Welcome to my first story beyond the Halla Universe. This story came to mind and just wouldn't let go. So, I'm going to test my ability to write two full length stories at the same time. Good luck to me, yeah, I know it!
Anyway, the usual "I don't own any of this wonderful stuff, it's all BioWare and Boy! Aren't they great" dribble.
Reviews are always welcome; crit as well. Please let me know what you think.
Beyond the Sylvan Paths
Chapter 1
She took a deep breath, allowing the power of the magic to flow through her body. She could feel its tingling in her very veins, and her heart soared at the pleasure it bestowed. The Keeper has always told her that she has a natural affinity to magic, far more so than any other mage she had encountered, even her own father, the Keeper's former master. She did not allow herself to feel overly proud with that knowledge; to become overly confident could well ruin a spell, cause her to become less cautious. A purple eye opened and she watched as her fellow apprentice seemed to struggle to hold the magic she had called forth. The mage did not allow herself to smirk; although she and Merrill have never gotten along, Merrill is the Keeper's chosen to take her place as Keeper. Say'reil has been chosen for something else.
Say'reil allowed the magic to continue to flow through her, expanding it to her limbs, releasing it out her fingers and toes. The effort to control it was extensive, but the Dalish mage had the ability, and this is one test she has never failed at. One of control. She heard Merrill curse before she felt the magic explode, uncontrolled, from the other mage. She did not need to open her eyes to know that the other mage had failed at the test.
Taking deep breaths, Say'reil let the magic go, allows it to seep back into her being, replenishing her spent mana. Once that was accomplished, she opened her eyes to see Merrill glaring at her.
A frown creased her smooth forehead, and she brushed a dark lock from her eyes. "What?" she asked, rubbing a slender hand along her forehead, unconsciously tracing the green leaf-like tattoo emblazoned there.
The Keeper's First merely glared harder at her, and then turned, leaving the other mage without a word.
With a slight shrug of her slender shoulders, she reached down and picked up her blades, sheathing them at her hips, and slung her bow upon her shoulder. Straightening her leather armor, the mage walks in the opposite direction, searching out her friends.
Say'reil was different from many mages, even those amongst the Dalish. She wore traditional armor for one, and wielded the twin daggers - Fang and Tooth - that had been her mother's. Her skill with magic was a gift from her father, the former Keeper of her clan. Although she was stronger in magic and could control it far easier than Merrill, Marethari had chosen the other mage as her apprentice, instead deciding that Say'reil would be trained and conditioned to venture out into the world, collect knowledge not just of the Dales but from other races and sources, and pass them along to any clan she happened upon. This was the role her own father had wanted for her, and the current Keeper felt it her obligation and duty to her former master to follow through with his wishes. Revas in Dirthera. Freedom in the Tales.
And so, even though Merrill was the Keeper's First, the First knew that had Say'reil not been chosen for an even grander role in the Dalish clan, the other mage would be the First. And that knowledge, among other things, had made it impossible for Merrill and Say'reil to ever become friends.
Say'reil sighed as she walked through the camp, pausing briefly at the halla pen, tossing some wild grain into the pen and smiling as one young female trotted over, bravely taking a piece from her outstretched palm. With a smile and a nod to the Halla Keeper, the young mage continued on her way through the camp, and beyond its westerly boundary.
DA:O
She found Tamlen an hour later, holding three shemlen at bay with bow and arrow. Pulling her bow free, she nocked an arrow, pulling the bowstring taut as she circled around to the young elven male's side. She listened quietly as Tamlen questioned the humans, demanding to know what they were doing so close to their camp. The men were frightened, so much so the mage could almost smell it. She feared Tamlen would cause injury to the humans, and thus cause trouble for the camp. Tamlen was fiery tempered, and hated humans more than most in their clan. Say'reil, being raised to go out into the world, was more accepting, and now tried to ease the situation by speaking quietly to the humans.
"Answer his questions, humans," she said, her voice soft and calm. "We shall not harm you should your answers prove innocuous."
Tamlen shot her a frown. He cared greatly for the woman beside him, but he had never appreciated her acceptance of humans. To him, they were vermin to be put down. He knew of her training, however, and had long ceased berating her about it.
Until now.
"What does it matter their reasons?" he asked fiercely, pulling on his bowstring, smirking as the humans cowered before him. "They will only seek to harm us." He turned his face fully to the men now. "I say we kill them now and forget their existence."
Shaking her head, the female elf stepped forward, her eyes upon the men she had questioned. "Tell me," she insisted.
One of the men nodded. "We…we found a cave," he jerked his hand backwards, to the west. "We found some things in there," he held out a hand to the female, glad she was not as hostile as her male counterpart. Say'reil reached over and pulled from his fingers a small stone token, carved with runes she recognized as ancient elven. Frowning she glanced up.
"Where did you find this?" her voice was a bit sterner than she had intended, and she almost flinched at the renewed fear that crossed the young human's face.
"What is that?" Tamlen demanded, stepping nearer, his eyes glancing between the token and the humans.
"I recognize it as a Story Token," she explained, holding it out to the other elf. "But, I do not recognize the rune carved upon it."
"Story Token?" Tamlen questioned.
"Not now," Say'reil admonished, turning back to the humans. "We know this forest well," she explained. "And had never heard of such a place. Where did you find it?"
Calming slightly, certain the female would not allow harm to come to them, the same human nodded. "To the west," he jerked his hand again in the direction. "It's a cave, but opens up in to some ruins. We had thought to find…" and he stopped as Say'reil's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So, you are treasure hunters?" she asked, her voice firmer than before. The human nodded fearfully. "Why did you leave?" she asked, her eyes back to the token in her hand.
"There were monsters," one of the other humans quipped out, "Demons. All dark with black eyes!"
"Thank the Maker we were able to escape!" the third man cried out, his fear very real.
Say'reil nodded, gazing at the token. She wanted very much to see this cave and find other artifacts of the Elvhen within.
"Do you believe them?" Tamlen demanded, "Do we let them go?"
Smiling slightly, with a small nod, "Yes, Tamlen. I believe you have frightened them enough. They have done nothing to earn your ire." She looked over at the humans. "Return to your people."
With hasty "thank yous", the trio of humans stumbled over each other, gladly leaving the presence of the two elves.
"So?" Tamlen asked, smiling at his friend.
"So?" Say'reil echoed back. "We go find this cave, Lethallin." She smiled, her dark eyes lighting up. Tamlen returned the smile, stepping closer to her.
"And if we find something, the Keeper will want to know about it!"
Laughing at her friend, Say'reil slung her bow over her shoulder, and then turned and started jogging in the direction the humans had indicated. Matching her own laugh with one of his own, Tamlen shouldered his own weapon and, with a whoop. gave chase.
They found a path they had never noticed previously, and followed it, believing it to be the one the humans had followed. They arrived at a cave's entrance shortly thereafter.
With a look to each other, grinning, the pair of young elves entered the cave.
DA:O
Say'reil reeled backwards, her breath caught in her throat. The air within the cave was oppressive, heavy, with a sharp scent of death and decay. Tamlen reached a hand over and steadied his companion, a worried look in his gem-blue eyes.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, his voice heavy with worry and concern. The female elf nodded her dark head, her purple eyes - so dark, almost black - scanned the crumbling walls and piles of stone with interest.
"The feel of evil is strong here," she commented as she moved from Tamlen's grip, an almost scholarly fascination coming over her. She could see that the architecture of the place was not elven, but there were traces of elven influence in the graceful sweep of crumbling arched entryways and the almost vanished carvings upon the walls.
She ran one long fingered hand along one wall, almost able to trace one ancient elven symbol. A frown marred her beautiful face. If only the writings could be read!
Mourning the loss of the lore the mage knew to have once been found in these darkened ruins, Say'reil followed Tamlen along rock strewn corridors, ducking huge spider cocoons and webbing. The male raised a hand once, indicating for her to halt. He bent down, examining a piece of the floor. He moved back and, using the hilt of his sword, pushed down on a square of stone. The stone moved, a click resounded, and a set of four spikes shot up from the floor. The elven mage found herself paling at the thought of those projectiles embedding themselves into soft flesh.
Smirking at his companion, Tamlen rose to his feet, pushing open the door before them. After checking the floor therein, he motioned for her to follow. Gingerly stepping over the formerly trapped stone she followed after the Hunter.
The chamber they found themselves in was large, with large, gaping holes in the floor descending into darkness. Webbing and large cocoons hung from the ceiling, and rubble lay across the floor, barring entryways, and blocking paths. A strange, chittering noise resounded throughout the chamber, and it took a moment for the pair to raise their weapons as three huge spiders - easily the size of a small halla - spun down from strands of web and attacked the elves.
Tamlen was in the middle of two of the closest monsters, a deadly whirlwind of blade and shield, leather and metal. He danced easily between the two, bashing one away with his shield, slashing at the second with his sword as the other spider tried to regain its legs. He gave out an elvish battle cry, driving his blade deeply into the bloated body of one monstrous spider, driving his shield - again - into the bulbous head of the second. The first died upon his sword; the second, its head crushed in, staggered backwards, away from the fierce elf.
Say'reil focused on the third spider, sending out a blast of winter, the cold grasping the gigantic arachnid firmly. Frozen to the spot, the elven mage shot forth a bolt of lightening, the energy sizzling into the frozen hide of the creature. The smell of burning flesh rose, and the elf shot out a bolt of energy, killing the thing before it could move.
She turned and watched as Tamlen finished off his last opponent.
Grinning, she walked over to him, gazing into his blue eyes. He returned the look, gasping a bit for breath. "Well," he said as he stepped nearer to her, placing his hands on her arms, "that was invigorating."
She laughed, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his lips. His eyes widened in surprise; usually he was the one to initiate any affection. He decided he liked it when Say'reil made the first move. Grinning, he moved closer, wrapping her in his arms, and kissing her more fervently than she had him. She returned the kiss, then pushed him away.
"Tamlen," she breathed, trying to regain her composure. "We can't do this." She hated reminding him; they were not possible. Regardless of their feelings for one another, she would be expected to leave the clan once her training was complete, and that would be very soon. Tamlen, as one of the strongest hunters, would be expected to remain, find a bride, and eventually lead the clan's hunters.
Bending his forehead against hers, he tried to hide his disappointment, but knew that he could not. They had loved each other since fledglings, telling all who would listen that one day they would bond and together, Say'reil as the Keeper, he as the Hunter, they would lead their clan.
The adults thought it cute, that they would outgrow their infatuation. But each year that passed only strengthened their feelings for one another. Marethari had been the only one to try and dissuade the pair early on. She had failed. And now the pair stood with each other, stealing any moment they could before Say'reil's eventual departure.
"I love you," Tamlen whispered, pulling her against him, ducking his face into her dark hair. "How can I possibly be expected to bond with another?"
Choking back rising tears, Say'reil shook her head, pulling away from him. "Tamlen," she whispered her voice hoarse. "We knew that we could never bond," she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "since Marethari declared the clan's plans for me, my destiny was sealed."
But Tamlen was shaking his head. Stubborn, as always, especially when this topic came up. "I shall go with you," he declared, not for the first time.
And, not for the first time, Say'reil found herself reminding him why he could not, "Tamlen," she raised her hands to his shoulders, rubbing the leather gently. "We know not what we would find out there," she gave a wave toward the exit. "The clan needs all of its able Hunters, and you are destined to be the leader of the Hunters." She placed a hand under his chin, rubbing her thumb along his strong jaw line. Creators, he was so handsome. "You need to father the next generation."
"I want to father children only with you," he said, pulling her tighter into his embrace.
"This is not the time or place for this discussion, again," Say'reil said firmly, pushing herself out of his grasp. She flinched at the pain that crossed his face, and so she said more gently. "I love you, Tamlen," he looked up at her. "Never will I love another as I love you," she stepped forward to kiss him lightly on the lips. "But our paths will fork from the one we now travel along, and soon. Never to cross again."
Tears now ran down his face, and Say'reil made no effort to try and hide her own. She wished - not for the first time - that she had listened to the Keeper, had broken off with Tamlen long ago. But, she had tried so hard to forestall the pain she knew they would both feel. But, in the stalling, the pain would only be made worse.
"Lay with me," Tamlen pleaded, pulling her once more into his arms.
She shook her head, "Bonding with you will only make it worse," she said firmly, allowing him to hold her. "We could only be with one another once. If you bond with me now, you will not be able to do so with another until my death." She cocked her head at him. "I would not wish that for you."
"You would wish me to lay with another?" he growled out, releasing her, turning his back to her as he paced away.
"What I want," Say'reil replied quietly, but she knew he could hear her, "is not something I can have."
Tamlen turned, gazing at her. Her head was bowed, tears dripping from her cheeks. He had never seen her in such a defeated posture, and he cursed himself for bringing this subject up - again. In two quick strides, he gathered her into his arms, hugging her close, kissing her cheek, asking her to forgive him. She nodded in his arms, but sobbed against his chest. She had a duty to the clan; she knew this. And, as excited as she was about going out into the world, gathering knowledge, sharing it with clans other than her own, she dreaded never seeing Tamlen again. She dreaded knowing that he would, eventually, have to bond with another. His family was the second noble line in the clans, one of the last ties to their past. He had to continue his line. Especially as she, the last of the line that had once ruled the Elvhen, would no longer be able to carry on her own line.
"I'm sorry," she heard him say, felt him stroking her short, curly hair.
She nodded, murmuring, "I know," her arms tightening around him.
She broke the embrace first, wiping her eyes and face, watching as Tamlen did the same. "We cannot do this any longer," her voice broke as she said the words. "I will be leaving soon," she turned her eyes away, to the door leading further into the ruins. "We have to set aside our feelings."
"How?" Tamlen asked, uncertainty and resignation in his voice.
She shrugged, shaking her head in defeat. She had no idea. Rolling her shoulders, she glanced over at him, rocked by the love and devotion she saw in his eyes. Quickly, she turned away, heading to the door.
Yes, she should have listened to Marethari a long time ago…
