5Th of Kingsway
Lothering
Several hours later Solona, Alistair and Morrigan had managed to learn about Loghain's excuse for quitting the field at Ostagar and they in turn had told everyone else in town what had really happened. They couldn't really hide the fact they were Grey Wardens, given the Warden heraldry branded on their armor, shield and cloaks. They had also helped the majority of the people in town as much as they could.
Solona was worried about using the money Elissa had given her for everything they needed and thought it would be good to help the people and earn the money from the Chantry, as well as goodwill from the refugees. As a result of that concern they found themselves currently out killing bandits, wolves and bears along with an ex-chantry sister Leliana and a Qunari warrior with the rank of Sten. Both had joined them while they were wandering around Lothering.
Alistair was starting to come out of his stupor but he was unwilling to take the lead as of yet, telling her, "Sole, I trust you to make the right choices. Let's just focus on finding Elissa either here, or heading to Redcliffe when we are done getting our supplies in town. Without those treaties we can't do anything anyway."
That was how they ended up attacking the bandits by the river. Alistair nearly dropped his sword mid-battle when out of the darkness of the trees a Warden in full plate came charging out of the trees with a black mabari war hound into the flank of the bandits. It took less than thirty seconds for the Bandits to fall. Once the bandits were dead the Warden approached them urgently.
The Warden took off her helm and grabbed Solona tightly. "Sole! Thank the Maker you survived!" Elissa cried out. Solona just stared at her in disbelief. Elissa turned to Alistair and threw herself at him too. "Alistair!" He couldn't believe she was hugging him but he quickly recovered and then held her tightly lifting her up off the ground.
"We found you!" Alistair cried out with joy. "I can't believe you are still here in Lothering! I was sure you'd have left by now!" He spun her around happily before he put her down with a blush. Elissa pulled them all a little ways away from the rest of the group, strangers she wasn't willing to trust yet.
"How did you survive the battle? Where are your men? What has been going on? What happened here?" They all began talking at once, asking questions and giving answers.
"Do you still have the Treaties?" They answered each other in rapid succession as the other members looked on. They each relayed what had happened since they had last seen each other, and Elissa assured them she had the treaties still and all the messages that Duncan had for the seneschal.
"I am fairly certain Howe or Loghain will have all the personnel at the Warden Compound arrested before we could warn them." Elissa said sadly. "But with my men sent ahead to Jader hopefully the Wardens outside of Ferelden will be ready if..." She trailed off.
"If we fail." Alistair stared at the ground angrily, clenching his hands into tight fists, making the steel groan in protest.
Solona shook her head and grabbed his wrist. "We're not going to fail. We are going to start by gathering our forces."
Elissa nodded defiantly. "The three treaties are with the Dalish, Dwarves and Mages. Of the three the Dalish should be closest to here, but also the most out of the way of the other two." She scowled, as if the idea offended her.
Leliana who stealthily approached the group without being heard spoke up, hoping to further ingrain herself with the wardens. "The Chantry keeps tabs on when the Dalish come and go. They all are not yet in the Brecilian Forest, but they are in Ferelden. It should be at least a month before they are expected to be fully gathered there."
Elissa turned to look at Leliana and the others. "I'm sorry." She said suddenly a little embarrassed. "That was rude of us." Alistair and Solona too looked back at the others with chagrin.
Leliana just laughed it off. "That's alright. You had important news to share." She stepped forward and held her arm out. "I'm Leliana." She gestured to the Qunari and Morrigan. "This is Sten and Morrigan." She said with a smile. She was watching the interactions carefully.
Elissa smiled and took her forearm in hers. "Pleased to meet you." She smiled politely to them all as she stepped back. Leliana was surprised by the noble response to her introductions but filed it away for further investigation later.
"I wouldn't go that far." Alistair mumbled while pointedly turning his back to Morrigan.
"Yes, because you have so many allies you can turn your back on help that is not to your Chantry's standard." Morrigan snipped.
Solona raised a brow at Morrigan but did not say anything. Morrigan had jumped ahead and not waited for her to wave the embargo on her comments but she had kept the comment mild and appropriate so Solona let it go. Alistair had made the first comment.
Elissa on the other hand turned her full attention on the two. Looking at the woman three things immediately dawned on her in the three seconds she gazed at them; Morrigan was an exotic looking, half naked Korcari Wilds apostate, Alistair did not like her one little bit, and Morrigan didn't like Alistair either. She immediately felt herself wanting to protect Alistair from her.
She gave Alistair a slight smile instead of making a move to stab the woman. "Well, I hope you're a decent mage and reasonable, otherwise we will need to part ways." Morrigan glared at her while Solona and Alistair tried not to laugh. Elissa stared gave them a dirty look as she explained, "We have enough problems right now, we can't be walking around outside the Wilds with an obvious apostate if we are going to the Circle of Magi during this quest of ours, can we?" She ended the statement with an innocent tone of voice, but the look on her face was so cold Morrigan whom was used to such looks felt a slight chill. Both Leliana and Sten were impressed with her.
"That's what I said." Alistair exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
Solona chuckled as she pushed his shoulder in a playful manner. "But with a lot less tact." Alistair pushed her back nearly knocking her over. She was glad to see that Elissa's presence was helping Alistair reengage.
Morrigan gave him a disgusted look, but nodded her acknowledgment of the situation to Elissa. "That is a reasonable argument." She looked disgruntled but chose her words carefully. "I will of course comply with making myself less conspicuous." Her face suggested she was not happy with that condition.
"Good." Elissa said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She really didn't care if the woman stayed or not, but if she was going to be forced to spend time with the woman she was going to be wearing clothes.
Elissa smiled at Alistair who was gaping at her. "We're actually going to bring the witch with us?" He looked over at Solona. "I thought we were going to be rid of her once we left Lothering." He whined to her.
Solona bit her lip. Arguing with templars was something she had been conditioned not to do and despite this being Alistair, whom she was beginning to feel very close to, he still carried himself as a templar and her instincts were fighting her feelings. She took a deep breath to gather her courage to say something, but Elissa beat her to the punch.
"We need every arm or spell we can get, Alistair."
He turned and looked at her, resigned to fact that Morrigan was staying. "Alright. Just keep her away from me." He grumbled to Elissa. She smiled and nodded at him.
Leliana had no idea what was going on, neither did Sten. Morrigan was unsure what Elissa's role was. The armor Elissa was wearing and the fact that both Alistair and Solona had both looked as if every word coming from Elissa was an order not to be question suggested that she was the ranking Grey Warden. Morrigan was a little more wary of her. Her mother had insisted they look for her but Flemeth had neglected to mention Elissa herself was a Grey Warden. She decided to watch her step around her. Elissa was not someone she could toy with, that much Morrigan was sure of.
To Sten, the appearance of Elissa meant she was the leader of the Grey Wardens, despite her appearance suggesting she was in fact a woman, and to Leliana the way she carried herself and her commanding presence suggested she was a Ferelden Warden-Constable and in that moment she too shifted her view to following Elissa as leader instead of the combined leadership of Solona and Alistair.
"Well Constable Elissa what do you suggest we do?" Leliana asked politely.
Solona grabbed Alistair before he could say anything and shook her head at him. Alistair took the hint and kept his mouth shut. He did not want to lead. Solona was willing to defer to her and Duncan had made it very clear before Elissa left with the treaties that he trusted her with Warden secrets. Alistair nodded to Solona. "It's ok Sole. I get it." He said softly so only she heard.
"We can talk about it later, alright?" Solona asked. Alistair nodded and turned to pay attention to what Elissa was saying.
"Just call me Elissa." She said waving away the rank as if it was unimportant. "We'll need to get as many healing supplies as we can. We'll need snares and other food provisions... We'll finish up what you all were doing out here and then get out of Lothering and head towards the Tower first." Elissa said, laying out the course of action.
"What about Redcliffe?" Alistair asked. "It's not too far out of the way? We could get Arl Eamon's support."
Elissa shook her head with resignation. She had been thinking about that while she was waiting to see if they would come through Lothering. She shared her thoughts with them, "Loghain is sure to be watching the road to Denerim and Redcliffe looking for the three of us. He doesn't know about the treaties. It makes sense to go to the Tower first. The Mages are already being herded back there by the Chantry. They'll be the ones that also will need the most time to prepare to stand against Loghain." She reasoned. "Dwarves are always ready for Darkspawn and know army tactics as will the Arl's men, but the Mages are not used to being away from the Tower so they'll need time to learn some basic skills before we need them in an army setting." She reasoned. They group seemed impressed with her grasp of the situation.
Alistair's mouth was hanging open. "I never thought of even half of that."
Solona nodded, her eyes wide. "That's a really good idea Elissa. Most of us are very limited on outside experience, although some of us know more than others and some would be ready to go with minimal training." She said seriously before she smirked at Elissa. "Of course riding for three days was hard when I hadn't been outside in years, never mind even knowing how to ride." She teased.
Elissa rolled her eyes and glared at her cousin. "You could have reminded us, Sole." She scolded good-naturedly. "Why you just healed yourself and didn't say anything to us was just stupid."
Solona laughed along with Leliana who couldn't help but giggle at the antics of the wardens. "When did you figure it out?"
Elissa snorted and rolled her eyes. "When Harmon asked you to heal his saddle sores too." She urged the group to walk towards town.
Solona chuckled and continued to talk while the headed back into town. "Well, Tower Templars rarely ride." Her face shadowed with concern. "I wonder if he left Ostagar before the battle."
Elissa shook her head, and looked resigned. "I doubt it. I'd have seen him on the road I would think." They were both quiet for a moment. "We should head back to the village. We need to leave today."
"Should we split up and get everything done quickly?" Leliana asked. "There are only a few hours of daylight left."
Elissa nodded as she tried to assess their needs. "Yes, that's a good idea." She turned to the group and pulled on her commanding face and tone. "Sole you look into food provisions. You'll know the quantities we'll need for us and especially for new warden recruits." Solona nodded and understood she needed to gather more supplies than their number suggested due to the food requirements for them.
"Alistair, you get the health potions and any other healing supplies you think we could use." She ordered him, he nodded determinedly. "I'll look into the hunting supplies and any camp equipment we'll need." Everyone else was waiting for orders so Elissa turned to them. "Sten, please stay with Sole and protect her." Sten looked deeply at Solona for a moment and then nodded still not saying a word. "Leliana please go with Alistair." Alistair shot her a relieved look. "Morrigan can come with me. We'll look into finding you something that is not going to attract too much attention from Templars." She added to the apostate. Morrigan looked as if she wanted to complain but for once kept quiet and just nodded.
They split at the bridge, Alistair and Leliana headed to the Chantry first to collect the bounties for the bears and bandits before getting the health potions and other supplies to make more later. Sten and Solona headed for the first merchant they had encountered. As Elissa turned to head towards the tavern to see about the hunting supplies she spotted a Soldier with red hair and a Highever shield strapped to his back leaning against the wall beside the bridge. He looked hurt.
"Can you heal, Morrigan?" Elissa asked breathlessly as she turned towards the Knight.
"Not with magic." She said curtly.
"Get Sole then." Elissa barked and all but ran over to the knight. Morrigan walked away sighing her annoyance at being sent on a mission that was only a few meters.
She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, and her palms sweating inside her gauntlets. Her vision tunneled as she crossed the small distance to him, there was only one Knight she knew in the employ of Highever with hair that color. "Rory?" She called as she got close. "Is that you?"
The knight turned quickly and a flash of pain spread across his face, his arm moved protectively around his stomach. "Lissa?" He cried with a touch of pain in his voice.
"RORY!" She quickly came around and paced her arm around his waist to help support him. "How did you get here?" She asked frantically. "When?"
Rory just shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Hitched a ride in a wagon with some soldiers coming down to Ostagar day after the raid. We ran into Loghain's forces just outside Lothering. The soldiers turned around but I kept walking here. I had to find you."
She cried on his shoulder as she held him and Solona ran up. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Elissa turned to her cousin, her anguish was raw on her face. "Rory's hurt." Solona looked at the knight and nodded sympathetically. "I'll cast some general healing now, and then when we camp I'll do an in-depth look at your injuries if needed alright?" She asked him. It was a long held habit, asking to cast healing. Some of the Templars in the Circle were a bit punchy when it came to spells being cast on them unexpectedly.
Rory looked at Elissa. She nodded encouragingly. "She's Sole." She said as way of reassuring him.
Rory tried to smile at her but he ended up wincing instead. "It's good to finally meet you." He grunted as she began to cast her spells. The ache was the first thing to go, but the itching of the healing going to work always reminded him of ants running every which way inside the wound, which was a disgusting feeling. It was over quickly and which the feeling had been more intense than he was used to he was glad to feel no pain in his stomach any longer.
Sole smiled as she finished the general spell. "Nice to meet you too. I've heard much about you."
Rory took a deep breath, the first painless one since the Gates of Highever had been breached. "Everything is Elissa fault. I'm always the innocent one being dragged into her mess. I assure you." He said with a solemn straight face.
"You lying bastard!" Elissa choked when she tried to laugh and stop herself from sobbing in relief at the same time. Alistair and Leliana walked up to them just as she caught her breath. "You are the one who dragged me into your bunk where we got busted! And you are the one who got me plastered that night!" Alistair looked scandalized and blushed while the others seemed to be very amused at the banter.
"I'm not the one who suggested we drink in my room, or race the horses that your father was trying to sell to the Arl," He reminded her. "Nor am I the one who decided to sing and dance on the tables in front of all the men in my barracks." He chuckled. "You're lucky it was Fergus who saw that, and all your father saw was us sleeping together." Leliana and Alistair both had their mouths hanging open at the tidbits they were throwing at each other.
Elissa groaned. "I was still stuck mucking stables for a week because of the 'scandal' of being caught. Mother wouldn't let it go! But at least I got some of the muck inside the Arl's carriage before their trip home." She looked smug at that last bit. Rory just laughed.
"Well you're a warden now, just like you always wanted." Rory said softly when they stopped.
Elissa gave him a look he knew meant to say no more. "And I've been promoted to Constable of the Order since I last saw you."
Rory's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I knew you'd do well but... Wow. That was... fast!"
Alistair cleared his throat. "Actually with the death of everyone else in the Order it would make you acting Warden-Commander of Ferelden." He said uncomfortably.
Elissa looked up startled at the additional information. She'd been so focused on Rory she'd missed their approach. "Oh everyone this is Ser Rory Gilmore. He was the recruit Duncan and I were going to get in Highever, and my best friend, but we thought he was killed in the attack." She turned back to Rory. "Rory this is our group working to retake the country from Darkspawn and Loghain." She pointed out each person, "Leliana, Sten and Morrigan are civilians who are helping us out. Alistair and Sole are Senior Grey Wardens." Flynn barked. "Oh and of course Flynn is now considered a Grey Warden too." She said to appease her mabari. The dog looked smug and nodded his head happy with his distinction.
After introductions Rory stood and managed to move without any real pain. Morrigan left for a few minutes and came back with the hunting supplies the group needed, and Leliana went a got a few camp items they would need and the extra supplies they had yet to buy. Less than an hour later they were heading out of town when they ran into a group of farmers who wanted the reward being offered for the Grey Wardens. Seeing three fully armored Knights, A growling mabari war hound, two battle ready Mages, a fully outfitted Qunari warrior and an archer willing to stand off against them they quickly backed off. The Darkspawn attacking the merchants just outside of the town were not so smart and ended up charred paste on the Imperial Highway.
The merchant and his son were very grateful and asked to travel with them in return for room for their gear in their wagons and a generous discount on his goods. Elissa agreed and bought two cloaks from them to cover Alistair and Solona's Grey warden armor. The idea was to look like guards for the caravan. Loghain was looking for two Grey Wardens, not a small caravan and it guards. Elissa hoped this would help them get by any guards on the road between here and the Tower.
8th of Kingsway
Camp side of Lake Calanhad.
Solona couldn't believe it had only been three days since they had lost the battle at Ostagar. Now more than halfway between Redcliffe and the Kinloch Tower they had camped for the night. The night was clear so she could just make out the light in the darkness of where in the middle of the lake the Tower was. It would only be mid-morning when they arrived tomorrow. They could have pressed on in the dark but Elissa didn't think it would be a good idea to arrive at the Tower so late. Besides, Elissa was spending time with Morrigan making sure she knew how to walk in the phoenix armor they'd bought for Solona before the battle, and get her to stop bitching about looking like a rogue. It's not like the armor covered much more than her robes did anyway.
Last night had been a wake-up call for the whole group. Alistair had forgotten to mention that the Darkspawn nightmares were just as bad as they had been during the joining, and the diary had just said they lessen with time until the Calling when they re-emerged with a vengeance. Instead of the Archdemon looking into her soul however, it seemed to be talking to the whole of the Darkspawn collective, of which she was one. As a mage it also added a level of intensity that Alistair didn't have to deal with. Because she could manipulate the Fade, demons were often drawn to Mages. Last night she'd seen demons standing far off watching but not approaching her, the reason seemed to be a very healthy dose of fear of the Archdemon.
Solona's screams had lit up the whole camp, even the horses Elissa had managed to buy from a local breeder not far from Lothering had been spooked and tried to pull away from where they were tied for the night. Alistair had stayed up with Solona talking by the fire for a while as she tried to relax enough to go back to sleep.
"I'm sorry." He had said blushing as he apologized and sat down beside her at the fire. The others had started to head back to their tents and Rory took his turn on watch gave them their privacy by looking out towards the road and stepping out of earshot. "I should have warned you about the dreams. They are supposed to be worse for those that join during a Blight."
Solona had shook her head and re-assured him. "Alistair, you have nothing to apologize for. You have been a Warden for only a few months and I am the first recruit you've overseen." She sighed looking deeply embarrassed by the disturbance but knew it was likely to happen again until she got used to the new reality of her dreams. "You are learning along with me and you haven't even experienced everything yet, not to mention the Fade is well, the Fade, there are no rules when it comes to mages and dreams. The diary made mention of the nightmares, just not the intensity. As you said it is worse during a Blight. The diary did not mention that." She rambled off everything in her head. Alistair placed his arm over her shoulders and let her lean into him.
"What was in that book anyway?" He asked. "Duncan seemed agitated about it but said not to worry."
"That's because Elissa spoke to him about what she knew and what was in the book. He was fine with the information once he knew we wouldn't share it with non-Wardens." She smiled at him. "Elissa is very good with secrets."
Alistair blushed and looked back towards the camp. "She sure is something." He scowled as he saw Elissa and Rory talking further away and still facing the road. They seemed to be having a very intense and private conversation.
Solona smirked to herself. "You like her."
He stared and began to stammer. "Wh-what gave you that idea."
She gave him a sad smile. "They are talking about what he remembers. Who might have escaped the Castle when Howe took it, and she is likely explaining my nightmare and what it means for him."
"Oh, I should have realized." Alistair stared morosely into the campfire. "Seems to me that they're very close."
"She's closer to Rory than she is Fergus, her actual brother." She explained with a wistful smile. "Rory's father is a Bann. He was squired and then knighted at Cousland Castle. They met when he was twelve. They were so close in age that Uncle Bryce decided to have them train together. She couldn't be a true squire since she was a Teryn's daughter so a modified training schedules worked in their favor. They are best friends, nothing more." She reassured him.
Alistair seemed surprised. "But they slept together..." He blushed as he realized what he'd said out loud. "Forget I said that."
She burst out laughing as she recalled the whole story. "Only literally, not figuratively."
"Oh." He looked sheepish. "So he's a nobleman."
"And a Grey Warden Recruit." Solona said pointedly.
Alistair sighed. "I know. I guess we'll have to figure that out."
She smiled and whispered so no one else could possibly overhear. "She'll make sure he knows what is really going on. Making everyone think she's the Commander works since neither you nor I know how to command." Alistair looked down and nodded sadly. "She'll be showing us how to do that so eventually you can take over." Alistair shifted even more uncomfortably. "Or I could, if you prefer." Alistair just nodded softly looking even sadder than before. Solona wanted to cheer him up so she decided to indulge him with a little bit about Elissa. "You know she always wanted to be a Grey Warden, but Rory only wanted to be a knight. Talk about a switch, huh."
His eyebrows rose up towards his hairline. "Really?"
She nodded. "Rory only agreed to become a famed Grey Warden because like Elissa he believes in the Blight, otherwise he'd have been happy to stay at Highever. She was really upset when he was allowed to become Duncan's choice, and she was to be left behind to defend the Castle. Of course her mother was trying everything she could to change Elissa's mind for months before Duncan's visit. That's why she had the diary to begin with."
He couldn't contain his curiosity anymore and asked, "How did the Cousland's get the diary?"
Solona bit her lip, not sure if she should tell him, but she decided to explain it anyway. "Elissa is the great-great-grand-daughter of a grey warden, give or take a grand or two."
Alistair's eyes popped out of his head. "So her grandmother had kids before she became a Warden?" He dropped the greats just to stop himself from getting flustered.
She gave him a confused look. "No. She had her grandfather almost five years after she became a Warden."
Alistair's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Grey Wardens can have children?"
Solona nodded slightly amused by Alistair's flushing cheeks."For the first little while, yes. It takes about five years before the corruption makes it impossible for woman wardens to conceive, and about ten for men to become sterile."
"Huh." He looked off across the lake, deep in thought, trying to get himself under control so his cheek wouldn't burn any longer. "I had assumed that Grey Wardens were... you know... unable to since no one at camp had kids afterwards."
Solona sighed and looked away. "It's frowned upon by the Warden Leadership in Weisshaupt. Rava Cousland, Elissa's ancestor had a son who stayed at Castle Cousland with her husband while she was on duty, according to the diary. She served at the warden compound; Soldier Peak in Amaranthine for six months every year. She was banished with the other Wardens that survived when the Warden Commander rebelled against the King."
Alistair looked on in awe. "Is that's why Duncan was always so submissive to Cailan in public, we were still trying to get re-established from being exiled for treason?"
Solona shrugged not knowing anything about Duncan and the King. "I wouldn't know about that, but in the diary Rava wrote about the Grey Warden secrets in detail and she documented the trouble she had getting and staying pregnant once she became a Warden." Solona didn't bother telling him about the fertility potions Rava took more and more frequently as she came closer to the five year mark only to give birth to her son three weeks shy of the fifth anniversary of her Joining. "She didn't write about the rebellion in it."
"Do you think I could read it?" He asked quietly. "At this point I think you and Elissa know more about being Grey Wardens than I do."
Solona smiled. "I'll ask, but I can't see why not."
She had asked Elissa when she came back from talking to Rory. When she checked for the diary she had come across the letter Irving had given her that she still had not had time to read. After handing the diary to Alistair she'd moved over to the fire to read. Alistair had retired to the tent he shared with Rory to read in peace. Now alone by the lake Solona would finally have time to read the letter. She opened it carefully as the letter was old.
Dear Solona,
I am very proud of you for passing your Harrowing. I have asked that this letter be passed to you so that in the event something were to happen and you were to have any children that the proper procedures could be taken to make sure your children end up with family members and not the Chantry.
I hope I have been able to contact you. Cousin Eleanor has made a request for your transfer to Ferelden's main circle. I wanted you there for several reasons, but the main one was to make sure you have family nearby. Eleanor, like myself, believes that the events of the past several years seem to be leading up to events that our family has been forewarned of. If I have not been in contact with you then hopefully Eleanor has.
There is a prophecy that was given by a famed seer, Cassandra Trelawney. When your great- grandmother gave birth to her fourth child, Cassandra came to see Aria. She told her that all of Thedas was in the hands of our family. She said the choices the Daughters of Amell would make would change the course of history and the face of Thedas much like Andraste herself once did. The Spirits of Hope and Faith were very insistent that the Daughters of Amells must know what is to come so they can make the wisest choices. This is the words of the Prophecy my daughter;
Daughters of Amell,
Upon your shoulders rests the fate of the Thedas.
Four and four united, to become the Eight,
With bonds of family to strengthen the chosen.
Each will have a Burden thrust upon them,
And the Maker's firsts will seek them out.
The Queen and her King, counseled by Faith,
The Hero and her Rogue, guided by Valor,
The Champion and her Mage, challenged by Justice,
The Herald and her General, aided by Compassion.
Each victory will be hard won,
For the final defeat of the 'The Elder Ones' all will be required to unite,
And stand in the Maker's Golden Light.
One of the original lines of Amells have forgotten this prophecy, and my aunt has no intention of informing her daughter or son of it. I have told Leandra anyway. Eleanor Cousland-Amell knows the prophecy and plans to tell her daughter when she is to be married. I am worried the prophecy will be lost until it is too late, but as a circle mage you could not have done anything with this knowledge until now. Eleanor has promised to see what she could do about getting you out of the Tower when you are of age. King Maric and Cousin Bryce seem to be very close and that kind of influence can sway even the Chantry to allow you to serve outside the Circle. Eleanor is certain that King Maric will be a helpful influence in the times to come and is already making strides to make Ferelden stronger and more prepared for the fight to come.
I love you my daughter. Even though we only had such a short time together. I knew with all your older siblings being mages that you were also likely to end up in a Circle so I tried to make the most of your time with me. I hope you remember me fondly.
Love your Mother,
Ravka Amell.
She carefully folded the letter and placed it back in its envelope. She sat for a long time staring out at the lake. She had very few memories from before the Circle and being moved the Ferelden. It was vague things like playing in a back garden, but never in the public areas. Being in the house in front of a large fireplace playing dolls with a woman. She assumed the woman was her mother but she didn't really remember her.
The letters she remembered, they'd been long and very sad. They'd stopped when she was seven. Elissa had broken the rules and told her that her mother had killed herself. She wasn't supposed to tell Solona sad news back then.
Flemeth's words about two perhaps three being found haunted her. It was obvious even then that Flemeth thought Alistair was one of the eight, along with Elissa and herself. The prophecy itself didn't make any sense to Solona. The Hero and her Rogue would not be Elissa and Alistair, but were they to be the King and Queen? Either way she didn't understand how she could be any of the four titles, she was no Queen, Hero or Champion and she certainly was no Herald.
She had met the Spirit of Valor though. He had been present for her Harrowing. Had Valor been there for a purpose? Guided by Valor? Had Valor guided her? She thought deeply about her Harrowing and the confrontation with Valor. The Spirit had challenged her to think harder than anything else in the Fade that night, she hadn't trusted the pride demon disguised as 'Mouse' from the second he'd shown himself, but Valor had not tried to earn her trust, but instead had made comments designed to provoke her. In a way it could be argued that she was Hero because she had been in contact with Valor already. But then that begged the question... Hero of what?
Elissa came over and sat beside her while she was thinking. Elissa had been making the rounds and talking to each of the party members. She had started with Morrigan, getting her as ready as she could for tomorrow before walking around and getting a feel for strengths and weaknesses, and just general concerns of each. "What's on your mind Sole?" She asked. Her sincere concern laced her words.
Solona handed over the letter. "Read this first."
She watched as Elissa read the page, her eyes widening at each revelation. She read it through several times. "Maker's Breath!" She finally sighed. "I am going to be Queen." She absently handed the letter back to Solona. "I knew I was going to have to be, but now it's really sinking in."
"Counseled by Faith…" Solona agreed softly. "Flemeth thinks Alistair is possibly the King. And since I have already met Valor I think I'm Hero."
Elissa nodded slowly, her breathing was heavy and deep as she focused on not hyperventilating. "That makes sense, although it's a little early to be assuming Alistair and I-"
Solona snorted and elbowed Elissa in the side. "He's already half in love with you." She teased.
"He's not the only one." Elissa blushed. "I really like him too."
Solona smiled. "He is funny." She prodded.
"And he's adorable, sweet, caring, and a demon of a fighter." Elissa sighed happily as she looked over towards the tent he was in. A shadow outline from the candle he was using showing his outline on the tent wall.
"Not to mention built very nicely." Solona smirked.
Elissa's blush spread further past her cheeks to her ears. "I noticed." She whispered.
"You know with that Chantry upbringing, you are going to have to make the first move. I already had to reassure him Rory is just your friend." She teased.
Elissa gasped in surprise. "What? Why would he think otherwise?"
Solona started laughing so hard she nearly fell off the log they were sitting on. "Are you kidding me?" She managed to gasp.
Everyone had turned to look over at the two of them and even Alistair's shadow and glanced up towards them. "No one has ever suggested that Rory and I were actually sleeping together before!" She defended herself, a little too loudly it would seem since they already had everyone's attention.
Rory himself was laughing at her. "Not to your face maybe." He told her loud enough for everyone to hear. "The Castle knights knew better, but there is a reason your mother always had me assigned to the barracks when she was matchmaking with a visiting nobleman." He teased from where he was still walking the perimeter of the camp with Flynn.
Elissa was scandalized and her face flushed. "Mother thought we were sleeping together? Oh Maker!" She groaned hiding her face in her hands.
Rory shrugged but laughed along with the giggles from the others. "I don't think she did, but she didn't like me around when she was trying to match you up with anyone." He patted Flynn's head affectionately. "When it was someone your father didn't like he would personally bring me into the hall with the guests so she couldn't object."
Elissa placed her burning face into her hands and groaned loudly. "Maker that was pretty much every time!" Even Alistair could be heard snickering now. Solona was happy Rory was telling these stories. Alistair needed to see that Elissa and Rory had a similar relationship to the one they themselves were building.
"Except just before Nathaniel Howe went to the Free Marches." Rory said softer.
Elissa's face instantly hardened. "I wonder if he knew..."
"I seriously doubt it." Rory interrupted her, shaking his head sadly. "Remember how Arl Howe was always pushing you towards Thomas. I always thought he sent Nathaniel away because he had a backbone, unlike Thomas who did whatever Howe asked."
She shivered. "Even that night… he was trying to get father to set an arrangement with Thomas."
Rory shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Your dad called you Pup for a reason." He teased trying to lighten the mood again. "He always said when you found the right one you'd imprint like a mabari."
"Is that your way of saying she's too much of a bitch for you?" Solona laughed, trying to help change the subject.
"SOLE!" Elissa shouted, while everyone else began to chuckle or outright laugh, even her own dog Flynn was snorting over by their tent.
Rory was laughing so hard he was almost doubled over. "Maker, YES!" He gasped out emphatically.
Elissa grumbled about killing him slowly and painfully. Rory and Leliana came over and sat with them. "So what more can you tell us about our illustrious leader?" She asked Rory coyly.
"What would you like to know?" Rory flirted back. "I'm an open book for the right motivation."
Elissa gagged. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Rory snorted. "Shh." He said before turning back to Leliana. "You were saying my dear?" He said huskily.
Leliana giggled delightfully. "What of her actual affairs, since she wasn't with you." she teased while nudging Elissa who again seemed to have turned blood red with her blushing.
"Rory," Elissa growled. "Don't you dare!"
Rory chuckled, but looked at Elissa for a moment, checking to see how embarrassed she already was. He decided he had a little more room to mortify his friend. "Not a single one. Our illustrious leader is a virgin!" He proclaimed loudly.
Solona and Leliana both seemed to be very surprised by that revelation. "Really?" Solona asked her. "Even I've dallied with a couple of others in the Tower." She had always been careful to never be seen when she had and never with someone she'd to spend a great deal of time with. Alistair's shadow was now sitting up paying attention to every word being said.
"Never once?" Leliana questioned she asked somewhat surprised. Having been raised in Orlais it was common for affairs to be had married or not.
Elissa shook her head and explained, her tone taking a serious air. "I had to be more careful than most nobles. My mother would have insisted," She sighed and slumped down a little. "Even a possible unexpected pregnancy would have had me married before I was even certain."
Rory snorted. "And nothing was going to stop her from becoming a Grey Warden." He nudged her with his elbow. "Our leader has been planning for this from the first time she picked up a sword."
Elissa laughed. "Longer than that, try from the first time we learned about them."
Rory nodded. "She spent extra time on small group tactics, and large scale defense and offense designed around working in tunnels." He explained.
"Preparing for the Deep Roads." She clarified when Leliana shot her a questioning look.
"Why would you be preparing for the Deep Roads?" Leliana asked bewildered as to why anyone would want to go there.
Solona answered. "Because without the Blight that's where the Darkspawn are."
