#of elves and humans: redux

[sundogsandrainbows]

Of Elves And Humans: Redux, Chapter 53: Sounds Of Yesterday, Part II

[QUICK LINK TO THE CHAPTER UPDATE]

STORY SUMMARY: Trust is a delicate flower that needs to get nurtured and time to grow. Even more so love. A tale of two disparate Wardens forced together, of finding a way to overcome the distrust, and their own painful past in the time of the Blight. Very in-depth, character-focused exploration of the Dalish origin/warden, of all DA:O companions, and their relationship dynamics during the Fifth Blight. Follows and expands on canon events; AU in some ways. Multiple POV's, origins, and pairings. Slow burn af. 350k of Aliwarden Blight fic goodness, thus far. 2 treaties done, 1 and a half (Urn) and a lot of DLC content to go.

CHAPTER SUMMARY -- SOUNDS OF YESTERDAY, PART II: In the search for Cailan's chest key, the Wardens find far more than they bargained for in a destroyed, tainted Lothering, but also comfort in each other. Back at camp, Alistair checks in with a devastated Leliana.

Continuation of the previous chapter with lots of new elements and a few action scenes. Also this subplot is all part of Alistair becoming "hardened" (aka taking on more responsibility and standing up for himself) since that is a long development process, not a few magic words like ingame lol.

READ IT HERE || [OR READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

[fossy93]

A little video I made of Merrill's introductory quest with, what I think are, improvements.

Mods used:

Default Merrill Armor w/ No Holes

Elves with Human Skin REDUX

Merrill Concept Art Hair

Elven Concept Art Eyes

[kit-o-nine-tales]

List of DAO mods *I* have installed

 This is a giant list of mods I’ve got installed for Dragon Age origins, including links and my thoughts. Let me save you time when looking for things. It’s the least I can do for the fandom as someone who can’t contribute via creating mods, or fanart. (I write fanfic, but it doesn’t feel like much) This is also to help me achieve some degree of organization, as I am a mess and my memory is garbage.

General improvements (if you don’t wanna go ham (like I did lol), these are the basic essentials)

True colors REDUX - makes the vanilla tints less grey, very nice

Dragon Age Origins Unofficial Remaster - updates textures and makes things so much prettier (True Colors Redux is also included as part of this)

(Dalishious’ mods in general are great go look at them.)

Qwinn’s Ultimate DAO fixpack - this one. If you install nothing else, install this one. it fixes so many things that were left broken in the final release of the game.

Real Pigment - a skin tint fix - no more patchy skin, plus darker skin tones look so much better.

Universal dye kit - change your armor colors! it’s fun!

HQ Eyebrow stubble and scalp hair replacers

Boob patches be gone - removes those extra lines on the boobies of the standard mage robe, because they were silly looking

Neutral female armor - no more boob plate on the medium and heavy armor (also included in the unofficial remaster)

Goblet De-Gobbler - fixes common glitches with the Joining chalice

SJC’s vanilla face textures replacement - more detailed replacements for the default complexions (UOR has it’s own vanilla face texture replacers as well.)

Cosmetic mods - for all your chargen needs

Hairs

Look! Hair! - I’ve installed a ton of hairs from risibisi. Though not all of them (there are. so many. it’s awesome)

Tucked hair by tmp7704

Hairstyle day parts 1 & 2

DAO anto hairstyles

Elven hairstyles

Beautiful people hair ren (a chargen for it)

additional hairs for DA by boodrl

jenya’s random hairstyles (note, a few of these are bugged, check the posts tab)

Character creation expansion plus da2 eye tints

Miikocc hairs

AH00B Hairs

LOTC Hairstyles

Witcher 2 for DA

Raptures Witcher (just the aesthetics file, chargen here)

LHK’s mini hairpack

More hairstyles

Simpliciaty hairs

Hair tweaks and additions

elf hairs by dalishous

Anto Curls

Parisa Hair

KH blogspot

Fluffy bob for origin’s elves

Skins/face textures

Barnzi face textures

Ferelden models: KH textures + the face textures from face and eye textures (I am not using the eyes)

 Fairy face

Alice complexion

Rose complexion

FBD skins

Anna complexion

Another complexion

Pretty skins

Vitligo skins

Face textures

Blackmoon’s Human Female face textures (I renamed them to be additions, not replacements)

KH creator files (includes hair, skins, etc - but you’ll need to do some manual chargen file editing due to some incompatible quotation marks used within the provided chargen files. Overlaps with the FM files.) 

A new freckled skin texture for females

Warden complexions with eyebrows 

Lipstick - mole and freckles textures 

SJC’s skins

Dr. DJ’s bandit emporium - cool scars for your wardens (check the posts tab for how to extract the chargenmorph file)

New skins DAO by Vlissa 

Warpaint skins 

New textures by MissB 

Face texture beta 

Gizmodian faceworks

Dimitri skin texture

Jeane eyes_eyelashes and complexion

Chargen package - more cool scars in this one

Planes traveler appearance package

Tints

SJC’s skin tones

Dalishious Skin Tints

Pineappletree’s vibrant colors

Colorful hair

Colorful hair - highlighted

SJC’s hair colors

Big Brown Eyes

Bright Tattoo Tints

CC extra tints and tones

Simple hair spectrum

Lovely tints

Colorful makeup

SJC’s Lip Colours

Eyeshdow Collection

Lipstick collection

Blush collection

Sun’s Tints

Presets that add things (like longer eyelashes, or unique eye textures)

LOTC’s female eyelashes

Bidelle’s Cosmetics (though tbh, I haven’t actually used any of these ones in game yet)

Six presets with heterochromia - these are fun.

LOTC’s eye textures

PNangel eyes to headmorphs (pretty sure my Jean Grey Warden’s green eyes came from one of these ones)

NPC Morphs

DA2 Elves triple mix (with original skin tint Merrill) - makes the elves in DAO look more they do in DA2. Requires some files from elf update, but not all of them. the mod description tells you which ones.

Brown Merrill Continuity fix - puts Merrill in her DA2 robes and fixes the skin-tone contrast. requires loincloth fashion. Also offers another Merrill morph.

Isabella variation - means to make Isabella look like she does in DA2, but a few years younger (I might try to find an alternative tho, I feel like her skin tone is a bit too light)

Qunari update - makes the Qunari look more like they do in the later games

Ferelden racelift - adds some diversity to Ferelden (I don’t use all the morphs in here - it looks weird with elf update installed bc of how the elf eye texture size changes but the morphs from this mod don’t change to fit the larger eyes. But. Still a nice addition)

Ser Gilmore morph with light proportion tweaks - small changes that make him look a little less...off

Unique face textures for companions DAO edition - give them friends of yours some unique skin textures! they deserve them! (I use Alistair, Wynne, Oghren, Loghain (though I almost never recruit him) and Leliana)

Alkolnoix Morrigan - a nice Morrigan morph that gives her darker skin, befitting her implied Chasind parentage

Tranquil 2.0 - gives the tranquil the brand that the game says is supposed to be there

Sten of the Beresaad - for a more unique Sten look to go with Qunari update

Visibly elf-blooded - Ignore the “magic dna” bs that erases biracial elf-blooded characters, and give Alistair, Slim Couldry, Goldanna, some background npcs, and (optionally) Leliana some elven ears. Has a version that uses the unique companion face textures mod, which sealed the deal for me.

Window of the Soul - Eyes Replacement - the eye retexture I’m currently using. (Though there’s another one I’ve been eying. haha.)

Retcon armors/future game imports/retextures

Grey Wardens of Ferelden (w/ Dalishious’ retexture) - make them wardens wear their uniforms! We’re supposed to be an order! All official-like and stuff.

Duncan Outfit - a unique but still GWOF matchy look for Duncan.

Hooded enchanter mesh - replacement meshes for f!Human and f!Elf chasind and tevinter robes (I’m just using the chasind ones from this, skipping the UOR retextures.)

Improved mabari for DAO - a less weird looking dog mesh

Retcon light armor texture rehaul - make the light armors look like they do in the later games

I’m not using this anymore, since the retextures from the UOR accomplish what I wanted this mod for while blending in with DAO better: making the light armors more unisex.)

Loincloth fashion - adds armors from future games, added via console command

Keeper and Merrill outfit fixes - another DA2 Merrill outfit retexture (with skin-tinting) and the option to make Merrill’s robe appear on female characters who try to wear the male-exclusive “keeper’s robe” from Loincloth fashion.

Kirkwall exports - same as LCF, adds armors from future games. Some overlap between the two.

The guardians of Cadash Thaig - again, as above

Dalish armor replacement - makes the dalish armor look like it does in DA2 (no more bare midriff on women wearing dalish armor!!!)

Seamfix and high resolution textures - a DA2 dalish armor retexture

Robes of the wild - HD retexture of Morrigan’s robes with hood

I’m just using the hood from this, after manually removing the robe files. (It doesn’t perfectly match color-wise, but I’m satisfied. For now - if anyone wants to know which files to keep so you can have the hood on its own, just ask.)

Practical Morrigan robes - a really neat looking Morrigan robe retexture, and the one I’m using now.

Dwarves are not mages - get them mage robes off of King Endrin and Lord Harrrowmont

Crow Assassin’s Armor for Zevran - gives him unique armor based off of TWoT2 concept art

Apostate clothing file - three DA2 ports

Dalish Keeper Robes - redresses Marethari, Zathrian, Lanaya, and Velanna.

Gameplay altering stuff

Awakening in the OC + expanded integration - add stuff and spells and skills from DA:A to the base game

The Winter Forge - change how items look! rename them! change their stats, their item tier! copy stats from one item to another!

(I play with the cheatmode bc I am a dirty cheater and I am not ashamed of this. But you don’t have to do it that way.)

Open lock spells - let your mages bust open some treasure chests. you know they’re dying to.

Spell School Divine - some healing spells, some offensive spells, some companion buffing spells (I don’t use these spells often, but I do have them installed)

Arcane Warrior plus - more spells for your arcane warrior

Arcane Warrior weapons drawn casting - no more putting your sword down to cast 

(NOTE: this might have broken paralysis glyphs for me. Or maybe it was something else. I don’t use that spell too much though, so I haven’t bothered trying to fix it/figure out what did it)

Dragon Age Class and Specialization pack - adds a bunch of specializations, some weapon mastery skills, and two new magic classes: warlock and ritualist

I can’t remember what the game was like before I installed this one lol

Chantry Monk specialization 

Want your mage to be able to PUNCH PEOPLE? this is the place to go.

Half-Wraith specialization - now rogues can teleport. if you want.

Emerald Knight specialization - your warrior can summon a wolf!

Seeker of Truth specialization - your warrior can heal? (haven’t used this one too much) 

Wild Keeper specialization - your mage can turn enemies into squirrels!

Knight specialization - your warrior gets a bonus reduction to fatigue, and more companion buffs

Lich specialization - your mage can summon a fuckton of skeletons (from dead enemies) also, transform into an arcane horror

Beastmaster specialization - your mage can summon wolves and sylvans and stuff

Wild mage specialization - you ever wanna just... cast something and not know what’s going to happen? here ya go

Necromancer specialization - more skeleton raising antics

Paladin specialization - magical two-handed talents for warriors? (haven’t used this much yet)

Death Knight specialization - more magic talents for warriors (also haven’t used much yet)

Grenadier specialization -  bombs!!! no crafting needed!! (for rogues)

Extended dog talents - more talents for dog, your bestest buddy

Extra Dog slot - bring dog everywhere! without taking up a companion slot.

Full Combatant Dog - gives dog more talents

No Helmet Hack  - hide them ugly things

(Note: if you have a bunch of mod-companions, it can sometimes make your helmets disappear permanently. So... leave some companions’ helmets visible.)

Tower Guard Rogue + Tower of Ishal companion options - no longer must you suffer the indignities of leaving locked treasure chests behind in the tower of Ishal!

Higher Level Cap and More specialization slots - go up to level 70. You know you want to (if you have as many bonus dungeons installed as I do, anyway)

All shapeshifting from mouse - learn all the Fade shapeshifting skills when you talk to that first mouse (it makes Lost in Dreams less back-tracky, but without skipping it entirely)

Teleport - A spell that lets you teleport around (check the posts tab for install advice)

Ancient blood magic rewritten - more blood magic spells! (check posts tab for advice on how it works)

Qwinn no Wynne - leave Wynne behind during ABC without killing her! (I got bored of seeing her Fade nightmare every time)

Complete bi overhaul - idc what bioware says, Morrigan is not straight.

This conflicts with Qwinn’s, but if you install this as an override and Qwinn’s as a dazip, it doesn’t break anything (so far - haven’t finished a play-through with it yet myself)

Also looks like it might conflict with the epilogue slides from Karma’s Origins companions.

Polygamey - date everyone at once (Note: does not work on mod-created companions)

Reverse Blood sacrifice - steal the blood of your enemies, not your friends

Non-circle mage origins - Want to be a mage but tired of the magi origin? Here ya go. (Some conflicts with other dialogue altering mods (CBO, Qwinn’s... for example) - I’m only using it for a very specific play-through, then will be moving it to my back-up folder. Gave it load priority rather than deleting anything.)

New starting Robe for Dalish Mage - a nice companion to the above mod. Gives you several options to choose from , though you’ll need to download the mod that gives you the outfit you want separately.)

Story mods (mods that just add fluff, basically)

General

Clan Sabrae says Goodbye - a longer, heartrending farewell scene for the end of the Dalish origin

Be more elfy; Dalish dialogue overhaul - allows for a more knowledgeable Dalish warden, fixes the lethallan/lethallin mix up in the beginning, and also gives you bisexual Tamlen - be sure to give it load priority over CBO.)

Talk elfy to Me - gives you the ability to select a more dalish voice set using clips from DAI

Dance party - you and your companions can dance at camp (and at the Gnarled noble tavern)

CmessaZ7′s hugs - Human noble can hug mom or dad, F!mahariel can hug Tamlen

but this conflicts with Be more Elfy, so I’m not using it anymore for Tamlen, sadly. Even though I really want to give him a hug

The Human noble hugs conflict with the Cousland keepsakes mod further down this list

Hugs for Tabris - Tabris can hug their dad, Shianni, and Soris

The rescue at ishal - cutscene of dragon-Flemeth coming to rescue PC and Alistair

Non-transphobic sex-workers - bc transphobia isn’t cool, y’all

Lady Aeducan the non-warden - changes it so that the middle aeducan is a woman when talked about in Orzammar, if not chosen as the warden (instead of defaulting to being a man)

Satina in the sky - apparently, Thedas has two moons (according to extended canon.) this adds a second moon (will conflict with the unofficial remaster, either delete that moon, or make sure this one is alphabetically placed last for load priority)

More hairs for kids and diversified children - makes the kids less clone-y. Best applied to a fresh game. Some conflicts with DA2 elves triple mix morphs. (I think the UOR has this or something similar; I’m not using the morphs from the UOR)

The children’s closet - makes it so the kids aren’t all wearing the same two outfits. Requires this. (included in the UOR)

Daveth and Jory in the fade - puts them in the Warden’s fade dream instead of the randos. requires GWoF

Let Me Live - an NPC Rescue Mod - I haven’t played through with this yet, but it’s like a dream come true. I can finally save Nial! ❤️❤️❤️ And Nelaros!

Romance add-ons

General

Dahlialynn’s Sleep til dawn - cuddle with your LI in your tent! Compatible with karma’s and Ser Gilmore

Origin romances

Farewell, Ser Gilmore - give Ser Gilmore a hug or kiss goodbye

A flower from Tamlen - Tamlen (my beloved!) finds a flower and gives it to the Dalish warden (if romance flag active) 

Kissing Tamlen - allows a Dalish Warden to remember a past kiss with Tamlen, and you get a free ring!

Alistair

Alistair nights: Moonlit bath - E rated bathtime with Alistair

Alistair’s Magical kiss - a private kiss with Alistair

Alistair’s visible kiss - better camera angles for the regular kissing scene

Alistair’s funeral - if Alistair makes the sacrifice, a romanced warden can kiss him goodbye 

The Proposal - Alistair asks for PC’s hand in marriage if engaged

Dahlialynn’s Alistair epilogues: The royal wedding - marry Alistair!

Funeral kiss - if a PC romanced Alistair and made the ultimate sacrifice, he kisses her body at the funeral. 

Dahlialynn’s Alistair’s nightmare - A Sleep til dawn add-on 

Alistair Romance Eavesdropping - adds in-camp cutscenes for some of the Alistair-centric companion banters

Alistair Romance Appetite - a playful scene involving food

Alistair Romance attraction - even the wildlife adores him

Alistair romance: the steamy bits - another E-rated bath with Alistair mod

Alistair romance: hot water - you guessed it! another e-rated bath with Alistair (a popular theme. This one is the prettiest, imo)

Zevran

Intrigues of an Antivan Crow - adds a bunch of romance scenes, some e-rated

Leliana

Leliana stories - much like the above intrigues, adds additional romance scenes for Leliana. Made by the same person.

Companion mods (mods that add more recruit-able companions)

Ser Gilmore companion NPC - Ser Gilmore from the Human noble origin miraculously survives the fall of Cousland castle! And he wants to help you kill darkspawn and get revenge on Arl Howe.

Lealion - a mage who was at Ostagar can join you in Lothering (she has like, no dialogue, but hey, more mages)

Saarebas Qunari mage companion - a qunari mage can join you at lake Calenhad (requires Qunari update) he has a little more dialogue than Lealion, but still, nothing compared to Gilmore. But again; more mages!

MerAnne’s Dwarf Companions - adds a bunch of dwarves you can recruit (you can even choose their genders) more content than Lealion & Saarebas, but slightly less than Gilmore I think. Haven’t played the mod with a dwarf warden yet, I think they get more dialogue

Karma’s Origins Companions - the one, the only.

recruit (& heal) Tamlen (MY BELOVED), Jowan (poor lil meow meow), Soris, Leske, Gorim (Thank FUCK, Lady Aeducan no longer has to get dumped), Cullen (eww), and original characters Adela and Ox. make sure to check the readme.

There are some aspects of it I’m iffy about, but I’m just so grateful for Tamlen that it could literally punch me in the face every time I start the game and I’d just ignore it.

Quests and Legends - I haven’t actually played this one yet, but I will soon. It has a compatibility patch with Karma’s. I think it adds one new companion?

Return to the Korcari wilds - hilariously 2009 music choices, adds two companions. Karma has a compatibility patch for it. More content than Lealion, less than Ser Gilmore or Karma’s

Dark times - adds three companions, three specializations, and has a karma’s patch.

It’s... also not the best. really goes in on the elf-racism, among other things. ppl rave about it, but I wasn’t that impressed tbh. the megaupload download link in the comments is safe, at least, it was when I used it.

The bloodworks - adds one new companion (two actually, but you have to choose between the templars or the blood mages - I have literally never gone with the templars), not much dialogue. Also a bunch of quests, a spell line, a warrior talent line, and allows you to make an absurd amount of money. has a karma’s patch. Ties in with Dark times a little, along with Ser Gilmore

Bonus dungeons/quests

Pints and Quarts Tavern - a tavern near Redcliffe with a bunch of people who need help with things. some misogynistic story beats in the final quest. Not very lore-compliant either.

Hilltop under siege - a village under attack from darkspawn. a little silly, kind of non-lore compliant

King Calenhad’s tomb - freaky tomb emerges from Lake Calenhad. Not lore compliant, and the trap rooms are straight up maliciously designed

Ancient Elven ruins - somebody stole the family heirlooms of a dwarven house, they disappeared into this place. Not lore compliant, I think. Ties in with one of the P&Q quests

Spiders and Knives - adds a few balanced quests and rewards to Lothering, plus another party storage chest (warning, the rogue dagger reward is bugged and might remove the coup de grace skill when unequipped)

Alley of Murders - there’s an alley, and there have been murders. People praise this one a lot, but I’m eh about it. made by the same people as the Bloodworks

infested grounds - a nobleman has a dragon problem on his property (he deserves it, tbh) by the same person as P&Q

Swamp tower adventure - there’s a swamp, there’s a tower, and there are beasties. Also by the same person as P&Q

Inverness keep - apparently, some nobleman died and left his estate to the wardens. You can get skill books here, store stuff, get alcoholic gifts for Oghren, and actually do something with those silver goblets, silver bowls, and the vases you find. (plus silk carpets, and the painting gifts, if you’re not giving them to Sten)

Innodil’s Pocket Plane - god mode storage you can access from anywhere 

Tombs of the Undead - this is a good one. Three tombs, different difficulty levels, pretty lore compliant, the codex entries are well written. It almost feels like it could have been part of the game to begin with

Temple of Vulak - a temple full of demons. bit of a tough one.

Utilities - console command scripts and stuff

Enable console commands

Make console commands visible

Chargenmorph compiler - a must to make all those hairs and stuff play nice with each other

Change your hero hair and face anywhere - want to change what your warden looks like midway through the game? start a new game with the desired appearance (or use the toolset, idk how to yet though), then use this tool to switch it in

additem with console improved - add any items using their id codes

Console- add points - add talent,skill, specialization, and attribute points via console and use through the regular level up menu (for ppl who have played so many times that they no longer care about cheating lol)

item set descriptions - adds a codex entry that describes the base game item set stats

VFX weapons file - alters the visual effects on weapons to be a lil less dramatic (I think there are other mods that do this, I might try some of them out as well. Eventually)

Fade shroud unghost - makes fade shroud not turn your mage into a ghost (I actually don’t mind this vfx, but I wanted cleaner screenshots for my one Warden. I’ll probably remove it once that warden is done)

Madd gift guide - tells you who the gifts are for (I pm have it memorized at this point, but still.)

DAO- Modmanager - an alternative way to install mods (also capable of installing overrides)

DAmodder - another mod manager, dazip files only

Flycam - allows you to detach the camera from your character and look around. Great for screenshots, requires console commands.

Item mods - just adds items, armor, etc. Or alters the stats of existing items

(an important note about some of these: some have to be unchecked from the installed content menu if you want them to become available in a new game - they appear directly in player inventory after being checked on, but smthn about how the game handles inventory means they won’t appear in the inventory of a fresh file unless checked on after the game has started. I’ll mark these with a *)

*Adamantium battlemage regalia -  uses Legion of the dead armor design. Way overpowered armor and weapons for an arcane warrior

Improved companion items - gives the companion’s exclusive items better stats so you don’t feel like you have to replace them later in the game (I always felt bad for taking away their keepsake items) It also applies to the Warden’s oath (I actually use it now instead of throwing it storage!) and Sten’s sword Asala

Dirth’enna Ensalin armor set - an armor set for arcane warriors that you only receive if you send the tapped spirit to its final rest. Not as overpowered as the other one, overwrites one of the UDK tints

*Wings of Velvet - some pretty mage robes + a staff, and optional jewelry.

City elf ring - with stats - adds a stat boost to Tabris’ wedding ring item, so it can be worn for sentimental value and be useful

Improved ancient elven armor - increases the stats and tier of the ancient elven armor set

The Phoenix Armory for females - some pretty armor and weapons for women (i like sexy armor when it’s my choice to have it be that way; not when it’s the default)

instruments of the warden mage - some griffon-y weapons for mage wardens.

Mahariel’s heirloom - gives Mahariel’s heirloom amulet a unique icon and great stats, so they can sentimentally wear it through the entire game

Cousland family mementos - sentimental items for your Cousland

has a conflict with the Human noble hugs, for some reason.

Alistair’s mother’s amulet - makes his amulet into a wear-able item for him (requires console commands to spawn)

Jar of bees - HAHAHAHAHAHA I can throw bees at people

*Wing of Lilith - robes that use the desire demon skirt/sleeves. UDK compatible

*Warden commander armor - the Warden’s Keep DLC armor but with a helmet, shields, swords, and higher stats (I have it bc Dark Times changed the appearance of the DLC armor into something ugly and generic for some reason?)

RL’s swan song - adds a vendor to the Pearl who sells a ton of stuff (Don’t install all the items, it will probably bork your game. Just pick the ones you like)

RL’s Fashion Bazaar - no merchant for this one, just console commands.

Arcane armor and weapon sets - more stuff for Arcane warriors. Buy from Bodahn

Alistair’s rose (as reward) - adds a wear-able commemorative amulet to your inventory when Alistair gives you the rose

Inquisition Mage Armor - the one I use with the Dalish mage starting robes.

Hahahaha that’s all..... for now. When I add more things (or try out the stuff I haven’t used yet) I’ll reblog with updates.

[vigilskeep]

Btw if you don't have a Zevran model fix mod, I recommend the one that comes in the "Elves with Human Skin REDUX", especially since that one fixes a lot more than just him

oh inch resting!!! i looked at that mod (or maybe it was a similar one idk) for ages but i ended up not happening to go for it. i didn’t see the zevran change then though... hmm. under consideration

i haven’t found a da2 zev replacement completely 2 my personal tastes yet but that is because my idea of what he looks like and my love for da2 style elves are permanently at war in my brain and will possibly never lay down their swords

[lelianaslefthand]

ALONE

DRAGON AGE 2 | NO MAGIC, NO PROBLEM! PLAYTHROUGH

[poorly-drawn-akira]

Jojo’s Bizarre Fantasy Lore Masterpost

Locations:

Kimyonah- Name of the Pangea-esque continent where the majority of people live excluding small island populations and populations beneath the oceans. Cities: Bohken- A relatively centrally located city-state. A central hub for trading of all kinds and neutral ground for diplomatic meetings. It hosts the Council of Races, a collection of representatives from a handful of Kimyonah's races who wish to view policies as a collaborative effort.

Orinoco- An underwater city of the Moringua people. Their ruling city. It is the only settlement of the Moringua Empire that is partially above water. This part is the hall where the king receives foreign dignitaries, diplomats, guests, etc. Nalion- A small, peaceful kingdom open to all, regardless of past or race.  Was founded by a man named Erikson, but is currently lead by his son.  Though officially labeled as a kingdom, Nalion functions more like a closely knit town. Its western border is lined by the coast, and its northern, southern, and eastern borders are lined by forest. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Vyliesi- A western kingdom that is mainly populated by humans.  It's customs are fairly old-fashioned, though the current king is trying to change this.  It is said that this land is home to pegasi, and its terrain is fairly mountainous. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Hilonia- A desert kingdom that not much is known about. It is said that the inhabitants are all 'wild animals', and most who try and travel there never return for one reason or another. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Ashen Grounds- A medium sized, recently discovered place that resides within a decrepit forest. The kingdom got that name because when it was discovered, the whole chunk of it had seemingly no live fauna, making it hard to breath, the ground permanently stained with ash, there are barely any buildings except for the jagged pikes of stone, and large castle of obsidian. The only “living” things inhabiting there are the king himself and these sentient constructs made out of ash and fire magic. (by kalos-absurd-crusade)

Riposo:  A fortress city that was originally used as a strategic point to intercept other nation invasions.. Now though it houses many adventures and their respective guilds.  A place that is always bustling with people with requests for adventurers.  With requests being as simple as gathering herbs, to battling the most fearsome of monsters. (by asknerdizzy)

Cielo:  A city in the clouds that is mostly populated by avian like species.  It is a city that rarely ever lets anyone enter.  The residents who choose to leave can’t enter again unless on urgent business with a seal of approval from a ruler.  This is all due to a massacre that happened when someone brought in an unknown individual who seemed to know the city’s layout beforehand without them ever entering it.  It was suspected that one of their own was behind it, so this rule was set in place.   It’s highly guarded, with mages working around the clock casting anti-intelligence magic.  The city is filled with high class individuals, and relics of the Gods that most be protected at all costs. (by asknerdizzy)

Villages: Morven- A small village located in the Kaldae Mountains inhabited by humans. Winters can be rough, but it is sustained by snow runoff in the warmer months, which allows the villagers to store enough food for these winters. Due to it's isolation, they rarely trade. Malik-Kei is worshiped as a guardian of the village who protects it’s inhabitants through the tough winters. A shrine to her resides on the south side of the village. It houses her stone.

Aether- Tree bound village of the Gruidae people. Due to a near genocide that only halted 30 years ago, Aether was established as a magically protected city for Gruidaes.The main temple of Crah-Dia is located in it’s center, and there are several members of the Fellowship of Everyday Miracles who live within Aether who serve to protect it. Wasamond-  A small village under the lake of Bridgegar Thicket for merfolk, it's mainly women and children but there are mermen. It's a place to avoid the unstable conflict of the seas. (by moriohs-little-demon) Rootwood- A small village built and inhabited by the Elzen people. (by dio-of-shadows)

Landmarks: Kaldae Mountains- A large mountain rage in the north-east of Kimyonah. It contains the isolated village of Morven. Morven is located on one of the lower peaks, Malik-Kei, named by the people of Morven for their guardian spirit of the same name. Bridgegar Thicket- A forest with a large lake in the middle. The forest is bordered by nigh impenetrable thick, thorny brush. Due to being unable to see past it, most creatures write the forest off as nothing of value. Openings to the forest are only passable by taurfolk and nature spirits. (by moriohs-little-demon) Thalai's Grove: named after a rumored dragon that was laid to rest there, the grove is home to a large lake with an under ground cave system. In the caves, there is a shrine to the god of health, Taymos, where Elves would pray for good health and leave gifts of food, wine and gold. (by hold-my-flowercrown) Eternity Graveyard - A desolate wasteland was a battlefield where warriors from several different nations clashed for supremacy. It now serves as the home base of The Brotherhood of Eternity, and has been the sight where many adventurers meet their end. (by dio-of-shadows)

Battaglia:  An underground  Coliseum lays under the city of Riposo.   It was once, and still is, used as a shelter to the people in times when the city is under siege.  The Coliseum itself is protected with many Magic runes lining its walls that makes it difficult to destroy from most magic.  When the city is not under attack the Colosseum is used to advertised adventures and their skills.  Usually battling other adventures or caught monsters in the ring.  Some common folk come down to watch the spars for entertainment, some watch to find new people to join their groups, and some bet on the battles.  These bets are what largely helps with the financial upkeep of the Colosseum.  The inner hallways of the Colosseum are filled with many stalls for blacksmiths to advertise their wears to the people. The more powerful weapons are bought here. (by asknerdizzy)

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

Races:

Humans: Humans are as the name implies. However, they can possess varying levels of magical ability. Witches- Humans who have above average magical abilities. White and black witches exist. White witches may form guilds in order to train others and to more effectively do good, but it's not uncommon to encounter lone white witches. Black witches tend to chose to be alone, although rumors of a guild exist. Black witches may not actively seek to do harm, but what sets them apart from white witches is a desire to grow their power whether that be through deals with demons, rituals, etc.

Half Bloods: Demons- Half demons are typically the result of a masculine demon and a feminine mortal creature (usually humanoid). Half demons tend to possess some level of dark magic and horns of some kind, although these horns tend to be smaller in size compared to a full demon. Other indications may include odd body markings, animal body parts such as legs or paws, and, very rarely, extra eyes or wings. Half-Demons are considered to be rare. They also often gather a following from cults, and they can become immortal and maintain this immortality if they consume the souls of the damned at an extremely high rate. (added by dio-of-the-shadows) Dragons-

Humanoids: Arisen- A blanket term for any creature brought back to life by necromancy. Typically, an Arisen was human, but most humanoids can be subjected to the process. An Arisen will maintain their personality and memories without additional spells being applied. An Arisen cannot heal themself when injured and has no need for sleep or for food. If an Arisen is taken too far from who resurrected them, they will begin to decay.  Their creation is frowned upon, if not outright banned and/or punishable by execution, by most settlements and races.

Gruidae- Tall humanoids who can take the form of a crane. In their humanoid form, they have small feathery tufts resembling small wings where other humanoids would have ears. Over the past few centuries, they were nearly wiped out entirely for their feathers and blood, both of which were widely used in potion crafting. The remaining population resides almost entirely in Aether, and allow themselves to be governed by the Council of Races, of which they have a member in. Whoever is elected for the Council also serves as Aether's governor. Akumaoni- A race that is considered to be the guardians of the afterlife.  They are humanoid in appearance, though they typically have horns, sharp teeth, and their pupils are always little more than a slit.  They are said to work beside the gods, and even are considered a part of the Renian Pantheon, and their numbers are few. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Komoriberi- Humanoids with the ability to transform into bats. While in humanoid form, they retain thier wings, fangs, and have bat-like ears. Their diet mainly consists of fruit and small animals, and though they are often mistaken for vampires the sun has no more affect on them than it does on a normal human. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Dragons- Humanoids that have the ability to transform into a... well a dragon.  The exact type of dragon can vary (as can size), and most have some sort of elemental affinity.  While in their humanoid form they will not have access to many of their abilities, though they will usually have horms and some may have wings as well. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Divine Dragons- Similar to dragons, but have an extended lifespan and divine powers as they are considered to be gods. It is possible for a dragon to only be half divine if only one of their parents is of the divine lineage, in which case they will have little divine powers if any at all. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Dryads- An all female species of spirits that reside in the forests. They punish trespassers and keep peace in their forest by any means necessary. While they aren't immortal, they do have a very extended life expectancy compared to humans, about triple that of the average healthy adult human male. (by moriohs-little-demon)

Angels:  A Humanoid race that has the only avian trait of wings sprouting on their backs.  They are more adapt with the magic affinity of light and fire than some species and have a longer life span than humans. (by asknerdizzy) Okami- A race of wolf folks. They keep themselves away in the woods and the outlands of the continent. Being canines, they are actually omnivorous, and hold no ill will towards other species. However, during full blood moons, they become irrational and feral, attacking anything in sight (by moriohs-little-demon) Werewolves- Infected creatures who take on the tails, ears, and rough warm furlike hair of the Okami. However, they keep most of their original race's appearance during the daytime. They experience feral instincts more often as they are not raised to overcome the animal instinct to hunt, happening every full moon. (by moriohs-little-demon)

Elves: Elzen- Elves recognizable by their pointed ears and mastery of magic. Once every 100 years there is an Elzen oracle who is able to look into the future. (by dio-of-the-shadows)

Merpeople: Moringua- An entirely male race of eel mermen who live in temperate oceans. They are immortal, but not invulnerable (weapons kill them, but time won't). They are known for their bloodthirsty, warmongering natures. Due to this, they are governed by both a King and a General. The General overseeing military plans, training of forces, and the overall making sure the other elected officials are doing their jobs. King serves to handle diplomatic affairs with other races and to oversee reproduction. Reproduction is a closely guarded secret. Several theories exist on the subject, but no definitive answers have been given by the Moringas.

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

Factions:

Paladins and Soldiers: Order of Hamon- A paladin order who work out of Bohken. They modeled themselves after folk heroes of human lore such as Jonathan Joestar. They resolve themselves to uphold the laws of the land and to protect innocents without question. This does lead to some of their members making lawful stupid choices. Their patron deity is Sol, the God of the sun.

White Lily Platoon- A small army hailing from Vyliesi, lead by the royal knight Sir Jacain.  The lord that this platoon serves is unknown, as is their current objective. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

The Bladed Roses- A small traveling group of do-gooders, lead by a knight named Taiana.  The group is quite odd-ball in terms of composition, but is almost always accepting new members. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Clerics: The Fellowship of Everyday Miracles- A cleric order who's main temple is located in Aether. They travel about, healing people where needed. They will often stick around a town for a few weeks, accepting shelter and food in return for healing, before leaving again. Some may chose to travel with questing groups if they come across them, or if asked by said group. Their patron deity is Crah-Dia, the God of healing.

Assassins: Bloodwater Assassins guild- A small group of assassins that has been known to do even the dirtiest of jobs.  However, it is rumored that a few members have been committing traitorous actions as of late. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Bandits: The Brotherhood of Eternity- A cult of bandits that worship the one true ruler of hell and earth. They are known for stealing from various kingdoms and pitting other countries against one another so they can collect the spoils. (by dio-of-the-shadows)

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

Deities:

Gods and Goddesses: Sol- The God of the sun. He is associated with the sun and shining light on hidden things. This last aspect is what the Order of Hamon focuses on: Bringing what is in the dark into the light. Certain mortals are said to be blessed by Sol, and this gift is known as Hamon: The ability to deliver the sun's energy through their hands. Taymos- A God of health. (by hold-my-flowercrown) Crah-Dia- A God of healing. He is associated with healing through magic as opposed to medicine. His temple is located inside of a large, hollow tree in Aether where a spring with healing properties resides. The World Serpent (Deceased)- A deity of the abyss of the unknowable night and proclaimed Father of monsters; this foul snake sought to swallow the world in order to propagate - claiming that in its bowels it’s followers would be eternal and emerge in the new world as saints. When slain by a band of unspoken heroes, this dark god cursed the cowards and weaklings who did not fall upon the invading blades to save their god and master. What has become of this cult remains mostly unknown… (by BD-Handystand) Renian Pantheon- A group made up of many of the Nalionian and Vyliesian gods, many of which are considered to be divine dragons.  The main gods names are as follows: Shoza, Naoto, Fionei, Kaisho, Aiota, Aogei, Juniji, Synia, Altitha, and Yomeinu. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Shoza- The original divine dragon, he is known as a god of the skies. However, he turned his back on mortals long ago, and now has little involvement in their affairs despite still being a major religious figure. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Hina (deceased)- A divine dragon known as the goddess of love, she gave her life to avert a great tragedy.  She was wed to Shoza, and many speculate that her death lead him to become bitter and cold. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Naoto- The son of Shoza and heir to the divine throne, though little is actually written of him in religious texts.  He is said to wield a divine lance, and to travel the world in an attempt to bring peace. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Fionei- A dragon whom ascended to godhood upon marrying Naoto, and is said to bring good fortune to those who practice the arts. As she was not born a god, she has no true divine abilities. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Kaisho- Son of Naoto who inherited all the powers of the divine.  He is a god of knowledge who is believed to have rejected godhood. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Aiota- One of two twin gods, who is also the daughter of Naoto and considered the goddess of rebellion.  It is said that she only inherited one divine ability, but little else is known besides that and her name. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Aogei- The other twin god, who is also the son of Naoto and considered a god of nature.  It is said he can heal others and control the growth of plants, but not much else besides that and his name is known. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Juniji- A fell god said to be Shoza's brother. Supposedly had only one divine ability, and the power he gained from it drove him mad. Little else is known. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Synia- An Akumaoni goddess who rules the afterlife, though she often more-so acts as the guardian to its gate.  Is said to take on a role similar to the Enma. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux)

Altitha- A human who ascended to become the goddess of strength and vengeance after losing someone to Juniji. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) 

Yomeinu (deceased)- Former god with the power to raise the dead. His species was unknown, but many feared him due to his powers. In reality, he only ever used them to hold a yearly festival in which families could give their loved ones a final send off. (by daily-rubbersoul-redux) Mylia- A worshiped deity of the Dryad race. She is said to be the creator of the Bridgegar Thicket to protect the bounty of nature from the likes of war, pestilence, and death. When prayed to, one may expect health, luck, and bountiful hunt in their future, so long as they do not waste the gift life has brought them. (by moriohs-little-demon) Demons and Spirits: Cake- A minor demon of wrath. Malik-Kei- The alleged spirit of a young woman who died in the cold waiting for her fiance to return. According to the legend, her body turned to stone and her spirit remained as a guardian of the mountain. A sacrificial ceremony that involves a mock wedding to the Malik-Kei stone is preformed by the village of Morven during years of unsatisfactory snowfall. An unmarried man between 16 and 30 is chosen by lottery to be sacrificed. The "groom" is then dressed in traditional wedding garb (which is very light as weddings are traditionally done only in summer). The sacrifice is tied to the stone so that he is kneeling next to the stone, and a wedding ceremony is held. The sacrifice is then left out with the belief being that if he is frozen to death overnight that the sacrifice was accepted. Black Mages- Considered to be great wielders of magic in the mortal realm, and are extremely well known for diving into the darker arts. They are only known to be demons and half demons. (by dio-of-the-shadows)

Corrupted Spirit:  Spirits generally are apparitions of elements, such as nature.  Several of them have some form of sentience. However a corrupted spirit is one that was tampered with either by magic, great tragedy, or the desire of the spirit.  Turning it into a physical manifestation based on the intent of the spirit, magic or tragedy.  The spirit can be corrupted  by a cleric or paladin. (by asknerdizzy)

[fandom-age]

text overlaid atop the dragon age logo that reads "@merilsell's fanfic "Of Elves and Humans: Redux" is one of my absolute favorites! I love the way she writes all of the characters and the development of Lenya and Alistair's relationship. It's such a delight! :D"

[dalishious]

Elves with Human Skin for DA:2 REDUX Mod

I have completely revised this mod! Vastly improved the past version's structure, and added some new changes.

In both DA:O and DA:I, all characters (save for qunari) use the same skin tints, but in DA:2, all the races have a different set of skin tints... and the elven ones are weirdly blue and green.

WHAT THIS MOD DOES:

All elven characters now use human skin tints

Fixes BioWare's mistake of not giving over half the Dalish elves tints for their vallaslin, causing them to be so faint

Returning characters of the Sabrae clan now look more like they originally appeared in DA:O - a few others were uniquely redesigned as well (See mod page for details)

All files are no longer kept in a package, meaning they can be deleted per need (i.e. if you have an alternate Zevran morph you prefer, just delete the Zevran file included in this mod)

Please note this mod is very lightweight and should not put strain on your computer :)

DOWNLOAD IT HERE! And I’d very much appreciate a reblog if you do. :)

[bunyip-things]

all right!  So.  I’m over putzing around in Dragon Valley between trying to figure out how to fit sims and story and pictures together for my Escape sims ficlit and while I’m having a lovely time, let’s face it, DV is SO far behind the times.  So I decided to update the absolutely useless pub next to the house my sim is living in so it can be an actual bar.  Aaaaaand I got a little carried away.  Let me introduce you to the Last Homely House the Dragon Tavern Redux.  The elves got tired of the tacky decor, bought the place and upgraded.  Like - really upgraded.  I’m not kidding, even the toilets are fancy now.  I made it the local watering hole but it could very easily become an exclusive lounge - you know, to keep out all those pesky humans and their ilk. 

Anyway, I’m going to share it because I really am pleased with how it turned out but I did not make this.  All I did was spruce the old place up and update it so its an actual bar now.  So this is not a bunyip original.  It’s just a little remake in case anyone wants to bulldoze and replace the old Dragon Tavern (or use this one elsewhere). 

download Dragon Valley Tavern remake

cc used: awesims, ung999, majik, pyszny, canelline, 4sims.net, camarossz28, aroundthesims3, thesimspiration, astrasims, severinka, juliana, murfeelee and SIMcredibles! - all of which you can find links to on my dreamwidth page.

lot contains cc.  Please download responsibly.

[talodarravenwing]

The Story of Talo'Dar Ravenwing, Thus far (Redux)

Talo'Dar is one of few beings on Azeroth who can proudly claim to be among the oldest remaining people the planet has known…at least when he can remember that much. Old age has a funny way of influencing how ones mind works when you live for so long, especially when you’ve lived as long as he has. Talo'Dar has the distinct disadvantage in this field, having been born long before the world changing War of the Ancients so very long ago. In fact, by Kaeldori standards, Talo'Dar would have been considered a middle aged man at that point. A middle aged man finding himself right in the heart of the conflict, right at the queens side. Talo'Dar had been born for magic. From the moment of his first crying breaths at birth the life giving energy of the arcane flowed through the young elfs body as easily as his blood. This unusual proficiency in arcane magic brought even the queen of the Kaeldori’s eyes upon him. Such an event was almost unheard of, and perhaps it would’ve been better for the Night Elf if he hadn’t gotten that attention as he grew older. From the moment he could crawl, Talo'Dar was taken from his home and placed in the custody of the Highborne. His destiny from that moment on would be forever tied to magic, and to the fate of the Highborne. Growing up among the upper echelons of the Highborne Council gave Talo'Dar a very skewed view of the world and those less fortunate than himself. Raised in such a way made him care little for the lower classes of the Kaeldori people to a point where one dying in front of him wouldn’t warrant any kind of response from the young man. Even more than that, his attitude belittled any outside of the circle as nothing more than insects, vermin. This kind of attitude earned Talo'Dar many an unpleasant nickname in his time and more than one enemy. It mattered not to the magus. The only thing that Was important to him was furthering his own position within the Highborne’s Inner Circle by any means needed, and growing ever more powerful in his arcane ways. The Illuminated One, as Talo'Dar would eventually come to be known as, a title the now slightly aging Kaeldori wore with pride. At this stage in his life there was little left in the ways of the Arcane the magus hadn’t yet at least explored, and just as little that he couldn’t use at least at some level. Talo'Dar also found himself in a position of relative power amongst the Highborne people, with nearly nothing going unheard or seen by him within the Circle. It is to be said that even with this position however, even he was incapable of seeing what the Queen of the Kaeldori had planned for his people. When the first gate opened the way for demons to walk upon Azeroth, Talo'Dar found himself among the few chosen to greet the new guests and allies of the Highborne and the rest of the Kaeldori people. Talo'Dar, to the surprise of none, openly accepted this job and the new forces that now marched upon his world. His eagerness to obey his queen and work with this Legion awarded the mage many things, a new title and powers among them. Embracing fully the new magic gifted to the Highborne, Talo'Dar was almost born anew. He took to this Fel magic as if it and it’s gifts were the power he were destined to weild, and in a way, they were. The Fel flames became the mages most defining aspect as he spent more time in the company of the Legions demons. Practicing and mastering this new art with more vigor than he had ever pursued anything up to this point. The way he called upon the demons powers it came as no surprise the rate at which the corrupting properties of their magics began to take hold of the Night Elfs form. Eyes quickly dulled from shocking blue to caustic cloudy green. Veins soon pulsed faintly like Fel flame coursed in place of blood. His skin dulled until Gray and ashen, hair following soon behind darkening like his very soul until wild, frayed and black as burnt wood. Worse still Fel sores soon poked his skin and have off an eerie glow much like his eyes, and his body huched as bone and muscle bent and stretched. Becoming malformed as he had did not put a stop to Talo'Dars pursuit of this new power though. No. The mutations thrilled him and drove him to chase after more and more. When the War of the Ancients finally broke loose among his people, Talo'Dar seemed more demon than elf even amongst the others of the circle. He had become feared by friend and for alike and was battled against as though he were any other demon. Such words and views though only filled the Fel mage with burning accomplished pride. He had become something else, something powerful, something to fear. He felt right where he belonged…and when eventually the portals of the Legion were forced closed and the Moon Well was made to collapse, Talo'Dar too was dragged into the failing portal along with the demons that day, and for thousands of years, Azeroth would not see his face again. Countless ages were spent in agonizing torment for the malformed Night Elf after the War of the Ancients. The failure on the part of the Highborne was put upon his shoulders as well as few others of his people who had the misfortune of being claimed by the Well. There was only one difference between these other elves and Talo’Dar however, and that was Talo’Dar went willingly into the collapsing rift, chasing ever after more power refusing to let it escape his grasp. He hadn’t however counted on the torture that he would endure over his stay in the Twisting Nether. It became all the Night Elf knew. Fel and madness consumed the mage until there was nothing left of his former self. Talo’Dar ceased to exist, and in his place a twisted husk was left. Left without a sense of self the former Kaeldori mage was molded into a Fel fueled killer with only the barest hints of humanity left behind. It was countless lifetimes before this withered husk would again breath the fresh air of his homeworld again, and even that would be fleeting. It wasn’t until the Battle of Mount Hijaal that Talo’Dar returned to Azeroth. Burning into existence as hatred incarnate along side other demons of the Legion. It was an exhilarating experience returning at long last to the world that he once called home. There was no sense of nostalgia however, the only things he truly felt was a need to test his new powers against the old ways he once mastered and a thirst to take life upon life of his former people. Felfire feel like rain from the sky as he marched forth with the Legion and earth turned lifeless each corrupted step he took. The once mage made near demon reveled in the glory of the new war before him. Basking in the fields of blood and and fire wrought by his hand. Something though was missing. The fel mage longed for something from a life long past. longed for the freedom he once had, unrestricted by others, left to his own actions. It was something that he demanded…these demands were not taken well by his Legion masters though, and punishment would be soon to follow for his disobedience.   After the battle for Mount Hijaal, Talo’Dar would be found among the countless fallen soldiers that scattered the mountaintop. Wounds would suggest that he was struck down by the forces of Azeroth, but in truth it was the soldiers of the Legion that placed the killing blows against the former elf. The Burning Legion did not take kindly to free will and disobedience from its pawns, nor did they allow planned deserters to just walk away with their lives. It was these things that brought death crashing down upon Talo’Dar, ending his hopes and ambitions quicker than a candles flame getting snuffed out.This wouldn’t be the end for the fel mage though, in fact, it would be the start of yet another beginning for the ancient soul, and this new beginning would be one that would last forever more…or so the mage would say. Death wouldn’t stake its claim over Talo’Dar for long before he was ripped from the shadows and brought back into the light of Azeroth. There was something different though, something the mage couldn’t place at first. It wasn’t until clawed hands came to a rest on his bare chest that he discovered what the cause of the feeling was. A large shard stuck out of Talo’Dar’s chest. Green and glowing just how any other object tainted by Fel would. The shard pulsed with burning power that the mage could feel coursing through his entire body, like fire searing through his veins causing endless angusih. Despite the pain, the reborn elf could sense that without this felshard he wouldn’t be alive to even feel the pain it brought him. The shard would be impossible to remove as well as parts of his flesh seemed fused to the crystaline invader, and the cavernous hole it filled in his chest was mostly sewn shut around it as well, small metal bands welded to his skin seemed to complete the haphazard patchwork that held the object in place. Taking a moment to draw in his new surrounding, the former elf would discover he was in some kind of dungeon, chained to a large blood stained alter of some sort. One the floor around him demonic runes and skeletons littered the room completely. The smell of death hung heavy in the air around him and filled him with a hunger he could not begin to explain. Further examination revealed even more damage to his body than initially thought. The fel sores that once dotted his skin seemed to have completely eroded the skin and muscle from around most of his arms and legs. His skin pulled tight across his ribs allowing the ones nearest the felshard to cut through to the surface. Hands twisted into claw-like appendages that oozed fel tainted blood and teeth elongated and grew long enough for it to be impossible for his mouth to stay closed. Worse yet, he discovered to his alarm that his eyes were no nothing more than sunken pits filled with burning flame..trying to investigate further by probing brought nothing but more pain to the mage. It wasn’t long until the somber truth of what was washed over the mage…he had died. He was Still dead, and yet, somehow he lived..in a way. He knew of necromancy and its workings, and yet he could not explain his new existence. The hunger is all he could think of now. It was all he could focus on, and for many years to come it would be all he knew, trapped in this dungeon…a prisoner.

[sundogsandrainbows]

STORY SUMMARY: Trust is a delicate flower that needs to get nurtured and time to grow. Even more so love. A tale of two disparate Wardens forced together, of finding a way to overcome the distrust, and their own painful past in the time of the Blight. Very in-depth, character-focused exploration of the Dalish origin/warden, of all DA:O companions, and their relationship dynamics during the Fifth Blight. Follows and expands on canon events; AU in some ways. Multiple POV's, origins, and pairings. Slow burn af.

CHAPTER SUMMARY -- CHASING ECHOES: Back on the road, Zevran has to find his own amusement to liven up the dreadful days of walking toward their new destination. But he gets more excitement than he'd bargained for when some ghosts of the not so distanced past start to appear in front of the Wardens, and a secret is revealed.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:

[...] The Wardens, of course, both stuck together at the front like glue, as they always did these days. Even when not talking they were in sync with their steps, despite the Dalish being more light-footed in the snow than the human stomping through it. Come to think of it, they’d been insufferably inseparable ever since he’d joined their merry band to escape the Crow’s retribution, actually. They were just not aware of such, back then. 

That strong bond between both Wardens was all the more apparent since their latest return from Orzammar and their private talk together that night. Ah to have been a fly at the proverbial wall there during it to understand what caused it, but alas. However, the dear Warden hadn’t realized that shift in her attitude toward Alistair yet, nor her feelings. Amusing, that. Unsurprisingly, Lenya also wasn’t at all receptive to his usual attempts of flirting or teasing, which probably was for the best as he already came too close to her flame. No reason to burn just because it was so bloody cold, no? 

Alas, this made the dear Warden not less interesting. Ah, to be able to gaze behind her prickly veneer and experience her fierce protectiveness instead of constantly being subjected to it when teasing Alistair would still be so worth it, indeed. He’d expect nothing more of her, always acting on the principle of reciprocation in interpersonal matters. Since there was nothing more loathsome than one person feeling entitled to another’s attention or time just because they shared the same vicinity or group. Progress with the dear Warden was glacial at best anyway, but there , so given enough time maybe – ah here he flew again too close, all too ready to burn, tsk . Zevran shook himself. Perhaps it would be better to fall back a little in their group instead to stare at her – admittedly very lovely and lean-muscular – back. Wearing lighter travel leather instead of her usual, more sturdy Warden armor,

Lenya would only leave Alistair’s side to periodically scout ahead with her mabari in tow. Either looking for impending danger, game to kill or a suitable place to camp the night, such as clearings or crevices of valleys in the hilly areas that started to come into view more often now. Before this it had been flat terrain only, leading along the last vestiges of that enormous mage lake that was curiously not frozen over. Still all in the same monochrome white, the snow as its pesky, sticky blanket. [...]

[CONTINUE READING] ||[READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

[fossy93]

A little video I made of Fenris' introductory quest with, what I think are, improvements.

Mods used:

Elves with Human Skin REDUX

Improved Fenris Glow

Elven Concept Art Eyes

Minor Fenris Armor Recolor

[herenortherenearnorfar]

The Thousand Stories by HerenorThereNearnorFar

Fandoms: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms

Tags: Major Character Death, Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Idril Celebrindal/Tuor/Voronwë, (mentioned) - Relationship, Original Character(s) - Character, Arien (Tolkien), (mentioned), Sauron | Mairon, (also only tangentially), Original Orc Character(s), Sun Myths, Easterlings, Númenorean Diaspora, Second Age, Atani Week, Exclusively Ladies, Warning For Sauron, Mordor: A Terrible Place To Live, Unconventional Part Orcs, Three Houses With A Twist, Numenorean Hate, Internalized Propaganda and General Issues, Bad Dinner Party Behavior, War of the Elves and Sauron, Eldritch Elves Redux, Moon Myths, Ocean Myths, An Only Slightly Uplifting Ending

Summary: They're important, the myths people tell about themselves, about their histories. You can learn a lot from a tale or seven.

The massive Second Age Easterling comparative mythology experiment is done. It was lots of fun for fleshing out some elements of the east and south, less fun because the timelines ended up a bit too scrunched (darned human lifespans). If I had to do it over again I might make it a generational saga, but frankly defining out just one central character (who i plan to use in the future! i know who she is) was pretty rough. In conclusion: Tolkien’s humans deserve better than Sauron, the worst self-proclaimed babysitter. 

[sundogsandrainbows]

STORY SUMMARY: Trust is a delicate flower that needs to get nurtured and time to grow. Even more so love. A tale of two disparate Wardens forced together, of finding a way to overcome the distrust, and their own painful past in the time of the Blight. Very in-depth, character-focused exploration of the Dalish origin/warden, of all DA:O companions, and their relationship dynamics during the Fifth Blight. Follows and expands on canon events; AU in some ways. Multiple POV's, origins, and pairings. Slow burn af.

CHAPTER 52 SUMMARY -- SOUNDS OF YESTERDAY, PART I: In order to find the key for the chest left behind by Cailan in Ostagar, the Wardens and companions make a very reluctant detour to Lothering. Or rather what little is left of it, with it being now a destroyed, corrupted husk of a village.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:

[...] Smoke billows cloyed the firmament, obscuring what little daylight was left. Alistair had the infinite wisdom to take a torch with him, lest he’d stumble blindly through the torn down ruins of this village. What made it hard to breathe and watered his eyes wasn’t just the plumes of smoke from the fires still burning. It was the corruption here, like a leaden cobweb it wrapped itself all around them, stealing all life and oxygen. No wonder the man they’d met had contracted the taint sickness for entering here, for it was absolutely and entirely darkspawn territory now. Dead land, rotten and destroyed to what seemed its core. Unthinkable that it could ever recover from it, not with how thick the stench of death permeated the air.

“Ugh, lovely.” Lenya kicked at a stone in frustration. He illuminated the ground for a closer look at it, which was a baaaad idea in hindsight. Since it wasn’t a stone after all… but a small skull, long since picked clean. Maker, if that wasn’t belonging to an animal then… no. Nope. Nope . Refusal to complete this thought was the best course of action here, and the only valid one. “It is even worse than I expected it to be here.”

“Yeah.” Hard to imagine now that they were walking through this then-intact village almost half a year ago. Fresh-faced and thrown together after the tragedy that was Ostagar and their near death experience, in the search for information and equipment for their larger than life quest. It always had held the air of despair, filled to the brim with refugees as it were, but this here… was a completely disparate world. Theirs , to be exact. And every place would look like this, whole cities turned graveyards, should they fail. So many more people would die, futures and hopes crushed underfoot by incessant floods of darkspawn hordes. It was all the pressure, all the burden now visualized in this forsaken place; of what was at stake and expected of them both –just the two of them– that robbed him of all oxygen. How could he ever— The ground began to spin around him and with the torch still in hand, Alistair stumbled to a house's ruin at the side, to empty out his stomach into the snow-covered, decayed soil in front of it. The torch cluttered to the ground as he doubled over to heave. [...]

[CONTINUE READING] ||[READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

[sundogsandrainbows]

Yes, after three years I'm finally back to writing this story and have been done so several weeks already, actually :D But since my tumblr got erroneously terminated for over a week or more, I only now can post about it, sigh. Anyway, yay for another update?

STORY SUMMARY: Trust is a delicate flower that needs to get nurtured and time to grow. Even more so love. A tale of two disparate Wardens forced together, of finding a way to overcome the distrust, and their own painful past in the time of the Blight. Very in-depth, character-focused exploration of the Dalish origin/warden, of all DA:O companions, and their relationship dynamics during the Fifth Blight. Follows and expands on canon events; AU in some ways. Multiple POV's and pairings. Slow burn af.

CHAPTER SUMMARY/ All The Way/ 4U, Part III: While Lenya is deep in her cups, having a good time for once, Alistair is deep in his feelings, struggling to find his footing after his confession and how to handle this (perceived) one-sided love going forward. But maybe things aren't as black and white as thought? Note: This is part three of a three part act. Catch up on the previous three chapters I have posted after its long loooong hiatus here, here and here, respectively, before reading this one.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:

[...] If nothing else, Alistair could be at her side, support and protect her, whenever possible. Take the fall for her, if needed. This was what love was about, wasn’t it? Selfless and selfish, all in one. It could be a source of strength instead of weakness as Morrigan had disparagingly called it. And in the way Lenya could easily shatter him with a few words but put him back together and make whole as quickly showed it was strength and weakness, both. Not black or white but the in-betweens of it, more like. Complicated too, especially as a Warden in the time of a Blight to reconcile it with the duty he was bound to. But nothing of it had been planned, these feelings for her just happened . And now his life would be so much poorer without her in it. He didn't want that, not anymore. 

Her hand bunched in the sturdy fabric of his gambeson, asking him wordlessly to stay. Alistair did, how could he not? “I’m not leaving, don’t worry.” Lenya relaxed, closed her eyes with a long, stuttering exhale.

I love you.  

There was a clarity to that thought now, to these three words. No longer pushed away but embraced as immovable fact as it was by now. One day Alistair would have to let go of it, set it free, and her . He couldn't remain the hopeless fool forever. But for now it was a sense of purpose in a directionless world gone mad, a reason to fight beyond that lofty, nebulous goal of his duty of slaying an archdemon, to end this Blight. 

Her breath had slowed to an even rhythm, but she was still holding onto him. Alistair took her hand, hesitated as she stirred but she only settled down even closer to him, seeking him out as if by instinct. He very likely was just fooling himself here, yet his stomach was aflutter at the slightest possibility of it being real, and the cold no longer an issue for him. 

Cusping her hand into his in a gentle grasp, he marveled at the difference in size for a moment. So small in comparison, yet so powerful. Alistair bent down his head to kiss its backside, just a whisper of lips, as thankful for the comfort of her presence as she was for his. 

He waited until she was calm and asleep before leaving the tent again. [...]

[CONTINUE READING] || [READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

[sundogsandrainbows]

STORY SUMMARY: Trust is a delicate flower that needs to get nurtured and time to grow. Even more so love. A tale of two disparate Wardens forced together, of finding a way to overcome the distrust, and their own painful past in the time of the Blight. Very in-depth, character-focused exploration of the Dalish origin/warden, of all DA:O companions, and their relationship dynamics during the Fifth Blight. Follows and expands on canon events; AU in some ways. Multiple POV's, origins, and pairings. Slow burn af.

CHAPTER SUMMARY -- BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN : Next morning in camp, Lenya is hungover and Alistair sleep-deprived. But together they navigate their companions and (partly unaware) feelings for each other as they get ready to get back on the roads toward the wilds.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:

[...] With a smile toward her, Alistair picked up his prior abandoned bowl to help himself to a second portion. Oh no, the coin. Lenya winced with every scoop of the ladle in the pot. What if he ate his coin by accident and choked? Shit, would she end up killing her own and only fellow Warden?

“Um–”

“... because you are a good person.” Alas he was too caught up in scraping out what was left of the stew and his words to notice her distress. “And fiercely loyal to the people you care about, ready to help them in every way possible.” 

Yes, yes, wonderful. He knew her too well by now that her whole keeping-others-at-arm’s length-through-hostility -act wasn’t working any longer, nor was needed with him. But damn the stew – “You don’t wanna eat that, lethallin!”

Sitting down with the bowl in his armored hands, he frowned up at her. “Why? I know Zevran cooked it, but it is perfectly fine and–” Taking a spoonful of the stew, something distinctively round and metal had landed on it. Wow, lucky. Guess the token wanted to quickly return to its owner, thankfully now where it was noticed in time in a less chokey way. “Why is there a coin in my stew?” 

“...Surprise?” Lenya offered, but as expected Alistair wasn’t convinced… and very confused on top of that. “Well you startled me and I dropped it in there.”

“I… um, see?” Removing one gauntlet, he used his bare hand to fish it out of his bowl and shook it clean from the reddish stew. “Wait…this is mine. I’ve searched for it, thought I have lost my token… but here it is, in the stew, no less.”

“Sorry?” She shifted from one foot to the other. No point in sitting down again anymore. She needed to get ready for the road, pack her things and all that. Ugh. “I’ve found it on your bedroll and I have had it ever since. I meant to return it to you but well you startled me and–” 

“It’s all good.” Alistair brushed it clean with a bit of snow and instinctively flicked it in between his fingers. “I did find it after my first skirmish with a few darkspawn, right after my Joining.” Rubbing a thumb over its surface, he chuckled at the memory. “Must have shrieked like a little girl upon encountering them too, ah good old times.” Given he was only a Warden for half a year longer than her that remark was a bit weird yet so very relatable at the same time. Ostagar already felt a lifetime ago, not to mention regarding any sense of normalcy in their lives. Now fighting and killing was their everyday, as easy as breathing, and a darkspawn encounter was more of an afterthought and inconvenience than horrific. “One of the genlocks Duncan felled had the token on it and… I liked the runes on it. So I kept it ever since as a sort of lucky charm.”

“Right. With all the shit that happened, it doesn’t seem like your lucky charm is working, though.”

“Oh?” Tilting his head a little, Alistair’s mouth formed a warm smile that definitely reached and matched his earthen hazel eyes. “But I have met you, Nel. So I’m thinking I’m plenty lucky, actually.” 

More than that, the warmth of his lingering gaze had been kinda transmitted into her cheeks, as heated as they were right now. Gosh, this human and his damn honesty. [...]

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