#so idk how i feel abt this one. but a good exercise nonetheless!!

[oopsallmabari]

i took wayyyy too long with this, but it's the last of the codex prompts:

(submitted by @creaking-skull)

5. letters between two of your OC’s companions about them

A couple of letters collected from the headquarters of the City Guard in the Viscount’s Keep in Kirkwall, during an interview of Guard-Captain Aveline Vallen in 9:40 Dragon, conducted by Right Hand of the Divine, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast. When asked to share the letters, Guard-Captain Vallen parted with them voluntarily, remarking that ‘they do me no good, though I doubt you’ll find anything useful in them’.

Anders, I am sure you know I would not reach out to you like this if I wasn’t asking you something important. How are things at your clinic? Our guards continue to post watch in Darktown, though most of their focus has been on keeping the usual brigands and highwaymen under control. No matter our personal disagreements, the people of Darktown speak highly of you and your work. If there are any disturbances near the clinic, I will gladly send my men to intervene. I understand you were with Levi when he found Leandra. I’ve tried to pay my respects at the estate, but haven’t received a response. As much as he might like me to, I will never forget fleeing the Blight with him—we lost so much, so quickly. That family has been through more suffering than most can bear. I am sorry for his loss. I hope he realizes it. I know you two are close. I know you’re well aware of the tensions at the Gallows, which is why I come to you. I cannot manage it on my own: things at the Keep are in chaos enough with the Viscount dead and Meredith hovering. If you want a real way to help your people, tell Hawke to meet with me—help me set Kirkwall on the right path. If there’s anyone they’ll listen to, it’s the Champion. —Guard-Captain Aveline Vallen -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Vallen, No need to waste time pretending with pleasantries. I have no need for your offers of protection: my patients are nearly as wary of your Guard than they are of the templars skulking the docks. It is more than enough to know that as of yet, no one has come to break down my door. I will see to it that it stays that way. If you really wanted Hawke’s assistance in the matter, there’s a far easier way to get it than trying to beg me like some dog with your tail between your legs. But I suspect I know why you haven’t gone to Levi, and I’ll gladly confirm: no, he doesn’t want to speak with you, nor does he want to speak with most anyone in this blasted city right now. He is still grieving. At least give him the peace to do that before you start parading him around for your own ends. —A.

Subsequently added notes in the margins of the second letter:

This aligns with Varric Tethras’ impression of the Champion as ‘prone to fits of pique’ in the years leading up to the rebellion, and suggests he was hiding the extent of his relationship with Anders from you. If that’s the case, they will have gone even deeper into hiding. I still think it would be preferable to focus on leads for Surana’s whereabouts. —L. No. It has to be him: what happened in Kirkwall is the key to anything we do next. You must find him. We are simply missing something. —C. P.