#do you think about her leaving skyhold if he dies in the fade. do you ever

[mourn-and-watch]

do you guys ever think about fiona dragon age. at this point she has outlived most of her former comrades with whom she had gone through joining. there's a good chance she'll outlive her son no matter king or not because no crown can stop the taint in his blood. do you think about her being the only one who got lucky among her squad and the order as a whole. do you think about her getting free both as a warden and then a mage but still never escaping that one curse of watching people she cared about slowly fade away

[dragonagecompanions]

hello, this is my first request :) unsure if your still taking requests but I was wondering how the companions (maybe romanced maybe not) would react to finding out the Inquisitor has a dead kid? I think the only way the party would find out is in the fade via the fear demon, and then maybe the advisors find out on their own ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌

idk but I would be truly honored to see you answer this request, and even if not than thank you for reading over it <33

- 🍡

WARNINGS For CHILD LOSS YOI HAVE BEEN WARNED

Cassandra: When the fear demon, gleeful in it’s telling of their leader’s loss, reveals the truth the Seeker is…well, there are no words. Forcibly she is reminded of how they swayed, pale and weeping, when she had said there were no other survivors. Guilt churns low and deep at her own words, a year and more gone now, throwing that fact in their face as accusation. Throwing such a loss in their face and then demanding answers.

Throwing a calling at their feet and demanding leadership, never knowing what a loss they struggled through.

She fights all the harder for them, as if every enemy batted away from them is attempted absolution. Cassandra Pentaghast thought she understood grief in all its facets, but what does the loss of older brother and parents- expected losses if come too soon- stand before the loss of a child? Maker, how do they still breathe through it?

When they are free of the fade, she approaches only to offer apology. If they wish to speak of their loss she will listen, but only then. She has forced enough from them.

Varric: Shit. Just…shit. Here he is, going on for months about how this story is bad for heroes and how the Inquisitor is the main character and blathering on, and never saw it. Never saw the aching grief, because it was never shown. The only example he has, or is at least intimately familiar with, is Leandra Hawk and his own mother.

And as the Inquisitor had never fallen into drink or taken to blaming whoever was closest to them for things outside of anyone’s control there had been no sign for Varric to catch on to. And it makes him feel…almost dirty. Stained with his own intentions, blithely going on while their leader had lost their kid.

He doesn’t bring it up to them, doesn’t know how, but Skyhold’s resident author is absolutely the own who tells Josephine as soon as they tumble out of the fade. That raven missive is a short and brutal telling, far from his normal goings on, and his guilt is manifold in it.

Solas: The Dread Wolf is not so unattached from the world as to not consider the losses suffered at the conclave, but for the most part -when he did turn his mind to them- they were mostly academic. A balance of power, and the loss of so many leaders among both chantry and mages a destabilizing force for his future efforts. Numbers laid cooly on a chart, beads on an abacus. The fortunes of war laid bare.

But more than one parent lost a child in that terrible moment, and siblings mourned. Children bereft, friends torn asunder, lovers left to weep alone for their loves. Listening to the fear demon enumerate the inquisitor’s loss magnifies the enormity of what happened, and though he will undoubtedly be the source of much worse for a moment the Dread Wolf cannot breathe.

It passes, of course, and when they leave the fade the rift mage dies his best not to carry those emotions out with him. This world is not to blame for his actions, for the destruction of his world, but he must restore it and so they must bear the cost. It is not fair to them, and it will be long months until he can be east about his plans.

In the interim, he dares to approach the inquisitor only once about their loss. He is there as a listening ear in the silence of his rotunda if they wish to speak of their sorrow. Or if they wish only a silent companion, he will direct the kindest spirits he can find to guard their dreams and remain at their side as long as he can.

Blackwall: Maker forbid. For a moment Skyhold’s would be warden is swamped by the images of Callier’s children, dead under tiny shrouds beside the ruined carriage at his command. Too many children fall victim to the machinations of their elders and with none to protect them from the fall out, but for all that most of Blackwall’s experience has been from the other side.

Being confronted with the parent who had lost a child, confronted with the knowledge that they had told none of them and had suffered under the burden alone was staggering. Damn it, they had all laid burdens at the Inquisitor’s feet and expected answers, demanded decisions and leadership in a word gone mad— and none had known what they had lost.

He doesn’t know what to say or how to act and instead channels everything into the fight to flee the fade. Rainier would be too much the coward to speak to their leader in the aftermath, but Blackwall- older and hopefully wiser from his own griefs- will offer quiet condolences and whatever aid he can. If they need to speak of it be will listen. And if not there is soft wood and chisel enough to grind out any feelings if that is what they need.

Vivienne: Children had never been in her destiny. As a mage, even one so elevated as to be all but free of the constraints of the circle, motherhood was forbidden to her. Any child of her womb would be sacrificed to the Chantry, given to a family deemed ‘more worthy’ to raise it.

And as a mistress, no matter how deeply the love between them bloomed, Bastian could never have given her such a blessing. He had children— an illegitimate child, and a mage child at that, would have been too great a weapon against him.

And so she had put it out of her mind, never allowed herself to consider or imagine what a son might look like, how a daughter might smile. To think of it would be a loss too great to contemplate—or so she had thought. Met with the active loss and overwhelming grief that their leader must feel, Madame de Fer is suddenly glad not to know how such a burden might rest on her soul.

Could she be so calm a leader as the Inquisitor, while bleeding out inside? Vivienne does not know, and that…well, terrifies her in a way little has. But she is not called iron for nothing, and so when all is calm again she will go the Herald and ask simply and plainly what she might do for them. If the answer is nothing she will abide by it. And if there is something that might in any way assuage their grief then she will ensure they have it.

Dorian: Well, that at least explains the Inquisitor’s uncharacteristically violent outburst, when Halward Pavus had made his way to Ferelden. Upon hearing the possible consequences of the blood magic ritual the Inquisitor had laid into the Magister, flaying with words when they could not use violence. Even the Pavus paterfamilias had seemed shaken by the diatribe, and Dorian had felt championed.

He is not so shallow as to feel betrayed by the knowledge of what terrible grief must have driven such an impassioned defamation of character, but can instead only ache for his friend’s loss. They must have been a wonderful parent, and in a quiet time later will gather his courage to tell them so.

Sera: It doesn’t really register in the moment, so great is her own fear of the Fade and it’s denizens, but later it will simply break the Red Jenny’s heart. Their leader lost a true little one, and still managed to bring themselves to protect the rest of the little people no matter their age.

Like Blackwall she will either offer distraction or uncharacteristic silence in comfort, baked goods an offering that feels too…personal for such a gaping loss. But her admiration for them grows exponentially.

The Iron Bull: Public, corporate grief is rare among the Qun. Not forbidden, exactly, but when everyone is given a role it also implies that every person is inherently replaceable in that role. As Koslun said, the tide rises and falls and things must work forward toward peace.

But the death of a child is different. Whether disease or violence or simple accident, losing an imereki is a tragedy. The Tamassran mourns, the others in their care mourn, and all those in the sphere of the lost one are permitted some little allowance for the loss. Things cannot grind to a halt- this is why parents are separated from children, to ensure the deep emotional bonds that are anathema to the Qun- but there is not simple acceptance without acknowledgement of the loss.

Not even that was given to the Inquisitor. It’s east to see the shock of the others even through his own fear, and the knowledge infuriates Bull enough to get him through the Fade. Their leader lost a child, and no one was there for them. Instead piled on the whole world and its imminent loss on their shoulders. It’s disgraceful.

Later, when Adamant is pacified and they return to Skyhold, he will pull them aside. It will be painful and it will be slow, and whether they need alcohol or pain or even the clinical breakdown that bondage and sex can only give-with their explicit consent- he will help them bleed the pain and begin the grieving process.

Cole: The pain was too big for him to help, the threads caught up in pain and joy and guilt and anger and terrible despair. He didn’t even have the words to describe it to others, and so had kept silent.

If they need him later he will help, but this loss is too big for a spirit unsure of how to act.

Cullen: Maker’s breathe. How could they…why did they not…Damn it, how could he not realize?! He had all but thrust the entire inquisition on a parent who had been robbed the chance to even bury their child, let alone mourn them.

Varric’s report rocks him to the core, and the commander in truth does not know what to do. If the rest of the inner circle has it well in hand he will simply work to make sure their leader has less in their plate. If they wish to discuss it with them, he is there and if not…

He hardly has the words anyway.

Josephine: She weeps over the missive, when it arrives. Their inquisitor has been hiding the worst of loses from them, putting on such a brave face to do so much. Like Cullen she works to make sure they have less to do when they return, but does pull them aside briefly to awkwardly hug them and ask if they want a memorial somewhere private in Skyhold.

Leliana: She knew. She knew from only a few days after, when her spies brought her everything there was on the Herald. And even The Nightingales Heart could ache for such a loss, but Leliana took her queues from the Herald and simply never discussed it. That does not change now— she will follow their lead.

Mod Fereldone

[brother-genitivi]

I keep thinking about a conversation Destan + Sebastian have post Here Lies The Abyss. Of course the second he receives word about her being in the Fade, Sebastian leaves Starkhaven and goes to Skyhold, presumably to wrangle answers out of Varric, and thus misses the second raven detailing the plan to get her out. (I mean, you have someone with a magic hand that can open rifts everywhere any time. Just saying.)

But the conversation they have concerns her brother. Destan is angry at Carver for a few reasons. He's been keeping things from her, like how badly the fake Calling has been affecting him. She woke up, alive and out of the Fade, and he wasn't there. They're not supposed to be keeping things from each other anymore and Destan is under the impression that Carver just doesn't care, and they're back to how they were their first year in Kirkwall - a broken relationship.

And Sebastian is there to tell her about the things that she missed because she wasn't awake to see them, like Carver being the first one to enter the rift. Carver found her limp body and his reaction was so visceral, Sebastian was sure that Destan had died. He sat by her bed until someone forced him to rest.

Sebastian doesn't tell her these things to make her guilty, never, never. But to assure her their relationship isn't broken at all.

And so she rounds on him, too. Because how would he know of how they work as siblings? And he firmly reminds her that he's not stupid enough to presume anything about her and Carver, but anyone can see that Carver loves his sister. And that Sebastian knows her, because he loves her, and he's her husband for crying out loud.

And suddenly Destan isn't angry anymore. She's just tired. So, so tired and sad. Sad because her brother loves her and she wasn't looking closely enough. Sad because her husband is here and the first thing she does after waking up is pick a fight with him. Sad because she doesn't know what to do with herself anymore, because she's fulfilled her fate and no one can tell her what to do.

So Sebastian climbs into the bed with her and holds her like he always does, and they share a thousand words without saying anything at all. teehee giggle.

[imdoingaokay]

Okay hear me out

Hero of Ferelden dies defeating the archdemon, everyone grieves, and then 10 years later, they walk out of the fade with a mark on their hand. How they came back to life, I leave it up to you. Are they just a lyrium ghost? Did Andraste actually choose them? Is it just lazy writing? And of course, how do people respond? More specifically, the people the HoF was closest to.

Alistair

Platonic: If he’s a warden, he’s a wee bit skeptical. He’d ask Leliana, but he’s technically in hiding, so he just lets his questions fester in his mind. But once Hawke brings them over, he nearly drops his sword. The two catch up once they travel to Skyhold, and when they return to the fade, Alistair is more adamant that he wants to stay behind. Claiming that the HoF “had their turn.” Of course, if this doesn’t work, and Hawke stays behind instead, he’s upset but relents when his friend explains that they didn’t want to lose them again. Alistair writes letters regularly from Weisshaupt. One explained that the HoF’s urn was unearthed and discovered to be empty. 

Now, if he’s king, his first reaction is to get Leliana to get confirmation. Honestly, he could use the good news. So many things have gone wrong over the years, the mage rebellion and Divine Conclave blowing up, he thinks the messengers are fucking with him when they claim that the warden-inquisitor has returned from the dead. If the HoF chooses to side with the Templars, he doesn’t get to meet the inquisitor face to face until a while later, and until then, he doesn’t truly believe that his friend is really alive. If the HoF chooses the mages, his curiosity is peaked when he marches into Redcliffe Castle and locks eyes with his late friend. He freezes, and his little speech dies on his tongue. After regaining his senses, he tells the mages to hit the road. He knows he has to leave. But he doesn’t, instead he stays with his friend for a while, the two agreeing to meet up later. He will almost immediately wrap his friend in a warm hug and claim how much he missed them. As an added bonus: Teagan will be less of a jackass in Trespasser!

Romanced: It’s hard for him, honestly. If he’s a warden, he honestly contemplated running to Skyhold, just to see his lover again, but he knows he can’t. He doesn’t hold a sword to them when they enter his hideout, instead, he slowly walks out from the shadows and looks forward to his lover. He feels a decade younger like he’s meeting her all over again. He nearly trips over himself as they talk about Corypheus, and once they get back to Skyhold, he’s always nearby. If the HoF wants, they can start a relationship again. And honestly, Alistair really wants to. He missed them terribly, and he wants to be by their side again. When they reach the Fade with Hawke, he secretly wants Hawke to stay behind. He knows it’s selfish and against what it means to be a Grey Warden, and he will stay behind if asked, but there is a part of him that just wants to stay with his love. After he goes to Weisshaupt, he writes far more letters to his love, a few ask when they think they’ll come to visit him.

If he’s king, it changes a bit. After 10 years, he still hasn’t gotten married (if he’s the sole ruler.) And he has yet to take another lover. Most people think the same way, that the poor king is still in love with the HoF. When he hears that said hero has returned from the dead, he’s confused about why the Maker must torment him. Like with the platonic version, if the warden-inquisitor sides with the Templars, he doesn’t see them until much later, and their reunion is pretty much the same as it would be if the HoF chooses the mages, just less tension.

Alistair walks into Redcliffe Castle and locks eyes with the woman he loved more than anything else. He does his little speech, and he all but begs his Warden to stay a bit longer. If he broke up with her after the Landsmeet, I refuse to believe he doesn’t beg for forgiveness. If the two were supposed to get married, he nearly weeps, seeing his fiancée after years apart. The two need some time together, honestly. If they want, they can start a relationship again, as Alistair never really moved on. Even if they aren’t a human noble, Alistair might actually ask them to marry him. If the Warden-Inquisitor says yes, once Corypheus is dealt with, an actual wedding will occur. There are rumors of how it’s some grand scheme to give the Inquisition more power, but most people agree that this marriage is one of love rather than power. But it does have some nice benefits.

Leliana:

Platonic: When she hears about a sole survivor that just walked out of the fade, she’s curious, when she recognizes one of her closest friends she ever had… she thinks that the Maker is playing a trick on her. Leliana intends to treat the “newcomer” as a stranger at first. But when she can’t find any sort of information regarding their whereabouts, how they just appeared at the conclave (or what was left of it,) she slowly begins to panic. When the HoF wakes up and recognizes her, she panics way more. Of course, she keeps her outwardly appearance looking unfazed. 

After the first attempt to close the breach, she takes the HoF aside and asks a few questions. When their friend reaffirms who they are, Leliana decides to test them. Before the attack on Haven, there is one long evening of quizzing the future Inquisitor. The questions range, starting fairly easy, but then they get harder. Questions start like: “Where am I from? Where did we meet?” and then move to questions like “What exactly happened when we met? How did I get my first nug? What was the last thing you said to me before the battle at Denerim?” Of course, as much as the HoF knows Leliana, they won’t get every question right, which actually comforts Leliana more. She still doesn’t truly accept her friend until she almost loses them again. In fact, she doesn’t leave their side until they wake up. Leliana still can’t travel with the new Inquisitor, but when the two are at Skyhold together, they are nearly inseparable. Leliana slips into a version of her older self that she had hardened many years ago.

Romanced: Honestly, a lot of it is the same. The only real difference is the intensity of her feelings. She knows that her warden had to do what they had to do, but that doesn’t ease the pain. She is more guarded towards the Warden, and hopefully, the Warden doesn’t go asking too much about it. 

Once Leliana starts to quiz the HoF, the questions get far more personal. And eventually, Leliana asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?” While holding back tears. It takes some time, but Leliana is willing to start a relationship again. And if they do, Leliana finds herself smiling more often, after all, she has her Warden back. That’s all that matters.

Morrigan:

Platonic: When Morrigan offered the Dark Ritual as a way for her friend to survive, she didn’t expect them to say no. Who wants to die some horrific and painful way when they can just have sex/get someone else to have sex and have a baby? Morrigan has considered the HoF their friend, one of the only ones she had. She didn’t want to lose them. Regardless of why they did it, she leaves. And regrets it terribly. Years later, once the Divine Conclave has gone horrifically bad, she is extremely surprised when she hears about the Hero of Ferelden returning from the dead. She’s even more surprised when she gets a letter from Leliana claiming that it is all true.

At the Winter Palace, she finds herself staring at her former friend, and for a while, she’s afraid to face them. Depending on what type of person the HoF was, she responds differently to how they greet her when they inevitably see each other. She doesn’t admit it, but she prefers the angrier version of her friend, mainly because it hurts way more when her friend says nothing and merely wraps their arms around her and claims that they forgave her a long time ago. She finds herself holding back tears she didn’t know she had. Once at Skyhold, the two spend plenty of time together. 

When they get to the Well of Sorrows, Morrigan has far more respect for the Warden Inquisitor than if they claim that they’ll drink from the Well, she complains very little. Of course, when she figures out that Flemeth and Mythal are the same, she’s even more thankful for her friend (especially if they killed Flemeth in Origins.) She says something about how the Warden has saved her again, and she won’t forget this. In fact, she finds herself more pressed to stay after the defeat of Corypheus. Of course, she does eventually, this time, properly saying goodbye.

Romanced: It hurts when she hears of the undead warden-inquisitor, she finds it hard to believe until she sees him at The Winter Palace. She can tell that it is her lover, however, so she doesn’t need to have someone else confirm it for her. She knows.

Of course, she has Kieran to worry about. But she’s rather shocked when Kieran takes a shine to the Warden. And it takes all the self-control she has to not start sobbing when she tells the Warden that he, in fact, does have a son. The two may start a relationship once more, but after the defeat of Corypheus, she finds herself wondering whether she will stay or not. But, seeing how happy Kieran is with his father is enough for her to extend her tenure in Skyhold indefinitely. 

Zevran:

Platonic: Something in him just knew. He knew that it was really them. Zevran takes time to visit Skyhold (he is busy, after all,) but when he does, all hell breaks loose. I mean, depending on your choices in Origins, you might have the original gang back together (for the most part.)

Zevran is excited to see his friend again, but nothing truly prepares him for seeing them after years apart. He freezes, honestly surprised that his friend is actually alive. So when the Warden-Inquisitor welcomes them back with open arms, he sort of just… melts? He’s so happy it hurts.

Romanced: Unlike the platonic version of Zevran, romanced Zevran doesn’t wait. The second he hears of the undead HoF, he’s on a boat to Ferelden, to Skyhold. Once he gets there, he quietly watches from afar, observing his lover for a while. And only Leliana notices. When she does, she asks him why he isn’t going up to them, and for Zevran, it’s fear. He missed them terribly, he hasn’t loved another the way he loved them. It feels strange because he had intended on keeping it that way. Also, is it technically cheating if your lover comes back to life after death and while they were dead you fucked a lot? (My answer is no, I think it’s a grace period, but hey, to each his own.)

Eventually, he does muster up the courage to speak to them, but it isn’t at Skyhold. It’s when they travel to somewhere like the Hitherlands, that Zevran finds himself fighting a large bear alongside his lover. He’s all cloak and daggers (no pun intended) for a while, keeping a hood on to prevent the Warden from noticing his tattoo. Once the battle is over, the Warden asks their savior to reveal themselves. Zevran hesitates, but once the two see each other for the first time in a decade, it’s hard to keep them separated. Zevran keeps his suave personality, spouting some smooth lines about how he couldn’t let his Warden have all the fun, but he’s secretly sobbing inside. His Warden looks just as perfect as they did when they met. And all he wants to do is just stare at them for hours and hours, indulging himself in their presence. And they get the opportunity to do that. Just… don’t mind the loud noises coming from the Inquisitor’s room… Zevran and them, they’re… catching up.

Bonus:

Cullen finally being able to apologize to Amell/Surana

Iron Bull figuring out that the current Arishok literally loved the Hero of Ferelden.

Harding lowkey fangirling over the HoF

Sera recognizes Tabris and depending on what type of city elf they were, they go out to kill some nobles.

Fergus personally travels to visit Cousland and literally weeps at the sight of them.

Brosca/Aeducan visiting their family in Orzammar, receiving a warm welcome from Bhelen if he’s king. Rica’s ecstatic. Brosca/Aeducan meets their nephew too.

(Sorry for this post, I know it’s bad, I just can’t stop thinking about it lol)

[tarasylnin-lavellan]

Of Freedom and Falling

Tarasyl'nin stood with her brother on the vast cliffs of the Storm coast, her face was drawn and tired. Great black eagles rode the air currents around them their sleek bodies gliding through the turbulent air with ease. Dorian scowled looking down at Tara, "darling you cannot be serious about this, I know that you have been trying to shapeshift for a while now, but this? this is insane even for us." Tara's brow furrowed in frustration "the spirit that I am bound to...it is unbending if it is to ever allow me to change my shape, it must be life or death. I must give it no choice, this is too important I cannot bend on this." Blue light coiled out from her in a clear protest but she gritted her teeth and it receded into her skin. Dorian sighed in resignation he knew the sound of his sisters stubborn pride, she would not stop. “Must you do this in such a dramatic way darling? I mean leaping from a cliff to win a battle of wills is worthy of the imperium.” Tara turned to him laughing softly, her features relaxing for a moment. Dorian marveled at how truly beautiful she was like that, without the strain of her mask, she seemed a whole different person. Her raven hair swirled around her in gusting wind “if I am to fly Isa’ma’lin I want to fly here in the heart of the storms.” Tara turned her eyes to the sky “I need this brother, I need to know that I am still free, that I am still me. I need one thing that this path cannot take from me.” Her eyes reflected the years of restriction, the strain that the responsibility that had been forced on her had created. 

Dorian nodded knowing when he was outplayed, “well then we had best hope that this works, Cullen will kill me too if you dash yourself on the waves and I just watch.” Tara nodded somberly “it will work it has to, I have tried everything else that Lady Morrigan has suggested.” Dorian stepped back and gestured grandly at the edge, “your death or freedom await my lady.” Tara sprinted for the cliff fade stepping to gain speed and launched herself into the air, black curls whipping in the air. Justice bucked in anger and frustration, an old spirit that did not wish to change. Tara had done her duty, she had sealed the breach she had closed every rift, she would not be stopped now. SHIFT she roared in her mind, time slowed as the pair struggled for supremacy. She held on grimly DO IT OR WE BOTH DIE, she could not, would not let this go. She needed the sky she pushed her soul toward the shape of the eagles that soared around her. She demanded that this be her shape, she had asked Morrigan to teach her as a favor for allowing the human to take the well of sorrows. She held her resolve as the pair plummeted toward the crashing waves unbending unbreaking the decision had already been made. She would fly or she would fall, she would be free either way. At last she felt her power change and violet smoke curled around her body the spirit finally accepting the shape that she demanded.

Vast black wings stretched from her and her powerful talons scraped the waves water spraying away from her. She beat her wings in the air climbing straight for the clouds. She heard Dorian cheering in joy beneath her, I will allow this one shape the thought rose in Tara’s mind as she soared. Agreed Haren Tara couldn't care less this was the only thing she had ever truly demanded be given to her. The world beneath her was silenced and the quiet of the air surrounded her. She felt peace in her soul for the first time in memory, the peace of solitude, of freedom. She had struggled toward this goal for years, fighting within herself battling the static nature of the spirit that she was irrevocably bonded to. 

But this was her line in the Sand, Tara would not be denied this she would join the sky or die trying. She turned gracefully banking toward the cliffs, she could see Cullen approaching Dorian, creators! her eyes were so keen. "Where is Tara?" Cullen looked around for her, he had decided to accompany them on this particular expedition wishing the break from his duties. Dorian smirked "oh she has a few projects up in the air..." Cullen squinted at him "what are you talking about?" Tara could see her lover looking around for her. A mischievous thought coiled through her, this was going to be fun. She dove down swooping toward Dorian letting out a screech to warn him. 

Dorian nonchalantly held a gauntleted hand out, he had been trained to be a falconer in Tevinter. Cullen saw the massive eagle coming toward them and took a step back in alarm. Tara landed on Dorian's gauntlet a little awkwardly but managed to save it, she ruffled her feathers and looked at Dorian. Cullen looked in shock at the bird "MAKER BREATH!" Cullen watch the bird with alarmed eyes "how did you manage to tame a storm eagle Dorian!" Dorian guffawed turning to Tara with a raised eyebrow "you go for the dense ones don't you?" Tara clicked her beak and annoyance and thumped him with one of her wings. "Ouch you are truly a harpy now" Dorian laughed as the eagle glared at him in a very familiar way.  Cullen's eyes turn to her, he looked closer the the eagle resting on Dorian's arm. The bird's feathers weren't quite right not the true pitch black of a storm eagle, but a black tinged with violet and her eyes they were pale purple? He felt disbelief flood him there was no way... "Tara?”

He felt foolish even saying it sure that this was one of the Tevinter’s jokes. Dorian turned his gaze at Cullen "ah the Templar gets there in the end I suppose." Tara leapt from Dorian's arm shifting back to her original form Violet smoke pooling around her. She was smiling a delighted grin, laughing out loud "you should have seen your face ma vhenan!"  Cullen looked at her in shock he didn't think that she could do any other form of magic! "I thought that you said that the spirit wouldn't let you!" Cullen's words tripped over themselves as he stared at her. She was still grinning when she replied "She didn't at first, I gave her a choice let me shift or die." Dorian rolled his eyes "The lunatic launched herself off a cliff so that the spirit had to change or they would both perish."  Cullen rounded on the younger man "and you just watched it!" Dorian scoffed "do you honestly believe that I could stop her, Tarasyl'nin Lavellan if she truly wished this?"

Tara scowled "I didn't ask anyone's permission to do this, I needed this." Cullen's eyes widening an alarm "Tara love you could have died! How could you-" " I did not die” she cut him off briskly “I have played by the rules for years, I have served those who would revile me. I need to know in my heart that I can get away...." Tears formed in her pale eyes and she looked away. "I have given up everything, my home, my people, my very sense of self... I cannot, I will not, lose my freedom, I will not be caged."  Dorian went to her wrapping her in his arms, glaring accusingly at Cullen. Cullen swallowed heavily, skyhold and never been a prison to him, but he could see how his lover would see it that way. He strode to her side and Dorian backed away "I will leave you two to your discussion" he said briskly and strode away.

 Cullen took her hands in his and breathed out slowly, “forgive me vhenan, you frightened me is all, I couldn't stand to lose you... please...don't do anything like this again.” Tara looked up at him tears in her eyes “I am sorry that I scared you ma’atish but I had run out of options, I couldn’t let this go.” He nodded knowing that she had been fighting for this for years. “Just please be careful my love, I need you, please don't leave me here alone.” Tara rested her head on his chest relaxing against him “I will stay vhenan, for you.”

[noire-pandora]

The Night Shift.

Another prompt from this prompt list. Also on my AO3

Soldiers Adrian and Madris meet with the Inquisitor Lavellan at night.

Words:  2682

Warnings: None.Adrian shivered in the chill of the night as he waited in the courtyard for his instructor to appear. Ferelden might be his birthplace, but the cold of Skyhold shocked him. He'd felt the cruel bite of the winters, but never this far and never this deep, but he chose to be here, in the heart of winter. For the first time, he decided what to do with his life, and it looked like the right choice. He had a roof under his head, three hot meals a day and a considerable payment. The payment amazed him. At first, he thought the rumours of the Inquisitor's generosity were just rumours. He never expected it when he signed the papers to join the Inquisition. And to top it all, his superiors seemed friendly enough, and no one yelled at him until now.   

"Here you are, soldier," a voice boomed behind him, and he almost yelped. He turned around and saw a tall, well-built elf, smiling at him with a spotless armour. Blue eyes shined in the dark, studying him, and Adrian straightened his back, eager to impress the man. 

"My name is Madris, and I am here to instruct you on how to be a proper soldier for the Inquisition," he said, holding out his hand to shake Adrian's. As they shook hands, Adrian felt the calluses built upon the man's skin over the years of hard work. Instantly, he understood why the Inquisitor trusted the elf with the new soldiers. 

"I am Adrian," he answered. "Thank you for letting me work here. I am grateful." 

"I'm not the one to thank, kid. The Inquisitor is the one who accepts the new soldiers. She read your papers and found you fit for the army. I'm here to teach you. Let's take a walk around, and I'll show you the main buildings. You might already know some of them." 

They strolled around Skyhold, and Madris told Adrian everything to know about every location and who frequented them. Adrian struggled to remember all the facts.  He had no idea who Iron Bull and Leliana are. At least, not yet.

 "Things are calmer for the night watch," Madris continued, as they made their way to the battlements. People sleep, and guests don't come at night. That being said, it doesn't mean the nights are boring. Sometimes, the Inquisitor and her party arrive late at night after a mission. You have to pay attention to that and call the healers, in case the party needs one."

The Inquisitor! Adrian heard many rumours about her and her adventures. He wondered if one day he'd get the chance to see her from afar. 

"Your job is to pay attention. After the attack on Haven, the Inquisitor and the Commander have been adamant about this. They need watchful eyes everywhere, eyes that can see and assess any danger in a few seconds. Do you think you can do that, kid?"

"Yes, ser!"

Adrian's confidence grew as he heard those words. He had worked as a fisherman since the age of fourteen. He spent hours and hours staring at the water, his mind in total concentration. He doubted, looking over a yard could be worse than fishing.

"If you see anything suspicious, no matter how small it may look, you have to report it to your shift supervisor even if you might be wrong. Better to apologize than die by the hand of the enemy. Understood?"

"Yes, ser!"

Madris abruptly stopped and looked again at Adrian. "You know, kid, you can say something else, I'm not going to eat you."

"I-I'm sorry, ser," Adrian stuttered. "I'm still getting the hang of things."

"It's all right. I don't blame you. Being a part of the Inquisition's army might be a bit overwhelming, but things aren't that scary. Relax, take a deep breath in. No one is going to judge or hurt you. You aren't working for a mad noble who might slap you at any moment. The Inquisitor threatened us not to use any punishment methods with our recruits. A pity, if you ask me, a good beating always helped. But then again, what she doesn't know……"

Adrian's eyes widened with fear, and Madris laughed. "You should have seen your face, kid, hilarious. I'd never do that. I don't want to infuriate the Herald. She can be scary when she gets mad. As long as you do your work diligently, no one will bother you." 

Adrian gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He almost believed the elf, and he felt like a fool for falling for it. But his worries faded away as he saw the view from the battlements. Everywhere he looked, snow blanketed the magnificent mountains. The light shining from the stars and the moon covered the surroundings into a gentle, mysterious light, and he gasped, his soul moved by the infinity of the mountains which seemed to be touching the sky. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Madris whispered. "I've been here for six months, but I'll never get tired of the view."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the starry night and the mountains. Adrian slowly turned around to take in every corner of nature, afraid he might miss a part of its beauty. Suddenly, a creaking broke the silence, and a faint light caught his attention. A door opened in the courtyard and he leaned on the battlements railing to take a better look at the mysterious night guest: a person crossed the yard, wandering with unhurried steps and stopped from time to time.

"Who's that?" he inquired.

"That's the Inquisitor," Madris answered, following him to glance at the person below them. 

"The Inquisitor? At this late hour? Why?" 

"I don't know," Madris shrugged. "She does that from time to time. Popping around at odd times, talking aloud and practising speeches. Sometimes she sits on a rock and draws."

Adrian hummed as he continued to watch the Inquisitor. He could see her perfectly as the full moon shone its light above Skyhold. With a pouch on her shoulder, she looked around, as if searching for something. When her eyes reached their location, she smiled and waved at them. Adrian crouched down behind the stone wall, terrified by the sudden attention.

"It's polite to answer back when someone is waving at you, kid. Especially the Inquisitor," Madris said, his smile never wavering. 

In the few seconds it took Adrian to get back on his feet, the Inquisitor disappeared. He looked around, but he could not spot her. He sighed. He made a fool of himself in front of his instructor and the Inquisitor. 

Madris patted him on the back and grinned. "It's all right, kid. She won't mind it. She's a kind lady."

"How's she like?" Adrian whispered, disappointment in his voice. 

"Hmmm, how's she like?" Madris repeated, a frown knitting his eyebrows. He rubbed his chin, clearly deep in thought. "I don't even know how to begin. She's something else. You have to meet her to understand her but--" he stopped, his hand leaving his face, and he turned to look at someone behind Adrian. His posture hardened from a relaxed stance to a soldier like stance: back straight, hands behind his back, chin up, chest out, shoulders back. 

Adrian turned to see the Inquisitor approaching them, a smile on her lips, the satchel hitting her hip as she stepped. He panicked, unsure if he should mimic his instructor. Before he could react, the Inquisitor stopped next to them. Her smile turned into a smirk. 

"Really, Madris? Still doing that after six months? I told you already; you don't have to do...that," she said, waving a hand at him. "Just relax, I'm not going to order you around." 

Madris relaxed, his shoulders dropped, and he rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush staining his cheeks. "Sorry, old habits die hard. My old commander kicked me in the shins every time I forgot to adopt the correct position." 

Elluin rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, I'm not a power-thirsty old man. Or you're still unsure of that?" 

Madris smirked at her remark. "I'm a bit unsure about the old man part, Inquisitor." 

Adrian's eyes widened at his comment, fearing for the well being of the man, but the Inquisitor just laughed, lightly slapping the elf's shoulder. He blinked a few times, unsure if he should say something.  

"And who might you be?" the Inquisitor asked Adrian. "New soldier?"

Before Adrian could answer, Madris jumped in, his hand grabbing his shoulders and pushing him in front of the Inquisitor. "Yes, this is Adrian. Smart lad, you're going to like him. Adrian, say hello to your boss." 

"N-nice to meet you," he stammered, his mind still working to catch up with the events.  

"You joined three days ago, right?" Elluin asked Adrian.

"Yes, ser."

"Ah, I wish I've been there to greet you, but the meeting with the nobles dragged on, and I couldn't leave. I hope Cullen -the Commander- explained everything to you." 

"Yes, sir." 

Elluin's eyebrows rose. "I know my title sounds daunting, but I'm not that different from you and Madris here. I'm not going to yell at you and order you around." She turned to face Madris. "I can't believe I have to say this to every recruit. I should wear a placard on my back with  `I won't bite you, I promise` written of it." 

A snort escaped Adrian's lips, and he saw the Inquisitor's smile growing wider at his reaction. Still, being in the company of the Inquisitor left him speechless. 

"How old are you, Adrian?" Elluin spoke again, facing him again. "You look quite young." 

"I'm twenty years old, ser." 

"Twenty?" she exclaimed. "Do your parents know you are here, working for us?" 

"No, sir" he whispered.

"I understand running away from home to join a military organization and save the world might sound exciting, but you should let them know. I am sure they are terrified and miss you,", she said in a harsh, scolding tone.

"They are dead, ser." 

A brief pause followed before Elluin spoke again, the harshness completely disappearing from her voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. What happened?"

"It's all right, ser, no harm done. They died ten years ago, in the Blight. The Darkspawns attacked us. My father died, fighting the monsters, and my mother died slowly, infected by their bad blood. I escaped with grandma. She passed a month ago, of old age. I am all alone and decided to join you, make a fair coin, maybe help around a bit." 

Adrian had no idea why he poured his heart out to a stranger, but something in the Inquisitor's eyes made him feel safe enough to tell her everything. He waited as the woman in front of him examined him, her forest green like eyes scanned him as if to read his soul. His eyes avoided her stare, his fingers playing with the material of his sleeve. 

"I lost someone in the Bligh too," she finally said. "My adoptive father. He taught me everything there is to know about the world. The Darkspawns got to him."

"I am sorry, ser." He finally dared to look in her eyes. There he saw sorrow, the same pain he saw in his eyes when his reflection in the mirror stared back at him. "It never gets easier, "he found himself speaking. "They say it gets easier as time passes, that the pain fades, but it never does. Isn't, ser?"

The Inquisitors nodded. "It never does."

Adrian awkwardly smiled at her, and she answered back with a deep sigh. Silence shrouded them as the Inquisitor stared at the sky, and he wondered what her Elven eyes saw there. 

"Can I sketch you?" she abruptly asked, looking back at him. 

"S-sketch me?" he asked, baffled by the sudden change in subject.

"Yes! I went out tonight to sketch, but I didn't find anything interesting. You don't have to say yes if you don't want to. I won't mind it at all." 

"No one ever asked to sketch me until now. Sure, Inquisitor." 

"Thanks!"

Adrian watched her as she rummaged in her satchel, struggling to reach for something in there. A few items rattled loudly, and he wondered what she hid in there. With an "aha" she took out a sketchbook and a few pieces of charcoal. She sat on the cold ground, her legs tucked under her, and opened the small sketchbook. He watched her alarmed, once again, not knowing what he should do. 

His confusion must have been evident, for the Inquisitor nodded and gestured towards him. "You don't have to do anything special. I'll sketch you quickly; it won't take long."

Andrian nodded and awkwardly waited, uncertain what to do with himself or with his hands. He decided to put them behind his back. He looked around, careful not to stare at the Inquisitor, but the sound of the charcoal rubbing on the page grabbed his attention. Her nimble fingers moved with an elegance and a speed he never saw until now. He watched, fascinated how his face, albeit upside down, took form: his oval face first, his small neck, then eyes, nose, lips and his hair. It took her only five minutes to capture his features on paper. 

"I'm done for now. This is just the basic stuff I can do fast, don't want to keep you. But I can work on it today, use a bit of colour too. And I can make two of them, one for you too if you want," she explained, as she removed a strand of hair from her eyes, her fingers leaving a trace of charcoal on her forehead and Adrian had to suppress a giggle. 

"Thank you, Inquisitor. I'd like a copy of it." 

"Hey, that's not fair!" Madris spoke again. Adrian almost jumped; his sudden intervention startling him. He almost forgot about the instructor. 

"You never did my portrait! Don't I deserve one?" 

Elluin chuckled, and she flipped the page of her sketchbook. "You never asked for one. Stay put; I'll make one for you right now."

Adrian watched again, fascinated by how a few lines and circles can transform into the face of a man. He never had the chance to watch an artist at work until now, and he found the process mesmerizing. He wondered if he could learn how to do that.

"Here," the Inquisitor said after another five minutes. 

Madrid got closer to her to look at the sketch, and he smirked. "Oh, you made me handsome." 

"I only draw what I see." 

Madris snorted, and he held out his hand to help her get up. Elluin put her sketchbook back in her bag before reaching for his hand. Her back popped a few times, but she ignored it. 

"Thanks for letting me sketch you, both of you. I'll come back tomorrow night and give you the complete drawing. I should go now before I get scolded for not sleeping. Again. See you tomorrow." 

She waved again and left in a hurry, her hair fluttering in the wind.  Adrian wondered who dared to scold the Inquisitor. 

"Well, she's something, huh?" Madris asked Adrian. "Meeting her is always a new experience. Told you she isn't that scary."

"She's strange," Adrian replied before thinking. "I mean, not in a bad way! Just….I never expected that from the Inquisitor. I've heard tales of her fighting a dragon and a god." 

"Those tales are true, kid. I saw that with my own two eyes. But just because someone can fight a dragon, it doesn't mean they have to be assholes."

"I suppose so." 

"So, are you going to come back tomorrow night, recruit Adrian?" Madris asked him, examining him thoughtfully. 

Adrian nodded and smiled nervously at him. "Yes, ser. I will."

Finally, he found a purpose in life, a good cause to fight for: a new home and a leader who deserves respect.

[melekinh]

I redid the Inquisitor as companion thing 😳 I couldn’t find the original person who posted the template so I put it in a google doc here. If anyone knows who the OP is please let me know so I can credit them!

Inquisitor’s Name: Vianni Lavellan

Race / Class / Specialization: Dalish Elf, Dual-Wielding Rogue (Tempest) & Mage (Rift Mage)

Gender Identity: Nonbinary Woman

Varric’s Nickname for them: Magpie

Short bio:

Vianni grew up with their clan alongside their younger sibling Nialros, who they practically raised after the deaths of their parents. They were married to their childhood sweetheart, Danishan, when they came of age, and they had a daughter named Vylara together. Vianni’s role as an ambassador for the clan often took them away from home, and when they returned from one of their trips to find Vylara had died in their absence, it broke their heart and tore them and Danishan’s marriage apart. They left the clan and traveled for a few years, researching Elvhen history independently and offering aid to the elves in the cities they passed through. Vianni’s reserved and withdrawn, but feels a strong compulsion to help others that inspires others and makes it easy to follow them.

Initial Companion Card:

(The Hermit) Walking into the treeline of a forest, with their face partially covered by a hood. A city they’ve just departed from is in the background, and their eyes look both sad and determined. They hold a dagger in one hand, and are producing a soft light to guide their way with the other.

Recruitment Mission:

Leliana’s people would have gotten wind of someone stealing supplies from the rogue templars and mages and redistributing them to refugees in the crossroads. The inquisitor finds Vianni outside the templar encampment in the hinterlands, but they disappear before the fighting begins. They reappear after the inquisitor has taken out the templar camp, having already looted it for supplies during the fighting. They thank them for getting rid of them- they’d been stealing small odds and ends from it for weeks to help the refugees. They offer their services to the Inquisition after seeing they could probably make a bigger impact by working with them.

Where they’d be in Haven/Skyhold:

In Haven, inside the apothecary helping Adan mix grenades.

In Skyhold, in a nook in the library

Personal Quest:

Vianni will suddenly become withdrawn from the Inquisitor, and upon being prompted reveals the seven year anniversary of their daughter’s death, Vylara, is approaching, and they would like to visit her grave near the frostback basin for the first time since they buried her. If the Inquisitor agrees, Vianni is locked into the party. Upon arriving, you find the area is riddled with demons and rifts, and every time you near one, a wisp-like spirit helps the party seal the rift. The closer you get to the grave, the clearer the wisp’s voice becomes, and Vianni (who’s very distressed) says it sounds familiar. When you finally close the last rift, the wisp takes the form of Vianni’s daughter. Vianni begins to break down, apologizing to her for not being there to save her. If Solas is in the party, he tells them the spirit is not actually Vylara, but a spirit of curiosity. The spirit reveals that Vianni’s daughter had been a mage, but had been keeping it secret until Vianni came home from their last trip. The spirit and Vylara had been friends, and the spirit wanted to tell Vianni that Vylara wouldn’t want them to blame themselves. Vianni embraces the spirit, and their daughter’s form melts away. Vianni asks the inquisitor to help them clean their daughter’s grave. They greatly approve of the inquisitor helping, and slightly disapproves if they don’t.

They ask the party to return to Skyhold without them- they want to spend the night there, and go back to their clan for a short while.

They return a month later, looking more at peace with themself than before. They thank the inquisitor for their help, and depending on how the conversation goes, their romance is locked in here.

How to get their approval/disapproval:

Vianni has a strong instinct to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and will slightly approve of anything that helps the less fortunate or the oppressed. They would slightly approve of the inquisitor asking them respectful and genuine questions about the Dalish, and slightly disapprove of ignorant or rude questions. They wouldn’t approve of sit in judgement decisions that result in making anyone tranquil.

Break down of Approval Ratings for Major Missions:

Fate of the Mages

Conscript: Slightly Disapproves

Ally: Approves

Fate of the Templars:

Disband: Approves

Ally: Slightly Disapproves

Inquisitor’s Lead:

A Dwarf/Elf/Qunari stands for us all: Approves

Example as a Mage: Slightly Approves

For Faith: Disapproves

For Order: Slightly Approves

For What’s Right: Greatly Approves

To Stop Corypheus: Approves

For Personal Power: Greatly Disapproves

For Vengeance: Slightly Disapproves

Fate of the Wardens:

Exile: Disapproves

Ally: Approves

Ruler of Orlais:

Gaspard: Greatly Disapproves

Briala (Through Gaspard): Greatly Approves

Celene: Disapproves

Reunite Celene & Briala: Slightly Disapproves

Public Truce: Slightly Disapproves

Arrest Florianne: Approves

Save Celene: Slightly Disapproves

Kill Celene: Greatly Approves

Abelas Alliance

Ally: Greatly Approves

Reject: Greatly Disapproves

Drink from the Well:

Non-Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Slightly Disapproves

Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Approves

Morrigan Drinks: Disapproves

Are They Romanceable?

Yes- I think their romance would have to do with them and the inquisitor becoming comfortable enough for them to confide their past in, and building the trust to move on from the pain of their previous marriage. They’d be an attentive and sweet partner, who falls into domesticity with ease. They’re bisexual and romanceable by an inquisitor of any race or gender, but it will be harder for them to trust a human enough to let their walls down.

Can you have sex with them?

Yes

Are they open to polyamory?

No. They don’t have a problem with it, they just wouldn’t be comfortable with it in their own love life.

If they can be romanced and are not, will they begin a relationship / relationships with other character(s)? If so, who?

Yes- if not romanced by the inquisitor and taken out in the same party past a certain point, Vianni and Solas will begin having academic discussions that become more and more flirtatious. They will also start to appear in the rotunda instead of their usual location in Skyhold, sitting with a book on Solas’ couch. They stay with the Inquisition after he leaves, but are considerably withdrawn after.

Who are they friendly with?

Vianni is generally a very amicable person, but is closest with Solas, Josephine, a softened Leliana, Sera, and Varric.

Who do they dislike?

I think they’d dislike a hardened Leliana, and probably have a rocky or distrustful start with Cassandra and Bull that would lead into mutual respect. They’d like Blackwall until they find out about his lie, after which they’d hate him.

Companion Card Changes: (use a text desc. if you don’t have visuals)

Loyalty: (Three of Swords in Reverse) Vianni’s hood is no longer drawn, and three daggers float in the air suspended by their magic. They have a warm smile on their face, and a halo of gold shines from behind them.

Loyalty Alternative: (The Three of Swords) Vianni’s silhouette walking into the mountains, sparing a last look over their shoulder at Skyhold

Romanced: (Two of Cups) A close-up of Vianni grasping the inquisitor’s gloved hand in their own in what looks to be a handfasting ceremony, gazing at the inquisitor with a loving smile

Side Missions:

Bookwyrm: Vianni will ask you to help them find a ruin in the Emerald Graves that they suspect holds Elvhen artefacts. Upon finding the ruin, you fight dragonlings and walking corpses within, eventually fighting a possessed dragon in the lowest chamber. After killing the dragon you find an ancient Elvhen tome, which you can give to Vianni (resulting in Great Approval)

Opinions on mages / templars / how the world is going to shit?

Vianni thinks mages should be free, and while they think circles aren’t necessary they think something like them that offers mages the option of an education should be available to those who want it, rather than being forced on them. While they personally are more predisposed to trust mages than templars, they can empathize with the plight of the templars as well after learning more about them from Cullen and Cassandra, and actually thinks it makes more sense to get their help to close the breach. (but they think the Inquisitor should disband the Order rather than ally with them.)

They’re afraid for everyone in the world who’s defenseless and can’t make a difference, which is why they feel obligated to do so.

Something guaranteed to make them leave the party:

Vianni stays with the Inquisition unless asked to leave.

Special Events:

Imprisoned at Redcliffe: How is your Inquisitor holding up in Redcliffe, being slowly infected with red lyrium over the course of a year?

They are distraught and furious, and want to crawl out of this broken skin that doesn’t feel like it belongs to them. They have no desire to live, they just want to go down fighting.

At the Winter Palace: Does your Inquisitor enjoy the party, any special events with them at the Palace?

Vianni was the ambassador for their clan years ago, so they excel at and delight in political intrigue. They are very fascinated with Briala, and would try to covertly talk to the servants to hear if Briala’s work is helping them, and if so, how they can help Briala.

If romanced, you will be able to share a dance and a kiss on the balcony.

In the Fade: Your Inquisitor’s reaction upon entering the Fade? Fear’s taunt, and Inquisitor’s response? Epitaph on their grave?

Their reaction would be a mixture of uneasiness and academic curiosity- they would love to get the opportunity to spend more time observing how physical objects interact with things in the fade and what secrets are to be found there, but ultimately stay focused on the goal to escape.

Their epitaph would say: ‘Not Changing Anything’

The Nightmare will taunt Vianni by telling them it’s their fault their daughter died, and who she would’ve been if she’d lived.

Trespasser: What is your Inquisitor up to two years after Corypheus’ defeat? Any special events with them over the events of Trespasser?

Vianni stays with the Inquisition, staying close to the inquisitor in their travels after the defeat of Corypheus, assuming they ended on good terms. Their sibling Nialros joins up as well, and the two have been working alongside Dagna studying magical things in Solas’ absence.

During Trespasser they’re happy to see everyone come together again, but are worried about the future of the Inquisition and the inquisitor themselves. They will be shocked and confused by Solas’ identity initially, but not be too surprised after ruminating on it more.

Vianni stays with you no matter what if you romanced them (or if you had high approval with them and they did not get together with Solas.)

If they got together with Solas and had high approval with the Inquisitor, they decide to stay with the Inquisition to try and stop him/save him, depending on what the Inquisitor chooses to do.

If they got together with Solas and the Inquisitor did not have high approval, they will try to do what they can to protect him from the inside- though they could be swayed into believing his death is a necessity.

If the Inquisitor told Vianni to leave, and they had gotten together with Solas, Vianni is on Solas’ side and working with him.

Other Major Events: Any other major events that happen with them over the course of the main game?

nah I’m tired lol

[crqstalite]

after adamant.

ugly little fic that i wrote in the middle of the night a while ago and shared with a friend. post-adamant about my inquisitor trying to rationalize their losses at the fortress and in the fade. nothing’s capitalized, so if that annoys you, this isn’t the little fic for you.

chose not to use warnings? im not quite sure what to use here, so tread lightly.

dragon age inquisition. 

-

she stays strong, after adamant it’s all everyone needs. she sees to the few wardens that had been at the keep, had offered inquisition aid.  they thank her thousands of times over, as uneasy as they are.

their senior warden, alistair, won’t meet her eyes. deep brown orbs looking anywhere but at her, even with a smile on his face. he thanks her, quietly. bandages wrapped around his side, muttering that he’d need to get a letter out to the hero of ferelden — tabris.

she leaves him, offering to let leliana find her. to let leliana send the message and get it back to him as soon as possible. he agrees, numbly is when she swings a leg over the elk in the morning, sun peaking over the rise in the distance.

she knows that look that settles in his dark brown eyes, that look that cries it should’ve been me. but she’s sure he knows what he must do now, to lead the wardens properly against corypheus. she thanks him.

he doesn’t say it, but he does respond that hawke’s sacrifice would not be vain. that shatters a part of her, seals her lips all the way back to skyhold. thankfully, marzeyna is lucky enough no one else is in a talkative mood. but they will be, with questions, with reactions, maybe with thinly veiled anger.

she’s not sure if she’s lucky or simply being lied to when varric seems more despondent than furious with her. he simply responds there are letters to write, to bethany, to other friends she’d made in kirkwall. they’d been close. she bites her lip hard enough to draw iron laced blood to keep from crying.

he hugs her.

though he’s not mentioned, marzeyna doesn’t make the request to send a letter to the mage anders. though he will be left in the dark, surely varric would know how close they’d been. the way hawke spoke of him, with a wistful tone laced with uneasiness, she doesn’t want to look into his eyes and tell him she was the reason reyna hawke would not be coming home.

she makes her rounds. to cassandra, to blackwall, to dorian. then to the others who learning of it secondhand, to leliana, who’d been hurt over justinia. to sera, to bull, to vivienne, to solas, who was fascinated about her journey into the fade.

she doesn’t indulge him. any other day, she might’ve, but not today.

marzeyna has to put on a brave face when she’s nearly hit with what she assumes to be a lyrium kit when she visits cullen. to think she’d thought she’d get any miniscule amount of comfort from anyone after her return, she would’ve thought, just maybe, that it would be him. but no, her nerves are shot and she’s terrified and can’t think straight. she hasn’t slept since before adamant, doesn’t even want to think about dreaming in the fade. and yet, she’s able to give cullen the strength he needs to go on. 

she wavers. her tiny form struggles to make it back to the war room after the moon has long risen in the sky. working, bent over the war table. they’d head out for the exalted plains in the morning. switch out her ground forces, get to work.

get her mind off the blonde woman that haunted her thoughts these days. piercing storm cloud eyes with dexterity over daggers that she’d never seen before. a determination to save mages from the templars that burned white hot within her, flames licking everyone she met.

her voice never wavering when she’d accepted her fate. a strong nod when she drew her daggers for the last time.

she shoves the knife meant for josephine’s diplomatic mission into the table deeper than she’d intended, grinding it into the table with a groan. her fire red hair falls into her face, her once tight ponytail loosening into a lump of curls at the base of her neck.

magic crackles at her fingertips, papers flying off the desk and fluttering to the floor. lelianna’s secrets, cassandra and solas’ requests, josephine’s agreements, cullen’s reports.

yanking off her gloves in front of the fire in her quarters, she grits her teeth when she can’t yank a swollen finger out of it’s respective sleeve. eyebrows knitting together in frustration, fire climbing her thoughts.

why hadn’t she been quicker? why hadn’t she forced them ahead with magic? she could’ve done something, done anything different. could’ve fade stepped them past the bastard. but no, she hadn’t done any of those things. she’d knowingly sent hawke to her death, not fought alongside her and alistair, but sent her away so she and alistair could get away.

the glove comes off, pain reverberating through her hand in waves. she kicks off her boots, the pair thumping away somewhere in the darkness.

she should be the one in the fade. running for her life, terrified in the darkness of the spiders she saw racing towards her. reliving nightmare after nightmare.

marzeyna was a mage. she could’ve handled it longer before she went mad. reyna was not, she was a young woman from kirkwall. a rogue no less. so stupid, marzeyna should’ve been the one to stay behind. from what little she understood of the tensions between varric and cassandra, hawke could’ve been the inquisitor. hell she probably was supposed to be. or alistair’s love, tabris.

both were older, wiser than she was. with only twenty five years on her, she wonders if some God with a sick sense of humor had decided it should be her. things had only gone wrong when she appeared in haven, half alive and delirious. justinia had died, the mage/templar conflict in the hinterlands that she couldn’t solve, alexius.

then they lost haven. and so many people. the smell of wood burning around her and screams of people being cut down by red templars. her advisors asking for orders, her mind spiraling in a thousand different directions.

she wonders if cullen saw the terrified look in her eyes when he’d spoken to her. saw her fumbling for answers, saw the little girl that had been given too much power, much too soon. had second thoughts about her being the so called herald of andraste. had wondered why he put his faith in her.

marzeyna lavellan. she was a mage. and a dalish elf. two of the most marginalized statuses you could have in thedas, and so many people still looked up to her. asked her what to do, trusted her not to lead them astray. 

hawke had trusted her. marzeyna had promised her she’d get her out alive, had promised she’d get her back to bethany. to anders. that they could do this.

she yanks a box, some sort of box, maybe empty off the desk and throws it, chucks it into the wall just off the windows. it crashes, shattering into splinters of oak. then something else holding an ink quill, lighter, easier to throw. that too shatters, ceramic maybe. it’s satisfying almost, anger and regret and everything in between flooding her emotions like a tidal wave. they drown her, choking her when she screams like a caged animal, chucking another small box into the wall. raw magic dances at her fingertips and lights her ablaze, body glowing a gentle white as hot tears slide down her face in rivers.

justinia. maybe. she’s needed her and there was nothing she could do. she failed her.

every single person in haven believed in her. they needed her when corphyeus arrived with his forces.

hawke had believed in her. smiled at her. told her jokes. at first skeptical, as any non andrastian would be. but quickly had become her friend. her first real one that wasn’t asking her what was next all the time. someone she could go to when her advisors were too much that day.

her hands clench into fists in her hair, sobs heavy and heaving as she slides to the floor in a heap against one of the walls. now hawke was gone, and it was all her fault. just like it’d been before. another person who’d gotten killed because of her.

she’d tried to justify her decision. the wardens would need someone to lead them through this possible blight. tabris would need him when she got back with her research into the fake calling. 

nothing answers when she thinks about hawke. she can’t justify her death. she was a good person, supported mages to a fault. didn’t seem the type to kick puppies. was friendly to everyone, had a sister, had a friend in varric.

then, why isn’t marzeyna dead?

she has nothing. clan lavellan maybe, but they’d surely replaced her by now, it wasn’t as if she was coming back now. it wasn’t like they were clambering to see her again. she’s a mage, she’s already being persecuted anyway. and it wasn’t as if what she’d started with cullen couldn’t be forgiven. it wasn’t anything serious, he could meet someone else.

sure, she was young. younger than most in the inquisition. but others still had most of their lives ahead of them. she had nothing. no future beyond what lie inside of skyhold.

hugging her knees, the pants legs begin to wet with the fat tears rolling down her cheeks. the anchor was the only thing that made her important, that kept people from actually wanting to get her killed. people put their lives on the line for her. and she couldn’t even return the favor.

her nails dig into her biceps, curling in on her herself as a draft whips into the room. a shiver after the fire chases it away. 

then why is she still here? she’s nothing, no one. 

and right now, she doesn’t want to be anyone. she doesn’t go to bed that night, reading reports until she can’t. staving off sleep to keep from drifting into the fade against her will. eyes blurring and burning when she dresses herself in the morning, she avoids varric’s gaze following her down the corridor to the war room. josephine follows, rattling off things she doesn’t understand. nobles. treaties. alliances.

lelianna and cullen join them a few minutes later. if they notice her hands shaking, they don’t say anything. a glimmer of concern in cullen’s eyes, josephine outright with the words on her lips, gently biting them back.

she should be dead, she chants when they arrive in the plains, i don’t even have a right to be alive. she should be here, and yet i handed the situation to her like the scared child i am.

it’s the beginning of many restless nights.

[thedinanshiral]

On the Evanuris

We know not nearly enough about the Evanuris, the ancient elvhen so-called gods, and what information we have is either myth, legend, or casual commentary by an undoubtedly biased contemporary source, Solas.

While this post was inspired by a particular line Solas says in Inquisition, it’s also been requested on Twitter so i’ll try my best. First a small disclaimer, I partially subscribe to the spirit origin theory, so i’ll start there. I’m presenting another theory based on it as well, so it’s fair to say it’s mostly wild speculation on my part (but I like it!) 

At the end of All New, Faded for Her, when Solas returns to Skyhold he mentions to the Inquisitor he went to find a quiet place to sleep, dream and visit the place in the Fade where his Wisdom spirit friend used to be. Says he found it empty, “but there are stirrings of energty in the Void. Someday something new may grow there”. Which got me thinking, where do spirits come from?

Unlike those with a physical existence spirits aren't born, there's no Spirit Mommy and Spirit Daddy making Spirit Babies. Solas explains -without as much detail as i'd like- that once a Spirit “dies”, something remains and if the spirit was strong enough or inspiring enough, from what remains a new spirit may form that would inherit something of the former spirit but would not carry on its identity or memories.

So where do Spirits come from, originally? Chantry states it was the Maker, but i'm skipping that and jumping directly into creatio ex nihilo. Leaving aside the big old question of the origin of the Maker, I propose we discuss the Void a bit. People often think of the Void as an empty space or plane, the abscence of whatever, Nothing with a capital N, when it is also quite the contrary. The Void holds everything within. It's an Absolute and as such, it's everything you can think of and everything you can't think of too. It's raw unlimited potential.

Here’s a silly example: Imagine there's a chef who wants to create a new entry for their menu and have only a basket with 5 tomatos in it. They can be very creative but there will always be a limit to what one can prepare with only 5 tomatos. Now imagine this chef goes empty handed to the farmers' market; there they can pick up a variety of ingredients in whatever quantity and quality they like, and prepare many different meals.

The Maker is the Chef, the Void is the market. The Void is never truly empty, the emptyness is what one may bring into the Void but not the only thing the Void has to offer.

So maybe, just maybe, the Maker -assuming it's real- was the first spirit to form in the Void, maybe completely at random as the result of a combination of void energies, we can't know for sure. In the many creation myths of various cultures it's always a mystery how and why the first divine entities appear, in many cases it's just “and then, pop! There they were”, in others it's an act of “love”, as in the Whole being too much for/in itself breaks down into smaller fractions, generates itself a separate existence and then begins creating other forms as an expresion of the universal love that it is compelled to share with a multitude of life. Essentially all life in the universe is the Universe giving itself a big, big hug and having feelings. This form of “creation from nothing” also grants perspective, as the Absolute in producing other beings generates the possibility of different perspectives of itself.  

With that said and tying up Solas’ words with the elvhen spirit origin theory, i’d say there’s a possibility the Void is where spirits originate from, weirdly enough. This could be supported even by Chantry teachings as per the Canticle of Andraste 14:11

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew.

The first “god” we hear of is the Sun. It being an early entity is evidenced in its lack of a proper name, as it's just “The Sun”, and father to the All-father, Elgar'nan. The Sun symbolises life, beginnings, the origin, as in the rising of a new day. The Sun may have been a first spirit, a concentration of  pure, raw energy in the Void, and when the generation chain resulted in different beings apart from itself who could see a different aspect of the Sun, a negative and damaging one, the Sun was overthrown and the Evanuris, its children, rose in its place. The Sun wasn’t alone, however, there was also the Earth as a female and motherly figure, who doted on her son until the Sun out of jealousy and spite burnt everything to ashes, inciting Elgar’nan’s rage.  From the tears of the Earth pooled into oceans rose Mythal as a new entity of reason to contrast with Elgarn’nan’s violent emotions. Together they restored the defeated Sun -establishing the day and night cycle – and all four restablished life and everyone lived happy forever.. Except not.  Let’s say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

From the Sun and the Earth, Elgarn’nan and Mythal came into existence and according to the myths, they generated in turn other entities that eventually became the elvhen pantheon. Falon’din, Dirthamen, June, Sylaise, Andruil. How every Evanuris embodies or represents a different aspect of life also plays in this idea of an Absolute breaking itself up into its many components. This cascade effect doesn’t end there, as later on we learn from Ghilan’nain’s example that the Evanuris could elevate others to their same godly status.  

As spirits directly descendant from the first one, the Evanuris were powerful and naturally the ones that followed came to see them as superior, divine. But as Geldauran says in their claim “There are no gods. There is only the subject and the object, the actor and the acted upon” , the Evanuris in all their power were blinded and in their perception of others as lesser beings they accepted no question of their place in the order of the world. They saw themselves at the top of the chain and not once doubted this. Perhaps the more they defined their individual identities in contrast to the others, the more they solidified into the physical world, the more “earthly” they became, more susceptible to material sensation and needs and desires, and grew more entitled and aggressive in how they took their claims over the world.

All this eventually lead to them “creating” (the Evanuris are after all called “Creators”) the elvhen, possibly more spirits of varying strengths and skills they saw could be used as servants. Some may have joined a physical world willingly, but others may have not, and no “god” would stand being refused by a lesser creature so, enter the vallaslin. Bonding magical marks, used to ground spirits and bound them in service to a particular Evanuris became proper slave markings later on as elvhen became “people” and developed a complex societal structure that expanded over two different planes of existence.

Vallaslin are blood markings, chances are they used lyrium and we know lyrium is the blood of titans; considering Dagna's experience of being tall as a mountain and thinking all the thoughts, we can imagine Titans are, similarly to the Sun, original spirits -or close enough-, entities who had not yet divided themselves into other aspects. So their blood, their nature, is in a way purer than that of the Evanuris, holds potentially more power within, and it would seem they lack distinct personalities, egos and all the nasty things that come with it. They simply existed as they were with no desire, no ambition to be more or do more. And their blood could bridge the physical existence the Evanuris had already mastered, with the spiritual existence they were possibly beginning to lose. Perhaps lyrium branding offered the possibility of bounding a spirit to the earthly plane without sacrificing its spiritual magical powers while simultaneously stripping them of the agency to use them, turning them into the tools the Evanuris needed to continue their rule.

We learn at the Shattered Library in Trespasser that elvhen and spirits were very familiar with each other, implying they had a common origin or nature, even that elvhen could choose to remain spirits, the fact they could sleep for centuries in Uthenera living in the Fade without their bodies dying would too indicate they're related somehow. The Evanuris are not specifically mentioned as retaking a spiritual form, it is however implied they were shapeshifters and favoured the form of massive powerful creatures who could exist both on ground and on air, dragons. Liminal creatures, much as they might have been themselves, neither here nor there. The dragon form was exclusively theirs, others could not “take the wings” and were punished/exiled for doing it.

The Forgotten ones may have been mirror aspects of the Evanuris who got, well, forgotten as they may have been way less popular among the people. The fact they were antagonising the Evanuris tells me they were on similar if not the same level of power/skills. The Forbidden ones could have been similar spirits-turned-people who “abandoned form”, ie returned to their spirit existence to escape the war of the Evanuris against the Forgotten Ones or the Titans. May have been elvhen servants, slaves, warriors who refused to fight a senseless war that only served the Evanuris ego and power hunger.

Then we have Solas, Fen'Harel, possibly also a powerful spirit perhaps summoned or recruited by Mythal, on similar level as the Evanuris and Forgotten ones, powerful enough to trick and imprison them all in two different levels of reality at a time when said levels knew very little distinction. He created the Veil. And while the Evanuris were trapped in the Black City, the Forgotten ones were left in “the Void”. So far his relationship to Mythal is unclear. He may have been a servant of hers, a guardian, her champion, we just don’t know yet, but it’s clear they were close. There’s a line from Cole in Trespasser “He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face ” . “He did not want a body but she asked him to come” sounds like a spirit being summoned. “He left a scar when he burned her off his face” , Solas not only has a scar on his forehead, but as Fen’Harel he erased the vallaslin of former slaves, and even offers to do it to a romanced Lavellan. Solas may have been a spirit summoned by Mythal who later for some reason decided to release himself from her service by erasing her vallaslin off his face. My guess is this may have happened after her death.

Whatever Solas’ origin is, he was powerful enough to reshape the structure of the world, and what once was all one plane became torn apart from itself. A physical world interwoven with the Fade and connected to the Void became stratified in one a strictly spiritual plane (Fade) above in the sky, a strictly unmutable physical plane (Thedas) below it, and an inaccesible abyss (Void) presumably somewhere in the underground. Still, it's interesting and worth noticing that even in Evanuris times the Void was below the rest of the world. (Andruil “descends” into the Void for her maddening hunting trips).

Next we have the issue of the Old Gods of Tevinter. It is believed the Old Gods have dragon forms that slumber in the underground and that they communicated with men through dreams, teaching them secrets of magic the then new human civilization used to build a powerful empire.

There are considerable similarities between the OG and the Evanuris, not just in number and attributes but I suspect also in nature.

Maybe, just maybe, the dragon forms were like mounts. Mindless creatures the Evanuris could possess, or maybe by getting trapped away from the physical world somehow the Evanuris had their spirit severed from their bodies, with their spirits trapped in the fade and their dragon bodies -that they most likely used for battle- parked in the Thedas underground garage. Remember ancient elvhen could separate spirit and body while sleeping without their bodies dying, when they entered Uthenera, and while that suspended state lasted, servants would tend to their sleeping bodies. Maybe that's what darkspawn originally were. Servants charged with looking after the Evanuris dragon bodies while not in use, trapped underground after the Veil was created and drove to madness like the rock wraiths of the primeval thaig, who later became darkspawn. By the time the Magister Sidereal reach the Black City the corruption, the Blight, already existed. The Blight exists since Evanuris times. For all we know the Blight is an inmmune response of Titans treating the elvhen as parasites/viruses attacking them, assimilating them somehow – as Titans/dwarves had a hivemind, so do the Darkspawn through the Archdemon's song-. If the dragons sleeping underground belonged to the Evanuris and had servants looking after them, i imagine being trapped in the Void for millenia, a place that even pre-Veil had corruption, must have affected them gravely. 

It most likely took the Evanuris some time to recover after getting trapped away from the world by Solas. And when they finally gathered the strength to project through dreams, say they find human dreamers instead of their own people and learn the world they knew is destroyed, the elvhen are conquered, enslaved, abused, powerless. The elven people are no longer of use to the Evanuris so they turn their eyes and attention to the conquerors, the powerful ones, the ones they can use. So the Evanuris take on new identities as the Old Gods (as the humans wouldn’t adopt the same gods as the conquered, defeated people), and begin manipulating humans in dreams, sharing ancient powerful magic with them, proving they're real, guiding Tevinter into hegemony.

The Tevinter imperium becomes the spiritual successor of Elvhenan. Powerful empire ruled by mages under the banner of powerful entities built on the back of slaves and the abuse of magic falls and is replaced by....a powerful empire ruled by mages under the banner of powerful entities built on the back of slaves and the abuse of magic? Yeah.

The Evanuris played Tevinter, though, played nice and friendly for a while, built up that human trust in them, made them rely on them, only to suddenly and without any warning ghost them, pulling humans into despair, fear, anxiety, fear of abandonment, fear of losing all the power they had amassed. Until suddenly gods started talking again, and now humas were so terrified of losing them twice of course they'd do anything the gods asked of them without any doubts, of course they'd blindly follow their gods' requests no matter how outrageous or great. So Old God say “break open the Veil, hop on into the Fade and join us in power to rule as gods” and they just go for it.

It's possible the Evanuris wanted to possess the Magister Sidereal and that's why each old god's priest was present. But shit happens and everyone gets tainted. Now with the Veil temporarily broken it's also possible the Evanuris spirits were drawn to their dragon forms underground, unfortunately unable or too weak to awaken them themselves -possessing powerful mages, dreamers at that, would have been an entirely different story. So they use an ancient “connection” with the descendant of their servants, now turned darkspawn, compelling them to find them and dig them out at any cost.It's been said time and time again the darkspawn taint the Old God dragons and turn them into Archdemons but it's not entirely impossible the dragons are already tainted, and that's how they can connect with the darkspawn in the first place.

This would explain why Solas is so against eliminating the Old Gods, why Flemythal and Morrigan had knowledge of rituals to separate their souls from the dragons. I suspect the Old Gods ARE the Evanuris, or vessels of their spirits at the very least. Among the constellations found via astrariums there's one for each Old God, but also one called “Draconis” which doesn't match any Old God and is suspected to have been the representation of an 8th Old God that got taken down from hystory (there's one of a wolf as well..). The “god” that got eliminated was Mythal and of all Evanuris she's the one most strongly identified with and represented as a dragon. Not only that, the dragon in Draconis is one with a single tail body and its two wings open rising in flight, very reminiscing of the half-woman/half-dragon statues of Mythal where the lower female body is shown wearing a long skirt.

Side tracking a bit here but we know who from the Evanuris were problematic: Elgar'nan was too impulsive and violent, Falon'din was an attention seeking arse who relished so much in the worship he received he actively promoted war to increase the number of deaths and therefore the following he had as “guide of the dead”, Ghilan'nain was the elvhen equivalent of a mad scientist gene-splicing anything that moved, Andruil was a blood thirsty hunter and possibly also hunted for slave labour. Mythal was a judge and possibly the voice of conscience of all of them until perhaps they tired of hearing her draw lines for their antics and decided to take her off the picture for good, and Fen'Harel was most likely one of Mythal's champions/warriors/knights/guardians who got done with all the infighting that cost the life of his dear friend and was destroying their world. The remaining three don't really appear much in the lore available, Dirthamen is Falon'din's twin yet as god of secrets and knowledge (similar to Razikale, the Old God of Mystery, one of the two Archdemons left) there's not much known about him other than he loved his brother.

The ones we least know about are June and Sylaise. June god of craft and Sylaise Hearthkeeper were apparently a couple, married, and makes sense because much of crafting requires a constant well kept fire. I suspect they were on the neutral side and may have aided Fen'Harel in secret, because when you mix a god of crafts with a goddess of the hearth you get a forge and the Dread Wolf's base in Trespasser had an armory and ancient elven armor and weaponry were nicely designed. Solas doesn't have anything to say about them ever during the entire game, unlike how he reacts to Andruil and Falon'din, and unlike the Dalish myths of him with Ghilan'nain ...as far as i can recall there's nothing that links June and Sylaise or even Dirthamen with Fen'Harel, specifically. It's so clean a slate it's almost as if it was squaky cleaned on purpose to hide something...

And that’s all for now. It’s a lot to process, I know, my head hurts too but it’s finally out of it. I’m leaving a lot of minor details out because this is already long enough. In the near future i’ll hopefully analyse some characters like Ghilan’nain and Andruil individually.

Thanks for reading!

[ravenqueen89]

the howling of the wind {patreon}

@vulptilla gave me the awesome privilege of once again getting to write her epic character Katla Hawke. This is set in Inquisition times but the burden of the past remains, as ever.

In summary: Katla goes to Skyhold at Iliana’s request and has a ‘friendly’ catch-up with Cullen. Those two have survived Kirkwall (more or less) but have also been on opposite sides of the conflict for a long, long time, so some things need to be ironed out. Past Katla/Thrask mentions, of course.

Of note: mentions of death, trauma, drinking as coping mechanism, survivor’s guilt. 

(also on ao3)

Skyhold is an imposing sight when Katla emerges from the forest path, but all she can see is its ruin. All she can see are its walls, waiting to close in around her.

Voices up ahead make her pull the hood of her cloak tighter around her face, hiding the famous redness of her hair. She’s been travelling mostly at night, doing her best to avoid the various conflicts along the road but danger looms past every shadow and her every sense is alert with possibility.

The group ahead reveals itself to be a merchant caravan and Katla breathes a sigh of relief and joins them, taking advantage of the anonymity. The merchants are jovial and discreet, asking no questions but offering gossip aplenty. They even share their spiced wine and it makes the freezing climb to the fortress far more bearable than it would have been otherwise. It also calms some of the storm inside Katla, the way her mind is screaming at her to run the other way, to put as much distance between her and another end of the world as possible. She doesn’t want to ever fight for this hellhole ever again, but Iliana asked and Katla can’t just leave her without back-up. Katla has little to give, but she’s here, despite the illusion of comfort the shadows offered her in her wanderings, away from it all. She’s here, despite her constant grief, despite her constant fear. It doesn’t feel like triumph.

Katla slips into Skyhold unnoticed, the merchants attracting all the attention. Night has long since fallen, snowlit and cold, but Skyhold’s courtyard is full of activity and she doesn’t stand out in any way, which suits her fine. She should seek out Varric or Iliana, but there is one stop she must make first, one visit she has been thinking about constantly during the trip. It takes her quite a bit of aimless walking before she asks a nearby scout for directions, but still no one recognises her.

Katla climbs the freshly icy steps to the tower with single-minded focus, not even noticing the way her limbs ache with the cold. Her mind feels clear for once, awake, and she bursts through the door to Cullen’s office, ready for confrontation. All she finds is emptiness and silence, the candlelight and torchlight flickering in the draught she has caused.

There are letters on Cullen’s desk, a quill dripping ink on parchment, indications that where he has gone will not keep him long. Katla walks around the office, finding nothing of notice, and then she sits on the edge of the desk, sending some reports flying. Adding to the general chaos brings her some satisfaction, but she is fidgety and cold and irritated. She wants this meeting over with, wants the ghosts of Kirkwall to grow quiet, wants them to stop reaching for her. Katla doesn’t think this will make them fade, but it can’t hurt to scream at someone other than herself for a change.

She catches the glint of a bottle on the desk, winking at her with promise, buried under things of lesser import. The bottle is stoppered and dusty with no indication of vintage, but Katla does not refuse such gifts like Cullen does. She doesn’t bother to find herself a glass, making quick work of opening the wine and taking a careful sip of it, followed by a mouthful, and another. The wine is heavy and rich on her tongue, like chocolate, like perdition. It tastes like drinking it is a sin, which means it’s definitely from Tevinter. It would have been entirely wasted on Cullen.

The bottle is half-empty by the time Cullen returns, and the way he freezes when he sees Katla would be comical if not for all the memories his face brings. Rage boils over in her veins once more at the unfairness of it. Cullen is here, alive, in front of her, like he has a right to it, like he’s better than the dead, like he’s not just a lucky coward. Her magic howls like the ghosts but Katla breathes, takes another gulp of wine. Neither of them are in Kirkwall anymore. Neither of them are whole.

Cullen hasn’t recovered enough to speak, but he closes the door behind him and gives a wary glance to the bottle in her hand. She smirks at him and keeps on drinking, waiting for him to make a move, waiting to jump right at his throat if he makes a false one. Katla knows he is not an enemy, but she can’t trust him. She needs to establish if Iliana should. That is why she is here. She will not allow Iliana to be torn to shreds by a role others have made for her.

‘I was not told you were here, Champion,’ Cullen finally says, fidgeting, looking from Katla to his chair to the doors of the tower. He’s very much at a loss and Katla feels vindicated by his worry. She could very much be a threat to him and it’s good for him to know it.

‘I did not announce my presence,’ Katla replies, her smile sweet poison. ‘I have something to discuss with you first.’

Cullen nods, his words faltering again, his hand on the pommel of his sword like he’s trying to remind himself he is the commander of the Inquisition. Katla wonders if the ghosts scream at him too.

She drinks some more, staring at him until he starts fidgeting again. ‘You’re doing a piss poor job of protecting Iliana,’ she says, cutting off his protest with a wave of her hand. ’That wasn’t a question, Cullen. I’m here to make sure you put her first. I don’t give a shit about any faction. You put her first, or you will pay.’

Silence stretches in the wake of her words and she fills it up with more wine. Cullen is angry now too, and her own anger rejoices at the sight.

‘You dare question my motives-‘ he starts.

‘I very much dare. Your motives have always failed before,’ she finishes, her hand growing numb from its grip on the bottle.

Cullen walks around her to stand behind his chair, holding on white-knuckled to its back. Katla can see his pallor, the vague tremor in his fingers, the shadows under his eyes. She doesn’t care about the cause. Everyone is responsible for carrying the weight of their own choices.

‘I would give my life for the Inquisition,’ Cullen says with gravitas, like the words matter.

‘I don’t care about your Inquisition. It’s yet another shoddy faction in a long line of shoddy factions. I care about Iliana and if she’s not already your priority, make it so, Cullen. Enough good people have died for the causes in this shithole of a land.’

The dregs of the wine are bitter but she finally feels warm now, words crowding on her tongue, demanding to be spilled into existence. Cullen watches her, his eyes empty for a moment, like he too is haunted. Katla speaks, and she doesn’t know if her voice belongs to her or the ghosts.

‘Do you ever wonder why we’re alive when people infinitely better than either of us are not?’ she says, her tone steady and colder than the night surrounding them. ‘Do you sleep at night without dreaming of their bodies? Are you really willing to risk adding her to that pile?’

With each word, Cullen looks shakier, like he’s about to collapse, blood draining from his face at an alarming rate. Katla knows that expression on his face. She sees it every time she doesn’t manage to avoid her reflection. This mark of Kirkwall, once gained, can never be lost.

‘I don’t,’ Cullen tries to say, his voice barely a whisper. ‘I’m not…’

Katla waves him off, irritation creeping back in alongside the grief. She doesn’t have time for his poor attempts at explaining himself. They both have to bear the suffocating weight of the past. She’s heard it all before.

‘You remember Thrask, don’t you?’ she asks, and the name grabs her by the throat with all the memories attached to it. She hasn’t said his name in years, only allowing herself to remember him in fragments, lest she be swept away by the immensity of the loss.

Judging by the look on his face, Cullen remembers Thrask well enough, so Katla doesn’t wait for a reply. ‘He was a good man. We owed him, Cullen. He deserved to live more than anyone, but we’re the ones standing here. I won’t fail at protecting someone I care about yet again. Are you willing to bear the consequences of that failure?’

Cullen shakes his head, still holding on to the chair like it’s a shield between him and Katla, between him and the memories.

‘We fucked up in Kirkwall, Cullen. You know it, I know it. We failed to avoid predictable disasters. Iliana deserves better.’

Cullen rubs his hands over his face like he’s trying to obliterate whatever images his mind is conjuring in response to Katla’s words. For a moment he barely looks alive in the flickering torchlight, fear written all over him.

‘I loved him,’ Katla says, and it’s not what she meant to speak into existence but it hangs between them regardless. The wine was more potent than she realised, burning secrets out of her. She can see Cullen’s expression morph into pity but the look she gives him melts it away.

‘There were rumours,’ Cullen says, and of course there were, but there was nothing ever concrete enough. She can still feel all the secrecy and all the hiding, meeting Thrask only at night, only in the shadows. As usual in Katla’s life, freedom remained elusive, and now she will never know how freedom with him would have felt.

Katla’s words dry up as quickly as they came. She can still hear the howling of the ghosts, or perhaps the howling of the wind. She can feel the walls of Cullen’s office closing in and she has to remind herself to breathe. Cullen looks at her like he understands, as if he could ever possibly understand, and she wants to snap at him but there’s no point to it.

‘You’re right,’ Cullen finally says, some time later. ‘Iliana will be the priority.’

Katla tips the empty bottle at him in mock salute and moves away from the desk, opening the door to the howling and the cold. Before she disappears into it she turns and says ‘don’t worry, I’ll stick around to remind you if you forget’ and then she is gone, leaving Cullen alone with his own ghosts.

[ollifree]

Found an Inquisitor-as-Companions ask sheet so I’m filling these out for Kendra/Darrell in the multi protags au

1. If not for the Conclave, what would drive your character to join the Inquisition?

They both joined because they were at the Conclave and honestly? I can’t see them joining if they weren’t. Much like in the other worldstates were they aren’t Inquisitor, Mami Trevelyan got a firm lockdown on her children after the sky literally exploded. Oh wait, did I say they both joined because they were at the Conclave? That’s a lie. Darrell joined because he was at the Conclave. Kendra joined because Darrell did.

2. How would they meet the Inquisitor?

Kendra met her (Fanari Lavellan, I’m using my own Inquisitor but I’m writing this to fit any Inquisitor) first, in the same cutscene as Varric and Solas. Fanari chose to take the mountain path rather than go with the soldiers (and got her first Kendra Greatly Approves boost). Darrell was one of the soldiers stranded up on the mountain top.

3. What would some of their cutscenes look like?

One of the caveats of their cutscenes is that both of them are always present until Trespasser; at least at the start if not for the whole thing. During the first Trespasser scenes they’re apart because they’re having a spat about Darrell going to Tevinter with Dorian. (Kendra’s having a spat. Darrell’s having a headache.)

Their first cutscene (excluding their introductions) takes place in Haven. They’re found speaking with Josephine about the memorial being planned for those who died or went missing in the Conclave: a reading of names followed by lighting a pyre. Both are insisting that if the memorial’s ready to go but they’re out of Haven on Inquisition business, don’t stop on their account. Josephine starts to argue, but Fanari, out looking for Josephine to let her know her expertise is needed, interrupts. Kendra stalks off shortly after Josephine leaves.

Fanari asks Darrell what the argument was about. He tells her that he and Kendra weren’t the only Trevelyans at the Conclave, but they were the only ones to come out of it. “It’s been hard letting the family know, but it’s helped us. Going to the memorial would just be reopening the wounds, now.” Darrell turns the conversation on Fanari, asking if she wants something different to or happening with the pyre. Cutscene goes into approval/disapproval dialogue focused on faith and grief, with Darrell showing understanding to Fanari and approving of open-mindedness for people processing those things differently.

A follow-up conversation with Kendra can occur: also used as an approval dialogue. Hers is focused on the immediate fallout of the failed Conclave. Approval is gained by sympathizing with her but not pressing her on her personal losses, and her main concerns are shown to be for those not at the Conclave who had their lives upended by the Breach.

Their second cutscene takes place in Skyhold the first time speaking to one of them there before it’s restored. Fanari comments on not knowing which parts of the castle would be best suited to what. Kendra points at she and Darrell are noble, and can make a solid guess at whatever they’re not directly familiar with. They grab Cassandra and Dorian (for the same reasons) and the group sets off to explore. It’s used as an introductory tour of Skyhold for the player and as such enough time is spent in each area to inform them what will be there.

Kendra opens one door, goes in, and immediately leaves with a “Nope.” Darrell pokes his head into the room and declares it a broom closet, but advises they’ll want to get someone up here to take care of the spiders. There’s no dialogue tree for approval, but Fanari can gain some from both of them by making humorous suggestions for what areas the player decides (gardens, tower, courtyard) might be used for.

The third cutscene happens after Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts. The Inquisitor walks up on the two as they’re discussing the outcome of the quest. Their reactions vary on which outcome happened (Celine died and Gaspard’s a puppet ruler to Briala in Fanari’s worldstate. Tragic) but generally Kendra’s content with any outcome while Darrell has concerns dependent on which leader’s in charge. More separate approval dialogue trees happen: Darrell gives approval by acknowledging his concerns and stating that for the time being the Inquisition can at least keep an eye on things; Kendra gives approval to an Inquisitor who also enjoyed The Game and comments on how Orlais’ leader can be used to the Inquisition’s benefit.

The fourth happens after Here Lies the Abyss. Both twins are rather subdued as Maria, one of the Hawke twins, remained behind in the Fade to make time for Fanari to escape after Gareth had already landed back in the physical world.  It’s a short scene, but the Inquisitor can get a Greatly Approves from each of them by saying “At least we’ve still got you two,” even if their reactions are still on the quiet side.

The fifth cutscene takes place after the Inquisitor drinks (or doesn’t drink) from the Well of Sorrows. Darrell excuses himself shortly after Fanari arrives. Kendra checks with her that she’s feeling okay after drinking from the Well. Kendra’s approval doesn’t dip in this conversation, and she reaffirms at the end of it that if Fanari starts feeling any effects to come find her.

An Inquisitor who drank from the Well can gain approval back from Darrell in his conversation by recognizing his worry and concerns for them. He ends the dialogue by confirming that he is worried for them first and foremost, but acknowledges that they were strapped for options at the time.

Both twins will ask Fanari about her reaction to the temple of Mythal, although no approval/disapproval is gained from how she answers. No, I don’t know how this goes for an Inquistor who didn’t drink from the Well. Write your own AU. For my characters.

Once both twins hit max approval a bonus cutscene is obtained. Fanari finds them out on the training ground in the courtyard sparring together with staves. Fanari asks why they don’t use the weapons out in the field. Darrell explains that they’re not much use against demons and mages, but it’s good to keep in shape. Cassandra approaches, curious about why they’re using Nevarran weapons. “Because we’re half Nevarran,” Darrell explains.

Cassandra stutters over this new information, because surely she’d know. Kendra points out a few facts for her: mainly that they’re the only two of the Inquisition who pronounce Cassandra’s name correctly (a subtle breath variation between syllables), their wording on a few phrases is a literal translation from the phrase in Nevarran, and neither of them eat beef. She drags Darrell back to training with a parting, “You’re a Seeker it’s your job to notice things.”

4. What would their romance route look like? Would they be romanceable?

Theoretically yes, both are romanceable by either gender. Fanari, however, is not romantically interested in humans.

5. If they romanced someone as Inquisitor, would they still fall for that person as a companion? How would that play out? How would they react to that person being romanced by the “new” Inquisitor?

They both do follow their romance paths with Iron Bull (Kendra) and Dorian (Darrell). They play out roughly in the same manner as they do when they’re Inquisitor. They’d both be sore over losing their prospective LIs to the Inquisitor if far enough along a romance path, but would recognize there’s bigger things to worry about.

6. Write some of their party banter.

Kendra

(On reaching the Crossroads in the Hinterlands for the first time) Kendra: Hm. Solas: Is something the matter, Lady Trevelyan? Kendra: I’m not sure if I was expecting things to be worse. Solas: We must do what we can.

Dorian: How many sisters do you have, Kendra? Kendra: Who’s asking? Dorian: Your brother was telling me his nose broke— Kendra: Oh, because of Cloud Dancer? That was me. Dorian: (laughter)

Vivienne: Are things well with your family, darling? Kendra: Well enough. Vivienne: I don’t mean to pry, dear. Just to remind you not all things are terrible. Kendra: ...Thanks.

Sera: Sun. Heat. Wind. Kendra: I’m too tired for lists. Sera: Grump.

Cole: (Darrell not in party) He misses you. Kendra: (grunt)

Kendra: I’ve heard you’re writing a book. Varric: Don’t get yourself into a tizzy. I know to keep my pen away from you.

(After Blackwall’s personal quest) Kendra: Welcome back. Blackwall: Oh. You’re speaking to me? Kendra: Long enough to tell you to stop coming to drink nights.

Iron Bull: Look at these footprints. (groan) They’re so tangled up I can’t tell how many there were. Kendra: At least a dozen. They straighten a little way out. Fanari: Do we know how recently they were here? Kendra: Rain fucks it up, but it can’t have been more than an hour. Iron Bull: They wanted this place bad. Might still be nearby. Darrell: (if in party) Well. I feel safe.

Cassandra: But, your family is so widespread there’s a Trevelyan in every Chantry. How can you not believe...? Kendra: Easier than getting you to shut up about it.

(Overheard when in the library after What Pride Had Wrought) Kendra: Have time for a question? Solas: Of course. Kendra: (hissed) Fuck’s wrong with you?

Darrell

Solas: This once was a place of learning for my people. Now even the ruins have turned to dust. Darrell: I’m sorry. Would it be possible to see it as it was? In your sleep, I mean? Solas: I think so. Our current task is more important, however.

Dorian: Sure, take Dorian along. It’s not like he hates the damp. Or the chill. Or the wildlife. Darrell: Would you have rather been kept back at camp? Dorian: It would be much more romantic to be weeping over a corpse than being wept over.

Darrell: Are you alright, Vivienne? Vivienne: Yes, thank you. Darrell: You’re sure? Vivinne: It will take more than an apostate to do me in, dear, but I am grateful for your concern.

Sera: You and Dorian, eh? Darrell: I think so. Sera: Good.

Darrell: I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say my thoughts, Cole. Cole: I do. Sometimes. But, right after, I have to stop. She doesn’t like me to hear her. Darrell: Hearing me...makes you hear her? Cole: Yes. You’re happy!

Varric: Mind if I ask your thoughts on some things? Historical books are better with different perspectives. Darrell: You’re doing a historical novel? Varric: Not a novel per-say. More a bibliographical. On all this. Darrell: Can I give you a warning? Varric: For what? Darrell: My sister might come for you just for including her name. Varric: Noted.

Blackwall: Impressive how you turn your blade into a shield when we fight. Darrell: Oh, thank you. Blackwall: That wears it out a bit faster, doesn’t it? Darrell: The blacksmiths know my name, yeah. Blackwall: I was thinking. If we fought closer together, I may be able to take an arm off before they can strike. Darrell: Depends on where you stand. Otherwise Kendra might hit you.

Iron Bull: You know, a few drinks might loosen you up a little. Why not join us next time? Darrell: When’s next time? Iron Bull: If we’re unlucky, back at Skyhold. Darrell: And if we’re lucky? Iron Bull: Next group we bust has a cask on ‘em. Darrell: (laughter)

Cassandra: I have heard one of your siblings was a templar? Darrell: Two were. A brother and a sister. Cassandra: Has there been any news since...? Darrell: No. Cassandra: I'm sorry.

(During Trespasser) Darrell: Did Kendra and I tell you we were in Kirkwall recently? Varric: No! Both of you at once? I’d have bet money! What’d you think? Darrell: Bit of a shithole. Kendra: (if in party) Bit of a shithole. Varric: (laughter) Bit of a shithole.

7. What would be on their tombstone in the Fade?

Darrell’s is drowning. “Oh because of the metaphor of being weighed down by responsibility and sinking into helplessness?” “No I literally cannot swim.”

Kendra’s is betrayal. Though, she hides it and says it’s spiders. Like the form the nightmares take for her, or the giant ones they kill every Thursday that she screams during.

(Fanari’s is loss. Loss of those important to her, loss of her identity to humans who will try to rewrite her in history, loss of her autonomy to being the figurehead of the Inquisition.)

8. What kind of Inquisitor would drive them to leave the Inquisition/confront them about their actions?

Both Kendra and Darrell would confront an Inquisitor whose underlying motivations are cruel. They can both understand the difficulty of making a hard decision and going with the unpopular option, but there’s a difference between doing it because it needs to be done and doing it to see someone suffer. Unlike the bonus cutscene, you’d only need one of them at minimal approval. The one would take the other with them. You either have them as a pair or you don’t have them at all.

9. Where in Skyhold would they be found?

Kendra has a workshop set up in the rooms above Skyhold’s garden where she mixes poisons and Tempest flasks. It’s a tidy-ish room with a desk on one side and a large Do Not Touch plant on the other. There’s a few crates lying around along with a few stacks of paper here and there. Outside of gameplay mechanics, if she’s not there then she’s at the tavern.

Darrell has a sparse room comprised of bed, desk, and music stand. He’s generally found out in the courtyard by the training field.

10. If Inquisition operated like DA:O, what would their gift items be? What would their approval and disapproval Feast Day items be?

Darrell likes books and small trinkets. His approval Feast Day item would be a violin, and his disapproval item would be the sheet music to a score infamous for being the worst composition ever put to paper.

Kendra likes practical gifts: a whetstone, maps, candles. Her approval item would be a rune-enchanted blade and her disapproval item would be anything overtly having to do with the Maker or the Chantry.

11. How would they grow as a person? How would they compare at the end of the Inquisition as a companion to who they were as the Inquisitor?

Kendra’s biggest difference is that she’s quicker to trust other members of the Inquisition when she’s a companion. It still takes time, but she mellows out fairly quickly with other party members after getting to Skyhold.

Darrell becomes more decisive in his actions throughout the game, though he remains empathetic to others and to different sides of an argument.

12. Do they believe the Herald of Andraste is really the Herald of Andraste?

Kendra doesn’t believe in the Maker or Andraste, so that’s a big fat no from her. Darrell believes Fanari when she says she isn’t the Herald.

13. If the Herald didn’t have them tag along to prep the trebuchets, what would they do during the battle for Haven? (bonus: would they join in on the impromptu Dawn Will Come choir practice in the camp?)

Kendra made herself part of the group prepping the trebuchets. She’s part of the action from the get-go. Darrell would be helping others evacuate.

The Dawn Will Come choir doesn’t happen in Fanar’s canon. She cuts Mother Giselle off partway through her speech and gets up to start organizing people so they have something to do to take their minds off the situation and get them out of it sooner. Fanari knows how to booster moral by showing steady and knowing leadership, so that’s what she does.

14. What nickname does Varric give them?

Kendra’s nickname for when she’s a companion is Knives, though tbh I’m thinking of just making it her Inquisitor nickname Junebug. So that’ll probably happen. Darrell gets Smiles, and Fanari is Starshine.

15. Without the influence of their decisions for the Inquisition, which of the companions do they get along with? Which ones do they bicker with?

Darrell and Sera butt heads at first, but they’re on friendly terms less than halfway through the game. The party members he best gets along with are Dorian, Cassandra, Vivienne, and Varric.

The only companions Kendra doesn’t get along with are Cassandra and Blackwall, after his personal quest. She does have polite conversations with Cassandra, but even in Trespasser their conversations aren’t overtly friendly. The party members she’s on best terms with are Iron Bull, Solas, Sera, and Vivienne.

Frictions arise between both of them and Solas post Solas breaking things off with Fanari.

16. What would the Fear Demon say to them in the Fade to try and discourage them?

For both it’s them losing each other or more members of their family. Darrell’s response is “I was beginning to feel left out,” while Kendra’s is “Can you tell how hard I’m thinking about killing you?”

17. Where do they hang out in the Winter Palace? What’s their thoughts on the nobles/The Game?

Both of them hang out on the opposite side of the balcony where you find Josephine. If asked, the offer advice about who to speak to and when. Ambient dialogue can be heard from various nobles about them, with approval of them as individuals going up through the night regardless of the Inquisitor’s standing.

Kendra lives for The Game. It’s putting everything she does daily (mistrusting, misdirecting, manipulating) all in one spot with new people who don’t know how she operates.

Darrell’s more ambivalent about it, what with the backstabbing and the distrust, but he’s still good at it. He has a charm about him that makes people believe his sincerity and he knows when to obfuscate an answer without the other party feeling left wanting.

18. What’s their reaction to a dragon showing up?

Both of them have an initial reaction of Fuck, though Kendra follows it with “Guess we have to fight it now,” while Darrell’s more in the “We really don’t” camp.

19. Once Corypheus is beaten, what do they do during the party? Do they stay with the Inquisition, or go somewhere else? What could the Inquisitor do to convince them to stay?

Both of them are near one of the fires in Skyhold’s judgement hall. Again, they’re a package deal, and Kendra will tell the Inquisitor that since Darrell wants to stay she’ll stick around. “Besides, the world’s not ending anymore. Might be nice to breathe for a bit. Thanks for that.”

20. How do they react to learning abominations can retain their consciousness and identity, and even live peacefully with their spirits/demons, as seen in Stone-Bear Hold?

Kendra’s intrigued. She’ll ask questions even if the Inquisitor doesn’t. Darrell’s a tad more cautious, but checks himself. They’re respectful that this isn’t a similar culture to theirs and that they have no say in how these people live their lives.

21. What do they think of the discoveries made in the Deep Roads? Do they make any comments on anything?

They both hate the Deep Roads and they’re sorry for suggesting they go there. Send word to the Shaperate about what we found and let’s go. Next time a boyfriend dumps you we’ll take you to an opera.

22. If you have another Inquisitor, how would those two get along, specifically?

Both of them see Fanari and go “that’s a whole-ass child”. Throughout the game Fanari’s unofficially adopted as a little sister. Fanari’s a tad closer to Kendra at the end of the day, but she does care deeply for both of them.

23. In Trespasser, what “gift” would they give the Inquisitor, if any?

They’re a bit too wrapped up in personal drama to have planned anything for Fanari. Though they’re both the most dedicated in getting her to the end of the DLC once her imminent death becomes known. Yeah, the mark might go off again and destroy everything in a ten-foot radius, but Fanari needs help standing upright so guess what they’re gonna do.

24. What are their plans for after the Exalted Council? Will the Inquisition staying in tact or being disbanded make a difference?

Fanari wrote the members of the Inquisition before the Exalted Council to say, paraphrased, “Inquisition’s over pack your shit and leave.” Kendra’s looking forward to going home to Ostwick, while Darrell’s going to Tevinter with Dorian.

Their squabbling over this becomes so bad Dorian confesses to Fanari he’s considered asking Darrell to stay in the south. “Gods, you are an only child,” Fanari says. Those of us with siblings, we know the tone. Maybe you without siblings do too I don’t know your life.

25. In the alternate reality, if they were corrupted with lyrium, how do they act? What’s their attitude about the end of the world/their inevitable death?

To be completely transparent this is the scenario that solidifies Fanari as Inquisitor over Kendra in the worldstate for me.

After Fanari and Dorian got yeeted forward in time, Darrell was killed in the following fight and Kendra imprisoned until Fanari and Dorian found her. What did she do for that year? Teach herself to become a templar using the red lyrium. By the time she’s released, her entire drive is focused on killing Alexius. She knows she’ll die soon, and she wants to take as many people with her as she can. “They’re going to find out what a mistake it was leaving a Trevelyan in a room full of lyrium.”

[fenharel-babe]

16. What does your character believe happens after they die? Does this belief comfort or scare them?

For Elle and Bloom, they believe the Maker exists. I’m not 100% on the lore of DA so I’m not sure what they say happens when they die, but they believe they return with the Maker. It sort of comforts them sometimes. They believe a rest is earned when you’ve passed, or the Maker will scorn you and send you to a place no one desires to go to.

17. What does your character keep in their pack or pockets?

For Bloom, she keeps the marble in her pocket. The marble that was her brothers (he died at 5). If she doesn’t have pockets, then she’d probably leave the marble at home because she gets worried it’ll be lost and she cannot lose that marble. She wouldn’t forgive herself. It’s the only thing of her brothers she took when she left her clan. But away from sadness, she’d usually carry some potions to keep her cold or to keep her magic up. She’s always hot and loves to be cold, so she usually always carries something to make her cold. She’d pass out if she got too hot, so she definitely needs something to keep her cold.

For Elle, she usually carries the ring but also carries a ton of potions. She’s always worried for her group, so she is the one that usually checks on everyone or heals them. And she may or may not keep some mana potions in her pocket so she can use her magic to heal someone slightly, even if they won’t notice it.

18. What does your character smell like? Is their scent from a perfume, or their environment?

For Bloom, she smells like roses. Roses are Blooms favorite flower, so she uses rose petals when she’s in the bath, has roses in her room, and spend some time planting roses. So I guess it’s from the environment around her. But she also does get Rose perfume when she finds it because she loves it. But she also does sometimes smell like coconut from a small bottle of perfume she buys. It’s on rare occasions she’ll wear that one though.

For Elle, she smells like lavender. Her mother smelt like lavender, so it became her favorite scent. When she saw a perfume that was lavender scented, she bought it immediately and wears it whenever she’s around Skyhold or going somewhere she wouldn’t fight too much or was just going to meet nobles.

21. What is the most traumatic event your character has had to endure?

For Bloom, it would have to be going tranquil. She loves her magic and always has and she was always emotional and showing her love to people. So when it was taken away from her and then she got it back?? It was emotional for her. To make this confusing and why it was so emotional and traumatic for her was because of her past.

Her brother died when she was 5 and they were twins. They were best friends and he seemed to be the only one in their clan that truly cared for her, so when he died...she was a wreck. But he wasn’t gone for long. Their relationship was like Jody and Aidens from “Beyond Two Souls.” He was basically a spirit that watched over her, was attached to her and couldn’t go too far from her, could interact with the world but wasn’t visible, could speak to her, and could show her what he saw. He was in the fade when she slept and they met there. She was ecstatic when she found out she could see him again. And when she told everyone the good news and how she got to see him again, no one believed her and it only added to her disinterest in staying in her clan. And they still are best friends and he watches over her and guides her when he can.

Basicallt, someone in the circle was acting very harsh and looked like they were about to attack her, so Joseph (her twin brother) began to choke the person. He was aggressive and didn’t know how to control his emotions. She called out to him and told him to stop, and he did, and the person noticed that and told people that she had a demon inside of her. Making it short, she was made tranquil and she was disconnected from her brother. And she doesn’t talk about it much and it’s a lot longer than all this but I’m gonna save it all for another post :))).

For Elle, it would be losing her father. She loves her father and he was such an important figure in her life, so losing him at an early age (she was only 9) hurt her a lot and left her damage in a really bad way. She hated Lyrium and seeing anyone use lyrium really set her on edge and would always try to tell them that they don’t have to do it. It was such a bad time for her and it took her a long time to actually be happy again.

22. What is your character’s biggest flaw? Are they aware of this?

Blooms biggest flaw is that she assumes too much. She assumes what people think of her, assumes what people would think of her, assumes people’s feelings, and she knows it’s wrong. You can’t hide everythint because you don’t know how people will react and she’s trying to change that. She’s trying to become more open and not hide from fear and assuming people’s feelings. She didn’t like it when people told her how to feel, so she wants to learn to not try and say how people feel. She just needs to stop assuming and tell her friends the truth. The other bad flaw is how much she sacrifices in her life.

For Elle, it would be her sacrificing ways. She gives a lot to the world and doesn’t expect much back. It doesn’t sound like a flaw but it is technically. She never focuses on her health, her feelings, she only focuses on other people. She pushes her feelings down, hides what she is from fear, and feels trapped sometimes. She knows that she shouldn’t give everything up for other people, but she does. She has a hard time of accepting that she can be selfish sometimes. She is allowed to want things but there are times where she’s afraid of doing that. Cullen and her friends notice this and try to help her a lot and they manage to. She slowly learns that she is allowed to say ‘no’ and be selfish sometimes. She still fails at not sacrificing everything sometimes, but most of the time she focuses on her health and how she needs to take care of herself to take care of others!

I love talking about Elle and Bloom and hope y’all don’t mind me gushing about them with all of this👀👀. May be some mistakes not sure because I’m tired and it’s late.

[himluv]

Drowning

Here, have another Solavellan oneshot! This one come right after Another Kindness. Enjoy!

They lingered in the Exalted Plains for a week, just to be sure Solas wouldn’t return to them. He had said they’d meet at Skyhold, but she couldn’t help hoping he would find them and come back to her.

“He’s not coming,” Cole said on the seventh morning. He crouched beside the dying embers of their fire, his hands held before it for warmth. “Hidden. Safe, but hurting. Lost to dreaming, when Wisdom and Pride sang the same songs.”

As was usual with Cole’s insights, Riallan didn’t fully understand what he said. But she understood enough to know that Solas was safe. Grieving and alone, but safe.

And she couldn’t delay their journey home any longer.

When they reached the fortress, she hoped that he would be there, that he would be standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for her. When he wasn’t, she hoped that he’d be in the rotunda, back to their familiar routine of wine and painting. They would talk about what had happened, he would tell her stories about Wisdom and all the things he’d learned from his friend.

But when she poked her head into the round room, there was no veilfire. No candlelight. The murals were lifeless and bland without him there to fill the room.

“Hey, Herald,” Varric said from behind her. “The Seeker says Chuckles didn’t come back with you?”

She shook her head, casting a glance over her shoulder. “There was… he needed some time alone.”

He paused, considering her words. “Sounds like a hell of a story.” He cocked his head toward the exit. “Come on. Drinks are on me.”

She almost didn’t go. Solas cherished his privacy; she didn’t want to give his secrets away because Varric plied her with drinks. But she desperately needed to talk about what had happened, because deep in her heart, she feared he wasn’t coming back.

So they went to the Herald’s Rest. They sat in a corner, across from where Maryden sang, and she gave him a vague summary of what happened in the Plains.

“Huh,” he said after a moment. “I don’t pretend to understand the whole befriending a spirit thing, but it obviously meant a lot to him.” He took a pull on his tankard and gave her a pointed look. “I have a feeling there aren’t many people Solas considers important.”

She sighed, staring into the depths of her ale. “What if he doesn’t come back?” She hated even thinking that might be the case. She trusted Solas. He was her first friend in the Inquisition, the person she’d confided in when everything felt like it was closing in on her. And now he was something more, though she wasn’t sure what.

“Hey,” Varric said, his voice soft and understanding. “He said he would meet you here, right?”

She nodded.

“Then he’s coming back.” He leaned back in his chair, a smug smile on his face, but she didn’t quite buy his bravado.

“You didn’t see him, Varric.” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him so… passionate. He would have killed those mages if I hadn’t stopped him.”

“Well, you know what they say about still waters. There was bound to be some intensity under all that calm.”

She smirked at that. The dwarf had no idea.

“Just… try not to drown in them, huh?”

She frowned and looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a hero,” he held up a hand to stave off her argument otherwise, “regardless of what you think on the subject. You’re saving all of Thedas, damn near single-handedly. And, well,” he sighed. “I’ve written enough Hero stories to know, they never get a happy ending.”

She ran her finger along the ridge of her tankard. “You think Solas and I shouldn’t—“

“I think only you two can decide that. And you’re both smart. Too smart, if you ask me.” He gave her a broad smile. “You’ll figure it out.” He patted her hand and then knocked back the remainder of his ale.

“Yeah,” she said. “Maybe.”

Solas didn’t return the next morning, or any mornings for the next two weeks. Riallan would have sent a search party out for him days ago if it hadn’t been for Cole’s cryptic assurances that he was safe. It was all she had to go on, and she desperately wanted to respect his privacy, so she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It’d been almost a month since Wisdom had died when Riallan stood on her balcony, staring out over the river and the massive forward camp outside the fortress walls. It was mid-summer, but this high in the mountains there was still a lot of snow. Below her, on the road up to the keep, she saw a lone figure with a tall walking stick, a dark shape against a backdrop of white.

She couldn’t be certain from such a distance, but her stomach did a hopeful flip anyway. Against all her better judgment, she ran down the stairs, through the hall, and down to the gates. She was halfway down the last flight of stairs when she saw him, his ocean eyes watching her with a guarded expression.

He looked… exhausted. Cole had said he dreamt the majority of the time he was away, but the man before looked as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. Dark circles ringed his eyes, bloodshot and drooping, and his posture was slumped and weary. She wanted to go to him, to wrap him in a relieved hug and ease his obvious suffering, but he stopped just short of her reach.

“You came back,” she said.

He nodded. “I wasn’t sure, for a time,” he said. “But only a short time. You were a true friend, you did everything you could to help.” He shook his head once. “I could hardly abandon you now.”

Riallan bit the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling at the thought of him leaving. That he’d considered not coming back spoke volumes of his grief. “Cole said you slept,” she said.

He gave a weak smile. “Yes. I visited the place in the Fade where my friend used to be.” A heavy breath. “It’s empty. But there are stirrings of energy in the void. Someday, something new may grow there.”

She had so many questions. What was death for a spirit? Did they truly vanish, gone from the world like mortals? What would grow in Wisdom’s place? Would its influence make any difference? But for once her thirst for knowledge could wait. This was not the time, not when the pain was still so blatantly fresh.

“The next time you have to mourn,” she said. “You don’t need to be alone.” It was a promise, an offer to help carry his burdens, and for once she didn’t blush at the vulnerability of her words.

He bowed his head, as if shamed by her offer. “It has been so long since I could trust someone…”

“I know.” She gave him a sad smile, hoping to comfort him.

He looked up at her and the guarded look in his eyes fell away. “I’ll work on it.” He swallowed, nodded his head once as if agreeing to something in his mind, and said, “thank you.”

She sensed that this conversation was over. He had returned because he could put Wisdom’s passing far enough behind him to continue his work for the Inquisition; he would not speak on it again unless prodded. She would let him move on.

“Do you need anything? Food, rest, a bath?”

That earned her a more genuine smile. “Ma serannas, but I can manage, lathallan.”

They walked up the stairs toward the main hall together, and she caught him up on the latest gossip. Little happy things to brighten his smile, like Sera teaching Cole how to prank Cassandra and Dorian’s drunken slip of the tongue about his relationship with Iron Bull. He laughed in all the right places, and when they parted ways Riallan felt lighter than she had since they’d stayed in the Dalish camp.

He had come home.

[askdragonagecompanions]

👀👀 dai romances finding out that the Inquisitor is a vampire...?

Dorian: Dorian first finds out after quite the harrowing battle. No one in the party had walked away unscathed. What truly worried Dorian was that the Inquisitor wouldn’t let any of the healers check his wounds. He just walked away from the battle and kept his nose and mouth covered. He had noticed plenty of odd behavior from the Inquisitor since he joined, even more since he and the Inquisitor started to spend more time together. Honestly? Dorian was just worried about the man. He’d seen the injury when the Inquisitor got it, stabbed right through by one of the Red Templars. Dorian doesn’t know why the Inquisitor won’t let any of the healers help him, but maybe his Amatus will at least let him take a look. When he gets to the Inquisitor’s room he hears things being tossed around and he immediately rushes in thinking that the Inquisitor is being attacked or robbed, or something. What he finds is the Inquisitor rummaging through his room, tossing things aside, clearly looking for something. He’s shirtless, and that’s when Dorian sees it. His side is completely fine, not even a scratch left. Healing magic would have made a scar, but the Inquisitor’s side looks like he wasn’t even touched in battle. Dorian and the Inquisitor look up at each other at the same time. Dorian sees the Inquisitor’s now black eyes and the long fangs in his mouth. For a moment his heart races. He’s heard tale of vampires, but he thought they were all fictional. Sure there were some in Tevinter who insisted Vampires were still out there... Maker it was breathtaking. In hindsight maybe Dorian should have been more scared, but all he could see was the dawning horror on his Amatus’s face having realized that Dorian knew what he truly was. Dorian steps towards him slowly. The Inquisitor makes his vampiric features recede and he looks away. Dorian hugs him from behind and sighs softly, “I’m... guessing you misplaced a vial of blood?” His voice is free of judgement. When the Inquisitor nods Dorian kisses his neck. “And I’m also going to assume you haven’t fed in a while, which was why you avoided the healers and us all day?” Another nod. “Well. I suppose, since we don’t want you losing control I can let you take some of mine.” He murmurs. “And don’t worry Amatus, the only thing this changes is that you’ll have to promise to be extra careful when leaving hickeys alright?” And there’s the smile Dorian’s been waiting for. Honestly with ancient Magisters turned Darkspawn and giant tears in the Fade? His Amatus being a vampire isn’t all that strange or terrifying. The Inquisitor has never hurt him, and so Dorian doesn’t fear that he will. He only worries that the Inquisitor isn’t taking proper care of himself. After battles Dorian distracts the other party members so that his amatus can collect blood from the fallen. He also starts asking questions, because he thought vampires would turn to dust in the sunlight. He’s fascinated by what the Inquisitor tells him.

Solas: Solas has known a few vampires in his time. Some are just as bloodthirsty as the tales say they are (but those vampires tend to have been just as bloodthirsty before they were turned), and most were just trying to adjust to their new life style. When Solas woke up he had been under the impression that vampires had all died out over the centuries. It was sad, but with how fearful humans were it wasn’t a surprise that they would have hunted the creatures down. So, when Solas starts to see evidence of a vampire in the midst of the Inquisition he’s quite surprised. It’s just small things, the apothecary starts running low on plants and herbs that Solas knows can be made into an effective salve to keep the sun from turning a vampire into ash. Some people begin to complain about little cuts that appeared out of nowhere. He would have investigated more but things began to grow increasingly stressful. It was on the journey to Skyhold that Solas began to suspect the Inquisitor might be the Vampire he had been noticing about. The longer they traveled the more anxious she seemed to become. She would start dawning more layers, though this could be explained by the cold air of the mountain, but she also looked a little gaunt. He could only assume that the blood she had stored was dwindling and that she was trying to ration it, if she was a vampire of course. It wouldn’t do anyone good if the Inquisitor went into a blood frenzy, so Solas prepared a vial of his own blood. He knew it would be potent enough to keep any vampire satiated for the rest of the journey, and he left it somewhere inconspicuous. A vampire would find it sure enough. Solas watched from a distance and when he saw that the Inquisitor was the one to pick it up it only confirmed his suspicions. His opinion of her didn’t change, in fact he was impressed that she was keeping it hidden so well. What Solas didn’t expect was to fall for the Inquisitor. She had such a brilliant mind, and she was so open to ideas about the Fade and spirits. Solas had been so blindsided that he fell in love before he could steel off his heart. One night they are together the Inquisitor seems more nervous than usual. When she finally speaks up she tells him that she’s a vampire and she starts to ramble but Solas just laughs gently and kisses her. “Ma Vhenan, I already knew.” His voice is soft as he cups her cheek. She looks shocked before replying, “You did? Why didn’t you say anything?” “It simply wasn’t my place, and clearly you were only taking what you needed. What you are doesn’t define you.”

Sera: Okay the only stories Sera knows about vampires is that they’re blood sucking demons who kill their victims by biting into their necks and drinking all the blood. Great for scary stories not for real life. She finds out because the Inquisitor tells her. They had just started getting serious and Sera was really excited, she really liked the Inquisitor. She really felt like she could trust her with everything and that Inky would always have her back. So when the Inquisitor told Sera that she was a vampire, Sera thought she was joking at first. That’s when the Inquisitor showed her the fangs and how her eyes went all creepy and black. Sera... did not handle it well at first. She kind of freaked out because 1. vampires were friggin real and that was really fucking scary and 2. Her inky was one of them? Inky left that night, she looked really sad and Sera felt really guilty. She hadn’t meant to make Inky feel bad, she was just... scared. It took Sera a few weeks to really accept it. Inky only hurt bad people, and she never bit anyone in Skyhold... there weren’t any bloodless bodies being discovered. And Sera was only feeling worse. Inky was giving her space, and the more Sera waited the more she wanted to hang out with Inky again. She really did love the Inquisitor, and as long as she wasn’t going to get all bitey and monstery Sera was pretty sure she could handle it. They talked about it together for a while and finally Sera hugged Inky close because, “I’m sorry... I acted like an ass... I just... i only heard about scary vampires, but... you’re not scary. Not really. You can be, but you’re also bloody amazing and you’re sweet, and you know how to make me feel... really nice and stuff. I’m sorry.” Sera is OK with the fact that Inky’s a vampire, as long as she isn’t hurting enemies and doesn’t drink blood around Sera it should be fine. Sera’s still a little nervous, but she trusts Inky.

Blackwall: Blackwall’s honestly just stumped. He finds out that the Inquisitor is a werewolf after she gets seriously hurt during a fight. He sends the others to go get a healer or something while he stays with the Inquisitor and tries to keep pressure on her wound. What stumps him is that the wound starts closing underneath his hands all on his own. He’s not a mage, and even so a spell wouldn’t work that fast or that clean. The Inquisitor tells him to grab the red vial from her pack and he does. The liquid inside looks suspiciously like blood and she quickly drinks it down. In a matter of seconds she begins to look better and within a few minutes she’s back to normal. Blackwall raised a brow and the Inquisitor sighed and quickly began to explain how she was a vampire, how she only took blood from the enemies they killed in battle, and how she hoped this wouldnt’ change anything about how Blackwall felt about her. Blackwall just gave her a smile and then kissed her, “Inquisitor after everything that’s happened you being a vampire is like the least crazy thing that’s happened alright? You still love me after finding out who I truly am, and honestly this doesn’t change how I feel.” He promises. As long as the blood is in a vial it doesn’t bother Blackwall. He does ask a few questions and while they travel he picks up herbs he knows that can be used to make the salve that will keep her safe from the sun. He also makes sure to remind her, in private of course, to pack enough blood vials if they’re going on a long journey. It’s actually the Inquisitor who’s so surprised that Blackwall’s taking the news so well. 

Iron Bull: He’s had a few run ins with vampires. Nasty creatures if they’ve gone feral from hunger. Honestly Bull’s not one to judge. He figures out that the Inquisitor is a vampire shortly after meeting them. The eyes, the teeth that just look a tad too sharp, on top of the way they always look so nervous when they’re traveling during the day are a dead give away to him. What he does do is keep his eye out for any strange deaths of Inquisition soldiers, but none come along. He knows the Inquisitor must be getting blood from somewhere, or else they would have gone feral by now and Maker that would fucking suck. But he’s pretty sure that’s not going to happen, so he drops the topic. He’s confident that the Inquisitor has their shit under control. The more he gets to know the Inquisitor the more he likes them. They guard themself a bit, only natural, but as the two grow closer Bull finds himself... he cares about them a great deal. The feeling is only solidified after they tell him its okay to save the Chargers. They trust him, they care about how he feels and what’s important to him, and honestly it feels amazing to have someone that close that cares for him like that. He wants to make them feel the same way. Every night they spend together he makes it special. He wants them to relax, to trust him, and afterwards when its just them curled close in bed he smiles. They both know a side of each other that no one else will get to see. It was the night when his Kadan gave him the dragon tooth necklace, they were curled up against Bull’s chest and he was playing with their hair and making sure they were resting when they told him they were a vampire. No wonder they had seemed so worked up all day, they were planning two huge things to admit to Bull. He kissed their neck gently and ran his hand down their side. “I know.” His voice was gentle and he chuckled when they asked how. “Ben Hasrath remember? Besides it wasn’t my place to ask about it Kadan. You weren’t hurting anyone and you still trusted me even knowing I was still working for the Qun. And before you ask, no it doesn’t change anything. You have my heart.” And he kisses them again before smirking a little, “One question, will biting me turn me into a vampire? No? Great.” It’s all about trust really, and Bull would trust his life with the Inquisitor. There’s only a few times that the Inquisitor gets gravely injured during battle, and Bull lets them drink from him. They’re always gentle and only take what they need. He feels a lot closer to them, and he’ll fight anyone that calls his Kadan a monster. 

Cassandra: She has heard of vampires before, yes. Cursed creatures forced to drink blood and dwell in the dark shadows just to survive. She knows they are not demons, but they are dangerous. Cassandra had always been confident that if she saw a vampire she would be able to tell right away. They would have large fangs, black eyes, and unable to step into the sunlight. Besides they were also quite rare, so she never even suspected that the Inquisitor was one. His odd behavior could simply be written off as someone who was squeamish around injuries which wasn’t uncommon at all. She finds out the Inquisitor is a vampire when he tells her. They had started to grow quite close. They weren’t dating yet, but Cassandra was really starting to open up to him, and he was making it very obvious that he wanted to be with her. She was nervous. He said they needed to talk and that never really sounded like it was going to be a positive thing. She frowned when she saw how nervous the Inquisitor looked. For a moment Cassandra thought she had done something that upset him, but then he started to talk. He explained what he was, how he felt she deserved to know before they got serious or anything, and that he’d understand if him being a vampire changed anything for Cassandra. She was stunned at first. This felt like a joke, she wanted to accuse him of making this a joke, or some prank, but the way he was looking at her. He clearly believed that what he was saying to be true. As if seeming to notice she was doubting his statement he showed her his fangs. Cassandra is not proud of how she handled the news. She walked away from him without a word. She needed time to think. The Seekers taught that vampires were monsters, no humanity in them, that they would kill because they enjoyed it and because they needed the blood. She began to go through the reports of every mission, looking for any odd deaths, of corpses drained of all of their blood, but she found none. No one seemed to have been turned either... Cassandra began to realize that she may have overreacted. She still needed to time to sort out her own feelings. It become obvious to her that the Seekers had lied once again, that the Inquisitor wasn’t actually a bloodthirsty killer. He couldn’t control what he was, and he wasn’t killing people and draining them. Eventually she decides that she still has feelings for the Inquisitor and she tells him as such (it’s awkward and she’s blushing because feelings are hard to express). Their relationship has a bit of a slow start, they both need to earn each other’s trust again, but once they do Cassandra feels so stupid for how she acted when he first told her. She makes sure he has enough blood vials, and she makes sure that he always has enough salve before leaving on journeys. She would hate if he turned into ash because he didn’t bring enough.

Cullen: One would think that Cullen would be quite nervous around the Inquisitor once he finds out she’s a vampire, but honestly? It was the opposite. The Inquisitor told him about what she was on a night where he was really struggling with beating his Lyrium addiction, and he had been embarrassed that anyone saw him so vulnerable, let alone the Inquisitor, but there was no judgement in her eyes. She closed the door to his office and began to help him pick up the shattered remains of his phial before sitting next to him. His hands were shaking, so she put hers on top of his. She told him what she was to show him he wasn’t alone. She too had something similar to his addiction, and how much of a struggle it could be sometimes, but that having those feelings didn’t make her weak, or any less of a person. He’s a little surprised at first, a little nervous for just a moment, but it ebbs away. She has done nothing but help people and do her best to save Thedas. Besides shes... she understands what hes going through... kind of. Knowing what she is early on actually helps them grow closer. Cullen opens up a little more and she comforts him and helps him stay strong on the days where it feels impossible to just get out of bed. When Cullen sees the Inquisitor start to get nervous because there are too many people in the room, too much temptation he pulls her out and makes an excuse so that they can be alone, so that she can have a chance to calm down. Sometimes he worries about her, that he’s going to lose her either because someone else found out and took things into their own hands, or because she runs out of her salve... when those worries fog his mind he finds her and murmurs to her so that they can retire to his room. He just needs to hold her close and assure himself that she’s okay, that she’s safe. Whenever she’s away on missions he’s nervous and jittery, but when she comes back safe and sound he relaxes almost immediately. He knows she doesn’t need sleep, but he does appreciate that she will spend the nights with him, just holding him close. It helps keep his nightmares at bay, and she assures him she likes to watch him sleep. 

Josephine: She was very surprised when the Inquisitor told her they were a vampire. For a moment she thought it was just another prank, but they were so nervous it couldn’t be. If she had had to suspect anyone of being a vampire she would have thought Dorian to be one, granted her only knowledge of vampires was based off what she had heard in stories. It is hard for her to wrap her head around it, but in the end she knows the Inquisitor. They haven’t attacked any allies, they haven’t drained anyone of all of their blood, and they are so kind to her. Josie keeps an open mind about it all really and she asks questions just in case. She wants to be prepared if word ever gets out because it would be absolutely awful if people wanted to kill her love just because of what they were. It takes a while for her to get used to it, but once she does it’s really not a big deal to her. Josie treats it like a condition. The Inquisitor just has rare dietary restrictions, a severe allergy to the sun, and doesn’t need sleep. 

[5lazarus]

after the nightmare

The desert strips his throat and leaves him cold. He is very close to the town where he was born, buried under eight thousand years of dirt. Lavellan has sent Blackwall, Vivienne, Sera, and Cassandra back to Skyhold, after the battering they took in Emprise du Lion. Things are tenuous, tender, and he feels raw under her gaze. They all see him now, what he is and what he has been, and it is odd to be himself, all at once. During the long, slow healing in Suledin Keep, they all trickled in, to talk and to blame and to ask, and months later the Inquisition has adjusted to the new normal, as ever they do. A Dalish mage bearing the mark of their human prophet? They can accept it. A darkspawn magister ripping open the Fade? With enough trebuchets, they are certain they can face it. An ancient elvhen trickster god attempting to rip the world apart and, in the raw chaos, forge it into what it was supposed to be? They forgive him. He can hardly accept it himself, but they forgive him, and that, he supposes, is the most just revenge. He hates himself worse, because of the magnanimity of his companions. He denied their personhood, and they prove their worth over and over again, as they give him room to grieve and move on. But where?

He almost died of thirst here, he remembers, in the first empty days awoken from uthenera. He had expected the cool, quiet woods he had roamed as a child, before the war. Now, though, he has enough of himself restored to appreciate its austere beauty. The stars remain unchanged, he reminds himself. Both moons are full in the endless night. It is cold and the sand gets into his footwraps, no matter how tightly he ties them, but Lavellan is incandescent in starlight, and one night, she takes his hand when they sit by the campfire, listening to Varric’s stories, and it is the first time she has touched him in front of the others, since before the Nightmare, and it is the first touch since the Nightmare that does not feel desperate. He laces his fingers between hers and holds on tightly. At this age, he knows grace when he sees it. Wisdom told him to endure, that he would find what he was looking for. He had never known forgiveness to come so easily; perhaps it is because their worlds are so irreconcilable, that the only way forward is to endure.

Their clasped hands garners nothing more than a raised eyebrow from Dorian and a sudden, agitated move from Cole. But Varric keeps speaking, weaving his own tale: a story about his friends Fenris and Isabela, hunting slavers in the desert, and Isabela looking for a lost ship.

The heat edges into the night and they separate into their own tents--Bull is too big for the communal one they used in the early days, when it was only him and Varric and Cassandra and Lavellan roaming the Hinterlands. Dorian slips into Iron Bull’s, making a face at the smirk Lavellan sends him. Varric takes off his shirt as the sun comes up and pulls out a leatherbound book. He wants to finish the story as if Isabela had found the ship. Cole begins to hum. Solas closes his eyes slightly: he knows it, it matches the pulse of the lyrium he and Mythal had found in the Deep Roads, uncorrupted. The stone sings, and Varric writes it into the sunlight.

As the dawn melts the waves of the dunes, Solas reaches for Lavellan. He has never been good at self-abnegation, and recently he has learned not to punish others for drawing out his desire. It is a lesson he should have learned as a much younger man. In the daylight, he hold her close, and though she is surprised, she does not draw away.

“Let’s go to bed,” she says, and he follow her to their tent--because, somehow, between eight thousand years and reality torn asunder, from their worst nightmares reenacted to the cold corrupt torture of Imshael’s red lyrium farm, they are them again, he is Solas first and Fen’Harel as well, as she is Lavellan and the Inquisitor too. They strip, and she helps him with the bandages on his left leg, checking the new scar, where Dagna had ripped the red lyrium from his flesh. It is angry, and the cold has been making it ache, and the incipient heat will make it worse, but it does not sing. He continues to live, still Solas, still Fen’Harel.

They curl up together, and Lavellan traces a frost rune onto the canvas above them. They are too tired for sex, they are comfortable enough with each other to admit it. She flexes her left hand, the Anchor flaring, and Solas pushes himself back up. “Is it hurting?” he asks. There is not much he can do until they retrieve the foci. He is afraid it will kill her before they find it.

“Just stiff. Go to sleep, Solas. It’ll be a long ride tomorrow.”

“Mm.” He lays down and pulls her toward him, and she sighs and rests her head on his chest. He does not understand how this is happening. Nothing is as it should be. Lavellan, as always, proves his worst assumptions wrong. He tells her idly, as her breathing slows, “I was born not too far from here.”

Her eyes snap open. She pauses and thinks before she speaks, “I had assumed you were more...formed than born.”

“I had a mother and a father,” he says, amused. “Procreation has not changed particularly much in the past eight millenia, I assure you. Though I am glad the People has abandoned our practice of binding curious spirits to our children’s souls. I might be an easier man, if not for Mythal’s Pride.”

“I cannot imagine you ever being easy.”

He laughs shortly. “True. But this place was Mythal’s, once. We called it Durglas Durgen’len--the Valley of the Children of the Stone, where they found us and we traded with them. She had me at her temple here, and gave me to my father to raise. A forest used to tower here, until the sand ate away at its roots. She needed the wood for the mines.” He sighs. “And then nothing could take root.”

“Is there anything left?” Lavellan asks tentatively. “Something of her temple?”

“We can look.” He presses a kiss to her temple. The heat is coming in, despite the spell she has cast, and Solas is curious to see what time has made of these wastes. It is new, to be eager for tomorrow: to see what is left. “I love you,” he says suddenly, in Common. He does not know if the Dalish is different than his Elvhen, and he is trying. How does one prove to their lover they will not burn the world down? He is figuring it out.

Lavellan says, “I love you too, ma’ishan. Dream well.”

He wants to say, I will dream of you, and see the hope in those enslaved elves’ eyes when you came flashing in, sending them to their freedom. I will see your legend born, and if you manage to sleep, as now you seldom do, I will show you my father’s studio, and the woods where I played when I was a boy, before the war. I will give you every dream, if you just say the word. But Lavellan rolls onto her side and pulls a blanket over herself, despite the heat, and he knows she will not sleep.

[kita-lavellan]

Beyond The Veil Discord OC-Asks

We have an OC-Question-Time channel on our Beyond The Veil Discord, and I keep forgetting to Copy/Paste my answers from there to here, so I’m about to do a single large post! To those of you still waiting on answers from my Ask Box, I’ll get to them I promise ^_^

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Q. Why might someone dislike them? For kita -- From @rivainisomniari A. She's stubborn. She knows she's stubborn, but Kita doesn't often realise when she's crossing the line from stubborn to just being bull-headed. Nel, her sister, is often the one to call her on this behavior and force her to back down.

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Q. What Hogwarts House would they be in? -- From @rivainisomniari A. Kita would be a Ravenclaw

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Q. When bored, how do they pass time? For Kita -- From @rivainisomniari A. Running. Kita loves running. As a child she would spend hours running through the forests and wilds with Nel. She misses it while at Haven, but once they reach Skyhold she often runs around the battlements, people getting out of her way with the assumption she is rushing to speak to an advisor.

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Q. When publishing a book it is wise to make comparisons with well known published works, to help a publisher see your understanding of the market, and also to help them decide on the best way to market your manuscript. So, that thought in mind, whom can you compare (from other popular media) your OCs too? -- From @mrstethras A. Oh nice question!! Kita is a cross between Elsa from Frozen, Loki (Marvel) and someone I'd LIKE to be :D ... Ghilana Mahariel, my Warden, is a bit of a blend with Natasha Romanova (Black Widow from Marvel), and Rupunzel from Disney's Tangled...  Malia Hawke is a Self Insert, but with a dash of Killian Jones from Once Upon A Time for some sassy Hawke-Sarcasm

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Q. What do they value most in others? -- From @noire-pandora A. Honesty! Kita would rather you outright tell her you don't want to speak about something than LIE about it.

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Q. Who is your inquisitor's best friend in the Inquisition?  -- From @rivainisomniari A. Kita's favourite people are Dorian, Leliana and Varric. Dorian wormed his way into her heart very quickly by being so protective of her during the Redcliff mission. She found it amusing, but also sweet and endearing, and the whole mission was a fast-bonding experience for the pair. Watching Leliana be willing to die for her to, washed away the wariness and caution Kita had carried for the inquisition up until that point, but especially for Leli when the woman was so clear in telling her she would do it again, once they're back in their proper time. Varric was the first person, after her sister, to ask how SHE was, which made a soft spot for him, and honestly, who can't like Varric eventually?

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Q. Is there any situation in which they would make a deal with a demon? -- From @noire-pandora A. Tough one! Kita has always been very connected to the Fade and the spirits within! She would probably barter and/or bargain with a spirit, because she is familiar with in her interactions with them, demons are still spirits but corrupted, so she would probably either avoid them or try to help them, especially after she learns more about spirits and the Fade from Solas throughout the Inquisition timeline.

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Q. Name one big flaw for your ocs? -- From @mrstethras A. Kita is slow to trust others, especially humans. She is aware that she distrusts people outside of her clan, but Kita doesn’t see it as a flaw, simply being cautious. Sometimes overly cautious, but she tries to balance her distrust with logic where she can. Ghilana's automatic response to someone showing any interest in her is to be abrasive, abrupt, and rude. She doesn't give people the benefit of the doubt, or chances, if they want her companionship they need to work at it and/or earn it. She comes across as a cold-hearted bitch, but if you persevere and crack that outershell she's a marshmallow. Malia's flaw is thinking she could have stopped or prevented anything and everything that goes wrong around her. Usually something Lydia has done, that she feels she could have predicted and avoided.

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Q. Do they have any family? -- From @rivainisomniari A. Kita has her sister, Nel (@mrstethras‘ Character) and their grandmother, Deshana, other than that, no. their father died when they were young, and their mother died during the War Table mission/attack on wycomb. Ghilana doesn't have any family that she knows of. Her father was killed by humans and city elves, and her mother wandered into the forest never to return when she was a baby. Ashalle raised her, and she considers the woman family, but she's not blood family. Malia has her older sister, @mrstethras‘ Hawke, Lydia. There's also her brother Carver and her sister Bethany, both of whom survive the trip to Kirkwall.

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Q. Are they close to their family? -- From @randomfallout4posts A. Kita is VERY close to Nel. She was fairly close to Deshana, but felt like she had to keep some of her magical talents hidden from the woman, because they weren't strictly "normal". Once she was able to be more free with herself with the Inquisition, and with Solas and Nel in particular away from the Clan, she began to feel less close to her grandmother and more judged for the ease with which she communed with spirits. Ghilana is not particularly close with her family. She struggles with the idea that Ashalle is not her "real" mother, and feels guilty for thinking like that. Tamlen was the closest thing she had to a 'real' family in her mind, and she had to abandon him, it took her a long time to begin to trust Briar and Alistair and instantly latched onto the first elf she saw with tattoo's (Zevran). He becomes her family, and as soon as the Darkspawn Threat is under control, she follows him to Antiva to kick his ass for being gone for so long. Malia... *sigh* She is SUPER close with Lydia, and despite being the younger of the two, she feels responsible for the other girl, especially since Lydia  struggles with their father's death the most. Having no one older to share her magical talents with was difficult too and so Malia did her best to support and back up Lydia as much as she could. She struggled to connect with Carver, and they disagree on a lot of things, but they love each other despite it and they bond particularly closely during the battle of Ostagar, helping each other survive what was otherwise a slaughter of epic proportions. Malia adores Bethany, and coddles the younger girl, giving her anything and everything she can. She picked up pick-pocketing to buy Bethany birthday presents, and it's how she fond her way to learning a rogue's skill set. Malia does not get on with her mother, and often goes out of her way to annoy the woman so that Leandra will aim her vitriol at Malia instead of Lydia.

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Q. Where's their favourite place to be kissed? -- From @mrstethras A. Kita loves the tips of her ears being nibbled on, and the junction where neck becomes shoulder. Ghilana loves the back of her neck being kissed, especially once her hair grows out and Zev has to push it out of the way to reach it. Also kisses trailing down her spine. Malia ends up a shivering wreck if her hips and thighs get kissed, but also the palm of her hand while her eyes are locked with her lovers.

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Q. Your OC’s favourite pastimes when they're not gallivanting, murdering or hunting Dread Wolves? -- From @mrstethras A. For Kita; Running, Reading, and/or singing. Post Trespasser she's learning how to control using a god damned foci, and pretending to be dead, but that's an essay for another time Ghilana's favourite pastime used to be huntng... until she had to spend the whole blight hunting for their party since no one else knew how. How her favourite pastime is annoying Brair, and sitting quietly/stargazing, while Zev braids and/or plays with her hair. Malia's favourite pastime used to be pick pocketing the Templars and Chantry Sisters and redistributing the wealth amongst the citizens of Lothering. Once they reached Kirkwall, she enjoyed hanging out with her friends, and helping them with what they were doing, when she had time. Keeping the patients at Anders clinic entertained until he could see them. Helping Merrill go shopping. Helping Fenris rearrange the furniture in the mansion etc.

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Q. Name one regret of your OC’s?  -- From @mrstethras A. Kita: Not going to Wycome herself and keeping her mother safe. Also, for not doing/saying/being enough so that Solas could feel he could trust her. Ghilana: Not insisting that she search for Tamlen. Ghilana regrets letting Duncan talk her into leaving with him immediately. Malia has lots of regrets, but the biggest one is that she didn't push Anders for more answers, when she knew the ingredients he'd collected were intrinsic components for an explosive.

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Q. Are they tall or short or somewhere in between? -- From @randomfallout4posts​ and @silvanils​ A. For a modern Elf, Kita is Tall. She's on the upper end of the height range for MALE elves at 5'8.... having said that, it's one of the first things that draws her attention about Solas, he's one of the only elves she's ever met taller than her, and he's taller than her by a fair margin. // Kita is tall for a modern elf. Tall for a MALE modern elf. Ghilana is small, around 5'1 and slight. She can, almost literally, hide behind a tree. It helps with her stealth abilities, and her speed, but it's why she focused mainly on a bow to keep a distance from stronger opponents. Zev fixes that, telling her she needs to know how to defend herself, and teacher her to dual weild daggers.  // Ghilana is average for a female modern elf, but she comes across as looking smaller because she's slight as well. Malia is average, around 5'6/7. A little taller than her older sister, but not by much. // Malia is average for a human female.

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Q. Has Varric given them a nickname? If yes what is it and how did they get it? -- From @this-basic-mage​ A. Varric HAS given Kita a Nickname ^_^ It's Satina! She's a night owl, and so often wanders Skyhold late. Plus her whole colour's/aesthetics are blues and silvers.... Satina is, also, canonically the name of Thedas' moon. Malia finds it hilarious the Varric calls her sister simply "Hawke" and it annoys Lydia no end when he starts giving Malia the nickname "Copper". She's considered a bit of a "bad penny" by many, especially whenshe spends a lot of her time in Darktown, and is known to be a prolific pickpocket, but Varric also chose the name because of the burnished copper undertones to her otherwise dark brown hair.

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Q. Pick any god from greek/norse pantheons for your o.c to "be" -- From @rivainisomniari​ A. I'm not sure I know enough about mythology off the top of my head to say for most of them. Kita has some Loki in her, with her playfulness and love of wolves (even before the whole Fen'Harel reveal, she's always admired the Emerald Knights) Ghilana would be Athena, goddess of the hunt. Owls for nightime and stargazing, and the stealth aspects of her character etc. Not sure who Malia would be. Is there a mythological god or goddess of chaos and disaster OTHER than Loki?

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Q. Since the game has them: A tarot card for your o.cs. -- From @rivainisomniari​ A. After some research, I think Kita would be the High Priestess, meaning Intuitive, unconscious inner voice. Ghilana would be the Hierophant Reversed, meaning Rebellion, subversivness and new approaches. Malia would be the Tower, meaning sudden upheaval, broken pride, and disaster. Research Source: https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-list

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Q. What is it that drew y'all's OC’s to their LIs? -- From @bratwurstprophecy​ A. Tough one because it was me drawn to Solas before Kita was. I think it was the way Solas almost immediately told Cassandra that Kita couldn't have opened the breach. She read it as an elf defending an elf, a mage defending a mage, and it made her respect him very quickly. His opinions on the Dalish were painful but didn't surprise her. At the Keeper's first she's been to the meetings of the clans and knew how unwelcoming some of the other clans were towards outsiders, but it made her want to show him not all Dalish were like that... then she began talking magic and the fade and spirits with him, and a lot of his opinions on those aligned with what she'd always felt but had been told was wrong, and that was it, she was basically a goner. Ghilana was drawn to Zev, despite the fact he tried to kill her, because he was the first elf she'd seen since leaving her clan, and she figured he might be useful, help her hunt for the party (Ahahahhahaha). His warmth and easy going attitude though is what endeared him to her, he easily let her abrasiveness roll off him, and that was something she'd encountered only rarely and valued highly. Malia saw a lot of her sisters in Anders, a mage run ragged hiding from the Chantry, but still a kind soul wanting to help. She wanted to help him, to find a way to separate him from Justice so neither of them became corrupted in spite of their mutual good intentions. She can often seen the glimpses of the man he was before he merged with Justice, and while she loves him as he is, she wishes she could see more of the lighthearted and playful man he was before because it's those glimpses of gentle care and humor that draw her in like a moth to a flame.

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Q. What's your OC's favorite food? -- From @randomfallout4posts​ A. For Kita Lavellan, an Elfroot based stew her mother used to make, and Lemon flavored frilly cakes from Val Royeux For Malia Hawke , she never thought she's miss it, but a simple ferelden vegetable pie brings back happier memories of family meals with her siblings and both her parents in their cosy kitchen in Lothering. Ghilana Mahariel used to love roasted rabbit, but she hunted and cooked so many of them during the 5th blight she now can't stomach the sight of them. She loves exploring antivan spices, and the different flavors they can make when being mixed together in different combinations, and on different meats, so although it's not a "food", Antivan Spices would be her answer.

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Q. CAFFEINE. I must know what your ocs first reaction to coffee was. For inquisitors, their first taste was likely when Bull offers it in the Storm Coast, unless they came from noble roots and got lucky. -- From @lacrymosa-of-lavellan​ A. Kita firmly believes that coffee is a creation of the gods. Perhaps Ghilan'nain. It finally means she can stay awake long enough to get through the stacks of paperwork that Josephine keeps leaving on her desk, and still have enough energy to go and fall asleep read a book on Solas' couch. Ghilana doesn't drink it, unless Zevran serves it up with a metric tonne of sugar, and at least half the cup being made up of milk. Malia Hawke takes coffee as part of her regular morning ritual, but only if she makes it herself. Too many times has she picked up her sister, Lydia’s, coffee, only to splutter on the strong taste of whiskey or rum that's been added to it.

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Q. If you could use a song (or entire album if you like) to sum up one of your OCs in terms of personality and whatnot, or even just similar vibes, what would it be? -- From @bratwurstprophecy​ A. Kita Lavellan would get the Frozen 2 Soundtrack, but specifically "Into The Unknown" or "Show Yourself"

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Q. The most important oc / otp question: Who shares their thinmints and who tells the other to go heck off? -- From @lacrymosa-of-lavellan​ A. Kita would share, and Solas would not. We know he has a sweet tooth! Between Malia and Anders, I think both of them would share. They both know what it's like to go without, and how a little treat can bring someone's mood up. As for Ghilana, Zev would spoil her with all sorts of exotic foods and sweet treats, and Ghilana would not share them (even if he asked) ;-)

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Q. If your oc was in a modern time (or if they're brave as heck in da times) do they have any (non-vallaslin) tats or piercings, and if so, where? -- From @lacrymosa-of-lavellan​ A. Kita would not have a tattoo. Apart from the fact her mother really doesn't like them, Pre-Crestwood her Vallaslin are important and meaningful and she wouldn't want to take away from their importance by getting just 'another tattoo'. Post-Crestwood, when she knows that the Vallaslin were slave markings, she wouldn't want to be permanently marked in that way again. Ghilana does have other tattoo's besides her Vallaslin, all of which were done by Zevran. He has given her a vine that wraps around her ankle and curls up her leg with little symbols hanging from it, like charms, each charm marking an important event in their life together. Zev has also tattooed matching bands on their ring fingers, instead of wearing rings. Ghilana also has one ear pierced, to wear the earring Zev gave her during the 5th blight. It's the only piece of jewellery she regularly wears. Malia Hawke does not have any tattoo's or piercings. Her philosophy is that she does through enough pain without subjecting herself to more of it willingly.

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Q. Wood smoke or ocean breeze? -- From @lacrymosa-of-lavellan​ A. Kita hates the smell of the ocean. She got seasick on her way from the Freemarches to Ferelden, and the salt air always makes her feel a little queasy now. Woodsmoke on the other hand is food, and warmth and comfort and she misses the perfume of crackling pinewood. Ghilana has always loved woodsmoke smell, but when she travels with Zev and on her Grey Warden duties, she learns to love the smell of the ocean. Malia Hawke can take or leave woodsmoke. It's not terrible but after fleeing Lothering with the village burning behind her it has some difficult memories attached to the scent. Living in Kirkwall though, the fresh sea air waking her every morning was something she grew to love.