A/N: I have a tendency to get plenty of ideas for different stories, so I've decided to start posting the various scenes as one-shots, but still placing one-shots that concern the same character in one story. That means that this won't be posted in chronological order, but I'll make the date the name of the chapter, so you'll be able to see what order they occurr in. For those of you not familiar with the Thedosian calendar, the information I use can be found on the Dragon Age wiki.
This scene is when Hawke and Co. learn about my main character; Shallan Mahariel, and it's the first scene I got an idea for. Shallan Mahariel herself was born when I thought of the Dalish elf origin and wondered what might have happened had the Grey Wardens not recruited her. I'm also taking a lot of liberties in this story. One of them is that instead of a rogue or a warrior, Shallan is a mage with an affinity for bows and some skill with the sword.
"'Stories don't always have happy endings.'
This stopped him. Because they didn't, did they? That's one thing the monster had definitely taught him. Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect."
- Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls
4th of Nubulis 9:33
In the months following their return from the Deep Roads, everyone had been busy. Varric had been scouring the city and hounding his contacts for any clue that could be found about Bartrand's whereabouts, and though his brother had yet to be found he doubted his brother could elude him much longer. Hawke and her mother had renewed their efforts to reclaim the old family estate, working hard to not have to face the worries concerning Bethany's possible death. They'd gone after the occasional group of bandits or slavers, but most of the time Hawke and her friends saw very little of each other. However, they made a point of meeting up at the Hanged Man a few times every month, and it was on such an occasion that the circumstances surrounding Merrill's studies into blood magic came to light.
As her friends chatted happily around her, Merrill smiled demurely and took a long swig of her ale. Hawke had wanted to discuss a job earlier, so they'd all assembled in Varric's rooms for the evening, instead of the tavern's common room as was usual.
"What's wrong, kitten? You haven't been yourself today." Merrill looked up in surprise as Isabella addressed her. She opened her mouth to deny it as the table grew quiet, but then shut her mouth again and looked down.
"I don't know. It's mad, I'm probably going mad. But I-I could have sworn... Today at the market... It's impossible, but I could've sworn that I saw Mahariel," she finally uttered, voice growing weaker with every sentence. The last word came out as little more than a whisper as a few tears slipped from her eyes.
"Oh kitten," Isabella breathed out as she put an arm around the elf's shoulders and rubbed her back.
"You've never spoken of this Mahariel before, Merrill. Who was he?" Marion Hawe asked sympathetically after a few moments, her former conversation with Varric completely forgotten.
"She was a member of my clan. Shallan Mahariel." She fell quiet and seemed to look at something only she could see, before blinking and once again turning her eyes to her friends. "She was the only one born with magic in the clan for a long time, and should have been the Keeper's First. For some reason however, she did not want to lead, and the clan never tried to make her." A small smile grew on her lips. "Shallan means protector, and that's what she was. She protected her family in any way she could, sometimes completely disregarding her own safety." Merrill pulled in a deep breath and had to blink the tears from her eyes before continuing. "She and Tamlen – another member of the clan – were the ones who first found the mirror I keep in my home, the eluvian. It was whole when they found it, but they did not know what it was. None of us did.
"In Arlathan the eluvianen were used as means of communication or to move between one place and another. Some could even be used to travel to a world beyond this one. Though the one Shallan and Tamlen found on that horrible day worked, it had been tainted by darkspawn. And much like darkspawn, once activated, it had the ability to infect others." Aveline lowered her eyes, remembering her husband as Hawke drew in a sharp breath at the words, her memory of Bethany's weakness in the Deep Roads still sharp in her mind. They'd found the Wardens, yes, but there had not yet been any word concerning her sister's survival.
"Mahariel returned that same day, delirious and sick. The Keeper treated her to the best of her abilities, and she woke two days later to tell us that she and Tamlen had found a strange mirror in some ruins. Tamlen had touched it, he'd seen something inside it, and then it'd flashed white and she remembered nothing more. Shallan said she felt fine, she looked fine." Merrill rubbed her forehead. "So, thinking first and foremost of recovering Tamlen, she, I and Fenarel returned to the ruins while the others began to prepare to travel north. We found darkspawn, but no trace of Tamlen, no sign that he'd ever been there. Shallan used her sword to break the mirror. We thought her rash at first, but she was right to do it.
"Before we where even back at camp Shallan had already begun to pale. It was assumed that she'd overexerted herself, but then she grew worse as the days passed. When Marethari uttered the words that everyone knew, that she'd been tainted by the Blight, Mahariel made up her mind. She left as soon as she'd collected her supplies, not wishing her family to see her die. I doubt that's all there was to it, but that was what she said. We never saw her again, and we never found out exactly what happened with Tamlen. That's why I'm attempting to repair the mirror, because it is the only remaining clue as to what happened to my friends." Merrill fell quiet, and she made no sign of continuing to talk.
"I'm sorry," Hawke began hesitantly. "She sounds like a good woman, I wish I could've met her," she said, but Merrill merely snorted out a laugh and the others looked at her with questions written plainly upon their faces as she smiled thinly.
"No, you really don't. Mahariel might have been kind to fellow elves, but she hated humans. If you'd come across her in the forest she would probably just have shot you before you even knew she was there." Merrill smiled and took another drink from her glass before Isabella squeezed her tighter. The room fell silent as no one knew how to break the silence, but then Varric cleared his throat and started on one of his many stories. It broke the tension, and the next time his eyes strayed to Daisy he was greeted by a thankful smile.