and now i cling to what i knew. i
saw exactly what was true, but oh
no more. that's why i hold with
all i have. i won't die alone and
be left there. well, i guess i'll
just go home -- oh maker knows
where. because death is just so
full and man so small. well, i'm
scared of what's behind and
what's before. but there will
come a time, you'll see, with no
more tears. and love will not
break your heart, but dismiss
your fears. get over your hill and see what you find there, with
grace in your heart and flowers
in your hair.
“As you wish.” Rosalie drew her sword and began to move in a circular motion following the rings diameter. “I’ll admit I’m not a fan of putting up against axes but, we do awe must.” She rushed forward to towards the other woman her shield up and ready to go. She wasn’t sure what Levina would do but she was sure the axes were about to be a problem.
levina all but hopped out of the way, one axe swinging down to hook onto rosalie’s shield. she pulled as hard as she could, hoping that whether it was strapped to the lieutenant’s arm or not, the shield would be jerked away far enough to give levina an opening. or perhaps just surprise rosalie enough to make her more cautious -- people always made more mistakes in their attempt to be careful.
a cheeky grin lit up levina’s features as that other axe of hers came swinging from overhead, glinting in the sun. “ ---sure you can keep up, lieutenant? ”
The section dedicated to healing in Skyhold seemed honestly quite pitiful for such a large organisation. A few tents next to a fire, tended to by only a handful of those with any medical training, out in the open where they were easily exposed to some of the harsher elements, walls or no.
While not the most well versed in healing magic herself, Murica did have a trick or two up her sleeve. But with blood magic being so looked down upon throughout the majority of Thedas, she was afraid that offering her assistance might cause some upset, or possibly even mislabel her as some kind of villain.
So - like most things in her life, it seemed - she waited until the fall of night, when the injured and ill were briefly left alone, to attend to them herself. There were no witnesses to point fingers, and sleeping bodies could hardly protest. But one could never be too careful, especially with a spy master living within the fortress, so she made sure to take one last - albeit quick - look around before crouching before one of the injured soldiers.
Taking a deep breath, she retrieved the knife from its sheath, and dragged it down her arm. The warm blood pooling in her palm began to glow as it infused with her magic, and the pool of red soon hovered over the poor man’s wounds as she concentrated on sealing them.
lungs begging for air, cheek searing with white hot pain, and thoughts louder than her frantic breaths -- ( WHY DID YOU SURVIVE? WHY DID THE MAKER SAVE YOU BUT NOT HIM? WHY NOT THE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR? WHY SAVE THE STUPID LITTLE GIRL--- )
silence embraced levina like an old friend, caressing her sore cheek with chilly fingers as she swung open her door. finally she could breathe, though the tension did not ease from her shoulders, nor did levina take much time to relish in the quiet that met her. she nearly forgot her boots in her haste to escape the confines of her room, and as it was, sat outside her room to properly put them on before breaking into a run.
exhaustion saw to it that her run soon became a jog, and that jog became mildly lost wandering. not lost physically but rather mentally -- she knew exactly where she was, but for the life of her, levina could not understand WHY. she understood she believed in doing the right thing, in the inquisition, so that particular part of the “ why ” was spoken for, but...
her train of thought halted abruptly as she came to a stop in front of the tents that housed the sick and wounded. a woman crouched beside one of the afflicted, facing the man at an angle that hid what exactly she was doing, but there was something glowing and floating just above parts of the man’s body. now, levina was no mage, but glowing typically meant magic was involved.
“ are you... healing him? ” curiosity was a damned thing; there was no stopping it ( at least, not in levina’s case ) . the scout took another step closer, gaze intent on the luminous--- liquid? “ how are you doing that? ”
but a heartbeat after her verbal response, compassion disappeared… again when she wasn’t looking. he ghosted into the kitchen to fetch the forth cup of hot tea he’d snaked today–surely, the cook would lose her mind now–and reappeared handing it over to the other blonde. “ i listened. ” he answered, simply, keeping his eyes down on the smoldering drink — before looking back up to her with sympathetic eyes. “ …i hope it helps. ”
surprise colored her features as she accepted the offered tea ( had it always been in his hands? ) . “ it... it does. ” levina held the steaming cup between chilled fingers, tempted to forget her curiosity and accept the act of kindness for what it simply was, but the temptation of a distraction was greater. her mind eagerly formed the question, urged levina to study the stranger as if his face might reveal the answer before his lips did. “ how did you hear me? i never said a word. ” for those who knew her, it must have been an odd sight to see the scout so silent; to watch her brood quietly and adopt such a solemn countenance. levina couldn’t be bothered to put up an act that day, not with pain twisting her insides and memories assaulting her thoughts.
in all honesty, she’d been in a pissy mood until now.
understanding washed over her in the next second -- there was only one logical explanation she could think of. she smiled then, impressed and concerned all at once. “ are you a mage? i didn’t know you lot were capable of reading minds now. ”
to make up for my absence, here’s some headcanons for lev!! they’re sad tho bc apparently that’s the mood for tonight (☭ ͜ʖ ☭)
so from the get go, levina and momma blythe have never seen exactly eye to eye
they love each other, but while the other blythe children were so easily molded and taught, lev was not. she questioned everything and ran away from her lessons and got into fights
it took compromise and working through a lot of frustration in order to get levina to turn out the way she did -- a lot of tears, too, from both parties.
eventually they came to a sort of understanding to just try to respect the other’s wishes, and things were good! no fighting or words that left bad tastes in their mouths
but with their rocky relationship, it really isn’t any wonder that momma blythe would so easily blame levina for norvin’s death rather than blame, idk... corypheus
levina has always been the problem, and this time is no different
and WOW i’m in pain bc guess who : ) also thinks that : )) oh that’s right LEV
try to tell her she’s not to blame!! and see what happens!!
bound to get any reaction ranging from “ i’ll agree so you stop worrying ” to “ why was norvin here again?? ah yes bc of me : ) ”
we’ll end this here but just..... talk to lev about this pls and thanks ( ͡°Ɛ ͡°)
“Well, I’ve been told that I am a walking embarrassment, so I suppose this will be no different,” Hawke nods, though a smirk is climbing onto his face. It has been awhile since he’s sparred properly, and no doubt he is a little rusty. “I’m more of a lover than a fighter, honestly.”
ah, so tall, dark, and grumpy knows how to joke! “ would you like me to go easy on you, then? perhaps allow myself only one hand to fight with? ” she tucks her right hand behind her back with a ROGUISH smile, words filled to the brim with a bravado levina may not be able to back up. such is her way, though, and she has shown no signs of learning her lesson. “ does that seem fair? ”
She laughed, “Well aren’t you a cocky one.” Rosalie stood in her armor, her hands resting on her blades pommel. “I may not be a rogue, Miss, but I wont step down from a challenge. I’m a Rutherford, we stand true to our word.” She stepped into the ring and a squire ran up with a shield in hand a beautiful golden lion pained on it. “Shall we begin? or would you rather we continued to stand here and chat?”
the twin axes weighed heavily in levina’s hands, unfamiliar after so long of exclusively using her bow; it would be easier for her to REACT rather than act first, allow the muscle memory to kick in before she attempted her own assault. if that plan of action didn’t work -- or DID work, and levina royally sucked anyway -- at least she would have her ass handed to her by the lieutenant rather than some green lad swinging blindly.
levina gave a little flourish with her right hand, the motion made awkward by her axe. ” by all means, lieutenant, i invite you to take the first swing. ”
kasaara’s eyes narrowed instinctively at the other’s challenging tone. on any normal day, she wouldn’t even have acknowledged the taunting - but perhaps she was feeling friendly, this time. with an arched brow, the qunari crossed her arms over her chest. “you… actually want to race me?” she asked, incredulous, gesturing with a wave of her arm at the near foot and a half difference between their heights. her smirk was teasing, but also impressed - an admiration she directed at the other’s spirit, if nothing else.
levina didn’t look the least bit deterred; if anything, she seemed all the more eager to tackle the challenge that was their height difference, though maybe she was only excited to see her comrade respond to her goading. there were only so many ways that lev knew how to bond with people, and the qunari had been a particularly tough cookie. " size isn’t everything, kasaara. ” she rolled her eyes, leaning down to stretch out her legs. “ it’s all about performance, and i’ve proven to be as fast as they come. ”
before i tackle replies, have some headcanons concerning lev’s childhood!!
honestly i don’t know how badrick and ludella survived having levina as a child bc she was hiding and running away from her caretakers and disappearing for hours and getting into fights and trying to skip her lessons like frik she didn’t really change much either once she grew up
she only started to kind of behave bc they’d threaten to take away the lessons she actually enjoyed
was a total daddy’s girl when she was a kid! she went through a period of being embarrassed about it and refusing her father’s help and crying out at displays of affection( “ father stop it – you’re embarrassing me in front of my friends! ” ) , but lev got over that phase quickly and just threatened to punch anyone who made fun of her
lev as a child? violent lil gremlin!! mostly bc she played with a bunch of boys who often tried to exclude her from certain games or teased her for reasons pertaining to her gender, and she was not about to put up with that my guy ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠°)
lev is still kinda?? violent but in the way that if you push her temper far enough, she just might punch you. probably won’t break out into a full out fight, but she’ll give you a nice bruise to remember her by.
her father didn’t interfere with the fights she got into as a kid partially bc levina desperately insisted he didn’t and partially bc he wanted lev to learn to fight and win her own battles. it was a lesson she didn’t really need to be taught since she’s always preferred doing things herself, but a lesson he wanted her to learn nonetheless.
there’s always been a bit of disappointment from her mother because of levina’s unladylike behavior, so levina and her mother weren’t as close as they could’ve been. the tension brought on by norvin’s death just kinda made matters a thousand times worse.
“ i--- i suppose. ” levina has never been one to be at a loss for words, but she SWEARS the blonde wasn’t sitting beside her a moment ago. and how curious -- it’s as if he can hear her thoughts! the miserable scowl marring levina’s features shifts into one of confusion. “ how did you know i wanted some? ”
“ What? ” she asked, coming out of the water to find an intruder looking at her “ You have never seen anyone swimming naked before? ”
“ OF COURSE i have, ” levina lied huffed, keeping a firm gaze on the shoreline rather than her fellow archer. “ doesn’t mean i have a desire to witness such a scene for a second time. i’m more interested in the whole swimming part. ”
“ what is it? ” with a teasing grin upon her lips and eyes twinkling with their usual mischief, levina props her fists upon her hips. “ afraid you’ll lose? i would be too, i suppose – i am QUITE the opponent while you are simply… ” she wrinkles her nose, laughter on the tip of her tongue. “ i understand if you would rather not chance the embarrassment. ”
IMOGEN POOTS || introducing [LEVINA BLYTHE]! at age [TWENTY-TWO], of [CISFEM HUMAN] origin, born in [FERELDAN] && best known as [A SCOUT]; [SHE] has just recently arrived at skyhold. they seem to be a [ROGUE ARCHER], their known traits include [TENACIOUS, GUILT-RIDDEN, AND MISCHIEVOUS ]; and they stand with the inquisition. played by: [BEL, 22, EST, SHE/HER]
heya, hiya, dears! i’m bel and i’ll be writing skyhold’s newest dumb dumb scout -- i hope you all enjoy watching lev get into trouble and angst over things out of her control as much as i’m gonna enjoy writing it (ᴗ ͜ʖ ᴗ) and without further ado, tap that read more for a needlessly long run down of levina!!
lady levina of noble house blythe, the youngest of three children, twenty two, hailing from the hinterlands, rogue archer and scout for the inquisition
she originally joined the inquisition bc her parents refused to support them officially with so many templars and mages running around and tearing up their homelands. she understood the reasoning, that the safety of their own people came first, but not even offering supplies or something?? Not Cool
so lev wanted to help anyway she could – becoming a scout just made the most sense in the end
but joining meant sneaking away in the middle of the night, and who else would catch her but her older brother norvin!!
he decided to accompany levina in her impulsive decision to run away and join the good fight if only to make sure she didn’t get gutted by some demon
when their parents found out, they weren’t pleased in the least and demanded they come home, and then demanded that levina not leave norvin’s side when it was clear the two blythe children weren’t going to listen
everything was going swimmingly until haven was attacked : (((
in the chaos, levina was caught off-guard, and she would have been run through if not for norvin who took care of the corrupted soldier with an ease she had always envied
to lev’s horror, though, another blade turned the relief to ash; no amount of rage or desperation could save norvin
levina blames herself wholeheartedly for her brother’s demise. she tends to skirt around the issue, knowing everyone would try to convince her otherwise, but levina’s face is an open book if you know how to read.
she has a cut across her cheek that’s slowly forming into a scar from the attack, and while she isn’t self-conscious of its appearance, she hates what it reminds her of so… don’t mention it!!
she’s remained at skyhold, continuing to go where they ask, scout where they ask, and trying her hardest to quiet the voices of doubt that threaten her weakened resolve. the suffering HAS to have meaning, right?? right
and with that out of the way, let’s move on to the more lighthearted topic of lev’s upbringing!!
so levina was hyperactive as heck when she was a kid and her parents tried everything to tire her out
horseback riding twice a day, then archery lessons were good attempts at a solution, but didn’t quite do the trick
man was she sore all the time, tho B(( and cranky tbh
then much to ludella’s protest ( “ ladies shouldn’t be getting into fights anyway! ” ) , badrick decided to put lev in some hand-to-hand combat lessons
which eventually morphed into sword lessons which morphed into axe-wielding lessons bc swords were heavy and hand axes were much easier to maneuver
so levina hasn’t had the most traditional, lady-like upbringing, and it shows quite a lot; she’ll try her best to play the part of little lady levina when necessary, but it never seems quite right
tbh she’s still a troublemaker, just not as much as she was in her childhood. you’ll still catch her running away from what she deems boring and pushing all the buttons she shouldn’t. tho after losing norvin, lev’s a bit more solemn.
she’s curious and not at all deterred by the unknown and slightly dangerous. tbh she’s not even deterred by the highly dangerous
backing down from a challenge?? what’s that??
levina does have an eye for strategy and a quick mind, it’s just that she’s also impulsive and you know… a bit of a dumbass (☭ ͜ʖ ☭)
finally, lev’s relationship with her mother is strained because of norvin’s death. alvina had some resentment for her sister for a small while, but she was able to move past it – her mom hasn’t been able to. levina’s father does not blame her, either, but she feels too ashamed to write him back yet.
