OC fact swap: Circle!Velatha only survived The Kirkwall Circle because she buried herself in her studies as a form of escapism. She's a bigger nerd than Solas but hides it.
I’d agree with her!! Studying is the best =D Aww I want to give her a big hug! I love hearing all about Velatha in all her forms!
Zephyr, my Solasmancer is the opposite, she can’t actually read or write! After watching her parents die at the hands of humans, she became very angry and withdrawn and didn’t on with her clan, so she never learnt.
A her and Solas grow closer he teaches her to read and gives her writing lessons =)
A5 from your DWC prompts list? I'm a sucker for angst! <3
Prompt: “I thought we were friends” for @dadrunkwriting
‘I thought we were friends …’ Those were her final thoughts as her body hit the evening stone of the battlements. She lay there bleeding out as darkness swallowed her vision. She didn’t even have time to think to cast a healing spell as her body went limp. The stone cold of Skyhold being the only sensation she could feel in contrast to the warmth of blood that was staining the stone.
Was this some form of punishment from the Creators? To live each of her fears in turn? First experiencing what it is to be Tranquil; then to be betrayed by one she considered a sister?
The field medic followed the all too familiar coppery smell of blood that permeated the air. Don’t let it be too late. She thought, letting out an audible gasp as she discovered the barely breathing body of the Inquisitor’s daughter. “Velatha!” She knelt down, moving the tendrils of Velatha’s snow white hair that were sticky with fresh blood out of the way to check for a pulse. Her skin was paler than usual. Good I’m not too late. I’ll have to do what I can out here though. She won’t make it back to the infirmary.
She quickly managed to seal the wounds to prevent further blood loss and damage. The blades had cut deep however and the weather was not on their side. She managed to pick Velatha up and carry her to the infirmary. It was a secure place. Somewhere where healers could come and go. For now all she could do was inform the Commander of what she witnessed. Only time would tell if Velatha would recover.
…
Velatha could barely move. Her limbs felt like dead weights at her side. She heard something … voices possibly? The words were inaudible if they were indeed voices. Where was she? Was she in the infirmary? If so she needed to warn them that her attacker was one of the healers. pried her eyelids open only enough to see Cullen reading a report of some kind. She seemed to have regained some mana, it wasn’t enough for a healing spell but perhaps it was enough to get a message across. She willed her mana for a flame spell.
As she let out an exhausted breath from the spell she heard the flames burning the message into the paper. Narissa is the attacker. Cullen furrowed his brow and glanced at Velatha skeptically. “Velatha, did you just burn this?” Cullen asked.
“Well it didn’t just spontaneously burst into flames.” She managed to say through the pain. The scar on her neck and chest beginning to throb.
Cullen was about to speak when the door to the infirmary burst open. “Where is she? Where’s Velatha?” The Inquisitor asked frantically before turning to see Velatha laying down and rushing over to her. “Velatha. what happened? Who did this to you?”
“Your daughter managed to use her magic to identify her attacker as Narissa Reinhart.” Cullen answered. “I will be sending soldiers to apprehend her. What I don’t understand is why. Narissa was a close friend of Velatha’s.”
“I’ll get the answers. I’m going with the soldiers to apprehend this woman. She’s got a lot of nerve attacking my daughter in Skyhold.”
Without another word Varell left the infirmary in search of Narissa. He intended to bring her in peacefully. He was determined to have answers however.
The last thing she remembered was collapsing in the valley. Voices had called out for her but she didn’t recognize them in time. All she could see right now was the infirmary ceiling. “We need to train more healers if the scouts didn’t have found her when they did then she wouldn’t have had a chance at survival.” Cullens Voice spoke to someone else in the room. She didn’t care to look and see who he was talking to.
When she tried to voice her agreement with the former Knight-Captain however she found it nearly impossible from how hoarse her voice had become from the cold. “At least we can agree on that Commander.” She winced at the sound that barely escaped her throat. Her voice was nearly gone and it came as no surprise that Cullen did not even hear her.
She continued to stare at the ceiling when she heard Cullen leave.At least the Inquisitor hadn’t returned to skyhold from his mission to the Emprise to hear of this yet. If he had she would be the first to learn of it and would likely never hear the end of it. Letting out a sigh, she tried to focus her magic once more to clear out this illness but once more it wouldn’t work. “Dread Wolf damn it all.” She muttered under her breath, barely a hushed whisper before going into another coughing fit. This was getting bad. A week had passed since Solas cured her of Tranquility and still she couldn’t cast magic. She was aware in her dreams, why couldn’t she cast magic then?
“Now whatever happened to ‘I’m such a good healer, I don’t get sick. Pride can be a dangerous thing, Da’len.” Solas mused walking over to her bedside.
Velatha thought for a moment “Solas.” She winced as her body ached. “Now is not the time. There’s something more I need your help with.” She took a deep breath. “There really is no easy way to say it so I’m just going to come out and say it … I can’t cast magic anymore.”
Solas blinked for a moment. He had sensed spirits interacting with Velatha in the fade and assumed that her magic would return naturally given a few days and cast a spell to see if this was some form of demonic possession “It is not possession but,” he sighed. “There appears to be a despair demon blocking you from using your magic and dreamer abilities. It most likely attached itself to you when you were cured of tranquility and used the situation to continue to cause you despair so that it could feed from you.”
“Don’t you dare say that I need a templar’s help with this.” She deadpanned before struggling to cover up a cough.. She would sooner seek out the Dread Wolf than get a templar’s hep after the Gallows.
“Don’t worry I would never suggest such a thing to you. Unfortunately, we cannot draw the demon out to defeat it until you have recovered without risking your health even more. I will place wards to prevent further harm from this demon but you need to focus on recovering from this illness. With luck we will be able to defeat it before your father returns from his mission in the Emprise. For now though,” He placed his hand on her cheek, just over where the lyrium brand left the Sunburst Chantry symbol as a scar from the battle she fought. He knew it would only cause her more emotional pain each time she saw it in her reflection. He channeled his magic to remove it, healing the skin gently underneath so that there would be no scarring. Velatha’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude when she realized what he was doing. She opened her mouth to speak but words escaped her in that moment. “Ar lasa mala revas. I grant you your freedom.” He whispered. He knew what the mark of tranquility symbolized to Velatha, to her it was a sign of being the Templar’s puppet. Even if she couldn’t cast magic right now she could at least have the comfort of having that mark gone. When the scar was completely faded and gone he stood “Get some rest now.” He left without a further word.
(athenril-of-kirkwall), Any OC, “Where are you going? It’s not safe out there!”
alright for @dadrunkwriting
____
She focused on the crackling of the flames in front of her, drowning out the arguing of the leaders. Where was he? He couldn’t be gone that quickly. Still they should have seen some sign of him by now. To the others he was just some elf. A chosen one of their Maker. But to her he was the only family she had left that she could be sure of.
They had just been talking about the trip back to the clan when the attack had started and now. Moments later. He was … just gone. He couldn’t be.
Velatha had had enough. Nobody was searching for him and she wasn’t going to wait for them to start looking. Velatha stood slowly, not wanting to attract attention and have them attempt to stop her from leaving camp in search. Alyan would have been concerned if she went missing all of a sudden but she was determined to find him. She ignored the ache in her legs as she stood and quietly walked to the edge of the camp, leaving the warmth of the fire well behind her.
“Going somewhere, Da’len?” Solas’ voice asked from near the fire before he stood up, walking over to her.
Velatha looked to the other elf, determination in her voice. “Yes. I am. And you won’t convince me not to.”
“Where do you think you are going?” Solas now blocked her path, concern in his voice. The Herald wanted Velatha to be kept safe.
“To find my brother.” She tried to move around him to get by.
“Your brother will find us, it isn’t safe for you to leave camp.” Solas placed a firm hand on her shoulder, not hurting her but just enough to stop her. “Alyan entrusted me with your life. I am not going to let you endanger yourself by running off into the frozen tundra where you will get lost and freeze to death.”
“I can handle myself out there. I’m a mage, not a child.” She said turning into a timber wolf to get away from him. As she trotted over the hill of the camp she began to pick up a scent, thankfully the wind in the valley had carried it faintly to camp for her to track. She wasn’t sure what it was but any chance that it was her brother was a chance worth taking.
Solas had shown up right when Velatha had transformed back into an elf and found Alyan. He quickly rushed over to the two elves. The Herald was unconscious and barely breathing,
“He has several broken bones and is losing body heat quickly. We need to get him back to camp.” Velatha said,taking off her cloak and laying it on the ground before getting Alyan onto it. She shivered as the wind picked up, this wasn’t going to work like she had planned. It was getting colder by the minute and at this rate none of them were going to make it back to camp. “I’m going to turn into a bear I need you to put him on my back, it’s the only way we’ll get him back to camp before he freezes.” She wasted no time turning into a bear and lowering herself to where Solas could easily place Alyan on her back. Once he was settled she began moving back towards the direction of the camp, the fur of this form keeping both of the Dalish Elves warm against the cold as Solas followed them, helping to guide the way.
…
As they approached the camp they were greeted by Cullen, slightly shocked to see the Herald unconscious on a bear. “Wait, it’s Velatha. She shapeshifted so that we could get the Herald here in time.” Solas stated before Cullen could draw his sword.The bear groaned in irritation as it proceeded further into the camp, lowering itself by the fire to allow Cullen to lift Alyan off.
Once Alyan was placed on a cot near the fire Velatha turned back into an elf once more, lifting herself onto another cot to sit down near the fire. Her breathing was heavy as she stared up at the stars, she had never had to carry anyone in the bitter cold in her animal forms like that before. For the most part she had mostly used them for scaring off threats and hunting for food as she traveled. She laid back before looking at her brother. “I’m going to try and see if I can use my dreamer abilities to find him in the Fade. Don’t let me sleep too long.” She said, nearly out of breath before drawing the fade around her. It wasn’t long at all before she awoke gasping and reaching for her neck as though she expected something to have slit her throat in her sleep.
Cullen looked to see that Velatha had returned from the fade. “Maker’s breath, where you able to discover anything that quickly?” He asked, his voice slightly panicked at the sudden sound of movement. There had been rumors in Kirkwall during the final months before it fell that there was a dreamer in the Gallows but no solid proof.
“Yes I was.” She said. “It’s always easiest when the memories are fresh and it’s something the mage would want to share with me already.” She explained, sitting up. The light of the fire danced against her face, her hair casting a wavering shadow over her eyes. “This ‘Elder One’ carries a strange orb of magical energy. He also claims to be one of the magisters that breached the Golden City and began the blights, called himself ‘Corypheus’.”
“Is there anything more the spirits tell you? Anything about that dragon?”
“The spirits only show me Alyan’s memories. No information about the Dragon but i can offer some theories once we find a permanent place to stay.”
Cullen nodded reluctantly and returned to the table in camp to try and map out their next move. Was it an Archdemon? Could they be facing another blight barely a decade after the last one?
“Velatha, may I have a word with you?” Solas asked the Circle elf. She seemed to know more than a normal Circle elf would, even one who lived among the Dalish before being taken to the circle. Making sure that the woman followed he walked over to a loneVeilfire torch and lit it with a mere wave of his hand.
“Strange place to find a Veilfire torch.” Velatha commented. They were out in the mountains with nothing for miles around. Why would there be a Veilfire torch out here?
“I should apologize. I doubted you when we met and you mentioned that you were a dreamer. It was my understanding that the chantry would never permit a dreamer to harness their gift, that they would rather make the dreamer Tranquil or worse than let them learn their abilities due to the tendencies to attract demons.” Solas admitted.
“Your understanding would actually be correct. Though I had passed my Harrowing during the blight at an unusually young age, you can even ask our commander to confirm that I was supposed to be made Tranquil for being a dreamer.. . at least that was the ‘official’ reason.” Velatha said, thinking for a moment before speaking once more, knowing Solas would want an explanation of some sort. “I was mostly self taught in my abilities. I honed what I knew I was capable of as a dreamer, what made me special. A small freedom that I kept hidden from the templars as best I could, used it to help others … It brought me some comfort during the times i needed it most.”
“It is fortunate that he is out of earshot then … and that your brother is the chosen of Andraste.”
“A protection that, while I am grateful for since it certainly gives the former templars under Cullen’s command pause to confront me, I do not intend to abuse. I don’t want people treating me differently just because they seem to think my brother is some sort of ‘chosen one’.”
“Nevertheless I would like to offer you my assistance. I could train you in your magic. Teach you the full capabilities of it, as well as observing memories of places and battles lost to time.”
“So long as you promise no special treatment for me.” She smiled before quickly letting the smile fade and turning away to walk back towards where her brother was.She needed to be more careful with her emotions, with what she showed to others.
Solas let her walk away, there was clearly something bothering her that could wait until things were less hectic for her. Velatha had only just been reunited with her family not even a month before learning about Corypheus.
Felan: "So... Velatha, tell me. How dod they treat you in the Circle? I only have my experiences. Was it any different from Circle to Circle?"
Velatha: -becomes visibly uncomfortable and starts fidgeting with her hands.-
Velatha: “Umm … I mostly kept to myself but . . . I’m not sure what Ferelden Circle was like but Kirkwall was a thousand times worse than Ostwick was. I . . . I’m glad to be with the Inquisition now.”
Velatha: -rubs her neck nervously,-
Velatha: ”Kirkwall was the worse thing i could have ever imagined.” [mumbling] “Especially for a dreamer. “
Rules: Pick one character and give us five facts about them! The facts can be anything really - from trivial to super duper important. Then tag others for them to play too!
tagged by: @space-vashoth
tagging: @briarfox13 @sovvngarde @tk-duveraun @thevikingwoman and @fuckyeahmagesrights (if you guys want to) as well as anyone who wants to do this
Circle!Velatha Lavellan
She is a huge nerd about magic. Possibly more of a nerd than Solas though she hides it exceedingly well. During her time in the Circle her magic and studies became her form of escapism and the only thing she had to remind her of her clan.
She is a natural at the Great Game. People who think Circle!Velatha is an innocent cinnamon roll will be shocked by this but Velatha did some shady things to survive Kirkwall. She essentially pandered to knight-commander Meredith's paranoia and handing over mages she knew to be blood mages in hopes of buying herself a little more time, though she made sure that they were guilty she feels disgusted with herself. She escaped during the chaos that ensued during the mage uprising and disavowed that sort of life anymore, though it never stops haunting her. She does everything she can to change and make sure her brother never finds out but it eventually gets brought up after the Winter Palace. The Winter Palace being the first major mission she is allowed to accompany her brother on does not go well for her.
She is a dreamer and is not afraid of using her powers. On the way to Skyhold she gets into a heated argument with Vivienne about the Circle and uses her dreamer abilities to recreate what she saw while in the Kirkwall Circle to prove her point. While she Intended to only show Viv, she accidentally showed it to all of the mages in the inner circle, including her brother who was going to become the Inquisitor.
She can easily tell if someone is hiding something because she had to be able to tell someones mood easily in order to survive Kirkwall, Upon arriving at Haven after her brother recruited her and her fellow mages she can almost instantly tell that Solas and Blackwall are each hiding something. Though she is able to discover Solas’ identity on accident shortly after arriving in Skyhold she isn't able to discern what Blackwall’s secret was until the Inquisition discovers it.
Her body is semi-dependant on her magic and her connection to the Fade. She actually doesn't discover this until a chance encounter with Solas two years after the events of trespasser while she is Keeper of her clan forces her mother to reveal the truth about her magic being a gift, When she was extremely young she would always be sensitive to spirits and would get sick if the clan traveled to a place where the veil was thick or strong.If she were to be made Tranquil then she would die within a month. This is extremely dangerous because her Inquisitor counterpart tries to do it without realizing this deadly consequence and very nearly succeeds at making herself tranquil through the same methods the Seekers use.
