The whispers of the dead
As Trevelyan strode through Skyhold and tried to ignore the obvious looks he was getting, he tried to focus on happier things like remembering Dorian's sleeping face with his tousled hair and mild snores. He hated to leave the young mage and have him wake up alone in a cold room but duty beckoned. The threat still hanged above Thedas and there was lots of questions he undoubtedly was expected to answer.
After a good night's sleep and without his anchor constantly trying to kill him, Trevelyan's stance had changed into a determined and bold march. Now that he retained all the aces about his past and present, he could move forward with a strong attitude. Even if his heart was wounded and he was hurt, he firmly believed that he wasn't broken. There was yet a future for him, for Dorian and for all his friends.
Cullen's troops were arriving to their stronghold in parts, with their Commander already up and about, yelling and ordering his soldiers their respective duties. The battle was won and the enemy was driven away but that didn't mean they got to have breaks. The wounded and the dead still needed to be attended.
Trevelyan nodded at the Commander as he walked down the stairs and into the outer garden. A couple of soldiers saluted him as he greeted Cullen and then scrambled away once their commander was distracted. "Don't be so hard on them, Cullen. You are scaring them away."
"We don't have the luxury to slack, Trevelyan. Corypheus was furious when he left the battlefield, who knows what he'll do next." he explained with slurring some of his words. The Herald wondered if Cullen had taken any sleep in the last two days. He had dark shadows under his eyes and his hands slightly trembled. So Trevelyan guessed that he hadn't even taken a rest in between battles.
"Either way, I am glad to see you made it through, Trevelyan. I wasn't certain I'd get to see you again"
"Same here, Cullen." Trevelyan answered and started walking in the direction of the throne room. "There is a war council meeting now, isn't there? I have heard from Lavellan that once you came in we would hold one."
"Yes, I have just been summoned" Cullen said and hesitation faltered his steps "So, I am not sure of what I have heard so far. I have received an update from the scouts but in short-"
"The wisdom of the Well of Sorrows has been past down to me, my anchor has been balanced and I am stuck here, whether anyone likes it or not"
Cullen chuckled and Trevelyan whipped his head towards the unknown sound escaping Cullen's throat. "I highly doubt that anyone would oppose having you around, least of all the Inquisition's finest. Your accomplishments, although not as colourful as Lavellan's, have reached the people and they are hailing you as the second miracle send by the Maker to assist the Inquisitor in these dark days. I must admit that I agree with their sentiment."
"Cullen, I am-" Trevelyan swallowed thickly, touched deeply by his admission.
"You are welcome here, Trevelyan. Whether you like it or not, we are not giving you up." He was definitely blushing a dark shade of red which made Cullen's smile to widen further more. Perhaps they should tire out the commander more to get him to converse this openly.
By the main doors, Varric was sitting on a chair, tinkering with Bianca. He was startled to see Cullen smirking and dropped Bianca on to the table with a loud thud.
"Did I miss the part where Corypheus has died?" he asked, abashed.
"He isn't dead, yet" Trevelyan responded, frowning.
"Curly is smiling. I figured something of a large calibre must have happened!"
"Oh, I see what you mean. It gave me a scare as well" The Herald agreed despite Cullen's weak protests.
"You sound cheerful, Herald and you don't look half bad, either. After yesterday's endeavour I assumed you would be-"
"Moping alone in my quarters? Miserable enough to scare away Leliana's scouts? Honestly I had every intention to be just like that but someone broke through my defences."
"I can't ever guess who" Varric laughed "I hope you had a lovely night full of recovery and tender touches, then?"
"Yes" he answered simply, ignoring Cullen's obvious blush.
"We should head to the meeting room" he stammered "They must be waiting for us!" As he left first, Trevelyan caught Varric's wink.
"Seriously though. You gave us quite the scare in the Well, Herald. How are you holding up?"
"I'll be fine, Varric. In time, I'll be better"
"Alright, I'll trust your word. Just remember that we are here for you, if you ever need company. In the mean time I'll work hard to spread your miracles across Thedas."
...
The war room was already buzzing with the sounds of the advisors and their ideas bouncing off of each other. It was rather crowded with the addition of Morrigan, Cassandra and Solas to the usual trio and their Inquisitor, Lavellan.
"Then Corpheus is finished" Josephine assumed but she was countered by Leliana.
"If he is wise, he will hide and rebuild his strength before he attacks again." That sounded wrong to Trevelyan, like a whisper from the depths a voice spoke to him, confirming his intuition.
He won't hide.
"He won't hide" he said with great conviction and all eyes in the room turned his direction.
"You hear it. The Well speaks to you" Morrigan dictated and it took him all his willpower to not to roll his eyes at her.
"Yeah, I have been hearing them for a while now. Do try to catch up, Morrigan." he mocked "They are more tamed now. Their sound comes from afar but I can understand them better as if they have finally calmed down enough to sound legible."
"They are no longer trying to kill you, you mean." Cassandra hissed.
"Thankfully we seem to have reached a compromise. Since there is no more poison in my veins trying to surpass them, they have withdrawn their death sentence on my head..." Morrigan had something more to say, perhaps raise her voice over the unfairness of losing her chance to obtain the wisdom for her own gain, but Cassandra was quicker.
"What has happened to our counterparts, Trevelyan? Are they still bound to the Well? Should we be leaving them there?"
He heard the voices whisper to him, demanding his attention upon hearing the question. Trevelyan closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of the ancients.
"They are gone now. Gone but not lost." he whispered with a pained expression "They merged with the times of this world and become a part of it. They are you."
"That sounds like something Cole would say" Lavellan remarked with a raised eyebrow. "You are not ascending into spirit-hood, are you?"
"No? I feel human enough" Trevelyan replied. "The situation is peculiar enough that I can't express it in my own words so I am borrowing the ancients'."
Cassandra's frown deepened "I don't feel any different than what I have felt before. How is it that they merged with us?"
"How would you even know if something changed within yourself?" Solas inquired "You can't. Perhaps they have always been there, watching and guiding us. Or they have appeared at the same time as Trevelyan but we can't possibly know it. One thing is for certain; now, they are a part of us rather than a part of the Well."
"What do you mean, Solas?" Lavellan asked the elf.
"When we were in the temple, our counterparts mentioned having been merged with the ancient magic. Upon accepting to carry the wisdom of the Well, Trevelyan obtained all of the voices of the ancients yet he does not hear his old companions because they are no longer there."
"That sounds both hopeful and tragic. Maybe they are still helping us after all. " Josephine marvelled "Lord Trevelyan, you look stricken. We can take a break if you require some time off."
Trevelyan shook his head. The whispers acted out once again, drawing his attention back to their main topic at hand. "I know what needs to be done in order to bring an end to Corypheus"
"Now, that is a definitive answer we have been searching for" Leliana said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"The dragon isn't an Archdemon. It's a dragon in which Corypheus has invested part of his power. Kill it, and his ability to jump to other bodies is disrupted for a time. He can be killed."
"That's... no simple task. Corypheus alone is powerful, but with his dragon..." she started but the voices were whispering in his mind once again.
"I need to summon Mythal." That remark made everyone fidget and Morrigan even bothered to question Mythal's existence but Trevelyan knew better than to ignore the request of the ancients. "There. An altar in the wilderness. That's where I need to go"
"I see you are determined. So be it" Morrigan commented before taking her leave. Cassandra let out a disgusted noise with which Trevelyan agreed.
"We'll sort out our defences and ready our troops." Lavellan commanded "In the mean time, you do everything in your power to learn how to stop the Dragon"
"I will" Trevelyan said and left to make his preparations.
...
The twilight glimmer drowned the green of the Emerald Graves in a golden hue. The rustling of the leaves and the sounds of small animals hiding within the deep forest was comforting enough for Trevelyan to relax his shoulders and breath in the fresh scents.
"We should consider camping while we have the chance, Herald" Varric called out as he slowed his horse to a halt. "This clearing looks less likely to smother us in our sleep."
"I concur" Dorian agreed and slowed down "Whatever is it that we are going to face, I don't want to face it without taking a proper night's sleep"
"We have come to visit an altar, love. I don't plan to battle any giants or I would have requested help from one of our fine warriors"
"The altar stands stranded, betrayed and alone. Broken and abandoned. Those who come to pray find nothing but the fractured statue of a deity." Cole grimaced and Trevelyan decided that stopping was the best option.
They prepared their camping ground with the help of two scouts that were tugging along with them and by the time they were finished, the night had fallen. Trevelyan grabbed a bowl of something that was served as the dinner and scooted closer to Dorian's seat by the fire. With his shoulder leaning on to the young mage's knees who was sitting on a log, Trevelyan stretched his legs and dug into his meal.
"So, Tsion" Dorian started sweetly "What earth shattering nightmare are we going to be facing tomorrow? The Goddess, Mythal or one of her minions?"
"It's a surprise" Trevelyan snickered to himself and Dorian tangled his fingers in his hair, stroking and paying special attention to the sensitive skin of his nape.
"So, you do know what awaits us! Any hints as to what it is so we can prepare for it? I'd hate to end up dead because of a shock"
"Oh, it will be a shock but nothing we can't handle, love. Trust me."
"That statement makes me even more worried." He said while increasing the pressure of his hold. Trevelyan groaned at the action as his shoulders slumped down and he leaned further into the touch.
"Let's eat up and retreat to our tent?" he asked and Dorian was more than ready to nod in agreement. The bowls were cleaned in mere minutes and Trevelyan almost bodily lifted Dorian and together they disappeared into the tent furthest from the fire.
"Try not to be too loud. We'll all need to sleep tonight!" Varric yelled out after them, causing the young scouts to blush feverishly.
"They are happy" Cole stated "Glittering to gloss a hidden hurt. Unlearning not to hope for more. Stumbling steps where the wall used to be."
"Is that for Sparkler or for the Herald?" Varric inquired, unsure of its intended target.
"Both grow with each step they take. Together, the voices are dimmed and they can be their own before they are anyone else's. The whispers beyond the time rest, content to be with them once again."
Varric drew in a deep breath before letting out a chuckle. "I think that's enough poetry for me tonight, kid. Let me tell you a story instead."
"I love your stories, Varric. Your eyes shine as bright as your heart when you tell them."
"Of course, kid. A storyteller who doesn't enjoy his work can never make it as far as I have. So, there was this one time when Hawke was invited to Chateau Haine..."
...
"That's a lovely statue" Dorian commented dryly at the vast empty space with only a broken statue of Mythal standing before them. The altar was in a bad shape such as Cole had mentioned before with its stand covered in vines and half its glory buried under a dense layer of leaves and flowers.
Trevelyan stepped on to the altar, ignoring his remark and started examining the remnants with great interest. Jokes on him, Dorian thought with pleasure as he eyed the red bite mark on his lover's neck. Red suited him so well.
"We few who travel far, call to me, and I will come. Without mercy. Without fear." Trevelyan read and observed the altar some more "This place is beautiful."
"Yes, quite so. Now what?" Dorian asked with an impatient voice. "What are we waiting for? Is there no Mythal? Was she killed too? Could Corypheus even do that; kill a Goddess?"
"No, she isn't dead" Trevelyan replied, focused on listening something Dorian couldn't hear "I can feel her presence. Oh, I see. You lot wait here for a bit!"
"Where are you running off to on your own?" Dorian squeaked but Trevelyan has already left the field with eliciting two surprised gasps. Cole's mouth opened ajar but he closed it with his own hand. Hiding his words behind it. "Do you know what he is up to, Cole?"
"Yes, but I can't speak of it. Please don't ask!" Cole begged and Dorian crossed his arms, utterly exhausted. He was tempted to bribe the spirit with a new hat.
"Perhaps, you should have asked him at the end of your passionate night, Sparkler." Varric said with a smug smile. Dorian chose not to dignify that with an answer. There was no movement for ten minutes as they simply walked around. By the end of the tenth minute, Dorian was frowning unhappily until a screeching echoed above their heads.
Gulping and jumping to his feet, Dorian gripped his staff with an undying strength as a large dragon, with its black and red skin and giant wings floated in the sky. Varric was cursing on the side and Cole had already cloaked himself in smoke. The high dragon landed on the edge of the rocks above the altar, its legs unbalanced but strong in their grip. It's large, red stripped horns and sharp teeth stood proudly above them as it opened its jaw letting out a blood roar and puffing out fire through its nose.
While it watched them with a growl, all Dorian could think was the fear and possibility of having lost Tsion to this beast. He couldn't understand where it had come from. When Trevelyan first called out to Mythal nothing had happened. Had his heroic spiritedlover left to find this creature and succeed in waking it up? If so, where was Tsion now? Had this dragon taken him?
Panicked and hurting, he let out a battle cry startling his companions.
" Festis bei umo canavarum! If you have killed my Tsion, if you have harmed him in any way, I will skin you myself you beast!" he yelled and with the way it huffed, Dorian could swear that the high dragon was laughing at him.
...
The dragon flapped its black wings, unearthing some dust and blowing the leaves around as he took off. It roamed the sky without losing its prey from its sight and circled above them, cleverly dodging Varric's arrows. His balance was slightly off, Dorian noticed. Perhaps Trevelyan had wounded the creature before... whatever has happened to him.
A stream of strong fire heated the air as the dragon blew through its mouth. It hadn't aimed at them but Dorian still felt his magic tingling at his fingertips with fright. It flew around some more and he was certain that this was a cat and mouse game to it.
When it decided to come down, the dragons silver nails shone far too close in the space above the enclosure of the altar. Its large limps swung past them without actually touching and as Varric aimed his weapon, unsure whether they should be killing the beast without the Herald. What if this was what they came here for?
While hovering above the clearing, The large wings flattered inwards, creating a wind tornado below itself. The wind's pull wasn't strong but it was enough to unbalance their stance and Dorian's first instinct was to cast a barrier around them all. Having had it with indecision, Varric lifted his weapon but before he could pull the trigger Cole appeared between them, startling the dwarf.
"Get out of the way kid!" he yelled but Cole's attention was at the dragon. The dragon lifted his mighty head roaring and flapped his wings one last time before a smoke with a colour darker than any Cole or Lavellan ever created with their grenades, covered the beast. The thick air swirled upwards until it drowned and hid the dragon behind its blackness. An energy surge got past Dorian and he felt the arcane shift around them.
The ground shone a deep blue below the beast and the smoke slowly dissipated from above. As it was lowered down towards the earth, all that was left was a much smaller bundle which in no time scattered around and Trevelyan landed on his two human feet, his black and red armour floating backwards with the strength of the feral arcane flow.
"You-" Dorian started but he couldn't really finish his sentence. In his mind a hundred Tevene curses were lined up along with a thousand endearments. He simply couldn't decide which ones to yell at Trevelyan's face first. Varric beat him to it.
"You, nug humping bastard! I was this close from nailing you in the heart!" he yelled but lowered Bianca at the same time.
"They are not happy" Cole said with a panic stricken expression "You said they would like your surprise but they are angry!"
"I might have exaggerated with being happy part but they are definitely surprised!" Trevelyan said in return.
"Might?" Dorian sneered with his voice getting high pitched as every time he was both surprised and outraged would do. With his stillness unfrozen, he strode towards the panicking mage who had his hands stretched out in a defensive position. "I thought we were going to get roasted for a minute there. And I wouldn't even get a chance to see you... This is the second time you do this to me! Are you trying to-? What was the point in that?"
"I wanted to surprise you?" Dorian, the scholar and an ever apprentice to the arcane arts, never took pleasure in hurting those he loved. It was both an act unbecoming of his status and something he promised himself that he would not subject his dear ones to the same anger his father had made him feel. Anything that would be considered as an emotional hurt was out of boundaries when it came to Trevelyan too. Yet, yet... he took great pleasure when he leaned backwards and threw his strongest right punch, connecting it with Trevelyan's smug face.
"I hate you so much!" he screamed as his beloved one lost his balance and stumbled a few steps back with his lips bleeding nonstop. The smile was wiped off of his face but the amused twinkle remained in Trevelyan's eyes as if he was impressed with the young mage's right hook. Dorian narrowed his eyes in annoyance, tusked and marched him past.
"That summarizes my feeling exactly" Varric commented but he was also busy snickering "You never fail to surprise me, Herald"
"Well, now that my oracleness became ineffective I thought a fresh talent would be most welcomed! Also I can turn into turn into a dragon, so that's a plus." Varric laughed to his heart's content and Trevelyan knew all was forgiven. Now if only he could say the same about Dorian...
"I'll drink to that. Wait until Hawke gets a whip of that rumour! You won't have anywhere to hide until you spill all your secrets of the draconology, Herald. And don't worry about Sparkler, he'll come around. You just scared the living shit out of us"
"Sorry about that but I couldn't miss on such an opportunity. We do you think I didn't bring all any of our heavy hitters who would behead me with a single blow."
Cole was smiling next to them as they started back and Trevelyan couldn't wait to go back to camp. Dorian, as expected, was still sulking in a far away corner. Without a word, Varric poked his ribs and tilted his head in Dorian's direction and Trevelyan braced himself as he approached the fuming mage.
"Love?" Trevelyan called out.
"Don't love me, you ass!" Dorian exclaimed, with his arms crossed over his chest. The Herald had half a mind to not to touch him as the arcane energy intensified around them.
"I am sorry, Dorian. I didn't mean to scare you" he said in hopes for reconciliation. When all Dorian did was to humph at him, Trevelyan decided to explain himself "After we got through Eluvian, Lavellan and Morrigan wanted to discuss the situation at hand."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Dorian asked, clearly remembering that at the same time he was busy drinking and listening about Tsion's past predicament from Varric.
"Well, while we were talking one of the Chantry Mother's screamed for help. Apparently, Morrigan's son had decided to ran off and play in the Fade. So naturally, we followed."
"You have done what?" Dorian spun around. If possible he was even more furious than he was a second ago. "You ventured into the Fade out of your own discretion? Are you insane?"
"We didn't know it lead to the Fade, Dorian!"
"I had warned Lavellan of its dangers. Did my warning fell on deaf ears?"
"We were simply searching for a lost boy who turned out to be carrying a bit of the Old Gods. Or something like that. I kind of lost who was what when Flemeth appeared and introduced herself as Mythal..."
"You are not making this up, are you?" Dorian asked but he had adorned the tired face of a man who had seen too much and was ready to believe anything at this point. Trevelyan felt terrible for pulling his earlier stunt and adding to the layers of exhaustion on Dorian's posture.
"It turns out she was united with the Goddess long ago and since I drank from the Well, I was named her servant of sorts. She controlled me to stop Lavellan's advances when she tried to attack Flemeth. It seems I have broken my chains with the circle, only to end up handing my leash to a supreme ancient being. This is a bond I cannot shake off"
"Oh, Amatus" Dorian sighed and leaned in until his arms were around Trevelyan's shoulders and their foreheads were touching. "I know how much you wished to break free of this insatiable world which wants nothing but to bound and gag us. You have done remarkably well for anyone in your position and here I am ruining the only enjoyment you found in all this mess."
"It isn't the only enjoyment, you know" Trevelyan wiggled his eyebrows pointedly, earning a smile in return. "Let's return and sit by the fire. I am sure you'll want to hear the rest"
"Of course I do." Dorian nodded "Why a dragon though? How did that come to be?"
"Good question, Sparkler" added Varric who was sitting on a log by Cole's side. "We get it, you are an unstoppable force of nature not to be beckoned with. But a dragon? That's a whole other story."
"A grateful but pitiful deity watches over you now. Once she tasted the bitterness of betrayal and now she is ashamed to have offered it. A gift, she thinks; she believes. Because she has to. You cannot take anything that is not wilfully given. You cannot give anything without losing something in return."
"What Cole means is; " Trevelyan started "after Lavellan's outburst, Flemeth made to capture Kieran and we couldn't stay silent. Flemeth, or Mythal, could stop me with a single thought, limiting my magic as well, so of course on principal I yelled at her to shove it all up her arse. Both the bond and the elven markings. She was amused with that, said she liked my enthusiasm which pissed of Morrigan and Lavellan more."
"Naturally" Dorian agreed and put a hand on Trevelyan's thigh, grounding him.
"We failed to stop her at the end. She was in every sense of the word, a Goddess. Kieran wasn't lost though. Flemeth only took the Old God bit from him and that was it. She didn't harm anyone of us. She was rather grim during the exchange though and she decided to help us. Originally she told me to tame her dragon."
"Leave it to a Goddess to own a pet dragon" Varric commented.
"I know right!" Trevelyan chuckled and then cleared his throat, starting to play with Dorian's fingers in the absence of something to fiddle with "Well, I really didn't mean to do it but I sort of yelled at her again. Told her that it wasn't fair to send us mortals to fight of an ancient being while she watched from the shadows. She obviously didn't have any means to turn us into immortals without corrupting us so instead as a means to settle the trouble between us, she offered to teach me how to turn into a dragon using the power from the Well. Because I was a mage and had the potential to learn shapeshifting, it would be possible for me to transform into a beast that could go head to head with Corypheus' pet."
"So it's the Well's magic that allows you a transfiguration of such calibre? Fascinating! You'll have to tell me more about it later on"
"Of course, love. Does that mean you are forgiving me?" Trevelyan asked while smiling innocently and he could pinpoint the exact moment when it was all forgiven as Dorian's shoulders slouched and he exhaled a sigh.
"Yes, Tsion but don't even think about doing this in Skyhold. There is not enough magic in this world to keep the Iron Bull and half of Inquisition attack you on sight."
"Sparkler is right" Varric added and stretched in his seat, popping a few joints back into their places. "One more thing before I leave you alone, Herald. If Flemeth was going to teach you how to be a dragon and you could meet her in whatever's in the mirror, why on earth have we bothered to come all the way to the altar?"
"To readjust my energy flow" Trevelyan explained "I am not a shapeshifter, as you know but a battlemage and a rift mage. To be a shapeshifter you need years of study amongst the species of your choose and learn their way. Eventually becoming them. We don't have the time as a luxury so I was given a sped up study instead. The ancients whispered that there was a hidden, secondary altar above the rocks. When I checked there, Mythal appeared."
"Those who come to pray find nothing but the fractured statue of a deity," Cole repeated his earlier words "because time tames any shame and all of the prideful. Only the truly devoted remains."
"Pretty much" The Herald responded "Mythal gave me an amulet to let me control the transformation for a while. It will break eventually but I can learn how to do it myself in the mean time. She even gave me a few pointers but I am not exactly confident in myself yet. I'll focus on it more without the amulet when I have time, if we beat Corypheus and have a future that is."
"Now that we have you, I believe our chances have greatly improved. We should reconsider our bet Varric" Dorian cheered and Trevelyan's heart melted down to a puddle, brows drawn to form a worried line. "Don't give me that look. As you like to say so very often, Amatus; we will be alright."
And Trevelyan believed what he just heard.