ELEVEN
"Gather your people, Keeper, for I would speak to them all." Eirlys had waited long enough to state her purpose. She knew now that she could lure Ronan to her cause, especially now that his brother had awakened. Especially after what had happened by the fire. He was everything she had hoped for in an ally – a great warrior, knowledgeable, and passionate.
Silas flicked his gaze over her tiredly. "And what would you say to them?"
"It is important." Eirlys replied. "I promise."
Silas remained where he stood and Eirlys assumed he was refusing her request, until he sighed. "You have at the least, proven yourself in battle. I will allow you to address the clan."
"Ma serannas, Keeper. You will not regret this." Eirlys said with a respectful bow of her head.
Silas made no reply, he only moved off to gather the clan. It took a while for them all to arrive, early as it was in the morning. They gathered in front of the fire, settling in on logs, or remaining standing, all with curious eyes set on her. She had mingled among them for a few days now, never revealing her purpose, only getting to know them. She caught the narrowed gaze of Harshal standing in the back with his arms crossed. She nodded toward him with a smile and he fidgeted in response at the surprising gesture. The time for pettiness was at an end, she needed all the support she could get.
Eirlys scanned the crowd before her – she noticed big Merrion, a toddler hanging onto his cloak; not far from him was Rhys, the hunter who had greeted her first, his wife Eleri sat by him, their daughter Tesni resting sleepily in her arms. Standing behind them, looking as tired as the young girl, was Anwen. Eirlys felt a brief stab of guilt as she studied the beautiful mage who refused to look up and only stared at the ground. Anwen was sweet and clearly in love with Ronan, but there were bigger things to think about. It was not Eirlys' fault that Anwen could not take the initiative with Ronan. It was her loss, and hopefully, Eirlys' gain.
She continued her searching of the crowd, nodding and acknowledging every pair of eyes she met. Finally, she rested on Ronan's blue eyes. A grin crept upon her face. He met her gaze, but did not acknowledge her grin. It did not matter, she had much to say, and she thought he would be interested to hear it all. When she found that everybody was there, except for Siofra, which was understandable, she stood up on a log and began.
"We are the Dalish; keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path. We are the last Elvhenan. Never again shall we submit."
"Have you gathered us here so that you could recite the Oath of the Dales?" Harshal interrupted with a snort, elbowing the man next to him as if his remark were the cleverest thing to have come out of his mouth in months.
Eirlys turned her attention to Harshal. "It is the Oath of the Dales. It is good that you remember it, for throughout my travels across the lands, many have forgotten it." She looked around the crowd. "Yes, we can all recite it. We learn it as children from the hahren. But it shames me to say that we have forgotten its meaning. Never again shall we submit. Let this last line find a place in your mind and do not let it go."
A murmur ran through the crowd and Eirlys recognized many a confused expression, many a frown. She would not be deterred from her purpose. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "We were once immortal. The lost city of Arlathan was majestic, a monument to our powers. We possessed magic the shem'len could only ever dream of." Eirlys paused to let what she had said sink in. It was important to remind them of how glorious they once were.
"And then that all disappeared when we came into contact with humans. We became slaves to the Tevinter Imperium and we almost lost everything of our language, our history, and our very religion. Finally, after centuries of enduring this shameful existence, our ancestors rebelled. Rising up against our masters, the shem'len would have us all believe it was for Andraste. And maybe some of them believed in what she was doing, fighting for freedom for all. But they fought for themselves, to free themselves from the yoke of the Tevinters. When she was betrayed, so was Shartan. When all was done, we were given the Dales as reward for our help, a lifeless land fraught with dangers, barbarians. They gave us scraps. But we took it."
Eirlys shook with passion as she continued, not caring anymore what others thought of her speech. "Freed now, our ancestors walked to the Dales, on a trail of tears – tears of happiness, for they were finally getting what they had dreamed of, and tears of sadness, for they had lost much to get it all. The hahren have no doubt told you of this time, called The Long Walk, in which many perished. The journey ended in Halamshiral, where our ancestors began to reclaim what was lost when Arlathan fell. They vowed never again to become involved in human struggles. For this, they were despised. The humans would not leave them alone, because they did not worship their gods. They spread false rumours of us to their people. Their chantry called a holy war on us, the Exalted March of the Dales, and invaded our homeland. Though our ancestors fought valiantly, the Dales fell, the Orlesians took our land, and dispersed our people, sending us into alienages or forcing us to become wandering clans."
"What is the purpose of this history lesson?" someone from the crowd called out, bringing Eirlys out of the trance she had entered in.
"Yes," someone else spoke up. "What is your point woman? It is a cold winter's day, and I'd like to check my traps before the sun is swallowed by the darkness. My family needs to eat."
Eirlys stepped down from the log and paced in front of the crowd. "The Dales belong to us. The chantry's precious Andraste's own sons gifted it to us. What right had they to take it away from us?"
"They made war on us and we lost." Harshal blurted out. "It's not very hard to understand."
"You accept this?" Eirlys asked, turning a hard gaze upon the crowd.
"What good would it do to refute it?" Harshal retorted with a snort. "It's not as if we can march back in and take the land back from Orlais."
"Why not?" Eirlys prodded. There were always doubters, but she knew how to handle them.
"Our people are scattered." Harshal smirked.
"And that would stop you? Never again shall we submit. Does that mean nothing to you? By accepting our fate, we are submitting to the shem'len. We are breaking our oath."
"What would you have us do?" a woman asked, holding tightly to her babe. "Our lives are hard enough without starting another war."
"United, we could take back what is rightfully ours. The Dalish, together with our brothers and sisters in the cities, we can find not just another homeland, but our rightful home, the Dales."
"And the shems would welcome us with open arms." Harshal chuckled. "You are crazy."
Eirlys stood up on the log again. She shocked the crowd when she withdrew her dagger and cut across her palm. She turned her palm upside down and let the blood drip onto the snow below, a blotch of bright red among white. "Nothing comes without blood, without battle. If no one fights, nothing will change. To live again as we were meant to, together, speaking our own language, worshipping our gods in harmony, is a dream worth fighting for."
"A dream. That is what it is nothing more," Merrion said with a hint of sadness.
"It is not impossible." Eirlys spread her arms out. "Right here in Ferelden, the Dalish clans united to fight off the barbarians. Their arrows rained hell onto the shem'len. They showed them how skillful we are. How we are to be feared. The humans were defeated easily, because the Dalish were united." She jumped off of the log again. "We must act soon. Our brothers and sisters in the cities are turning to the Qun by the dozen. I have seen it with my own eyes. It is bad enough they are forced to accept the Chantry, but now, this?"
The crowd broke off into conversation, perhaps surprised by what she had said. She had planted the seeds and now all she had to do was wait and watch them grow. Or wither and die.
Silas arose and made his way in front of the crowd. He held his hands up for silence and then spoke, his eyes set on Eirlys only. "You twist the words of the Oath. We live apart from the humans. We retain our culture, our lore. We have not submitted and you are a fool to think so. Next time you come around, if there is an army at your back, we would consider joining you. Alas, right now, I see only you, a dreamer reaching further than she has any right to."
Eirlys drew back slightly. She was incredibly insulted by the Keeper's words. He was just like all the others then. What would it take for her words to reach people? If just one person were with her, she knew she could sway more to her cause. She glanced at Ronan then and couldn't read his face. He'd been quiet during her speech. Perhaps she was wrong about him after all. She straightened her shoulders and stood tall as a spear, her chin jutted out proudly. "I swear by all the Creators that this will come to be."
The crowd tensed. Eirlys had bravely stood up to their Keeper. Perhaps it was foolish, but she didn't regret it. She needed to show that she was serious.
"Be careful what you wish for." Silas warned before turning around and leaving the fireside. The rest of the clan followed, some quicker than others, but eventually, Eirlys was left almost alone.
Ronan remained seated, looking thoughtful. Eirlys went over to him, hunkering down next to him. Her hip pressed against him unintentionally, but she didn't bother to move away. She wanted to know what he was thinking.
"You have heard my purpose now. What do you think of it?" she asked.
"My blood is running. Your words have stirred something in me." Ronan replied. "To reclaim our homeland… that would be something."
His heart was in the right place, then. But it wasn't the right time to ask him. She would let it all sink in for him before asking.
She wouldn't have had the chance anyway, for Ronan stood up abruptly. "I have to go," he said before walking away. He hadn't even looked her in the eye, but that was just fine with her. Let him go think. Surely, that would be beneficial to her cause.