the sick irony that a beloved friend or lover that morrigan has found in the warden, who sees her as a complete being deserving of respect and full autonomy, who supports morrigan's efforts to claw her way to freedom out from under the vast shadow of her abusive mother—that this, the love she bears for the first dear, true friend she has ever had, is in itself the incentive for morrigan to still present the dark ritual regardless of all the progress she's made to free herself from her mother's machinations. damned if she does and damned if she doesn't.
Eamon, very slowly as he is clearly at the end of his rope: Anora is not a descendent of the Calenhad line
Brosca: how severe are her debts that she is not granted full access to the privileges of her House?
Eamon: she doesn't have debts
Brosca: then why is she not considered a Theirin in good standing?
Eamon: she is a Theirin but she is a Theirin by marriage. She is not, as you put it, "a descendent of King Calenhad"
Brosca: but Calenhad was the founder of House Theirin and Anora has belonged to House Theirin ever since she married Cailan. Calenhad was the founder of her House and that makes her part of the line of Kings.
Brosca: Anora's children would be heirs though, right?
Eamon: no, no they wouldn't
Brosca: but children inherit their mother's caste & clan wouldn't -
Eamon: *frustrated* no. And it's a moot point anyways because the woman is barren.
Brosca: why would it matter how her children come to her?
Eamon:
Brosca;
Eamon: are you saying, Brosca are you telling me that as far as your people are concerned, a woman's adopted children, that she adopts after her husband's death, would be considered members of her husband's family line?
Brosca: yes????
Zevran Morrigan and Leliana observing from the sidelines: 🙂🍿🙂🥤😗🍿
Summary: The Inquisition arrives in the Arbor Wilds. Saeris seeks advice from Solas, Merrill, and Morrigan before they enter the forest. But what they find is far from what he expected.
CW: Violence, canon-compliant NPC death
Read on AO3 | Start from the beginning
Excerpt:
“You should know, this town is the last friendly place you will see for some time,” the merchant said. “But you must be careful in those Wilds. There are terrible beasts that come out of the shadows - even here, every child knows this. You would be wise to be on your guard.”
Saeris’ stomach twisted at the warning. He did not imagine there wouldn’t be trouble - Morrigan had already alluded to the fact that the forest was not a welcoming place. But he did not consider what creatures might be lurking there - creatures that had likely gone unchallenged for centuries, save perhaps the darkspawn.
“Thank you,” was all he could think to say, and the woman inclined her head slightly.
That night, when Saeris dragged himself back to his tent, he nearly collapsed on the bedroll, his legs aching. Solas arrived shortly after and chuckled softly at the sight.
“Are you in need of healing?” Solas asked.
“No,” Saeris grumbled, though they both knew he was lying.
“If I recall correctly, that was what you told me last night, as well,” Solas said as he sat beside him. “And, as I also recall, you were much happier when I chose to ignore your answer.”
Solas reached out and let his magic glide across Saeris’ limbs, the burning ache in his muscles calming almost instantly. Saeris sighed softly at the cool relief, then he chuckled.
“Alright, you win,” he said. “I did need that. Thank you.”
Solas smiled, though there was a hint of smugness in his aura. “We wouldn’t want you to be incapable of continuing the journey tomorrow,” Solas said.
Saeris turned onto his side and took Solas’ hand in his. “No, I don’t think that would help with the soldiers’ morale,” he said. He ran his thumb across Solas’ knuckles. “What can you tell me about the Arbor Wilds? Today there was a woman in the market who warned about strange beasts in the shadows.”
“It has been a long time,” Solas said. “The Arbor Wilds, as I remember them, were full of life and people - but often held trials to be faced outside the temple walls. These trials were deadly, and victory was often hard-won, but it did not deter those wishing to earn favor. I do not know if those same trials still exist - time has erased much, but I imagine the old magic still lingers there.”
“And the beasts?”
“Beasts influenced by magic, perhaps. Not unlike the fade-touched beast you slayed beneath Stone-Bear Hold.”
Saeris bit his lip. “So not like… not like the Arlathan Forest,” he said.
Solas’ expression dimmed. “The Arlathan Forest is unique,” he said quietly. “There are not many places in Thedas that could be considered its equal.”
A promising sign, at least. He wanted to press Solas about the Arlathan Forest, seeing something behind his eyes that told Saeris he knew so much more - but he didn’t want to press that for now.
“What about the temple?” Saeris asked. “You said you knew something of it.”
There was something strange about the way his aura shifted, then. It was as though he wanted to curl inward and avoid the question, avoid the pain that the memories brought. And yet there was calm - a soothing sense of peace that fluttered between them, the embodiment of the trust they had built. Solas knew that Saeris would not push him to say more than he wanted, and he knew that he would not judge him for his past. Yet Solas hesitated, and Saeris could see the way he tried to form the words for a long moment.
Then he said, “It is the Temple of Mythal. There were many that were erected in her honor, but this one is the largest, and was considered the most sacred after her murder. There were many that would travel there to honor her, but many more came to seek refuge from the war. Mythal cared a great deal for her people - they would not be turned away from sanctuary. There were priests that cared for the temple and the people who took sanctuary there, and sentinels who guarded the people and the temple itself.” Sorrow grew on his face and he pulled his hand away from Saeris’. “I am fearful of what we will find when we arrive.”
“Have you been there?” Saeris asked.
“Only a few times,” Solas said. “But I did not enter the temple the way we may be entering it, if we must. I was there when the pathways between the eluvians were still active, and entered as most others did. There were not many who approached from the Wilds to enter unless they were facing the trials.”
“So… you don’t know much about what we’ll face there,” Saeris said.
“What I know will not help us get to the temple,” Solas said. “Once inside, I can aid you as much as possible.”
“But not directly,” Saeris said.
“You may know my secret, vhenan,” Solas said, “but the perception our companions hold of me must not be altered.”
“I understand,” Saeris said.
“And I do not trust the witch,” Solas said, his voice lowering. “I have a feeling there is more beneath the surface that she is not telling us, and not all of it benign.”
“I think she wants the eluvian,” Saeris said. “Or whatever else is in that temple.”
“A likely goal, but it is doubtful she will gain access to it unless we have the key,” Solas replied.
Solas cast his gaze away, and something darker curled behind his eyes for a moment.
“Do you know what the key is?” Saeris asked.
“No,” Solas said, “but it may be of importance to locate it quickly, if only to prevent both Morrigan and Corypheus from gaining access to it.”
“We’ll find it,” Saeris said.
“Or we allow it to be lost,” Solas said, “as the temple should have been.”
Iwyn and Solas in ancient Arlathan, in a (future) scene from my fic Temporal Arrangements. I can’t properly express how much I love this, and how much it fits my image of them. The romantic tones are so perfect here, the colors, the expressions. I feel their connection. Their clothing and accessories and everything are fantastic.
I adore this completely and I am so grateful for this, @galadrieljones. Thank you.
Thank you @greypetrel for the tag for this picrew!! :) I may have. gone A Little Bit overboard hjkfdsjfkl
look at all those blorbos
in order: June (x2), Ari, Neira, Kala, Var'Renan, Noya, Lilian, Liam, and Addie!
June gets two cos i couldn't decide lol. Liam and Lilian accidentally got the same hair. Ari's flower got put there by Cole and it Will wear it at all times.
tagging (as always without pressure of course) @a-drama-addict, @bearsizedant, @beelzebard, @elfrootsalad, @creativegoblin, @superboyconner, @exotic-inquiry, @quakingbirch, @bluecadash, @little-lightning-lavellan, @drunken-drengr, @curiouslavellan, @bigfan-fanfic, @cao-the-dreamer, @absyntthe, @daggerbean, and anyone else who wants to give it a go! :3
(also as always please dont feel restricted to da ocs! :>)
one thing abt merrill asking hawke to come with her in act 3 because she trusts them to kill her is that in her introductory quest she says it’s the duty of a dalish clan to hunt their own keeper if the keeper becomes an abomination, so hawke is literally being asked to fulfil the role of merrill’s clan. most agonising confirmation of found family ever but also makes apparent what merrill has lost when her clan let her go. like just the fact that she has to turn to the human they gave her away to
