Astrariums of Thedas
By KSCrusaders (Sable Rhapsody on BSN)
Peraquialus: The Mariner Prince
Clariel liked Sera. It was nice having someone her own age around, someone to balance out all the old souls in the Inquisition. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to just have some fun, without worrying about the end of the world all the time. Scouting for Wardens on the Storm Coast became a breathless race; she chased her fellow rogue along the steep and slippery cliffs to reach the next camp, dancing on the knife's edge of a lethal fall. She could hear Cassandra yelling at them, but for the first time in weeks she didn't give a damn.
Sera was faster but Clariel was more sure in forest, using the trees to give herself height and advantage. She swung down into the camp just as Sera came into view over the top of the hill. When she caught up seconds later, Sera cursed and punched Clariel on the shoulder, light and friendly.
"No fair," she said, grinning widely. "Trees are cheating!"
"You're the one who never specified rules." The teasing earned her another punch, this one a little harder than the last.
Sera was a lot less fun at night when she slept like a log, flailed her legs, and snored to put the Iron Bull to shame. No amount of poking would get her to stop, not even a good hard shove to the other side of their shared tent. After nearly an hour of tossing and turning, Clariel gave it up. She'd slept on the earth often enough while out hunting for her clan; she could easily get used to it again. It was certainly better than sleeping next to a thunderstorm.
She gathered up her bedroll and slipped outside, tiptoeing past Solas, who had set up his blankets underneath the boughs of a large willow tree. He never slept in a tent, not even when it rained. Clariel made her way around the side of the tree, trying to give him some space.
"Lethallan?" she heard him murmur.
She cringed a little. "Sorry," she whispered back. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"Hardly." He sat up, looking at her with alert eyes through the boughs of the willow. "But your watch is not for another hour."
"Sera was snoring to wake the dead. Not good for sleep."
Solas chuckled as she climbed into her bedroll. "I can imagine. I prefer it out here, feeling starlight and night wind before crossing into the Fade." She couldn't see him now that she was lying down, but his calm, deep voice carried easily. Clariel looked up into the branches of the willow. A crescent moon and the constellation of the Voyager shone down through the gently swaying leaves. She stared up at the ship, wondering how it had gotten its name.
"Do the Dalish tell the tale of the Mariner Prince?" asked Solas, as though he'd read her mind. "The king's second son who angered Elgar'nan in search of the light of the stars."
"No. We have no stories for the Voyager at all."
"Would you like to hear one? Or did you come out here for peace and quiet?"
Clariel smiled to herself. For all that he claimed to disdain company and keep to himself, Solas was always more than eager to share his wisdom and knowledge with her. "I'd love a story, hahren."
She heard him draw a deep breath, his voice drifting over to her on the light breeze.
"When Arlathan was young, the king of what is now the Free Marches had two sons. A warrior, bold and strong, and his younger brother the mariner. Together, the princes expanded the borders of the kingdom - the younger leading with his maps and ships, the elder following and putting the land to the sword.
"But the king was a narrow-minded man, and only bestowed glory and honor upon his first son, the conqueror. As the years passed and his elder brother received accolades and wealth beyond counting, jealousy festered in the younger brother's heart. He was a mage and craftsman of considerable skill, and he set about constructing a ship that would lead him where his gloryhound brother could not follow - to the stars."
"A ship that could sail the wind?" She looked up at the constellation, imagining it as a vessel of crystal and glass and woven starlight. "Did those actually exist in ancient Arlathan?"
Solas hesitated for a moment. "I cannot say. So much of Arlathan is lost to us." It took him a few moments for him to resume the story, his sweet baritone voice bringing the world of old back to life.
"For seventy-seven nights, the mariner prince worked on his ship. He summoned slaves beyond counting from across the kingdom to build his great craft; he cut out each and every one of their tongues to ensure secrecy. But just after sunset on the last evening, when his work neared completion, fate led the elder brother to the hidden harbor. He did not realize how bitter and black his younger brother's heart had become, and approached the ship in wonder."
"But the mariner prince felt only hate for his rival. He fell upon his brother, slit his throat, and bound him to the prow of the ship where the figurehead should have been." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Solas point a hand at the sky. "See the red star on the very front of the Voyager? That is the elder brother's spirit, trapped aboard the cursed vessel for eternity."
Clariel shuddered, though it wasn't a cold night. "This is hardly a happy bedtime story."
"You did not ask for a happy story," he reminded her. "The moment his brother's blood touched the ship, its crystalline surface turned dark red, and its magic came to life. Sails of midnight and mooncloth unfurled, and the mariner prince stepped aboard to seek his destiny. The ship glided across the sky, silent as a whisper, and all who fell under its shadow felt a frisson of dread. The mariner prince set a course of the north star, the one that had been his guiding light for his whole life, to claim it as his own.
"But it was not to be. When the sun rose, the ship's magic failed, and it was all the prince could do to land it safely in the sea. The ship was constructed in shadow, and could only fly in shadow. The treacherous prince raged against the heavens, but no man can compel the sun to set and the stars to rise. He simply had to wait, seething with impatience, until the sun finally sank below the horizon.
"He urged the ship upward, its deck completely awash in his own brother's blood. It drew closer and closer to the north star, close enough for its light to burn the mariner prince's grasping fingers. But when the moment of his triumph was at hand, Elgar'nan the Father, furious at this princeling's fratricide and presumption, struck him from the wheel. His body fell from the sky, burning like a star, landing at the feet of his stricken father.
"Elgar'nan gave chase to the vessel, but without a helmsman, the ship careened wildly through the night sky, still cursed by the elder brother's horror and pain. It crashed through the stars, sending them tumbling to the earth in a fiery cataclysm. In the end, it was Mythal who soothed the elder brother's torment. Her touch gave him the mercy of an insensible sleep, and the cursed ship slowly drifted to a halt in the sky.
"Elgar'nan had already exacted his vengeance upon the mariner prince, but Mythal took hers upon the kingdom that produced him and brought such ruin to the world. The king had no further line, and slowly but surely watched his lands fall to worthier rulers. It is said that when he at last entered uthenera, his grieving spirit sought out his elder son. Together they sleep aboard the mariner prince's cursed ship, drifting aimlessly across the sky."
A long, long silence followed his story; Clariel saw him sit up, leaning over to see if she was still awake. As if she could sleep at all after that; her eyes were glued open, fixed on the angry red star at the bow of the Voyager.
"Not the sort of bedtime story you knew among the Dalish?" he asked, not unkindly.
She shook her head. "Not exactly," she admitted. "I'm...not sure how well I'll sleep after that."
Solas sighed softly. "I apologize. Varric is a better storyteller, though I could try again with another."
Clariel shook her head and crawled out of her bedroll. "It's ok. It's almost time for my watch anyway. But..." She hesitated briefly, then smiled at him. "I'd love another story tomorrow evening."
For a moment she thought he was going to say no, watching her with surprise. Then he smiled back and nodded. "Tomorrow. I will try to think of a happier tale."
A/N: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy the tales! I won't be writing stories for all the astrariums, and some stories are inspired by pre-existing legend and tales. The Mariner Prince draws on Icarus from Greek legends, and Aldarion the Mariner from Tolkien's legendarium. Thanks as always to BioWare for their wonderful game and the codex entries that inspired this fic, and my wonderful beta KelaSaar, who has so graciously put up with my Solas hellspiral :)