The Daughter of Tethras
Disclaimer: Don't own Dragon Age
A/N: Hey, I love that some of you are enjoying this, and I'm grateful, but feel free to leave your opinion on what's going on once in a while, I value any and all input too. I would love to know what you think of the story as it goes, but completely up to you. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 2 (A Broken World)
It wasn't long until Bianca found herself in chains, being questioned by a tall red-headed woman wearing a long purple cloak, and a second woman with short dark hair and a scar on her cheek. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now," the scarred woman said with a sneer.
She looked towards her hand, cringing at the pulsating sensation shooting through her arm. When she turned her hand, she saw a flash of green, and what looked like a gaping wound.
She cried out and turned her head away from the mark on her hand. She wanted to shoot back at the woman, to tell her she'd happily accept a death sentence. "My life has gotten me to this point, what else do I have to lose?" The woman went on about an explosion that took the lives of many, and asked her what happened.
Bianca tried to recall the events at the Conclave, but the last thing she could remember was Lantos verbally abusing her before she opened a door. Although she scolded herself for it, she hoped Lantos was one of those many, but that was an impulsive thought.
"They're all dead?" She asked with a trembling voice. "I don't remember anything. I swear. I don't know what happened." She was asked about her presence at the Conclave, but she didn't want to say anything about her father.
Not now, and perhaps not ever. Lantos, the Cadash family, and just about everyone else she ever told spouted that she'd never be accepted. She believed it.
The woman raised a hand to strike, but the redhead took her wrist. "We need her, Cassandra." Cassandra pulled her hand away and let out a grunt. Bianca raised her gaze to the woman and pressed her lips together for several seconds.
"It would be better for me to show you," Cassandra said. Her voice was softer now, although still firm with anger. The woman undid the cufflinks around Bianca's wrists. The cool air was soothing to the skin that had been rubbed raw by them. "Come. Do not try to run."
"Where would I go?" She walked out with Cassandra and tensed as the villagers nearby shuffled and glared in her direction. When she looked up, she was horrified by the giant glowing hole in the sky; it was likely the reason for the people that looked down on her. "Do they hate me?"
"They are already judging you. They are looking for someone to blame for what has happened. It is said that something caused an explosion at the Conclave. Divine Justinia, and several others were lost as a result." Her heart sank and she bowed her head.
"I didn't-"
"I believe you, but that does not change the fact that we still do not know what or who caused the breach."
As they moved onward, she held her wrist as though it would cut off the painful pulses shooting from her hand and up her arm.
All around them people were fighting, shouting and running. The smell of blood was so great that she was beginning to grow faint. "What can we do?"
"We have to find a way to close the breach. I suspect it has something to do with that mark on your hand, but I cannot be certain."
"Can I ask something?" It wasn't an opportune time, but she felt the question in mind had to be said. After all, she wanted to forget about Lantos if at all possible. "There was another with me at the Conclave. The last I saw of him, he was yelling at me."
Cassandra's eyebrow rose and her eyes squinted. "How do you mean 'yelling'?"
"I'd prefer not to talk about my connection with him. I just have to know…did you find the body of another dwarf nearby?" She turned towards Cassandra. Her lips pursed and her hands closed tight. "About an inch or two taller than I am, dark hair…" The woman studied her for a moment, then shook her head.
"I am sorry, but you were the only one present at that Conclave."
"Oh." Then Lantos was still alive. If he didn't perish in the explosion, there was no way the scrappy dwarf was going to be killed any other way. "He-He's still out there, then."
"Should I have people be on the lookout for this man? Is he a danger?"
Yes. Her heart and her mind were screaming the answer as loud as possible, but this was neither the time or place to bother Cassandra with it.
"No," she replied with a subtle breath. The muscles in her arms tensed and a tightness spread over her chest. "No, it's best not to worry about him now. There are more important things to deal with, right?"
"That is correct."
So long as the Dasher was still alive, he would keep Lantos from seeking her out. Though she wasn't sure what Lantos would tell the man.
Dasher was not only their boss, but he was the only one on their clan that looked out for her in any way. He didn't approve of the way the men treated the women in the clan, but could do little about it, but he often went to great pains to prevent anyone from abusing or using her for pleasure; Lantos was the only one bold enough to go out of his way to get around Dasher. To the point she couldn't feel safe.
"What's going to happen to me after this? Will you send me back?"
"Do you wish to return to your home?"
"I…Not really."
There was another explosion nearby that caused the pain in her hand to surge violently. She dropped to her knees, screaming as she clamped her hand around her wrist. Cassandra rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.
"It's getting worse!" Her teeth clenched together and she sucked the air in between her teeth.
"We must hurry." She pleaded for death to take her, but with Cassandra at her side, she willed herself to move on. "Can you walk?" While she wasn't sure why she continued to press forward, there was something in her gut that kept her from giving up.
"I'll be alright. Let's keep going…Maker help me, I won't be a burden. I promise." Her choice of words were more a reflex than anything. The way Cassandra was reacting to her, the vicious interrogation earlier, it had all brought forth the memories of abuse she suffered at the hands of the Cadash house.
With her adoptive mother always calling her a mistake, a burden, and her adoptive father constantly striking her for every minor misstep and every transgression, it was great cause for concern. Especially when taking into account that they often treated their true children with more kindness.
"Try and relax," Cassandra said calmly, as though sensing Bianca's distress. "Maker willing, this will all be over soon."
Before she could respond, there was another explosion. She flinched and felt the ground crumbling beneath her feet. When she looked down, the bridge they were on was indeed shattering, leaving her with little time to grab onto anything.
When she landed, the shock of hitting the ground was enough to dull the pain from both the landing and the mark. She pulled herself to her feet and the first thing she saw was a strange purple monster with long scrawny arms.
Her heart lurched forward and she yelped. "What is that thing?"
"A demon." Cassandra drew her blade and grabbed the sword from her back. Bianca knew very little of demons, but she knew her people fought off darkspawn in the Deep Roads. This creature looked nothing like what was described in the textbooks as Darkspawn.
To her right was a long two handed blade. On instinct, she grabbed it and charged at the demon coming for her. Part of her preferred to stare into the burning red eyes of this monster than to have to stare down Lantos again, so fighting this creature off would be a cinch.
The first slash flew through the creature as though it were putty. Her eyes slanted as the creature slid back, and to her shock, a layer of slime slid over the once gaping wound.
She took another strike at it only to find the same result, but with each slash she noticed the creature's body growing thinner. The only way to ensure death was to continue striking it.
The adrenaline inside her allowed her to keep fighting despite the searing pain, and after a countless amount of slashes the monster melted into a disgusting, bubbling puddle.
Cassandra finished off the demon charging at her, then turned her blade towards Bianca. "Put down your weapon!" Bianca flinched and her muscles tensed as a flash of horror glinted in her eyes.
"As you wish." She lowered the blade, keeping her eyes locked with the sharpened glare coming from the woman. Cassandra's facial features relaxed and her eyes softened.
"I'm sorry, I should not expect you to be defenseless." Cassandra sheathed her blade and smiled warmly. "I should remember you came willingly." Bianca breathed out a sigh of relief and strapped the blade to her back. "We do not know what we may face."
"Alright." She turned her eyes to the breach in the sky and watched with horror as more of these strange demonic creatures fell from the sky. Cassandra followed her gaze and responded with a grunt.
"Let's keep moving." Bianca nodded and ran alongside Cassandra. She sensed the woman studying her and looked over. "I'm curious, you seem to display a decent amount of swordplay. Where did you learn to use a blade?"
"My boss personally trained me." She'd only been with the Carta for a few short years, and Dasher was taken by her, so he was happy to teach her a few tricks. "Most dwarves are best with archery or daggers, but I've liked the look of swords since I was a girl. Dasher was a sword user, so he trained me."
"Dasher? This is your former boss?"
"Yes." The only reason she was saying 'former' instead of current was because she had no intention of going back. She knew they didn't want her there, and Lantos was sure to paint an ugly picture of her.
With nowhere left to run to, she preferred to crawl into a hole and die. She couldn't figure out why she survived the explosion, nor did she want to. "Can I say something, Cassandra?"
"Sure."
"I don't know if I'm going to survive this." Her father hadn't been at the Conclave, and if he was, then he was sure to be dead. The thought of it brought tears to her eyes, but she turned away to keep Cassandra from seeing them. "If I do, if we fix that hole in the sky, I want you to end it."
Cassandra's eyes widened and her lips fell apart. "What? Are you asking me what I think?"
"I have no home to go back to, I have nobody that wants me around. There's no reason for me to keep going once this is all said and done."
"Enough. I will hear no talk of this right now." She pulled her head back and smiled sadly.
"Right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
"It isn't that." Cassandra sliced through another oncoming demon and ran ahead. "There are some fighting right now, we must get to them as soon as possible."
"Who's fighting?"
"You'll see." She rolled her eyes and followed the without question.
They ran up a set of stairs, where she could hear the sounds of a struggle. There was a flash of light, then a sudden chill that wafted into the air. "Damn it Solas!" Cried a deep voice. There was a grumbling noise within the man's voice, one that was odd yet curious to her. "Watch where you're aiming that thing would you? You nearly froze my eyebrows off."
"I apologize," replied a voice with a silky tone. "However, I could say the same thing about you and your crossbow, Varric." Bianca's heart stopped and her legs froze. She feared her knees would give out from under her.
Her fingers began trembling and her mouth fell open. Cassandra stopped just a few paces in front of her and turned around. "What are you doing? We must help them."
"Right." She stammered, then shook herself back to reality. "Sorry, I-I thought I heard something." She was certain it was a mistake, she was only imagining that name being said.
They entered the fray, but there were so many demons that she could hardly see any of the fighters. By the time it was over, a tall and bald-headed elf was grabbing her hand and pointing it at the strange green portal before them.
A blast of energy shot from her hand, being drawn to the portal. She watched as it quivered and shrank, then gasped out when the portal disappeared. "You've done it!" Solas proclaimed. "You've closed the rift."
"I…I did that?" She looked down at her hand. Her eyebrows rose and she glanced to the right. That's when she saw him, a rugged looking dwarf with a heavy chin, stubble and similar colored hair. The only difference was his hair was more faded in color than hers, a sign of his age.
The man returned his crossbow to the holster on his back and his eyes fell onto her. "It's about time you two showed up, I thought we'd be knee deep in demons forever."
She didn't want to believe what she was seeing, she wanted to know she was imagining things, but as she studied him she knew his face in an instant. Only one time before had she seen this man, and while it was when she was a child, she never forgot his face.
Varric Tethras. He and his brother were in Kirkwall when the Cadash family went there on a business trip. She was so small at the time that they had to take her with them. Mother Cadash made a remark that this man was the one her mother slept with, the one that was "responsible for Bianca's existence".
He looked no different than he did back then. The longer she gazed at him, the more certain she was that he and the other two were becoming suspicious of her.
"You're Varric Tethras," she said excitedly. He raised an eyebrow, clearly stunned that she recognized him before he had a chance to introduce himself. "The renowned author from Kirkwall. You wrote the tale of the Champion, you wrote Hard in Hightown, and-"
"Sounds like you have a fan," Solas chuckled. Varric cleared his throat and raised up a finger.
"Hold on, you've read Hard in Hightown? Isn't that a little out of your age range?"
"I've read all your novels."
"All of them?" His face paled and his eyes grew large with horror. In the corner of her eyes she watched Cassandra's face turn crimson. Solas brought his hand up over his grinning lips.
"Many times since I was five years old. You may not remember me, but my family traveled to Kirkwall fifteen years ago. You gave me my first novel." As she remembered it, she ran up to him hoping to tell him what she heard her mother say. She didn't, simply because she was too nervous, but she did ask if she could have a book.
"I remember you now." He smiled at her and a hint of pride flashed in his eyes. "It's good to see you're a fan." Varric turned to Cassandra and pointed at Bianca. "You see, Seeker, there are some people who enjoy my novels."
Cassandra crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "We have little time to discuss your novels, Varric. However, I believe introductions are in order…"
Bianca nodded and moved her hand to her chest. "I'm Bianca of house Cadash." Varric's face contorted and his eyebrows slid together, pushing a wrinkle up between them.
"Cadash? I am sorry for you."
"You know them?"
"I know of them." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Brutal bunch of assholes."
"Varric!" Cassandra's eyes grew and her voice lashed out at him. "That is her family you're speaking of." Varric swept his hand through the air, scoffing back at the woman.
"I've never cared for them. They are a bunch of liars, cheats and scumbags."
"Still, even if-"
"It's fine," Bianca replied. She agreed with Varric, even though he likely only knew a small part of just how terrible that family was. "He's correct. Regardless, I've left the m behind long ago. They are…" Her head bowed for a moment and with a sigh, she looked back at Varric. "Not my family by birth."
That was as much as she wanted to get into. Lantos's words were like poison to her brain, playing over and over again. If she told Varric who she was exactly, there was little doubt he would turn her away.
"Well." Varric dusted off the lower portion of his uniform and turned his attention to Cassandra. "Looks like I'll be tagging along, Seeker." Cassandra grunted and Bianca flashed a smile.
Now she had a reason to keep going forward, even after this was closed. Even if he may never accept her, just being there was enough for now.
As you can see, it will follow the main story, though some of the game's events we may not see just like we won't see them doing every single side quest in the game. Just plot critical moments for this story. So what do you think, do you think Varric suspects anything? Would he be likely to accept her? What are your thoughts on the background of Cadash? We'll likely see Lantos again, he does become a problem later on as well. You can tell that the family that raised her, and the members of her Carta clan have groomed her to believe that he likely wouldn't accept her as his daughter, is she right to fear this?