Leliana stood with the other advisors in the war room to discuss the latest news and finding about Shartan, Cullen started with the news from the hitherlands as that was the most important in his mind. After they discussed everything including a new cult that had taken to helping at the crossroads in the name of the Herald they turned to the subject they all want to discuss but were unwilling to be the first to speak of it.
"Have your spies learned anything new about this 'Shartan'?" Cullen asked, Leliana sighed internally as Shartan seemed to great pleasure from annoying the commander whenever he had the chance.
"Sadly very little, we have almost nothing to go on when searching for his past." Leliana confessed as she began sorting through her notes on the strange elf. "The man appears in history a number of times though, several times he appears right before a great disaster wipes out an area."
"Why would he cause so many disaster?" Josephine shocked at the long list of disasters the man had been seen right before.
"As near as my spies could tell it stems from the fact that every time it happens a woman who had been helping others had been kill, also every time it happens only those who were working for or with the woman's killers were attacked." Leliana stated while thinking back to when she first realized that fact and knew that if anything happened to Cassandra Shartan would destroy everything linked to her death.
"Anything else, or are will still going blind with this mage?" Growled Cullen scowling at the pitiful number of notes.
"Only one other fact, it seems that for all his hatred of the chantry and everything it spawned he had a hand in shaping aspects of it." Leliana said watching as her fellow advisors looked shocked as they read the notes she passed them.
"He helped found the fighting styles the Templars and seekers use, we know this from the tales of Templar knight-commanders and lord-seekers who were women and always rode a large black hart with silver horns." She stated but before anything further could be discussed a messenger arrived to inform them that the herald had returned.
It had been two days since the herald had returned and Leliana and Josephine were busy working to gather the remaining revered mothers so Shartan could speak with them, they were spreading the tale that Shartan was a mage who had lived in the haven mountain range near the temple and that was why he knew so much about the history of Andraste. With nothing pressing for him to do currently Cullen was heading down to training grounds to get a work-out in before he had to drill the recruits, as he approached he heard the distinct sound of drills being ran making Cullen frown as he sped up. He had not set any drills to be done at this time and all of his trainers were busy with other tasks.
Cullen approached the training grounds and saw to his shock and displeasure Shartan running drills with a group of elven mages, Cullen stormed up to Shartan scowling as he had enough of this elf just overriding or degrading him.
"What do you think you are doing?!" Cullen roared making one of the younger mages misstep and light a tree on fire, Shartan banished the flames with a wave of his hands before slowly turning to Cullen.
"I was training a group of warriors, what might I ask are you doing commander yelling and breaking the concentration of mages running combat drills like an idiotic Templar recruit?" Shartan asked with condescension in every line of his body as he glared at Cullen.
"There is no drills set to be running right now!" Cullen barreled on not letting the elf play his game.
"And that is why I decided to train them currently, now if you would be so kind as to leave or shut up I want to make the most of the time I have here before I leave tomorrow." Shartan then turned and ordered the mages to begin again.
Cullen stormed off but before he got far he saw Cassandra sitting on a large rock watching her soulmate as he moved through the lines correcting some of the recruits, Cullen stomped over to her and she barely glanced at him before returning to the training as Shartan was stripping off his top and robes to allow the recruits to see how their muscles should be moving. He scowled at the elf for a time before he heard the Seeker sigh heavily after Shartan put his robes back on, out of the corner of his eye he saw her turn towards him.
"Cullen if you glare any harder you will make your withdrawal worse, besides what has Shartan done to make you annoyed this time, did he take the last Ferelden biscuit again?" Cullen whirled to glare at her annoyed look.
"He is training those mages!" He nearly yelled, the seeker just made a disgusted noise at him.
"Why is that a problem Shartan is teaching them during a time that the training field is clear and has been doing so for the last two days."
"He should not be teaching mages to fight like that! What good a few more fighters do? He is only training twelve for the maker's sake!" Cullen was upset that the man had not run this by him first.
"Cullen he is training them in the old elven war mage methods, melee combat is only a small portion of it that is way they are learning staff forms. For another matter as they are learning to be war mages those twelve will soon be able to single handily turn the tide of a battle, they also could have not better teacher as Shartan has forgotten more war mage than most could ever learn." Cullen fumed at the Seeker not understanding how dangerous teaching mages to be war mages was, one of the heroes of Ferelden had proven that when he destroyed the fallen circle on his own with only four other none of whom were mages.
"he should have run it by me first not just doing what he wants." Cullen was so focused on their argument that he failed to notice that Shartan had finished the training and was coming to pick up his soulmate.
"Would you have allowed it Cullen or would you have turned it down on the fact that I want to empower mages and that you and I have different views on many matter? Also I ran it by the others first as the mages are not under your preview but mine if you recall, in addition you seem to forget I have waged countless wars before so I know what I am doing." Shartan said before offering his hand to Cassandra and walking off without waiting for a reply.
Cassandra kept glancing at Shartan as she was wondering just what he thought of the pacing of their relationship, this had been on her mind the last few days after Leliana cornered her after a war meeting to get details on her sex life. She had claimed it was for professional interest and Leliana had been shocked at the fact that beyond some heavy kissing and the massages they had done nothing, Cassandra had not thought this odd but Leliana had pointed out that Shartan had probably waiting for well over thirty years now. Shartan pulled her to a stop and looked her dead in the eyes.
"What is wrong Cassandra? You keep looking like you want to ask something." Shartan asked sounding annoyed.
"What do you think of our pacing!" She demanded and Shartan looked confused for a moment before the look cleared.
"I see now you are wondering if I am fine with waiting for moving to a more carnal stage of our love. Let me say this I have had soulmates who loved me but never wanted sex or anything like that so if you want to wait I am fine with it, keep in mind I come from a time where years meant nothing to us and so sex could last months and you could go centuries without. Now I am not saying I am not eagerly looking forward to the day that I make love to you and make you forget your name and teach you to say only mine, I am just saying that I am willing to wait for you." He said gently and Cassandra flushed before she confessed what she wanted.
"If you want true romance like that then let us go and take a nap, and I will take you to the fade and show you the beauty of my time and do you better than what you asked." Shartan promised leading her to the cabin outside haven.