Disclaimer: I do NOT own Dragon Age or anything related to it.
"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
— Haruki Murakami
Chapter 14:Survival
"Ma'isala pann na'inan, da'len."
The unfamiliar deep male voice spoke calmly and simply as if nothing was amiss, though the urgency behind the voice's words was unmistakeable. It was not until she felt a hand stroke her head gently, however, that Jade did as the voice commanded and her light blue eyes slowly fluttered open. She was surprised to see that she was lying on the soft grass of the forest with her head resting comfortably on someone else's lap. The raven- haired huntress slowly sat up, feeling the person whose lap her head once rested in just a moment ago place a hand on her shoulder to help her sit up.
Keeping her gaze straight ahead, Jade immediately took in the breathtaking place that she was in. The sun shined high in the sky without a single cloud threatening rain nor was there even a gust of wind and the birds sang such a lovely little tune for both the ears and heart to hear. It was literally perfect. Everything was perfect in this place. It was a perfect place, a place of peace. She wished she could stay in this perfect, peaceful place forever.
"Andaran atish'an, da'len." The male voice spoke again, abruptly snapping Jade out of her thoughts and making her jump slightly in surprise. She blinked, twisting around to see an elven man who she did not recognize sitting cross-legged on the ground and holding a staff in one hand whilst his other hand was on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. Jade studied the man thoughtfully, taking notice of his short raven-colored hair that was almost identical to the color of her own and dark blue eyes that sparkled with something resembling kindness, wisdom, sadness, and joy all rolled into one. Based on the staff in his hand and robes he wore, he was a keeper, but certainly not one who she recognized. She also did no fail to notice the vallaslin design of June that graced his brow.
A small smile spread across the man's handsome face when he noticed her wide-eyed gaze trained on him."It is impolite to stare, da'len." There was a hint of teasing in his voice.
Jade felt her cheeks flush in both embarrassment and shame as she lowered her head apologetically."Abelas,gisir." She mumbled, afraid to look at the man in fear of offending or insulting him by accident. As a keeper, he was obviously much older and wiser than her, even if she herself did not ever remember meeting him.
The man chuckled lightly, reaching out to tilt her chin up with his fingers."Do you know who I am, da'len?" He asked softly.
She shook her head, ashamed."No, gisir."
"Do you know where you are?"
"No, gisir, I do not. Though I wish I could stay here forever. It is so peaceful and perfect."
The dark-haired keeper smiled sadly."This is the Beyond, da'len. The place where Falon'Din watches over our dead brothers and sisters with the help of his brother, Dirthamen, whose design graces your brow."
Her head snapped up at this revelation."The Beyond?!Am I din then?!"
The keeper shut his eyes tightly and shook his head very slowly."You are not din, da'len. I, on the other hand, amdin and have brought you here to warn you."
"Warn me?" The huntress was confused."About what?"
A sad sigh escaped his lips."There are dark forces that you will have to face other than those behind theBanalhan, da'len. I only wish I could help you defeat these forces, but sadly all I can do is offer you warning and guidance and hope that you can do what the Creators expect of you."
"Who are you?!" She demanded, confused and perhaps even scared at this point.
He looked at her sadly, reaching out a hand to gently grasp the necklace clasped around her neck. Another sigh escaped his lips."Dareth shiral, emm'asha."
Jade looked at him in confusion for a moment before her eyes widened in shocked realization and she gasped, reaching out for him."Papae?!"
She caught sight of his sad smile and small nod before a bright light suddenly flashed right before her eyes and everything vanished.
Jade's eyes snapped open as she immediately sat upright in bed. Wait a minute, did she just say bed? How on earth did she get in a bed and why wasn't she wearing anything except for her small clothes? Where was she and where did the bandages that covered most of body come from? What in Mythal's name was going on here?!
"It is good to see you are awake." A familiar voice said."Mother will no doubt be pleased."
Jade turned to the source of the voice, her eyes widening when she spotted someone familiar standing by her beside with her hands on her hips.
"M-Morrigan?" She whispered hoarsely, turning to the other side of the room when she heard a groan of pain and saw another familiar face also covered in bandages and slowly starting to sit up in bed. It was Zoë and as soon as the former city elf had fully come to, she looked just as confused as the huntress when she saw Morrigan.
"Where are we?" Jade asked slowly."And what happened to the darkspawn?"
"You were all injured, and then Mother rescued you." Morrigan replied calmly as if it were obvious.
Zoë's eyes widened slightly."Your mother saved us?" She groaned softly when a small pain erupted in her shoulder where she had been shot with an arrow just before losing consciousness at the top of the tower. Morrigan nodded curtly in response, raising an eyebrow.
"You do not remember?" Both Jade and Zoë exchanged a look before shaking their heads in unison.
"The last thing I remember is being overwhelmed by darkspawn." Zoë murmured, clutching her bandaged shoulder with a moan of pain escaping her lips.
"And that is because the man who was supposed to respond to that beacon of yours quit the field and left the rest of you to die." All eyes turned to see Morrigan's mother having just entered the hut with an unreadable expression on her face as she slowly came to stand next to Morrigan. Leonard had also entered with her and immediately rushed over to Jade, who stroked his head fondly and scratched his ears.
"Had I not arrived when I did, you and your fellow Grey Wardens would have surely perished in that tower." The old woman stated dryly, arms crossed over her chest and a grimace teasing her lips.
"You." Jade whispered, narrowing her eyes as she raised her head to make eye contact with the old woman."Madar Asha'belannar, dar ma'din? The Woman Of Many Years."
The old woman smirked, but nodded."Yes, da'len, that would be me. I suppose it's better then being called the old hag who talks too much." She cackled frighteningly at her own jest, causing Zoë to shudder slightly."Though honestly, I am better known as Flemeth. That's what the Chasind folk like to call me anyhow, so I suppose it will do for the rest of you as well."
"Flemeth?" Zoë gasped."The Flemeth from the legends?! An actual Witch of the Wilds saved us?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Flemeth retorted with a raised eyebrow and light shrug of her shoulders."I know a bit of magic which has served you all well, has it not?"
"In addition to you two, Mother was also able to save this mutt that was with you, the elven mage, the other Dalish elf, and the dimwitted one you call Alistair." Morrigan added with a wry smirk."We are not sure of the fate of the others, however. They were most likely massacred when Loghain quit the field and abandoned them along with your fool of a king to die at the hands of the darkspawn."
Leonard whimpered sadly and Jade looked down at him in pity, knowing that he was worried about Valerie, who was most likely either dead or dying by now. She looked back up at Flemeth with an ominously calm look on her face."Asha'belannar, before I woke up just now, I had a dream. I was in the Beyond with...with...this man. He was my father. My din papae, to be exact, who was murdered by bandits before I was born and used to be keeper of my clan."
"Oh?" Flemeth raised an eyebrow."And what did this deadman have to say?"
"He said he was there to warn me of dangerous forces I have to face other than those behind the Banalhan and that he wished he could help me, but all he could do was offer me warning and guidance and hope that I would be able to do what my gods excepted of me. I asked him who he was and he revealed himself as my father." Jade narrowed her eyes as she spoke, though her gaze never once left Flemeth's."That was when I woke up."
At this explanation, Flemeth stroked her chin thoughtfully."Now that is a very strange dream. I can't say I've ever heard of such a thing ever occurring."
"It could merely be a demon attempting to deceive and posses her." Morrigan suggested with a shrug. Flemeth shook her head ever so slowly.
"She doesn't have magic like you and I do, Morrigan. Demons rarely ever go after non-mages." The old woman said in an matter-of-factly tone. She turned to Jade with her head cocked to the side slightly."I'm afraid I can't answer your question, da'len, but if this man from your dream really is your dead father who does truly wish to help you in some way and you do get another one of these dreams, then I suggest you listen to whatever he has to say, for it may be helpful and now, you will need all the help you are able to get."
Jade bowed her head respectfully."Ma nuvenin, Asha'belannar."
The feeling of something cool and wet being pressed against her forehead was the first thing Valerie felt when she regained consciousness. Slowly, the blonde opened her eyes, though she had to blink a few times in order to clear her slightly blurry vision as a moan of pain escaped her lips. While the pain was somewhat bearable, literally everything in her body hurt. She was also painfully aware of a possible concussion she'd gotten from when a genlock had nearly rendered her unconsciousness with a very hard blow to the head.
In just a second, everything came rushing back to her. She'd been fighting side-by-side with King Cailan and her fellow Grey Wardens against the darkspawn. Cailan and Duncan were literally fighting right next to her during most of the battle, but Valerie had been so distracted with taking out three hurlocks at once that by the time she'd spotted an ogre charging at Cailan and shouted for him to watch out, it was already too late. It was with horror that she watched helplessly as Cailan was crushed to death by the ogre.
Duncan had let out an enraged yell, immediately lunging for the beast and avenged the death of their king. He looked up at the tower where the beacon was lit then shared a look of both shock and awareness with Valerie. They both knew what was going to happen; Loghain had abandoned them and now they would die without the Teryn's men coming to their aid. Nevertheless, they continued to fight as hard as they could but it was not long before the darkspawn completely overwhelmed them. Valerie had shared one last look with Duncan for but a mere moment before he fell to his knees and did nothing to defend himself from the darkspawn who then slew him like a dog. That was when Valerie had turned around just as a genlock struck her in the head with the back of it's axe and knocked her to the ground. She had been in so much pain and shock as she could feel blood spilling from the now gaping wound in her head that it was all she do to close her eyes as the genlock raised it's axe high up athen brought it down at her with a loud shriek right before everything suddenly went black.
"Milady." Ser Gilmore's worried voice spoke softly as Valerie unsuccessfully willed herself to open her tightly shut eyes. She could feel the cool, wet object being removed from her forehead then being replaced by a hand followed by the incoherent muttering of a spell of some sort as a strangely soothing feel shot through her body, causing her to feel more relaxed and for some of the pain to fade way.
"Val, if you can hear me, I need you to let out a sigh." Another familiar spoke that Valerie knew belonged to Natasha. She did as the mage asked and heard several breaths of relief come from the mage, the knight, and a few other voices.
"Good." Natasha said softly."Can you open your eyes?"
Valerie nodded weakly, then slowly opened her eyes to see several familiar faces and one unfamiliar face looking down at her. She noticed that she was being held in Ser Gilmore's arms and frowned upon seeing the small cut on his cheek and slash on his armored arm. Next to him was Natasha, the mage herself looking completely worn out and nursing several cuts and bruises on her face although she did not seem to have anything that was life threatening. Cullen was also standing behind them, a worried frown on his face but the person who Valerie paid the most attention to was a young dark-haired male who was staring at her with an unreadable glint in his eyes. She vaguely recognized him as being one of the members of the king's army along with several others though his name escaped her at the moment.
"Is she going to be alright?" Ser Gilmore asked, looking up at Natasha.
The mage nodded curtly at him."I'm no healer, that's for sure, but I've managed to take away some of the pain and made the rest of it bearable. She'll be slightly worse for wear like the rest of us, but generally speaking, she'll be alright in a couple of days or maybe even weeks. Time heals all physical wounds, as they say."
The young dark-haired warrior scoffed."Too bad the same can't be said about the mental wounds." Cullen nodded sadly in agreement.
"W-Where am I?" Valerie asked weakly.
"Safe." Natasha responded curtly, a grim frown crossing her face."For now, that is. Out of all of us, I think you're the one with the most injuries because of that concussion getting hit with the back of an axe gave you."
"I saw Duncan and Cailan getting slain by the darkspawn." She murmured, her voice quickly growing louder as she spoke."Why didn't Loghain come? The beacon was lit! He abandoned us!"
"Damn right." The mage muttered bitterly."If it wasn't for Carver over here and a few other soldiers finding a way out for the rest of us, we'd be dead too." She gestured toward the dark-haired warrior as she spoke. The young man simply gave a curt nod of acknowledgement at Valerie, who hesitantly returned the gesture.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but my mother and sisters are no doubt at home worried sick about me." Carver stated."If I wanna get them away from the horde, I need to get to Lothering and warn them now."
Natasha nodded sympathetically, standing up and going over to clasp a hand on Carver's shoulder."I understand, Carver, and thank you again for helping us. If we ever meet again, know that I, Natasha Amell, owe you a great debt that I can only ever repay by saving your life just like you saved mine and my fellow wardens'. Give your family my regards and even though I don't like to say this very much, Maker watch over you, Carver Hawke."
Smirking wryly, Carver nodded back."Same to you, Nat." The two of them shook hands firmly before Carver turned and ran off toward Lothering, giving the wardens a quick wave of his hand before eventually sprinting from their view.
Not even a moment after Carver had left, a bright light suddenly flashed right in front of Natasha that caused the mage to bring up a hand to shield her eyes. The light quickly faded and Natasha's grey eyes widened slightly when she spotted a familiar figure standing right in front of her.
"You!" She gasped, shock quickly turning to suspicion as she narrowed her eyes at the new arrival."Morrigan, what are you doing here?"
"My mother's bidding." The witch answered curtly with a roll of her eyes."If you wish to see your fellow wardens alive and well thanks to my mother, then I suggest you all best come with me."
"How did you even know we were here in the first place?" The mage questioned, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
Morrigan sighed softly."'Tis understandable that you are suspicious, but if you all come with me back to my mother's hut now, then I promise you that you shall find the answers you seek. Mother will explain everything to you once we get there."
"I say we go." Valerie said, sitting up in Ser Gilmore's arms on the hard ground."Morrigan and her mother have already helped us once and if the others really are alive because of them, then that gives us double reason to go with Morrigan." She shrugged as best as she could due to the slight ache in her shoulders."Besides, even if sheis lying, what else do we really have to lose at this point?"
"I agree." Ser Gilmore said with a nod. Natasha looked questioningly at Cullen, though the Templar just shrugged hesitantly.
"Whatever you think is best, I will do, Natasha." He said quietly."But I agree with Valerie that going with Morrigandoes seem like our best option right now."
Nodding, Natasha turned back to Morrigan with a sigh and nod."Very well. We'll go with you, Morrigan."
The witch smirked wryly, nodding back."A wise choice. Now follow me if it pleases you."
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Elven Translations:
Da'len - Little child; to describe someone young, innocent, or dear.
Ma'isala pann na'inan - You need to open your eyes
Andaran atish'an - (Literally: I dwell in this place, a place of peace) Enter this place in peace. A formal Elven greeting.
Vallaslin - (Literally: Blood writing) The art of tattooing adopted by the Dalish to display their worship of the traditional elven pantheon. It also signifies each elf's coming into the status of adulthood among their clan.
Abelas - (Literally: Sorrow) Sorry
Gisir - Keeper
Papae - Father
Dareth shiral - (Literally: Safe journey) Farewell
Emm'asha - My girl
Banalhan - (Literally: The place of nothing) A name for the Blight or its place of origin
Mythal - (Literally: The great protector) Chief elven goddess; Wife of Elgar'nan; Goddess of love, protection, and motherhood.
June - Elven god of crafts
Falon'Din - (Literally: Friend Of The Dead) Elven god of the dead who guides the elven people's dead souls into the Beyond. Twin brother of Dirthamen.
Dirthamen - (Literally: Keeper Of Secrets) Twin brother of Falon'Din. Master of the two ravens Fear and Deciet.
Asha'belannar - (Literally: The Woman of Many Years) Flemeth
Madar Asha'belannar, dar ma'din? - You are the Woman of Many Years, are you not?
Din - (Literally Not/Isn't) Used to indicate someone who is dead.
Ma nuvenin - As you wish
Next up: Chapter 16:Fugitives