Author's Note: This is my first time trying out Dragon's Age. I've recently obtained the game and wow, I love it! I specifically love Alistair. This will definitely be an AlistairXOC story. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age I only own my OC Lyna
Name: Lyna Mahariel
Origin: Dalish
Sex: Female
Class: Warrior
The sun broke through the green trees as summer made its way into the forest. Spring had all but disappeared as the heat began to come in waves. The grass was growing taller and the trees growing stronger. Flowers seemed to be plentiful in the forest.
The afternoon heat certainly showed signs of summer. The forests children began moving around hours before, to do what they did every day. Especially the Dalish Elves, my people. We live in this forest, though at a moment's notice we could move. We Dalish are a wandering people and are looked down upon by humans. But humans only fear us because we refuse to bow down to their rule.
My name is Lyna Mahariel, I am a proud Dalish. I adorn my heritage on my face with a butterfly-like tattoo. My eyes are a beautiful forest green, and they sparkle with adventure. I usually wear my ruby red hair in a high ponytail with two curly bangs framing my face. I am lithe, yet strong, just as a warrior should be.
This afternoon, I am hunting with my childhood friend, Tamlen in the forest that we have lived in all our life. Our quarry isn't always animals, however.
I look over at Tamlen as he holds up his hand to signal for me to stop. He nods off in the right direction as a bush rustles, his brunette hair following his head. He readies his bow and jumps out of the bushes, just in time to stop three humans running. He looks at them in disgust, and their faces quickly twist into terror at the sight of an arrow directed at them.
I take a second to study Tamlen, his lithe yet muscular body poised and ready for the kill. His face, always seeming so full of childlike wonder, twisted into hatred. I always wondered why he disliked humans so much. I mean they drove us out of our homes and treat us as dirt, but they are the Creator's children as well.
"It's a Dalish!" One of them screams, terrified, as I'm brought out of my thoughts.
"And you are somewhere you should not be." Tamlen replies to him, obvious anger in his voice. I move over beside him, my bow aimed at the Shem as well. "It's about time you got here, what were you doing, daydreaming?" He teases me, still keeping a cold eye on the humans.
"Let us go Dalish! You have no reason to attack us!" The bravest of the three cries out in terror. He shakes like a frightened halla.
"Then why are you here? Bandits I'm guessing?" Tamlen accuses them. I can't deny that he has a right in accusing them of such. Why else would they be in the forest? A nice summer stroll? They wouldn't have been running if that were true.
"No! I swear we're not! We didn't even know this forest was yours!" The bravest one tries to justify the three's actions.
"This forest is not ours. The forest belongs to itself." I correct him, with annoyance layered into my sultry voice. "Why were you running then, if you are not bandits?" I ask him, getting an annoyed look from Tamlen.
"Why does it matter?" Tamlen grumbles impatiently.
"We were running, from a demon in some ruins!" The Shem explains, even more scared. The two cowering behind him nod their heads in agreement.
"Ruins? We've lived here all our lives, there are no such ruins! You lie!" I snarl at them, Tamlen smirks at me, happy to see me finally get angry at them.
"No, I swear! Here, we found this in them!" The human tosses a piece of clay at us. I catch it and move my fingers over the writing on it. I can't make them out so I hand it to Tamlen, replacing my bow to aim at the humans. He does the same and looks up at the humans with interest.
"This is elfish writing… Do you not have more from these said, ruins?" He asks them, I turn my head to him, shocked that there is a curious tone to his voice instead of the usual angry voice.
"Like I said… There was a demon, it chased us out!" The human informs us. Tamlen looks over at me with a smirk.
"Well, what do you suggest we do with them?" Tamlen asks me. The humans look at me with a pleading expression, shaking more in fear.
"Let's kill one; it will make sure that others do not appear." I suggest to him. The two behind the bravest human quickly take off, leaving their companion behind.
"No, please!" The human left standing begs us, as Tamlen shoots an arrow into his heart. I cringe slightly, feeling bad about taking a human's life. The nearby human village won't be happy about this, but maybe they'll learn to stay out of this forest.
"Well, let's go check out these, so-called ruins." Tamlen brings me out of my thoughts.
"Shouldn't we go show the Keeper what we've found?" I frown at Tamlen, not trusting what the Shem told us.
"Oh come on, if we do that, she'd never let us check it out alone!" He whines slightly. The childlike gleam in his eyes had returned after he killed the Shem. I can't help but give in to his desire.
"Oh… Alright, but only if we tell the Keeper what happened after we return." I compromise. He grins at me happily.
"Well let's go then!" And with that we set off in the direction the humans were telling us about.
We made sure to move as quickly and quietly as we could, there's no telling what those humans disturbed, and the Keeper had always told us that spirits could take a physical form when angered.
As we reached this cave with ruins the air around them was full of something sinister. I look over at Tamlen to see if he notices it as well. The expression he gives me tells me he does.
"So the humans were not lying about there being ruins here…" Tamlen says finally. The childlike gleam in his eyes has only strengthened by seeing this cave.
"That's great and all, but I don't think we need explore in there alone." I advise, getting a feeling of unwelcome from the cave. He scoffs at me.
"Don't be such a baby, Lyna. Come on! We're already here. Let's explore, just a little." He pushes on my shoulder lightly. I look away then nod at him, still unsure about this whole thing. We entered the cave cautiously, as per my request.
Shallow light drifted through holes in the ceiling, dimly lighting the ruins' interior. Piles of rubble and broken stone littered the floor. The structure had begun to decay due to time and erosion. Tree roots and vines had also invaded the place. There was no way that this place was anywhere near being a recent development.
The air felt even more sinister as we ventured deeper into the cave. Neither of us has been trained in traps, so of course we set off a couple traps along the way, dodging a few arrows, narrowly escaping being burned alive.
"Someone clearly doesn't want us here." I muse, annoyance in my voice as I duck to avoid an arrow in my face. Tamlen doesn't reply to me as we enter a large room with huge cobwebs and cocoons decorating it. I'm so distracted by the scenery that I almost didn't notice the unusual gigantic spider advancing towards me and Tamlen.
I let out a shriek as I pull out my sword and dagger, not used to seeing such a large spider. I slay the beast quickly and turn over to Tamlen, to see him doing the same to another equally large spider. The rest of the beasts in the room are taken care and I give Tamlen a most unhappy look.
"I told you we shouldn't have come alone! Let's go!" I whine to him, still startled from the spiders. He moves closer to me after sheathing his weapons and places his hands on my shoulders.
"It's okay Lethallin. We're almost to the center of these ruins. Let us explore just a little bit longer." He pleads to me gently, his eyes softening as he tries to calm me down. I don't calm down and I try to pull away from him. He presses his forehead against mine gently. "I promise, I won't let anything hurt you." He whispers to me.
It takes me a moment to realize how close our bodies are, how close our faces are. I suddenly feel calm, even in this evil place. I take a deep breath and smile at him slightly. I feel my heartbeat race at his warmth, my chest tightening. I don't know what these feelings for Tamlen are, but I don't think it's just brotherly love. I nod at him and tell him he can lead the way.
He smiles at me and turns to journey onward through the ruins. As we continue to move I hear something crunch under my feet. I cringe and look down slowly; I have just stepped on a skeletal arm. I look in front of me on the ground to see more skeletons, scattered about. People have died in this cave.
Tamlen has moved ahead of me quite a bit. I start to call out to him for him to wait up; running to catch up, when we are both sent flying back. Some sort of trap must have been triggered. I cough as poisonous air fills the area, the air tinting with green. As I stand up I realize, not only has the air filled with poison, the skeletons I saw have stood up, and they have weapons.
"What sort of dark magic is this?!" Tamlen lets out a nervous breath as he stands up next to me, taking out his sword and dagger.
"I don't know, but let's get these things killed!" I whimper, drawing my dual blades as well. We make quick work of the creatures, and as soon as they are all gone, Tamlen runs past me panting lightly. He stops in front of a statue that seems vaguely familiar, probably from one of the other Dalish camps, with an excited expression.
"Lyna! Do you know what this is?" He asks me, the childlike gleam in his eyes.
I can't place this statue in my mind, but I know I have seen it before. "It looks familiar, but I don't know what it is." I admit to him.
Tamlen runs his fingers over the statue in an admiring way. "Well, this is a likeness of one of the Dalish elder gods. This had to have been built during the time of Arlathan. What do you know of the tale?" He asks me. I hardly find the importance of a history lesson right now.
"I don't know a lot, but I have a feeling you'll tell me." I tease him lightly.
"Our people aren't even certain of how Arlathan fell. We had a homeland in those days called Elvhenan and Arlathan was its heart. Our people fled in fear of the Tevinter Empire. Those who were not lucky enough to escape were captured as slaves. That's what the legend of lost immortality claims, anyhow." He informs me, not even fazed by my teasing.
"It's odd that we don't know that much of our past." I say, feeling a little disappointed by how little our own people know about our history.
"Indeed." Tamlen replied to me. He seems to be entranced by this statue.
"We need to hurry and get back." I say, trying to get him to leave this statue alone. He turns to look at me, pleading once more.
"Okay, we'll keep going to the center and then when we get there, we'll go back home." He compromises with me. I don't feel like this is a very good compromise, but I don't argue, it won't get me anywhere.
We continue on to the last few feet towards the center and stop in front of a large metal door. I don't like the way the air is stirred here. Tamlen reaches for the door and opens it, as a loud roar almost busts my ear drums. I grab my head and cringe at the sound of it. Suddenly I'm thrown backwards as some sort of beast hovers over me.
It resembles a bear and glows, having madness and rage in its eyes. Spines made their way out of the bear's body in various places, making it a terrifying sight. I scream as it raises its paw up to slash at me with its large claws, trying to move my pinned arms to withdraw my weapons. I hear a yell as Tamlen slashes at the beast, trying to get it off of me. It moves over to attack him, allowing me to get up and join Tamlen in fighting this creature.
Our combined skills bring this creature down quickly, our blades making bloody crescents as we slash at the bear-thing. I pant and put my hands on my knees as the creature finally falls and takes its last breath.
"What… What was that?" I pant, looking at Tamlen in horror. But Tamlen doesn't answer me. Tamlen has moved into the room the creature came from to stare at a mirror that is planted in the middle. Tamlen moves closer to it and I run towards him.
"Something moved in the mirror. I saw another place." He said, almost in a trance-like way. The feeling I get around this mirror makes me uneasy. I just want to smash that mirror to bits. The air around it feels sinister and tainted.
"Tamlen… Come on… Let's go… That mirror… It's evil." I say to him, looking anywhere else in the room besides the mirror. I grab his arm, trying to pull him away, but he yanks it from me. He moves closer to the mirror.
"See! There it is again! Don't you believe me Lyna?" He claims. I look at him with fear. I desperately want to get him away from that mirror.
"Come on Tamlen! Let's get out of here!" I call to him in distress. My heart races at thought of staying here another second. I almost want to stamp my foot to see if that will make him leave. I see his hand reach out to touch the evil thing, and I start to lunge at him. "Tamlen! Don't touch it!" I whine, almost screaming at him.
He doesn't listen to me. His fingers touch the glass of the mirror. "It saw me! Help me!" He calls out, but his call is drowned out by the mirror releasing a bright light, and some unknown force throws me back almost ten feet from the mirror. Unimaginable pain washes over my body and I moan out Tamlen's name, calling to him. I squeeze my eyes shut and gasp for breath.
I open my eyes, with great effort, for a short moment. Everything is hazy and bright, a face lingers over mine. I'm in too much pain to make out any details. I close my eyes once again before hearing a voice.
"…you all right? Can you hear me? Are you all right?"
I awake to a first sensation of pain. My head hurts and it feels as is fire is going throughout all of my body. I can barely move from all the pain. I start to wonder if I had died, but I don't think I would feel this much pain in the Beyond. I force myself to sit up and survey my surroundings.
I'm back in my tent in the Dalish camp. I have no clue how I got here. As I move my body around a little more, the pain seems to fade. I notice that I'm no longer wearing my armor, but instead I'm wearing the cloth gown that the Dalish women wear for sleeping. I try to recall the events beforehand, hoping it was just a dream as I replace the nightgown with my light armor.
I pull my hair back into its normal ponytail and step outside my tent only to be immediately hounded by Fenarel. "Thank the Creator! It's good to see you up, Lethallin. For a moment there, we thought you'd never wake." He sighs in relief as I return the tight hug.
"What do you mean Fenarel? What happened?" I ask him, hoping that my nightmare actually was a nightmare.
He shook his head at me, letting go. "We were hoping you could tell us. The Grey Warden came to our village with you slung over his shoulder. You were very ill and we were afraid that you wouldn't survive. The Keeper used the old magic and was able to break the sickness. You've been asleep for two days." He explains to me.
My eyes widen and I almost fall back. "Two days!?" I exclaim, unable to grasp the situation. I can't believe I've been asleep for two days! How could this have happened?!
"Yes. How do you feel?" He asks me, worry clearly on his face.
"I'm worried about Tamlen… Where is he?" I ask him; even though I have a feeling I know the answer.
"We know not, Lethallin. We've had search parties looking for him, but haven't found a trace of Tamlen since you were brought back two days ago. I'm sure the Keeper could tell you more. She wished to speak with you when you awoke." I was afraid of that answer. Poor Tamlen… What did that mirror do to him?
"Where is she?" I ask him calmly; though I'm sure my face shows my true feelings.
"She's in her tent most likely." He explains to me. He pats me on the shoulder to reassure me. "I'm sure we'll find Tamlen."
I nod at him and thank him, before making my way across camp to the Keeper's tent. Almost as if she sensed me coming, the door flaps open right as I get near them. I enter the tent and sigh, wanting to break down and cry.
"It is a relief to finally see you up, Da'len. We were all very worried about you." She says to me, putting a hand on my shoulder to calm me.
"Thank you for your concern Keeper… I'm sorry for worrying anyone." I apologize to her. There's something about the way she's looking at me… I don't like it. It's as if… She knows something she's not telling me. "Thank you for healing me…" I say, hoping to get some answers.
She shakes her head. "I am sorry; Da'len, but I could not heal you. I used the old magics as much as I could. Even with my abilities, I was only able to subdue the illness. If a cure is not found, your condition will only worsen. The strain will eventually kill you." Yeah, that's what I was looking for. I almost fall back at this news however. That's not exactly something you want to hear from your Keeper.
"What about Tamlen, then? Should I not be out searching for him? Wouldn't he be sick as well?" My voice instantly goes a little high pitch from a whiney worriedness.
"There are a few questions that I must ask before I release you to the hunting party, Lyna. I also want to tell you that if Tamlen was exposed to the same thing you were, there may be little hope of finding him alive. The longer it takes us to find him, the wick of his life flame burns shorter. Tell me, Da'len, what is the last thing you remember?"
I try to clear my mind to remember exactly what happened. "I remember, ruins in a cave… And a mirror. Tamlen touched the mirror… Then… Nothing." I say, pausing occasionally to remember correctly. It's all still a little fuzzy to me.
Keeper Marethari nods at me. "Were there any Darkspawn?" She asks me.
"I wouldn't know even if I saw one." I say a little frustrated. I know I shouldn't be frustrated at her, but I can't help it. I just want to go out there and find Tamlen!
"I was hoping that I could get some answers when you awoke, but it seems there are only more questions. As soon as you are ready, Merrill and return to the ruins. Only you know where they are.
Perhaps Tamlen is still there. If you need supplies and weapons, talk to Master Illen. Please be careful. I don't want to lose any more children."
"I will be careful. Thank you Keeper." I say to her, leaving the tent. My heart aches for Tamlen. I hope he's still alive. I can't believe I let this happen…
It doesn't take long for me to find Merrill. She was waiting for me near the Keeper's tent.
"I am to study the artifacts while we're there, just in case there was something you missed." Merrill tells me reassuringly. "The Keeper thinks that perhaps she can study the mirror you found and find a cure for your illness." I highly doubt that. But I keep that thought to myself. I nod at her and we set out for the path to the ruins.
Not very long after being on the path did we run into enemies. These creatures look like demented dwarves. Luckily for me, I have a mage with me. Merrill grabs hold of her mage staff and fires arcane bolts at them, making sure to not hit me while I attack them with my dagger and sword.
"What were those things!? Were they Darkspawn!?" Merrill breathes out nervously.
I look at her with an obviously irked expression. "You're asking me?" I say to her sarcastically.
She gives me a look of disapproval before asking me, "Were they here the first time?"
"I would have noticed them." I say irritated. She asks me a lot of stupid questions. I know she's only trying to help, but she could have a little more common sense.
She shakes her head and we move on along the path. We come across an abandoned fire pit; obviously someone's camp.
"Was this here before?" She asks me, curious.
"No. It looks fresh. It might have been the Shem's that brought me back to camp." I offer.
"He did say he was going to go back to the ruins to check them out himself… Listen… Do you hear that?" She says suddenly. There's an eerie stillness to the air. I listen to the noise she's talking about. It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard in this forest before.
"It's too quiet to be an animal." I muse aloud.
"Exactly… Whatever you and Tamlen let out from that mirror has spread into the forest." She grimaces. Wow, way to make me feel better, Merrill. I think to myself angrily. As if I don't feel bad enough about losing Tamlen. I feel another tug at my heart, thinking about how I let Tamlen get into this mess.
"Hey… Are you okay? You seem a little… Sickly… Pale even." She says to me, worry in her voice.
I actually feel extremely sick. But I don't want her to know that. "It's just the exertion." I quickly come up with that, hoping she won't question it.
She gives me a look before saying, "Maybe you're right. Let's just get to this cave." Arrow dodged?
We move faster than before to get to the ruins. We don't bump into anymore of those creatures along the way.
As we enter the ruins Merrill turns to me. "Let's just get this over with quickly and find whatever is left of Tamlen." This makes me extremely angry. I don't want to think about finding Tamlen dead!
"Don't talk like that!" I snap at her. I almost want to hit her.
"You're right… I'm sorry." She looks down, knowing that what she said was wrong. I take her apology and we move onward. More of those creatures have spawned in here since I was in the ruins last. We fight our way to the room with the mirror and as I stare at the door I just think about the bear-like creature that attacked me last time. I can't bring myself to open it. I move back and let Merrill open the door. I feel like such a coward.
Luckily when the door opens this time, we see a Shem standing in the room in front of the mirror instead of a hideous creature.
"So it is you. I thought I heard fighting outside." The Shem says to us.
"If you heard us fighting, why didn't you come help?" I challenge him, feeling a bit irked that he did not feel the need to help two girls fighting evil creatures.
"It sounded as if you could handle yourself." He keeps a calm expression. "My name is Duncan. It's good to see you walking about. The last time we met, you were almost dead." He raises an eyebrow at me with a small smile.
"So you are the Shem who saved me… I suppose I owe you thanks. My name is Lyna." I introduce myself to him.
"No thanks are really necessary… You haven't escaped death yet…" He says with a sad tone.
"What is that mirror?" Merrill asks, not interested in our idle chat.
"It is a gateway for Darkspawn; it's how these creatures have been getting in and out of this forest. It's also what infected you." Duncan turns to me at that last part. I should have guessed that, that's what's wrong with me. I usually do have bad luck like this.
"So I was tainted with the Darkspawn plague?" I ask him, my voice choking up a bit. That's not something you want to hear.
"You still are. You're Keeper was the only thing keeping the taint at bay." He explains to me. I almost want to cry.
"What about Tamlen? Is he…?" I can't even finish my sentence.
"He's been tainted without help for two days. I'm sorry… But there is nothing we can do for him." Duncan gives us the hard truth. I feel so ashamed. I feel as if I should have done something for him…
"Well… What do we do now?" Merrill breaks the silence.
"First, we take care of this mirror." Duncan says. He turns around and drives a dagger into the mirror, shattering it to pieces. Well if the Keeper wanted to examine it, she certainly can't now.
"And now?" Merrill asks the question that I can't.
"We go back and discuss with your Keeper, how to stop the taint from spreading in you." He gives me a look. I feel broken. Tears fall down my cheeks as we make our way back to camp.
"Ah, you've returned. Any signs of Tamlen?" Keeper asks me. I shake my head in response. I can't say anything. I'm too choked up to even open my mouth. The Keeper bows her head in respect and grievance. "I see… Then please go to Paviel to prepare a service for our dear brother Tamlen. Afterwards I will need you to come see me so we can talk about how to cure you, privately." Keeper orders me.
I nod solemnly and make my way by the fire pit to go see Paviel. As I approach him, he takes a look at my face and needs not ask about Tamlen.
"Keeper would like for you to prepare a service for Tamlen." I tell him. He nods and prattles on about losing children. I feel disrespectful for not listening to him, but I can't help it. My mind is on too many things right now. I tell him goodbye and make my way back to the Keeper's tent.
As I approach, the doors don't open by themselves. I push them open and move inside the tent. Duncan and Keeper turn their gaze on me. "Lyna… I have something you need to understand." Keeper starts and my ears perk up at this. Something tells me she's going to give me information I won't like. "In order for you to be cured of the taint… Duncan here says you need to go with him."
I pause before responding. "So… I'm to become a Grey Warden?" I ask Keeper.
Duncan turns to look at me. "I'm afraid that's the only option you have, if you wish to live." He states bluntly. I sigh and nod at him. I'm honestly too tired to argue at this point. "We can leave now if you would like?" He asks me. I shake my head.
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to stay for Tamlen's funeral." I hang my head low at these words. I didn't think I'd have to speak them ever. Duncan nods in understanding. Keeper places her hand on my shoulder and takes my hand with her other hand.
"Take this… It is to remind you of where you came from. Proud Dalish peoples." She says to me and as I pull my hand away from hers, I notice that she has put her ring in my hand. I look up at her, and then quickly wrap my arms around her. Tears spill down my face.
The tears don't come any slower at Tamlen's funeral. "Come now, Lyna. Let us embrace you one last time." Keeper says after his service. I embrace the people of my clan a last time before beginning my journey of becoming a Grey Warden. Such an eventful three days for me being asleep for two of them.