So this chapter is when they go to the Hinterlands, it is also the first time Danica has to kill a human so hoooweee! Lets go!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon age Inquisition, Bioware does
Claimer: I own everything I create, no stealing...Don't touch!
Please Enjoy this chapter
It had been three days since my first magic lesson and I was prepared enough to journey to The Hinterlands. Solas, Varric and Cassandra were accompanying me which was a great relief, this was the first time I was going to fight ordinary humans and not demons. They couldn't be that bad though, I mean they have fear, demons don't, and I have magic now, even if all I can do is throw fireballs. Solas wanted me to be proficient in at least one spell as we did not have the luxury of time.
Along with speaking with Mother Giselle I was also asked to head to Dennet's farm as he had the best horses in Ferelden but for some unknown reason he was not bringing them to us. We needed those horses, we only had three horses but our group had four people! Four! That means I had to ride with someone because I don't know how to ride a horse, and it's not like I can ride with Varric on his pony, I might break it's back so it's either Cassandra or Solas, I chose to ride with Solas because Cassandra scares me slightly. And they were soldier's horses who owned them before the Inquisition so it was imperative we got more horses.
I was standing outside Haven, waiting for Solas as he was the last to arrive. He was to be our healer so Adan, our apothecary, was giving him all the herbs he needed. "I want you to stick close to your group Herald" Cullen ordered softly, a worried expression graced his face.
"Cullen, call me Danica please" I replied back, hiding my annoyance at having to remind him again.
Cullen blushed "Oh yes, sorry" he rubbed the back of his neck "please be safe, Danica."
"She will be well protected Commander I can assure you" the duo turned towards the smooth, polite voice. Solas had finally arrived "I am well versed in barrier spells, if she comes into life threatening danger I shall protect her."
The tension in Cullen's shoulders lessened slightly "of course" he nodded and turned back to me "the Inquisition shall be eagerly awaiting your return He-Danica."
I giggled and nodded "I'm sure we won't be too long, two or three weeks max" we walked over to the stables, the horses were saddled and eagerly waiting to leave their confines. I would prefer them to have a range rather than stables, horses are majestic creatures that are never truly trained, they are wild at heart and needed a place to roam free "Oh hello gorgeous" I trotted up to a beautiful brown horse with a black mane, he snorted and looked at me directly "you are a strong one aren't you?" he scraped the floor with his hoof and did a motion with his head that I thought was a nod, I reached out and stroked his neck firmly, showing him I was his equal. Horses aren't dumb, they can be smarter than most humans and have incredible senses, if you show any negative feelings around them they won't want to be near you, you must show patience and strength.
"You have an affinity with horses I see?" Solas said as he walked up beside me and stroked the horses neck aswell.
"Truth be told I've never stood before a horse before" Solas looked surprised "I researched how to treat horses, you can't tame them. Once you have their trust and respect they will be your greatest ally and friend."
"You are correct, horses are direct descendants of Halla's and Harts, much like the elves of this era they have changed over time" I instantly noticed a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Don't like elves very much I see" I wasn't angry at him, more confused as to why he hates his own kind.
"That is a conversation for another time" the elf walked over to the back of the horse and motioned to me "come, you are riding with me."
"Ok" I waited for him to hop on before I tried to get on behind him, after several minutes of me falling off the horse or having my foot stuck on the stirrups, Cassandra marched over and lifted me onto the horse with surprising, and scary strength "she scares me…" I whisper into Solas back, my arm had wrapped around him instantly when I was thrown onto the horse.
"I must agree, she is rather intimidating" he flicked the reigns lightly and urged the horse to move, he felt me tense and patted my hand "relax, you will make the horse nervous" I sighed deeply and forced my body to relax, the horse felt this and moved faster "good, remember your research, you should never fear an equine."
"I know but knowing is different than doing."
"Yes, but sitting on a horse is not a difficult task" I scowled at his back, knowing full well he was teasing me.
"No teasing me mister, I know every ticklish spot known to man" I poked his stomach, - which made me realise that it was hard and toned, which then made me picture what he would look like without a shirt on – and smiled at his chuckle.
"I would suggest not finding such place whilst on this horse" I giggled and continued to hold onto him as we travelled to The Hinterlands.
It had taken a week to get to the small village where Mother Giselle resided, a lot longer than I thought but I was not good at geography, that and I haven't looked at the map of Thedas yet. It's always staring at me in the meeting room but I just glance over it, I'm usually staring at the four-attractive people arguing before me.
We were greeted by an adorable dwarf when we reached The Hinterlands. She seemed to be camped at this cliff we were on for some time for the area was well fortified, her and her scouts really did an excellent job "The Herald of Andraste!" Fuck, I'm gonna swear every time someone calls me that "I've heard the stories, everyone has, we know what you did at the Breach. It's odd for a city elf to care what happens to anyone else, but you'll get no back talk here, that's a promise" I wasn't about to tell her I wasn't a city elf, I was just an…elf, yeah that pretty much sums me up in this world, I was just some elf with a mark "Inquisition Scout Harding, at your service, I – all of us here – we'll do whatever we can to help."
"Harding huh?" Varric called out from behind me "ever been to Kirkwall's Hightown?"
"I can't say I have, why?" she asked.
"You'd be Harding in…oh, never mind" I snorted at Cassandra's disgusted noise, she really did that a lot.
I decided that speaking directly was the best way to talk to this woman, she seemed like the humourless type "What's the situation out here in The Hinterlands?"
"We came to secure Horses from Redcliffe's old horsemaster, which I am sure Leliana has already informed you" I nodded in confirmation "I grew up here, and people always said that Dennet's herds were the strongest and fastest this side of the Frostbacks. But with the Mage-Templar fighting getting worse, we couldn't get to Dennet. Maker only knows if he's even still alive."
"I'm sure he is, even so, we will go there to find out once I speak to Mother Giselle" I eased her, knowing that the Horsemaster was important to the Inquisition and this woman was dedicated to it.
"Mother Giselle's at the Crossroads helping refugees and the wounded. Our latest reports say that the war's spread there too. Corporal Vale and our men are doing what they can to help protect the people, but they won't be able to hold out very long, you best get going. No time to lose."
"Thank you, Scout Harding, if you could hold onto our horses until we clear the area that would help us a lot" she nodded to my request and walked off to a group of scouts, no doubt to what I asked. She seemed nice, though I always feel uncomfortable when someone looks at me akin to awe like she had.
We raced down the cliff and straight to the Crossroads where we heard fighting "We need to protect the refugees" Cassandra said loudly over the sounds of swords clanging and magic flaring.
"Looks like they could use a hand" Varric said as he pulled out Bianca, Solas and I already had our staffs out and were readying our magic. "Be careful Giggles."
"Humans shouldn't be that hard, right?" I looked to Solas.
"Not nearly as dangerous as demons" it wasn't an answer but it was better than nothing. Like we practice I stayed between Varric and Solas, unfortunately this left Cassandra to take on the brute of the attacks alone, with both physical and magic attacks being directed at her, she was going to get exhausted fast.
"We need to help her!" I shouted as I raced forward, ignoring the shouts of the dwarf and elf behind me. A Templar had instantly noticed me and raced towards me, I panicked as the man got close, I never killed someone before and didn't want to but it was either that or I or Cassandra dies "What are you a coward, these are humans, did you forget you trained to kick humans asses for ten fucking years! Get it together girl!" I nodded to my inner asshole of a mind and dropped my staff.
"Danica! What are you doing!" Solas cried out, he placed a barrier around me which I ran out of.
"I got dis!" I brought my hands up and changed my stance, the Templar raised his sword as he charged at me. I waited patiently and evened my breath, just as he brought his sword down I side stepped and grabbed his wrist, I used my fingers to squeeze a pressure point and forced him to drop his sword. With quick and well-practiced moves I moved behind him and kicked the back of his leg. My mind went blank and I used as much force as possible to snap his neck.
That was my first kill. I stayed in that state of blankness as I picked up my staff and used my fireballs and mace to kill three more enemies.
The enemies were killed and my blankness disappeared, once I realised what I had done I gasped and held a hand to my mouth, stopping a scream. I began to hyperventilate, I was a monster, I killed another person without hesitation "Hey, breathe Giggles" Varric had raced over the moment the fight finished and grabbed my arms, he got me to mimick his deep breathing until I calmed down "there, all better."
"Thanks" I said shakily, I was still feeling horrible about me being a murderer.
"I figured this would be the first time you have killed before" he stepped back.
"What did you do to subdue that Templar, that was unlike any hand to hand combat I have ever seen" Solas had come to Danica shortly after Varric and waited for her to calm down, he was enchanted at the way she moved her body to defend herself against the enemies that got too close for her to use her magic efficiently. It was graceful yet deadly, there was a fluidness in her movements that he had never seen in any hand to hand combat technique he had seen in his long, long, immortal life.
"I lived in a world where people got murdered, raped and robbed everyday. There was a combat style that was created called Kung Fu which was used to defend and quickly immobilise your opponent, I think my Sifu would be disappointed I used it to kill someone."
"It is amazing" I blushed at Solas' words. How strange, even if he was not flirting he managed to make me blush, something that no man has done so easily before.
"C-come on guys, I need to talk to Mother Giselle, can you speak to Corporal Vale whilst I do that please" They nodded and we split up, Cassandra was reluctant to do so but when Solas offered to stay with me she relented.
Talking to Mother Giselle was...intriguing to say the least, and enlightening. She made me realise that being called The Herald of Andraste wasn't such a terrible thing, she believed that even if it was not true it gave people hope in such dark times. Being called the Herald didn't feel so terrible after our talk, whilst I didn't believe it I knew it gave people hope which is a powerful thing. Hope keeps people strong and alive. And this world needs hope after all the shit it's been put through. She said she would be heading with the Inquisition Scouts back to Haven, which I was pleased, if she could make me believe that being called Herald was ok despite me not being religious than imagine what she could make other people believe. A silver tongue that one is.
Once my talk was over I reunited with Varric and Cassandra who told me the danger the refugees faced, they were running out of food and could not get more with the fighting going on around them. Cassandra promised Corporal Vale that she would speak with the other leaders of the Inquisition and get back to him as soon as she could. I was glad that she did not make a decision on her own. Neither of us knew much on the resources the Inquisition has and making a promise we may not be able to keep would show others that the Inquisition was untrustworthy.
The next stop was Dennet's which was nearly half a day away, or so Cassandra said. We decided it was too dangerous to travel on horses so they were sent back with the Scouts, they were borrowed anyway, if the mission is successful then we would get our own horses.
The chaos the Mages and Templars created in the Hinterlands was horrible. Buildings, both wood and stone were completely destroyed. Many innocents were killed in the crossfire whilst others were left homeless. Fighting through an entire armada was difficult and exhausting, to kill all the Mages and Templars between Dennet's and the Crossroads would mean we could freely go between without having to constantly fight.
"Well that…killed me" I puffed out after the long fight, I felt accomplished. It was a little difficult when I changed from martial arts to staff in quick succession but I had helped my group rather than sitting still and hiding behind Solas or Varric. I had to close a rift which still troubled me as I couldn't use martial arts on demons but I wasn't as useless as last time, I loved my fireballs.
"We may have to fight that amount of enemies again Herald" said Solas amusedly. Sometimes he called me Danica and other times Herald, I think he only called me Danica in private or when he's not really thinking about what he's saying, which only happens in a fight or when I do something stupid and he has to act quickly.
"Dammit, I don't want to do that-" I was interrupted when a large mass jumped out of the bushes and tackled me to the ground, Solas acted quickly and shot the thing off me but shooting it with a shard of ice "what was that!?" I shouted as he pulled me to my feet.
"Wolves, stay close to me!" he really liked to say that. The rest of the pack shot out and attacked us viciously, they seemed to be more feral than the wolves I've seen. Maybe they have rabies, or that's how the wolves in Thedas act. Either way, I felt terrible killing my favourite animal.
"No normal wolf would fight with such determination" Cassandra commented once they slew all the wolves.
"The Breach may have driven them mad" Solas replied softly, I heard the sadness in his tone. Perhaps he liked wolves like me. "or perhaps a demon took command of the pack."
My frown deepened as I stared at the dead wolves "I hope I never half to kill another wolf, I felt terrible doing so."
"Bleeding heart for all animal's Giggles?" Varric asked sympathetically.
I nodded "Yes, it's not their fault they are the way they are" I leant down and placed a hand on one of the wolfs black fur "may the powers that be guide you to a land of peace, forgive me for taking your life" I whispered softly, the others were staring at me but I ignored them.
"I did not know you were religious" Cassandra commented.
I stood and turned to her "there is a religion in my world called paganism and it teaches us that all life is precious, I felt I needed to send them off as they were innocent" I shrugged as if it was natural to pray for dead animals, it wasn't but it felt like a natural thing for me to do.
"That is a wonderful religion" the Seeker replied softly "it is much like my religion."
"We should head off, we need to speak to Dennet before dark" the group nodded and we walked through the farm.
Speaking to Horsemaster Dennet was exhausting, we tried to convince him to give us the horses but he wouldn't until he knew they were safe. I could understand that but he wanted us to make his farm safe aswell, which we had no time for. His wife told us about the wolf den not far from here, the wolves were attacking his horses and killing his druffalos. And the Quartermaster wanted towers made so that if they are attacked by bandits or demons the watchtowers would know before it was too late. That last request was easy, we used Dennet's raven to send word to Commander Cullen to send builders and soldiers to create and man the towers.
Straight after doing that we went off and hunted down the wolf den. Solas was correct in assuming a demon corrupted the wolves. Along with being attacked by wolves we were attacked by a fear demon, it was hard to kill and we did not come out unscathed. With all the wolves dead, we headed back to the farm and told Dennet of our accomplishments. Once he was pleased and told us he would go with his horses to the Inquisition we made camp just outside the farm. We all agreed to stay there for the night as we wanted to heal our wounds and rest our weary bones.
I was sitting by myself near my tent when Solas walked up "hey Solas, what's up?" I asked casually.
"I was wondering if you would engage me in a conversation" he replied politely.
"Of course, take a seat" I patted the ground beside me, once he was seated I spoke again "what do you want to talk about?"
"Have you ever said that prayer before?" he asked, referring to the many times I prayed for the wolves we killed.
"No, I've never killed an animal before. I felt terrible doing so. Have you ever heard of spirit animals?"
"Animals that have died and have become spirits?" I shook my head.
"No, a spirit animals is like a guide, it takes the form of whatever animals you are most connected to. Mine is a wolf, a beautiful wolf with grey fur" I said wistfully, I loved to dream of my spirit animal, it never really guided me but he was always in my dreams, whether I saw him or not.
"A wolf?" Solas asked in shock, more so than I thought was needed. I could see a million thoughts rushing past his eyes, what in the world was he thinking about? "I never knew such a thing as an animal guide existed, I've heard many speak of such a thing but I have yet to see such with my own eyes"
I smiled "perhaps I could help you find yours?" I asked hopefully, it would be nice to share my world with someone.
"Perhaps, that does sound intriguing" he sounded sincere yet doubtful that it was real, which was fine. It's not the first time someone didn't believe me, maybe I could prove him wrong? "You should get some rest, we have had an exhausting day, you more so than the rest of us."
I sighed and stretched out my muscles, groaning at the release it gave me "you're right, you should aswell" he nodded and stood the same time I did.
"Yes, thank you for the brief talk, it was enlightening" I nodded "sleep well Danica."
"You too Solas" I watched him head to his tent before I walked into mine, I took off my armour and slept in my underclothes. I must have been tired as I fell asleep instantly.
Solas hurried to his tent, wanting to test his theory. If Danica was what he believed her to be than he needed to see if she was a dreamer, someone who could walk the fade like he could. He quickly laid down on his bedroll and fell asleep.
Solas opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings, this must have been Dennet's farm long before his family took residence. It was bare, only lush empty grassland. Harts and horses roamed the area, its herd was the largest he'd ever seen, no wonder Dennet was a horsemaster, this place was teaming with equines.
He focused on his task and looked out for Danica's unique magic and found it instantly, so she was a dreamer. With little effort he teleported to her. The area was strange, the place was lively with music he had never heard before, humans in strange clothing did even stranger dancing. He looked around and saw Danica dancing with a man, she too was wearing the strange clothing. It was a gold glittering dress that reached her knees and flowed out when she twirled, her hair was up in a bun with a golden headdress placed on the crown of her head.
The instruments used were different, he'd never seen them before. One man was blowing on a strange trumpet like instrument with strange bits he was pressing down on which change the octave of the sound he was playing. Another was using an even bigger trumpet looking thing with a much bigger tube, another was using a trumpet that had a metal bar that he was pulling forward and back. Others were playing a instrument that was sat on the floor, the man was sitting on a chair and was plucking smalls wires that was connected to the wooden thing "Solas!" he turned his attention back over to Danica who had noticed his presence "you made it, come dance."
"What is this place?" he asked as he let her pull him to the dancefloor, his stood still and watched her do the strange dance, she was kicking her feet up and waving her hands. It was not a dance he's seen before but it was charming and energetic.
"Don't be silly, this is a Jazz bar, you've been here plenty of times!" ah, so she did not know she was dreaming. He was not surprised, her world must not have knowledge of dreamers.
"You are dreaming Danica, this is not real" she slowed down and looked up at him in confusion "how can this place be in Thedas when I have never heard of 'jazz'"
"Not real?" she narrowed her eyes, she gasped when the scenery changed and she was in a park "oh, it really is a dream. How did I not notice?"
"You could not have noticed, your world does not have magic" he looked around at the land he was now in, It was small but nice.
"So, are you not real?"
"I am real, we are what is called dreamers. People that can walk and control the Fade" he had briefly explained to Danica what the Fade was, he skipped all the details about what it once was back when the veil was not created.
"Wow! Really, I can control this?" He nodded, the elf man watched as the scenery changed to a place full of blue, pinks, greens and purple. A table was before them with cups piled upon cups, sweet foods were everywhere. At the other end of the table was a man with a large hat pouring tea into a broken cup, a humanoid rabbit and mouse sat either side of him.
"What is this place?" why would she dream of this.
"This was a story back in my world, Alice in Wonderland. These were people who were crazy and loved tea" she picked up a cupcake and ate it, humming at the taste "yum, go on try one, the Mad Hatter makes lovely cakes" Solas was sceptical but took a cake nonetheless, he smiles at the sweet taste.
"That is delicious, you have an interesting mind."
"I could show you everything I loved in my world, do you want to see them?" she was shy but hopeful, it was then he realised how homesick she must feel. She had nothing to remind her of her world, no family or friends, no culture was the same either. He felt guilty, it was his fault she was kidnapped from her home, he did not regret wanting to destroy the veil and bring back his home but he never wanted to take someone away from everything they knew, he never thought it was possible. His thoughts were confusing and needed to be sorted out when he woke. He looked down at Danica who still awaiting his answer, he would indulge her. It definitely was not going to be boring if she creates such places as 'Wonderland'.
"I would be happy to see your world" she bared her teeth in one of the biggest smiles she had ever shown, her blue eyes brightened and shined. He was not going to deny how beautiful she was, even more so when she was this happy.
"Awesome! Let me show you Middle Earth!"
Do you like my references, it was really hard trying to explain instruments without saying what they are, if you tell me what instruments I explained correctly I will put you in the next Author Note. First person(s) to name them will be put in
SCREAMINGTOMCAT OUT!