A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you like the story!
...-...
Emmi Tabris crossed her arms as she looked up at the building, ear twitching with slight irritation. If Shianni found out what she was doing, she'd go on a rampage.
Emmi had been out of work for almost two months. Her boss had treated her like shit, and she'd found that she couldn't just grin and take it. She was proud of who she was, and she deserved to be treated with respect.
And so she'd quit.
Which had been all well and good, except money made the world go 'round, and word traveled fast that she 'didn't take orders well'.
While she'd been confident in her decision at first, now a little part of her asked what good her pride would do her now that her savings were almost emptied and rent was due.
Shianni had backed her up completely, and had been helping her with the job search, even as it came up fruitless, time and time again, and while her cousin had already dismissed Emmi's concern, telling her she'd help her pay her rent or just let her move in to Shianni's apartment while Emmi figured things out, she couldn't.
Shianni was always there for her, always helping, always proud of her for what others might consider flaws.
But Emmi didn't want to have to use her as a crutch forever. She needed to get on her own two feet, needed to stop falling back on her cousin when things got hard. After all, that was a strain for Shianni, too.
And so, as her rent's deadline drew closer, she'd decided that she would try a few…unorthodox measures.
Emmi glanced down at the ad again.
Wanted:
volunteers 20-30, healthy
for new clinical trials
There were a few more lines about the place and times, but nothing specified that the volunteers couldn't be elves.
And if people were doing drug tests, that meant they would need to know its effects on elves as well as humans, surely. They wouldn't turn her away.
And if they tried…
Maybe it would be better if they did.
Her large green eyes turned back toward the building. For a research facility, it was rather shabby. A few of the windows had been boarded up, and the building had to be condemned. She'd seen enough of those in her time to be sure of it.
That any type of formal research could be performed in a place that looked about as sanitary as a crack house was definitely giving her pause. If she went through with this and something bad happened, Shianni would kill her.
Assuming the drug tryouts didn't first.
If that happened, Shianni would resurrect her just to murder her again.
Even as her determination wavered, a soft chime sounded from her phone and she checked it to see a message she'd left herself, scheduled for fifteen minutes before she needed to be at the trial.
You have to take charge of your life. This isn't forever. Just until you get a good job.
Emmi frowned at the message from her past self, already knowing she'd listen.
With a disgruntled sigh, she put her phone away and walked into the building.
An hour later, she stepped outside a small, bright blue bandaid over an itchy lump on her arm. It had taken less than a minute to apply, the rest of the hour taken up by stacks of paperwork that made her wonder if they weren't trying to make her grow extra limbs.
She'd been the only elf and the only woman present, and it had felt a little like she was intruding on some strange, secret world that she shouldn't know about.
However, the men had left her be, save for one or two who greeted her with surprising politeness.
They'd all been taken to different rooms to have the shot applied, which felt odd, but one of the forms had mentioned some serious potential side effects, and Emmi knew how mass panic could make people think they had problems they didn't. If one person had a bad reaction, they probably hadn't wanted the rest of them to freak out.
She'd almost been tempted to stay back and count the number of people who left the building, but she doubted she was the first one done—half the shems probably hadn't even read all the paperwork, as they'd been talking like they did this all the time—so she doubted she'd get an accurate headcount, even if she could remember how many people had been there.
Shrugging it off, she began down the street toward the bus stop, checking the time to see how long she'd have to stand around waiting. This whole section of town made her skin crawl, though it was hardly the worst area. She wasn't sure what it was about it…maybe just that overwhelming feeling that she didn't belong and that no one knew where she was.
If she went missing, they'd never think to look for her out here.
The yelp that interrupted her thoughts nearly made her break out into a sprint.
However, the whimper that followed it made her ears perk up and she backtracked until she could see down an alley.
Maker, but this place was a mess. Even the buildings looked crooked, like they might fall in on each other at any second.
There was another whine.
"Hello?"
Emmi hated the way her voice shook slightly.
"Hello."
A scream strangled in her throat, coming out as a weird screeched croak as she whipped her head to the side to see a giant of a man ambling toward her.
He held his hands up as soon as she saw him, stopping in his tracks.
Taking in a deep breath, she was tempted to punch the idiot, especially when she saw the blue bandaid on his arm. Another of the test subjects.
Even as she scowled at him, he reached up to scratch behind an ear, cheeks growing redder as he mumbled a quick, sheepish apology.
His hair was short and cropped close to his head, sticking up over his forehead a little, and he had a tawny complexion, with brown eyes that looked most sympathetic.
Even as Emmi tried to think of what to say, another whine sounded, followed by a thunk, and then the sound of a chain dragging.
Emmi snapped her attention back to the alley as the man trotted closer and peered down the way as well.
At first, it was little more than shadows, even in the afternoon light, but then, slowly, as she narrowed her eyes, she saw the outline of a dog watching them from near a dumpster.
Without thinking, she walked into the alley, even as the man suggested that might not be smart—and then followed after her, so who was the real genius?
When she was close enough that she could see the dog properly, she froze. It was a mabari, though it was skin and bone, and a chain had been wrapped around its neck and chained to the dumpster. There were no signs of water or food anywhere nearby, and the collar didn't have any type of identification.
Weren't these dogs supposed to be prized possessions?
"There's a vet's a few blocks from here."
Emmi jumped, startling the dog, who hunched down, and looked over her shoulder to see the man was still there, scrolling on his smartphone. It illuminated his face eerily in the darkened alley, and she shuddered as she eyed him.
He looked embarrassed again, though he held his phone out to her. "I can carry him, if you'll be in charge of the map."
While it occurred to her that this was some elaborate trap, Emmi took one more look at the dog and decided the risk was worth it. The poor creature's neck was chaffing under the heavy metal links.
It proved surprisingly easy to get the beast loose. The chain hadn't been locked, but simply wrapped around the dumpster's handle, out of the dog's reach, over and over and over. It looked like the dog had gotten a few feet loose before the chains had been too tangled and jumbled to move.
Mabari were supposed to be brilliant.
After half an hour—and missing her next bus—of working on the damned chain, they were finally able to free the poor dog. It immediately huddled closer to Emmi's feet, eyeing the human warily.
She could understand his suspicion, but the human had been decent so far—he was one of the ones who'd been kind to her during the trial, though she couldn't remember his name—and she finally leaned down and scratched behind the dog's ear. "It's alright…he's big, but I think he'll be nice."
The dog whined and eyed the man, who knelt down as well and held his hand out for the beast to sniff. "We're going to get you somewhere safe, pup."
The dog let out an indignant snort, leaning more into Emmi, but she cupped its face in her hands and caught his attention, looking into the beast's eyes, even as she vaguely remembered she shouldn't do that with strange animals. "He's right. We're going to get you somewhere safe. You hear? So be good."
Its stubby tail thumped once against the concrete. It didn't move toward the man, but made no further protest other than a soft whine when he picked it up.
Emmi had to walk swiftly to keep up with the giant of a man, even as he tried to keep his pace a bit slower than usual so that it wouldn't be such a hard thing.
"Emmi, right?" He asked as they navigated the streets. When she nodded, he tried to motion to himself with a lift of his chin. "Alistair."
She nodded, pausing to tell him when to turn onto another street.
Silence returned.
"So, seeing as you're in one piece, I'd guess your joining went well, too?" When Emmi's gaze rolled slowly toward him, he shrugged, a lopsided grin in place. "The drug test. I heard some people joking about a joining, like the Grey Wardens of old. I think they were trying to make it sound more dangerous than it was."
He rambled on another moment before falling quiet again.
Emmi sighed. "Suppose it does make it a bit of an adventure, doesn't it?" When Alistair perked up, she rolled her eyes again. "Calling it a joining?"
"Right?" His grin was back, and then he was talking about Grey Wardens.
While he did know more than the average high school history course taught, Emmi wasn't overly impressed. The Order had been a wild one, in the text books were accurate. Drinking blood and fighting corrupted dragons and…all manner of madness.
Even as she wondered if this was some sort of ill omen about what she'd been injected with, Alistair stopped mid-sentence to turn toward a building they'd nearly walked past.
"Here we are."
...-…
"…in ancient times, it was believed that some people had access to the ethereal. Mages, they were called. They…"
"'Mages, they were called.' Like we don't all know that."
Marian Hawke tossed a piece of popcorn at the TV, stifling a giggle when her fiancé told her that she'd better pick it up. Before she could think of some witty retort, Sebastian curled over her, crystal blue eyes peering down into hers. His voice had that heavenly Starkhaven lilt to it that had caught her attention years ago at the local Chantry when she'd been visiting. He'd sat at the corner of the couch and she'd sprawled across it, her head in his lap and the bowl of popcorn resting on the armrest near them.
"Love, do you want roaches?"
With a scoff, Marian rolled her eyes and shifted around where she lay, looking up at him with as cross a look as she could muster. "It will be cleaned up before there are any roaches."
With a sigh, he ran his fingers through her short cropped, black hair, and then kissed her forehead. "Remember to get the butter off the screen."
"Tyrant."
He simply rolled his eyes and sat back, though Marian slipped up and gathered the piece of popcorn where it had fallen before swiping her sleeve across the TV screen. "Just for you."
"Truly, you are a selfless giver," he called as she trotted into the kitchen to toss out the offending kernel.
When she got back, she hopped down onto the couch beside him, missing the disappointed look he gave her when she didn't curl up the way she had been in his lap. "So what did I miss?"
The narrator of the documentary was droning on about how magic was said to give the ability to manipulate the physical world in ways that were completely impossible.
She frowned. She'd been hoping that this newest addition to the great annals of history might provide more insight on the arcane, but once again it looked like it was going to be more of the same old repeated with almost the same theories and phrases.
"You know," she began after Sebastian told her they'd just named the scholars who would be providing insight. They'd be introduced again as they came up. "My family has a long history of magic."
"So you say," Sebastian murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer.
Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out a box of matches, ignoring as Sebastian asked her to make sure not to set off the fire alarm this time. Holding one up, she grinned at him and then splayed her fingers above the little stick. There was a spark and then a tiny flame danced on the top of the match before snuffing out on its own.
Ever since she was a little girl, she and Bethany had been able to do it, and she could still remember a five-year-old Carver crying because he couldn't.
She lit another match with the same motion, grinning as it flickered a second and then blinked out, like the first.
"You truly put the magisters of old to shame," Sebastian teased, kissing the top of her ear.
"Do you think they could really conjure fireballs?"
Leaning his head back, she watched the way his adam's apple bobbed as she swallowed, considering her words. Before she could reach out to run her fingers down his throat, however, he lifted his head and shrugged. "I suppose with enough kindle, someone could make what you do look like a full ball of fire."
She slumped against him, gaze wandering to the screen where some stuffy old prat was going on about the mysteries of the past. "You think it was just tricks?"
"Well, the Chantry does say magic used to be more prominent…" He hesitated looked at her, hand running gently up the back of her head so that he could play with her hair. "Maybe if you keep trying, you'll pull one off." Even as she cackled at that, he leaned his head toward her, pulling her to him until their foreheads touched. "Just promise me one thing: no taking over the world?"
With a dramatic huff, Marian rolled her eyes and then sat up a bit straighter, as though he was impressing some great burden upon her. "I'll think about it."
Sebastian laughed, shaking his head, and turning his attention back to the documentary. "Best mage ever."
…-…
Aleeri Adaar slowed their jeep as they wound up what was little more than a dirt trail. He and Dagna were in the middle of the Frostback Mountains and both of them were regretting their vehicle of choice. They'd done their research about the mountains, and seeing as it was summer, they'd figured that it would be alright to go with a less insulated vehicle, something that could travel the rough terrain quickly, without the extra weight of warmth.
It was colder than they'd expected it to be.
Dagna had dug out the blankets and formed herself a nice little nest, but Aleeri couldn't very well do that and drive.
"What does it say the temperature is?" He huffed, shuddering. The thermometer on the dash wasn't displaying correctly.
Tapping on her phone, Dagna shrunk a little more into her blankets. "It says it's forty."
Aleeri narrowed his eyes at the uneven ground ahead. There was no way it was that warm. They could see their breath.
It had started to get like this that morning, when they'd turned into the final valley before their destination.
The two of them were headed on what would likely be another wild goose chase, searching for evidence of all that lost magic.
Dagna had known him forever, since before he'd come out or started wearing binders. In fact, she was the first person he'd come out to, and she'd been so enthusiastic about helping him in whatever way she could.
She'd been his light at the end of the tunnel, and in the end, he'd been her best man at her wedding to Sera.
They'd been roommates for a while, and then flat mates after that—until the wedding. Then he'd given the happy couple their space, finding himself a new apartment with the third member of their expedition, Thom Rainier.
Thom was an amazing man, and Aleeri counted himself lucky that they'd met. He and Dagna had gotten their in Magical Theory, taking on the rather unpopular stance that the Veil and demons were real, but the legend of the Inquisitor strengthening the Veil to stop the Dread Wolf from destroying the world had some truth to it, and that if the Veil could be breached, magic could be accessed again.
Thom's Ph.D was in Darkspawn Studies, another widely denounced field, as there hadn't been any darkspawn sightings in ages. The Grey Wardens were regarded dubiously by many historians, though Thom was adamant that they had been heroes.
He was sure of it.
He was supposed to have come out with them, but had been tied up in Denerim getting a few last permits and paperwork in order for their trip.
About a year prior, an old castle had been found in the mountains, and some people speculated it might be the fabled Skyhold. If it was real, then that meant it was where the Veil had supposedly been made and strengthened.
In that case, surely two experts in magic and an expert with a minor in ritualistic magical practices of darkspawn would be able to find traces.
Proof.
As they finally crested the top of their current hill—mountain, whatever—Aleeri unthinkingly slammed on the breaks, jaw dropping.
Dagna let out a soft gasp, though it wasn't from the abrupt stop.
There, a few miles away, nestled in the middle of the valley, was an old castle that towered up as though made on top of a tiny mountain itself. The towers still stood, though any tapestries that might have waved in the wind had no doubt long since rotted away.
Still…
If this was really Skyhold…
A small hand hit his shoulder, and Aleeri turned to see Dagna grinning at him, eyes sparkling.
"Let's go find some magic."
