The Storm Coast
Cassandra-
I warned Lavellan about the Storm Coast, but apparently she didn't believe me when I said it would likely be pouring rain. So the best she brought was a light hood, and she shivered and sniffled and wiped water out of her eyes the entire trip.
"You Dalish live out in nature, how are you not better prepared for rain?" Varric asked, walking beside her a few paces ahead of Solas and I.
"Ugh," she sniffled again. "It doesn't rain very much at home, and when it does the storm is always pretty short. Not like this." She hugged her thin torso and groaned. We kept walking, heading down a steep hill toward the beach. "Hey Solas," she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Can't you use some magic to fix this?"
He smiled slightly and furrowed his brows. "Unfortunately that is beyond my abilities, Herald."
She groaned. "We need to get you better abilities, then. I swear, if I were a mage the first thing I'd learn how to do is control the weather. Wait… hmm…" She stopped walking and glanced up at the sky. "I wonder if-"
Solas interrupted her. "No, you cannot use your mark to banish the storm into the Fade."
"Hey! How did you know I was going to say that?" We'd started walking again, more carefully now.
"So far that has been your answer to everything, da'len."
"No mind reading, you hear?"
"That is also beyond my abilities."
She stopped again and took a breath like she was going to say something, but instead she gasped as she lost her footing and slid all the way to the beach. She managed to roll over completely, and let out a small shriek when she hit the bottom. Naturally Varric found it hilarious.
"Herald!" I called, carefully sliding down after her. "Lavellan, are you alright?" I put my hand on her back, then let her take my arm as I pulled her to her feet. "You have to be more careful."
"Or you could've just sent the hill into the Fade," Solas offered from behind us, making Varric laugh even harder.
"Shut up, Solas," she mumbled, wiping sand off her armor. Thankfully we could hear fighting nearby, exactly where Cremisius had told us the Chargers would be. The Herald stretched and shook herself as we approached, but our assistance wasn't necessary. By the time we reached them the fighting was over.
"Chargers, stand down!" A massive man with horns was in the middle of it all -the Iron Bull, I assumed. "Krem! How'd we do?"
Varric whistled quietly: "Andraste's ass, I forgot how big Qunari are…"
"Five or six wounded, chief. No dead."
"That's what I like to hear. Let the throatcutters finish up, then break out the casks."
Lavellan shuddered, and I looked at her questioningly. "'Throatcutters' sounds like a nasty position," she said, cringing. "It's not fun when it's up close." I urged her forward to meet the Bull, and she stood up a little straighter.
"So you're with the Inquisition, huh? Glad you could make it. Come on, have a seat. Drinks are coming," Lavellan looked at me and I shrugged, so we both followed him to a wet rock that would serve as a chair. "I assume you remember Cremisius Aclassi, my lieutenant."
"Good to see you again," Cremisius said with a curt nod. "Throatcutters are done, chief."
"Already? Have 'em check again. I don't want any of those Tevinter bastards getting away. No offense, Krem."
"None taken. 'Least a bastard knows who his mother was," Cremisius shrugged and started to walk away. "Puts him one up on you Qunari, right?"
"So," the Bull started again. "You've seen us fight. We're expensive, but we're worth it… and I'm sure the Inquisition can afford us."
"The Chargers seem like an excellent company," I replied, a bit wary. Something seemed off about this, though I was not sure what.
"They are, but you're not just getting the boys. You're getting me," he smiled and pointed at Lavellan. "Herald of Andraste, right?"
She nodded. "How did you…?"
"Red-haired elf with dark skin and a big bow? Glowing hand? You're easy to spot. And you need a frontline bodyguard -I'm your man. Whatever it is- demons, dragons? The bigger the better." He stood then, leading us toward the shore. "And there's one other thing. Might be useful, might piss you off. Ever hear of the Ben-Hassreth?" The Herald should her head.
"They're a Qunari organization, yes? The equivalent of their guards and city watch?" I offered.
"I'd go closer to 'spies,' but yeah, that's them." Lavellan frowned at that and eyed him suspiciously. "Or, well, us. The Ben-Hassreth are concerned about the Breach. Magic out of control like that could cause trouble everywhere. I've been ordered to join the Inquisition, get close to the people in charge, and send reports on what's happening. But I also get reports from Ben-Hassreth agents all over Orlais. You sign me on, I'll share them with your people."
I blinked, shocked that he would just say that. "You're a Qunari spy and you just… told us?"
"Whatever happened at that Conclave thing, it's bad. Someone needs to get that Breach closed. So whatever I am, I'm on your side."
"But you still could've hidden it…"
"From something called the Inquisition?" He laughed quietly. "I'd have been tipped sooner or later. Better you hear it right up front from me."
"And what would be the contents of these reports?" The Herald asked before sniffling again.
"Enough to keep my superiors happy. Nothing that'll compromise your operations. The Qunari want to know if they need to launch an invasion to stop the whole damn world from falling apart."
Yvelle's eyes widened. "So… basically we let you in, or the Qunari invade southern Thedas?"
Bull sighed heavily. "That's not what I meant. I just want to make it clear to you that I'd only be sending positive things. You're working to restore order. I respect that, and I need my superiors to know for sure that everything is going as planned. You let me send word of what you're doing, it'll put some minds at ease. That's good for everyone."
Lavellan and I looked at each other. After some hesitation she shrugged, and I looked back at Bull. "You run your reports past our spymaster before sending them. You send nothing she does not approve."
The Herald nodded. "If your reports compromise the Inquisition in any way, Cassandra here will eat you alive." She nudged me with her elbow, and I glared at her in response.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he said with a laugh. "Krem, tell the men to finish drinking on the road. The Chargers just got hired!"
"What about the casks, chief?" Krem called back. "We just opened them up. With axes."
"Find some way to seal them. You're Tevinter, right? Try blood magic."
-excerpt from The Official Story of Inquisitor Lavellan, as Told by Those Closest to Her by Cassandra Pentaghast
Haven
Thom Rainier-
(Begins with a series of scribbled out lines, messily scratched out until there's nothing left to discern)
I know what the stories will say about the Inquisitor. I know they'll paint her as the stoic warrior, as the calm and lionhearted leader of the new faithful. (More is lost here, line after line of running ink) And they'll be right, but not entirely. Because Lavellan was every bit the hero she'll be painted as, but also every bit a clever and wild and sometimes fearful woman who went out of her way to understand the people that followed her.
I hope this can give some insight into the type of person she was, and that by writing about her as a person, we can see her as more than a legend.
She didn't introduce herself when we first met. It didn't occur to her. She just said she was "an agent of the Inquisition," and let her deeds speak for themselves. (This part is underlined, with an asterisk next to it) No title attached. So imagine my surprise when I got back to Haven and heard that she, that this random tiny elf girl, was the Herald of Andraste.
"I have to admit," I said when I saw her again back at Haven. "I thought you'd be…"
"Human?" She asked, smirking a bit. She shrugged. "At least you're honest about it. Half the people here, they're all 'oh, your grace' and 'blessings upon ye' and 'if you get the chance, could you bless my goat' but I know they call me knife-ear and say things about my face behind my back."
"It was a foolish thought, shouldn't have said it." But she was so lighthearted about it. Like it didn't even faze her- it did though, it had to. "It's what you do, and how you do it that's important." I paused, then ventured a question. "How do you think you fit in with all this? The people say one thing, nobles say another, but what do you think?"
"Nobody really cares, right?" I blinked, taken aback. "I'm their 'Herald' whether I like it or not. And I don't. The Maker is something, but the Evanuris are something else, and that something matters more to me. To be honest with you I never thought about it much. At home, they were what they were. We talked with humans, sure, but I never thought about their Maker or their Prophet. I paid respects to Andruil for my shooting, and to June for my traps, and to Falon'Din when my grandmother died." She sighed and pulled at one of the stray straps on her thick coat. "No matter how much I say I'm not special, not for Andraste or anyone, nobody cares. They've decided I'm the Herald, and I kind of have to live with it."
It was sad to see her like that. She still had that note of humor in her voice, but I know she was serious. She was forced to be someone she wasn't. I know she never wanted this, and I know she didn't think she was special, but she was. No matter what she says, no one could have done what she did.
"But in the end, how I feel is less important than doing it right. We're doing a good thing, and with any hope I can just go back to my clan and pretend none of this ever happened after we close the Breach." She smiled, embarrassed, and shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just go off on you. I'm glad you're here, Warden Blackwall."
"As am I. That's a worthy goal, and I'm happy to support it. And anyway, sometimes you need to talk it out, right? I get it- you have a lot on your shoulders."
"Ugh," she laughed a bit. "You have no idea. You know," she paused, as if wondering whether she should go on. "When I was little, I remember hearing about the Hero of Fereldan. She wasn't Dalish, but she was still an elf, and she always tried to stand up for us. And it made me think, well, maybe the Wardens don't care so much if you're an elf? And for a time, I even wanted to join." She laughed again and sighed. "The shine wore off when I learned more about the Darkspawn parts, but I still have a lot of respect for what you do."
I smiled at her, though I wasn't sure what to say. "I'm glad. And who knows? You could still join them. Leave all this behind." I was mostly joking, and it got her to smile.
"Yeah, right. I'll never live this down. Can't imagine what my Keeper would say. Maybe I could go back to see them soon, feel a little bit of normal..."
-excerpt from the journal of Thom Rainier
