Awesome, finally got this little chapter out. Took forever since it's mostly filler and i didn't have anything important game-wise to set up guidelines to build it. It's also kinda rushed, but I wanted to get it out there.
I'm so happy you guys! I recently beat my first dragon age inquisition play through! It blew my mind and i i wasn't even using any of my saved game files for my world state. I can't wait to play it a second time using mu first warden Hecate and my mage Hawke: Willowmina (or just Willow in my headcanon).
Traveling was becoming something Aria felt she was going to have mixed feelings for. Vaguely, she remembered the first time she was taken outside the walls that protected the Alienage she grew up in; not for the occasional trip to join her parents to Castle Cousland in Highever either. The hands that had carried her out were hard and cold. The metal of the templar's armor scared her and hurt her. They locked her in a cage with a thin blanket hiding her from view.
It was such a traumatizing memory when she thinks about it now. The templar's escorting her to the Circle of Magi in Lake Calenhad made sure to feed her, to keep her warm. Yet, they were distant and they watched her, even through the cloth they threw over her transport she could feel their gaze daring her to try anything.
A part of her had sometimes dreamed of telling those men there wasn't anything she could possibly do to harm them. For many years she had thought about how to explain the pretty blue glowing balls she summoned as a light, to fend off the darkness she was so afraid, of could not burn them. But each time, she would wake up, still locked away as the carriage carrying her jostled her until the party made it to their destination. The trip had been long and cold. Her limbs were stiff and sore and she had stayed so tired throughout the entire experience that it had hardly been enjoyable.
Aria had understood nothing at the time, she was but a five year old child who was afraid of the dark and thought the world of the tiny glimpses of open fields when her barrier to the outside world flipped up from the wind. She did not enjoy the entire trip back then, and she never got to see the stars or touch the grass.
As a young woman, the next time she had been given, while forced, the opportunity to travel was when Duncan recruited her. The trip to Ostagar to go through the Joining had taken a couple weeks and gave her sore feet blisters she could still feel now as she journeyed with Alistair and Morrigan. The journey had been filled with comfortable silence or small talks and teaching her how to handle small blades. It was something she would look back too fondly.
However, with the company she was keeping at the moment, all Aria wanted to do was reach her hands out into her bobbed and greasy hair and pull. The tension amongst the three was near malleable. And while Aria might not think she was in any way making the tension. Between Alistair's tense posture and low grumblings she was unsure if they were directed at her or no one in particular and Morrigan's silent venom that just seemed to radiate from her there was enough negative vibes to surround the three of the travelers tenfold.
And all Aria wanted to do was run and hid, maybe climb a tree, and just take a minute to breath. As soon as the plans were forged, Flemeth had her daughter packed and pushed out of the wilds and on the road to the nearest village about a few days travel with the two terribly sore lone survivors.
Loathering, is what Morrigan had said the village was called. And how badly Aria wished they were there all ready could not be described in words. With Alistair's soft grumbling, Morrigan's dark aura, and one small, pessimistic elf caught in between, she was unsure the three would survive the night without someone's head either exploding, or being cut off.
She felt like she should say something. Although Aria liked her silent moments, there was no serenity in the silence that weighed down this group as they walked the open, flat lands of late afternoon Ferelden.
Lifting her head to stare at the back of the blond soldier, the elf bit her lip.
"Oh, what is it all ready!" the sharp tone of Morrigan sighed behind her. Out of sheer surprise at the fact the woman spoke up at all Aria whipped her head around, wide eyed.
"Uh, what?"
"I've been watching you fidget for the past twenty minutes, girl. What is it that you want so desperately to say."
At that point, the heavy footsteps of the armor clad Alistair stopped and he too turned around to cast a glance at Aria. He held a curious look, as if just realizing the elf was there.
"Well," Aria sighed. "We're going to be travelling however long with each other, right?" she asked cautiously. Two pairs of eyes glanced over at each other with identical scowls until they focused on her once more.
"Right…" Aria sighed as she lowered her hands. "Just, can we try and maybe…not look like we'll kill each other…before the first stop?" she tried, looking over to Alistair.
"Why are you so tense? Is it because Morrigan is a mage? But I'm a mage and you don't have that same 'I want to end you' look as you do with her."
Alistair looked a bit put out by the comment and groaned in exasperation as he brought a hand to scratch through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something, yet promptly closed it as she saw him think better of it. She waited for him to put himself back together after the words she gave him.
"Sorry…I guess—Look, I was a templar in training, you know how they feel about apostates. They are dangerous and have no control over themselves!"
"I beg your pardon?" Morrigan huffed as she crossed her arms defiantly.
"The state of my upbringing does not describe my knowledge of my own power. I am sure you've heard plenty of your Templar horror stories of your petty little Circle Mage's being possessed and out of control as much as these silly apostates."
"Yeah, well…I just don't like your attitude…" the blond man snorted childishly.
"How very mature, can we keep moving now? I would like to be ready to rest much farther from the Wilds than this."
The elf of the group gave the two a long suffering look before sighing.
"Mala sule'din nadas'Aria." She breathed under her breath as the blonde Warden furrowed his brows in a lack of understanding she was far too tired to be kind enough to translate.
At least, in the end, they got what they wanted to say off their chests. Maybe now their silence will be far more enjoyable for and filled with thoughts ahead other than Alistair's bothersome prejudice. Aria found herself sucking her lower lip between her teeth to worry it softly. She hadn't realized the ex templar's thoughts on mages were so…Black and white. It was troubling to her in its own right, for she understood the blind fear the Templars had for mage's they did not have under their eye. Yet, if all apostates seemed as well trained and natural in keeping their selves in check as Morrigan seemed, there really was no trouble Alistair had to worry about.
A little known fact mage's learn early on in the discovery of their powers was that it wasn't talent and a strict training regime that kept their arts in line and kept them from falling victim to a demon. It was a will as strong as the pull the Fade had on dreams. As long as a mage had a willpower solid enough to kept them in control of themselves, they could resist a demons temptation. For no mage wants to lose their true selves, their hearts or mind, the arcane thrived off of thoughts and dreams and a free will to create.
Aria shook her head with tight lips in Alistair's direction. Those that lived in constant fear or ignorance to the wonders of magic would never truly understand, and she felt just the slightest stab of pain that Alistair was as uncomfortable around another mage not under the oath as he apparently was around strangers.
Turning away from them she set back on the path they had been walking. Through the clouds she could tell the afternoon was starting to wane, it would be evening in a small handful of hours since the downcast sky of Fereldan caused the darkness to spread that much faster. Morrigan had the right idea, the Wilds were filled with an abundance of wolves and bears and Darkspawn. The farther away the three were, the safer they would be.
As she had hoped, a hush fell over the trio with far less tension. Going by the heavy feeling in her own limbs and aching wounds, Aria decided that it probably had to do more with the exhaustion that was washing over them. With her and Alistair baring still healing wounds traveling had to have been as hard on him as it had her. So it was with a look of appreciation when the senior warden had groaned out in exasperation and demanded they stop for the night or else his legs were going to give out. Morrigan agreed, but only if they set up a place to sleep off the dirt road so they were less likely to be robbed by bandits in the middle of the night.
The three settles on the other side of a wall of trees and foliage directly left and off the Kings Path so they would have plenty of coverage from snooping eyes, yet have the ability for them to be able to see the path directly in front of them.
Aria set herself to finding branches dry enough to burn as her breath began to show in white puffs. Ferelden nights were cold until the warm seasons came. There were only three out of the twelve and Molioris wasn't for another eight months.
Picking up sticks, conversation floated back down to the trio in a few words here or there.
"Shall we decide on turns for those to take a watch throughout the night? To make sure no one decides to sneak into ours tents, slit our throats and take out valuables?" Morrigan droned as set her fur lined bag to the side of a tree and pull out a cloak as an early night breeze whispered through the trees.
Looking up from piling her sticks inside a circle made of rocks like she had seen in adventure stories, Aria raised her brow at the witch.
"That sounds like a good plan, who wants to take first watch then after the others fall asleep?" she asked as Morrigan gave her a snide smile.
"I believe it should be our dear Templar here who should stay up first." She pointed out, Alistair flinched while in the midst of unstrapping the steel shoulder guards from his breast plate. He sent a withering glance the witch's way.
"Oh really? Of course you would," He muttered under his breath. "But why can't you, huh? It's not like you where thrown around by a giant ogre monster thing not even a week ago." He complained as the breast plate was the next thing he lifted over his head before setting it down with a huff. Aria's ear twitched as she caught the hardly audible hiss from him as he ran a hand tentatively over his side. Her lips thinned.
"He's right Morrigan, right now you are the strongest of us—"Alistair sent her a pouting look and she sighed, giving him a coy smile. "Excuse me, the one in better shape. You treated us both, did you not? You should know just how bad off our bodies are right now." Aria stood and wiped the dirt from her palms as she took her spot between the two in case more snarky dialogue with the two was said. The other woman looked no less amused than with Alistair's mild complaints. But Aria was tired and she was sure one of her injuries was bleeding again. So she had no patience for their barbs and wanted nothing more than a hot bowl of hot soup and a warm bed.
Morrigan scowled as she stared down a Aria, the elf gulped self consciously as she always did when she knew she spot out of term. A nervous feeling bubbled up her throat and caused it to restrict. For a second, she thought maybe the witch would argue with her so she became the first to turn her eyes away from the woman's penetrating gaze.
Morrigan sighed.
"As you wish then, I am, after all, here to assist you in this preposterous quest."
Nightmares and cold sweat woke Aria from an uneasy sleep in the wee hours of the morning. There was no faint glow from the bon fire outside so in the haze of sleep her first sentient thought was that the fire had died sometime during the night.
Aria lay still over the few furs that Morrigan had packed so all three of them would have something to sleep under besides the cold ground. Her quick, shallow breaths were all she could hear, she didn't know if anyone was still up, or keeping watch. No one had waked her up for her to take over during the night.
Aria opened her mouth to inhale one large mouthful of air and proceeded to exhale to calm her beating heart. The sharp stabs of still cool air cleared the haze of sleep as she lifted herself in a sitting position. Rubbing her eyes free of the last remnants of sleep Aria took the cloak she had left somewhere on the ground, then slipped on her boots to head outside to the air that was slowly warming to barely bearable. She swiped the cloak over her brow to wipe sweat away and walked out in time to hear Alistair sneeze. She looked over to him with a tired smile.
"Morning…" she greeted as the other waved her over.
"Morning, how'd you sleep?" he asked as she sat nearby with the cloak the only think to keep her from sitting is the dirt. Aria shrugged as she eyed the dead fire and sent a spark from her own fingers to bring it back to life.
"I…had nightmares." She sighed, rubbing at her eyes again. Alistair spared her a sympathetic look.
"Yeah…you'll have a lot of those the first few weeks, it takes a while for the taint to really settle in the wardens. But they only really slow down, never stop completely."
A sad peace wrapped the two wardens as they watched the fire. After Aria woke up it didn't take much waiting for the second magic user of their little group to woken up. They had a small breakfast of what was left of the gruel Alistair had over cooked last night to the point it was a lumpy, tasteless mess. Cheese and a bit of bread made it just barable enough to swallow.
Morrigan demanded he never be in charge of cooking again or they would die before anything was done.
By the time the three had finished eating, packed what few belongings they had and headed back down the road the sun was no closer to its highest place in the sky. It was a rare day where the grey-blue sky peaked through the heavy grey of clouds.
Her feet were still sore, but her boots didn't pinch as much. New bandages rubbed against her shoulder pads and while it was annoying, the elf could deal with it seeing as the wound where the arrow had pierced through her was closing well. Keeping the provided cloak tied over her shoulders to shield her from the cold their continuing journey was filled with the sounds of clinks of metal and the shuffling of cloth.
The sudden break from the sounds of nature, however, cause a great deal of surprise as a sharp howl pierced through the trees. Alistair, in all his paranoia, pulled out his blade. Morrigan and Aria gripped their staves that much tighter. A cacophony of grotesque sounds followed after the howl. It came from off the direct path as a collective of barks in quick succession came closer and closer. Without preamble or even a dramatic opening a Mabari burst from the bushes. The beast was a dark, earthy brown with deep red war paint dotting its neck and paws. It landed easily on its paws and looked up at the group with a bark one pitch higher, its stump of a tail wagging vigorously.
"Oh…well," Alistair relaxed his fighting stance at the appearance of the war hound with a crooked smile. "That was anti-climatic." He sighed.
And then Darkspawn popped out from behind the dog and the man slumped further. Morrigan huffed and turned to glare scathingly at the man. As if it was his fault.
"You were saying?"
The fight consisted of at least twelve Darkspawn. It was long and painful, Aria was unable to fully lift of arm, the arm the arrows had pierced closest to. She and Morrigan had to resort to erecting barriers of her arcane magic and paralyzing the monsters. Forming a wall of fire to burn at their heels as Alistair and the dog mauled their enemies also helped a great deal.
When bodies dropped and Aria sagged to the ground to check her wrappings the unnamed mabari sat in the center of the carnage with a bloody maw and wagging tail.
It barked happily as the travelers stared oddly at it.
"Wait a…I think I recognize this mabari!" Aria waved a hand over to the canine causiously, as if not a hundred percent sure. It obeyed easily and pranced over to the resting elf to lay a thick head in her lap. The pursed lips she had did nothing to hide the amused smile.
"Oh? Do you want a pat on the head? A reward for helping?" she asked like she talked to a small child, the dog obliged with another persistent bark and licked her palm.
"Awww, it likes you." Alistair chuckled as he went over to give it just as much reward. Morrigan, however, crossed her arms.
"This is all well and good, but can you not let the mongrel grow an attachment to us? I do not want it following us."
Aria didn't hear over her light peels of laughter as the brown beast hopped up on its paws to lick the elf's cheeks, bloody taint around its mouth be damned. Morrigan looked just slightly more disgusted than she does while looking at Alistair. The warrior shrugged.
"To late for that Morrigan."
"Can I keep him?" Aria looked up at the two with amused eyes as she held the large head to her chest like a child. All thoughts of abandonment never even crossing the young mages mind. Throwing her hands up in defeat, Morrigan sighed dramatically.
"Oh, if you must, but I want nothing to do with it—and he better feed itself!" the woman stalked off to go root around the fallen enemies for any valuable items. The two wardens looked to each other with triumph.
"What should we name him?" Alistair asked. Aria focused shining brown eyes to the newest member of the travelers, her expression thoughtful for however long before the mabari become overly excited and attacked the elf's face with kisses.
"Hey, come on now, calm down!" Aria fell back as the mabari happily found a comfortable spot to rest directly across her stomach. Her laughter dead down to a soft chuckle then. Alistair watched the little love fest carry on with his own laugh until it was a good enough time as any to help the mage back to her feet.
"Any ideas?" he asked again as the two pushed the giant dog off the young warden. She took Alistairs hand with thanks; even if it had pulled at her wounds, she hadn't minded the mabari.
Dusting herself off, Aria looked down at the expecting animal.
"Hmm…Uthnehn…maybe?"
"Ooth-what?" Alistair asked
"Ah…it's in the elvhen tongue, one of the few I know." Aria pat the dogs head.
"Uthnehn…it means never ending joy."
"…It's a good name then." Alistair nodded his agreement. With a call from Morrigan, who was already starting to continue down the path, Alistair snorted and called after that they were coming. Aria lifted her head to caste a sickly glance towards the rotted bodies of the Darkspawn.
Her gut still clenched and twisted in that sick feeling that made her want to vomit since the first time she slew one of those abominations. She turned away to watch the warrior's back, a long, still wet splatter of corrupted blood was splayed out completely ignored. The mabari, Uthnehn, whimpered softly just then and set its head in her small hand. She pet him subconsciously.
The elf wondered if she would ever get use to killing the monsters. With a thick swallow, Aria pushed the crawling bile back and shook those thoughts from her mind and catch up with the others.
"Come Uthnehn, we should be in Lothering soon." The elf murmured down as she quickened her pace to catch up to the two near a pale brick structure that grew in height as they climbed the stairs.
I don't think i got to tell you, but words in italics with be elvish as long as they are in dialogue quotations ie: " "
Anything else in ' ' will be thoughts.
