#marquise of serault

[prismbearer]

Underrated DA Protagonist, the Marquis de Serault.

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

We've done the first 4! Now in the home stretch with the last 4, which is not quite enough to see us through to launch but close enough

Dhraoibhan of the Tirashan

Pronounced dru-vawn, Dhraoibhan is a Dalish warrior... technically. Deep in the far and hidden depths of the Tirashan forest, on the borders of the Marquisate of Serault, ancient things slumber. It is no secret that the de Serault noble family have long dabbled in wild magics, taught at the knees of creatures that might be spirits and might be forest gods, and even their knowledge of the deepest and darkest groves of the woods is limited

There are elves in the Tirashan. Some might call them Dalish. Its debatable whether they'd call themselves that, but you'll not get a straight answer from them. They are pale, like ghosts, and their vallaslin is violently blood red, bright and unsettling. They do not call out to the Evanuris, but instead call out to other names. Older names.

Forgotten names.

Dhraoibhan is a blood reaver, something akin to a berserker as it would be known to the rest of mainland Thedas. They are actively unsettling, almost bordering on alien in their demeanour, and they seem to find the confusion and discomfort of others genuinely hilarious. They travel everywhere with their dog, a creature just as lanky and gangly as they are, but deceptively strong and fast just as their master is

(the dog is sort of like a mix of an irish wolfhound and borzoi)

Dhraoibhan has left the sanctuary of the Tirashan after rumours of Fen'harel's steps upon the world reached their people. The Evanuris were not the only gods the old wolf tricked and trapped, after all, and they are angry.

Functionally, Dhraoibhan will be a warrior Dalish Veil Jumper, but my canon will operate differently. For one thing, Dhraoibhan would refer to themselves as a Voidwalker, not a Veil Jumper, and I don't think we're getting blood magic type skill trees in this game? Regardless, I can't not dabble in forbidden magics every game, so Dhraoibhan is my blood magic warrior to Micaela my blood magic mage. Do I have a blood magic rogue? Wait and see...

[dreadfutures]

Happy Friday! For Morrigan, "The Applewoods are dappled with shadow and filled with succulent midnights. Come closer."

For @dadrunkwriting, Morrigan leaves Kieran behind in Serault and goes to cure the curse in the forest. An in-between moment that won't be shown in my fic.

-:-:-

Morrigan knows better than to tempt Serault's Twilight.

She was raised in a place much like this, though the resemblance is not in the flora or fauna found in either locale. Instead it is the oppressive awareness of trees that are more than trees, the neverending eavesdropping of land that is not only alive but *aware*, and the shadows ravenous for secrets, that united the Korcari Wilds and this wooded land she now walks.

Her mother had taught her well enough the dangers born of magic-steeped land. But her mother had also pushed her out into that wild darkness and left her to fend for herself.

Morrigan knows it is dangerous to stray into the greenery, beyond the protection of the Marquise, as the sun begins to set.

But the Applewoods are dappled with shadow and filled with succulent midnights. She is sure of her power.

She strides through the forest, her arms outstretched, and calls out to those who might dare challenge her.

"Come closer," she dares.

Whatever wild things lurk in the forest know that she is a wild thing, too. Her feathers are as dark as their reclusive haunts; her claws are as sharp as the secrets they keep. If she is exposed, here in the Twilight--then so are they.

Only one such creature braves the encounter: a black halla, with red eyes and long, carnivorous fangs.

"Come closer," it taunts in a tongue more ancient than any she should know--but she knows it in her bones.

When the halla turns and springs away into the dark, Morrigan hesitates.

She knows better than to let this opportunity pass her by. She is sure of her power.

And yet.

As Morrigan takes wing, and the last sounds and smells of Serault fade into the distance, she cannot help but think that she is not the one being swallowed by the Twilight. Instead, it seems terribly clear that what she is leaving behind will be at its mercy in her absence.

She can only hope that she has taught Kieran better than she herself was taught. He would be alone, now.

And she did not know for how long.

[crossdressingdeath]

@v-arbellanaris's excellent Justinia metas have me thinking about The Last Court again and how completely bullshit the whole setup is.

I mean, The Last Court takes place basically on the eve of the Conclave. Justinia went there on her way to the Conclave, going well out of her way to do so and presumably bringing her retinue with her, because she was considering lifting Serault's shame. The shame of a man who ruled three generations ago. And to "prove" they deserve to be graciously allowed back into Orlesian society the current marquis (the Shame's great-grandchild who was born well after he died) has to host Justinia and her retinue on a week's notice with the resources of a tiny marquisate in the ass-end of Orlais that's been all but completely cut off from the rest of Orlais for three generations. I mean, first, why is Justinia doing this now? It feels important that Justinia went so far out of her way to do this during such a serious situation, but the game doesn't really get into that beyond the vaguest "Serault's weird and something weird has happened to the emissary you sent there, let's never talk about it again". What was so important about Serault that Justinia likely delayed the Conclave so she could go there first?

And second... what does this prove? Sure, the marquis can scrape together enough of a party to please the Divine, but why would she demand that of them? Especially since it ultimately just comes down to the Divine's personal satisfaction; you can have maxed out Dignity, Freedom and Prosperity, dealt with the Horned Knight so he doesn't even try to present his gift, and never touched the Chantry, but if you don't have enough of a party to make the Divine happy then sorry, the Shame continues. Serault can be running beautifully, you can be adored by the whole town, you can have everything totally under control... but if you don't successfully impress, bribe or blackmail the Divine with your treatment of her personally you get fuck all. And again: Serault is in the ass-end of Orlais. It's right up against the Tirashan, merchants passing through have an unfortunate tendency to get robbed or disappeared, the surrounding area is cursed as fuck, and basically everything about this place makes keeping things under control basically impossible. The marquis can with a great deal of effort maintain equilibrium, but that's about it! And Justinia expects them to not just host her and her retinue, but to throw a party she deems worthy of her? I just... why? How is this proof that Serault is redeemed while evidence that they've done the best they can for their people isn't? And conversely your Freedom can be at zero and your Rumours of Revolution can be at a hundred and you can still win, so apparently Justinia gives zero shits about the wellbeing of Serault's people. Was she just checking to make sure the marquis grovelled appropriately?

But I do love how even the "failure" endings where you don't win over the Divine are phrased more as "Well, fuck her and the horse she rode in on anyway, we don't need her" than "Oh Maker forgive me for failing to give the Divine everything I have as is right and proper". Especially the endings for proudly admitting to opening the Sealed Chantry (side note, they actually sealed the whole Chantry because of the Shame...? The fuck was that about) and letting the Horned Knight deliver his gift, where the marquis seems almost pleased with the result. The impression is very much that the marquis wants to win over the Divine for the benefits being allowed back into Orlesian society will give Serault, not because they actually care about the approval of the Chantry. Which does fit the ruler of a place where the main religion is actually an obscure heretical offshoot of Andrastianism... Anyway, maybe the real reason we weren't allowed to go to Serault in DAI was because they were too anti-Chantry for DAI's message.

[clavicuss-vile]

My Dragon Age OCs

finally an actual list;

ORIGINS - Ara'kian Surana - Hero of Ferelden - He/They | City Elf | Circle Mage | Maleficar Spirit Healer | Former Warden-Commander of Ferelden | Leader of the Mage Rebellion | ♡ Zevran

Nymanar Vella Ilsasireia Sabrae - Warden of the Fifth Blight - He/Him | Dalish Elf | Grey Warden | Archer Rogue | Victim of the Blight | ♡ Lucas

Cywren Tabris - Veteran of the Fifth Blight - He/Him | City Elf | Dual-Wield Rogue | ♡ Alistair

Lucas Amell - Veteran of the Fifth Blight - He/They | Half Elf | Circle Mage | Apostate Maleficar | ♡ Nymanar

Na'ava Escarrà Asturia - Veteran of the Fifth Blight, Princess-Consort of Ferelden - She/Her | Half Elf | Circle Mage | Princess of Rivain | Former Chancellor of Ferelden | ✖ Leliana | ♡ Anora

Xenhia "Kestrel" Aronhalaan Tirashan'Tillahnnen - Veteran of the Fifth Blight - She/They | Dalish Elf | Circle Mage | Shapeshifter | ♡ Morrigan

Emilie Howe (née Cousland) - Arlessa of Amaranthine, Bann of Cannock's Coast - She/Her | Human | Archer Rogue | ♡ Nathaniel

EXODUS (II) - Solace Hawke - Champion of Kirkwall - He/Him | Human | Apostate | Former Commander of the Mage Rebellion | ♡ Fenris (briefly Anders and Isabela)

Marian Hawke - Solace's Twin - She/Her | Human | Apostate taken to The Gallows | Dies in Act 2 | ♡ Isabela briefly

Lucas Amell (he's back) - Runaway Apostate - He/They | Half Elf | Apostate Maleficar | Dual-Wield Rogue | 4th Amell Child | ♡ Anders (briefly Fenris and Isabela)

Faust Amell - Circle Mage -> Pirate - They/She | Half Elf | Circle Mage | 2nd Amell Child | Escapes in The Last Straw | ♡ Isabela (post-game)

Our-Lady's-Mercy "Kit" Amell - Circle Mage -> Pirate - They/She | Half Elf | Born in Circle | Marian's daughter

THE LAST COURT - Anthonette de Serault - The Shame of Serault - She/Her | Human | Apostate | Former Marquise of Serault | Abomination

Séraphin de Serault - Marquis of Serault - He/Him | Human | Apostate | The Scholar | ♡ Wayward Bard

Anaïs de Serault - The Huntress - She/Her | Human | Archer Rogue | ♡ Smiling Guildmistress

INQUISITION - Atlas Mahariel Alerion Sabrae Seraphys - Inquisitor - He/Him | Dalish Elf | Rift Mage | Grey Warden Deserter | First (later Keeper) of Clan Seraphys | ♡ Tamlen (married <3)

Arë'veia Isa'Cinnanain Seraphys - Inquistor - She/Her | Dalish Elf | Greatsword Warrior | Daughter of Keeper Dola'rosa | ✖ Solas

Aurélie Montilyet (née Trevelyan) - Inquisitor - She/Her | Human | Knight-Enchanter | Escaped Tevinter Slave | Escaped Circle Mage | ♡ Elia (rip), Josephine

Aeneas Rutherford-Trevelyan (née Trevelyan) - Agent of the Inquisition - He/Him | Human | Dual-Wield Rogue | Templar Deserter | ♡ Cullen

Revalin Amell - Agent of the Inquisition - He/They | Half Elf | Apostate | Herbalist | ✖ Oskar | ♡ Dorian

DREADWOLF - Asra Aemaris-Ilonveil Seraphys - The Traveller - They/Them | Wood Elf | Mage | Migrant from Tamriel | Taken in by Clan Seraphys | Triplet Sibling of Rhaeneryia and Arabella | ♡ ???

Sorren "Rook" Surana - Protagonist - He/They | Half Elf | Sword & Shield Mage | Ara'kian's Child | ♡ ???

Lenaya "Sparrow" Surana - Teyrna of Gwaren - She/They | Half Elf | Archer Rogue | Twin of Sorren | Leader of the Night Elves | Chancellor of Ferelden | ♡ Eirian

Eirian Surana (née Cousland) - Teyrna of Gwaren - She/Her | Half Elf | Archer Rogue | Daughter of Fergus | Former Lady-in-Waiting of Princess Rosemary | Leader of the Gwaren Wyvern Knights | ♡ Lenaya

Rythian Mac Tir - Crown Prince of Ferelden - He/Him | Human | Warrior | Son of Anora | Betrothed to Rosemary | ♡ Kieran, Rosemary

Rosemary Mac Tir (née Howe) - Princess of Ferelden - She/Her | Human | Daughter of Emilie and Nathaniel | ♡ Rythian

[camelliagwerm]

i was wondering out of all your ocs, which one have you had the longest? for example, i have one that i've consistently worked on since i was like 12 LOL

This is actually an interesting one because if I have an oc that I fundamentally enjoy but I don't feel like they suit the world they're in anymore, I'll take them out, put them on a 'shelf' and wait until I find a new home for them. Taking that one into account, then the one I've had the longest is Leonelle, but she has gone through numerous changes over the years (started out as a Trevelyan for Inquisition -> general DA oc -> DA: the Last Court (Marquise de Serault) -> VtMB -> general v5 -> Pathfinder: Kingmaker) but I've had her since I was 19 and now I'm 26.

However, if we're talking ocs that have stayed in one place for the longest, then it's Arthur - who has pretty much been my Inquisitor after I 'retired' Leonelle from the role (originally, they were half-siblings). I think I played him once in Origins and once in Tyranny, but he never really fit there in the way he does Inquisition.

Oldest oldest oc, in the most basic way possible, was a custom champion that I made for Battle for Middle Earth II when I was 10 who bore a lot of similiarities to Tauriel - promptly causing me to go hey what the fuck when Desolation of Smaug came out; but like with a couple of other old ocs of mine, she hasn't seen the light of day for years at this point and probably never will.

[stainedglassserault]

*** You may need to open the image in a new tab to get high res ***

... to do that on mobile, I think you click on the image. To do that on desktop, right click and select open image in new tab or something similar.

This reference is made out of a piece of the high resolution map by the wyrd sisters. It has estimated locations of Serault and its neighboring Marquisate town, Alyons. I didn't draw the border between the two but you can imagine it. I have it between Serault and Andoral's Reach, such that Alyons does not have much contiguous land and only has the 3 vassal villages nearby. That Marquisate is currently more powerful than Serault, and has additional lands that are not contiguous elsewhere. I forget what the term for that is, but there is one.

Also featured: the Last River that is meant to flow through Serault and make it a river port, plus some other rivers I made up and many newly named lakes. I didn't name every lake, but I named a lot of lakes if you see an unnamed lake, look for a near lake, add "petite" to its name, and there you go. I realized part way through they should probably be Lac __ if named in "Orlesian" and Lake __ if named in "Common" ... just assume people call them by both depending.

Wherever you put it, it is important that the Last River actually ends up flowing down past somewhere relevant, like near Andoral's Reach, and crossing the Imperial Highway! This is because if it was just a river that went or came from nowhere useful, like the marshes, it wouldn't be passable for commerce to be coming into Serault.

I am assuming the source of the Last is in the Blasted Hills, snow melt or one or more springs or both, and flows south-south west. The River Dawn I have it intersecting with in the Tirashan is a river I made up and it starts with a natural spring and ends meeting up with the Last and then going underground right at that point.

Since making this I have seen people put Serault on the little scrap of river leading into the lake I have named Lake Nahashin. I kind of accept that, because yes that way you don't need to imagine the original canon maps left off a whole river, but really? A passable series of rivers and lakes through a marsh area? I am not a river boat captain or anything so I may be wrong but I assume it wouldn't ever have been popular with trade through a Marsh. Maybe someone who does that is imagining the "Nahashin Marshes" label really only represents scattered marshes between the lakes, and not a major nearly unbroken stretch of marsh. Anyway I like my Last River also because it gives me a good spot to put Alyons that also lets Alyons be relevant and more important than Serault at this point. Also it lets you put Serault actually away from the lakes and marsh, which are never mentioned in The Last Court, and right next to the Tirashan woods, which are repeatedly mentioned as being "right out the back door" from Chateau Serault.

Why is it, and Serault for that matter, missing off the actual official maps?

1) because it's way out west and nobody cares. That explains Alyons I guess, too. 2) it was purged as part of the "Shame of Serault" shunning which would be a few generations back. Alyons got left off too because they took off the Last River to punish Serault and impact its trade. The merchants they still get are hold outs and people really into getting their hands on the best glass. Perhaps authorities felt nobody would follow a ban on Serault glass, so it was better to deter trade and effect the punishment using official map changes.

You can also see I added some made up villages for Serault to have as vassals, each with their own local lord or lady (styled "baron" informally, if they want, even if official petty titles are banned) ... or Ser if a chevalier or general knight.

Find more about those villages, and the draconologist's outpost, Chateau Estival, HERE.

More about the rivers and lakes, HERE.

More about Alyons and its villages HERE whenever I make that post.

[nam-imperii]

RAPHAËL DE BOUGAINVILLE:

-Orlesian

-Marquis of Serault

-The Shame Of Serault, Marquis Sylvaine De Bougainville, was his ancestor. Being a powerful wizard, even in death a shadow of the Shame manages to visit Raphaël in dreams occasionally

-Raphaël dislikes those dreams and always refuses him, blaming him for the fall of their family

-Raphaël mother, Cristhine, was an Evil Orlesian Standard and abused him to study and be racist. Little Raphaël wanted to make everyone happy but he was still not racist, only studying hard and a continued "yes mother"

-Raphaël father was usless. Raphaël mother was basically a barbie villain love is for peasants is her song

-Raphaël owned a big orange cat who looked always angry when he was little... His mother killed the cat to punish Raphaël once.

-Raphaël never took part at his mother funeral and becomed the Marquis of a ruined land. He needed years only to put Serault out of the ruins

-When the Mage Rebellion started, he sided with the Chantry in hope of having the Divine blessing and the family name restored (and also because he's still an orlesian noble and victim of chantry propaganda)

-This doesn't stop him from having his magical great-grandma in his palace because yes she's the apostate daughter of the Shame but she's still family

-Succesfuly restored Serault name and lately supported the Inquisition

-Despite having supported the chantry, when the war ended he offered Serault glass to tranquils to study and a sanctuary. Some of the tranquils decided to accept the offer and Serault glasswork combined with their work made Serault incredibly rich while the tranquils where being cured.

-A good player of the game but his true passion is writing history. A true ravenclaw

-Becomed more comfortable with magic after the war, now that the free mages where free to do the fuck they wanted and live where they wanted

-The new Divine Victoria I (Leliana) made him create new glass windows for the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux so obviously Empress Celene requested the same shortly after and Raphaël becomed an important Marquis in court

-The Alienage of Serault is one of the few alienages who aren't slums and elves live a good life.

-A big supporter of Empress Cèlene, especially for her work on the University Of Orlais

-Romances Krem in Inquisition

-The bambooze is his spirit animal because they're incredibly smart and engage in politics in their tribes but are also very protective of their family

-Insufferably orlesian sometimes

[silvanils]

Happy Friday!! Would love to see your take on "let chaos be undone," from the chantry prompts ✝️🙏🔥

@dadrunkwriting

WHOO, I was still in a mood to write about Serault so have this fic I threw together based on a headcanon of mine that the Horned Knight's true purpose is actually Reflection.

Word Count: 777 Rating: G

Reflection had always admired the noble Marquis.

He was a bright flame, a beacon of light — and the spirit hoped he could help this man’s dreams become a little more real.

His ideas and passions were endless, insatiable! They paved new paths together, began to create a dazzling network the likes of which hadn’t been seen in all of Reflection’s long memory…

And then the Marquis had to leave, suddenly. Reflection awaited his return as eagerly as his own people did, grew restless as the man’s absence stretched on longer than anyone had anticipated. The Marquis’s young son grew sullen, quiet, distrustful of his father’s friend… and the spirit did not enjoy the gloom that had settled over their lands like a dark cloud.

He retreated into his forest, to continue waiting alone.

.

The Marquis did return, eventually, but when he sought out Reflection he did not wish to pick up where they’d left off or plan new, even more wondrous schemes — he was tired, drained by whatever business had called him away… and all he had for the spirit was a locked box.

“I can’t trust anyone else with this,” the proud Marquis said. “Keep it safe for me, won’t you?”

He mostly kept to his own lands after that. He had a family to care for, a court to mind, secrets to keep — and in his unbearable loneliness, Reflection sought out company of his own. Soon enough, he met a lovely dryad who was most pleased to call herself his Lady… and together, they began to care for any that could not care for themselves. Orphaned deer, injured wolves, people who had no-where else to go…

Not long after that, the Lord of the Forest stumbled upon a young girl living alone in his woods. She had the same eyes as the Marquis, the same hair, but none of his regal bearing. A castaway, like him. But the sight of him scared her half to death and she threw a ball of fire at him — and after that, he decided to leave her alone.

.

He sensed the moment the powers shifted, felt the Marquis give in to his Pride. Some might have called this end inevitable when a mage held so much power. Some might have believed he was too-far-gone the moment he bound any spirit to his whims. But the spirit considered THAT to be the greatest Shame of all — that his old friend’s brilliance was drowned by a single failure.

.

The solemn Marquis still despised his father’s “creation.” But he was too busy dealing with the fallout from his father’s other mistakes to do much about one that knew how to mind itself. He left the Horned Knight alone, mostly —

But he did build the first of many walls between their kingdoms, one that firmly divided their realm in two halves: the forest and the roads and fields. For many, many years that was simply the way things were.

In his old age, however, the solemn Marquis finally sired a single child — a girl who looked much like the aunt she’d never met, but had the same fiery spirit as her grandfather.

.

The fierce Marquis ventured into the forest often, accompanied by equally ferocious friends. They waged war on the woodsfolk several times, hoping to tame the wild creatures, ease the fears that had begun to fester in the people of their realm. Each slight they did to him, the Horned Knight returned — until, finally, they stopped attacking his lands with such fervor.

She let her children play in the woods sometimes, too. The girl took to them more than the boy did, always flitting about, sneaking deeper and deeper... She was not afraid of what lurked in their domain, and her eyes were as bright as the Shame’s had once been.

Whenever he watched those youths play at the edge of his forest, the Horned Knight felt a little spark of hope.

.

The young Marquis was as just as he was gentle — his people felt as though he truly understood them, and he did everything he could to help ensure his lands prospered. He built a strong foundation of trust in a world where most people got ahead by stabbing each other.

And still, the Horned Knight was surprised that this Marquis seemed to understand him.

“We are not so different,” the Scholar mused. “You and I, and I and he. Can we leave the past behind us, let chaos be undone? Together, I believe we could achieve something truly marvelous.”

Reflection had always admired the noble Marquis.

He was a bright flame, a beacon of light — and the spirit hoped he could help this man’s dreams become a little more real.

[allmywardensaresafeandsound]

Dimitrian de Serault

[vitosscaletta]

It was so messed up in da:i that you have to read like 20 books and play God knows how many visual novels (like who has time to read all that) to understand what's going on because I've seen so many people reunite briala and celene because they don't explain what really went down and their reunion is cute but then you read the masked empire or whatever that book was called and find out that celene is the devil

[dalishious]

A while back I thought to convert my Last Court Marquise into an Inquisitor, and finally decided to do so. Corinne of Serault is now Corinne Trevelyan

[dreadfutures]

The Mysterious Marquis.

[crossdressingdeath]

Once again asking Bioware to let us go back to Serault, the marquis really is the most character of all time. Things they have to deal with include:

A cursed marquisate on the edge of the Tirashan

A possible Dalish cult(?) in the woods

A primary religion of the area that is an obscure offshoot of Andrastianism which for reasons unknown the Chantry has not dealt with in the usual murdery fashion

Close allies including a dwarf who's constantly plotting treason, a suspiciously well-informed pig farmer from Tevinter, a woman who's basically Robin Hood and someone who may have been a bodyguard of the Empress or someone of similar importance (details unknown)

The Circle for non-mages who make glass

Morrigan

A mysterious sibling who people do not want to inherit for unknown reasons

A great-aunt locked in the sealed Chantry

A sealed Chantry

An abomination great-grandfather who destroyed the family's reputation (leading to aforementioned sealed Chantry)

A potential link to Hessarian (yes, that Hessarian)

A spirit claiming ownership of the woods surrounding the town

And that's just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head! I would love to go back, get some more details, hang out with the Horned Knight, it'd be great.

[clavicuss-vile]

i managed it. i managed to fit the de seraults in as an offshoot of the family line from the ghilan'nains (from The ghilan'nain's child) that eventually splits into the isa'cinnanains (dalish) and the de seraults (backwater orlesian nobility with LOTS OF CONNECTIONS TO HALLA LIKE. EVERYWHERE?? their heraldry. their mask. the tirashan right there)

they split off at varying times and end up in different areas (isa'cinnanains staying near arlathan in antiva and de seraults obv in orlais). theyre gonna absorb Alyons at the end and after The Big Orlais Split end up as an independant marquisate bordering the new dales, nevarra, and the remaining duchy of orlais :) OH YEAH my marquis is Séraphin de Serault and he romances the wayward bard who i have given the name Luc :))

[aglaecan]

Agent of the Inquisition. Phaugh!

Nicholas Tempest, Archmage of the Undercity, reduced to a mere agent? At least they’d given him to the terrifying and pretty Sister Nightingale as one of her people; the woman, Orlesian or not, seemed to know what to do with a man like Nicholas.

He’d have let her do just about anything she liked with him, in fact. 

Sadly, seemed that wasn’t on the table. But, well, at least it wasn’t Commander fucking void Cullen, the former Knight-Commander’s former bootlicking dog. Tempest and Cullen had locked eyes once; and in that silent moment he had all but dared the Templar to come for him. But Cullen had just turned away. 

I should just go back to Kirkwall, Tempest thought, and not for the first time, either. He’d brought the information Varric had needed, he’d worked with Hawke before she’d left to go… do something with Wardens, no idea what. Why was he even still here, trying to save the bloody world? Because you’re one of the idiots who lives in it, that’s why.

Well. It wasn’t a good point, but it was a point, anyway. Tempest stared at the roof of his tent a moment, having managed to hoard a bit of warmth from a carefully constructed fire sigil and strategically piled blankets and cloaks; he didn’t want to give that up and get out into the cold, wet wastes outside. Couldn’t they have sent me somewhere warm? Antiva, maybe. Rivain.

But no. They’d sent him to Orlais, and not even the pretty part, with all the civilization and art and culture. And wine. No. The bloody-void Nahasin Marshes. Just to the south, the badlands of the Hissing Wastes. To the north, the queer marquisate of Serault. And right in the bloody middle somewhere -- the mage they were supposed to find and somehow convince them to join the Inquisition. 

Finally giving it up for a bad job, Tempest rolled out of his nest of blankets and out of the tent entirely. He gave a friendly leer to the Requisitions officer as he rolled his shoulders and stretched, blinking in the morning brightness.

There was another here to help him; Orlesian herself, apparently, just like the mage they were sent to find. Perhaps why they’d sent her along with the big bad Tevinter-by-way-of-Darktown criminal apostate? 

“Couldn't they have sent me somewhere warm?” he asked the air. 

@mercysought || plotted starter for Emilie