Happy Friday! This week as been a busy one, but I took time to fix up a bunch of chapters for this fic, which was nice. If I've calculated correctly, I have the first 17 chapters done! So, enjoy chapter 5 and see you at the bottom!
It amused Solas to no end that Ellana got along with everyone in her inner circle, except for Commander Cullen. Well, she got along with him, as long as they hadn't spent time around their war table for an extended period of time. From what Solas knew of the Commander, he was a pessimist and realistic, and while Ellana was a trained rogue and killed people on a regular basis, she was still young and idealistic.
The two just seemed to fight each other at every turn when it came to world altering decisions. Ellana and Cullen usually left shouting at each other or in a heated debate that would leave both of them red in the face and not on speaking terms for at least a few days.
Their tempers were coming to a head the closer it got to Ellana deciding whether or not she was going to help the mages or the Templars. Solas would worry for Cullen more if Ellana had been a mage. No doubt she'd be throwing fire at him if she had the capability. Though, she carried her knives with her wherever she went, but Solas didn't think she'd stab him publicly. She'd miss the human, he was an amazing strategist, even Solas had to admit that.
It wasn't often that Solas got to hear their arguments firsthand, he usually heard them second hand from Varric, who would watch and write down everything that happened between the two. He was obviously hoping for a romance between the two. It would be a grand story, an ex-Templar falling in love with a Dalish savage, but Solas couldn't see her wanting a human Templar. She cared for the people too much to betray them in such a way.
But, today was special since they were standing near the apothecary, which put them in Solas' line of sight. Ellana had mentioned needing to make potions earlier that morning. She had probably planned on doing it after her war table meeting, though if her grip on her dual blades was any indication of her mood, she was more likely to stab her Commander, or anything really, instead of creating something. So, Solas leaned against his cabin, watching the chaos unfold.
"I don't understand why you want the mages so badly. We could just as easily use the Templars!"
Ellana seems to be fuming at this point. Her face is red and she squares her shoulders attempting to make herself seem imposing, but she's at least a head and half shorter than the ex-Templar.
"The mages didn't threaten to kill me when I met their leader!"
Their trip to Val Royeaux had been eventful to say the least. They'd been threatened by not only the seekers, but the Templars as well. Ellana did not take to be threatened well by humans and seemed to prefer Grand Enchanter Fiona. It probably helped that the leader of the Mage Rebellion had been an elf.
"Mages are unpredictable, we'll no doubt have abominations on our hands with mages, at least with Templars we wont have that worry looming over us!"
Solas rolled his eyes at the Commander's attitude towards mages. He was always so ready for the mages to turn to demons. It caused Solas to tighten his grip on his staff. Though, it seemed to bother Ellana as much as it bothered him.
"And have lyrium infused soldiers running around camp is any better? The Inquisition doesn't have the funds currently to supply that large of an amount of lyrium to the Templars."
It seemed that Ellana had different concerns than Solas did about choosing the mages. He vaguely wondered if the Templars had done something to her clan to cause such obvious distrust. The Commander's eyes narrowed. It seemed Ellana struck a nerve, interesting. "So, you won't even consider them because they'd cost too much because of lyrium?"
It seemed that the Ambassador had been influencing her. Solas doubted that Ellana would have known the price of lyrium a few weeks ago.
"Not just that, but I'm trying to look at the bigger picture here, for the betterment of Haven. There is not a hundred percent chance of abominations among the mages. I feel like the ones that were easily swayed by demons have already let that happen to them. You haven't been in the Hinterlands in the midst of the fighting. I've killed so many abominations, blood mages and Templars, all of them mindlessly fighting. Then I saw what was left of the Mage Rebellion and realized that they were slaves of Tevinter. Cullen, I don't even want to image what Tevinter will do with that many mages under its thumb! Their leader was kind enough to invite us to their stronghold and then I find out that there is some strange kind of time magic at work there, I can't just ignore it. I worked with mages back at my clan and this is familiar to me! Why can't you trust my judgment?"
Solas could think of at least five different reasons why they shouldn't trust her judgment. One being her obvious hatred of Tevinter clouding her judgment, two being her age, he could go on, but didn't want to make himself worry about the consequences any ill thought plans she created could cause.
That seemed to be the correct response, since The Commander's shoulder's slumped. He let out a sigh, "You're young, Ellana. I just worry that you let your personal feelings get in the way of more tactical judgment. Templars are trained fighters, they are already militarized and willing to fight for a cause they believe in, unlike many of the mages in the rebellion that were forced into this war and could care less about closing the Breach."
Though, that seemed to be the wrong thing to say to Ellana. It wasn't often that anyone brought up her age, as it was a sore point with her and it tended to get her worked up and angry when it was used as an excuse to make decisions without her or for her. "You humans should have found something better than Circles to keep your mages in line, then none of this," she indicated to the world around them, "would have happened."
"You're blaming all of this on humans? If I remember right the Grand Enchanter at Kirkwall was an elf as well as the bloody leader of the mage rebellion who foolishly enslaved her people to Tevinter!"
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, since Ellana tensed up like a snake ready to strike. Her fists tightened against her sides as she strained to keep her temper in check.
"Elves didn't build the Circles. You," she poked him in the chest, "locked them in. Your fear of magic consumes you and drags innocents into prisons and you would all do it again, as long as it made you feel safe for a night. Your Chantry created this war, the same ones that are trying to place me on some gods forsaken pedestal with Andraste. Now, I have work to do, Commander, and no doubt you do as well." It was a clear dismissal and the Commander needed no further prompting to get away from her.
"Very well, Herald," he ground out before stalking away, the icy wind nearly causing his cape to hit him in the face.
How regal.
No doubt they'd be chatting like friends again within the next day or so.
Ellana turned to Solas, noticing him for the first time. She looked exhausted. Solas wondered how long she had been arguing with the Commander before they even reached the Apothecary. They had started their War Table meeting hours ago.
"Can you conjure something I can destroy?"
Solas raised an eyebrow, almost daring her to ask again. She opened her mouth once more, but thought better of it. Instead she walked over to him and plopped down unceremoniously on the ground next to him. Her head hit the back of his cabin with a thud, her fingers playing with the snow on the ground.
"Why does he have such a stick up his ass! Elgar'nan's sagging butt cheeks, he's an infuriating man!"
Solas nearly choked at the creative slur she had come up with and noted that she had flopped on her back in the snow and proceeded to blankly stare at overcast sky. And she wondered why they brought up her age when she did things like this?
"Would you like to sit inside my cabin instead of the ground?"
"No, I feel my decent into madness should be public."
"Is there a reason why you and the Commander can't get along this afternoon?"
She threw her hands up in frustration, smacking accidently into his knee. "He is afraid of befriending the mages and I don't like that he is afraid of magic. We both don't like the fact that the Imperium is trying to enslave the mage rebellion, but he feels that the Templars should be our primary concern, even though they've only shown disdain for the Inquisition! I also don't like the way he spoke of Dalish mages in the war room today. He nearly let the word savage slip out as a descriptor. He isn't as bad as Vivienne, who's absolutely ridiculous in her views of Dalish mages, magic and culture, but Cullen is weary at best and it bothers me. What if my brother had been this sacrilegious Herald? What would the Inquisition do then? Lock him up for his own good? Force him to get the Templars so they can better control his magic? This mark is magically charged, he'd be trying to figure out how to use it instead of saving Thedas."
"I feel that you are over thinking things, da'len."
She wasn't, but he wasn't going to tell her that. Thedas didn't need her worrying over what ifs. Her brother wasn't here nor was he the Herald. Solas had many similar fears when he joined originally. The Seeker had threatened and snarled at him, just because he had magic, nevertheless the mark on the Herald's hand.
Ellana made a noise at the back of her throat that was nearly identical to Cassandra's. "You sound like Leliana and Josie. They said the same thing." She rolled onto her side, making it easier for her to look at Solas directly, even if it was directly up towards his face, "do you think I should be siding with the mages?"
Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. Did his opinion really matter in the long run? If it did, then either he was closer to Ellana than he thought or she was far too easily swayed, but he'd give his opinion regardless. "I think they have the best chance of closing the Breach, but the decision is ultimately up to you."
She groaned, rubbed tiredly at her eyes, but sat up, it seemed that she made up her mind. There was a frown her face when she turned to him again. "You're right. I hate it when you're right."
Solas grinned. "I'm always right, da'len."
"Except when your wrong. Don't let yourself be consumed by your namesake, Solas. Now, I have to think of a way to apologize to the Commander for… overthinking…" she told him with a wink before brushing some snow off her and sauntering back towards her cabin. The necessary trip to the Apothecary long forgotten.
I hope you guys liked the chapter. This one was interesting to write since Solas was mostly just observing an interaction between Ellana and Cullen. I've always wondered why there wasn't more conflict with the Inquisitor, Josie, Cullen and Leliana. I mean, the Inquisitor isn't supposed to be that old in the cannon, I don't think. I guess it depends how you make them look, but the Dalish Inquisitor always looks so young to me, like early 20s and all of the advisers are in their 30s at least, I feel they should have more arguments and dialogue.
Etiquette lessons with Josie are 100% going to be a thing. XD Also I received a question in the reviews, asking me who my favorite companions to travel with are. In Origins like liked Leliana, in Dragon Age II Fenris was my favorite and then in Inquisition (I know I'm going to get yelled at for this) I really liked traveling with Sera. At first I couldn't stand Sera (especially since my Inquisitor was Dalish), but I liked that she wasn't so serious in comparison to everyone else and when she was in the party she made a lot of jokes. The more that I got to know her character the more I realized how young she was and the hints at the abuse she went through endeared me to her. What can I say, I love a tragic backstory. Anyway, my favorite team to bring with me: Solas, Sera and Blackwall. Blackwall and Sera literally spend the entire time making sex jokes and ribbing at Solas. It's hilarious.
Anyway, next chapter is going to have more Solas and Ellana interacting with one another. =)
Also, review! They keep me super motivated to keep going and finish this story. If you have questions or constructive criticism I'd be more than happy to hear it! =D
See you next week,
~Animerocker