Philosophy and Denerim
Theron walked with a dull pain pulsing throughout his entire body. He had returned to the cave with Fenarel and Merrell in tow after the keeper said to find out what may have happened to Tamlen. They met several small darkspawn, and later met the strange group that had brought him back to his camp. They destroyed the mirror, and then returned to the clan, where Theron learned that his only chance at survival was to become a grey warden.
So now he was traveling with the wardens group to Denerim, the Shem's capital in this area of the world. Alistair said that he had found the location of the components required to perform the joining ritual inside of a vault in Denerim after going through some of Duncan's personal effects. He showed the list Elizar and Sarah, and they all agreed they needed to make it to Denerim as quickly as they could.
One of the things that interested Theron the most was how the horned giant known as Sarah was constantly questioning him about the Dalish and what they like. She seemed especially interested in the story of Fen' Heral the dread wolf and his betrayal of the divines. Finally Theron decided to ask why she was so interested that she made him explain every detail he could. "Why are so determined to learn of this? Even I found the story old after the second telling." Sarah looked at him with a blank expression as though she couldn't believe that he wasn't realizing something.
"Don't tell you realize that it all makes sense?! The only missing is a time when this could have happened!" Theron, and the others that were nearby, looked on in curiosity, as she had unknowingly shouted. When she realized that the others were staring at her, she blushed in embarrassment, and then continued at a lower volume. "Well, as I was saying. The Dread wolf was careful to ensure that neither the good or evil creators were able to catch onto his trick, which left him with the only divine being that had any freedom. And so to bring destruction on the elves he created humans and took on the name the Maker, where he became a being that all people bowed to and worshipped! Think of what happened to the Old Gods! The exact same thing happened to them. They threatened his place as the only divine and so he imprisoned them. When the Magisters of the Imperium entered the golden city, he cast them back not as themselves, but as the first darkspawn for daring to invade his home. And when Andraste came along, maybe he did fall in love with her, or maybe he simply saw it as a chance to further hurt the Imperium for its disloyalty!" She took some breaths after her explanation, and both Theron and Alistair(Who had been the only other one in earshot) looked perplexed that she had sunk so much thought into stories of gods. Theron for his part looked thoughtful, as she did have some good points in his eyes. Alistair however began to smirk,
"Ha! Try explaining that to the revered mother back in Red cliff, I think her head would explode!" Elizar caught wind of what Alistair had said and fell back in line.
"Did I just hear something about revered mother's heads exploding? If so, how do I join in?" His ever present smirk growing larger.
While Alistair filled him in about what Sarah had theorized, Nolan and Elissa rode at the head of the group, their horses walking a slow steady walk. Nolan thought of what he would do in Denerim, then realized the only way he would get any troops from the city. His resultant groan caught Elissa's attention.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking curious.
"I'm going to have to pay a visit to one of my least favorite of the nobles, right next to Habren Bryland. Bann Vaughn." His voice was dripping with disgust as the name left his mouth. At the mention of the son of Arl Urian, Elissa's own face soured, as she remembered all the parties her mother had forced her to attend, and how even when he was only fourteen, Vaughn was a slovenly pig that was full of himself and spoiled rotten. He was abusive to the elven servants, and he never ceased trying to convince the girls to sleep with him. If they didn't, the he would simply rape the elves who were unfortunate enough to be in his proximity. That was one thing she had her parents guarantee, that she would never have to marry him. They both agreed quickly.
"I don't envy you that job. Can't you simply order him to supply you with troops, you do outrank him right?" Nolan laughed a bit at that.
"Not yet, unfortunately. Right now we are about equal in terms of noble ranking, I may as well be 'Bann of Gwaren' until my father hands the title of Teyrn down to me."
"But your sister is the queen, surly that counts for something!" Nolan looked at her and sighed.
"I don't know, we will just have to wait and see."
{The Next day, the gates of Denerim}
As the party entered the gates of the capital, there were mixed reactions. The guards who recognized Nolan and Elissa bow in respect. The ones who saw Sten and Sarah gaped open mouthed, causing Sarah to blush in embarrassment until Alistair and Elizar rode up beside her to help calm her. Elizar in particular seemed to love the staring he got, as an elf in fine clothes riding on a decent horse was something unexpected in the city, something he just loved. And when they passed the Chantry, he waved to the templars, trademark smirk on his face, knowing that they couldn't touch him. The group then split up, Elissa and Nolan heading toward the palace of the Arl, and the grey wardens heading to the vault, then to the royal palace to gain access to the grey warden quarters.
As Theron now walked beside Elizar, he noticed the gates to the Alienage, something he was curious about. He drew Elizar's attention to it, who decided to inform Alistair they would catch up soon. When they entered, they could see a difference quickly in the state of the buildings, bleak and in need of repair. As they walked in they saw two men pull a third man who was unconscious between them. One of them looked at the pair, and upon seeing they were both elves, pushed past them. Elizar was sure he heard one of them mutter "Bleeding knife ears, they'll pay for this!" Theron looked about to go after them, but Elizar held him back.
"They're not worth it my Dalish friend." As they turned around they were met by two elves. Both had red hair, though one of them, the woman, had it braided to one side, similar to Leliana. The male was slightly taller, and had short hair. The female of the two approached them, a slight smirk on her face.
"My cousin Shianni's work there, one bottle to the head, one unconscious shem. I'm Kallian Tabris, and this is my other cousin Soris. Your from outside Denerim aren't you?"
Theron nodded. "I'm Theron Mahariel, of the Dalish." That got a reaction from the two city elves. Soris began to stutter as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. "T-the Dalish? I-I-I thought they didn't exist!" Elizar couldn't resist.
"Then I guess we are all stark raving mad because we all seem to be having the same crazy hallucination." Kallian barked out a laugh and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Ha ha, oh I like this one. So where are you from, you don't look Dalish like your friend."
"I'm a grey warden, though I grew up in the circle of Magi." Upon hearing that he was a mage, Soris took a nervous step backwards, but Kallian stated close, not really worried thanks to her secret weapon. Theron spoke again.
"What is going on, everyone seems rather festive."
"Very observant good ser," Kallian said moving away from Elizar and gesturing all about with her arms. "This is a wedding day, for Soris and me. If you want to attend, your welcome to!" Elizar looked excited.
"I've never been to a wedding before, but I've heard there is lots of dancing and drinking. Count me in!" Theron shrugged, reminding himself to not forget about meeting with the other wardens later.
A.N.
My city elf has appeared. She will take a leading role next chapter. As for her reaction to the wardens, let's face it, they would likely not mind other elves joining in the fun. Next chapter will have blood, you have been warned. As for Sarah's view on the creation of the Maker, I got the idea from gamer072196's City elf Darrian and trying to imagine a conversation with him.