'Was that ever really in doubt?' A familiar voice entered her mind.
Artz broke the kiss with Solas and took a step back. She could see worry settle onto her Dread Wolf's features.
"Vhenan?" He spoke hesitantly.
Who are you?
' You know who I am.' The familiar voice answered.
No, I know the voice you are using, but who are you really and how did you get into my head?
' You've connected with your sister and the three people you trust most. Is it any surprise that you can hear me now?' The voice responded.
If the voice you are using is truly your own…
' The Profiler of the Blood Guard, The Song in Your Heart, The Soul Bearer. I am Durga of the Prismata and I am your Doctor.' The voice introduced, making her gasp.
Holy shit! Durga's laughter rang out in her mind.
' Admittedly, I am not a Zimmerman in Thedas, but out of the current members of the Prism, I'm the only one with the memories from the Realm. My powers are a bit limited since the Veil is still in place, but with my help, you can change that at the final battle with that idiot magister.' Durga informed.
"Artz." Fenris called to her.
She turned to face him with a smile on her face. It's alright, Fenris. He's a friend.
' Ouch, friend zoned.' Durga commented, sounding miffed.
She snorted in amusement. I can't talk now. There is still a lot to do in the Hinterlands and not a lot of time to do it.
' Let me know when you reach Skyhold, I'll come to you.' Durga replied, his presence fading from her senses.
"Sorry about that, Solas. Didn't mean to worry you. Just an expected surprise is all. Everything is sorted." She assured him.
"Hello, Solas."
The Inquisitor turned his attention from his heart to the owner of the voice. His breath caught as his eyes fell upon the second woman he had grown to love. She looked exactly the same as she did when he first met her, though her body was not marred by the vallaslin.
"Hello, I assume that you are the one that Master Tethras refers to as Angel, yes?" He replied, trying to keep the pain and sadness from his voice.
His vhenan sighed before going behind him and shoving him toward the purple eyed woman. He barely managed to catch himself from bowling her over, grabbing onto her arms for stability. He raised his head, their eyes meeting and he found that he could not look away from those magnificent amethyst hued orbs.
"Oh for fuck's sake, Anna, just kiss him already." Artz snapped lightly.
He attempted to pull away, but the brunette woman acted before he could extradite himself from her personal space. She grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him to her, her lips pressing to his. The fight went out of him as he surrendered to the kiss, wrapping his arms around her lithe form. He kissed her more deeply and he felt it as it happened, another mating bond but this one was shared solely between him and Anna.
Primary…she was his primary mate. The turmoil he had felt up to this point completely ceased, a sense of serenity and peace falling over him. Although she was his primary mate, he sensed that it was not meant to be a physical one rather a melding of spirits. He sighed against her lips and she giggled.
I am the Dread Wolf, Solas, one of them anyways.
He broke away from the kiss to stare at her. Was this his Anna?
Yes, I am the Anna you met after you awoke from Uthenera after defeating the Evanuris. Somehow I was brought here almost a decade ago, though my money is on my fellow Dread Wolf. This is something that she would do and meeting Fenris less than an hour later…yeah, definitely Artz.
He smiled as he pressed his forehead against hers, relief flooding his system. A throat clearing made him realize that they had an audience and said throat was that of the pesky assassin that had been grating on his nerves for the last few hours.
"Perhaps an explanation is in order, that is if you could break up those two." Zevran suggested, pointing to the Herald and the elven warrior.
The two were kissing quite passionately and Artz was pretty much oblivious or just didn't care.
"Ah come on, Fen, stop hogging her all to yourself." Anders whined.
The elven warrior chuckled, relinquishing his monopoly over the Herald of Andraste and pushing her into the waiting arms of the spirit healer. The spirit healer placed a comically loud kiss on her lips, making her laugh.
"Okay, back up the hill. I still need to clean a shrine and place flowers. Also there is a great spot for an Inquisition camp up there too." Artz informed, dragging the Grey Warden with her past the others.
She winked at the elven mage as she passed, conveying that she was happy with the state of things and he couldn't complain either. His Anna and his snow fox were in his life once more and he was pretty damn content despite the looming threat that was the Tevinter magister turned darkspawn.
Anna was reeling from everything that was happening. Artz was back and a fucking badass. Solas was apparently her primary mate and although she was human, she had slots for secondary mates. She couldn't tell how many though she had a stinking suspicion that one of them was in Haven. She wasn't sure how she knew, she just sort of did.
Making camp near the shrine was remarkably simple with Artz in play. Her magic molded to her will just like it did in the previous lifetime, as if the Veil did not exist for her. The problem was that their group was too large to really be all that effective. Two warriors, four solid mages, three solid rogues, and there was her, the mage/rogue hybrid. That was ten people and it was simply too many to handle, especially in tight quarters.
She and Artz discussed what to do. Solas, Artz, her, Fenris, and Isabella would be one group and Cassandra, Varric, Anders, Zevran, and Merrill would be the other group. The seeker had not been happy with the arrangement until her sister had explained her reasoning.
"Cassandra, the reason why you're not in my group is because your group will be heading to take out the Templar encampment since you know where its general location is. You also know exactly what templars are capable of and your seeker abilities are best suited to that form of combat. It's also the reason why I'm sending Anders with you. He's a spirit healer and can heal during mid combat.
Merrill knows a fair share of augmentation spells that will protect your party and lower physical damage. Zevran is an assassin and can stealth his way into the camp, getting you information about numbers, armaments, layout, and possible vulnerabilities. Varric is to act as liaison with the sending stone and can disarm anything mid combat.
You know that Solas's first priority is me. Fenris is an accomplished warrior that has actually bested the Champion of Kirkwall which makes him stronger and more deadly than the fucking Arishok. Anna is our liaison with the sending stone and has both magical and roguish talents in her arsenal. As for my Sea Empress, same reason why you have Zevran. In fact, I would have taken my favorite Crow if I didn't think that Solas would kill him at some point.
Trust me, Anna and I have spent the past two hours hashing and rehashing just about every variable. Plus, I already know where the mage encampment is. It's in Witchwood and to get there, means I'll be passing through Dennet's place and there is a spot for a camp next to the small river there. I know you're worried, Cassandra, and you don't want me to die like Dorothea, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that, Cass?" Artz explained, looking at the seeker with Puss n Boots eyes.
There was no way that woman was going to say no to her sister, not when using that look. It worked especially well with her striking blue eyes and packed quite the punch, even when you're not on the receiving end of it.
"Very well, Lady Artz. I will trust your judgment, but if you become overwhelmed, please use the sending stone to call us immediately." The seeker relented, earning a nod from the Herald of Andraste.
The group settled down for the evening and Artz left to clean the shrine. Anna followed her, watching as she meticulously cleaned the elven burial shrine with so much care and reverence. This Artz was different from the one that had declared them the Dread Wolves and led a rebellion against the immortal elves that had enslaved them. That Artz had fought with all she had to overcome the slave markings that bound her to complete obedience.
This was an Artz that barely knew of the horrors that they had faced together. She caught a brief overview with her magical sight, but Anna remembered all the atrocities that had been committed against them. They had been born as twins, a rarity that made them valuable along with their natural beauty. The immortal ones liked to make them have sex with each other. They really got off on it and it was sickening, but Artz never minded the physical intimacy.
Her sister loved her beyond all imaginings which was why she didn't mind sharing her bed with both her and Solas. Love was love to her, it didn't matter how it was expressed. This Artz would be a bit more conservative, still constrained by the rules of propriety and she was perfectly fine with that. She actually preferred it that way, anything to forget those horrible times. So much of herself was a jumbled mess, she had no clue how Solas managed the memories of multiple lifetimes when she could barely handle the memories of just three lives.
Being with an Artz that had not personally gone through what she had was surprisingly comforting. The chaos within her mind and heart calmed when she was near, another reason why she wanted to remain with her sister when they split up. She wasn't sure she would be able to function very well on her own for a while. Perhaps one day, she'll be mentally stable enough to walk her own path again, but for now, she was content to walk her sister's path.
"You're just going to stand there, Yuna, or are you going to help me gather flowers for Senna's shrine?" The snowy haired elf asked, rising to her feet and looking over at her.
"Just thinking. My head's a mess and my heart isn't much better." She admitted, leaning heavily against a tree.
Artz walked over to her and held out her hand.
"I think you need a Doctor." Her sister stated, smiling softly at her in understanding.
Tears pricked at her eyes from hearing those familiar words from the woman that she called Her Doctor. She took her hand and allowed her to pull her along. They walked along, picking wildflowers for the shrine. Not once did she let go of her hand and at one point, she started crying. Artz set down their flowers and pulled them to the ground, so she could wrap the brunette in a hug. Anna just let herself cry, releasing the pain and sorrow of three lifetimes of trials.
Through it all, her doctor stayed with her, brushing her fingers through her in a soothing manner. She eventually stopped crying but refused to budge and Artz started to sing.
We've been here so long
Still I remember
The rainy September
Contact
Two, four, one, ten
Two, four, one, ten
Am I transmitting?
Is anyone listening?
Contact
We are green and gray
The longness of semper
Still I remember
Contact
Two, four, one, ten
Two, four, one, ten
Am I still willing
To foot all this billing?
Contact
Riding on shiny metal horses
Singing a rider's song
One of us will be forgotten
The other will be wrong
Two, four, one, ten
Two, four, one, ten
Am I transmitting?
Is anyone listening?
Contact
When I think of you
Your name's in the sky
Ninety feet high
Contact
Riding on our shiny metal horses
Singing a rider's song
One of us will be forgotten
The other will be wrong
Riding on our shiny metal horses
Singing a rider's song
One of us will be forgotten
The other will be wrong
Oh two, four, one, ten
Two, four, one, ten
Am I still willing
To foot all this billing?
Contact
Sparkles of blue light drifted down from the sky like snow, bringing the music to accompany the words of the song her sister sang. She smiled at the sight, remembering what her sister had called this phenomenon… Stardust.
Fenris stood at the top of the hill, keeping silent vigil over the sisters while leaning against a tree. Anders joined him a few minutes later and sat at the base of the tree and looked up at the stars. They stayed that way in a comfortable silence. The silence was broken by the melodious voice of the snowy goddess singing to her sister. The sight of the blue sparkles had surprised the duo, but drew the attention of the elven mage that came to see what was going on.
The Dread Wolf smiled at the sight of the sparkles of light drifting to the ground like snow, his eyes eventually drifted to the sisters. His storm grey eyes filled with pain and sadness, but he said nothing.
Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go 'til we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
And still she sang on, pulling at all of their hearts. The seeker of truth eventually went in search of the voice and since the camp was on lower ground, she saw the sisters closer to ground level, but went completely still upon hearing the Herald of Andraste singing, eyes wide with awe as she watched the blue lights float down from the sky. The Antivan Crow had also been called by the siren's song of the elven prophetess.
I hear your voice on the wind
And I hear you call out my name
"Listen, my child," you say to me
"I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free"
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep thoughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice
I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the future
I am the voice, I am the voice
I am the voice, I am the voice
Varric leaned against a boulder, smiling as he enjoyed the show. Angel hadn't been kidding when she said her sister had the voice of an angel. Merrill came to sit on the ground next to him, her eyes wide with an innocent curiosity and fascination. He wasn't surprised by the look of awe on her face. This was truly something to behold and it was both an honor and privilege to have witnessed it.
Cruel and cold like winds on the seas
Will you ever return to me
Hear my voice sing with the tide
My love will never die
Over waves and deep in the blue
I will give up my heart for you
Ten long years I'll wait to go by
My love will never die
Come my love be one with the sea
Rule with me for eternity
Drown all dreams so mercilessly
And leave their souls to me
Play the song you sang long ago
And wherever the storm may blow
You will find the key to my heart
We'll never be apart
Wild and strong you can't be contained
Never bound nor ever chained
Wounds you caused will never mend
And you will never end
Cruel and cold like winds on the seas
Will you ever return to me
Hear my voice sing with the tide
Our love will never die
This song was what finally dragged the pirate queen to join the others. Her eyes were full of emotions she normally never showed and when she couldn't bear to look at the sisters any longer, she glanced up to the top of the hill. She saw Anders, Fenris, and Solas all staring at the snowy haired elf and it was plain to see that all three of those idiots loved her.
She moved her gaze to the Dwarven author and the one he called Daisy. She smiled slightly at the girl's innocence. Even after everything that had happened in Kirkwall, it made her happy that Merrill had managed to come away with that purity of spirit intact. Varric was probably the best damn liar in Thedas, but seeing his face now, he wasn't hiding anything at all.
Her eyes slid over to the Seeker and she shook her head, that woman was developing a serious case of idol worship. Going to have to nip that in the butt soon or it would come back to bite Artz in the ass. The biggest surprise was the assassin, Zevran Arainai. She almost laughed, because it would appear that little Miss Starshine had fully won over the former Crow.
I am a question to the world,
Not an answer to be heard
Or a moment that's held in your arms.
And what do you think you'd ever say?
I won't listen anyway…
You don't know me,
And I'll never be what you want me to be.
And what do you think you'd understand?
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man..
You can't take me and throw me away.
And how can you learn what's never shown?
Yeah, you stand here on your own.
They don't know me 'cause I'm not here.
And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can the world want me to change?
They're the ones that stay the same.
They don't know me,
'Cause I'm not here.
And you see the things they never see
All you wanted, I could be
Now you know me, and I'm not afraid
And I wanna tell you who I am
Can you help me be a man?
They can't break me
As long as I know who I am
And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can the world want me to change?
They're the ones that stay the same.
They can't see me,
But I'm still here.
They can't tell me who to be,
'Cause I'm not what they see.
Yeah, the world is still sleepin',
While I keep on dreamin' for me.
And their words are just whispers
And lies that I'll never believe.
And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can they say I never change?
They're the ones that stay the same.
I'm the one now,
'Cause I'm still here.
I'm the one,
'Cause I'm still here.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
Geez, did that woman ever stop singing?
Artz finally decided to stop singing because her throat was getting dry and they still needed to finish picking flowers for Senna's shrine.
"Thank you, Doctor." Anna said softly, hugging her midsection before sitting up properly.
"Anything for my truest believer." She replied, smiling kindly at her sister.
"Do you ever change?" The brunette asked though the question was rhetorical.
"No, you'd get bored." Artz sassed, her smile falling into a smirk.
"You're impossible." The purple eyed woman snarked.
"Not impossible, just a bit unlikely." The snowy elf responded with the classic Whovian response.
The two finally returned to hunting for flowers and were surprised when both Merrill and Solas appeared together with flowers in their hands about ten minutes later. The sisters took them and made a decent floral arrangement before heading back up the hill to Senna's shrine. Artz placed the flowers in front of the grave stone and bowed her head in respect.
She then rose to her feet and declared that she was going to bed. She grabbed her sister's hand and Solas's hand. She guided them to their designated tent and stuck Anna in the middle, so she and Solas could cuddle up to her. The sisters fell asleep with the fingers of their hands interlaced and their foreheads touching. The Dread Wolf watched over their dreams.
The former Antivan Crow was in the midst of a predicament. He wanted answers about the mysterious elven prophetess, but after what he had just witnessed, he wasn't sure that he wanted to solve that mystery anymore. The beauty and radiance of the scene that had unfolded less than an hour ago was beyond anything he had ever witnessed and he had been at the Temple of Sacred Ashes when the Hero of Ferelden had found the Urn of Sacred Ashes.
This was a much more profound experience and it meant a great deal more to him. He had felt the purity of that woman's spirit as she sang to her distressed sister, all who heard her voice would have been affected. There had been such grace and serenity with every note sung, the sparkle like dust just added to the effect. They were lucky that she had not done that at the Crossroads or even at Haven. She would be raised to the level of holiness that only Andraste herself had attained and he wasn't sure that the snowy haired maiden would be able to handle that kind of pressure and attention.
The problem was the seeker of truth, the look on her face during the Herald's performance verified this very real fear. Fortunately, the captain of the Siren's Call II was way ahead of him.
"Look, princess, raising her on such a high pedestal will be absolutely catastrophic for her." Isabella warned.
"Have you no faith? She is clearly the one the Maker has chosen to deliver us! What more proof do you need?" The seeker countered.
"It's not about proof, you damn idiot! It's about keeping her safe. You declare her to be the holy prophet of the Maker and you'll be sentencing her to death!" The pirate snapped.
"That will not happen. I will protect her!" Cassandra declared boldly.
"Like you protected the Divine, the Most Holy. Didn't Maferath swear to protect his wife, only for her to end up burned at the stake until Hessarian mercifully killed her. Is that what you want for Artz?" Isabella replied coldly.
The Nevarran royal looked like she had been physically struck, the pirate's words shaking her right to her core.
"Seeker, I know that you have faith in the Herald, but putting her into that kind of position is even worse than making her the Inquisitor. You wanted to protect her from that, do so again and protect her from the fanatical zealots that would gladly see her burn like the Maker's bride." Varric contributed.
Lady Cassandra looked like she swallowed a lemon, but thought over their words very carefully. Her expression became resigned as she made her choice.
"Very well. We will keep the Herald's abilities a secret. No one must know the true extent of her power. She must be protected, I will not fail her like the Divine, I must not." She relented, her eyes haunted.
Fenris thought over everything that had occurred in the last few hours. Holding Artz in his arms had made him happier than he had ever been or so he thought. When the snowy goddess had shared her memories of the Doctor, he had been absolutely ecstatic. Hearing her thoughts was not something he expected to occur, but certainly did come in handy when unknown entities referring to themselves as Durga start chattering away in her head. She insisted that the mystery person was a friend and until proven otherwise, he would trust her judgment.
She and Anna had spent almost two hours discussing their next course of action. He had been surprised when he got dragged into the conversation.
"We're having trouble figuring out what to do with the rogues and mages of our not so little ragtag team. Any thoughts?" Artz inquired.
"Considering that you wish to strike both the mage and Templar encampments within a close span of time, I would suggest that each group has a sending stone. At present, the only ones to possess them are Amy…Anna and Varric. I would prefer that you and your sister remain together, meaning that the dwarf will need to go with the second group.
Also if you wish for the Crow to remain breathing, you would do well to separate him from the Inquisitor. I believe Solas has reached the end of his patience with the fool. I would recommend the pirate for your group. She wishes for a chance to redeem herself for her previous less than cordial behavior towards you, Artz. Had she known who you were, she would have been fiercely protective of you.
As for the mages, it would be unwise for you to go anywhere without the elven mage. He did not take the separation from you earlier very well, according to Anders. Speaking of, I believe that whichever group is heading to the templars should have the spirit mage there for combat healing. In fact, Merrill should also be a part of that group as well. She has been working quite hard on her protection and augmentation spells.
What of the warriors, the seeker and myself?" He offered.
"Cassandra will be leading the team to take on the Templar encampment. You will be in my group and we'll be hitting the mage encampment. I had intended to take you with me from the start. No offense to Cass, but I'd rather have you as the warrior of my group because you are a fucking badass with an extensive history of fighting mages. The warrior princess can use her abilities as a seeker to ignite the lyrium in a templar's veins, so it would be more prudent for her to take out the templars." Artz explained.
He could not fault her logic, though judging from her thoughts, she had already decided who would be in each group except for Arainai and Isabella. She valued his opinion anyways and his view of the situation seemed to bring her a modicum of relief as if having his input align with hers assured her that she was making the correct decision. That self doubt was going to cause some problems in the future, meaning that he would need to be vigilant and attempt to mitigate the damage.
Later that night, he followed his friend as she trailed after her sister. He could tell that the brunette was struggling with the ghosts of her past, something that the snowy goddess had apparently sensed. When they went to gather flowers for the elven shrine, he watched from a nearby hill. He did not wish to disturb them, but he also wanted to protect them. The purple eyed woman was emotionally compromised and her sister was focused on helping her which placed them in a precarious situation.
He had seen a forest villa nearby and what appeared to be bandits within its walls and wandering its perimeter. One miscalculation could spell doom for the sisters and thus his vigil continued. It wasn't long before his long time friend, Anders, had joined him. He wasn't surprised that he had shown up, the three people he cared for most were away from the camp and he wanted to make sure they were alright.
Both of them were shocked when Artz began to sing, her heavenly voice drifting towards them. They were even more surprised when the sparkles of electric blue light began to fall from the sky, floating to the ground like the gentle falling of snowflakes. Solas soon joined them and the look on his face shot pain straight to the elven warrior's heart. He recognized that look, a variation of it at least. Anna held that same look yet for the Dread Wolf, it seemed a thousand times worse.
He briefly caught glimpses of the others as they migrated towards the beautiful voice slipping effortlessly through the words of each song, the music coming from the sparkles of light. He was a bit concerned with some of their reactions, mainly the seeker, the assassin and the pirate. Not long after, she finally stopped singing and he suddenly realized that Merrill and Solas had vanished. About ten minutes later, they reappeared in front of the sisters with wildflowers for the shrine.
Once the snowy haired goddess had finished her self appointed task, she dragged her first mate and her sister to her designated tent and he internally sighed. Looked like he wasn't going to be sleeping tonight. He was to share a tent with Anders, who undoubtedly was still as restless a sleeper as ever, and Varric, who had a propensity to snore so loudly that it was ridiculous. It never seemed to bother the spirit healer in the slightest, but the elven warrior was already a light sleeper. He would have to be drunker than the entirety of The Hanged Man before he ever slept heavily.
Merrill was to share a tent with the seeker of truth, something he had been weary about because it was a known fact amongst certain parties that the former apprentice of Keeper Marethari was a practitioner of blood magic, though she hadn't used it in the last couple of years. Fortunately, the Nevarran royal seemed to take a rather unusual shine to the Dalish elf, conversing with her during the first watch. By the time their shift was over, his concerns had abated for the most part.
That left the pirate captain and the Antivan Crow to share a tent together and he highly doubted that they would be sleeping either. The whole time on board the Siren's Call II, those two were constantly shagging everywhere. They were not together in any official capacity, more like casual lovers… friends with benefits as Anna would say. He gave a tired glare towards their tent when he heard the telltale signs of love making emanating from within. Seriously, could they not do that when they were in hostile territory?
He moved further away from their tent and decided to sit near Artz's tent. He was not expecting to be dragged backwards into said tent. The culprit was the Dread Wolf himself, smirking before nodding his head towards the space behind the snowy elf's back. He smiled slightly and shook his head before removing his armor, leaving the body suit on though he preferred to sleep without clothes on. He then crawled into position behind the goddess and wrapped his arms around her. She sighed in contentment and snuggled backwards into his embrace but did not relinquish her sister's hands. Within moments, his body succumbed to the blissful call of sleep.
Anna Lanaria, the truest believer and sister of the Herald of Andraste, was in a state of confusion. The last thing she remembered was going to sleep in a tent in the Hinterlands located in the kingdom of Ferelden on the continent of Thedas, but her current location was anything but Thedosian, not even remotely Ferelden or even Orlesian.
It honestly looked like she just stepped into a scene from the hit TV series, Once Upon a Time. Said scene taking place somewhere in the Enchanted Forest, more specifically the main hall of the Dark Castle and home of a powerful magic wielder known as the Dark One. Which to her normally rational mind was completely impossible because the world of Once Upon a Time didn't exist, but then neither did Thedas at some point.
"Hello, Amethyst." A familiar voice spoke to her.
She turned to the origin of the voice and had to stop herself from reacting like an over excited fangirl because it was Rumpelstiltskin!
"This isn't real." She stated, a bit of sadness in her voice.
Rumple was her absolute favorite character from the series, despite being classified as a villain for the majority of the show's runtime. He smiled kindly at her, his eyes dancing with mischief and amusement.
"Well that's a matter up for debate, but is inconsequential at the moment. This is the Fade." He replied.
"So this is a dream and you're either a spirit or a demon." She snapped lightly, a bit annoyed that some denizen of the Fade would dare take on his shape.
"This is occurring while you are asleep, yes that is true. As for being a spirit or a demon, no. I am a reflection of sorts. My physical body resides in the Realm, however the Fade allows me to project my consciousness into your dream. As to how much time we actually get to spend together depends on the environment and how many spirits her ladyship has within her network. The more powerful the spirit, the longer the connection lasts. As it stands, we don't have much time." Rumple explained as the whole room shook.
"What the hell was that?" The brunette demanded.
"That would be the Dread Wolf. He was denied entrance to her ladyship's dreamscape yesterday. His Blood Guard counterpart, Pride, wanted to share that time with her without interruption. Fen'harel does not like to be kept from his mates and unlike Pride, I do not have the ability to block him. We'll see each other again soon enough, my Amethyst." The Dark One answered.
Rumple's castle disappeared and him along with it. She was going to bitch slap Solas for this. Think of him and he shall appear. A small clearing in a forest sprang up around her, including a small pond with a mini waterfall flowing into it from a small stream. It was a rather lovely place, a bit simplistic or perhaps she should say minimalistic instead. She guessed it was some kind of default desktop for a dreamscape. Solas snapped into existence, eyes filled with relief.
"Anna, are you alright? Did the demon hurt you?" He asked worriedly.
She actually did slap him and he staggered back a step in surprise, having not expected the blow.
"That was not a demon. It was Goldeneye of the Prismata and you destabilized the connection! I barely got to speak a few sentences to him before you barreled in here. Look, I know you're pissed that you couldn't get into my sister's dreams yesterday, but that does not give you the right to invade mine!
Artz may be okay with you popping in whenever you please, but I'm not. My head, my rules. I am a very private person which is something you are quite aware of. I mean seriously, how could you forget something like that?!" The purple eyed woman shouted, her emotions getting the better of her.
"I haven't seen you since the first time. It's been a very…very long time." He admitted, the pain and guilt in his voice making her pause.
"I know that you've lived a few lifetimes…I mean, I can sense that, but just out of curiosity, how many lifetimes has it been between the first one and the current one?" She asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Including this timeline…nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and forty seven." He answered quietly, his gaze glued to his feet.
Her brain stopped as his response fully registered… a million times, well close to a million anyways. A million lifetimes with an undetermined amount of years in each timeline. Holy shit, no wonder he had forgotten! It's a miracle that he remembered her at all!
"You have lived through these events almost a million times." She commented, earning a short nod from the Dread Wolf, but then a thought flickered through her mind,
"You went through every variable, every nuance, every possible change, and not once did you think to ask for help. Solas, the elven word for Pride, an apt description for you, because you were too proud to even rely on other people. Did you seriously not trust her at all, did you think that she would reject you…it never occurred to you to turn to her for help. For fuck's sake, you foolish man!
Artz is literally the ex machina of all ex machinas! She has an imagination that literally helped her create her version of the Blood Guard, the Realm, and the clueterfuck that is The Star Chronicles with so many stories interconnecting that even someone as smart as you couldn't keep track of it all! She is an idea generator. Sure, not all of them are physically possible or even remotely feasible, but she could have helped you. You only needed to ask, but your pride wouldn't allow it!"
"I listened to her in the last timeline, almost succeeded too, but I was reckless, too impatient and wanting things to be over. She died a slow death in my arms. This is the last time for me. I will not be repeating these events again. Ir abelas, Fen'leal." He replied, sounding completely and utterly destroyed.
" Bright Wolf, that's what you called me and you called her, Fen'banal, Dark Wolf. Was it because I had silver fur in my wolf form and she had black fur in her wolf form?" She asked, getting sidetracked.
When she and Artz had been the Dread Wolves, they had each learned to shapeshift into wolves. Artz had black fur and blue eyes and she had silver fur and purple eyes. It had been Solas that had taught them how, they even learned how to shift into a dragon form. Hers had been a majestic purple with shattered silver eyes, and her sister's had been a dark blue with a prismatic sheen and shattered, electric blue eyes.
"It had more to do with your personalities at the time. You were far more open and exuded a kind of purity of essence that one would not expect from someone that had been born and raised as a slave. Ma vhenan's personality was closer to the night, beautiful yet mysterious, calm yet incredibly dangerous, capable of changing like the phases of the moon." He answered with a lovely eloquence.
"Well, shit. That was fucking poetic…I like it." She replied with a smirk, "Since you're already here, might as well hang out for a bit and you can get to know me again, though it's a miracle that you remember me at all."
"I could never forget you, Anna. Every life I lived, I would always search for you, but I never found you. I protected my remaining memories of you in every lifetime so that I would never forget that you existed, that once upon a time I had loved you. I love you still and I am grateful that you're with me again. I missed you." He revealed, making her eyes tear up.
Asshole…kicking her in the feels and making her forgive him in an instant for invading her mind. She really shouldn't, but the idiot was riddled with guilt that she just couldn't hold it against him. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her chin over his shoulder. He melted into her embrace without hesitation, his body sagging in relief as he returned the hug. He was such an idiot, but that was part of his charm.
The next morning started with a bit of a shit show. The nearby bandits had sent out a raiding party and stumbled across their camp. Artz and Fenris had been on the morning watch and he used the technique War Cry which taunted their enemies, activated his guard armor, and had the side benefit of waking everybody else up in their camp.
Solas and Anna were already awake so they bolted out of the tent to join the fray. Anders and Varric were next, both still being conditioned from when they used to travel together while exploring the Free Marches in close proximity to Kirkwall. The bandits were all taken out by the time the two rogues, Seeker, and the Dalish elf finally exited their respective tents. It was pretty easy to transition into breakfast after that and within the hour, everyone was ready to go.
Lady Cassandra marched, more like stomped, her way in the general direction of the Templar encampment, wanting to hurry up and complete her appointed task so she could hastily return to the Herald's side. Artz's group had a bit more of a trek and a few stops to make along the way. Solas had her stop to activate an elven artifact which strengthened the Veil, but she tweaked it slightly so that it would work with her plan later.
The next stop was an astrarium which took her a minute to work out. Unlike the game, it didn't show the image of what the constellation was supposed to be, so she had to work out which one it was first then play connect the dots. Fortunately, there wasn't a time limit and it was possible to start over, but even the simplest of these astronomical puzzles could be extremely frustrating to solve. She was lucky that she had been a bit of a completionist and spent hours solving these damn things on every playthrough. Once finished, it sent off a burst of light that only she could see because she had been the one to solve it.
The next stop was actually a quick trip for Isabella and that was to retrieve the treasure to return to the pedestal that was located on the other side of the forest villa. She had sent the pirate because of her stealth ability and the fact that it was too close to the river where the Templar encampment was located. She wasn't entirely certain why the seeker of truth had gone the other way, though it might have had to do with how open the area was from this direction and she didn't want to get spotted too soon. In all likelihood, she probably didn't realize exactly where the encampment actually was and had decided upon a search grid.
Once the pirate captain returned, she had to convince her to give the accursed thing to Solas and promised that there was plenty of loot waiting to be plundered between here and the mage encampment. Their next stop was right on the edge of the horsemaster's farm and it was a group of three black wolves. Anna had grabbed her hand and a prismatic light shown from their joined hands as their magical energies melded together.
She instructed the brunette to listen to the song and focus on the wolves. She could feel the effects of the amulet known as the Token of the Packmaster. It was actually pretty simple to disrupt its influence and set a light coating onto the animals to prevent them from being taken over again. The sisters dropped their hands and were immediately bowled over by three happy wolves that ended up slobbering all over their armor and were genuinely grateful to be free of the demon's influence.
Unfortunately, they couldn't go to the wolf den just then and they couldn't linger at Dennet's homestead because of two nearby rifts. Artz did grab the poster for the missing druffalo and had Fenris help guide the animal back since he was the fastest. Only took him about ten minutes and once he returned, they made their way through the forest. Another rift and a bit of skirting and they found telltale signs of magic users nearby.
The snowy haired elf had the Rivaini woman stealth her way into the area ahead that was littered with frozen pillars and do some reconnaissance. She returned with her report, mentioning that there were three mages and six mage sympathizers outside and that there was some kind of magical barrier over an entrance to a cave. The group spread out and took their positions.
Anna found a pretty nice perch where she could snipe with her arrows and Isabella went back into stealth mode, hiding near one of the pillars to pounce. Fenris was to be the vanguard and war cry himself into the center of attention. Solas was sticking close to her since they were the mages of this group. She gave the signal to her elven warrior and he sprinted to the middle of the pillar formation, executing his war cry and sending everything into chaos.
She and Solas began firing off their attacks from mid range and when some idiot got too close to them, the copper toned woman stabbed them in the neck with one of her daggers. Anna sent flaming arrows into the ones that were hanging back and Artz was genuinely surprised by how weak these idiots were and just how uncoordinated their movements were. When the last fell, she grabbed Solas who had been moving towards the barrier to dispel it.
"Vhenan?" He questioned, his head tilting in confusion.
"This was too easy. These men were glorified meat shields. They posed no significant threat when this should have been a highly developed vanguard. Templars can break through barriers so the first line of defense, the vanguard, should have made reaching the barrier into a slaughter fest, but it wasn't. Anna, get down here!" She explained before calling to her sister.
The purple eyed woman left her perch and quickly joined them.
"So you noticed it too?" She commented, earning a nod from the Herald of Andraste.
"That they were cannon fodder, yeah. Let's see if we can pick up anything." The snowy woman responded, holding out her hand.
Anna took it and the prismatic light appeared. Their magical energy pulsed outwards like they were scanning the area with the search function from the game. The brunette whistled lowly.
"Now that is a motherfucking trap." She stated.
"Trap? Try fucking bomb and it's connected to the barrier. Looks like it's designed to be triggered when the barrier is broken from the outside." Artz replied, her eyes closed in concentration.
"Clever, but not clever enough." Anna concurred.
"Is it possible to lower the barrier without triggering it?" The elven warrior asked, not liking how long this was taking.
The Herald of Andraste and the Angel of Death raised their free hands, snapping their fingers. The barrier disengaged with a pop, the magical bomb failing to activate.
"Done." They answered in unison, earning a chuckle from both Fenris and the Inquisitor.
The pirate was already in stealth mode and slipped inside as the elven warrior took up the lead. Using war cry once he was in range to activate his guard ability, the three with magic followed behind and started casting spells and shooting flaming arrows. These opponents were much stronger than the ones outside and had a nasty habit of setting ice glyphs as traps. Artz stumbled across one accidentally to avoid being hit with a stone fist and cried out in pain as a wave of intense cold shot through her body.
Her high dragon armor made her pretty much immune to fire and highly resistant to lightning attacks, but was shitty against ice attacks. She felt her legs lock into place and the movements of her upper body slowed down from being frosted over. Her eyes widened as one of the mage sympathizers ran over to her, brandishing a sword to cleave her head from the rest of her body. She blinked and Isabella was in front of her, her blades a flurry of strikes and slices. The sympathizer fell to the ground in a bloody mess.
Solas took that moment to dispel the ice magic locking her into place and she nearly fell over. The pirate captain caught her and guided her to the rear flank, out of the main line of combat. She produced a small vial containing a bright red liquid, a health potion. She popped the cork and unceremoniously shoved the open end into the Herald's mouth, forcing her to drink the contents quickly.
Once restored, the duo reentered the fight. The leader of the group turned out to be the strongest of them all and a total fucking coward. He kept teleporting all over the place and they were lucky to get three hits before he suddenly moved again. Artz sorted through her memories of the spells from the Dragon Age franchise, quickly searching for one that could help and she found two technically three but the third canceled out the effects of the other two. Her mind brought up spells for the Creation tree of magic.
Glyph of Paralysis
Activated
Range: Medium
Activation: 31
Cooldown: 40 seconds
The caster inscribes a glyph on the ground that paralyzes the first enemy who crosses its bounds, unless the opponent passes a physical resistance check. A single caster can maintain a limited number of Glyphs of Paralysis at once.
Glyph of Repulsion
Activated
Range: Medium
Activation: 43
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Requires: 25 Magic
The caster inscribes a glyph on the ground that knocks back enemies unless they pass a physical resistance check.
She focused her magic and created a Glyph of Paralysis in a specific spot, cloaked by magic to be undetectable by anyone with less magical awareness than her. She then began using the Glyphs of Repulsion to corral the little jumper into the area of the Glyph of Paralysis. He crossed into its influence and was paralyzed for a moment, but was apparently physically stronger than anticipated, so she quickly used the third glyph before he could recover.
Glyph of Neutralization
Activated
Range: Medium
Activation: 74
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Requires: 33 Magic
The caster inscribes a glyph on the ground that neutralizes all magic, dispels all effects, drains all mana, and prevents spell casting or mana regeneration within its bounds.
The third glyph took effect, canceling out the first and the mage crumpled to the ground, unable to combat its effect at all. Isabella flitted ahead and cut off the bastard's head, the glyph dispelling after its target was dead.
"Well done, vhenan. I was unaware that you even knew any of the standard Circle spells." The Inquisitor praised, making her smile.
"Oh I doubt that she does. Too well executed for that. My guess is that she knows the same way that Amethyst does, something called Dragon Age, yes?" The woman from Rivain commented with a smirk as she pilfered the corpses.
"You little Dalek! I knew it was you that stole my journal! Wait, you actually managed to decipher it? It's written in Old High Gallifreyan!" Anna squawked in surprise.
"It was actually rather easy when one has the guide book of a certain broody elf at their disposal." The pirate captain commented, bringing the spoils over to Artz so she could requip it all into her inventory.
"And you're okay with this, like you actually believe it?" The snowy haired elf questioned in disbelief.
The captain of the Siren's Call II smiled at the Herald of Andraste, a soft look in her eyes.
"Believe what? I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh looks like there are some mineral deposits up there. Best hop to it, Lady Herald." Isabella replied with a wink.
The sisters beamed at the copper toned woman. She just jumped in their mental rankings of who they could trust and came second only to Varric in the rogue department, poor Zevran. After requipping away the crafting materials and a few things that the Rivaini woman had missed, Artz decided to flip through her inventory. She and Solas had amazing armor, but his weapons and their accessories left something to be desired. If memory served her correctly, the level seven elite apostate mage that they fought here had a specific staff that she liked to equip to her Dread Wolf's fictional counterpart.
Wrath of Lovias
Type: Unique Staff
Item Level: 6
DPS: 44
Damage: 27 Cold
Requires: Level 2
Restriction: Mage Only
Upgrade Slots: Empty Grip, Empty Staff Blade
Runes: Empty Rune
Stats: 3 Magic, 4% Magic Defense
Description: Patterned after the Staff of Archon Lovias. Ever watchful for rivals, the canny Lovias crafted a weapon that also shielded him with energy that absorbed hostile spell power. His death at age 89, from choking on a fishbone, is the subject of a few notable Tevinter comedies.
She raised an eyebrow at the latter portion of the staff's description and simply shook her head in exasperation. She tapped her Dread Wolf's icon to bring up his equipment slots. She then tapped the Wrath of Lovias and chose to replace his other staff. There was a brief flash from the corner of her eye and she turned to see the ancient elf admiring his newly equipped staff. He nodded in approval before attaching it to his back.
The Herald of Andraste made a mental note to head to the Black Emporium located in the bowels of the City of Chains. The exclusive shop had quite a few legendary schematics including a schematic she wanted to use for her dual wielding rogues, the Blade of Red Birth. It had absolutely devastating Damage and DPS. She also wanted to grab the schematic for the Bow of the Beresaad for the Red Jenny named Sera and perhaps Anna unless she found some secretly exclusive badass bow that would be absolutely perfect for her.
As for her mages…wow, she actually had a list of mage companions; Solas, Anders, Merrill, Dorian, and the frost bitch that was Vivienne. Upon further reflection, she realized that only two of them shared the same elemental base magic. Both Solas and Vivienne were in the ice category. Anders was lightning, Merrill was earth, and Dorian was fire. She, herself, was fire based, but her flames were unique and Anna was also flame based but with a unique fire.
That was going to make getting exceptional quality staffs for all of them very tricky indeed. Let's see, the Encore staff was good with buffing and with a bit of tweaking, she should be able to make into the perfect weapon for Merrill. The Staff of Corruption could be made for fire, lightning, and ice, but she would probably only give it to Solas because she recalled him having something similar during the cut scene where Mother Giselle sung The Dawn Will Come. She would have to do some thinking about potential staffs for her mages.
A quick glance at Fenris made her recall that she had four warriors to outfit as well. She flipped over to her schematic inventory and was surprised to see the schematic for the Chromatic Greatsword. Well that one was most likely going to her elven warrior unless she could find a heavily modified and revved up version of the Blade of Mercy. As for the Iron Bull…hmm, she didn't have it, but she was pretty sure she could get it after reaching Skyhold and that was the Prismatic Greataxe schematic.
As for her two warriors that specialized in sword and shield combat, she had to stop herself from laughing at the absurdity of the shield in the shape of a giant wheel of cheese. She had equipped it to Cassandra for the majority of the main game and couldn't stop laughing every time she did a shield bash with it. No, she definitely need something else that suited the Seeker better and as for Thom aka Warden Blackwall… sigh.
One sword that came to mind was similar in nature to the Encore staff and it was a one handed weapon known as Greatest Hits, but didn't seem to be the right fit for either of them, maybe Thom. There was a unique mace called Truncheon of the Master that could work for Cassandra. She'd have to ask Solas about it later. Valos Atredum was also an idea, but she was pretty sure that it was still down in the Deep Roads somewhere.
She scrolled down to the shield schematics and smirked when she saw the one for the Revered Defender Bulwark. That was considered one of the best shields to have. She also saw the schematic for the Masterwork Grey Warden Shield in her inventory… fuck yeah! She was so going to make that for Thom, after reaching Skyhold of course and she would need the arcanist, Dagna so she could make Masterwork level creations.
Okay next up was accessories; pendants, belts, and rings. She flipped through the inventory pages and then groaned. She had way too many to sift through quickly, but maybe she could…her thoughts scattered as her screen suddenly disappeared and she found herself in the elven warrior's arms. She squeaked in surprise when he kissed her. She tried to pull away, to find some semblance of order for her thoughts but he would not allow it. She finally closed her eyes and let him kiss her as he pleased.
"You think too much." He spoke after relinquishing her lips.
"Oh…I forgot. Was probably giving you a headache, huh?" She replied, an apology in her eyes.
"On the contrary, it is taking every ounce of my restraint to not take you here and now, audience be damned." He replied lowly, his guttural voice making her shiver in desire,
"Hearing your mind as you work through a problem is amazing. You have such a fast flying mind and so much knowledge at your fingertips… remarkable."
She smiled at him, a pretty blush adorning her cheeks. Hearing him talk like this, it made her feel special.
"You are far more than special, little star. You are one of a kind and the world is better for it." He replied to her thoughts.
Her heartbeat fluttered in response, his words seemingly touching the very core of her being and she could feel her eyes beginning to water. He kissed her again and she did not resist him, reveling in the sensations being caused by this badass warrior with a heart like no other.
"Oh honestly, leave them alone for less than a minute and they start snogging. Do you two want to be alone to bump bits or do you mind if we watch?" Isabella asked crudely.
Artz smirked against Fenris's lips before pulling away to speak to the lady pirate.
"Why watch when you can join in, my Sea Empress?" She teased, inwardly squealing when she saw the light blush on the pirate's cheeks.
"I value my life, thank you very much." She replied sassily.
"Your loss. Anyways, we should head out. Once we solve the last astrarium, we'll come back here to retrieve the hidden cache, but for now, we need to get back to Dennet's place and set up the Inquisition camp. I think we could all use some rest." The snowy haired elf suggested, receiving a chorus of agreements.