A/N Here we go! Another chapter for the story.
Read, Review, and Enjoy!
Within two days time the Drydens were settled in at Soldier's Peak, children and pets running about in the knee-deep snow and ice, trade goods stacked up by the cart-load on either side of the court yard.
I take in chilling breath as I step back into the fort after sealing up the last patches of the Veil around the outer walls.
This place seems so much more...
I watch as a dog disappears into a snow drift to drag out a shouting child absolutely packed with snow.
Lively, bright, hopeful.
I smile at the sentiment and wrap my cloak tighter around me to stave off the continuous mountain breeze. "Tis peaceful... not having to deal with demons and the Blight all the time." My content sigh escapes me as I walk past Barkspawn as he and the teenagers all play out some sort of battle with snow forts.
"You seem happy." I look behind me and see Wynne walking up.
I smile in response, "Yeah, t'would be nice for things like this to happen more often." I indicate the children at play and the merchants resting from the rapid journey they had to undergo to reach the fort within forty eight hours.
"They will come back after the Blight is defeated."
I sigh and turn to keep walking, she joins me. "I hope so, I've seen enough war and death in my six- twenty three years I've been alive." I cringe at my mistake and look at her to see if she'd caught it.
Wynne frowns, "I do not condone your previous actions Darien."
I sigh internally in relief that she missed it.
Only very close friends should know my past. Morrigan barely gets it and thinks I'm bluffing my age. I'm not.
I don't even blink that she brought it up, she'd been scowling in my direction ever since I killed Owain and knocked Cullen unconscious.
Damn it! I still haven't apologized for that! Oh well, I'll send a letter when I have time.
I slow down so her chilled and whithered old bones can match my speed, "I'm sorry for how my past actions. They must have seemed selfish and cruel in the Tower, though the outcome was quite viable."
She frowns and purses her lips, "I will not be outspoken by a fellow mage young man. What you did was inexcusable! Poor Owain was begging for his life and you ended it!" She waves an accusing hand in my face.
I choose to not react.
"And Cullen. The Maker only knows how much trauma the boy had gone through before we found him and the first thing you did was risk his life by shattering his false reality!" She steps forwards and presses her completely frozen and slightly bony finger into my chest, "I demand answers!"
I keep my ground and take the finger full force, wincing as it buries itself in my collar bone. Though I choose to let her vent all the same, no reaction. "Say something! I must know why you killed Owain! Why you nearly killed Cullen! Why you-"
I grab onto her shoulders and pull us behind a stack of crates to get out of the wind. She falls on top of me as we land in a patch of frost-bitten grass. I carefully roll her off and flash my magic onto the ground to form a small fire and warm us up. "Oh... why? What did you-?" Wynne carefully sits up and shivers at finally regaining the feeling in her fingertips. She looks at me with the most puzzled expression.
I blink slowly, "You were too cold to stay standing for much longer, especially for your age."
She frowns, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you."
I shake my head and bring up her hands to the fire to show the black and blue skin around the fingers. "Not with that frostbite, I'm surprised you're still walking."
She shakes her head but doesn't push me away as I take some ointment out of my pack and wrap her hands in strips of cloth. "I don't think we've formally met." I look up into her eyes and see she's extremely exhausted from the hike up the mountainside. "My name is Darien, I'm a Dalish elf from a clan that was wiped out near the Korcari Wilds." She stares at me as I continue wrapping her hands. "Just about a league east of Ostagar. I-" I frown in deep thought as this body's memories start to slip about the event, "I think I was the only survivor. I staggered north and eventually made it to Lothering where I stayed, for the time being." I finish the wrappings and focus my healing magic onto her skin first as the ointment numbs the area. She doesn't wince so I know it's working.
Wonders of 'modern' alchemy.
"I learned all I know from Miriam, the village elder, and through her I started to heal." I feel the tendrils of magic knitting the dead or chilled skin back to normal while regrowing small bits of skin. "But in a few days I met a traveling merchant on the road while I forged for alchemy ingredients. Owen and his family were trying to get to Lothering to sell their wares so I though I might as well help them out, you know safety in numbers and all that." I take a deep breath as I intensify my magic to get at the deeper layers of her hands. She winces slightly at the tingling sensation. "I didn't think anything of it, I actually thought they were nice people just trying to get by." I pause to look her in the eye, "What I didn't understand was why I found Owen's wife in tears and pounding on my front door with scrapes and cuts all over her throat and face."
Wynne gives me a hard look and I know she knows.
I shake my head in disgust, "Owen beat his wife, so I swore to avenge her after hearing her story. About how their son wasn't hers but a human whores from Highever who Owen used to cheat on her with, about how she was more of a slave then a wife to him." I unwrap her hands as I avoid her stare, "We killed Owen, and the boy, but-" My voice goes quiet, "-he wasn't supposed to die..." I inspect her hands and start doing the patch work on her raw skin. "Erianne and I sold the cart and... celebrated in the forest that night."
"Just a moment, Erianne?" She asks in surprise.
I look at her, "Yeah, that's how we met, I killed her husband... and son." She looks beyond shocked, but I get on with the story, "Morrigan, her mother is Flemeth. And I don't mean a person who's name is of legend, I mean THE Legend herself. She kidnapped me as I slept, curled around Erianne in that forest,"
I sigh at how easily I just accepted Erianne was gone. "I lived with them for two years and they taught me everything I know of magic, of... fade magic." I barely whisper it out, like its a curse word.
She pulls her hands away and raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "I have heard that term before, in the Tower, but I have no knowledge of it."
I frown seriously, "That's a good thing, for it is far more dangerous than any blood magic the Tevinters have preformed in the Ancient Imperium's time." I fold my hands in my lap and let the small wisps of eerie fade energy gather there, "Fade magic is the use of the ancient energy, the basic building blocks of the Fade itself, as a way to fuel your magic. Far few today know of it, far less can actually wield it, and none but perhaps three living souls in all of Thedas can actually understand it. I'm luck to be one of them." I curl the energy around my fingertips to form a sheath of transparent armored claws, "It is not difficult to wield, but it requires a massive amount of energy to pull pure fade energy into this realm. That is where the blood magic comes in." She scowls. "I know I know, I'm dooming us all to a sick and twisted death in your eyes, but blood magic is simply the catalyst to my fade magic. I use it to bring my main area of expertise into this realm." I pull my knife out of it's sheath on my chest and quickly prick my left pointer finger, letting a few drops of blood collect in that palm and concentrate on them to evaporate right before her eyes as the red mist burns into small tendrils of fade energy. I play around with the energy to show her its a actual fluid energy before flicking it into the fire and blasting a burning wall of fade flames up and around the crates we're hiding behind.
"MAKER!" She gasps in shock as I close my eyes and pull the heat back into my palm while canceling it out with ice frost, ending the intense flames before anyone even notices.
I turn and she just stares at me in surprise before shaking her head, "You are a strange little elf Darien, but I can't forgive your actions, even after knowing your past, without proper explanation."
"I know, and I'll do my best to explain, but I simply wished to incite you about Erianne and my own relationship and why she's hostile to me sometimes." I shiver as the cold air slips through the cracks in the crates around us. "Owain wasn't begging for life, he begged to end his own. You heard him, he was forced into being made Tranquil! I couldn't just let that injustice stay as it is, let him suffer for one more breath of life." I lower my head in guilt, "I'm truly sorry for his loss, but it had to be done."
She sighs, "And what of Cullen? He was-"
I cut her off, "I was trying to break him out, and I did. He is fine, besides the trauma of being tortured for over a week by demons. And I'm planning on apologizing next time I see him. I never actually thought he'd pass out from the shock."
Wynne glares at me in a calculated glance before stepping past me and out from behind the crates, "You are not forgiven... but I once knew a boy like you and know you wouldn't listen to an old batty like myself any time soon."
I shake my head and step up to speak directly, "I- I am sorry Wynne, for getting off on the wrong foot. But I only wish to help everyone here survive this Blight."
Her eyes soften as she sees my sincerity, "Sometimes we must choose between those we love and the greater good. I have thought about what you said at the Tower and... I know what you mean." She looks over at the children as they play, completely oblivious to the world ending around them, "I cannot know the pain you must have felt when you lost your clan, everyone you knew and loved just gone in an instant, but we must not become attached especially now when one decision is the difference between some of us living or everyone dying."
I scoff, "War, it's always the same, no matter what universe you're in..." I look up to see her confused expression and shake it off, "Sorry, just rambling a bit. It was a nice talk Wynne."
She half-smiles, "Yes, and thank you for healing my hands. I will have to purchase some gloves to avoid losing a finger to frostbite."
I smile as she walks off towards one of the Drydens that decided to unpack their goods and open up shop for the moment.
She's so... calculated. So... lost in her wisdom, I know the feeling.
I sigh as the last memories of Owain dying and this body's clan dying slip from my mind.
I- I need some-
"Erianne, what are you doing?" I look over and watch as Erianne buys some gloves from a particularly happy Dryden.
Erianne smiles, "I just bought these gloves for twelve silver! A steal!"
I face-palm while Wynne scoffs, "Dear, these are barely worth three! Look, they even have holes in the finger tips."
Erianne sighs as she sees how worn the gloves are, "I've never been good at this bartering thing."
And her husband was a what now? Oh yes, a merchant.
Wynne shares the sentiment as she rolls her eyes, "Yes I know, now move aside and watch a professional at work." Erianne backs away with an 'oh I've got to see this' look in her eyes as I walk over to observe.
"What can I do for you?" The burly Dryden says with a brimming sense of pride as he sees an elderly lady in robes walk up.
Wynne smiles sweetly, "I would like to purchase a pair of gloves to ward off this chilly winter air."
I smile and cross my arms as she shifts her posture to look more elderly and feeble than she is.
Always thinking on your feet aren't you Wynne?
"Well of course! I have three pairs in stock." The merchant shows her the gloves and she starts out her charade with dropping a glove to give the impression she's nervous.
"Oh, how clumsy of me." She struggles to kneel down and pick up the glove.
The well-managed Dryden's smile grows for a split second as he quickly helps her out, "Here, let me."
The merchant hides his smirk well, but not well enough for a well studied psychologist such as myself to not notice. Man, I never thought Wynne had this in her!
As the merchant is kneeling down Wynne replaces Erianne's worn gloves with a hardened leather pair and slips them on. "Oh, thank you. This cold makes my hip hurt." She puts her hands into pockets and pulls them out gloveless.
Oh you sneaky mage you.
Erianne notices this to and bites her lower lip in amusement.
The Dryden simply smiles, completely oblivious that he was just robbed and looks down, "Please, choose a pair you might like." She does and slips the other hardened leather pair on.
"These are quite nice, how much for these?" She doesn't take her eyes off the gloves.
"Oh, how about I let those go for fifty silver, a steal for such high quality leather."
Wynne doesn't even flinch, "Oh, but I only have ten. Would you be so kind as to let me have these for that price?"
She's playing the kind grandmother trick! HA! Classic...
He blinks twice before swallowing nervously, seeming to not know what to do in this situation. "Um... sure, sure why not." He grins and accepts the ten silver.
And just like that the legendary skills of Wynne once again proved unmatched by the trading expertise of the Drydens.
Wynne walks over, unable to hide the grin brimming from her success, "And that is how you barter." She hands the other pair to Erianne who takes them and gawks in absolute astonishment. "Don't strain that pretty face Erianne, you'll need it for next time."
Erianne closes her mouth and blushes as Wynne and I burst out laughing at the irony.
Oh, Wynne. Once again you have proven that old mages can and will screw with you when necessary...
"What do you mean you can't use these Drake Scales?!" Erianne and I stop from our patrol of the area to look over at the forge and see Alistair walking away with three full packs of Drake Scales in defeat.
We rush over to intercept him before he can make it into this tent, "Alistair what's going on?" Erianne asks with concern.
He sets the packs down in a heap and groans, "Mikhael says he isn't skilled enough to work with these high-quality Drake Scales."
"That is a problem." I comment. "Well, I know a blacksmith in Denerim that would LOVE to work with Drake Scales, but he's a little... eccentric."
Alistair scoffs, "Denerim? You really think we'll go to Denerim just to get me some quality armor?" His shoulders slump as he gives up.
I cross my arms to think about our option-
"Sure, why not?" Erianne says easily.
"What?" Alistair and I say at the same time, he glare at each other before looking back at her.
"Well... we're already up here. Not to mention ALL of us need some upgraded supplies." She paces as she speaks, "Not all of our rations we got from Levi and his cousins will last until Redcliff, and Bodahn says we need still have a full cart of salvaged armor and weapons that Levi's family can't take. Not to mention the fact that all that junk is weighing us down." She stops pacing and nods resolutely, "We need to go to Denerim."
I agree, but Alistair is still skeptical, "Erianne, Loghain is at the capital. You really think we can even enter Denerim without his people finding us?" He asks worriedly.
She sighs, "Not really, but we can't really make it anywhere else with the supplies we have. I don't favor running out of Lyrium or Health potions half-way through a darkspawn battle."
"Don't we have mages for that?" Alistair mutters quiety.
I frown, "Not if you keep this up."
He lowers his head, "Fine, but lets just try to be careful? I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Erianne looks away in either embarrassment or anger.
I can't tell from this angle.
"Alright, we'll head out tomorrow."
Walking back over to the gates from Alistair's tent I nod to Wynne as we pass each other and she does the same.
At least I patched things up with Wynne, mostly.
"Oh, but my dear, your eyes are so lovely are they not?"
"Oh I don't know, I- I've been made fun of because they aren't normal."
Uh... what?
I round a corner carefully to see Zevran hitting on a girl and quickly jump into a Raven to sit perched in the tree just above them.
Oh this should be good.
"What? They are like the embers of a fire, burning intensely to warm any heart they set upon." Zevran brushes his fingertips past the girl's cheek and she blushes.
"Oh, um... is it hot out here?"
He smirks and moves in closer, "It's not too hot for you is it?"
Oh man, that is just seriously wea-
"No..." The strange human girl breaths as her lips part slightly, her posture indicating intense arrousal.
That's actually a bit surprising. I wonder how he does-
"Ariel?! Where are you my little girl?" I turn my bird head over to the other side of the gate and see a quite young human by the name of Markus Dryden who's a carpenter of a sorts and maintains the Dryden's fleet of carts in his free time.
"Oh, that's my father!" The girl whispers in shock.
Zevran blinks, "Your father?" He looks around the corner and his eyes go wide. "He looks so young! What's his secret?"
"Um... being thirty?" I nearly fall out of the tree as I hear it.
THIRTY?! Then she's-
…
I burst out into uncontrollable squeaks of laughter and fall fully out of the tree to land in a bush beside them.
"Thirty? Oh, then when did he have you? In his childhood?" He jokes charmingly.
The young girl blinks, "No, mommy and daddy had me when they married twelve years ago."
Zevran stares at her as he realizes, "Wait... How old are you?"
"Twelve?"
"Twelve?! Braska! Why did you not say this before?!" He whispers angrily.
I can't... stop... laughing! HAHAHAHAHA!
He shakes his head, "It does not matter, go! Go to your father!" Zevran orders.
The girl looks at him sadly, "But, but you were going to show me how big the fishing poles were in Antiva!"
By the Dread Wolf! HAHAHAHA!
"No, no I wasn't. I didn't say that. Ariel's out here!" He yells around the corner desperately.
The father runs around the corner with an ax in his hands, "Ariel! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The twelve year old girl runs up and hugs him.
Zevran smiles nervously and holds his hands behind his back, "As you can see your daughter was safe from unwanted vultures with myself as her protector. No harm will come of her while we Wardens- I must say sir you have aged quite well, might I ask is your secret?" I hold back my laughter as Zevran tries to dig himself out of the hole he dug himself.
I spend the rest of the afternoon reading in my- "Darien?" I look up from the book of Arcaneum Zarkeic, a bibliography on the life of the first Magister during the Ancient Imperium days. I see Leliana pushing the flap of my tent open as she steps inside.
"Leli!" I jump off my stool and hug her in relief. "I hadn't heard of your recovery, I assumed the worst!"
She hugs me back briefly before we step apart when we realize how close we are. I rub the back of my neck to alleviate my discomfort as she smiles at me, "I- Wynne said to thank you for saving my life. Thank you, I am forever grateful for everything you have done for me."
I smile back, "Sure, no problem Leli."
She looks at me curiously, "Leli?"
"Oh, uh... it's a nickname, short for Leliana." I notice for the first time she's in her armor.
I shouldn't be surprised, but I am for some reason.
She smiles to hide her blush, "Oh that's nice, what's been going on since I passed out in your arms?"
I shrug, "Nothing special, fought some demons, saved a fort, killed a hundred year old blood mage... the usual."
She giggles, "I hope you are joking!"
I shake my head, "Sadly no."
"Dear Maker..."
"Yeah and to top it all off I had a quite unpleasant experience dealing with a Tear in the Veil." I direct her to sit with me on my cot and we sit. "I don't know how I did it, especially with that Pride demon at the end..."
She wraps an arm around my shoulders and I freeze, "It's natural for someone to feel overwhelmed in these situations."
I force myself to relax at the unfamiliar contact and sigh, "It's not that, I'm used to nearly dying every other second during intense combat." I look her in the eye tiredly, "I'm not used to seeing us nearly defeated so easily. One slip up and none of us would still be alive Leli."
She rubs my back, "Hey, it's alright, we're all here to shoulder your and Erianne's burdens together. It is what friends do, yes?"
I smile at her reassurance, "Thanks, and what did you mean by friends?"
She blinks slowly, "We are friends, I thought that was clear after that night on patrol."
"Oh, ok." I cringe, "Sorry, I'm not used to having friends anymore."
They die too quickly to care for them.
She sighs, "Always so dramatic, lets go practice some knife work. We need to keep our skills sharp." She laughs as we stand, "I feel so silly, telling you something you already know."
"You are silly, but its adorable so I'll let it slide." I say as we exit the tent.
"Oh, well, then maybe I'll have to be silly more often so that you think I am more than just adorable..." She comments as we start walking outside up the stairs and into the fort.
That she will...
We stop just inside the entrance. "Alright, so what are the terms of this duel?" I ask while pulling my cloak back into a functional cowl and robes.
Leliana stretches out, touching her fingertips to her toes in turn, "No killing, I think that is clear, oh and we are rogues but I would like to avoid foul play. No poisons."
I smile at her terms and take in a balancing breath as I grab my daggers. "Your move Leli." She smiles and grabs her own daggers to dive in quickly, slashing at my abdomen.
I hop back and physically dodge every blow with a counter-strike to push her back to her side of the room. Two seconds later we separate, knowing more about each other than anyone else in our group. Her eyes flicker over my feet as I change my stance to allow more flexibility to my attacks. She notices my weak left side and attacks, lunging at me in a duel twist of blades that I roll away from and nick her left calf as a warning to not underestimate me. "Ow!" She bites her lip and turns to scowl in concentration as we circle each other once again, looking for openings.
A dance of death I know well.
I choose an opening and roll forwards to pop up at extremely close-range, pushing her back with my quick and powerful slices towards her head. I use her distraction to kick out her legs and she falls, hitting the ground one moment and diving around to pin me against the wall with her daggers at my throat the next. "Surrender?" She asks in-between her rapid pants of breath. I myself, am breathing fine, used to this type of quick combat.
I smirk at her, "Non Leli." I parry her daggers away lightning quick and use her surprise to kick her in the gut and toss her across the room to slide into the opposite wall gently.
She coughs, out of breath as she stands back up to face me, "I though- *cough* I said not to use foul play."
I smile and twirl my daggers in my palms, "I never agreed to the terms Leli, I only agreed to the duel." I lunge forwards and she barely blocks my fierce attacks, parrying my daggers and chipping the metal as they clang together violently. "The enemies, especially the darkspawn will not abide by rules!" I shout before grabbing her hair and using it to yank her to the floor.
She twists around and trips me with her legs to pin me instead, "Oof!"
She kneels over me, her daggers pointed at my face, "Give up!"
I scoff and trip her in turn, putting my already chipped dagger into the floor next to her head, making her yelp in surprise. "We are not friends on the battlefield, not now, not when a hundred darkspawn block the only exit! We are combatants in the arena of live Leli, now fight-" I rip my back-up dagger out of its holster to rest the tip against her throat, "-or die." She stares into my eyes with something akin to fear as she tries to escape the hold I have on her legs. She struggles until she realizes my own are locked with hers while her arms are holding her up from slicing her back on my other dagger impaled there. "I- I..." She blinks as she sees she's trapped. "I cannot escape." She says in surprise, her breathing starting to even out again.
I sheath my daggers and pull our bodies apart as I stand up from her and hold out my hand, she takes it and I pull her up, "You are a fierce archer, but weak in close range where a split-second knife-thrust could have saved your life. You hesitate on the attacks, allowing me time to counter and parry."
She frowns, "But, you tricked me! I didn't think-"
I cut her off, "Sorry to push your patience Leli, but you need to start trusting less and worrying more. I could have killed you easily there!" She lowers her head and crosses her arms. I smile up at her due to my short height and see her sad eyes staring back. "If it is any consolation I suck at archery."
She smiles and at me with bright eyes before her smile disappears, "You handle yourself so seriously, I hope I can match your speed and adaptability in combat, but I am at a loss for where to hit in such close combat."
I shrug and take a step back, "Yeah, it took ten years of study with a master of martial arts to get to where I am today. Don't worry, I'll teach you some pointers on the way to Denerim."
She nods to me and her eyes light up, "Oh, Denerim? I could look and see if they have any Orlesian silk in stock!" She sheaths her daggers as her eyes twinkle at the thought. "Now come on, I want to see this Pride demon everyone is talking about." She turns towards the interior and I lengthen my stride to keep up with her as we move further into the fort.
As we get up to the area where Sten killed the Pride demon Leliana gasps when she lays on the monstrosity, "Look at the size of it! It's almost as big as Uldred was back at the Circle Tower! Oh how terrible it must have been to fight such a beast!"
I smile as she steps up to inspect the rotting Pride demon, "Yeah, Sten ran up its back and executed it before it could do much damage, but without our quick improvisation we would have been how you say, completement baise." (Completely fucked)
She stops and turns to look at me in surprise, "Parlez vous Orlesian?" (You speak Orlesian?)
I smirk and span my arms wide, "Quoi? Pensez-vous que je n'etais pas instruits dans plusieurs langues, ou quelque chose?" (What? Did you think I wasn't educated in multiple languages or something?)
She steps forwards with her eyelids half-closed and a smirk, "Non, n'avez-vous pas pense que je n'ai ete deja attire a vous et avait besoin d'une raison de plus pour vous embrasser?" (No, did you not think I was already attracted to you and needed any more reason to kiss you?)
I smile is surprise and reach up to rest my hand on her cheek as she leans down to my level, "Non." Our lips embrace in a gentle kiss as our eyes close. Her lips are soft, yet firm. And she smells of the small white wild flowers she keeps in her pack.
Tis a sweet kiss for a sweet woman.
"Now isn't this interesting?" We jump apart and blush at being caught as we turn to see Morrigan standing there, her arms crossed as she watches us. "Do my eyes deceive me or were you just kissing my brother on the lips?" She directs to Leliana.
Leliana's eyes are wide from the shock of being caught, "M-maybe we were, maybe we weren't. Wha- what is it to you?" She asks defensively.
Morrigan's scowl deepens, "What is it to me?" She looks to me, "I am his sister, little sister at that, but his sister no doubt." Her sharp golden eyes turn back upon Leli. "I simply wish to know your intent?"
"I..." Leliana looks at the ground.
"I wish to interrupt if I am allowed?" I ask.
Morrigan nods, "Tis allowed."
I smile and turn to Leliana, "I did not know you were interested in me." She looks at me sheepishly. "Perhaps we should have some time to think separately?"
She nods quickly, "Yes, oh yes, I think that is a wonderful idea, great in-fact." She clears her throat, "I-I'll see you later then? During watch?" I simple smile and nod. "Ok, then I, must, go." She rush-walks past Morrigan and down to the first floor.
Morrigan hums in amusement, "Tis amusing that such a slave of the Chantry would find you attractive." She turns and walks past me and over to center of the shattered summoning circles. "Come, we must practice our magic so that our enemies do not survive our battles."
I sigh at her directness and grasp Wintersbreath as I step forwards to take my position in the duel. We circle around each-other like the predators we are. We already know our opponents terms for the duel, we've fought on many occasion in the Wilds for practice. I take note of her stance, always her weak point and see it's mostly solid this time. She sees me and most likely sees how I have not changed in the half-year we've been apart. She snaps her staff at me in a triplicate of lightning and I match them with a slap of my own staff to redirect the energy into the floor.
Now that she's tested my defense she should see how much it has improved.
She speaks, "I am impressed brother, it seems you have become quite formidable in the months that have passed."
I smirk, "Same to you sister."
She snaps another flurry of lightning bolts towards me and I dodge them with relative ease, using my training in martial arts from a previous lifetime to match each strike with an equal and precise defense. This goes of for nearly five minutes before she locks her jaw and casts a fireball at me as I'm spinning around. A flash of arcane shield and the fireball explodes just beyond my face, blinding me. "Ah!" I shut my eyes and focus on my passive magics to see through the ash and smoke as Morrigan fires off another five lightning bolts from her staff.
Damn it!
This time I can't counter and have to dive and roll away to hide behind a well-placed pillar. The crackling of lightning shatters the thin layers of rocks and stone behind me as I regain my sight.
She's not letting up!
I growl at her persistence and kneel down to touch the ground, spreading a layer of frost around the pillar to gather at her feet, before she can fire another bolt I latch on the frost and yank her feet out from under her. "Oh, oof... Darien you cheating bastard!"
I laugh as I get out from behind the nearly toppled pillar, "Tis part of the game sister!" I grow the ice to encase her staff which she dropped to brace herself during the fall.
She huffs in annoyance and punches downwards, shattering the ice with a concentrated rock fist spell.
I take the moment to go on the offensive and flash a fade fire-blast at her feet, throwing her back on her ass to skid away and roll over with practiced precision, fury in her golden eyes. I lose myself in those curious golden orbs and fail to realize the ice growing up my legs.
Oh sod...
Her hand clenches and I take in a deep breath as I'm encased in ice. I don't dare to blink and look around to find her sauntering up to my icy prism with more than a small amount of pride. I glare at her and she laughs from beyond the two inch thick ice.
Ok, lets see... the always forgets one tiny detail in these things, tis her nature as a perfectionist to miss the smallest insignificant detail.
I close my eyes and twist my left wrist three degrees north while breathing out, melting the inner layer of ice with a blast of high-intensity body heat. The water flows off of me in waves until I'm standing, soaked, before her as she stares in shock as usual. "Once again your impenetrable ice prism has been proven ineffective." The water forms into ice around me at my command, she brings up her staff to cast an arcane shield just as I chuck the ten spears of ice directly at her. They shatter on contact, staggering her with the ice shrapnel. "What does one do to kill a wolf biting their throat?" I bring my staff around and shatter her arcane shield with pure fade energy, tossing her back. "One simply stabs it in the head."
She groans up at me and reaches for her staff as I kick it away. She sighs and pouts at her defeat. "There, you have proven your superiority yet again, now help me up before my behind freezes to the floor." I laugh at her- well... being her and hold out my hand so she ca-
"Wha-?" She pulls me down on top of her and forcefully claims my mouth. I stare into her golden eyes in shock and try to push her away but she rolls us over and pins me to the floor.
A burning ferocity glows ever so brighter in those golden eyes when she finally separates and smirks down at me. "Now isn't that better than that witless chantry sister and her sweet and kind kisses?" She whispers to me as I stare, still in shock at what just happened.
My mind catches up with my body and I smirk up at her, "I have to say sister, you seemed... strangely possessive when you spoke of me before, am I not mistaken?"
She rolls her eyes and stands off of me, "Possibly." She says airily while turning away playfully.
I shake my head as I get up and watch her saunter down the steps and up to a shadow in the corner. "He's all yours..." And turns to walk through the doorway and enter the first floor.
I watch the shadow, my left hand already on my dagger as Leliana steps from the darkness with a hurt expression on her face, "So, you and her?"
Damn it Morrigan...
I quickly step up and take her hand, "I do not know what just happened, between you and I or even me and... sister..." I cringe as I remember how much I... felt when Morrigan pinned me to the floor. "I think I need some air."
I turn to rush outside and Leliana runs past me, anger and confusion brimming from her body language as she bolts out of the fort and away from me.
I let my face fall into my hands and just let what just happened sink in.
Son of a bitch... I've got two companions fighting over my affections... again, I can't deal with another Omega incident. No no I refuse to let this turn into another Omega incident! I shake away the dark thoughts from another life and step down to the first floor, wondering if I could really choose between two of my favorite characters in this universe.
A/N For those of you who are French majors or know French as a first language I am sorry for the lack of proper accents. I use a Linux Mint, which doesn't allow the Alt codes for accents to work. :( I'll keep researching how to fix that but for now anything in French is only partially correct.
If you haven't figured it out yet; Morrigan and Leliana are tied as romances in Dragon Age: Origins.
In Dragon Age II Isabela and Bethany are tied as romances so it appears EVERYONE wants a piece of Darien. ;) Thanks for all your support and time spent voting for the romance options in Drifter's Journey. :)
See you all tomorrow with ch. 18!
Also, for whomever this may concern, I am sorry but until I get Dragon Age burned out of my system I'm postponing any new chapters to Scorpio's Legacy. I know I know, I'm a terrible person, but I can't think about blasting some huge purple squids out of the sky when its raining demons and I don't have biotics. :) Just like I explained before, I'll keep working on both but don't expect another Chapter to Scorpio's legacy to come out until at least after November 2014. That way I have enough time to finish up at least the first book of Drifter's journey and have some time to relax with Dragon Age: Inquisition and get that out of my system. This might change, who knows? I might just slow down my posts for this and throw in one chapter of SL a week to even it out. ;) Just bare with me, college is starting to get to me and it hasn't even been a month yet!
I have started revising the entirety of Scorpio's Legacy's twenty one chapters on request of one of my guest readers. Chapter one is already done and up so go see it and tell me if I missed something! :)
Have a great afternoon everyone, sorry for the late post. :P
