Fun fic fact: In the AHSiG world state the Fereldan Grey Wardens specifically do not go to Orlais because Clarel's letter sounds sketchy as fuck and Senior Warden Nathaniel takes them into hiding and also thinks to ask a certain shady old blood mage "Hey what's going on with all of us hearing the Calling at once." So I guess my hot take for this story is that the Orlesian Wardens doing a blood magic was not the problem; the problem was they didn't keep a shady old blood mage on retainer and had to outsource that shit. They could learn something from Ferelden tbh.
Here's me, Ariane Clairière (wildwood Elezen Warrior of Light, FFXIV), and Talith Tabris (city elf Warden, Dragon Age). Yes, they both like flowers. This was not intentional. 😆
Tagging: @rosella-writes @nirikeehan @dreadfutures @chocochipbiscuit @warpedlegacy @fivekoboldsinacoat @a-song-in-the-stillness @ineedmyknightcommander and anyone else who wants to share!
My word count has gone to pieces over the past week, but oh well. Here's some Tabriala! Get you a creepy old blood mage uncle. CW: mad sciencey blight experiments. Taint taint taint. Etc.
Talith's voice echoed off the stone walls when she spoke. "Avernus?"
The man did not turn around. "One moment, please. I'm in the middle of something quite precise."
They had a rather long wait while the mage finished his task, and Briala took the opportunity to survey the laboratory more thoroughly. She noticed that the walls were lined with maps as well as other notes, and examining one of them more closely she found it to be a very detailed map of a portion of the Deep Roads—not as they were in the height of the empire, but as they were in the present, noting tunnels, cave-ins, and darkspawn-controlled areas.
At last, the old mage left his table and came down the short set of stairs to meet them, gesturing impatiently as he moved to another table. "Twenty-three minutes that mixture needs to rest. Now then. Your Wardens' Calling has been unnaturally induced."
Talith shook her head, cracking a smile as she followed. "Hello, Avernus."
"That is why you've come, isn't it, Commander? I've little patience for pleasantries in my advanced age, so you and your companion will have to forgive me. To the blood—" He flipped through a few pages of the book of notes before him. "Fortuitously, I've studied specimens from Wardens at every stage of the taint's advancement, and that data I have been able to compare with the samples provided by the Senior Warden and several volunteers. Blood and tissue samples…" He waves a hand. "Unimportant. What you must know is that the taint has not advanced naturally."
"What's natural about the darkspawn taint?" Talith said dryly.
"There is a typical progression," the old mage replied impatiently, "which I have observed in many subjects, over two centuries—" Briala raised an eyebrow. "These latest samples are anomalous… inconsistent with reported symptoms… unnatural, in a word."
"Avernus," Talith said urgently, leaning forward on the table, "What does it mean?"
Avernus looked up at last, meeting the Warden-Commander's eyes. "As I told the Senior Warden, without further data I cannot say. The advancement of the corruption is inconsistent with that of a Warden reaching their Calling—in short, they should not be hearing it Therefore, I propose some outside influence. The Senior Warden has been reticent to authorize field tests, and though he suspects the Wardens in Orlais may know more, he declines to make contact with them, thus making it impossible for me to draw any further conclusions." The old man paused, and for a moment Briala thought she saw a flicker of sympathy on his face. "I have abided by Nathaniel's wishes—as I have yours, Commander. Do not think me unconcerned. I would… not wish to see the Order depleted."
Talith cracked a smile. "Don't tell me you're getting attached."
"I am content to work in solitude," Avernus replied stiffly. "However, I shall confess that the recent company has not been… unwelcome."
"The Drydens don't come to the tower much, I suppose."
"They are sociable enough. Nonetheless, it has been… many years since I regularly had the company of fellow Wardens. Do not concern yourself, Commander. As I said, I am quite content."
"As you say, Avernus." Talith's brow furrowed in thought. "So… externally induced or not, is it… a real Calling? Will it… progress as a real Calling would?"
Avernus shook his head. "I lack the information to say. I am sorry, Commander."
I'm going to shamelessly cheat and pull these directly off my Tabriala/A Hero Sleeps in Gwaren playlist so they are Talith Tabris songs but they're also ship songs. Also I'm including lyrics snippets because I feel like it.
Breath of Life by Florence + the Machine
I was looking for a breath of life
A little touch of heavenly light
But all the choirs in my head sang no
Guns and Horses by Ellie Goulding
You're so quiet
But it doesn't faze me
You're on time
You move so fast, makes me feel lazy
Let's join forces
We've got our guns and horses
Summerday by Dar Williams
From the ship, we could see it in the distance
As the fog was finally lifting
We had come to the shores of Summerday
Gently landing, we jumped out on the sand and found our way
Where the dirt was soft and black
We started digging a garden
And soon we found the woods that we'd call
The forest of Arden for to play
I'll Hold My Breath by Ellie Goulding
Force quit on your losing streak
Solve a riddle in a magazine, be tongue in cheek
Tell me that we're still too young,
That we're still too young, and I'll hold my tongue
King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men
Taking over this town, they should worry
But these problems aside, I think I taught you well
That we won't run, and we won't run, and we won't run
Tagging @rosella-writes @ammoniteflesh @queenaeducan @rakshadow @dreadfutures @warpedlegacy @ialpiriel @ladyswillmart @crackinglamb @ir0n-angel @skyeventide @inquisimer @nirikeehan @exalted-dawn @darethshirl @noire-pandora and anyone else who wants to play (and if you find yourself double tagged please take it as an invitation to post about more than one character 😉)
@v-arbellanaris tagged me this week and @nirikeehan tagged me uhhh three weeks ago 😂 so thank you both! I've been on a writing hiatus but I'm working back up to it so here's a snippet.
Tagging @chocochipbiscuit @rosella-writes @delicatefade @ammoniteflesh @ziskandra @dreadfutures @inquisimer @ell-vellan @kiastirling @skyeventide @crackinglamb @ir0n-angel and anyone else who'd like to share!
~~~
"How… does this work, exactly?" Briala asked, with curiosity as well as some trepidation. They had retired early and arisen before dawn, eating quickly and packing up their things into the wagon for the journey. Lanaya's aravel was one of the larger ones Briala had seen, all painted wood with intricate carvings and designs. It appeared much too wide to pass through even much of the outskirts, never mind the dense forest into which they ventured. The back, which featured long covered benches that could function as seats or as beds, was entirely covered. The front was open to the air; a wooden frame allowed draperies to be hung over this part as well, but Lanaya had pulled them down so they could see all around them as they traveled. "I have heard about Dalish magic, but…"
"It's simple, really." Lanaya had taken the front seat in the wagon, with Briala and Talith seated behind her. "You've seen that the trees often move of their own accord. The forest lives and breathes, and as Keepers we learn its rhythms, until it moves for us as well."
"But the trees are possessed by spirits. Is that how…"
"We do not use spirits, no. Spirits have a will of their own, and can present a danger to us even if they do not intend to. Keepers study the natural world as well as the power of the Beyond, and the how the one can be reshaped by the other. It is the manipulation of primal forces, not possession or blood magic."
Gheyna and Cammen had finished hitching up the halla, now and they tossed their elegantly-horned heads, eager to get on the move. There were only three, which seemed insufficient to Briala; a carriage of this size in Val Royeaux would have been drawn by at least two large draft horses, and the halla were considerably smaller. Perhaps this too involved magic. Briala climbed into the open front, and Talith sat beside her. Still feeling a bit nervous, Briala welcomed the comfort of her wife's hand in hers. She wondered if Talith felt the same.
Lanaya stood before them at the head of the aravel, and spoke some words in Elvish to the halla. Briala could not make them out, but the creatures seemed to understand, quieting their restless movements and standing ready and attentive.
Gheyna and Cammen, having finished tending to the halla, stood aside, hand in hand, and Gheyna waved. "Dareth shiral, Keeper. Talith, Briala, dareth shiral. Sylaise ma ghilana vhenas."
Cammen added solemnly, "Dareth shiral, Talith. Elgar'nan ma ghilana, lasa mala enasalin."
At that, Talith's expression grew solemn as well. "Ma serannas, lethallen. Dareth shiral."
Briala recognized a few words. Dareth shiral, "Safe journey." Vhenas, enasalin. And the names of the elven gods. Gheyna had bid the Hearthkeeper guide them safely home. Cammen had wished them victory—in the name of Elgar’nan, the god of vengeance.
She was still unsure whether she believed in the elven gods—if she believed in any gods at all—but Briala sent up a silent prayer of her own anyway.
Lanaya raised her staff only slightly. Her back was to Briala and Talith as she began to weave the magic that would aid their journey, and Briala could see only a soft green glow emanating from the crystal set unto her wooden staff. With her off hand, she seemed to weave the magic into form; the glow grew before her, and then dispersed like a cloud, sinking low to the ground and seeming to disappear into the earth.
The halla moved, and the wagon with them, and where they ventured east into the trees… the trees parted.
They did not walk, as the angry sylvans had. Their roots did not tear from the ground, not did their branches take the form of reaching arms. They hardly seemed to move at all—Briala truly could not tell whether the trees were sliding aside, or the ground itself had swelled beneath them, forming a path between them.
Lanaya took a set on the bench in front of them, though it was clear she was maintaining the spell through concentration, and Briala kept quiet to avoid disturbing her, instead looking in wonder as the trees slipped past on either side. The halla picked up speed, and the aravel glided smoothly through the forest where it parted for them. Its movement was incredibly, impossibly smooth, smoother than a carriage over packed dirt.
She was awestruck. It was the closest thing to her childhood dreams of a magical elven paradise that she had ever experienced in real life.
From in front of them came Lanaya's voice, gently amused. "What do you think, my friends?"
"I've never seen anything like this," Briala said, finding her voice. "I've never… in truth I had thought much of the legend of Dalish magic to be just that."
A little bit of city elf headcanon (featuring Talith Tabris from the Briala/f!Tabris fic I'm working on).
While I love that iconic city elf concept art as much as anyone (lady covered in blood hot), I've actually come to really like the in-game wedding clothes and they have given rise to two headcanons for me.
Tabris's wedding outfit looks sort of dwarfy because it is! Cyrion bought it for her from a Dwarven clothier in Denerim.
Wearing all-white for your wedding isn't really a thing in alienage culture. White garments are easily ruined (especially in a muddy city). Brightly colored dyes make for more expensive fabrics, but also for bold garments with repeat wearability. City elves, whose working clothes are usually neutrals and earthtones, love to add color for festive occasions. The more color, the better!
Thank you for the tag, @theluckywizard! I'm a day late and a dollar short but in the past week I managed to actually finish a chapter, so I'm here to share!
Tagging: @warpedlegacy @ar-lath-ma-cully @rosella-writes @nirikeehan @crackinglamb @doomhippy83 @rakshadow and anyone else who'd like to share.
Context: While our heroines were in Denerim getting hitched, the banns of Gwaren have rebelled. Briala and Talith have just made it out of the Brecilian Forest. Now they need a plan to take Gwaren back.
~~~
"So…" Talith said with a great sigh as they reached the edge of the outskirts, where the trees thinned and gave way to farmland as far as the eye could see. She trailed off, but Briala felt the implicit Now what?
"Allies," Briala said. "Lanaya was right about that. And we will need information. If the castle holds, if it has been taken. How many soldiers guard the town. We will need a plan to get inside."
Talith brightened just a little. "I know how we can get inside the castle. You read the biography of King Maric, didn't you? The Stolen Throne? You know about the Deep Roads entrance?"
In all the concern for how they would get out of the forest, Briala had admittedly forgotten. With Talith's words, the story came back to her. "Maric Theirin used the Deep Roads to reach Gwaren after the battle of West Hill. But that entrance opened into the town, if I recall." She did remember that part. The rebel King, believed killed at West Hill, emerging like a sign from the Maker himself to greet his loyal followers and lead them to victory, avenging his mother's murder and driving the Orlesians from Ferelden. Briala wondered how many details had been altered or embellished to place Maric in the light of legend, like his forebear King Calenhad. Fereldans, like Orlesians, were fond of their bloodlines. Still, it was a compelling story.
"Right. But the old outpost extends under all of Gwaren. It runs under the castle itself. I don't know if Maric could have gotten that far in his time—the passages might have been blocked off. But they're cleared now. We went down there—the Grey Wardens—to clear out the darkspawn and reclaim the salt mines. It's all sealed off from the Deep Roads proper now, to keep the darkspawn away. But you can still get to the castle from the town entrance."
"Then we need to get into town without being seen."
Talith sighed. "That's going to be the hard part. There will be guards everywhere, and they'll be looking at elves harder than anyone." She grimaced. "I hate to admit this, but some things were easier when I could still be invisible."
"No doubt it was," Briala agreed. "But were that still the case, you would not have a castle reclaim."
"Sometimes I wonder if that would really be worse."
Briala decided to let that remark pass. "Are there any vassals you can trust? Anyone you can be sure would aid you in reclaiming Gwaren?"
Talith looked dejected at that. "No. Not all of them have actively risen against me, but… I can't be sure they'd help, either."
Briala nodded. It was, in truth, the answer she had expected. "Then it is too risky to contact any of them directly. We will simply have to turn elsewhere for help." She paused, considering. "Do you know where the herbalist lives?" She had not spent days and weeks traveling into town and speaking to the elven townspeople for nothing.
"Alys? Outside of town, I believe. She grows her own stock there."
Briala nodded. "Precisely. I have an idea."
If no nobles would take their side, Briala knew who would.
