Interlude – Niece and Uncle


She sits on the edge of the bridge, watching the battle below and in the distance. From here, she can't tell individual people at all. It is simply a writhing mess of people and fire, everything screaming and dying. Still, she wishes there were more soldiers fighting down there, simply for the extra help. Perhaps with more fighters, they could give the darkspawn pause. But she knows that's not the case, and feels a twinge of anger at why. She wishes her uncle had swallowed his loathing of Orlais enough to allow them to help. She knows why, of course, but sometimes, she thinks that her uncle forgets that no one in Fereldan liked Orlais. No, not even her father, who had smiled and played their Games while serving there as diplomat. But they could not afford another war, so why not play diplomacy? Why not swallow a bit of pride to make the country flourish again, and let children know what it's like to grow up with both parents? Prevent Orlais from thinking that they will get more from war than trade, and Fereldan will rebuild.

It is always better to be pragmatic and diplomatic than prideful and openly antagonistic. It is better to run the risk of fighting someone else's enemies in someone else's wars for someone else's reasons if it means better trade, better guards, and promises of help. That's what she's always thought. She wishes her uncle saw things the same way, but, sadly, he probably never would. His wounds ran too deep and scarred too messily.

She glances up at her uncle, and sees him studying her. She cocks her head to the side in silent question, but he simply shakes his head. She nods in reply and returns to watching the fighting. The darkspawn just keep coming, though, far more than any had ever imagined from the previous battles. This is a Blight, the likes Thedas hasn't seen in over four hundred years. She sees the trees slowly rot and shudders to think of the darkspawn over the beautiful fields of Fereldan. The country had been named for fertile valleys, but the darkspawn would destroy them. She hates that.

She sees a strange light out of the corner of her eye, rather like a sunset, and it startles her from her thoughts. She stands and turns towards the light, only to stare. In the distance is the Tower of Ishal, with fire blooming at its top, flicking in the rain despite all logic. The beacon… they had lit it? But… but was this really a time for it? She was no master of strategy or tactics, having studied logistics more, but there were still so many darkspawn…

Beside her, her uncle stares at the beacon too, face grim as the rain beat down on them both. "Sound…" he begins. He glances at the field, then turns back to the beacon. "Sound the retreat." The words hit her like rocks, daggers in her skin. She wants to reel back from the pain, but can't. She's frozen.

Cauthrien is not so silent. "But sir, what about the king?"

"Do as I command." Her uncle's voice is firm. This is his decision. Retreat.

She watches Cauthrien hesitate a moment, but ultimately, the female warrior nods and issues commands to the others. The soldiers begin marching off, and she turns her attention to her uncle. He's still staring at the beacon, and she wonders what thoughts are going through his head. She debates asking him, but decides against it. She knows the look on his face. That look of bittersweet pain… it always shows up when he thinks of Uncle Maric. She knows, then, that whatever her uncle is thinking… it had something to do with Uncle Maric, and she cannot bring herself to ask what it is.

Instead, she turns her attention back to the field, where countless soldiers are still fighting, and dying. All of them, likely, are hoping for reinforcements that would not come. Her uncle taps her shoulder and begins to walk away. Clearly, he expects her to follow him. But, as she stares below, she realizes something heartbreakingly painful. She can't run a second time. The first time hurt too much. A second would kill her, turn her into the type of woman Empress Celene was, turn her into the type of woman Anora was. She doesn't want to be like them. She knows that she'll be worse than them both if she becomes like them. She doesn't want that.

So, she turns to her uncle and, for the first time in her life, asks him a favor. "Trust me." Startled, he whirls and stares at her. He opens his mouth to say something, but she continues to whisper, "Believe in me, Uncle Loghain. Trust in me. I won't die, so just believe and wait. We'll talk later. Okay?" She debates forcing a smile, but she's not her twin. She's never been good at faking emotions, just the lack of it. "Until we meet again, Uncle." She turns and runs, sliding down to the battlefield below.

Behind her, she hears her uncle's scream, "ELSPETH!" But she keeps moving forward, without once looking back. This is her path, and she'll meet it head on. She's as much of a Cousland as her brothers, after all. Suicidal stubbornness and insanity is in her blood too. But so is the determination to succeed in her duties.

Hopefully, her uncle will believe in her, just this once…


Author's Note: Right, Interlude. What are interludes? They're where I get to show info that the normal POV characters will just never be able to see, such as Loghain's retreat here. Some will be based on in-game cutscenes, like this one, while others will just be extra info to help flesh out some of the other characters a bit, since we're not in their heads. ALL interludes will, likely, be short.

Next Chapter – The Retreat with Aiden