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full of seams and bad texturing but well it’s a start
#letho#letho of gulet#witchers#the witcher#the witcher 3#tw3mod#the witcher 3 mod#the witcher mod#naughty corner#blending his arms skin with the basic male body texture sure isn't easy#also doppler isn't made for bodies much bigger than geralt's and it shows#no idea if Eredin is even possible with this in mind#anyway Letho next Doft in line
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It has really been forever, but work kind of kicked my ass the last few weeks and writing has ben really really hard. In any case I am determined to finish that (just one chapter left, yey) and I also have bunch of hot requests to work on.
Fic Title: Somewhere in Time: Chapter 9 Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Rating: Explicit [NSFW around the end] Fandom: The Witcher Relationship: Caranthir Ar-Feiniel/Original Female Character(s) AO3 Link
“Caranthir?” Aine looked at him confused and afraid, he pulled the blanket over her knowing they won’t be alone soon. Of all the possible days and times now would be the one, of course. He knew Avallac’h probably had no idea Carabthir was not alone, but that did not make the situation less annoying and frustrating. He was not a child anymore.
As soon as Avallac’h stepped through the portal, Caranthir got off the bed and started walking to his dresser, ignoring the man. The clothes he was wearing were downstairs in his study and he was not going to talk to his teacher naked. Avallac’h moved his eyes between him and Aine, she had the blankets pulled almost to her eyes level. Caranthir could feel the anger building in him. Of course his mentor will come now, if there was one thing Avallac’h had ever achieved regarding Caranthir was to ruin the few good moments he ever had in life.
“Get out of the room.” he said as his teacher was shifting his gaze between Aine and him. “The door is there, Avallac’h.” Caranthir pointed angrily as the older elf just smiled politely, acting as if just teleporting in someone's bedroom was the most normal thing in the world. His teacher walked out of the room, Caranthir followed, considering pushing him down the stairs.
“Why are you here?” Caranthir asked as they walked in his lab, Avallach had already lit the place. “Actually, I don’t care, leave.” He was having a good moment, for the first time in his life he was actually enjoying the closeness to another living thing, going through emotions he thought for a very long time unable to experience, and it was all cut short.
“I need to ask you something.” Avallac’h pretended as if that whole thing was absolutely normal. It wasn’t, it had never been normal.
“Make an appointment.” all the serenity was gone and he was pure rage right now, he couldn’t believe something so simple bothered him so much and was able to destroy all the tranquility he felt just a moment ago. He couldn’t show his feelings to Avallac’h, he would not give him the satisfaction. He did his best to look calm, but the winter storm outside the Tower started howling. “Leave.” Caranthir snarled.
“I understand that your absolute inability to build meaningful intimate relationships probably makes you very uncomfortable being seen in bed with someone, but I really need to speak to you.” he was talking to him, but Avallac’h’s eyes were not on him. Caranthir turned and saw Aine standing on the stairs wearing one of his shirts. He turned back to his teacher, Crevan’s eyes narrowed as if trying to determine how serious this thing was. No...he was thinking if he could use her to get to him. He was staring at her in the way Caranthir would stare at a horse he found interesting. He didn’t feel jealous because of his teacher’s gaze, he was concerned.
“Aine, go upstairs.” she hesitated and he raised his voice. “Now!” This time she did it, her light steps echoing as she climbed up the cold stairs.
“Free advice, from personal experience, snapping, especially when there is no need to do so, will result in unfortunate consequences.” Avallac’h forced a smile and Caranthir’s anger only grew. That patronizing, always knowing better than him...
“Despite my inability to build meaningful intimate relationships, do I look stupid enough to follow the advice of the man known for driving the one woman he loved away.” Caranthir chuckled, he had learned from the best. If Avallac’h wanted a fight, he was going to give him one and Eredin was not here to stop them.
“Lara might have left me, but at least she knew who I was.” Crevan pointed toward the stairs even if there was no one there anymore. “Tell me Caranthir, how long before your arrogance and impulses drive her away? How about everything in you that Eredin has corrupted? How long before your true colors show and she walks away for real this time. What will you do then? Let her go?” Avallac’h made a fake laugh. “I saw the marks on her skin, you will not allow your possession to just walk away. I would know.”
Silence fell between the two of them. Deep down Caranthir knew they were just two elves trying to hurt each other without doing it physically. They knew each other far too well, despite how much Avallac’h had tried to hide his pain through the years, Caranthi had seen it. Avallac’h was wrong however, she was not a possession, or maybe he had sensed that was using the words to push him further?
“I need to know where Eredin keeps the girl.” Avallac’h finally said, his voice soft, no trace of the frustrated tone they both used.
“What girl?” It has been days since he has been in Tir na Lia, he had no idea what Eredin or anyone was up to.
“Cirilla.”
“I don’t really keep track of where Eredin stores his toys.” Caranthir smiled. “Now, the door is downstairs, or use a portal, I don’t care.” The storm outside calmed, but so high in the tower, the wind was still whistling against the stone.
“Caranthir, I know you messed with the potion for Auberon.” Avallac’h added without hesitation. “I also know Eredin asked you to.” pause, he did not respond, just looked at his teacher. “I also know you have cast a spell to prevent me from finding Cirilla, I would have located her by now otherwise.”
“Maybe you should try harder.” Caranthir didn’t speak in anger, but he knew the words would hit home. That was what Avallac’h would tell him every single time he was unable to cast a spell or do something that was expected of him.
“You need to look beyond your selfishness.” Avallac’h added. “You have responsibilities.”
“I do.” Caranthir smiled. “To my king.”
“He is not the true king.” Avallac’h did not raise his voice, but the anger there was obvious. “I need to find the girl, she is a key to something more important than whatever Eredin wants to use her for. He will ruin everything…”
“Everything what?” Caranthir laughed. “All your life you have believed that there is a great purpose for you Crevan. Be with Lara, be the power behind the throne, father the child to save us all. Look at you. Ended up with Lara death, me as a replacement for your child and now even the throne is not yours. You are not as special as you think you are, Crevan. You think everyone to be more stupid than you are, but Eredin knows exactly what is at stake here. As do I. We are all aware and don't need you to remind us.”
“But I'm the only one who knows how to help.” There was malice in Avallac’h’s smile now, an emotion he had not seen on the other man’s lips before. “You think you are stronger than me? You can do a lot, but we still need Ciri and your ability might be enough to keep Eredin happy, but they are not enough to save us. All of us.'' A pause followed, Caranthir was ready for an attack, but one did not follow. “Tell me, how good of a mage is she?” Avallac’h pointed up the stairs. “If I am to...collapse the roof of this ugly tower, how long do you think she will last? A minute? A second?”
“Your issue is with me not with her.” Caranthir spoke through his teeth. “Besides, it doesn matter how good she is. I can protect her.” Avallac’h was bluffing. He would not do that...wouldn’t he? The man was pragmatic, logical, in his mind the life of all of the Aen Elle was more valuable than whatever might happen here, Caranthir understood that very well.
“Protect her? Like that other one? The one that the human mages killed? Did you tell her you will protect her too? Or there was no time for that.” The tower shook and Caranthir had just a second to stop his teacher's spell, before he found himself flying across the room and hitting the wall.
“The same way you promised Lara to protect her.” he got up, clearing blood from his mouth. “How did that work for you?.” he cast a spell, Avallac'h saw it and avoided the ice falling from the ceiling, but Caranthir knew that would happen, he moved the table behind Crevan and hit the small of his back forcing him on his hands and knees. They were even now.
They looked at each other, the anger in Avallac’h’s eyes softened, there was still displeasure, but the malice was gone.
Avallac'h stood unsure why he even did that. Why was he going so far? He did not come here to threaten Caranthir or that poor girl that had nothing to do with their past. He was happy Caranthir found someone, the kid deserved to feel something other than anger.
All he needed was Ciri's location, Caranthir must know something, otherwise he would be able to sense her. The logical explanation was he had cast a spell, he could walk for days through the palace, assuming she was in the palace and look for the spell, but he did not have days.
“I should have been kinder to you.” Avallac'h changed his approach. This was how he should have started. Tell him how he really felt, apologize, especially knowing that after today they would certainly be enemies and one of them would end up dead. Hopefully not, but it was a possibility. “I should have taught you how to love.” A pause followed and the navigator did not speak either. "I am not threatening anymore and I will not hurt her or you, unless you provoke me. Where is Ciri?" the young man laughed at his words.
“You should either continue with murder attempt or leave.” Caranthir finally said calmly
“I wish you could look beyond your own hatred.” Avallac’h sighed. “Lara taught me things I didn’t know. About myself. I think you have learned something about yourself tonight as well, my boy.”
Avallac'h couldn't believe how much alike the two of them were. Not in everything, and he was to blame for all of their similarities and differences. Ironically, he was not his biological father, but judging by their characters he might as well be.
“Avallac’h, it's too late to be my father.” Caranthir finally said as if reading his mind. It was a mix between regret and pain. "I will not tell you where she is. I will not betray Eredin."
Avallac'h nodded. That one was on him. He could have been smarter but his emotions took the best of him. He opened a portal and walked away. He was going to find her himself.
Caranthir stood there not sure what happened or why. He just stared at one point on the wall, his mind numb.
"Caranthir?" Aine's voice came from the stairs, he turned his head just to see her standing back at the stairs. The look on her eyes made him snap. She was scared and she was worried. For herself or for him? "Are you okay?" She asked and he stood there...for him? That was the first time…
"I'm okay. Let's go to bed." he walked to her and wrapped his around her shoulders.
Carathir woke up sensing his spell broken. Avallac’h finally found her. He knew it was just a matter of time after their conversation yesterday he just hoped it was in more time than that. Going back to Ti na Lia wasn’t something he wanted to do right now. Aine was still asleep, her small back pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her, he had never woken up next to someone in his life, nor had he ever had the desire to do so until now. He couldn’t believe how his entire life he had missed that. Sure, until now he had the need to be someone for more than a night only once before, but the whole feeling of having someone in his arms...he buried his face closer to her, inhaling the smell of wild flowers and pine from her hair. Caranthir wished he didn’t need to go to Tir na Lia now, he could spend the day here in bed just...holding her. That was new as well.
He felt her shift a bit and he released his grip not wanting to be clingy. Funny, he managed to sleep the whole night without moving at all, that was a first as well. She rolled over looking at him with sleepy eyes. Caranthir just stared. Even half awake she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. He felt bad for waking her, probably it was his tight embrace, but he could just not control himself, he needed to feel her so badly against his skin.
“Good morning.” she said as her eyes were pinned on his, he couldn’t stop admiring all the color on her. The red hair, such a contrast to the paleness of his, the vividness of her eyes, compared to the dullness of his...
“Last night...I promise that won’t happen again.” she looked at him puzzled, again he realized what he said was stupid and he should use more than three words to describe things. “I don’t mean...I mean with Avallac’h and the tower. Not what happened before that.” what happened before that he hoped would happen again. More than once. “He was out of line.”
“He is your teacher, right?” she asked as she pulled herself closer to him. Caranthir just nodded. Avallac’h was more than a teacher to him and less at the same time, but now that was not his problem. He had to tell her that he needed to leave despite not knowing for sure yet. Truth was he had no idea what was going on in Tir na Lia, he knew someone broke his spell, probably Avallac’h no one else had the power to do so, not now. Maybe Eredin captured him...he had to go.
“He was my teacher.” he finally answered, realizing that silence lasted too long. “He is something else right now.” he had to tell her, but how to do that without making it sound as if he was abandoning her. Last night she told him this was what she was afraid of, being used and then left. “Tell…” he stopped and her eyebrows raised in curiosity. Did he really want to know? “Tell me about that man. The one you said...left you.”
Aine stared at his pale eyes not sure she understood the question. She understood the words, that was not the problem, but why was he asking about that all of a sudden? Then again, she had seen probably some of the most intimate moments of his life, it was just fair.
“Well...not much to say...he was someone close to my half brother, but wanted to be closer, get more power.” That happened years ago and it still hurt her in a way. It had been a valuable lesson to learn her place. Not that much because of what he did, but because it was such a good reminder for her she had no place, neither with humans nor with elves. “He thought my father valued me more than he actually did, and he was not entirely wrong, he encountered him at a time when he was somewhat affectionate to me. We spent months together, I was happy because I felt like finally I had found my place. Finally I wasn’t neither here nor there, I was a part of something, accepted by someone...a few months passed he finally understood that my father used me to show off to elves who were sympathetic to humans, parade how generous he was to me, and ignored me the rest of the time. He tried, he asked my father if being with me makes him part of the family, my father ignored him and there was that.”
“Did you ever…” Caranthir started and then stopped half way. It was curious how hard these questions were for him, but he was the one asking, she did not share that on her own. Aine could feel his body being tense around her, his embrace a bit stronger. “Did you ever have that with him?”
“That?” she had to try to suppress a laugh. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘that’.”
Caranthir felt the air just stopping in his lungs. He knew jealousy as a feeling, but that was the first time he felt it in a romantic way. He wasn’t even sure why, whoever the elf was, that was in the past, he didn’t even know his name, and that was probably for the best as otherwise he would find him and kill him. Not for what he had done to her, but because they had something, no matter how fake it might have been. No, the real jealously came from the fact that he probably held her in his arms, the way he was holding her now, but he had not done that with anyone else.
“Held you in his arms?” he finally asked, knowing the answer.
“Caranthir, why are you asking?” she pushed herself away from him a bit, placing a hand on his chest and looking at him concerned. “Does it really matter what happened years ago, with someone who does not matter anymore?”
Why was he asking? She was right, it didn’t matter.
“We need to go back to Tir na Lia.” he finally said. He just didn’t want to sound like he was leaving her, but he was leaving her, even if it was not in the same way. “And I will have to leave with the king on a hunt most likely.” he saw the confusion and pain on her face. He reached quickly for her cheek and cupped it with his hand. “I did not plan for that to happen.”
“Can I stay here?” she finally asked, the concern in her eyes not disappearing but he could feel her body being less tense.
“No.” he laughed. “I might be gone for a day, but I might be gone for months. You can’t open a portal on your own, not even to move yourself downstairs. There is no way out of here but through a portal.” he kissed her forehead. “In Tir na Lia, you will have all of my servants, everything you’d ever need.”
“Caranthir, no…” she grabbed his hand from her face and held it in hers. “My place is not there, I’m neither human nor elf, I have no place in the palace. Not as an elf…”
He placed his finger on her lips making her silent.
“You have a place. Here and in Tir na Lia.” he opened a portal under the two of them and suddenly they moved to his rooms in Tir na Lia. They fell on his bed, the warm blankets from the Winter tower with them. “This is your place.”
Before she could protest again there was a knock on the door and one of his servants walked in, an elderly man who usually looked after everything.
“My lord, I was not aware you will be coming back.” the man bowed as he spoke, he looked at Aine for a second and then his eyes were on Caranthir again.
Aine pulled the covers closer to her chin as Caranthir got off the bed, the servant still standing there. That dynamic was not unfamiliar to her, the man was most likely trained all his life to do exactly what he was doing right now and Caranthir had grown up knowing humans were nothing but servants. She was the odd one in the situation. He got off the bed and walked around it, the servant's head bowed down but he followed his master’s movement as he went to the window on the other side of the bed. Aine used the chance to study the room, it was at least twice as big as the bedroom in the Winter Tower, the bed was softer, there was a small table with chairs, dresser next to the wall and vanity, but the mirror was covered with a sheet. That was curious, she realized just now that there was not a single mirror in the Winter Tower.
“I will be leaving Tir na Lia for a hunt.” Caranthir turned toward his servant. “In my absence, her word is my word.” The man did not answer to him, just gave her a quick look, almost as if trying to understand. Aine did not blame him. His life was easily defined. Humans served elves and there was that. She was neither. She wasn’t his mistress, nor wanted to be, but she was not his equal either. “Make sure you find her some clothes. We left everything at the Winter Tower.”
“Yes, my lord.” The man bowed and shot another look at her, filled with confusion as if he was trying to make sure he really understood his master’s commands. He nodded and walked out.
“You don’t need to do that.” she said as the man walked away. “I don’t need servants.”
Caranthir walked toward the bed and sat at the edge, the morning light from the window reflecting in the white lines of the scars on his body.
“You said you don’t have a place.” he ran his fingers through her face. “I’m giving you one. But you will not have a place, among the Aen Elle, or among the humans, unless you decide if you want to be Aen Elle or human. It’s yours.” he made a gesture with his other hand pointing at the vast room. “There is a study next door and all the books you need on magic...hopefully I will be back soon.”
He looked at her face trying to remember all the lines, how her red hair contrasted with her skin, the mismatching eyes, the curve on her nose, the fine on her cheekbones...he hoped that would take no more than a day but he knew Avallac’h he was clever and he had already seen the rest of the Red Riders preparing in the yard. It was a matter of time before Eredin came looking.
“Why are you doing that?” she finally asked him and he was taken aback. What sort of question was that? “You don’t need to.” she added. “You can leave me in the rooms where you kept me imprisoned, they are perfectly adequate, but you are giving me your rooms. Why?”
Caranthir could not answer these questions. He could, but not actually voice it. She made him feel good, she made him forget how bad he felt about himself, she made him feel wanted for something else than being Eredin’s Navigator. He also liked holding her in his arms, just having another being that accepted him for who and what he was. Someone who in a way was as lonely as he was, someone just as him, could never find their place, because he was not a warrior like Eredin and Imlerith, but he was also different from Avallac’h. Or at least wanted to be.
“Come.” he took her hand in his and walked with her to the window where he was standing just a moment ago. She hesitated for a moment to step closer, she had nothing covering her body. “It’s okay the rooms are high enough, even if someone looks they can’t see you.” He pushed her closer to the glass and wanted her to see what he was looking at just a moment ago. Eredin and the rest of the Red Riders rushing around the yard, preparing to leave. He had not spoken with him, but he already knew what was going on. “I’m doing that, because you are doing something for me.” he kissed her neck where he could still see the marks he left on her last night. “Something to me.” He placed his hands over her belly and slid them up to her breasts, but she stopped him.
“A payment?” there was hurt in her words and Caranthir stepped back, she was not turning but she could see his reflection in the window.
“No.” he wished he was able to express what was going on in his head. The fact that he did not want to leave, not now that he actually felt good for the first time in many years. “Gratitude. Appreciation.” yes, that sounded closer to what he was feeling, probably not an accurate description but as close as he could allow himself to admit aloud. He wrapped his hands around her again, but this time sank his teeth in her skin, pulling her closer to himself trying to remember how her skin feels against his. One hand sliding between her legs, the other reaching for her breasts but she stopped him again.
“Not like that.” she turned around and faced him, placing a hand on his chest just over his heart. “Gentle.”
“I’m not sure I know how.” it wasn’t a lie. Last night was the nicest he had ever been to someone in bed and he still wasn’t sure that qualified as gentle.
“I can help you.” she stepped on her tip toes and kissed his lips. Caranthir didn’t even need to think about it, his whole body was just responding to her.
“I don’t have a lot of time.” It was partially an excuse to hide his lack of experience in being kind, but also truth. It was a matter of minutes before Eredin asked for him. He wanted to treat her differently than everyone else and he was far less ashamed of himself around her, he wouldn’t be standing naked in front of her now if that was not the case, but he had no idea where to start from.
“You don’t need a lot of time.” she kissed him again, this time he was trying to memorize the sweetness of her taste.
Aine wasn’t even sure where all that courage came in her, she knew she wanted him, just this time she wanted to look at his face, all the time. As much as she liked last night, that was different. He said he could be away for months, so she wanted to remember him.
“I will try.” he groaned as he reached down and lifted her, placing her on the window sill but still supporting most of her body. He moved one hand between her legs running a finger through her entrance feeling that she was already wet. Redness crawled trough her neck and cheeks having herself for a second day spread like that for him.
“Slowly.” she moaned as his finger was replaced by the tip of his cock. He listened, he pushed slowly in her, his hand grabbing her chin and made her look at him as he was slowly pushing in her. He was careful and gentle, trying to be. The hand that was supporting her was still digging in her skin, probably leaving bruises and she could see the lust in his eyes.
As he pushed all the way in he leaned forward and kissed her, moving the hand that was holding her chin to where they were connected, his thumb easily reaching for her clit.
“I don’t have time.” he whispered in her ear as he picked up the pace. She kissed his chest trying to silence her moans. Despite his faster and harsher pace he was trying to be kind, his lips were on her neck, but this time kissing not biting. She wrapped her legs around his urging him to go faster even if he did not really need the invitation. He moved his lips to hers just before she came around him, as his own moves became more frantic and needy. Couple of thrusts later and he came slamming his hand at the window behind her to find support.
Neither of them moved for a second, she couldn’t until he did, and he was just leaning over her looking at her unfocused and trying to catch his breath.
He didn’t step away from her but grabbed her and threw her on the bed, her back hitting the softness of the mattress.
“How was that for ‘nice’?” He did not follow her in bed, but watched her naked shape over the covers.
“We need to practice.” she teased him, as she was trying to memorize every inch of his body.
“When I am back.” he leaned forward and kissed her. For a second she thought he would follow her in bed, but he stopped over her. He pulled one of the rings from his hand and handed it to her, it was different from the one he used to teach her. This one was just a band with runes marked on it. “Keep that with yourself. If something happens, I can find it.”
“If something happens?” she could sense concern in his voice. Happens to her or to him? “No more tracking spells?” she teased, not wanting to even imagine what ‘something happens’ could mean. Not now.
“No tracking spells.” he touched her lips with his thumb. “If you are to walk away now, and leave the ring here, I won’t be able to find you.”
She wanted to tell him that she wouldn't leave, not unless he asked her to, but a knock on the door prevented that.
“My lord.” it was his servant. “The king is asking for you.”
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hi there again (I'm the anon from the Eredin age ask, btw, thank you for the answer!! I like your theory). i wanted to ask one more thing - how did you play around with pairing aen elle with a human? not that I have something against it, hell naw, but I'm wondering whether making Rhan a human was somehow important for your plot, or did you just decide it for no bigger reason?
I like your questions, Nonny! I really do~
~ Also, sorry in advance - this is a long answer. I wanted to make it short, but.. I guess I usually go to far with asks, probably because I’m just too excited, duh.
Okay, first things first - pairing Aen Elle with a human is sick. :”) To some extent, I presume. I would never go for it if not for the canon Lara Dorren x Cregennan of Lod story, because that gives some mild suggestion that, technically, such a relationship is possible. Even more interesting, the romance between them was more bothering for humans than elves, so it’s also a little point for my evil little abomination that I created.
About how it started - I created Rhan (or, actually, loose concept of her) in late 2015 / early 2016 [I started my journey with this universe in September 2015 where I played Witcher 3, and after finishing it I swallowed the whole saga by Sapkowski in less than two weeks]. Fun fact - she was an elf at this point, Aen Elle, actually, with a totally different backstory than what we have now. But me, being me, always digging human x elf / demon / whatever the hell you can come out with relationships - it wouldn’t work, it was too boring for me, so I scrapped that early concept and started nibbling, slowly and lazily, at something new. I think that the first ideas that are actually what Rhan is today started appearing in my head during summer vacations in 2016 (gosh, why am I giving so many pointless details, sorry anon).
Let’s get back on the grid - the main problem I have with Eredin is that he’s one of that characters that doesn’t have much screenbooktime. The whole Tir na Lia plot takes about 40 pages I think, and Eredin has maybe 15 pages in total. It’s not much when we have 5 books + about a dozen or so smaller stories [and Season of Storms, but it came out much, much later]. But what I could pick up was that:
Aen Elle are a fucked up race, and that’s a fact, but, honestly - 90% of the Witcher universe is either genocidal, racist, or both, or worse,
Eredin is genocidal and racist, and, even more... complicating, the whole "Ciri in Tir na Lia” plot puts Eredin, Avallac’h and Auberon in position of rapists, because putting a woman in someone else’s bed without her permission is rape,
he’s that lovely, dark and highly intelligent manipulative type. :”)
It’s quite a feat, because everyday I get around 3-4 new little ideas for their story, but only 1 at best makes it to the “next step”, because there are many things I have to consider - first is, 98% of soft and fluffly things just won’t work with Eredin. They just won’t, but somehow I’m fine with that, I was never a fluffly-tropes kind of person. Second is, Rhan x Eredin relationship is difficult on every level: the race difference is obvious, but there is also age, for example, and all the time I have this little devil in the back of my head reminding me of the “the old, kinda supernatural being falls in love with a young woman” trope: *cough* Twilight *cough*. The worst thing that could happen is making Eredin OOC somehow. But that’s always the biggest fear when shipping OC x canon, I presume.
So, in order to make myself feel better, in nearly every piece of story with them I write I put that huge doubt, mostly on Rhan’s side, how the hell this could work and her little panic when after some time she realizes where her feelings are going, because while Aen Elle x human might have indeed a chance of happening again, even after Lara Dorren x Cregennan, it’s still wrong on nearly every level. When that Aen Elle is Eredin, it’s even worse.
The very definition of “falling in love” itself also kinda feels weird when Eredin is taken into consideration, imo, so that’s another thing I have to live with every day (but hey, I love suffering, so it’s all good, right).
Moving on - I decided that if this is supposed to work, Rhan should probably be as most non-human human as I can, while still somehow keeping that “humanity” in her, because... If I wanted to de-human her entirely, why not just make her an elf and be done with it? That’s why I decided that while yes, she was born on Skellige and is 100% human, I will put her in Brokilon, make her live and learn from the dryads, and then put her right in the middle of Scoia’tael to give her the deep understanding of elven culture and way of life. The final effect is that while Rhan is human in terms of how she looks like (no diamond-cutting cheekbones in her, baby~) and tends to show a more fiery side of her temperament here and there, she behaves like an elf in about 85% of the case - to make it more “real” I added small headcanon things that could potentially fit elves, at least Aen Seidhe, the way the greet each other, thank eatch other for help, share their emotions etc., so after just a few days Eredin realizes “well, she’s human, but she does not behave like one, and does not move or fight like one”. It’s barely a deal for him at this point, but it’s the first, microscopic step towards moving their relationship onto some normal ground.
Another thing - this relationship could not happen fast. While Rhan is a sorceress and, indeed, has an increased lifespan thanks to magic, she is still a human and the biggest human thing in her is that she perceives time like humans do - every minute, hour, week is important to her, while Aen Elle can wait decades and not be too much bothered by it. So something long and lazy from Rhan’s perspective would be a blink of an eye for Eredin, especially since I stick to that headcanon that he must be at least 300 years old - at this age elves are pretty much done with everything, they’ve seen nearly everything, and they just don’t care that much about time, and they get quite bored with each other (sex-wise, as Avallac'h said to Geralt in Tower of The Swallow).
Though, on the side note, the books heavily suggest that Eredin is, indeed, impatient; something that kinda costed the Aen Elle losing the Elder Blood and Auberon at the same time, because he would probably live if not for Eredin’s hasty attempt to speed things up.
Huh, what else could I say... Ah, right, time. I wanted to mention that I made their relationship take a long time to just go from “you’re just a trophy” to “you’re tolerable” to “alright, I consider you to be a living being and slightly appreciate what you’re doing to Aen Seidhe elves in your world” to “I respect you” to “I would not die for you, but I would kill for you”. I’m still not entirely sure how much time I want it to take, but one decade is an absolute bare fricking minimum. Recently I’m kind of going more into putting it into a span of 20-25 years, actually. And it’s still not that much for Aen Elle elf.
What else... Ah, to figure out how the hell would Eredin even consider taking her alive, instead of killing her on the spot after she got trapped in Tir na Lia for the second time (in case you don’t know - I gave Rhan a highly unstable magic; she can’t create portals, because they always throw her to the place that is full of powerful magic, and doesn’t care for worlds barriers - and Tir na Lia is literally full of it), I went with the very long and tiring chase sequence; Rhan was able to run away for 5 days before she got captured, with barely any sleep available at that time, to kinda give this whole thing a vibe of an exciting (for Eredin, that is) chase, that is something new and interesting after the routine that is unicorn hunting / raiding human villages. The Raven Haired Bastard managed to be slightly, just sliiightly impressed by how long she was able to play this game, slipping from his riders by mere inches. Slightly. But that’s already some kind of a start to make it at least somehow believable. At least for my mind and my imagination.
And yes, I know he chased Ciri as well, but in her case it was a matter of life and death, because Eredin needed her blood, it was a matter of survival of the whole race, not chase for fun. In case of Rhan, it's more of a free-time challenge, a hunt for a difficult, but not that important prey. Aaand I don't like Cirilla, but that's another thing, yikes
... God, it was not supposed to be this long, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t make it shorter. And there are still probably things that I would like to mention, but just can’t think about them right now.
Moral of the story is - I dig complicated, dark and difficult relationships. I always go for them. Well, in 99% of the case.
#long post alert#sorry in advance#but THANK you for this ask#I live for answering questions about my OCs#Rhan an Undvik#Rhan x Eredin#Anonymous
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hello, i recently got into witchers series and i've always been drawn toward 'dark' ships. so your fic grabbed my attention from the start. there aren't many eredin/ciri fics (or maybe Idk where to look), so I'm glad to see you're writing one, and not only that, but your writing is very descriptive and captivating too without being too wordy. sorry english is my second language so i apologize for any mistakes. i have a question... in your fic, does eredin have no lust/physical interest in ciri?
Hello!
I’m glad to see the Witcher series is still gaining fans, and I’d say welcome to the fandom :D
I understand being drawn to darker pairings–I have always been as well, since I first started writing. Unfortunately, there aren’t many Eredin/Ciri fics indeed–I saw one or two before at most but that’s about it…. unless I have no idea how to find them either xD
I am very happy you believe so about my writing, it really means a lot :) I am trying my best but it can be rather difficult at times, especially with the little information on the Wild Hunt and their world. Although I have to say, the advice of my wonderful beta readers has also helped me a lot to improve my writing and the story itself :)
Don’t worry, your English is fine :D And it’s my second language as well.
Eredin does have physical interest, lust for Ciri, or rather he will–as chapter 4 is the first one in which they have longer interactions, I wanted to first highlight the tension between them as enemies, since they are not exactly the way they were back when Ciri was first at Tir ná Lia. I thought it would be more realistic if any other things they feel for each other later on would develop rather than just appearing on first interaction as if they’d been there the entire time, even for Ciri who, although attracted to Eredin in the past, has known him as her enemy for several years. On the other hand, game Eredin is bent on capturing Ciri to stop the White Frost, so much that it seems it’s the only thing that really interests him, unlike book Eredin. Keeping this in mind, I thought it might be more natural if his physical attraction to her would come a little while after he captured her, but not on the first days she spends there when he would likely still be focused on making sure she never escapes again. So don’t worry, Eredin will have those towards Ciri and even more in future chapters ;) I just wanted it to feel as natural as possible and figured that would take at least a little time.
Thank you for your message and I hope to hear from you again :)
I wish you a pleasant day/night!
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Guess what time it is!
Time for me to babble about an obscure, definitely not on the side of the good guys, probably not interesting to anyone else, character!
Meet Ge’els:
... a little background. The bad guys in this game are elves. Aen Elle, to be specific. Are all of them evil? Probably not. Are we supposed to love them the way I do? Definitely not. But! The Wild Hunt, from which this game in the series takes its name, are Aen Elle. And they are led by the king of the Aen Elle, Eredin. Your primary antagonist.
But Eredin is a warrior. He doesn’t like the fussy administrative bits of being king. So he has Ge’els. Viceroy Ge’els basically runs the kingdom while Eredin is off playing hero. Villain. Whatever. Ge’els does the boring stuff so Eredin can keep having fun with the Wild Hunt. Why Ge’els? Well...
“Ge’els is an excellent administrator and an even better plotter. He’s the most dangerous individual amongst the Aen Elle.”
You have Eredin, your primary antagonist, who people in your world literally regard as a herald of the apocalypse, and Ge’els is more dangerous? Well, yeah. Because he’s got the power of the throne and the brains to use it. And what does Avallac’h think his weakness is?
“He’s righteous.”
Ge’els is not just a scheming, Machiavellian type politician. He has principles. That makes him more dangerous, really-- it’s only a weakness because Avallac’h uses it to get him on our side.
So, Ge’els:
Ge’els does several things when you arrive that amuse me. He doesn’t bat an eye at your appearing here in his palace. Like oh, look. That traitor Avallac’h is here, and he brought a thug. Does he look startled? No. He calmly dismisses the naked girl he was using as a model... which brings me to the second thing he does: tries to get under Avallac’h’s skin.
Avallac’h is well known to have a particular emotional weakness-- Lara Dorren. Long story. Ge’els is not so stupid as to insult her directly, but he does remark on his model resembling her. It’s a calculated, careful remark; casually delivered, but absolutely intended to provoke Avallac’h. Avallac’h’s dismissive reply does not sound perturbed, but Ge’els comments about having touched a nerve anyway.
The whole exchange means nothing to Geralt, of course, but to Avallac’h, Ge’els just said I know you. I know your weaknesses, I know what matters to you and I am not fooled. It’s delightful.
“Ah, I see I’ve touched a tender spot. So let’s change the subject, shall we? Care for a drink?”
(It amuses me that Geralt has an option to ask for vodka, which prompts Ge’els to give this disgusted little head shake. It’s kind of adorable.)
The third thing he does is very pointedly not summon guards. We see him glance at them. There are plenty of reasons to do so-- not only is Geralt the sort of person who is very likely to do violence (and acting particularly hostile already), but Avallac’h is most certainly a traitor. Why would Ge’els not want him brought to justice?
Ge’els is intrigued, curious to see how this will play out. And he is utterly confident that he’s perfectly safe. He does not believe for one moment that Avallac’h will harm him. He also does not believe that anything Avallac’h can say will sway him-- he is dismissive of the idea, but goes along with them anyway, because why wouldn’t he? He is in the right. Avallac’h is not.
Besides, he might do some good, here. Like half the other characters in the game, he takes a moment to try to sew mistrust of Avallac’h:
“Incidentally, interesting choice of allies. Do you think Avallac’h is honest with you? Just curious...”
Rather than call the guards, he’s decided to use his weapons: wit and manipulation. He clearly feels that Avallac’h is dangerous; sunder him from his human allies, and they will pose no threat. (It is unlikely that he feels it goes the other way; most of the Aen Elle are utterly dismissive of humans and he probably doubts they would be able to do much without Avallac’h’s help. So, undermine their trust in him and they won’t be a problem anymore.)
He does the same thing when they arrive and he sees Ciri:
“Avallac’h blackmailed you-- do you not remember? Tried to force you to warm our king’s bed?”
Ciri shuts him down, quickly and confidently. He recognizes that there is nothing to be accomplished that way and changes the subject.
“I didn’t come here to argue. The proof you promised. Where is it?”
Ge’els does not believe that this proof will sway him-- though the fact that Avallac’h has an oneiromancer gives him pause. He takes one more shot at undermining Avallac’h:
“What then? Am I to incite the Aen Elle against Eredin? Call for revolution and proclaim Avallac’h our new king?”
I love this one. He said before that Avallac’h was not being honest with Geralt. He reminded Ciri of Avallac’h’s past actions to undermine him with her. This? This says Avallac’h hasn’t told you what he wants. He says it dismissively-- as if the thought that he would do this is ludicrous-- but the point is to again place doubt in Geralt’s mind. He’s using you for his own ends.
It’s a good thing Avallac’h was right about him; this is a dangerous man to bring to your allies and allow to speak.
But Avallac’h was right. Ge’els sees that Eredin killed the previous king (Avallac’h’s word choice is very deliberate, he insists that Eredin killed “our king”) and he is disturbed by it. He spends a long while simply thinking on it, and when he does speak, he does not turn around:
“You must face him on your terms, in this world, in a place of your choosing. It’s your only chance.”
No apology, no concession, not even a “you were right.” Ge’els is not a man who wastes words; telling them how to beat Eredin says everything anyway. I feel for him. The revelation of Eredin’s regicide matters deeply to Ge’els. Not only was it wrong-- and if Avallac’h is right and Ge’els is “righteous” then the wrongness of it matters a lot-- but Ge’els was deceived. Pretend for a moment that he doesn’t care one whit for regicide (and it’s possible he doesn’t); this is a man whose mind is his greatest weapon, and it had been compromised.
Why doesn’t he turn around? Because he doesn’t want to show Avallac’h weakness. He won’t admit he was fooled, he won’t apologize. And he won’t let them see how upset he is. He’s hurt, he feels betrayed, he’s perhaps feeling regret (though that seems unlikely) and most of all, he’s pissed.
So he does what he does best: he plans.
“Sail to Skellige and find the Sunstone. With is, you will summon the Naglfar. Eredin will come, too.”
I love that this isn’t a suggestion. “You will” is how he phrases it. He’s right, it’s the best plan, and he knows it. Avallac’h doesn’t argue-- he knows it, too. Ge’els also almost certainly going to go home and make sure that Eredin will answer this summons.
And then he does turn around, and he says this:
“Should he call for reinforcements, no Aen Elle will answer.”
Does Eredin always call Ge’els, when looking for reinforcements? Not bloody likely. Ge’els is going to go home and destroy Eredin in the eyes of his people. “No Aen Elle will answer.” I will make them hate him so much they wouldn’t lift a finger, let alone a sword. Maybe it’s not the whole population. Maybe he just intends to sew discord in the ranks of the military, or the riders that Eredin doesn’t always take with him. Those who might conceivably be called in as backup.
Ge’els doesn’t just accept that Avallac’h was right and stop supporting Eredin; he immediately aids his former opponents in bringing Eredin down.
I love him.
#it is late and i am projecting things onto fictional characters again#but i could go on for ages#notice that i didn't say anything in here about ge'els and avallac'h?#i mean they totally have a history#i have some delightful headcanons about that#i also refrained from saying anything about my otp!#even though ciri's unwavering trust in avallac'h makes me stupidly happy#anyway ge'els is also on the cosplay list just fyi#i have an elf problem#and in this world it's an aen elle problem#not that i dislike the others#but these assholes are so good#also?#he's like eight feet tall and i love it#these elves are not dainty little lithe things#they are *huge*#tall and imposing and imperious#i love it so much
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My loooooong rant about The Aen Elle: The Witcher
Book Spoilers, not so much Game Spoilers.
First off, my “elephant in the room” ... Eredin.
In the books he is nowhere near final-boss material like he was in the games. He’s the “That One Boss” rather than “The Big Bad”. Eredin has less of his shit together in the books tbh. He’s like Kylo Ren Evil rather than Voldemort Evil. They both did extremely bad things and you can’t deny either of them being villainous characters, just different types of evil characters.
Book Eriden has no filter, literally, he says what’s on his mind and doesn’t hesitate to go after what he wants. He’s arrogant and too the point, and doesn’t know what discretion is.
Some of his semi.... alright.... ? qualities:
1. He accidentally insulted Ciri upon first meeting her and apologized right away, he even gave her a flower. 2. He was the only one to be upfront with Ciri that she was a prisoner and will never be released. Even though he did lie to her about her friends being dead and gone. (Unless he wasn’t in his POV and just didn’t understand that TIME means nothing to her).
3. He wasn’t a bad sport about loosing a horse race with her. While he was competitive while it happened, at the end praised her skill and her horse for winning. Note: Kelpie let him pet her on the muzzle. Kelpie, the super horse with a foul temper that Ciri had made sure to note that would bite.... Either this was to show that he is decent with animals or to prove some kind of point of rebuking the “animals hate them” trope that villain characters often get stuck with.
Side Note: Considering he is the commander of mounted combat shock troops for the past several hundred years, it would be logical enough to say that he has a healthy amount of knowledge on horses and their mannerisms and knew if it was safe to pet Kelpie or not.
4. He was honestly trying to help further their people’s common goal when he offered Ciri the aphrodisiac to give Auberon, enough so that he gave it to him himself anyways. And was surprised to learn that it killed Auberon.
I highly doubt that Eredin’s skilled enough to make the potion properly 100% of the time, or making it more potent/concentrated turned it into a poison OR, somebody else made it...... (Avallach???? hmmmm???) and gave it to him with instructions on what it does.
((Avallach making it would mean that him getting the hell out of dodge was intentional, that he wanted to be far-far away when Eredin put the puzzle pieces together.))
Auberon, Avallach, and Eredin had a Triumvirate going on. The Unicorns specifically called out all three of them as being dangerous and behind most of what the Aen Elle had been doing. Together they followed the Face/King (Auberon), Brain/Sage (Avallach), and Hand/General (Eredin) .
Just look at the nicknames the Unicorns gave the three of them: The King of the Alders, The Fox, and The Sparrowhawk. They mean something.
While Alder can be an alternative name for Elder, as in the elder blood, the Aen Elle themselves, an actual Alder is a kind of birch tree common in wet areas and used often in dying leather, charcoal/gunpowder, and for making structures that need to be held in wet areas without rotting. The Alder is also a sacred tree, the tree of Bran the Blessid, and was the inspiration for the Weirwood Trees in GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the insides of the Alder tree will turn red/brown/dark when it is cut (weirwoods are blood red on the inside). Forests of Alder are considered “cursed” and to be avoided at all costs, those that go in unprepared or properly blessed will not be seen again (killed by monsters or taken by Fae, the Sidhe, to their realm (hmm, Aen Sidhe.... any one?). Though irl, it is because Alder Forests are in wetland and boggy areas, people just get stuck in the mud and drown.
(Note: another literary example, The Erl King from The Dresden Files. King of the Alders also refers to the character he is based off of: Erlkonig (Elf/Alder King). And in the Dresden series, The Erl King is a powerful wild-fae, the Goblin King (think: The Labyrinth) and King of the Wild Hunt (The Elk-Horned King). It is a also a common fan theory that he is /the/ Oberon, though he is called Lord Herne by name, another horned-crowned hunter of myth as well. As a lord of the wild-fae, he is neutral to winter and summer. ((Yes, one character can have many identities. This is a word where Odin the All Father is also Santa Clause)).
Remember, Auberon wasn’t some aloof sassy king. He’s jaded and apathetic from being around for over 650 years. But he’s ordered the deaths and enslavement of millions of humans, a genocide, and Avallach and Eredin were right there carrying out these orders. He was polite to Ciri because they needed her, and that eventually went out the window when given an opening to do so.
The Aen Elle’s entire plan was based on re-opening the gates so they can continue this practice. They tricked the Unicorns into doing this once before, but they grew wise and are now at war with the Aen Elle. Lara was the culmination of the Aen Elle’s breeding efforts to create somebody powerful enough to accomplish this. There is a strong possibility she completely disagreed with her people’s ideals, be it that she knew she was being used and/or because she fell in love with a human and changed her ways. But she completely booked it and left them all to rot, while giving them two big middle fingers (which were later mailed back to Avallach in an envelope...... bad joke).
IMO, Avallach, The Fox, was the more dangerous of the trio (not necessarily the most evil of them). With Eredin he didn’t hide who he was, but Avallach.... he had an agenda a mile long and lied through his non-pointed teeth. He would present a kind and helpful facade, and when ever something underneath would slip through the cracks, it wasn’t very pleasant. Foxes are depicted as tricksters, cunning and wily, an animal most frequently associated with being deceitful, or having ulterior motives. When Auberon threaten to give Ciri over to Avallach and his laboratory, my mind went straight to Vilgafortz and his plans for Ciri... i don’t think this was unintentional.
There is several instances in the novels (The Lady of the Lake especially) where events parallel one another (like Auberon’s abhorrence to Ciri ended up mirroring itself with Emhyr rejecting his plans for Ciri in the end. The theme with Ciri escaping people associated with Birds of Prey (Cahir (his helmet), Tawny Owl, Eriden the Sparrowhawk.... Merlin better watch himself)). Vilgafortz was the obvious villain of the saga, the biggest threat at the time, but did not start out that way, he was first presented as a diplomat, somebody who should be respected and came off as being the reasonable authority figure compared to the decadence of the Sorcerers. Then was revealed to be a sick, twisted SOB doing science experiments on abducted women in order to perfect a technique he was to do on Ciri. Everything he did was in order to accomplish this end goal, to harness Ciri’s powers for himself, even his kind and diplomatic facade at the start and him spending decades gathering political influence in both the North and Nilfgaard under it. The disfigurement of his face was a physical representation of his madness, that the mask was removed and now showed on the outside the ugliness on the inside.
Emhyr’s plan for Ciri started out as Vilgafortz’s plan. Vilgafortz was the one that knew of the prophecy and was the person to find out whom Duny was really. He brought the prophecy to Emyhr and put the idea that the heir of Nilfgaard will be the chosen one. When this was proposed, Ciri was a toddler at the time (keep in mind that Pevetta was only around 20/21 when she died, and wasn’t 15 yet when she met Emhyr/Duny. In perspective: Ciri was 16 by the end of Lady of the Lake).
Avallach was part of the original breeding plan with Lara, a multi-generational slow-burn magical science experiment. It was more than likely that it was arranged that the two of them become a couple. Avallach is a powerful Sorcerer, member of the Aen Saeherne, sages with specialized training and secretive knowledge about the “Lara Gene”. When the actual Lara, also an Aen Saevherne, broke up with him and left their people he was very upset about it, something he’s still grudgingly bitter about centuries years later. This is one of the cracks in his facade, when people talk about Lara, and when he did snap at Ciri it was because she compared herself to Lara and in anger suggested that Avallach should be the one to knock her up. He pretty much told her that she disgusted him (maybe even more than Auberon was of her), that her human blood was an insult to their people, that a human took their gift away from them and Lara away from him.
Avallac’h isn’t even his actual name, it’s Creavan Espane aep Caomhan Macha. The root of the nickname also gives us the name to Avalon (the Isle of Apple Trees)... Avalon is were the faeries live, where Morgan La Fae learned her powers, /The/ Lady of the Lake lives there in some stories (she was the one to give Arthur Excalibur, the “sword in the stone” is Uthar Pendragon’s sword), and where King Arthur was taken after he was mortally wounded by Mordred. Geralt and Yennifer were basically taken to Avalon by Ciri and the Unicorn. Then sometime between that and showing up before Galahad, she got into a bloody fight (and won/escaped from that).... (If you believe that Avallach betrayed his people intentionally and ran off.... Ciri taking Yen and Geralt to Avallach for help would be quite the literal interpretation)
Eredin being the Sparrowhawk is one of the more straightforward meanings, its practically hanging a lampshade on what his reason is in the over all story. Like the character himself: to the point and doesn’t hide his motives or pretends to be something he is not. Sparrowhawks get their name because small birds are their most frequent prey. Cirillia’s name came from the Aen Elle word Zireael, a word that means Swallow, a type of small bird. Sparrow and Swallow are very similar words. Book Eriden calls her Zireael instead of her name to put further emphasis that he sees her as prey.
Wiki Note: Falconers have utilized the Eurasian sparrowhawk since at least the 16th century; although the species has a reputation for being difficult to train, it is also praised for its courage.
Falconry is a practice of keeping birds of prey captive in order to hunt small game for sport or food. They are kept on a leash, hooded, and in cages/aviaries.
Who had Eredin’s leash and used him to hunt prey? Auberon, The Alder King. There was very little indication that there was a conflict of interests between the two, Auberon even trusted him enough to take the vial from him on his word alone. And, again, Eredin seamed not to have expected it to kill Auberon.
Eredin’s name doesn’t seam to have as much significance as Auberon (Oberon) and Avallac’h (Avalon). Eredin Breacc Glas (fan nickname: break glass) he’s literally the first thing that comes up, excluding “witcher” from the searches, you get results from League of Legends, Star Wars, and Final Fantasy :/
A shot in the dark is the Eridanos (river of Hades). AND I only thought of that one because of.... Homestuck’s Eridan Ampora being named after it. It means “Amber” in Greek. And when i think of “Amber” I first think of Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles. Another series based off of Arthur and Shakespeare Mythos (King Oberon, Avalon, Traveling through Time/Space (Shadow), Blood of the Unicorns, Merlin). Amber was written in the 70′s and 80′s, Zelazny died right around the same time the Witcher short-stories were being published.
Note: Ciri escaped while fighting him on a river, because it was the only path to get out of the loop... if that means anything. :/ (water is a common “ground” for magic, it disperses the energy needed in the spell. it is why Vampires can’t travel across moving water).
The mere presence of Ciri among them, her curse of destiny, ended up breaking open the below-surface cracks in their Triumvirate. Auberon’s disgust, Avallach’s jealousy, Eriden being the unhelpful helper... Ciri’s insistent want to go home... the Unicorns.... Their plans just crumbled in their hands and resulted in the death of Auberon, Avallach possibly deserting them, and Ciri’s escape from Eredin.
Myu Recommends, Extra Reading Material:
Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files.... A Wizard for Hire, solving supernatural cases, and later gets tied up in wars with the Vampires, the Fairy Courts, Arch-Demons, and Ancient Horror Terrors.
Roger Zelanzy’s Amber and Chaos Chronicles. (As Collected in The Great Book of Amber). Corwin of Amber wakes up with amnesia, discovers that his father Oberon, King of Amber, is missing or dead and he is now on the top of his siblings’ hit-lists. Those born of the unicorn and traversed the pattern can freely walk through time and space, The Shadow. (Chaos Courts have an older and more complex version of gaining the same ability, The Labyrinth/Logrus, The Serpent .... most people die before completing it)
King Arthur: Le Morte de Arthur, The Once and Future King, and (maybe) The Mists of Avalon. The Faery Realm, Galahad ascending into Heaven, Merlin being Trapped in a cavern for centuries, The Isle of Avalon.... The basis of many of the modern “alternate dimension” in fantasy stories, including The Witcher, Dresden, and Amber.
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Lara Dorren and Avallac’h
“ MIRACLE DESTROYED ROMANSU “ - Dragon Babe
This is first and foremost a personal headcanon. Please, respect that.
I don't see Avallac'h as a person to get romantically inclined without some prior platonic investment. ( He none the less seems to lead an active sexual life, despite his narrative in the Tower Of The Swallow that sex becomes boring as the time goes. ) He also seems to be a pragmatist, advocating for decisions from a logical point of view, as opposed to emotional. However, he shows deep investment whereas Lara is mentioned. He became flushed (from what was, as I suspect, anger) after a pointed comment from Eredin and lashed out momentarily at Cirilla, albeit managing to collect himself.
From here on, my thoughts are merely extrapolations, made in a way that I believe make sense. Convince me otherwise and I might be inclined to change my mind. In the meantime, I believe that before Lara Dorren and Avallac’h were even announced to marry, they had a rather close platonic relationship, that for Crevan has grown, over time, into trust, affection and romantic inclination towards Lara. In my opinion it would make things more interesting and reasonable if her affections, while possible romantic as well, were not in the same lye as what he was offering or expecting in return.
As for the destruction of the miracle romansu, it would tie into the story if she was the one who technically did it post Conjunction. Aen Elle and Aen Seidhe loosing means to travel being a good grounding for the severe loss of communications, being before Avallac’h found out a way to cross over to the world of Aen Seidhe.
So, he found out she fell in love with a human and died with a child in her hands - by proxy, through stories told by humans and elves, often controversial, having arrived at the place of her death only decades later; to find out that his betrothed who he loved and thought to be loved in return ran away from the altar without any explanation, started a war and became a traitor to her nation.
In any case, I’m fond of the idea that his fixation comes from an absence of any closure and an internal struggle to align her actions with the person that he knew, as opposed to what Aen Elle now think of her. Thus why his feelings are quite mixed on the matter, being both positive for the memories of Lara and negative for what she did and who she eloped with. Hence, this renders him really vulnerable to any jabs about her. Moreover, I think he would be the next likely target of upset elves after Lara’s story would reach Tir Na Lia.
There's no closure, no way to reconcile, nothing of her to figure out how she fits into the stories because that's all he has - stories.
Which is why I think he starts paying more attention to other stories too, eventually, as a way of coping. This is drawn from the way he tells the story of the Sunstone. It seems to be very emotionally charged for him.
In addition, I think he could have abandoned the study of the Lamp shortly before the narrative of the Lady Of The Lake. Which makes the situation even better - not only did Lara do what she did, she left behind no regrets. Nothing unsaid, untold, no lingering desire to express anything at all and that has to hurt.
Lara remains silent.
There could have been some excuse for her abrupt end otherwise, but this is more that that. This means she just discarded him and not only him: her father, her people, as well. At the very least I believe this the where it is made possible for Avallac’h to finally start coping healthily with this.
Also the guy seriously needs to mourn and talk about it. For the purposes of not projecting on Cirilla, it cannot be her and out of respect to both her and Lara, he will not do so on his own either.
At this point, it can even be a stranger in a futuristic bar of that Cyberpunk world.
#.to know the knowing one || headcanons ||#.the fox || avallac'h ||#.do not despoil her memory || lara dorren ||
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As I said I will update that fairly quick...I did edit this chapter probably 30 times so i do apologize.
Fic Title: Somewhere in Time (Chapter 2) Previous Chapters: 1 Fandom: The Witcher (Aen Elle) Pairing: Caranthir/F/OC Warning: Canon typical violence for this chapter AO3 Link
Aine watched as the man walked out of the room and her body sank all the way down on the floor, her back painfully dragging against the stone wall behind. Her breathing became laboured even if there was nothing obstructing it, she was gasping as if she was drowning. Somehow even the events from today did not seem as terrifying as that encounter. She didn’t dare blink as every time she closed her eyes, even for a second, she could see his face imprinted in her mind. He had not hurt her, not the same way he did in the woods, but the way he had looked at her, as if she was an animal to be sold was even worse in a way. She had to get out of here, one way or another she had to leave.
Just then the door opened and Aine could feel her heart stop, did he change his mind? He forgot he actually meant to kill her and now was coming to finish the job? Fortunately it was just a human servant who brought food, wash basin and clothes. Aine tried to get on her feet but her muscles just refused to listen, her legs barely moved and she fell again, shaking and terrified.
“Wait!” she shouted after the human as loud as she could but the woman just turned around and gave her an annoyed look and then closed the door as she walked out. Aine wasn’t surprised, nothing new in the look she received really, hoping a human would feel any kinship to her was optimistic at best.
She forced herself through the pain and fear and ran toward the door, but the moment she grabbed the handle she couldn’t push it down. No matter how hard she tried even hanging her full weight from it nothing happened it was like the thing was nailed together. She sat on the cold stone next to the door wanting to cry but she couldn’t even force herself to do that anymore.
The events from today just couldn’t stop running through her head. What did she do to get herself into that? Why her? From all the creatures on this earth why hear? She was a...nobody and bothered nobody. Then her mind went to him...he terrified her. The way he looked at her, the cold eyes, his voice, his touch...
She must have fallen asleep without realizing, fear and stress could do that. When she woke up it was already dark. Aine was grateful for a dreamless sleep, maybe she was so exhausted that her brain couldn’t even recreate anything worse than what had happened, but it could have been worse, way worse and she knew that. She pushed herself up, her body screaming in new unknown pains due to the uncomfortable position she had fallen asleep in. She saw a match on the table and lit the candles around the room. The space was bigger than any bedroom she ever had, probably bigger than some rooms in her father’s mansion but considering she was in the castle in Tir na Lia she assumed that was just how things were.
She lit the final candle that was placed on the vanity just across from the bed. Aine could barely recognize the face that looked at her from there, dirt and blood was smudged over her skin, her hair was a mess and her whole neck had turned purple and blue with bruises. She could see the marks of his gauntlet printed clearly on her skin.
Aine turned her back at the mirror not willing to look at her broken reflection. Her eyes fell on the washbasin and the clean clothes neatly placed on one of the chairs. Crippling, she found her way there and started taking her clothes off. Everything hurt, and there were more bruises and friction burns on her arms and legs, touching her back revealed it wasn’t significantly better. She started cleaning the dirt and blood gently but at some point that became frantic scrubbing as if trying to just erase memories from her skin. Once she was as clean as it was possible she put the clean clothes - riding pants, fitted shirt and a sleeveless vest to go on top of all that. It wasn’t what she would wear but it was all nice and comfortable. Fine leather and fabrics, ironically they fit well as if made for her.
She sat on the bed and started thinking. Aine couldn’t open the door and the window was way too high. Also what was that thing he said about her being a mage? That was a game he was playing to throw her off, but why? Wouldn’t she know if she had any power? All her life everything she ever wanted was to be left in peace and for the most part she had managed to do that until now. She needed to leave, preferably alive and not hurt further than she already had been.
Caranthir watched as Imlerith fed the dog food scraps under the table. His mind however was somewhere else, his food and drink were untouched for hours now and he had not spoken a single word. His mind just couldn’t stop thinking about her. He knew the feeling of attraction, he had felt it before and it ended in pain. It was silly to call it attraction now however...to what? Curiosity, she was a puzzle and he wanted to solve it. Pretty little puzzle he can play with and then...he had no idea what then.
“You are Aen Saevherne. I need you to take Crevan’s place in court.” he didn’t even notice when Eredin had walked in or even sat on the chair across.
Caranthir didn’t respond. His mind was too occupied with other things, Eredin would get what Eredin wanted so why even ask him? But he wasn’t asking, was he? It was a statement.
“That is a terrible idea.” He didn’t say no, nobody told no to Eredin and even he wasn’t sure how far he could push the man. The king was his friend, or at least Caranthir considered him as such, he was also his mentor in a sense, he wouldn’t be where he was if it wasn’t for Eredin, in every meaning of that word. “Your nobles won’t be happy.” The king shrugged and that was the end of the discussion. He hated court, but he was going to do it for his king.
Tir na Lia was fragile after Auberon’s death. Eredin had the power, but there were still some who disapproved. Some who thought they could do better than him. Imlerith and Caranthir had both advised for their heads to be taken off and solve that problem, but somewhere Ge’els managed to win the argument against.
“How is your mare doing?” Imlerith asked with a smile.
“I need a new crop.” the king said after he drank from his glass. “Which reminds me...I heard an interesting rumor.” Eredin’s eyes stopped on Cranthir. “You got yourself a trophy from your little escaped humans hunt.”
Caranthir raised an eyebrow. He didn’t want to talk about it. He also did not want to think about it, but it was all that was in his head. The storm of feelings that was just destroying almost every rational thought he could hold right now.
“I will tell you everything about it.” Imlerith was grinning at him. “Pretty face, he must have found it especially pretty because he stopped me from nailing her in the ground.” he laughed so loud Carathir winced. Eredin looked as curious as if someone had just told him he can conquer other worlds.
“It’s not about that.” Caranthir got up, he was not in the mood. “She is half human and she can use magic, that could be dangerous.”
Imlerith and Eredin exchanged looks and they both smiled, he guessed he should be grateful it wasn’t full blow laugh.
“Did I just hear your frozen heart beat, Caranthir?.” Eredin pushed further. They all did that, making fun of each, but he just wasn’t in the mood for it now.
“I’m going to sleep.” Caranthir got up, his drink still not touched. It wasn’t their mockery that bothered him, he was used to it, he had done worse to them and he knew he could receive worse. He didn’t need his emotions to betray him.
In his bed he laid awake for hours. He was trying to arrange his thoughts in a way that was not just floating aimlessly, but more he tried the harder it became.
The logical part of his brain, partially, recognized the problem. The minor physical similarities had made him think about a different person. But this part of his brain could not provide an explanation why he still felt unable to just make a decision about the girl’s future.
His thoughts went to her face, the memory of her, picking the traces from both races. He wondered about the eyes. Was that a defect that happened from mixing the races or it was carried in the family? Was she more like him - just an accident marking or something inherited. But it wasn’t really a defect, was it? His face was a grotesque abomination, while hers was perfect in its imperfection. Maybe that was what got him. In a sense she was like him, just a play of nature, but unlike him, she turned out better.
There was more to that. He could imagine someone half elf half human not having place anywhere. Humans probably despised her because everyone treated her better than them, but knowing his fellow Aen Elle he could imagine they did not accept her either. Explained why they found her where they did. That also reminded him of his own faith. Sure, nobody ever looked down on him, but he was just Avallac’h’s experiment. If it wasn’t for his powers he wouldn’t belong anywhere.
Aine spent the night awake, too afraid to even roll in the bed. Her mind was going to the worse possible scenarios of what would happen to her next. She jumped as she heard the door opening, fearful of what was coming. The man from yesterday walked in again but next to him was a servant girl. The girl looked down, she was terrified, but Aine couldn’t decide if it was of him, or just that was the way she was. Humans had a reason to be scared of the Aen Elle, so in a way she sympathized. The servant left a tray on the table and stopped in front of the man. He waved her off with annoyance. Aine had never seen someone being so happy to leave a room.
It was the two of them now, she was sitting on the bed, her hands digging in the sheets hoping a hole would open and swallow her in the ground. He was just standing by the door, his relaxed posture sharp contrast to hers. He had a book in his hand which she found odd, but kept her thoughts to herself.
Caranthir watched her just being frozen with fear. He was impressed that despite the stress she was under she did not manifest her power even for a moment, more to his little pizzle to solve. He liked challenges. The clothes the servants had brought her yesterday fit perfectly and he caught himself staring for way too long instead of doing what he was supposed to do.
“Food is there.” he pointed at the table, but she looked at him with alarm and confusion. “If I want to kill you, poison is not going to be the way.”
“There are worse things than death.” she jumped off the bed and walked toward the table picking the path that was as far as possible from him. She was right of course, knowing what he was capable of, poison should be the one she hoped for. Carathir just observed. She was limping, he could see she had a hard time bending her knees. Imlerith swiping the floor with her must have done it. His teeth grinded against each other and his jaw clenched at the sight. She slowly sat on the chair, her eyes still fixed on him as if expecting him to attack her any moment.
Caranthir stepped toward the other chair she was still watching him but to her credit she did not run. He sat, the two of them just looking at each other. One thing he had to admit she was not avoiding to look at his face, or whatever she could see from it. Her eyes just reflect fear which could be for a number of reasons including the way he looked. He ran a finger through the strands of hair that usually covered the worst damage - still covered, hidden as much as possible. He liked to pretend he did not care about what people thought when they looked at him, but he always did. For some silly reason, especially now.
“What is your name?” he was going to start small. He also reached for the food just to show her he was not trying to kill her. Caranthir had made his mind that he won’t harm her, unless provoked. He hoped he could keep with that.
“Aine.” she responded quietly as if giving him the name would hurt her in some way. It meant light. Caranthir found something oddly amusing in that considering everything he and Imlerith managed to drag her through yesterday and somehow he still saw beauty.
“Do you have family?” she didn’t respond. “This is going to be way easier for you if you answer my questions.” he knew he sounded threatening but he didn’t really mean it like that. He was curious.
“My father is an elf, my mother is a human. She was a servant in his house.” Caranthir smiled, servant was a nice way to say slave, which most humans here were.
“Where are they now?” Through the years he had learned who his parents were, but he had decided he wanted nothing to do with them. Why should he? Both of them had agreed to be Avallac’h’s test rats and to leave their son. He was the only one who never wanted to be involved in that and there he was. Probably the same could be said about her. Half elven half human child, that couldn’t have been an easy life but nobody had asked her if she wanted to be alive or not. Just like him they were both victims of their parent’s stupidity, different types of stupidity of course, but painful nonetheless.
“I don’t know.” She was lying to him. The way her eyes shifted, the sound of her voice trembling. He let her have that one small victory and he would figure it out later.
“My name is Caranthir Ar-Feiniel.” They were going to spend some time together and might as well be polite. He didn’t get a reaction as he spoke his name. He usually did, people were impressed or scared, her level of fear did not move from what it has been so far, he could have told her he is the castle baker. He couldn’t decide if he was offended or even more amused.
“Would you let me go, Caranthir Ar-Feiniel?” there was innocence and naivety in her voice, but it was honest. Caranthir knew the answer was no, it wasn’t responding that made him think. The complete untainted innocence in her words and the way she spoke surprised him. Reminded him of something he had lost years ago or maybe something he never had, just imagined he did.
Aine’s heart was beating so fast she thought she would just drop dead any moment from the anxiety. She knew the answer of her question, but what choice did she have? Fighting him was impossible, even if in some unimaginable way she could go past him, what then? There were guards probably every ten feet in the castle. Fall on her knees and beg him? Her pride meant very little to her right now compared to her life, but what would be the point if that would get her nowhere. No, if she wanted out she had to be smart about it, and hope that she managed to stay in one piece until she figured it out.
“That is for you.” he didn’t answer the question, he didn’t have to. Caranthir placed the book he was carrying on the table. Slowly she reached for it and took it. It wasn’t thick, the cover was fine white leather. She slowly opened the book almost suspicious of his intentions.
“Foundations of Magic.” she read the tile. “ By Crevan Espane aep Caomhan Macha”
“Dull writing can bore you for sure, but it will help you understand how to use the power within you.” he got up, but didn’t walk away just looking at her as if he had something else to say or was just...studying her. Aine looked down at the book again trying to avoid the intensity of his cold eyes. “Tomorrow, based on all you have learned you will move that.” as he finally spoke he pulled one of the rings from his hand and placed it on the table. “Using magic.”
She looked at the ring and she looked back at him again. Why was he so determined? What was his obsession? She couldn’t use magic and no amount of books was going to change that. She could probably read the whole Tir na Lia library and that won’t change the fact she couldn’t use magic.
“What if I cannot do it?” Caranthir ignored her question and started walking toward the door. “And what if I can do it?” she tried to change the question just to determine which option would be more...painful. His face or actions did not betray anything. He just opened the door, but stopped right before walking out.
“I will see you tomorrow my little canary.” he stepped out and Aine just stared at the door. She knew she couldn’t open the damned thing so why even bother getting up if that was also going to cause more pain than it was worth it.
“Canary” she repeated out loud. It was suitable in the most petrifying way.
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For @golden-olea I know that came as your idea, I hope I did it justice.
Fic Title: Last Words Fandom: The Witcher (Aen Elle) Pairing: Avallac’h/Lara Warnings: Break up, some harsh language.
AO3 Link
Avallac’h held the piece of paper, his fingers gripping it so hard he had to try not to destroy it before he had finished reading it.
Reading it was a strange way to describe it. He was looking at Lara’s writing but he didn’t see whole sentences even if he was sure they were there. It was single words and phrases that actually reached his mind.
‘It is not easy for me…’
His heart was beating miles per minute. Lara has been absent a lot recently, exploring other worlds she had called it. Seeing new cultures. She was always curious and Avallac’h loved that about her. In his mind he could see all the precious memories of the two of them spending long nights and just talking about other worlds and other cultures. The curiosities they had seen together, the novelties they had experienced with each other.
‘...you will not understand…’
Did he push her too far? Was he too certain of what Fate had in store for them that he ignored everything? All the times he held her in his arms and all the kisses shared between the two of them, was that all for nothing? Maybe he was too persistent or the opposite? He had allowed her too much freedom where he should have been the voice of reason. Did he blind himself with love and all he was seeing was Lara but not the bigger picture? He was imagining it, he knew that but even now he could feel the softness of her lips against his even if they had not shared a moment of intimacy in months.
‘My own path…’
He couldn’t understand - her path? Her path was with him, their future and everyone’s future, they had duty, they had...it wasn’t about him and his ambitions it was also his heart. She had his heart in her hand. They had talked about that, what they would do, how they would change the Aen Elle together, allowing them a better life than what they had. Was that all a lie? Or was that his plan that she just agreed with to make him happy. It was not possible to have a path without him, that was just...he was her destiny as she was his, they were bound by more than just attraction and love.
‘...someone else…’
Avallac’h couldn’t go past that point. Someone else? Who? He started going through his mind. Yes, Lara travelled to other worlds a lot, but that was of no consequence - they all did, they lived for hundreds of years they all had to explore and learn especially someone in her position. Someone else - the words echoed in his mind as if she had pronounced them. It was just a letter but he could hear her voice, confident but kind telling him there was someone else. Who? Jealousy started crawling at the back of his head, thinking of every man or woman he had ever seen her with in Tir na Lia or otherwise.
Eredin.
Somehow the general’s name came to his mind. He knew Eredin had ambition, he knew he was ruthless, was he that ruthless? He started thinking and he couldn’t deny he had seen it - Eredin smiling at her, Eredin opening a door for her and giving her that look...he could even point to moments when Eredin was not in Tir na Lia, but neither was Lara. Avallac’h’s pain grew into anger. He was nothing but a common soldier, what right did Eredin have over his Destiny?
‘...a child…’
Avallac’h threw the letter in the fire without even thinking. Eredin was taking everything from him. Lara, his life, his future...just like that. Hundreds of years Avallac’h had waited for this moment and now someone had taken it from him.
He lashed out of his room walking down the hallways, not seeing anything around himself. He needed to find Eredin. That was absurd. He had no idea what he would do once he saw the man, probably kill him, although what good will that do, he had already stolen his Destiny. Ambitious and arrogant, he knew that he should have told that to Auberon years ago. Dangerous. Everyone knew it, Avallac’h knew it, he ignored it. Why wouldn’t he? A soldier, good soldier, but had no power beside that of his sword. And low cunning. He was hurt by Lara, but it hurt a million times more because it was Eredin. He had tricked her, he had used that brutish personality of his to attract her and trap her. How long had he been planning that? Years? Months?
Avallach stormed into the barracks passing soldiers who just gave him curious looks, it wasn’t common for a Sage to walk among them. He almost kicked the doors to Eredin’s room. The man was standing next to his desk talking to two of his men.
“Get out.” Avallac’h shouted, which surprised him as well. He couldn’t remember the last time he raised his voice at...anything. Eredin’s men did not follow orders from him. They both turned to Eredin with questioning looks.
“Go.” their general said calmly and made a hand gesture pointing at the door.
Avallac’h barely could wait to hear the door being closed behind him when he started - he didn’t want to shout but anger and heartbreak met somewhere in his mind and he could no longer control himself.
“You are irresponsible and arrogant.” Eredin raised an eyebrow but did not answer. Just looked at him with a smug face. Avallac’h could kill him just for that. “It wasn’t enough you took her away from me, but that? You had to go that far? Not just her, but...my life everything I had been working for so many years. But you couldn’t just watch and sit could you? Your arrogance would never allow you to admit that you are nothing but a simple horse master and you will never be anything but a border guard.” Both of Eredin’s eyebrows were raised now, but again no comment, nothing. “I don’t even understand what she sees in you!” that was a lie, he could see what any woman could see in Eredin - the arrogance, the looks, the bravery, the attitude...he couldn’t believe Lara would fall for any of that. “You waited for so many years and now you did it, now you had to take it away from her and from me, you have doomed her with nothing but suffering, the destiny of all of us is at risk and you wasted it for what? Ten minutes of pleasure? Was she even willing or you did her the same way you do your other whores? Probably you did, you are incapable of any sort of gentle emotion or compassion, sick ambition and bloodlust is all you know and that is what you have created now. This was supposed to be my child not yours!”
Avallac’h stopped, Eredin was just staring at him, calm, unmoving. He expected some sort of reaction, defence, insult...anything.
There was nobody alive who could walk in Eredin’s room and talk to him the way Avallac’h did. He would not allow even a king to do it and Crevan was far from a king. He found it amusing that someone like Avallac’h had completely lost control over his own emotions, but if he gathered the situation correctly, probably he would as well. Silly of him to bet all his money on one horse especially if this horse is a woman who, like everybody else, could just change her mind. There were few moments when it was hard to keep silent, the insults were just too...personal, but he kept his cool, he would pay Avallac’h for that with interest. Maybe in two hundred years, but he would.
“Anything else?” Eredin was leaning against his desk, his arms crossed at his chest. Crevan didn’t speak, but there was a storm growing in the man’s eyes. He pushed his hand down to his belt and let it rest on the pommel of his sword, he didn’t expect Avallac’h to attack him, not after the verbal waterfall of feelings, but Eredin had been known to provoke people. “I never touched Lara.”
“Don’t lie! You are low, but even such a blatant lie seems below you.” Avallac’h barked back.
“Crevan, if I came in your precious ticket for internal glory, would I deny it?” He didn’t need to explain further. He waited. He knew there was a drop of reason left in Avallac’h’s mind he just needed to reach it. Honestly he didn’t care if Avallac’h saw reason, he could lose his mind and jump off a cliff, not Eredin’s problem. But there was a bigger problem that the other man needed to see.
Avallac’h opened his mouth and closed it. Then he turned his head to the side like a curious puppy. There it was, the rationality taking over. The storm in Avallac’h eyes calmed, but did not disappear, different sorts of emotions started showing on his face, Eredin found all that amusing, Crevan who had always been so controlled in his actions and words, now the man who always had been a bit of a mystery was an open book from read and gloat.
“Who…”
“I don’t think it’s Aen Elle.” while Avallac’h had been busy looking for creative insults Eredin had been thinking and connecting pieces. He knew Lara would sometimes disappear for weeks or months. He also knew no one made a big deal out of it, including himself, she was young and she had power few others did. “It’s a human.” He had not taken the issues seriously, probably he should have. “One of my men is involved with one of her servants. Lara has been sleeping with a human.”
“And you are telling me that...now?” Avallac’h’s rage came back in his eyes. “You could have prevented all that, do you know what is at stake? We are doomed, Eredin.”
“I’m but a simple soldier, the dealings of the great Sages are beyond my understanding.” He threw Avallac’h words back at him, he had remembered the insult and that was not going to be the payment he collects, but it was sweet seeing Crevan’s reactions. “It is your job to keep her happy, not mine.” he could see Avallac’h about to launch at him again so he just raised his hand to stop him. “Crevan, if we lose her, we lose the portals. Let her have her fun, fix it after that.” If Eredin was in his shoes he would probably find the insolent human and drag him through the streets before he killed him slowly, the baby he would drown and it will be as if it never happened. Avallac’h was not him, and he knew the man would probably just accept it once his current rage had passed. Either way they had a problem.
“I need to speak with Auberon.” Avallac’h had finally found reason and walked out of his rooms as fast as he had walked in. Eredin could see his soldiers peaking through the door the Sage left open. He didn’t know if they heard anything but for sure they heard the raised voice.
Didn’t matter, everyone would know soon, he gave it a week. That created other issues for him, but it did open an opportunity as well. One head never hoped to have even in his wildest dreams. Eredin smiled.
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Could you maybe write a fanfic in which Eredin likes his future significant other but she spends time with Caranthir and he gets a little jealous and things get angsty.... in the end it turns out she returns Eredin's feelings too and they end up together so... fluff!
Hello my lurking friend. I’m not sure if I fulfilled your heart’s desire, but your story is below the cut. I would most likely that on AO3 as well, if I don’t forget. I hope you enjoy that.
Eredin had never been one to hide his feelings or afraid to show them, but he felt a loss right now.
First time he saw her was a couple of weeks ago, she had been talking with Avallac’h in the courtyard, Eredin had just arrived back from a hunt with an unicorn’s head hanging from his saddle. Avallac’h was the first thing that attracted his attention, it has been a rare sight to see the man in the castle, but then he noticed his companion. She was just...perfect. Eredin never believed in perfection, nothing in this world had been created to be without a fault, but he had stared at her so long and couldn’t find a thing that was not created with excellence. He was going to approach her and talk to her, he wasn’t a shy man, but by the time he dismounted she was already gone.
Since then he had seen her a few times, always in situations that were inconvenient for him to speak with her, or she disappeared the moment he could finally talk to her. She was like a ghost, never there when he could talk to her, but always haunting him. Eventually Eredin gave up on the random encounters. He was a predator and he was going to act like one.
He went out of his way to learn about her, she was a daughter of a nobleman whose name he had never heard, but that was no surprise, Eredin did not care about politics. Recently she had started showing skill with magic and her father was hoping that Avallac’h could teach her a trick or two, the Sage had refused. Her father was planning to keep her around to see if he could find someone else, so Eredin concluded he had some time left.
His next opportunity came sooner than he had expected. He wanted to go for a ride, it had been a beautiful day. When he reached the stable’s door, he saw her. Eredin smiled at his luck and started walking to her then he suddenly froze. She was smiling and...blushing while talking. There was a tall figure next to her, his face covered by a hood, but Eredin could recognize the other man anywhere. Caranthir helped her on the horse, she was still all smiles, and then he got on his own horse. Neither of them noticed the king as he was behind them.
Eredin’s fists were clenched so tight blood had stopped flowing to his knuckles. From all the people in the world Caranthir? Really? He could understand some of the appeal, he was a Navigator, the best ever, strong mage, as strong as Eredin, but that was about where it started and ended. Or where it should have started and ended. She was blushing, that was what he couldn’t understand. Eredin knew his men, Caranthir was a friend and he had learned to respect him, but he had the charm of a rock.
She was blushing.
If Eredin was to say that the thought of killing Caranthir in this moment did not cross his mind, that would be a lie. He always got what he wanted and what was one Navigator in his way.
Caranthir walked in the common room of the castle, it was already late at night and he did not expect to see anyone there. For his surprise Eredin and Imlerith were there sitting at the far end of the table and drinking. Caranthir did not need company, as per usual, but he didn’t mind sitting with them for a moment.
“Where were you?” Eredin launched the question before Caranthir even sat down on the chair.
“Out…” he answered very confused. Did he miss something? Was he supposed to be somewhere else? Looking at Eredin’s face he must have missed something important as the man was obviously angry with him. Caranthir turned to Imlerith who just shrugged and drank from his glass as an obvious statement that whatever was going on he did not want to be part of it.
“Who was with you?” Eredin grinned. It wasn’t a friendly grin, that was more a dragon about to turn him into a pile of dust type of grin.
“I was alone....” Carathir was getting the very unnerving feeling that Eredin was after him for something, but he could not figure out what. He tried running his day through his head, nothing had happened and he could swear that there was nothing he was supposed to be doing today that he might have forgotten. He went to town, he came back, he needed dinner. He looked at Imlerith again for help, the man had pushed his chair back as if expecting Eredin to crawl across the table and strangle Caranthir.
“Really?” the grin was gone from Eredin’s lips now it was a very sarcastic curious look. “You were not with a woman?”
“A woman?”He was even more lost than he was before. “What would I do with a woman in town?”
“I have an idea or two…” Imlerith chuckled but the other two ignored him. They were just staring at each other, Eredin obviously upset about something Caranthir thinking how fast he can open and close a portal that the other man couldn’t track him through.
“I saw you in the stables, before you went to town. Alone.” Eredin’s voice emphasized the last word as if there was some hidden meaning in it. Caranthir had no idea what that might be. “You were with that new girl, the one that was hoping Avallac’h to teach her. You were talking with her and you helped her on her horse and the two of you left.”
Caranthir started laughing, he knew he was taking his life in his own hands by doing so, but he just couldn’t stop. Eredin was jealous. He wasn’t good at dealing with his own feelings but that made him an expert in recognizing other people’s feelings, even in Eredin who usually kept most of that well guarded.
“In all the years you have known me, how many times have I just gone to some random girl and asked her...what on date in town? Seriously?” Caranthir pointed at his face and shrugged in confusion.
“He has a point.” Imlerith added but both Eredin and Caranthir glared at him and he pushed his chair even further away..
“I was saddling my horse, she came to me asking about magic and Avallac’h, I might have barked at her something. She apologized, I felt like an asshole, I told her if she wants to learn more about magic, there is a good section in the bookstore in town, I helped her saddle her horse, rode with her to town and I went on with my day and I have no idea what she did. We barely talked, not sure you have noticed but people tend to be intimidated by me, one has to wonder why, and I don’t talk to them. If you are going to kill me over that, do it faster, because I need a drink.” Caranthir couldn’t believe he had to even list all that for Eredin. He hardly remembered the encounter from this afternoon, he didn’t even recall what she had said about Avallac’h, beside his name, that had set him off.
“That’s it?” Eredin narrowed his eyes as if trying to determine how likely it was for this story to be a lie.
“We had wild sex between the stables and the main gate with seven unicorns, but that is not so important.” he deadpanned. Imlerith spit his drink sending the content from his mouth flying all over the table. “I don’t even know her name.” he added seriously.
“Fine.” Eredin said as he poured a drink for Caranthir. That was the closest he would get to an apology and he accepted it.
Eredin spent the night thinking about his conversation with Caranthir. In retrospect he might have overreacted. He wouldn’t go as far as to use the word jealous for his feelings, but certainly something in him stung when he had seen her talk to the other man and just...the way she was smiling and blushing. Caranthir’s words had definitely deemed him innocent but what if she was attracted to him?
He was walking down the hallways of the castle when he saw her on the other end, her eyes fixed on the wall right of her staring at Ge’els paintings. Eredin smirked and walked with purpose toward her, right in her path until she bumped into him, she was going to fall but he placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her standing.
“I’m so sorry…” she said as she lifted her head and saw him. “Lord Eredin! I truly apologize.”
“You should watch where you are walking.” he smiled with the corner of his lips, seeing the surprise in her eyes. His tone was not aggressive but intrigued.
“I’m truly sorry! I was trying to find Lord Caranthir and then I saw the paintings…” she had the confused face of someone who saw Ge’els paintings for the first time, Eredin could relate, but he was too fixed on the first part of her sentence.
“And what would you possibly need with Caranthir?” his hands were still on her shoulders, her eyes fixed on his face. She reminded him right now of a rabbit captured by a predator bird hoping she would survive.
“It’s a bit silly…” she looked away and that blush from yesterday appeared again on her face. Eredin’s jaw clenched. “I ran into him yesterday in the stables and I feel like I offended him.” her eyes looked back at him, so innocent. “I’m leaving Tir na Lia in a couple of days and I wanted to take my goodby with the Sage Avallac’h, I thought Caranthir might know where he was, but I think I said something to offend him. I just wanted to apologize.”
Then it clicked in Eredin’s brain. That blush...it wasn't an attraction, it was embarrassment. Caranthir said that he had barked something at her, knowing him it probably was sarcastic even borderline humiliating. She was embarrassed by approaching him about something that she thought was offensive, but in Carantir’s mind it was just annoyance. Eredin wouldn’t admit that out loud, but he felt foolish for jumping into conclusions.
“He wasn’t offended. Probably annoyed, if his feelings reached even that far. I wouldn’t worry too much. He is probably somewhere brooding and he does not remember that conversation.” he was sure about the brooding part, thanks to Eredin he most likely would remember the conversation for some time now.
“Really?” she looked at him hopeful. Based on how her body relaxed Eredin realized she didn't really want to see Caranthir again, he had that effect on people, she was just too kind and thought she did something bad.
“He will be fine, trust me.” Eredin moved next to her, one hand still on her shoulder. “How about I show you the rest of Ge’els’ paintings. They don’t improve but they do get more interesting.” he lied, but she didn’t need to know that. His hand moved in the middle of her back and encouraged her to walk with him. “You said you are leaving Tir na Lia in a couple of days? I think you should stay a bit longer.”
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