Galloping again through the woods. The only way to tell where to go is through smells and sounds. The hunter is coming. He is…
A sword clatters. A man yelps. She huffs nervously, pacing in a circle. She flinches as someone or something touches her.
"Ma ane eth." You are safe.
A deep voice speaks. It is familiar. It was a hand that was touching her, stroking her back. Her huffs become calmer, slowing down between breaths.
"Ar jusul'ema ma arla." I will bring you home.
She leans her neck down. The hand reaches just below the back of her head. It begins pushing her left. A small voice escapes her throat. It is the whinny of a halla – a slow, sad call. She means to signify her trust.
"Ara me a falon." I am a friend.
The hand guides her through the forest.
Nethra walked up the steps to Haven. They had just returned, and she was already getting a headache just thinking about how everyone will feel about their alliance with the mages.
She had only passed Varric's firepit, yet she could alread hear raised voices coming from the Chantry.
"It was reckless! Now we're going to have tons of loose-cannon mages running around!"
"I believe it was the better move, all things considered."
Nethra pushed the Chantry door open, revealing the familiar leading quartet of the Inquisition.
"It's not a matter for debate. There will be abominations among the mages, and we must be prepared!" Cullen argued.
"If we rescind the offer of an alliance, it makes the Inquisition appear incompetent at best, tyrannical at worst."
Thank the Maker for Josephine, the freckled elf thought to herself. Cullen turned to Nethra, and her body froze. His hazel eyes locked onto her own green ones.
"What were you thinking, turning mages loose with no oversight? The Veil is torn open!"
"If I didn't agree to it, they would have been in the exact same position we just saved them from!" the elf spoke quickly, "At least give them their freedom for now. If they prove later that they can't handle it, impose restrictions."
"And how many lives will be lost if they fail? With the veil broken, the threat of possession…"
"Enough arguing!" Cassandra finally spoke, "None of us were there. We cannot afford to second-guess our people. The sole point of the Herald's mission was to gain the mages' aid, and that was accomplished."
"The voice of pragmatism speaks! And here I was just starting to enjoy the circular arguments." The five turned to the new voice. Out of the dark corner walked Dorian.
"Closing the Breach is all that matters." Cassandra spoke stiffly.
"We should look into the things you saw in this "dark future." Leliana hummed. "The assassination of Empress Celene? A demon army?"
"Sounds like something a Tevinter cult might do. Orlais falls, the Imperium rises. Chaos for everyone!" Dorian joked
"One battle at a time. It's going to take time to organize our troops and the mage recruits." The blond commander turned to Nethra once more, "Join us. None of this means anything without you…and your mark, after all." His eyes flickered at the end of his sentence.
"Of course." She replied dryly.
Although she desperately needed a drink and a nap, there was work and planning to be done. As the five leaders headed to the War Room, Cullen began planning already.
"I'll begin preparations to march on the summit. Maker willing, the mages will be enough to grant us victory."
After several hours of counting men, recording mages, and a good amount of martial planning, the Inquisition had called it a day. Well, as much of the day that was left, that is. Their plan was to rally troops in the afternoon, then march up to the Temple of Sacred Ashes (or what was left of it) and close the Breach as fast as possible.
The sky was orange when the freckled brunette opened the doors of the Chantry, a sign of another day over. As Nethra walked down the stairs to her self-deemed cabin, Varric couldn't help but call her over.
"Jailbird! Still shooting grumpy glances at poor Curly, I see. That's too bad to see, after what he did for you!"
"What are you talking about this time, Varric?" Nethra sighed. She was quite tired of hearing the whispers being passed around between the townsfolk and the soldiers, about 'why the Herald was always yelling at the Commander'.
"Didn't you hear? That lovely lion of a man almost tore a soldiers head off this morning for bad-talking the Herald of Andraste. They said it was strange, considering the Commander has done nothing but complain about the mage agreement since the news was delivered. Allegedly."
Nethra rolled her eyes. She turned her head back to the Chantry, where Cullen was already looking at her. What was his deal? Back in Kirkwall, he wasn't exactly fond of her, and yet now she's worthy of defending?
"Um, I think we'll have to discuss this another time," Nethra spoke as she turned her head back to her dwarven friend, "preferably after I've had a nap."
"I hear ya. Talk to you later, Jailbird." Varric smirked before the elf turned and began walking toward her bed.
As she found her way to her door, she was greeted by a familiar bald elf.
"On dhea'lam, ma'falon." Good evening, my friend. "You were in there for quite some time. I trust our plans for closing the Breach are set?"
"Yes. It took us far too long," Nethra laughed, "are you not tired from the journey, Solas?" she said to him while opening the door to her cabin. She didn't mean to be rude, but she knew Solas was here for her language lessons, but she was far too tired to learn today. The door creaked, revealing her neat bed with a bouquet of flowers lying on it. She walked towards it with her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Ir abelas." I'm sorry. Nethra's attention turned back to Solas. "We have not completed a lesson yet today. I understand you are exhausted, so I thought it may be a good opportunity to explore the Fade while learning."
"You mean learn while sleeping?" Nethra said quietly, while picking up the bouquet. "Solas, why didn't you think of that before?"
The bald man smiled. "I did not think you were ready. However, I would like to try before our assault on the Breach tomorrow."
"Well, alright. Let's try it out." Solas nodded as he followed her inside, closing the door. He sat on a chair in the corner of her bedroom, studying her with the flowers. They were pink and white, not common flowers for the area they were in.
Nethra sniffed them with a smile on her face, before placing them on her end table.
"I'll have someone look after these tomorrow. Do you know who these were from?" She asked as she turned to the bald elf.
"Is there no message attached?"
Nethra shook her head. "They were in luck. These are my two favourites. Zinnia and dawn lotus." She smiled. "Well, anyway, let's get started."
Hello! Sorry about the long wait, I've been busy with work and life. Thank you to MissLizziebeth for the honest review, I really appreciate it! I realized that In Hushed Whispers wasn't really necessary, however I did want to introduce Dorian and his dynamic with Nethra. Thank you though! I'll try to be more aware of the less important scenes and try to focus the story a little better.
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