A/N: I'm trying to make up for lost time. Plus, I'm just impatient. Hahaha~ Hopefully nothing will slow down within these next few months, as I'm starting college November 30th. In any case, I'll try to update more regularly. Probably once a week.
Haven itself was a quaint village, right on the cusp of being a town. There was a cluster of maybe twenty houses, a few shops, an inn, a tavern of a sort, and of course, a Chantry. All the people around made Mina very nervous. Mostly because she was being stared at… she was a 'Dalish Elf' among humans and a few city Elves. At least they weren't hostile. Yet. Through the middle of the village was a well-worn dirt path that she assumed was the way she was supposed to go. Nothing yet looked like it could hold hundreds of people, but she could see a spire in the distance, hiding among the hills.
She spotted an Elf woman walking across the road with her child. As good a person to ask as any.
"Excuse me! I'm sorry for bothering you, but is this the way to the Conclave?" Mina asked with the sweetest smile she could manage.
The woman narrowed her eyes, but answered politely, "Yes, it is. What would a Dalish want with the Conclave?"
"I'm sorry, serah, but that is not something I can say. We all hope for peace…" Mina said cryptically.
The woman scowled and went on her way. Mina rolled her eyes and kept walking the long path. She had one more day to get there, and suspected she'd be early, but it would give her a chance to check out the venue.
It took her all of three hours to reach the top of the hill where the beautiful building sat. Its whitewashed walls stood out against the brown of the dirt and dying grass. It was almost winter… The Frostbacks got bitterly cold and stayed that way until late spring. Mina was not a fan of the cold. Especially since she'd ended up almost freezing to death in Texas. Her body shivered in morbid anticipation for cold days and even colder nights.
She looked around to see if anyone else had arrived yet. She was greeted by the sight of large, stone-faced Qunari. A lovely sight to be sure. The last she'd seen of the horned giants was in Kirkwall. They'd hardly wanted to sit and drink whiskey around a fire, swapping stories. Among them was a female who carried a staff openly as if daring anyone to challenge her. She seemed to have an air of authority about her. Mina gulped and walked forward to enter the cathedral-like building.
As soon as Mina was spotted, the female Qunari shouted to her, "Halt! State your name and business. Then, you might enter."
Mina held her head high and looked the woman in the eyes, "I am Mina of Clan Lavellan. I have come to observe the Conclave and the negotiations between the Mages and Templars."
The Qunari woman smiled and bowed her head curtly, "Someone with a spine it would seem. Welcome, Lavellan. I am Kardera Adaar, healer and mage of my company. You may call me Adaar if you wish. We have been hired to keep this place safe. Please do not cause any trouble or we'll kill you."
Mina walked forward, only then noticing that she didn't have any horns. An oddity to be sure. But, to make up for it, Adaar had a thick, flowing mane of ash blonde hair that went down to her waist. On top of that, she was very curvy and showed it off with a long skirt and a top that barely covered her breasts and showed off her toned stomach. Mina compared it to her own, body that barely had any curves at all.
"Thank you, serah. Has anyone else arrived?" Mina asked, still sizing up this strangely beautiful creature. She could now see the scars along Adaar's brow and jawbone. They added to the intimidation factor tenfold.
"Sure. There are a few human nobles, some Dwarves that think they're sneaky, and several Chantry members, along with the Divine Herself. I would stay away from the Chantry and humans. No offense," she huffed.
Mina nodded gratefully and made her way inside, deciding to introduce herself to this woman they called Divine.
The Divine was sitting in a long room with a bunch of other humans, just listening to them talk when a servant announced that she had a visitor. She seemed surprised and said to let them in. Mina took a deep breath and walked in when motioned to. All eyes were on her. She made it to the end of the table, bowed with her fist over her heart and looked at the old woman in white.
She had wise and kind eyes; an aura that could calm the angriest of spirits. She stood and walked over to the Elf and held her hand out. In the corner of her eyes, Mina could see two women tense up. One with short black hair, heavily armored. The other wore a purple hood and had red hair. She seemed more dangerous than the other.
"Welcome, child. I am Divine Justinia V. What can I do for you?"
Mina was taken aback by the warm welcome, "Forgive me, I am not used to this… I am Mina, First of Clan Lavellan. I only wished to introduce myself to you. I am here to observe the negotiations."
"You are most welcome here. You will be provided a room and food for as long as you need. If you'll excuse me, Mina, I have to go over the terms of each side once more."
Mina nodded and excused herself, choosing to explore the rest of the massive building. She ended up in what she assumed was the main worshipping area. It had a domed ceiling, multi-colored stained glass windows three times her height, seating for at least 700 people, and at the front was a stage with a podium. That room was where the negotiations were probably going to be held. Mina hadn't seen any room bigger in the area. It was beautiful… The only thing that made her scoff was the enormous statue of the 'Holy Andraste'. She didn't believe for a second that some random woman could ascend and marry the Maker of the universe. It was ridiculous. Sure, there was something that made everything. She'd seen enough strange things to doubt that. Her being in a video game world was proof of that.
Just as she was about to leave, she felt eyes on her. "Can I help you, serah?" she asked without turning. A smooth male voice answered her, "I was just coming in to pray, and I find a Dalish Elf of all things! I'm curious more than anything. Forgive my staring."
Mina spun around, scowling and saw a tall man with spiky auburn hair, a bit of stubble, and green eyes smiling at her playfully. He seemed friendly enough by looking at him, but she wasn't letting down her guard. Let him try and belittle her. She'd freeze his goddamn balls off.
"You're an observant one," she said sarcastically, "What's got you so curious, human?"
He laughed, a lighthearted sound, and approached her slowly, "My name is Silas Trevelyan. I don't mean any disrespect, beautiful. I'm just not so used to seeing Elves."
"The name's Mina. Don't call me beautiful. You're a Free Marcher by the sound of it," she said guardedly.
He bowed dramatically and winked at her, "You nailed it. My family is a noble house from Ostwick. I'm here on their behalf. Such is the duty of the youngest male… Honestly, I think this whole war is stupid and both sides need to be spanked."
The Elf raised an eyebrow at him and brushed off his dumb attempts at flirting. What was with Free Marchers and flirting? It was getting obnoxious. "Funny enough. My Clan was close by Ostwick four years ago. We're moving from the border of Nevarra, back into the Marches at the moment," she mused.
"Oh? If you get close to Ostwick, come by and see me. I'd be happy to show you around some time," he purred.
Just then a groan sounded from below one of the pews. Trevelyan dropped down and pulled out a scruffy male Dwarf in carta robes. Mina pulled out a dagger and held it up in defense.
"Hey now! There's no need to get hostile! Besides, you only hear me because I was tired of his terrible attempts to get into your pants, salroka," he blurted. He didn't look like what Mina thought a regular Orzammar Dwarf would look like based on Varric's descriptions. He was a little more… clean. He had a neatly kept red beard and clipped hair a little darker. She expected him to have wild hair everywhere and be covered in soot, babbling about how great his ancestors were. It was… a little disappointing honestly.
"Um… Thanks I guess. What were you doing under there anyway?" Mina asked at the same time Trevelyan let go of him and let out an offended 'hey!' The Dwarf glared at the human and turned his attention back to Mina.
"I was trying to gather information. Not that I should tell you. But, you don't seem like you'll string me up. Everyone's worried about what's going on. You're proof enough of that, Dalish."
"Fair enough. That's pretty much why I'm here too. And my name's Mina of Clan Lavellan." She bowed her head in formal greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Lavellan. Not so much you, Trevelyan. I am Pyrol Cadash. I've got work to do, so I've got to be going."
Mina decided it was time for her to get going too. Trevelyan made her very uncomfortable with his awkward flirting. That, and she was beginning to feel extremely tired from her traveling. She nodded a goodbye to Silas and tried to quickly find a servant before he could follow and see where she was staying that nigh. Or worse, try to help her find it himself. Eventually, she found a young girl with a stack of linens.
"Let me help you with those," Mina said and took half of the teetering pile.
"Oh, thank you, messere! I felt like I was about to drop some—" she stopped and looked at Mina horrified when she saw an Elf before her.
Mina internally groaned, but kept the smile on her face. "U-um… you really don't have to carry those for me if you don't want to," stammered the girl.
"If I did not want to, I wouldn't have. Where are these going?" Mina replied a little annoyed. Just because her ears were pointed people treated her differently! She'd never get used to it. Never.
"Oh, I was just taking them to the washroom… Thank you."
Mina walked with the girl to the washroom all the while trying to find something to say to ease the tension. It wasn't as if Mina had threatened her. But what if she'd had some bad experiences with Elves in the past? Dealing with people was too hard. Mina just wanted to go to sleep.
Once the linens were all sorted out and neat, Mina decided to ask the girl if she could show her to a guest room or… something of the sort.
"Um… I'm not sure who to ask, but I was told by Divine Justinia that I could stay here for the night... Might you know where the guest rooms are?"
"Oh! I didn't know you were a guest of Most Holy! Of course. I can show you to your room at once!"
The short walk there was much better than the walk to the washroom. The girl was animatedly talking about how kind and gracious the Divine was and what an honor it was to be talking to one of her personal guests. Mina commented in the right places and smiled, but she wasn't exactly listening. It had been a long day. A long week really. She was happy to finally have a soft, warm bed with clean sheets. And there was even someone to draw her a warm bath! Something Mina hadn't had since she left Kirkwall. They'd all used a river or a lake. It was improper to use magic for such a thing, and the Elves didn't want to make a fire that big. The natural water was enough for them. Such bullshit!
Mina curled up under the wool blankets after her bath and sighed contentedly. She wasn't exactly happy, but she felt less weary than she had in months. The last thoughts she had before she fell asleep were of her brother, Varric, and of that damned idiot, Hawke.