Rookanis Leyendecker study for @datvcompanionweeks Lucanis week!
After all, it is the Year of the Horse.
Hope it's ok to use that free day prompt a little early~
Instagram
How it works: Post any form of human-created fanwork that features Rook (or any DATV OC) here on tumblr during the event dates. Mention @rookappreciationweek or tag your post with #RookWeek2026 and we'll reblog your work here!
You can also optionally add your works to our AO3 collection.
About the prompts: Prompts are optional and non-binding! Create for any prompt, and any Rook/OC, on any day. Use/combine/riff on the prompts as you wish or ignore them entirely - as long as your work features Rook, we'll reblog it here.
‼️Use of generative AI in any form is prohibited for this event.
Check out our FAQs or shoot us an ask if you have questions! You can find a text-based list of the prompts below the cut - we look forward to seeing what you create 💜
Rook Appreciation Week: June 21st - 27th | Prompts | FAQs | Ask the Mods
This is an au where rooks are living out their lives as chaotic teenagers all packed into one school- Lighthouse high!
This chaotic reckless horde of students have been finding themselves in crazy kooky adventures and trouble since Kiss week last year.
Want to see where it all began? Want to catch up on shenanigans?
Here's a link to the Masterpost.
Day 1 can be found here.
(4k words under the cut)
Gemma walked out with a stack of notecards onto a small stage that had been built on the field specially for the Heritage Festival event. She tapped the microphone lightly to check that it was on.
"Friends, classmates, parents, and staff. Welcome to the Lighthouse High Heritage Festival. Tonight we invite all of you to take the full tour through all of our heritage locations. Learn about the roots for various places and peoples and groups from northern Thedas. You will have student tour guides to take you from table to table." She put the top page in her stack to the bottom and tapped the cards to straighten it before continuing.
"We would also like to welcome students from the Beacon Creative High School that are here with us tonight, in the spirit of cooperation and working on the table displays as well. Make sure to make them feel welcome here with us."
Gemma shuffled her papers again. “Coach Cullen wanted me to read a few reminders for students as well before we get started.”
"One: Absolutely no fire." There was a loud boo heard out in the audience. Gemma scrunched her nose and shook her head slightly in the general direction of Gladius, who she was sure was the booer.
"Two: All students must remain fully dressed, pursuant to school dress codes, regardless of the area you are presenting."
"What? But it's part of my heritage!" Turvi yelled from the back of the room, arms thrown in the air in outrage.
"I'm just the messenger," Gemma sniffed.
"Clothes stay ON," agreed Coach Cullen.
"Three: All bugs must stay in their enclosures." All the students' heads swiveled towards Nona, who stood batting her eyelashes with her hands folded neatly in front of her, the picture of innocence.
"Otherwise, please enjoy all the exhibits everyone worked so hard on. Enjoy the evening!" Gemma walked off stage and Cullen signaled to the students to go to their respective booths.
==
Cioba led a group to the first table in the festival, curls bouncing as she walked to the exhibit for Rivain and the Lords of Fortune. None of the students were following the dress code even a little. Xiqaa, Dana, Naera, Dasha, Qatesh and Taash had pulled off their tshirts to reveal all of them to be wearing a scarf that was artfully tied and knotted into a halter top. Turvi too was shirtless but had his scarf around his waist.
The first section of the table was put together by Xiqaa and Dana.
"The ancient Rivaini had a good relationship with the spirits," Dana said, pointing to a poster the pair had made.
"They often talked with spirits regularly, when other countries were afraid, and punished people for doing so," Xiqaa explained.
"Your poster is really beautiful. I love the drawings," Cioba said.
"Thanks," Dana said, blushing.
"I added the glitter," said Xi, grinning widely.
The next section was a display of fabrics and photos of people wearing traditional outfits. Cioba was pretty sure their halter scarves weren't up to dress code standards, but she was no nark.
"Your scarves are beautiful!" Cioba said.
"Rivain is very hot during the summer, so this was common for locals to wear," explained Dasha.
"And the vibrant flora of the area lent itself to brightly colored dyes that were favorites of the Rivaini," said Naera.
"We can show you how to tie one," offered Dasha.
"Oh yes please!" Said Cioba happily. Once she was wearing a bright pink scarf halter, she showed the group the next section. Turvi was wearing a comically oversized pirate hat to go with his blue waist sash. Taash had a bright red fake parrot on their shoulder. Although, Cioba thought she saw it blink.
"Rivain also was the home of the Lords of Fortune, famous pirates and treasure hunters. They traveled by ship and scoured old ruins for artifacts," Turvi explained.
"They weren't thieves though. They returned items that were important finds to other cultures," said Taash.
Turvi yelled, "For gold and glory!" Cioba chuckled at his enthusiasm.
The last section was manned by Qatesh. She had sample cups full of freshly cut melon. "The most popular locally grown fruit was the green melon. You know they're ripe when they start turning from green to yellow," she said.
Cioba took a sample and enjoyed how sweet and refreshing the melon was. "Thank you guys! Your table was great," she said as she guided her group to the next exhibit.
==
Sancha led her group to the table display for the Mourn Watch and Nevarra. The first section of the exhibit was manned by Lydia and Athos, and featured a large paper mache dragon.
"Wow cool dragon!" Sancha said in awe.
"It was supposed to breathe fire but Coach Cullen said we couldn't turn it on," bemoaned Athos.
"It would have likely ruined the paint job," Lydia said. "Maybe we can turn it on just once at the end of the night." Athos perked up at the suggestion.
"I won't tell," said Sancha.
"Dragon hunting became very popular in Nevarra during the Dragon Age. They were seen as menaces to society, and their body parts were very valuable. In winter they held dragon hunting balls to celebrate the start of the popular dragon hunting season. Ancient Nevarrans hunted dragons to near extinction," said Athos.
"Which is a shame because they were so beautiful," Lydia said wistfully. Sancha nodded in agreement, though she preferred wyverns over dragons.
The next section was on Nevarran Grave Gold. Amara and one of the students from the Beacon school, Kala, had a display of friendship brackets. They were all intricately braided from a metallic gold colored thread.
"Grave gold was very important to the Nevarrans. It would commemorate important events and have great significance to the wearer, and it was something they could take with them into the next life," explained Kala.
"So we've made golden friendship bracelets, so all of you can have your very own grave gold. Sancha, you can have one of the special ones with a beetle charm," Amara said, pulling one out from behind the display.
"Oh wow thank you!" Sancha said, happily accepting the bracelet and slipping it onto her wrist. She moved onto the next display that held several terrariums of beetles. "Oh they're so pretty!"
Nona visibly puffed up with pride. She was barely taller than her companion at her side, Delmar a dwarf from the Beacon school.
"The ancient Nevarrans treated caring for and burying the dead with great reverence. Beetles were very important in Nevarran funerary rights," said Delmar.
"These beetles were used to clean the bones before burial," said Nona.
"What do you mean by clean the bones?" Asked Sancha.
"About ten of these giant beetles could clean all the flesh off your bones in under an hour!” Nona said, and Sancha visibly recoiled.
Delmar just shook his head slightly. "Actually, it would take 1000 to 5000 beetles to clean the flesh off a body, and it would take at least a day, if not two. And these aren't actual flesh eating beetles, they're just for show. And because we love beetles." He explained while Nona nodded emphatically.
"They are very nice beetles," Sancha said, happy to move on to the final part of the display.
Veryl and Sabi had a display of small puff pastries. "What are these?" Asked Sancha.
"Mushroom pastries," said Veryl, handing Sancha one.
"Most Nevarrans were vegetarians, because they didn't want to eat any living creature. They took causing death of any sort very very seriously. So we have made mushroom pastries, which are still common in the area to this day," said Sabi.
"Sabi made them, I drove us to the grocery store," said Veryl.
"Well they're very good," Sancha said, making Sabi smile proudly.
==
Lilya decided to go check on the Antiva and the Crows table. Her siblings were all there, which made her certain that someone at that table would be up to no good. She approached the table expecting to see facts about the local culture, fashion, the specific faction, and a local food item, like the other tables. Instead when she got to the table, it was covered end to end in knives.
"What is this? Where are your displays? Are these real knives?"
"Do you think we'd use real knives for a school event?" Asked Ilene. Lilya quirked an eyebrow, choosing not to answer her sister.
"Our display is right here!" Said Cara, showing Lilya a luchador mask and then pulling it on. She elbowed Hugo, and he pulled on a matching mask.
"Luchador masks?" Lilya asked.
"YES!" Cara said enthusiastically. "Luchador pit wrestling was very popular in Antiva. Want me to show you some wrestling moves?" She grabbed Hugo in a head lock without waiting for an answer.
"No I don't need a demonstration, thank you." Cara didn't stop but Lilya chose to ignore them.
"And your fashion section? Is that just knives?" Lilya asked.
"YES!" Said Ilene enthusiastically. "Both me and Zalan are dressed in traditional Crow outfits. You have to guess how many knives we have hidden in our outfits," Ilene explained.
"I bet I have more than you," said Zalan.
"No way," said Ilene.
"And they aren't sharp knives, right?" Asked Lilya.
"Lilya, would we stuff sharp knives in our clothes?" Asked Zalan.
Lilya felt her eye twitch. "I'm not guessing how many knives are in your underpants."
"Let me guess. All these knives are your display about the Crows?" She asked.
"YES!" Izzy from the Beacon school said enthusiastically. "The Crows were known for their particular preferences in knives."
"Many of the best blacksmiths that specialized in knives were found in Antiva," Alana said, flipping a knife in the air and expertly catching it by the handle.
"Don't throw that," Lilya said, sighing. "Okay. And what about you two."
"This is bread," said Jack.
"This is a bread knife," said Juan.
"They made lots of fancy bread in Antiva," said Jack, holding up a twisty, crusty loaf.
"Want a slice?" Asked Juan.
"No thanks. These knives better not leave this area, and if I hear of any funny business that involves them, you're ALL getting in school suspension."
==
Aster from the Beacon school led a group over to the table for Arlathan Forest and the Veil Jumpers. Their table was not as flashy as either the Lords or the Mourn Watch, but less sparse than the Crows table. Intrigued, Aster stepped up to the table.
"Hello!" said Mina. "I'm Mina! And this is Feldspar," she gestured to a rock in a sweater with googly eyes that was sitting on the table. Aster could swear the rock hummed slightly at his introduction.
"I like your face paint Mina," said Aster.
"The ancient elves would get face tattoos as a symbol of adulthood. This one represents the ancient god Sylaise. Would you like me to draw one on you, help you connect to your elven heritage?"
"Sure, why not," Aster shrugged, happy to just participate.
"Is the Sylaise tattoo okay? It's the only one I know how to draw," Mina asked.
With their freshly drawn tattoo, Aster moved onto the next section. Ayanne was standing there with nothing on display, Ezra from the Beacon school at her side, both grinning at Aster. "Hi," Aster said.
"The ancient elves didn't wear shoes to keep them grounded and connected to nature," Ayanne said, showing off her bare feet.
"Shoes are a crime against elves everywhere, ancient and modern. It was based on their devotion to gods of nature, so really it's religious discrimination to make us wear shoes," Ezra said indignantly.
"If you make a petition to the school about letting elves feet be free, I'll sign it," said Aster.
"You're a good friend," Ezra said, pointing at Aster.
The next stop in this exhibit had Tal and Coadi tinkering with some small device. Aster didn't recognize what it was. "This looks cool. What is it?"
Tal rolled his eyes. "We made our own ancient elven artifact. It's supposed to do something really cool."
"It will!" Coadi said. "We just need to recalibrate the power crystal inside."
"Are you sure that the battery isn't dead?" Asked Tal.
"It's a power crystal," insisted Coadi.
"We're working on it," Tal said to Aster.
"Come back later! We'll get it fixed," said Coadi.
Aster moved onto the last section and was greeted by Embria. "Would you like a hearth cake? The elves would traditionally make these over an open fire, when they'd be camped somewhere. The tradition of making them was passed down through families and clans. These are sweetened with honey."
"Oh yes I'd love to try one!" Aster said eagerly.
"If you want, I've got some moss you can spread on it. Really brings out the natural flavors of the cake," said Ezra, holding up a jar of something questionably green.
"I've told you before Ezra, I don't like moss," said Aster, shaking their head at their friend.
"Your loss."
"Can you tell me more about how you made this? It's really good," said Aster.
"Oh sure. I have a recipe card you can have. I tried to use ingredients as similar to what the ancient elves would have had," Embria said, smiling and happy to discuss her technique. Aster was supposed to move on with their tour group, but instead stayed at the table chatting with Embria and the others.
==
Esha walked over to the table for the Wardens. All their displays were impressively large, and she was eager to get a closer look.
The first display was a huge lego structure, built by Lilja and Tamryn from the Beacon school. The building was nearly as tall as they were.
"Wow this is so cool. What is it?" Esha said, standing on her tip toes trying to peer inside.
"This is a lego recreation of the Grey Warden fortress, Weisshaupt," Tamryn said.
"We built this to exactly 1/8th scale," said Lilja proudly.
"Mostly," said Tamryn.
"I have an extra stool if you want a better look inside," said Lilja, pushing one towards Esha.
"Oh this is so cool!" She said from her perch. "What's this thing down in the corner?"
"Let me look," said Tamryn as he climbed up a step ladder. "Hmmm let's see..." Tamryn leaned down to get a better look, but lost his balance and tipped down into the middle of Weisshaupt. "Augh help, I'm stuck!" He said, wiggling his feet in the air uselessly. Lilja started laughing so hard she collapsed on the ground clutching her stomach.
"Oh dear," said Esha chuckling too. "Eris, you're tall and strong, can you help us here?"
"Sure mate," she said, nudging Fodhla to come help. Both of them were much much taller than Tamryn, Lilja, and Esha. Esha wondered if you stacked the three of them up, if they'd be the same height as Fo or still be shorter. Eris and Fo each grabbed one of Tamryn's legs and lifted him back out of the fortress.
"Thanks guys," Tamryn said, looking embarrassed.
"No problem," Fo said, ruffling his hair. `
"What did you guys make?" Esha said, leaving Tamryn and Lilja to fix the pieces Tam had knocked off when he fell.
"I'm dressed in traditional warden armor," Fo said, posing with her hands on her hips. She was tall, even for a Qunari, and Esha had to crane her neck to take in the entire cardboard armor ensemble.
"Very nice," Esha said appreciatively.
"I'm a darkspawn!" Addie said excitedly. Esha took in her long cardboard claws and teeth. Addie shambled around making hissing noises and Fo pretended to stab her with her cardboard sword. Addie made exaggerated gasping and gurgling sounds as she fell to the ground, dead.
"Very scary and realistic," Esha said.
"And I made a horse," Eris said in a rush. Eris was wearing a cardboard horse, with herself in the middle to look like she was riding it. "Wardens wore horses into battle." Eris had a goofy look on her face.
Esha grinned. "The horse looks very nice on you. Very realistic."
Eris blushed. "Thanks. A horse would look good on you too. I mean. You're pretty too. I—" she slammed her mouth shut, so she'd stop talking.
"I'll find you when the event is over," Esha said, winking. Eris nodded enthusiastically, afraid to say anything else.
Esha walked to the next display, and was met with several large poster boards, and a big sign with fancy lettering that said The Majesty of the Griffons. There were graphics and diagrams and even some family trees.
"The griffons were the fierce and loyal allies and flying steeds of the ancient Wardens," Ghilasara announced. "Without brave heroes like Crookytail, all of ancient Thedas would have been lost to the blight."
"They were really cool," Zea agreed.
"An adult griffon could grow to be more than twelve feet from beak to tail, with a wingspan even larger. Male griffons could weigh more than one thousand pounds and had beaks powerful enough to break bone and claws capable of shredding armor," explained Ghilasara.
"One adult griffon could easily carry two riders," said Zea.
"They all had unique personalities, and the griffon would choose their rider and bond with them. The rider and griffon bond was very special," Ghilasara said, sighing sadly.
"I wish we could have griffons. They're sadly extinct today." Zea added, patting Ghilasara's back.
"Your display is fitting for such regal creatures," Esha said solemnly.
Esha moved to the last Wardens section. Rose and Ayla stood behind a table with a mountain of burgers that looked suspiciously like they came from McDenerims. Queenie was wearing oversized sunglasses and lounging in a beach chair off to the side under an umbrella, reading a magazine and sipping an icy drink.
"Want a burger? Hot and fresh from McDenerims," Rose said cheerfully.
"Well. They were hot and fresh an hour ago. Now they're just lukewarm and here," laughed Ayla.
"Why burgers from McDenerims? Besides the fact that your dad owns the place," asked Esha.
"These burgers are just like Grey Warden rations! All boring and kind of the same," said Ayla.
"AND my dad says we have Grey Warden ancestors in our bloodline," said Rose.
Esha shrugged. "Sure I'll eat one of your lukewarm ration burgers, thanks." Queenie gave a regal wave as Esha moved on with her tour group.
==
Selora escorted a group over to the Tevinter and Shadow Dragons exhibit. Saadrah and Anya from the Beacon school were studiously manning the first display. Their posters were very neat and organized.
"Tevinter was basically the capital for magic users in Thedas," Saadrah explained.
"The only way to achieve social or political status was to be a magic user in a well connected, old blood magic family. Even the magisters of the Magisterium were nearly all magic users," said Anya. "If you didn't have magic you were likely part of the lowest class in Tevinter. It was extremely classist and perpetuated other harmful systems, like slavery."
"This situation gave rise to the need for groups like the Shadow Dragons, a covert organization committed to helping the ordinary people and thwarting the evil Venatori," said Saadrah.
Selora noticed back behind the table, a bit away from the others stood Gladius and Evariste from the Beacon school. Evariste stood at least a head taller than Gladius, which Selora marveled at, as only Qunari were usually that tall. The pair were flexing their biceps and staring at each others muscles admiringly.
"Go ahead, punch me in the stomach," said Gladius as he tightened his abs.
Evariste punched him, clearly not at his full force. But his eyebrows rose. "Those are some really muscular abs."
Riley was standing near them, but instead of flexing his muscles too, he was staring at the Mourn Watch table and trying to catch a glimpse of Amara. Selora shook her head, disgusted. While she did think they were all really good looking, she was annoyed they were just feeling each other up, when everyone was supposed to be working on this school project. She decided to just ignore them and move on to the next display in the exhibit.
Here Cyri, Jericho, Micah, and Dawes were gathered around what looked like just an ordinary large cardboard box. Jericho and Micah were up close and peering inside. Micah looked up when he realized Selora and her group were waiting on them.
"Oh sorry," Micah said, straightening. "We have this really great magic display planned, but something's gone wrong and we're trying to fix it." Jericho pulled out a book and started flipping through it, trying to figure out the problem. Dawes from the Beacon school stood off to the side muttering about how back at his school, they would never have been made to use such shoddy materials, and that was likely the issue. Cyri too was losing patience with the project and was frowning deeply at Jericho, Micah, and the box.
Finally unable to take any more, Cyri elbowed Jericho out of the way and stuck her hand inside to adjust some wiring. Jericho teetered backwards only to be caught by Micah, who did his best to keep Jer upright. Only the forward momentum was too much and Jericho crashed into Cyri, causing her to cross wires and cause a loud beeping noise to come from the magic box.
The beeping startled the parrot on Taash's shoulder, who was real after all. Chicken the parrot gave an offended squawk and flew away.
Chicken flapped right by Lydia's head, making her jump and shriek. Lydia waved her arms around and bumped into Athos.
Athos tottered and reached out to steady himself, activating the fire switch on the dragon. The fire was more powerful than they expected and the dragon blasted away across the displays to the Veil Jumper table.
Hugo ran to Lydia, calling for his parrot Chicken to come to him.
The dragon activated the Veil Jumper artifact, which immediately started sparking.
Fo, realizing she was wearing very flammable cardboard grabbed Eris and Addie each by the arm to get them all to safety so they wouldn't catch on fire.
Just as Fo, Eris, and Addie were out of reach, the Mourn Watch dragon rocketed into lego Weisshaupt, bricks exploding all over. Tamryn wailed in dismay over the fall of Weisshaupt, and Lilja did her best to console him.
The dragon continued to the Shadow Dragon table. Dawes did a flying leap and caught the dragon, stopping it before it crashed into the magic box. Jer and Micah both heaved a sigh of relief.
The dragon was still sputtering the last bit of it's fire, and was just a little too close to the magic box. The box started crackling, setting off a series of fireworks that had been hidden inside.
Everyone hit the deck, trying not to get hit by fireworks, which caused Dawes to release his hold on the dragon. The dragon then escaped, still sputtering and causing more fire in the grassy outdoor area.
The entire festival became chaos, as students all started fleeing to safety. Evariste barreled though yelling "save the dwarves" until he found Lilja and Delmar, scooping them up one under each arm and running off with them like he was the star running back of the football team.
Cullen and the other faculty made sure the exhibit area was cleared out, then Cullen took attendance of all the students, making sure all were uninjured and accounted for. Once that was complete, Cullen dismissed everyone, since the displays were all now nothing but soot and rubble.
==
Memo to all Students and Faculty:
The 2027 Heritage Festival and all future Heritage Festivals are canceled until further notice. The dangerous nature of the displays and the destruction of the exhibition field make it impossible to hold the event until such time as repairs and better guidelines can be put in place.
Credits
Ilene @ kabsey
Lilya @ serensama
Zalan @ blackwall-my-tiny-husband
Turvi @ davrinsleftpectoral
Xiqaa @genjyoandgojyoandhakkai
Gladius @jenn2d2
Amara @chaosherald
Veryl @hedwigoprah
Coadi @notyourmamasdeerbat
Qatesh @bronzieinthedas
Jericho @sandcastlekings
Hugo @jukkaricity
Alana @therivercrow
Cara @pixiedurango
Ayanne @cute-ellyna
Esha @in-the-drowning-deep
Eris @grand-crow
Sabi @seaglassmelody
Rose @aetherflowers
Cyri @mythals-whore
Riley @woundedsoul12
Embria @himluv
Athos @necromanticsoul
Micah @biowaredisasterbisexual
Ghilasara @flowersforthemachines
Gemma @serialsforbellara
Cioba @xkatchy
Dana @babblingrook
Lydia @sorcerousadventurer
Saadrah @kogarashi-art
Ayla @mushrooms-x-moss
Sancha @casa-dei-corvei
Nona @handsignals
Juan @zennihilation
Selora @juniper-and-dragonthorn
Mina @tarasmom
Naera @ serensama
Tal @sunny374940
Zea @redaresss
Queenie @lycheecatee
Dasha @lemondelighted
Addie @inquisimer
Dawes @ratbagjasper
Isotta @tkwritesdumbassassins
Aster @jaderavenarts
Lilja @d7kyoshi
Evariste @bossuary
Silver @the-bug-witch
Ezra @r2wedoomed
Kala @corinnesin
Anya @andromeda-xyz
Delmar @temptersnake
Tamryn @imrowanartist
Fodhla @svalbird
and thank you @rookappreciationweek for hosting this event!
And super extra special thank you for letting me borrow all your blorbos. They’re very special to me and they (and all of you) make tumblr and this community what it is.
LOOK FOR TOMORROW'S INSTALLMENT ON @ blackwall-my-tiny-husband s page!
Upright Meaning: last stand, persistence, grit, resilience, perseverance, close to success, fatigue
Esha Mercar of @in-the-drowning-deep, hope you like it :3
Some additional yapping below :3
disclaimer: i know next to nothing about tarot and this is my best attempt at understanding intended meaning and applying it to Esha and her card.
9 of Wands is a card of hard fought survival and ultimate success. And I think it fits Esha incredibly well!
8 wands point in her way representing the struggles she's yet to face while her staff represents the last 9th wand and the support she now has allowing her to lean on it.
She's looking up towards the obstacles, but also beyond looking out to her future and those she can help.
In the back Minrathous towers to represent both her city and her civil engineering specialization.
