The Scholar's Journal

He was sent to Thedas to study their culture for a couple of years, and decide whether or not it should be okay to interact with the nations that live there. What this scholar didn't expect was becoming their Herald of Andraste. This place is very strange.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dragon Age Series

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2034 WA, Whitesnow 18–Sabath

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I ARRIVED ON SHORE yesterday. Things were too busy to start writing right away but I've taken some notes. Let me just recount my experiences…

It was stormy that night but the sirens managed to guide the currents, allowing the boat to safely wash ashore on the beach. Afterwards, they pulled the ship away and I thanked them before I went about on my journey. This land was strange and different from Valthyria, but so similar. There are different herbs here and some that are the same.

I took those that were different and encased them into the pocket.

The night was still young and so I set up camp. A white deer then came upon my camp; it was no stranger to people since it didn't mind my presence. I offered it water and it drank happily. A friendly deer indeed.

I climbed a tree after putting out the fire and tied myself to the tree with a rope so that I could sleep on the high branch. It was safer that way. This land is still unknown to me, even though the deer is friendly.

The next morning, the white deer was still here on my camp, grazing the grass nearby. I spotted a strange pig–like creature. No fur and it was brown––blending into the forest. I took out my crossbow from the pocket and shot the odd creature. The creature has horrendous feet, but it turned out to be an okay meal. It reminded me of the crispy rodents that the trolls would eat as snacks.

Packing up, the white deer followed me throughout the day as I observe this strange place's new plants, fruits, and creatures. I have yet to stumble to a person.

Then the white deer nudged me and it trotted away into a certain direction. It stopped however and looked at me, as if waiting for me. The deer wanted me follow it and so I went with it.

The white deer took me to a long unseen road through the forest, and then it took off running without any warning. Did it decide to leave me in the middle of nowhere nowhere? One would think me crazy for even following the deer but then I heard fighting not too far away. Climbing up the hill, I saw down below elves fighting a group of four heavily–armed humans, wielding swords and shields.

The elves looked to be innocent, seeing that they weren't as armed as their opponents and plus they had children with them. They were trying to run away, trying to move their caravans––carriages or wagons with red sails on them.

I went down to join, intervening the fight. The elves saw me coming, running toward the attacking humans, then I summoned my shield and spear from out of the fade's pocket. They were stunned as if they've never seen anyone do that. I collided my shield against one of the humans, knocking him back.

The fight seemed to stop if only for a moment to yell. They started to call me an abomination.

These Templars––they are what these humans are called––are very similar to our Guardians in Valthyria, except that they consume large amounts of blue lyrium. How can they? Lyrium is quite poisonous. It makes me wonder why they don't use a spirit.

I'll spare you all now from any detail of the fighting. It is quite gruesome and I'm not fond of killing people. In fact, I don't kill people unless it's necessary, but these Templars were deluded. They claim that anyone who don't accept this Maker and those who don't worship this Andraste are all abominations and demon worshippers.

Once the Templars were killed, the elves gathered around me curiously. I have to say, they are shorter than me. I happened to tower over them by half a foot.

"Thank you for helping us in our dire of need, stranger. May I ask the name of our savior?" An older female asked as she approached me.

"My name is Elrond, and I come from the lands of Valthyria." I told her the truth. There is wisdom in her eyes rather than her age, and I feel that I should trust her.

"Valthyria?"

"A faraway land beyond your eastern seas," I answered and I could hear them whispering amongst themselves.

She invited me to stay and I helped clean up the mess that these Templars left. I healed many of their people from the grievous of injuries to the smallest scrapes. The Keeper, the First, and the Second were amazed of my talents. It made me wonder how far behind this age is on learning magic.

A Keeper means he or she is the leader of her people––the clan. So she is Keeper Deshanna of Clan Lavellan. Her people are generally called the Dalish. They wander and travel as nomads, restoring the lost history of their own ancestors. Her ancestors once ruled the lands of Thedas, calling it Arlathan, but then their Gods became silent and thus their kingdom fell. The years have not been so well for the elves; they are treated as second–class citizens.

I shall be putting all this information and history into the codex.

The Keeper invited me to stay for lunch, and so I gratefully accepted it. I wanted to learn more of the history here of course and this land of Thedas.

Currently, we are in the Free Marches: a land of different nations, each residing in a city–state. Each city–state have their own sovereign government, either a Teyrn, a Viscount, or a Duke. Such titles are similar to that of a Ruler, except for Viscount. The Viscount has to be elected by the people, just like the Archons of Valthyria.

After asking many questions from them, they've begun to ask me questions of their own.

"What is this land called Valthyria?" Ellana, the First to the Keeper, asked me.

"It is a land and also a kingdom of monarchy."

Mahanon, the Second to the Keeper, also asked, "You're an elf. How are elves treated there and what other races reside there?"

"Well… Elves are treated equally there, alongside with humans, dwarves, fex, kossith, miqo'te, and fae––"

Ellana interrupted me. "Wait, wait, wait, Fex? Kossith? Fae?"

I had to explain to them now of the different races that reside in the kingdom of Valthyria. They have never met the Fex, Kossith, miqo'te, or Fae before.

I told them the Fex were furry and short creatures. Most of them live in a tribal land of which Valthyria reserved for them after they arrived on our shores a long time ago. They were pushed out by the Qunari from their land, Par Vollen. The Dalish tell me now that the Qunari owns Par Vollen.

I told them about the Kossith: a race that thinks of themselves celestial. They had ears like us Elves but their skin color would vary from blue to purple or white to gray. They are a very prideful race, and very pragmatic.

Then there was the miqo'te: a feline race that look like human but they have ears and tails of a cat. They are also very agile and abnormally strong. Their senses are also heightened than that of ordinary humans, elves, and dwarfs. (Notes)

Lastly, the Fae. Tiny people that look like elves but they have wings like butterflies on their backs. In the Kingdom, they are mostly deliverers or messengers since nothing could outrun the speed that they fly at––like hummingbirds. The fae have their own separate Arboreas, or 'clans' throughout the forests of Valthyria; they are people that live in trees. There is one grandiose willow tree where the King of fae resides.

They are very amazed of what I had told them. There were other species and they didn't know about it. Apparently, they've only known of dwarves, humans, and qunari. That is it.

"We saw how you summoned your shield and your spear, and then they just vanished. How? Is it magic?" Mahanon asked me.

I then demonstrated it for him, holding out my palm facing the ground and a circular sigil formed. The spear started coming out and I grabbed it, pulling it out.

They watched in awe when I pulled it out of thin air and the sigil disappeared.

"How?" the Keeper asked. "This is magic that I've never seen before."

"It is a fade spell called pocket, and it is as it sounds. It's a pocket in the beyond, or the fade, that I created for my own personal use. And since it's my pocket, I can put in anything into it and pull out anything out of it."

"And what about the shield?" Mahanon asked and soon all the other elves started to gather, looking very curious.

I reached out my palm and the shield started forming. When I brought it close to my chest, the shield slid over to my forearm as it fully materialized as a transparent, glowing blue of barrier energy.

"It's composed of barrier energy. It can handle a lot of damage so long as I can stand my ground."

The Keeper was stunned. "We've… never seen magic like this. Your people must be ruled by mages such as yourselves."

I shook my head at that. "Not really. It doesn't matter if you are a mage or not."

"Will you teach us?" Ellana asked. She was ecstatic to learn magic so foreign.

"I am willing to teach you of the pocket and many other things as long as you are willing to teach me of everything you know of Thedas. It is why I am here in the first place," I told them.

Mahanon raised his brow at me. "Is that why you're here? Just to study?"

"I have to make a report of this Thedas, everything about it before sending it to the Sky College of Valthyria… Then they make a report to the King about it, and the King will decide whether or not he would wish to see this land himself."

Then they became worried, and I immediately knew what they worried about. "And NOT to invade. We are not that kind of kingdom like the Qunari. We just want to meet new neighbors."

They relaxed.

I spent the rest of the day learning and filling up the codex. They were then curious of the fountain pen I was holding, and I tried to explain its mechanism. After that, I kept writing, noting all the different things.

The Dalish reminded me a bit of the Fex, except that they travel. They hunt their own food, they make their own clothes, they teach their own children through stories, and they are a close knit big family.

They also take care of the halla. The white deer that I met last night was there now. Perhaps it led me to the clan Lavellan so that I could help them. Smart creature.

The day ended just like that and with the night creeping in, we ate dinner. We chatted again for a couple of hours before the people started heading off to sleep in the aravels––the wagons with the red sails, also called land–ships.

I shared the aravel with Mahanon and other elven males. It was a little cramped, but I didn't complain. Can't complain.

I lit veil fire upon a candle they have given me and started writing on this journal.

"How long will you stay with us?" Mahanon asked.

"As long as I can, or at least until I must move on to learn more of other places."

"And how long until you must return to your kingdom?"

"A year. That is the agreement."

"…Did you have any family or anyone important you left behind?" He asked me. "You are a long way from home, and you won't even see them, not for a year."

Pausing, I had to reconsider my words. "I know the consequences, the burden, and the lonely times I would experience, but it didn't stop me from travelling… Anyways, I wanted to go on an adventure. My family gave me their blessings."

That was a big lie but no need to share it.

"I see… well, peaceful dreams to you, Elrond."

"And to you, Mahanon."

I will write again tomorrow.

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NOTES:

I have borrowed the Miqo'te from the Final Fantasy series. Please know I do not own them, but I like their race so I am placing them in this story. There is a race that I didn't list down and that would be the lizard people. I have no idea what to call them, and I don't think I should call them Argons from Skyrim since they are too big. And yes. I copied the name Elrond from LOTR, sue me for making references. Lol. Also, please tell me if you want me to add any sort of race, and please describe it.

Anyways, comments and criticisms are welcomed!