Chapter 4 – Call of the dales
A sweet smell Stirred Kass awake, Her head swayed side to side on a soft warm pillow that law underneath her head and a feeling of great peace filled her soul as she slowly opened her eyes. The warmth of the atmosphere made her forget her surroundings and all that had happened since joining the grey wardens. It was an embarrassingly long time after gaining consciousness that she noticed a young Elvan women was sitting on the floor, watching over her with seemingly great interest.
The woman had long white-blond hair that flowed down to the centre of her back, powerful imposing blue eyes and strange Elvan symbols tattooed on her face in black ink. The two made awkward extended eye contact for serval seconds before the elven woman spoke up.
"Aneth ara Da'len"
Kass remained still and slient haven't not understood any of the words being spoken.
"Do you not speak elvan? You are an elf and not just a human with strangely pointy ears aren't you?" Her tone was notably more aggressive and than before.
"N-no I don't.. none ever taught me" Kass replied nervously with a passive tone of voice.
"Your not dalish then?"
Kass had heard of the dalish in stories and historical accounts shed read back home, the wondering elves who refuse to live in Alienages (the racially segregated segments of human cities where elves live usualy in the worst conditions) And instead travel the land in nomadic clans preserving the elven traditions as best they can. She shuck her head gently as a response.
The elven woman relaxed herself and calmed her breath "sorry if im being harsh on you, you just woke up from the joing afterall, not many people your age go through that, Whats your name Da'len?"
"Kass" she replied
"how very Shemlen.. Mine is Neesa that's Knee-sa not Nessa nice to meet you young one.. you were out cold a long time there…. You sleep so very peacefuly"
At that moment Vagar enterd the tent, one hand resting on his shifed sword handel. The look on his face realived great relief at the newest warden's survival.
"I see the two of you have become aquanted, Neesa will be taking over traing you from now on, Although she hates to admit it she does work with the grey wardens not against us… much"
"Ah just as much a sarcastic ass As you always were Vagar, Tell me how is your little problem doing these days?"
Vagar's face turned bright red in the space of an instant he pulled his sword half an inch from its sheif before realising there are some situiatons violence cant solve at which point he consided defeat and accepted the elfvan woman's statement.
"You two have a history?" Kass asked with a mild confusion on her face
"Absoultely" Neesa said at the exact same time as Vagar replied "No"
Kass let out an aiccdential chuckle before resting her head back on her pillow, she may be a grey warden but a warm bed is far more demanding then saving the world.
"So you're a mage?" kass asked of Her new teacher upon their next metting later that day. "Ive never met a real mage before"
"That I am Da'len and that you will be too" Neesa walked kass over to a small circular clearing just outside of camp surrounded by light woodland and stood her on one side facing a lone dead tree.
"alright.. so you've never been taught magic before by anyone?"
"No.. Ive read books about it and that's all"
"Well then, Quite frankly its amazing you've gotten this far without guideance. Magic is a great gft but right now your just aiming your hands and hoping something materialises, I will teach you to control your gift.. to harness its power.. Take out your staff"
"I… don't have a staff… I don't have any idea how I would even use one"
"that green Eh?.. Ok little one here" Neesa took her staff from her back and handed it to Kass. It was a pure black wooden pole atlesast 3 feet long inscribed with obscure sysmbols and runes, At the top a bright orange crystal the size of her fist lay attached which appeard to be some sort of power soruce for magic. Just grasping it in her hand filled Kass with the feeling of intense magical power.
"Remember a staff is just wood without a mage, You need to push the magical energy within you into the base of the staff, the crystal acts as a focus collecting and enhcanceing the magic that flows in your vains.. It takes practise but you will get there.. so show me what you can do"
"any spell?" kass said surprised by the amount of freedom being granted by her new teacher
"any" Neesa reassured her student
Kass held the staff tightly in her hands placed one foot forward and aimed the staff towards the tree.
"Wrong! All wrong… terrible" Neesa interrupted "don't even try a spell like that.. the stance is aweful and your holding your staff like a knife"
The more experienced mage lightly pressed her foot against Kass's own guiding her feet to the right positon. "stand up straight girl, have some pride in it"
She then pushed each of the Girl's hands farther apart on the staff and showed her the right positon to hold it in.
"Ok now your ready… so go for it.. and however tempting it may be do not close your eyes"
Kass slowed her breathing and kept her body straight, She wanted to prove that she could be of use to the wardens. That she was more then the child others saw in her. She focused as hard as she could on the feeling of magic that flowed within her silencing all else around her. she began to feel it stronger then ever before, the magic literaly moved within her body like blood through her vains. She began trying to change the energy's direction or to make it stop completely, preventing the flow and letting it pile up in some parts and letting it flow freely in others.
Once she had a feel for the magic she turned her attention to the withering dead tree in front. She focused totally on the magic within chaneling it first to her hands and then into the staff, visualising it not as an object but as an extention of her own body. A few seconds latter she was ready. With a flick of the whrist she let the power loose, a whirl of fire came out from the staff the recoil of which landed our porr heroine off of her feet. The tree lit ablaze with flame in a glorious display. Although she would useualy feel terrible to see nature destroyed like this.. a dead tree wasn't alive so it didn't bother her too much… and the feeling of power wasn't bad either
"Good work Dar'len" The Older mage smirked "There is a lot more potential in you then most mages.. you need to learn how to control what type of spell you cast though, a fireball works in this situation but it would kindof suck if you brought one upon some poor allie in need of healing"
The two mages spent sevral hours practising basic spells and sevral more dicusssing the theory behind magic and its various schools. Most of the spells nessa described were far beyond Kass's abilitys as of yet, But the dalish teacher assured her that she would be able to cast anything she wanted with the right practise and discipline. At the end of the day Kass handed the staff back to Neesa.
"Oh.. I gave you that? I almost forgot it was mine.. why don't you keep it.. I have others and you wont find one for sale anyone around here"
The younger mage felt honored up at the prospect of having the staff as her own.. it was a very nice staff and it meant a lot to see how much Neesa appreciated her talents.
"Thank you… thank you a lot" she said unable to find any better words
"if you want to thank me do it in elvan, its Ma serannas"
"Ma serannas… Did I say that right?"
"Yes Da'len.. I can teach the tongue of your people aswell as magic if you want"
"Id like that" Kass smiled back
"Dareth!" the teacher said to her student as she left to her tent "it means be safe"
"then Dareth back to you Neesa" She replied again smiling at the older mage.
The next couple weeks were filled with study of magic and the practising of spells. It was strang, but Kass felt close to Neesa in a way she never had to anyone else before. Although it was impossible to put a finger on why.. she seemed so free spirited, so skilful and yet so grounded. Kass felt a connection with her that was unexplainable.
Duncan enterd Neesa's tent one afternoon just after their latest lesson.
"So do you think she will be ready before the blight heats up?"
"Her powers may be but shes just a teenager. You cant expect her to fight your war"
"What do you expect me to do Neesa? We need to defeat the darkspawn no matter what… even if that means putting innocents in hard situstions"
"what I expect you to do Duncan is let the girl have some time to come to grips with all the things happening around her… you found her in an alienage right? A place she had probably left in her life and now you want her to treavel around fight darkspawn? She may be strong but all this would get to anyone eventualy"
Little did the arguing duo know that Kass had heard them talking about her as she passed by and was now eagerly listerning in to the conversation one ear pressed to the tent canvas.
"Look" Duncan said "there a thousands of men with swords looking to join the wardens but the circle resfuses to grant us mages, we need the few we have in the upcoming battle even if we just use her as a healer in the backlines… cant we come to some sort of compromise here?"
Neesa smiled at the elder warden "you really do care about people don't you? You pretend to be so cold and pragmatic but if you didn't value the girl's wellbeing you wouldt listern to me at all. Ok How about this.. She can be part of the fight here at ostergar.. whenever it happens. But afterwards.. I want to take her to my clan, she could get in touch with who she is. And it might put her mind at ease about what happened at the alienage"
Kass found herself unable to move at the last line Neesa had said… While she had tired to avoid it the truth she had drempt of home every night. Sometimes of the peaceful times she played outside as a child.. but mostly of that terrible night she was forced to leave with Duncan. Of the dead elvan girl, of the cold cell, of what the Arl's sun would have done to her if…. She preferd not to think of it any farther.
"very well keeper Duncan replied, I will grant the two of you leave for some time once the danger has died down a little"
"Im not a keeper anymore Duncan.. Im a warden just like you. We all leave our old worlds behind to fight the blight"
Her words rung especialy true to Kass who now cared not to listern any farther, as she walked towards her tent that evening the sun slowly set over the horizon. And a deep melancholy filled her bones. Events had been so brisk since leaving Denerim that she had never had time to doubt herself or the situation around her.
What if she wasn't good enough to be a grey warden? What if she was just getting in the way of the real hero's work? What if it would have been better for everyone if she had been killed by Denerim's sadistic nobel that day? She expelled these doubt from her mind as soon as she could and refocused herself on the task at hand and that task was her magical trainging, Kass was determined to become a hero like in the ledgends of old. To prove to a world which had never done anything for her that she was of worth. But more then that… to prove the same thing to herself.