#cassiana

[illusivesoul]

"You're delightful, you know that?"

[daarka]

I wanted to make a proper post about this to share--because I'm real proud of what @krakendraken and I came up with, simple though it may be! So enjoy a bit of a lore dump

(very brief/undetailed mentions of prejudice and self harm below, the latter without going into any details at all)

Nils and Eidunn (now Cassiana, but Eidunn originally) got these tattoos for each other as wedding gifts. They tell the story of their life together, and new runes appear when they begin a new chapter of their journey with one another.

The first rune is representative of their starting points: who they are as people.

For Nils, he is represented by algiz ᛉ, the elk. It speaks of his strong intuition and protective, guardian-like nature, with the power to manifest his dreams.

For Eidunn, she is represented by kenaz ᚲ, the torch. Eidunn was born into a nomadic tribe of raiders, all shadar-kai. She was content living amongst them until she began to notice how colorful the world was beyond her culture. Kenaz speaks of following your own truth, seeking creativity and inspiration, which she did as she left her people and began a new path in life that was more than what had been prescribed for her.

The second rune is one they share, representative of their marriage. It is dagaz ᛞ, the dawn. It speaks of new beginnings, of new things becoming possible, of hope and security. It is also symbolic, as the rune of the dawn, as the time when night and day meet, when the sun and the moon cross paths. This added a touch of sentimentality to the rune for these two, as they had likened themselves to the sun (Nils) and the moon (Eidunn) in their partnership.

The third rune represented the path they chose to forge together: working and fighting within a resistance. They loved their homeland, but the people who populated it were outright hateful of the less human races. Tieflings often encountered the worst treatment, even being killed on sight due to the stereotypical assumption that they brought Hell's influence with them. Eidunn, being an elf, was inoffensive, but she found it odd to think that being unaffected by the rampant prejudice was a reason to not want to fight for change.

For Nils, this rune is othala ᛟ, the rune of heritage--but inverted. Inverted, it represents an inheritance of an unwanted nature, such as the prejudice he faces due to simply being born with horns. His involvement in the resistance comes from a place of being personally affected by it, and wanting better for his homeland.

For Eidunn, this rune is thurisaz ᚦ, the hammer. This speaks of powerful direction of energy and force, either of destruction or defense. Conflict that may be cathartic, may be cleansing, or may be purgative. Her involvement in the resistance came from a place of seeking to lend her power to protect and defend those who faced injustice, even though she herself was not a victim of such treatment.

The fourth rune is what derailed their involvement in the resistance: their deaths.

For Nils, this is hagalaz ᚺ, the rune of hail. It represents cataclysmic disaster striking out of the blue, destroying things of deep importance. It is unavoidable change that shakes one to their foundation. This was the case for Nils when Eidunn was ripped apart in front of him, the destruction running so deep that he couldn't find it within himself to go on living without her.

For Eidunn, this rune is eihwaz ᛇ, the ash tree. The focus of Eidunn's death (for her) was not the violence with which her life ended, but the transformation it created. As her soul was ripped from its corporeal vessel, it was taken into the care of Kalma, a deity of graves and decay. The henge Nils built for her as her final resting place elicited the approval of this goddess, a shrine to Her domain that saw fit to make those who rested there Her champions.

After thirty years of lying at this gravesite, their bodies had not decayed, preserved by the grace of some otherworldly force. And one by one, the two corpses were granted a new existence adjacent to life.

It was four more years before they reunited again, their reawakening having been staggered so that they did not begin their second life together, nor realize such was even an option. In no small part, because Eidunn did not awaken with any memory of who she was, or the life she had once lived. She did not even recognize the corpse that lay beside her.

When Nils finally found her again, understanding she did not remember him was a hard pill to swallow. But he felt indescribably familiar to her, and so she found herself wanting to remember. Willing to try. The two of them even willing to start over, as long as they could be together again.

Their fifth rune is another they share: ehwaz ᛖ, the horse. It is gradual but steady progress made through teamwork, trust, and loyalty. Moving forward through cooperation and allegiance. It is their rune of beginning again, and rebuilding a trust that, even through death and the loss of Eidunn's memories, managed to not be entirely lost.

[illusivesoul]

Cassandra Pentaghast, knight patron of the lesbians.

[illusivesoul]

Inra Cadash, on her first proper meeting with Cassandra and Leliana: "So... you two are totally fucking, right?"

Cassandra: "How dare suggest such a thing !? What an outrageous and outlandish claim. You..."

Leliana: "Yes, we are"

Cassandra: *disgusted noise* "You truly have no shame, Leliana"

[illusivesoul]

Come Back To Me

Relationship: Leliana/Cassandra Words: 653

Rating: General Audiences

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40386741 Summary: "Cassandra is leaving on a mission. Leliana is concerned"

.

"The Western Approach?"

Leliana tried to hide it, but Cassandra noticed the hints of concern in the woman's voice. After so many years spent together in the service of the Divine, Cassandra had learned much of the spymaster’s attitudes and patterns. Leliana had done the same with her.

"Yes. The Herald told me a moment ago” the Seeker replied as she watched the entrance to Skyhold from the tower window. “But why you?” “I volunteered” “Andraste’s blood” Leliana exclaimed as she pinched the tip of her nose, her eyes closed as she let out a deep breath “You know the Venatori will cut the supply lines to the fortress in a few days, right? It will be besieged, and that the relief force won’t arrive…” “I know what I am doing, Leliana” Cassandra hadn’t intended for her words to come out as forcefully as they did.

The redhead threw her hands in the air and began walking towards the back of the rookery, where large dust covered wooden boxes covered most of the place. But the Seeker had already anticipated this. Cassandra grabbed Leliana’s hand when she was already in front of the altar she had made on the sides of the wall. She heard the sigh that came off from the woman, and Cassandra knew she only had to wait for a moment. The spymaster turned around and took a step towards Cassandra, her eyes still closed.

Cassandra removed her glove and moved her hand upwards, softly running her fingers across the woman’s skin, tracing the wrinkles that were already appearing on Leliana’s eyes. The Seeker would have teased her about her attempts to fight the passage of time with balms and oils, but now was not the time. 

The spymaster softly turned around the Seeker’s hand, placing a soft kiss on the inside of the palm as she opened her eyes.

Cassandra lifted herself on the tip of her toes for a moment to plant her lips on Leliana's cheek, letting her mouth linger on the woman’s skin for a few moments and sensing the scent of the orlesian perfume she was using before pulling apart.

Leliana pressed her forehead to Cassandra’s, the two breathing each other’s breaths. “Do not die on me, Cassandra. Please. I… I can not lose you too”

Cassandra felt the sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew that if Leliana ever allowed herself to cry, she would be crying right now. “I know what I am doing. Trust me”

The Seeker found herself pulled into a kiss before she realized it. The forcefulness and softness contrasted with each other, and it said more than words ever could. She could taste the fear, the hope, the longing and love in Leliana’s lips and tongue. The feeling of safety and comfort they found in each other, expressed as their mouths stayed together for what seemed to be an eternity, yet it felt like it wasn’t long enough. The yellow and orange hue  of the candles of the altar enveloped them, and the fact that they were kissing under the sight of the statue of holy Andraste did not escape Cassandra. She was sure Leliana had noticed too. Leliana tugged at Cassandra’s lower lip with her teeth for a moment before parting to catch her breath, but there was no lust in her action. Cassandra knew what she had just gotten. A kiss of someone who had suffered loss, and who feared suffering it again.

A kiss that was imploring Cassandra to please return safely to her.

As Cassandra departed Skyhold on top of her horse, she turned and gave a final glance at the distant tower, where she knew a pair of blue eyes were surely watching her departure, amidst the constant noise of the crows.

The Seeker had no intention of letting Leliana down. The spymaster would be very cross with her if she did not return.

[daarka]

Just saw you love getting asks on your post about your girl Valentine so here I am!

Question 1: Who’s your favorite dnd OC you’ve played?

Question 2: Your dice are beautiful—have you ever made a set inspired by your own OC?

goshhhh youre so sweet

Answer 1: THATS A HARD QUESTION I think the answer changes fluidly over time, but at the moment, I adore Skena and Cassiana. I'm just... I'm a cleric main, I won't apologize for having two clerics.

Skena is a death cleric, daughter of Anubis, 4'6" and full of anxiety. and bees.

Cassiana (Cass) is a grave cleric, a one-eyed double amputee (left leg and left arm; she has a glass eye prosthetic, but I promise one eye is missing) who used to be a shield maiden barbarian. It's complicated, but I adore her.

She's also, despite being objectively the Most handicapped, the party's tank.

can't dodge for shit, but she can hella take a hit, despite looking like she's going to fall apart at the seams from a stiff breeze. I'm obsessed with paradoxes in characters so this delights me.

Answer 2: THANK YOU! And I have! I'm working towards having dice for all my characters.

From years ago, closer to when I first started making dice, I made some for Skena;

And then later, revisiting the design with updated molds;

But I have to say, my favorite Skena dice I own--frankly, potentially my favorite dice I own period (and I have A Lot)--is this set I was gifted from @decusdice a couple years back:

There's a whole ass Anubis in the D20, and the D10s have a heart and a featherrrrrrr I cried

I also have these I made based off my character, Daarka

I also have dice I've made for Cass but I caNT FIND THE PHOTO OF THEM

And don't get me started on dice I've made for my bestie's characters... I basically got it in my head when I started making dice that I would make him dice for all his characters. He only has about a dozen, maybe a little less than that, but it's been like three years and BOY I am making slow progress. I guess let me know if you want to see a dump full of those dice/side by sides with the characters they're for? I can upload that separately, I think I'm cutting it close on the 10 image limit for this post lmao

[daarka]

WIP doodlies of new character. i love her very much. her name is Cassiana.

this was in my queue but i got impatient i want to share her.

send me asks. make an assumption about her? i will happily talk about this child.

[daarka]

been dicking around with some lil emotes for me and my dnd peeps c: (personal use only)