Chapter Two: The Joining
The next morning had been a rather tense affair because Will had regained consciousness. Both Duncan and Alistair attempted to interrogate the rogue, but he refused to speak anymore. He knew it was all over for him and that there was no point to anything now. Artz knelt down in front of him, gaining his attention.
"Tell me about the potion and the radahan, Will." She spoke softly but still no reply.
He pointedly looked away from her, making her sigh. She was going to try something, something that required her Coercion stat to be maxed out, her level of magical talent, and enough knowledge from her world to actually pull off… the voice. A technique used in the movie known as Dune.
" Tell me about the potion and the radahan. Speak the truth." She ordered, her voice taking on a gravelly tone and reverberating with power.
"A little over a month ago, I was approached by a man claiming to be a Rivaini seer. He gave them to me and told me how to use them, but initially refused because I would never hurt my friend. I loved you, wanted to court you, but then he told me that you would offer yourself to the next recruit.
Told me that you would never be mine, that you wanted the bastard to be your first before moving on to other people. That you would offer yourself up to many others like a Maker damned whore, but never be with me.
I didn't believe him, told him to fuck off and he did but he left me the potion and the radahan. I said I would never use it, but then what the seer said came true. You offered yourself freely to the bastard. I didn't know that you hadn't fucked him, but it was too late.
I just did it anyway. The potion made you so damn turned on, so I put the radahan on you. It was enchanted to make you obey any commands given to you while making you powerless. Watching you do as I ordered, I had never felt more powerful in my life.
My father had made me feel so small, so insignificant, barking orders at me all day and night. I was practically a slave, but then I became the master. I gave the orders and you obeyed. Take off your armor, take off your clothes, don't scream, suck my dick, shove my cock into your tight little pussie yourself.
Then you ruined it by calling out the bastard's name. You gave me your virginity but it was him you thought of. Then I flipped you over and started slamming into you. You cried out in pleasure for a bit before you went all lifeless, saying his name over and over again.
Untie me and I'll do better this time. I'll fuck you real good and you can suck my cock all you want, I promise." Will explained, a crazed gleam in his eyes.
Artz used her magic to scan him and she sighed in disappointment. The scan revealed that the potion he had drank had a rather nasty after effect. It commanded the brain to constantly produce the chemicals in the brain that induced the need for sexual release, reinforcing a person's most primal self. He would never recover, the damage was permanent.
She closed her eyes, knowing what needed to be done. He couldn't be left in such a state and there was no way they could transport him to the Warden compound for the Joining. It wouldn't help him at all. It would make him stronger which would make it more difficult for innocent women to fight him off.
Up until now, she had not taken a life. She has wounded and occasionally cut off a limb, but not once has she willingly killed a sentient being. Will became this way because of his love for her. She had been blind, oblivious, and ignorant of the boy's circumstances. His life before meeting her shaped him into this.
His father abused him, beat him, broke him, and made him feel like a slave with no other purpose but to serve. Then she came along, brilliant and bright, and her light pierced the darkness, altering his entire being. But the change was too much, too drastic for him to handle and he buckled.
The seer, either a fraud or possessed by a demon, saw an opportunity to sow the seed of destruction and chaos within the emotionally compromised boy. He gave him what he secretly wanted… power. All his life, he had been controlled then placed within his hands was the means to control another.
Her ignorance of the situation was the final blow to shatter the boy's psyche. He used the potion and the sight of it working fuelled his need for control. He placed the radahan on her and obeyed his orders, fuelling the need for complete dominance. That's why he had forced her to her knees, bent her over his lap, and ultimately demanded that she obey him by giving herself to him while he simply watched.
She pulled out the Blade of the Archon from her inventory and silenced Alistair with a single look when he asked what she was doing. Duncan merely observed, no doubt coming to a similar conclusion about the boy himself. His silence and lack of action to stop her touched her deeply, mentally thanking him for understanding.
Forgive me, William. You did not deserve this fate and I will find out why this happened to you, to us. No one else will suffer as we have suffered. This I promise you.
Goodbye, my friend.
Alistair could only stare at the sight before him. The snowy haired elf had pulled out her greatsword and chopped off the man's head without a flicker of hesitation. For a moment, he thought that he had been played, that she was just a manipulative witch, cold and unfeeling… a monster.
Then he looked at her face and knew that he was wrong. It wasn't that she didn't care, it was because she cared too much. Her eyes were storming with emotion but also burned with an unwavering resolve and determination. Biggest clue of her having a heart was the fact that she was crying. She was shedding silent tears for the death of the man that had brutally raped her.
She scanned his body again, requipping the man's belongings into her inventory. Then proceeded to burn the corpse, gathering the ashes in an urn, and whispering to it.
"I'll find someplace nice for you to rest in peace, William." She whispered softly.
She then requipped the urn away, dried her tears and looked to Duncan. The Warden Commander nodded his head in a silent understanding, knowing exactly what she wanted.
"Alistair, we will be taking a detour. We are returning to the area we traveled through where Turner encountered the seer." The bearded man informed, following after the silent elf.
Instead of questioning either of them about it like he wanted to, he chose to follow them. He only knew William Turner as the man that bound and raped the snowy haired goddess, but Artz knew him as a friend. He had been their comrade and traveling companion for months, so this side quest to find the seer was incredibly personal and could not be ignored.
The seer had deliberately targeted the one with the weakest mindset, able to be heavily influenced in a subtle manner. Artz didn't realize that she had such a glaring deficiency in her perception of herself that presented Turner with the perfect opportunity to assert control and control her he did.
Duncan had no reason to suspect the man because he and Artz had been good friends. He trusted them to take care of each other as they had done so during their travels. The perfect recipe for disaster; a weak mind, a kind heart, and a loyal spirit. If even one part was missing, this wouldn't have happened, so this was either some sick twist of fate or a well executed plan.
They had only traveled a day and a half when a copper skinned man dressed similarly to a gypsy from her world walked right up to them. He looked her up and down with a critical eye before nodding with approval.
"I will not apologize for the fate of William Turner. He was destined to die. I saw his future, saw what he would do without intervention, and I could not allow it to happen." The seer stated firmly.
"And if you had not gotten involved?" Artz asked, trying to keep a level head.
"Death…on such a scale that I couldn't eat for days because of the horror I had witnessed." The seer replied.
"But why? What caused such a future?" She asked though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer.
"Your death, my lady. Your interest in the man behind you caused the mind of the late William Turner to shatter. He would have taken you deep into the woods and brutally murdered you.
He would have been hunted down by your father and slain, but without you in this world, we will all die. I cannot see the fullness of your future. There is so much that you will do, that you will change, destiny itself will bend to your will." The seer revealed.
"Why not simply warn her ahead of time? Why the potion and the radahan?" Alistair spoke up, rage barely contained.
"She requires the abilities of a Grey Warden if she is to effect change, but in her previous state, she would not have survived the Joining. She needed the blood of the great dragon, but she also needed to learn something very specific." The seer answered, looking directly into her eyes.
"A weakness in the perception of one's self." She stated, earning a nod from the seer.
"A harsh lesson to learn and you have learned it, but in order for you to learn, your power needed to be contained and your mind clouded. Your will is exceptionally strong, but your body could still be affected on a physical level.
Giving William Turner the items required to control you circumvented death by his hands. Instead he chose to conquer you, a vain attempt to break your spirit through sex. Thus allowing you to learn of your weakness and will now actively be aware of it in the future.
The combination of the potion and the radahan created an event that would require you to drink the blood of the great dragon in order to release yourself from their control. Doing so has now made it possible for you to survive the Joining and becoming a Grey Warden.
There was another lesson to learn, but I did not expect you to learn it this soon. In order for the future to be changed, you had to relinquish your blood innocence and end a life willingly. This world is cruel and it does not care which is why you have to because if not, then who will?
I am willing to accept my fate, my lady. I have caused you great pain and I know the secret of the Joining. It seems I was gifted with one final vision. You must save the slow arrow, doing so will open the path you must take to save the world and more importantly, save him." The seer finished.
She knew exactly who he was talking about. She needed to save Felassan from Solas's idiocy and then save Solas from himself. The problem now was that this man, this seer had altered the course of the future to save her and yet by the protocols set forth by the Grey Wardens, this man needed to die or go through the Joining. Apparently she and her father were thinking the same thing.
"I hereby invoke the Right of Conscription. You will be taken to Denerim and will participate in the Joining." Duncan decreed firmly.
Alistair made a noise of disapproval, but remained silent. The seer nodded in understanding and the group changed course for the capital of Ferelden.
Traveling with the seer was unnerving for Alistair. He had these knowing eyes that seemed to pierce the deepest parts of his soul. To make matters worse, this was the bastard that orchestrated the attack on the snowy haired goddess. He claims it was to save her life and thereby saving the future in the process.
Artz seemed to believe it and Duncan did not question her judgment. You know it was kind of odd, that relationship of theirs. Duncan had claimed the woman as his adopted daughter and she did refer to the man as her father, but ever since the attack, Artz has been the one leading them.
The Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens was letting a recruit make all the decisions. He would have to admit that the snowy elf possessed some kind of aura that just made you gravitate towards her. Being with her was just strange and yet he wouldn't trade it for anything.
He still needed to make love to that woman. He would not allow Turner to be the last man within her. His thoughts had him blushing scarlet and trying very hard to ignore the pressure in his trousers. Just thinking about that woman being on her knees and servicing him again was making it very difficult to travel.
He was very lucky when the snowy elf ordered everyone to make camp, collect firewood, dig a pit, refill the water skins and hunt some animals for a stew tonight. He managed to get through dinner, but then excused himself, walking out of camp. Once a good distance away, he unlaced his trousers and took himself in hand again.
"Seriously, Alistair, you only needed to ask." Artz commented, making his eyes snap open.
There she was before him, already on her knees and all he could do was grunt as she took his member into her hands, stroking it and making it even harder. Damn it, he was such a weak, weak man! He shouldn't be allowing this, but it was like he couldn't really deny her.
He covered his mouth with his hand to contain the moans threatening to come forth from her ministrations. And then she started licking, from the base to the head. She swirled her tongue around the head before fully inserting his member into her mouth. He was trembling from the effort to stay standing, the sight of her servicing him was just so erotic.
"Artz…I want to…" He started but couldn't seem to get the words out.
She stopped her actions and placed a few wards down. He felt the magic slide into place and he just knew that she had sound proofed the area as well as erecting an invisible barrier to keep out unwanted guests. He watched as she removed her armor piece by piece, then removed her clothes.
She stood stark naked in front of him and all he could do was stare. He knew that she was beautiful and now seeing the rest of her, he could safely say that she was indeed a goddess. She walked towards him and took his member in hand again.
"Take off your armor, but keep your clothes on. I want you to take me like he did. He was dominant, in control, and I wish it had been you. The very thought of you commanding me to do something is very appealing to me. You are after all a dragon, my dragon." She requested, looking up at him with those alluring and ethereal eyes.
The Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens had to hold back a chuckle when they broke camp in the morning. Both Artz and Alistair were completely exhausted, but the snowy elf looked happier than she had in days and the blonde man was caught between blushing scarlet every time he looked at Artz and having a goofy yet satisfied grin on his face.
In truth, he was grateful to Alistair. He knew that agreeing to Artz's request was difficult enough, but he had also agreed to replicate how Turner had taken her. His daughter had warned him ahead of time of what she was going to do. She was always completely and oftentimes brutally honest with him.
He had asked her why she was so honest and she said it was for two reasons. The first is that back in her home world, she had to conceal her true self behind a smiling mask and was never really allowed to express unhappiness or anger. The second reason had to do with the future. In order to change things, she will have to do things a certain way which will ultimately result in her lying a lot.
Still, he was glad that they were not too far away from Denerim. The sooner the Joining was completed, the sooner they could start planning for the future. Thanks to the blood of the great dragon, he was now absolutely certain that his adopted daughter would survive the Joining. The seer had already told him that he would not survive and that he had known of his fate for many years.
Denerim was the seat of power for the country of Ferelden. This city was where the ruling monarchs chose to reside. Some nobles lived in the city as well, but it was mainly the merchants, commoners, and elves that made up the majority of the population. When Artz stepped through the gates, he knew that he would have to get her out of the city after her Joining.
The guards on gate duty were eying her with barely concealed lust, even Alistair picked up on it and made a point to step closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He glared at the guards, daring them to lay a single finger on her. Fortunately they did not act on their blatant desire, but there was no telling what would happen after they got off duty. If she was out alone, day or night, she was definitely going to get jumped by someone.
The irony was that the people doing the attacking would most likely end up dead. After killing her friend to spare him from becoming a complete monster, she really didn't have any problems taking a life. Apparently when she assimilated the great dragon blood, her ability to sense auras had magnified which allowed her to determine a person's moral alignment. Those trained in mental defense like templars were a bit murky. She could sense their auras but she couldn't get a good read on it.
They made their way through the market and towards their compound. It was a rather small and unassuming building, but had several floors beneath the ground. The building had actually sunk into the ground over the years and it was thanks to the Warden mages that the building was stabilized. Duncan was greeted by a senior Warden who informed him that the preparations for the Joining had been completed.
He led his recruits into a smaller room with an altar at the far side. Upon it was a silver chalice containing the blood of an archdemon, modified for the Joining. He stood in front of his recruits, already knowing that both his daughter and the Theirin boy were going to survive. Still, there was something that still needed to be said.
"Before we conduct the ceremony, we say a few words that are spoken at every Joining. Artz, you know of what I speak. Would you recite them please?" He requested and she nodded her head.
"Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that can not be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you." Artz spoke with a solemn reverence.
The seer stepped forth and drank from the Joining chalice. The man began to choke, his entire body seizing up and he let out an inhuman scream before ultimately crumpling to the floor.
"Alistair, step forward." Duncan commanded.
The younger Theirin did as he was told and drank from the chalice. His eyes whited out before he collapsed to the floor out cold but still alive.
"Artz, step forward." The Warden Commander continued.
The snowy haired elf did as instructed. She took the chalice from her adoptive father and drank from it. He took the chalice back and frowned when nothing happened. It was strange. He could sense her, she was indeed a warden yet there seemed to be no trace of the taint within her.
"Shit, I think I metabolized it. Give me a second to check." She commented, opening the interface for her bracelets, "Weird. According to this, I'm a Grey Warden. I have all the abilities of a Grey Warden, but I don't have the negative side effects. I'm immune to the taint, I can sense the darkspawn, I have the increased stamina that Wardens are known for and I have the ability to permanently slay an archdemon. It actually shows up as a specialization. "
Duncan made the pendants for her and Alistair while she was talking. He handed it to her and she exited the interface, placing the pendant around her neck. Alistair began to stir and she knelt next to him.
"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty. How's your head?" She asked, smiling.
"Artz…you're alive." He breathed.
"Yep and boy do I have a story for you." The snowy elf commented with a smirk.
"A story that will be left untold for the moment. Welcome to the Grey Wardens." Duncan interjected with a smile.
Artz stood once again where it all began. Duncan had insisted that they leave the city sooner rather than later in order to avoid as much trouble as possible. They still ran into a fight when one of the guards that had been guarding the gate earlier had gotten off duty and had grabbed her from behind. She didn't have her sword out at the time and thus the reason he could grab her.
Imagine her surprise when the King of Ferelden turned up, having heard that Duncan had returned to Denerim. The guard hadn't seen the man approach and was shocked when Cailan punched him in the head. The irony was that after the guard had been dragged away, the elder Theirin blatantly flirted with her. She actually ignored him entirely and practically skipped back over to Alistair, whom she pulled into a kiss.
The Warden Commander had simply sighed, causing the monarch to laugh rather hard and bowed out gracefully. The younger Theirin had a rather goofy grin on his face, obviously loving the fact that she had chosen him over the King of Ferelden. After concluding the conversation with the King, they left the city of Denerim and Duncan led them back to where he had first encountered her.
"Let me get this straight. You're from another world, a world that was destroyed leaving you as the only survivor, and in that world, this world was a work of fiction, a game that thousands of people have played and that's how you know me." Alistair summed up.
"I know it is difficult to believe, Alistair, but I witnessed it myself, both the games and the destruction of her world. She speaks the truth." Duncan confirmed, trying to convince the lad that what he was hearing was, in fact, the truth.
Artz simply walked towards the far wall, her eyes never leaving the mural depicted there. Seeing it again, it made her wonder if the woman in the mural was truly herself. The figure wore the same bracelets that were currently around her wrists. The red eyes of the black wolf glittered and shined in the light of the veil fire. Why would Fen'harel protect her?
She finally tore her eyes from the depiction of the Dread Wolf and began to notice other things in the mural. In the background were two other figures, one was of a golden dragon and the other was a blue ghost. She blinked as it clicked into her brain. The golden dragon was Alistair and the blue ghost or should she say the blue wraith had to be Fenris.
There were elven inscriptions in several places, but her studies had been slow going. Learning to speak elven was one thing, but learning the written form of the language was actually quite hard to do. Fuck, learning Common was hard enough and she still had issues from time to time. So many things could be mistranslated due to the nuances of rune script.
Thus attempting to translate the elven transcriptions was just shy of impossible at this current point in time. She had a stinking suspicion that she would not be able to translate this mural until after she had saved Felassan. The one known as the Slow Arrow was an ancient Elvhen like Solas though he was not an Evanuris, thank the Maker for that. This mural was the key to her past and possibly her future as well.
"She looks like you. Is it supposed to be you?" Alistair asked, coming to stand next to her.
"To be honest, I don't know and won't find out until after I save Felassan." She answered, her eyes drifting back to the black wolf.
"Felassan?" He echoed.
"The seer said that I needed to save the slow arrow. Felassan is elven for slow arrow. Felas meaning slow and assan meaning arrow. Felassan is an ancient Elvhen that is currently an agent of Fen'harel. After a specific event, he is killed by Fen'harel in the Fade and thus making him Tranquil. I have two choices. I can save Felassan before Fen'harel kills him or I can wait until afterwards and simply reverse Tranquility." She explained.
"You can't reverse Tranquility. Once you're cut off from the Fade, that's it. You can't undo that." The younger Theirin argued.
"And one cannot travel between worlds yet here I am. Tell me, Alistair, do you know how the Seekers of Truth gain their abilities?" She questioned.
"There's some sort of vigil thing. I'm not really sure. It's all a bit mysterious." He answered.
"The vigil is where they empty themselves of all emotion, supposedly reaching a state of enlightenment, but that's a lie. The vigil allows an ordinary person to essentially tranquilize themselves. Afterwards, a spirit of faith is summoned from the Fade to touch their minds. This breaks the state of Tranquility, restoring their emotions and with it, they become immune to possession and gain the abilities of a Seeker." She revealed, making the former templar stare at her in shock.
"That's…what…do they at least know what they're getting into?" Alistair asked, going with the first question to pop into his head.
"Only the Lord Seeker knows the truth of the vigil. Those seeking to join their order have no knowledge whatsoever of what has been done to them in order to join their ranks. The point is that the Rite of Tranquility was created by the Seekers and is an unnatural state. It's an abuse of power to be sure and an even crueler punishment to be inflicted upon a mage.
When the Circles rebel and they will eventually, I will track down and save as many of the Tranquil as I can and reverse the Rite. These individuals will become a part of a network that will spread across Thedas. The reason for the creation of this network is not for power, but to combat a threat. A threat that comes in the form of Fen'harel, the Dread Wolf.
During the time of the Elvhen empire, a group of very powerful mages took the reins of leadership to end a terrible war. These leaders went on to be respected elders then kings and were eventually heralded as gods, the Evanuris which you will know as the elven pantheon. Mythal, Elgar'nan, June, Falon'Din, Dirthamen, Sylaise, Andruil, Ghilan'nain, and lastly, Fen'harel. These were the mage kings of old.
At some point, Mythal was murdered by the other Evanuris which plunged all of Thedas into a terrible war. Fen'harel fought against his brethren for the sake of the People. He tried many ways to end the war, but in the end, drastic action had to be taken. He tricked the Evanuris into magical mirrors known as Eluvians and erected the Veil to act as the last line of defense. It took all of his strength to do so and he fell into Uthenera, the long sleep in order to recover.
During the intervening years, the People had lost their immortality and begun fighting amongst themselves, trying to understand what had happened. The Tevinter Imperium took advantage of this chaotic state to conquer the elves, destroying their culture in the process. Their language and their beliefs became either lost or warped. The markings the Dalish are so proud of are, in fact, slave markings.
The elven pantheon that they revere are the ones that nearly destroyed the world and the one Evanuris that gave everything to the People was vilified and labeled as the God of Betrayal instead of the God of Rebellion. Less than a decade from now, Fen'harel will awaken from the long sleep and despair, blaming himself for the fall of the Elvhen people. He will act rashly and allow his foci, a container of his power, to fall into the hands of an ancient magister.
This magister was a member of the original Sidereal that breached the Fade. A darkspawn and a magister capable of wielding the Blight, even able to control the Grey Wardens through the taint. It will cause a great deal of pain and suffering before the Dread Wolf realizes that the people of this world are indeed real, but he will focus on attempting to restore his people." She explained, her eyes never leaving the image of the Dread Wolf right in front of her.
"You don't want to stop him, rather save him, save him from himself." Alistair commented softly.
"Yes. My poor wolf is lost within the ruin of himself, unable to see the forest for the trees. I will do all that I can to save him, even if that means that I have to strip him of his ability to wield magic in its entirety. Trust me. There's a way to do that without making someone Tranquil. I discovered that quite by accident, but that's a story for another time." She replied, eyes full of sorrow and the burden of foreknowledge.
"What about Uvun'Eshalin?" He asked, thoroughly confusing her.
"What?" She asked, needing some clarification.
"You mentioned all the other ones in the elven pantheon except for Uvun'Eshalin. She's considered to be the goddess of kindness, compassion, loyalty and love and she was said to be the Dread Wolf's mate. If I remember correctly, the legends say that her soul was forced into the beyond where the wolf could not find her and that it was the reason he betrayed the rest of the pantheon." The blonde answered, frowning in thought.
Okay, let's back up a bit. For starters, there was an Evanuris she didn't know about. Secondly, this unknown person was the mate of Fen'harel. Thirdly, this person was taken from the Dread Wolf and put somewhere where even he couldn't find her. Uvun'Eshalin…she knew that the word Eshalin was essentially the elven word for Child. Odd considering that the person was actually a full grown woman.
What was Uvun? Evune meant moon, so Uvun had to be Star. Her brain ground to a halt. Uvun'Eshalin directly translated to Star Child. She referred to herself as the Star Child in one of her stories called The Star Chronicles. Was it possible? That could not be a coincidence in any way. She looked at the bracelets then up at the mural.
The bracelets and the interface were things that she had thought up for her Dragon Age stories to solve the inventory problem. The holographic interface was exactly how she imagined it would be. It even included all the stats, skills, talents, and specializations from the game. It was locked similarly like the isomorphic controls of the Master's laser screwdriver. Her physical appearance matched the depiction in the mural.
"Artz? Are you okay? You look paler than usual which is saying something because your skin was already pale as snow. Not like that's a bad thing. I think it's very lovely and makes you look even more beautiful. Not that you wouldn't be beautiful if it wasn't…" The poor boy rambled, making her laugh.
Oh sweet Maker, did she love Alistair! Honestly, he was just so sweet and silly and a total goof. She finally turned away from the mural, caught his face in her hands and kissed him, making him groan in approval.
"Uvun'Eshalin, it means Star Child in elven. It caught me off guard." She revealed.
"I'm guessing that's important, isn't it?" He asked, his hands coming to rest on her hips.
"Yeah, too many things lining up means that it's not a coincidence. It can't be, but I have time to figure it out. In the meantime, we need to find an inn so I can soundproof the room and make love to my dragon again…if he is amenable, that is?" She answered, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing up against him.
"Maker, this is so surreal. I barely know you yet we've already slept together and can I say yes, absolutely yes. I'm totally amenable and I need to be thoroughly educated." He agreed, leaning in to kiss her again.
The Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens cleared his throat, reminding them that they were not alone. The snowy haired woman started giggling at how awkward her adoptive father was behaving and had to stop herself from laughing hysterically when she noticed that he was blushing. Six months before the battle at Ostagar. That's how long she had to thoroughly enjoy her dragon then it would be time to save the world.
It was decided that they would split up. Duncan was going to go recruiting some more and Alistair and Artz would essentially go adventuring. The younger Theirin had asked why and his head got crammed full with stuff for like the next twelve years. The adventuring was to gain money, resources like herbs and ores, weapons, armors, accessories, schematics, and basically looting everything they possibly could.
The Warden Commander agreed that the snowy elf should do things her way and that he trusted her judgment in regards to what was needed for the future. He wanted to make certain that she at least had a head start so that they wouldn't be rushing throughout the Blight, trying to fund the war effort and getting all the equipment required for an army.
During their travels, Artz and Alistair spent time in some of the Warden outposts, spending time with their fellow Grey Wardens and one time when they had crossed paths with Duncan again, their fellow Wardens tried to out drink one of their own. From one end of the hall to the other, they were all passed out except for her.
She blamed her magic for the utter inability to get more than tipsy and she had really been pushing it too. She remembered how heartily her adopted father figure had laughed at the scene before him and made a silent vow to save him from dying at the Battle of Ostagar, Cailan too if she could manage it. She wanted to save more of the Grey Wardens but her main focus was going to be Cailan and Duncan.
Anora was a fucking bitch with some really racist views. She was all for women's equal rights but when it came to elves, the current queen would gladly wipe them from the face of Thedas. They hadn't remained in Denerim long but it was long enough for Artz to find out that not only did Anora vehemently hated anything that wasn't human, but was failing in her duty to produce a royal heir.
The opinion of Anora in the bedroom was divided into two main groups, one side believed that she was barren and the other side believed that she was actively preventing any pregnancy from occurring. There were even whispers that Cailan was going to dissolve their marriage and set the vile woman aside in favor of marrying Empress Celene.
The snowy haired woman knew that a political marriage between the ruling monarchs of Ferelden and Orlais would incite the Qunari to attack Southern Thedas to prevent them from becoming strong enough to become a viable threat to the Qun. They would actually ignore their ongoing struggle with the magically inclined Tevinter which was saying a lot.
She tacked that onto her list of things to check into after the Fifth Blight had been dealt with. She was going to have a lot of time in the Free Marches and once she befriends a certain smooth talking dwarf named Varric Tethras, she would expand her network to gather more information. She had a feeling that the Qunari were building up their fleet or doing some kind of massive upgrade.
Hmm, she needed to take some time to gather some materials for creating gunpowder. If her memory was correct then she needed three specific things in order to do it. She could make the stuff from scratch but it would be better to find a Thedosian equivalent and make certain that she finely ground it all. The finer the mixture, the faster it will burn. Storing it wouldn't be a problem thanks to her bracelets.
She wondered how the Qunari would react to modern weapons. They would probably shit themselves as well as the rest of Thedas if they were ever subjected to an atomic detonation. Fortunately that was one thing that she didn't actually know how to make and had no desire to create. She wasn't planning on terrorizing this world, she wanted to save it and knowing her luck, a nuclear bomb wouldn't even put a dent into an Evanuris.
Still she was making quite a long list of things to do. She had actually found something similar to a sticky note widget in the interface of her runic bracelets and was using the fuck out of it. She had been surprised when she found a list of books in her inventory that could only be accessed by the interface and could not be physically removed. She swore that she found the Thedosian equivalent of an ebook.
What had truly surprised her was that this list of ebooks included the guides from many of the games that she had played back home along with a lot of other stuff as well. A bit more poking around in the interface and she finally discovered why she had it all. When the bracelets had attached themselves to her wrists, she had been in her world. There was a runic array designed to acclimate to its surroundings, gathering information to better protect the wearer of the bracelets.
Essentially, her runic bracelets downloaded the fucking internet and sorted everything out in accordance to her personal preferences which was why so many of the guides were near the top of the list. The following pages had been filled with her reference books for plants, minerals, how to guides, and anything else she would use in her fan fiction stories.
Alistair had looked at her funny when she let out an overly excited squeal and started laughing when she started dancing around in joy. At the top of the list were the guides for the Dragon Age series followed by Final Fantasy XII and XIII. She was beyond stoked and was even happier that they were still in English so that no one would be able to read them when she had them pulled up.
It did mean that her things to do list was getting longer and longer, but at least now she didn't have to try to do it all by memory. She didn't care how much of a life hack that was because it was going to help her save a lot of lives, especially her own. She knew some things were going to be different because this was reality and not a predetermined system run by a gaming engine which was going to suck because there wasn't a fast travel option.
She needed to map out where they were going to go and when. If she was going to save Cailan and Duncan then she would not be in the Tower of Ishal with Alistair and whichever Grey Warden that would survive the Joining at Ostagar. This would free up some time since they would need to recover from their injuries at Flemeth's hut then travel through the Wilds and to the town of Lothering.
Speaking of Flemeth, she should probably avoid the old bat as much as possible or at least wear a fucking helmet that blocked her face from view. It was sad, she really liked Flemeth most of the time, at least as a character, but there was this feeling in her gut that told her that Mythal had something to do with the removal of Uvun'Eshalin from the world of Thedas.
She couldn't really explain why she felt that way, but it was better to err on the side of caution which was going to make things a little tricky when she makes a mad dash to save one of the Hawke twins. Her money was on Carver being the idiot to be squished by an ogre. He was both brash and head strong, making him the most likely to get killed. Bethany always struck her as being more calm and level headed than her twin brother.
During her travels with her fellow Grey Warden, she crossed paths with the merchant that would either give or sell the control rod for Shale. That had been some kind of divine intervention because she could knock that random encounter from her list. It wasn't the only random encounter that she had and she managed to get her hands on the mythical star metal which once stored proved to be the same metal that was used for her runic bracelets.
There were also some glowing blue crystals interspersed amongst the star metal, something that she was actually going to have to name because even her runic bracelets couldn't identify it, but was the crystal used to house the runic arrays for her bracelets. She tacked that onto her things to do list, maybe she should ask a spirit of Knowledge or if she could ever track one down, a spirit of Invention. Either way, she needed help.
A messenger bird arrived about a month prior to the Battle of Ostagar. The letter was from Duncan and he was ordering them to make their final preparations before coming to Ostagar. Fortunately, they were not too far away. They had been invited to a farewell party for a noble family from the Free Marches that was returning home before the Blight hit Ferelden, so they were much closer than they would have been.
She had tried to send Alistair ahead of her to Ostagar while she made a quick side trip to Lothering, but the stubborn goofball refused to leave her side. They had gotten quite close in the last five months, but neither had told the other how they felt. Artz was a little afraid because she was pretty certain that he loved her but when it came to her own emotions, she didn't actually know what romantic love felt like.
It was one of the reasons why she had wanted to part company for a short time. She needed some time away from her dragon to sort out what was in her heart, but his refusal to leave made things more difficult than they should have been. He did relent once they had reached Lothering. He wanted to spend some time in the chantry and visit the tavern for the latest gossip. This allowed her to do some wandering.
She chased off a group of highwaymen and reclaimed the goods they had stolen. Most of the people to which the stuff belonged to had already left the area, but the family of elves had not and she not only returned their belongings but gave them extra coin and provisions, telling them to get out of Lothering as soon as possible. They thanked her profusely and even promised to spread the word about how a Grey Warden helped them which was very good publicity.
It would make Loghain's allegations sound that much more false and she had made quite a few contacts during the last five months. Her aura reading ability allowed her to pick the best people to join her newly formed network. They were good people, some with questionable morals but had hearts of gold. They had instructions to begin a whisper campaign should any negative information impact the reputation of the Order of the Grey in Ferelden.
She could care less about Orlais at the moment. She would have time to get people into the country once she was in Kirkwall. The amount of time in the City of Chains opened quite a few avenues to explore and ultimately take advantage of. She would admit to banking a lot on her winning over the pathological liar that was Varric Tethras but by the time they meet, she will be the Hero of Ferelden and former arlessa of Amaranthine.
She needed to have a vast network in place by no later than the end of 9:39 Dragon. In 9:40 Dragon, she would need to locate, track, and ultimately aid the Slow Arrow. She wondered if she could sway Briala to her side. Now there was a thought, to have a secondary network of elven spies run by Briala and possibly use them to pass on misinformation that would reach the ears of the agents of Fen'harel. Something else to add to her things to do list.
Honestly, her things to do list was getting its own things to do list. She had to actually separate them into general categories and pin some of them in specific years. She was going to have to map everything out and that was when she discovered another set of runic arrays programmed to add more screens to the interface which in turn made her start incorporating specific hand gestures and even finger gestures so that more of the interface could be accessed and have some preset functions put into place.
She was brought out of her inner musings by the flare up of magic. Judging from the resonance, she would say it was one of the primal schools of magic. Given the brief span it appeared in her senses, her best guess was the Flame school of magic, but then she felt a surge of something that sent chills down her spine… blood magic. She had felt it before when she and Alistair crossed paths with a small raiding party of Tevinter slavers. Among their ranks was a particularly nasty blood mage that had no qualms enslaving innocent spirits and forcing them to possess her fallen comrades.
She had been strong but once she had cleared a path for Alistair, he was able to hit her with a smite. The snowy elf had been in the impact zone of said smite and lost her magic. It was such a jarring experience like the very essence of her being had been obliterated. She hadn't realized that she had stopped moving, her eyes so empty and dull that her dragon had panicked. He killed the blood mage and the remaining zombies before racing to her side, babbling away with so much fear and guilt on his face and in his eyes.
Her magic began to trickle back in when his skin came into contact with hers. She had leaned into his touch like she was starved, dropping her sword to clutch his hand to her face. Her eyes eventually filled with life again and she whimpered in pain. She went from being completely numb and cut off to every nerve coming alive like she had just been electrocuted. When she was able to speak, she asked him to teach her about templar abilities.
She needed to come up with a way to counteract those abilities because they could not let this happen again. He was hesitant at first but then agreed to teach her for the sole purpose of keeping her safe. It had taken a few days to recover from and she had a few ideas in regards to preventing the loss of magic due to a smite and how to shield a person's magical aura. It was going to take some time to iron out all the details and she needed to consult some of the denizens of the Fade.
She made her way towards where she felt the surges of magic, concealing her presence from their own magical senses and stealthing herself as well. She stumbled across a small clearing with scorch marks, a few melting icicles, and several small craters that looked oddly reminiscent of a fist, so possibly the Stone Fist spell from the Primal school of magic or Veilstrike from the Rift Mage specialization tree. She caught sight of four people, three males and one female. Three of them she recognized immediately.
The first was the default male Hawke, red mark across the face and everything. He was also the one giving off the aura of a blood mage so this was not only the default Hawke but the canon Hawke as well. The next person she recognized was his sparring partner, Bethany Hawke and his younger sister. The third person she recognized was the woman's twin brother, Carver Hawke, who was sitting against a tree and eating an apple.
She held back a snort when she recalled something from her world. One of her favorite YouTube channels…was it Cinema Wins or Cinema Sins…ah yes, the latter was the correct one. Something about eating an apple makes you look even more like an asshole and when it comes to Carver Hawke, he was definitely an asshole no matter how the player played the game. She could only hope the default Hawke was either diplomatic or charming because aggressive Hawke was a straight up ass.
The final individual was not someone she actually recognized, so he was either a family friend or an unaccounted sibling. Judging from his looks, she was leaning towards the second one. He was clean shaven, had the same dark brown hair as Carver, startling blue eyes like default Hawke, definitive rogue type, and seemed to possess some kind of magical awareness but not any actual magic.
He was leaning against the same tree that Carver was sitting against. Now the reason why she said that he had some kind of magical awareness was how his almost electric blue eyes were scanning the area where she was currently stealthed and her own magical aura was hidden, but he knew that something was there because he threw a throwing knife in her general direction, calling the attention of his other siblings in an instant.
"There is nothing there, Anton." Carver griped with a roll of his eyes.
Her eyebrow twitched at that name. Seriously…Anton as in Anton Hawke from the story Rhapsody in Ass Major? It had become one of her favorite stories on the site, Archive of Our Own. This was utterly ridiculous…admittedly, Anton had been her favorite of the Hawke siblings which was saying a lot because she liked Cormac and Artemis too, along with the story's rendition of Bethany as a rather fearsome illusionist and necromancer.
"I may not know your exact location, but I have plenty of throwing knives to find out." Anton threatened and she finally let out a snort.
She caught the next throwing knife and retrieved the other before unstealthing and walking into the clearing with a smirk firmly planted on her face.
"Your magical awareness is pretty good considering that not even the First Enchanter and the Knight Commander of Kinloch Hold can sense me at all. Also, have you lot ever thought of putting down some wards before sparring. Anyone with a lick of magical awareness could easily pick up on all the flares of magic coming from this area." She stated, tossing the throwing knives into the air and keeping them hovering with her still concealed magic.
The two mage siblings stared at her because they couldn't comprehend why they couldn't sense her magic despite it being actively used. She raised an eyebrow as the throwing knives sped towards their owner, stopping with the handles pointed towards him. He plucked them out of the air and returned them to his person.
"The name's Artz, secret apostate and currently a Grey Warden. Not even the Order of the Grey knows about my magic." She commented, still smirking.
"If you're truly a Grey Warden as you claim then why hide your magic?" Carver asked, standing up and crossing his arms.
"Because if the chantry found out about how powerful I am, both as a mage and as a somniari, they would kill me and not give a shit that I'm a Grey Warden and technically outside of their jurisdiction." She answered honestly.
"My name is Anton, my twin brother, Garrett." The knife throwing rogue introduced before gesturing to the default Hawke.
"Our younger twin siblings, Bethany and Carver." Garrett continued the introductions.
"A pleasure to meet a fellow mage, but you might want to not use blood magic, Garrett." Artz replied, making the Hawke siblings stiffen in response,
"There's no need to get all bent out of shape. I mean your family no harm. It's just that blood magic is sacrificial by nature. The more you use it, the shorter your lifespan will be. It doesn't matter if you use someone else's blood either. The blood is simply a medium, the power comes from the caster's own life force. Using another's blood only decreases the amount of life force actually being drawn from yourself.
Also, your family should leave Lothering soon. Make for Gwaren and take a ship to the Free Marches, Kirkwall specifically. Ferelden is about to suffer from the Blight. Several battles have already taken place at Ostagar, the main body of the horde will come up from the Korcari Wilds and they'll hit Lothering first before spreading to the rest of the bannorn. Here, let me give you a few things."
She pulled up her inventory and requipped several objects; a glaive for Bethany, a specific staff that was more sword than staff for Garrett named the Staff of Parthalan, a set of daggers for Anton as well as an advanced set of lockpicks, a proper greatsword for Carver, a set of requip stones that would requip everything within a certain radius that was not alive, and a pair of sending stones. She also requipped out a bag of silvers. She hadn't done much adventuring overall so she didn't have as much coin as she would like, but she wanted to help ease the way for the Hawke family.
"Each of these weapons is enhanced, enchanted and in the case of the mages, they will conceal the fact that you're actually mages so long as you don't cast any spells. Those stones are called requip stones and it will allow you to store your items into my inventory if you pile everything up. Don't worry, you'll get everything back once I make it to Kirkwall in 9:31 Dragon and yes, the Blight will be over by then.
These are sending stones which will allow us to communicate no matter the distance. Still working on a mounting device to prevent people from overhearing whoever you're talking to. I'll have plenty of time to perfect it and several other ideas after we meet up in Kirkwall. This coin purse holds the majority of my money and it should help with getting you and your family out of Ferelden. Sorry that I can't give you more. I'll have a bunch of shit after the Blight is over to make up for it later." She rambled, floating the items over to them with her magic.
She sighed when they started bombarding her with questions about how she knew the Blight would be over in a year, how they would end up in Kirkwall and why, and a lot of other things as well. She took the time to explain her origins to them. Neither Carver or Bethany believed her though she didn't really expect them to. She was surprised when both Anton and Garrett said they believed her and proceeded to ask if there was anything they needed to worry about before reaching Kirkwall.
She explained the events of the prologue of Dragon Age II, about how they meet Aveline Vallen and her templar husband, Ser Wesley. She went on to explain how the non mages were fighting at Ostagar, their return, and most importantly, she explained the death of one of the younger twins. In the game, it was the sibling that matched the default Hawke as a mage or non mage, but in reality, she kind of figured that it would be Carver. Said sibling squawked in indignation, especially after the other three siblings agreed that it was something that he would most likely do.
Anton was concerned that his existence might alter the events she had seen and she flat out said that she hoped he would change things. She didn't want any of the Hawke siblings to die, including Anton, so the Hawkes promised to stay alive and for her to focus on stopping the Fifth Blight. She also begged them to keep Bethany out of the Circle and to take Anders, who they would meet later, with them into the Deep Roads just in case any of them contracted the Blight and needed to be taken to the Grey Wardens.
Garrett could see how much she cared for him and his family. That and Anton was taking a real shine to her as well. They spent the rest of the day teaching her how to play Wicked Grace and the eldest Hawke couldn't stop smirking at how his twin was taking the time to teach her how to cheat and how to bluff. Anton suggested wearing a mask to cover her nose and mouth because her lower face was a clear tell for her.
She took his advice quite seriously and paid close attention, completely ignorant to the fact that Anton Hawke was constantly touching her person, was flirting with her like crazy, and was genuinely attracted to her. Carver spent the time rolling his eyes and trying not to groan at his elder brother's shenanigans. Bethany was quietly giggling because she had never seen Anton show any interest in anyone, man or woman, before and she was quite happy to see it. Garrett was just a smug bastard that enjoyed the show. His poor twin was trying so hard and she was pretty much clueless.
Eventually they had to stop playing cards because the sun was starting to set, reducing visibility to almost zilch. They invited her back to the homestead so she could meet their mother and Leandra Hawke took an instant liking to the snowy haired elf, especially after seeing how her second son was acting around the young elven woman.
After dinner, Artz begrudgingly left the Hawke residence to return to town. She needed to meet up with Alistair before the goof started worrying himself into an early grave. Anton volunteered to escort her to the tavern where her fellow Grey Warden was waiting for her. She bid her final farewell to him before entering the tavern, but was taken off guard when he placed a quick kiss to her lips before melting into the darkness of the night.
She smiled softly, a slight giggle escaping her lips and her cheeks tinting pink for a few seconds. She was going to have to watch out for Anton Hawke, the cheeky ones always did get into trouble. She rejoined Alistair who promptly whisked her away upstairs and made love to her quite passionately. She could feel his desperation the entire time. He knew that something big was going to happen and soon.
The next morning, they left for Ostagar but not before Artz received a lavender rose. The snowy elf could only smile because not only did she know who it was from, she also had a good idea as to what it meant. In the language of flowers, the lavender rose was supposed to mean love at first sight. She was definitely looking forward to her next encounter with Anton Hawke.