Two more allies.
Lavellan and her party left for Val Royeaux early in the morn. Erelan wished them good luck and they waved their goodbyes. Upon arriving in Val Royeaux they met the Chantry but did not expect The Templars to be there. The chantry thought the templars would help them against the inquisition and turned their backs. The templar leader known as Lord Seeker Lucius made a point of not helping anyone. Lavellan and the others were confused with the Lord Seeker's actions, especially Cassandra. As they prepare to leave Val Royeaux an arrow with a red cloth almost hit Solas in the face. Everyone looked around guarding Lavellan as she picked up the arrow. It told them to find clues that would lead them to their meeting destination. Before they could start a servant came and gave Lavellan a party invitation from some noble woman. As they neared the city exit, Grand Enchanter Fiona talked to them offering an alliance with the inquisition and the Mages. Lavellan's day was full of surprises.
'Well…everything may not have gone according to plan, but at least things didn't get worse.'
Their first stop was the party invitation from some nobel woman. Lavellan met with the woman known as Vivienne, First enchanter of montsimmard and enchantress to the imperial court. She offered her help for the inquisition which Lavellan whole heartedly accepted. The next stop was by the harbor. There, they battled against mercenaries and had no idea what's going on. A man who is a noble stepped out and was talking about something, but a woman came out with an arrow pointed at him ready to strike. After more battles they met Sera one of the Red Jennies. She was a little weird but Lavellan accepted her offer of help. After spending the night in Val Royeaux they all headed back to Haven, accompanied by Sera only. Vivienne had matters to settle and will meet them back in Haven.
After an interesting ride back to Haven, Lavellan and the others were greeted by the advisors running to meet them. Josephine heard what happened in Val Royeaux, of course through one of the Leliana's spies. Cassandra and Lavellan walked with the advisors toward the war room to talk more about what happened. Varric and Solas walked towards their own places, Sera walked towards the Tavern. As Lavellan, Cassandra and the advisors walked inside the chantry, Lavellan noticed Vivienne already settled at the corner, a table with papers scattered papers and a chair, books were on the desk and on the floor. She waved at Vivienne who waved back as they made their way to the war room. After some heated debates, arguing and finally agreeing to whatever plan Lavellan makes the meeting ended. Lavellan walked through the hall and was planning on having a chat with Vivienne when she noticed she was busy with her own work, she left her alone and thought to talk to her at a better day. She wandered around the area asking people if they have seen a short blonde hair elf called Sera and one person pointed towards the Tavern. She went in and sure enough found Sera standing by the corner. Sera noticed her and waved her to sit at the nearest table.
"So…This is it huh?" She asked. Lavellan tilted her head in confusion. "Oh no, its fine yea? Its jus…I thought it'd be big'er." Sera laughed nervously. "That would o' been hilarious if you were a man right? Wasted. Anyway, stopping war should earn more sovereigns than this. Need things back to normal for coins to be flowing again. Another reason the Templars and Mages need to be sat down." She finished.
"The Templars AND The Mages? Most people…pick a side." Lavellan said.
"Most people are stupid!" Sera argued.
"But…where do you stand in the war?" Asked Lavellan
"In the middle with everyone, not a Lavellan or whatever." She replied. "You know what I hear about Mages? Nothing until one goes all demony. Know what I hear about Templars? Nothing, until they take "maybe-mages". They're too busy to look up where the real questions are." Sera drank her ale.
"That's why we're here, to help guide everyone back from the brink." Lavellan replied, sipping on her ale.
"The religious ones, tell you that? That's important, right. But don't make it all about that. Seems like believing too hard is what got everyone here. And here is stupid. And smells of horse. Really, what everyone need is to get everything back to normal and proper and profitable. Sound good to you, all chosen Lady Herald?" She asked, smirking at her.
"I'll give it a shot. That's all I can ask from anyone else." Lavellan replied smiling at her. They both chugged on their drink and let out a satisfied "ahh".
Lavellan bid farewell to Sera as she walked out of the tavern. She looked at the spot where Solas usually stands but found it empty. Curious she searched the area and walked out towards the training grounds. She looked around and noticed Solas wasn't there. She spotted Cassandra slashing dummies and walked towards her.
"The poor dummies, what did they ever do to face such grim fate." She said jokingly as she approached her.
"They do not help me with training is what they did." Cassandra replied slashing one dummies head off.
"I think…you need better ones…like…iron." Lavellan replied.
"That would be great, but considering we barely have money for anything…I will just settle for these." Cassandra replied picking up the head. "Do you need something?" She asked looking at Lavellan.
"Oh, I was wondering if…you saw Solas around here? I…wanted to ask him something but he wasn't where he used to stand." She replied looking sheepishly on the ground.
"Sadly no. But maybe the commander knows, he was here before me." Cassandra pointed to where Cullen was standing. Lavellan thanked her and walked over to the commander.
"You there! There's a shield in your hand. Block with it. If this man were your enemy. You would be dead." She heard him say. "Lieutenant don't hold back. The recruits must be prepared for a real fight, not a practice one." He continued.
"Yes commander." The lieutenant replied and walked away. Cullen saw her approaching and smiled.
"We received a number of recruits-locals from Haven and some pilgrims. None madequitethe entrance you did."He said folding his arms and smirking at her.
"Well…at least I got everyone's attention." She said with a smirk.
"That you did." He replied.
They walked around the training recruits and he explained to her how he was recruited back in Kirkwall. He saw first-hand how devastating everything was. He left Kirkwall when Cassandra offered him a position for the inquisition. Lavellan saw how worried he look and ensured him that there is a reason she got the mark. Cullen went on about how the inquisition could make history and how everyone that helped will remember all of them for the part they played. He stopped himself when he realized he was lecturing her.
"Forgive me…I doubt you came here for a lecture." He said.
"No, but if you have one prepared I'd love to hear it." She replied giving him a sweet smile. Cullen laughed.
"Another time perhaps." He said looking away from her. He cleared his throat. "Was there something you needed?"
"Oh right, well…have you seen Solas? I need to talk to him about something." She asked. Before Cullen could answer they heard a loud BANG. They both looked up to see where it came from and saw a light smoke from the distance. They looked at eachother and slowly made their way towards it, lucky for them no one else heard it.
As they neared the area where the sound came from they heard shouts and loud voices coming from the frozen lake. They both looked down and shocked to see both Solas and Erelan standing facing eachother panting and sweating both staves out to their sides. What is even more surprising to them is the condition of the area that both mages are standing on. Bushes from the edge are all caught in fire, monumental icebergs towered everywhere, some missing the top parts most likely from taking hits. Little ice rock scattered everywhere. Both mages are both standing on each end of the frozen ice and in the middle was a hole of water calmly making waves. Erelan's top end of the staff sparkled with bolt, and Solas's was fire. The next thing everyone saw is Erelan twirling her stand and stabbed the ground with it letting out bolts of lightning heading towards Solas. Solas managed to put up a barrier and jumped out of the way, Erelan cursed and ran towards him aiming her staff at him with now ice magic and shot out a freezing spell towards him. Solas countered it with fire ball and it made both spell clashed and disbursed. Solas stabbed his staff on the ground and with his hand conjured a firewall around Erelan. She stopped them from growing with her ice spell and shattered them to pieces.
Overlooking, Cullen and Lavellan stayed silent and watched as both mages go head to head with eachother. They were both speaking in Elvhen and Cullen could not understand a word they said to eachother. Lavellan only caught a few words she knew and most of them were curses. She walked closer and was softly pushed back by a barrier she or Cullen saw. They both looked at eachother and knew to stay out of the fight. Looking back at the fighting, Erelan casted a firebomb near Solas, he knew she had planted a bomb but could not figure out where. Surrounding himself with his barrier he took a step forward, nothing. Erelan fade stepped behind Solas thinking he was distracted. Solas gave a small smirk and fade stepped away from her landing on the fire bomb she planted and she in return landed on his ice bomb. Thanks to their barrier they did not get a fatal injury. Erelan pointed her staff at Solas letting preparing to let out a huge fire ball towards him. Solas fade stepped towards her and moved her wrists to the side and letting the fire ball hit the barrier they created in the area. They both heard a yelped and turned towards the direction that it came from and found Cullen holding Lavellan protectively.
Erelan and Solas were mortified to see both of them. They immediately separated from eachother and the barrier they created disappeared in mere moment. Cullen let Lavellan go as both mages ran up towards them.
"Herald! Our apologies! Are you okay?" Solas asked as they stood facing eachother.
"Lavellan I am so sorry!" Erelan arrived panting.
"Don't worry about it! I'm perfectly fine. I knew it wouldn't hit me since there was a barrier blocking it, but you should ask the commander, he spun around so quickly before I could do anything." She said smiling and pointing at Cullen who was still bewildered.
"Are you alright commander?" Solas asked.
"Wha-? Oh uh yes, I'm alright, thanks." Cullen replied trying to calm himself.
"Is this the first time you've seen two mages fighting commander?" Erelan asked looking at him.
"Not…up close no, I'm usually at the other end of it." He said sheepishly rubbing his neck.
"Were you guys training?" Asked Lavellan looking at Solas.
"Yes, Erelan came to ask for help on how to wield a staff properly and focusing her magic through it." Solas replied. "We started right before dawn. Seeing as were both mages, I thought of training away from the area would be better. I was confident enough thinking that no one would notice, but it seems I was incorrect." He replied.
"How did you know where to find us?" Erelan asked, looking from Cullen to Lavellan.
"Easy, we heard a loud sound and saw smoke from where you are." Lavellan replied. Seeing their anxious faces, she added. "But don't worry only me and Cullen heard it, everyone else didn't." Both Solas and Erelan sighed in relief. "What made that sound anyway?" She asked.
"It…was probably the fire magic we conjured up together clashing." Solas replied.
"Don't forget, it made us flew backwards, and hit the barrier wall." Erelan added chuckling at the memory.
"Yes, well that was careless and we apologize for the commotion we caused." Solas slightly bowed his head apologetically.
"Please, it's alright Solas, actually I was searching for you." Lavellan said. Solas looked up and raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
"Oh? What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked looking at Lavellan.
"I actually…wanted to see if you are willing to train me as well. I see how skilled you are with controlling your magic and I wanted to learn how to control mine as well as yours." Lavellan answered blushing slightly looking down on her feet.
"I am honored you think I am skilled, and I will be honored to teach you." He replied smiling at her. Lavellan stared at Solas knowing, everyone sees her blushing. Erelan grinned, and Cullen tried his best to distract himself. An idea struck in Erelan's mind.
"Commander if it's no trouble, could you walk with me back to the village? I believe the training…has made me frail." She said smiling at Cullen.
"Yes of course." Agreed Cullen holding out his arm for her to take and they walked together leaving Solas and Lavellan alone. Solas knowing full well of his sister's plan shook his head and smiled to himself. Lavellan waved her farewells to them, and she was left alone with Solas.
'Well…shit…I am left alone away from the village with this…handsome elf! Don't panic…don't panic…keep your breathing…calm you heart…stop thinking of his broad chest…or wanting to touch it…or caressing it, giving it sweet kis- STOP!'
A moment went by after Cullen and Erelan were out of site. Solas walked towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the mountains. Lavellan followed behind him and stood next to him looking at the mountains ahead. They were silent for a moment until Solas spoke.
"I apologize Lavellan." He said.
"Apologize? For what?" She asked confused as to what he is talking about.
"When you asked me about the Elvhen culture, I did not mean no offense. I am so used to elves spurning me away for my opinions on the culture." He explained.
"Don't worry, the fault was mine too. I lashed out on you and didn't let you explain your reasons." She answered.
"Well…we are here now, what would you like to know?" He asked looking at her.
"I'd like to know more about the Elves, from before our time. About Arlathan." She looked back at him.
"Elvhenan was the Empire, and Arlathan its greatest city. A Place of Magic and beauty, lost in time." He replied with a slight melancholy in his voice.
"You've studied ancient elves, what else do you know about Arlathan? Lavellan continued.
"We hear stories of them living in trees and imagine of wooden ramps or Dalish aravels. Imagine instead of spires and crystals twining through the branches, palaces floating among the clouds. Imagine beings who lived forever, for whom magic was as natural as breathing. That is what was lost." He replied looking out the horizon. A small smile could be seen forming on his lips as he started imagining everything before the Veil was torn.
"That…must have been amazing. I wish I was there to see it with my own eyes." Lavellan said with full of wonder in her eyes. Solas looked at them and then wandered to her lips. Lavellan couldn't help but look at his luscious lips. They were now staring into each other's eyes and slowly moving closer and closer their lips were about to touch when a bird suddenly flew, jerking them away. Lavellan turned crimson red when she realized what was happening. Solas composed himself but failing to hide his face from blushing.
"Uhm…we should…uh go back…before people are wondering where we are." Lavellan spoke turning away from him and slowly walked back. Solas looked at her for a moment and walked slightly beside her but not far behind her.
Cullen and Erelan walked back towards the village when suddenly she turned around hides behind a tree and pulled Cullen behind her and raised an invisible shield around them. Cullen was about to protest when she put a finger on her lips to silence him and poked her head out to see Solas and Lavellan standing together by the edge of the cliff. They may not hear the conversation but she was more interested on what kind of event may transpired. Cullen poked his head out above hers and whispered.
"What are we doing exactly?" He asked.
"Shh…I just want to spy on them." She whispered back, turning her head and put a finger on her lips to silence him.
"Why…are we spying on them? Can't we just go back and leave them alone." Protested Cullen.
"Really Cullen?" She replied now turning towards him. Their faces were so close they could feel each other's breathing and heat. Erelan tried her best to ignore the heat rising inside her. "Do you not see how smitten they are with each other?" She asked looking at him.
"Well…I don't really- I mean I don't pry on people's private life." He responded now looking at her eyes. Erelan noticed he was staring at her eyes and felt her face blush, she abruptly looked away.
"It's not prying, its curiosity." She replied looking back to Solas and Lavellan. "Besides were not doing anything harmful." She added.
"No, but…what if they find out that we spied on them? I don't think Solas would take that kindly…and I sure want to live long." He said imagining what Solas would do to him if he ever finds out.
"Oh don't worry, knowing him, he probably knows- "she covered her mouth abruptly, and turned around to look at Cullen's reaction. As she suspected he looked at her with curiosity.
"How-"He started but she cut him off.
"I meant that he is my teacher…and wise. He seemed to be the kind person that can tell- I mean…" she was having a hard time explaining to him about what she meant.
"I get what you mean, like when my Commander before knows I was a mischievous soldier. I broke a lot of rules in my younger days." He said remembering the times his Commander reprimanding him.
"Yes, that! Exactly!" She replied, letting out a sigh of relief, then looked at him. "I can't picture you…being a mischievous soldier though…I always thought you followed the rules whole heartedly." She said raising at eyebrow. Cullen chuckled.
"Yes I was, when I was training as a templar I thought I could become anything, I bent some rules here and there. The look on my superiors faces whenever I did, was priceless." He smiling at the memories.
"Hmm…yet here we are breaking a rule and you are complaining." She said smirking at him. "Forgive me if I can't picture that at all." She said turning around to spy more on Solas and Lavellan.
"Well…this is…supposed to be a private moment. I don't see the point of spying." Cullen said as he too watched them.
"Oh hush and just watch. Who knows maybe you'll learn how to woo a woman." She said grinning at her response. Cullen looked down at her.
"I- what? What do you mean by that?" He asked. She didn't know Cullen's face was so close to her, when she turned around their noses barely touched and they could both feel each other's breath. She stared at eachother with wide eyes.
For a moment they stayed like that until her mind processed what happened and she stammered back and almost fell as she tripped on a tree root. Cullen caught her in time and held her close to him. She could feel the coldness of his steel plate but warmth on his arms around her. Cullen surprised at his actions let her go softly.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"No…it's okay. Thank you." She replied. "Maybe…we should return back…"
"Yes…of course." He said as he rubbed his neck, embarrassed.
They both walked back together, once they were a safe distance away from Solas and Lavellan, Erelan disbursed the invisible shield. Solas and Lavellan were not far behind as they walked back towards the village also. Walking back to the village was awkward and silent. Cullen and Erelan separated ways, Cullen went back observing the recruits and looking over reports. Erelan went inside her cabin and fell back on her bed covering her eyes with her arm and recalled the event that happened. When they arrived, Solas and Lavellan also separated ways. Solas returned to his cabin and started reading reports from Leliana. Lavellan returned to her cabin also, she closed the door and slid down as she leaned on the door, recalling the event that happened between her and Solas.
