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Chapter Twenty-four: Asala

Canticle of Apotheosis: Andraste's sermon to the armies

So Andraste said to her followers: "You who stand before the gates,

You who have followed me into the heart of evil,

The fear of death is in your eyes; its hand is upon your throat.

Raise your voices to the heavens! Remember:

Not alone do we stand on the field of battle.

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Sten shook off the shock before I did and immediately made his way toward the Kossith female and the vendor. Said vendor had thrown up his hands and moved back in order to sort through some of his other stock. It was obvious that he'd gotten the short end of whatever deal they'd made. Sten came to a halt in front of her and said something in Qunlat. The woman tensed and straightened, looking our group over momentarily before relaxing.

She was tall. Taller than I was by almost a full foot. Her horns were curved back over her head, looking all the world like the sweeping crest of a female high dragon. Her hair was... more silver than white and her eyes were like Sten's; a light lavendar. She looked both young and old at the same time, but her eyes and the wary tension in her shoulders bespoke years of experience. She wore light leather armor and... I honestly couldn't tell what her skill-set might have been due to just how -many- weapons were on her person, not including the ones that she had just purchased. What really caught my attention was that she was barefoot... and the anklet covered with a number of charms all covered with runes that exuded a number of different protective magics. I felt my eyes widen in shock as I was reminded almost immediately of what Wade said about his teacher.

I kept my mouth shut though. Given the crowd, I didn't want to attract attention to what the woman was wearing.

Her eyes locked on my own for a moment and a flicker of humor flashed over her face at the sight of my glaive. She nodded her head to me in greeting before she turned back to Sten. She responded in what could only be broken Qunlat before switching to Common.

"Let us step away from the crowd to speak, yes?" her voice was a deep, soft thing. Her accent though... it was Avvarian.

Strange.

Sten nodded his head, tension singing in his shoulders and as a group we moved back toward the path away from Ostagar and the Bazaar outside. I couldn't help but be curious.

"If I may, ma'am," I started. When she nodded her head I continued. "Are you a follower of the Qun like Sten?"

"Ah, no," she shook her head and glanced at the hornless Qunari. "I am what your companion would call 'Vashoth', 'gray one' or 'one who has never known the Qun'. My parents were Tal'Vashoth. Bakers actually."

"Tal'vashoth Bakers?" I repeated with a blink. Sten's expression darkened faintly.

"They abandoned the Qun," he said in a blunt tone.

"Not in the sense you are thinking," she said in a firm tone to Sten, accent thickening. "They were bakers, like I said. They ensured that their apprentices were able to take up their role in the Qun and then left to start the family that they wanted. They knew nothing that was a danger to the Qun and for years they were left alone. Your Ben-Hassrath knew precisely where they were and they never once proved to be a threat to themselves or to the Avvar that we lived with."

"So as long as they weren't a threat to themselves or others they were left alone?" I said with a thoughtful blink.

"By the Ben'Hassrath, yes," she responded. She started to lay out the bundle of weapons that she'd purchased. There was something she was not saying. "It's not like they were agents of the... the Antaam?"

She looked to Sten for confirmation and he nodded.

"As such," she continued, "they were left alone for the most part. Harmless."

"I... do not understand," Sten said with a frown. "The Ben'Hassrath should have offered them the chance to go to the re-educators."

"They did," the Kossith woman said with a laugh as she unwrapped one weapon and showed it to Sten. "Several times. Even talked to me and my brother about joining the Qun when they visited."

"And you and your... brother did not wish to?" he asked in a perplexed tone. He shook his head. "That was not mine."

"We might've had it not been for another Sten and his men," she said as she wrapped up the weapon and then started to unwrap another. "They took offense to my parents being outside the Qun and demanded that they return."

"Did they go?" I asked as Sten shook his head at the sight of the next weapon.

"They would have, peaceably," she responded as she wrapped that weapon back up. "Problem was that the Sten wanted to bring my brother and myself along too as forced converts. We were only ten."

Sten stiffened in upset.

"That is not possible. No Sten would do such a thing," he snapped. Qunlat escaped his lips in a flurry of sound before he calmed enough to switch back to common. "It is not the job of the Antaam to convert others to the Qun. That is the perview of the Ariqun and the Tamassarans!"

"Hnnn... I wonder what that might mean then... that they demanded such a thing?" she looked up at Sten with cold eyes. "What does it mean hm? When that Sten slew my parents and my brother and several of our Avvar neighbors when my parents said that very same thing to the Sten? That he was overstepping his duties? Hm?"

She stood and held out the last weapon, unwrapping it and showing him the blade. Sten's breath left him in a rush, either at the sight of the sword in her hands or at her words. His hands rose and slowly took up the weapon, their discussion seemingly forgotten.

"Asala..." he breathed in a reverant tone.

"It's odd, isn't it?" she mused. "That my parents called each other 'Kadan' in that same tone."

His eyes snapped up to her own, hand closing about the blade of his sword tight enough to draw blood. Silence reigned in the clearing and I couldn't bring myself to be the one to break it. The others all stayed silent as well.

"The men who attacked your family became Tal'Vashoth the moment they demanded that you and your brother go with them," he said firmly. "The Antaam's duty is not to convert, nor demand the conversion, of Vashoth imekari."

"Hn," she tilted her head. "I wonder... my parents said that the 'hornless ones' are destined for great things. Would you ensure that such a thing does not happen again? That children are not slaughtered out of hand?"

He responded in Qunlat and her smile was a vicious thing.

"I will hold you to your word Sten," she said as she turned away and started to gather up the other weapons. "Now, I must get these to my contact outside Denerim so that they can be sent home to Par'Vollen."

I coughed into my hand.

"If I may, you do not seem to hold things against the Qun for what happened... do you?" I asked.

"I do not. The actions of one does not dictate the actions of the whole and there are aspects of the Qun that are good and bad," she said as she straightened. "That is true of all religions though. I will judge on an individual basis. Besides, my parents wanted me to believe what I chose to believe. Their only stipulation was that I not hurt someone in the -name- of my beliefs. If I must put down a mage gone rogue, an Dalish elf attacking humans, a Carta dwarf attacking a mark or a Qunari attacking a family, I will not hide behind the skirts of religion or the cutting smile of politics in the process."

"That..." I blinked at her. "Is a surprisingly refreshing viewpoint honestly. May I ask your name?"

"Asha Adaar Baker," she smiled. "And yes, I am aware that my name is a mixture of Elvish, Qunlat and Common."

I snorted faintly in amusement. The others all made various sounds of amusement behind me. Even Sten smiled faintly.

"I am Darren Amell," I said in greet. "Will you be staying long in Denerim?"

As much as I wanted to talk longer with Asha and find out more about her views, she was a damned interesting person if she really did believe what she said she did, I had the strongest hope that I -wouldn't- be seeing her again for a long time.

What was with these damnably vague feelings today?

"I will not," she said with a shake of her head.

"Alright..." relief filled me and I shunted the feeling aside swiftly lest it show on my face. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

She looked at me oddly and then shrugged.

"Indeed," she nodded to me and then Sten. "Safe travels."

"Save travels," I responded.

"Panahedan," Sten said and his attention turned back to his sword. I reached into my pack and pulled out a cleaning cloth and sword oil for him. He took the items from me and started to reverently clean the blade.

"Do you need to be alone for a moment Sten?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

I nodded and signaled to the group for them to follow me back toward Orzamar's entrance. Sten's voice called out a moment later.

"I will continue to travel with you as long as you consider me a Warden Recruit," he said in a firm tone. "I must still find out more about the Blight in any case."

"As you say," I acknowledged. "Meet us when you are done."

"As you command Kadan," he said.

I blinked and turned away.

I'd have to ask him what 'Kadan' meant later. If Asha's parents had called each other that... what did it mean when he called -me- that of all things?

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Talking to the guards in front of Ostagar was both frustrating and informative. I had permission for myself and the group to go down into the main city, but couldn't do a damned thing until a new King was chosen. I shook my head and led the group away from the entrance.

"We are not going in?" Wynne asked.

"Not now," I said in a firm tone. "Politics can take forever and the Arl doesn't have 'forever' to wait. Neither does Brother Genitivi. We head to Haven and then to Redcliffe."

"What about Honnleath?" Alistair pipped up sudden, pulling out the odd golem control rod that I'd... completely forgotten about. "It's between Haven and Redcliff. A quick pop in and out for an armed golem wouldn't take long."

"If that thing even works," I said in a doubtful tone. "Depending on how long it takes in Haven, I'll consider it."

Sten walked over to us as we left the main area. I raised a brow at him.

"Things alright?" I asked in a careful tone.

"I am whole once more," he said in a calm tone. He looked it too. More at peace with himself than I'd ever seen. "Lead and I will follow Warden-Commander."

"Right then," I smiled gently at him and slapped a hand on his shoulder lightly. "Let's get to Haven then!"

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The walk back to the path that led to Haven was a lot easier than the walk to Ostagar. Mainly because we were going downhill instead of up. The group fell into an uneasy rhythm of talking and then silence. Silence because of the unexpected responses that people got in answer to their question. Some conversations were just plain amusing to listen to as we walked.

"Do you know of the kasaanda? The... sundew, in the common tongue?" Sten asked of Morrigan.

"I... do not believe so," she responded.

"No?" he let out a curious sounding hum. "You are so alike that I thought you kindred."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked warily. "What is this 'sundew'?"

"A flower," he said. I almost laughed but managed to keep walking when Morrigan shot him a dark look.

"Oh? I am a flower, am I?" she said slowly. "How unexpected."

"Yes," he paused a moment and I saw that almost grin of his. "It entraps and devours insects."

She stared at him for a moment and then chuckled.

"Ah, I see," she said in a bemused tone. "Now -that- I expected."

Then there was Alistair and Sten's little tete a tete...

"Don't you ever talk?" Alistair asked as he jogged up to walk by the tall male. He got a blank look in return. "You know, make polite conversation just to put people at ease?"

"You mean that I should remark upon the weather before I cut off a man's head?" Sten asked with a raised brow.

That literally stopped Alistair in his tracks for a moment.

"Um... Never mind," he said slowly and he waited to start moving again once he could walk safely next to Wynne.

And then there was the very random growling...

Between Mongrel...

... and Sten

It went on for a good two minutes before Sten finally nodded his head.

"You are a true warrior and worthy of respect," the Qunari finally said.

Mongrel just barked at him happily after that.

I think we were all confused after that one. Even Morrigan looked put upon. Then again, I think she could understand both of them.

Maybe.

Ike jumped on my shoulder at one point and started Wynne as we were discussing some of the events that had led up to our trip to Redcliff. She glared at the possessed cat.

"Demon," she hissed.

"Hypocrite," Ike responded as if s/he were returning a cheerful morning greeting.

"It is a wonder that you have not attempted to slay us in our sleep," Wynne said with a huff.

"Hmm, is it?" Ike turned purple-pink eyes on Wynne and licked at one paw. "I was wondering the same about you. At least I know that -I- will have Darren's safety in mind if such a thing happens."

"And you think that I don't?!" Wynne snapped. "Darren and the others were like children to me!"

"And you did a wonde-" I cut Ike off by placing a hand on the feline's head.

"Don't go there Ike," I said in a calm tone. "Continue to bicker if you'd like, but some lines are not to be crossed. Alright?"

"Oh very well," s/he said with a long-suffering sigh. "I will curb my tongue. For you."

I raised a brow at the cat as s/he turned away from Wynne, firmly ignoring the older woman. Or younger. I blinked and wondered just how old Salacity was. I shook my head when a soft whistle filled the air.

Leiliana's signal. We were almost there.

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