I found a list of random plot starters to spark some creativeness, and this is what I came up with.
Timeline, after Haven and Crestwood, before heading to the Western Approach (the first time back at Skyhold)
Enjoy!
“Josephine, I’m done.” Elli said quietly as another group of dignitaries left. She had met with what felt like an endless stream of nobles and ambassadors who were eager to meet the newly declared Inquisitor. Her face hurt from smiling, throat sore from talking, and she hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her thoughts since she returned from Crestwood this morning. Her eyelids were heavy with unbidden sleep.
Josephine looked up from her notes, her brows slightly furrowed, “There are still people to meet, some that have been here for over two weeks waiting for-” a few more envoys from Nevarra came up to them, cutting her off. Elli took this as her chance, nodding her head at the gentlemen before making her way towards her quarters.
She walked up the wooden stairs quickly, being mindful of the debris that still littered the walkway from Skyhold’s years of abandonment. There was a chill in the part of the keep, and she was grateful when she reached the top of the stairs of her room. Someone had been in the room earlier that day and had kindled a fire. Elli added a few more logs and stroked the flames before sitting back and surveying the room. Her only other time in her room was just before she went to Crestwood to meet with Stroud, and much had changed.
Someone - she assumed Josephine - had furnished the room. A large four poster bed sat as a statement in the room. The bed looked quite inviting after the almost three weeks on the road. There was a desk in the corner of the room already stacked with papers that no doubt needed her attention. The glass in the windows had been replaced with a design reminiscent of something she’s seen the craftsmen create. Most of her things had been moved here as well - her lute was sitting on the chair of the desk. Her belongings from her trip were placed neatly by her bed.
Elli let herself slide onto her back, soaking in the heat from the fire and letting the events from the past month wash over her. The journey to Skyhold was by no means easy. Haven lay under rock and snow. The heat of the fire and the smell of the battle invaded her senses.
Regret of not being able to save everyone.
Save Haven.
Knowing the reason that the Red Templars and Corypheus attacked Haven was to get to her.
The long walk to find the Inquisition camp, being led by blind faith that Chancellor Roderick’s path was true.
The relief she felt when Cullen and Cassandra found her just before she lost consciousness.
Knowing that the cause of the breach was something made by her people.
Becoming Inquisitor. She had gone from being branded a heretic to ‘leading an army of the faithful’, as Varric liked to put it. Looking at all of those people who she led to Skyhold, who now expected her to continue leading them. Elli laughed quietly - the fact that a Dalish elf is leading an Andrastian organization was not lost on her.
Then almost as soon as she had gotten to Skyhold, she and her team were off to Crestwood to meet with Hawke and her Warden contact Stroud. Not to mention that the town was being attacked by undead...caused by a rift underneath a lake....that was created by the Mayor flooding the caves and the original town...and a dragon attacking the town.
Elli threw her hands hands over her eyes, trying to avoid trapping herself in her negative emotions. She thought back to before the Conclave, of training daggers and bows with Aiden, practicing spells and keeping the lore of her people with Keeper Deshanna. The feeling of the forest floor on her feet, and the bark of the trees on her hands as she wandered. The excitement of getting to go to human cities to trade. The warmth of the sun on her back as her clan crossed the plains. She missed it. And she wasn’t quite sure if she could ever go back after everything.
After a few moments reflecting she pushed herself to her feet and away from the fire. Her satchel was by the foot of her bed with the rest of her things, and she checked through it quickly to make sure no ink had spilled before heading for the door. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t find peace in her room for much longer, if Josephine wasn’t already looking for her after she disappeared. There was also a very real possibility that she would fall asleep where she lay, an awakening no one desired.
She hesitated when she got to the door to the Great Hall, listening to hear if she could still hear the bustle of a maddening amount of people before pushing open the door. It looked like Josephine had pushed them out to their quarters. She had a feeling that she was going to hear it later, but couldn’t find it in herself to care.
Elli headed up the door opposite the door to the council and climbed up the stairs. She walked swiftly across the balcony, ducking under the scaffolding and managing to squeeze through one of the doors to the area looking over the garden.
There was still quite a bit to be repaired in this part of the keep, rubble covered most of the pathway and Elli had to be mindful of where she stepped in order to not twist her ankle. She moved as quickly as she could manage to the other side of the walkway before sitting, making sure that she was out of view of anyone that might look up from the garden.
She took her journal and inks out of her bag and opened up to her most recent sketch and listened to the sounds drifting up from the garden. She could hear Mother Giselle conversing with some of the other Chantry sisters, as well as some of the Inquisition soldiers talking amongst themselves as the people of Skyhold started to wind down from the night. The setting sun cast the sky on fire. She continued to work on her sketch - her view from an aravel back home- as the sun sank below the horizon, casting a wisp to light her page as darkness fell. However, it wasn’t long after that the blurring sounds and softer light lulled her to sleep.
.................
“Inquisitor, are you alright?”
Elli work with a start, her neck and back quite stiff from falling asleep on the hard stone. She looked up at Commander Cullen, her eyes still blurry from sleep. The lights had long sing faded and the sounds of the wind almost screamed into the night. She also realized that she was quite cold.
She started to put her belongings back in her bag before addressing the Commander, “Quite cold, but no worse for the wear. Did Josephine send out a search party?”
He snorted, “You could call it that. She was quite put off with your disappearance earlier,” he extended a hand to help Elli to her feet, which she gratefully accepted, “Apparently she was left with a swarm of Orlesian Noblemen who we a bit put off at not meeting the Inquisitor.” He let go of her hand quickly as she got to her feet, her hand feeling the cold all the more with the loss of its warmth. She contemplated casting a small warming spell, but the idea of using any sort of magic around the former Templar still made her a bit uneasy. She nodded her thanks and began to make her way back to the Great Hall with Cullen trailing behind her.
“So, how did you find me then?” She asked as they descended the stairs, their footsteps echoing in the stillness of the keep.
He ran a gloved hand through his hair - is this man ever not fully armored she thought- before her answered, “Lucky guess. I assumed that you would probably be somewhere that you wouldn’t be disturbed. Considering that the rooms overlooking the garden hadn’t been completed, it was as safe a bet as any….though I didn’t expect you to be on the balcony, of all things.”
“I like being outside, what can I say?” Their pace slowed as they approached the door to her quarters. “Thank you for waking me though, I rather like having all of my limbs.”
He gave a small smile before stopping at the door, “Inquisitor...how long has it been since you’ve slept?”
She looked at him, confused, “Why do you ask?”
“Because falling asleep with no protections set, even in a place like Skyhold, isn’t like you, Ellinor.”
She took a quick intake of breath at hearing him use her name. It felt like so long since anyone had addressed her as such. She also knew that Cullen was right.
She hesitated, torn, before answering “A while”
He exhaled sharply, then seemed to collect himself. “Before or after Haven?”
More questions “Before.”
He frowned slightly, appearing more troubled by the thought than Elli had expected, but before she could reply, Cullen was leaving. “I need to meet with Josephine before I retire for the night...but can you promise me something?”
Elli lifted her eyebrows, “I’ll hear it, I’m making no guarantees beyond that.”
He laughed quietly, “Just...talk to someone about what happened. No one else here has been through all that you have. You of all people-”
Elli interrupted him, “Thank you Cullen, I appreciate your concern.” She didn’t add what had crept up in the back of her mind, that she didn’t need pity, she needed strength. He looked at her, his expression still concerned before nodding and retreating to Josephine’s office. Elli opened the door up to her quarters and ascended the steps quickly. She had felt warmer when Cullen was standing close to her, in more ways than one. She pushed the thought away.
The fire in the hearth had long since died when she reached it. She put a few logs into the fire and lit it with a touch of a fire spell, casting the rest of the room in a warm glow. Too tired to consider drawing a bath, she stripped from her clothes and boots, shoving them in a pile by the dresser. She found a light shift with her small clothes and pulled it over her head quickly before throwing herself on the bed.
She closed her eyes and attempted to drift off, wanting to return to that deep sleep that she had managed to find earlier, but her mind would not rest. Her thoughts were racing a thousand miles a minute with no direction. It took almost an hour before she finally fell under, with one last thought floating through her mind.
