When Fenris arrived at the Circle Tower in Redcliffe, alongside Winter, Wynne and Bruiser, he was instantly put on high-alert.
Mages were wondering around unaccompanied by a Templar, and everyone seemed far too relaxed for a Circle. He knew of the changes in some Circles around Thedas, but he never thought they would be like this.
"Wynne! You're back!" A young elven girl squealed as she leapt at Wynne, hugging her tightly as a group of young mages, barely in their teens, joined to greet the senior enchanter.
As Wynne chuckles and began talking to her students, completely in her element. Fenris noticed how Wynne visibly relaxed when she set foot in the Circle. It was her home after all, and she did express her concerns for Grand Enchanter Fiona's plans for the Circles of Thedas, but she was glad that King Alistair had allowed the Circle in Redcliffe the ability to govern themselves, with the templars there as a precaution.
According to Wynne, the Redcliffe Circle (or Kinloch Hold as it's known to most Fereldens) had seen a drastic reduction of mages turning to blood magic, and a huge increase in mages passing their Harrowing. She even mentioned that a dwarf had joined the Circle to study, but Fenris had too much on his mind to listen to the elder mage's ramblings.
"Fenris, is it? My cousin told me a lot about you," chuckled a soft, sultry spoken voice from behind him. Fenris and Winter turned to meet the owner of that voice.
The woman was dressed in First Enchanter robes, and had such a familiar smile that Fenris could only recognise as Hawke's caring smile. Her hazel eyes sparkled with wisdom and mischief as she tucked a stray strand of chocolate-brown hair behind her ear. The women frowned slightly when she caught Fenris staring at the large pure white strip on hair that was in complete contrast to her dark brown hair.
"It's rude to stare, you know," she frowned before turning her attention to Winter, "You must be Winter, yes? Trinity said that your nature and healing magic is coming along wonderfully! My teaching tips must have helped her."
Winter nodded and beamed a huge smile at the human, "You must be Solana!"
"We need access to the library."
Solana put her hands on her hands, "Straight to business huh? Trinny mentioned you were the kind." She peered over to see Wynne still busy with her former students, smiling as she sighed.
"I'll take us to the library to being. Wynne will join us later," Solana cocked her head to one side, smiling before leading them towards the grand library.
As they made their way through the long corridor, Fenris' markings began to itch far more than usual. Probably due to being surrounded by mages, and the fact that everyone was staring and whispering at himself and his niece as they strolled behind Solana. He felt Winter hook an arm around his, pulling herself close to her uncle; she was clearly nervous.
"No need to be nervous, Winter," Solana smiled as she looked over her shoulder, "I've told the templars you're visitors from Kirkwall Circle, got signed documents from First Enchanter Bianca too."
Winter's eyes widened, "How did you get those?!"
Two templars saluted the First Enchanter before opening the great mahogany doors to the grand library. Fenris' eyes widened in amazement; he had never seen so many books before! When he noticed Solana giggling at his reaction, he immediately frowned and got straight to work.
"Do you have any books about Hawke's condition?" Fenris asked, a finger running along the spines of various books as he carefully read each title.
Winter had already skipped off and began pulling various books off the shelves, flitting from each of the different sections and grabbing any books she found remotely interesting.
Solana sighed, "Of course, they're in the 'Magical Conditions' section. I'll help you find them."
Fenris followed Solana and acted as her own personal bookshelf as Solana piled book upon book in Fenris' awaiting arms. Winter had already claimed them a table as she piled the books she had collected on the table and lit a few candles with Fang curled up under the table.
Carefully placing the books Solana had collected, Fenris narrowed his eyes as he read the spines of the books Winter had found.
"Ice Magic for Beginners, Muscle Relaxation Herbs and Potions...What are you planning?!" Fenris demanded, slumping in the chair opposite his niece as he pulled one of the books off the pile and began reading.
"Well...I thought that if Hawke was having one of her meltdowns when surrounded by trees or houses, we could put the fire out with ice magic. It would be much faster than fetching buckets of water."
The elf stared wide-eyed at his niece, completely speechless. He had never thought that ice magic could be used to actually aid those in need; he had only seen it turn their enemies to ice statues, and he would then cleave through them with ease.
Fenris simply smiled proudly at Winter before getting back to work with researching on Hawke's condition.
Solana yawned and stretched her arms upwards, popping her back that began to ache from being in the same position for too long. She had joined Fenris and Winter in finding an answer to keep Hawke's condition under control.
She could sense the urgency in the situation just from the way Fenris carried himself; he was constantly on edge and snapped at Winter or Wynne whenever he found nothing of interest in the book he was studying. He would then profusely apologise afterwards and get back to reading.
Wynne had retired for the night, feeling extremely fatigued from their days of travels up here. Fenris had also carried Winter over to a chaise lounge when she fell asleep on the book she was reading. Solana smiled to herself when she watched Fenris tuck Winter up with a blanket and kissed her forehead.
From Trinity's letters, she knew that Winter wasn't Fenris' true daughter, but that paternal instinct had clearly kicked in when they took Winter in.
"How long has Trinity been missing?"
"Three weeks and two days."
"I see...Did she saying anything before-"
"No."
"Look, I know how much Trinity means to you, but-"
Fenris slammed his hands on the table and got to his feet, glaring at the mage opposite him.
"What would you know of love, mage?" He spat, his face twisted in anger as his markings shone brighter than the candles around them.
Solana was relieved that the templars had gone to patrol the sleeping mages, and they usually left the library unguarded at night, otherwise Fenris would have been subdued by now. Or kill all the templars anyway.
The First Enchanter calmly stood up and approached Fenris, her gaze never leaving his. She looked up at the elf, who had now begun to breathe heavier as he kept his anger under control. One more step closer and she would be practically chest-to-chest with Fenris.
"Whenever you join the Circle, you are automatically assigned a 'protector'. A templar," Solana kept her eyes glued onto Fenris', "I joined the Circle very young, and by the time I was in my late teens, the templar that was my protector was replaced by a new recruit. We...Grew extremely close. Had to sneak out to the Chantry or the library at night to steal moments just for us."
"When I passed my Harrowing, it was the happiest I had ever seen him and things were perfect for a while. But when the Fifth Blight came to Ferelden, and when the tower was overrun with demons and blood magic, he was tortured by the blood mages," Solana smiled sadly and watched as Fenris' anger subsided, his eyes turning to ones of sympathy instead of rage.
"I fought at the Hero of Ferelden's side, carved a bloody path through the tower to try and find him but...He was being held captive in a magical cage, constantly plagued by nightmares and temptations. When I tried to free him, he believed me to be a demon and lashed out at me, telling me I was just another filthy blood mage and ordered the Hero of Ferelden to just kill all the mages in the tower."
Solana sighed and fiddled with the small, silver ring she kept on a chain around her neck, "When the Circle was saved and the rest of the templars swept through the tower looking for survivors...I tried to speak to him, to show him I was real. He just...He just glared at me like I was a piece of filth and told me not to come anywhere near him again."
Fenris finally averted his gaze from Solana, processing the story in his head as she continued to speak.
"I found out he was later transferred to Kirkwall, and we haven't spoken since. All I have left of him is this ring, a bunch of love letters and five years of amazing memories. You asked me what I knew of love, right? Well, love is both an arrow through your heart and a shining light in your world. Love is there to make living in this fucked up world more bearable. But it can also destroy you."
"This templar...What was his name?"
Fenris' sudden question surprised Solana, but she continued to fiddle with the ring, "I err...Cullen. Cullen Rutherford."
"I know him. He's a...He's a good man, assisted Hawke in stopping Meredith from invoking the Rite of Annulment," Fenris tried his best to lie; he detested the man, but didn't want Solana to think her long lost love tried it on with Hawke because she reminded him of Solana.
Solana smiled sadly, "I may have lost my chance of happiness, but I can help you find yours."
The First Enchanter wiped her eyes before perching on her seat, getting back to studying the books in front of her. Fenris went to check on Winter when he suddenly heard a squeal of delight from Solana.
"Fenris! I think I've found out how to help Trinity!"