Disclaimer: I do NOT own Dragon Age or anything related to it.
"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are bad."
― Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies
Prologue 1:Jade Mahariel
The sun shined high in the sky during the late morning hours with not a single cloud in the sky or even a small gust of wind. Save for the birds chirping and the sounds of the local wildlife throughout the forest, everything was completely quiet and peaceful. A lake was located near the center of the forest, fish occasionally leaping in and out of it. There was a small rustling in the grass behind the trees before someone came out from behind the cover of the forest brush. A young woman, clearly an elf, with raven-colored hair swirling down her shoulders and light blue eyes greatly resembling the sparkling lake water, slowly stepped in the sun's view and allowed a small smile to cross her lips. Slung over her shoulder was the elven woman's freshly-killed quarry.
Jade Mahariel let out a sigh of content as she took a seat in front of the lake, placing her dead quarry beside her and tucking her legs beneath her. It never mattered where their clan camped out; Jade had always been able to find a nice little spot to relax for awhile before returning from her hunt. The huntress yawned, stretching out her arms and legs. As one could expect, she was very tired from her hunt; that deer she'd chased had been able to run pretty fast and she spent almost an entire hour chasing the desperate animal until she managed to corner and kill it, both of them a more than just little worn out from the chase by then.
She felt grateful that no one else had seen her take so long to catch her prey, as the other hunters normally separated with Jade being the fastest one of them all. That advantage usually gave her some time to take a small nap and quickly return to camp before the others did without anyone getting surprised or suspicious. Yawning again, Jade slowly pulled her legs closer to her chest and rested her head on her knees, already starting to doze off for a nap.
"Sleeping on the job, are we lethallan?" A teasing voice asked.
Immediately, Jade jumped up to her feet at the sound of the voice, quickly picking up her bow as she did so only to freeze in placd when she spotted the source of the voice leaning against a tree with a smirk on his face and his own kill slung over his shoulder. Jade resisted the urge to growl furiously at how obviously amused Tamlen was for catching her off guard so easily. The smirk on his face did nothing to calm her annoyance with him, instead it only amplified the annoyance into complete and utter fury.
"Scared you, did I?" He raised an eyebrow at her, still smirking.
Crossing her arms, Jade glared at him."Not. Funny."
Tamlen rolled his eyes, scoffing playfully as he pushed off the tree he was leaning on and walked over to her."Just be glad it was me who found you and not Fenarel. He'd probably tease you mercilessly about it."
"Oh, and you wouldn't?" She retorted, eyebrow raised and disbelief clear in her tone.
"I might've," He admitted,", though I'd honestly prefer to keep my head attached to my neck. Fenarel, on the other hand, isn't as vigilant. Either that or he's just simply suicidal."
"The only problem with Fenarel's brain is that he's too thick to use it." She muttered, bending down to pick up a stone and toss it into the lake, smiling when she saw it bounce a few times before falling and sinking beneath the water. Tamlen placed his own kill next to hers and picked up a stone himself, giving a mix of a groan and a sigh when he failed to make it bounce. Jade smiled and tossed another stone, which bounced like the first one she'd thrown. Tamlen tried again, and failed again. And again, and again, and again. Jade somehow managed to stifle a giggle when he started muttering incoherent elven curses under his breath in vexation over his constant failure.
"It's all the in wrist, lethallin." Jade grabbed a stone and placed it in his hand."Just try not to concentrate too hard or use too much strength when you're throwing it. You need to relax and simply let it bounce."
Tamlen stared at her for a moment before sighing and nodding his head. He closed his eyes and tossed the stone into the lake. This time it bounced a few times and he beamed with satisfaction at this new accomplishment. Glancing at Jade, he smiled a little wider when he saw that she was also smiling, her arms neatly folded over her chest as she took a small step closer to him.
"Ma serannas." He said quietly."Maybe I can even make it bounce better than you can next time."
"In na era'en lethallin!" She exclaimed jokingly, slapping his arm and unable to resist laughing when he pouted playfully at her like when they were still mere len and crossed his arms defensively.
"It can happen!" Jade smirked at his defensive statement, taking a step closer to him and mockingly patting him on the arm under the pretense of encouragement.
"Sure it can." She murmured dryly then went over to retrieve her kill. Tamlen gave a small, grumpy sigh as he did the same and started following her back to camp.
"Han pole su." He grumbled, loud enough for her to hear him.
She rolled her eyes at him."Uh-huh." Was all she said in response to his words before leading the rest of the way back to camp in silence.
"Merrill," Jade said with a sigh,", for the fiftieth time this week, Tamlen and I are not together. Must I repeat myself to you ten times a day to make you understand that there is absolutely nothing between us at all?!"
The Dalish mage frowned in confusion."But Jade, you've only told me that three times this week, not fifty."
Jade groaned, face palming and rubbing her temples in exasperation. Sitting beside her, Maren smiled sympathetically and gently placed a hand on her arm. Glancing at them over her shoulder, Ineria rolled her eyes and sighed.
"It's a figure of speech, Merrill." She said in her usual brusque tone."She means you just ask the same question too many times and never stop to realize that you always get the same answer."
"Oooh!" Merrill drawled, nodding ever so slowly then smiling at Jade."Just because you're not together now, doesn't mean you won't be eventually." She insisted gently.
"I doubt that." Ineria smirked at Jade."Miss Mahariel over here is just too demure to ever talk to him about her feelings."
"I do not have any feelings for Tamlen!" Jade hissed.
"The stolen glances and smiles you two share over the campfire say different." Ineria retorted, eyebrow raising when Jade looked away to hide her slightly flushed face. She quickly looked back at Ineria and threw her an annoyed glare.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." She replied calmly, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting up straight. Ineria just rolled her eyes again.
"You have terrible lying skills."
"And you have a terrible temper."
"And you have a hopeless crush on Tamlen."
"No, I do not!" Ineria's smirk widened at the small but very much noticeable amount of desperation in her friend's tone as she defended herself.
Jade grumbled to herself as she averted her gaze from her fellow huntress's, light blue eyes flickering at the sudden sound of laughter before landing on it's source. She stifled a groan upon spotting Tamlen leaning against a tree, talking and laughing with Junar and Fenarel about something. It took him a second to catch her eyes on him and he sent her a small smile. Seeing this, Maren and Merrill both smiled at Jade as she tried to keep her face from turning five different shades of red. Ineria gave a chuckle, grinning widely at the way Jade glowered at her in response.
"You are definitely sweet on him, lethallan." She teased, shaking her head fondly.
"Oh, hollen na anto, Ineria!" Jade growled, refusing to admit just how right her friend truly was.
This chapter, as you can see, has been slightly changed edited to fix spelling errors and put in some new dialogue between characters. It is best that you go through all of this now from the start just in case you get confused when you stumble upon something new you don't ever remember reading here before. And I also ask that you all read my other story A Keeper and His Huntress which is a prequel to this about Mahariel's parents. I prefer you read both of them together since events and characters from that story willbe shown and mentioned in this one.
Elven Translations:
Len - Child/Children
Lethallan - Friend/Kinswoman (Female)
Lethallin -Friend/Kinsman (Male)
Ma serannas - My thanks/Thank you
In na era'en, lethallin! - In your dreams, friend!
Han pole su - It can happen
Hollen na anto - Shut your mouth
Name Meaning:
Jade - Orange jewel/Precious gemstone/Green gemstone
Next up: Prologue 2:Valerie Cousland
