Hello everyone,
My name is Aeluin and this is my first Dragon-Age fic. I am writing this story because I need a break from my huge Skyrim fic, "The Alchemist and the Warrior"; also, I had this bunny plot hopping around in my mind and I absolutely had to write it down somewhere.
As I mentioned, I am new to this fandom, so I am open to all kind of suggestions / opinions / critics. Please keep in mind that English is not my mother-tongue, therefore I apologize in advance for the grammar or spelling mistakes you may find in this post. Nonetheless, I hope you will enjoy it anyway.
Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!
When the sword of the Herald met the one of her enemy, the resulting clash was deafening and exciting at the same time. Her heart beating madly in her ribcage, Evelyn Trevelyan grunted because of the effort, then charged again at her opponent. The man, a lanky farmer-turned-warrior dressed in light leather armor, goofily avoided her attack, but fell to the ground as soon as Sera planted an arrow through his knee. The Elf broke into a mocking laughter, whereas Evelyn quickly dispatched her opponent and waited for another adversary to face her.
Hopefully the fight will be over soon, the girl thought with a sigh.
Lord Kildarn was just a minor nobleman from Ferelden, but he was mad at the Inquisition because many refugees had occupied his lands right after the Breach. Evelyn and her advisors had always ignored his requests for help, but they had been forced to act a week earlier, when their soldiers had suddenly been attacked by the troops who served that madman. Since at the time the Inquisitor was visiting the Hinterlands, she had been quick to join her men in order to teach Kildarn a lesson.
Sighing, the young warrior wiped the sweat off her forehead. Summer was incredibly hot in Ferelden and Evelyn couldn't wait for that fight to be over. She still had many things to take care of before sunset and she believed that skirmish with Kildarn to be just a waste of time and energy. Also, it was sad to see so many brave people getting slaughtered while serving a maniac. Evelyn had been the Herald of Andraste for almost two months now, but she still hadn't got used to the madness that characterized most of the noblemen from Thedas.
The Inquisitor abandoned those thoughts as soon as another warrior charged at her. Attack, step back, to the left, attack, step back, to the right, step back, step back again and then charge. Those movements were usually enough to dispatch most of her enemies, but Evelyn soon realized that something was wrong. The man in front of her wasn't just another badly-trained farmer: quite on the contrary, he was a professional warrior - and a good one too, the girl had to admit.
When the warrior charged at her, Evelyn cursed. She had been fighting for a while now and she was starting to feel tired and weak. As a consequence, when the man launched a particularly powerful attack with his sword and shield, she fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Feeling as though her heart was about to explode, Evelyn rolled to the side and jumped back to her feet. She quickly thanked the Maker for giving her such an agile body and a love for light armor, then she tried to resist her opponent. Fueled by his succesful charge from earlier, the man attacked her again with all his strength, forcing the Inquisitor to block his blows for most of the time.
There was something weird about that soldier, Evelyn thought at that moment. First of all, his equipment: he was wearing a steel armor and helmet, whereas most of his allies were dressed in simple leather cuirasses. Second, his technique: although his attacks were always powerful, the man attacked Evelyn with rationality, almost as though he was sparring with her in some training courtyard of a lone castle. Last but not least, his attitude: many soldiers insulted Evelyn as soon as they recognized the Trevelyan coat of arms on her cuirass, but this man didn't seem to care. He was calm yet resolute, his blows were strong yet precise, his movements were focused but swift. Somehow, that man reminded the Inquisitor of her brother and of many former Templars she knew.
There was a shrill shout and Evelyn saw Sera charge at a group of nearby warriors together with Vivienne, whereas Varric was busy fighting off a mage with his beloved Bianca. In that moment the Inquisitor flinched: her friends seemed too busy to pay her any mind.
When the warrior noticed that Evelyn was distracted, he launched a very swift attack. The girl took a step back, but she wasn't fast enough.
The Inquisitor yelled as the sword of her enemy opened a gash in her cuirass, then felt on the verge of fainting when she realized that her white linen undershirt was now marred with blood. Shocked and terrified by that unexpcted injury on the battlefield, Evelyn cried out in pain and clutched to a nearby tree for support. The Inquisitor felt her daggers slip out of her hands, then she closed her eyes while waiting for her enemy to strike the final blow - yet, nothing happened.
Confused by the fact that she still hadn't been killed, after a few seconds Evelyn slowly opened her eyes. The unknown warrior seemed surprised by her frailty and was watching her intently, his sword in his right hand and his shield in the other. Only then did Evelyn notice that the man had beautiful grey eyes - and only then did she notice the hesitation on his pale face. That soldier didn't want to kill her - he was simply fulfilling his duty towards his Lord.
Evelyn was even more surprised when the man spoke to her. Although his pale eyes and complexion were typical of Ferelden, the stranger had a light Orlesian accent; on top of that, he called her Inquisitor. Not "traitor", not "heretic", not "prostitute" - simply Inquisitor.
"Inquisitor, I...", he began.
Unfortunately, Evelyn never found out what the soldier was about to tell her: when a shock spell invested him, she could only scream and watch as his eyes widened in surprise and his body fell motionles to the ground.
"Trevelyan, do you have a death wish or something?"
When Varric ran up to her and shook her elbow, Evelyn did nothing. She had seen many men lose their lives in battle, but that was the first time one of her enemies was murdered in cold blood in front of his eyes. The thought was enough to make her puke.
Varric was shocked when Evelyn fell to her knees and he was even more shocked when she started trembling like a leaf. Yet, when he noticed the blood on her undershirt, the Dwarf was quick to react.
"For Andraste's knickers, the girl is hurt! Lie down Daffodil, we'll take care of you".
Shaking her head, Evelyn tried to make sense of what had just happened. She'd seen people die before, but it was usually Templars or Mages or Bandits who were trying to murder her for no reason at all. That man, though... He had hurt her, yes, but he had also tried to talk to her. What if he wanted to offer her a truce?
"Varric, that soldier...", Evelyn eventually managed to mutter. "Is he... Is he dead?"
The dwarf chuckled at the question.
"Dead he is, Daffodil. Don't worry, evil bulky guy with big bad sword is not going to bother you anymore".
Before Evelyn could reply, Vivienne and Sera reached her. The rest of their enemies had been dispatched, so that the Inquisition forces could now rest for a while.
"Herald, what..."
Evelyn stopped Vivienne with a gesture, then she slowly rose to her feet and dragged herself towards the man who had hurt her. She undid his helmet with shaky fingers, thus revealing black, tousled hair, a hooked nose and beautiful traits chiselled under a perfectly pale complexion. That soldier couldn't be older than her beloved brother, Evelyn realized with a shiver.
As tears started running down her cheeks, the girl made to unclasp the cuirass of the soldier. Sera muttered something Evelyn couldn't hear and Vivienne replied by saying that the shock caused by the injury had probably messed with the Inquisitor's mind. Evelyn, however, didn't care. She had killed many people during her existence, but only then did she realize that all those people had had a life - and that meant that each of them had had dreams, hopes, relatives and projects for their future. By killing them, Evelyn had taken all of that away from them.
As her tears turned into a desperate cry, Evelyn finally managed to undo the last strap that kept the man's breastplate in place. She carefully slid it off his chest, thus revealing the light undershirt of the soldier. At that point the Inquisitor found what she was looking for - and as she did, she began sobbing like a baby.
Around the neck of the unknown soldier was a little golden pendant. On the one side of the jewel stood the portait of a beautiful young woman with a cascade of blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes; on the other instead there was a baby with grey eyes and curly black hair. As Evelyn looked at the similarity between the kid and the motionless soldier, she felt even more desperate. The man who had just been murdered because of her definitely looked like a caring husband and a protective father. Overrun by that discovery, Evelyn hid her face in her hands and laid her forehead on the man's chest.
"I'm sorry", she whispered between her endless sobs. "I'm so, so sorry!"
Varric and Vivienne tried to ask her what was wrong, but Evelyn was unable to reply. Right then she could only focus on the warmth coming from the soldier's body - a body that was going to become as cold as ice before long. Siobing, the Inquisitor thought that the man's child had just become an orphane, that his beautiful blonde wife was now a widow, that his dreams had just turned into ash - and all because his path had met hers.
As she thought about how unfair life was, Evelyn clenched to the man's undershirt. There was no blood on his clothes, but Vivienne' spell had been strong enough for his heart to stop.
Unfair, unfair, unfair, the Inquisitor thought to herself at that moment - and as she did, those words were underlined by a faint thud, thud, thud.
Evelyn kept on crying for what felt like an endless time, her cheek pressed against the soldier's chest and the weird thudding sound getting louder and louder in her ears - so loud that, at a certain point, Evelyn realized what was going on. That sound came from the motionless man - and when the Inquisitor looked at Vivienne and the mage readied a spell, everything suddenly became clear.
"Herald, I suggest you getting away", the mage nervously ordered. "I don't know how it is possible, but that man is still alive. You are injured and you should..."
Vivienne didn't get to finish her sentence: as soon as Evelyn realized that the soldier was still alive, she regained part of her composure and gave instructions so that he could be transported safely to the closest campsite of the Inquisition.
The Herald of Andraste didn't care about the shocked looks on Vivienne and Varric's faces, just like she didn't mind when Sera muttered something on the line of "This morning I stole her cake, not her brain": right then, she only cared about saving the soldier who had spared her life on the battlefield.