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The Dread Wolf's Shadow Ch.8


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#1 Theodur

Posted 24 February 2018 - 07:55 AM

Chapter 8

 

Villa Montilyet, Antiva City

 

Josephine Montilyet thoughtfully poured herself a third cup of the morning tea as she sat at the desk in her office, having just finished perusing the correspondence delivered to her overnight. In times of crisis such as this, their broad network of informants truly felt like Maker-sent, helping Josephine maintain oversight at almost everything that was going on in Thedas. Of course, the nature of her interests had shifted from purely political to much more mercantile since the days of the Inquisition, and the network had changed to reflect that, but most of her former associates had chosen to remain in her service, and at least a dozen of spies from Bethany's network had also decided to continue working with the couple, gladly providing all sorts of valuable information for a reasonable fee. Even if Josephine was mostly interested in the demands of various markets around Thedas, in many cases, the changes in markets were dictated by local politics, so she made sure to always maintain her finger on the political pulse of Thedas as well, and right now her broader perspective at the overall situation allowed her to notice how some events were connected, while most of the other observers were simply reacting viscerally to what happened only in their near vicinity.

 

And there certainly was a lot happening throughout Thedas right now. The Forsythias were slowly starting to gain ground in Nevarra as the population now rallied behind them, turning on the Pentaghasts, buying into the claims of the Forsythias that the centuries long rule of the Pentaghast family had led the country to this point where they had been humiliated by the Tevinter Imperium and this destruction of the royal seat in Nevarra City had been made into yet another outcome of the Pentaghast weakness. As the crowds throughout Nevarra turned on their former favorites, many Pentaghasts chose to flee and go into exile, either to Orlais or Antiva, though there were also reports of entire households slaughtered in the streets as they tried to flee. By now, the Pentaghasts had been decisively driven out of the two largest cities, Cumberland and Nevarra City, but they somehow still held on to Hunter Fell and Perendale, though likely not for long.

 

Josephine did not particularly like the reports coming out of Orlais. By all accounts, Empress Celene and Marquise Briala had perished in the destruction of the Winter Palace, even if bodies had still not been recovered. There were rumors of Celene having named a successor, but the Council of Heralds for some reason had gone silent and refused to bring any names forward. As a result, assassinations throughout the Imperial Court ran rampant as everyone was trying to guess the identity of the royal successor and quickly do them in. Even worse, a faction of hard-line Gaspard sympathizers had crawled out of the woodworks somewhere and were trying to reclaim lost influence, claiming that Celene's weakness and willingness to always play nice and yield to their neighbors had led them to this crisis, wowing to make Orlais great again by restoring the country to the aggressive and imperialistic expansionist power it was always meant to be. In short, the future of Orlais appeared very uncertain, and trade between the two countries already began to reflect it, eating into the profits of House Montilyet. 

 

The Royal Palace of Denerim had also been destroyed in a massive blast, killing hundreds, but Josephine had been spared another personal tragedy when a second report arrived almost immediately after the first, letting her know that King Alistair and Queen Evangeline, seven months into her pregnancy, had survived on the account of pure good luck, having decided to depart on their tour of the Bannorn a day earlier only because Alistair had been eager to spend an extra day of hunting in the Southron Hills. Josephine had been incredibly relieved by these news, as was all of Ferelden. She had no idea what would happen to the long-suffering southern frontier if Alistair and Evangeline had perished in the terrible attack. In any case, Ferelden had been long overdue of a lucky reprieve, and it seemed as if they had certainly gotten one this time around.

 

Information from the cities of the Free Marches had been slightly more difficult to acquire. It seemed as if there had been some incidents in Starkhaven and Markham, where explosions had decimated at least parts of their respective seats of power, but in the other cities it appeared that these plots had somehow been foiled, and the local governors were doing their best to keep all information suppressed as they performed their own investigations. Curiously, no attacks had been performed on Tevinter soil, and when this information became public knowledge, accusing glares began facing northwards, something that merely made Josephine roll her eyes in frustration. Certainly, this information presented an important clue, but not in a way that everyone else seemed to believe.

 

As far as the situation in Antiva was concerned, the busy passage of their daily lives only took a tiny pause to pay respects to the late King Fulgeno, his family and the palace staff in a grandiose state funeral, but throughout it all the merchant princes never stopped their wheeling and dealing to keep the country running, already scheming behind closed doors to decide on who to place as the next puppet on the throne to act as an official and ineffectual figurehead of Antiva. This misjudgment of how little the death of the king would affect the lives of Antivans was the second important clue that Josephine had distilled from all of this, and it had been enough to draw her eyes at a worrying culprit that nobody else in Thedas suspected, at least not yet.

 

Josephine had arranged for her people to recover debris from the blasts in Antiva, Nevarra and Halamshiral, then enlisting services of a Tevinter expert to examine these debris. The results in all three cases had been the same, the source of the blast had been gaatlok, commonly known throughout Thedas as the fearsome blackpowder, an explosive produced and used exclusively by the qunari, removing all doubt about who was behind these attacks. Even though Josephine at first could not see any reason for the qunari to launch such an underhanded attack, she had no reason to doubt her expert, the Tevinter being very closely familiar with the gaatlok and its effects, easily recognizing the familiar traces of the explosive powder in the samples Josephine had provided.

 

With her worst suspicions confirmed, Josephine was left with the painful choice on whether to use her network to make her discoveries known to the whole of Thedas or not, aware that public knowledge of the truth would imminently lead to a devastating war between the South and the Qunari, with Tevinter likely seeking an alliance with the southerners. The inevitable loss of life was weighing heavily on Josephine's mind and for now it was stopping her from making this information public, though she was not certain for how long she could continue hiding the truth. Maybe only for as long as Bethany returns, she thought to herself as she rose from her seat and approached the window offering a beautiful view at the gardens below. It's not a coincidence that Merrill's letter arrived when it did and then all of this started happening. Whatever Merrill needed help with, must relate to the qunari plot… so before I make my own move, I should give Bethany, Riona and Merrill the opportunity to finish whatever it is they are up to. They always find a way to fix things against all odds, so perhaps we can still avert a full-scale war.

 

I just hope that it doesn't take too much time, because I'm starting to miss you a great deal, love, Josephine thought with growing sadness as she observed the scene down in the garden, Yvette and little Constance trying to give Bethany's pet fennec Ser Fluffsworth a much-needed bath, but not having much success with it. If anything, the only one still dry was the sneaky fennec, while Yvette and Connie looked soaking wet from all the water splashing around. At least listening to Connie's happy laughter did Josephine's heart good, especially after a couple of days ago she had eventually succeeded in getting through to Connie when explaining that her parents were not simply gone for a while, the girl finally appearing to understand that her mommy and daddy would never be coming back from their ill-fated sea voyage. The little girl had been inconsolable for a long while afterwards, and Josephine had been trying her best to cheer her up, whispering her things that she honestly had no right to promise, not without consulting Bethany first, but she desperately hoped that her beloved would feel the same way as she did about the little orphan girl. I know you'll love her, Bethany… and Connie needs more love than I alone can give, especially now. Just come home to us safely, and Maker be willing, perhaps with time we can become a proper family…

 

~***~

 

Vir Dirthara

 

Bethany had no idea about how much time had passed since she had fallen asleep in the strange Veil-torn elven library, but she woke up feeling greatly refreshed and eager to face the challenges of the day, hoping to start with the exploration of their remarkable and unique surroundings. With no Riona or Merrill anywhere in sight, Bethany took the opportunity to change into a fresh set of underclothes before donning her robe and then searching her bags for some of the remaining rations, the delicious pine nut and olive bread they had bought from the Orlesian farmers. Before starting to look around for Riona or Merrill, Bethany decided to finish her improvised breakfast, taking a seat at Merrill's research table and starting to leaf through her translations as she munched on the bread and occasionally took sips from her water flask to wash it down.

 

Soon enough, Bethany was so immersed in reading Merrill's translations of more accurate and authentic legends of the Creators that she even forgot about her meal, the bread set aside and forgotten for the moment. To read through everything that Merrill had translated would require several days at least, but even the first few glimpses were fascinating enough, such as the story she was currently reading, describing the building of a monument celebrating Elgar'nan's victory over the enemies of the Evanuris, further underlining the vanity, cruelty and arrogance of the Creators as hundreds and hundreds of elven slaves perished in making Elgar'nan's victory eternal. There were more stories that Merrill had collected about Elgar'nan, all painting him as very bloodthirsty and warlike, with Mythal constantly having to try and reign him in. One of the stories told focused on a bloody conflict between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din, Mythal managing to avoid a war amongst the Evanuris only by arranging a duel between champions of the 'gods', a duel that ended in the victory for Elgar'nan's champion and forced Falon'Din to bow down to the leader of the Evanuris.

 

With bated breath, Bethany flipped through the pages in search of something particularly interesting and salacious, stopping when she suddenly noticed a name she had never expected to see in Merrill's research journal, starting to read the entry under the title that Merrill had put down as 'The Exile of the Forbidden Ones'. "For abandoning the People in their time of greatest need, for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach, we declare Xebenkeck and others of her ilk exiled from the lands of the Evanuris. Beware! Their familiarity with shape allows them to travel paths unaided. They may be bound, but only the protection of your gods will fully shield you from their malice. They are Forbidden from the Earth that is our right," Bethany read aloud as if transfixed, unsure what to make of this brief piece of text that Merrill appeared to have left unfinished. What does it all mean? Xebenkeck dragged Merrill through the eluvian in Kirkwall, so maybe I should prod her about this… she might know more than she has put down on the parchment here, Bethany thought, not noticing that someone else had entered the secluded place where they had made their camp, only rearing her head to answer after Riona had startled her with a greeting.

 

"Oh… good morning, Ri," Bethany uttered hastily, closing Merrill's journal and only then noticing her abandoned breakfast, quickly returning her attention to it. "Did you sleep well?"

 

"Yes, surprisingly so," Riona nodded. "What about you?"

 

"Same here, I don't usually sleep so well," Bethany replied. "Umm, listen Ri… I feel like I should apologize about yesterday. I shouldn't have teased you like that."

 

"It's fine," Riona shrugged. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." Bethany desperately wanted to ask her sister why she had reacted that way, but something told her that she should for once keep her mouth shut and wait for her sister to speak on her own terms, Riona continuing after a lengthy period of silence. "I shouldn't feel ashamed about these implications, whether there is something behind it all or not," she said. "The way I feel and react is on me, not on anyone else. I need to deal with it."

 

So, something did indeed happen between her and Morrigan. If only I knew what, Bethany thought to herself. "You know you can talk to me about anything, Ri," she spoke softly. "Despite evidence to the contrary, I can be serious when it is required."

 

"I know, Beth," Riona smiled at her. "But this is something that I really need to figure out myself. Besides, this is neither time nor place for soul-searching."

 

"If you're certain," Bethany gave her sister a concerned stare.

 

"I'm certain," Riona nodded confidently. "There are far more interesting things to find in this library and I already stumbled onto something that I need to show you. So, finish your breakfast and come with me… I promise that this will blow your mind." 

 

"Good to go," Bethany smiled before shoving the last bits of bread into her mouth, then rising from her seat and wiping the crumbs off from her robes. Shortly afterwards, Riona was leading her through the library towards a hole in its outer wall, the pair emerging onto a ledge that was about three yards wide, providing a slightly frightening but overall comfortable path around the outer wall of the library, Bethany only now able to observe that what remained of the grand entrance hall of the Shattered Library also stood on one of the many floating islands that occupied this part of the land between the Fade and the mortal realm.

 

"Anything interesting in Merrill's notes?" Riona asked as she led her sister forward, turning around the corner to reach the back of the grand hall.

 

"I'm sure there is, though I only skimmed the surface. I found something that I'm going to ask Merrill about later, I think you will find it very interesting," Bethany replied, as the pair came up to a small campsite behind the library, looking almost like an enchanter's workplace, both sisters instantly recognizing the familiar equipment. "Anyway, what's so interesting about this campsite?" she asked her older sibling.

 

"The journal down there by the campfire," Riona pointed at the leather-bound tome nearby, grinning as she watched Bethany snatching it in a hurry, her sister's eyes widening after she had opened the journal to discover that all the entries inside consisted of a single word, namely 'enchantment'.

 

"Sandal? Sandal was here?" Bethany gasped, shaking her head in disbelief. "You know… in a way, I think it almost makes sense, because there were things about him that suggested he was… connected to something else than just the realm of mortals. But how would he have found his way here?"

 

"Maker only knows," Riona shrugged. "I agree that in a way it almost makes sense. It seems as if he had come here to study… enchantment?"

 

"It certainly seems like that. Did you see any sign of Bodahn?" Bethany asked, Riona shaking her head. "This seems like a place where Bodahn could not follow Sandal, I suppose. I just hope that old dwarf is alright," Bethany sighed, Riona nodding in agreement. "But look at this… even though almost all the entries are the same, Sandal has managed to keep a track of time in this place? I wonder how he did that. If his notes are accurate, then he would have arrived here at the end of 9:41 Dragon and left early in 9:42… before we had defeated Corypheus."

 

"So, he would have been gone before Merrill and Solas came here," Riona mused thoughtfully. "Speaking of Merrill, where is that elf? We're not going to get far without her."

 

"Perhaps we should return to the library and start looking for her from there," Bethany suggested, Riona agreeing with a yet another nod.

 

Having prepared themselves to resume their strange adventure, the Hawke sisters left their makeshift camp to walk over to the other end of the massive entrance hall of the Shattered Library, where the walls had completely given way, having been scattered throughout this odd realm together with the invaluable bookshelves and their contents. There was only one path which led away from the larger floating island upon which the entrance hall of the library stood, a wide elven stairway with large statues of bronze guardian avian creatures at the top and the bottom of the stairs, however, these did not appear elven at all, in fact Riona and Bethany keenly remembered them as common features in Kirkwall, remnants of the city's Tevinter origins. With Merrill nowhere in sight, the two sisters exchanged questioning stares before descending the stairs towards a narrow rubble-strewn path connecting two of the floating islands, a rickety bridge stretching across the bottomless gap.

 

"Wait a moment," Riona spoke up as soon as they had reached the bottom of the stairs, grabbing Bethany's arm.

 

"Don't worry, I feel it too," Bethany smiled at her sister, having sensed a vague shift in the Fade nearby, peering around until she noticed a barely visible golden red outline of a benevolent spirit, observing them. "Show yourself," she addressed the spirit in a kind voice. "We are not here to harm you."

 

At her encouragement, the glowing outline of the spirit began to materialize, becoming slightly more visible, though the vaguely feminine voice still felt rather disembodied when the spirit addressed them. "My apologies, gentle visitors," the spirit intoned. "I have been derelict in my duty to welcome noble patrons to this place of learning. The halls are open for your perusal."

 

"A librarian spirit?" Riona smiled. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything."

 

"Can you tell us what is this place?" Bethany asked. "We know it is called Vir Dirthara, but what was it for the elves? Merely a library or something more?"

 

"The Vir Dirthara is the living knowledge of the Empire," the spirit replied. "The libraries of every city, the wisdom of every court flows through Vir Dirthara. It is a connecting place, but its paths are in disarray."

 

"We can see that," Riona sighed, looking around. "What caused this disaster?"

 

"The Vir Dirthara was made with world and Fade," the spirit attempted to explain. "When they sundered, so did we. Paths broke. Knowledge fragmented. Many were trapped. I preserve their last words."

 

"Looks like this might have been caused by some catastrophic event, like the creation of the Breach," Bethany mused, looking around at the collection of many floating islands and the debris suspended in the air around them.

 

"Perhaps the same event that brought the Empire of Arlathan to its knees?" Riona shrugged. "Still, that doesn't help us any right now."

 

"True enough," Bethany nodded, turning her attention back to the glowing spirit. "You were apprehensive about approaching us. Why?"

 

"My apologies, honored patron," the spirit lamented. "Some of the recent visitors to Vir Dirthara have been of the unruly sort. I regret to inform you that they are still present on the premises. They congregate by the lower entrance. I would advise you to keep your distance from them."

 

"What can you tell us about these visitors?" Bethany asked. "Were they large creatures, taller than the elves, sporting horns? Did they call each other qunari?"

 

"Yes, I overheard that name," the spirit informed them regretfully. "These brutes destroyed the paths behind them. Repairing the bridges will be no small task."

 

"Did you see the leader of these qunari, good spirit?" Bethany asked the distressed library host. "A large woman named Viddasala."

 

"Viddasala. Yes," the spirit replied, sounding a little fearful. "She uses scholars and mages for study. They fear this place, but they seek to know the Veil?"

 

"The Veil?" Riona blinked. "We've already repaired it. If they wanted to help against Corypheus, they are a couple of years late." The spirit merely turned towards Riona, but said nothing, probably because it had no more information on the Viddasala's motives.

 

"Do you know an elven woman who used to study here?" Bethany asked then. "She goes by the name of Merrill. Have you seen her recently?"

 

"Mistress Merrill," the spirit appeared pleased at the mere mention of their elven friend. "She helped to reunite me after I was sundered from myself. She has done wonders in trying to restore Vir Dirthara, and now these interlopers seek to ruin it. I believe Mistress Merrill intends to stop them. If you were to help her, you would have our gratitude."

 

"Did she pass this way recently?" Bethany asked, pointing at another stairway, leading up to the next in a chain of connected floating islands.

 

"Yes, she-…" the spirit began, but then stopped abruptly. "My apologies," it whispered before fading from view.

 

"What scared her?" Riona wondered, looking around and then backing away a little together with Bethany when they noticed that another spirit had materialized behind them, this one a ghostly form dressed in the serenely elegant armor of the elven sentinels, cowl covering the spirits head, but the pale face under the hood appeared like it belonged to a human youth, an unruly lock of pale blond hair sticking out from under the cowl.

 

"I think it was me," the newcomer spirit sighed. "Merrill might have put the Archivist back together, but she will never be the same again. Most things that have been sundered and lost can no longer be recovered. Even I could not heal the Archivist."

 

"And what are you?" Bethany asked the new spirit. "Another friend of Merrill's?"

 

"Oh yes," the spirit nodded. "And a friend of yours as well… at least I had hoped…"

 

"Wait…" Riona blinked, looking at her sister. "Do you know this spirit?"

 

"I'm not sure," Bethany mused thoughtfully, fingers of her right hand insistently rubbing her left wrist which for some reason had started to itch uncontrollably. "Wait a moment," she exclaimed, having tugged on the sleeve of her robe to uncover the small tattoo that she had almost forgotten about. "Cole?" she whispered, peering at the spirit in front of them, trying to recognize the youthful, pale face, memories slowly starting to flow back to her. "Cole, is that really you? You look different… what happened?"

 

"I… changed," Cole admitted, sounding a little uncomfortable.

 

"Have you been corrupted?" Riona asked guardedly. "You don't appear malevolent. I don't sense ill intent from your nature."

 

"Not all change leads to corruption," Cole replied defensively. "I agreed to this. They warned me that it might happen if I were to follow them, but I insisted. But I was wrong… I hoped that I could change them, heal them, but… they were stronger, like they warned they would be. I tried to remain myself, but I could not. They were too intent, too focused… too purposeful."

 

"Who? Who changed you?" Riona demanded.

 

"I think I know," Bethany sighed. "You left Skyhold to follow Solas and Merrill, didn't you? You've been with them all this time, haven't you?" Cole nodded serenely at that. "And they unwittingly changed you from Spirit of Compassion into… into what? What is your nature now, Cole?"

 

"I already answered," Cole smiled sadly. "I am a Spirit of Purpose. Their purpose."

 

"But what is their purpose? What do Merrill and Solas want?" Riona asked. "You make it sound almost sinister."

 

"I cannot say," Cole replied predictably. "But you can trust Merrill. She wants to stop the qunari. And she would never do anything to harm you. She wanted you to be here and see all this, even if he disapproved. He thought she should tackle her test alone, but we managed to convince him. Without Merrill, you wouldn't even be here, you wouldn't know what is happening."

 

"I'm not sure we know that even now," Riona sighed. "All we know is that we have been drawn into plots not of our making… which I suppose is a fairly standard occurrence for us."

 

"Well, if you can't tell us anything about what Solas and Merrill are planning, then I guess we'll just have to stick it out and hope we get our answers in the end," Bethany shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we have much of a choice here, do we?" she asked, looking at her sister.

 

"I guess I have to agree," Riona nodded, then turning back towards Cole. "Do you know where Merrill is? Can you take us to her?"

 

"Of course, she went ahead to search for a path across," Cole replied. "I will accompany you to her… and I shall remain nearby. My assistance might be required against the qunari."

 

"Thank you, Cole," Bethany smiled at the spirit as he led them up the next stairway and towards the next floating island, which appeared to have been at the very epicenter of the sundering that had struck Vir Dirthara. All the elven structures here had been reduced to tiny chunks of rubble, forcing the sisters to navigate parts of pathways that had somehow managed to endure. As Bethany looked around, she noticed two intact eluvians, one on a tiny floating island that was not connected to the others in any way, and thus currently out of their reach, while the other was at the very center of the devastated island, down a flight of stairs, surrounded by piles of rubble, Bethany breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted Merrill pacing in front of the eluvian, angrily muttering to herself.

 

"Maker…" Bethany heard her sister whispering by her side and grabbing her arm just as she was about to dash down the stairs towards Merrill. "Look at that, Beth!" Riona exclaimed, forcing her sister to turn her head and look ahead, into the misty nothingness. "Not there… there!" Riona corrected, placing her gloved fingers under Bethany's chin for a gentle push, forcing her sibling to look upwards, Bethany instantly making a sharp intake of breath as something truly mind-shattering opened to her eyes, so surreal that it almost hurt for her mind to try and comprehend it. Above them, another island floated, featuring what was clearly the largest part of the library complex, a layer of seven or eight floors carved open like a slice of cake by the sundering. The most horrifying part of the view was that the island was floating above them while being upside down, and thus made it seem like it was about to fall on top of them at any moment. Even more strangely, they could easily make out small shapes of the invading qunari walking around on the upside down floating island, and yet defying gravity and not falling off from its surface.

 

"Ugh, my head is spinning… I can't even look at it," Bethany groaned, turning her eyes away.

 

"I know what you mean," Riona nodded, also averting her eyes. "This place is clearly more affected by the Fade than the rest of the Crossroads. You can feel it in almost everything, and now in this. Normal rules of physics don't always seem to apply."

 

"Maybe Merrill will be able to shed some light," Bethany said, pointing at the elven mage pacing impatiently down below, urging Riona to descend the rubble-covered stairway to rejoin their friend.

 

"Ah… you've met each other, I see," Merrill spoke up when she noticed them arriving and spotting Cole at the back of the small group. "Good… that’s good."

 

"What's going on, Merrill?" Bethany asked. "I was a little worried about you pulling off another disappearing act."

 

"What? No, never…" Merrill firmly shook her head. "I would have sent Cole to fetch you, but for now there was no need as I find myself stumped," she said, glaring a little at the eluvian. "I'm sure you've by now noticed where we must go."

 

"If you mean that huge and creepy upside-down island, then yes, we have noticed it," Riona sighed.

 

"The eluvian that connects to it is beyond our reach. Currently," Merrill spoke, pointing vaguely in direction of the eluvian on the smaller island which the two Hawke sisters had deemed inaccessible. "I did not believe the qunari to be crafty enough to destroy the magical bridge leading up to it, but it appears as if they have learned much during their short stay here," the elven mage admitted reluctantly.

 

"Can we fix the bridge, Merrill?" Bethany asked.

 

"I think so, but to do that we must enter this eluvian…" Merrill sighed, pointing at the magical mirror in front of her. "And the qunari have done something unthinkable. They have changed the way it is activated."

 

"They are irritatingly fast learners," Riona groaned at the unwelcome news. 

 

"Tell me about it," Merrill nodded before pointing at the rubble covered ground nearby. "So, take a comfortable seat while I figure out how to reactivate the eluvian. And arm yourselves with patience, because this… this might take a while."


The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold


#2 Nimloth

Posted 24 February 2018 - 04:02 PM

Quote: Even worse, a faction of hard-line Gaspard sympathizers had crawled out of the woodworks somewhere and were trying to reclaim lost influence, claiming that Celene's weakness and willingness to always play nice and yield to their neighbors had led them to this crisis, wowing to make Orlais great again by restoring the country to the aggressive and imperialistic expansionist power it was always meant to be.

 

They will make Orlais great again...Now why does this sound familiar? :-D

 

 

Quote: The Royal Palace of Denerim had also been destroyed in a massive blast, killing hundreds, but Josephine had been spared another personal tragedy when a second report arrived almost immediately after the first, letting her know that King Alistair and Queen Evangeline, seven months into her pregnancy, had survived on the account of pure good luck, having decided to depart on their tour of the Bannorn a day earlier only because Alistair had been eager to spend an extra day of hunting in the Southron Hills

 

I'm glad to know they're safe

 

 

Quote:I just hope that it doesn't take too much time, because I'm starting to miss you a great deal, love, Josephine thought with growing sadness as she observed the scene down in the garden, Yvette and little Constance trying to give Bethany's pet fennec Ser Fluffsworth a much-needed bath, but not having much success with it. If anything, the only one still dry was the sneaky fennec, while Yvette and Connie looked soaking wet from all the water splashing around.

 

Aaawww! This was a very lovely scene :-)

 

 

Quote:To read through everything that Merrill had translated would require several days at least, but even the first few glimpses were fascinating enough, such as the story she was currently reading, describing the building of a monument celebrating Elgar'nan's victory over the enemies of the Evanuris, further underlining the vanity, cruelty and arrogance of the Creators as hundreds and hundreds of elven slaves perished in making Elgar'nan's victory eternal.

 

Wow, the Creators are definitely unworthy of any kind of devotion, in my humble opinion

 

 

Quote: "I'm certain," Riona nodded confidently. "There are far more interesting things to find in this library and I already stumbled onto something that I need to show you. So, finish your breakfast and come with me… I promise that this will blow your mind."

 

In a good way or a bad way?

 

 

Quote: "I think I know," Bethany sighed. "You left Skyhold to follow Solas and Merrill, didn't you? You've been with them all this time, haven't you?" Cole nodded serenely at that. "And they unwittingly changed you from Spirit of Compassion into… into what? What is your nature now, Cole?"

 

"I already answered," Cole smiled sadly. "I am a Spirit of Purpose. Their purpose."

 

I think I preferred him as a Spirit of Compassion...Purpose is a good thing, but sometimes can lead to cruel actions

 

 

Quote: As Bethany looked around, she noticed two intact eluvians, one on a tiny floating island that was not connected to the others in any way, and thus currently out of their reach, while the other was at the very center of the devastated island, down a flight of stairs, surrounded by piles of rubble, Bethany breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted Merrill pacing in front of the eluvian, angrily muttering to herself.

 

Muttering to herself? Oh, no, she's turning into a female elven version of Edwin! xD

 

 

Quote:Above them, another island floated, featuring what was clearly the largest part of the library complex, a layer of seven or eight floors carved open like a slice of cake by the sundering. The most horrifying part of the view was that the island was floating above them while being upside down, and thus made it seem like it was about to fall on top of them at any moment. Even more strangely, they could easily make out small shapes of the invading qunari walking around on the upside down floating island, and yet defying gravity and not falling off from its surface.

 

"Ugh, my head is spinning… I can't even look at it," Bethany groaned, turning her eyes away.

 

Let's just hope the gravity of the upside down island doesn't wane...

 

 

Quote: "I think so, but to do that we must enter this eluvian…" Merrill sighed, pointing at the magical mirror in front of her. "And the qunari have done something unthinkable. They have changed the way it is activated."

 

"They are irritatingly fast learners," Riona groaned at the unwelcome news. 

 

They are very smart, that's for sure. And there's no enemy more dangerous than the one who thinks

Nice chapter! *smile*



#3 Theodur

Posted 27 February 2018 - 03:53 PM

Quote: Even worse, a faction of hard-line Gaspard sympathizers had crawled out of the woodworks somewhere and were trying to reclaim lost influence, claiming that Celene's weakness and willingness to always play nice and yield to their neighbors had led them to this crisis, wowing to make Orlais great again by restoring the country to the aggressive and imperialistic expansionist power it was always meant to be.

 

They will make Orlais great again...Now why does this sound familiar? :grin:

 

I hoped it would. :)

 

Quote: The Royal Palace of Denerim had also been destroyed in a massive blast, killing hundreds, but Josephine had been spared another personal tragedy when a second report arrived almost immediately after the first, letting her know that King Alistair and Queen Evangeline, seven months into her pregnancy, had survived on the account of pure good luck, having decided to depart on their tour of the Bannorn a day earlier only because Alistair had been eager to spend an extra day of hunting in the Southron Hills

 

I'm glad to know they're safe

 

Yes, it is a big relief.

 

Quote:I just hope that it doesn't take too much time, because I'm starting to miss you a great deal, love, Josephine thought with growing sadness as she observed the scene down in the garden, Yvette and little Constance trying to give Bethany's pet fennec Ser Fluffsworth a much-needed bath, but not having much success with it. If anything, the only one still dry was the sneaky fennec, while Yvette and Connie looked soaking wet from all the water splashing around.

 

Aaawww! This was a very lovely scene :smile:

 

Thank you!

 

Quote:To read through everything that Merrill had translated would require several days at least, but even the first few glimpses were fascinating enough, such as the story she was currently reading, describing the building of a monument celebrating Elgar'nan's victory over the enemies of the Evanuris, further underlining the vanity, cruelty and arrogance of the Creators as hundreds and hundreds of elven slaves perished in making Elgar'nan's victory eternal.

 

Wow, the Creators are definitely unworthy of any kind of devotion, in my humble opinion

 

Absolute power corrupted them absolutely.

 

Quote: "I think I know," Bethany sighed. "You left Skyhold to follow Solas and Merrill, didn't you? You've been with them all this time, haven't you?" Cole nodded serenely at that. "And they unwittingly changed you from Spirit of Compassion into… into what? What is your nature now, Cole?"

 

"I already answered," Cole smiled sadly. "I am a Spirit of Purpose. Their purpose."

 

I think I preferred him as a Spirit of Compassion...Purpose is a good thing, but sometimes can lead to cruel actions

 

Very true. This is not a change for the better.

 

Quote: As Bethany looked around, she noticed two intact eluvians, one on a tiny floating island that was not connected to the others in any way, and thus currently out of their reach, while the other was at the very center of the devastated island, down a flight of stairs, surrounded by piles of rubble, Bethany breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted Merrill pacing in front of the eluvian, angrily muttering to herself.

 

Muttering to herself? Oh, no, she's turning into a female elven version of Edwin! xD

 

Yes, Laufey has remarked upon that a few times before. :)

 

Quote:Above them, another island floated, featuring what was clearly the largest part of the library complex, a layer of seven or eight floors carved open like a slice of cake by the sundering. The most horrifying part of the view was that the island was floating above them while being upside down, and thus made it seem like it was about to fall on top of them at any moment. Even more strangely, they could easily make out small shapes of the invading qunari walking around on the upside down floating island, and yet defying gravity and not falling off from its surface.

 

"Ugh, my head is spinning… I can't even look at it," Bethany groaned, turning her eyes away.

 

Let's just hope the gravity of the upside down island doesn't wane...

 

Well, if it just happened to the qunari, that would be a good thing!

 

Quote: "I think so, but to do that we must enter this eluvian…" Merrill sighed, pointing at the magical mirror in front of her. "And the qunari have done something unthinkable. They have changed the way it is activated."

 

"They are irritatingly fast learners," Riona groaned at the unwelcome news. 

 

They are very smart, that's for sure. And there's no enemy more dangerous than the one who thinks

Nice chapter! *smile*

 

An enemy that doesn't think just isn't very interesting! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

And thanks for commenting on Leah's story. :) Of course Edwin is being missed, after all there is no better mage unless you make your PC one. He's not completely gone from the story, though, maybe he'll come back after he's done plane traveling with the Planar Sphere. As for Anomen, I wouldn't say he has a crush on Reyna just yet, but at least he has noticed her. So that's a good start. :)

 


The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold


#4 Laufey

Posted 05 March 2018 - 05:12 PM

 

The Royal Palace of Denerim had also been destroyed in a massive blast, killing hundreds, but Josephine had been spared another personal tragedy when a second report arrived almost immediately after the first, letting her know that King Alistair and Queen Evangeline, seven months into her pregnancy, had survived on the account of pure good luck, having decided to depart on their tour of the Bannorn a day earlier only because Alistair had been eager to spend an extra day of hunting in the Southron Hills. Josephine had been incredibly relieved by these news, as was all of Ferelden. She had no idea what would happen to the long-suffering southern frontier if Alistair and Evangeline had perished in the terrible attack. In any case, Ferelden had been long overdue of a lucky reprieve, and it seemed as if they had certainly gotten one this time around.

Phew, glad that Alistair and Evangeline are ok at least! The rest of the world seems to more or less be falling to pieces, and what isn't directly caused by the Qunari they definitely will try to take advantage of. 

 

 


Josephine had arranged for her people to recover debris from the blasts in Antiva, Nevarra and Halamshiral, then enlisting services of a Tevinter expert to examine these debris. The results in all three cases had been the same, the source of the blast had been gaatlok, commonly known throughout Thedas as the fearsome blackpowder, an explosive produced and used exclusively by the qunari, removing all doubt about who was behind these attacks. Even though Josephine at first could not see any reason for the qunari to launch such an underhanded attack, she had no reason to doubt her expert, the Tevinter being very closely familiar with the gaatlok and its effects, easily recognizing the familiar traces of the explosive powder in the samples Josephine had provided.

Not sure why she wouldn't see a reason for it - the qunari have made no secret of wanting to conquer all the world in the name of the Qun, so this isn't exactly a surprise. 

 

 


I just hope that it doesn't take too much time, because I'm starting to miss you a great deal, love, Josephine thought with growing sadness as she observed the scene down in the garden, Yvette and little Constance trying to give Bethany's pet fennec Ser Fluffsworth a much-needed bath, but not having much success with it. If anything, the only one still dry was the sneaky fennec, while Yvette and Connie looked soaking wet from all the water splashing around. At least listening to Connie's happy laughter did Josephine's heart good, especially after a couple of days ago she had eventually succeeded in getting through to Connie when explaining that her parents were not simply gone for a while, the girl finally appearing to understand that her mommy and daddy would never be coming back from their ill-fated sea voyage. The little girl had been inconsolable for a long while afterwards, and Josephine had been trying her best to cheer her up, whispering her things that she honestly had no right to promise, not without consulting Bethany first, but she desperately hoped that her beloved would feel the same way as she did about the little orphan girl. I know you'll love her, Bethany… and Connie needs more love than I alone can give, especially now. Just come home to us safely, and Maker be willing, perhaps with time we can become a proper family…

 

Aw, I hope so too! I'm sure Bethany won't mind, didn't she already suggest such a thing herself?

 

Soon enough, Bethany was so immersed in reading Merrill's translations of more accurate and authentic legends of the Creators that she even forgot about her meal, the bread set aside and forgotten for the moment. To read through everything that Merrill had translated would require several days at least, but even the first few glimpses were fascinating enough, such as the story she was currently reading, describing the building of a monument celebrating Elgar'nan's victory over the enemies of the Evanuris, further underlining the vanity, cruelty and arrogance of the Creators as hundreds and hundreds of elven slaves perished in making Elgar'nan's victory eternal. There were more stories that Merrill had collected about Elgar'nan, all painting him as very bloodthirsty and warlike, with Mythal constantly having to try and reign him in. One of the stories told focused on a bloody conflict between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din, Mythal managing to avoid a war amongst the Evanuris only by arranging a duel between champions of the 'gods', a duel that ended in the victory for Elgar'nan's champion and forced Falon'Din to bow down to the leader of the Evanuris.

 

You know, it's a funny thing but I keep imagining them looking like Malfurion and Tyrande...

 

With bated breath, Bethany flipped through the pages in search of something particularly interesting and salacious, stopping when she suddenly noticed a name she had never expected to see in Merrill's research journal, starting to read the entry under the title that Merrill had put down as 'The Exile of the Forbidden Ones'. "For abandoning the People in their time of greatest need, for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach, we declare Xebenkeck and others of her ilk exiled from the lands of the Evanuris. Beware! Their familiarity with shape allows them to travel paths unaided. They may be bound, but only the protection of your gods will fully shield you from their malice. They are Forbidden from the Earth that is our right," Bethany read aloud as if transfixed, unsure what to make of this brief piece of text that Merrill appeared to have left unfinished. What does it all mean? Xebenkeck dragged Merrill through the eluvian in Kirkwall, so maybe I should prod her about this… she might know more than she has put down on the parchment here, Bethany thought, not noticing that someone else had entered the secluded place where they had made their camp, only rearing her head to answer after Riona had startled her with a greeting.

So, the Forbidden Ones might be former elves then? Interesting!

 

"I'm sure there is, though I only skimmed the surface. I found something that I'm going to ask Merrill about later, I think you will find it very interesting," Bethany replied, as the pair came up to a small campsite behind the library, looking almost like an enchanter's workplace, both sisters instantly recognizing the familiar equipment. "Anyway, what's so interesting about this campsite?" she asked her older sibling.

 

"The journal down there by the campfire," Riona pointed at the leather-bound tome nearby, grinning as she watched Bethany snatching it in a hurry, her sister's eyes widening after she had opened the journal to discover that all the entries inside consisted of a single word, namely 'enchantment'.

 

Lol! Should have guessed he'd turn up. :) Sandal is a Lost God, I call it now!

 

"The Vir Dirthara was made with world and Fade," the spirit attempted to explain. "When they sundered, so did we. Paths broke. Knowledge fragmented. Many were trapped. I preserve their last words."

 

"Looks like this might have been caused by some catastrophic event, like the creation of the Breach," Bethany mused, looking around at the collection of many floating islands and the debris suspended in the air around them.

 

You could say that...or rather the exact opposite!

 

"I'm not sure," Bethany mused thoughtfully, fingers of her right hand insistently rubbing her left wrist which for some reason had started to itch uncontrollably. "Wait a moment," she exclaimed, having tugged on the sleeve of her robe to uncover the small tattoo that she had almost forgotten about. "Cole?" she whispered, peering at the spirit in front of them, trying to recognize the youthful, pale face, memories slowly starting to flow back to her. "Cole, is that really you? You look different… what happened?"

 

"I… changed," Cole admitted, sounding a little uncomfortable.

 

Oooh, interesting. Not surprising either, and Ri and Beth are wise not to trust blindly in 'Purpose'. 

 

"Maker…" Bethany heard her sister whispering by her side and grabbing her arm just as she was about to dash down the stairs towards Merrill. "Look at that, Beth!" Riona exclaimed, forcing her sister to turn her head and look ahead, into the misty nothingness. "Not there… there!" Riona corrected, placing her gloved fingers under Bethany's chin for a gentle push, forcing her sibling to look upwards, Bethany instantly making a sharp intake of breath as something truly mind-shattering opened to her eyes, so surreal that it almost hurt for her mind to try and comprehend it. Above them, another island floated, featuring what was clearly the largest part of the library complex, a layer of seven or eight floors carved open like a slice of cake by the sundering. The most horrifying part of the view was that the island was floating above them while being upside down, and thus made it seem like it was about to fall on top of them at any moment. Even more strangely, they could easily make out small shapes of the invading qunari walking around on the upside down floating island, and yet defying gravity and not falling off from its surface.

 

"Ugh, my head is spinning… I can't even look at it," Bethany groaned, turning her eyes away.

 

Don't blame her, I think it'd make me have a hard time too just standing up looking at it. 

 

 

 

And there certainly was a lot happening throughout Thedas right now. The Forsythias were slowly starting to gain ground in Nevarra as the population now rallied behind them, turning on the Pentaghasts, buying into the claims of the Forsythias that the centuries long rule of the Pentaghast family had led the country to this point where they had been humiliated by the Tevinter Imperium and this destruction of the royal seat in Nevarra City had been made into yet another outcome of the Pentaghast weakness. As the crowds throughout Nevarra turned on their former favorites, many Pentaghasts chose to flee and go into exile, either to Orlais or Antiva, though there were also reports of entire households slaughtered in the streets as they tried to flee. By now, the Pentaghasts had been decisively driven out of the two largest cities, Cumberland and Nevarra City, but they somehow still held on to Hunter Fell and Perendale, though likely not for long.

 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#5 Theodur

Posted 07 March 2018 - 03:29 PM

 

 

The Royal Palace of Denerim had also been destroyed in a massive blast, killing hundreds, but Josephine had been spared another personal tragedy when a second report arrived almost immediately after the first, letting her know that King Alistair and Queen Evangeline, seven months into her pregnancy, had survived on the account of pure good luck, having decided to depart on their tour of the Bannorn a day earlier only because Alistair had been eager to spend an extra day of hunting in the Southron Hills. Josephine had been incredibly relieved by these news, as was all of Ferelden. She had no idea what would happen to the long-suffering southern frontier if Alistair and Evangeline had perished in the terrible attack. In any case, Ferelden had been long overdue of a lucky reprieve, and it seemed as if they had certainly gotten one this time around.

Phew, glad that Alistair and Evangeline are ok at least! The rest of the world seems to more or less be falling to pieces, and what isn't directly caused by the Qunari they definitely will try to take advantage of. 

 

Unless our intrepid heroes manage to take down the Viddasala and her cronies, of course! 

 


Josephine had arranged for her people to recover debris from the blasts in Antiva, Nevarra and Halamshiral, then enlisting services of a Tevinter expert to examine these debris. The results in all three cases had been the same, the source of the blast had been gaatlok, commonly known throughout Thedas as the fearsome blackpowder, an explosive produced and used exclusively by the qunari, removing all doubt about who was behind these attacks. Even though Josephine at first could not see any reason for the qunari to launch such an underhanded attack, she had no reason to doubt her expert, the Tevinter being very closely familiar with the gaatlok and its effects, easily recognizing the familiar traces of the explosive powder in the samples Josephine had provided.

Not sure why she wouldn't see a reason for it - the qunari have made no secret of wanting to conquer all the world in the name of the Qun, so this isn't exactly a surprise. 

 

There is definitely complacency in the South in regards to the Qun. It's been almost 200 years since the last open war, and since then they have been more or less bogged down in warfare with Tevinter, so hardly anyone really expects them to march South while still tied up in a war with Tevinter.

 


I just hope that it doesn't take too much time, because I'm starting to miss you a great deal, love, Josephine thought with growing sadness as she observed the scene down in the garden, Yvette and little Constance trying to give Bethany's pet fennec Ser Fluffsworth a much-needed bath, but not having much success with it. If anything, the only one still dry was the sneaky fennec, while Yvette and Connie looked soaking wet from all the water splashing around. At least listening to Connie's happy laughter did Josephine's heart good, especially after a couple of days ago she had eventually succeeded in getting through to Connie when explaining that her parents were not simply gone for a while, the girl finally appearing to understand that her mommy and daddy would never be coming back from their ill-fated sea voyage. The little girl had been inconsolable for a long while afterwards, and Josephine had been trying her best to cheer her up, whispering her things that she honestly had no right to promise, not without consulting Bethany first, but she desperately hoped that her beloved would feel the same way as she did about the little orphan girl. I know you'll love her, Bethany… and Connie needs more love than I alone can give, especially now. Just come home to us safely, and Maker be willing, perhaps with time we can become a proper family…

 

Aw, I hope so too! I'm sure Bethany won't mind, didn't she already suggest such a thing herself?

 

Sure, but Josephine doesn't want to feel like she's coerced Bethany into something.

 

Soon enough, Bethany was so immersed in reading Merrill's translations of more accurate and authentic legends of the Creators that she even forgot about her meal, the bread set aside and forgotten for the moment. To read through everything that Merrill had translated would require several days at least, but even the first few glimpses were fascinating enough, such as the story she was currently reading, describing the building of a monument celebrating Elgar'nan's victory over the enemies of the Evanuris, further underlining the vanity, cruelty and arrogance of the Creators as hundreds and hundreds of elven slaves perished in making Elgar'nan's victory eternal. There were more stories that Merrill had collected about Elgar'nan, all painting him as very bloodthirsty and warlike, with Mythal constantly having to try and reign him in. One of the stories told focused on a bloody conflict between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din, Mythal managing to avoid a war amongst the Evanuris only by arranging a duel between champions of the 'gods', a duel that ended in the victory for Elgar'nan's champion and forced Falon'Din to bow down to the leader of the Evanuris.

 

You know, it's a funny thing but I keep imagining them looking like Malfurion and Tyrande...

 

That doesn't make me any more sympathetic towards them...

 

With bated breath, Bethany flipped through the pages in search of something particularly interesting and salacious, stopping when she suddenly noticed a name she had never expected to see in Merrill's research journal, starting to read the entry under the title that Merrill had put down as 'The Exile of the Forbidden Ones'. "For abandoning the People in their time of greatest need, for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach, we declare Xebenkeck and others of her ilk exiled from the lands of the Evanuris. Beware! Their familiarity with shape allows them to travel paths unaided. They may be bound, but only the protection of your gods will fully shield you from their malice. They are Forbidden from the Earth that is our right," Bethany read aloud as if transfixed, unsure what to make of this brief piece of text that Merrill appeared to have left unfinished. What does it all mean? Xebenkeck dragged Merrill through the eluvian in Kirkwall, so maybe I should prod her about this… she might know more than she has put down on the parchment here, Bethany thought, not noticing that someone else had entered the secluded place where they had made their camp, only rearing her head to answer after Riona had startled her with a greeting.

So, the Forbidden Ones might be former elves then? Interesting!

 

The elves are pretty much behind everything, aren't then?

 

 

"I'm sure there is, though I only skimmed the surface. I found something that I'm going to ask Merrill about later, I think you will find it very interesting," Bethany replied, as the pair came up to a small campsite behind the library, looking almost like an enchanter's workplace, both sisters instantly recognizing the familiar equipment. "Anyway, what's so interesting about this campsite?" she asked her older sibling.

 

"The journal down there by the campfire," Riona pointed at the leather-bound tome nearby, grinning as she watched Bethany snatching it in a hurry, her sister's eyes widening after she had opened the journal to discover that all the entries inside consisted of a single word, namely 'enchantment'.

 

Lol! Should have guessed he'd turn up. :) Sandal is a Lost God, I call it now!

 

I don't even know that. By the way, this bit is straight from the game. :)

 

 

"The Vir Dirthara was made with world and Fade," the spirit attempted to explain. "When they sundered, so did we. Paths broke. Knowledge fragmented. Many were trapped. I preserve their last words."

 

"Looks like this might have been caused by some catastrophic event, like the creation of the Breach," Bethany mused, looking around at the collection of many floating islands and the debris suspended in the air around them.

 

You could say that...or rather the exact opposite!

 

Hehe, yeah, she's sort of right there.

 

"I'm not sure," Bethany mused thoughtfully, fingers of her right hand insistently rubbing her left wrist which for some reason had started to itch uncontrollably. "Wait a moment," she exclaimed, having tugged on the sleeve of her robe to uncover the small tattoo that she had almost forgotten about. "Cole?" she whispered, peering at the spirit in front of them, trying to recognize the youthful, pale face, memories slowly starting to flow back to her. "Cole, is that really you? You look different… what happened?"

 

"I… changed," Cole admitted, sounding a little uncomfortable.

 

Oooh, interesting. Not surprising either, and Ri and Beth are wise not to trust blindly in 'Purpose'. 

 

Yeah, it doesn't sound very comforting.

 

"Maker…" Bethany heard her sister whispering by her side and grabbing her arm just as she was about to dash down the stairs towards Merrill. "Look at that, Beth!" Riona exclaimed, forcing her sister to turn her head and look ahead, into the misty nothingness. "Not there… there!" Riona corrected, placing her gloved fingers under Bethany's chin for a gentle push, forcing her sibling to look upwards, Bethany instantly making a sharp intake of breath as something truly mind-shattering opened to her eyes, so surreal that it almost hurt for her mind to try and comprehend it. Above them, another island floated, featuring what was clearly the largest part of the library complex, a layer of seven or eight floors carved open like a slice of cake by the sundering. The most horrifying part of the view was that the island was floating above them while being upside down, and thus made it seem like it was about to fall on top of them at any moment. Even more strangely, they could easily make out small shapes of the invading qunari walking around on the upside down floating island, and yet defying gravity and not falling off from its surface.

 

"Ugh, my head is spinning… I can't even look at it," Bethany groaned, turning her eyes away.

 

Don't blame her, I think it'd make me have a hard time too just standing up looking at it. 

 

It was weird enough on my computer screen!

 


The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold





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