighter. “The key to earning the team’s trust isn’t to only make decisions everyone agrees with. It’s showing the team that they can tell you whatever’s on their mind, even if they think you’re full of crap, and know you’ll listen. It’s showing them that you’re capable of making the hard decisions, even if they don’t agree.”

“When I took over at the ritual site, I had to make a call on who came with me to knock over that statue. It was the first decision I made leading this team, and Harding got hurt because of it.”

“You made a decision with the best information you had. Sometimes you do that, and people end up hurt. Or worse,” he said simply.

“What would you have done?” I asked.

“What would I have done? Probably gotten myself killed and failed to stop the ritual if you hadn’t stepped in,” he laughed. “A good leader isn’t someone who never makes mistakes: It’s someone who admits when they make one. That’s how you earn their trust.”

“Did Neve tell you about me talking to Solas in the Fade?” I asked.

“I had some good arguments with Chuckles back in the day. I can’t imagine being stuck with him in my head. But how are you feeling about it?” He asked.

“Your old friend is kind of an asshole, Varric.”

He chuckled. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall while the two of you get into it. Solas fought a rebellion against Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. He didn’t want to be a god. But he’s also a lot older and more powerful than any of us. He looks at us like we’re toddlers.”

“So how do I deal with him?”

“Act like you’re as smart as he is, and he’ll be insufferable. Show him you respect his age and experience, and he’ll remind you he’s just a man. Honestly, pick whichever of those pisses you off less,” he grinned.

“He also asked me to tell you that he regrets what happened. Hurting you, I mean,” I told him, letting my knees fall back to either side.

“Chuckles is sentimental. He could burn the world down, and the thing that would make him cry is a single flower with blackened petals.”

“He seems the type. Cole visited me. I know last time I told you about him you said he was with the Inquisition. He came to my dream with Solas too, and he looked almost… regretful, if you could even call it that.”

“Well, shit. How’s he doing? What was he doing?” Varric asked, shifting slightly.

“Apparently, he sensed my despair when he was checking out the ritual site because of how thin the Veil is there. He followed it back to me.” I sighed, standing and brushing myself off, whatever invisible dust there was. “I’ll let you rest.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Rook. Hey, one last thing before you go,” he said. “I’ve been racking my brain thinking of contacts who might help us with these gods.”

“You got any ideas?”

“Nothing. But being a leader isn’t about having all the answers yourself: It’s about knowing who does. Neve has connections to a whole world that Harding and I barely know. A world you barely got the chance to learn. Might be worth talking to her.”

“Will do. Thanks, Varric,” I offered him a smile. One of the few I was sure I would be able to give in the coming days.

“Any time, kid.”

I closed the door behind me so he could rest as I made my way out to Neve’s floating office. She told me we needed to hire the Antivan Crows, but specifically their most feared mage killer. The Demon of Vyrantium. I had heard of his work, and most of us in the wards and servants’ quarters revered his assassinations of our masters. They had given us plenty of reasons to side with the trained killer over them.

Neve said she set up a meeting with their bosses. Next, she said that we needed to take a trip back home. The Shadow Dragons of course made sense to take out the gods in the capital city of Tevinter where blood magic was strongest. We had done so much work against it and the Venatori, but I was a bit worried about seeing them again after the stunt I pulled. We trained to be the best at countering evil magic, it was time we proved it. Hopefully together this time and not just me and Varric.

The Antivan Crows seemed our best bet to start off. I wasn’t ready to go back to Minrathous yet. Not after everything.

Neve and I made our way down to the Vi’Revas, the eluvian, where Bellara was working. We watched her tinker with it for a moment before it lit up, showing the path to what Morrigan called The Crossroads. A spirit appeared beside it in tattered blue robes. Though I tensed instinctively, I felt nothing malicious from it.

“The wolf’s fang. You carry it now. Old paths. A new journey. Through there. I will wait,” he gestured to the eluvian before fading away.

When we entered, the spirit introduced itself as the caretaker who goes where they are needed. The Crossroads was a beautiful place in the fade. Paths branched out, the caretaker guiding us in a levitating boat to each island of Eluvians. This place was slowly becoming tainted, though. I could feel the blood magic and blight like invisible eyes or a forgotten touch. It caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

We made it to the eluvian leading to Treviso after killing some Venatori trying to take over the crossroads. Neve and I glanced at each other before stepping through. Treviso… One of the finest cities in Antiva, or so I’d been told. It was now under occupation by the Antaam. Hopefully our contact would still be able to meet us.

Neve and I made our way to the coordinates given to us, seeing a petit woman leaning against the railing of the bridge. She looked over as we approached.

“Welcome to Antiva. You must be Rook. Follow me,” she said, running off, leaving me to follow in her wake.

“And you’re Andarateia Cantori. Of the Crows?” I asked.

“Teia, please. Come, my associate Viago is gathering the others.”

We ran through the streets of Treviso, through the market and up the lattice on the side of a building. From there, we ziplined to a casino, the headquarters of the Crows.

“Welcome to the Cantori Diamond,” Teia said as we went up the stairs to the right.

As soon as I entered, I felt as though I was going to be interrogated, stripped of my valuables and tossed to the streets, if the expression of the woman eyeing me and the cane in her hand were anything to say for it.

Teia took up her spot on the left, a man with a very well groomed mustache to the right of her, followed by the older woman in the throne, and on her other side a younger man who looked way too charming for anyone’s good.

The man next to Teia spoke. “You’re the client?”

“This is Rook,” Teia said with a smile. “Did you want a drink? I promise not to let Viago near it.” It struck me how pretty she was. And the man next to her.

“Viago de Riva. Fifth Talon,” he introduced. “And this is Caterina Dellamorte. First Talon of the Crows.” He gestured to the woman in the throne.

“An honor. And you are?” I asked, glancing at the man beside her.

“Illario Dellamorte. Her grandson. What brings you here?” He asked.

“Right,” I took a breath. “My target is a pair of elven gods—or that’s what they call themselves. They’re ancient blighted mages. My detective says you have a man who brought blood mages and Venatori to their knees.”

“Lucanis,” Caterina said. “My grandson. They called him “the Demon of Vyrantium.” He was the one who did those jobs.”

“Sounds like there’s more to it,” I said carefully, tilting my head.

“Lucanis Dellamorte is dead. He was killed a year ago, now,” Viago said solemnly.

“What I say doesn’t leave this room,” Caterina said slowly. “The body our people brought back was not my grandson. It was dressed in his clothing, but it had been altered with blood magic to have his face.”

“My cousin is still alive?” Illario questioned. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” Something was off about Illario. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew that I would rather have dealings with Teia and Viago more than him in the future if we had any at all.

“His ship was attacked,” Viago interrupted my thoughts. “We knew someone sold him out… so you kept your suspicions to yourself.”

“But you’ve brought it up now. Why?” I asked, looking back to the First Talon.

“I’ve had eyes on the Venatori ever since they took my grandson from me. They were hunting your Dread Wolf. And what you did to his ritual threw them into disarray. They made mistakes. And now I have a location. The Ossuary. Where the Demon of Vyrantium is kept. Find this Ossuary. Free Lucanis. You’ll have your god-killer. And I’ll have my grandson.”

Something about the way she presented him twisted my gut. Like that was all he was, a weapon to be used and discarded. Even not having met him, the thought didn’t sit right with me. I knew what it was like to be seen only for what you could do for other people, and that was not a feeling I wanted for anyone else.

I wondered though, how a mage killer captured by the Venatori would feel about two Tevinter mages freeing him.

Illario led us to our lift to the Ossuary. I was almost relieved when he didn’t get in the boat with us. Surprisingly, he was the only Crow I had met so far that had major stab-you-in-the-back vibes.

We were boated out to the middle of the sea, the Crow mage with us parting the waters below us to grant us passage to the underwater prison. When we got there, bodies littered the sand, bloodstains running red. We passed over two dozen bodies as we made our way through the prison.

It seemed to have been some ancient elven ruins before being repurposed. It was a wonder it still functioned. If the wards on this place ever broke…

I didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened when the gods got released. I was more relieved I didn’t have to be the one fending off all the guards. We came to a Venatori barrier with three crystals connected to it that I beamed fire at before the barrier fell. A large corridor led down a set of stairs where a group of Venatori gathered.

“We don’t have to fight. We’re just here for Lucanis Dellamorte.” The mage in the center slammed his staff into the ground, the wisps of red blood magic gathering around its tip. “Get ready,” I said to Neve, who braced for a fight.

“Razikale, Dragon of Mystery. Lusacan, Dragon of Night. Hear your faithful call—”

A man in blue leathers flipped down from seemingly out of thin air, black and purple glowing wings sprouted from his back as he fell. He grappled the mage, pulling him as he spun so that the Venatori next to him stabbed straight through his comrade’s gut. He ducked as another sword came at him, kicking the Venatori in the gut. The cultist flew backward, impaling on one of the ice spikes surrounding us.

The man sprinted at the other two, a dagger in one hand and a rapier in the other. In a flash that was barely visible, he spun, slitting both of their throats before turning and putting his sword through the final cultist’s back.

He stood with his back turned to us, chest heaving. My eyes were wide. “I’m guessing you’re the reason we’re here,” I said carefully.

His wings flapped and dissipated as he turned back toward us. “Who are you? Who sent you?” He asked, the thick accent of Antiva coming through in his voice.

Something about his presence was calm, assured, even though he just murdered six people before my eyes. It drew me in, and I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to back out.

“My name’s Rook. Caterina sent me.”

“Caterina…” He looked at the ground. “But… you’re not a Crow.” He put his hands on his hips.

“I’m breaking you out of here,” I told him. “But… you’re not just you. Care to introduce me to your friend?”

“Rook. He’s possessed by a demon,” Neve said carefully.

“It’s complicated,” Lucanis said with a slight shrug.

“Caterina promised us a mage killer if we could get you out of here,” I told him.

“I can still work,” he assured me.

“Good,” I smiled. “Cause I’m pretty sure more Venatori are on their way. We have to get moving.”

“They have a vial of my blood. They can use it to control me. I cannot leave it in their hands. And… I had a contract when I was captured. One of my targets is here. Calivan. Crows don’t break contracts,” Lucanis said.

“All right, we’ll help. But in return, I need help killing some things,” I told him.

“I’ll owe you,” he said slowly.

“I’m sure we’ll owe each other before this is all over. Let’s go.”

We made our way back through the prison, coming to a huge gap that none of us would be able to jump across.

“What are you—Fine. He says he can help. There is something in the Fade close enough to grab onto.”

I watched Lucanis’s wings come out, energy flowing from his hands and a large piece of floating cobblestone came into being. “All of that… came from the Fade?”

“I’m as surprised as you,” Lucanis said honestly.

Eventually, we came to a room protected by at least six of the Venatori’s crystals powering the barrier. Behind it, was a massive garnished vial of blood. “Yeah, they can’t do anything subtle, can they?” I asked, aiming a beam of flames at it, making it explode on impact.

Through a close-by archway, there was a lift. We took it and it led to an audience chamber, a mage standing in the middle of it.

As we approached, Calivan did as all villains do, and started giving a long-winded speech. Something something, Zara said it would be ironic, he’s already the Demon of Vyrantium, now it’s just more literal. Lucanis smirked at me, glancing sidelong as Calivan went on his tangent, and I found myself smiling back. Something something she always leaves him to clean up the mess.

Maybe he should’ve picked someone better to follow.

I put my hands together, feeling the energy build between them as I loosed a death ray of fire and lightning right at his face. That’ll shut him up, surely.

Lucanis blinked at me as Calivan fell to his knees. “Sorry,” I said impulsively. “I know that was your contract. He was getting on my nerves.”

“Don’t be. Imagine how I feel,” Lucanis said, the corners of his lips twitching up. He spat on Calivan’s body. “The Crows send their regards.”

I glanced down at the ashen body, and when I looked up again I saw a purple version of Lucanis standing right beside him, and I blinked.

“The contract is done,” Lucanis said.

“Smells like blood. Ashes. Not done. Not yet,” The purple man said. From what I was sensing, this was his demon. Though he was closer to a spirit, not quite monstrous yet. I opted to ignore him for now. Not drawing attention to it was likely safer at least for the moment.

Lucanis just stared at him blankly. “Lucanis? Are you alright?” I asked.

“Careful, they know. We’re not right.”

“You cannot see him. I wondered,” he said, putting his hands on his hips.

“We clearly have things to discuss. Somewhere else,” I told him.

“Agreed. I think… it’s time I got some air.”

—--------------------------------------------

Back at the Cantori Diamond we found Teia and Viago looking at Illario who was leaned over against the table, breathing heavily. The two of them turned around and Teia’s face went whiter than I thought possible.

“Maker…” She said.

“Lucanis?” Viago’s eyes were wide.

Lucanis looked around at them. “What happened here?” He questioned.

Illario’s fist hit the table, and I flinched instinctively. “A message,” he snarled. “From Zara Renata. I can’t believe it. You’re home.” Illario put a hand on Lucanis’s shoulder.

“Zara… Her people got this close?” Lucanis asked.

“The woman who runs the prison?” I guessed.

“The Venatori witch who captured me,” he answered.

“Revenge for the breakout, maybe,” I said.

“Where’s Caterina?” Lucanis asked, eyes darting around at the three of them frantically.

“She’s…” Teia’s voice broke, and her head bowed with an impossible weight on her shoulders.

Viago came up behind her, hands on her shoulders comfortingly. “The Venatori got her in the confusion.”

“I got one of you back, only to lose the other,” Illario said, sounding devastated. I wanted to feel bad for him, but something still felt off.

“Lucanis…” I said softly. “I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“I need to work,” he said, shifting on his feet.

“Are you sure?” Teia asked. “You should take some time.”

“I don’t need time—I need a target,” he said darkly.

“You just got here, and already you want to leave again?” Illario questioned. How he didn’t understand was beyond me.

“Caterina gave me a contract. I’m not breaking the last deal she ever made. And I owe Rook. Once that’s done… I’ll come home,” he told them.

“I’ll return him in one piece,” I promised.

“Thank you,” Illario smiled at me. “Cousin. When you find Zara, I want—I need—to be there.”

Viago shook his head. “We’re under attack. Antaam on one side and now Venatori on the other? Forget revenge, we need you—”

“No, Viago,” Teia interrupted. “Zara came for us here. In my house. She took Caterina from my house. You find her and cut her heart out, Lucanis. Vi and I will hold down the fort.”

“I’ll give her your regards, Teia,” Lucanis said.

“For Caterina,” she looked around at all of us.

—--------------------------------------

“They’re the same thing. Mostly. Well, kind of,” Bellara said as I walked in.

“Except one will manipulate you. Or kill you. Or both,” Neve replied.

“But how do you get rid of them?” Lucanis leaned against the fireplace, one hand braced against it, the other on his hip.

“What’s everyone talking about?” I asked.

“Spite,” Lucanis looked back over his shoulder at me.

“The demon in Lucanis,” Neve said. “When a person gets possessed—the demon usually takes control.”

“And they turn into a monster. The spirit just… molds them. However they want,” Bellara added.

“I’ve heard of abominations being cured by killing the demon in the Fade. That’s not a sure bet, though,” Neve thought.

“Well, there’s one way. But it’s well… we’d have to, um…”

“You’d have to kill me,” Lucanis finished.

“That can’t be the only solution. Can’t we… reason with Spite, maybe? Persuade him to leave?” I asked.

“Talk doesn’t work on Spite,” Lucanis said.

“She won’t hurt you. How sweet,” Spite crooned, the ghost of his form next to me. He vanished and appeared in front of Lucanis. “I want to talk to her!” Lucanis kept his gaze on me, no doubt seeing my eyes track the demon.

“Before we do, well, that. Let’s think this through some more. There has to be a solution,” Bellara said. I braced my hands against their chairs, leaning over them slightly.

“I have people in Minrathous I can ask, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Neve said.

“All right. So, what’s next?” I asked.

“Let me talk to them! I want. To talk. To Rook!” Spite swung, punching Lucanis in the nose. Blood spattered, and Lucanis winced, his hand going to his nose.

Bellara and Neve stood. “Lucanis!” Bellara cried.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” he said, putting his arm out.

“He’s done this before? Enough that you just… shrug it off?” I questioned, leveling a glare at the aspect of Spite next to him.

“He’d do this in the Ossuary. The Fade does whatever a spirit wants. Real walls and chains, not so much. Just… give me a minute. He’ll get bored once everyone leaves.”

I leveled him with a stare that said I would absolutely not be leaving even as Bellara and Neve got up and left. Neve shot me a glance that said ‘be careful’, but I just nodded to her.

He put his hand back up against the fireplace and stared into the flames as I walked around the table, sliding up to sit on the edge of it.

“I thought you couldn’t see him. At the Ossuary…”

“I didn’t want him to know I could see him. That was the last thing we needed there,” I told him.

“You can hear him too?” He asked, looking back at me with furrowed brows.

“When I can see him or when he’s showing through you, yes,” I answered honestly.

“But the others, they can’t. Why is that?” He asked, looking at me curiously, if not a bit suspiciously.

I shrugged. “I’ve always had a connection to the Fade. In worse times I was in such turmoil a spirit of Compassion appeared in my dreams or pulled me out of reality if things got bad. And now that connection is stronger than ever. Some of my blood is circulating around in the Fade from when we interrupted Solas’s ritual. That’s how he visits me in my sleep.”

“I am sorry,” he said. “I can’t stand him, I didn’t want him to be a problem for you too.” I just shook my head. “I would kill for a decent cup of coffee right now.”

“Have you? For coffee, I mean,” I grinned.

I saw the corner of his lip twitch up. “Not today. You’ve got questions. You might as well ask them.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, watching him. “You’re the best mage killer in the Antivan Crows. So how’d the Venatori catch you?”

“Someone set me up,” he said simply. “I had a contract for Calivan. In the Ossuary. I took a ship from Treviso to Minrathous. They were waiting for me. Knew which ship and when it would arrive. I don’t know how they convinced the Crows I was dead, but I woke up in the Ossuary with Zara gloating about it.”

“Blood magic.” I could tell him that at least. One thing I had the answer to. “Caterina said they had dressed the body in your clothes and altered it with blood magic to look like your face too. I can’t even imagine… I know she… “volunteered” you to work with us. Are you okay with that?” I asked sincerely.

“When the First Talon of the Crows gives you a job, you do it. Especially if she’s your grandmother. But, there’s plenty of reason for me to work with you beyond that, Rook,” he said.

“Such as?” I tilted my head, kicking my feet under the table.

“I owe you a debt, for one. And after a year in that hole, maybe I’m looking forward to stabbing a god or two in the back,” he answered.

“Two!” Spite hissed.

“The Crossroads can be dicey, but the Lighthouse is safe. Oh, and if you see a spirit around called the Caretaker, they’re friendly,” I smiled.

“After the Ossuary, that will be a pleasant change,” he said with a grin. After a moment’s silence, he put his hands on his hips. “You haven’t asked anything about Spite.”

“Based on what I’ve seen, I’d say he picked the right name.”

“He’s stronger when I sleep. So… I try not to do it much. No one was in the Ossuary by choice. Not even the demons. We both did what we had to, to get out of there,” he told me.

“I admire you,” I told him. “What you’ve been through would break most people.”

“I would not give Zara the satisfaction,” he smirked.

“I understand. Still, you must be a very courageous man,” I smiled.

“A very stubborn one, perhaps. But, that’s… kind of you to say. Leave Spite to me. If he’s trapped in this world, he has a good reason to fight for it. For now, I must honor our contract. Gods, magic, politics…” he hummed, the rumble in his chest trying to drag me toward him. “Things are going to get very bloody.”

I gave him one last smile as he turned back toward the fire. “If you’re stubborn, I’d say Zara picked the right demon. If I remember right, Spite is a demon of Determination,” I smirked, looking back at him.

His brows were raised. “Perhaps it was the only thing she got right. She was nothing if not fond of irony.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Please give me your thoughts on this. I missed Cole and he was so important to me in Inquisition I wanted him to have a role in this story too, however minor. Also the back and forth with Solas gets me every time XD

Let me know if you want to be on a tag list! <3

Have a good day lovelies!

37 notes · View notes

pablogavisgirl · 2 years ago

Text

Broken Love

read part three ➸ here

Pt 3? Who do yall think she should end up with?

"Hola, ¿cómo te sientes hoy?" (Hey how do you feel today?) Pedri's voice rang from the other side of the phone.

"¿Quieres que sea honesta?" (You want me to be honest?) I sighed, leaning against the counter.

"Si." (Yes)

"Me siento como mierda, lo he estado ignorando durante un mes, no sé cuánto tiempo más puedo mantenerme fuerte." She said. (I feel like shit, I've been ignoring him for the past month, I don't know how much longer i can stay strong.)

She had been ignoring Gavi for the past month, she had been ignoring his texts, his calls, she even had to ignore some of Pedri's calls, because it was Gavi on the other side of the phone.

"Oye, no es tu culpa, lo sabes, ven después de la práctica y te prepararé algo de comida para tratar de animarte." Pedri suggested. (Hey, its not your fault you know, come over after practice I'll make you some food to try and cheer you up.)

"¿Puedes cocinar?" (You can cook?) She snorts, she had known Pedri for almost a year and she had never seen him cook.

"Ay, sí, puedo cocinar mensa, ¿nos vemos esta noche?" (Aye, yes I can cook stupid, so well see eachother tonight?) Pedri asked.

"Vale. ¡Tengo que ir, tengo clases, adiós!" (Deal, I have to go I have classes bye!)

"¿Estabas hablando con Y/n?" Gavi asked, Pedri turing to face him. (Were you talking to Y/n?)

"Si." (Yes) He kept his answer short, of course he was mad how could he not be mad. Yes Gavi was his best friend, but how could he be so dumb and push the only good thing in his life away?

He destroyed her with just three words,

"No te amo." (I don't love you.)

Pedri knew thats all she could think about it, those three words were eating her up alive.

It took Pedri one week to get her to stop crying.

It took Pedri two weeks to get her to stop trying to text or call him back.

It took Pedri three weeks to get her to come out of her apartment, besides going to University.

It took him a whole month to finally get her to not breakdown, and he was proud of her progress. Those three words took a lot from her.

And he wasn't going to let him destroy her again.

"¿Cómo está ella?" (How is she?) Gavi asked. "Sé que están hablando." (I know you two have been talking)

"Ella esta bien." He said. (She's fine.)

"¿Sabes por qué no me ha hablado? He estado tratando de llamarla." (Do you know why she hasn't talked to me? I've been trying to call her?)

"¿De verdad te estás preguntando por qué? Le rompiste el corazón, ¿sabes cuánto tiempo llevó tener el valor de decírtelo solo para que la despidas así?" (Are you really asking why? You broke her heart. Do you know how long it took her to get the courage to tell you? Just so you can dismiss her like that?) Pedri sneered. "Sabes cuánto tiempo me tarde pa que dejara de llorar por ti." (Do you know how long it took me to get her to stop crying over you?)

"No quise hacerle daño." Gavi sighed (I didn't mean to cause her harm.)

"Dememente tarde para eso, ¿no crees que lo mejor que podrías hacer por ella es dejarla en paz y dejar que lo procese ella sola?" Pedri sighed. (Its too late for that don't you think? The best thing you can do is let her deal with this alone?)

Gavi laughed, "¿Sola? Prácticamente te estás lanzando a ella cuando esta mas vulnerable". (By herself? You're practically using her at her most vulnerable state!)

"Hermano al menos ella no tiene que preocuparse de que rompe su corazón como lo hiciste tú". Pedri laughed anger starting to seep through. (Brother, at least she doesn't have to worry about me breaking her heart like you did.)

Gavi stared back at him, everyone knew he had a bad temper, Pedri was usually on calming him downside not the provoking side.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, fighting back his screams at Pedri, he tried not to explode on his bestfriend but how could he not?

It wasn't his fault he didn't feel the same way towards her, its not his fault he didn't love her back, he can't force himself to love her, because if he tried he would break her more.

But he did miss her. He missed his bestfriend, he missed watching the sunsets with her, he missed her laugh, her smell, her smile, her hugs after a game or training. Now it was gone.

She was gone.

Why couldn't she keep her feelings to herself? Why couldn't she had just stayed quiet? Their friendship was ruined, and nothing could fix it not while she was in love with him.

"¿Podrías al menos decirle que lo siento?" He clenched his jaw, still upset. (Could you at least tell her I'm sorry?)

"No, ella no te necesita de vuelta en su vida solo para que la rompas de nuevo". Pedri scoffed, walking away from him. (No she doesn't need you coming back into her life, just so you can break her again.)

Training was done, Pedri was now home cooking your favorite pasta. He heard knocking at the door, "Hola." He smiled seeing you. (Hey.)

"Hola." (Hey.) She smiled back at him. "Entonces, ¿qué hay para cenar?" (So, whats for dinner?)

"Estoy haciendo tu pasta favorita." He said, stirring the sauce. (I'm making your favorite pasta?)

"¿De verdad?" Y/n asked. (Really?)

"Sí, ¿qué tal las clases?" (Yes, how were your classes today?) Pedri asked, Y/n rolling her eyes, beginning her rampage over her professor whom she hated. Pedri just smiled, listening to her talk.

"Entonces... ¿habló contigo hoy?" (So did he talk to you today?) She asked looking at him, he stopped serving the plates looking at her.

"Si" he replied. (Yes.)

"¿Y qué dijo?" (And what did he say?)

"Quería que supieras que lo siente." Pedri sighed. (He wants you to know that he's sorry.)

"Oh."

"¿Estás bien?" He asked. (Are you ok?)

"Sí, ¿eso es todo lo que dijo?" She asked. (Yes, is that all he said?)

"Uh, creo que quiere hablar contigo, dijo que te ha estado llamando". (Uh, he said he's been trying to call you.)

"Si, pero no creo que esté lista para hablar con él todavía". (Yes, but i think i'm still not ready to talk to him yet.) She sighed, looking at him, his warm brown eyes staring back at her.

She was thankful for Pedri she really was, he helped her come out of her slump from the heatbreak. He was helping her heal.

She enjoyed his presence, she enjoyed not feeling like a fragile doll ready to break again when he was around. He was gluing her back together.

He was fixing what her bestfriend broke. But she couldn't help and miss Pablo. "Pedri, a veces lo extraño." (Pedri, sometimes I miss him.)

"Y incluso si no lo puedo tener, extraño su amistad". (And even if I can't have him, I miss his friendship.)

"Joder Pedri, lo extraño, nunca debería habérselo dicho". (Fuck Pedri, i miss him so much, i should have never told him.) She leaned her head on the counter. "No es tu culpa cariño." (Its not your fault darling.) Pedri resting his hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her.

"Sé que tampoco es su culpa, lo emboscé con mis sentimientos, pero joder, me destrozó cuando dijo que no me amaba porque pensé que- Hasta Belen lo señaló, me siento tan tonta, Pedri". (I know its not his fault, I ambushed him with my feelings, but fuck did he break me when he said he didn't love me, because I thought- Even Belen told me, I feel so stupid Pedri.)

"Nena, no eres tonta, te hice decirle que técnicamente fue mi culpa, pero no puedes dejar que no te ame, que te destroza, eres increíble y hermosa". (Hey, you aren't stupid, i forced you to telk him, so its technically my fault, but don't let the fact he doesn't love you break you, you're incredible and beautiful.) He smiled lifting your chin off the counter with his finger.

"¿Tu crees?" (You think so?)

"Lo sé". (I know so.)

You both just stared into eachothers eyes, Pedri leaned closer, "No deberíamos". She whispered. (We shouldn't.)

"Lo sé, Entonces, ¿por qué no te has alejado si no deberíamos?" Pedri smirked leaning in closer. (I know, but if we shouldn't why haven't you backed away?)

"Pedri, estoy enamorado de Pablo". (Pedri, I'm in love with Pablo.)

"Lo sé." (I know.) He whispered "Olvídate de él por un segundo". (Forget about him for a second.)

You nodded hesitantly, closing the gap inbetween the both of you. His hands finding your waist, his lips now on yours.

You felt the butterflies you felt for Gavi growing in your stomach. Except now you were feeling them for Pedri.

You admit this was wrong, but if it was wrong why did you enjoy it?

Did you enjoy the fact one of the most handsome men in spain was currently making out with you? Or what is it the fact it would hurt Gavi if he ever found out about this?

Or what is the fact that you enjoyed it, because in the past month you have managed to develop some kind of feelings for Pedri?

I mean how could you not, when those chocolate brown eyes were hypnotizing you, the more you hung out with him.

But you couldn't do this, no matter how much you wanted to. He was Gavi's bestfriend and even if you did want to hurt Gavi this was not the way.

Yes you lost your friendship with him, but that didn't mean he had to loose his with Pedri.

Pedri was your anchor, he was the one helping you get over Gavi. But you didn't want to get over him by moving on with his bestfriend.

You continued to kiss him, his body trapping you against the counter, you knew it was wrong but you couldn't stop he was addicting, his smile, his eyes were addicting. He was like a drug, a drug you wouldn't mind getting high on everyday.

You snapped back in reality when you felt that his lips weren't on yours anymore, but on your jaw. It was getting to far, you had to stop yourself because if you didn't,

Who knows how far you would go.

You pulled away, looking at him, "No deberíamos haber hecho eso, lo siento, Pedri, tengo que irme". (No, we shouldn't have done this, i'm sorry Pedri, i have to go.) You pushed him away walking towards the door, the pasta long forgotten about.

Why did you do that? You knew it was wrong and you still did it. What would your friendship with Pedri be like? Did you have to start ignoring him like Gavi as well?

You were in love with Gavi, so why did you kiss Pedri?

#pablo gavi #pedri x y/n #gavi x yn #pedri imagine #gavi imagine #love triangle #pablo martín páez gavira #pedri gonzalez #gavi barcelona #pedri barça

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icharchivist · 3 days ago

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I remember hearing that Veilguard was originally supposed to be a completely different genre of game, like online multiplayer or something, that was later retooled into a single player one

yeah that's true, sortof

the game has been rebooted twice. Originally it was a single player taking right after DAI: Trespasser that focused on Solas' elven rebellion. Then they drifted to another version of the game that still had that in focus but more detached from DAI. Eventually this version was forced into a Multiplayer mode which had to completely rewrite the genre of the game. Then finally we could get to the current version of the game.

Out of the 10 years of development this game was stuck in, we only have the last 3 years of development into Veilguard. I have the artbook, i know just how drastically stuff were cutdown. It was a completely different game at the start.

The Multiplayer mode is where i can see a lot of the flaws coming from. Mainly the hyper-sanitization of the setting and of the factions the protagonist can be a part of. I can sense the marketting aspect of "you need to remove the slavery inherent to the Crows because else people won't want to get into this faction and we need all of them to be balanced :(" It also feels with how unbalanced the content is for each faction, since they started out as more neutral group players would evenly spread themselves through, but once a real plot was established, some factions just had very little to do with the overaching plot (rip Lords of Fortune i guess)

Besides multiplayer means liveservice which probably means even the plot didn't have a lot of room to be and that updates were expected to flesh out the start out world.

so yeah, this truly hurt Veilguard then. And like if you leave it to me i can even ramble about why it happened, how EA kept forcing Bioware to chase trends and that the failures of Anthem (the live service multiplayer game Bioware did not want to make but had to halt all development in others games to make) and ME: Andromeda (that was poorly received by fans of the licence and therefore put doubt on the Bioware formula despite the fact DAI itself has been so well welcomed it was game of the year 2014))

Bioware is doomed by horrible management especially from EA and there is still so much of that that shines through the game.

And honestly even a lot of things i think are more ambiguously because of the writing, are probably hypercorrecting because EA told them to tone down some thing.

But there is also problems with the games i think it would be generous to say are fully because of EA.

This is just a game that suffered a lot from its 10 years development crisis.

So many veteran left the development, starting by Gaider who was the lead narrative developper at the point, and he was vocal about how he left bc EA actively hated their writers. Others veterans like Mary Kirby were laid off one year before the end of the project. Hell even now another veteran just announced last month they're leaving Bioware.

I think that evidently this game came with a real troubled production that had people jump ship and a lot of people being so worn out by the development cycle they did whatever they could to get it done with and i think this also shows in the project.

I do feel for the studio and the devs, truly.

But it doesn't make Veilguard a game i can give a pass to. DA2 also famously had a troubled development but at least its story was fire. Did it deserve at least one rewrite? I think so! are the gameplay problems still problems? yeah sure. But at least da2 is still a game i love to think about and am not frustrated about.

I can't be as generous with Veilguard.

But yeah. It's a tragedy in development that translated to just a mess of a game. Doesn't make any of it easier to swallow tho.

#ichareply #anonymous #ichafantalks da #ichasalty #ichablogging davg #i've actually followed the development of the game very closely for the past 7 years #i've read all the extended contents all the infos we ever got about the game #like i said i read the artbook. I actively read what the devs say on social media and thus for years #(in fact i think i know more than most fans bc ppl keep complaining Trevor Morris didn't come back as a compositor)#(and i'm like.... guys... the scandal......)#and like it only takes a look at the concept art trailer to know the whole thing drastically changed down the line #man. poor game.

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rosella-writes · 2 years ago

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Happy Fridaaaay I have a POEM FOR YOU for dadwc, it's by Paige Lewis <3

When I Tell My Husband I Miss the Sun, He Knows

what I really mean. He paints my name

across the floral bed sheet and ties the bottom corners to my ankles. Then he paints another

for himself. We walk into town and play the shadow game, saying Oh! I'm sorry for stepping on your

shadow! and Please be careful! My shadow is caught in the wheels of your shopping cart. It's all very polite.

Our shadows get dirty just like anyone's, so we take them to the Laundromat—the one with

the 1996 Olympics themed pinball machine— and watch our shadows warm

against each other. We bring the shadow game home and (this is my favorite part) when we

stretch our shadows across the bed, we get so tangled my husband grips his own wrist,

certain it's my wrist, and kisses it.

I love this one so much 😭 it's rewired my brain chemistry. For @dadrunkwriting

Pairing: Solavellan Rating: M Words: 744

~~~

It has felt as if some kind of epilogue has begun.

Solas wakes beside me. He is tucked against my side, the one that lacks my hand, and my arm fits perfectly around him. The way he lays on my shoulder, nose turned towards my neck so he can breathe me in as he sleeps, reminds me almost of a child. As he extricates himself from dreams, I extricate us from the sheets that have tangled around our legs in the night.

I remember our dreams — we find one another, sometimes, as we would when we were apart. Our pasts follow us like shadows, stretching behind, before us on the ground. I used to be afraid of them. Now they are old acquaintances, marks of our history and how far we have come. His shadow echoes a wolf’s as it wraps around our feet, between gnarled tree roots, through tall grass, beneath aravels — mine is winged, like a dragon’s, and chases. A game of cat and mouse, where the cat lets the mouse go in the end instead of eating it.

Now that we are awake, he reminds me, in a voice thickened with sleep, how I had once chased him down in the Fade in the form of a Dalish courser. I promise to try that again next time.

We can’t see those shadows as we move through our days. But I feel them. The wily, proud nature of that wolf is in Solas’s light footsteps, in the way he sneaks up behind our son and spooks him, in the way he approaches me with lanky, lazy strides and folds his body beside mine on the settee as I sketch out schematics. I hear it in his laugh when Tulin tells a joke he must have heard a thousand times. I feel it in the curve of his smile as he looks at both of us — pride, pride, pride.

My dragon is less visible to me. Solas says he feels it in my fierce protection of Tulin, in my encouragement of both of them to try difficult, maybe even dangerous things so long as they go together. He does not tiptoe around it, but he does lean close to say, “Ir abelas, hahren, for treading on your shadow” if his teasing goes too far. He is not afraid of me — but still, he tells me he sees courage in this dragon, even valor.

We have our time apart — we need it. We are solitary creatures, this roaming wolf come to a den and this dragon forming a nest, and without my time at my forge and his with his paint, we would unravel. But we fall into bed together at the end of all of it, and the sheets once again tangle between our legs.

Our bodies tangle more now than before. It is as if we can be closer even than skin on skin, now that we have known each other. Even when Solas uses the sheet to trap my hand, only to kiss me so deeply that he forgets and lets go. Even when his hair catches in my armpit and yanks his head back. Even when he accidentally knees me in the hip as he leans over me. These silly foibles of gravity and physical form, made more fluid in the Fade, are welcome here in this bed where the shadows aren’t visible, but pool beneath us all the same.

I wonder sometimes, in loving me the way he does, if Solas offers himself any of this. I hope he does. I can’t sustain him alone, and neither can Tulin — Solas must drive himself, motivate himself, feed himself. It feels like that is true when he loves me this way, awake instead of asleep. In loving me with joy, withholding no part of himself, he allows the most vulnerable parts of himself to be loved in return.

At least, it seems that way, especially when he has wrapped his arms around me so tightly that when he upturns a wrist to kiss it, it is his own, not mine. We are so tangled that, despite me only having one, he has lost which hand is mine and which hands are his own.

“Enough,” he chuckles. He traps my hand — truly mine now — within the sheets and twists. “Virelan, enough, you can stop laughing.”

I don’t — he has to kiss my laughter away, out of fear that Tulin will wake up.

#solavellan #post trespasser #virelan lavellan #solas #tulin #dadwc #my writing #virelan x solas #dragon age #dragon age inquisition

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magic-multicolored-miracle · 2 years ago

Text

Dragon Age: Absolution Episode 2/3 It’s All About Dynamics

The episodes were short and the plot moved quickly, so I’m combining some episodes’ posts because I don’t have enough clever things to say for titling

Episode 2:

I like that the character that looks like Cartoon Matt Mercer is not one of the ones voiced by Matt Mercer 😂

Pavus, you say? An ancestor of my beloved and best, Dorian? Do we get to see him again? Please oh please say we do!

Since when do Spirits have names? Besides Cole. Wasn’t Solas’s whole thing that they weren’t really individuals and Varric was trying to change that making Cole a Real Boy™?

All of Tevinter will burn? I never had any intention of doing such...Solas, are you being a problem egg again?

This bitch stupid. And fully deserved Pride Demon to the face.

I like the way they fight together though.

Oh it's cus they're in love and haven't admitted it! Excellent!

"One way or another" ...bitch, why the fuck would you say that? That is on a list of phrases NEVER to say. Especially when dealing with demons and unknown magics.

Help. I am once again deeply attached to an accented, talented, and most importantly sarcastic man named Roland. Also to Qwydion and Fairbanks, but those aren't an "if I had a nickel for every time, I'd have two of them."

What? No!! Shit...I shouldn’t have said anything (RIP)

I agree with the dwarf

Episode 3:

You know, I respect it. But Roland ain't stupid: survival's always trumped by fame

Oh no, I ship it and I love them. They're stupid and probably going to die, but I ship it. The Magister/Templar Knight-Commander should-be-enemies angle just makes it sweeter

How the hell is this child of a man the highest ranking person in this place? Honestly where is anyone older?

That's...an Old God?

Oh Neb is a construct? A risen body by other means? Something that's going to be heartbreaking.

Always at The goddamned Hanged Man...

This is what you get for getting distracted watching your boss's cool stunts. Consider yourself lucky soldier

Not an Old God, still a dragon.

Planning is nobody's strong suit here, is it?

Except my girl Qwyd! Hot damn with the lightning rod. Anyone order their ghouls extra crispy?

Hira's going to come back evil isn't she?

Of course she knows them. It wouldn't be dramatic if she didn't. I feel foolish for not putting that together already

#it took me til the end of the third episode to learn anyone's name (and even then I cheated and used imdb) but I edited notes for clarity #Dragon Age: Absolution #Dragon Age: Absolution spoilers #Shye watches Dragon Age Absolution #semi-liveblogging #contextless running commentaries

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seeker-ophelia · 4 months ago

Text

OK my dear, I am liking the way this tin foil hat is fitting.

Lets make some assumptions:

Solas was a spirit, became a person/elf, was bound to Mythal, and then broke free of her. – not proven, but not a stretch to believe.

Solas is biased towards Mythal – agree 100%. Theres no way that he can’t be. And if Biware sticks with the “legends don’t equal history” theme, it would be very on point to have Solas’s history be wrong (he’s also ego).

Mythal wasn’t all good – also agree. I think another one of the games themes is that not everyone is 100% good or 100% bad, they just are.

Mythal killed Dirthamen

Interesting. Why?

Dirthamen Lore: God of Knowledge (secrets), ravens [fear & deceit] & bears.

Mythal: Protector Goddess… but wait wasn’t she something else too?

Codex: Mythal the Protector Mythal offered to deliver justice when the People warred amongst themselves. Elgar'nan saw her wisdom and agreed, binding all to abide by her verdicts.

Mythal wasn’t just a protector, she was the Judge. And from this….

Some petitioning Mythal for justice hid jealousy, accusing those who had done them no wrong. She saw their lies, and struck them down. Others petitioning Mythal for justice burned with wrath for imagined slights. She saw their weak hearts, and struck them down. Those coming to her with clear minds and open hearts were granted judgment and protection, and Mythal harried their enemies until the end of their days.

Sounds like she was judge, jury, AND executioner.

Hmmm.

But why would Mythal kill poor Dirth?

First of all, lets use the word “kill” very loosely. Obviously Mythal “survived” her murder, and Solas didn’t “kill” the Evanuris, he trapped them, so “kill” here could be trapped or banished or just betrayed or actually dead.

Dirthamen was the God of Secrets.

Did Mythal want information he wouldn’t give? Did Dirth know a secret of hers and threaten to expose it?

Codex entry: The Lost Temple of Dirthamen Dirthamen is gone, he said. Our Highest One brings to us this gravest news. What shall we do? Where shall we go? What of the old secrets that burn within our hearts? They will come for us in the night Those who could steal the words from our lips And our god no longer rises to our defense. We claw at the walls, at the walls. Now we pray for a dawn that will never arrive. Our Highest One, he deceives us. The honeyed words that drip from his tongue We know the despair they mask. We disciples of Dirthamen know truth, now as ever. The Highest One promises safety. I shall protect our ancient secrets, he claims All that Dirthamen once granted us will be safe. But it is our blood he seeks A sacrifice dark and unholy A prison of evil to keep us in and all else out. …

So Dirthamen’s followers had a secret, and he, (I take this to mean Elgar’nan, “Our Highest One”) wanted it. Maybe the whole Evanuris wanted it. Or did they want it to be kept secret?

But what big secret could there be, do we know a big secret about the Evanuris?

*Warning, mild DA:TV Trailer & Gameplay ONLY Spoilers

*Warning, DA4 Spoilers

In Trespasser, when our Inky steps through the last Eluvian, we see a bunch of stone statues. We are led to believe this is Solas’s magic, especially when we see him turn the attacking Qunari Viddasala into stone. Strange power for a Trickster God.

*Da4 spoilers okay I warned you.

In The Dragon Age: The Veilguard Official Release Date Trailer, we see Scout Hardling battling darkspawn (beside Rook). She turns the darkspawn to stone, and whispers emotionally, “What is happening to me?”

Looks like Solas tearing down the veil/releasing the Evaneuris made some of his power get onto Harding. Is this because she was there at the ritual (seen in the Official Gameplay Reveal)? Or is this something else entirely?

Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 3 … Trying to remember that old bedtime song about Mythal. My mother sang it the night before the darkspawn came for my clan. It's the last time I ever heard her voice. Ir sa tel'nal, Mythal las ma theneras. Ir san'a emma. Him solas evanuris. Da'durgen'lin, Banal malas elgara. Bellanaris, bellanaris. Written beside each elven line is a corresponding phrase, likely a translation: I am empty, filled with nothing(?), Mythal gives you dreams. It fills you, within you(?), Making our leaders proud. My little stones, Never yours the sun. Forever, forever. Hahren said we had lost some of the old words. What if they have changed? Durgen'lin from durgen'len? Little dwarves, never yours the sun? What did Mythal do here?

Good thing I’ve been living in the Elvhen Lexicon for the past 2 weeks, lets use MY translation here.

Ir sa tel'nal, / I am one, (of the) not-thing / not-ing, Mythal las ma theneras. / Mythal gives you waking dreams. Ir san'a emma. / I am san’a mine, (I am _____ mine), * Him solas evanuris. / She molds the Evanuris’ pride. Da'durgen'lin, / Small rock children, Banal malas elgara. / Nothingness, now your spirit Bellanaris, bellanaris. / Eternity, eternity.

*(the word san’a or sana does not exsist anywhere in the elvhen lexicon – ask me for my breakdown if you want)

The only glaring difference is the word elgara, it does not mean sun. It means spirit.

Lets take some liberties with this;

I am one of the not-ings, Mythal gives you waking dreams, I am of her (Mythal) Who molds the pride of the Evanuris, Children of the stone, Your spirit is now nothing, Forever, forever.

This is a very interesting lullaby.

Why would a dwarves lullaby contain reference to Mythal?

When were the Evanuris ever underground?

Oh ya, when they slay the titan(s).

Reference Picture:

Horned Elf on the left, raised glowing hand.

Cracked titan, with beam of light, 8-pointed star in center of chest.

Bald elf on right, 8-pointed star in center of chest, not glowing.

We assume the figure on the left represents the whole of the Evanuris, but who else do we know who wears a horned hairpeace?

*Insert Picture of Flemeth.

Oh, Hi, Flemeth-Mythal.

And who do we know that’s bald?

*Solas has entered the chat*

So, this fresco could be detailing how the Evanuris killed a titan,

This is Mythal, killing a titan, taking the Titans power/lifeforce/magic, and giving it to… you guessed it! Solas!

Solas means ego/pride, so if we re-arrange the lullaby a bit to make it more literal,

Him solas evanuris, could mean She molds Solas.

Mythal MAKES Solas out of the heart (or whatever) of a titan; Solas is the fusion of a spirit (remember Cole in trespasser “he never wanted a body”) and the heart of a titan.

And in taking the heart of the titan, steals magic (maybe also immortality? Who knows) from the dwarves.

Remember Harding? “What is happening to me?”

Maybe she absorbed Solas’ power when she was at the ritual, or MAYBE, dwarven MAGIC is coming back. Dwarves should have ALWAYS had magic and access to the fade but Mythal STOLE it.

But... What does this have to do with my man Dirth?

Another leap, what if Mythal did this (killed a titan to create solas) without the knowledge of the rest of the Evanuris?

Is this Dirthamen’s secret? Was it Dirthamen who wanted to tell the Evanuris Mythal’s secret? And she killed him for it?

Or..

*This is a screengrab from a YT video:

The Sword stuck into Dirthamens back in the fade statue is huge.

It looks like a greatsword. I agree something happened to Dirthamen, but I don’t know if it was Mythal.

Maybe random, but why is Dirthamen’s Wisdom – the reward for the Temple of Dirthamen Side Quest – a shield?

Why does a god of secrets and knowledge need a shield?

Shields are for protecting against.

His wisdom is to protect himself, from who?

Who wields a greatsword? The Mother/Protector/Judge? Or the God of Vengance?

With that being said, its also stuck in his back, implying betrayal, so who’s to say.

Like you said, everything we have been talking about has been incredibly circumstantial. No knows, except for Mythal (and Bioware), what really happened.

This has been a very interesting tin-foil hat, its really brought me on a journey, thank you for lending it to me.

Solas: She was the best of them. She cared for her people. She protected them. Solas: She was a voice of reason. And in their lust for power, they killed her.

Either Solas or Bioware is once again missing a few steps in the sequence of events that led to Mythal's death. I mean, let's be real here: if Mythal was truly someone who cared for and protected her people instead of treating them like objects and tools (unlikely given the whole magic well that forces any who drink from it to serve Mythal with her physically taking control of their body to force them to do what she wants even if the actions she compels them to undertake are entirely against their own wishes and beliefs situation, that's not exactly loving and protective behaviour) and the Evanuris were truly all eeeeeeeeeeeevil slavers willing to do anything for their own gain... she would not be any threat to them. That's why the magisters who practice large-scale human sacrifice are so feared; what they do is horrific, but they do do it for a reason. That shit does seem to give insane boosts in power!

And speaking of things being done for reasons: even if we believe that Mythal was the voice of reason among the Evanuris (possible, but given her general behaviour across the games... I don't know, I'm reserving judgement until we meet some of the others) and the others were all power-hungry, that doesn't automatically translate into them killing her. Sure, maybe they wanted her to stop nagging, but if they all ruled their own areas they likely wouldn't see much of her, and besides that in the legends we see they all seem to listen to her pretty willingly. And also... she's described as the leader of the pantheon. She was in charge. Assuming the legends have some basis in fact, she was the leader and mother figure most of the Evanuris were bound to follow and obey, and we know she does have a fondness for stripping notable followers of their free will (in fact she seems almost giddy about getting Quiz/Morrigan under her control). How sure are we that they didn't have very good reason to want her dead? It's not like Solas would admit to it given his blind spot for her, and it would make more sense than "She was nice and they were all Evil McEvil so they murdered her in cold blood for no real reason"...

#dragon age #long post #MILD DA4 TRAILER SPOILERS #datv spoilers #All I spoil tho is the trailer so take that what you will #dirthamen #my man dirth #mythal #elgarnan #evanuris #solas #dragon age ramblings #tin foil hat

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dacompanionreactions · 3 years ago

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Hi Lee! Hope you are doin' well, I really like your writing<3 I read the demigod Inquisitor ask and thought of something. How would companions react to finding out the different lil privileges growing up the makers child besides power. Like "wdym my fav fruit/berries aren't in season year round?? At home they were always in harvest, even in winter" or "Bees really sting ppl?! I thought that was something adults said to keep you from eating too much honey!" And "Why is xyz animal considered dangerous, in my experience they're pretty docile." Idk I just thought it'd be kinda funny.

Going to answer this one in gif form! And I'm glad you enjoy my writing <3

Cassandra after having to explain for the 50th time why petting bears usually ends in death:

Varric makes sure every detail goes into his new book. He makes sure to put disclaimer warnings like "bees WILL sting you if you're NOT the Maker's child" at the start.

Solas when he realises himself that berries aren't in season all year round:

Dorian finds the whole situation funny and endearing. He's not afraid to burst their bubble on misconceptions about supposedly friendly wolves.

Sera loses it laughing. Her pranks now include telling the Inquisitor false information, like how "In the real world, us mortals need to shed our skin after every wash. Fact!"

Blackwall just smiles and nods. He honestly thought they were joking at first. At least they can't call him out for his 'knowledge' on slaying Archdemons.

Cole knows why they would assume something like that: it's what the Inquisitor is used to after all. Besides, life as a spirit means things don't work the same way for him as they do for others.

Iron Bull and his Chargers have a field day with this. "So you're saying your mug can always be full of ale even if you drink out of it? Boss, that's seriously cool."

Vivienne has a little giggle to herself. It's quite endearing, but she makes sure to let the Inquisitor know when wild animal petting sessions get dangerous.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dragon age companion reactions #dragon age reactions #dragon age companions #cassandra pentaghast #varric tethras #dragon age solas #dorian pavus #dragon age sera #dragon age blackwall #dragon age cole #the iron bull #vivienne de fer #adjdnsahahaha I hope no one takes this too seriously #sigh it's only taken my a billion months to answer this one

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lillotte17 · 2 years ago

Text

I posted 721 times in 2022

That's 147 more posts than 2021!

92 posts created (13%)

629 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lillotte17

@miss-grey

@keturagh

@hawkeshep

@cl0udb3rry

I tagged 661 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#pretties! - 231 posts

#solas - 69 posts

#solavellan - 57 posts

#lavellan - 47 posts

#rambles - 45 posts

#dragon age - 23 posts

#artwork - 17 posts

#smooches - 17 posts

#dragon age inquistion - 15 posts

#aili lavellan - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#ace so i wouldn't bang any of them but all my lavellan boys are hot and fun and i might have a tiny crush on juniper arley

My Top Posts in 2022:

Time for another round of: Lotte Thinks Too Hard About Elvhen!

So, I've been standing around in the Exalted Plains for days trying to get all the dialogue I want to trigger to happen (while working on commission stuff. It's weirdly soothing. Like those background nature sound tapes, except every now and then there's NPCs chatting or a wolf attacking you.)

Anyway, we get to that talk between Solas and Sera where she makes the comment about "who wants to think about stepping on dead elves?"

Solas mutters in reply, sounding extremely angry/upset: Din elvhen emma him?

And I swear I thought I had read a translation for that on the wiki somewhere? But it said the meaning was unknown. So, I was trying to work it out myself.

Din- death or end or ending

Elvhen- elves (duh)

Emma- doesn't have a solid translation anywhere, but seems to be possessive. 'Your' or 'our' depending on context. Possibly even 'my', since I'm pretty sure 'Emma lath' was 'my love'?

Him- make/making

He sounded so upset, I thought he was saying some kind of insult/threat aimed at Sera. I'm pretty sure the translation I read before was like, "I'll make you a dead elf." (which in retrospect is not his MO at all. Even when he's furious with other companions, he never threatens to hurt them physically.)

I'm pretty sure the loose translation is actually more like:

"Dead elves of my own making?"

As in "How could I not think about them every place we go, when it's my fault that all of them died?"

And just...oh buddy. 🥺

95 notes - Posted March 12, 2022

See the full post

100 notes - Posted February 1, 2022

*sits down across the table from you and leans across real far *

You know, I love DAI. It is possibly my fave comfort game. Top tear. Very replayable. Lose myself for hours in the Hinterlands fighting bears and have a grand old time.

But the inconsistency with Lavellan and their understanding of Elvhen drives me bonkers.

Like, I get that Ancient Elvhen and Modern Elvhen have to be different. It's impossible for them not to be. Even the Elvhen spoken in the Dales would be different from Ancient Elvhen, because hundreds of years + slavery. Lavellan admits during Trespasser that Dalish cannot read Ancient Elvhen.

It makes sense that Solas can understand Modern Elvhen, because he apparently took the time to learn Qunlat at some point, so one would assume that a language derived from your native tongue would be easier. But it does not make sense that Lavellan swings back and forth between understanding Elvhen perfectly and not having a single clue what he's saying at all.

Lavellan understands the entire conversation he has with Wisdom before it dies. And one would assume it was not speaking Modern Elvhen for the sake of the other people there besides Solas, because it could have just as easily chosen to speak Common.

But later, Lavellan does not seem to understand what he and the Nightmare are saying to each other at all. Likewise, they don't seem to notice the discrepancies between what Solas tells Abelas and what Solas says he told Abelas. And they don't understand the random bits of Elvhen he throws at Sera either.

Like, I dunno about you, but if we were just walking along and my buddy just randomly said that he was responsible for all of the dead elves in Thedas...I think I'd pull over for a bit of a chat, yeah??

The Dalish honestly get so little credit for what they have managed to preserve from almost nothing, tbh. It makes sense that Lavellan wouldn't understand everything Solas says in Ancient Elvhen, but they should almost definitely understand more than a single conversation. At the very least, they should be able to know when he's switching to Ancient Elvhen instead of the modern form the Dalish use. And that by itself should be suspicious af.

(and they should absolutely know more than fucking Morrigan, but that's a whole other kettle of fish)

126 notes - Posted March 20, 2022

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261 notes - Posted June 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I am definitely half asleep, which should tell you about the quality level of this post straight out the gate, but i was going through my old saves and watching the romance scenes for my different PTs (as one does) and like...

Everyone else has this slow build up to the Love end of things. Some of them don't even get there until Trespasser (looking @ you Dorian- yes yes he feels it but he doesn't say it.) And that's not a complaint! That's normal! You start with affection and attraction and see where it goes, and lbr all of the DA companions have some...Things to work through before nailing down Big Feelings.

And then we have Solas.

One kiss. One (1) singular kiss, and that man is gone. Lost. Sunk. Out to sea. Lost in the Sauce. Flung into the depths.

And I would argue that he's actually gone before that, but that's when he knows it. And he freaks out because 'oh no oh no this is literally the absolute WORST timing for this to happen holy SHIT.'

And he tries to fight it off, or figure out if there is some like...magical mark-induced reason for why he's absolutely banana-grahams for this mortal woman he has only known the tiniest fraction of his impossibly long life, but there isn't one except that he's lonely as fuck and her genuine awesomeness is just apparently the kryptonite to his rational thinking power.

This man, who is so so careful with the way he says everything always just... Once he caves, it is his first admission. In his native tongue, no less, as though he cannot help himself.

I cannot lose you. I love you. You are my heart. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Back in ye olden fandom days, there was a whole bunch of fights about the sincerity of Solas' affections, since he 'lies' and dumps you, but like...things are a mess because this whole-ass man is a mess and he doesn't do anything that is NOT a mess, but just...fucking hell. He has loved her for so long. He doesn't strike me as love-at-first-sight kinda guy, but like I'm giving him like...a month at Haven tops before he's a goner.

Solas is the one who falls first and hardest out of all of them.

552 notes - Posted July 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #a;slkdjfa;sdka I REBLOGGED MORE POSTS FROM MYSELF THAN ANYONE ELSE #i know it is because of the commission posts but STILL 😂

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little-lightning-lavellan · 3 years ago

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Hiiiii 💖

Okay this list was hard to pick from aaaa, but what about

“At least let me clean it.”

I knoooooow it says fluff, but what if it had a sprinkle of angst sorry I'm a fiend for hurt/comfort lmao

A sprinkle of ANGST? In MY HOUSE? With my SOLAVELLAN?!

Of course bby who do you think I am 💖💖💖💖💖

ALSO set when Solas is in love, but Melly isn't yet, because I am a bad mean bad bad. >:3

(ones currently waiting in the inbox: 12, 16, 32. I will be doing the rest tomorrow morning unless I can chug out one more quick before bed, since I am now home! 💖)

50 Fluff Prompt List

"Falon, please; come now--"

"Mellan, I assure you," Solas avoided the smaller mage, shaking his head as they both returned to camp. They'd gotten out of their scrape well enough, but not without a few of their own. Solas had received a particularly nasty little trinket from a wayward arrow, but he was trying to focus on literally anything else. It wasn't that it hurt all that badly, he'd certainly had worse, but keeping from blushing around the woman beside him?

"You needn't fret. I promise, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of this, da'len."

Now that he had accepted his fate that his feelings for her were inevitable and firmly latched within him, the harder part came: acting completely and utterly natural around her until he decided just what in the world he was to do.

"You've healed my hand enough times," Mellan smiled somberly, craning her head to meet the man's gaze as they made their way to the fire. She knew supplies would be readily available there, and Solas would be stuck with her, then. "The least you can do is let me tend to yours. At least let me clean it?"

Even through his sigh, Solas finally relented, letting the woman take his hand in both of hers. Taking forth the various salves and balms she needed to clean his wound, the other elf finally let his shoulders begin to lower as Mellan worked away at him. Her fingers flitting about his own, she operated with his skin and bandages with as much care and tenderness as she would a precious tome.

As if he deserved that same reverence. As if saying such things aloud in her presence wouldn't earn him looks of melancholy from her eyes. He knew that well enough, and so he kept still and silent. He couldn't stand that look, not from her.

"You're like a wounded pup, you know. Pouting like this."

Solas knew that Mellan was trying to get him to smile, but he was still too preoccupied with fretting over their situation. So, she continued, goading him in that way that she did.

"Hm, perhaps not. You're a bit too gruff right now. Bristly. And you are still technically my hahren..."

Where was she going with this? Delicate fingers laced final touches upon his hands, and Solas realized he hadn't felt a single twinge of pain as she'd worked. Perhaps she'd been watching him in his healing, as well. Clever little imp.

"A wounded wolf then," Solas' heart seized for a moment while Mellan only held a false pout, braids flapping softly as she shook her head. "Poor old wolf...!"

His hand was cleaned, and would heal with time, but Solas wasn't entirely sure his heart ever would should he part from her.

Poor old wolf, indeed.

#I HOPE THIS IS A SUFFICIANT RATIO OF ANGST TO FLUFF #solavellan #solas #mellan lavellan #lavellan #dragon age #dai #dueteragony #dragon age fanfic #my writing #solas x mellan lavellan

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bearlytolerant · 3 years ago

Text

Fandom: Dragon Age

Pairing: Solavellan (Modern AU)

Ch Rating: T

Ch WC: 2169

AO3

Chapter 7

Another day at the office. Editing, emails and the ever elusive caller that enables equal opportunities for playing phone tag. A game Solas never enjoys participating in. The morning slides by and Varric is at his desk, twirling his keys around his finger.

“Lunch?”

Solas glances up and sighs. “I’m trying to get a hold of Seeker Pentaghast. Sera said she had more info on an agent that might have a lead on Crystal Red.”

“That sounds like a lot of maybes and probablys and a whole lot of I don’t give a fuck. You’re allowed to take a break and get some lunch.”

“What if they call while I’m away?”

“They can leave a message. Now let’s get out of here before we don’t have any time at all for food.”

Solas shoves back his chair and follows Varric. “I did pack a lunch today,” he mentions.

“Save it for tomorrow then. I’m craving some street tacos and there’s a truck just up the road. I’ll buy so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“I am less concerned about finances and more concerned about getting food from a truck.”

“Ah, live a little Chuckles,” Varric says as he gives Solas a whack on the back.

“If living a little, as you say, means spending two days on the toilet. Perhaps I do not wish to live a little.”

“Well come with me and grab something else. I’m sure there’s something you’d find worthy of your tastes nearby.”

A half hour later and Solas is holding a taco that’s worth the regret he’ll experience from his future self. Some chipotle mayo dribbles down his chin and he swipes it away while pulling out his phone.

He checks his messages. One from Sarya and one from Veda. He taps on the one from Veda first.

Connor went home sick. Pick me up after school today?

He checks the time and swears. How did he not realize he took such a late lunch? She needs to be picked up right now. He dials her number as he stuffs his arms into his coat.

“Veda needs to be picked up,” he tells Varric as he shoves the remainder of his taco in his mouth.

“Got you covered,” Varric replies.

He mumbles a garbled, “thanks” then takes off down the street. Solas is just a block away from his car in the parking garage when she picks up.

“Hey papae!”

“Hello. I apologize. I just now saw your text. I will be late.”

“No worries. I can always watch the band practice until you get here.”

“I will be there soon.”

“Okie doke.”

He says he loves her and hangs up. Sprints the rest of the way down the street, half choking and wishing he’d at least drank some water but makes his way to his little car without incident. He hops inside. Starts it and zooms out of the garage. He’s speeding which has him checking his rear view mirror constantly. But of course, the city has a million stop lights and he hits every red one. He gets to her school later than he ever intended.

He parks, shoving his glasses all the way up his nose, and searches for Veda at the stadium. He spots her in the bleachers, chin resting in her hands and her copper braids coming undone in the breeze. He takes the stairs to meet her two at a time.

“I am so sorry to make you wait,” he says as he wraps her in his arms.

“Seriously, papae. It’s not a problem at all.”

“But what if it had rained? Or stormed like yesterday?”

“I would’ve just stayed inside. Besides, that didn’t happen.”

He sighs, berating himself a little internally. Then he walks with her back to the car. Slides in and clicks his seatbelt in place.

“What’s this?” Veda asks.

Solas glances over at her. She has Sarya’s camera in her hands. He hadn’t even noticed it there. He calmly says, “a camera.”

“Pssh, obviously. But I don’t remember you having a camera.”

“It’s a friend’s,” he says. “We went out for lunch and they must’ve left it.”

“Oh,” she says. “How was work today?” She’s still fiddling with the camera.

“It was work,” he says. Thankfully she easily dropped the subject. “Not much was accomplished.”

She gasps. “Your friend is so pretty. You’ve never mentioned her before. New coworker?”

“No. Just a new friend I met.”

“She looks familiar—and she’s a wonderful photographer. Maybe we should have her take some pictures of us. We haven’t updated our family photos since I was ten.”

“That’s a wonderful idea Veda. However, my friend is only visiting for a short while. I’m not sure there would be enough time to squeeze some family photos in.”

“Bummer. You look so happy around her.”

“I don’t always look happy?”

“You look a different kind of happy with her. It’s nice.”

He takes her words and holds them close to her chest. “Anything interesting happen at school today?”

“Yeah,” she says, then she unloads a multitude of stories. How one of her friends got their tooth knocked out by a basketball in gym. How she accidentally used Elvhen in her Tevene class and didn’t notice until the whole class was just staring at her.

“Did you feel embarrassed?” he asks as they pull into the garage.

“A little. But I mostly found it funny. The way the other kids looked so confused.”

“Does anyone treat you differently when you speak Elvhen?”

She shrugs. “There’s a couple of kids who say stupid things but I don’t hang around them.”

“Veda, I’m happy to speak with the administration if your having trouble with other students—“

“While I appreciate that, I can handle a couple of kids who are jerks.”

“Very well but if you ever—“

“I know.” She slings her backpack in her back then kisses his cheek. “Can I go to Varric’s house? I want to see the cats and hang out with Cole for a bit.”

“Yes, so long as you check with—“

“Already did.” She steps out of the car. “Going to drop my stuff off inside then I’ll see you later.”

“Text me when you want to leave. I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay. See you later, papae.”

Solas sighs. He’s glad she still talks to him and he still gets to see her but there’s also this tiny ache in his chest that misses her always being around the house. But he reminds himself that this is a good thing. It’s just new and he pulls out his phone to read his messages from Sarya.

Hey I’m going to try and stop by your work around 3:15 today.

I stopped by your work but you weren’t there. Saw Varric though! He introduced me to everyone and it was fun! I really like Sera. She’s hilarious! And Merrill was so sweet! Anyway, hopefully I’ll see you sometime soon. 😉

—

“I fold,” Sarya says, she takes a drag from her cigarillo. Then throws her cards face up on the table.

“Already?” Han asks. “What a shame.”

“Your mind must be elsewhere, Sarya. I’ve never known you to throw a game,” Vilanti says as she shows her cards.

Han takes the game and lets out a whoop as he gathers them all to shuffle.

“I still can’t believe Dallen just up and left us. Did he say anything to either of you? About his plans.”

Both of them shake their heads.

“It’s really odd.”

“I don’t know why you care. Easier to keep yourself from using him. Easier for him to be happy this way,” Han says.

“Ouch,” Vilanti grimaces, then gestures for all the cards to be handed over. She shuffles.

“I do agree with that actually. It’s just that most who move on from our happy little family tend to give us more of a notice. We didn’t get to give him a proper goodbye.”

“I don’t mean to sound callous here Sarya, but you were the only one who cared about the guy. Makes sense why he moved on.” Vilanti deals.

Sarya picks up her hand and stares straight through the cards. “That’s not true.”

“Basically,” Han argues. He draws a card.

“Sometimes you both are mean.”

“Not mean. Just honest,” Han says.

Vilanti draws. “On another note, I heard Makon made a new friend today.”

“What?” Sarya nearly drops her cards. “Our Makon? Makon—stoic, quiet, unsociable Makon?”

“Yep. Met her at the gas station. She was passing through on her way to Wycome and her motorcycle broke down. He fixed it up for her on the spot and they exchanged numbers I guess.”

“What the fuck?”

“Good for him,” Han says.

Sarya draws a card. “Yeah, seriously. I hope that works out.”

“Our next gig is in Wycome and he plans to see her then.”

“Was it love at first sight or something?” Sarya asks. She folds and picks her cigarillo back up. Her interest in cards declining by the second.

Vilanti shrugs and plays her cards, taking the game. “By the way he keeps talking about her, I’d say yes.”

“What’s her name,” Han asks, gathering all the cards into a pile.

“Athi. Athi Lavellan.”

“Another Lavellan huh?”

“Guess so. Maybe she’s related to you two,” Vilanti says.

“Doubt it. Or if she is, it’s very distant,” Han says.

In the distance they hear yelling and smashing bottles. They all exchange looks.

“Wonder who the hell set Deshanna off—“

“Let’s go see if we can smooth things over,” Han says with a sigh.

“You two can go. I’ll probably make things worse. I don’t think he likes me much.”

“That’s because you push his buttons. Definitely better for you to stay here,” Han tells her.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Then she waves at them as they slip out the door and finishes off her cigarillo.

—

It’s dark and quiet and Sarya gazes longingly out the window at a small patch of stars. The only patch not hidden by the clouds. She sighs and startles at the sound of knocking. Straightening herself out, she rubs the redness from her elbows and opens the door.

“Solas,” she says it like she’s expecting him but she’s truly surprised. She steps out with him, shutting the door behind her.

“You forgot your camera,” he tells her, holding it out in his hands.

She takes it from him, hanging it around her neck. “Thank you. I should really start keeping better track of my things or you’re going to start thinking I’m trying to bait you or something.”

“I would bite every time,” he says, his hands clasped behind his back. There’s a certain sparkle in his eye and she can’t read him. But she knows she wants to kiss him. So without another thought, she stretches up on her toes and takes him by surprise. He is frigid and she panics, certain she has misstepped. After all, friends don’t kiss like that.

“I’m sorry,” she says, a little out of breath. “I don’t know what…”

Her words are caught on the edge of his lips as he captures her mouth again. His kiss is unreserved but not what she’d call passionate. Like the kiss of a long time lover. A kiss of promise. Of commitment. Her mind screams at her to let go while simultaneously wishing and longing for more. His leg is pressed into her inner thigh and despite the chill of the air, she’s certain she is on fire. Her nails are in his shoulder, the camera even hurts just a little as it presses into her chest, and she doesn’t mean to let out a moan but it’s too late for regrets as he pushes her against the side of her trailer. One hand above her and the other in her hair. With each breath she steals between kisses, she studies his face. Memorizes it and stores it for always. Freckles for days and the tiniest scar above his brow. The only sign of his age lies in the lines of crows feet near the edges of his eyes and she tells herself to ask if he has a skincare routine. He certainly seems the type.

She studies his closed eyelids, there’s two freckles on the right and a singular small one on the left and she notices that there’s even some red in his brows and wonders if they’d have red headed babies.

She gasps then. Pulls away. Why in the hell is she thinking of babies?

“Perhaps I should…”

“Kiss me again,” she says to him. She won’t let one ridiculous thought ruin the moment. She knows that she’s falling for him. Too fast, too soon but she’s holding on for another day.

When they break apart she doesn’t want him to go. But it’s too much to ask him to stay. So she waves goodbye then clicks her camera, saving the image of him walking away.

#dragon age #solavellan #modern au #solas x Sarya Lavellan #circus au #free falling #bear writes

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icharchivist · 4 months ago

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So how's the plan to replay all DA Games before Veilguard releases coming along? :D

oh, haha

it's going well!!! very, even

i'm actually only replaying DAI, i had replayed DAO and DA2 rather recently-ish when Veilguard was announced while i hadn't touched DAI in a few years, so i wanted to immerse me back into DAI properly. Besides since da4 will follow more on the themes DAI really kickstarted, it was better to really return to it for me.

In the end tho i am currently doing my second DAI's playthrough since the announcement, so boo ooh on "noo i replayed the other ones too recently". I'm in the middle of it and tbh i want to replay it AGAIN to replay the Solas romance AGAIN so. well.

fun fact, i bought the Steam version of the game a few years ago, which means, right before my current replay spree, but after all my other previous playthrough. However Steam still launch the game through the EA app (which i used for all my playthrough) so now i have two hours tally on the game: on EA, i have the whole tally of all my DAI playthrough. On Steam, i only have my tally of those last 3 months.

All of this to say:

it's been going well!

I'm also still rereading Tevinter Nights -- slowly but surely. I read Neve's introduction story last time and next up is Lucanis', so i've been stalling so i'm in the perfect mood for it ahah

And there's still following up the updates + Vows and Vengeances coming out (in a couple minutes for the next episode actually! ... if i didnt get my timing wrong) so i'm well fed.

So ;D good DA mood all around for me, much focused, wow!

Thanks for the nice words ;D

#ichareply #anonymous #ichafantalks da

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musetta3 · 4 years ago

Text

Dragon Age OC as a Companion: Revka Cadash

Trend started by @little-lightning-lavellan it’s an amazing one and I had such fun with it! Thank you for the template!

This will be under a cut, because ohhhhhh my, there’s a lot here <3

This is also on AO3!

Is your OC a Companion in the Dragon Age series? What would it be like for a player to select them to join their party for quests (or romance them, perhaps? 👀)

You have selected Revka Cadash to join your party!

Race: Dwarf

Affiliation: Carta

Gender: Female

Class: Rogue/Archer

Specialization: artificer

Background

Revka Cordelia Cadash (born 8:95 Blessed) is a dwarven rogue and businesswoman. She is a companion and a potential romance option for a male human, dwarf, or qunari Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Revka is a member of the many-membered Cadash Clan, and daughter of Brygida ‘Cookie’ Cadash and Artur ‘Archie’ Cadash. She has an older brother, Tavi, as well as numerous cousins, including Edric ‘Dasher’ Cadash, the head of the Ferelden Carta.

Revka grew up in the company of her rambunctious cousins, and thus views them like brothers and sisters. It’s common for Cadashes to play tricks and pull pranks on each other as a way to show affection, as is evidenced in the short story ‘Flapping in the Breeze.’ Some of Revka’s favorite pranks include spiking food with chili oil, switching people’s beverages, hiding belongings, and breaking into ‘private’ things such as journals, desk contents, or that box of cookies under the bed.

Revka made a name for herself in the Carta accompanying her mother and cousins on patrol as a teen. Her deadly accuracy with a bow earned her the nickname ‘Hawkeye;’ her duties quickly expanded to include ‘problem-solving’ for the Carta, her solutions ranging from assassinations, blackmail, and negotiating contracts, to smuggling, and forgeries. Her successful business plans and battle tactics made her a valuable asset to the Carta.

In 9:13 Dragon, Revka married Iwan Feddic, a member of the merchant caste and a Cadash client in Ostwick. She helped her husband run his international shipping business, a venture she took over after his untimely death. When Dasher’s wife, Darya, died at the hands of the Orlesian Carta, Revka returned to Ferelden to help her cousin raise his five children, turning over the Ostwicker affairs to her brother, Tavi.

When the Cadashes eliminated a rival Carta branch in Kirkwall, they sent Artur Cadash to oversee operations in the city. 22-year-old Revka volunteered to accompany him, becoming her father’s second in command. Once arrived in Kirkwall, she helped him found Graywater Imports, an import/export company functioning as a storefront for both legal and illegal goods. She is a prominent member of the Cadash Carta branch in Kirkwall, often dealing with the Dwarven Merchant Guild and Varric Tethras.

Romance with Varric Tethras

Shortly after Revka arrived in Kirkwall, she met the young Varric Tethras. What began as mixing business with pleasure became a romantic entanglement that lasted until Tethras met the talented smith Bianca Davri, and broke off with Revka for Bianca. As much as Revka wanted to cut all ties with him, she maintained their business relationship… and an unrequited, one-sided love for the deshyr prince.

Involvement

A special mission at the War Table will unlock a quest at Kirkwall’s Docks, ‘Ten Shades of Graywater,’ in which the Inquisitor will receive a mysterious anonymous letter inviting them to the coast to discuss a purveyor/supplier contract for the Inquisition. The Inquisitor will arrive in a seemingly abandoned alley, but is ambushed by Coterie thugs. After the enemies are slain, Revka can be engaged in conversation.

If Varric is in the party, he will be surprised to see Revka. It’s revealed that they know each other through various business ventures, and are old acquaintances… although the weighted, bitter quality of Revka’s answers imply that their relationship is more complicated than Varric had said.

Upon further questioning, Revka pitches her business proposal: wholesale lyrium for the Inquisition’s mages or Templars, with access to the Cadash Family’s network of spies, businesses, and Carta members for Inquisition purposes. Her only condition is that her family obtains an industry monopoly, becoming the sole provider of lyrium for the Inquisition and Southern Thedas.

Revka can be found near the archery targets and training dummies in Haven. Once the Inquisition relocates to Skyhold, Revka spends time training in the courtyard, in Skyhold’s main hall talking to Varric, or in the rookery, spoiling her messenger crow, Cipher, with treats. Dialogue options will reveal that she uses the bird keep in contact with her family and business associates.

Approval and Romance

Revka can be romanced by a male Inquisitor of any race, and will jokingly comment on the height differences if romanced by a qunari, elf, or human. A Cadash inquisitor of either gender can unlock Carta-specific dialogue. Revka is guarded at first, giving out only generic information about her family, but with some persistent questioning the Inquisitor can wear her down. Depending on dialogue choices, the conversation can end with the Cadashes exchanging stories of ‘colorful’ family members and an approval gain.

Revka takes a more pragmatic view on politics: she supports whoever pays the most, and sells lyrium to both the Templars and mages without discrimination. Upon learning the truth behind the events Redcliffe, however, she is dismayed to learn what her products enabled. Traveling to Redcliffe with Revka in the party will trigger her personal quest ‘Scales Fall from Her Eyes.’ (this quest will trigger after the Inquisition relocates to Skyhold if the player sided with the Templars)

Revka approves of Inquisitors who are tenacious, calculating/far-sighted, and does what is best for the majority. She believes that the end justifies the mean, sanctioning death only as a last resort. She approves of bold plans, investigating all aspects of a quest before making a decision, and an Inquisitor who makes jokes (especially puns). Her sense of justice changes as the player completes more of her personal quests. She will approve of charitable acts and kindness as the game progresses and her personal beliefs change.

Revka’s romance can be initiated through the conventional method flirting and conversation. During the quest ‘Scales Fall from Her Eyes,’ the Inquisitor has an opportunity to embrace Revka, leading to a kiss.

If Revka is not romanced by an Inquisitor, she can enter a relationship with Varric Tethras, but only if the Inquisitor assists in reconciling the two ex-lovers. Revka’s romantic past with Varric is hinted at in party banter if both are present, the two bickering with each other. This series of quests are available post-arrival at Skyhold, and has conditional dialogue for certain scenarios.

Revka gets along well with Dorian and Cassandra, bonding with them over their mutual love of books. It’s revealed that the three of them have an unofficial ‘book club’ going on, where they read various novels and comment on them in party banter. Revka also gets along well with Sera, bonding over pulling pranks in Haven and Skyhold. She makes a special bond with Leliana over nugs, owning a nug, herself.

Revka does not trust Solas from the moment she meets him, stating he knows too much, and is fond of talking without saying anything. She also suspects Blackwall of hiding something.

Companion Quests

Scales Fall from Her Eyes

After the events of Redcliffe, the Inquisitor will receive a note from Revka to meet her at the abandoned cabin outside Haven. Or, if the player sided with the Templars, this will trigger once the Inquisition relocates to Skyhold. At the meeting, she will share her guilt and horror at what occurred. She questions her personal beliefs, and offers an apology with the promise to amend her family’s business practices. After this quest, Revka is more empathetic, approving of selfless and charitable acts, whereas before she’d disapprove.

At the end of the quest, the Inquisitor has an opportunity to embrace Revka, which can lead to a kiss, if desired.

Varric’s Quest in Valammar

Revka can be found beside the fireplace in the main hall, arguing with Varric over the contents of a particular letter. Upon investigation, the Inquisitor learns that Revka has broken into the locked box in which Varric keeps his correspondence, which she claims he’s done to her on multiple occasions over the years. He neither denies nor confirms the accusation. Revka demands to know why Varric is still in contact with ‘that woman,’ declares she won’t set foot in the main hall until his ‘guest’ is gone, and leaves, demanding the Inquisitor ‘talk some sodding sense into him.’

This leads into Varric’s quests with Bianca Davri, and some cutting comments from Bianca calling Revka a ‘sore loser.’ Varric comes to Revka’s defense, much to the Inquisitor’s surprise.

If the Inquisitor takes Revka to Valammar, she disapproves and will grouse all the way there, cutting snide remarks whenever Varric says something. She becomes jealous during Bianca and Varric’s reminiscing, interjecting and muttering. Her anger only grows as the quest proceeds, Revka calling out Bianca for her selfish, pragmatic methods and carelessness. Once Inquisitor concludes the quest, Revka declares she needs some air, and says she’ll meet the Inquisitor at the nearest inquisition camp later.

Upon arrival at the campsite, a scout reports that Revka never returned to camp. The Inquisitor must search the nearby area; eventually, they find Revka injured after being ambushed by bandits (the Inquisitor and the party must defeat them in order for the quest to proceed).

If Varric is present, he will be upset, demanding to know why she would be so foolish as to wander around alone. Revka half-jokes, claiming how surprised she is that Varric cares about her safety, after all these years. Varric’s expression visibly shifts. The Inquisitor arranges for her immediate medical care, but it’s too serious a wound for her to remain out in the field. After this point, Revka is unavailable as a companion until after the Inquisitor returns to Skyhold.

Once the Inquisitor returns, they will find Varric in the central courtyard, pacing outside the infirmary/medical tents. The medic will inform the Inquisitor that Varric hasn’t left since Revka’s arrival, but refuses to go inside to see her. Selecting Varric for a conversation will show he can’t bear to face her after what happened at Valammar; he feels especially guilty, knowing that she got hurt in an attempt to calm down after the encounter. The Inquisitor can remind Varric that his apology should be to Revka, not them. To trigger their romance, the Inquisitor can encourage him to visit Revka and share his feelings.

If the Inquisitor visits her instead, they will gain high approval with her, and further unlock romance scenes. After the visit in the tent, Revka will invite the Inquisitor to her quarters to personally ‘thank’ him. The Inquisitor can choose to accept her proposition, or refuse. Depending on choice, Revka may sleep with the Inquisitor. There is an option to break relations off with Revka the morning after.

Revka’s Family

Revka’s war table missions mostly revolve around business opportunities she’s scouted out for the Inquisition throughout Thedas. Some of these are triggered through conversations with Revka in the rookery or throughout Skyhold. Completing quests from her cousin Jon in Tevinter will reveal Venatori camps on all game-maps, and will reduce the cooldown time on war table quests dealing with Venatori in general.

Revka’s cousin, Czibor, can be encountered in the Hissing Wastes hunting Venatori. Accompanying xem in eliminating a Venatori camp can lead to xir recruitment as an Inquisition agent.

The Trouble with Tavi

After the quest Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, Revka will ask to meet the Inquisitor, requesting their assistance in a matter of life or death. She reveals that she’s received a letter from the Orlesian Carta, stating their displeasure at the Inquisitor’s choice of ruler, since they’re encroaching on the Orlesian Carta’s operations. They know Revka and the Cadash family has been helping the Inquisition, and threaten to exact revenge. She’d thought it an empty threat until her brother Tavi stopped replying to her letters. Upon investigation, it’s revealed that the Orlesian Carta kidnapped Tavi and have hid him at their base in Val Royeaux. Revka asks the Inquisitor for assistance.

Should the Inquisitor refuse Revka, she will greatly disapprove, stating that her brother’s more important that the Inquisitor’s ‘sodding principles,’ and leave the Inquisition to save him. She will not be available again until later in the game (post Adamant), when a war table mission will appear from Tavi in Ostwick, stating that Revka saved him and has returned to Kirkwall. She is still very offended, and is considering terminating the Cadash business contracts with the Inquisition. He urges the Inquisitor to please make her reconsider, citing the monetary gain the contracts net him but also Revka’s hurt (note: the letter will also reference a romanced Varric, asking the Inquisitor to enlist his help). The Inquisitor has the choice to make up with Revka and invite her back, or leave her be.

Should the Inquisitor choose to help Revka, she will greatly approve and travel with the Inquisitor to Val Royeaux. Varric—regardless of the romance status—will also express interest in coming, but bringing him along is not required. Revka will be touched by his offer, regardless.

The meeting place mentioned in the Carta’s letter is an abandoned oil warehouse at the docks. Inside, the companions note the derelict condition of the place. The further they travel into the warehouse, following a trail of blood, the smell of rancid oil grows stronger. In a storeroom, there is a lone dead dwarf bearing a note, a man Revka recognizes as Tavi’s second in command in Ostwick. If the Inquisitor can find Tavi before time runs out, the note says, they’re welcome to him. As the Inquisitor reads the note aloud, a shadow darts in the periphery; the door slams shut, locking them in. A torch is thrown in through a window, setting the spilled oil on fire.

The Inquisitor may, through a series of dialogue choices, decide to rescue Tavi or leave him to his fate, opting to escape. If the Inquisitor chooses to escape and leave Tavi behind, Revka will greatly disapprove, running off to find him herself. If she is romanced by Varric, he will also greatly disapprove, stating that they should go after Revka. If the Inquisitor chooses this route, they can still save Revka and Tavi. Otherwise, the two Cadashes are not seen again, supposedly perishing in the fire. Revka will then be unavailable as a companion for the remainder of the game.

The mission to save Tavi is time-sensitive, with several endings: should the Inquisitor take too long to escape or find Tavi, the warehouse will collapse on them, killing everyone. The timer, separated into quarters, is marked by sections of the roof collapsing: escaping by the third collapse will guarantee the party’s safety. Escaping post-third collapse can result in a 50% chance of the roof collapsing on the party: if this occurs, Revka pushes either her love interest or her brother out of the way of a falling beam, sacrificing herself for their safety. The mission then ends with the party barely escaping in time, mourning the loss of their lover and/or friend.

Pranks

Various pranks around Skyhold and Haven are attributed to Revka via ambient dialogue and party banter. If the approval rate is high enough, Inquisitor has an opportunity to join Revka in pulling pranks around Skyhold post-Adamant. She claims that she’d like to cheer everyone up, and would like the Inquisitor’s help.

Prank 1: sneak into the kitchen and switch the sugar out for salt in a cake.

Prank 2: paint a smiley face on the back of a sleeping Solas’s head

Prank 3: Rearrange Vivienne’s furniture

Prank 4: Distract Varric so she can steal his letters and replace them with scrambled riddles

A cutscene follows, showing a crowd standing at the base of a flagpole the morning after. Revka pushes through the crowd, gasping: someone has nailed her frilly blue panties to the pole. Varric is seen leaning against a column, howling with laughter. Revka pulls a face at him and scowls, but eventually ends up laughing, too. (Note: this is inspired by the short story ‘Flapping in the Breeze’)

Trespasser

If Revka left or died during the events of the game, she will not be at the Winter Palace. Otherwise, there are several outcomes as to what she’s been doing…

If she romanced Varric, she returned to Kirkwall and is his lover

If she romanced the Inquisitor, she stayed alongside him as an Inquisition agent

If she did not romance anyone, she returned to Kirkwall

There is an option to marry Revka as a romanced Inquisitor, or urge her to marry Varric. If she marries, her brother Tavi and a recruited cousin Czibor may attend the ceremony.

Combat comments

Kills an enemy

And stay dead!

Sodding nughumper, good riddance.

Low Health

A little help would be lovely!

Oh shit. Not good.

Atredum na satolva! Toss me a health potion, will you?

I’m too old for this…

Low Health (Companions)

(The Inquisitor) Inquisitor!

(The Inquisitor - if romanced) Hold on, love!

(Varric, unromanced) Varric, you don’t look so good...

(Varric, if romanced) Oh shit, don’t you dare die on me.

(Sera) Can someone check on Sera, please?

(Cassandra) Cass! Wait!

(Dorian) Dorian needs help!

Location comments

(Approaching Camp) Ahhh! Home sweet tent.

(When collecting a shard) Ooh! I wonder how much it’d fetch at market.

Storm Coast

(sighs) They ought to call this place the ‘Soggy Coast,’ or the ‘Sopping Coast.’ My socks are soaked through to my boots.

Fallow Mire

The bugs will drain you dry before the undead will. Nug-humping bastards keep biting me…

Anyone else feel eyes watching you from the shadows?

Hinterlands

(Laughs) You know, back when I was running jobs for the Carta, I would get so lost here in the Hinterlands. Good to know things haven’t changed.

Don’t go near there; bears love that place. I learned that the hard way…

(at Witchwood) Ah, the Which-Witch-is-Which-Wood. Da would warn my brother and I about this place when were children.

The Hissing Wastes

I have sand in places I never knew existed.

Why my cousin had to choose to hunt Venatori in the ass-end of nowhere is beyond me…

Emprise du Lion

(scoffs) Snow. Snow. More sodding snow. I’m up to my tits in the stuff.

We don’t get snow like this in Kirkwall.

(on seeing a snowfleur) Ooh, look! Fluffy nugs! Can I take one home? Lucky could use a friend.

Emerald Graves

I…I heard the reason why this place is called the Emerald Graves. Such a tragic story.

I didn’t expect such greenery this far south, to be honest.

Exalted Plains

(shivers) You can feel the sorrow in this place.

Companion Comments

Blackwall: “Rev? She’s a bit… unnerving, to be honest. Never smiles, glares holes in the side of your head. Offered to sell my carvings in Denerim, though: two sovereigns apiece. I swear she could sell water to a fish, that woman…”

Varric: “(Laughs) Hawkeye and I go way back. Don’t let her innocent face fool you: she’ll bleed you dry at Wicked Grace if you let her. Learned some of my best tricks from her—Don’t…erm. Don’t tell her that.”

“Do you know how Hawkeye got her name? She shot a fly from across a room, once. Still don’t know how she did it.”

(If Inquisitor romanced Revka) Hawkeye’s a sweet girl, under all the Carta bullshit. I’m glad she has you; she deserves some happiness in her life.”

(If romances Revka): “I know they say don’t mix business with pleasure, but I get all the best discounts at Graywater Imports, now. You want anything? I think they’re running a sale on Antivan leather, at the moment.”

“She’s probably upstairs feeding Cipher, knowing her. Or taking another order for Dagna; buys crafting supplies like candy, that one.”

Sera: “Rev’s fun, not all stuffy just ‘cause she’s someone back home, yeah? Takes jokes well. Can’t shoot for shit, though…”

Cole: Ash, steel, gray, withering inside at the sight of him smiling at her. Don’t look back, you’re not going that way; old coals don’t rekindle. It bleeds under her armor, but she can’t bandage the wound. I want to help. (if she romances Varric) but he helped her feel whole again. (if she romances the Inquisitor) but you helped her feel whole again.

Solas: “Is it wise to allow a known member of the Carta in our ranks? She actively seeks information and passes it along to her superiors.”

“Do tell Mistress Cadash that if she breaks into my desk one more time, I shall ward the drawers to set her on fire. I can tolerate harmless pranks, but one thing I cannot abide is liars who snoop.”

Iron Bull: “They say still waters run deep, and she’s no exception. She might appear all laughs and smiles, but that woman knows exactly what she’s doing. Don’t underestimate her.”

Dorian: “Ah, my darling Rev: she has excellent taste in literature and baked goods.” (if she romances Varric) “And dwarven merchant princes.”

Cassandra: “I doubted her intentions, at first, but she has proven herself quite useful to the Inquisition. If you see her, tell her to return my book, will you? She ‘borrowed’ a week ago, and I want to know what happens to the poor Guard Captain.”

Vivienne: “Mistress Cadash would do quite well at court; she understands the Game surprisingly well for one who’s not a courtier. Too strong from the onset, however: the idea is to gain a person’s trust, not frighten them into submission.”

Cullen: “I knew Mistress Cadash back in Kirkwall; I’d frequent Graywater Imports often. They carry three kinds of hair pomade there, did you know?”

Josephine: “Mistress Cadash has many useful connections throughout Thedas; I’m pleased she offers them to us so freely. But then, we’re making her a rich woman with all the business contracts. Quid pro quo, as the Tevinters say.”

Leliana: “Rev is a shrewd woman, fierce and good at her craft. Did you know that she has a pet nug in Kirkwall? She always has something for the birds when she comes here; I like her.”

Trivia

It’s said that the young Varric Tethras wrote his first novel, The Dasher’s Men, about Edric Cadash, Revka’s cousin. The femme fatale who assists the hero of the tale, Revka, is heavily inspired by Varric’s lover at the time, Revka Cadash. An autographed copy of The Dasher’s Men can be found in the rookery, where Revka sits.

Revka adores cookies, and has been trying to get the secret brandy snap recipe off of her cousin, Edric, for years. She has tried everything from recipe book publisher scams to impersonating the Viscount of Kirkwall’s chef to obtain the recipe

In party banter, Revka will mention her nug, Lucky, which, according to the short story, she won during a rather raucous evening of Wicked Grace.

When Revka isn’t reading, answering correspondence, or training, she enjoys baking, sewing, and embroidery.

Despite being an adept businesswoman, Revka is terrible at bookkeeping, and will often complain about it to Varric… sometimes enlisting him to do it, with a bribe of cookies.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #writing prompt #dai #dragon age companions #revka #revka cadash #Cadash x Varric #dorian pavus #Varric Tethras #dragon age varric #cadash #female cadash

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emerald-amidst-gold · 3 years ago

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WIP Wednesday

Is it just me or has this week been going kind of slow? It feels like Thursday, but no! It is WEDNESDAY! >:D That means it’s time to shaaaaaare! X3

So, I’m finally getting back into writing, but I’m doing bits and pieces at a time. I think I may have put too much pressure on myself, so everything I wrote and then read looked..bleh.

However! Due to an ask that @the-dreadful-canine sent me, I found some inspiration! >:D

Thank you @noire-pandora for the tag! I send you all the hearts in the world! <3

Halamshiral brings out the best in the both the wolf and the dragon~ >:3

"She was friendly.", Fane said, face blank, arms crossed as he let his eyes follow after the elven servant that had just left where he and Solas were against the walls of the Winter Palace; the two of them keeping to the shadows and niches the soft darkness held.

He had sought out the Elvhen man, thankfully without much interference, to mention another spike in the air around them. There was magic somewhere in the palace, but he couldn't pinpoint its exact placement. Solas had agreed with his assessment after the first time, and the few times Fane had passed through this particular hall, the one lining the small courtyard, he had noticed his sky's brow furrowed slightly and his eyes glued ahead as if he were listening for something.

So far, neither of them had had any luck determining a focal point, but it had to be a rift; his mark proved that. It wasn't flaring violently, but the pulse was deeper than usual and his arm burned as the magic scorched through his veins. It was why, even after notifying the other about the fluctuation in the Veil, he had lingered.

Now, Fane wished he hadn't as his eyes continued to watch the retreating servant girl, her cheeks rosy and her eyes shining with something he knew all too well: infatuation. That would be fine on it's own, he wasn't one to judge or condone another's feelings as his very nature encouraged them to blossom, but the person that gaze was directed towards…

That was another story entirely. Why did he feel so...bitter? This prison of marble, gold, jewels, and stone was infuriating and confusing.

Solas chuckled, his eyes, too, following after the young woman, but they were still, clear, uninterested, but yet, Fane felt odd. "Indeed she was. Many of the servants have been. I believe they find my presence intriguing, and perhaps, comforting.”

"Makes sense. You have a certain air here. More relaxed, even if every shadow holds a knife. Confident, really. Makes you approachable.", Fane muttered out his observation absently, glancing down to be met with questioning orbs of blue-grey; the color was mixed due to the shadows dancing within and around them. They looked midnight in hue and they were trained on him now; no one else. “The responses to me have been the exact opposite. Not surprising, but annoying. I tried to question a pair of them outside this hallway, and they shooed me off.”

Solas gave him a small, but reassuring smile. “So I saw. Merely a precaution, I think, vhenan.”, he said, casting midnight orbs around once more, essences of lavender glinting from starlight. They landed upon a small group; three servants, each elven and they appeared to be wholly uninterested in ferrying about between the nobles. “Servants have long walked within the halls of power, unnoticed, but ever-watchful of those who see them only as inconsequential. Wariness is their greatest weapon against those who flaunt without reservation. The elves along these walls and in these dark corridors know what you represent, and so they keep you at arm’s length. ”

Fane hummed, pursing his lips a bit. "So, they’re fearful of me. Again, not an uncommon reaction.”, he said. albeit a bit bitterly. Typical. He should have known that was the case. Dressing a wolf in sheep’s clothing didn’t not make it a wolf, after all.

Except, he was a dragon. A dragon playing politics, playing with power. Fane was surprised he hadn't combusted as soon as his boots had touched the inner gate's threshold. The night was young, though. Sadly. Unfortunately. Miserably. How his sky, who was now leaning against the pedestal of a bust, appearing calm, collected, and enthused as eternal irises gazed up at him had done this almost day in and day out was baffling and honestly? Terrifying.

Solas shook his head. “No. Not of you as you are, my dragon.”, he denied simply, glittering jewels of deepest blue shifting like the sky just visible through the windows they stood beside. “They’re fearful of the power you possess. Elves have long been the victims of misused power. They wonder if you are the same as the Grand Duke, the Empress, the Duchess, or any here that have dealt a heavy hand without provocation.” A sigh and a warmer smile, midnight shifting to the paleness of moonlight. “However, I have seen gazes begin to linger among the groups each time you pass. They hold hope; a dream of opportunity. You are proving you are not the same, ma’isenatha. Unlike many, who believe themselves entitled. Continue to do as you’re doing, and a society will open up to you. Be patient, be mindful, and be true in a place rife with lies.”

Fane raised an eyebrow, keeping their gazes locked. “So, continue being a near ass to every atrociously dressed fop and priss that gets it in their head to waltz up to me?", he questioned before growling in the next moment. "The last prick I had the misfortune of walking within sight of nearly got a claw up the ass when they touched my arm.”

The mage smirked, but it seemed...dark, eyes sharpening like metal at his last statement. “I would not call how you’ve been carrying yourself being a ‘near ass’, vhenan. It is far more nuanced than that.”

“Oh? How would you label my attitude then?”, Fane asked, keeping his eyebrow raised before a light of mischief and nostalgia flashed within blue, turning his curious expression into a blank slate. “What’s that look for?”

Something about the air was shifting due to this conversation. It wasn’t magic or anything, but it was...heightening, taking on a heady blend, power and emotion, present and past mixing with odd harmonies. Solas had mentioned something like that when they first arrived...

Solas hummed, eyes taking on a softer edge, primal darkness dispersing in both the curve of his mouth and the depths of his eyes. “It is nothing.”, he dismissed, the glint of nostalgia apparent upon every sharp line and curve of his sky’s face. Razor sharp eyes of blue steel shifted away casually once more, a single finger beginning to tap against where hands overlapped. “Suffice it to say, I am...pleased with this side of you as I am with every facet of personality you gift me with. The evening has been full of surprises, and hopefully, it will end on a high note."

Fane scoffed, leaning back a bit to rest against a windowsill; the marble was cool against the back of his legs and it helped soothe both his mind and the scars upon his legs. The material of his pants were better than most, but not what he was used to. “You’re just tempting the world to answer with that call, my sky.”, he said with a sidelong glance in Solas’ direction.

Solas responded with a sidelong glance of his own. “And what if I am?”, he retorted. There was something...cheeky about the elf’s tone and it wasn’t something Fane heard often, if at all. Yes, things were shifting, but not detrimentally so.

Fane kept his face blank, but he felt..light; a feeling of warmth in his chest apparent. “Then I would have to intervene on its behalf.”, he quipped, dropping his voice a few octaves and narrowing his eyes. These words falling from their mouths, mixing with shadow, candlelight, hushed whispers, and quiet refrains were interesting. They came with ease, they fell with grace…

...they sang with pride. That would usually terrify Fane, one of seven sins that could, but right now, with the sky gazing up at him from the side, body lax and garbed in black much like his own was, and expression titillating, ethereal, he was anything but frightened.

He was enthralled.

Solas hummed, eyes tempting with silent wishes. “My voice would harken a dragon to respond, would it?”, the mage pushed, or rather, pulled him in with that hushed question; the silk that Fane associated with his sky’s voice wrapping around his hearing like a gossamer sheet.

Fane shrugged a bit, bringing his arms up to cross them as he did so with his legs a bit; boots scuffing against pristine marble. He leaned back further against the ledge of the window now, but part of him wanted to inch away, ascend to the sky gazing up at him from hooded lids. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Remember,”, he began before pausing, a tight feeling of warmth ensnaring his chest as Solas’ eyes flashed with quiet indigo and so he pressed back with velvet. “...Fen’harel?”

*screeches* Why do I love these two being suave fools?! The brain worms are strong in this Chili’s tonight!

Tagging (with no pressure, but all the court intrigue! >:3):

@oxygenforthewicked @the-dreadful-canine @little-lightning-lavellan @varric-tethras-editor @dreadfutures @dungeons-and-dragon-age @blueheaded @drag-on-age @shift-shaping @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold and anyone else who’d like to share and revel in the court! *cackles*

#wips wednesday #my writing #i'm very proud of this scene #it is equally steamy and silly :3 #i was debating whether to put down the steamy bits but i want to flesh those out a bit more >:3 #this all came from an ask because i blurbed and i was like 'I like this. LET'S FLESH IT OUT >:D'#*pats self on back*#dragon age #oc: fane lavellan #solas #solavellan #is that jealousy I see Solas~?#and what about you Fane~?#*cackles*

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whumpzone · 4 years ago

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Tomas and Rowe - Part 11

this chapter was tough, and I might never be totally happy with it, but I hope you all still enjoy it! I’m doing my best to keep to the fortnightly updates <3

Masterpost

taglist: @sola-whumping @just-another-whumper @misspelledwitch @looptheloup @briars7 @black-polarf @zipadeedooda-drabbles @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @rosesareviolentlyread @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @jazz-0307 @kestrelsparverius @whumpsy-daisies @whumpersworld @memoriesneverforget @sky-or-something-idfk @ghostcomit @cupcakes-and-pain @frankieswhump @ihaventwritteninsolong @mybrokenlittletoy @kiretto-laorentze @morelikepainsley @lave-e @tears-and-lilies @whump-me-all-night-long @newbornwhumperfly (just ask if you want to be added! thank you all!)

CW: pet whumpee, dehumanisation, hospitals

"Hey," came a voice. When Rowe didn’t immediately wake up, a slap landed across his face. It ground the muzzle deeper into his flesh and forced him awake, wide-eyed and cowering. He was lucky to be spoken to first, of course. Usually he’d be hit without any warning. "Wake up Mutt. You’re finished here."

. . .

"Why couldn’t he come meet me in the waiting room?" Tomas asked the orderly.

"The exit is just this way. We find that most Pet owners like to be discrete in this kind of situation."

The ‘discrete’ room was divided into small curtained cubicles. The orderly left without a word after pointing Tomas towards Rowe, and Tomas was grateful for that at least. Rowe looked horrific. His wrists were strapped into a wheelchair- like he had any intention of running away, given the splint fixed around his left leg. His head flopped to one side, eyes closed, and a thick muzzle was clamped over poor Rowe’s face. His Rowe, that someone had bound and muzzled and hurt. The surge of protectiveness scared Tomas. It felt too close to ownership.

He went to take a closer look at Rowe’s legs, when a hand appeared in his line of sight. Tomas shook it without thinking.

"Hello, you must be the owner. Mr… Grzegorzewski? I’m Dr Scarlett Easton, and this is Dr Jacob Clerval."

"Ah, pleased to meet you both," Tomas said weakly. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Rowe’s head twitch. He’s awake, then. "He was bad enough to need two doctors, then?"

Rowe flinched, ever so slightly, at the word bad.

"He? Aw, that’s quite cute," smiled Dr Easton. Tomas wished everyone would stop commenting on that. "Dr Clerval here is quite new, so he’s been observing. We thought he might be needed, but only one leg was broken, as it happens. We’ve put it in a splint. The other one just needed stitches."

"Right, that’s good then. And the restraints, I… was he being troublesome?"

Tomas chanced a glance in Rowe’s direction. His eyes were full and apologetic, and Tomas wanted to reassure him that everything was okay, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

"Spoke out of turn."

"Mm. But we could get the arms down without a problem. So there’s hope still," the young doctor said with a smile. Tomas realised a few seconds too late that he was making a joke. It felt too weird to speak about Rowe like he wasn’t even in the room. Discussing him without letting him have a say in the matter. Rowe, of course, looked completely used to it. He sat perfectly still, and it only angered Tomas more. It was normal! Rowe was on his best behaviour despite being muzzled like a bad dog because he’d be hurt if he wasn’t, and that was just normal and expected and understood. It made Tomas’s blood boil. He needed to get Rowe home.

. . .

Rowe’s heart jumped when he heard Master’s voice. The painful fog lifted. Master Master Master. He was here. He didn’t abandon Rowe. He was here and that was worth any punishment he’d give out when Rowe got home. He didn’t remember ever being so happy to see his old master, but he didn’t dwell on that. Master, they fixed my legs. Please take me back home. You said I can have wants. I want to go back home and serve you and let you do whatever you want to me.

The two doctors were talking about Rowe, and Master glanced over a few times, but not to look at Rowe’s legs. He was looking into Rowe’s eyes, staring at him from under his blond curls and Rowe couldn’t understand because that wasn’t where he’d been hurt. He wanted to survey the work the doctors had done, right?

"Okay, thank you," said Master, and his voice was so familiar, so calm and clear and measured, and even through his shame Rowe’s spirits lifted. "I don’t think this wheelchair will be necessary from now on, thanks."

. . .

"That’s handy, because we need it back anyway. And the muzzle."

Tomas tried to act like someone who didn’t care because he had one at home anyway. Rowe kept his eyes down as his mouth was released and again Tomas just wanted to scream at them, because for goodness sake he’s bleeding, and it was fastened over a barely-healed broken nose, and you’re all acting like it doesn’t fucking matter.

"Have you brought a cage for it?"

"If you haven’t brought a cage then he will need carrying, sir."

"That’s- I can get him home fine, thanks."

"Whatever," Tomas muttered, scooping Rowe into his arms without a second thought. He was still light even with the addition of the splint. Rowe didn’t react except to bury his face into Tomas’s neck as he turned on his heel and left.

"Hey, Rowe," he said gently as soon as they were outside. "How do you feel, pal?"

"M-Master," he said weakly.

"I’m here, I promise. Does it hurt?"

"It d-doesn’t matter…"

No Master for once. That was probably not a good sign, right now. "Can you tell me anyway?" Tomas was careful to avoid sounding like Rowe was being rude, or disobedient, or forcing him to tell him out of fear.

"U-uh, it hurts on m-my legs, M-Master. And m-my face."

"From the muzzle, right? Little bastards. I never said they could do that to you."

"I s-spoke without permission, Master."

"Well, I like it when you speak. I like hearing what you have to say." He kept his tone matter-of-fact. Rowe shuddered against his chest, and it could have been a laugh. Yes, I suppose that isn’t said to Pets very often. "And your poor legs. Well, we’re going to try this out, but let me know if it doesn’t work, okay?"

Tomas gently hoisted Rowe onto his back, climbing onto his bicycle very carefully. Rowe clung on; his frail arms hooked over Tomas’s shoulders and the brittle scabs forming over Rowe’s newest cuts tickled his jaw. This is fucking stupid.

"I’ll go slowly," Tomas promised, pushing the bike into motion and vowing never to go back to that wretched place.

. . .

Rowe savoured the last few moments, tucked protectively against his owner’s chest, before they got home and his punishment started. He had wasted Master’s time, he had spoken without permission, he had got blood everywhere upstairs, he was ugly, he was useless, and he was due a punishment. He was due more pain until he was a pitiful, twitching wreck, sobbing that he’d never trouble Master like that again. This was all he could think as he was carried into the house and- not dropped on the floor, as he’d expected, but placed onto the sofa. But- but- Pets couldn’t-

"You’re allowed on the sofa," Master Tomas said, like he’d read Rowe’s mind. "You’re always allowed. But right now, I don’t want any argument, okay?"

Rowe nodded nervously, and didn’t resist as Master unclipped the collar from around his neck. It was insolent and rude and selfish, but Rowe had got used to life without one. He tried to sit up and be pretty, but he was still faint and clumsy with pain.

"H-hurts, Master. M-my legs hurt."

"Rowe?" Master asked, and Rowe’s heart sank because of course, Master would notice immediately. Pets were too stupid to hide things from their Master. The truth always came out, eventually. "You doing okay?"

A pause. "They did… you got painkillers right, Rowe? They gave you anaesthetic?"

Rowe shook his head and immediately Master’s eyes darkened with rage. Wrong answer.

"What the fuck?" Master cried. Rowe flinched. He knew what that tone predated. "No, I’m not- I’m not angry with you. I’ll get you some painkillers."

"P-please, it’s n-not wasted on Pets," Rowe protested weakly, even though he knew Pets never argued with their Master. What was he thinking? Besides, he still opened his mouth obediently when Master approached him with two small pills and some water.

"Okay," he exhaled. Master crouched before him and took Rowe by the hand, ever so gently. Rowe still felt ice run through him at the contact, expecting him to clamp and wrench and pull, but he didn’t.

. . .

I have to do it, thought Tomas as he looked at Rowe. …but I don’t have to do it tonight.

. . .

"Rowe," Master began as he often did, and Rowe liked being reminded that he was important enough to be named. It made him feel wanted.

(made him feel like a person) (no it didn’t)

Master was looking at him so warmly that it made Rowe just want to shy away because he hadn’t earned this kindness. Why was Master even here? What did he want? Why was he here if not to get something from Rowe- to punish him for causing such a fuss?

"When people get hurt, it’s important to be extra nice to them. This doesn’t mean that you can only have nice things if you take pain first, okay?"

"O-okay, Master." But what does that matter?

"I want to do whatever you want tonight. Anything at all. I know having wants is still new, so this is a good chance to try them out." Master ran his thumb over Rowe’s hand. His fingers weren’t rough like old master’s were. They were soft. "Wanting something won’t make me angry. I won’t get angry, I won’t laugh at you, I won’t ignore you."

"I can want s-something?" Rowe timidly confirmed. "I’m not being punished?"

The worst case scenario flitted before his eyes, as it always did- Master’s grip turns painful and he smacks beats hits kicks whips burns hates me and it was all a cruel joke- but it didn’t linger, it didn’t make him seize up. It-

It passed. And all that happened was Master nodded.

"I want-" Rowe’s breath hitched. He knew what he wanted. He couldn’t believe he was even capable of wanting. And now that it wasn’t a dream, or a private thought, the desperation came crashing into him almost too fast to keep up with. It tore and wrenched and made him ache. "Please- please p-pet me, Master, please hold me and ruffle m-m-my hair. I want to b-be held so badly. Please."

. . .

Oh, Rowe, Tomas thought, feeling his heart break once again. I’ve really been cruel to you, haven’t I?

"Of course, pal, of course," he said gently, sitting down next to Rowe and putting an arm around him. "Why don’t you lean on me and get comfortable?"

It felt wrong, Tomas couldn’t deny that, it felt so wrong to let this small, traumatised human rest his head on Tomas’s chest and be pet like a- well, like a Pet. But he also couldn’t deny the way Rowe softened against him. Sure, Rowe went limp a lot, his training making him unresisting and pliable, but this was different. Tomas worked the fingers of his free hand into Rowe’s hair and stroked, all the way down to the top of his spine and back to his crown. Rowe let out a shuddering breath, like all the defences he’d had to keep raised since Tomas got him were being lowered, just for tonight.

The words kept dying on his lips, but Tomas promised himself that if Rowe didn’t respond then he wouldn’t say them again. "You’re- you’re a good boy, Rowe."

Another shudder, and a sniff. Rowe’s face pressed harder into Tomas.

"Such a good boy. You were so brave today."

And then- Rowe’s shoulders trembled, in the way Tomas had quickly learnt they only did when Rowe was crying silently.

"Th-thank you," Rowe whispered between sobs. "Thank y-you so much, Master."

"I mean it," he soothed. "You are so good, Rowe. I’m happy I have you as a Pet."

It was a confession to himself as much as it was a comfort for Rowe. The words sank in, for both of them. Rowe’s crying didn’t abate, and Tomas felt a few tears of his own drip down his face. They landed perfectly on the hand in Rowe’s hair. That’s for the best. Proper Masters don’t cry over their Pets.

Tomas couldn’t help it. All his anger at the hospital had settled into sadness. He wasn’t being selfish. Rowe so desperately needed to feel safe and comforted, even if by morning he would be back to his usual fearful servitude. But Tomas also wanted to drop the pretence, just for a night, and let himself be kind and gentle without confusing his poor precious Pet.

He continued stroking his hair until Rowe fell asleep, his head rising and falling in unison with Tomas’s slow breaths.

(ending loosely inspired by this post)

#tomas and rowe #whump #whump fic #pet whumpee #dehumanisation #master/pet #aftermath of torture #pet whump #aftermath of abuse #mine

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