A/N: No I do not intend to post two chapters at once all the time. I plan to have a buffer and publish my dabbling once a week. That said this is a new story so I figured what the hey. In case anyone was curious, the names of our two elves are condensed Elven. Irasir'in means Where I am home and Malas My Hope. As usual I don't Dragon Age or Bioware or anything and blah blah blah legal words here. Once again italics=Elven.
Chapter One: A Girl With a Flower
Irasir'in woke slowly and groaned as pain wracked her body. She blinked at the ceiling a moment and felt a familiar warmth shift at her side. With her heart in her throat she checked the bed beside her and sighed in relief when she saw Malas there, the child sleeping soundly beside her as she usually did. Irasir'in shut her eyes and relaxed, feeling like everything was right with the world once more. She stayed that way until the door to her cabin opened and soft footsteps came in. Irasir'in carefully sat up, making sure not to disturb the sleeping girl. An elven servant was quietly putting a box in the room, freezing when she turned to leave and saw Irasir'in awake. She silently put a finger to her lips and pointed down to the sleeping child. The servant swallowed nervously and nodded, saying something soft in the common tongue before hurrying out. Irasir'in frowned at the skittish movements of the servant but dismissed it for now in favor of gently touching her daughters arm. She spoke softly, " Malas. Malas my darling, wake up. It's time to greet a new day and new dawn my heart." The girl shifted and murmured something unintelligible. There was a pause before she shot up right, "Mother!" Irasir'in laughed as the little girl grabbed her and threatened to break her ribs in a tight hug, "It's good to see you too Malas." The girl began to cry then sob, "I-I-I thought y-y-you had died! With the boom and the yelling and lights and screaming!" Her mothers eyes softened as she stroked the girls head, "Hush now child. Hush. I am fine. I am fine and so are you. We're together again, and nothing can stop me from always getting back to you." Malas cried into her mothers side and they simply sat there, Irasir'in making soft comforting sounds.
After awhile there was a knock on her door and a voice called through the door, "Irasir'in? It's Solas, the servant said you were awake." She sighed, "Come in." The other elf pushed inside, "How are you feeling? Well rested I hope." Irasir'in nodded, "Yes thank you. How long was I out?" He shut the door, "A couple days. She wouldn't leave your side the entire time." He nodded to Malas, who was watching Solas suspiciously as they talked. Irasir'in smiled, "I thought as much." She paused, "So... is the Breach properly closed or...?" Solas shook his head, "We need more power to close it properly, but it is stable now and the demons stopped pouring out." She relaxed, "I see. Then I bought you all time to figure out how to close it. Well since that's taken care of, I expected that the humans will be passing judgment on me soon." Solas frowned, "What makes you say that?" Irasir'in snorted, "What else would they do? I don't think that they will blame me for all this, but it seems I was there. Not that I can remember why..." Solas looked at Malas, "What about you child? Do you know why you and your mother were at the Conclave?" She buried her face into Irasir'in side and her mother sighed, "Malas, it's important. Do you know what we were doing there?"She peeked up at Irasir'in, squeaking out, "Cause you said the Dreadwolf would be there."
She frowned, "The Dread... did I say why I thought that?" The girl shook her head, "You just told me that you had to go. N that I should stay close to you while we searched the Shemlins temple... but I heard yelling and someone sounded scared, so I wanted to go see if they needed help... Then there was yelling and angry Shemlin, and a creepy man, and a floating woman... You told me to come back and then there was more yelling... and you put me into the bubble usin that old necklace." She nodded silently, "I take it the necklace didn't survive?" Malas shook her head, "Sorry mama." She smiled, "It's alright. So long as it kept you safe my dear." Irasir'in looked up at Solas, "Well, there you have it. Unless I can remember more, I was searching for the Dreadwolf. Why I was looking among the humans, I don't know." Solas nodded slowly, "Well regardless, the Lady Seeker and her peers wish to speak to you in the chantry. They probably need the mark in your hand to close the other rifts that have been opening, so they'll likely want you to stick around." Irasir'in sighed, "Of course they do..." She looked down at Malas for a few moments before nodding, "Alright, let's go talk to them then. I hope you will be on hand to translate?" Solas nodded, "I will indeed. After we've finished with the humans though, I would suggest we start teaching you some of the common tongue. I can't always be there to translate after all." Irasir'in sighed, "I guess it was inevitable that I would have to learn it. Let's not keep them waiting then." She stood up, the motion being accompanied by complaining noises from Malas, "Hush my child. I have to go and see what the humans have to say. I want you to stay here though, and keep out of trouble. Can you do that for me Malas?" The girl looked unhappy but grudgingly nodded, "Come back soon though ok?" Irasir'in smiled, "Of course my dear. As soon as I can."
The meeting was dull since everything said was basically said second hand to her. She agreed to help the newly declared Inquisition seal the Breach and the rifts that now doted the world, it wasn't really a question of if she would or not when these things threatened her daughter same as they threatened everyone else. The next few weeks were a bit chaotic but she got a lot more done than anyone expected. Her use of the common tongue improved quickly, and by the end of the third week she could passably hold conversations. She still need a bit of help with some words and more complex notions, but she had always had a gift for languages. Malas was slowly starting to warm up to living in Haven, latching onto Cassandra of all the people. Not that Irasir'in minded that since the girl could use a friend among the humans. One day she went looking for Malas and found her watching the Seeker going through her morning exercises, the steady thwack of metal on wood seeming to draw the girl into a trance. She smiled a bit at her and ruffled her hair before calling to the Seeker, "Good morning to you Lady Seeker." Cassandra paused, "Ah Herald. A good morning to you too." Irasir'in winced at the title, to say she wasn't a fan of it was an understatement. The other woman frowned at her reaction, "You should try not to react that way when people call you by that title. Even if you don't like it, it does bring people hope. And hope is in short supply these days." Irasir'in sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I suppose so. I would still prefer you at least call me by my name."
She watched as Cassandra went back to her routine and Malas pulled at Irasir'in sleeve. She leaned down and the girl whispered in her ear, "Miss Cassandra is really pretty mama." Irasir'in smiled, "Yes dear she is. A bit serious though." Malas eyes glittered as her own smile widened, "I think she would look super pretty with a smile. Ooo! I wanna see if I can make her smile!" Irasir'in smiled at her, "A very sweet thing to want to do. Well how bout this. You go to your language lesson with Solas and after that I'll help you find a way to make her smile." Malas groaned, "But mama, Solas is soooo booooring." Irasir'in laughed, "Oh he's not so bad Malas. And he probably knows even more about the world and the fade than me. More importantly," She booped the little girls nose, "You need to learn the human tongue too. Now go on and get to your lesson before you're late." Malas groaned, "Alright mama I'll go." Irasir'in looked up and saw that Cassandra was watching them talk. She leaned down and pointed it out to Malas, the girl bushed a bit and waved at the Seeker before running off into Haven. Cassandra watched the girl run before looking back at Irasir'in, "What was that about?"
The elf waved it off, "Just sending Malas off to her lesson with Solas. She still needs to learn the common." She paused and mulled over the sentence a moment, "That did not sound right..." Cassandra turned back to the training dummy, "I think you meant, learn the Common tongue. Or learn to speak the Common language." Irasir'in cocked her head to the side, "More the second than the first. Your language uses so many words to say little. It is... for the most part the other way for the Elvhen." Cassandra frown, "What do you mean?" Irasir'in thought for a time, "Well... let's say that you have had a lover that has been far from home for too long. How would you say you miss him?" Cassandra blinked, "I... I do not know. I have no such lover." Irasir'in waved her hand, "Irrelevant. Think for a moment if you did, how would you describe the feeling of them being gone?" She hesitated, "I suppose... if I were to have such happen... I would say that I missed them terribly, and that..." She glanced around to see if anyone else was listening, "And... this is very silly, what does this have to do with your language?" Irasir'in sighed, "Mi'nas'salin." Cassandra frowned, "What?" The elf crossed her arms, "It is something that expresses how much it hurts to miss someone so important. There is no real translation to it, but the closest would be.. the knife again in my soul." The Seeker blinked, "Oh..." She nodded, "We have many words like that to make big thoughts into... well small words. Some times our sentences can drag on as well, but not like with the common tongue. Not without being said to fill in the gaps or drag something out." Cassandra seemed to mull over her words as Irasir'in heard the rapid crunching of tiny feet running on snow.
She turned and raised an eyebrow at Malas as she ran back to them, slowing down and hurriedly shoving a handful of something behind her back, "Mama... could you help me say something?" Irasir'in smiled, "I thought I told you to go to your lesson." Malas pulled a face, "I knooow. But I found something that I think the Lady Seeker will like!" She hesitated, "But... um... can you tell me how to tell her somethin?" Irasir'in sighed and nodded, "Alright, but if you don't go directly to your lesson after..." Malas grinned and ran up to her mother, the two whispering back and forth. Cassandra frowned at them but didn't interrupt and concentrating on her exercises. She was almost done after all. She heard the girl approach and stopped to look down at Malas. She still had her hands behind her back and looked at Irasir'in for silent support. When her mother nodded she took a deep breath and looked up at the Seeker to speak slowly and carefully, "Lady Cassandra. I think... very pretty and wanted give this to you." She thrust out her hand, a small bunch of flowers held up proudly for Cassandras purview. The Seeker blinked at the flowers and the smiling girl holding them, her hesitation causing the child to nervously look back at her mother. Irasir'in leaned forward a bit, "She wants you to take them Seeker."
The warrior jumped, "Oh of course! Yes ah thank you. They are very pretty." She took the flowers and gave the child an uncertain smile at first but it widened when the girl beamed back at her before running back to Irasir'in, "Mama mama she smiled! She does look prettier when she smiles!" Irasir'in laughed, "Why yes she does. You've done well my darling, but now it's time for learning." Malas moved to protest but her mother lifted a finger, "No. No more of that. You must learn, and Solas is the best one to teach you. Now go on, go before he gets upset with you for being too late." The child sighed in defeat and trudged off. Cassandra held the flowers a bit awkwardly but smiling none the less, "She is... a very sweet little girl." Irasir'in nodded, "She seems to have decided she likes you Seeker. Thinks you are very pretty."
Cassandra examined the flowers before carefully placing them to the side, "...Do you think I did the right thing?" Irasir'in frowned, "What do you mean?" She sighed in frustration and started to walk, "What I have set in motion could destroy everything I revered, cast aside much of what I believed in. One day they may write of me as a traitor, a heretic, and a madwoman." Irasir'in's face grew serious, "You did what you had to do. You had no real choice." The Seeker looked her in the eye, "Didn't I? My trainers always told me I was too brash, that I had to stop and think more. I see what is in front of me and what must be done, and I do it. But I misjudged you, I thought at the beginning that you were responsible for the explosion, for all the destruction. Then I see you digging so desperately in the rubble for your child..." She shook her head, "I thought I knew the answer clear as day and I was wrong. I cannot afford to be so careless again." Irasir'in gave her a steady look, "You had good reason to think it was me. If I had been in your shoes, I would have thought the same."
Cassandra sighed again and started walking back to the tents, "I wanted to blame someone, anyone, for what happened. I wanted to catch the culprit so badly that I did not care who it was I caught." Irasir'in answered that softly, "I understand far better than you would think Seeker. What is important is that we learn from such mistakes, and grow from them. It is far better to have learned than to have done nothing." Cassandra stopped and looked back at Irasir'in. There was a moment of silence before, "You reject the title of Herald, saying you are no chosen one. Being that you are an elf, do you even believe in the Maker or in your own gods?" Irasir'in gave that some serious thought for a few moments, "I cannot say if I believe in the Maker your chantry prays to. But I will not say that you are wrong. The Elven gods did not create the Earth or the fade, but rather were born of the world as we were. I see no reason why this Maker could not have been the one to have created the world, and there is plenty of room in the heavens for another god." Cassandra studied the elven woman before her, wondering at her answer a moment, "...I see. That was a... surprising answer. Not the one I expected." Irasir'in smiled, "Perhaps not, but I do prefer to keep an open mind in such things. After all the only way one can learn the truth is to be open to it." The Seeker slowly nodded before taking her leave.
Irasir'in walked the camp silently, the hustle and bustle of every day life there surrounding her. She tried to ignore the bows and murmured prayers from those that noticed her passage. She would no deny them their belief in her since it gave them such hope, but that did not mean she need encourage it. She spied in on Malas and Solas to make sure the girl had actual made it to the lesson. She smiled at the child as she sat looking bored on a log as Solas tried his best to hold her interest in learning the common tongue. She kept going after that, eventually spotting Varric sitting beside his fire. She hadn't spent any time talking to the dwarf before but decided it was time she introduced herself properly. She walked over to his fire and smiled down at him, "Hello there, Varric isn't it? Might I join you?" He grinned, "Well if it isn't the Herald of Andraste herself. Take a seat please, you're always welcome here." Irasir'in sighed, "Just Irasir'in will be fine, thank you mister Varric." The dwarf chuckled, "Trying to be modest? Or do you just not like the title." She smirked, "Something along those lines. Solas tells me that you did not come to Haven of your own will. And refuse to leave of it too." He laughed, "Aye well, there's a good story hidden here. I decided that I wanted to see it through myself. Besides, with the massive hole in the sky it doesn't really matter if I run off or not. It will be hanging over my head either way, and this way I'm actually doing something about it." Irasir'in nodded, "A good way to look at it." There was a pause as the elf realized she didn't really have anything to talk about with the dwarf.
Varric took it upon himself to continue the conversation, "Your daughter is an odd little girl isn't she? Always hiding around the village while watching everyone." Irasir'in smiled, "Yes I suppose she does that doesn't she? It's to be expected, she hasn't walked among humans before after all." Varric looked surprised, "That so? Where did you live before this that you didn't run into humans?" The elf shrugged, "The woods. It was always just the two of us so it wasn't hard to keep us fed off the land, and I always thought it would be safer for us to stay on our own." Varric frowned, "Huh. So what brought you two to the conclave?" She frowned, "Honestly I don't remember myself. I have no memories of the conclave or a few weeks prior to it but... well I think I was looking for something. I have an idea what, but I have no idea why I thought I would find it at the conclave." The dwarf nodded slowly, "I see. Well every story does need a bit of mystery doesn't it?" She smiled, "Aye it does. Among other things." Varric grinned, "And what would you say those things are then? As a story teller myself, I have an interest in what people think makes a good story." Irasir'in thought a moment and held up a finger, "A bit of mystery... and some action. Humanized heroes standing as beyond human beings, add in a grain of truth with a dash of lies. A grand quest to complete and a monstrous enemy that stands in the way. Something that threatens to bring the world crashing down and the story must shatter the listeners perception of life itself." She suddenly smiled, "And there should be a romance to bring it all together."
A/N: And as it always should and will be, please feel free to review. Till next time.