Shartan leaned against the wall of the small meeting room with Solas on his right and the advisors standing on the other side of the table watching him as they had for the past minute, Shartan shifted to lower his arms and hook his thumbs in his belt and spoke calmly deep voice rumbling. "If you have questions I suggest you ask if you are just going to stand there and look I will ask you to let me leave with Cassandra to my cabin or you all leave except for Cassandra." Cullen choked at his words and Cassandra looked like she was debating on taking him up on his offer or running him through. Josephine spoke up because of her role as ambassador. "We would like to know more about you, as we have been unable to learn much and Solas refused to speak of you."
Cassandra watched the man who was her soulmate closely trying to discern his real thoughts but could read nothing but the warmth that shone in his eyes when he looked at her and those looks made her flush. "understandable that Solas would not speak given how weak he must be right now and risking my ire would be foolish." His voice sent shiver down her spine, she shook her head slightly to clear it as Leliana asked a question. "You mentioned that you were once the high priest of the halla goddess and her soulmate is that right?" Cassandra also wanted an answer to that as she felt that he was hiding much of who he was or she once was. "Yes, it is true I once was the high priest to Ghilan'nain and her soulmate until an internal fight broke out among those of us who fashioned ourselves into gods and she was killed while trying to defuse the situation." Leliana's face betrayed nothing of what she was thinking, Cassandra however felt a strange dizzying feeling as a strange vision flashed before her eyes and saw Shartan not as he was now but as he once was during the elven empire.
Cullen spoke and it broke her out of the strange vision. "So we are to believe that you are older than the oldest texts out there?!" He said sarcasm dripping from his voice, Cassandra started to bristle when Shartan laughed. "Ah at least one thing has never changed in all these years is that the Templars minus my soulmates are always narrow minded fools that understand nothing about magic!" Cullen openly bristled at that and Cassandra got the feeling that Shartan was toying with them testing them, Leliana laid a hand on Cullen's arm guard to stop him from reaching for his sword. "To be fair it is quite hard to believe perhaps if you could somehow prove it, then we might be more inclined to believe you." Josephine said gently and Cassandra watched Shartan as for a single second she thought she saw approval while looking at the three woman. "I understand what would convince you?" He asked and Cassandra decided to ask a question that had been bugging her. "When you said that you were the soulmate to a goddess how could she be killed?" "You were never a goddess. The elves just raised up the leaders of the time to godhood over the course of hundreds of years." Cassandra saw another vision that made her stagger as she witnessed a scene, she stood at the top of large out cropping looking down at the hoards of elves below all who were on their knees before her praying and a glance behind her showed Shartan looking at her with love.
Shartan saw her stumble and knew at once what was happening and fade stepped through the table and grabbed her before she fell. "Easy Ma Vhenan, deep breaths let the vision pass." He said gently cradling her in his arms only vaguely aware of the sword being draw next to him, He dimly felt the air move before she stirred calming his worrying heart. "He is telling the truth." Cassandra said weakly as he helped her sit down in a nearby chair. "How do you know?" the human male growled at her and Shartan tensed at the tone and began to rise to teach the man respect for the weakened and more to the point his soulmate when a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold as it came with weak words. {Peace Ma Vhenan it is how he is, let it go I am unoffended.} Cassandra said in perfect elven. "What just happened?" Leliana asked and Shartan vaguely heard Solas speaking as he cradled his soulmate's head in his hands using magic to help her through the vision. "She is currently recovering from reliving a piece of her past lives, it happens from time to time in soulmates that have had a single partner on one side but many on the other side."
Once Cassandra recovered Leliana moved on to a new topic to hopefully prevent another collapse and having to stop Cullen from threatening the man, Leliana had seen out of the corner of her eye as she had blocked Cullen from striking the man when Cassandra collapsed that Solas's magic flared along his staff as he watched Cullen leaving no doubt that had he moved Cullen would have been killed by Solas. "Let us table talk of your distance past and move on to the matters of the breach." "Very well Solas's orb was stolen by a creature that then used a ritual to open the foci which the venting of power released by the pressure build up leveled the mountain top and created the breech." "What? how did a single orb cause that much destruction!" Cullen asked astounded and Leliana agreed. "It is not all that surprising our orbs or foci as we called them were magic channels for us and our priests to draw on the power of the god beings, given how much power was in there to begin with then give it a few thousand years to soak up more power from the air and you get a magic bomb where a channel once was." Shartan explained and Cassandra somehow knew that Shartan was with holding information but she was not about to say that until she could confront him in private she owed him that much. After discussing the fact that the monster may still be alive as neither of the elven men could sense the orb's presence anymore the talks turned to what to do.
"Some are calling you a dalish elf the herald of Andraste and that worries the chantry." Josephine said and to everyone's great surprise Shartan started laughing loudly until he doubled over. Leliana glared at the man who seemed to be mocking the chantry with his laugh. "Just what is so funny people need something to believe in!" she snapped and Saw Cassandra also glaring at the man, but she looked like she had been expecting something like that. "I am sorry no offence meant to your belief trust me I believe in the maker to some degree as I have seen his works first hand, what I was laughing at was the idea that I have been demoted from champion to herald and not even herald as there was no way for that to have been Andraste!" He said still chuckling, Leliana felt like she knew what he was implying but she had to ask to be sure. "You are say that you are thee Shartan from the chant but that does not explain how you know it was not Andraste?" Shartan grinned at Cassandra as he spoke. "Yes I once fought as Andraste's champion and lover but as to how I know that is the fact that Cassandra stands here is proof that it could not have been her as how can my soulmate be in two place at once?" you could hear a pin drop in the room after he finished speaking, Leliana felt her jaw drop at the reveal that not only were the rumours true about Shartan and Andraste being lovers true but Cassandra was the reborn Andraste.
Cassandra was stunned but more images flashed before her eyes confirming his tale and after saying so the room's human looked at each other, no of them knew what to do with this information. "I don't understand how you can degrade the chantry and the Templars if you were the soulmate of Andraste?" Cullen asked and Cassandra wondered as well. "That is easy the chantry and Templars are not of Andraste's vision or wishes, why would a mage and elven half blood seek to degrade elves and imprison her and her soulmate's own kind?" Shartan asked shattering history once again with a just a few words, Cassandra wanted to claim lies but the flashes across her eyes told her that he spoke the truth and she said as much. "However that is a matter for another time, we need more power if we are to seal the breech." Shartan said and the group moved on to discuss their next move.
Shartan walked with Cassandra by his side as they exited the meeting and walked towards his cabin. "What troubles you Ma Sweet Halla?" Shartan asked gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "I am confused and unsure my faith is a lie what am I to do now?" She said as they reached his cabin and Shartan pulled his soulmate in and lit the fire with a wave of his hand as he closed the door. "How is you faith a lie? So Andraste is once again in this world but the principles she left behind are still true and the maker is still out there and even I don't know if it is a god or not so how is your faith a lie?" he asked as he made tea for them both before gesturing to remove her armor and sit down, Cassandra sat down but looked more thoughtful now and sat there for a few moments watching Shartan as he watched the fire letting her think in peace.
"Thank you that does help me." Cassandra said and Shartan smiled at her before whispering to her in her ear. "Don't thank me that is something you once said to another many years ago as a healer." She blushed at how close he was, Shartan pulled away and she missed his warmth. "Tell me about her." "Hm?" "Tell me about the other lives I have lived please." She asked wanting to know what she had in common with them and as if he read her mind Shartan spoke. "If you are looking for what is the same about all of your past lives I can honestly say that my favourite part about living long enough to meet and fall in love with time and time again is that even though you change so much time one thing remains the same, your sense of honour and duty along with a desire to help others." Cassandra flushed at that. "IF you still want to know more I will tell you but in time not tonight your mind has had enough of trying to remember the past for today, but I will given you a nice massage to help yu relax instead if you want. Then we can speak some more in the fade to night." "I thought that tired you?" "It would if I was not so close to you right now." "Alright a massage only though I will not have sex with you yet." She stated and glared at him daring him to say something. "Understandable after all I was the one to lecture you on waiting for that but I will share a bed with you this night no sex or anything but now that I have found you I will not let you sleep on your own again."
Cassandra heard a tone of desperation in his voice and that made her wonder just how many soulmates he lost to violence that made him not want her to leave his side. "Very well then shall we begin." She asked, Shartan stood and began stripping pausing only to ask. "Do you care about seeing me naked before we make love or do you not care a I tend to sleep with nothing on?" Cassandra shook her head. "That is the same for me unless I have my moons then I wear a loin clothe to bed." She said as she started to stripped, out of the corner of her eye she looked at his form his pale skin smooth and well muscled and well hung she saw before he turned to gather his clothe giving her an eye full of his perfectly toned ass. She laid face down on the bed with nothing on and felt him straddle her as he began his massage and by the end of it she had melted into the bed and was nearly asleep when he tucked them both in. she felt his member rock hard nestle between her cheeks but he said nothing about it and did not press it only whispered to her in elven before she fell asleep in his arms with him not far behind and the both felt safe and happy with their soulmate by their side.