6 with either bromance Oghren and Zevran or Nathaniel x Velanna
“Explain it to me again—why do we have to pretend we’re married?”
Aeducan sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, her face contorted into an expression of uniquely awkward discomfort. “Look, Nathaniel,” she says. “This is your territory, not mine. You know all these ridiculous human prejudices better than I do. You are one. A human, I mean. Not a prejudice. Although you probably have some of that, too.”
“Just stop talking,” Velanna says. Her face is so white her tattoos stand out like bruises on her skin.
Aeducan turns to her. “I am sorry it has to be this way, I really am. I know it’s, uh, not ideal. But we have to get invites to this fancy human shindig if we’re going to uncover the bann’s plans, and, well…”
“They won’t let me in because I’m Dalish.” Velanna’s voice is even flatter than usual. An impressive feat, considering.
Aeducan spreads her hands in the best placating gesture she can manage. “As far as I can see, it’s either you pretend to be married to Nathaniel, or you go in undercover as a servant. I figured the former would be the lesser of two evils?”
Velanna stands stiff as a branch in winter, hands balled at her sides. “Barely,” she hisses, shooting the briefest glance in Nathaniel’s direction. A bright pink flush creeps down her ears, standing out sharply against her pallor. Despite herself, Aeducan can’t deny she sees where the clown comparisons come from. Not that she would say so aloud.
Off to the side, Nathaniel lets out a strained breath. “Commander, are you certain this is the wisest course of action? I am not opposed to the plan myself, but I don’t wish to make Velanna uncomfortable. Perhaps she should sit this mission out, and you and I can go in with another member of the party.”
“Yes!” Velanna says, even as she edges a step further away from Nathaniel. Now her entire face is pink. “For once, I agree with the human.”
“Well, let’s think about this.” Aeducan takes a gulp from her tankard, then stretches out her intertwined fingers, giving her knuckles a satisfying crack. “Who are our other options? Justice is out for obvious reasons. Oghren is also out for reasons that I hope are nearly as obvious. There’s Anders, but from what I gather of high-class human society, apostate mages are nearly as taboo as elves are. I suppose we might still be able to make it work, just adjust the plan a little—”
“I am not pretending to be married to Anders.” Nathaniel’s face creases into a scowl so deep his eyes nearly disappear.
“Okay. Well, that just leaves Sigrun.” Aeducan leans back in her chair, considering. “I actually have a fair amount of confidence in her ability to make it through the evening without getting blind drunk or causing any bar fights. More than I do with Oghren or Anders, anyway. But still…a former Legion of the Dead dwarf mingling among a bunch of snooty upper-crust human nobles? No offense, Nathaniel.”
“None taken.” Nathaniel sighs.
“It just doesn’t seem like the best fit,” Aeducan finishes. “So, there you have it. I think this really is our best option. Plus, if we get in a bind, Velanna’s fireballs and that teleportation spell could really come in handy.”
“It’s not a—” Velanna closes her eyes. “This is the most ridiculous plan you’ve dreamed up since I met you.”
“Noted.” Aeducan grins. “But I know you can do it, Velanna. I have confidence in you. Besides, you really have nothing to worry about. Nathaniel will treat you like a queen.”
Now both of their faces have gone red. Aeducan’s grin threatens to widen, but she tamps it down.
“All right, that’s all I need from you two for now,” she says. “You’d better go and start getting ready. Make whatever preparations you might need. Brush up on your kissing techniques, maybe.”
“What!” Velanna splutters. “You–you think–I am not–”
“Go on!” Aeducan waves both her hands. “Time’s a-wasting!”
Velanna looks about to say more, but instead she spins on her heel and stomps out. Nathaniel follows behind her, close but not too close, after sparing a moment to give Aeducan one last reproving look.
They’ve been gone no more than a moment when a new voice sounds from behind her. “Commander, may I have a word?”
Aeducan spins, groping for her dagger, but she sees only Justice stepping out of the shadows by the side of the room. His face is twisted in an uncomprehending scowl.
“Justice.” She sets the dagger down, surreptitiously pressing a hand to her palpitating heart. “How long have you been lurking over there listening?”
“A sufficient amount of time,” Justice says, providing no useful information at all. “If I may, Commander. As you spoke to Velanna and Nathaniel, I was reviewing Kristoff’s memories about Grey Warden travels and permissions. It seems that generally speaking, Grey Wardens are uniquely entitled to travel wherever their missions may take them, in times of great necessity. In addition, after your recent heroics in preserving the world from the Archdemon, it is likely that all members of your party would be welcome at social events, regardless of their races. It appears, then, that you are being dishonest regarding the necessity of this…undercover marriage.”
“Shh.” Aeducan holds a finger to her lips. “Velanna doesn’t know that.”
Justice’s frown deepens. “I do not understand.”
“Look at it this way,” Aeducan says. “If you take a peek back in Kristoff’s memories, can you see how he felt about his wife?”
“Of course.” Justice blinks at her with what little remains of Kristoff’s eyelids. “They enjoyed a bond of deep affection.”
Aeducan reaches up to clap him on the arm, then thinks better of it. “Which is good, right? The thing is, Nathaniel and Velanna also feel that same way about each other.”
A long silence passes. Justice looks to the door where Nathaniel and Velanna disappeared, then back at Aeducan.
“Their behavior toward each other does not seem very similar to what I recall of Kristoff’s interactions with Aura,” Justice finally says. “In fact, it is quite the opposite.”
“Well, sure. Because Kristoff and Aura already had wedded bliss.” Aeducan leans back in her chair, propping her hands behind her head. “But the path to getting there can be a bit more…rocky. Our two friends need a little push in the right direction. So you see, I’m actually doing them a favor.”
“Perhaps I simply do not have enough information on pair-bonding,” Justice says. “But this seems to be rather unjust.”
“Don’t you worry about it, Justice.” Aeducan grins, polishing off the last of her ale. “Things are going to go just fine. I promise.”
If you're still taking questions: can you tell us a little bit about your Bioware protagonists across Dragon Age, The Old Republic, and Mass Effect? Do you have a preferable class and group of companions?
Sure! I have tons of BioWare player characters, so to keep this semi-short, I’ve narrowed it down to blurbs about my main character(s) from each game.
Isla Shepard - Vanguard/Spacer/Ruthless, romanced Garrus, typical party was Garrus and Tali or Kasumi. Most of my Shepards are pretty goody-two-shoes Paragon all the way, but Isla is more of a mix of Renegade and Paragon, about 2/3 Renegade and 1/3 Paragon. She’s not “bad,” per se, but just believes in doing what it takes to get the job done (hence the Ruthless background). At the same time, she’s fiercely protective of her family and squadmates, which stems from her experience at Torfan when she sacrificed most of her squad to get the job done. While she knows the mission comes first, she never wants to be in that position again, which is why she fought so hard to keep everyone alive during the suicide mission in ME 2.
Ashtoreth Aeducan - Dwarf Noble dual-wielding rogue, romanced Alistair, typical party was Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne. She was a spoiled princess until she suddenly ended up an exiled Grey Warden on the surface, which was the biggest culture shock ever. It took a while for her to get adjusted to her new life, but that’s why she went everywhere with Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne--a.k.a., the “nicest people ever” party. Their warmth, humor, and acceptance helped her realize life on the surface might not be so bad as she always believed it to be.
Livia Hawke - Archer rogue, romanced Fenris, typical party was Fenris, Merrill, and Sebastian. She was mostly a purple Hawke (snarky/sarcastic) with a dose of blue (diplomatic/polite). She used humor as a defense mechanism to help her cope with the fact that no matter what she did, basically her entire life and everything around her fell to pieces. Dragon Age II was a pretty depressing game, haha.
Liadan Adaar - Tal-Vashoth dual-wielding rogue, romanced Blackwall, typical party was Cassandra, Vivienne, and Blackwall. Something of a blunt, straightforward, battering ram of a mercenary before finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and becoming the Herald of Andraste. She spent most of the game feeling entirely overwhelmed and out of her element at everything she was being asked to do. Her closest friend and confidante was Cassandra, because out of the whole muddled mess of magic and time travel and confusion, Cassandra was someone she could understand--a fellow blunt, brash warrior who wouldn’t hesitate to speak her mind.
Kilar - Chiss Bounty Hunter, Mercenary DPS, romanced Torian, companion of choice is usually Mako or Torian. She makes her living as a bounty hunter, so she plays up the tough/scary factor of her appearance--she has a mohawk and a large burn scar across half her face--but she’s actually a softie at heart. When push comes to shove she typically prefers to take her targets in alive, and after she joins the Mandalorians, takes to heart their philosophy of hunting for honor and the thrill of the challenge. That said, the credits are a nice bonus. ;)
Lo’thi’riel - Chiss Imperial Agent, Operative healer, romanced Vector, companion of choice is usually Kaliyo or Lana. She’s loyal to the Empire, but prefers practical and non-violent solutions whenever possible, trying to strike a balance between supporting the Empire and preserving her own freedom. After having spent her entire career in Imperial Intelligence cleaning up the messes left by power-hungry Sith, she tends to be wary and distrustful of the Sith as a whole. So no one is more surprised than her when she develops a close friendship with Lana, who’s something of a kindred spirit when it comes to balancing practicality and devotion to the Empire.
Azulan - Human Sith Inquisitor, Sorcerer healer, romanced Andronikos, companion of choice is usually Andronikos. Yes, she’s named after Azula, and has a similar personality. ;) Virtually all my BioWare characters are more good/paragon/light side rather than renegade/dark side, but Azulan is the exception. She was a slave for most of her childhood and young adulthood, so when she was finally freed and taken to the Sith Academy, her sudden ability to make her own choices went straight to her head. She’s a little sadistic, a little unhinged, and a lot power-hungry. Like I said, I don’t normally play dark side characters, but playing a dark side Sith Inquisitor is some of the best fun I’ve had in SWTOR, largely because the female Inquisitor’s voice actress just nails it on the dark side lines. All of the SWTOR voice acting is great, but the female Inq in particular is one of my favorites.
