The stuff of legends
"So where is your staff?" asked Varric well into journey for the way back. Trevelyan fidgeted on his mount and a red tinge adorned his face.
"Lost. Sort of." Varric shot him a pointed look "It was burned to a crisp when I first transformed into a dragon and discovered that I had fire breath..." Knowing that Varric was holding back from laughing out loud, Trevelyan focused on the road with a deadly intensity. "Did I mention that I can turn into a dragon? Because I can and I won't hold back from doing so!"
"Shame about the staff. You had crafted it yourself and it was rather well made" commented Dorian, trying to cheer him up.
"Thank you, Dorian" he replied with a diplomatic tone "And if you don't stop snickering, dwarf, I am going to be breathing fire down your ass!" Varric laugh got louder and even Dorian joined in, desperately trying to hide his face while making Trevelyan growl and roll his eyes. He should have just lied about the damn thing but it did feel good to hear his friends' laughing voices once again.
"Everyone is happy and bantering naturally. This is good!" Cole said. "Oh, look Skyhold! We can share the happiness now"
"Do you want to make another dramatic entrance, Herald? Spread your wings and glide through the Sky?"
"No way! I am not becoming targeting practice for Cullen's men and their trebuchets." He opposed, suddenly fearing the outcomes of pulling such a stunt in Skyhold. With all of the inquisition's best and finest alarmed and ready to battle, he wouldn't survive the minute.
True to her word, Lavellan had the stronghold alerted keeping every lingering man and woman busy with something. Cullen and Lavellan's impressive army was still returning from the Arbor Wilds and majority of them were nowhere in sight. What remained of the personal guards and the few soldiers had gathered in the outer gardens of the Skyhold. Ready to march into enemy territory, no matter how little their number were, the soldiers had geared up. Most had determined faces with a hidden nervousness and some were downright sad, even afraid to face what came next. Even Bull's Charges seemed to be on the edge and that was saying something. Trevelyan didn't blame them for fearing the final battle with such a small army. Even with all the shit he had learned and the stuff he could do, he was still terrified of facing Corypheus' dragon.
He should have practiced being a dragon more before reaching Skyhold.
With a sigh he dismounted and left his horse in the capable hands of Master Dennett. From the way the tension was vibrating around Skyhold and how everyone was anxious to do something, anything, it was obvious to Trevelyan that the end was near. It was time to face their ultimate opponent lest doom fell upon the world.
He shared a knowing glance with Dorian and Varric alone, Cole already had disappeared, and he left for the war room one last time before the main event.
"Was the summoning... successful, Trevelyan?" Leliana asked as soon as he joined the conversation. The rest of the advisors and their Inquisitor was already in the midst of planning their final assault; the map was laid out with various pin attached to it; completed missions were marked and only their destination remained unmarked, he imagine that the small dagger imbedded in the middle of the map was meant to be saved for that location.
The advisors were also nervous but with years of experience came the will of steel which toughened his comrades. As tense as they appeared, Trevelyan knew that they were more than ready as well.
"You have no idea, Leliana" he answered with a smirk.
"But you found what you needed?" she inquired further more.
"Oh yes and much more than that"
"Will you tell us if you learned how to become a Dragon or not?" Lavellan intercepted "We really don't have time to be fooling around" The advisors' gasps made him smile further but he managed to face Lavellan with a displeased scowl.
"Way to ruin my surprise, Inquisitor" he said, the word Inquisitor still foreign to his tongue. "I had a whole plan of spreading my wings in the courtyard, dropping trebuchets off the walls and burning a massive bonfire in preparation for the winter. Now I have to make do with lighting Blackwall's beard on fire only..."
"You spend way too much time with Dorian and Varric. Their bad jokes have rubbed off on you" Cullen commented light heartedly. Lavellan was quick to shoot him a warning glare. "Anyways, as you have completed your mission then all that remains is to find Corypheus before he comes to us"
Ideas were thrown around and as Cullen was voicing his thoughts the ground beneath their feet shook, while strong, abnormal coloured beams infiltrated the war room, illuminating it with a green hue. Time stopped for Trevelyan, he felt the fear rapidly accumulating the room, panicked eyes searching through the green light for the source of their distress. It didn't take them long to spot the fearsome tear in their sky, shining with its emerald shade like a fine silk suspended and circling between two worlds.
His hand shivered with a familiar pain and the matching coloured hand glowed, it's pure energy pulling towards its kin. His own fears began to surface as he saw Lavellan's hand raised up just like his. The advisors stared at them both, unable to comfort either.
"Corypheus. Either we close that breach again, or it swallows the world. We have to bury that bastard before he advances further" Lavellan declared with a scowl.
"But that's madness! Wouldn't it kill him as well?" Josephine exclaimed.
"I think he is beyond sanity at this point. It's all or nothing; for him and for us both." Trevelyan added in and leaned over the war map pulling the dagger and handing it to Lavellan. "We have no forces to bring along with us but we have a plan and a means to an end. We can finish this and beat him in his own game. If nothing else, that bastard will never see me coming and torching his sorry ass"
"I like how you think, Herald" Lavellan smirked "While you beat the shit out of his dragon we'll distribute our available sources, especially our inner circle and distract Corypheus. Once the dragon is down, Corypheus dies." She thrust the dagger down and impaled it on a point near the edge of Fereldan, close to the border of the two kingdom and the empire. Her strong determination boosted even Trevelyan's own resolve. "I'll take Cassandra, Iron Bull and Dorian up front. I want the rest of our finest close by and fighting of the waves of pressure. Second line of battle will be Solas, Varric, Vivienne and Blackwall. I want Sera and Cole off of the ground where they can do the most damage with the least visibility. If all else falls then it's up to them to finish this up. As for you Lord Trevelyan, I expect you to deal with the dragon in record time and come help us clean up the remnants of Corypheus once and for all."
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it."
"If the plan is decided, I suggest we start making our final preparations and head out." Josephine suggested and all around heads nodded in agreement.
"Oh by the way" Trevelyan suddenly jerked his head towards them "I need a new weapon. I sort of lost the last one"
...
"You got yourself a staff but are you going to be able to use it once you transform?" Dorian asked as approached Trevelyan in the Undercroft and took a hold of the weapon. Twirling it between his fingers, he measured its strength and durability with arcane energy bolting across its surface "I must say, I have seen far better crafting from you. It's grip probably won't hold for long under duress."
"I don't plan on using it" Trevelyan replied gripping the staff just above Dorian's hands and pulling both them closer to his body. "It's just a precaution. I am going to leave the fighting with evil magister to you and take on the big bad fire breather. It's all around symbolic, you see?" Removing the staff from between their shared space, Trevelyan grasped Dorian's waist, standing close enough until they shared the same breath as well. "Who better to fight of a corrupted Tevinter Magister than his own country's pariah?"
"I am certain the Inquisitor will also play a part in it. Let's not downplay her role in this. It would be rude of us" He said while leaning his forehead against Trevelyan's, his hands playing with the worn out armour's collar.
"I wouldn't dare." Trevelyan said absentmindedly. His breathing had evened out despite the slight tremble in his hands. To think that they have reached the ending so soon, both excited and scared him. There were so many ways that this could have played out, so many conclusions where most of them ended badly for him or Dorian in his mind.
The voices of the ancients had been silent since their visit to the altar and it didn't help calming his nerves down. If anything it was a way of telling him that even the ancients had done all they could. How the finale would end depended entirely on them and were they to fall, it would be because of their own mortal incompetence.
The Inquisition was nowhere near incompetent but they had never went head to head with an old god-wanna-be asshole who commanded the power of the ancient Elvhen magic and could create veils with a whip of his hand. This would be their greatest test up to date and of all the things that could be lost, the amount of people that could die and kingdoms that could fall, the one thing that really scared Trevelyan was losing the man in his arms. The rest be damned, if Dorian were to fall in this battle, he didn't think he could survive that kind of pain. Not again.
Trevelyan wrapped his arms around Dorian tighter as his thoughts grow more grim by the second. His head fall on the young mage's shoulder, nose buried in his neck, simply breathing in. Dorian smelled of fresh grass and smoke, remnants of the road trip they had but underneath it all his unique scent, a combination of old books and fine whiskey still lingered. He committed them to his memory noticing that Dorian's hold on him had grown more firm as well.
"There you go again," the young man started "over thinking; Worrying about a future that hasn't happened yet nor will it come to pass. Fearing and making up endings that don't fit the story. Varric would be most displeased."
"As much as I like the dwarf, right now I really don't want to talk about him." Trevelyan mumbled into his neck, kissing the warm skin. Dorian giggled at the ticklish feeling and earned himself a bite.
"Ow... This is hardly the place for foreplay, Amatus. Unless you want to give the mice a display?" Trevelyan smirked and his tongue darted out to lick at the reddish bite mark on Dorian's neck, making him shiver as he lightly sucked on the spot. Once satisfied that it was going to last long enough, he kissed the mark and moved his lips upwards. Tracing the delicate chin, and the high cheekbones, he pressed his lips on Dorian's soft skin, trying to convey the entirety of the love he felt. Once Dorian's soft gasps reached his ear, he didn't hold back from ravishing the inviting mouth before him. He grasped Dorian's head while stroking the young man's hip with his other hand and lead them towards the table.
Dorian's legs parted to accommodate his partner when he felt Trevelyan lift him slightly and sat him on the edge of the crafting table. He pushed Trevelyan towards him with pressing the sole of his feet on to back of the man's knees, causing him to buckle forward. Dorian chuckled as Trevelyan supported himself with holding on to him and once the mage regained his posture, in an attempt for revenge, Trevelyan's hands shifted down to his hips pulling him flush against his own body. As Dorian parted his mouth to let out a whimper mixed in with a smile, Trevelyan tilted his head and captured Dorian's lower lip, biting hard. That got a moan out of the young man with effectively silencing his snickering.
The air grew hotter as Trevelyan's hips thrust up, creating an unholy friction between the two of them. They could feel every knot and buckle on each other's clothes, the offending fabrics becoming more of a nuisance by each passing second. The dripping sounds of the waterfall behind them were dulled by the drumming of their hearts. Dorian lost his senses as the hands on his lower side gripped with an unforgiving force while Trevelyan's hot tongue explored his mouth. He had half a mind not to beg Trevelyan to lay him down on the table and let him have his way with him. But only half. The remaining parts of him pleaded inwardly for more desperate touches and soul consuming kisses. Fearing that this might be the last time they ever melted in each other's arms, Dorian halted Trevelyan's humping and cupped his flushed face with his palms.
"Amatus," he whispered without opening his eyes. Their noses touched gently "We'll make it through."
"Yes, we will" he heard the hoarse reply and calloused fingers were on Dorian's cheeks, wiping away tears that Dorian hadn't realized he had been shedding. "Open your eyes, Dorian" He did as he was told but with great difficulty and as his eyes fluttered open more tear droplets rolled down his face. Too tired to feel ashamed he let them be.
"Why am I even crying? This is so unbecoming of me..."
"It's alright, love" Trevelyan said as he wiped his face again "I am afraid, too"
"Oh that's why... I'm simply afraid." Dorian laughed "This was such a foreign concept, once. I hope you are happy to make me feel these unwarranted emotions."
"Yes, I am. Especially since the feelings are mutual." They held on to each other for some time, foreheads touching and fingers simply feeling the other one. Dorian's eyes never left Trevelyan's, as he leaned in to put a chaste kiss on his lips, mesmerized by his intense gaze. He smiled as he backed away, slicked back a stray hair on Trevelyan's temple and caressed his scalp. With passion cooled down between them, all Dorian wanted to do for the next day was to wrap himself around Trevelyan and sleep through the battle, away from the danger. He scolded himself for even thinking about it but it didn't diminish the simple desire to kidnap Trevelyan and hide him in the far corners of Thedas until someone, or even himself had dealt with the problems.
"You are thinking something bad" Trevelyan commented warily.
"Yes, but don't worry I won't act on it. Not until we defeat the evil and win the day." He replied and cleaned his face with Trevelyan's sleeve.
"I'll trust you then" chuckled Trevelyan and made a weak attempt to save his armour. They were still smiling at each other when a cough echoed in the Undercroft, making them to jump out of their skin. A blushing Dagna stood at the centre of the room, with her eyes cast sideways, feet fidgeting and fingers flying up in the air as she started to blabber on about something.
"Take a deep breath, Dagna and start over" Trevelyan called out kindly, attracting her gaze to fall upon them which made the poor dwarf go red up to her ears. "Ah, sorry" he said as his hand went to pry off Dorian's leg from his waist. The young man made a second startled noise as he hadn't even realized how securely he had been holding Trevelyan until the mage tried to back away. With a cough he released the man and got up from the table to stand proudly by Trevelyan who was busy trying to frown seriously for the sake of appearances.
"I am never ever going to look at that table the same way ever again" Dagna remarked and a strangled noise was heard from their side, somehow making the girl smirk at them. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, Lady Inquisitor called for all of the Inner Circle to gather outside so maybe you should go as well. I think they are ready to move out."
"Thank you, Dagna" Trevelyan said with an impressive diplomat voice, grabbed Dorian's forearm and bolted out towards the door.
"Good luck" the dwarf yelled after them as they moved past her "And don't forget your staff, Herald!"
"Oh, with that blasted staff..." Dorian heard Trevelyan complain and return all the way back to the crafting table to retrieve the said weapon. He couldn't help but snicker as Dagna waved at them pointedly.
Trevelyan didn't even bother to stop walking hastily until they were safely outside. Once they reached their companions in the courtyard, with their serious faces and scowling brows, both of their smiles dropped. As the Inquisitor gave a short speech and brought everyone up to date, their expressions reflected only an unwavering but hopeful resolution.