Author's note: I know that in the game, the elves have lost most of their lore, but I didn't like the lack of Elvish. So, to compensate, I'm using as much as I can use practically. Please check the bottom of each chapter for end notes and Elvish translations. Oh, and by the way, Ayale is pronounced A-ya-ley.

Anyway, enjoy!

Ayale laid her plate down before her. A meagre, but acceptable, amount of her dinner was still left. Well, she hoped it was acceptable.

One of the problems she had discovered with being a Grey Warden was the increase in her appetite. It was a problem, but not for her image, as Alistair had jokingly remarked. It was difficult because she had to focus on how much she ate and, more to the point, how much she left for her offering to the hahra –her gods.

Alistair had called it strange, but what did shemlen know, or even care, about the ways of the Dalish? The answer: nothing. Regardless, the young templar did not seem interested in learning. And after she had snapped at him after his fifth inquiry into the matter, he had left her to her own devices.

She flicked her fringe out of her jade green eyes and tucked a flyaway strand of her blonde hair behind an ear –it was getting way too long for her liking. She had always had it cut as short as possible, mainly because Tamlen had told her once that he liked her hair like that.

Not that he was around to say that anymore...

She cleared her mind of such thoughts and focused on her next task. She pulled out nine long pieces of straw and began to twist them deftly into what almost looked like a stiff string.

"What are you doing, if I may ask?" Wynne questioned.

The mage had joined the merry band of misfits recently, when they had visited the Circle Tower for aid against the Blight –the visit had been an adventure in itself. She tended to keep to herself, apart from at meal times like now. And in such times, when everyone was together, she was more than happy to ask Ayale boundless questions, and most of which were to do with the Dalish elves.

The young she-elf had quickly discovered the older woman's persistence. If she didn't answer now, Wynne would ask next time she was preparing her offering, and the next time until she got the answer.

"Of course you may, hahren," Ayale replied respectfully. "I'm preparing a spirit candle."

Wynne, Alistair and Leliana, surprisingly, all stiffened at the answer and focused on her intently. It amazed Ayale how touchy shemlen were when it came to the spirit world. She had heard more than enough about abominations to know that they were dangerous. Heck! She'd seen enough of them in the Circle Tower to know they were dangerous. But, the shems seemed to think that merely mentioning the word 'spirit' would bring one out from thin air.

She had to chuckle slightly at the superstition.

"I take nine strands of straw, one for each of the hahra," she continued, ignoring the looks on her companions. "I twist it round so that it becomes like this…"

She held the twisted straw up to show Wynne, and stopped when she noticed that the mage was absolutely horrified. She looked over to Alistair and Leliana and saw that they too had uneasy expressions on their faces.

"What?" Ayale protested. "Even gods appreciate light by which to see the offering I give to them."

The three shemlen blinked in surprise, and then seemed rather embarrassed. Alistair even went so far as to blush at a mistake that was not obvious to Ayale.

Then she remembered. Shemlen were highly superstitious when topics concerned the spirit world. They probably thought that the spirit candle was something that would summon spirits to the camp.

"This isn't a sethenera," Ayale noted. "This isn't a place where the Veil is thin. Besides, this is a candle to the hahra, not to spirits. Hmm… maybe it should be called a hahra candle, then."

She shrugged and carried on with crafting the candle. She looped it over so the ends met. Bringing out her Dar'Misu, she sliced through the loop and cut the twine in half, one half being slightly longer than the other. She carefully measured out a length, and then bent the straw to loop again before cutting it. She used that length as a guide while she cut the straw another three times until she had ten pieces.

She turned the dagger over so it laid flat on her crossed legs. She rested the lengths of straw on the flat and picked out the one that was longer than the others. She allowed herself a moment of pride that the others were all perfectly uniform. Marethari would be very impressed with her.

"What are you doing now?" Wynne asked curiously.

Ayale startled slightly, as she hadn't realised that the mage was still watching her. She chanced a look over and saw that Leliana was also watching her with great curiosity. Alistair was continuously glancing over to her, but seemed to be trying to find something else to focus on.

"I... I cut the straw so that there are ten pieces; one for each hahra, and one extra" she explained. "The longest one is used to bind them all together. I pinch one end of the straws together, like this, and then I wind the longest around that area as tightly as I can."

She held the binding with one thumb as she wound the twine once around the bundle. She pulled it as tight as she could before making another loop around the straws. Again, she pulled it tight and wound. She followed the same procedure for another pass, until she had a small amount left. She tucked the end under the binding and pulled it until it wouldn't move anymore. She bent the end outwards and trimmed it with her Dar'Misu.

Ayale stood up and approached the fire in the centre of camp. Holding the bound end, she passed the free end through the flames.

"The candle has to be conditioned so that it burns infinitely, until the hahra accept the offering," she continued.

Then, with as little movement from the rest of her body as was possible, Ayale swung the candle around herself, forming the symbol of infinity once... twice... three times... four times...

"...five... six... seven... eight..." she counted quietly under her breath. "...and nine."

"I suppose you do that for each... hahra, whatever they are?" Alistair asked sceptically.

"Hahra is our word for the gods," Ayale replied, trying to keep her tone civil. "And yes, we do. By doing this the straw smoulders, rather than burns. The wisps of smoke are what make this become a spirit candle."

She held the candle up for Alistair to try and see. Sure enough, each of the nine ends was letting off small wisps of smoke. Each wisp drifted slowly upwards, spiralling around in the air and occasionally merging with another.

Finished in her preparations, she returned to her place and picked up her plate. She looked down at her offering and scrutinised it for a moment, making sure that it was acceptable. On an adventure like this, favour of the gods was not something she particularly wanted to lose.

She turned to the bemused templar and curious bard and mage and flashed them a smile.

She then walked away from them and approached the outskirts of camp. She went as close to the forest as she could before kneeling down and setting up her offering. She placed the candle next to her right knee and positioned the plate in front of her. She then bowed her head and closed her eyes, blocking out the worldly distractions as she did.

"Hahra, hear me, your da'len, as I walk the path you have laid before me," she began. "I offer this to you in thanks for the many gifts you have seen fit to bestow on me today. I thank Ghilan'nain for guiding my footsteps on this path as she did her sisters. I thank Andruil for keeping my arrows true and for the sacrifice of your children. I thank Mythal for protecting me as I fight the darkspawn and from the shemlen that seek me harm and ruin. I thank June for the crafting of my bow, arrows and blades, for without them I would be lost."

Ayale paused for a moment, as she thought of what else she believed she had been given that day. To not thank a god for their gift was extremely rude, and she didn't want to offend any of them. She then continued with her prayer.

"I thank Sylaise for the fire that burns in camp, keeping us warm, cooking our food and lighting our way at night. Ma serannas nir hahra. I pray that my actions are as you all wish, and that I prove myself worthy of the vallaslin of which I hold to honour you," she finished.

She then opened her eyes and stood. She turned to walk away and paused when she saw Leliana had stood up and was watching her curiously and unabashedly. She continued walking to rejoin the camp, though she suddenly felt the near overwhelming desire to run into the forest and away from Leliana's unwavering attention.

"The last time I had someone watch me so closely during my offering, it was by two den'len who had never performed the ritual before," Ayale comment embarrassedly.

"Oh!" Leliana exclaimed. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," Ayale smiled. "Though, I've never had a shem- uh, I mean, a human so interested in our rituals before."

Ayale sat back down near the fire and closed her eyes tiredly as she rested her chin on her knees. She then realised that she hadn't heard Leliana move and sit back down, and she opened her eyes and looked up.

The woman hadn't moved and was still looking at Ayale's offering.

"Once the ritual is over, you leave it alone," Ayale mentioned. "That's why I left it out there, so no one disturbs it. That way, the hahra can accept it in their own time."

"How do you know if it's been accepted?" Leliana enquired.

"When the food's gone, obviously," Ayale shrugged. "The hahra won't accept the offering themselves, but they'll send a creature to accept it for them."

"Wait! You mean... you leave food out for the wildlife?" Alistair asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea what takes the offering? What if it's a bear?"

"Bears are the favoured of Dirthamen," Ayale replied nonchalantly. "It would be something for Dirthamen to accept my offering."

"Forgive me, but do you not see how dangerous that is?" Wynne asked worriedly.

"If you mean how dangerous it is to attract wild animals close to camp, then yes I do, hahren," Ayale nodded. "Which is another reason to leave the offering so far from the main camp, the creature can take the offering without bother us, or us bothering it."

"I don't believe I'm hearing this," Alistair murmured in amazement.

"My clan has made offerings for years, and no one has ever been hurt," Ayale retorted defensively. "Also, I've made offerings every night since Ostagar and we've never been bothered."

"How about we leave this be?" Wynne suggested as Alistair opened his mouth to protest.

"Ma nuvenin, hahren" Ayale nodded in agreement. "As you wish."

"What does that mean, 'hahren'?" Wynne asked confusedly. "I'm almost sure that's directed at me."

"It, uh... it means elder," Ayale replied unsurely. "It's a word of respect to those who are older and wiser than oneself."

"Oh," Wynne blinked in mild surprise. "I... I see."

The mage flushed slightly at the underlying compliment, a small smile on her face.

After that, silence fell on the camp. No one spoke as no one had any idea of what to say. The fire crackled loudly, dancing in the fresh night air, and jumping when a light breeze fluttered past.

Ayale yawned, raising her hand to cover her mouth as she did so. With her raised hand, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She could feel the slight scarring of her vallaslin beneath her fingertips as she brushed beneath her eyes.

Her vallaslin had always reminded her of vines that would wind themselves elegantly around a tree, and she had been proud to have been able to sit still so that Marethari could give her the complex version of the design. Tamlen had told her once that he thought the complex version was much better than the simple one.

But of course, to feel the blood writing beneath her eyes also meant that she had to feel her tainted skin. Alistair had been the one to bring it to her attention, asking her if it was part of the design of her 'tattoo' as he'd mistakenly called it. He'd unsheathed his sword and let her look at herself in the blade.

That was when she'd first seen it. Dark marks, roughly triangular in shape, ran down her face from her eyes. After relating how she was recruited into the Grey Wardens to Alistair, the young templar had theorised that it was a remainder of her would-be transformation into a ghoul.

Needless to say, she... had not taken that conversation well.

"Well, I'm going to bed," she announced, standing up and stretching. "Daln ee'yo –good night."

There were murmurs across camp as others bade her good night. She entered her tent and laid down on her sleeping mat. Her Dalish armour was such that she could easily sleep in it, and had done on several occasions. More than a few of those times had been when she and Tamlen had been tracking a hunt for a couple of days.

She frowned angrily at herself. How easily her mind would stray back to him! She hadn't given up hope that he may still yet live, but a part of her feared what he may be like if he wasn't dead. Obviously he would have become a ghoul, like she would have become if Duncan hadn't saved her.

From her mercifully short time as a ghoul, she had felt a marginal amount of pain from every part of her body. Losing that had been the greatest relief when she had become a Grey Warden. The darkspawn call, however... she had first heard it in the Korcari Wilds when she had been with Alistair, Ser Jory and Daveth, looking for darkspawn blood. The Joining hadn't really done much for her in that regard; it had simply made the call much, much less appealing to follow.

Tamlen, however, hadn't been given that luxury. That would mean, if he was still alive, he'd been subjected to the agonising pain and the overpowering call and will of the archdemon. And, he'd have suffered that torment for almost two months. She wasn't sure how well she'd have taken it, and that worried her for Tamlen's sake.

These thoughts weren't helping her sleep. She shook her head slightly to clear her mind of dark imaginings and quietly hummed a tune to herself. It was a soothing tune and she knew the words, but she didn't sing. Soon after, it wasn't long before she drifted off and found herself in the realm of dreams.

Ayale had gotten up early, as she always did. She had done easy, warm-up exercises to free off her muscles from the lethargy of sleep. And, once those tasks were done, she had approached her offering to collect the plate and clean away any leftover mess.

She was still standing over her offering when Alistair finally emerged from his tent, almost three hours after she had first woken up. She called him over when she saw that he was, if not fully awake, at least able to process simple information and give adequate responses.

"Take a look at this," she instructed, motioning down to the plate.

Alistair did what she told him to, and he stared at the plate. He looked at it for a moment... two moments... three...

"Well?" she prompted when she noticed that she wouldn't get a response anytime soon if she didn't ask.

"Well what?" Alistair asked.

"Well what?" she echoed incredulously. "The offering, of course, what else?"

By the hahra, were all shemlen like this in the morning?

"The food's gone," he observed, shrugging uninterestedly.

Well, he was right about that. The food was gone, not a scrap was left on the plate. But, that was not what Ayale wanted him to notice.

"What about the spirit candle?" she asked bluntly, hoping to get the right answer.

"Umm..." Alistair looked about half-heartedly before giving up. "What?"

"On the plate," she explained, pointing to the remains of the candle.

"I don't know," he shrugged, not getting the point of her fascination. "Maybe the bear missed it, or whatever that came to eat."

"I left the candle on the ground next to plate. It has been moved to sit in the centre. There is no creature that does that. Someone moved it," she stated, emphasising some of her words, hoping to get the point across.

A branch snapped in the forest, causing Ayale and Alistair to instantly direct their attention to the sound. Nothing moved, not anything in the forest and not them except for their eyes that raked over the surroundings. While neither spoke, they both knew one irrefutable fact.

Someone was watching them.

"We've been watched for some time," Ayale noted in a hushed voice.

"This isn't going to go away," Alistair whispered to Ayale, not turning his attention from the forest. "We're being followed."

"I'd be worried if we weren't," she replied. "Following us means they're not giving information to Loghain."

"And if this... person was sent by Loghain?" he asked concernedly, finally turning to her.

"If they were, they've had ample time to dispatch us," she mentioned quietly, her eyes still not leaving the forest. "I don't think they're one of Loghain's lackeys."

"Do you think they took your offering?" he enquired.

"Probably," she nodded. "The hahra have a plan, it seems, lethallin. We can only wait and see."

"Can't we go after them?" Alistair counter-offered.

"Not really, no," Ayale shook her head. "Look at the ground. There are no tracks to follow. This person knows how be invisible."

She finally knelt down and picked up the plate. Once she stood again, she turned to Alistair. Her eyes were deadly serious.

"Let's not mention this to the others," she suggested. "They've got enough to worry about without knowing that there's someone in the trees."

"You really think that's a good idea?" Alistair questioned.

"What's the point of telling them?" she countered. "All that'll do is keep everyone awake at night. Paranoia, lack of sleep, and all the consequences of little rest will do us no favours."

"Perhaps you're right," Alistair agreed begrudgingly. "Still, I don't like this."

"Neither do I, lethalln," Ayale concurred. "Neither do I."

End notes: I thought that the idea of offerings was something that the Dalish would do. Offerings and/or sacrifices are important in many ancient and modern religions, so I thought I fit. Also, straw stalks are about a metre in length, right? So the candle is just under ten centimetres tall. And, for those of you who don't know, the symbol of infinity is a figure of eight on its side (∞).

Below are the translations of the Elvish words and phrases that I used in the chapter. Anything that is in italics, I've made up.

Da'len –child

Daln ee'yo –good night

Hahra – gods

Hahren –elder

Lethallin –friend (male)

Ma serannas –thank you

Ma serannas nir hahra –I thank you my gods

Ma nuvenin –as you wish (it is in the game, but it's my personal translation)

Sethenera –Land of waking dreams. A place where the Veil is thin

Shemlen –quick children (elven name for humans, slang term 'shem')

Vallaslin –blood writing