#rain surana

[nowandthane]

OC Tag Game

Tagged by @my-dumb-obsessions <3 thank you! I'll just be doing my Dragon Age and Mass Effect OCs

Tagging @elvhencore @malabadspice @sillyliterature @daedrabait @ace-trash-boi @yurissweettooth and anyone else who wants to do this! No pressure though <3

Favourite OC: I feel like this changes based on who I'm writing atm, but right now it's Sarani Shepard. Working on her story and relationships the past few months have been great escapism for me, and writing it now is so healing. I love them so much. She was meant to die in the end and I changed their ending because I just could not stand it. I need her to be happy.

Newest OC: Okay this was kinda hard lmao. I thought it was Riyaad, but I made him ages ago and just reworked him recently, so he doesn't count. I have a Templar OC in mind but they don't have a name yet. So I guess it's Nayima Surana! My new HoF <3 I am retiring my old one for Reasons, but designing Nayima has been really great for making me desperate to write DA again.

Oldest OC: That'll be Valora Lavellan, who used to be my canon Inquisitor. She has also been retired from my canon for Reasons, but I'm planning on bringing her back. Been thinking about her relationship with Veara (who is my new inky) and I might make them siblings. We will see!

Meanest OC: Hmm. Probably Nayima or Lara. They're the ones with the least shit to give.

Softest OC: Arianwen Trevelyan. Funnily enough, I think on the surface she'd be my meanest, but she's really incredibly soft inside.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Bintang! Bintang is a healer who helps Anders in the clinic and with the mage underground. She joins the Inquisition to hunt for Samson, her former lover. She's one of my 'side' characters I never really talk about but her story and character is one of the most fleshed out xD

Dumbest (Affectionate) OC: ok lmao, just because he's like 5 years old, it's Aidan Trevelyan, Aria's son lmao. The competittion is too steep baby I'm sorry <3

Smartest OC: I'll go with Rain Surana. Who is admittedly also a child (16/17) but they are a magical prodigy so

OC I'd Probably Be Friends With: Riyaad Hawke, who is not technically a Hawke but gets adopted into the family. He's kinda insane. So we'd get along really well. It's the mental illness.

'Dragon Age and Mass Effect OCs' there is only one ME character on here lmao

[rainydaysie]

I try to capture every minute.

[rainydaygt]

oc x canon g/t……

save me oc x canon g/t….

[lukeskqwalker]

shocked and astounded by the lack of drawings/fics with a shapeshifter warden in the center of the cuddle pile as a very fluffy bear

[psychcwound]

tags

[shanaraharlyah]

Dragon Age Origins - Against All Odds

Ysmeria and Teagan

I spent a lot of time working on a Dragon Age Origins romance fic for Teagan and my Surana, Ysmeria, from 2021 through 2022. Since there are a lot of posts containing art, fic and headcanons, I've decided to compile them all here so they're easier to find and read in order. Ultimate goal is to eventually post the fic with images to ao3. This post will remain a WIP and I'll continue to update as I post new art and fic. I've divided it up into main storyline, post DAO, AUs and headcanons for easier navigation. Their tag is Teagan x Ysmeria.

A big shout-out to my fellow Teaganmancer, @fantasy-art-room, who helped inspire me to continue this project for so long! You are amazing, and I'm so glad we found one another! :)

Main Storyline

Against All Odds

Dawn Over Redcliffe part 1

Dawn Over Redcliffe part 2

Return to Redcliffe - Companion Art piece

Return to Redcliffe - The Stolen Kiss

Return to Redcliffe part 3 - WIP

Return to Redcliffe part 4 -WIP

The Spellweaver

Letters - WIP

Something to Talk About

Post Dragon Age Origins

Caught in the Rain

Champion of the Joust

Winter World of Love

Lilacs

I'll Be - Companion Art piece

Dragon Age Inquisition WIP

AUs

Modern Coffeeshop AU

Headcanons

Lilacs

Horses

Tournaments

Growing older

OTP Asks

[nanowatzophina]

OC Questionnaire! (Warden Edition as well)

Thanks to @dungeons-and-dragon-age for tagging me! I'm gonna do my Wardens as well since... like her, I don't wanna go on too long and... I really would go on too long if I did anything besides my wardens...

Even with just my wardens it's going to go for a while... so I apologize

This is my second time typing this all out-- so bear with me...

NAME: Rosal Surana

NICKNAME: Rose/Rosie? Not a lot of people actually use nicknames for her but those are an option.

GENDER: Female (she/they)

STAR SIGN: ((I don't know enough about Star Signs or Tarot cards so-- I'm just not going to answer these ones)

HEIGHT: Average for an elf

ORIENTATION: Biromantic Asexual

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Ferelden! Born in Denerim to be specific but her mother was a Dalish elf.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Peaches

FAVORITE SEASON: Fall! When the air becomes crisp.

FAVORITE FLOWER: Lilies and Lilacs

FAVORITE SCENT: Floral scents remind her of her mother, Firewood, Old parchment, new books, charcoal

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot Chocolate or Chai with honey

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Depends on if she has a new book she's trying to read... But usually like... 5? 5 hours sounds right...

DOGS OR CATS: Both!

DREAM TRIP: A historical trip around different places she's read about!

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: One really thick and fuzzy one.

RANDOM FACT: She can not do healing magic to save her life and yet that won't stop her from trying. That's how she got those scars, trying to heal herself in the fight going up the Tower of Ishal but just making it scar over really badly. But hey, at least it stopped bleeding.

NAME: Lannaris Mahariel

NICKNAME: Lan or Lanna

GENDER: Female (she/her)

HEIGHT: On the shorter side for an elf which makes her pretty short compared to humans.

ORIENTATION: Gay. Lesbian. Women.

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Dalish!

FAVORITE FRUIT: Plums or Blackberries

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring or Summer (before it gets to hot)

FAVORITE FLOWER: Geranium

FAVORITE SCENT: Woodsy, right after rain,

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Herbal tea

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 6. Schedules are important to her.

DOGS OR CATS: Cats, she's actually scared of dogs (which is why she never went to the kennel in Ostagar's camp)

DREAM TRIP: The Arbor Wilds, just to see the trees...

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1-2

RANDOM FACT: Her dream house would be a really cool treehouse. She'd love to live there with Leliana 3 cats and 6 nugs far away from other people... Just them and the forest.

NAME: Fen'nas Mahariel

NICKNAME: Fen!

GENDER: Male (he/they)

HEIGHT: Tall for an elf, around Morrigan's height

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Dalish! Was born in the Hinterlands

FAVORITE FRUIT: Berries! Favorite is probably blueberries or raspberries.

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring! He loves the flowers

FAVORITE FLOWER: He loves them all! Though loves Honeysuckle.

FAVORITE SCENT: Floral, Cedar and stronger scented herbs like rosemary and basil.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Chai for sure.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: You guys count? (probably like... 8-9, honestly he probably sleeps in a lot later than he should and stays up later than he should too)

DOGS OR CATS: Either! Doesn't have too much of opinion.

DREAM TRIP: Anywhere with Morrigan <3

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1

RANDOM FACT: He loves halla. He was really hoping that he'd one day get to be a caretaker for them. He loved to feed them and brush them whenever he wasn't off hunting or patrolling for the clan.

NAME: Alana Cousland

NICKNAME: Pup (her father is the only one allowed to call her that though) Rose (Alistair only)

GENDER: Female (she/her)

HEIGHT: Average?

ORIENTATION: Demi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Ferelden!

FAVORITE FRUIT: Oranges and Pears (not together... just... depending on her mood??? or what's in season?)

FAVORITE SEASON: Summer

FAVORITE FLOWER: Doesn't think much of flowers, honestly.

FAVORITE SCENT: Stables and gardens. Which I guess is to say manure but that doesn't sound like a good scent even though that's what it is... Earthy smells like that.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Coffee... with a lot of sugar and cream.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 6

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs. 100% Man's best friend.

DREAM TRIP: Adventure off somewhere, anywhere. It doesn't matter... just away from Ferelden.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 3-4

RANDOM FACT: She would actively scare away suitors, much to her Mother's chagrin... She would be purposefully blunt and rude in social situations and tease people relentlessly until they left her alone. She used to see being married off as the most torturous future possible. She also dislikes dresses. And probably wears pants around the castle to everyone's horror.

NAME: Solan Aeducan

NICKNAME: Sol, Nug

GENDER: Female (they/she)

HEIGHT: Short? Considering she's a dwarf? But probably a normal height for them.

ORIENTATION: LESBIAN.

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Orzammarian

FAVORITE FRUIT: Strawberries

FAVORITE SEASON: Any of them but Winter. She HATES the cold.

FAVORITE FLOWER: Orchid, though she's come to love most flowers, she didn't know there was quite so many of them just growing everywhere you looked.

FAVORITE SCENT: Steel, Fire, the smell of home, but also the smell of a clear night, and the expensive perfumes Leliana wears

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Coffee. Black.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 5 but she doesn't need that much.

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs

DREAM TRIP: The Deep Roads, she always dreamed of going deep and finding a new Thaig, finding long forgotten treasures and gold and being an adventurer finding lost places down in the deep.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: All of them. Why is it so sodding cold on the surface??

RANDOM FACT: She loves the stars. It took a little bit to adjust but the stars were likely the first things she found truly beautiful about the surface after being cast out of her home. She loves finding constellations and learning the stories of them. She feels more connected to them than she ever did the Stone, though she would never admit it... except to Leli

NAME: Iris Tabris

NICKNAME: Petal, Little Flower

GENDER: Female (she/her) ((look at all this variety I have right?))

HEIGHT: Tall for an elf, average for a human

ORIENTATION: Asexual

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Ferelden Alienage elf!

FAVORITE FRUIT: Grapes, sweet ones

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Iris, it was her mother's favorite, which is why she was named after it.

FAVORITE SCENT: Floral scents, smell of fresh baked bread, cinnamon

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot Chocolate with lots of whipped cream

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 7-8. Sleep is important.

DOGS OR CATS: Cats, generally dislikes dogs though her mabari hound is a very strong exception.

DREAM TRIP: To big cities in other countries, like in Orlais or Antiva... She would love to see what their architecture looks like.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, but only if it's very soft.

RANDOM FACT: Iris is really sensitive to textures and physical touch. It makes finding outfits a little difficult for her, considering Ferelden (probably) doesn't have a lot of great options in the way of textures, but because of that she got pretty good at making alterations to outfits. She is generally touch averse, though with permission, which Alistair is sure to always ask for, she's usually fine.

-----

blank meme:

NAME:

NICKNAME:

GENDER:

STAR SIGN: 

HEIGHT:

ORIENTATION:

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY:

FAVORITE FRUIT:

FAVORITE SEASON:

FAVORITE FLOWER:

FAVORITE SCENT:

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE:

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP:

DOGS OR CATS:

DREAM TRIP:

NUMBER OF BLANKETS:

RANDOM FACT:

[echoes-sounds]

My dragon age women

Asher Surana (Hero of Ferelden) - Raine Hawke (Champion of Kirkwall) - Nolwyn Lavellan (Inquisitor/Reluctant Herald of Andraste)

[salsedinepicta]

OC(s) Questionnaire

Tagged by @greypetrel - and her characters are just beautiful, so I'd highly recommend to hop on her blog and read her version :> 💜 Thanks for the tag!

Tagging: maybe @coloricioso could be interested? No pressure as usual ✨ +plus anyone who is interested!

Everything under "Read more" after the first one, of course.

NAME: Gwydion Hawke

NICKNAME: Hawke, of course - the firstborn can take dibs on the family surname. And then Gideon, since 1. that's how most people misspell his actual name and 2. Varric uses it in his stories (it's “more suited for the hero”). He doesn't mind.

GENDER: Male, although he takes it easy. In a modern AU he would be the Hakwe sibling most likely to experiment with gender presentation - and in every universe he just knows he'd look good in a dress/corset.

STAR SIGN: Libra

ORIENTATION: Gay

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Literally a random human born on a ship – 100% conceived in Kirkwall though.

FAVORITE FRUIT: All the citruses

FAVORITE SEASON: Early Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Forget-me-not, snowdrops, zagare (orange blossoms).

FAVORITE SCENT: Crushed elfroot, rain, lyrium potions - and why must lyrium be toxic when it clearly smells like raspberries and tangerines? UH? Templars are gatekeeping it. He is literally the only one saying this. At some point he’ll think fondly of sewage.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, preferably cold.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Around 7, but not consecutive.

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs AND cats AND also every single animal willing to be pet - why would you deny a centipede some love? And did anyone actually tried to raise a baby dragon? Cowards.

DREAM TRIP: Antiva, or Rivain – it sounds fun, from Isabela’s stories, and he is intrigued by their religious customs (and generally different approach to magic). Not without 50+ SPF though, have you seen Anders' skintone?

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: Just a few, he doesn’t particularly suffer the cold – and he’s a cuddly sleeper.

RANDOM FACT: Extremely tactile, hands must be occupied (almost) all the time. He makes his own bows and then whittle silly little figurines with the scraps of wood - usually they all end up looking like chunky animals of debatable identification.

NAME: Maren Hawke

NICKNAME: Mari (used only by selected people – Bethany can, Carver may or may not find nettles in his bed the next day) and various epithets by Varric (he finds her difficult to pin down, to his extreme annoyance). When she’ll get into Kirkwall’s politics people will start to call her Lady Amell, to everyone amusement.

GENDER: Female

ORIENTATION: Official not-so-mean lesbian

STAR SIGN: Scorpio

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Human, born in Ferelden, even if she doesn’t feel a strong national connection to it.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Pears, quince, pomegranates

FAVORITE SEASON: Autumn and Winter

FAVORITE FLOWER: Wild violets, daisies

FAVORITE SCENT: Parchment and ink, ambergris, wild roses’ oil, metal.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Black coffee in public, hot chocolate with lots of spices (and something sweet to eat on the side) in more private settings.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Better not to ask. Around 5, to avoid dreaming – she will slowly get better during the years.

DOGS OR CATS: Birds, obviously.

DREAM TRIP: For political reasons, all the cities of the Free Marches. And Weisshaupt/the Anderfels to pester the Wardens about griffin’s eggs – because what Merrill wants, Merrill gets.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: At least 4, because half of them will be stolen by Merrill during the night.

RANDOM FACT: Does she care about fashion? Not particularly, but she is highly aware of the power of appearences, and how to convey certain messages through clothes. She prefers small and significant jewelry over flashy one, but absolutely loves a nice statement headpiece, especially with some kind of drapery or veil – so she can literally put behind a curtain annoying people with a subtle turn of her head.

NAME: Malva Surana

NICKNAME: Irving’s pet, Surana, debatable variations on her name when Jowan wanted to be annoying – after the Circle, she is just Malva and then the Warden Commander.

GENDER: Do you have a gender if the circumstances of your birth make you less than a person in the eye of society? Ahaha, anyway, female.

ORIENTATION: Very queer - preference for women, but willing to experiment for the sake of it, if she fancies so. In another world, her and Gwydion would be the monsterfuckers, let’s be real.

STAR SIGN: Aquarius

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Definitely a city elf (the tattoos are random lines, made by someone who wanted her to remember but had no idea how a vallaslin really looks like, or how and when they are done) – maybe from Denerim’s alienage? But as far as she knows, there is no past before Kinloch Hold.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Blackberries

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: The kind of question that would trigger a half-an-hour-long aswer. For brevity sake: nightshade, hellebore, wisteria, ivy (not a flower, but impossible not to mention), and mallow.

FAVORITE SCENT: Burning wood, moss and damp earth, rosemary, wildberries.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Definitely tea. She is the mistress of the most absurd herbal infusions. They are great and they'll cure your cavities and other various ailments - but you don't want to know the ingredients. Don’t.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Between 6-8, can wake up every day at the same time without any alarm of sort.

DOGS OR CATS: If really pressed she'd say dogs (“They are great traveling companions”) but immediately regrets it because of all the fond memories of Ser Pounce-a-lot.

DREAM TRIP: The Thirashan forest, Arbor Wilds, Arlathan Forest – pretty much an elven history roadtrip to try to reclaim that part of her identity.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: Just one or two, wrapped all around her chrysalis-like because her subconscious still believes that the other apprentices will steal them.

RANDOM FACT: For a moment, she was Justice's first choice for a possible living host - she never knew it, though.

[antivan-beau]

candied orange peels ch 2 - ghosts

Zevran/Male Surana, M, 5263 words

"It's funny," Edric mused, "for almost all of my life, I’d watch storms from the Tower imagining what it'd be like to be outside. And now being indoors while it's raining feels like a luxury." Zevran pressed a lingering kiss against his neck. "One it would be foolish to take for granted, hmm?" That was enough to shake Edric from his thoughts and stir something in the pit of his stomach. Mornings with a real bed, no obligations, and deafening rain were rare. The feeling of Zevran’s skin against his own soothed an ache he'd tried to ignore during his lover's absence. It was easy to miss him. But, well. Missing him was the problem. Where did you go? Edric gently pulled away, turning back towards the bed. "Not right now," was all he could say.

Read on AO3.

For Zevwarden Week 2023 - Day 2: “Secrets, Kept and Told.” @zevraholics

The follow-up conversation to a missing scene/fix-it fic I wrote ages ago where Zevran and Taliesen meet up in Denerim and talk about a few things, rather than have their first encounter be the ambush in the alleyway.

Edric and Zevran finally get to talk through some things, too.

[spainkitty]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Chapter 2: The course is but run, and end has begun

Finally, her wisp's light began to refract against something moving. At first it looked like slithering. She and Dorian recoiled sharply before they noticed the rhythm of it. The ebb and flow. The sloshing against stone and wood.

“… that’s a dock,” Lanil said, breathless and her own dread and suspicions mounting. “Dorian, you said the amulet shouldn’t have moved us through space, only time?”

“Yes, but obviously something has—”

“No, no, you were right. Maker’s breath, you were right,” Lanil said. She all but fell on her ass to back away rapidly and incidentally dragging Dorian with her before sidling out of his grip. She spun in a circle with new eyes. The crater was massive, the pit nearly as large. The blackened rubble and the huge tree and there—a twisted mess of iron and wood that once had been a portcullis.

“Surana?”

“Redcliffe Castle has a dock, Pavus. A dock built underneath the castle,” Lanil said, fury and something deeper than fear running through every word. Dorian’s eyes widened.

“Yes, Felix brought me… You can’t mean that this is Redcliffe Castle!?” Dorian asked, sweeping his arm out.

Lanil ignored her heaving stomach, the constant song thrumming against her skull, the unsteadiness of her legs. She ran for the ledge, skirting the pit and the lyrium with shudders running down her spine. The sides of the crater were near a foot over her head, probably about level with Dorian’s height. She scrabbled up them, fingernails digging into dirt, her thin slippers sliding and slipping, pebbles and dust raining down into Dorian’s face when he followed her. She hauled herself over the edge, wheezing and cursing, vision spotting again, and saw the large, glassy, Fade-green surface of Lake Calahad and the mountains of Ferelden’s Hinterlands beyond.

“Fuck,” she hissed.

Dorian came up beside her, coughing slightly and brushing dirt from his clothes absently as he stared into the Hinterlands. What was left of it. Huge swathes of forest were replaced by blackened earth and large, glowing, red lyrium. The village on the opposite shore was in shambles and eerily silent, although it wasn't nearly the decimation at her back. The only movement among the rubble and few standing houses was the wind. And the rippling veins of light along the lyrium’s surfaces. Dorian and Lanil exchanged a loaded glance before heading towards where the broken bridge lay.

Getting from where the castle had been to the other shore across the lake was more time- and mana-consuming than difficult. The bridge between the shore and the castle had been destroyed when Alexius kicked out the arl, but there was more than enough debris in the water to fill in the gap. They had to clamber a bit, and the lowest part of their makeshift bridge was nearly under water, but they made it. Now on the other side, Lanil took in the details of the village’s ruin. Almost every building was dilapidated, whole walls missing, roofs caved in, shutters hanging from mere splinters. Huge stone blocks with traces of soot were lying like forgotten toys in the grass, and there were several gaping holes in the sides of buildings where more rubble had flown through. Lanil knelt beside one such chunk of stone, fingertips darkening when she touched it.

“This definitely came from the castle,” she said, frowning.

“Which means whatever destroyed it, it exploded outward,” Dorian surmised.

“Is this as bad as the Conclave? Did whatever happen then happen again?” Lanil asked, brushing her fingers clean on her robes.

“I didn't see it the aftermath with my own eyes, but it would explain why the sky is… like that.”

They both looked up reflexively and shuddered. Lanil could smell the Fade. It pervaded every one of her senses, almost as overpowering as the stench of the rotting fields and worse things left behind in these deserted homes.

Before they gone much farther, Lanil knew the entirety of Redcliffe was empty.

[rainydaysie]

[syrupwrit]

i am 👀👀👀 at your f!Surana/Unnamed Female Hermit Character so please, from yuor own prompts, “The mere thought sets my blood in a whirl, not with horror, but with… I know not what to call it. The feeling terrifies me, but it is delicious.”

Hi Rosella -- thank you for this! I wanted to write about her >:] And I am physically incapable of sticking to a prompt, but you know what, I think that's all right.

Under the cut, please find ~1200 words of f!Surana/Edis (OFC) for @dadrunkwriting. This is set sometime after Dragon Age: Inquisition.

-

A bereskarn has been sighted on the mountain. Godiva Wallis, grocer, tells Edis about it with unveiled relish on the day she comes into town for provisions. It's been over a month since last she saw Edis, Godiva Wallis reminds her, and waxes a while on how unwise it is, a woman of her vulnerabilities living on her own.

There are so many dangers on the mountain. Wolves, bandits, blood mages, and now the bereskarn. If Edis would condescend to move into town��but Edis won't be moved, will she. (Edis might be moved, but not into town. Not for a few more years. Not till her hair’s more ash than yellow, and the scars on her chest pale and fade.)

As large as two houses, is the bereskarn, and rippled over with blight-spikes sharp as arrowheads, oozing black blood. As fierce and mindless as a great finned fish it is, and its teeth like daggers, its claws like great curved swords.

It blighted one of the Dalish out in the foothills, says Godiva. They packed him up and sent him walking into the caves. Pitiless people, the elves, but you can’t say it’s too hard of them, not with the Wardens so scarce in the south. Otherwise he’d doom the whole clan.

Edis would like Godiva Wallis, but for how she dwells on certain things—the terror of the blighted Dalish elf, the imagined indignities of his end—and for how she always cheats Edis a little, and asks her for a favor after she’s paid, and doubtlessly gossips about her to everyone she sees for the rest of the week. Edis’ favor today is taking a rug back to Keyne the blacksmith. Why a rug, Godiva does not supply.

The rug is large and heavy; Edis is small and already burdened. Three different people she passes try to take the rug and carry it for her. If she lets them, the news will get back to Godiva, who Edis had repeatedly assured that it was no trouble. So she tramps on, back and arms straining, knowing that she’s done a stupid thing.

Edis does a lot of stupid things. It’s for the best that she doesn’t come into town that often.

Keyne the blacksmith is surprised to receive the rug. He is also busy. Ah, but his son Wilkin has returned from business in Gwaren and can take the rug from Edis. Wilkin—the young widower, handsome and aloof. He looks Edis up and down in a way she’s not sure she likes.

She doesn’t realize until she’s left that Godiva Wallis set her up. How lucky that she has more errands to run, and that the rain is coming later this afternoon. Otherwise Keyne and Wilkin might have invited her for lunch.

Edis finishes the rest of her errands. No letters have come for her. She makes her way back up the mountain, gritting her teeth against the strain in her muscles, trudging onward—up the winding paths buttressed by steep, sharp roots, under trees that mutter restlessly to each other, to the crumbling cottage whose loneliness is both comfort and curse.

The rain comes. She lights the stove and makes herself a pot of strong, spiced tea to drink with honey-cake, her favorite treat after going into town.

Edis sits wrapped in cold blankets and shivers herself to warmth.

And then she hears a bear.

-

At first she thinks that it’s the wind came with the rain. Howling, roaring wind. It mocks the cries of wolves and people alike. It’s fooled her before.

Wolves, the mountain’s covered by. Some are blight wolves, some just ordinary. She sets traps for them, buys charms in the village, cleans up after herself; and all that’s kept them away. She’s learned how to keep dangerous things away, finally.

Then comes a scream. The trees near her cottage shake and crash. A deep low moan rolls over the mountain. Edis feels the hairs all over her body stand up. The moan rises and dies and rises again. Something is in pain.

Edis—she’s had her pot of tea, half of her honey-cake, and she’s still thinking about the Dalish elf. Maybe she’s had a little whiskey for her sore back. Maybe she’s remembering Aurialde, though tonight is nothing like the night when Aurialde showed up choking and lost behind the Chantry back home, with her red nails and red teeth and the reds of her eyes.

The little sliver of red crystal at her hairline, poking up out of her scalp. How she hardly recognized Edis, wouldn’t let her touch her, but stayed put when she asked.

“Aurialde,” whispers Edis, though she knows she’s dead.

The bear moans once more, sounding almost human. Edis is up before she knows it, her heart racing, her clumsy hands grabbing a lantern and unlatching the door.

-

Neither bear nor bereskarn lies fallen on the mountain’s wooded slope. No great bulk has cracked the branches; no great claws have rent the earth. The figure that Edis’ rain-spotted lantern reveals is that of a naked elf-woman, collapsed among wet leaves.

The elf-woman is gaunt and dirty. Limp tangles of dark hair cross a sharp-featured face, which might be pretty if it were better fed. The lantern light catches on a chain hanging between her shriveled breasts, securing a dark little vial and a small loop of wood.

Her scarred, knotted hands have long nails, stained as if she’s been digging with them. Her narrow hips are also marked with scars. There is an oozing cut on her leg—oozing black blood…

Edis jumps back just as quickly as she’d rushed over, feeling a cold sweat break out. This elf-woman has the Blight.

But Edis isn’t like the Dalish clan or Godiva Wallis. She can’t just leave the elf to die. There’s nothing hard in her, and it will kill her someday.

More cautiously than before, she approaches the elf-woman. She sets the lantern on a rock and crouches down.

The elf-woman doesn’t stir when she reaches under her clammy arms. Edis isn’t strong to begin with, and what strength she has is sapped from her day and her whiskey, but the woman is light. Too light. She must be skin and bones.

Lift and drag. A little ways up the mountain is Edis’ woodshed, which isn’t comfortable, but—she’s panicking. She can clear out some of the wood, and at least then the woman will be under a roof. 

She works under a drizzle that thickens into rain, stirred by the wind and the muttering trees. By the time it’s whipped itself into a downpour, the woman is safely in the shed, propped to rest on a pallet of straw and clean rags, with Edis’ spare quilt tucked around her.

Edis stands, holding the lantern, and watches her breathe. Nothing labored about it. Not like it was with Aurialde towards the end, the wheezing and the red crystals growing under her tongue.

Cold water on the back of her neck. If she wants to sleep before dawn, she’d better start scrubbing her hands.

-

Edis dreams, and someone is there: a little elven maid with milk-white eyes.

[crossdressingdeath]

Anyone else ever think about how Surana/Amell feels rain for the first time in probably at least a decade at Ostagar? (Brosca and Aeducan feel rain for the first time ever at Ostagar but the "Hm, that's new" feel is not the Angst I want so I'm setting them aside.) Surana/Amell is young—I really do get the sense that they're supposed to be the youngest of the potential Wardens—and they've spent basically their whole life locked in the tower and they haven't been so much as allowed to see the sky in years, and they finally get out of that hellhole and are free to see the world and feel the air and the ground and the rain... and the first time they get to feel rain on their skin after so long is one of the most disastrous battles of the age.

[cao-the-dreamer]

Tagged by @dungeons-and-dragon-age thank you! Never passing the opportunity to rant about my children :3 decided to go with the tarot cards too :D

Tagging mmm @razumairon and whoever else wanna play

NAME: Ymir Brosca

NICKNAME: Mimir, Love (by Alistair)

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Page of swords

HEIGHT: Smol (barely reach Alistair's torso)

ORIENTATION: Demi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Orzammarian

FAVORITE FRUIT: Peach

FAVORITE SEASON: Early autumn (especially when it rains)

FAVORITE FLOWER: Rose

FAVORITE SCENT: Wet dirt, rain

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, especially herbal infusions

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 10 (could sleep through blaring trumpets)

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs!

DREAM TRIP: Par Vollen, so she can say hello to unofficial dad Sten

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 8 (it's freaking cold on the surface)

RANDOM FACT: During her time on the surface, she discovered she loves playing with dirt when it rains. She ends up doing dirtballs fight with Alistair

NAME: Galenos Amell

NICKNAME: Gal (only by Sulemadin), big guy, dumbass (affectionate), mi corazon (by Zevran)

GENDER: Male

TAROT CARD: The Lovers

HEIGHT: Fucking huge (Sten-sized)

ORIENTATION: Gay

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher

FAVORITE FRUIT: Loquat

FAVORITE SEASON: Winter

FAVORITE FLOWER: Wisteria

FAVORITE SCENT: Wine

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot chocolate (the very thick kind)

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 2 + numerous naps he takes during the day (he can sleep while standing)

DOGS OR CATS: Both, he's not picky

DREAM TRIP: Antiva (maybe to take over the Crows with Zevran), Kirkwall (he wants to say hello to his cousins)

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: None (Zev is his blanket)

RANDOM FACT: He can change his body into water, but he forgets his clothes do not, so he will fight naked more often than not

NAME: Sulemadin Surana

NICKNAME: Dude (only by Galenos), Milady (by Morrigan), no one else is allowed to give her nicknames

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Knight of Wands

HEIGHT: slightly smaller than Morrigan

ORIENTATION: Mean Lesbian

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan, born in Denerim (she was raised alongside the Tabris family)

FAVORITE FRUIT: Fig

FAVORITE SEASON: End of winter/early spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Oleander

FAVORITE SCENT: Smoke

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: None (can't stomach them)

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 5

DOGS OR CATS: Cats, she takes care of Ser-Pounce-a-lot until she can give him back to Anders

DREAM TRIP: Emerald graves

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 2

RANDOM FACT: She likes to shift into a cat so she can cuddle with Morrigan or knock things off the table just to be a menace

NAME: Keti Hawke

NICKNAME: Kitty Cat (friends and family), Tiger (during her time with Meeran)

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Knight of Swords

HEIGHT: Average

ORIENTATION: Demi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan/Half Elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Raspberry

FAVORITE SEASON: Autumn

FAVORITE FLOWER: Jasmine

FAVORITE SCENT: Jasmine

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot Chocolate with cinnamon

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 3-4

DOGS OR CATS: Neither, she likes mice

DREAM TRIP: Rivain

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1

RANDOM FACT: She carries mice in her pockets and performs tricks with them to cheer up her siblings or Fenris

NAME: Sotos Hawke

NICKNAME: Ferret, Toto (by Merrill)

GENDER: He, they, whatever you want he doesn't really care

TAROT CARD: The Moon

HEIGHT: Same as Keti

ORIENTATION: Asexual biromantic

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan/Half Elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Orange and other citrus

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Dandelion

FAVORITE SCENT: Leather

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, with a lot of honey

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 3-4

DOGS OR CATS: He loves his dog but honestly he's not picky, he will cuddle anything he can

DREAM TRIP: Orzammar

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, though he doesn't really need it since he's always snuggled with his dog

RANDOM FACT: He grew vertical gardens on the walls of the alienage so Merrill and the other elves could have fresh veggies during the season (they knew he used magic to make the plants grow but ssshhh they can keep a secret)

NAME: Tzipporah Lavellan

NICKNAME: Auntie, Tzip, Mama Bird

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Strength

HEIGHT: Cullen Tall

ORIENTATION: Aroace

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher/Antivan

FAVORITE FRUIT: Mulberry

FAVORITE SEASON: Summer

FAVORITE FLOWER: Sunflower

FAVORITE SCENT: Rosemary, thyme

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Coffee with halla milk

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 7

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs! They make excellent hunting companions

DREAM TRIP: Going back home

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, she shares it with Alim

RANDOM FACT: She spent six months in the alternate timeline with Dorian instead of like, one day. Deeply traumatising but at least she came back with a weird ghost/skeleton puppy who's loyal to fault and keeps biting Solas' shins for some reason

NAME: Alim Trevelyan

NICKNAME: Frog boy, Lordy Froggy, your royal froggyness (all invented by Sera, they kinda stuck. He loves them)

GENDER: Intersex boy

TAROT CARD: Six of pentacles

HEIGHT: same as Sera

ORIENTATION: Questioning

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher/Half elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Apple

FAVORITE SEASON: Summer

FAVORITE FLOWER: Forget-me-not

FAVORITE SCENT: Clove, cinnamon, vanilla

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, the rest makes him too jittery

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: He has insomnia

DOGS OR CATS: Frogs :3

DREAM TRIP: The Anderfels (he wanna see a griffin!)

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, shared with Tzipporah

RANDOM FACT: He built a pond in the gardens for his frogs; Sera found more for him but to keep them he had to wear one on his head for a whole day (which he did, much to Sera's hilarity)

[contreparry]

Happy Friday! For DADWC, how about "stubbornly waiting for them before going to sleep"?

Here's some Alistair and Surana friendship from the corporate espionage AU for @dadrunkwriting!

It was raining and cold and awful, and Bran wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed. He'd have done so hours ago, as soon as the day turned to night, but someone had to watch over the simulations running on the computer and it was his turn to babysit the machine.

At least he hadn't taken to keeping a sleeping bag under the desk, unlike some members of his cohort. He was going to sleep in his own bed, and once another alchemy student stepped into the office to take over the long watch, Bran gathered his belongings and left, taking the stairs two steps at a time until he was walking through campus. It was still raining, a light drizzle that persisted throughout the day, and the concrete was slick and shining with water. Bran flung his hood over his head and kept his head down as he walked down the now familiar route to the train station.

The train ride back was uneventful. Bran pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window and watched as the lights in the tunnel flashed by in a blur. And when he reached his stop Bran dragged himself upright and half-stumbled out of the station and back into the cold and wet. Friday night and he was out at midnight by himself after staying shut in an office watching a computer all evening.

Pathetic. He had now lived in Amaranthine for two months and he hadn’t even gone to one bar or pub. His days were a blur of work and shuffling between the university, his apartment, and the bookstore. Bran sighed and clumsily unlocked his door and pushed it inwards, eager to get out of his wet clothes and into his bed.

The lights were on. Bran didn’t remember leaving the lights on when he left the apartment that morning. And something was playing on the television, which was definitely off when he left. Bran kicked his shoes off and cautiously crept out of the narrow entry and into his tiny living room, his exhaustion and curiosity overtaking his sense of self-preservation.

A familiar red-brown head rested on the padded armrest of Bran’s ragged second-hand sofa, and Bran released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. There were no shadowy figures lurking in his apartment, no demons or ghouls waiting to pounce upon him. It was just Alistair, his coworker at The Warden, his neighbor who lived down the hall, and his one friend in Amaranthine. Good, reliable Alistair- though how he got here was a mystery.

"Hey," Alistair said before letting out a long, loud yawn- like a lion, Bran thought, his mind as slow as molasses dripping from a spoon.

"Alistair," Bran replied.

"Wanted to return your spare key, but forgot you’d be late,” Alistair said easily. "But I figured I’d stay up and make sure you got back home safe. Got you dinner, it’s in the fridge.” Alistair slowly rose from the couch and stretched his arms above his head. The hem of his hooded sweatshirt rose up over the waistband of his gym shorts and revealed a sliver of tanned skin.

“Dinner?” Bran repeated, and Alistair shuffled over to him and patted his shoulder. His hand was heavy.

“Yeah. Sandwich. You can probably pop it in the oven, it’ll taste better that way,” Alistair advised, and he yawned again. “Anyways, I’m beat. Left the key on the counter, see you Monday?”

“Monday. Yes. See you,” Bran swayed slightly, and Alistair- who was already shoving his feet into a pair of ragged slip on sandals- hesitated.

“Maker’s Balls. You’re falling asleep on your feet,” he commented, and Bran felt Alistair’s hands on his shoulders. Bran blinked slowly, feeling drunk and far, far too tired to think of what to say. How did words even work? But he ought to say something, anything, to Alistair. He was being nice to him- returning his spare key, getting him dinner, waiting up- but he was so tired…

“Go to bed, okay?” Alistair said, his voice a comforting rumble in his ear.

“Mmmm,” Bran mumbled, and with Alistair’s hand on his back guiding him Bran shuffled his way down the hall to his bedroom. The moment his head hit the pillow he felt himself drifting to sleep, but Bran heard Alistair say something about locking the door and returning his spare key on Monday at work.

“Thanks,” Bran mumbled into his pillow, right before Alistair gently closed his bedroom door. The rain fell in heavy sheets outside, but Bran curled up in his bed and smiled. The world didn’t seem so cold or awful when you had a friend like Alistair at your side.