#kenric speaks

[synonymroll648]

guys i know the conversation surrounding the vackers’ accents has been beaten to death but. for people who didn’t notice (like myself). i’m rereading book one and on page 64 (paperback) it says,

“…You’re even a natural at our language. Your accent is perfect. Almost as perfect as these guys’.” He [Kenric] pointed to Alden and Fitz.

having alden and fitz, who are known for having crisper pronunciation of words, and sophie, someone that grew up in america where words are known to be pronounced harshly/bluntly, be examples of perfect or near-perfect enlightened/elvin implies that elves are supposed to sound not just like babies, but ideally sophisticated babies? or perhaps brutish babies. idk food for thought

[clarityroses2]

No because you guys will never understand what “your stupid face” by Kaden mackay meant to me when I thought about it as oralie and kenric…

[jaybirdlives]

CRAZY KotLC Theory I Haaaavveeee

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR UP TO STELLARLUNE.

Okay, this is kinda a crackpost, but I NEED people to hear this and give me your thoughts. Only KotLC fans tho. Duh.

What if Mr Forkle is Counciller Kenric??

PLEASE hear me out. I don't ACTUALLY belive it, but the amount of evidence is scary lol. It's a bit to read but please do. And again PLEASE tell me your thoughts.

One, Fintan survived. I know, but wait. In book four, when Fintan's like "I'm alive!", Sophie turns to Mr Forkle and he IMMEDIATLY shuts her down.

Okay, that's not REALLY evidence, but do you remember a scene or two before that when Sophie is looking at the Kenric-Statue and is like "huh. The bridge of his nose looks familiar. So does the corners of his eyes". At the time, Sophie was trying to see if Kenric was her dad. Now we know he's not. That is just a detail that's always bothered me since we figured out he wasn't her dad. Shannon Messenger doesnt usually just add useless paragraphs like that (i know it was just to show that she was kinda paranoid, but still). She is with Sir Astin in the scene and has been with Forkle for a while so maybe?

You remember when Sophie shows Forkle the cashe and he's like "never let me near this". Its kinda weird. Usually hes good at keeping himself from knowledge, right? Or something idk. But we also know in srellarlune, Kenric NEVER liked cashes. And thought info in them was important. I really don't know.

SPEAKING of Stellarlune, you remember that forgotten secret with Kenric and Prentice? What if because the tests with Prentic holding the secrets failed, he decided on Project Moonlark? AND because it failed and Prentice was able to see the memory(s), he wanted to join the black swan?

Kenric WAS one of the councilers in the first book to evaluate her for Foxfire. And he was ALWAYS a Sophie Supporter TM

Maybe Forkle killed Kenric off because he was worried about the "black swan leak" being the one to leak all of the info so he and the collective voted to kill kenric and see if they were the leak this whole time and that was why the collective had a big debate uproar thing when Magnate Leto was almost elected.

Forkle is a telepath and so is Kenric. We learn this in the third book, right before Kenric dies. Weird.

Also, Forkle isnt afraid to be ugly with his disguises. In stellarlune, we learn Kenric has TERRIBLE fashion taste.

And i'm sure there's more ive thought of, but i'm writing all this from the top of my head.

BUT as much as this has been keeping me up at night, it doesn't make much sense. Why would he let himself fall for Oralie? Wouldn't he know Sophie gets the cache? How was he Forkle AND a counciler AND a black swan leader AND sir astin AND magnate leto??

But it seriously bothers me how much evidence there is.

BUT that IS just a theory!!! A KOTLC THEORYYY!

(I've always wanted to do that. And this seriously feels like something MatPat would cook up)

[skyheld]

@mercysought | cont. from x

Oh, Hakkon says, I like her.

Ameridan can see why, watching the way she moves through the room to stand in front of him, the way she looks at him with so much disapproval and without being held back by the fear she would naturally feel for the threat he 'd pose to her if he wanted. She's right to despise him. It might have hurt him, hearing the way she speaks and seeing the curl of her mouth when she looks at him, if he didn't agree with her—but he doubts she thinks anything he has not thought himself.

"I am not trying to intimidate you." He speaks calmly, clearly, with a firmness he has kept out of his own voice for much of the last ten years. He has rarely needed it, that immutable commander's voice; he's been able to to be softer, less forceful, in the way he speaks to most people around him. It is easy to slip back into it, to put on that armour. "I doubt you would do what I'm going to ask even if I could frighten you, so it would serve no purpose. And I am not trying to comfort you. What I am telling you is the truth. It will only get worse."

Orlesian. Is that how she sees him? He was born in Orlais, yes, but he doubts she has read the book professor Kenric wrote on his life (several hundred pages of as much detail as Ameridan could suffer giving him; it was a heavy tome) so closely that she rememberes where he lived the first thirteen years of his life. But where he lived most of his life is orlesian territory now, and maybe that's enough. All things west of the Frostbacks might be Orlais to her, no matter what it was before the empire swallowed it.

"But it must threaten you. You are already surrounded by allies you would not have chosen had you not been as desperate as we are. You have the Inquisitor, a Dalish blood-mage, an orlesian apostate, and you have me. But we are not enough. You need others." Others who may be as much threat to her as the ones she already has. Others she'd once likely have considered nearly as dangerous as darkspawn. Others who would consider her the same, who would have no reason to trust the queen of Ferelden, who would never gather around her banner unless someone convinced them too. Someone they had reason to follow. Someone they revered.

Hakkon shifts, as though on the verge to break out, but Ameridan holds him back. No, they must bide their time.

"There are people living on the borders of your land with great numbers of capable warriors. They have brave leaders, strong magic. You need the Chasind and the Avvar." Maybe it was risky to speak to her like this—if she felt like he was talking down to her, she'd be more resistant to listening—but she had asked him to drop the act, to not make apologies, to speak out. And so he would. If she was the queen she was said to be, she'd see the truth of his statements.

"I can help you gain their support. But you will have to tolerate what I am."

[lostinquisitor]

random dragon age ameridan notes:

- cuts his hair pretty soon after waking up, a common dalish mourning practice, and keeps it quite short for several years; the longest it ever grows again is during veilguard, where it is a bit above shoulder length

- still wears a full assortment of earrings (and other things) to stifle his erratic draw on ambient magical energy and prevent his own mana backlash from getting out of control; when he is back on ‘active duty’ he very cautiously swaps these out one-by-one for sets that will enhance his magical skill instead

- still uses a halberd-type of weapon, but commissioned this from a dalish blacksmith affiliated with the inquisition to be able to disguise it as a more common stave or even walking stick in a pinch given the various laws regarding elves and blade-lengths, remaining fear of mages, etc

- also carries two shorter blades that can be concealed on his person

- doesn’t typically give a fake name to anyone he expects to see more than once, but when he does it’s often ‘doshiel’

- has an inquisition badge and a letter of introduction from professor bram kenric; generally speaking when the leverage of one organization doesn’t open doors (or at least give him a barn to sleep in at night) the leverage of the other one will

- technically joins the wolf hunt as a sort of contractor; with solas watching the inquisition itself so closely, including charter and varric, ameridan operates with a level of independence that means his check-ins or dead drops are very rarely utilized — if he’s giving them an update they can expect it to be either exceptionally BAD news or exceptionally GOOD news

- has his own side projects which mostly include poking around and seeing what the various alienages, clans, and movements such as the freemen of the dales and the new order of emerald knights are up to; this is part cover, since it disguises a lot of his anti-wolf activity, and part desire to see the dales standing as a free nation again

- does not know that elandhris lives

[bronte-deserves-better]

In honor of pride month, I think I'm gonna do a little ramble about why Bronte/Emery genuinely appeals to me as a ship dynamic, even though I've been in this fandom long enough to remember that it started as a joke. More below the cut because this got longer than planned.

So first off, Bronte and Emery are similar in some ways. To me, their connecting thread is their shared devotion to the Council. Bronte is the longest-serving Councillor, and when the main crew is suspicious of the Council having a leak in Everblaze, Fitz dismisses the idea that Bronte could be that leak outright. Bronte is said to be very dedicated to his job. Similarly, we see Emery make every effort to maintain the Council's reputation and standing over the course of the books. As the Council's spokesperson, he rarely shares his own opinion, and instead acts as the voice of the Council. (Which makes Emery a fascinating character in his own right to me, but that's a different post.)

So Bronte and Emery have some shared values: the Council. They're both believers in the system, generally upholding the established power structures rather than transgressing them like Oralie or Kenric.

But their duality is also fascinating to me. Bronte is strong-willed and opinionated, "infamously struggling" with the edict that Councillors should not speak against the Council's decisions even if they don't agree. He clearly has his own moral framework; even though it often aligns with the Council, when it doesn't, he never hesitates to speak against the rest. Bronte is blunt, harsh, and a rather abrasive character.

By contrast, Emery is smooth-tongued and charming. Unlike Bronte, he almost never speaks his own opinion. Instead, as I said above, he acts as the voice of the Council. I think it must require a certain kind of personality and patience to be a successful spokesperson; even when decisions are made which you personally disagree with, you have to maintain the facade of unity.

I think it's this duality which draws them to each other, in a way. Neither of them could be each other, and consequently they find the other equally fascinating and frustrating. It's easy to imagine that Emery is sometimes frustrated by Bronte's outspoken nature, which he sees as undermining the unity of the Council. Bronte, meanwhile, wouldn't understand how Emery can set aside his principles so easily. It's frustrating, but it's also fascinating. It draws them to be curious about each other.

Another aspect to this is the isolation of the Councillors. We know Councillors are forbidden from having romantic relationships or children canonically; some people have extrapolated from this the idea that Councillors are also encouraged to not maintain contact with their families. But even setting explicit regulations aside, the Councillors are deeply lonely characters. They each live (theoretically alone) in a vast castle, making their decisions about the elven world largely in isolation. How many secrets must the Council know that they are forbidden to share with anyone else? How much does their work keep them from forming connections with other elves, even ones that they aren't technically forbidden from having, like friendships?

As far as I imagine it, the Councillors, by virtue of their positions, are deeply isolated from close relationships with anyone outside the Council, which makes their relationships with each other all the more crucial. The rest of the Council are people that they spend long periods of time in discussion with, must work with to preserve the safety of the elven world, and the only other elves who can truly understand what all of this is like. The Councillors are forbidden from forming 'attachments', but under those conditions, it's not hard to see why some Councillors do form attachments to one another: canonically, Kenric and Oralie, or not so canonically, Bronte and Emery.

In my fic your drama (the touch of your hand) (which is on my AO3 SemperAeternumQue and you should definitely check out-), I imagine Bronte and Emery as having somewhat of a friends/coworkers with benefits relationship. In AUs, I might imagine them in a more traditionally romantic dynamic, but in the canon universe of Keeper, traditional romance just doesn't seem to fit them. Both of them are too dedicated to their work to pursue anything they see as overly romantic or breaking their oaths; they aren't in love the way Oralie and Kenric were, but they find a sort of comfort in one another. They are some of the only people capable of understanding the position that the other is in: their shared dedication to the Council intermingled with the sheer loneliness of being a Councillor.

And that's fascinating to me! I love dynamics that for whatever reason can't be categorized nearly into traditional relationship categories! Bronte and Emery's canon dynamic is absolutely fascinating because of so many things: the unconventional nature of the relationship, the fact that they're both doing something that could be seen as breaking their oaths- oaths that we know they both are canonically quite dedicated to- and the resulting cognitive dissonance, the duality and contrast between their personalities that draws them to one another, the fact that they can never fully understand each other but take comfort in the other nonetheless- I just love everything about what canon!Brontemery would be like.

(Oh yeah, and a final note because I thought of it midway through: I've spent a lot of this ramble contrasting brontemery to koralie, which wasn't intentional at first, but I do think Bronte and Emery's dynamic in canon would provide an interesting contrast/foil to Kenric and Oralie's dynamic. They’re both pairs of Councillors, but one largely upholds the existing system and one acts rebelliously.

At first glance, Kenric and Oralie seems like the most wholesome, if tragic relationship, while Bronte and Emery does not, particularly as they both take an more antagonistic role at different points in the series and are generally not depicted as good people. However, as we’ve seen canonically, Oralie and Kenric’s relationship had some darker aspects, while I imagine that whatever else about them, Bronte and Emery’s relationship with each other is largely good. Bronte and Emery are two characters that rarely act against the system, but break one of their sacred oaths as Councillors to be together. By contrast, Oralie and Kenric pine for each other but refuse to break that specific oath, despite all the other treason they both commit. They're both pairs of Councillors, but couldn't be more different otherwise. (I also have a rant about how Bronte and Oralie's characters contrast one another in interesting ways, but that's again a different post.))

In conclusion, am I normal about kotlc? No.

[autistic-arsonist]

I really should show you the cursed ships list on discord marcus it's really funny

anyway the worst one in that list has to be bronte x baby mutant troll

everyone, reblog this and come up with the worst ships ever, once written down… idk post?

[thelordhunkyhair]

Kenric: On a scale from “damn Daniel” to “fre sha vaca do”, how are you feeling?

Emery: In between “it’s an avocado, thanks” and “how did you defeat Captain America”, but as a solid answer I would say “I don’t need a degree to be a clothing hanger”. How about you, Terik?

Terik: Probably “road work ahead”.

Bronte: I speak many languages, and this is none of them.

[councillor-kenric-fathdon]

hello! if you were in a swimming pool and every single other councillor was drowning in it but you could only save two, who would you save?

how…how very specific. Should I be concerned? Well, erm… Oralie, certainly. And…Emery, I suppose?

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @paloma-ascends-into-hellfire @nowjumpinthewater @bookwormgirl123 @thishumanformislimiting @aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen

History Repeats

Chapter Four

The war is over. Everyone is happy. Years later, Biana is accepted as a councilor. Only then, does she realize she wants what she can't have. Dex Dizznee. She could step down so they could be together, but progress is finally being made with her on the Council. If she steps down, that could reset all the progress that was done. What will she do? Stay? Leave? Have this affair in secret? Will they end like Kenric and Oralie, two star crossed lovers who fate had different plans? Find out in this story.

(Dex pov)

Dex trudged into the Team Valiant meeting. If the choice was between seeing Biana and licking a muskog, he would've chosen the muskog. But she was still a member of the team, even after becoming councilor. And stuff still needed to get done.

He peeked his head into the room and let out a sigh of relief when a few others were already in there. Sophie and Wylie sat in their usual seats. Biana was still there, but at least it wouldn't just be them two.

He normally would've been sitting next to Biana, but this time, he chose to sit on the opposite end of the table. She definitely noticed, too. She had looked up at him with inquisitive eyes. He kept his gaze down. It felt like her stare was boring into him. He willed her to stop and get the hint, pretending to occupy himself with the paperwork in front of him.

Dex finally felt her glare lift off of him when Stina entered the room. The meeting quickly began, the itinerary being rattled off by Sophie. A stone dropped into his stomach when Sophie said who would be pairing up with who.

Sophie would be with Wylie in Loamnore, Stina would be going to different emissaries and gathering information, and him and Biana would be sifting through paperwork. Together. Alone.

Well, wasn't it his lucky day.

The silence was loud, sitting in that library together. Biana coughed, and he finally looked up at her.

"Look," she said. "We need to clear things up. This awkward avoidance thing you've got going on will not be sustainable."

Dex felt himself shrink then and there. The one conversation he didn't want to happen...

"Listen," she continued, "I think it's safe to say we both know what that meet up was originally going be. And I am very flattered." When Dex shook his head, she covered his hand with hers. "Really," she insisted. "And... I'm not necessarily against the idea."

He perked up at that. A jolt of hope shot through his body. It was squashed just as fast when he remembered that it wasn't happening no matter how badly either of them wanted it.

He saw how Biana had a soft blush across her cheeks. It seemed to make her more adorable. His breath caught in his throat.

He also noticed how her eyes had started to shift. "But... I really like being a councilor," she admitted. "It feels like I can make more of an impact and my ideas be heard. At the same time, I don't plan on doing this forever. Think we could take a raincheck on that date?"

Dex had to make himself nod. He wasn't being rejected! Sort of. But he understood why they had to set those boundaries. Things could get real messy, real quick.

Even though things were settled between them, he kept being drawn into her vivid teal eyes. He was getting himself lost in them. Biana met his stare with a smile. His heart flipped.

It seemed like instinct when he took her other hand. A magnetic like force wanted to pull them together, against all better judgment he had. Just when their lips were about to touch, they both snapped out of it. They were about to make an extremely illegal mistake.

They sheepishly broke apart and uttered that they would never speak of that again, and got back to work

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

Literally writing about this right now as we speak but guys. Please think about Kenric and Brant brothers (real not fake). Please think about Kenric Blackswan member and Brant the Neverseens boy. Think about Kenric desperately defending ability restriction of pyrokintics. Think about Brant being angry at his brother for joining the people who have hurt him. Think about the age gap of Kenric just about his early to mid twenties and Brant in his mid late teens angst phase. Think about how they loved their beloved so deeply. Think about how their loves would join them. Think about how they both burned for it.

And uhm. Also not to get too crazy on main but think about Tinker as their sister. A technopath so quiet and afraid of fire yet radical enough to join a resistance group. You thinking with me ? Let’s hold hands. I love you. Talk to me about it (I beg you)

.

[icantrememberwhoiwaslastdecember]

Not that long ago (actually a while ago now-) I made a post with some of my hc's about the kotlc adults!

(spoiler alert for...uh... books. I can't remember which ones. after legacy I think??)

In the elwin part there was mentions of a mystery child that I refused to share the name of.

here's the name :)

ORALIE.

okay okay lemme explain-

don't leave yet please-

Amarelle is the oldest by 19/20-ish years. She moved out just before Cassius, the second oldest was born. I'm a hardcore Elwin-bio-dad believer, so this ALMOST couldn't work out. Since Oralie is one of Sophie's bio parents and in my hc Elwin is her cousin, it wouldn't work-

SO.

Oralie and Cassius share the same mother. BUT they have different fathers. (not many people know this: not even cassius and oralie themselves) Elwin is related via the father's side, SO he isn't related by blood to Oralie.

A-hem anyways.

Oralie and Cassius share the same ability and colour of hair. Due to the different fathers bit, they don't look entirely alike, explaining their eye colour differences.

They had a two year age gap, and Cassius was the most overprotective little guy you could ever meet.

Oralie was so damn sweet- she couldn't hurt a fly if she tried. She was full of energy and simply the sweetest little girl you could ever meet. She was precious <3

Cassius and Oralie had this huge fallout when they were adults. It started with Oralie complaining about how Cassius was too overprotective of her- it had been over ten years since she had graduated from Elite Levels by this point.

The argument turned into more (their father was dead by this point. cassius' at least. idk how, might plan that later.)

Oralie and Cassius began to drift away. They didn't talk to each other.

Oralie didn't talk to anybody, much. Except when she had to for her position as Regent. Then her position as an Emissiary.

She was still grieving, especially when she learnt that her mother had been injured and some limbs had been paralyzed.

Oralie had now drifted away from both Cassius, Amarelle and Elwin. She didn't have any close family anymore, since her mother was constantly 'busy'.

That was when she ran into Kenric.

The two of them had been best friends all throughout Foxfire, but when they had graduated, Oralie had cut herself off. That was when her father died and she became a mopey mess for a couple months.

Then she got herself together, got a job, actually socialised, but then after her fallout with Cassius, she cut herself off from everybody except Kenric and her work colleagues (as well as the Council).

Oralie fell in love with Kenric, but she never confessed.

Kenric was in love with her from the moment they had met in Level One. Elwin gave him romantic advice :D

Oralie got elected to the Council years and years later. Then way after that, Kenric got elected as well :D

Cassius didn't speak to Oralie much unless it was for official work things

Even for official work things they tried to avoid each other and try and forget the other exists

this like does not support sokeefe

since keefe and sophie would be cousins which i love tbh (not a sokeefe shipper but don't hate it either!)

So yeah :D

[elfyroot]

Avise

Solas and Avise had gotten to the point where no one pretended to care about the rumors that would be caused by the two elves sharing a tent. There was no more sneaking around and Avise almost missed it. Almost. With them being an open secret she found the revelations surrounding Ameridan to be particularly painful to consider. The more they learned about the last Inquisitor, the more of his story felt like a mirror of her own. Farther up the river they located an old Tevinter outpost. From what Kenric said, it appeared to be a scouting post for a larger Tevinter structure far to the east. As expected, the outposts secrets were hidden behind puzzles and traps. Why did everywhere they go try to kill them? Between Solas and Avise however, the puzzle gave them little trouble with Avise using veil fire to dispel a magical barrier over the chamber that was revealed by their efforts.

Stepping inside the chamber was enlightening. They found two shrines side by side and both incredibly old. The first of the shrines belonged to Andraste and according to Kenric, likely before she became Divine. The second of the shrines was elven. Kenric paced behind them as he spoke, “Every mother finds druffalo among sleeping juniper groves…” Avise’s mind reeled, what? She turned to him, confused, “Are you okay?” The scholar stopped pacing and smiled at her sheepishly, “Ah it is just a memory aid to help me remember the names of the elven gods.” She stared at him incredulously, she knew the god the shrine was to. Why would the scholar not even ask one of the two elves standing before him. One of whom was well versed in elven history. Licking her lips slowly, “Are you sure that your memory aid caught all of the elven gods?” The pacing scholar glanced at her again, clearly not getting it. She wanted to yell look at the people with pointed ears, they might know! But the scholar continued to speak before she could say anything at all, “Well, there’s only one ‘F’ for Falon’din. I suppose, I forgot Fen’harel.”

The sigh that escaped Avise was almost painful, she was frustrated. From behind her Solas grumbled, “Most people do.” She was tired of watching the man struggle and tired of elves being shoved aside. Not even hiding the annoyance in her voice as she spoke, “You could have just asked one of the elves, Kenric.” The man finally looked at her once it connected and he smiled at her sheepishly, “Right! Sorry.” Avise bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply as she tried not to yell at the poor human in front of her. She could hear Solas chuckle behind her, “You are missing Ghilan’nain, mother of the Halla.”

Harding soon voiced what Avise and Solas discussed prior, that Telana was likely an elf. Avise knew if she had brought it up before the human would have dismissed her, so she was grateful for the assist from the dwarf, “Two shrines for two lovers: Inquisitor Ameridan and Telana. Maybe Telana was an elf.”

Despite herself, Avise could feel the anger bubble up again. The Chantry was predictable at the very least, “The Chantry should not rewrite history to cover up inconvenient truths.” Once again anger in her voice, and hurt. Her people had gone through so much since the fall of Elvhenan. So much pain and anger, forcing themselves to endure it because they were beaten down and then enslaved. Their contributions to history being erased. Dorian and Cassandra stood behind her silently with Harding and Kenric both looking at her, waiting for her to continue. The elf knew they had no idea what to say. There was nothing they could say that would right that wrong. Harding being the only other non-human there, Avise was softer with her than most.

Avise thought of Solas and herself. The Chantry erased the love of an elven mage from history because it did not fit the bullshit narrative they were trying to spread. That mages were inherently dangerous, that elven lives were worth little. She felt like she was suffocating while they stood there and she had to get out of the room. Quickly. Without another word Avise walked passed Solas and headed to the entrance, trying to push the tears down and the knot in her throat.

If the Chantry did all of this to hide the fact the man dared to have an elven lover, what would they do to her in history? Would her blood, her magic also be swept away because the humans could not fathom an elven mage could lead the Inquisition? What would become of her legacy? While she had not started her time in the Inquisition willingly, being dragged there due to circumstances she still did not fully understand, she felt hollow and alone thinking her contributions would be erased entirely and changed. Or to have Solas lost in history because if one elven mage was bad… how would Thedas handle two? The others quietly left the chamber and stood behind her while she composed herself. Avise needed to get away from them, at least for a few moments, “We should head back to camp”. She could feel her voice waver with her words but that was the best she was going to get.

- - -

Solas

Solas watched Avise retreat to the tent the moment they stepped foot in camp. He struggled with the revelations as well and he could guess how she felt. It was very similar to the feeling he had when he woke from his slumber only to see the elves revering the tyrants that enslaved them. That they refused to listen as he tried to tell them the truths of their past. Humans would likely do much of the same if they found out the Inquisitor was in love with an elven mage. The scholar was the first to upset her because he could not look outside of himself long enough to ask the two elves standing there about elven gods. Then, to realize the woman was erased from history for being inconvenient to the stories they wanted to tell, it would only give way to questions about the treatment of the elves and mages alike. She was likely overwhelmed, outraged and distraught.

He quietly moved to follow her into the tent, not wishing to repeat his blunder after Adamant. Before slipping inside, Solas glanced to Dorian who sat besides the fire. The man looked contemplative. For Dorian’s faults, the man cared deeply about Avise, who happened to be an elven mage. He was likely stewing on what they found at the outpost and its ramifications for the Chantry as well as his own country’s involvement in what happened to her people so long ago. Inside the tent he found her laying on the bedroll and staring at the ceiling. He laid down next to her and she found his hand, lacing her fingers with his, “I know I should not be surprised but I do not think I have ever felt so… hopeless. Defeated.” Solas understood that pain that sat in your chest when you are forced to face a truth so painful that it beats you down. All you want to do is shelter inside of yourself, ignoring that revelation.

Avise turned her head towards him as she continued, her brow knit together and her voice wavered, “Each step of the way, Inquisitor Ameridan feels like a mirror into what I will be. What my story will be. If they hid these truths because he dared to love an elven mage, what would they do to an elven mage herself? We knew our place here was precarious but I was blinded by my own comfort in the Inquisition. They will always find a way to blame us, make us the villains.” Solas gently squeezed her hand, “You are remarkable, vhenan. If there would be anyone to find a way to mark themselves on history, to not be forgotten for all that they did for Thedas. It would be you.” He knew she was right however, more than likely she would be demonized in the end or rewritten. Avise chuckled, it sounded choked like she was somewhere between a laugh and a cry, “I can’t believe he forgot Fen’harel.” Shaking her head, her nose crinkled up as the laugh continued. Solas watched her with amusement dancing over his face.

The elf crawled on top of him, straddling his waist. She cheered herself up, or at least pushed the sadness and defeat away. “I would never have forgotten the Dread Wolf, but what do I know? I am just an elf.” Her voice was teasing still, Solas merely enjoyed the irony. Avise leaned down slowly and kissed his lips gently, his hands sliding from her thighs to her waist, “I know you would not dare to forget.” The chuckles from the elf sitting atop him continued, she could not get over the fact the scholar hadn’t considered asking the elves. Solas moved to flip her on her back, his hips pushing into her. Avise stopped laughing but the smile continued to dance across her lips, “This tent is not soundproof, vhenan.” He considered her words for a moment, she would be correct but later he would set up some wards to help silence their activities. The moment their relationship turned physical he found he did not want to go long without her. Anything having to do with Avise pushed away the regret of taking a physical form. If he could feel like this, both body and in mind, by being with her. Touching her… much of it was worth the pain.

Solas placed slow kisses along her neck and jaw, culminating at her ear. A soft whimper dropped from her lips, her legs tensing around him as he whispered to her, “I have thoughts on that, for later.”

- - -

With Avise comforted, albeit a bit frustrated by his teasing, they exited the tent so they could get dinner. After her sadness subsided she announced she was hungry. Dorian and Cassandra were sitting outside with the fire going as they picked at their food, they looked as though they had not spoken a word since Solas walked inside the tent. Avise either ignored or did not notice their discomfort. He assumed the former, it was not her job to appease their guilt. The elf dropped down next to Dorian and pulled a piece of bread from the Tevinter’s plate which made the man relax. Dorian smiled at Avise and chuckled in response, “Fighting the injustices of history make you hungry, Avi?”

The remainder of the evening was significantly more pleasant, the mood elevated immensely once Avise returned to the fold. There was something infectious about her moods that lifted even Cassandra’s spirits. The Seeker profusely tried to promise that if she had anything to do with it, Avise would not be forgotten to time. That they would not sweep her dedication to the Inquisition under the rug. He could tell the elf appreciated the sentiment, even if she did not believe it would happen that way.

The following day they spent their time hiking through the mountains. From the Outpost they located trail markers that directed them to the next marker once activated until they came upon a fortress covered in a wall of ice. Standing at the last marker Dorian whistled behind them, “Tevinter architecture at its finest. This just screams ‘I hated my parents and had no friends as a child’, doesn’t?” Avise chuckled. The Inquisition would need to enlist the nearby Avvar clan for assistance in a siege of the fortress. Solas did not anticipate it would be a problem, their god needed to be killed to be reborn untainted by the Jaws of Hakkon. They would be happy to assist them in their assault.

As night fell, they invaded the fortress.

- - -

Avise

Avise could not breathe, staring in disbelief at the man who knelt in front of her. Not only was Inquisitor Ameridan still alive, 800 years later, he was an elven mage. A Dalish elven mage. Every part of her body wanted her to scream with the revelation. The pain and anger that bubbled up within her was overwhelming. His story was almost an exact mirror of hers and the repercussions of that sat in her stomach like a rock. Not only did the Chantry hide his lover, they removed his identity to appeal to the fragile egos of humans. To push their agenda of mages being dangerous and cursed, of elves being savages. Avise and her companions found that the Jaws of Hakkon was determined to place the soul of one of their gods into a new body. Back then it was the body of a dragon, and now they tried to remove the soul from the dragon to place it within one of themselves.

Ameridan and the dragon sat in a time stasis, kneeling with the dragon hovering above him waiting to tear him to pieces. It was the only thing the Inquisitor could do at the time to save Orlais and now the Jaws of Hakkon broke that stasis and their time was running out slowly. As they spoke she could see the dragon moving ever closer to the Inquisitor who knelt before her.

Dorian and Cassandra were silent behind her, likely spinning through the same thoughts. The elf felt her breath catch in her throat, she spoke softly and bowed her head, “Inquisitor.” A small look of amusement danced on his features as he replied with the same. Ameridan met her eyes, a familiarity settling between the two. They stared at one another for a few moments, both trying to wrap their heads around what was going on. The man broke the silence, “Andaran atish’an. I am glad Drakon’s friendship with our people has remained strong.” His words pulled at her heart. Drakon’s son was the one who destroyed the Dales. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it and exhaling deeply. It took her a moment but she finally replied, “It has not.” She could hear the sadness that crept into her voice, betraying her next words, “Drakon’s son, Kordillus the Second, destroyed the Dales.” Ameridan looked at her with sorrow sitting in his gaze, “Drakon’s son… how long?” Cassandra stirred next to her, finding her own voice, “You were the last Inquisitor. There has not been another since you disappeared 800 years ago.”

Ameridan sighed, his head bowing as he considered what they told him. Avise hated that she had to be the one to tell him of their people’s misfortune. With his delicate vallaslin of Dirthamen tattooed into his skin, the staff in his hands, his love of an elven mage Avise felt any hope of her legacy dropping with each passing moment. History repeated itself down to the very last detail and this time it would be her who would be forgotten. If she hadn’t been sure she was going to be erased from history before, she knew it without a doubt now. Avise held back the same tears in her eyes, exhaling shakily.

His words brought her back, “Drakon was my oldest friend. He would have sent someone to find me.” The man sounded hopeful, that at least someone went looking for him. That someone cared he was gone. Solas spoke this time, he took a step closer to Avise and she could feel the warmth radiate from him as he stood next to her. It was a small comfort. “He never had the chance. The darkspawn that rose in the Anderfels threatened all of Orlais.” Ameridan’s voice was soft as he responded, “I see.” Avise felt like she was breaking his heart little by little with each passing moment, with each question answered. Ameridan met Avise’s eyes once more, she could see worry and a little bit of hope there, “Telana escaped the battle. Did she… do the records say what became of her?”

Avise’s body stiffened, her hand grasped her staff so tightly that her knuckles faded white. They found Telana’s spirit stuck in the Fade and released her. Did she comfort the man with a lie or did she tell him the truth? She glanced to Solas at her side and his eyes met hers. Pain, anger, sorrow, all sitting on his face. Solas reached out to hold her hand, their fingers lacing together gently. Avise needed the comfort, if it were her… she would want the truth. Her voice broke as she spoke, “She returned to the island. From what we can tell, she died trying to reach you through dreams.” Ameridan sighed, shaking his head, “I asked her not to. She was a good hunter and the love of my life, but she never…” his voice grew cold, almost bitter. Everything that was taken from him bubbled to the surface, “I never wanted this job. Hunting demons was so much simpler than politics.” The more he spoke, the more he revealed about himself, the less hope Avise had for her own future.

Cassandra broke the silence, “Inquisitor Ameridan, how could the leader of the Seekers be a mage?” The man in front of them shifted, keeping his hands on his staff. The dragon remained in statis above him. “Has history forgotten so much? I was not a Seeker myself, as most Inquisitors were. I used my magical gifts in the hunting of demons and maleficarum. Do the Seekers no longer welcome the aid of mages?” Avise glanced briefly at Cassandra, the use of mages in the Seekers was new information to her and from Cassandra’s expression, she did not know either, “No. That was forgotten… among many other things.”

The conversation only grew worse as more came to light. Avise placed a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder and the warrior seemed startled by the touch, “Cassandra is a Seeker… and after the Seekers went rogue, she discovered the truth about them.” The Seeker next to her shifted her gaze from the man in front of her towards the ground, like seeing what the Chantry had done to him was too much to bear. Her voice was quiet, “We learned they developed the Rite of Tranquility.” Ameridan glanced between the Seeker and herself, “You mean sundering one from the Fade? The Seekers do it briefly when granting an initiate their abilities.”

Cassandra spoke again, shaking her head, “It has become a way to control mages deemed too dangerous. They are left Tranquil. Permanently.” She could see the discomfort in Ameridan’s features as he sighed. The pain and regret, “Killing a man is ugly work. You learn not to look to it as your first recourse. But sundering them from the Fade is easy. Bloodless. I told them spreading such a ‘solution’ would lead to abuse. They swore that would never happen. They promised. I am so sorry.”

Ameridan finally returned his gaze on Avise before him. There was a softness there, like he recognized what she had. That she was a mirror of his own legacy. His eyes glanced down to Avise and Solas’ intertwined hands, standing defiant together in the face of what they learned. “Drakon told me I was needed… as I suspect you were needed.” She nodded quietly, the tears in her eyes made her vision blurry. Every part of her wanted to scream and cry, Avise was so very tired and it was apparent when she spoke, “I wasn’t Inquisitor by choice. Whatever my life was before…” The man shook his head quietly, he understood. If anyone in the world could understand what Avise felt in that moment, she knew it was the Dalish elf in front of her. He sighed, “Take moments of happiness where you find them. The world will take the rest.”

Every minute they spoke the dragon inched closer to Ameridan. Avise held back the tears in her eyes once the man bowed his head, giving his final task to her. She needed to end the dragon since he would be unable. Ameridan imparted his final words on those present, “The passage of years can be delayed but not ignored. I will soon join Telana at Andraste’s side. Take this. It holds the last few memories of an old hunter who was neither as wise nor as strong as he thought. Fight well, Inquisitor. I am honored to have met you.”

Ameridan faded away, his body reducing itself to ash. Avise whispered and dropped to her knees, choking out the words, “Dareth shiral.”

- - -

Day passed since they defeated the Avvar-dragon and released the spirit of Hakkon back into the world to be reborn. They were thrown around, the fight proving to be more difficult than Avise anticipated. She took a particularly nasty hit from the dragon’s frost breath and needed a few extra days to rest before they returned to Skyhold. In that time Avise looked over the memories that Ameridan released to her before he died. With Dorian and Solas with her, they retraced the Inquisitors steps, finding more parallels between their two lives, that they were intertwined through time. Part of her wondered if her mother knew her fate in all of this, why she wouldn’t warn her about any of it.

One of the memories in particular made her smile. They found it inside of a Tevinter cavern. Ameridan’s voice floated through the cave, echoing.

If I must go to the end of Thedas itself for Drakon, I am at least glad to have friends at my side. Telana and Haron have been arguing about Haron using the lyrium to fight demons. Some things never change. Orinna has a new alchemical trick she wants to try. Like pitch or tar, but stronger. A recipe straight from Orzammar. They argue, fuss, and mock each other mercilessly… and I would be lost without them.

Happier tears streamed from her eyes, comments from those standing with her touching her heart in odd ways. Cassandra did he usual disgruntled grunt, “A dwarf getting on someone’s nerves… I can’t imagine.” Avise’s choked out a laugh, thinking of Varric and how much she missed him. She missed all of those who she left behind.

Another memory brought more tears mixed with joy and sorrow. Returning to the island that once held Telana’s spirit, Ameridan’s voice sat on the wind.

Telana, my love. I should not have asked you to come with me, though I know you would not have stayed behind. You are a Dreamer, and this dragon the Avvar have tamed carries a demon inside it. I can see how its presence hurts you. You should be at Halamshiral, reminding our people of our alliance with Drakon. Not here, risking death again with me. Still, in the old tongue, your name, Telanadas, means “nothing is inevitable.” I will remember your name and hope.

Solas stood with her, his arm around her as they listened to the memory. She thought of him, a Dreamer himself, as he spoke quietly, “Ameridan was correct. The presence of such a powerful spirit would have caused a Dreamer like Telana immeasurable pain.” Cole leaned on Avise’s other side, like a small puppy cuddling up, his words hurt the most, “Too bright, blinding, breaking, broken. ‘Get to safety. I will seal us both away. It’s not forever. Come back with aid.’ But her leg was broken. She could only lie down and try to see him one last time.”

Once they passed on all they learned to Kenric, Avise hoping he could at least tell the truth, the entire story of Inquisitor Ameridan. At the very least it could make some difference to the Dalish to learn of his heroism. After everything, Solas rarely left her side on the return trip home. He hovered around her like she was about to break, and she might have been. She felt cold and angry. The injustice done to the last Inquisitor weighed heavily on her. Avise was ready to return to Skyhold. Her heart heavy for her own future but she intended to take Ameridan’s words to heart. She would take every moment of happiness while she could in spite of everything stacked against her. In spite of what history would do to her. They could never take that away.

[cecilysprose]

I finished Unraveled a few hours ago and here are my intial thoughts. Spoilers obviously:

⚠️⚠️⚠️

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

⚠️⚠️⚠️

- I really loved it. Keefe’s internal monologue was surprisingly not obnoxious (I love him but he can be low key exhausting) and I was impressed by the more overall mature tone of the book.

- The twists were insane in a way that felt like they should have been obvious. I’m not including the Alvar reveal considering we all more or less figured the guy in the cover was either Alvar or Gethen, but the twists involving him were intriguing.

- I feel like Shannon is setting him up to be redeemed in the sense that he’ll die in some heroic death saving Fitz in the final book. He comments so many times in this how much he loves Keefe but hates Fitz and I just don’t believe it.

- I was sick reading this book and the vibes of the book were so immaculately cozy it made me feel better whenever I read it.

- There were TWO QUEER CHARACTERS (a gay man who helps Keefe in London and a sapphic women in Australia who help trick Keefe and Alvar [Good for her]) and apparently that was enough for people to be furious about “liberal propaganda”??????? Bruh, just say your feelings some feelings you don’t want to talk about. 🙄

- Though the notable thing about this is that the way that Keefe and Alvar talk about it implies that homosexuality has not happened publicly in the Lost Cities because of matchmaking (which makes a whole lot of sense because matchmaking is basically eugenics.) I wonder if Shannon will bring this up when the matchmaking system inevitably topples in the final book. (Marelinh 👉👈?)

- The twist with Lord Cassius had me face palming to myself. Tell me why my dumbass heard Cass and my first thought was, “Is Keefe gonna meet an old granny and actually feels some parental love? 🥹” Um no, Shannon Messenger can not let him be happy for two minutes.

- I really loved all the discussions about mental health in this book. The way Keefe had to navigate the complicated feelings about his mother, his life, what has happened to him because he finally HAD the time to deal with it was really well done.

*though I’m unconvinced that Alvar didn’t get a therapy license while in the Forbidden Cities.

- SPEAKING OF ALVAR’S TIME IN THE FORBIDDEN CITIES; I don’t know how, but I guessed he was in Seoul by the way Keefe talked about the library where they met. I thought the description matched a library I’ve seen on Instagram a lot and low and behold when Alvar talked about hotteoks I realized he had in fact been in South Korea! Oh the joys of spending a lot of time obsessing about leaving the country and finding landmarks from it.

- Eleanor’s story is stressing me OUT. WHO showed up at your door after your father’s death?!?!?! (My bet is on Kenric and Prentice. Zero evidence, pure gut feeling) WHAT are you hiding?!?!?! (Please God let it be extra crystals.) WILL YOU BE RETURNING?!?! (Come on girly, we both know you can’t resist getting back at Gisela for being a psycho.)

- Anyway, all of this book explained Keefe’s odd behavior in Stellarlune so I find that interesting. Honestly, after rereading a few of the last chapters I don’t think this was a cash grab. Shannon REALLY couldn’t have conveyed a lot of this from Keefe just telling a story back to Sophie. She did the right thing.

- This book has officially become my emotional crush until May.

[skyheld]

[ PAST ]:     a letter which the writer wrote in the past, that reveals a piece of their backstory, that the reader finds and reads out of curiosity. (this could also be a letter written TO the receiver of the meme, or about them, or anything at all!) // for ameridan, give her something juicy to find in the library at the university of orlais perhaps?

𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒. | not accepting | @keepslore

[the letter arrives with a note from professor kenric:]

Inquisitor,

this is one of the letters which have long been believed to have been written by the last Inquisitor (I could go into detail as to how scholars have come to that conclusion, but I think I might bore you, and anyway we can ask the source himself by now. If it is Ameridan, can you ask him what is the meaning of the final paragraph? I would like to settle a few scholarly debates that have been going on for far too long.

[the letter itself has been transcribed into modern trade language]

D,

you heard correctly. I have been slightly unwell for the past month—I drank something bad at a banquet and it has put me out of commission for a while. We have not found out exactly what it is, although my friends turned the house upside down in search of a possible culprit. As far as we can tell the wine I drank was orlesian, possibly from the region around Montsimmard. Perhaps you would be able to ask around there?

Yes, I am heeding the recommendations of the healers—when have I ever not? I do not know why you would stress that so much. They have told me another month should be suffice, so by the time you receive this, I only have two weeks left before I am freed of my fetters. They did initially tell me two months would be ideal, but I was able to assure them that would not be necessary. I am well.

(In all seriousness—yes. I am being careful. I know you know me, but I am doing my best to stay put. If I reply to this letter with more speed than usual, it is because I am getting terribly restless and I am running out of letters I want to respond to and will soon only have requisitions and status reports. Lady DuPuis wrote me three full pages about nothing but her dogs and I was more entertained than I am by that.)

You know how difficult it is for me to know where I will be the next month, but if I can, I will come by to see you. It has been too long, I agree. We have so much to speak of, but above all, I want to see you.

I must, however, insist that you never, ever ask me to come hunt your dragon again. Never. And if you ever mentioned a cave, mine or yours, I will tear up that letter and not write you another.

Horrifyingly still yours, A

[axels-corner]

Chapter 5 of the coffee shop au

summary: the tour finishes

Notes: this chapter is a little shorter, but the next one is longer.

you can find chapter 4 here

Characters: Oralie, Kenric, and Terik

Words: 884

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48995623/chapters/125459422

Oralie didn't seem phased, she just stood there for a few moments before asking

“Who was that?”

“That was Dimitar, we call him King Dimitar though because he owns one of the tattoo shops next to ours called Ravogog.”

“Is there another one?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you said one of, that implies there's more than one.”

“Oh, yeah. On the other side of us Hylda, but we call her Queen Hylda, runs a tatoo and coffee shop. That's one of the reasons he and Queen Hylda have such a rivalry because they both run tattoo shops.”

“What's the other reason?”

“It's good for business, gets the public interested in what's going on, it's how they skyrocketed their businesses popularity.” Kenric leaned into whisper to Oralie “Don't tell anyone but their actually really good friends.”

“Sounds cool.” Before Oralie could ask about what he and Dimitar was talking about again he changed the conversation

“Speaking of them the next part of the tour is the other main shops.”

“Who are they?” Oralie asked falling into step with him

“Didn't you got to Foxfire?” She shrugged

“It's been a while, plus its interesting to listen to you explain it. And before you ask I don't often come to this side of town I usually stay more towards the Vackers part since it's where my family is.” That was actually going to be his next question so he just nodded

“Well you've already met King Dimitar who runs Sadlitzagvatka-”

“I thought you called it Ravagog?”

“That's what it's called now, but when it first opened that's what it was called.”

“What are the other cities called?” She asked

“Well there's Nymtyranyth which is called Loamnore which is run by King Enki, he has a temper though so watch out. They're the building left on the mall, I'll point them out when we get there. They sell rocks and minerals and stuff like that also tools.”

“So kinda like a home improvement store like Home Depot.” Kenric considered it before nodding

“Basically. The building in the center right there is Serenvale, the best flower shop around.”

“I can smell them from here, it's amazing, it reminds me of when Ke- when an old friend would get me flowers.” Everything in Kenric wanted to ask so badly why she acted like they didn't know eachother, but he was able to shove it back down and to put the lid back on he immediately changed the subject.

“The building to the right of the mall was originally Weeriiduulooaa but is now called Marintrylla. It's a gym, but they also have classes on self defense, and cycling and stuff.”

“What's your favorite class?” Oralie asked as the walked out of the mall

“I enjoy doing the water aerobic, or yoga classes, I find them relaxing, occasionally Terik will go with me to then we'll go out to eat.”

“That sounds fun, I'll have to check it out.” Oralie said

“I would recommend it you can make some good friends, it's where I met Kesler in our high school years of Foxfire.” They started walking back to the Council Cafe as it was nearly closing time.

When they walked in they where greeted by a very long line and an even more relieved Emery. Turning his head to look at Oralie he asked

“Ready for your first rush hour?” She looked nervous but nodded nonetheless. The rest of it was a blur though he could see how desperately Terik wanted to talk to him as every time there seemed to be a lull in the crowd he would pull him away only for them to get slammed by customer again. Kenric had been working there for a couple months but he'd never seen so many people before, when he glanced at Emery, Bronte and the other older councilors they didn't seem to be stressed about the rush hour, they seemed relaxed and happy about it.

Finally the rush was over the day was ended and they where closing up shop. He saw Terik power walking towards him, but before he got there Oralie grabbed his arm and pulled him to the couch to talk. When he looked back at Terik he looked like he was going to explode, and Kenric thought he was supposed to be the strawberry.

“What did you want to talk about?” Oralie opened her mouth like she was going to say something but changed her mind at the last minute and asked

“Is it always that busy.” He filed the moment away in his brain with all the others and shook his head,

“Not usually, at least not in the time that I've worked her.” Oralie nodded

“Well, I won't keep you. See you again to do it again tomorrow?”

“Yep.” and she walked off, and immediately Terik took her place linking there arms together

“We have so much to talk about.” Terik said

“We do.” Kenric agreed, before stopping “Wait I have to get the caramel and chocolate chips.” Terik tugged lightly on his arm, limping a little as he did, his achilles had been giving him problems again Kenric knew. He just hopped it wasn't anything to serious.

“I already got them, we're going to Kesler's to see if we can figure this out.”

Coffee Shop au taglist: (if you want to be added or removed just let me know)

@winterfireice @official-kenralie-fanbase @antisocialdork