Summary: Ever want to unravel the enigma that is Morrigan? What was really going through her mind as she discussed with a certain Grey Warden the loop in the hole which was the destiny of any Grey Warden heading towards the jaws of the Archdemon?
'How much longer will that blighted meeting with that Orlesian Warden take? I wish I could have told her what was going to happen in the beginning but mother insisted I do it this way.' Morrigan thinks to herself as she paces back in forth in front of the fireplace, in the room that was set aside for the Dalish Warden in Arl Eamon's estate. Hearing the wooden door creak open, she steels herself for a possible back-biting remark from the Dalish woman.
"Blasted shems! I never understood why those Orlesians are so long-winded." The lithe elf grumbles aloud, oblivious to anyone else being in the room.
"Well, you are bedding one... so it would be safe for anyone to assume you wouldn't mind a bit more frivolous conversation in your life." Morrigan quips, instantly regretting the remark once it left her mouth. She hated the fact that the Dalish rogue had found comfort in the arms of the red-haired Orlesian bard, if she had been but just a touch nicer to the elf it would have been her that comforted the dusky-skinned goddess instead of that too-good-for-everyone Chantry sister.
"What are you doing in my bed-chamber, Morrigan?" Lyna asks, only emotions marring her voice were surprise and maybe a bit of concern. "Is anything the matter?"
" 'Tis nothing the matter with me... but I do need to speak with you Lyna." Morrigan relaxes when she realises that she is not going to be reprimanded for her intrusion. "I assume Riordan has told you and Alistair the reason why it is only a Grey Warden who is to cast the killing blow on the Archdemon."
Lyna sits down on the edge of the bed looking dejected, "Yeah... That shem... I mean, Riordan said he would land the blow himself. He said something about feeling 'The Calling' and that he would rather end it now than head to the Deep Roads. But if he dies... I know it is to fall to one of us." The elf sighs as she falls back onto the mattress of the bed. "I don't want that to happen... I know Alistair is a bit of a prat, but for a shem he is okay. And I know I could never do it because I could just see the hurt on Leliana's face and I feel my heart break." Staring up at the ceiling, Lyna sighs again. "I just wish there was some way to keep us safe from this whole shitstorm of a situation."
Morrigan smiles inwardly at her chance to pass along her plan to the elf laying across the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I believe I may have the answer you are looking for Lyna... Mother had told me about what was to befall the Wardens who go up against the Archdemon and she told me of a ritual that will help."
"What sort of ritual could help keep someone alive Morrigan, especially if it what their blood has designed them for?"
" 'Tis an ancient ritual Flemeth had taught me before I had left with you and that dim-witted Templar. You may have heard of mention of something similar from your Keeper... tonight, on the eve of the battle I must bed... Alistair." Morrigan shudders inwardly at the thought but continues, none the less. " From that encounter, a child will be conceived. This child will bear the taint inside itself, so once the killing blow is landed the soul of the Archdemon will find out the soul of the child like a moth to a flame." Lyna stares at the witch wide-eyed at the thought of a child, even a shemlen's child, dying. "No... don't worry." Morrigan walks closer towards the bed, in what she felt as a gesture of comfort for the elf. "No harm shall befall the unborn child. The soul of the Archdemon will be absorbed by the soul of the child."
"And then the babe will have the soul of an Old God..." Lyna finishes the witch's speech with a thoughtful look on her face. "Why does it have to be Alistair? Why not Riordan?"
Morrigan takes the opportunity to sit on the bed beside the Warden, hoping that she hadn't overstepped her boundaries or given off her feelings for said Warden by doing so. "It has to be Alistair... Riordan has been a Warden for far too long. In order for the rite to work it has to be someone who hasn't been within the Order long."
The Dalish woman smiles at the witch, causing Morrigan to raise an eyebrow in uncertainty. "You know he is going to hate this as much as you will."
"Yes... I would think he would have believed his first time would not be bred out of necessity... and of course I loathe everything about the choir-boy, but if there was anyone else that fit the requirement..."
'Someone like you...' Morrigan thinks to herself. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about marring the lily white aura that is Alistair's."
"There is no other way? I mean Flemeth surely gave you another option to consider, right? Because I really don't like the fact that you would have to bed Alistair just because of something like this... I mean in my opinion he could just kill the blasted thing and we could set Anora up as queen again. I know that sounds harsh but I don't want you to do something you don't want to." Lyna states as she gets up off the bed and starts pacing in front of the fireplace. "Like I said before he is an alright person for a shem, but I became friends faster with you than with him. So I tend to care about the people who are closer to me, more."
Morrigan feels her air catch in her throat as she hears the elf's words. 'If she only knew the real reason behind why I want to do this...'
"No... Flemeth did not give me another option. Lyna, you must understand why this is so important... what if Alistair fails to make it to the final battle with the Archdemon as well? I know you do not wish to sacrifice yourself for a bunch of people who do not care for you and what you have done. And if you do not wish to think of it that way, think of this..." Morrigan mentally slaps herself for her next statement. "What would Leliana think if you were to die? You surely could not think that she would allow you to do such a thing! And if you did die, do you think she would go about the rest of her life like normal?"
'Do you think I could go on about my life as if nothing happened?' Morrigan wanted to scream.
Lyna stops her pacing and stares at the flames flickering lowly in the fireplace. "No... she would not. She told me once, that if I ever passed on that she would take her own life and want to have a Dalish burial alongside mine. I will talk to him... if he does not willing want to do this, I will force him to. If you say this is the only way for me to survive and for the ones I care for to live, then I must do what I have to... I did it once, I can do it again." Lyna looks away from the fire and stares at the witch who had not moved an inch from the bed.
Morrigan thinks back to the story the elf had told her, about how she became a Grey Warden out of survival instead of out of the sense of duty to Thedas. She knew the rogue only looked out for her and the people she cared about and knew that Lyna had also lost someone who was like a brother to her... and she refused to lose anyone that was dear to her again. Feeling her heart swell with countless emotions for the dark-skinned woman in front of her, Morrigan felt her icy-cool demeanour breaking slightly. "I... I am glad you decided to do this, I understand what I ask of you is a lot but I know you were in the only person I could talk to about this. Most people would think this is a form of Blood Magic but I knew you would know better than to throw away something just because people like Wynne and Alistair say that it would be wrong."
"Believe me Morrigan, I would never think like those Chantry shems... if I did, I still wouldn't be alive. The keeper had to use quite a bit of Old Magic to keep me alive, that bolstered with my stubbornness was the only thing that kept me from dying. So, I am not opposed to ancient rites as others would be..." Lyna looks up, her green eyes alight with realisation, a smirk gracing her normally solemn face. "I think I just came up with the perfect way to answer Alistair when he starts spouting that the idea is an abomination... I noticed while I was with the Grey Wardens, the short time that I had been with others of that group anyway, they used quite a few things that would be considered Blood Magic. The whole Joining could be considered a form of Blood Magic. So if he wants to go off about it being the work of Blood Magic, I will just bring up the facts about his little Order and hopefully that will shut him up."
Morrigan smiles at her elfish friend, seeing why she had always felt drawn to the lithe woman. Survival was at the forefront of her mind just as it has always been with the witch, 'She would probably make a deal with a demon if it meant that she and the ones she loved could survive.' Morrigan mused to herself. Drawing herself out of her reverie, Morrigan finally speaks when she noticed the elf give her a concerned look. "Sorry, I was mentally preparing myself for what is to come. I regret saying that it is you who must speak with Alistair alone, for I believe he will go into hysterics if I am anywhere near when you speak to him of his task."
Lyna nods her head in agreement, "Yeah... you are probably right. I just wish there was another way that none of us had to die... but your mother was always a bit one-sided on her ideas. I guess she thought she would still be around so she could take controll of the babe and use it in one of her schemes." The elf walks towards the door, but stops momentarily to give a note of comfort to the Witch of the Wilds. "You know I think the best thing for you to do in the situation that you are going to go through with is to think of someone else that you really wish you were with, maybe that will make the plan go smoother for you."
Lyna walks out the door and closes it, leaving Morrigan by herself to prepare. "Oh... she has no idea who I am going to be thinking about while I go through this ordeal. Maybe I should use a glamour on him so he looks like her." Morrigan mutters to herself as she walks out of the Warden's quarters to her own room, thinking of the perfect spell that could make Alistair look almost identical to her oblivious beloved.