I'd made all the arrangements with Blackwall about all the best sorts of materials that make a Dalish bow. Iron bark was probably the biggest factor. It was supple and light but never warped. It was perfect for archers. He told me that he would be sure to find some and I was touched by his kindness. It wasn't so often that people offer to make you things, never mind making a proper Dalish bow. In fact I was very grateful to Blackwall im general. He was kind. Genuinely kind and that couldn't be said of a lot of people in this inquisition on my first meeting with them.

As I made my way back into the walls of Haven, I passed the huge qunari a slight nod and he lazily saluted me back before continuing to chat with what I'd come to realise was his mercenary group. I spoke with one of them, the tall one, Krem. He was pleasant enough, a trifle brash but he seemed good company. Cassandra and the Commander were both in the war room discussing what should be done about Redcliff. It made my stomach sink with nerves at the thought. This was too big to just be left to sort itself out. Surely I'd made them see that mages were the best course of action. Surely Trevelyan would realise that... I had to put my faith in her, in all of them. I knew Leliana would play her part and she could he very persuasive. I'd yet to meet the Antivan ambassador but I'm sure she'd be sharp enough to see that leaving a Tevinter army at the back door would only spell trouble. Cassandra would see this too, I hoped. She was clever and if nothing else, she always let the Herald make the final call. Cullen would probably go to the Templars even if they threatened to kill him. Even the mere thought of him made me angry. He'd yet to ever apologise for the whole tranquil thing and he'd yet to ever have an actual conversation with me. He saw me only as a dangerous mage that needed to be controlled and that... that irked me more than it ever should. I suddenly found myself in the Chantry, why I don't know. Maybe I thought I could earwig some of the conversation and if the need called for it, interrupt the bloody war council itself.

"Ah! And there she is, my partner in crime." said a familiar refined voice. I smiled when I realised who it was. He stood, languidly leaning against the stone wall beside the war room, as if he had the very same idea as me. Dorian had an easy way about him, the way he acted and smiled and I couldn't help but do the same.

"And what might you be doing, loitering around the war room." I asked him smartly, mirroring him on the wall on the other side of the door. His voice fell into a whisper then.
"Waiting to make my dramatic entrance. And what of you, dear Nev? I didn't take you for one to loiter in a chantry."

I smiled then and shrugged. "Not sure really, hoping that my presence might sway the argument in our favour."

"You and I both, dear Nev." he said with a smirk before standing properly, straightening his moustache and flinging the door of the war room wide open with a loud, "I believe I can help with that!"

Immediately I shrank away from the door as the guards that rushed towards it and fell back into the shadows before anyone realised I was eaves dropping. I hoped again that Dorian had swayed the decision. Fenedhis, if I were Herald, the situation wouldn't even be up for debate. We'd get the mages, full stop. But perhaps that's why I wasn't the Herald. Trevelyan may be young but she was probably more level headed than I will ever be. She looked at both sides. In the future, she would truly be a remarkable leader. When I heard the advisers begin with their debates again, I decided to make my way back to my shack, hopefully Mahanon had replied by now. At least I would have, had I not seen the most gorgeous dress I'd ever laid eyes upon. It was silver and splendid and sparkled in the low firelight and I was green with envy. The woman who wore matched its grandeur, the power and self importance oozed off her as she read her large book by a small table. She raised her eyes momentarily to catch mine and I did truly feel like a startled deer then. She was a mage. As I said the power oozed off her, but there was something repressed about it. Controlled until it no longer felt like an aura but a razor sharp knife.

"Can I help you, my dear?" She asked across the hall. I struggled to find words under her scrutiny but eventually I smiled awkwardly and took a few tentative steps closer.

"We haven't met." I said.

She arched an eyebrow. "Indeed, we haven't."

I swallowed hard and felt my palms sweat because if I thought Cassandra had been intimidating, this woman was ten times more so.

"I'm Nevalla Lavellan." I smiled rigidly, offering my hand. She shook it with a look of slight disdain but nodded all the same.

"Enchanter Vivienne, a pleasure, my dear." Her tone said nothing of being pleased to meet me, but she was being polite at least and perhaps I'd interrupted her reading. I should have just left then.

"You're a mage, then." I said with again a forced smile, but I hoped this would give us something in common so she would at least stop looking at me like I'd been scraped off her shoe. Why I felt so inadequate in her presence was beyond me. She shut her book then however and really looked at me.

"And you are aswell." she said, but there was utter contempt in her voice. "A dalish mage, yes? Tell me, were you first or second?" She asked bluntly and I hesitated. Somethimg told me it would not be wise to tell her about the whole being debunked to third because of uncontrollable magic thing.

"Third." I said meakly.

"And that is why you are here, yes? The dalish are curious when it comes to dealing with mages. No circles but when there is one too many mage in the clan, they are abandoned." She said, her eyes falling easily back to her book. Her sweeping statement about my people had made me angry however, and I soon forgot how intimidating she was.

"The dalish do not abandon their own." I said forcefully and her eyes met mine again, a challenge in them.

"Truly, my dear? Then why is it you are here and they are not?"

"I was sent here to spy on the Conclave. My clan are kind to it's mages, they see people, not monsters to be shackled and controlled. We are not like the circles." I retorted fiercely, my pride very much wounded. Her eyes were sharp then.

"The circles are the only way mages can live in peace, my dear. Magic must always be feared for it is a powerful tool." She said and I bristled again, Conor's words echoing in my head.

"How can you say that when you are a mage yourself? You would rather see your people oppressed than free?" I said, my voice louder than it should have been. The book was shut then and her gaze levelled mine.

"Magic is dangerous, just as fire is dangerous. Those who forget that get burned." Her voice was like steel and her ice like ice. She was truly a formidable woman. Not that I agreed with her in the slightest. The back of my mind screamed that she was an ignorant human who knew nothing of magic. But the more rational part of me told me to bite my tongue, that everyone is entitled to their opinions. No matter how wrong they are. And how could I argue against that point? It was what the keeper had told me for as long as I knew her. Magic is a tool, nothing more. It must be controlled.

"Do say what you're thinking, my dear. Do not bite your tongue on my account." Vivienne interrupted my thoughts and I smirked. I liked her. I couldn't help it.

"You sound just like the keeper." I said and she looked rather shocked.

"Should I be flattered?"

"If you like."

Silence reigned then, heavy like a blanket until she sighed.

"I cannot abide smart mouths."

I chuckled then, "Truly, I'm heartbroken, lady Vivienne."

She looked at me tiredly before rolling her eyes and getting back to her book. I smiled once more before taking my leave.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, lady Vivienne." I called.

"And you, my dear." She said dryly just before I was out of earshot.

It wasn't a particularly pleasant day, in fact it was rather grim. When I stepped outside the chantry, there were no warm braziers to keep the chill away. The air was wet and cold and fat splats of sleet fell down from the grey skies above. It was the first time at Haven that I felt truly cold, so I quickened my pace towards home. I lit my hearth with a flick of my wrist and let the warm air of the flames flush away the chill. Leliana had brought some bread and cheese for me a few days ago, and I had pilfered some of Trevelyan's tea leaves. I'm sure she noticed, but I doubt she minded. So, I poked my bread on the end of a fork and had the old black kettle bubbling nicely. Outside I could hear the winds picking up and the sleet pelting down more harshly, but in my small sanctuary all I felt was warmth. I sank deeper into my rickety wicker chair as I let the cheese melt on my toast before tucking in was on my final bite did I hear a squawk at the window and a tap on the glass pane. There, looking rather distressed sat Captain, squawking noisily and shaking his damp feathers. Immediately I forgot my toast and heaved open the window that was stiff with the cold. He flew in swiftly and settled himself on the arm of my chair, cawing softly as he shook the remaining flecks of sleet from his wings.

"Long time no see, lethallan." I cooed as I returned to my chair and stroked his beak. His beady eyes looked to me, then his foot and then to my toast. He cawed as he nibbled at the crust and I didn't have the heart to take it from him. He must've been hungry, so I let him have the last of it. Around his foot however was a small scroll and I eagerly unfurled it. It was the same earthy paper as the last letter and my heart swelled to see it.

"Dear Little Nev,
I am glad you are finding a place in this Inquisition. The more I hear of it, the more I am proud. I have even heard tell of a mysterious elf with hair as black as night and eyes of molten gold holding off an army of templars in the Hinterlands. Does that sound familiar, dhalen? It did me well to hear from you, Nev, truly. It does me well to know you are doing good things. I am pleased you are making friends too, even if they are shemlens! You have always been a good judge of character, so I trust your judgement. I also believe you when you say you are homesick, but remember all the woods in the world were once whole. If you walk through one, you walk through home. You do the clan proud and I want you to remember that. But whatever you do my dearest child, know that I will always love you and I will always be proud of you.
Write soon, dhalen, love Mahanon."

The letter warmed my heart even more so and I was smiling ear to ear. It felt nice to feel so at home here. Warm inside with a cup of tea while the winds howled outside. Like a small moment of respite after so long on edge. After my cup of tea all I could was watch the flames grow ever hazier as the world grew ever more dim. It took only a moment before I fell into a long deserved sleep.