Author's Note: Hi everyone! I will try to post more often now that I've finished my bachelor's degree and have free time again. This chapter is a bit small but it's actually the first chapter I wrote for this story. Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Recruit TrainingAfter finding a few more things to eat – including some lunch I packed in my pouch – I wandered Haven. Most people seemed unsure of me, likely because of who my sister was, so it was difficult to meet anyone new. I didn't want to bother Josephine any more this morning. Solas, Varric, and Cassandra were still away. I had even tried to speak with Leliana, but she seemed like she was occupied by her brooding, so I diverted. After a second loop around Haven, I finally felt like I had the lay of the town, and was bored.
My feet took me out of the gate and I paused, watching the recruits train. To my right was an expanse of flat stone which made up part of the stone foundation of the outer wall. I hopped up, and settled down in a cross-legged position, watching how the troops traded practice blows through their morning training routine.
It wasn't much different as to how our own clan would train, except these Shemlen seemed to have leaded feet and didn't know how to properly block. I snickered remembering Cullen's earlier comment about babysitting. I watched a little longer and winced at some obvious mistakes. As each minute went by, I could see just how badly some of these recruits were doing too. I doubt that some of them had ever held a blade before joining the Inquisition. No wonder Cullen was frustrated. I took out my journal and started making a few notes and training ideas, hoping to pass them on to the Commander later, but the page filled up quickly. I sighed; if they kept on like this it would only be harder to train them unlearn this terrible behaviour later. I winced, remembering how Keeper Deshanna would whack us with her training staff if any limb was out of correct placement. And how if we got the movements wrong, she would make us repeat the correct form over and over until the muscles would remember it the right way. I think these recruits were in dire need of some whacking.
A moment later I saw Cullen emerge from between the tents, dressed again in his Commander uniform, making his rounds with another man. I snapped my journal shut making my mind up. I undid the thin leather band wrapped around my wrist and pulled up my shoulder length hair into a pony tail, exposing my shaved sides. I didn't want my hair getting in the way of this. I stood and stretched quickly, making sure I felt loose and limber, then I packed my things into my bag and gently placed it beside the wall, intending to return for it later. I hopped up and scanned the recruits, looking for the right opportunity.
"You there!" I shouted between cupped hands, "There's a shield in your hand. Block with it." I jumped down from the low foundation wall and walking over to the pair of recruits. The Commander tilted his body so I could catch his side eye smirk before turning to the recruit I casually pointed to. He nodded.
"If this man were your enemy, you'd be dead." He yelled at the recruit before turned to speak with a bald man in Templar armour. My step faltered a moment but I continued, determined not to let the presence of a templar frighten me. "Lieutenant, don't hold back." Cullen yelled loudly over the clash of weapons. "The recruits must prepare for a real fight, not a practice one." The Lieutenant saluted headed off, likely to chastise the blushing recruit I had pointed to.
I quickly cut in between the recruit and Lieutenant - not wanting the recruit to get yelled at and not properly instructed. I waved at the recruit to grab his attention and held out my hands, requesting his weapon and shield. The panicked recruit looked between me and the men behind me. Either Cullen or the Lieutenant must have nodded because he quickly allowed me to take the equipment before stepping back. I felt the weight of it, satisfied it was similar enough to what my clan would use.
I relaxed into a neutral stance and turned to face the other recruit – tall, young, and blushing - of the assigned pair. "Your feet need to be lighter – no not THAT light." I chuckled as the recruit hopped around, likely in nervousness. "On the balls of your feet like this." I showed him and he copied. "Light enough so you aren't fixed to the spot. Solid enough that you don't get knocked back." I put my fist against my stomach and breathed deep, "Steady, solid breaths for a hard stomach. Find your center." He mimicked me and looked more relaxed now, probably just glad I wasn't yelling at him or hitting him. Yet.
I looked around at the recruits and took another breath of my own, then shouted, making my voice ring out over the clashing of metal.
"Recruits, Halt!" Fighting ceased. "Fall in!" I heard mummering.
"As instructed, Recruits!" Cullen's voice boomed, causing everyone to quickly form a loose circle. I paced around the perimeter, making eye contact and nodding to a few as the group got bigger. I twirled the sword in my hand nervously. I recalled the many lessons Keeper Deshanna taught and pushed my own anxieties to the back of my mind. A deep breath. Commanding.
"Fighting is like dancing;" I yelled loudly. I saw some wince in the crowd at my volume and I softened slightly. "You need to move fluidly and be in control of your body. Your sword is an extension of your body." I held out the sword back to the first recruit, showing the recruit him my grip and then spinning slowly so others could see.
"You don't need to hold your sword like you are choking the life out of it. Hold it just enough that you are comfortable and it feels firm. You don't want it flying out of your hand, but not too tight that your hands cramp." Then I slowly went through the motion of an arc, showing how the grip changed as I moved into a figure eight, and then how the momentum could be brought into a chop motion. I showed a slow version of a disarm move as well. I repeated the same sequence again and again as I continued to speak, turning and moving around the inside of the circle so everyone could see from different angles.
"Speed does not equate skill, especially if your grip and posture are incorrect. You need to train your body so that it moves properly first. It is harder to unlearn incorrect techniques rather than learn the correct ones from the beginning. You practice the move over and over again until the muscles learn them and the movement feels natural. Later you add speed - in increments – but only as long as you keep the correct movements."
I moved the sword faster through the same pattern - a smooth arc, figure eight, and chop, disarm. Then again faster. "It should feel like an extension of your arm. Your body needs to move fluidly." My voice rang loudly through the silent valley as I repeated the old lessons from my mentor, my sword a blur of silver now before I stilled.
I then held up the shield, holding it firmly out. "Your shield is not meant for cowering behind. It is a tool to deflect and intercept attacks." I tilted it downwards; exaggerating the movement a bit so it was obvious. "When fighting mages or archers, tilt your shield down to deflect the attack into the ground. This ensures the enemy attack doesn't hit your allies by mistake." I displayed the tilted shield and pushed towards the ground gently like I would deflect an attack again.
Then I straightened the shield into a more natural pose, "Otherwise your shield should be straight to deflect a sword-" I mimicked how I would deflect a sword "-or used as a surface to push others away." I braced my sword hand against the inside of the shield, planted one foot and took a strong step forward, pushing into the shield as to knock someone back.
"Remember your footing, stay light enough to move but strong enough to hold firm." I sidestepped smoothly and then moved back into the defensive shield stance. Then slowly moved back to my spot – my feet stepping lightly - while maintaining eye contact with another recruit opposite.
"Each dual is like a dance as well. You flow between attack and defence, leading and responding until you can still your opponent. Fighting has cues, if you watch your opponent, they can end up telling you what their move will be. You can see how they lean or ready themselves for an attack. You can then move in response to defend, or change the sequence and attack." I motioned forward to the recruit opposite again and he stepped forward tentatively. I twirled my sword – playful now that I was focused - and then dropped into a defensive position while making eye contact with the opponent recruit.
"Attack me." I growled, "And mean it." This recruit also looked behind me waiting for approval and I jumped forward, playfully slashing at him and quickly grabbing his attention. "Pay attention or end up dead. Attack. Me. Recruit." I snarled.
The man jumped forward and I easy countered his downward chop, and I stepped forward; right into his personal space and catching him off guard. With my shield arm I pushed it into him hard, knocking him down while I disarmed him as he fell. It's not totally how I would have done it, but I wanted to keep the moves to the simple ones I had displayed so the recruits could easily follow along.
"See how even though I am smaller than my opponent, how I used his lack of balance to my advantage." I called over my shoulder. "Up, again." The recruit dusted himself off and I saw a spark in his eye, I readied myself. This time he was more aware of his footing and his shield. We traded a few blows – block with the shield, respond with my own attack - and I started to break out into a sweat.
"Good!" I yelled and we begun to spin in our dual, stalking each other and moving more naturally. Like a dance now. Good, quick learners. Suddenly the recruit's eyes flickered to the side and I used the opportunity to flick his sword in an awkward way, causing him to lose his grip on his weapon. His palms went up in surrender when the tip of my sword hovered around his neck.
"Be aware of your surroundings," I called out, "but don't loose focus of your opponent. Take any advantage you can get – your opponent's distraction, or your surroundings to make them loose focus. Use these to your advantage because they will not spare you in your own distraction. That is all Recruits. As you were." I saw a few people salute – some eagerly and some tentatively – and I nodded in response.
I stood more casually and twirled the sword on more time before I went over to my opponent, retrieving his sword and handing it to him. He nodded his thanks and I nodded back. "Keep up the good work." And he beamed at me before schooling his expression to be more professional.
I turned away and gave the first recruit back his equipment. He nodded in thanks and I inspected his grip on both sword and shield; adjusting his grip slightly as he took them back. I demonstrated the sword moves again – pretending to hold a ghost sword – and motioned for him to demonstrate. We made the moves in sync. Happy, I nodded and turned away, leaving them to return to their training. The rest of the recruits had scattered quickly and I watched them making the same practice motions I had displayed. I looked around and nodded at the instant improvement as the recruits were practicing their movements, if a little too eagerly.
I wiped away the bit of sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand while I walked over to the Commander who clapped at my approach. My faced flushed but it was from the workout. I stuck out my tongue at him playfully and couldn't help laughing. "Good Morning Commander."
"Mistress Lavellan, Well done!" We smirked at each other and I reached forward to shake his hand again, selfishly wanting to feel a bit of contact. As he went to take my hand, I reached past to grab his forearm and he seemed a bit confused as he grabbed my forearm in return.
"This is how my people greet each other." I lightly squeezed his forearm – and felt his back – before pulling away. I beamed up at him and his lip quirked in a small smile. By the Gods he even smelled good. Like elderflower and oakmoss.
"That was an impressive show. I have to admit, I did not know you could fight like that." I smiled sweetly at him, batting my eyes.
"I'm full of surprises." His eyebrows shot up at my flirty response and looked appreciative.
"I don't doubt that."
I shrugged, clearing my throat. "Well… I didn't learn of my magic until I was 16. I was trained as a warrior first, magic came later. When I became the Keeper's First – a few years ago now - I was tasked to oversee some of the clan's training." I cleared my throat and blushed. "I hope I didn't overstep, Commander." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Actually, I may have you complete more training sessions, especially if they help the recruits improve this much." His eyes flickered around us. "Although, maybe I should be worried about my own job." He trailed off and I snickered.
"Commander Lavellan does have a nice ring to it." His eyes crinkled in amusement.
"Shall I have Lady Montilyet draft up the paperwork then?" His eyes flickered down to me, and I stuttered at his own teasing response.
"No! No…" I balked as he finally called my bluff. "I like having you around." Cullen raised his eyebrow at my admission and chuckled.
"Very well. What can I do for you Mistress?" he asked.
"Oh, well. We, uhh….. we never finished our conversation last night. You were telling my why you joined the Inquisition." Cullen nodded and motioned to join him on completing his rounds.
"Ah, yes. Well-"
"-Ser." A messenger called from behind us and offered the Cullen a letter which he glanced over while speaking.
"Cassandra came to me; she sought a solution to the growing hostilities between the Mage and Templar. When she offered me a position, I left the templars to join her cause. Now it seems we face something far worse." I nodded, allowing him a minute to finish reading the report before signing off and handing it back to the recruit who promptly took their leave.
"Rynn will be able to help with the Breach and the Rifts. Her magic hand – whatever it is – is also a blessing in this chaotic time. She can use it to help fix this mess." Cullen looked up with a question in his eyes.
"I believe she will yes. But what about you? Why are you here?" he winced. "I mean, you must be here because you believe you can help with all this as well."
I laughed bitterly. "I want the world back to normal. No holes in the sky." I sighed. "I will do what I can, support where I am needed. I am my sister's keeper and I'm here to pull her out of trouble. Let's just hope she won't get into too much trouble with Cassandra watching over. And I'm here to remind her that mages are people too." Cullen seemed to take my words into consideration before nodding, echoing our earlier conversation and letting him know casually he was not the only one that struggled with mage relations.
"The Chantry lost control of both templars and mages, longer ago that they truly realize. They ignore that to sit and argue over who will be the next Divine. The Breach should have spurred them into action but it seems they wish to ignore that also. That is why the Inquisition is needed. We could act wen the Chantry could not or choose not. The Inquisition's followers would be part of that movement. We could truly change things for the better. There's so much we can-" He paused, somewhat flustered by his own passion and shook his head. "Forgive me," he spoke softly. "I doubt you came here for a lecture."
I smirked up at him, my voice a little husky when I spoke. "I'd love to hear if you had one prepared." He blushed and I decided to push my luck a little bit more. "I'm sure I would be a devote Andrastian if you were the one preaching the Chant of Light." I held my breath until I heard him chuckle.
"Another time perhaps." My face seemed to heat up and I looked up at him through my eyelashes. "I, ah…." He cleared his throat and more splotches of deep pink formed along his cheeks and neck – what a blush! – as he looked over my head towards the recruits in order to avoid my gaze. "There is still a lot of work ahead."
"I think-"
"Commander!" The same messenger as before came back to interrupt. I couldn't help the small scowl – causing the recruit stiffly hold out the report to the Commander while his wide eyes flickered from him to me and back to him.
The Commander gave me a side eye look, his eyes crinkling in amusement as he saw me bristling. "As I was saying, never-ending work."
In that moment my breath was caught in my throat. Cullen stepped gracefully in front of me, close enough that the fur from his cloak brushed against my cheek. His lips and the delicious scar filled my vision and I gasped quietly. He glanced down – obviously hearing me - and me and his lip quirked causing me to feel dizzy. As quickly has he had moved, he was gone again, having taken the outstretched report from the recruit beside me. I cleared my throat, very aware of my body's reaction to him.
"I…..ah…. yes….. well….Commander…. Cullen…. I will…. I'll leave you to it then….. goodbye" Before bobbing my head in some sort of rigid bow – what am I doing – and briskly walking away. Fenandris! Go, go, go.
I heard him chuckle and the tips of my ears turned red as I tried to keep a slow enough pace on my retreat. This Shem has to know what he is doing to me. I hurried through the training camp and climbed the steps and felt eyes on me, and I slowed and half turned to see him quickly avoid eye contact. Was he…. Watching me leave? I cleared my throat again and hurried forward to retrieve my bag before quickly slipping through the main gate.
XxX
I had found an interesting spot on my rounds of haven this morning, and I thought it would be perfect to set up my tent there. Just off to the left of the Chantry, tucked between the two buildings and the outer stone wall was a small clearing that was well out of the way. The space was awkward to get to in that there was only a small walking path, meaning this space wouldn't be used for storage of materials. The spot itself was hidden from view by a large boulder and a small grouping of trees that created an overhead ceiling of branches. A few birds had made their nest in the trees overhead, flittering through and chirping songs, making the space feel secluded but peaceful.
I set up a place for a small firepit using stones I found in the clearing, carefully placing the location to make sure that the smoke would filter into the sky and that any wayward sparks wouldn't set my little clearing on fire. I took a few trips to gather some firewood – cutting it myself since I didn't feel I should take from the larger bundles stored near the chantry – and stacked my own firewood between two closely growing trees. I had been using a large piece of bark to balance my firewood on while transporting it, and now that my pile was complete, I flipped it over so the bark side was up to protect the wood from the rain and snow.
Satisfied with my set up, I took out the nug-skin journal Josephine had gifted to me, running my thumb over the fine textured leather. In it; I had already added a few more notes about the recruits and some ideas for training. While I was most familiar with Dalish techniques, Keeper Deshanna was insistent we learn both Shemlen and Qunari battle tactics because of the lands we migrated on posed many threats. The Keeper had even guided me through a handful of fade-walking sessions where we could study the tactics of past battles as spirits repeated them endlessly. I sighed, missing my mentor and made a mental note that the next time I spoke with Josephine to ask her to send a letter on my behalf to the clan confirming Rynn and I were safe.
I flipped through my journal to another page where I had started to sketch out a quick map of Haven. It was based on the one Lady Josephine had showed me and my walk this morning, but I wanted to add more to it. I gathered my bag and a few things to eat and left the small town quickly, heading outside the main gate to walk along the perimeter walls. I sketched out some additional points of interest to my map as was walking.
I looked over the walls and land surrounding the town much like I would do with my Keeper once we settled the caravan. Looking for and jotting down any potential flanking opportunities, the challenges of the surrounding landscape, and any other tactical advantages or disadvantages that I could immediately see. I found a small cabin just on the outskirts of the town – empty so I decided to look around – and found some interesting notes on healing potions which I gathered up quickly, placing them in my bag. There was also a nearby logging stand which I marked off as well. Through my rounds I made scribbled notes and added some suggestions and questions on the following pages. Hopefully I could review these with Cullen in hopes to improve our fortifications and defences.
I sighed, I had walked all the way around the frozen lake a second time and climbed atop some boulders overlooking the frozen lake to get a better view of the surrounding area. The sun was shining brightly overhead making the air finally feel somewhat warm. The stone beneath me held some heat and it was comfortable to lounge on. There were birds chirping and some wild animals grazing in the nearby fields. It was peaceful here despite the glowing green tear in the sky above me. My hand wandered to my cheek, feeling the ridges of new scars, and begun to tremble. I felt my eyes sting and I blinked away before I became to upset about the new scars. There was nothing to be done about them. At least I had survived. I shook my head and turned back to my book to distract myself.
For a while, I sketched the view of Haven from my perch, outlining the silhouette of the rooftops and the great stone and wooden wall that surrounded it. The steeple of the chantry building stood tall above the rest, overlooking the town. I sighed, admiring the human architecture and a pain of bittersweet happiness made me feel glad to be here – able to explore and help do something to help the Inquisition – but also feeling torn about leaving my Clan for so long. I was torn between my duty to my clan, to my sister, and to doing what I knew was right by helping the inquisition stabilize and seal the breach. I suppose when I write Deshanna, I should ask for her advice as well. Or perhaps I just wanted to have her permission to stay.
A glint of metal in sunlight caught my eye and I watched as the soldier recruits went through fighting drills in the field outside the gate. I couldn't make out too much detail though, and I couldn't see a specific figure. The glint gave me an idea to ask if there were outward beacons for any advanced warning in case of incoming enemies. I flipped my book open, scratched a quick note, and threw my journal back into my bag.
I pulled out a piece of bread, some cheese, and an apple and began munching thinking about how I would spend the rest of my day. After my interaction with Cullen this morning, I had spoken with both Leliana and Josephine about what I could help with, but there was little for me to do. For the Herald's Sister. At least I don't have to worry about latrine duty. But surely though, there has to be something I could do.
A few songbirds flitted around my head and I crumbled up the last of my bread, throwing the crumbs into the snow for the birds. Oh, Elfroot. I noticed just beyond where I had thrown the bread, and got up to collect the healing leaves to give to the healers. As I stood, I noticed another growth of Elfroot a few feet away, and more plants further still. Well, I guess I know what I'm doing now.
XxX