Warden or Wizard
Chapter 4
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World Thedas, After the destruction of Lothering:
"You are good, but I can teach you to be better."
Turning sharply, Hadrian looked at the assassin standing behind him with wary eyes. One blade had fallen somewhat, with the tip facing down toward the direction of his body. The second blade had intuitively risen towards the voice which had intruded into his practice.
"What?" It was a bewildered yet inquisitive tone that the black-haired elf spoke with. Last he remembered the other had been at the campsite with the group, unwinding while the assassin could. Yet the blond was standing mere feet away from him in a deceptively neutral stance, for Hadrian knew how silent and fast the blond elf could move when needed.
Tilting his head to the side, pointed at the other elf with a frown, as he pushed long strands of hair back that had escaped their tieback, "what are you offering assassin?" it didn't faze the other though.
The male just smiled, turned and sauntered around the still warden. "Training. No? It is something you are clearly in a desperate need of, yet the others are not... suited to our particular skill set." A hand rose, gesturing with a flourish, while bowing his head slightly forward, turning to look through his eyelashes at the black elf.
With a swallow this made the warden turn away, a hand came up to rub the back of the elf's neck tip of his ears turning a gentle red.
Of course, this was all part of the other's nature to flirt with others, Hadrian knew that well. Yet even remembering this, every time even a small amount of flirtation was indeed hinted at in his direction made the warden turn away flustered, he didn't know how to handle such attention. It wasn't embarrassment, not fully, hurt did that to a person, shut them off and made someone wary of anyone who tried to come close. "I shall thank you, but no. I am fine." Green eyes glanced back at the other, lips pinched in distaste.
The corners of the blond's mouth turned up. "A wager then. Spar with me. Who shall ever win will abide by the others terms."
Now, this was interesting, "what are to be the terms?" He knew it was stupid, but it had been so long since the darker elf had even had a chance to unwind and relax. There was even hint of an opportunity for a bargain in the aftermath of this bargaining process.
"Nothing you will not agree to, Yes? If I win, we will train together every third day and practice every other night. But you win? We forget this little wager. You agree, no?" A hand was gently held out into the air between them both, a sly smile playing upon the blond's lips.
The warden eyed the blond for a long second, instinctively knowing the other more than likely had a plan set in motion if he took the deal. But this bargain was a far too tempting stress release, to spar with someone without any risk of death, after eyeing the hand being held in the air for a moment stepped forward, his eyes locking with Zev's. "Very well, Zevran, you have your agreement." With a firm nod, clasped the others hand, next the black elf was firmly yanked close to the blond, making Hadrian tense in startled recognition, as the slightly taller elf spoke softly into his ear.
"I look forward to our next little rendezvous la mia ombra (my Shadow)."
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World Earth. Within the Castle. Dinner Time After Meeting with the Mages: Hadrian
Sitting within this great hall, the sky flashing with cracks of thunder and lightning above, the warden watched, deceptively relaxed among so many humans. Distrustful green eyes flickered quickly back and forth, taking in the exits, threats and instinctively calculating how many people surrounded his form. Only a few adults sat at a large table at the head of the moderately sized hall, while the rest were all young mages, all too clearly curious about the elf, if the constant looking and staring was any indication.
Looking down at the plate of food that had been served up for him, pushed it away with a lip curled in disgust. The meat oozed fat, the vegetables were cooked through until floppy, and the potatoes had been covered in something. It was not appetizing and very unappealing to his sense of smell. Turning to the drink instead, when he brought it up to his nose, jerked back from the overly sweet smell. Placing it back looked for water and thankfully found a pitcher just beyond reach.
Sitting up and reaching over, startled when a tall jug was placed on his other side. Hadrian turned to look and found a smirking blond and grey-eyed teen sitting next to him. The pitcher, as could be seen, was filled with water. Looking back at the human, watched as the light-blond nodded towards the jug and spoke in the strange tongue of these people. "Rehctip a revouoy thguorbios. Eciujmikpmup ehtnoneek meestndid you sa, retaw ehtdetnaw uoywas."
Looking back down at the pitcher for a second, then bowed his head in thanks. The warden had no idea what the other had said, but from the tone and indication of the teens head towards the water, it became partially evident what the other had been speaking of. And increasingly, a single word had stood out among the garbled spoken language. It had been so quick that it was almost lost as the grey-eyed human spoke promptly. Clearly, the elf's mind was assimilating the language swiftly. It was almost familiar to him, like something out of a dream, or a memory long lost to time.
Since the elf had arrived in this place, dreams had haunted his mind. Of not only of Thedas but of lost memories, he thought forgotten. Childhood visions of long ago, they were blooming into being each time the dark-haired elf rested, and though some part of him was exhilarated to find out about his past, another part was terrified. A reason would have been in place, for the memories to become forgotten, now they were breaking free. Though the warden put on a brave face, he didn't want to face them. At least not without Hadrian's bonded by his side, facing it together, like every obstacle on their journey.
"Yadsiht nopihsdneirf of dnahdnaecnadiug my tpeccalliw you epoh I. Ecnatniauqcaruoy ekamoterusaelp Yoflam Ocardseman the." Glancing back at the grey-eyed, blond-haired human. The elf bowed his head in greeting. The inflexion on the two words had clearly been a name, but with the words still not apparent to the dark elf yet all he could do was acknowledge that the other had introduced himself. Reaching out with his hand grasped the young mans own and gave a single firm shake. "Hadrian."
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World Earth. Wizarding World. Within the Castle's Great Hall. Dinner Time: Severus Snape
Dark eyes watched the elf sitting at the Slytherin table, how the male did not eat with a frown. Reaching inside his robe, the potion master pulled out a small parchment and quill and scrawled a note upon the scrap and then let it sit upon the table. Looking away, the dark-haired man felt it vanish before seeing a silver jug appear on the table he was watching so closely. Then Draco appeared, the blond striding in through the hall doors, heading straight for the food.
It was then, as Severus watched, the blond stopped for a brief moment fixated on the elf. The young man glanced around before straightening up and striding to the table, his fingers plucking the silver jug from the centre of the plates and presenting to the creature as the young wizard sat beside the elf.
"Severus? You seem preoccupied. Is our new arrival on your thoughts?" Minerva's voice cut in, interrupting the dark men as he watched over his two charges.
Grunting, the male turned to the Scottish woman, scowling.
"I'm fine."
She gave a gentle smile as she watched the interaction of the two young men going on. "Curious then, of where and how he grew. For the place Harry had to of grown seems ahead of our worlds time, yet far-far behind."
Severus didn't answer. No that wasn't what he was thinking about, those had crossed his mind, but it didn't concern him. When the potion master had confronted the elf, the older male had instinctively gained access into the subconscious of the other. Stupid amateur mistake. When Harry had come forward with the knife, the teacher had instinctively retaliated with the offensive spell. This is what anchored the bond by accident inside that strange mind, and it was not a pleasant place to be. Not because of trauma, though that was there. Not because of defences in place, simple barriers only were encountered. No, it was the partner in Harry's mind that was taking offence to his intrusion.
A shape was stalking around, searching for his presence.
For now, he had concealed himself within the dark-haired elves own mental energy, but it would only work for so long. If he didn't get out, that presence would tear him apart. It was a sharp, stalking, prowling and silent presence. Clearly bonded for a long time.
But what Severus did get out of this, language. He was understanding the thought process of the other and hearing the way their language sounded in the elf's tongue.
The whole scenario though was not a good one the potion master had ended up in, but it had given him an advantage. So while he worked on the way to break the unique bond the older man had stupidly created, Severus would use the position gained for now and work with the other to feed English to them though thought.
It was his duty, the promise he had given to Lily and by his magic would he keep it.
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Within the Great Hall: Draco Malfoy
Grey eyes narrowed. As he stopped talking to the creature for a moment. His mind took those precious seconds to take in the information and once it translated, realization struck.
You see, the blond had a talent. Not something he ever boasted about, unlike this money and his family name. No this was something the teen had worked on and pushed himself to achieve for its own worth. Its why he found the spells easier to learn than most, due to the ability the young wizard had cultivated with the help of his parents over the years.
It was a talent for language. The nuances and spoken subtle differences between every letter and word fascinated his mind. So hearing something so strange coming out of the high elf's mouth took Draco a moment to formulate a proper response.
When the elf had spoken, it had sounded like this: "Nairdah." All jumbled and broken, backwards to their way of thinking. So his mind just switched it. It wasn't hard, Latin was a harder one to learn, though the blond had been a kid at the time.
Tilting his head, he spoke. A corner of a lip turned up in a smirk. "Emdnatsrednu uoyod?"
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World Thedas: Denerim's Estate, Right before becoming a Grey Warden: Hadrian
Wide eyes watched in disbelief from his cell as the body was just tossed onto the floor. The crunch from the skull hitting grey stone flooring was entirely too apparent, as slender fingers tightened instinctively around specific bars from the jail the elves had all been placed within until the master was ready for them. The laughter and insulting voices from those guards appeared to inherently fade into the background. Concerned green-eyes could barely watch that tiny figure roll once again across the ground before skidding into a halt adjacent to the cell.
Kneeling downward, reaching out with an arm, tried in vain to reach, he needed to protect them. Suddenly pain as his arm was kicked pointedly with an ironclad foot. Twisting backwards Hadrian recoiled, glancing up at the sneering features from one of the guards. That man sniffed while peering downward at whatever the black-haired male had been trying to grab. Next with a chuckle unbolted the cell, stretched in to seize and haul the elf out by his hair.
Panting breaths of fright escaped, while fingers clutched around meaty wrists. Before the black-haired elf was deposited upon the ground at the human's feet. Glancing nearby at his fellow elves, still secured within the cell, who stared back with fearful wide eyes. There happened to additionally be a lot of guards around him, some which looked interested by this change of events, yet others that simply were not impressed either looked elsewhere or marched out of the room.
Getting up into a kneeling position, glanced up through his hair toward the man, who dangled something high above the elf's head. Peeking up for a long-drawn moment, stretched up with an expression of distress. However, he was cuffed back down by a harsh fist. "Ah, ah, knife-ear. Want it? You have to earn it."
Peering upwards again at that face, shook his head uncomprehending. "I do not understand master."
Again Hadrian's hair was seized by an ironclad fist and clutched hard, drawing the elf's face upwards, before a finger traced underneath his neck and chest. "You have to earn it knife ear, get it?" Oh, this elf defiantly received the message.
At such a brief second, when Hadrian had been drawn near to the male guard, he had finally been pulled close enough to get to the human's weapon strapped on his right side. The left hand, meanwhile, remained clamped over the fist clutching his hair to reduce the tension. A vacant smile suddenly snaked over his expression, while elegant fingers silently slid the knife from its sheath on the guard's side. Unnerved a little the man moved away, an uncertain expression on his face before a startled look emerged for a brief moment.
Shifting out of the others hold, slipped the dagger out of the human's side from below the ribs. Turning towards the jail, while the chamber began to reverberate amidst the noises of the guard's fellow humans, threw the keys inside the cell and then twisted back to confront the advancing hostile army of men to deal with them.
Hadrian had some carnage to be getting on with, those souls held no salvation in his eyes toward what they had done. These people, they had murdered his infant, and an elves wrath would make sure everyone was deceased before this day was done, no matter if you were human, elf, dwarf or qunari.
Proceeding forward, lifted the blade towards the slowly advancing guards and hell descended inside the chamber. Injuries were soon spread across various sections of his body, but the elf was still standing. Though panting amidst the effort.
Turning towards where Hadrian had dropped the first human, wandered over and bent near their side. Here lying upon the cold-stone close to the guard entirely contorted and broken, the elf finally saw his baby. The local lord had snatched the infant from his arms while the arrogant man had knocked Hadrian out and transported them both here. The dark-haired elf was meant to live a sexual captive. Furthermore, the baby's worth comprised being nothing more than a blood sacrifice to be traded off. But the guards had ended everything by their reckless treatment of the infant. Hearing that sound, the strange crunching of his child's throat because they hit the stone-floor head first had fractured something inside of him. Mainly because Hadrian had been the one to carry the child to term, being a rare hermaphrodite.
Slipping his hands beneath the child, raised them delicately up to lean upon his breast. Fingers brushed carefully over those diminutive features, as that tiny body lay there limply, blood coated their lips and nostrils, while eyes gazed forwards half-open. While monitoring that little chest, Hadrian could hear that the heart and lungs were soundless, no breath or beat of life.
At this confirmation of the infant's death, tears then began to trail down his face. Looking around, then spotted a somewhat clean sheet upon a wooden table. Standing up from the ground, moved beside it and carefully lay the baby upon it, fingers trailing down those tiny features. Staring down, focus fixated upon the infant, the dark-haired elf soon felt the others come up behind him.
No words were uttered, just a hand placed upon his shoulder in silent shared grief. A second elf pressed their head against his own. While the first meticulously wrapped the little one up. Next, with the help of each other, the elven maidens fastened the cocooned bundle against his chest, knotting the sheet so it would not come loose.
"So, what is the plan?" One questioned, after the last knot was finished, her hands dropping to her side, golden braids shifting with her tilted head.
Hadrian shifted to glance at them both, tears still silently trailing down pale cheeks, a blank expression still upon his face. "I am going into the castle and making sure no elf ever loses another child to these humans. Ever again." He lifted a hand and placed it upon one of the elf maidens shoulders. "You should find a way out, this is not going to be a safe place for you before long."
Then with that, left. Walked out of the door into the main castle, dagger in hand. Child swaddled against his chest, vengeance burning within. Vaughan would die for this, nothing else would satisfy this deeply burning rage.
A bloodbath followed. Every room Hadrian went into, bodies followed. Red had fallen over his gaze, and anyone who came into his view was a target. It was horrifying, but for Hadrian? satisfying. His child, his pride and joy, was dead. The man responsible was within reach and anyone who got in the way? Well, they were just collateral damage. There was no care for innocent life in his actions, no care that most of the guards were just doing their jobs, he just wanted to kill them all.
Finally, coming up to the final door and hearing a distressed female voice from behind the wooden barrier spurred him into moving quicker. Unlocking the lock with the key, opened the door and walked into the room, daggers in both hands trailing blood behind him. So covered in other peoples life-blood was the elf that it formed a trail through the entire castle.
Solis, who Hadrian had met up within the castle earlier in the day, hopped over the trail with a pale face. Long-sword held tightly in his left hand and a wooden shield in the other.
"Well, I thought I had heard a commotion. It would seem you are the cause." From a room at the back came a gentleman, again dressed in iron-armour. The brown-hair coloured human gave a smirk, as he pulled the missing elf maiden from behind him. "Is this what you have been searching for knife-ear? Enough to slaughter my men?"
He tossed her forward, to land upon the ground face first. "Well, I have a deal for you." There were heavy footsteps of multiple people before the main door behind Hadrian was suddenly locked and bolted. Glancing slightly backwards acknowledged two humans who stood obstructing the main doorway. "I am not an unreasonable man. I am easily pleased. There are three choices for you." A smirk crawled across the Vaghan's face. The black-haired elf turned to look back at the human with a vacant expression.
"Number one, you take 40 gold, leave us alive, leave the woman here and leave the city for good, never to return."
Solis moved closer, turning to face the two humans who moved slowly towards them. "I do not like this Hadri..."
"Number two, you elf take the place of the woman. Everyone else goes home, and the whole matter is settled with the payment of yourself in every way I can make you pay for the lives you have taken.
"Number three, we fight, and one of us ends up dead." The man opened his arms, tilting his head slightly to the side. "You decide, but tick-tock, clocks ticking."
"No." His voice was quiet. His head was down, dark strands covering over closed green-eyes.
"Hm?" That smirk slipped a little. As the man narrowed his eyes in slight confusion.
"Why would I ever deal with you." The elf looked up, a deadly glare aimed straight at that human across from him, as he lifted his weapons in hand upwards. "When you are the reason why my child is dead!" With that, Hadrian charged, an angry yell escaping him.
They fought, it was a short, painful, extremely bloody battle and nobody escaped unharmed. Blades swung, blood coated the ground and yells echoed. Grunts became commonplace, as the dinging and clanging of a knife against blade-edge became a symphony. Then, the man became cornered, his companions dead, one stabbed through, another neck sliced, and so Hadrian advanced, the man retreated slowly panting. Eyes twitched to the side, then his hand swung out, "Wait!"
The elf didn't, caging in the man, blade forcing the others back, aimed at the human's neck, "Please, not in front of my child." and Hadrian stopped.
"What?!" Green eyes stared down at earthy brown skeptical, the man pointed over to the intersecting room. Stepping back, letting the other slip down to the ground, moved in that direction. Entering the adjacent room was shocked to see a crib in the room. An expression of grief painted itself on his face as the Hadrian stopped in front of the tiny bed, dropping one of the daggers on to the ground absentmindedly as he reached forward to stroke the sleeping child's face.
"Look out!" Solis's voice rang out. Reacting, swung out with the remaining dagger and caught the flesh of Vaghan's throat. The spray coated the elf as the two stared for a long second at one another before with a silent "you win." the man toppled over dead.
End Chapter 4
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Translate:
Wizard Speech
1. Uoyerew ifi tahtodt ndluowi : I wouldn't do that if I were you.
2. Yrrahekawa uoyees otdalgmi : I'm glad to see you awake Harry.
3. Eciffoym nikaeps sutelemoc : Come let us speak in my office.
4. Spordnomel – Lemon drops
5. Ewllahs tahcaevah sutel. Taesa evahasealp yrrahemoclew - Welcome Harry, please have a seat. Let us have a chat shall we?
6. Rehctip a revouoy thguorbios. Eciujmikpmup ehtnoneek meestndid you sa, retaw ehtdetnaw uoywas. - Saw you wanted the water, as you didn't seem keen on the pumpkin juice. so I brought you over a pitcher.
7. Yadsiht nopihsdneirf of dnahdnaecnadiug my tpeccalliw you epoh I. Ecnatniauqcaruoy ekamoterusaelp Yoflam Ocardseman the. - The Names Draco Malfoy. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope you will accept my guidance and hand of friendship on this day.
8. Emdnatsrednu uoyod – Do you understand me?
Thedas's Elven.
Child – Dal'en
Zevran's Language.
Love/Affection/Fondness/Darling/Dear - Amore
My Shadow - la mia ombra
Rest now/Hour of Rest. Play later? - Ora di riposo. Riproduci in seguito?
Notes:
1. Left leg is the one with the Darkspawn blade still embedded within.
2. Hadrian and Zevran are bonded together.
3. Fawkes magic healing nearly killed harry, cause the Darkspawn blood in his body is completely bonded to him.
4. The blade has now been removed, due to the healing efforts of the Earth Wizards and Witches.
5. Snape has managed to form a connection with an unwilling Harry, Harry's bonded is not best pleased.
6. Draco is good at languages.
Worlds:
Earth-
Hogwarts
Thedas-
Underground Cavern
Thaig
Characters so Far:
Harry Potter Characters-
Potion Master Severus Snape
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall
Matron Mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey
Fawkes
Draco Malfoy
Dragon Age Characters-
Alister
Morrigan
Zevran
The Warden Hadrian(City Elven Rouge with core magic Mage Abilities – raised partially by the Dailish – is Harry Potter)
Flemeth (Mythal)
Solis (Childhood Elven Friend within the City)
Vaghan (Son to the Earl of Dererim and father himself, vile man who loves to force elves to 'please' him in any way possible, even to their deaths)