Chapter 1:
Collision Course
The day was turning into dusk as the clan settled for the night, the aravels halting to a stop as the halla were commanded to cease. The elves started to unpack themselves, mending the broken spools and wheels of the land ships as some of others herded the halla, beginning construction on temporarily pen for the herd. The bright red sails were brought down from their raised position, lower than that of the rocky terrain, so that the clan may not be easily as spotted.
The Lavellan clan settled near the region of the Frostbacks, hoping to hear of the news of the human conclave. The conclave was called by the shemlen as the Dalish called them, to end the war between the Mages and the Templar Order. The Templars had come to close to attacking the clan itself, several of its people vanishing into the night as a warning for when they crept too close to an encampment. The snowy forest held no real nourishment for the halla, but for the last, they could burden the cold to know what comes from the Conclave, while they were several miles from the Temple of Sacred Ashes, where it was taking place, they would hear news from wondering travelers.
The Keeper was interested in the matters that were taking place. If peace was made, if the Templars won, or if the Mages won, the Dalish and all their clans would be caught in the middle of it all. The winds of change had arrived.
Keeper Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan. That was her name, but this is not her story. Nor will it ever be hers. For she set the scales. Now the world must weigh them.
"Da'len?" the keeper asked her First, standing next to her, watching their fellow Dalish as they worked.
"Yes Keeper?" the young one said.
"I require your brother's assistance, please fetch him for me." The Keeper kept her glare towards the mountains, her gaze never leaving the horizon as the First spoke.
"My brother? Can I not assist you Keeper?"
"You have done enough for today, when you've found your brother, help Ioril, a halla needs mending."
"Yes Keeper."
"Senia?"
"Yes Keeper?"
"Don't get distracted."
The First only nodded, wrapping the band of her staff around her as she headed off into the woods. Senia Lavellan was the First of the clan. She and her brother were both given to the clan during the last Dalish gathering. Her auburn hair shared the same virtues as her brother, her vallaslin, representing Sylaise, the elvish god of arts and giver of fire, was covered by the majority of it. Her green eyes reflecting the settling sun's light. The brother Arthon shared a majority of these traits, except for the blood writing. They shared an angular face, but with soft features for the both of them. They could almost be mistaken as twins, if they were the same height and not merely two years apart from each other. However, their fate would show that they more like each other, more than what they would know.
Does the Keeper really think I cannot handle retrieving my own brother? She thought to herself while walking through the woods, looking for her brother. She was no hunter. But she knew her brother's patterns. He was predictable in a non-offensive manner. He kept close to the aravels while hunting whatever he could get his hands on, be it fennecs or rams. Ooh, pretty. She knelt down to see a wild flower, blooming late into the season of winter as spring was finally approaching the Frostbacks. Seconds later, an arrow flew by pinning the flower on a nearby tree. She flew backwards on her back, narrowly dodging the arrow. She looked around and saw her brother in the distance.
"You idiot! You nearly killed me."
"Anything to keep your eyes open little one!" Arthon shouted out, his think hood shadowing his face in the dark as the sun was setting closer and closer.
"Some hunter you are!" The downright nerve of him. Nearly pierced my nose. "The Keeper needs you back at camp!" she said, dusting herself from the snow, propping herself up.
"The Keeper needs this, the Keeper needs that. I really wish she would get it through mind that I don't want to be here. I wish weren't traded off together," Arthon shouted back.
"You know you don't mean that," she said softly.
"Well let's see what she wants with me this time, probably wants me to clean the hallas again," he began heading back to the camp, she soon followed back, amazed he went the first time she said so this time.
"What?"
"You heard me, da'len."
"You want me to spy on the Shem?"
"I want you to listen, to hear. I need eyes and ears to know what happens in the Conclave," the Keeper said, the light wisp slowly floating around the inside of the aravel. The aravels were intricate and the insides were delicately crafted by Dalish hands, telling the stories of where they sailed.
"You. Want. Me. To. Spy."
"Yes."
"Why do we care? Why do you care? Why me?" He threw his hands in the air, anger and curiosity floated around Arthon's head. The Dalish kept to themselves, and only wished to be left alone. The Keeper to try and change the ways of things, and that irritated Arthon. He may have found the clan bothersome to his own life, but he was still Dalish. He was not exactly a fan of their "politics" and the alienages especially.
"Why? Because we should all care. Whoever we are now, could lie with what happens. The humans rule this continent, we do not. We rely on them having peace. I care for my people. For this clan. For you and your sister." The Keeper pinched the bridge of her nose grasping the blood writing embedded on her skin, feeling as though it was about to rip off. "As for why you…because you have spent time among their people…I do recall you leaving for a year."
"It was only a year."
"Exactly, and your sister was ill. But where were you?" the Keeper asked.
The hunter sat silent, looking down as he was unquestionably matched. "I'll do it. But on one condition." The Keeper looked at him, plainly looked on waiting for his terms. "Senia, she comes with me. Since you want to bring up the past. She comes with me."
"Ok."
"Okay?"
"Yes."
Really? He thought.
"You seem confused da'len," the Keeper said, standing up and starting to leave the aravel.
"I…did not expect you to agree, is all."
"She needs to see more, then the clan. If she is to take my place as Keeper one day, she needs to know what is out there," she said.
"I'll do it," Senia said, her head popping through the curtains of the aravel, her brother's head spinning towards her with a confused look on his face.
The Keeper sighed softly. "Of course you would…you're not doing this for me da'len, you're doing this for the clan. I would not risk my own."
"Oh don't worry Keeper, I'll make sure he doesn't kill anyone 'special.' By the Creators, this will be so much fun!" the Dalish mage was alit with glee, running off towards the twin's aravel to begin packing.
The other two, left a bit estranged, looked back at each other. "She knows she'll have to actually talk to people yes? She need to fit her cover," Arthon said.
"Cover?" the Keeper asked.
"It's easy to hide an elf among a bunch of mercenaries, but one like her, she'll need to stick with the mages," he said standing up and heading out of the aravel.
"What do you think she'll be doing?" she asked. The hunter turned around towards the Keeper, flicking his fingers and showing his palm.
"Keeping her eyes," closing his hand and opening it again.
"Open."
"So I have to ask,"
"Yes? what?"
"Where are you from?"
"Rivain."
"That's a long way from Ferelden."
"I've been in Orlais and the Free Marches for longer periods than that I'm afraid. Ferelden smells of wet dog, only a short trip from where we got the posting, outside of Val Chevin" the tall woman replied. "You?"
"Well..."
"Senia!" Get over here!" Senia looked back down the towering hall, seeing her brother round the corner, waving along, looking out for any other mercenary guards that would walk by.
"Who's he?" the tall woman asked.
Senia sighed deeply. "…that would be my brother." She looked at him with a bored glare.
"Your brother? One of the nervous types I see."
"Not usually, he's…" Without even noticing, Arthon raced forward and grabbed Senia by the arms and started rambling.
"What did I tell you?! Stay with the mages! You don't want one of these shemlen coming at you with a knife just for having ears! Let alone speak to Qunari mercenary, with just as wide of a mouth as you, when she could kill you by just moving!"
"Yeah, not really a Qunari. Thanks. Anyways, yeah, leave the area. Don't know what you two are doing but you should leave, the Divine is about to come out," the Vashoth woman said.
"This is the Divine's quarters?" the hunter said.
"Yeah, so move along," she said, waving them off.
"Hey come back here!" another voice shouted out down the hall. Racing around the corner, two bodies came racing around the corner. "Stop that dwarf!" A dwarf with a shaggy beard and hood over his face, race down the hall, rushing towards the crowded group.
"Move along nothing to see here! Just a sodding mad human with a dress on!"
"It's a tunic!" the dwarf passed the retreating elves, who were a bit perplexed on by the arguing duo. The Vashoth tried to stop the dwarf, rushing forward to deter him from her post. But he slid down the floor, under the bronze woman's legs.
"Nice ass!" the dwarf shouted, before barging into the Divine's quarters. However, the tunic, wearing young human, tackled him as he went to open the doors, slamming the doors open. A twisted thing is fate, as the events that occur here will show themselves. The two elves looked on, with the Vashoth woman staring at the events occurring in the chambers.
"What's going on here!?" the vashoth woman shouted.
"We have intruders."
"Maker's Breath," the human said frantically, propping himself on his hands and shoving himself up as fast as he could, the dwarf still laying on the ground. He back away as fast as he could, walking back into the tall vashoth woman. Senia wrapped herself around Arthon as he pulled out his bow and aimed as fast as he could, nudging Senia to let go.
"Slay them all."
A/N: Welcome everyone. Please leave one soul per read. Thank you, come again. Enjoy. There's no way in hell I'm not finishing this and the other one.