Jul 16, 2023
Blargh, been editing this section of SfAL on and off while sick but I think I’m just gonna chop it all out.
As much as I wanna include my version of scaled ones (argonians), it just doesn’t really flow with the rest of the story.
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Pakistan
seen from Taiwan
seen from Finland
seen from Germany
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Australia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Yemen
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Maldives
Blargh, been editing this section of SfAL on and off while sick but I think I’m just gonna chop it all out.
As much as I wanna include my version of scaled ones (argonians), it just doesn’t really flow with the rest of the story.
Smith From Another Land
Chapter 78
Ara was truly getting sick of the color blue. Now it had become a really dark shade of blue and she knew she was unconscious. It was just the same as every other dream that had to deal with the otherworldly forces in Thedas.
It just looked like a dark night that was illuminated by little dots of light that sparkled in the distance. Even the lights had a faint blueness about them.
“Like stars.” Ara mumbled as she stared at them, remembering what had been said about the lyrium in the cavern earlier.
She felt a strange sense of relief as she just stood there in the dark. The feeling on her skin was gone and so was the hum. Even the irritation had fled and all she felt was an overwhelming sense of calm.
Although she had the feeling the sense of calm was just because of the absence of everything else. Her irritation had fled and that was probably the best thing about being unconscious right now.
“Carried away.” Dagna’s voice echoed around her. “…didn’t… mean…”
“Are you talking about the sha-brytol, I have to point out that they killed Renn.” Ara said with a huff before turning around to see if there was any kind of person to focus on.
“No…” Dagna’s voice came again. “You… I… carried away…”
“Wait…” Ara thought about what it could have been talking about. The earlier conversation about the red lyrium had been short but now it seemed like the Titan was contradicting itself. “Are you saying you were the thing making me irritated, but you said…?”
“Red… lyrium.” Its voice turned to that of Varric. “…trick… sickness…”
Ara sighed into the darkness, but she just could not quite bring herself to feeling irritated. She just felt tired and briefly thought about just ignoring the Titan. It seemed like it would be better than trying to deal with the Titan who was having a much harder time to explain things to her then it had the last time.
It felt almost disjointed.
Like it was only giving her the barest amount of attention.
“Sickness. Kills.” The voice remained Varric’s but there was a strange sort of emotion to it that Ara just could not place. “Punishment… Sickness. Wanted to… make… better.”
Ara rolled the words around in her head before glancing up at the twinkling blue dots.
“Are you saying you made me irritated to make me come here so you could make me better? Or did you mean make something else better.”
That just made no sense to her but then, she was talking to a being who was a little beyond her comprehension. Even the Daedric Princes had made more sense than this Titan.
“No. You.” The voice responded. “You… not.. fine. You. Hurt.”
She instinctively rubbed her shoulder where she had been struck by that arrow so long ago. There had been no pain or any signs of the red lyrium after the initial injury. Yet this Titan was saying that she was still hurting from it.
“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Ara said with a frown.
“You. Hurt.” The Titan responded in Varric’s voice.
“I healed fine.” She stated flatly.
“You. Hurt.” There was clear agitation in that voice. The twinkling stars seemed to tremble with that anger.
“Okay, fine. I’m hurt.”
“Sickness. Not. Good.”
“Yep. Not good.” Ara shook her head before pinching the bridge of her nose again. “So, you’re saying you got carried away because of the red lyrium?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” That really did not answer her question, so she merely sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Even though she felt like she was thinking more clearly, she still could make no sense out of what the Titan was trying to explain to her. “What about the sha-brytol? Did you get carried away with those too?”
“Damn.” The Varric voice said before the Titan took his shape in the dark. “No… speak… from…” The image shifted again, this time to Renn. “Dwarves.”
“No speak from dwarves?” Ara questioned. “No speak from the sha-brytol?”
“Titan’s Hymn.” The image shifted to Valta. “Sha-brytol.” And then back to Varric. “No… speak.”
“Right, so they don’t speak to you, or you don’t speak to them.” Ara guessed that was what it meant.
“Exactly.” The not-Varric answered. “No. Speak. No. Option.”
“I guess that means you couldn’t stop them from attacking us?”
“No.” The image said before it shifted to Renn. “Debt.” And then it shifted more quickly again to Valta. “Dwarves. Bonded.” And then finally again into Varric. “Their life.”
Ara sighed in frustration. She had an idea what the Titan meant but this was getting old. It felt like this thing was giving her a headache every time it talked.
“Ancient. Thousands of years.” Varric’s image and voice had shifted again, becoming Valta.
“Got it.” Ara said with another sigh. “They’ve felt indebted to you for a very long time. All the while, they’re sucking on lyrium and wearing lyrium armor. Thought that stuff was bad.”
“Lyrium.” The not-Valta seemed to pause, and the image shimmered back to Varric. “Blood.”
“Blood?”
“Blood.” The Varric image twisted, and she had the impression the Titan was frowning. “My. Blood. Our. Blood.”
“Oh.” Ara grimaced. “This place really had a weird fetish for blood.”
There was an almost confused feeling in the calmness, but it quickly passed.
“Ugh… that means they fed me your blood.” Ara continued.
“Bad. Bad. For…” The image had changed to Dagna for a moment before returning to Varric. “Sky.” And then it jumped back to Valta. “Titan.”
Each time it spoke, there was a definite note of disgust and concern in the voice. Like the Titan was now worried for her.
“Sky Titan?”
“Dragon.” It flicked back to Varric. “Sky.” And then back once more to Valta. “Titan.”
Ara stared blankly at the not-Valta even as the glowing dots around her suddenly took on the shape that could only be called a dragon. Even if it looked like a constellation, there was no mistaking the form.
“Are you saying dragons are the same as the Titans, just… in the sky?” That thought seemed hilarious as she certainly could not picture Alduin flying through the sky and shaping the world as he went. Not because he was not strong enough but because she knew he simply would not care enough about anything other than himself. “That I’m a Sky Titan?”
“Yes.”
Ara frowned as she stared at the image of a dragon but the Titan began to speak again before she had the chance to ask anything else.
“Exist.” The image shifted to Dagna and the voice changed as well. “Make. Magic.”
The cogs in Ara’s head were slowly turning as she processed what it said.
“Dragons make magic?” She finally said. “So… Titans make the land and Dragons make magic?”
“Yes.” The image responded before it became Varric once more. “Words.” And then it flicked back into Dagna. “Make. Magic.”
“Oh.” Ara realized then what the Titan was trying to say. The Thu’um. By speaking in dovahzul, she was making magic. “But then… why are the dragons not…”
She had no idea if the Titan would even be able to answer but she needed to know. Even if this was not Nirn, she still felt some manner of kinship to the dragons here.
“Punishment.” The voice cut off the question. It remained looking like Dagna but it had shifted to sounding like Varric.
“The dragons were punished?” Ara frowned and felt a growing sense of irritation. “How? Why… who did it?”
“Don’t… know…” The Titan responded with Varric’s voice. “Sleep.”
“Right… you were sleeping.” She groaned.
“Yes.”
Ara sighed at the most unhelpful answer so far. She knew it was trying to give her the answers when she asked but she felt too limited by the way it was using the forms of people she knew. She was at least grateful to know about what had happened to the dragons even if the specifics were still unknown.
It did make her think of the others who had come through with Magnus.
“So… what happened to the other Titans?” Ara prompted, hoping that she could at least get that question answered.
“We. Were. Made.” The Varric answered and the form finally shifted to his.
Those stars that had taken on the shape of a dragon suddenly shifted and she found herself staring at the likeness of Malacath.
Even without the color or solidity of a statue, she knew that this was the Daedric Prince that her people served. There was no mistaking it. The same horns, the same tusks. Even the defiant expression was clear in his face.
“We. Were. Broken.” The voice continued but there as a very un-Varric like pain.
The image of Malacath began to shift. It seemed like the image was contorting in pain before it began to shrink in on itself. The mouth was open in a wordless scream before the face was lost in the jumble of stars. Finally, it looked like little more than a round orb that floated in the air before her.
“We. Were. Used.” This time, the voice was fully Dagna’s and the form flickered back into Dagna.
Another form appeared out of the stars. An elf with long hair pinned back against their head. It was hard to make out any real features on the elf, as if the Titan did not want to bother giving them the same amount of detail as they had for Malacath. There was something disturbingly familiar about the elf but she could not quite figure it out.
They approached the sphere and took it in their hands. The stars seemed to shudder again, and she guessed the Titan really did not like what had happened.
“Malacath wasn’t one of the Magne Ge.” Ara said with a frown even as the image faded. “He was a Daedra from Nirn.”
The lights around her seemed to struggle before they solidified into a form she had definitely seen before.
It was one of the people she had seen at the table in her dreams. One of the strange faces that she had not recognized, yet now, she could sense some kind of familiarity with it. Like she had seen the face before when she was awake.
Only she had no memory of it.
The starlight began to speak, and it sounded like she was hearing all the dwarves she knew. Varric, Dagna, Rocky, Valta, Renn, even that scout and the random voices she heard from Skyhold. It was as if the Titan was now drawing on every voice she had heard.
“Aedra. Daedra. Aedroth. We begin again. Something different. Something new. Where Malacath was once Trinimac, he became something new again.” The voice echoed in the darkness and almost hurt her head.
Ara thought about what she had seen and how Malacath had turned into a something, but she really did not understand a thing this Titan was trying to tell her.
“Okay, so the other titans became… orbs?” Ara finally asked even if it sounded ridiculous.
“Yes.”
The image of the elf and orb faded away completely. There was only that blue tinted darkness with stars floating around her. They almost seemed to be dancing around her.
“I thought Titans were super powerful?”
“We are. Were.” The Titan sounded almost sad. “We sleep. They stole us while we slept. They killed us while we slept.”
“Is that what the ancient elves did?” Ara felt an overwhelming sense of horror. She was not certain if it was her own feeling or something from the Titan.
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Why does any man take from another?” The Titan asked. “Their greed knew no bounds. Their hunger was endless.”
“Seems the ancient elves are the same here as the elves are in Nirn.” Ara said with a sigh.
“Some things never change.” The Titan seemed to agree. “Even the new forms reflect the old.”
“New forms...” Ara said with a frown. “New. That the Aedra and Daedra became something new and now again with the new forms…”
“Yes?” The Titan seemed confused as if it did not quite understand what she was reaching towards.
“Julianos is known as Dirthamen here.” Ara continued. “And Kynareth… they are both here.”
“All of the Divines are here.” The Titan answered. “Some trapped. Others stolen.”
“But… if they’re here. That means they know how to return to Nirn?”
“No.”
She felt something squeeze around her heart.
“What do you mean, no?” Ara demanded.
“There is no return to Nirn.”
“That’s impossible.” Ara’s voice rose in anger and fear. “I went to Sovngarde and faced off against Alduin!”
She was shouting now even as she tried to think back to that fight against Alduin.
The details felt fuzzy, and she could not quite remember what had happened. She did not remember if she had stepped into Sovngarde. Yet she could remember the warriors who had stood at her side and the fog that had prevented a full-on assault against Alduin.
“We battled…”
“The Dragonborn fought.” The Titan answered. “And the Dragonborn failed.”
“No.” Ara stammered even as an unfamiliar but overwhelming grief filled her.
“Nirn is no more.”
Smith From Another Land
Chapter 77
Ara had no idea what was happening.
All she was certain of was that her ribs hurt. It almost felt like one of them was cracked.
The rest of consciousness came back rather quickly after she felt another blow to her side, the pain quickly clearing her mind.
Definitely cracked… maybe broken.
“Ellana!” Solas’ voice echoed to her right and she felt something whiz past her face. Instinct told her that it had been magic, but it was ignored as she tried to understand what was happening.
They were on some tiny little platform that was surrounded by empty space with a single wall of stone. Just her, Solas, Ellana, and Varric. There was no sign of Valta or Renn.
She did not remember leaving the walkway, but she remembered the annoyance that had been getting worse as she listened to Valta drone on and on. Only now, that irritation was replaced by a sense of calm and the beginnings of fatigue.
Something she recognized as the aftereffects of a blood rage.
She just did not remember ever raging.
Not that it was ever a conscious decision if things were bad enough o make her rage, but she just felt like she had been teleported from that walkway to this strange platform.
Her confusion was quickly replaced by pain as instinct had her turning her body to lift her maul to try and block something that was coming towards her with the intent to harm.
She barely had time to look before it felt like a cliff caved in on her side. Her whole body ached, and she fell to one knee as she practically slid across the ground. The pain brought anger, but the emotion was strangely muted.
As if her usual level of anger had been drained away by whatever had brought her here.
Shaking her head to try and clear the cobwebs, she got back to her feet before rushing at the thing they were fighting.
“Ara?!” Ellana’s voice was full of surprise.
She wasted no time in wondering what the surprise could have been from and focused instead on the enemy.
It was then that she realized they were fighting rocks that were all connected by blue veins. At the center was that giant blue stone she remembered just before everything had blanked into a sea of red.
The thing we saw on the way in!
It seemed to be the core of the monster they were fighting. All the veins branched out from it to form tentacles of rock that waved back and forth like snakes. More rocks were gathered around the base, and she knew there was no hope of reaching that blue core.
She had encountered creatures in Skyrim that were elementals, but this was far outside the realm of things she had ever seen.
“Looks like Hermaeus Mora’s bastard child with a storm atronach.” She mumbled under her breath as she tried to find some manner of weak spot to attack.
She thought about striking the part that looked like a head, but she doubted that would have any effect.
“Ara?” Varric questioned before she heard the sigh of relief. “Glad to have you ba-“
Varric did not finish before he was dodging out of the way of one of those giant rock tentacles that had swung in his direction.
She thought maybe it was attracted to sound but then another tendril swung her way. It was more like it was trying to fight them all off at once.
Ara swung the maul towards the part of the tendril that was in front of her, but it did not feel like she was hitting stone. The shockwave revibrated up her arms and into her shoulders. It felt like she was trying to mine up ore with a spoon.
“By the Ashpit!” She muttered under her breath as she tried to strike it again, but the result was the same. She could see no damage done to the tendril. Not even a pebble had been knocked off.
“We need to target the lyrium clusters!” Solas shouted.
“The whats?” Ara asked before rolling underneath the tentacle that swung at her.
“On the sides!” Ellana shouted. “The glowing blue rocks!”
Ara turned and realized what they were referring to. There, just above the ground was a blue protrusion that was clearly being protected by the tendrils. They did not look like the lyrium veins they had encountered before but it hardly mattered.
“Wait… lyrium?” Ara turned briefly to look at him in surprise even as she remembered what Renn had said earlier. “Doesn’t lyrium explode?”
“Do you have a better alternative?” Solas shouted back.
Ara could not argue that and turned to face the monster.
She tried to get close to the one near her, but it was like this rock-monster seemed to understand what they were trying to do. She dodged one tendril only to be struck from behind by another. Each tentacle seemed to move independently but in tandem with one another.
This thing was smart.
“It’s predicting our moves.” Solas said behind her, but it seemed more directed to Ellana. “We need to attack together.”
“How?!” Varric’s terse voice came from a little bit of distance away. “We spend more ti-“
He went silent for a moment and Ara looked over to watch him roll out of the way of one of those tentacles. It had slammed the ground with enough force to crack the stone where he had once been standing.
“As I was saying,” Varric said in a breathless voice. “We spend more time dodging.”
“Varric is right, we need to find some way to stop these things,” Ellana responded. “Wait… I think I have an idea.”
“I’m all ears,” Ara grumbled.
She had turned her attention back to the rock monster and did not see the stares that came her way, but she could feel their eyes focusing on her. There was a brief second where she wondered what she had done while she was raging but she simply did not have the time to ask. The battle right now is more important.
“Stand back,” Ellana said.
Ara blinked but moved to the side. She still kept herself close enough that she could dart back in the way should one of those things come after Ellana. She was prepared for anything.
Except for the strange sensation that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It felt like a charge in the air just before a thunderstorm. Then the crack of lightning shot out from behind her where Ellana was standing.
The bolt struck the nearest rock tentacle before jumping to everything else. The white energy travelled from one tendril to the other, but it also struck the lyrium nodes that were the weak points for this monster.
There was no sound to hint that they were right but there was something about the way the rock-tentacles jerked in the air that made it obvious that it was hurting.
“Great!” Varric shouted over the crackle of energy. “Now we just need to do that a whole bunch more!”
“I will keep the barrier up,” Solas said quickly. “Cast again when you are ready.”
Ara ignored whatever response was coming and focused on the battle ahead of her. Those tentacles moved with a purpose that showcased tactical intelligence. Whatever kind of creature this was, it knew how to fight.
It knew that they were a threat to it.
There was something unsettling about that and Ara did not want to give more attention to that thought than she had to. She focused instead on fighting.
Another tendril swung in her direction, but she easily dodged it, slamming her maul against it before trying to get closer to the glowing node.
Only for it to become clear that the tendrils were now more focused on stopping Ellana from casting the lightning spell. The majority of tendrils had focused on where Ellana stood. Varric was practically ignored as the bolts from his crossbow did not seem to do much.
Two tendrils were focused on keeping Ara from getting any closer and that was quickly becoming an annoyance.
Ara knew Ellana was not going to be able to cast much longer. She believed in the tiny elf but she knew there was only so much magic someone could cast without getting tired.
At that moment, Ara wished she could still use her magic for she knew of something similar to the lightning spell that Ellana had been casting repeatedly.
Then it struck her.
She did not need magic to call lightning. She had the Thu’um.
She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“STRUN BAH QO!”
The tendrils paused in the strange silence that followed the shout. Then the not-sky above them began to darken. Huge clouds, thick and gray, formed and blotted out the fake blue sky. The clouds swirled together before they cracked open into an almost blinding downpour.
Thunder echoed and lightning began to arch across the not-sky. Bolt after bolt began to slam into pillars near them before crossing along the platform. They struck the lyrium-rock-monster repeatedly.
She felt pleased with herself that she had summoned the storm to this underground cavern, but that emotion was quickly replaced by a feeling of disquiet. Like those words were not things she should have shouted inside a Titan.
Just as that realization struck her, meteors began to fall from the clouds.
Ara stared up in confusion as she remembered the last time she had seen this kind of thing.
It had been in Helgen, the village where she had seen Alduin for the first time. The dragon had used a Thu’um and caused meteors to fall from the sky.
The shout backfired as it was not focused on any one thing. Her idea had quickly become one of the worst decisions she had ever made.
The four of them now had to dodge lightning, rock tendrils and meteors.
It was as she managed to dodge one meteor that she felt the crunch as a rock tendril struck her in the side of the head.
Dimly, she heard someone call out to her but everything had gone black by the time her head hit the ground.
Saturday SfAL snippet
“How long?” Ellana demanded. “Since she was blasted by the energy earlier? When we entered the cavern?” Valta did not answer, and Ellana swore under her breath. The entire time. She had heard the song the entire time. “I never should have brought her here.” Ellana took a few steps after Ara. “She needed to be here.” Valta answered softly. “She needed to hear. She needed to know.” “To know? Know what?” Ellana responded. “I don’t know.” Valta answered truthfully. “It was only between her and the Titan.”
Smith From Another Land
Chapter 76
Bad.
Incredibly bad.
That was how Varric would describe everything since they stepped into the incredibly blue caverns.
He had made a life out of being observant. Often using what he noticed in his stories. And he had been paying extra attention to Ara as they had begun their descent. Especially since he had seen that shimmering whatever around her.
The further they went, the worse her mood seemed to get.
That sense of dread he had felt earlier was quickly hitting like a runaway bronto.
He realized that he had been right when he thought she sounded irritated.
Every little thing seemed to be getting on her nerves as they walked.
He could see it with how she tensed when someone said something. The way she glowered at the others when they spoke. Even the way she was gripping her weapon was a clear sign that something was bothering her.
The final hint had been when she actually flinched when he put his hand on her arm.
Especially when she turned to him with her teeth bared.
“Ara?” He removed his hand quickly but still could not keep the concern out of his voice. Especially when he saw the strange look in her eyes.
He could have sworn that there was the faintest edge of purple around the edges of her eyes. She blinked and the purple disappeared.
Only for it to be replaced by a strange glow that sent a chill down his spine.
“Sorry. Just… Sorry.” She muttered before shoving off the stones she had been leaning on. “Need… need go…”
“Ara? Is there something wrong?” Ellana asked as she turned away from Valta to look at their green Orcish friend.
Before anyone could stop her, she had pushed past the rest of them and down the walkway. She did not even grunt in Ellana’s direction before she jumped out of their view to a lower level.
“Is she always like that?” Renn’s voice rung out behind him, but Varric ignored him.
Instead, he looked over at Solas who was staring after Ara with a somber look. The elf looked back at him, and Varric had a sneaking suspicion about what had just happened.
This is definitely not good.
“She ignored me.” Ellana’s voice was quiet. “She jus-“
The sounds of battle and strange metallic screams suddenly echoed from the direction Ara had stomped off in. The sound sent another chill down Varric’s spine.
Ellana gasped before practically running for the ladder.
“Inquisitor!” Solas called after her. “It might be wi-“
“No! Ara just ran off on her own!” Ellana shouted back before he could finish. “She could be hurt or…”
“I don’t think it’s Ara we need to worry about.” Varric said.
“How can you say that?” Ellana said, her tone full of reproach.
“Just… you know how Ara is.” Varric said. The words sounded terrible to him, but he knew he should not tell Ellana that he suspected Ara had just jumped off the deep end.
“Perhaps we can discuss this once we are closer to your friend?” Renn’s voice was cautious.
That spurred Ellana to move even faster, and Varric watched as she slipped down that ladder. They all followed, one by one, until only Varric and Solas were left above.
“This does not bode well.” Solas said softly as he stood at the top of the ladder.
“I know.” Varric mumbled in response. “We shouldn’t have taken Ara down here.”
Solas said nothing as he went down the ladder.
Sighing, Varric followed after, and it quickly became a race down the walkway to try and catch up with Ara. He could hear the sounds of battles and the strange rasping screams of the sha-brytol.
His suspicions, and horror, were confirmed as they all came into view of the first group of sha-brytol Ara had encountered.
He had seen a lot over his long life. From Fenris ripping out hearts to mages twisting into abominations. Yet, there had never been anything like what he saw now. For once, he was at a loss for words and the only thing he could think was carnage.
Instantly, Varric thought of their first trip to the Waking Sea. When they had watched Ara wade into their enemies and practically mowed them all down. How she had laughed in what had almost seemed like madness at the time.
It was like the same thing had happened here, only that she had burst the sha-brytol apart with each swing of her maul. They were little more than pieces of pulverized armor and squished ancient dwarf.
“Oh, by the creators…” Ellana said with a gasp, covering her mouth at the sight.
“Damn.” Renn managed with a tone somewhere closer to respect than to horror.
Varric briefly considered that the Legionnaire must have been desensitized by all his time in the Deep Roads but that quickly became a thought for another time.
“We should hurry.” Valta said as she motioned to the direction Ara had gone. “She’s heading for the altar.”
It’s not like she can go anywhere else.
The thought popped in his head quicker than it took to breathe but it made sense to him. There was only one path to follow and even if there were corners to run around, he guessed all roads led to that glowing stone.
“Then let’s get there.” Renn spoke.
Ellana said nothing, only gripped her staff tighter and ran down the walkway. No one said anything else as they went.
Even as they found another one of those word walls, Ellana barely gave it a second glance before ushering Valta along.
The mood was grim as they met little to no resistance as they ran. One or two sha-brytol met them on the way but it was like they were fleeing Ara as opposed to coming to fight them. It was impossible to tell if that was what was actually happening, but Varric felt almost certain that she was the cause for their flight.
They finally caught sight of Ara once they rounded the last tower.
She stood amidst the sha-brytol and he was reminded just how big she actually was. It was another thing that he had forgotten as they travelled together. That Ara was nearly twice his height with the musculature to back it up.
That war maul in her hands looked like a simple hammer.
One that she was using to cave in the armor of the final sha-brytol who ran at her.
“Ara!” Ellana’s voice was an almost shrill yell as she ran towards their companion.
“Stop!” Varric suddenly called out in panic, reaching for Ellana but Solas was the faster of the two of them.
The other man managed to grab Ellana’s arm and kept her from moving any closer to Ara.
Ara, for her part, did not seem to notice them and was focused on slamming that maul into the sha-brytol far more times than needed.
“What are you doing?!” Ellana demanded, her angry gaze focusing on Solas.
“I believe she has gone berserk.” Solas said it quickly with a face that was completely neutral.
“Berserk?” Ellana asked with a frown. “Ara has ne-“
“When we met Bull, she said something about a blood rage.” Varric quickly answered. “I don’t know if she can tell friend from foe, but she said she doesn’t feel pain.”
I should have said something. I should have made her go back to the surface.
He felt a sense of guilt as he knew that whatever had been bothering her had finally reached a tipping point.
Guilt he knew Ellana felt as well. Her face gave everything away and she went completely silent. Just staring at their friend who was turning the sha-brytol into paste.
“Is that like some kind of reaver?” Renn asked.
Varric could say nothing because that had been his first reaction as well.
“Yes.” Solas answered before letting go of Ellana’s arm. “I do not think it is wise for us to go near her until she calms down.”
“I don’t think we have much of a choice.” Valta said. “We need to get to that platform and she’s in the way.”
Varric thought the point was moot as Ara had turned away from them and started advancing for the platform Valta mentioned. There was going to be no getting between her and that altar and Maker help any of the remaining sha-brytol who tried to get in her way.
“Then we try to stop her before she does anything else.” Ellana said firmly with all the tone of the Inquisitor. “Try not to hurt her.”
“As you command, Inquisitor.” Solas said with a nod.
Varric only nodded as he was not looking forward to the idea of trying to fight against Ara.
In the end, it did not matter. She had looked in their direction when they approached, and Varric instantly felt like he was being looked at like a piece of meat. Those eyes still held that unnatural glow, but it was as if her personality was completely gone. That it was only a predator staring back at him.
She was clearly sizing them up before she turned away. The expression on her face was clear that they were not even perceived as a threat.
“Ara! Stop!” Ellana yelled out but it seemed to reach deaf ears.
Ara began to run but then things went even worse.
It seemed like time seemed to slow as Ara swung that maul at the giant blue stone. Only for it to react like it was defending itself.
Like it was alive.
It was like a magical shockwave that struck out against Ara. Whatever had her slipping into such a rage simply vanished as she was thrown through the air like a doll.
“Andraste’s tits!” Varric shouted and took a half step towards her. He only stopped as he realized there was nothing he could do to prevent her from being flung through the air. It was not like he could actually catch her.
“Ara!” Ellana’s shout was full of concern and panic.
That blast continued past where Ara stood and slammed into the group as well.
Varric felt it hit him but strangely enough, it was like a breeze compared to Ara being thrown through the air. The sound of two thuds behind him had him turning to look at where Valta and Renn had also been thrown.
It took a brief second before he realized that the magic force had clearly chosen to knock those two down.
Should I be insulted?
It was the only thought he managed when a wall of rocks rose, separating them from the other two dwarves. Instinct had him turning towards the center of the altar.
That is not good.
“She’s fine.” Solas quickly said as both he and Ellana crouched near Ara.
“I… think that’s the least of our worries.” Varric mumbled as he watched the rocks by his feet roll along towards the blue stone.
They all watched as the stone changed into something more like a rock wraith. Only with tendrils spread out from it that twisted in the air.
Varric quickly pointed Bianca in its direction as both Solas and Ellana moved to intercept the thing as well.
That was when Ara stood up.
Varric jerked his head towards her and knew something was off.
Her shoulders were hunched, and her body leaned forward a little too much. Then there was the maul that she slowly picked up. That glow was still in her eyes but there was a strange, almost dazed look. Like she was asleep on her feet.
She did not drop into a fighting stance as he expected but it was like her body swayed back and forth before she suddenly dashed forward. Ara did not make a sound. She did not yell or growl as she started to swing the maul at the nearest part of the blue rock wraith.
“Ara?!” Ellana’s voice did not seem to reach her either.
Or Ara just ignored the elf to focus on fighting. He truly hoped it was the former even if her body moved in a strangely jerky way.
Even if his gut was telling him that this was bad. Very, very bad.
Smith From Another Land
Chapter 74
Solas’ face told Ara everything she needed to know.
He had known.
“Solas.” She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself level. That irritation still bubbled beneath the surface as she just felt like she had been lied to.
Again.
She was beginning to suspect that lying was Solas’ natural state of being.
“Ir abelas,” His voice wavered. “I had thought it -”
“Just explain it.” She snapped at him before sighing and rubbing her forehead to try and ease her frustration. She took a deep breath in through her nose before speaking with a forced tone. “Just tell me.”
“Your magic is adversely affected by the rifts.” He looked anywhere but at her as he spoke. “Or rather it is adversely affected by closing them.”
“So, what… you’re saying I’m losing my magic because we’ve been closing rifts?” Ara practically hissed the words.
“Not fully,” He seemed to have trouble keeping his voice level. “There seems to be a reaction between fixing parts of the Veil.”
Oh great. I’m the anti-Ellana.
“I believe there is more to it than that,” Solas said quickly with just the barest hint of concern. Almost as if he had understood where her thoughts had gone. “You may have just been dragging extra magic through the fade because of the rifts.”
That hum in her head sounded almost amused in response.
You’re not helping.
Which only made that hum sound even more amused.
It made her think that there were other answers to be found from the Titan which meant yet another reason they needed to get to the Titan.
“So, what…? I can use magic here in Thedas because people have been ripping holes in the fabric of reality?!” It came out in an exasperated breath as it was just plain absurd.
“More or less,” Solas responded. “I think it was more because of the…”
“Because of the…?” Ellana’s voice interrupted the two of them and they both turned to face the Inquisitor as she approached.
Ellana still wore that long-suffering look of a leader who was concerned with something. In this case, Ara knew it was herself.
After all, she had just brought a dwarf back from the dead. Even if no one was going to outright say it.
“Just discussing what just happened,” Solas said with a polite tone. Clearly, he was doing his best not to reveal anything without actually lying to the woman.
Oh look, he’s lying to someone else again.
She tried to take a breath against that irritation that was just beneath her thoughts. It had become her constant companion since they ventured into this damnable hole in the ground.
“What did just happen?” Ellana asked but her attention was focused solely on Ara.
“I used magic to heal him,” Ara said as she attempted to look as friendly as possible. She was never really all that good at blatant lying and it was harder to say it to Ellana. “Guess it took more out of me than I thought.”
The look Ellana gave her was one that said she did not believe a single word and Ara did not want to explain it further.
She doesn’t need to know.
“As I’ve said before,” Solas provided. “Ara is not connected to the fade as we are.”
“So, I suppose that means healing magic is harder for you than it is for me?”
“It seems that way,” Ara said with a nod.
Wait… have I ever used healing magic here?
The thought bothered her a little. At that moment, she realized she had only barely thought of using the healing magic of Nirn. In fact, it had been second nature to use that magic when she had been adventuring.
I only thought of it when we were lost in the snow, but I thought it had been beyond my strength at the time.
Her healing magic should have been the first thing she used when they had been hurt in the snow. Yet it was only now, months later, that she realized she had believed herself to be too weak.
Why did I think that?
The hum in her head sounded almost confused at her thoughts before fading to a more neutral but ever-present buzz at the back of her mind.
“Oh… okay.” Ellana sounded almost dejected but said nothing else before taking a few steps toward the tunnel they were going to travel.
Ara sighed before glancing over at Solas.
“Perhaps when this is all done…?” He said softly.
She knew why he was trying to be polite about it. Another thing to add to the giant pile of annoyances named Solas.
He should feel guilty about all the lies.
“We’ll see.” Ara sighed again against her thoughts before focusing on him with an intense stare. “You will explain further about the rifts.”
“I will.” He said with a nod before glancing away from her. “I don’t think it’s the most important thing right now.”
She just hoped there was nothing they would need her magic for. She glanced over at the rest who were quickly gathering their things up and were just about ready to leave.
“I think I dreamed about the Titan.” She said quietly.
That hum in her head became indignant.
“I mean… I dreamed with it.” She corrected herself and the hum once more returned to a neutral tone.
Ara sighed again and rubbed the shaved side of her head.
This has been a long, tiring trip…
The hum responded with amusement.
It was only then that she realized Solas was still silent.
Ara raised an eyebrow as she stared at him. It was easy to note the tension that seemed to fill the mage. His face had paled considerably, and his knuckles turned white with the intense grip on his staff. His eyebrows had become furrowed as he turned over that bit of information, she had just given him.
“Solas?” Ara questioned.
“I… suspected.” He seemed to be struggling.
Her eyebrows arched even further.
Of course, there is going to be something else he’s going to hedge around.
“What you said before…” Solas paused, seemingly to glance at the others around them before taking a breath. The words were low, almost like he was telling a secret. “Just before you used your magic. How you felt about his death…”
Ara felt herself beginning to frown.
“Are you saying…” She stopped mid-sentence as she understood what he was about to say.
The Titan had been the one who wanted Renn back.
That hum in her head gave a few new happy notes and she knew she was right.
It influenced me.
How?
The hum gave no answer.
She glanced over at where Renn stood with Valta. The pair of them had finished packing up their things and had instead focused their attention on the damage to Renn’s armour. Their conversation was about the strange properties of the lyrium weapons used to damage it. Nothing at all shifted towards Ara or Renn’s “near-death” experience.
That irritation threatened to boil over when Renn looked at her and gave a rather curt nod.
“You’re right,” Ara said to Solas. “It wants to meet them. Both of them.”
“Did it say why?” His voice was barely more than a whisper.
Ara blinked as she turned back to Solas and found him standing quite a bit closer. She managed not to frown at him.
“Nothing about them.” She shook her head as she recalled the conversation with the Titan. Her voice dropping to be much quieter. “Just Blight, red lyrium and rifts.”
“It spoke to you about the Blight and red lyrium?” Solas faltered.
“Spoke is such a… broad term,” Ara responded, grimacing as she thought of how it had switched between different people to try and explain things to her.
“Perhaps we can discuss it further another time…” He responded before looking away. “I believe Ellana wants us to start moving again.”
Ara shrugged in response before striding from the cavern, stopping to pick up her weapon on the way. It felt like everyone was looking at her. Her companions were looking at her with concern while the two Orzammar dwarves alternated between awe and curiosity.
Stop looking at me.
They had not walked for more than five minutes beyond that cavern before it started feeling like every single step was going to make her feel like she was going to explode.
First, it was how Renn still kept staring but was not actually coming any closer to talk to her.
Then it was Valta chattering with Ellana about the possible reasoning behind the Sha-Brytol’s behaviour. How there had to be a purpose behind the Sha-Brytol and the fact that they had just seemingly randomly attacked them.
Then it was Ellana’s responses, mostly polite and disinterested as she glanced behind her to where Ara was walking. She was not even being discreet about it. Just turning and looking.
Then it was the crunch of Varric’s boots on the ground. He seemed to be stepping on every. Single. Rock.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
She gripped her weapon with white knuckles while the other had taken to idly rubbing at her shoulder. It throbbed almost in time to the humming in her head. It felt like the humming seemed to be trying to drown out the throbbing. Like the two things trying to compete for her attention.
“Ara?” Solas’ voice was that neutral tone that said he was still upset.
“What?!” She snapped.
Surprise flickered across his features before he schooled his face back into that same neutral expression. Only his eyes gave any indication of emotion and once more, he seemed to be running the entire spectrum of “angry”.
It was almost like her irritation was reflected in his eyes.
“Sorry… just…” She rubbed her hand against the side of her face. “Feeling… weird.”
“Perhaps because of what you did earlier?”
He’s being suspicious again.
“Probably.” She huffed before shaking her head at her own inner thoughts. “What did you want?”
“I was worried.” He said flatly even as that neutral mask finally cracked into concern.
“I’m fine,” Ara said firmly.
He opened his mouth to speak but Ara practically snarled.
“I. Am. Fine.”
And once more, everyone else was staring at her.
“Ara…?” Ellana said in a gentle but questioning tone.
“Don’t worry about it.” She muttered as she pushed her way beyond the group and started walking in the lead.
“I… what did you say to her?” Ellana’s voice was quieter but clearly directed at Solas behind her.
Not that Ara cared as she stomped off.
“Hey! Ara!” Varric called out but she continued to put distance between herself and the group.
She did not want to talk to people and have more questions.
They should only have to hear her say she was fine the once.
Why are they being so damn irritating?
She thought about why they might be so annoying even as that hum seemed to falter before it seemed to grow louder.
Only, she was certain she was making out voices in the hum this time.
She stopped dead in her tracks as she realized that familiar combination of voices. The languages were wrong, but it was just like that room back at Skyhold and the word walls back in Nirn. Only this was louder, and she felt no comfort in hearing it.
She took a few hesitant steps into the dark and realized the hum was completely in tune with the voices. It was a strange sort of symphony that echoed in her head and around her.
The darkness seemed just a little lighter at the edge of the turn and she knew they would find the words just beyond that twist.
“Ara? What is it?” Ellana’s voice called from behind her.
“Something up ahead.” She managed as she ran one hand against the prickled skin on the back of her neck.
“Something?” Valta moved forward with Renn at her side.
Renn briefly turned his head to look at Ara but did not say a word as both he, and Valta, moved together into the dark and disappeared beyond the turn in the tunnel. Ara did not bother waiting as she hurried to follow them.
She rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly as she walked even though she knew what would be waiting for them beyond that bend. As she suspected, the moment she stepped into this new cavern, the glow began to intensify.
Unfamiliar words were etched across the wall in that very distinct shade of blue.
It was not quite as many words as the wall had held in Skyhold but there was enough that she was reminded once more of home.
“This is like the wall of memories in Orzammar, but ancient. Very ancient.” Valta’s voice was full of wonder.
Ara moved to the side to allow the others to get closer, but she focused on Valta’s words. It was easier to focus on Valta even as her thoughts ran wild.
She had long suspected that there might be a connection between the way the dwarves store memories and the word walls she had found in Skyrim, but it was another thing to hear someone actually say it.
It was strangely irritating to hear it said out loud.
“The words seem to be in some ancient dwarven dialect.” Valta continued.
Ara cocked her head at the admission of language. She could hear the different voices, but she could make out nothing that seemed similar to the languages she had heard since she arrived here in Thedas. Nor was there anything that felt like the words she had known in Nirn.
The languages sounded foreign in her head which made it clear that it was not made by the same person who made the wall in Skyhold.
“Do you recognize any of em?” Renn asked, his attention completely on Valta.
“Barely.” She answered.
“Can you translate any of it?” Ellana’s curiosity rang out in her voice.
Ara took that moment to take another step away from the wall, but the move was noticed by both Varric and Solas. The two were now looking at her with concern. At least, Varric was looking at her with concern. There was unbridled suspicion in Solas’ eyes.
She merely looked away without speaking.
He doesn’t need to look at me like that.
That irritation boiling in her blood made her almost want to see how she could knock the look off his face.
A thought that had her trying to focus on something else.
Like those stalactites over in that corner.
“Only fragments,” Valta answered as she lifted her hand up towards the wall. There was a moment where Ara thought of warning her against it, but the woman paused just short of actually touching the writing.
“The language is very different from what we speak today.” Valta continued, her hand continuing to move through the air as she kept track of the words. “This word keeps appearing. Sha-Brytol…”
At the back of her mind, at the center of that hum, she knew what it meant. She had no idea how she knew but she guessed it had something to do with the Titan.
Revered defenders.
“Ara…?” Varric’s voice snapped her out of listening to the hum.
“Hmm?” She responded without looking at him.
“You sure you’re…”
“If you ask again, I’m walking off on my own.” She responded tersely. She paused for a moment before glancing over at him with a more apologetic tone that she did not quite feel. “I’m fine, just thinking about things.”
“What are you thinking about?” Solas asked with that annoyingly neutral tone.
“Just that wall,” Ara answered with a small shrug, not wanting to speak too much about what she was hearing. Even if she knew she should talk about it, she suddenly just did not want to.
“You’ve seen walls like this before?” Varric asked in surprise. “Does that mean you’ve encountered-?”
“No, not like this.” Ara shook her head as she cut him off before she looked back at the wall. Even if it was the truth, it still felt like a lie. She had seen the wall in Skyhold and experienced the memory locked within it. There was the possibility that there was something similar here, but she was not going to touch it. “Skyrim had word walls that made noise like this one.”
“You can hear the wall?” Varric’s voice was breathless.
Ara blinked, realizing what she had just admitted out loud.
She glanced towards Renn and Valta, but the pair seemed more engrossed in trying to decipher the wall than in listening to the three of them. Even Ellana was more focused on Valta for the moment. They were talking about some sort of stewardship at that point, and she guessed there was information about the things defending the Titan.
“Can’t you?” Ara asked quietly.
She had no idea why she asked but the question had bubbled up before she had a chance to think. Like it was pushed out of her mouth just like the shout had been earlier.
“No…not… really.” Varric seemed hesitant. “I think…I can kinda feel it.”
Ara whipped her head in Varric’s direction at nearly breakneck speed. The irritation almost instantly bled away as she focused on him.
“How?” She questioned softly.
“It’s like a buzzing in my teeth.” Varric frowned, clearly not enjoying whatever sensation he was feeling. “Especially my back teeth.”
He hears the hum!
And the hum in her head answered in a happy tone.
Which quickly brought the irritation back.
“You?” Ara said as she looked towards Solas.
He merely shook his head in their direction but quickly avoided looking her in the eye.
Liar.
She sighed in frustration before glancing back at the wall.
Stupid fahliil.
The earlier conversation made more sense. She realized he had suspected it because he could hear it as well. She just had no idea why he was bothering to lie about it.
It was not like there was any great secret hidden in the words on the wall.
“It’s the lyrium.” Ara answered. “I felt a…” She paused as she tried hard to sort out how to explain the feeling that she got from being this close to the lyrium or how she had felt when she touched Dagna’s lyrium crystals. “...a feeling. Like a buzzing.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Varric said thoughtfully, one hand rubbing his chin as he clearly thought it over. The action was one of concern and Ara wondered if the whole thing troubled him. “I’ve been around a lot of lyrium over the years, both the regular blue stuff and the bad red shit. Doesn’t usually buzz.”
“Maybe because this is different?” Ara said as she motioned to the wall. “I mean… your shaper dwarves must have done something to the lyrium to make it like that. Makes sense that it would be different than those enchantment runes you guys use.”
It felt like another lie even as Valta spoke up to grab their attention.
“Let’s keep moving. If more of these memories exist, they may have the answers we need.” Her voice rang out clearly in the cavern.
“Alright, I’ll take the lead,” Renn said before moving further down the cavern.
Everyone fell in step behind him, and Ara was not that surprised to find herself near the back of the group. She was more surprised when Solas slowed to walk beside her and spoke almost too quietly.
“Don’t touch the wall.”
The tone was not angry but there was a warning there.
“Do you…”
“I know what it is. If you do not wish to see the dwarves being sealed into their armour, do not touch it.” His voice was low as they moved from the cavern and into the new tunnel. “There will be other walls down here, do not touch them.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” She muttered and felt that irritation starting to return. “We need to meet that damn Titan.”
“Yes, I think we do,” Solas said with a grim expression. “It has a lot to answer for.”
“Oh, so you know it’s here too.” She said in mock camaraderie before she sighed at herself. She did not like this constant feeling of anger and irritation. It was like she was one step away from just exploding into a blood rage. “Sorry… I don’t even know why I said that. Of course, you know.”
“I do.” He quietly said as he glanced at their companions ahead of them. He glanced back at her before he admitted. “I can hear it.”
Plumb’s “I want you here” definitely sets the mood for editing chapter 77 of SfAL.
SfAL Snippet Saturday
“The language is very different from what we speak today.” Valta continued, her hand continuing to move through the air as she kept track of the words. “This word keeps appearing. Sha-Brytol…”
At the back of her mind, at the center of that hum, she knew what it meant.
Revered defenders.
“Ara…?” Varric’s voice snapped her out of listening to the hum.
“Hmm?” She responded without looking at him.
“You sure you’re…”
“If you ask again, I’m walking off on my own.” She responded tersely before glancing over at him with a more apologetic tone that she did not quite feel. “I’m fine, just thinking about things.”
Going back to editing chapters 73-80 after such a long time is kind of interesting but I hope to have those up before the summer gets in full swing.