23
It was all Talia and Blackwall could do to keep up with Nathaniel as he rushed through the dwarven halls, eager to shorten the distance between him and Savith Stormcrown. He was all but running through the dark caverns, slowing only when they came across darkspawn. It seemed to Talia that they started to encounter more and more of the creatures as they continued on the road to Amgarrak.
Another shout echoed through the hall, and Talia briefly shuddered. The sound continued to ring in her ears long after the words were gone.
"That sounded nearer," Blackwall said, panting as he sheathed his sword.
"I think we're close," Nathaniel agreed. He bent down and dislodged his arrow from a fallen genlock. Pausing, he frowned at the path in front of them.
"What is it?" Talia asked when he didn't move.
"I'm sensing more darkspawn ahead." His scowl deepened. "And…something else."
"Something…else?"
"I'm not sure," he said, uncertainty lacing his tone. "I hope it's not what I think it is."
That was most definitely not reassuring.
They battled through two more darkspawn groups before Nathaniel, for lack of better word, perked up.
"I can sense Savith!" he said, then paused, his eyes widening. "By the Maker!" he exclaimed before rushing forward and rounding the corner.
Talia watched him go with some bemusement, and quickened her steps. "You can sense other wardens?" she asked Blackwall.
"…Yes." Came the warden's reluctant response. Talia gave him an exasperated look.
The two rounded the corner, and it opened into an expansive room. Both Talia and Blackwall stopped in their tracks as they stared at the most horrifying thing Talia had ever seen in her life.
In the middle of the room sat a towering creature. It was like a pale, overly large maggot that grew eight breasts and was sat atop a mass of wriggling, rotting flesh. There were massive tentacles swinging around, connected to its large form. Around it, there were massive polyps that every so often burst open, revealing a fully formed genlock.
Nimbly avoiding the creature's attacks were two glowing figures, one seemed to be a specter, judging by its translucence, while the other was wreathed in ethereal armor—likely Stormcrown. Nathaniel was skirting around them, keeping away from the tentacles, and shooting arrows at the creature.
"Oh Sithis," Talia hissed as she secured her hood and cowl, ensuring most of her flesh was covered. She and Blackwall then joined the fray, slashing at the genlocks birthed by the broodmother, as well as the other darkspawn drawn into the battle by the presence of the wardens.
"I thought you said we'd be avoiding the broodmothers, Nathaniel!" she called out to the warden as she buried her blades into a genlock's skull.
"To be fair," Nathaniel ducked to avoid a tentacle, and quickly fired back an arrow at the broodmother. "I also said we'd only be doing that if it wasn't blocking the way!"
Two tentacles emerged from the ground, and tried to flatten Stormcrown and her conjured spirit. The dunmer rolled to the side, and as she recovered, Shouted at the flailing limbs.
"IIZ SLEN NUS!"
Talia was facing her direction, so she finally saw Stormcrown's Dragon Shout in action. The glow of a spell started on her lips as she said the words, and it blasted towards the tentacles, encasing them in ice. Talia wasn't able to stop and stare, as she and Blackwall fended off the genlocks around them, but she briefly admired the way Stormcrown wielded her longsword and axe expertly, twirling around and delivering a whirlwind of slashes to the frozen appendage.
There was a loud thud, and a cry of surprise, and when Talia turned to the source, she found a darkspawn mage—emissary, she corrected herself—pointing its staff at Nathaniel. It looked as if the man had been caught in some sort of force magic, and was blasted across the room. The darkspawn prepared a lightning spell in its hands, and Talia realized they were all too far away to help the warden; Stormcrown was busy with the broodmother, and Blackwall was near her, stabbing and slashing away at genlocks surrounding him and Talia.
When the only options left to her were to allow Nathaniel to be electrocuted by the darkspawn emissary, or to reveal her abilities, Talia decided to go with the latter. With a sharp gesture, she conjured a ward in front of the warden, and with another, sent ice spikes rushing towards the creature. Nathaniel blinked in surprise when the lightning spell was absorbed into the ward. A sharp column of ice skewered the darkspawn, lifting it from the ground and killing it instantly.
Talia snapped her hand to the side, and a whip of fire coiled itself on a genlock's neck, severing its head. She conjured a wall of ice spikes surrounding Blackwall, giving him some modicum of protection as she left his side. Blackwall startled at the sudden presence of the ice, but managed to recover and push some of the darkspawn into the spikes, killing them.
Nathaniel gaped at her she made her way to his side, throwing an almost lazy fireball over her shoulder to keep the creatures away from them.
"Are you all right?" Talia asked, frowning at his disheveled state. She placed a glyph on the ground, creating a guardian circle that bathed them both in a soft golden glow.
"You're a fucking mage?" Nathaniel asked in disbelief, struggling to his feet as the restoration spell did its job.
"Yes," Talia said in clipped tones. She looked over her shoulder and saw that a new wave of darkspawn was released from the polyps around the broodmother. "Though soon I'll be a dead fucking mage if you and Stormcrown don't get rid of that broodmother."
"We will talk about this later." Nathaniel gave her a look before he rushed back into the fray. Talia enveloped him in an Ebonyflesh spell, granting him better protection against the ghoul's thrashing tentacles. She cast a mass paralysis field onto the genlocks approaching, and all of them froze in their steps, except one.
Talia narrowed her eyes as the genlock raised its staff and snarled at her. It was only thanks to her quick reflexes that she was able to bring up a ward as the genlock shot spear after spear of ice in her direction. She could feel the strain on the ward, and when the barrage continued, it shattered, forcing her to roll across the floor and take cover behind a large stone structure.
"What is that thing?" Talia shouted as another onslaught of spells hit where she was hiding. It seemed the creature didn't run out of magicka—mana—whatever it was they used for spellcasting.
"Shit, that's an Emissary Alpha!" She heard Stomrcrown call out from across the room.
There was a pause in the darkspawn's casting and when Talia looked, it had turned its attention to the specter, which had slashed its dagger across the creature's back. Talia took the opportunity to vault out of her hiding spot and cast a flame rune beneath the creature. With a complex series of hand gestures, she activated it, sending a whirlwind of flame that seared the darkspawn over and over again on the spot. When the spell ended, the darkspawn was still alive—barely. It struggled to its feet and attempted to raise its charred staff. Talia summoned whips of fire in in both her hands and snapped them towards the creature repeatedly until it was nothing but a pile of ash on the floor.
"Damn, Talia!" she heard Nathaniel comment and she turned to grin at him—not that he could see from behind her cowl. He was perched upon a large stone structure and was taking shots at the broodmother's head. He leapt off it as a tentacle lashed out and destroyed the structure. She shot a cushioning spell at him and she could see the confusion on his face when he landed with a slight bounce.
There was a whisper of a sound behind her and Talia readied her daggers. She whirled on the spot—and abruptly froze. Her mind couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. The incorporeal figure before her stopped in its tracks as well, a slight widening of its eyes betraying its shock.
Leliana had told her about the assassin that Stormcrown could summon from the Void, but she'd forgotten…In all that had happened to her the past months, she'd forgotten.
There was a heavy buzzing in Talia's ears, and she saw nothing except the glowing blue form of the specter in front of her.
A beat passed before it spoke, in the same low voice she knew and loved,
"Silencer…"
Talia gasped, feeling as if all the air had been removed from her lungs. How long had she wished to see him again? Speak to him? Prostrate herself before him and beg him for forgiveness?
"Speaker…" she whispered in disbelief.
They stared at each other for a moment, before the specter shifted his eyes from her and looked at something over her shoulder. In one swift move, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him, while simultaneously lunging forward, embedding a knife into a genlock rushing towards her. She blinked at the corpse. In her shock, she hadn't even noticed it.
The specter staggered, and Talia only then realized that the genlock had succeeded in burying its blade into its stomach. She cradled him—he felt oddly weightless, and she gently laid him on the ground, crouching over him.
Her throat was still constricted as she took a shuddering breath, her eyes roaming across the face of her Speaker.
The spirit raised a hand to her face. He brushed aside a part of her hood and traced the scar on her left eye.
"You still kept the scar," he murmured.
Talia nodded, still unable to speak. She enveloped his hand with hers and leaned into his touch.
"I will be back." He assured her, pulling at her hand and brushing his lips across her knuckle. "We have much to speak of, my dear Silencer."
And with those parting words, he dissipated—back to the Void.
Talia was frozen in her position; she couldn't move her legs. Her mind was still in a daze, and as such, barely heard Blackwall as he called out a warning.
"Herald! Look out!"
In the next moment, she found herself flying through the air as a writhing tentacle lashed out and hit her square in the chest. She hit the wall hard, and she groaned as she slid down. The attack at least managed to jar her out of her stupor.
Blackwall helped her up, and she shook her head to clear it. As she looked up, she realized the battle was starting to wind down. There were no more darkspawn around them, and the broodmother seemed to be on her last tentacle, literally. Most of her limbs had been severed, and the one still flailing was caught between Nathaniel's daggers; the man had forgone his bow as he ran out of arrows. He buried his blades in the tentacle, and dragged them outwards. He managed to slice it off, spraying him with blood. Stormcrown Shouted at the broodmother, and it gave a roar as cracks of glowing purple appeared throughout its body.
"Should we go help them?" Blackwall asked.
Talia observed the broodmother, which looked like it would keel over anytime soon due to the frequency of Stormcrown's attacks. "They look like they have it well in hand."
Nathaniel leapt from a stone and buried both of his blades in the broodmother's head. He hung on for a moment before he dropped down, and rolled into a defensive stance. The ghoul gave a mighty shudder, and suddenly went limp. There was the sound of sizzling flesh at it started to melt.
"That's impressive," Blackwall commented grudgingly, and Talia nodded in agreement. She was still somewhat out of sorts due to the unexpected reappearance of Lucien—
Don't, she told herself viciously. She couldn't allow herself to think about it right now. There were more important things she had to take care of.
The two figures took a moment to catch their breaths, and when they turned to look at each other they let out a laugh.
"Nathaniel Howe!" Stormcrown caught the warden in a fierce embrace, laughing as they swayed. The dunmer was the first to pull away, still beaming at him. There was an unrestrained smile on Nathaniel's face. Talia watched them in interest; the usually dour man seemed like an entirely different person around her. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, what else? Speaking of…" He drew his hand back and punched her on the arm. "What in the name of the Maker's hairy ass were you thinking?! Taking on a broodmother on your own?"
Talia's lips twitched at his expletive.
Stormcrown was pouting as she massaged the spot Nathaniel hit. "It seemed like a good idea at that time. Why were you looking for me? Is there a problem in Amaranthine?"
"In a manner of speaking," he said, and his vague response made Stormcrown raise an eyebrow. He jerked his head towards her and Blackwall. Talia gave a nod when the other dunmer looked over Nathaniel's shoulder towards them.
"You brought friends! Aren't you going to introduce us?" Stormcrown grabbed Nathaniel and dragged him over to them.
Talia turned to Blackwall as the two approached. "Are you all right?" she asked. The bearded man looked incredibly pale.
"I—just nervous I suppose."
"Nervous?"
"Don't mind me," he murmured.
"Hello, Nathaniel's friends!" Stormcrown said cheerily.
Nathaniel's muttered "They're not my friends" was drowned by Stormcrown's gasp as Talia turned to face her.
"I—you're—," she gaped. "You're a dunmer! How did you get here?" She grabbed both of Talia's shoulders, and in Talia's bemusement, she let her. "Were you sent to look for me? How long has it been?"
"Savith." Nathaniel, the bastard that he was, sounded like he was laughing. "Slow down."
Stormcrown visibly tried to restrain herself. "I—I'm sorry. It's just been so long. I didn't think I'd ever see someone from Nirn ever again." She sighed and let go of Talia, thrusting one hand forward for a shake. "I'm Savith Idren."
The ethereal armor that enveloped the dunmer earlier during the fight had dissipated, and Talia was able to see her more clearly. Now that she observed the other woman, Talia couldn't understand how people kept on mistaking her for the warden. They were both dark elves, and had black hair, but that was where the similarities ended. Stormcrown was slightly taller than her, and was a tad more muscular, likely due to her fighting style. Her skin was of a greyer tone, and her red eyes were larger than her own narrow ones. Stormcrown's features were softer than the usual dunmer's; she was less angular and planar, more rounded, giving her a more innocent look.
"Talia Indoril—" Her name had barely passed her lips, when Stormcrown snorted.
"Come now, I gave you my real name. The least you can do is grant me the same courtesy."
Talia stared at her in confusion. "It is my real name."
It was Stormcrown's turn to look at her in bewilderment. "Why are you speaking in King's Tongue?"
"I—it's my pendant. It has a speech enchantment on it. But I digress, what makes you think it's not my real name?" she asked curiously.
"You think it's not her real name?" Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Switch to King's Tongue, so everyone can follow this conversation, Savith."
"Ah…sorry," she said to Nathaniel. Turning back to her, Stormcrown gave her a look. "Really? You're asking me why I'm skeptical of you taking on the name of a historical figure? And can you take off the hood? I'd like to meet you face to face."
Talia had to give a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I have to say, out of everything, this might be strangest thing that's ever happened to me." As she spoke, she pulled down her hood, and removed the cowl. She shook her hair free and watched in surprise as Stormcrown's jaw fell.
"Oh, shit! You're really her!"
"You recognize me?" Talia asked in mild astonishment.
"My parents have a portrait of you above our fireplace." Stormcrown sounded a little dazed.
"What." Talia said flatly.
"What!" Nathaniel exclaimed.
"What?" Blackwall looked confused.
In the sparse light of the room, Talia could see a blush creep up Stormcrown's face. "I'm a fan—I—I mean, my father's a fan!" she stammered, and Talia didn't bother hiding her amusement. "My father—he was commissioned to paint your official portrait. The one with the gold armor."
"Wait, you're famous?" Nathaniel asked incredulously.
"Why don't you ask my fan?" Talia said lightly, and Stormcrown grew even more flustered.
The few weeks after the end of the Oblivion Crisis had been a blur to her; she'd been numb to everything. She did, however, remember being asked to pose for her portrait. As the seventh Champion of Cyrodiil, she needed an official painting hung on the hall of Champions in the White-Gold Tower.
"Daral, right?" Talia recalled the young dunmer. She remembered apologizing for her "sad eyes" as he'd called them and asked him to change her expression to something more neutral.
"Wow." Stormcrown smiled. "I can't believe you remember his name. My father would be over the moon once I tell him." Then, her smiled dimmed. "If we get back, I suppose."
"We'll work on it." Talia extended her hand once more. "Let's try that again, shall we? Talia Indoril, the Champion of Cyrodiil, I suppose. But call me Talia," she said with wry humor.
Stormcrown shook her hand enthusiastically. "Savith Idren, sometimes known as Savith Stormcrown…er—just call me Savith." She shrugged.
"What?" Blackwall repeated, his confusion still evident. Stormcrown—Savith turned to the man and gave him another smile.
"And who's this one, Nate?"
"Oh indeed, Nate, please introduce our companion." Talia gave him a smirk.
Nathaniel coughed to hide his discomfort. "This is Warden Blackwall."
A beat passed before Savith spoke. "Warden Blackwall?" She gave the bearded man a once-over before turning a questioning gaze on Nathaniel.
"Yes." Nathaniel nodded firmly.
Talia narrowed her eyes at the scene before her. Blackwall was nervously shifting on his feet, and Nathaniel seemed like he was trying to convey an unspoken message to Savith. The Dragonborn, for her part, was looking at Nathaniel in bemusement.
"Well," Savith said briskly. "Nice to meet you Blackwall." She shook his hand, before turning back to Talia. "Maybe we can set up camp and continue this conversation. Somewhere that's not filled with rotting ghoul and darkspawn corpses." She wrinkled her nose in revulsion.
They backtracked to the previous hall, and set up camp in an area bounded by the sturdiest walls they could find. Since she'd already shown her magic, Talia volunteered to set up various wards and proximity mines around their camp. Nathaniel approached her as she was casting them at the edge of camp, and gave her fire mine a critical look.
"Will this go off if I come anywhere near it?"
Talia smirked. "No, I've tweaked these to set off against anyone I don't consider allies. So maybe don't piss me off, or I'll take you off that list."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "So…you're a mage huh?"
"I am?" Talia chuckled as he glared at her.
"Why hide it?"
"Why would I tell anyone? With how people here act around magic, you'd think mages have the Taint or something."
Nathaniel pursed his lips. "I've never treated mages any differently."
"And how was I to know? You might have forgotten, but you already threatened me scarcely a day ago," she said lightly.
To her surprise, Nathaniel sighed and faced her, his expression somewhere between annoyed and apologetic. "Look, Talia," he began uncertainly. "I may have been…unfair in my statements."
"Oh, were you, Nate?"
He scowled at the use of Savith's nickname for him. Talia gave him an amused look.
"Look, I understand. We don't know one another, of course it will be hard to trust each other," she acknowledged. "But I trust you enough to let you fight by my side, which is a rarity for me. And I think you trust me that much as well. As for Savith…" She nodded towards the camp's direction. "I have no doubt she can Shout me into a wall if she finds me to be a threat to the wardens."
Nathaniel gave another sigh. "I know. There's…there's been a lot happening. Things have been shifting with the wardens, and the Inquisition is just another unknown entity being added into the mix. So there," he said. "I apologize," he finally ground out.
Though she longed to gloat, Talia figured it wouldn't help her relationship with the warden, so she merely nodded. "Accepted…Nate."
He gave her an exasperated look, and she smirked unrepentantly.
When they returned to camp, they found Savith kneeling down by the bundle of firewood in the middle of camp. With a whispered "Yol!", she set fire to it. Blackwall was staring at her unabashedly, pausing in the act of setting up his bedroll. From the man's expression, Talia could tell she'd be fielding hundreds of questions from him once he had the chance to ask them. As she and Nathaniel approached, Savith turned to them and gave them a wide smile. "Talia and I will take first watch. You boys can go ahead and rest."
Nathaniel gave them a sour look that Talia thought bordered on a pout, turning to head to his bedroll. Blackwall hesitated for a moment before giving them a very gallant nod, and then set his bedroll some distance from them.
Talia took a seat by the fire beside Savith, and after a brief moment of indecision, cast a muffling charm, and took off her pendant. At Savith's raised eyebrow, she said, "Enchanted with a translation spell. Had to use a makeshift enchanting slate, and my only remaining soul gem. Makes things easier for me though."
The two stared at each other in silence.
"I'm not sure where to begin," Talia admitted after a while. She had many things to tell and to ask Savith, but now that she was in front of her, she found herself at a loss for words.
"Me too. I'm still in shock. I haven't seen another dunmer in so long…" Savith drew her knees to her chest. "And then for that dunmer to be the Champion of Cyrodiil…" She shook her head.
"I've heard you're quite the hero yourself…" Talia said tentatively.
Savith gave her a sharp look, before smiling to take off the edge. "It was the Shouting that gave me away wasn't it? I guess you've heard of me somewhere. How long has it been? What year is it when you were brought here?"
Talia shook her head. "Time doesn't seem to run parallel on Nirn and Thedas."
"What do you mean?"
"I entered Sheogorath's Oblivion portal on the 15th of Second Seed, on the second year of the Fourth Era, and was spit out in the Fade."
Savith's breath hitched. "Oh. I thought…I honestly don't know what I thought." She rubbed her eyes. "I should have known. You couldn't have come after my time; you don't look a day over 70."
"Close…I'm 74." Talia paused, frowned, and counted back. "75, I suppose I missed my birthday in all the excitement this world has shown me."
"It was the 207th year of the Fourth Era when I was transported here, not sure about the month, I think it was Frost Fall."
So they weren't that far apart, Talia mused. Two hundred years…not even the length of an entire dunmer lifespan.
She sighed. "I think I should go first. I'll explain what happened to me so far, and how I found you." At Savith's nod, she started telling her story.
She explained that she'd ended up in the Fade, and though Talia didn't know Savith well, she told her the truth: meeting Lavellan, finding Justinia, accidentally taking the Anchor from the young elf…
Savith had been aware of the Conclave, but she hadn't heard of Justinia's death, or what happened at the Temple of Sacred Ashes.
"What?" She grew pale at the news. "Dorothea…" she murmured. "Do you know what happened to her Hands? The Left Hand—she—,"
Talia gave her reassuring look. "Leliana is all right. She was one of the first people I spoke to in this world."
The dunmer closed her eyes in relief briefly, then moved on. "So, you got dropped into the Fade. You found a dalish elf, and when your hands connected, that thing—" Savith eyed Talia's glowing left hand; she'd removed her gloves to show her the mark. "Transferred from her to you?"
"Yes. Apparently, it almost killed me. When I woke up, Leliana and Cassandra interrogated me. They were entirely convinced I was the cause of the explosion. I decided not to tell them about what happened in the Fade, at that time, I was certain they were going to execute me."
"Smart thinking," Savith approved. "They probably would've accused you of killing Justinia. Who else knows about this?"
There was a brief moment of embarrassed silence. "…I haven't told anyone else."
Savith looked surprised but delighted. "You trust me with this information?"
"Well…yes." Talia replied with some hesitation. It seemed logical to tell Savith the truth about what happened in the Fade.
Savith's smile grew, but she said nothing more on the topic. "So what happened after that?"
Talia explained the Breach, the power of the Anchor, stopping the mage-templar skirmishes in the Hinterlands…
"So, let me get this straight," Savith massaged her temple. "An explosion caused a huge tear in the Fade, and also caused smaller rifts to appear throughout Thedas. You, a dunmer who isn't even native to this land, are stuck with an ancient, probably unknown, magical…thing on your hand that can close these Fade rifts? And they expect you to help out after taking you prisoner and threatening you?"
Talia huffed in amusement. "You forgot the part where they proclaimed me as their goddess' prophet of some sort."
"Herald of Andraste. Akatosh save us," Savith muttered. "All right, go on?"
When she told Savith of their visit to Val Royeaux and the templars' involvement in Justinia's death, the Dragonborn looked upset.
"The templars are…misguided. But I can't believe they'd be involved in the Divine's death. There has to be more to this story," Savith insisted.
Talia was mildly surprised at her defense of the templars. "You believe so?"
"I've met plenty of templars throughout my ten years here. A lot of them are good men. Of course, I'm not talking about all that shit that went down in Kirkwall, but most of them just want to make Thedas a better place. We have to look into this!"
"We?"
"Well." Savith coughed, blushing. "I mean—the Inquisition should look into it of course."
Talia gave her a look of amusement. "If you want to help us out, I'd greatly appreciate it."
"Yeah…maybe. I'll talk to Nate about it," she mumbled. "So after Val Royeaux?"
"We went to get the rebel mages," Talia continued. "We believed that if the templars were…compromised, they were the only other option. But there were issues with getting to them too."
Talia went on to explain about the Venatori, Alexius' request, sneaking into the castle…
"So that secret entrance by the windmill hasn't been blocked yet?" Savith asked.
"You're familiar with it?"
"We used it before; me, Leliana, Alistair, and Morrigan. Back during the Blight," she said pensively. "There was some crazy magic going on in Redcliffe, and we needed to get into the castle."
Talia remembered the boy she encountered. "Does this have anything to do with that young mage? Connor, I think his name was? He thought I was you for a moment."
"You met him?" Savith sounded stunned. "How is he? Is he all right?"
"I believe so. He's a member of the rebel mages, the ones who hadn't surrendered to the Venatori. He said you saved his life?"
"I suppose if you count sacrificing his mother to blood magic to rid him of a demon, then yeah, I guess you could say I saved his life," Savith said rather bitterly.
"I'm sure it was the best option at the time," Talia said neutrally.
"Maybe…I don't know. I thought it was." Savith shook her head. "So what happens after you get into Redcliffe Castle?"
"Here's where everything becomes…crazy," she said hesitantly.
Savith gave a small laugh. "Crazier than two dunmer falling into an entirely new world?"
"Close, but not quite," Talia agreed. "When I went to save Alexius' son, I got…sent back in time. Around the time I first stepped out of the Fade."
"…sorry?"
"You didn't mishear."
"…you weren't kidding when you said it was crazy."
Talia nodded. "Right now, my other self is on the way to Val Royeaux."
"That's fucked up." Savith said, but with fascination in her tone. "So when you mentioned you've been here for six months, were you counting the timetravel?"
"Yes. Felix and I have been trying to avoid our other selves." Talia grimaced as she remembered their ill-fated encounter with herself in the Hinterlands. "We've been going to areas my other self hasn't been to. Incidentally, it's also partly why I'm here now."
"Partly?"
"Well, the Inquisition needs materials for reconstruction of our keep. We thought Orzammar would be a good place to get it. But I was also looking for you. I got a lead from someone surprising."
"Who? Did Alistair blab?" She looked suspicious, and Talia gave a small chuckle. It seemed Leliana was right, the King of Ferelden had known where Savith was the entire time.
"You don't have to worry about the King's loyalties," Talia reassured her. "It was Nocturnal; she entered my dreams, and told me to find you in the Deep Roads."
Savith was gaping unabashedly now. "Nocturnal? But…how? She's never shown herself to me." She sounded upset and envious to Talia.
"I think it has something to do with the Breach…Nocturnal also mentioned she couldn't reach your mind. And implied it was due to the Taint?"
"Of course. The fucking Taint," Savith said viciously.
Talia gave her a sympathetic look. "Apparently, my new quest from Nocturnal is to find a way to rid you of Taint."
A snort. "Well, good luck with that," she replied moodily. "No one's ever found a cure for the Taint…ever. The only known case is Grand Enchanter Fiona. And no one knows how she was cleared of the Taint. Not even she does."
"Fiona was a Grey Warden?" Talia asked in surprise.
"Not many remember, but yeah, she was," Savith frowned. "So Nocturnal sent you to me? That means you're also her champion…are you a Nightingale as well?"
Talia shook her head. "No, though she has offered it to me."
"So time travelling, and also talking to daedra from across worlds." Savith gave her a wry smile. "I wonder what's next?"
"Well, there's more."
"More?" There was incredulity in the Dragonborn's tone.
"When we were dropped into the past, Felix—my companion, and I were picked up by this old woman in the woods. Her name was—,"
"Flemeth?" Savith asked in alarm. At Talia's nod, she let out a stream of expletives.
"What's wrong?"
"That old biddy! We killed her a long time ago. She was planning on taking over Morrigan's body eventually. She's supposed to be dead!"
"Well…she got better," Talia said drily and Savith let out a surprised snort.
"Don't make me laugh! This is serious!"
"I know," Talia agreed. "She appeared to me as a human…but there was something ancient in her. I don't know what she is, but she's not a regular mortal."
Savith groaned in frustration. "What in Oblivion am I going to say to Morrigan when I see her? This is a disaster."
"Flemeth knows too much. I don't know how," Talia admitted. "She handed me the Wabbajack."
"The Wabbajack? Where did she find it?"
"Knowing Flemeth, do you really think she gave me a straight answer?" she asked sardonically.
"Point," Savith conceded. "So the Wabbajack, is that a sign from the Mad God?"
"Well…Nocturnal told me it was Sheogorath who brought me here," Talia recalled. "Her exact words were, 'Sheogorath was right in sending you here.'"
"Does that mean he's the one who brought me here too?" Savith grumbled. "Why do the daedra always have to talk in circles? I wish they would just come out and say what happened and what they want from us."
Talia agreed. "Flemeth was equally confusing."
"What other vague nonsense did she say?"
Talia frowned. "Something about the foundations of this plane collapsing, and me being 'instrumental' in its salvation. She also said something about other forces at work apart from the Elder One—he's the one who caused the Breach, and killed the Divine."
"Wow," Savith said flatly. "Can she be any vaguer? So what 'forces' were at work, according to her?"
"She said, 'chaos and destruction, 'darkness and madness', and 'the sweet temptation of forbidden knowledge'." Talia recalled.
Savith looked contemplative as she stared at the fire. "You…you don't think she was referring to the daedra?"
Talia thought about it. It was possible, but what interest would this world be to them?
"Chaos and destruction could be Mehrunes Dagon, darkness and madness could be Sheogorath, and forbidden knowledge could be Hermaeus Mora."
Though she tried to stop it, she couldn't contain her shudder at the reminder of the Prince of Destruction. "What would they want with this world?"
"Well, Mora wants any new knowledge," Savith's expression turned upset, as if she was remembering something unpleasant. "I've no idea what Sheogorath would want. But Dagon…apart from destroying shit, I don't think he'd want anything from this world."
"Then why would he be here if ever?"
Savith gave her a look. "Well…you're here aren't you?"
Her heart leapt to her throat, and she grew wide-eyed. The implications of Savith's theory were horrible. That meant Talia wasn't safe anywhere. She was suddenly reminded of Nocturnal's words. 'He has made it his goal to obtain your soul.' Did she mean Mehrunes Dagon?
"Talia? Are you all right? Please, I'm sorry."
Talia realized she was breathing too quickly. She blinked and found Savith's face in front of her. The other dunmer had both her hands on Talia's shoulders and was shaking her slightly, a look of profound concern on her face.
"I—," Talia took a deep breath and leaned away from Savith, her face burning with embarrassment. "I apologize. Sometimes I become…lost in…memories."
There was a brief moment of silence where Talia tried to get ahold of her breathing.
"Me too," Savith said quietly, and when Talia glanced at her, there was a haunted look in her eyes. "I suspect Leliana told you about who I was on Nirn?"
At Talia's nod, Savith shifted her gaze to the fire. "I saw many things during the Dragon Crisis that I would rather…forget. But sometimes I hear the flap of wings, or see a streak of black and suddenly I'm back in Sovngarde, the moment Alduin almost crushed me in his jaws." She clenched her teeth, and rubbed at a spot on her chest.
"All I'm saying is…I understand," Savith continued. "And I'm really sorry for bringing up those memories unwittingly."
The two sat in companionable silence. Talia felt…raw, as if she'd just bared her soul. There was true understanding between them, a meeting of equals. She'd never known anyone else who simply understood.
"I should take a turn," Savith finally said with a hint of humor. "You've been talking so much; you should probably rest your voice."
"Probably," Talia agreed, matching her light tone.
"Unlike you, I wasn't brought here via an Oblivion portal. It might have been clearer if I was." Savith shifted in her seat as she stared at the fire, seemingly lost in thought.
"I was captured by the Thalmor, not sure if you're familiar with them. Essentially Altmer supremacists. They took credit for stopping the Oblivion Crisis in the Summerset Isles, and seized power in the Aldmeri Dominion during the wild years that followed Potentate Ocato's assassination."
"Ocato dies?" Talia asked in horror. She and the altmer weren't particularly close, but she had a good working relationship with the man, and they had formed a tentative friendship. Where was she when this all happened? She could have prevented this!
"Oh, fuck sorry! I did it again."
"No, it's—" It wasn't fine, so Talia couldn't say that. "It's ancient history for you."
"I know but…" Savith said uncertainly, but Talia shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. Please continue."
Savith gave her an unsure look, but continued anyway. "As I was saying, I was captured by the Thalmor. Normally, I probably would've been able to escape, but I was…betrayed," she said in a dark tone.
"By whom?"
"There was a civil war in Skyrim at the same time as the Dragon Crisis. It's a long story that I'll probably tell you some other time, when we have more ale and mead around," Savith said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I was initially on the Stormcloaks' side, they were the Skyrim loyalists. But after I found out some…things about Ulfric…" She looked away from Talia, as if in shame. "I decided to side with the Empire. So I put Elisif the Fair on the throne. We…I thought we were friends. But she sold me out to the Thalmor. Sent me a letter to come to the Blue Palace in Solitude since she needed my help, and I was ambushed."
Savith's jaw was clenched so tightly as she spoke. "I was drugged and poisoned, and tortured a lot. That's why I don't recall what month it was. Some of my friends attempted to break me out of there. It was a good effort." Her expression melted into exasperated fondness. "But it was obvious we wouldn't be getting out, there were only five of us, and, well…hundreds of Thalmor. I didn't want them to die, so I stayed behind to buy them some time. And I thought," Savith's lips curled in a vicious smirk. "If I was going to die, I would bring down the entire Thalmor embassy with me. So, I Shouted the sky down."
Talia stared at her and repeated her words slowly. "Shouted the sky down?"
"Not literally. I'd only seen Alduin do it twice in my life, but I thought it would be a good time to attempt it. It's a Shout that rains fire and stone from the heavens."
Wow. Talia didn't voice it, but it must have shown on her face, since Savith grinned at her.
"Yeah, it was pretty awesome," she said with a small laugh. "So there I was, the world burning all around me, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a tent, this strange looking bosmer, kneeling over me."
"What—really?" Talia asked in surprise. And she thought the way she arrived was confusing.
"I know, right?" Savith shook her head. "I didn't even know they were speaking a different language; I had an amulet on, hang on—" She riffled through her pack, and with a triumphant noise presented it to Talia. "It's called the Amulet of Articulation. I got it when I became Guildmaster of the Skyrim Thieves Guild."
When Talia touched it, she immediately knew it was the same enchantment as the one she'd been developing, but more refined. Either she had been able to go back to Nirn and publish her findings, or someone else had picked up where she left off. Maybe Raminus stopped looking at it with suspicion and decided to study it. It was inspiring, Talia thought, that something she had developed would grow to be used in the future.
"Eventually, I had to stop relying on the amulet. If I was stuck in this world, I needed to adapt to it, so I learned how to read and write in King's Tongue. I know some Orlesian too." Savith stuffed it back to her pack and continued her story.
"So I talked to these elves, they say I fell out of a mirror. We now know it was an Eluvian, something the Ancient Elves used for teleportation. But back then, all we knew about it was that it was a scary mirror. A Grey Warden named Duncan found us, and brought us back to the dalish camp. The other dalish were afraid of me, but Keeper Marethari, their leader, assured them I wasn't an Abomination." She rolled her eyes.
Talia had to smile. "You were accused of being an Abomination too, huh?"
"It's the red eyes, isn't it?" Savith said to her conspiratorially. Then continued in a more sober tone. "There were two who entered the cave, but only one dalish elf survived—her name was Savith Mahariel. What a coincidence, right?" she said drily.
"Indeed, as much of a coincidence as it is that Lavellan's first name was Talia," Talia said in an equally wry tone.
"Wow, this place is full of strange coincidences," Savith said sarcastically, shaking her head. "They asked if I would help them look for the missing boy—Tamlen. I was still feeling weak, but I joined Mahariel, and one other elf. We found the ruins, and I killed a lot of darkspawn." She rubbed her head in a rueful manner. "I think I frightened the two with how viciously I fought. I was a bit out of sorts, but I remember Shouting some of the darkspawn apart. Duncan found us there, and talked about the mirror being Tainted."
"Is that why you joined the Grey Wardens? Varric told me you told him you would have preferred never meeting the Warden Commander? Is that Duncan?"
A bitter laugh left Savith's mouth. "Yes, it was him. Duncan…he's a good man, from a certain point of view. He's the one who imparted the most important lesson a Grey Warden has to learn."
"And what's that?"
"That a Grey Warden does whatever it takes to stop the darkspawn. Whatever it takes," she said more viciously.
Talia frowned, but didn't say anything, waiting for Savith to continue.
"He said the mirror was Tainted, and that Mahariel and Tamlen and anyone who would come across the mirror would be Tainted as well. We went back to camp, and Duncan spoke to the Keeper. When night fell, there was a service to Tamlen…and when I looked up at the sky—" Savith swallowed thickly.
"You couldn't find any familiar constellations," Talia said, remembering Leliana's words.
"That's when I knew," she concurred. "Everything else could have been dismissed as the Dalish maybe living in isolation, or living in a different continent. Maybe I had been transported to Akavir or Pyandonea or something. But without those stars to guide us…without Masser and Secunda, I knew I was in an entirely new world.
"I was horrified; I didn't know what to do. I had left so many behind…my family…" She shook her head. "And the fear of this…Taint," she said with distaste. "I was desperate for some guidance. And Duncan was the closest figure of authority. I trusted him."
"What did he do?" Talia asked in concern.
"He had me believe I was Tainted. Oh, he didn't outright say it, but he implied it. And I was frightened…worried that I was dying, and I wouldn't be able to see my family on Nirn. Seeing Mahariel die of the Taint on the way to Ostagar only served to convince me further. So, I joined the Wardens." She sighed. "He used my concern, my worry, my lack of knowledge of this world to manipulate me into joining. He must have seen me Shout, and realized it was the edge the Wardens needed in their ranks."
"How do you know you weren't Tainted for certain?"
Savith gave her a bitter smile. "One night, when Alistair and I were at camp, he asked me why I joined the Wardens. I told him it was because Duncan said I was Tainted. He frowned and told me I wasn't, else he would have sensed it when I was first brought to camp."
It was devious, and Talia was begrudgingly impressed at this Duncan's cunning and underhandedness. She also felt rather sorry for Savith for falling into the trap.
"Well, I suppose I don't have anyone else to blame but my stupidity. But to be fair, how the fuck was I supposed to know I'd end up one of the only two wardens left in Ferelden, and had to defend this bloody place from a fucking Blight?" She rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "Now I'm the fucking Warden Commander, and all I want is to fucking disappear and I can't even do that because I'd stick out like a sore thumb anywhere I go."
"Things would be much simpler if we were Imperials," Talia said mildly. "At least we'd be able to hide out somewhere."
"Duncan's lucky that Joining ritual didn't do anything disastrous, like turn me into a fucking Archdemon."
"Sorry?" Talia asked, stunned.
Savith licked her lips, and looked like she was debating with herself. "Look, this might be a huge mistake, but I trust you…" She gave Talia a hopeful look.
"I…don't trust easily. But I would like to trust you as well," Talia admitted, giving Savith a reassuring smile. It was ridiculous; they'd known each other for all of two hours, and Talia was already somewhat attached to her. They were two strangers, desperate for something familiar in a world so foreign to them both, that they immediately latched on to each other. Talia felt like Savith had been waiting all this time to finally tell someone from Nirn about what happened to her, and she couldn't blame her; Talia felt the same way.
Savith beamed at her. "Wait till I tell my father I made friends with the Champion of Cyrodiil!"
The two shared a laugh. When they sobered, Savith started explaining what she meant.
"To become a Grey Warden is to take the Taint into yourself and…master it. To a certain extent." At Talia's bewildered look, she added, "The Wardens undergo a Joining Ceremony. There's this potion; I'm not familiar with the exact contents, but it contains some darkspawn blood." The two shared a grimace. "More than half of the recruits die during the Joining; it's a bloody fucking miracle I survived."
"So that's why Joining the wardens is the only way to survive the Taint," Talia murmured. This didn't bode well at all for Felix.
"Yes, well, we're only extending our life spans by some time. After some years, it could be from twenty to thirty—a Grey Warden succumbs to the Calling. You start hearing humming, and whispers…the call of the Old Gods. They go to the Deep Roads to kill as many darkspawn as they can before dying."
"That's…grim."
"Such is the illustrious life of the Wardens." Savith snorted. "But well, what I meant earlier was that Archdemons are Old Gods that had been infected with the Taint. The Old Gods, as far as I can tell, are true dragons."
"As opposed to…fake dragons?"
Savith rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. The other dragons around here? They aren't even real dragons. Just beasts. Can't even fucking talk." Then she grew more serious. "The Old Gods are more like dragons from Tamriel—intelligent, and powerful. An entire civilization worshipped them for years, much like the dragon cults across Skyrim. The Archdemon was the only dragon that could talk here."
"You spoke to the Archdemon?" Talia asked in fascination.
"As one dragon would speak to another. Tinvaak—or rather I tried. He seemed to be too far gone to the Taint to converse properly. But he introduced himself by name, and challenged my Thu'um. I don't know why it surprised me that Urthemiel was just the name Ancient Tevinters used for them." Savith leaned forward, as if imparting a dire secret.
"Briinahmaar," she spoke the name softly, a bit reverently. "Beauty, Fury, Terror. Urthemiel was known as the dragon of beauty in Tevinter." She smiled at the interest in Talia's face. "All dragon names are made of Rotmulaag, or Words of Power. Alduin means Destroy, Devour, Master. When you Shout their names, it's usually a call to directly challenge them.
"Briinahmaar recognized my soul for what it was, and it frightened him, I think. When he died, I didn't absorb his soul, as I should have." She looked upset. "I'm still not sure why. When an Archdemon dies, its soul goes to the nearest Tainted body, if it's a darkspawn, the Archdemon becomes reborn. But if it's a Warden, it kills both host and the Old God, ending the Blight. I was the closest Warden, so it's still a mystery."
Talia tried to recall what she'd read from the book. "The books say Loghain made the killing blow?"
"Well yeah, I had to hide it somehow. Didn't want the First Warden and everyone else on Weisshaupt to be suspicious. They're already skeptical of my qunari-elf halfling story, I don't need another reason for them to sniff around."
Talia made a mental note to ask about the First Warden and Weisshaupt later. "So only a Grey Warden can end a Blight?"
"Yes." She frowned. "I still don't know why I didn't absorb his soul—though I have no idea what would have happened if I did get his soul." She gave a long sigh. "Sorry, we veered away to different topics, and I never actually got to my initial point."
"Don't worry about it," Talia reassured her. "I find all of this very fascinating and insightful."
"Well." Savith rubbed the back of her neck. "What I was saying earlier…as Dragonborn, I have the soul of a dragon. Since Archdemons are Tainted dragons, well, it's not that farfetched to conclude I could have ended up as an Archdemon."
That…was worrisome. "Do you think that's likely?"
"To be honest? I don't know," Savith said pensively. "There's so much we don't know about the Taint, and so much I don't know about being Dragonborn either. I have the souls of hundreds of dragons in me as well, would that have made me the ultimate Archdemon?" She gave Talia a small grin. "I suppose we should thank Akatosh for small mercies."
"I suppose we should," Talia said. "But since we're on the topic of the Taint…I wanted to ask you something." She added tentatively.
"Of course, what is it?"
"I have a friend who is…Tainted." Savith's questioning look turned grim. "I initially wanted to talk to you because I'd heard Grey Wardens held some sort of cure for it…but it seems…"
"I'm sorry, Talia. But there is no cure for the Taint. I could…attempt the Joining, but I need to know that this man can fight," Savith said apologetically.
Talia grimaced. "That's the problem. He can't be a Grey Warden. He's his father's only heir, being a Warden would remove him from the line of succession."
"Then…I don't know how I can help you."
"Can't you perform the Joining but not officially induct him into the ranks?"
"No! Of course not." Savith stared at her as if she'd grown another head. "You become a Grey Warden the moment you attempt the Joining, I can't just ignore centuries of tradition. Besides, I'd be putting the Wardens at risk."
Talia grew frustrated. "Surely there's something you can do to help him?"
Savith opened her mouth, closed it shut, then looked thoughtful. "There may be something…" she said hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"Nate's going to kill me," she groaned. "But, I've trusted you this far, I guess a little more can't hurt."
When she didn't say anything more, Talia raised an eyebrow to prompt her.
"I have people looking into an improved version of the Joining potion. Trying to improve the chances of survival. They're not in Amaranthine, I decided they should do their testing well away from the main base. The less people who know about it the better. Just ah—do you have any issues with blood magic?"
Talia shrugged. "Magic is magic."
"Well good, because though I have absolutely no background on magic, I know Avernus and Jowan are incorporating some blood magic in their experimentation. They may need someone to test the potion." Savith gave her a shrug.
It wasn't ideal, but beggars couldn't be choosers. "I'll take anything you can give me," Talia said resignedly.
"Is that the main reason you were looking for me?"
When Talia looked over at her, Savith looked put out, though she couldn't say why. "No, of course not. I wanted to meet you because you're the only other person from Nirn on this world. And before you ask, I wanted to look for you long before I learned you were Dragonborn," she added.
Savith's expression cleared, and she gave Talia a curious look. "Apart from my being Dragonborn, what else did Leliana tell you about me?"
"Well," Talia said uncertainly. "She mentioned that you were a member of the Skyrim Thieves Guild…and the Dark Brotherhood."
"Oh, she did, did she?" Savith said in a dangerous tone.
"To be fair, she only told me when she recognized my Black Hand robes." Talia raised her palms in a placating gesture.
"Ah…of course you're a Sister as well. I saw you interact with Lucien earlier. Not sure but I think he recognized you? He saved you from that genlock."
At her words, Talia froze. She'd been trying hard not to think of her encounter with the specter. Savith wasn't looking at her as she spoke, missing her reaction.
"Yes," Talia said as calmly as she could. "I'm the current Listener of the Dark Brotherhood."
"Another thing we have in common then? How do you know Lucien?"
"We—I—" the words seemed stuck in Talia's throat, and Savith looked at her in confusion. Talia let out an uncomfortable cough. "He was my mentor."
"You're his protégé? The one who became Listener?" she asked in surprise.
"Yes."
"Do you want to speak with him? I can summon him but—" She raised her right hand, and Talia, in her panic, grabbed Savith's hand and pushed it down to her lap. The Dragonborn blinked at her in shock.
"I apologize. I do not think I'm ready to see him again," she said haltingly.
Understanding dawned on Savith's face, then sorrow. "Talia, I'm sorry. I should have realized. He spoke of you a lot, and about…what happened."
"Yes—well—can we speak of something else?" she asked rather desperately. Could she sound any more pathetic? She thought disgustedly.
"Yeah, yeah of course. Um…so what are our next steps then?"
Talia clung to the change of topic. "Well…" She cleared her throat. "My main concern right now is getting out of the Deep Roads alive. We've been roped into this strange war between Bhelen and Duran. Bhelen doesn't know I'm here, I snuck in when he granted passage to Blackwall and Nathaniel. He took one of my men hostage; he was posing as a Grey Warden, so Bhelen doesn't know that the Inquisition's involved. Now Duran…" She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Duran wants to strike a deal with me. He knows about the Inquisition and seems to want my help with something. I suspect he won't give me a choice."
"Wait. Duran knows about the existence of the Inquisition?" Savith asked in shock.
"Yes, he recognized me from vague rumours he heard." Talia squinted. "Now that I think about it, did he not tell you about us?"
"No," she sighed. "Of course he didn't. Duran hates me. I think he blames me for putting Bhelen on the throne."
Talia opened her mouth to counter that, but then realized Nathaniel had asked Ruvin if he resented her for giving Bhelen the throne. She could see why Duran would detest Savith for giving his traitorous brother that much power.
"Do you know what's going on with those two?" Talia asked.
"No, the dwarves down here generally don't speak with me. I think they find me intimidating. And they do know I supported Bhelen ten years ago." She waved her hand in a gesture of annoyance. "I was also in different parts of the Deep Roads in the last few months; I've only been staying in the area this past month or so. And tensions had already heightened by that time. I heard that Bhelen double-crossed them in some way, but I don't know what happened."
"Yes, I heard that too," Talia said. "Do you think Duran would ask the Wardens for help? Nathaniel has already emphasized your neutrality, but I don't think they believe it."
Savith groaned in frustration. "Why can't people understand that whatever's happening now is so incredibly different from when we were in a bloody fucking Blight?"
Talia said nothing, but she did understand the points of view of both Savith and the dwarves. Savith had needed to intervene to get the dwarves' assistance for the Blight, and they were extenuating circumstances. However, the dwarves have already seen that Savith could assist them, but only if she chooses to do so. It was a difficult situation, one that Talia was certain she'd be put in a lot with the Inquisition.
"The way I see it, Duran either hates me so much, that he won't even deign to consider me an ally, or hate me so much that he'll guilt me into 'fixing' this problem with Bhelen. In any event, I think I'll be there to support you," Savith said.
"Nathaniel won't be happy with that," Talia warned her, but she was warmed by how quickly Savith decided to help.
"Well, sadly for him, he's not the boss of me," she muttered petulantly, and Talia smiled faintly.
"We probably have more to speak about," Savith said. "But I think we should get out of here first before we talk about more future plans."
Talia nodded. "I agree. Let's deal with Duran and Bhelen first. We'll head to Skyhold—the Inquisition's base, after. It's not far from here, and we can restock on supplies and regroup there."
"Sure, it'll be great to get out of the Deep Roads, I think I've had enough of it to last a lifetime." She made a face.
"I think it's time for Nathaniel's watch, anyway. I'll go wake him," Talia volunteered. As she stood, she remembered something. "By the way, I told Ruvin and the other dwarves down here that you were my sister. It was the only way they would let me into the Thaig. I hope you don't mind," she said apologetically.
Savith beamed at her. "Sisters with the Champion of Cyrodiil? I don't think my father's heart can take much more."
Talia chuckled. "If we ever do get the chance, I'd love to meet your father."
"I'm sure he'll be equally thrilled."
"Good night, Savith," she said as she turned away.
"Good night, Sister." Came her teasing response.
Talia woke Nathaniel up for his watch and he gave her a squinty look before rolling out of bed. She placed her bedroll away from Blackwall's and settled in for the night. She could hear Nathaniel and Savith speaking in low tones by the fire, likely discussing Grey Warden matters.
Talia felt unburdened in a way she hadn't for a long time. Finally meeting Savith had been a balm to her soul. The other dunmer was so vibrant that Talia could immediately see what had endeared Leliana to her. She was unrestrained with her emotions, and was quick to trust, something that surprised Talia. She couldn't help but match Savith's energy, and be as honest and open as she allowed herself to be.
There were new problems to solve though. The implications of Flemeth's vague words, their strange connections to the Talia and Savith of this world, the manner of Savith's appearance on Thedas, Lucien reappearing in her life…
Still, finding Savith was a major victory for her. Talia laughed privately as she remembered Savith's initial reaction to her name. Who knew the Dragonborn was a fan of the Champion of Cyrodiil?
A/N: Whut, an update less than a month after my last one? Say it ain't so! Well, I decided to update before I went back to work. No promises on when the next one will be though.
Re: Duncan, he's a good man, but I've always looked at him as someone who did everything he could for the Wardens. In the Human Noble Origin, he extracted a promise from a dying, desperate Bryce Cousland to let him recruit the man's child in exchange for their safe passage to Ostagar. Pretty manipulative imo.
Anyway, there will be plenty more interactions between these two, as Savith will be an important part of the story. I tried to make their conversation flow as naturally as I could, hence why there were parts where they got sidetracked or one of them rambled, etc. but there is a LOT of exposition in this one. So, sorry for the info dump!
Thanks for reading!
Response to reviews:
Cyclone160: thank you for your continued support!
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Guest: Thanks so much! Here you go! :)
Ase of SpADeZ: Thanks so much! I appreciate it! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)
Pzzy deztroya: To be clear, Savith has always been a dunmer in my story. Her name has always been Savith Idren (Idren was a dunmer surname), and I never changed that. I think the altmer HoF you're referring to is from "Strangers" by 2percent on ao3. A really good TES x DA crossover that everyone should read :)