It was still dark when Hawke awoke next. The bells were chiming the hour, slowly and inexorably up to twelve. This time though Diana was ready for anything, so it came as a great shock when nothing happened. Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour went by and yet nothing came. Diana was wide awake and couldn't bear to be in the dark room anymore. She lit a candle and went wandering in the halls. Right away, she noticed a strange light coming from her mother's room. Diana was angry about the intrusion; no one had been in the room since Leandra died. She turned back to retrieve her daggers from her room when she heard a voice calling her name. She took a deep breath and opened the door for the first time in years.
It no longer looked like her mother's room. In fact, it looked surprisingly like a room at the Hanged Man. In the middle stood a jolly-looking dwarf. Unlike most dwarfs, he lacked a beard; instead he boasted a prodigious amount of chest hair. He carried with him a large crossbow.
"Alright, I know you aren't Varric, but you are doing a fantastic impression of him."
"I am the Spirit of Firstday Present. You have never seen the like of me before." the dwarf said. Unlike the Spirit of Firstday Past, the Present could have been flesh-and-blood; he had no glow about him at all.
"No? You do look awfully familiar." Despite the fact that it wasn't actually Varric, Diana felt comfortable around this spirit; less in awe of him than the one who took Merrill's form.
"You may have met my brothers."
"Do you have a lot of them?"
"Well over two thousand at this point." He said cheerfully.
"Well you certainly spin bullshit like Varric." She joked. Despite the lack of height, the dwarf managed to look down at the rogue, and Diana realized she had gone to far. With a chagrined tone; "Spirit, conduct me where you will. If you have anything to teach me, I am willing to learn."
"Touch my coat, and we'll be off." he said. A jest formed in Diana's mind, but she left it unsaid as she followed his instructions.
The room at the Hanged Man vanished instantly, leaving them standing in the streets on Firstday morning where the people performed a rushed, hurried dance as they made their way through the snow. People from their house were shoveling snow off of their front steps or their roofs, to the delight of the children below. The weather was gloomy for Kirkwall winter; the sky was overcast, and a dingy mist hung low in the air. It was not the most cheerful climate, yet the air was filled with joy.
For it was the people who colored the atmosphere – there was a bounce in the step of those traveling, wishing one another a happy Firstday. Shovelers shouted cheerfully and launched snowballs at passerbys. There were still a few shops open, and the merchants were hawking their wares with glee. At one point a fight broke out over two destitute people carrying food for their dinner and the Spirit of Firstday Present lowered his crossbow and shot an arrow that passed through them both. It did not harm them, instead their good humor was instantly restored. They disappeared back into the crowd, and joy returned to the streets.
"Spirit, what manner of weaponry is that?" Diana asked.
"My own. To apply to anyone in need of a little cheer, especially the poor." he said, patting the crossbow fondly.
"A strange weapon indeed."
The two of them continued walking the streets of Kirkwall, and through the spirit's seemingly random meanderings they ended up in front of a dilapidated old house. Varric shot his crossbow through the house, and then went inside. Diana paused for a moment before following him in.
"Where are we, spirit?"
"Why, the home of your manservant, Bodhan Feddic." Varric said, surprised, as if Diana should have known.
There was only one person in the house at the moment, a female dwarf garbed in a well-worn but expertly mended dress. She was busy cooking up a storm, though the quantities were meager. The dwarf stayed as close to the stove as possible; the rest of the house was barely warmer than the air outside.
"Fulla, we're home!" came a shout from behind Diana, and she whirled around to see her manservant coming through the door with his son, Sandal. Both wore enormous grins on their faces.
"Enchantment!" was Sandal's contribution.
"And just where have the two of you been?" the woman scolded good-naturedly.
"Out enjoying the weather, Fulla. Is dinner ready?" Bodhan asked. Fulla grunted.
"Only if you'll set the table. I've been far too busy cooking."
Bodhan pulled Sandal out into the dining room and together the two of them set the table. Bodhan would hand Sandal a plate or utensil and direct him to the spot. It was a slow process, but Sandal seemed to enjoy helping out immensely.
"I never realized Bodhan had a wife." Diana said.
"He doesn't. Fulla owns this place and Bodhan and Sandal board here. She's the one who takes care of Sandal during the day. It's possible she wants to be something more to Bodhan, but he's never really taken notice."
By now the the table was set, and Fulla was bringing out the meal. It was paltry – barely enough to feed one person, let alone three, but Bodhan and Sandal looked as if they had never seen such a feast. With a flourish, Fulla revealed the main dish, a small, grayish nug roast, covered with onions and sage. Bodhan proclaimed it the most well cooked nug he'd ever seen, and Fulla flushed with pride. He set about carving the roast, and all of them set about the task of eating.
They made short work of the meal, and somehow proclaimed themselves satisfied. Fulla disappeared into the kitchen once more, and came back with a covered dish. She set it down on the table and lifted the lid to reveal a hot, steaming pudding.
"Enchantment!" Sandal cried, clapping his hands excitedly.
"Happy Firstday, everyone!" Bodhan said, raising a mug in his hand.
"Enchantment!" Sandal echoed.
"To Diana Hawke, the Founder of the Feast!"
"Founder of the Feast indeed." Fulla snorted. "I wish she was here so I could giver her a piece of my mind."
"Fulla, please."
"She treats you abominably and you know it. Does she even care about what happens to you and Sandal anymore? Even after she begged you not to go to Orlais."
"Fulla, please, it's Firstday."
"Fine. I'll be nice today. A long happy life to Diana Hawke." She said sarcastically, downing her own drink. Sandal drank nothing at all, but a sad look crossed his face.
Varric and Diana left the tiny, dingy house, with Diana much subdued. By now it was dark, with only the glow from the street lamps and fireplaces to light the way. Few people were out on the street now. They passed through Darktown, Hightown, Lowtown, the Alienage and the docks, and everywhere, people were assembled together to celebrate. The crewmen on the ships had their own feast, primarily consisting of freshly caught fish. They walked to a lookout point – in the distant Sundermount, they could see the flicker of campfire lights as even bandits and Dalish were honoring the day. Soon they found themselves back in Lowtown, this time in front of a very familiar hovel. Diana was surprised to hear a hearty female laugh from inside, and even more surprised when she realized it was her cousin Charade. She and ghost-Varric went inside, and saw the house packed with people, and lit brighter than Diana had ever seen it.
"And then she basically said that celebrating Firstday was ridiculous. She was as bad as you used to be father." Charade said, nudging Gamlen with her arm.
"I always knew Diana was trouble." Gamlen grumbled. "From the moment she walked into Kirkwall."
"Well, I for one feel kind of sorry for her. If she won't even let you and me in, who suffers from it but her?"
"The entirety of the city." There were nods of agreement all around the party – many of them had felt the sting of the guards under Diana's rule.
"But will it really? This city doesn't change; not for long. All that Diana has done is make it tougher on people for a little while and make them really angry. The city will find a way back to normal, and poor cousin will end up with her head on a platter. It's not a pleasant way to go." The assembled party was happy to agree with the charismatic girl, though most were as equally quick to say that they themselves would never perform the final deed.
"What I mean to say," Diana's cousin continued, "was that maybe things would be better for everyone and especially Hawke if she would only let people in. The more she shuts us out, the less she understands people and the more unpleasant she gets. I pity her for that. But today is Firstday, and every year I will continue to hope for improvement." She raised her glass high in a mock-toast. Gamlen joined her while the rest of the party laughed. They drank to Hawke, and passed around the bottle to refill glasses.
What followed was dancing and singing, simple songs, and reminiscent of the ones Diana heard in the Hanged Man, so long ago in time, but so recent in her memories. If only she had more of such memories but alas, they all ended with Isabela's sacrifice. Gamlen had a surprisingly good bass voice, one that Diana was wholly unfamiliar with. The way he directed it at Charade with all the fond pride of a good father was something she never expected to see in her life, and it made her miss her own parents more.
After awhile, Gamlen begged some other pursuit, since his voice was getting tired, so they started playing at games. Blind Man's Bluff was the first, and Diana noticed that one lad in particular would only go after her cousin. A protective feeling welled up inside of her, but Charade did not discourage the boy, and Diana quickly remembered that her cousin could easily take care of herself when she so chose. After that, there was a game of Twenty Questions, and by that time, Diana was so caught up in the goings-on that she played along, loudly and correctly guessing the answers long before the other guests. The spirit wearing Varric's form watched fondly from the side.
"Alright." Charade said. "Here's one for you."
The guessing began anew. From the questions posed by the guests they figured out that it was a live animal, a disagreeable, dangerous animal, one that growled and grunted, and occasionally spoke. It lived in Kirkwall, but it was no one's pet. It walked on two legs, and though it may be considered a bird, it did not fly. At this point every question brought to Charade was met with a giggle, she was very pleased with her own cleverness. Finally the lad who had shown a great deal of interest in Charade started laughing as well.
"I know, I know, It's your cousin! Diana Hawke!" He cried. Charade nodded, and the rest of the party applauded the brilliant deduction. At this point, Diana turned to the spirit. He was looking old and worn out – he seemed to have aged thirty years in the last hour.
"What's wrong Varric?"
"My time is very short – my life ends tonight."
"Tonight!"
"Such is the way of the Present; it is always but a fleeting moment."
"How very poetic." Diana mumbled, but then she noticed something. "Varric, is it just me, or do I see shadows behind you?"
"What, these?" The Spirit of Firstday Present stepped aside, and the shadows solidified. "A reminder, Hawke. It's been a while since you've faced one directly, but they walk with you always." There were five figures, each a demon form – there was the naked purple desire demon, the flaming rage demon, the slow and ponderous sloth demon, the cadaverous hunger demon, and the terrifyingly large pride demon.
"Beware of them, Hawke. They may be creatures of the Fade, but they exist in every man."
The bells struck twelve. Varric and the demons were gone. As the last stroke tolled, she saw yet another spirit, armored and magnificent, coming slowly towards her.