Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11579205.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage, Major_Character_Death
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Dragon_Age:_Inquisition, Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim
  Relationship:
      Female_Inquisitor/Iron_Bull, Iron_Bull/Original_Female_Character(s), Iron
      Bull/Female_Saarebas
  Character:
      Saarebas_(Characters), Iron_Bull, Cassandra_Pentaghast, Mythal_(Dragon
      Age), Fen'Harel_(Dragon_Age), Viddasala, Desire_Demon(s)_(Dragon_Age)
  Additional Tags:
      Saarebas, Qunari, Seheron, Child_Abuse, Psychological_Trauma, Child
      Neglect, Slow_Burn, Slow_Build, Collars, Pain, Pain_addiction, Dream_Sex,
      Wet_Dream, Fade_Sex, Evanuris, Asala-taar, Not_Beta_Read, Consensual_Sex,
      No_Underage_Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Plot_Twists,
      Mentionings_of_Skyrim, Nothing_Here_takes_place_in_Skyrim
  Series:
      Part 1 of Realm_Lords
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-07-22 Completed: 2018-01-16 Chapters: 26/26 Words: 69375
****** Saareth Saarebas ******
by Synlover753
Summary
     She grew up under the Qun. She understands war all too well, but
     things like love and friendship? She's lost. Will she find her way?
     Will everyone be too scared of the Saarebas that ran away from
     everything she knew?
     12-18-17: Currently in the middle of a long overhaul to mesh out some
     details, inconsistencies, plot points, etc. (any input if greatly
     appreciated) (Sorry for any sources of Confusion in the process)
Notes
     So this is an idea that popped into my head and has been screaming at
     me to write, so here it is. Fair warning it is pretty dark. I died a
     little as I was writing this. I don't know what kind of update
     schedule I will do, but enjoy.
     " " normal dialogue
     ' ' thoughts
     * * Qunlat dialogue (after she learns common)
***** From Ataashi to Saarebas *****
Chapter Notes
     Edit Date: 12-18-17
     Word Count Before Edit: 1291
     Word Count After Edit: 1641
Her first memory was of her Tama, a gentle face that was slightly weathered by
time, horns that swooped back for added protection to her head, she was tall
and proud of her children and always made time for her imekari. Her Tama had
always encouraged her kids to be creative and helpful with their creativity.
Always be open about what you can do. Ataashi thought she was just another
three year-old-toddler. Tama said she was really intelligent, that meant smart.
Tama was always telling her to always improve her vocabulary. There were lots
of books that Tama read with her and she loved listening to Tama reading to
her.
“...and so the two warriors split the dragon’s tooth so that no matter how far
apart life may take them, they were bound by the dragon’s tooth.” That was Tama
now, telling them a story before bedtime. Once Tama left and turned out the
lights, the whisperings began.
“Ugh, why does Ataashi get all the attention?”
“She’s not even kossith.”
She was used to the whispers, she knew that the kids all thought she was weird,
that was fine. It left her alone to read with her Tama. The whispers died down
after a few minutes, but she was still awake. Normally when this would happen,
she would be thinking over what she had read with her Tama, but tonight was
abnormally warm on the tropical island that was called home. She felt dizzy
even though she knew she was lying still on her cot, her breathing sped up and
she felt her heart racing as she hugged her arms to her chest.
Ataashi squeezed her eyes shut and wished for herself to feel better with all
her might. Had her eyes been open, she may have seen her body glowing as her
heart rate slowed and her breathing eased. Green ethereal tendrils wrapped
around her and she fell asleep.
The next morning she awoke and felt better than she had in a long time and she
heard another human child complaining about the heat. Ataashi headed over with
a cup of water, she handed it to the kid and he complained that it would be too
hot. She looked at him, then to the cup of water. Ataashi waved her hand over
the cup and she saw the water begin to stand still at the edges of the cup. She
handed it back to him and she saw that he was looking at her terrified.
“Saarebas, Saarebas! Tama, Tama! Come quick.”
She looked around her to see that she was suddenly surrounded by the other
children and the other Tamas. In the past the kids had looked at her with
jealousy, now it was fear. She just wanted to help this kid, she remembered how
she had felt the night before. She sat down on her bottom and wrapped her arms
around her legs, looking every bit the three year old she was.
“Back away children, come take your child, Tamassran,” one Tama said in a mean
voice towards her Tama. Her Tama finally made her way through the crowd that
had gathered and trapped Ataashi in the middle. She was scooped up and held
close to her Tama’s chest as they walked out of the play room.
“Tama, what’s wrong? What did I do? What’s a Sarlabath?” her Tama held her so
that she was facing backwards and couldn’t see her Tama’s face.
“Saarebas, dear, it’s Saarebas. It’s what you are now, that is to be your place
in the Qun.” she could hear the pain in her Tama’s voice.
“Is it bad?”
“It is who you are now, my dear child, I should have known, I shouldn’t have
let you have your fun, I should have turned you in to be trained as soon as you
could walk and talk, but I didn’t.” she could hear the sobs that her Tama was
trying to keep back.
“Why Tama, what’s going to happen?”
“But I didn’t child, do you know why?”
“No, Tama, but I’m really scared.”
“Because I had hoped that your magic wouldn’t have manifested so quickly, but
that’s what that was, my little Ataashi. You can use magic and now you must
begin your training as a Saarebas, take comfort in your duty and be good.
Listen to what they tell you, no matter what,” Tama pulled her back and looked
into Ataashi’s eyes, “You hear me, you do whatever they tell you and you may
live long enough.”
“Long enough for what Tama, what’s going on?”
“Promise me you will listen to them.”
The hard look in her Tama’s eyes seared within her mind and she found herself
nodding and saying, “Yes, Tama. I promise.”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what,” she confirmed to her Tama, she nodded, seemingly satisfied
and rounded the corner and they continued their journey. They continued in
silence and finally Tama arrived at her destination, she was handed off to a
well muscled man that looked at her with pity.
“You are free to go, Tamassran, I will take her to the Viddasala for assignment
of Arvaarad,” the man told her Tama. Just as her Tama turned to leave, the man
asked her, “how old is she?”
Her Tama paused and looked back at them for a moment, “Five years last month.”
She wondered why Tama lied, Tama had always told her that lying was bad. Why
was Tama lying? They had celebrated her third birthday last week. The man
nodded sadly and looked down at her, “You’re awfully small for your age.”
The man took her down a hallway that led to a small room where there was
another woman and another man were waiting. The man holding her set her down on
the table in the middle of the room, the woman looked at her as if she were a
disgusting bug she wanted to squish.
“How old is it?” she barked at the man who had carried her.
“Five years according to her Tama,” he immediately responded. She could hear
the pity in his voice and his restrained anger at the Viddasala.
“Hmm, awfully small, but no matter. I am the Viddasala, you are Saarebas and
you will respond to such. This is your Arvaarad, he will be preparing you. Your
life is now his to do with as he sees fit, you are his responsibility and you
will obey everything he says. You understand?” She got the feeling the woman
would not explain it again, even if she asked what all those words meant. She
nodded, she had understood enough. Arvaarad was in charge of her and she had
promised Tama that she would do whatever they wanted.
“Good, proceed,” the woman waved her hand in Arvaarad’s direction and left
them, she watched the woman leave with the first man and she was left alone
with Arvaarad.
“That was very good to not answer Viddasala verbally, child, but it is my duty
to do this as your Arvaarad. Do you know what is about to happen to you?” She
shook her head ‘no’ vigorously.
He nodded sadly at her, “because you are Saarebas, I must sew your mouth shut,
but with enough slack for you to be fed.” She looked at him fearfully and
covered her mouth with her hands. He gently moved her arms back to her side and
helped her to lay down on the table and he picked up a bottle. “I will handle
your training, but upon that completion you will be given to another Arvaarad
for duty. This potion will make you sleep while I prepare you physically,” he
pointed to his mouth and indicated for her to open hers. He quickly downed the
potion down her throat and she fell to sleep almost instantly.
Ataashi, no, not Ataashi anymore, she was Saarebas now. Ataashi didn’t exist
anymore. Saarebas awoke next and brought her hand up to her mouth to feel two
strips of cloth wrapped around the top and bottom of her lips and sure enough a
thin thread laced between her lips now. She began to tear up and took a deep
breath through her nose to calm herself. Saarebas wouldn’t cry. They spoke of
duty and didn’t look to have much patience, so Saarebas wouldn’t cry. She sat
up and looked around to see Arvaarad watching her closely.
“You’re right, Saarebas, don’t cry,” she looked at him confused, he smiled at
her, “I used to be with the Ben-Hassrath, so the Re-Educators sent me here to
train Saarebas to respond to the control rod.” he lifted a strip of leather and
a small golden stick. Both seemed to have matching symbols carved into each,
she could feel that these items could both suppress her magic and unleash her
magic. Arvaarad placed the leather strip around her neck and on the back of her
neck locked the collar into place with the rod he held. She felt the magic that
linked the two items and that only the rod would take off the collar.
“First we will test what you can do and then work on your response to the rod,”
he helped her off the table and led her out of the room towards the opposite
side she came in on. He looked back once to ensure that she followed him and
led her quietly outside to a courtyard. She heard other children playing as she
walked by and looked to see that they walked on the ledges above the children’s
courtyard. She looked at them longingly for a moment before she shook herself
and focused her attention on Arvaarad in front of her. She tried to stop the
tears from falling, but as they left the children’s area she felt them start to
roll down her cheek.
***** I Will Do as I'm Told *****
Chapter Notes
     If I have any translations wrong, then let me know the correct
     translations so I can learn please.
     Edit Date: 12-18-17
     Word Count Before Edit: 3477
     Word Count After Edit: 4127
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Five Years Later (Age 8)
Saarebas had finally finished her training with Arvaarad, despite the
rigorousness of the training, she learned to trust him. He was a good man and
always gave her time to process what he was explaining to her. She finished her
training and she had heard some of the other sten around saying that she was
the fastest learner that they had seen. She had read every book she could get
her hands on and Arvaarad had helped her acquire more than she would have been
able to on her own.
She woke at her normal time and waited for the guards to come and open her cell
door for her Arvaarad when he came to remove her bindings. Saarebas weren’t
allowed to sleep unrestrained for fear of demon possession. The bindings were
meant to give their guards enough time to kill them before they hurt anyone.
The guard at the door to her cell never looked at her when she woke up, but
after five years she knew that the guards knew when she woke up. Saarebas had
always woken up about fifteen minutes before they let Tamavaraad release her
bindings. She used that time to review material she had read the previous
night.
It hadn’t been easy, but Arvaarad had taught her to read and he treated her
with sympathy. Try as he might he couldn’t have delayed this day, she was too
good. She had begun to sense his trepidation about her leaving into the care of
another Arvaarad. Whenever he had seen her look of concerned confusion he told
her it was just the inevitability of life. She had scowled at him and went back
to her lessons.
This morning began differing the moment Viddasala stepped through her cell
door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her sneer down at Saarebas in
contempt, “You have advanced enough to be sent out, so you will be re-assigned
a new Arvaarad. He will come to get you when he is ready for you.” Without
further explanation Viddasala turned on her heel and walked out of her cell. As
always whenever Viddasala came to see Saarebas, she watched the tail the
swished behind the Viddasala. She had wanted to ask someone about it, but she
couldn’t talk. She turned to her books and could find no explanation for it.
Saarebas had always pushed it out of her mind until she saw the woman again.
Then her questions and theories would run rampant through her mind until she
left.
Saarebas wondered at kind of person her new Arvaarad would be. She waited for
what seemed hours and she felt the urge to relieve herself grew as time went
by. She looked around worriedly and listened for any sign that her new Arvaarad
was coming. She was so hungry and wondered what had gone wrong, she was sure
Tamavaarad would be here any minute to take care of her. He wouldn’t just
abandon her, but as the hours ticked by she felt her betrayal begin to bloom in
her heart, he had left her. All the looks of concern over the years began to
look mocking and she felt her eyes narrowing and tears forming from the pain
that she couldn’t stop. She breathed deeply through her nose and as her
betrayal turned to anger, she felt the guard shifting nervously. She glared at
him through her bars, he didn’t care about her. Not really. None of them did,
at least the Viddasala seemed to be honest about her feelings.
Her anger helped her to forget about the burning need to relieve herself for a
time, but eventually she could not hold herself any longer. It seemed as though
the moment she had relieved herself, the door to her cell finally opened and
there stood a tall man whose horns swooped around his ears, almost making them
look like cinnamon rolls that had been given to her as a child. “What, they
have to give me the defective one? I thought they said you were the best
Saarebas they had trained, couldn’t even wait four hours for me to come get
you.”
He then strode into her cell and backhanded her across her face, “Well, I
suppose I have to clean you up now. I guess I’ll just have to retrain you, my
little Saarebas.” Tears had formed from his hit and he began to laugh at her.
He undid her restraints before hauling her after him. He led her through the
cells and up the hallway. People were everywhere they went, some laughed at the
display, some looked away in shame. As her new Arvaarad led her through the
Saarebas complex, she heard her old Arvaarad’s voice. She kept her eyes staring
blankly ahead of her.
“Are you insane?! I give you the best Saarebas that the Qun has seen in years
and you give her to Meravas. Go figure, so tell me Viddasala, how was the sex?”
He sounded angry, but why would he? He had abandoned her to the figure that
walked before her.
“Remember to whom you are speaking Hissrad, oh, oops, slip of the tongue.”
there was a pause before she continued, “the assigning of the Saarebas is my
duty. Or maybe you need another trip to the re-educators, because I can arrange
that.”
“As you wish Viddasala,” she could hear the anger held back in his voice though
she doubted Viddasala did. She was still confused as to the reason for his
anger, other than the threat of Re-educators. They moved out of range for
Saarebas to hear any more of their conversation and her new Arvaarad roughly
threw her into a tub of freezing water. She clenched her jaw tight to keep her
teeth from chattering behind her sewn lips.
“Clean yourself of your mess, Saarebas,” his tone was as cold as the water
around her. She went to work quickly and pulled her soaking clothes from her
body and cleaned herself quickly and thoroughly as she could before she looked
to see her new Arvaarad watching her with detached disgust. She moved to get
out of the bath before he pushed her back into the water so roughly she hit her
head on the bottom of the tub, thankfully the water had softened the blow or
she might have lost consciousness. Saarebas came back up to the surface
sputtering as well as she was able with her lips. She saw the slight upturn of
his lips, as if he thought it was funny that she had nearly gotten hurt, then
again he had smacked her face earlier.
“I don’t want to see your disgusting body, put those clothes back on before you
come out,” she looked at the edge of the tub, looking for the clothes he was
talking about before she realized he intended for her to put her soaking wet
and soiled clothes back on. She shuddered at the thought and began to do as she
was told, but used the soap to clean her clothes before putting them back on.
Her new Arvaarad watched her and she ignored him completely until she was done.
His only other option would be to walk her out there naked, and she knew people
would speak up about that. There was a difference between discipline and abuse
afterall.
When she was done she dripped onto the floor around her and looked at him,
waiting for him to lead her. He led her to the dining hall, he never said a
word to her but she knew where they were heading from the familiar path that
they took. He never explained where they were going to her or what he was
doing, she supposed that was what it was like for all Saarebas once they were
done with their training.
They arrived and he roughly sat her down as he went to get her food, she made
sure to look down at her feet and to not look around. However, she did watch
everything from the corner of her eyes as she had learned with her previous
Arvaarad. Her new Arvaarad came back with her mostly liquid food and Arvaarad
haphazardly waved the spoon in the general direction of her mouth. Her food
slopped down her chin with every spoonful and when he said they were done
eating, she had actually eaten maybe half her bowl. Again, she made no sound of
protest, this is what life would be like with him. She knew there was nothing
she could do about her situation and resigned herself to suffering in silence.
“Ugh, maybe we should have waited until after eating to bathe you, you’re such
a sloppy eater,” he seemed to blame her for his shortcomings, and since she
couldn’t speak. His treatment of her would never be known outside the two of
them, she kept her eyes on the floor and refused to meet his eyes. She felt the
telltale prickle of tears at her eyes and glared down at the floor, she would
not cry over this either. If he saw her crying she had a feeling that he would
react just as the Viddasala had three years ago. She still had the scar in her
right side where Viddasala had stabbed her for crying. She had nearly torn her
mouth stitches when she cried out. She still bore the burn on her back where
the Viddasala had branded her. Her tongue bore the scar from that.
He roughly led her back down the hallway to the bathhouse again and they
repeated the process they had done earlier, however this time there were clean
clothes waiting on the edge of the tub when she was done. She dressed herself
in silence and only when she was done did she look at Arvaarad, he looked bored
as he led her out to the courtyard, “Alright little Saarebas, let’s see what
your other Arvaarad was talking about. Burn the dummy to the left.”
Her eyes finally moved to the dummy he was speaking of and extended her arm,
her magic leapt to her command and the dummy burst into flames all over. She
could see him grin beside her, “Good, good, Freeze the dummy in the middle.”
Again, her eyes moved to the next dummy and moved her hand to point at it, it
immediately froze solid, again he grinned at her, “Lightning to the last
dummy.”
Her eyes moved to the last dummy and her hand moved with her eyes, immediately
lightning crackled along the wooden dummy. It had rained the night before and
she could hear the sizzling of the wood a moment before it exploded. She saw a
wooden chunk flying towards her new Arvaarad and she immediately threw up a
barrier to protect him.
He looked to her, fury in his eyes, “You will never use your magic without my
permission, understand?” Pain erupted all over her that emanated from her
collar. It felt as if her magic were ripping her body apart one little piece at
a time, it was the most excruciating pain she had ever experienced. Her
previous Arvaarad had used it as a disciplinary tool, but she hadn’t given him
much reason to use it. Her eyes glared at the ground before her, if he was
going to hurt her for using her mind, then so be it. She fell to the ground and
hugged her arms to herself. She kept her head bowed as tears welled in her
eyes, she refused to let them fall and even after the pain had dissipated she
kept kneeling, waiting for his command.
“Good, I think you understand that lesson now, get up! We’re going to test your
healing,” she got up as quickly as she could and followed him as he led to to
the other side of the courtyard. Once there he ordered her to heal the person
lying on the table, she looked into the face of the person and saw the face of
her Tama. Her heart pounded in her chest and she quickly moved her hands into
place and healed her. It looked as if she had been tortured, many bones had
been broken and she could tell that Tama was bleeding inside her body. She
looked worriedly at her Tama and touched her forehead to her Tama’s.
Her back arched in sudden pain and she fell to her knees once again, “you are
Saarebas, you are a tool, nothing else. You do not have feelings, or do I need
to get some Saar Qamek?” Her teeth clenched in fear at the mention of the drug.
Saar Qamek was used for the Saarebas who were hopeless cases and were forced to
lose their minds. “No? That doesn’t sound appealing to you? Then stay standing
when I punish you.”
She scrambled to her feet despite the pain that pulsed throughout her body.
Once she stood on her feet, the pain stopped, “You will remain standing when I
punish you, understand?” Pain pulsed through her body again and her knees
shook, but she remained standing as she nodded.
“Good Saarebas, now you are to help me torture this Tal-Vashoth,” she hid her
confusion as she stood at the ready to attack her Arvaarad until she looked
down at her Tama. The pride she saw in her Tama’s eyes was unnerving, her Tama
nodded her head and looked at her with such love and acceptance that her
worries came back to the forefront of her mind. Why were they calling her Tama,
Tal-Vashoth? What did Tal-Vashoth mean? She looked back at her Arvaarad and saw
that he had pulled a dagger from his belt.
“Do not heal the wound I’m about to make,” she looked at him confused until he
stabbed the dagger into her Tama. Her Tama screamed at the pain of the
intrusion into her abdomen and he twisted the dagger in her insides. He removed
the dagger and watched to make sure she didn’t heal the area.
“Good, little Saarebas. Now, Tal-Vashoth bitch, you will tell us how many of
your children you have corrupted. Saarebas, heal the wound I just made, but do
not heal the next one.” She winced as her magic moved around the next stab and
moved to heal the previous one.
“I have only ever served the Qun, told the stories I was meant to and assigned
each child to their jobs,” her Tama sobbed and she looked at her Tama
sympathetically.
“Ah, but you see. You are lying, you didn’t report this Saarebas as soon as you
knew she was Saarebas, same as before Saarebas.” His dagger was then embedded
into her Tama’s stomach again and she moved her magic around as she was told.
“You also lied when asked how old this Saarebas was, you told us five years
when she was only three! Again Saarebas!” He began shouting at her Tama, her
magic moved again and she fought the tears that fell down her face.
"She should have died, but now you will, Saarebas heal her completely.”
Arvaarad stepped back and began cleaning his dagger. Saarebas felt tears
falling down her face at Arvaarad and Tama’s words, her mind worked a mile a
minute at the possible meaning of what was said just now.
“Don’t cry child,” her tama whispered to her, “Ar lath ma da'len, to ama ma dea
deal de den Mythal's ju.” She looked at her Tama, confused. “Remember my words
my little Ataashi.”
She nodded as her Arvaarad came up again, “is she healed?”
She nodded and ceased her magic over her Tama, “Good, now you will burn her
until she is ash.”
She looked to her Arvaarad, horrified. She saw only hardness in his face and
turned to look back at her Tama, she only saw love in her Tama’s eyes as her
Tama nodded and smiled. She extended her hand and flames erupted all over her
Tama’s body. No screams were heard and out of the corner of her eye she saw
Arvaarad, no for this he is Dathrasi, grinning and she turned up the heat of
her flames. She could feel the heat begin to blister her own skin, but when
Dathrasi took a step back from her mini pyre, she made no move to do so.
Finally she saw her Tama’s chest cave in on itself and the stench made her
stomach roll unpleasantly. Still she did not move nor let up on the flames.
Dathrasi was laughing in the background and she heard Viddasala come up next to
him, “I see you have assessed her. Shall we send her to Seheron?”
“Oh, yes Viddasala, she will do wonderfully in Seheron. Enough Saarebas, she is
ash.” She lowered her arms and watched as the flames immediately went out, the
ashes of her Tama then blew in the breeze that suddenly whipped through the
courtyard. She turned and Dathrasi saw that the entire front of her body that
wasn’t covered by cloth was red and blistered, her clothes were black with the
ash of her Tama and Dathrasi laughed again with Viddasala.
“Alright, little Saarebas, you are going to war. Arvaarad, don’t have her heal
her blisters, it will serve as a reminder to not stand too close to the fire,”
she laughed and walked away. Saarebas saw the tail and this time her mind’s
theories did not float across her mind, nothing did. No one was there to care
for her, her Tama’s wish was for her to survive, and so survive she would. No
matter the cost.
“As you wish, Kadan,” Dathrasi whispered to himself as he watched her leave him
looking after her longingly. She moved her eyes to the ground when he turned to
look at her, “you heard her, we’re going to Seheron. You will obey every order
I give you to the letter, and you may survive that hellhole.”
He ordered for her to follow him and she did so as she felt the emptiness from
that morning grow inside her. She followed him through hallway after hallway
and down flights of stairs and she didn’t react when the floor beneath her feet
went from stone to wood. She went up a ramp and was led down more stairs.
“Kneel in the middle of your cell, Saarebas.”
Her feet moved to obey and as she kneeled she took note that she kneeled on a
cushion of some sort. He moved her limbs into the familiar position of the
sleeping bindings and left her in her cell. Only when she heard his footsteps
walk up the stairs did she notice that she was alone and that the entire room
seemed to sway, and her along with it. She went back to staring at the floor
and was lost to her thoughts as she replayed the events of the day over and
over in her mind until she fell asleep.
They were on the ship for exactly five days and Dathrasi would only come to let
her relieve herself and to feed her every twelve hours. The swaying of the ship
seemed to make his feedings worse and she barely ate any food. She was sure she
was dying from the lack of food, but on the third day something had happened,
one night as she was passing out from lack of food she saw her Tama. She knew
she was seeing things, but if she were to die she wanted to see her Tama one
last time.
“They have stolen the heart that’s inside you, but this does not define you.
This is not who you are. You know who you are. Feel the magic around you, it is
called the Fade. Listen to the whispers of the spirits around you, they will
help you. Feed from the Fade and you will live,” with that she disappeared. She
closed her eyes and expanded her senses, she felt the magic that leapt to her
fingers. It was all around her and within her, she opened her eyes and saw
another spirit.
“You need food, I can help, but I don’t know what kind of food you eat. I don’t
know how you eat with your lips sewn shut. Oh, I see you get a broth,” he
looked to be a human boy with yellow hair. He disappeared from her view without
moving and she looked at the space where he was and waited for him to return.
She didn’t know how she knew he would return, but eventually he did and it was
a bowl of the best broth she had ever had. He fed it to her just as Tamavaarad
had and he had shown up every so often ever since. The day came to depart and
she stood strong on her legs despite the weakness she felt in them.
Dathrasi led her up the steps of the ship and she kept her eyes downcast as she
followed him down and off the ship. Her legs wobbled again when the ground
beneath her stopped moving but held herself upright as Dathrasi led her through
pathways that led between many buildings on either side of her. They walked up
to a large stone building and they were led through the building and up many
sets of stairs before they stopped in a room. A large man with horns that
jutted out from his head and then upwards like two posts that the children used
in their games with the balls. He looked to Dathrasi and she made sure her eyes
were kept to the ground as she listened to the conversation.
“So you’re the Arvaarad with the super Saarebas I’ve heard so much about. Isn’t
she kind of young?”
“She completed her training in five years and was sent here by the Viddasala,
she has proficiency with all magicks. We are at your disposal Hissrad,”
Dathrasi spoke to the other man. She recognized the name Hissrad from
Arvaarad’s conversation with Viddasala and wondered what this Hissrad was like.
Would he befriend and abandon her too?
“Damn, kiddo, you must be pretty impressive,” he grinned at her and Dathrasi
looked at him annoyed.
“Where will I be staying?”
Hissrad looked at Dathrasi disappointedly, “Saarebas and Arvaarad to be
stationed with Hissrad to the Northern Encampment, Fort Pyrite.” he sounded
like he had read it from a report, but he held no paper before him, “we will
travel together in the morning to our post. For tonight we will stay here in
the fort, there’s a cell prepared for Saarebas in the basement and once we get
her settled I’ll show you your quarters.”
She followed them as they led her down flights of stairs and continued to keep
her eyes to the ground as she listened. “So how old is she?”
“Ten years,” she wondered why he was lying to the liar and watched Hissrad’s
reaction. He knew Dathrasi was lying, but didn’t say anything.
“And she’s already completed Saarebas training? Shit, she’s younger than I
expected.”
Dathrasi’s tone turned smug, “yes, the Viddasala hand picked for me to be her
Arvaarad. She expects Saarebas and I to turn this hellhole completely over to
the Qun.”
“MmmHmm. How long is your assignment to Seheron?”
“Viddasala said ten years, we’ll see which comes first, Victory or time,” he
smiled at Hissrad and Hissrad smiled back at him. She saw the the smile didn't
reach his eyes and felt like she would like Hissrad, despite her initial
apprehension, she felt a sort of pull towards him that she couldn’t explain.
They led her down into the bowels of the building and she smelled the familiar
scent of earth as they passed below the surface. Hissrad stood back and watched
as Dathrasi roughly put her into her sleeping bindings. He quickly left her
cell and waited impatiently as Hissrad made sure she was comfortable on her
cushion, she smiled at him and nodded her thanks as he left.
After a few hours Hissrad returned into her view, “I want to ask you questions,
but I don’t want Arvaarad to know, can you do that?”
She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded her confirmation, he laughed at her and
she felt comfortable with him. “So are you younger than what he told me?”
She swallowed and nodded, “8 years?” Nod. “Shit, and to be stuck with a guy
like that, I’m sorry kiddo, I really am. I gotta go, but I’ll try to visit
whenever I can. I can’t arouse suspicion though so…” He stopped talking when he
saw her nod understandingly. He shook his head sadly as he walked away.
Chapter End Notes
     "I love you my child, to protect you was Mythal’s will." is what her
     Tama tells her.
***** Of Dathrasi and Hissrad *****
Chapter Notes
     Edit Date: 12-18-17
     Word Count Before Edit: 720
     Word Count After Edit: 1428
Three Years Later (Age 11)
The last three years progressed much as her Tama’s death had, always stepping
away from the flames, always remembering her Tama’s wishes that she survive.
Dathrasi turned out to be smarter than she had initially figured. He realized
within 6 months that she was killing her victims very quickly and not torturing
them to the fullest extent that she could. Eventually the pain became a
reminder that she was her own person and so long as she followed orders, no one
could complain. Dathrasi learned to be more specific with his instructions when
torturing victims.
Next he learned to be specific with his healing orders concerning others. He
had ordered her to heal Hissrad after a particularly bloody battle, he had
intended for her to heal the man’s broken leg so he could walk to the healers.
However, all he had said was ‘Heal him, Saarebas.’ She had rendered herself
unconscious from the sudden flood of healing magic that she unleashed to
Hissrad. He was healed completely and carried her back to her cell in the camp.
She had woken up to Dathrasi causing her the worst pain yet, Hissrad began
arguing with him. Before Hissrad had gotten him to stop a grin had begun to
form on her lips. Her limbs were twitching from the need to writhe, but years
of this treatment had rendered her muscles to automatically lock her limbs in
place when she felt her ‘punishment.’
Dathrasi learned to be specific with his attack orders. He had once ordered her
to ‘attack’ a large squadron of Tal-Vashoth that were heading directly for
them. It had been just the two of them as they had been separated from their
squad. He ordered her attack and she had looked at him with such a dead look
that had it not been for the intelligence shining in her eyes, he would have
thought her dead. She kept her eyes focused on him as she extended her hand and
send a multitude of shining balls of magic that made such a tiny explosion that
the Tal-Vashoth laughed as they continued their approach. Finally, he ordered
her to kill them and she sent tiny balls of magic once again, only this time
the balls of magic hovered at the mouths of each Tal-Vashoth warrior before
them. Then all at once the balls of magic forced themselves into the mouths of
each an every warrior. Finally, as one the balls of magic exploded and Dathrasi
looked to her in horror.
The final lesson he had yet to learn was to be specific when ordering her to
heal him. Fort Pyrite was under Tal-Vashoth attack. She had learned that when
she cast spells as a part of a group, that she could feel the other Saarebas
around her. There were only four other Saarebas, but she could feel their
struggles, even from the other side of the fort from them. She used her magic
to ease their connection to the Fade. Dathrasi hadn’t used the rod, he hadn’t
noticed yet. She then decided to try forming fireballs closer to her other
Saarebas, as if they had cast the spell instead of her and still no pain
radiated from her collar. She kept a close eye on Hissrad and healed and
protected him as subtly as she could. Dathrasi however had been mortally
wounded at least four time over by some well aimed arrows that may or may not
have have been aided by her magic.
After hours of battle she finally steered one arrow enough that it went through
Dathrasi’s throat and he was no longer able to order her to heal him. She kept
her other magics at work and calmly walked over to him as he gurgled his last
sounds. His eyes narrowed at her as if just now realized how much she was
actually doing with her magic. Her taunting smirk was short lived as pain
erupted from her collar. Her body locked in place, crouched before his recently
deceased corpse. She ground her teeth as she struggled to stay conscious. She
felt something snap within her as the pain seemed to morph into something else,
more like a release. She felt her body relax into the pain and she had to
squeeze her lips together so that she wouldn’t scream.
It felt like she was watching someone else as she picked up the control rod
from Dathrasi’s corpse. She calmly walked out to where Hissrad had been
fighting at the gates and handed him the control rod, the pain was still
activated. Hissrad watched her in shock along with everyone else in the fort as
she walked just outside the gate and clapped her hands together before her.
Wind suddenly rushed through the fort and though the members of the Qun felt
the wind, the Tal-Vashoth enemies were all picked up and placed before the
Saarebas at the gates.
Once her prey were all gathered before her she knelt and slapped her hand to
the earth and the Tal-Vashoth enemies were all engulfed in flames so hot that
they didn’t have a chance to scream before they were turned to ash. The enemy
dead and her allies safe, she fell to the ground and was unconscious before she
hit the ground.
She awoke next in her cell beneath the fort with Hissrad sitting in a stool
before her. She quickly found that all she could move was her head and upon
looking around she saw four Sten surrounding her with their swords ready to
plunge into her bound body. She turned her attention back to Hissrad.
“Your Arvaarad is dead.” There was no question in his voice, so she waited for
it. “Did you kill him?” She heard one of the soldiers around her shift
nervously. “No one here would blame you if you did, everyone here has seen the
way he has treated you and we were seriously pissed off about it. So I’ll ask
again, Did you kill your Arvaarad.”
She lowered her head to the ground in thought before she slowly rose her head
to look him in the eye. She shook her head, but Hissrad doubted the look in her
eye.
“Did your actions aid in his death?” Her eyes narrowed at him. They were all
quiet for what felt like forever before she slowly nodded her head. Hissrad
leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and placed his hands under
his chin.
“I see, then you should be killed right here and now,” his eyes bore into hers
and it was only then that a flicker of fear crossed her eyes. She knew she
couldn’t protect herself so soon after using that much magic. Her life rested
in Hissrad’s hands. She closed her eyes so he would not see more fear, she
would fail her Tama’s wishes. All because she couldn’t stand a little pain. She
felt disgusted with herself for a moment before a new thought crossed her mind.
Why hadn’t he given the order yet?
She opened her eyes to see Hissrad regarding her carefully. She took a deep
breath and looked at him resolutely. She was going to trust him, if he had
wanted her dead, then he would have ordered them to kill her.
“There’s just one snag in the plan to kill you,” he leaned back in his chair,
“We all owe you our lives. With everyone else dead, I’m left in charge of this
fort. That means I have to decide whether to kill you or ship you back.” He
pretended to think for a moment before he saw that she wasn’t buying it. He
grinned at her and the men around her left her cell. “I’m thinking that you
handed me your control rod because you want me to be your new Arvaarad?”
She looked at him with a withered look, he laughed as if he understood her
patronizing thoughts. He smiled at her, “alright, let’s get you taken care of
then.” He rose and opened her cell before he gently removed her restraints. He
had her walk beside him as they walked to the kitchens, she sat in the chair
that he pulled out for her to sit in and fed her carefully. It was the most
wonderful broth she had ever had and he made sure she had every sip. She hoped
that this would last forever, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he too
would betray her, just as the first Hissrad had done.
***** The Cost of Freedom *****
Chapter Summary
     Added Chapter (Completely new)
One Year Later (Age 12)
Hissrad quickly found out how bull headed his new ward was. When she wanted
something, she was patient enough to get it. It had started as a random
curiosity.  What was it like to cast magic?  He knew he had been in trouble
when she had grinned devilishly, the look made all the more disturbing by the
thread that laced her lips. She had all but opened her lips and ordered him to
get her books to read. Over the course of six months they spent requisitioning
books and learning to read each other. A year later in battle he knew something
was wrong when her spell casting slowed in the middle of combat and he began
having to shout at her two or three times before she would follow the order.
She had miraculously managed to not get hit by anything till close to the end
of the battle. However, as soon as the arrow embedded itself in her calf, she
came out of the stupor she had been in for the majority of the battle. Battle
ended quickly after that and Hissrad walked next to her as they made their way
back to the fort.
“What the hell was that?”
Saarebas shrugged her shoulders and looked to the ground with a careful, blank
face. When she did not look up not attempt to communicate further, he stopped
her and looked into her eyes. He saw in the depths of her eyes a fear carefully
concealed.  Did what just happen scare her into herself? And just what the hell
was that? She hadn’t really responded to anything until she had gotten...hurt.
The pain of the arrow must have shocked her out of whatever that was.
‘What the hell was that’ indeed.
Hissrad led them back to the fort in silence after that, he would need to talk
with her in private, figure this thing out together. They were welcomed with
jovial waves and pats on the back. Saarebas at his Side didn’t wave back to any
of them.
“Hey, Hissrad! Get your ass over here and join us!” a jovial shout was called
out.
“Sorry guys, Side Arm’s tired and needs her rest,” Saarebas’ kept low, her eyes
blankly forward.
“Side Arm, huh? After all this time and you go with Side Arm?” another voice
called from the crowd.
“Well, she’s always at my side and always within arms reach, so Side Arm.”
Hissrad watched as money exchanged hands subtly among his men. He grinned at
them good naturedly, “see you guys tomorrow.”
Side Arm hadn’t moved since he had stopped to talk to his men, and the fact
that she hadn’t reacted to her new nickname told him a few things. He took
quick stock of her eyes and saw them following his every move in a sort of
detached watchfulness. He knew her focus was elsewhere and hadn’t yet processed
what she had just witnessed. It was amazing what one could learn just by
watching facial expressions. Without any other way for her to communicate with
anyone else, Hissrad had made sure to study every feature of her young face so
he could ‘hear’ her.
She knew they needed to talk and he knew that depending on how they handled
this could set her future. He knew this was a pivotal moment for the child
before him. A great sadness gripped him as that thought crossed his mind. He
turned his face away from her view to hide his sadness as he led the way to her
cell in the basement. This was her safe area, her turf. For whatever reason he
saw that she felt comfortable in this small area.
She walked into her cell and knelt on her cushion. She brought her knees up and
hugged them to her chest and looked at Hissrad with the fear in her eyes. He
swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat. In that one look he knew
the source of her fear. The unknown.
‘What brought me back?’  She hadn’t even known what had brought her out of her
stupor. Hissrad looked down at her leg. She followed his line of sight and
gaped at the arrow neatly lodged in her leg with blood running down her leg.
Suddenly she became aware of a delicious ache in her leg. She closed her eyes
and realized the source of the ache was the arrow currently in her leg. Her
eyes opened wide once again. That was not normal.
Her hands shook as they drifted towards the arrow and just as they were about
to grasp the arrow, Hissrad’s hands were there. She looked up at him in
surprise.
“Heal yourself as soon as it’s out.” His eyes bore into hers and she found
herself nodding to his order.They kept their eyes locked as he snapped the end
of the arrow off and pulled it out. The pain washed over her and as she
whimpered at the pain she fought to remember that Hissrad had told her to heal
her leg. She was so confused.  Why was pain affecting her like this? Why did
she suddenly want to feel more?  Goosebumps appeared all over her body as she
shivered to herself.
Hissrad looked down at her in concern, “that’s enough!” her eyes snapped to his
at his commanding tone. “You need pain to keep your wits about you, fine. It’s
what you need, so you’ll tell me when you start feeling like you were before
that battle.”
He looked at her so fiercely that without a second thought as to whether he
would betray her, she nodded her agreement. He nodded his agreement and set to
examining how well she had healed her leg. Now that she was paying attention,
she could see that he was thinking of something as he examined her perfectly
fine leg. When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to start the
conversation, she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and in his eyes
she saw how lost he was, he wanted to help her, he just didn’t know how.
‘Let’s look at the facts first.’
He nodded numbly, “well, you went into kind of a stupor and you weren’t casting
your magic like normal until you got hurt. Logically that means that something
was happening within you until the pain brought you out. What was happening?”
‘It felt like I was drowning. There was so much going on around me, but I felt
more and more detached from what was happening around me.’
“So the pain kept you from drowning,” he turned thoughtful for a long time
until he looked her in the eyes. “You need pain to keep you here. When you
start to feel it coming, you tap my hip. Then I’ll use the rod to cause you
pain. If it ever gets to be too much, you are to tap your leg twice.”
He looked at her so somberly, she knew that this was not a normal case. No
other Saarebas had to deal with this. She made sure to nod her understanding
and agreement before looking at him worriedly.
‘Why is this happening? What’s going on?’
She saw his hands twitch as if he wanted to hold her. Her bindings were not
attached to her and no one else was in the cell. She looked around them for a
moment before she crawled herself to plop into Hissrad’s lap. He felt rigid and
stiff from finding himself with a lap full of Saarebas. After a few minutes of
her wrapping herself in his arms, he felt her breathing begin to even out and
before he could stop her, she was asleep.
He had always been told stories of Saarebas who were taken over by demons in
their sleep. He looked down at her peaceful face and as hard as he may try, he
couldn’t imagine her being taken over by a demon. Her power was terrifying
enough without this new development of needing pain. He sighed, she was just
getting more and more complicated. Smiling softly down at her, he brushed some
strands of Auburn hair from her forehead. He didn’t know how long he sat like
that, but at some point in the night, long after the sun had set, he shifted
her off of him. She woke and looked at him startled until she realized it was
him.
He cradled her head in his hands and looked into her sleepy eyes, “You are
never to harm yourself. Understand? If I’m not nearby, you find me and I’ll
give you what you need.”
She sleepily nodded her agreement and if he didn’t know any better, he could
have sworn he heard a whisper of ‘Survive and don’t harm myself.’ He looked
sharply down at the girl in his arms and saw that she was passed out in his
arms again. He carefully placed her within her bindings and once he was
finished he sat in the ever present chair before her cell. He stared at her
thoughtfully through the night and when she awoke the next morning it appeared
as if whatever coping mechanism she needed she got. The next morning she was
back to her usual self.
After that night, Hissrad noticed that she needed the pain to bring her back at
least once a month. It made him wonder how she had made it their first year
together without an incident happening sooner than it had. He knew that she
needed more from him than the other Saarebas and he was worried for their
future.  What if he couldn’t give her everything she needed?  That thought
would haunt him for years to come.
***** Tal-Ataashi *****
Chapter Summary
     I'm gonna do a thing.
     Completely New Chapter
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Four Years Later (Age 16)
She knew this was going to be a troublesome day the moment the word ‘dragon’
was whispered through camp. The happy gleam in Hissrad’s eyes didn’t help any
as they listened to the camp whisper excitedly about facing a dragon today.
They had been tracking the beast from the western village to the caves that
littered the foot of the mountain. Finally they had it cornered in one cave and
they were licking their wounds before finishing the job.
“Today is a good day! Today is a  very  good day!” Hissrad told her excitedly,
though she doubted that he really cared who he was talking to at the moment.
She could have smiled at his childlike excitement over facing a dragon if not
for the restriction on her lips. Instead Hissrad grinned at the smile in her
eyes. She moved her eyes to flit over the rest of the squad that had been
gathered to face the dragon. Hissrad wasn’t the only one eagerly anticipating
facing the dragon. She couldn’t help the feeling that something was off, she
kept feeling like she was missing something, some nagging feeling that only
added to her pre-existing feelings of not quite belonging.
Her gaze fell to the three other Saarebas, they couldn’t have too many mages in
one area, but with Seheron being a veritable war-zone they needed at least four
Saarebas to hold the fort they had. The Saarebas tended to steer clear of
eachother, but none were more avoided than her, only Hissrad and he troops he
was directly in charge of felt comfortable around her. She was grateful that
there were so few Saarebas, their magic tended to leave a sour taste in her
mouth.
***
The cave stank of rotting corpses as they passed through the entrance. She
embodied her nickname as she stuck close to Hissrad. With a look from Hissrad,
she summoned her magic and made a soft light along the ground so that the
troops wouldn’t trip over their own feet in the darkness. Just before they
entered the main chamber of the cave, she heard a voice.
“So hungry, if it weren’t for the tasty Druffalo, I would have left long ago,”
the voice was deep and guttural. It sounded as if there were some extra noises
when he spoke, but she signaled for Hissrad to stop for a moment as she peeked
around the corner. She saw the large Dragon nestled on top of piles of Druffalo
corpses. She stared in shock as the voice spoke again.
“I smell intruders,” the voice was coming from the dragon, “I suppose I’ll just
have to eat them before returning to my feast.”
She blinked in shock and had no idea how long she stood there until Hissrad
nudged her and looked at her worriedly. She shook her head and moved back into
position, still in shock.
“Something wrong with Saarebas? Boss?” one Sten asked.
Hissrad looked at her out of the corner of his eye and silently asked her. ‘You
okay?’
Slowly she nodded that she was fine to continue, but signaled that the dragon
knew they were there.
“How do you- you know what? I don’t want to know.” He whispered at her in
shock. The troops behind them, used to them talking silently, collectively
rolled their eyes. “Alright, we round the corner and scatter around. Don’t
clump together, it’ll just get you killed and take others with you. Ready? GO!”
With a roar Hissrad led the way around the corner and would have burnt to a
crisp had Side Arm not placed her barriers around him. He was forever grateful
that she had a head for strategy and despite what he had been taught about
Saarebas that would think for themselves. He had heard stories of renegade
Saarebas losing control and killing all those around them. Side Arm was
different. She not only thought for herself, but he was sure that she was
drawing battle plans on his maps when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
He knew it went against everything he had been taught about Saarebas, but he
trusted her.
The battle seemed to be over as soon as it began, yet at the same time lasted
forever. Hissrad looked over the Sten and noted that there were only a handful
of corpses. He turned his attention back to Side Arm and saw that she was
nearing the dying dragon. He watched, frozen as Side Arm stopped a Sten from
delivering the finishing blow and placed her hand on the dragon’s maw. The
creature gave a shuddering breath and Hissrad felt like he was made of stone as
he watched light swirl away from the dragon and into Side Arm.
“Dovahkiin,” seemed to whisper across the cave from somewhere.
Hissrad snapped out of his shock when Side Arm suddenly collapsed unconscious.
He rushed forward and barely made it in time to catch her before she hit the
ground. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his features schooled away from
the worry and turmoil he felt inside. He took a deep shuddering breath and
noticed the scents of the cave had shifted. The scent of ‘dragon’ seemed to
permeate around and from the mage in his arms.
What have I gotten myself into with you?  Hissrad thought, not for the first
time, that the mage in his arms was going to be the death of him.
“No Sten here will betray her, she’s saved all our lives more times than we can
count, Hissrad.” He was ashamed to admit it, even to himself, that he had been
terrified from the moment she collapsed. Not for himself, not even at her
power, he was terrified someone was going to send a message to Par Vollen and
reveal everything. He felt something shift within him, he had to protect her.
He had to make sure she never saw Par Vollen again, for if she did...Hissrad
shuddered at the thought of it. He didn’t even let him think of the
possibilities of what would happen to her.
Chapter End Notes
     I know it doesn't fit with what I have for the rest of the story as
     of yet, but remember it's a work in progress and I will get there,
     just bear with me please.
***** Tal-Vashoth *****
Chapter Summary
     Word Count Pre-changes: 1955
     Word Count Post-Changes: 1941
Two years Later (Age 18)
She had seen it in his eyes the moment they had seen the devastation of the
poison. Ten years in this place and she thought she had seen the worst that
people could do. Oh, how wrong she was. The Tal-Vashoth rebels had crossed a
new line, it was one thing to attack adults (at least adults could fight back)
but children? What kind of depraived monster went after children? She turned to
Hissrad, the man that had come to know her so well that they hardly felt the
need to communicate verbally anymore. She started at the look in his eyes
however, there was a barely restrained rage behind his eyes.
“Side Arm,” she could hear the pain in his voice and she moved closer to his
side offering her silent comfort. Once she was at his side, she felt more than
saw his shoulders loose a minute amount of tension, as if her presence at his
side reassured him that she was okay and not one of the kids laid out before
them. She knew how easy it would have been for her and Hissrad to be present at
the time of the poisoning and killing them as well. She watched him for a long
time before he narrowed his eyes at the scene before him and finally turned to
start barking orders at those around them. She could feel the anger rolling off
of Hissrad in waves, he needed information, he needed a target.
***
The Tal-Vashoth fortress came into view, they were just supposed to be the
forward scouting party. She knew, however, the moment Hissrad had snapped. They
had heard the Tal-Vashoth camp laughing and boasting about the poisoning of the
orphanage. That one sent Hissrad into a rage. Oddly enough it was Gatt that was
the voice of reason this time.
“Come on, Hissrad! They outnumber us, let’s just go and get the rest of the
squad,” Gatt looked at him imploringly. He turned his face to hers,
expressionless to those around him, but she knew what he was saying. She nodded
her head in silent agreement. She would follow him wherever he led her. She was
his ‘Side Arm’ she was important to him.
“Kay, you guys go on ahead back to camp and bring the rest of the troops, I’ll
stay here with Side Arm in case anything changes,” Hissrad’s commanding voice
finally flowed among them, but Gatt noticed that Hissrad’s eyes never left
hers. He knew they were having one of their ‘silent conversations.’ Gatt had
never liked Side Arm, not from day one. She may have been there for his rescue,
but he always felt like she held Hissrad’s attention. He hated her for that.
She turned to look in his direction and he screwed his face up in a snarl at
her. Of course she got to stay with him, Gatt felt the stirrings of his anger
writhing within him. His gaze flickered to Hissrad and saw that Hissrad was
angry, and it was directed at him.
“Get going, Gatt,” the anger in Hissrad’s voice terrified Gatt for a minute and
suddenly he wasn’t so envious of Side Arm.
Hissrad looked into her eyes for a long time after the others had left before
he stood and pulled his Great Axe from its place on his back. He rolled his
shoulders and she drew her familiar energy around her. Suddenly they heard a
scream. It was the missing Tamassran that had been taking care of the orphans.
They could hear as the Tal-Vashoth argued over who was going to have their turn
first.
She felt it the moment Hissrad snapped. The rage was no longer able to be held
back and he was gone. She followed him and kept close enough that she would be
able to keep him safe with her shield, but far enough away that if he couldn’t
differentiate her, then she had time to get out of his way. She kept the
enemies off his back and blind spots from his rage. They kept trying to get to
her, but she lashed her magic out to snuff their lives. She had known the
moment that Hissrad had stormed the fortress, that none of the Tal-Vashoth
would be leaving this event alive.
It didn’t take long for all those in the fort to be dead, the Tal-Vashoth had
quickly killed their Tamassran prisoner once Hissrad had burst through the
doors. She had kept back, behind Hissrad to protect his blind side. Throughout
the fortress she hadn’t feared him or his raw power. More than once she had
caught a glimpse of him in the throws of battle and she had never seen anything
more beautiful. She had felt her stomach clench and a warmth fill her belly
every time she caught a glimpse of him. Her mouth would suddenly be dry at
time, but in the middle of battle was not the time to figure out what was going
on with her.
The battle over, Side Arm took a step closer to Hissrad, until he turned his
face towards her. He stared at her without seeing her and she stood still as
she could as she waited for him to move. Her eyes stared into his and she saw
the moment he came back to the surface and he collapsed onto a tree stump in
the middle of the courtyard of the fortress.
She immediately made her way over to him and began healing him from the attacks
she had missed, “You didn’t have to follow me.”
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as if to say, ‘as if I would do
anything else.’
“Yeah, yeah I know, but you still didn’t have to,” he looked out to see their
reinforcements arriving and they went back to camp in silence. She walked
beside Hissrad as usual and she knew something was wrong with him. She wanted
to help him, but didn’t know what to do. She wished she could speak and say
words of comfort to him.
Once they entered their encampment she followed him silently as he led the
familiar route to his tent, she had healed many wounds inside this tent. Would
he ask her to heal his head? She didn’t think she would be able to do that. He
pulled out her chair for her to sit in and lay her control rod on the table. He
placed his hands on either side of it and stared down at it.
“I’m turning myself in to the Re Educators,” he spoke quietly and stood back up
and began to walk past her, leaving her control rod on the table. She reached
up and grasped his arm causing him to stop.
She looked up at him with worry, she had heard the other men talking about what
that meant and what could happen to Hissrad. He had defied orders and here he
was leaving her alone with her control rod. She opened her mouth as far as she
could and whispered, “Hissrad.”
He stared at her and placed his hands on either side of her face. He touched
his forehead to hers and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, but I must, I can’t
continue like this.”
With that he walked out of her life for who knows how long. She stared around
at what had been her home for the last seven years, there were many good
memories here. However, she knew that if she did not get moving, then she would
be discovered by the rest of the camp. She knew that he had left the tent flap
closed, so she knew she had a few minutes. After what seemed to be forever, she
got up and stood before her control rod and the dagger he had left in the
table.
She had been there when Hissrad had first gotten it. On Seheron you had to use
money with their bartering system, it had been a new concept to those from Par
Vollen. Hissrad had seen the dagger in a blacksmith’s shop and he had bought
the dawnstone dagger on a whim. She remembered catching him admiring the
sunlight reflecting off the pink dagger. She heard some rustling outside the
tent and quickly grabbed the rod and dagger from the table. She slipped her way
out from under the outer wall of the tent. Sticking to the shadows, she made
her way South away from the Qunari encampment. She didn’t stop heading south
until the lights form the encampment were no longer visible to her. She turned
her way east towards the coast and reached the coast just as the sun was
peeking over the Horizon.
She found a cave on the outskirts of the coastal town and set to work on the
stitches around her mouth. She could feel the tiredness from being up and
running all night long, but the quicker she got off this island, the less
likely they were to find her and take her back to Par Vollen. Her hands slipped
a few times because of her tiredness, causing more scars around her mouth and
some on her hands. Once her mouth was finally freed she took a moment and
stretched her jaw as wide as she could and winced from the pain of her jaw
popping from lack of use. Finally her eyes began dropping and she knew there
was nothing she could do to stop it this time, she settled herself in the
deepest part of the cave and fell asleep.
She awoke the next morning with a jolt of surprise. It took her a moment to
realize where she was and what had happened the day before. She felt the
prickle of tears and quickly blinked them away, it would do her no good to cry
now. She shook herself off and turned to the mouth of the cave, only to find
her way blocked by an elderly looking woman. The woman may have looked to be
far too old to be wandering a cave so close to an active war zone, but she got
the feeling that this woman could take care of herself.
“Ah, finally. I tell you what, you’re a hard one to track down, Holly,” the
woman spoke to her, but she didn’t recognize the name that was spoken to her.
The confusion must have been evident on her face because the woman started
talking again. “Ah, it seems I’m just in time to explain a few things. First
off, you can call me Flemeth.”
She blinked owlishly at the woman in response. She had a feeling that the word
explain should have been replaced with exploit or something like that.
“I am here to ensure that my investment t’was not wasted with you,” the tone
Flemeth used was sweet and comforting, but her words made a chill run down
Saarebas’ spine. She kept her gaze so focused on the woman before her, she
failed to notice the mirror that had been set up behind where she stood.
“Alas, you are not yet strong enough for what you need to do, good luck,” with
that the woman flung her arm out. Saarebas was hit with a wave of magic that
made her fly backwards, right into the mirror that she had failed to notice
earlier. She fell through the mirror and caught a glimpse of a place filled
with mirrors before she fell through another mirror. She landed with a groan
and looked up to see a group of soldiers surrounding her before darkness
claimed her.
***** The Wrath of Heaven: The Temple of Sacred Ashes *****
Chapter Summary
     Edit Date: 1-27-18
     Word Count Pre-changes: 4354
     Word Count Post-changes: 4529
Chapter Notes
     It mentions that she went to Skyrim, there are no details offered
     other than she went and she can Shout. (I have started writing that
     adventure, and I do plan on posting it at some point.)
Two Years Later, Thedas Time
Her eyes blinked owlishly at her surroundings, not quite what she had expected
when she returned to Thedas. She wasn’t dead, so that was something in the
positive column. Despite the ring of soldiers surrounding her, she rested on
her heels, seemingly at ease with the world. She ran through recent events in
her mind. Some woman had tried to stop the ritual of which the woman had been a
part of and as a result she now had a great green glowing gash in her left
hand. She growled at herself, how could she have fallen for the same trick
twice? She had just been leaving a cave that had been infested with vampires
when she met up with the Flemeth woman again.
***
“Hello my dear,” the voice was familiar, but it had been so long since she had
heard it that she couldn’t place it. “Ah, yes. You are most certainly strong
enough my little Saarebas.”
Suddenly everything came back, the woman in her cave just after she had left
Hissrad. She would have attacked Flemeth had she not realized that her hands
were currently bound. She gathered her voice to herself and was about to Shout
when she realized that a cloth gag covered her mouth, much like another’s had
long ago.
“Mmmhmmm, mmmmm MMMMMMMM,” she struggled against her bindings, she had vowed to
herself to never be helpless like that again. The woman stared down at her and
watched with an air of amusement. She stopped and gathered her magic to her,
but instead of the savory taste of the magic from Skyrim, she was met with the
sour taste of magic from the Fade. Keeping one eye on the woman with her, she
turned her attention inward and forced her inner magic forth. At last she had
the savory taste of the magicka within her.
All at once, it was as if a dam had broken loose and her inner magicka burst
forth, blending with the magic from the Fade. She groaned at the sensation it
caused and she lost track of the woman that had started all of her troubles in
the first place. She had been doing just fine before that day in the cave.
“You’re probably wondering as to my interest in you, little one. You see, your
Tama was entrusted to keep you safe, but then I had no idea just how much magic
would manifest in one so young. Almost makes me wonder how you came to be, at
least, it would if i didn’t already know,” the woman chuckled to some joke with
herself.
Her only response to the woman was to glare at her from the ground as pain
racked through her body, though by looking at her no one could tell just how
much agony she was in.
“Oh, I don’t think I ever told you my name, you may call me Flemeth,” the woman
knelt down and looked her in the eyes. “Tell you what, little Saarebas, you
promise not to Shout me off the hillside and I’ll take off he gag.”
Through her glare she nodded her agreement, there were more fun ways of getting
what she wanted from this Flemeth.
“Good,” nimble fingers pushed the gag down so it rested across her throat, “now
I’m willing to bet that you didn’t go traipsing around Skyrim with a name like
Saarebas, so why don’t you tell me what you call yourself now.”
Not trusting her anger to keep herself from Shouting the woman off the hillside
despite her promise, she took a moment before she responded, “Seranni.”
***
So here she sat, on cold stone floor with a ring of soldiers pointing their
weapons at her and a giant glowing green gash on her left hand flared brightly
at her. The door leading up the stairs swung open and the soldiers put their
swords away as two women walked into the room. One had a hood up over her head
and helped to hide her face among the shadows, the other looked very much like
a warrior and circled around behind her and spoke suddenly in her ear.
“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now,” the warrior’s timbre voice rang out in
the silence of the dungeon. “The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended
is dead. Except for you.”
Seranni remained silent as she stared at the floor in front of her, the warrior
reached down and grasped her left hand, raising it to eye level, “Explain
this.”
“I can’t,” was all she replied.
“What do you mean you can’t,” the warrior demanded of her.
“I mean, I don’t remember what happened. I was in a cave one minute and the
next I’m running for my life from these creatures and a woman pushed me through
a rift.”
Finally the hooded woman spoke, “a woman?”
The warrior woman narrowed her eyes at Seranni and spoke to the hooded woman,
“go to the forward camp, Lelianna. I will take our prisoner up the mountain.”
“Be safe, Cassandra,” Seranni could tell that there was a level of camaraderie
between the women and Lelianna left up the stairs as Cassandra helped her to
her feet.
“So, what did happen?” she asked of her captor, curious as to whether or not
her questions would be answered.
“It would be easier to show you,” Cassandra took off her metal bindings and
Seranni immediately backed away and felt around on her person.
“Where are my things, I’m not going anywhere without my things,” the hardness
in her voice made Cassandra pause and she watched as the warrior regarded her
carefully before walking over to a nearby chest. She opened it and pulled out
all of her weapons, she didn’t care about any of them except for two. She
figured she would make the warrior a little more comfortable and only took
Hissrad’s dagger and her control rod.
“You’re only taking those?”
“Figured you wouldn’t want a fully armed prisoner behind you,” she spoke
distractedly as she strapped her control rod in it’s place on her leg.
“How thoughtful of you,” she could hear the sarcasm in Cassandra’s voice as
they walked out of the dungeon.
“I’m just considerate like that,” she quipped back and she saw a smirk grace
the warrior’s face for a moment before they walked through the large doors of
the Chantry. Seranni finally got her first look at the aftermath of what had
happened, her eyes widened in disbelief.
“We call it the Breach, it’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows
larger with each passing hour. It is not the only such rift, just the largest.
All were caused by the explosion at the conclave,” Cassandra explained to her.
“Well, shit,” was all she could say. It looked like a giant green hole in the
sky that threatened to eat the sky whole. Pain erupted from her left hand, from
her new mark, and though she remained standing she still grimaced and held her
hand to her side.
“Each time the Breach expands, your marks spread...and it is killing you,”
Cassandra looked at her with concern, “your mark may be the key to stopping
this, but there isn’t much time.”
She stared at the Breach for a long moment before turning to Cassandra, “If I
can help, then I will do all I can.”
“Then? Very well, thank you,” Cassandra turned on her heel and led her through
the town, “they have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven
mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was
hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their
leaders together. Now, they are all dead.”
Soldiers opened the gates at the edge of the town and they began their trek up
the mountain, Seranni resigned herself to following Cassandra and listening to
her as they walked. She began to use her inner Magicka to essentially ‘poke’ at
the gash on her hand.
“We lash out, like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves, as she did.
Until the Breach is sealed at least. There will be a trial, I can promise you
no more than that, let’s go. We will test your mark on something smaller than
the Breach.”
Cassandra led the way up the mountain and the Breach flared out once more on
their path before they reached a bridge that was destroyed as soon as they
stepped onto it. A giant green rock crashed into the bridge, sending both women
flying onto the frozen pond that had been beneath the bridge. Cassandra moved
to attack one shade that had formed in front of them, but she didn’t see the
shade that had appeared behind her. Seranni reached out her will and froze the
shade before lighting her dagger on fire and stabbing the frozen shade.
Cassandra finished off her shade just as the frozen shade exploded.
“Sheathe your dagger, now!” Immediately she sheathed Hissrad’s Dagger and
stared at the ground expressionless and waited silently for Cassandra to speak
again, all the while keeping a trained eye on the warrior. She heard the
warrior sigh to herself, “I apologize, I cannot protect you, and I cannot
expect you to be defenseless. I should remember that you agreed to come
willingly.”
She followed Cassandra silently and kept the dagger sheathed, in case the
warrior changed her mind. She used her magic to help the warrior fight the
demons that dogged their path up the mountain. She saw that Cassandra kept
glancing back at her with sympathy and acted as if she wanted to apologize
again. After Cassandra’s reaction to just a dagger in her hands, Seranni
thought it best not to Shout in the warrior’s presence unless absolutely
necessary.
Cassandra cleared her throat as if she felt awkward, “We’re getting close to
the rift. You can hear the fighting.”
Seranni could tell that Cassandra had meant it as a way to start a conversation
back up, but she remained silent as they reached the top of the stairs. Once
everything came into view, she immediately saw the rift that Cassandra had
spoken of and saw a group of soldiers struggling against the demons. Cassandra
leapt down the stone wall that separated them from the battle and she extended
her will to protect and heal the soldiers that were fighting the demons and
once they seemed to be under control she slid herself down the wall and walked
calmly up to the rift.
“Quickly, before more come through!” a bald elven man grabbed her left hand and
thrust it upwards towards the rift, she fought not to hiss at his touch. She
felt the pull of the rift and she felt something ask her, ‘open or closed?’ She
thought about closing the rift as hard as she could and when she pulled her
hand back, the rift was no more.
“At least this thing’s good for something,” she eyed the warrior woman as she
spoke, but saw nothing in the warrior’s face to indicate that she wasn’t
supposed to talk. Seranni kept her magicka poking at the mark and discovered
that when the bald elf had grabbed her, something in the mark responded. It was
as if the mark were an overeager puppy and the bald elf was it’s master.
“You are very perceptive, whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also
placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close
the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake - and it seems I was correct,”
the elven mage seemed pleased with himself as he stated his observations. He
seemed to know more about what was going on than he was letting on. Seranni
kept her magicka poking at the mark on her hand and found that the mark was
actively trying to kill her simply because she wasn’t it’s master.  Too bad,
little mark. You’re on my body, which makes you mine. Not through either of our
choices mind you.  It was then that the strangest feeling came over her, sort
of like a begrudging acceptance. Her mind came back to reality when a new,
gruff voice made itself known.
“Good to know! Here I thought we’d bed ass-deep in demons forever,” a new voice
called out, she had never seen a dwarf before in person, but from the stories
she had heard throughout the years, she knew a dwarf when she saw one. She
watched him curiously as he approached, “Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller,
and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He said this last part to the warrior
woman and winked at her. Out of the corner of her eye, Seranni saw Cassandra
scowl at the dwarf and scoff disgustedly.
“So are you with the Chantry? Or..” she let the question hang as the elven mage
laughed.
“Was that a serious question?”
“Technically I’m a prisoner, just like you,” he looked at Cassandra with a sour
look.
“I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine. Clearly that is no longer
necessary,” the warrior scoffed at the dwarf.
“Nice crossbow,” Seranni quickly changed the subject, lest the warrior turn her
anger back on her female prisoner.
Varric looked at the crossbow that was now strapped to his back, “ah, isn’t
she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together.”
“Bianca, huh?”
“Yeah and she’ll be great company in the valley.”
Cassandra spoke up then, “absolutely not. Your help is appreciated, Varric,
but…”
“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren’t in control
anymore. You need me.” Seranni pondered at Varric’s use of the word Seeker, she
had only heard one thing about them. They were like some kind of super Templar,
she focused her senses on the woman and felt the familiar feeling of magic
suppression. She made a note to talk with Cassandra about it later, that is, if
the woman’s mood kept Seranni in favor with her.
“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I’m pleased to see you
still live,” Solas bowed politely to her.
“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’” Varric
commented.
“You have my thanks, you seem to be quite knowledgeable about all this.”
“Like you, Solas is an apostate,” Cassandra commented.  I doubt very much that
there are many apostates like me.
“Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra. My travels have allowed
me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage. I
came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed, we
are all doomed regardless of origin.” He was rather wordy for an apostate elf.
He seemed to like the sound of his own voice and seemed prideful in his
explanations, as if there was no other mage that could possibly know what he
knew.
“And when this is over?”
“One hopes that those in power will remember who helped, and who did not.” Yep,
he definitely like the sound of his own voice. “Cassandra, you should know: the
magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is a mage,
but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power.” Something in
his tone and body language set off red flags in her mind, he was lying. Why was
he lying?
Cassandra nodded her understanding, “Understood. We must get to the forward
camp quickly.”
“Well, Bianca’s excited!” her mouth quirked upwards slightly at Varric’s joke.
The group quickly dispatched the demons that barred their path up the mountain.
As they walked together Solas began to speak with her.
“So you from the Free Marches or what?”
“No,” was all Seranni offered.
“I can’t quite place the accent, maybe you could help me out,” Varric prodded
again.
“I grew up in Par Vollen, spent these last years elsewhere,” she didn’t think
that these people needed to know about Skyrim and her time there.
The mark on her hand flared, Varric winced for her but she made no outward sign
that it bothered her, “shit, you alright?”
“I am fine,” she spoke calmly. She had had to bite back a moan at the pain her
mark caused, which was only intensified due to her own magicka entwining with
the power of the mark.
“So...are you innocent?”
“I don’t remember what happened.”
“That’ll get you every time. Should have spun a story,” Varric teased her.
“That is what you would have done,” Cassandra scowled as she looked ahead.
Varric shrugged, “It’s more believable, and less prone to result in premature
execution.” She couldn’t fault his logic and shrugged her shoulders in
response.
The group continued to quickly dispatch of the demons that kept coming at them
as they made their way upwards. They rounded a corner and saw that just outside
the next gate they came to was another rift. From Cassandra’s body language she
assumed this to be the forward camp and she immediately placed healing barriers
around the soldiers that looked to have been fighting against the demons for a
while. She followed Cassandra’s lead and once she was in range she extended her
left hand and felt the familiar tug of the rift against her mark. Again the
feeling of the rift asking ‘open or close’ crossed her mind and she willed for
it to close.
“The rift is gone! Open the gate!” Cassandra shouted at the guards.
“Right away, Lady Cassandra,” one soldier responded and once the gates were
opened, Seranni could hear Lelianna arguing with a male voice.
“We must prepare the soldiers!”
“We will do no such thing.” The male’s voice sounded particularly whiney.
“The prisoner must get to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. It is our only chance!”
“You have already caused enough trouble without resorting to this exercise in
futility.”
“I have caused trouble?” Lelianna asked the man incredulously.
“You, Cassandra, the Most Holy- haven’t you all done enough already?”
“You are not in command here.”
“Enough! I will not have it,” the man looked up as they approached, “Ah, here
they come.”
“You made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is-”
“I know who she is. As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to
take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution.”
She glared at the man introduced as Chancellor Roderick, she grasped the front
of his robes and pulled him towards her face over the table he was behind, “the
only way I will die is by blade in battle. I will not be executed like a dog
too old to stand. I have survived too much to die any other way.” With that she
shoved him back to fall into the stack of boxes behind him.
“Since none of you can come to any kind of agreement and I bear the mark that
will close these rifts, then I will hear your options to get me to the Breach.”
She looked between Lelianna and Cassandra who were both looking at her in
shock.
Cassandra seemed to regain her composure first, “the most direct route would be
straight up the path, we can take a contingent of soldiers and we can rush the
temple site. It’s the quickest way.”
“But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while you go
through the mountains,” Lelianna offered.
“We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It’s too risky.” Cassandra
rebutted.
The Chancellor spoke up when he finally untangled himself from the boxes,
“Listen to me. Abandon this now, before more lives are lost.”
“Lives will be lost either way, at least we have a plan for stopping the loss
of life completely,” she glared at the Chancellor again and he seemed to wilt.
“We will take the mountain path. Lelianna, bring everyone you can to charge the
temple as a distraction, let’s move.”
Seranni stalked away from the forward camp and didn’t have to look back to know
that Cassandra, Varric, and Solas followed her lead. She let the lay of the
land tell her where she needed to go in order to find the path to go further up
the mountain. Finally they came to a wall and some ladders. They made their way
through the tunnels with Cassandra leading them so they wouldn’t get lost. As
they exited the tunnel they saw some soldiers dead, Varric commented on it and
Cassandra didn’t think that was all the members of the squad. Then they heard
sounds of fighting and they rushed to rescue the rest of the squad that had
opened up. The rift was effectively trapping the soldiers at the edge of the
wall that overlooked the mountain. The group quickly dispatched the rift as
before and the group tried to thank them, but Seranni just kept walking down
the path.
“What, don’t like your adoring fans?” Varric asked her as he caught up to her.
“No, I don’t,” was all she said.
“Well, you may have to get used to it, the people are going to see you as
helping them. You’re gonna have to learn to be friendly to them,” he advised.
“Yeah? And when they find out what I am?”
“What? A mage? You ever hear of the Champion of Kirkwall, Hero of Ferelden?
Both of them are mages,” Varric looked at her incredulously as she shook her
head.
“Never heard of either of them, grew up farther north, this is the farthest
south I have ever been,” she shrugged at the dwarf, “Never saw a dwarf before
today either."
“Well, shit. You must’ve really been living under a rock. Wait, never mind,
dwarves live there too,” he smiled at his own joke and her lips twitched
upwards.
They approached the ruins of the temple and all that was left standing were
random bits of wall. All around them were corpses either burnt to a crisp and
petrified from the heat, some corpses were still burning. The familiar smell of
burning corpses caused her eyes to fall to the ground and she slowed her pace
to fall in step behind Cassandra. The other three watched her, but she offered
no explanation and didn’t look like she was going to either so they remained
silent. They reached the inner circle of the temple and took a moment to rest
before Lelianna rounded the corner.  By the Divines! I should not be acting
this way. It’s been years since-  She couldn’t even finish the thought,
thankfully Lelianna found them.
“You’re here! Thank the Maker.”
“Have your people take up position around the temple,” Lelianna nodded and
moved to obey Cassandra’s command. “This is our chance to end this. Are you
ready?”
She looked at the Seeker with a blank expression and nodded silently and
followed her down the pathway to the Breach itself just as she had before. They
made their way down the pathway and she listened as voices sounded all around
them.
“Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice.” something in the
man’s voice seemed familiar to her, as if a memory was trying to claw it’s way
to the surface, but was blocked somehow.
“What are we hearing?” Cassandra asked the group.
“At a guess: The person who created the Breach.” Solas responded.
Out of the corner of her eye she sees a giant red crystal jutting from the
ground and she sees Varric stiffen and eye the crystal warily, “You know this
stuff is red lyrium, Seeker.”
“I see it, Varric,” Cassandra sounded strained.
“But what’s it doing here?”
“Magic could have drawn on the lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it…”
“Ugh, it’s evil. Whatever you do, don’t touch it.” Varric shuddered at the mere
thought of it and Seranni knew there was more to the story and made a note of
it.
The disembodied voice spoke again, “Keep the sacrifice still.”
“Someone help me!” a female voice cried out in fear. Again it felt as if a
memory was trying to claw it's way to the surface of her mind, but there was
something stopping the memory.
“That is Divine Justinia’s voice,” Cassandra turned to look at Seranni in
shock.
She offers no explanation, for she cannot give one. They continue down the path
and once they reach the bottom level a vision appears before them. They see
Divine Justinia held in midair by a tall shadowy figure before they hear
Seranni’s voice.
“What’s going on here?”
“That was your voice, Most Holy called out to you, but…” Cassandra is cut off
by Divine Justinia speaking again.
“Run while you can, warn them.”
The man spoke again, “We have an intruder. Slay the girl!”
The images disappeared and Cassandra rounded on Seranni again, “You were there
then. Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we
seeing?”
Her eyes narrowed at Cassandra, “I don’t remember, if I knew what happened here
do you think I would be looking around as lost as you all are?”
“Echoes of what happened here, the Fade bleeds into this place,” Solas spoke
sagely, “this rift is not sealed, but it is closed...albeit temporarily. I
believe with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and
safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other
side.”
“That means demons. Stand ready!” Cassandra shouted to all the warriors
gathered.
She waited until everyone was in position before she extended her will towards
the rift. She heard the same question again, ‘open or close?’ This time she
willed for it to open and the rift leapt at her instruction. Before them
appeared the largest demon she had ever seen. It looked like a giant Kossith
and she gulped nervously as the demon crackled electric whips from his hands.
She placed her barriers around the people fighting the demon on the ground and
tried to use her own electricity to redirect his. It worked, but it hurt as the
electricity she redirected from the demon crackled along her own body. She
breathed through the pain just as she had always done and welcomed the pain as
a part of her. She used her right hand to continue to redirect the demons
electric attacks as she extended her left hand and her will to close the rift
above them. She seemed to only weaken the rift in stages, with each stage the
demon seemed to get weaker, but more shades came out of the rift with each
stage as well. Solas caught on to what she was doing and began to mimic her,
except he redirected the electrical energy directly to the enemy shades instead
of in on himself. Finally the demon went down one last time and remained
kneeling for longer than he had before and she extended her hand and will
towards the rift once more. She saw the rift at the bottom of the green pillar
close, but saw nothing more as her world was encompassed in darkness once more.
***** Hissrad Returns *****
Chapter Summary
     Warning, we have a magical BAMF
Chapter Notes
     Edit Date: 1-27-18
     Word Count Before Edit: 4357
     Word Count After Edit: 4462
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Seranni, Varric, Solas, and Cassandra had just returned from Val Royeaux and
the Hinterlands, they had gained a couple of allies and on their way back to
Haven they had stopped in the Hinterlands once more to recruit another ally.
Vivienne would make a great Tamassran, she commanded respect and dignity of
herself and those around her. Unfortunately that included Seranni and Sera,
Vivienne would not stop bickering with Sera. Sera would not stop trying to goad
Vivienne into an undignified screaming match of some sort, she was sure that
that was Sera’s end goal here. To show Vivienne that she was still a person
under all that fop. It was really kind of cute until Vivienne decided to be a
bitch about it.
Blackwall was another story altogether. She had never met a grey warden and was
unsure what to think of him. He was certainly a capable warrior, but there was
something off about him. His unconscious movements spoke of a life of ease and
silks, yet here he was helping farmers to defend themselves from bandits.
From what she had seen of southern nobility she was very disappointed and
thought back on her experiences in Skyrim.  Guess nobles are assholes no matter
where you go. At least in Skyrim I could not only murder them, but get paid for
it as well.  Seranni thought back to Hissrad, he would have made the nobles
around him look the fools without them even realizing it until it was too late.
She missed her friend and stared at his dagger. She wondered, not for the first
time, what had happened to him after Seheron.
She entered the makeshift war room with Cassandra and reported all that had
happened in Val Royeaux and the Hinterlands. The Heads of the Inquisition
looked at her impressed by her efficiency with her report, she gave better
reports than many of their soldiers. Once she was finished she turned and left
them to continue their discussions. She made her way out of the Chantry and saw
a soldier standing in front of the chantry doors.
“Excuse me, I’ve got a message for the Inquisition, but I’m having a hard time
getting anyone to talk to me,” he seemed friendly enough so she agreed for him
to tell her his message, “We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries working out
on the storm coast. My company Commander, Iron Bull, offers the information
free of charge. If you’d like to see what the Bull’s Chargers and do for the
Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work.”
“What should the Inquisition know about your commander?”
“Iron Bull? He’s one of those Qunari. Big guys with horns?” she exhaled
marginally sharper through her nose at the description. When they were at
Madame de Fer’s chateau, she had overheard some of the noble women talking
about the Bull’s Chargers being led by a Qunari, but she had hoped they were
wrong when she had spoken with Cremisius Aclassi as he had introduced himself.
“He leads from the front, he pays well, and he’s a lot smarter than the last
bastard I worked for.”
Her lips quirked upwards at the description and nodded her understanding and
told the soldier to make sure to get some food in his belly before heading back
out. She turned and walked back into the Chantry and knocked on the door before
entering the War Room again. She waited silently until their current topic of
discussion came to a close before she spoke her piece.
“The Lieutenant of Bull’s Chargers has just delivered a message to me saying
that there are Tevinter mercenaries out on the Storm Coast. If we were to wish
to hire his company all we need do is send a party out there to watch him and
his team work,” she reported to them and turned to leave until Cassandra
touched her shoulder and gestured for her to stay.
She waited for them to speak to her, they all looked at her nervously until
Cassandra blurted out, “We would like to send you to meet with this mercenary
group Lady Herald.”
She slightly narrowed her eyes at Cassandra for the Lady Herald comment, “If
you send me, then you will be sending me as the official emissary of the
Inquisition are you not?”
Josephine looked to the Herald with surprise, “Yes, that was our intent.”
“Then you will abide by my decisions in the field,” she asked the four heads of
the Inquisition.
“Such as?” Cullen inquired.
“You have all been arguing between allying ourselves with either the mages or
the templars for weeks, I’m assuming that you will be sending me as Herald.
However, this is different, I am going out and acting on behalf of the
Inquisition. Therefore whether or not I choose to hire this mercenary company
is completely in my hands?” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lelianna smile
in approval.
“Yes, that is our plan. Is there a problem with that?” Lelianna asked sweetly.
“None at all, just so long as everyone is clear. Is there anything else you
would like me to take care of on the way to the Storm Coast?”
“Who would you like to take with you to the Storm Coast?” Josephine asked
sweetly.
“Cassandra, Sera, Varric, and Vivienne, let her know that I want to continue to
discuss Circle technique if she is willing to continue to teach me. If that is
all, I will prepare to leave for the Storm Coast in the morning,” with that she
walked out of the Chantry walked to the left and sat herself on her knees in
the snow and she stared at the ground. She knew she was kneeling in snow, but
she didn’t care. This was a lot to process, the world was ending and here she
was worrying whether or not the Qunari Mercenary Commander was Tal-Vashoth or
not. Sure she had faced worse in Skyrim and had been in charge of organizations
as large as, if not larger, than the Inquisition. However, never before had she
immediately been thrust into such a position.
She didn’t know how long she sat there in the snow, but suddenly Cassandra’s
voice rang around her and she felt Cassandra’s presence as she approached,
“Lady Seranni, what are you doing?” She looked around and saw Varric staring at
her, his mouth agape as the rest of the crowd that surrounded her slowly began
to dissipate. She noticed that Solas looked particularly concerned and she
turned her attention back to Varric.
“What the fuck? I-I have no words, I was trying for three hours to get your
attention. I brought Solas over, Vivienne, Sera, Blackwall, Flissa, hell I even
brought Jim over. But as soon as Cassandra come waltzing out of the Chantry you
just perk right up don’t you,” he sounded exhausted and confused.
“Next time get Cassandra first,” she rose and walked over to Cassandra and
lowered her voice to a whisper, “Cassandra, I need you, now please.” Cassandra
nodded and followed her to her cabin and once inside she stood in the center of
her cabin and turned to face the Seeker.
“Your watchword?”
She sighed, “Dathrasi.”
Cassandra had convinced her that she didn’t have to wear her collar anymore,
but she had convinced Cassandra that sometimes she needed the pain to cope with
some things. (Like suddenly being thrust into a position of power.) She got a
sense of clarity from it, it was like a drug for her, but it helped her to
function. So they created the system that whenever Seranni needed the pain she
would go to Cassandra. They would reaffirm her watchword that would cause
Cassandra to cease the use of her smite ability. She had yet to actually use
her watchword outside their confirmation ritual, but they had come up with this
system after Cassandra saw her without any form of pain in the Hinterlands. She
was much better this way, but Cassandra hated doing this to her each time.
Cassandra used her ability on Seranni and watched for any sign of change and
kept it going for as long as she could. As usual no outward signs were shown,
but she closed her eyes like usual and Cassandra watched as peace settled
across Seranni’s features. She would never understand this need to feel pain
like this, but it helped her friend and she felt her reserves run out and her
ability’s affects ended.
Her eyes opened and she helped Cassandra to sit on her bed beside her, she knew
Cassandra wanted to discuss her need for pain this time and she began to speak
before Cassandra could ask, “It’s one thing being sent when they specifically
request the Herald of Andraste. It’s an entirely different thing when I am
being sent where my choices change things and I’m the one sent as an official
chosen emissary of the Inquisition. Does that make sense?”
Cassandra nodded, she had never felt that way, but Seranni was very good with
her words when she was comfortable around the person. She was very expressive
too, she smiled broadly and her eyebrows quirked with an attitude that
Cassandra appreciated. Her wit was sharper than even Vivienne and Cassandra saw
how much of her intellect she hid from the world.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what was your childhood like?”
The effect was immediate, Seranni sat up ramrod straight and looked to the
ground in thought, Cassandra gave her time to think, she had tried to broach
the subject before, but had always been diverted to another subject. Even so,
Cassandra could see the clear signs of tragedy in Seranni’s past.
Seranni’s eyes went from the floor to Cassandra’s face and she watched as the
young Herald examined her face, “My first memories are of my Tama teaching me
my colors and animals, I was a year old.”
She then told Cassandra all of what had happened up to her first meeting with
Flemeth. What she had endured under Dathrasi’s care, what he had made her do to
her Tama, and all about her time in Seheron. (minus the absorption of the
Dragon’s soul in that cave.) Cassandra nodded her understanding and when
Seranni was finished she got up and let the Herald get comfortable for the
night, “If you like, I can come with you to meet with the Qunari Mercenary.
I’ll watch your back, Seranni. No matter what.”
She smiled at Cassandra, she reminded her of a mother bear protecting her cub
and she appreciated the protection she offered. She just felt it was far too
late for her to need protection. She drifted off to sleep and dreamed of
Hissrad. She dreamed of Hissrad every night on their way to the Storm Coast,
some nights he was being tortured and killed in front of her. Some nights he
was living it up as the Arishok, then on the last night before they were to
meet with this Iron Bull, she had a dream about Hissrad that she had never had
about him before.
Her dream began with her and Hissrad going around and healing some of the sick
in Seheron as they had many times during her time with him. Once they were done
healing the sick and injured, he led her to an empty room in the clinic and
gently held her head in his hands, just as he had the night he had left. Only
this time he brought his mouth down to meet hers and her stitches melted away
as his lips molded to hers. She felt his hands slide down her body, mapping
every curve with his fingers. He slid his arms up to her torso and slid the
cloth of her Antaam-saar to the side, revealing her breasts to him.
He pulled back and eyed her hungrily. She stood inhumanly still as he had left
her and he slowly undid the breeches of her uniform. One hand slid her breeches
off her legs as the other cupped her heat and she moaned as she felt him enter
a finger inside her. Her hands gripped his horns as she bucked her hips against
his fingers. Suddenly his mouth replaced his fingers and the intensity of the
sensation in her dream caused her to wake with a jolt, she looked to her right
to see Cassandra still sleeping peacefully and she slowly left her tent.
They journeyed to the Storm Coast and the morning they were to arrive went
normal as they worked to pack up their campsite back onto the horses. They
should be arriving at the Inquisition forward camp around what the nobles
called brunch time and they would receive a report from the scout of the area
and see what The Bull’s Chargers was all about. They met with Scout Harding
again and were told that these Blades of Hessarian needed to be dealt with. She
made a mental note and made her way to the place where they were to observe the
Bull and his Chargers. She was thinking on the meaning of the name of the
Company when flashes of grey caught her attention down on the beach.
She looked at their Qunari leader and froze. She was sure she wasn’t even
breathing, she would have thought her heart had stopped as well if it weren’t
currently pounding in her chest. There, on the beach, was Hissrad doing what he
loved doing, raising his kill count. She barely kept her face neutral, but then
she saw an enemy sneaking up behind him. Out of reflex she snapped a barrier
around him and shot lightning at the enemy. It wasn’t until Hissrad turned that
she realized he knew the enemy had been there and looked up the hill and she
saw the moment when he saw her. He froze for a moment, she raised her hand in
an awkward half-wave and he shook his head and turned to return to the fight.
She began to lead her Inquisition party down the hill, she kept her barrier
around Hissrad up out of habit and made sure to keep herself within range for
her barrier to completely encompass him. By the time they made it down to the
beach all the enemies were dead and she saw Hissrad pointedly not look at her
and she waited patiently.
“Chargers! Stand down! Krem, how’d we do?”
“Five or six wounded Chief! No dead,” Cremisius responded.
“That’s what I like to hear, have the throat cutters finish up, then break out
the casks,” the moment Hissrad turned his attention back to the Inquisition
party she fought to keep her composure, who knew what the re-educators had done
to him. However, as he stared at their approaching party, she heard him say it.
The two words in all the worlds that would make her run to him.
“Side Arm!” She broke off at a dead run, straight for him. She leaped and
landed in his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.
She whispered, ‘Hissrad’ in his ear and hugged him tighter while making sure
not to cut off his airway. She heard Cassandra clear her throat behind her, but
she didn’t care. Hissrad was back in her life, she felt whole again. Once she
had whispered his name in his ear he hugged her back just as tightly and she
felt him take a few shuddering breaths against her. He slowly lowered her to
the ground and slowly pulled himself back so that he could look at her. His eye
roamed her face and her eyes roamed his. She looked to his left eye, or rather
where it used to be and placed her hand against his face. He leaned into her
touch for a moment before he pulled back and looked at her questioningly.
“Turns out I won’t need you for these negotiations, Cassandra,” she called out,
refusing to let her eyes leave Hissrad.
“If you’re sure, Herald,” she could hear a little bit of worry in Cassandra’s
voice, she would tell her what was going on later, right now she just wanted to
talk with Hissrad. For the first time they could talk to each other.
He led her to where two large rocks sat facing each other and would make great
seats, they both sat facing each other for a moment. To an outsider it would
look as if they were just staring at each other, but to each other they were
deciding who would share their journey first and Hissrad won the argument when
she scrunched up her face in defeat, “fine.”
“So that’s what your voice sounds like,” she grinned at his tease.
“Yeah, after I left your tent I headed South until I could no longer see the
camp and immediately headed East.” She shifted nervously, “Traveled quite a bit
after that.” She didn’t think that he would honestly believe her if she
suddenly started talking about magic mirrors that sent you to other realms.
“I turned myself in to the re-educators and they evaluated me. They then
immediately sent me out here to Orlais and Ferelden area to be a Ben-Hassrath
agent. Now what’s this business with you being the Herald of Andraste? bet the
Chantry just loves you. Mage Herald of Andraste raised by the Qun,” Hissrad
chuckled at the mental image. He had noticed her reluctance to talk about
anything that happened between Seheron and now, and he let it go. She would
tell him when she was ready, or when it became relevant, like how she had the
aura of a Dragon now.
“So, The Iron Bull?”
“Er, yeah, I needed a name other than Hissrad, so while I’m here call me Bull
or Iron Bull, no Hissrad,” she nodded her confirmation. “I still send reports
back.”
“If it were anyone else that was the Herald of Andraste, would you tell them
that you are Ben-Hassrath?”
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“Then all of your reports go through Lelianna, you send nothing she doesn’t
approve,” he grinned at her.
“I knew you were the one drawing on my maps,” she grinned at him.
“But, did you die?!” she teased him.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Krem approach and the grin left her face
as her mask came back into place. Bull saw this and pondered at it, “You
remember Krem?”
Krem looked at Bull oddly, “your worship,” he nodded his greeting, “Throat
cutters are done chief.”
“Already? Better have them check again, don’t want any of those Tevinter
bastards getting away, no offense Krem.”
“None taken, least a bastard knows who his mother was. Puts him one up on you
Qunari right?”
Seranni’s eyes widened at the banter and felt good that Bull had found more of
his kind of people, not only those that could take it, but dish it right back
out. Bull loved that kind of bantering and she had wished more than once that
she could have participated in it in her youth.
Bull laughed as Krem walked away, “Ah, Krem’s a good guy," he looked at her
sidelong, asking her one of their old non verbal question games.
‘Would you bang him?’
She shrugged, ‘Dunno, maybe.’
He grinned at her, “Now I can ask you questions and not have a record of it
somewhere.”
She held her face in one hand as she shook her head, “Why do I suddenly regret
having a voice around you?” He laughed at her and she had a thought, “so are we
going to tell everyone here that we know each other?”
He shrugged at her, “most of my boys know I’m Ben-Hassrath, if I say I knew you
from Seheron they’ll understand.”
She nodded her agreement, “alright, let’s go tell these folks the happy news.”
“We’re getting married?!” he asked hopefully.
“No, that I’m pregnant, silly,” she quipped back.
“Right, right, I keep forgetting that one.”
“Well it is the reason for the one you always list first.”
“At least I’m making an honest woman out of you.”
“Well,” she paused too long, “shit!”
“First round goes to me,” he spoke smugly.
“You’ve had more practice than I have,” he grinned at her as she started a new
round.
“Ah, but you have watched more matches than I have.”
“Watching and doing are very different things.”
His lips pursed in frustration, “fuuuuuuuck,” he drew out the sound of the
word.
“And we’re tied,” the smug look left her face as they came up to their groups
of people.
“Alright boys, pack it up! The Chargers just got hired!”
Krem shouted out at Bull from across the group, “But chief! What about the
casks? We just opened them up! With Axes.”
“Well then seal them. You’re Tevinter, right? Try Blood magic!”
Seranni rolled her eyes at him, “Yep, definitely your men, Bull.” She walked
over to the cask that had been swung at with an axe and ran her hand along the
wood. Bull watched as it repaired itself just as he remembered her doing all
those years ago in Seheron when a farmer’s family chest had been swung at with
axes. The poor man thought his family treasure was lost until he showed up with
her, she had wanted to help the man and had begged him with her eyes, so of
course he let her do it. The unbridled joy that it had brought both her and the
farmer was worth it.
“So, boss, what’s your plan for me, you want me to head to Haven or stick
around with you?” She didn’t say anything, but instead looked at him
incredulously, he chuckled at her, “Hey, Krem, head on back to Haven without
me. She’s taking me up on the offer of Bodyguard right away.”
“Sure thing chief,” was the response and Varric noticed that their Herald’s
small smile grew a little that day. He also picked up on their little game of
one liners that keep a cohesive story, it was actually a really good tool for
him to keep him on his toes so he joined in on the rounds. Sera played
sometimes, but she got bored with it and went to bother Vivienne. Cassandra
noticed how at ease Seranni seemed with the Iron Bull around, you have to be
blind to miss it. The only people from Seranni’s past that fit this kind of
relationship were her first Arvaarad, which Seranni obviously had mixed
feelings about, and Hissrad.
They found the dead scouting party and Seranni saw a book that talked about the
Blades of Hessarian and read about a rite of challenge to take over their
little band. They made their way back to an Inquisition camp and she sat down
at a table and began working the materials into the shape of the Mercy’s Crest
necklace from the book. She hadn’t decided how she would deal with them yet,
but wanted to have her options open to her. She went to sleep that night and
when she woke the next morning she decided to don the necklace she had made
last night and deal with these Blades as peacefully as possible.
She challenged their leader to one on one combat and asked her companions to
step back. They all grew worried, except for Bull, when the leader opened the
two cages to his sides, releasing the Mabari within. The only thing that
stopped them was Bull’s hand raising in a signal to wait and watched eagerly.
She extended her hand towards the leader of the Blades and suddenly he was on
fire while the Mabari had electricity arcing between them. “You ordered the
deaths of innocent soldiers for your greed. This is intolerable, may you suffer
a thousand infernos for the crimes you have committed.”
Bull watched her face as he read her actions, she had quickly and painlessly
dispatched of the dogs. The man however she was making him suffer before he
died, she understood mercy and gave it to those she deemed worthy. She hadn’t
really changed too much since Seheron, insofar as her rules went.
“Good to know some things never change, boss,” Bull grinned at her and Varric
looked between the two.
“‘Some things never change’? Care to explain Inferno,” she raised her eyebrow
at his nickname for her and she sighed.
“Rule 16,” she then walked away to talk to the Lieutenant that would run the
Inquisition’s presence on the Coast.
“If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it.”
“I don’t get it,” Cassandra asked.
“He was a warrior, he saw her as a weak little mage and to further his
overconfidence he had two Mabari attack dogs. He thought he had this in the
bag, but instead she quickly took out his dogs and if you’ll notice, he’s not
dead.” He nodded to the crispy looking man crouched in front of the throne. By
the time they noticed him, Seranni came back and wrapped a clean blanket around
him.
“I could have killed you, I didn’t. I will heal you now and if you attempt to
do anything like this again I will come after you and do the same thing, only I
will not heal you afterwards. Understood?”
The man slowly nodded his head and shook as if he were sobbing, she placed a
glowing blue hand on the man’s face and Bull watched as she healed the man
before her. He had known what she was capable of back in Seheron, he understood
that this was their first time seeing her do something like this. Seeing
something that you can’t wrap your head around as if it couldn’t possibly be
possible to happen. Like a ring of fire made by a little girl who wanted to
protect her people. He was proud that she did offer mercy now, far more freely
than she had before.
Soon the man was healed and he knelt at her feet and wept. She called for the
man she would be leaving in charge to get a pack ready for him. The man
returned moments later with a pack that he handed to her. She knelt and pulled
the man to stand beside her.
Suddenly he turned her around in his arms with her dagger pressed against her
throat, “alright nobody move, now here’s going to ha- aaaaaaaauuuuuuuggh.”
He began screaming as he let go of both her and her dagger, she bent down and
picked it back up. She left him barely conscious in a charred and crispy husk,
she told the other Blades to do with him as they wished, but she was done here.
Chapter End Notes
     Upon hearing Seranni's life story, Cassandra immediately went to
     Josephine and asked about all the requirements for adopting an adult
     girl into her family. Josephine wondered where this was coming from
     with the Seeker and pulled out the appropriate documents, perhaps the
     seeker wished to adopt one of the orphans that flocked Haven. The
     Seeker didn't seem that kind of woman however. She sat down at
     Josephine's desk and filled out the paperwork and when Josephine saw
     the name of the girl she wished to adopt.
     "You can not be serious?!"
     "Of course I'm serious, Josephine. I want to adopt her into my
     family."
     "But why? I mean won't that cause problems with-" Josephine was cut
     off by Cassandra explaining the situation before she could even ask.
     "That won't be an issue, she has no one else."
     "Well, if you're sure then, but you'll need her signature as well."
     "That won't be a problem, we'll get it in the morning, for now we
     will let her rest."
     The next morning Seranni was awoken by Cassandra holding a piece of
     paper in front of her.
     "One of the orphan children wanted the signature of the Herald of
     Andraste so that she had something that could give her a sense of
     safety."
     "Oh," she groggily took the quill from Cassandra and signed her
     sloppy signature on the piece of parchment and waved Cassandra off.
     It wasn't until she had had her morning cup of coffee that she
     realized the odd behavior of Cassandra asking for her signature for
     an orphan child.
***** Wants and Desire *****
Chapter Summary
     Edit Date: 1-27-18
     Word Count Before Edit: 2379
     Word Count After Edit: 3050
When they all returned to Haven she made Bull come with her to the war council
meeting, once all six people were there she cleared her throat to make sure she
had everyone’s attention. “Lelianna, you probably already know everything I’m
about to say, but I wanted Cassandra to be here to also corroborate what I’m
about to tell you.”
He looked at her questioningly, ‘what you going to tell them?’
She looked at Bull and took a deep breath and nodded her head at him, ‘that you
are to be trusted.’
He settled into silence as she spoke, “first to set your fears aside,
Cassandra, this is Hissrad.” Some of the tension in the warrior woman’s
shoulders eased and Bull realizes that she had told this woman much of her past
indeed.
“Secondly, he is a Ben-Hassrath agent. Before you protest Cullen, he is the
best Ben-Hassrath agent that could have possibly landed on our doorstep.” she
looked at him sadly, “because he’s already proven that he will cover for me. If
not for him, I wouldn’t be here right now. I would probably be either back in
Seheron, Par Vollen, or dead.”
“But you are a mage, so you-” Josephine’s eyes widened in horror as every
terrifying thing she had heard that the Qun does to their mages, it made the
circle look like a petting zoo.
“I am Saarebas, I grew up under the Qun and when Hissrad left Seheron it was
not safe for me to remain with the Qun and live, so I ran. He made that
possible, so when I tell you that I trust this man with my life, I mean to tell
you that he held my life in the palm of his hand.” She took out the control rod
that she still strapped to her thigh even though she didn’t wear the collar
anymore.
“He held my life in the palm of his hand and he gave it back to me. Take that
as you will, I leave for Redcliffe to meet with the mages in the morning with
Bull, Sera, and Solas. Have a good evening,” with that she walked out of the
war room with Bull following her lead once again. She grimaced. *At least walk
beside me, Hissrad. It feels weird to have you follow my lead.* she switched to
Qunlat as they exited the Chantry.
“Meravas, Boss.”
“And quit calling me boss,” she grimaced at the man beside her.
*Not like I can call you Saarebas,* Bull commented.
*No, you can’t call me Saarebas, but you could call me Side Arm, like you used
to. Like you did at the Storm Coast. Hell, Varric calls me Inferno,* she
continued in Qunlat until she heard Varric’s jovial voice calling out to her.
“Hey I heard my name over there, you two better not be talking about me behind
my back,” he grinned at them good naturedly, but she could see the unease in
Varric’s eyes. He was terrified of her, just like Vivienne was. Cassandra had
gotten a taste of what she could do from their regularly scheduled Smite
sessions. Bull had already seen what she could do in Seheron, so she stuck
closer to him.
Bull smiled and waved good naturedly back at the dwarf, *so how did life treat
you?*
She knew what he was really asking her, he was asking about the Qunari symbol
branded into her lower back and the scarred skin that covered her right arm. He
was asking her about what had happened before she had come to him. He saw her
fall into her old pattern of walking with her eyes on the ground, but using her
peripheral vision to navigate the world as she thought to herself.
Finally she responded when they left the gates of Haven behind them and they
began to walk around the frozen pond just outside the gate, *My magic
manifested when I was three years old.* She didn’t have to look at his face to
see the growing horror on his features, she had learned from Arvaarad that
Saarebas weren’t trained unless they were at least five years of age. Below
that was deemed too traumatic for the Saarebas to be of any use, even under
Qamek.
*My Tama told them I had just turned five years, she made me promise to do
whatever they told me to do, no matter what it was that they told me to do.
When I finished my training and was assigned to Dathrasi.* She cleared her
throat, *That’s what I called the idiot Arvaarad I had.* She paused again as
she listened to Hissrad laugh. She was supposed to think of him as Iron Bull
now. Things were confusing back in Thedas, she knew how powerful she was
compared to everyone around her, she knew everyone else felt it and that was
why they were uneasy.
*Anyway, when they assigned me to Dathrasi, he tested me. He made me attack
stationary dummies before healing my Tama. You remember the interrogations that
Dathrasi would do with me?*
Bull nodded silently, his stomach rolling with sickness as he felt he knew what
would come next for her, “yeah.”
*He had me do that to her first, he and Viddasala knew that my Tama had lied
about my age. They seemed angry at her for more things than just turning
children away from the Qun. They seemed angry at her for the number of kids she
had that were loyal to her, if that makes any sense,* she shook her head as she
cleared her head.
“Shit, that was right before you came to Seheron,” his eyes fell to her right
hand, covered in scars that had seemed to have been from an intense flame. She
stopped at the edge of the pond on the opposite side of Haven. She looked up
towards the Chantry of Haven as she flexed her right arm.
“Yeah,” suddenly she dropped down and kneeled in the snow, staring at the
ground. He silently sat next to her in the snow and watched the sky in silence
as he waited for her to process all that had happened. Everything that
resurfaced when she had talked about Tama this time around. She wanted to
scream and cry out, lashing out with her magic. She trembled with a need to
feel something, the pain that released her. She wished that she wore her collar
again and Iron Bull could give it to her, like he had before. He had even used
a similar system that Cassandra did, only she would tap her left leg twice if
she wanted it to stop.
“By the Nine, you don’t even know what I am capable of,” she hates not being
able to tell him what she is capable of, she wants to tell him all about
Skyrim. How dragons were such a problem there. She wanted to tell him about the
month facing, on average, three dragons a day. He would love those stories. He
would love hearing about Farkas and Vilkas and all the Companions. It would
pique his interest that she had assassinated the Emperor of the region. He
would get a laugh out of Cicero and J’zargo. Hell, she’d love to tell him about
Khajiit in general, but so long as he serves the Qun she can’t tell him
anything about Skyrim or her true abilities. Some in the Qun could try and work
a way of finding the mirrors that led her here.
***
Bull watched Saarebas- Seranni, he corrects himself, kneel in the snow. He
watches as she wars with something within her. What was with the phrase, ‘By
the Nine’? What happened to her? Every sense I have is telling me there is a
horde of dragons right where Seranni is. Gah, Seranni is just too weird, guess
I’m stuck with Side Arm.He felt his jaw clench as he fought the urge to hold
her. It was not an unfamiliar urge, he had had the feeling many times before.
There was something different this time. This time, he wanted more. He wanted
to stand between her and the coming war that he could see claiming her. He
wanted to take her away from all of this, she didn’t want to lead these people,
yet here she was. She was their only option and she was doing better than he
could have hoped for. Didn’t change how he felt.
He watched as she shifted and sat on her butt. She brought her knees up and
wrapped her arms around them. He saw her thumb shift towards the center of her
chest, but just before her thumb made contact, it stopped. Instead she turned
her head to look at him.
“Please,” was all she said as she placed her hand on the ground. He knew what
she wanted, he didn’t have the rod this time and she didn’t have the collar. He
did have a dagger, he had seen her heal often enough that he knew her
abilities. At least, I know what they were.
***
Seranni gasped at the feeling of the dagger slicing through her hand. She knew
that he had avoided slicing bones and tendons. The tension rolled out of her
shoulders a bit. She knew that he saw tension leaving her and placed her free
hand on top of the dagger to keep it there a moment longer. She stared into his
eye and felt her core stirring.
“What did you feel when you first saw me?” His deep timbre somehow not
disturbing the moment they were wrapped in.
Her heart hammered in her chest as if she were seeing him for the first time
all over again. Her mind ran through her emotions from that day, emotions that
she had been feeling since he came back into her life. There was only one word
that could come close to describing how she felt.
“Whole.”
She saw the change in his eye that her word brought about, she knew he wanted
something, but what she didn’t know. She didn’t know what she wanted from him,
let alone what he wanted. She knew she had to leave before they did something
either would regret. She moved her hand from the hilt of the dagger and Hissrad
removed the dagger. On reflex, she healed her hand and rose gracefully from the
snow.
“We should prepare for Redcliffe.”
***
Bull watched her leave, curiosity and hunger burned in his eyes. There was
probably something wrong with him somewhere that he now saw the woman who had
once been his charge as an incredibly sexy Herald of Andraste. He nearly
groaned at that train of thought, he would have to distract himself with one of
the Chantry sisters that had been eyeballing him like he was a piece of meat.
***
Seranni didn’t look up until she had closed the door of her cabin. She leaned
against her door and looked up to her ceiling as she calmed her breathing. She
didn’t know how to deal with what she was feeling towards Hissrad. It was far
more intense than anything she had felt for anyone in Skyrim. She felt eyes on
her and refocused her attention back to the inside of her cabin. Her eyes
narrowed on the figure that sat in a chair, casually watching her.
“Do you require my assistance, Solas?” She raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
“Ah, yes, I was curious as to who your parents were?”
“I assume you’re talking about my biological parents, in which case I have no
idea who they were.” Her Tama would have known who her parents had been and she
swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I grew up under the Qun, now if you
don’t mind I would like to pack to return to the Hinterlands in peace.”
She saw the moment of horror cross his face as he processed her words. She had
heard about Circle life from the Circle mages that had joined the Inquisition
and from Vivienne. He cleared his throat and rose quickly, she saw questions
raging behind his eyes but he only cleared his throat, mumbled an apology and
left her cabin. She undid the braid in her hair that Cassandra had taught her
in the Hinterlands. She liked being able to have long hair and kept it braided
in a circle around her head, she was forever grateful to Cassandra for teaching
her this method, it looked pretty and was functional.
She carefully wrapped the leather band that Cassandra had given her for her
hair and placed it on the bedside table. She placed Hissrad’s Dagger next to
the leather band just as carefully. She decided that if anyone heard her talk
about Hissrad’s Dagger, then she could write it off as a favored weapon that
just happened to be named that. She peeled herself out of her armor and
clothing. With each piece of clothing that came off, a myriad of tattoos were
revealed. None were on the scarred tissue of her right arm and none went near
the symbol of the Qun branded on her lower back. She brushed her thumb over one
mark in particular.
“Mora,” it was said no louder than a whisper, but if anyone had heard the word,
they would have heard the power behind it.
A middle-aged man appeared before her, he was dressed impeccably and held a
cane in his hand. The handle of the cane looked to be an octopus with many
eyes, the tentacles of the octopus intertwining down the length of he cane. He
was not alone.
“Sugar Tits!” Before anything more could happen, Seranni’s fist met with the
face of the man that had accompanied Mora. “Ouchie. Mora, she hit me again!”
The older man looked pained at having the tag along, “Sam keeps telling you not
to call her that, it’s your fault for not listening, Sheogorath.”
“You’re right,” the younger man shook himself and wrapped his arms around
Seranni in a hug that she never responded to.
“There a reason he tagged along,” she eyed Mora with an annoyed glare.
She leaned away from the man hugging her as he practically bounced with her in
his arms and answered her question himself, “we were worried! You dist-appeared
on us Sug- Champion.”
Seranni rolled her eyes at the Daedric Prince of Madness’ actions, she wiggled
her arm free and placed it on his face and pushed him away from her. “I called
you here, Mora, because I’m going to want access to all our books.”
Mora looked at her carefully, “you’ll add to them?”
“Of course,” she nodded her head to a crate of books that she had asked be
delivered to her cabin, “I read them first, then they’re all yours.”
Mora nodded, ecstatic about gaining more knowledge, especially knowledge from
another world entirely. Though none of his excitement shone to his exterior, he
nodded his agreement and roughly grabbed Sheo by the back of his collar. “Until
next time, my Champion.” Mora disappeared and where he once stood were his
Seven Black Books. Seranni reverently ran her hands over the books and
carefully wrapped them in one of the nicer fur lined cloaks that one of the
villagers had given her. She placed them at the bottom of the chest at the foot
of her bed that held her armor and other nicknacks that the villagers had given
her. She lay down on her bed and forced herself to try to sleep, it had always
come hard for her since leaving the Qun. Eventually sleep came for her and she
was once again besotted with dreams of Hissrad.
It was the day’s events again, only this time she had stayed by the lake and he
had kissed her like she had wanted. He had laid her down in the snow, but she
didn’t care because he had then covered her with his own body and his hands
roamed down her body eliciting moans of pleasure. His hands brushing here,
stroking there. It felt as if he were everywhere and she were clay to be
molded. He brought her hands to rest above her head and held them there with
one hand while the other continued to roam her body.
The dream shifted and suddenly she was held against the wall of her cell in
Seheron, but her lips were not sewn shut as was demonstrated by his tongue
exploring her mouth. He pressed his body against her and she could feel his
hardness through their clothes, hers had changed to her Antaam-taar while his
had remained the same. His hand met with her strained breasts and she moaned as
he rolled her nipple between his nimble fingers. Her hips rolled towards his,
eliciting a loud groan from the man above her. The hand left her breasts and
went back to roaming her body, ghosting across her bare belly, stroking her
neck, circles on her lower back as her hips continued to thrust forwards away
from the wall.
The hand that had been roaming her body stopped and undid the ties of her
leggings with one hand and when they slid to her ankles his fingers immediately
began stroking at her center. His mouth left hers and her head slid back to
rest against the wall, exposing her throat to him. He growled and latched
himself to her breast through the cloth. She cried out in pleasure and pain as
he rolled the nipple between his teeth. He growled against her breast again and
entered a finger inside her and she cried out again as she felt his thick
fingers work within her.
***
As the scene progressed, both parties too distracted to notice anything around
them. Viddasala stood as she watched them in her little corner of the Fade.
‘The All-Father will be pleased’ she thought to herself as she grinned. Just as
The Iron Bull entered his cock inside the little Saarebas she waved her arm and
sent both back to the world of the waking. She chuckled to herself as she
reveled in the power the gained from her partnership. She turned her mind to
her waking duties and woke herself to continue her work against Fen’Harel.
***** Hairbands, Dragons, and Time Rifts *****
Chapter Summary
     Edit Date: 1-27-18
     Word Count Before Edit: 4970
     Word Count After Edit: 4874
The Iron Bull awoke the next morning from the second wet dream he had had about
Side Arm. He ran a hand over his face and sat up in his tent. The chantry
sister he had spent the night with lay curled at his side and he chuckled to
himself at how deeply they slept in the south. He gently kissed her awake and
she went on her way. He knew it was early in the morning, too early for most
people to be awake.
He stretched carefully to not tear his tent with his horns and got ready for
the day. When he was putting on his leg brace he paused for a moment as a
thought crossed his mind.  I wonder if Side Arm would be awake yet , he shook
his head at his own silliness. He knew she would be awake, she always woke up
before everyone. It made him wonder how many times she had woken up alone in
her cell before anyone came to get her. He took a breath and exited his tent,
he was greeted by the sight of Side Arm walking out the gates of Haven. He
thought she was coming to see him again until she veered towards Cassandra’s
tent to the north.
He saw her hair was down and shit, it was long. Had it always been such a
vibrant red though? She appeared to be cradling something in her hands and she
looked upset. He wondered what had happened and before he knew it he was
casually walking to the North and kept his pace far enough away to subtly head
that direction after she had entered the Seeker’s tent after standing in front
of it for a moment. He had never seen her nervous, it had him concerned and as
he came closer he expected to hear a conversation already in motion, but
instead he heard silence.
“Seranni, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Cassandra
sounded closer to him than to the entrance of her tent. Good, she could read
her.
“I broke your hairband,” she whispered.
He heard a huff of an exhale that sounded like Cassandra was holding back a
smile, he grinned. He heard Cassandra take a deep breath before speaking,
“that’s alright, I break mine all the time. Come, I’ll braid your hair if you
like.” He heard her rummage in a bag for something and heard Seranni’s
footfalls on the dirt.
“But, I broke your gift,” he could hear the confusion in her voice. He smiled
to himself, it was good that she had found at least one person she could be
vulnerable with.
“And I said that was alright,” she said firmly, “even if you break a thousand
more, you can always come back and I’ll braid your hair and you can keep the
band I put in.”
Damn, the Seeker would have made a great Tamassran too, right along with
Vivienne. He nodded to himself and continued to casually make his way to the
tavern for breakfast. She was in very good hands from what he had heard. On the
way he met up with Krem who had just exited his tent.
“Hey, Chief. Heading to the tavern for breakfast?” he asked cheerily.
“You’re awfully chipper,” something had caught his eye here in Haven.
“Yeah, the breakfast at this tavern is great,” Krem grinned at Bull as they
came up on the Tavern. Bull saw Krem’s face fall when the door opened and no
music was heard, Bull held back a grin and almost chuckled when Krem’s face lit
up again when he saw the bard helping the barmaid with breakfast service in the
Tavern. The way the two women worked in the small tavern was interesting. They
would each cover half the room and once they took your order, they cooked it
and the other kept that side full with drinks while keeping her own people
happy while she waited for either an order or for her turn in the kitchen. The
two women worked well together and he could tell the practiced hand in running
this way.
“Umm, so Chief, do you want an ale?” Bull shook his head at Krem and chuckled.
Bull led the way over to a table nearby and sat with his back to the wall. It
was on the bard’s side he had made sure and almost as soon as Krem sat down she
walked over and glanced appreciatively at Krem before eyeing Bull.
“So, what can I get you boys, have you had breakfast yet?” the bard’s smile was
happy, she enjoyed doing this. Running the tavern like this was like a dream
come true and he saw the bard’s face fall when more women entered the tavern.
He watched the women make their way to behind the counter of the tavern and
began what looked to be their jobs.
Bull grinned at Krem and spoke before he could have a chance, “I want the
biggest breakfast you can make, miss?”
Krem looked at Bull in horror until Bull flicked his eyes in the bard’s
direction and saw the bard smile brightly at them. Krem saw gratitude cross her
face and wondered what was going on, so he went with it and asked for the same
to be made for him after telling them her name was Maryden. Bull nodded
approvingly and as she walked away to make their breakfast Krem looked at him
expectantly.
“She enjoys running the tavern like that. Running around and cooking every
order herself. Then when the others came in for their shift, she was
disappointed, she may be the bard but she enjoys running a tavern too. I think
they have a system where she gets to finish out whatever orders she has in the
early morning and then they take over, so we will be the last ones she serves
today.” Bull sat back as the barmaid place a mug before them and filled it up
with coffee. One good thing that came out of Tevinter was the delicious coffee
they had.
Their breakfast arrived and they finished it before Seranni and Cassandra
entered the tavern. Her eyes immediately found his and he was glad to see some
of the storms in her eyes from the previous night had cleared. They joined
their table and Maryden finally began strumming her instrument. The timing
couldn’t have been better for Krem, he knew Chief liked to talk, but all he
wanted to do was watch the bard sing and listen to her beautiful voice.
“Hello Iron Bull,” Cassandra nodded in greeting.
“Seeker,” he nodded his greeting back.
Side Arm rolled her eyes and sat down next to Bull, forcing Cassandra to sit
next to Krem, “you two eat already?” Bull nodded in response and waved over a
serving girl to refill his coffee. He wished they had cocoa powder like they
did up north, add some of that to your coffee and it made the bitter drink
delicious and it helped to wake you up.
***
Seranni watched as Bull’s eyes betrayed that the coffee was too bitter for his
tastes. Smiling to herself she pulled out a small jar that she had brought to
breakfast ever since Cassandra had given to her. The Seeker had found out that
she also liked cocoa powder in her coffee and had kept her in a steady supply.
It was nice to have someone take care of her, whether she wished it or not. She
decided to just sit back and enjoy it, she could tell that it eased some part
of the Seeker’s mind where she was concerned.
“Here,” she placed two spoonfuls in Bull’s coffee and two in her own. Bull
watched her as she stirred both mugs of the drinks and watched as she brought
the spoon to her mouth and suddenly something else was entering her mouth in
his mind’s eye. She noticed his sudden stiffness and glanced at him out of the
corner of her eye. He was acting aroused, she quickly scanned the room for a
possible cause of this, but only saw him staring at her. She mentally shrugged
her observation away, if he were attracted to her, then they would have bedded
by now. Hissrad was not one to mince words or hide his intentions despite his
name. A small voice in the back of her mind made an observation, that may have
been true of Hissrad, but The Iron Bull may be different. She mentally shook
herself and refocused herself to the task before her that day, they would be
leaving for the Hinterlands.
Besides, it wasn’t like she was a blushing virgin after her time in Skyrim.
But he doesn’t know about your time in Skyrim, now does he?  And she wouldn’t
tell him the particulars of her time in Skyrim, nor her abilities, unless he
broke away from the Qun. She hated the distance she had to keep him at, but
there was nothing for it.
They finished breakfast and Krem split off to run the Chargers through their
morning drills. Cassandra, Bull, and Seranni made their way to the stables and
she turned to Cassandra. “I want you to stay here and try to contact the
templars, go there if you have to. I know you want to come with me to the
mages, but I want someone I trust to try and make contact with the Templars. We
need all the help we can get.”
Cassandra scowled at her for a moment in silence before she begrudgingly
nodded, “agreed, and best it was a familiar name and face that attempted
contact. In that case you promise me you will be careful, Seranni.”
She nodded solemnly, “I promise, I will be careful.” Cassandra nodded,
satisfied and began to get Seranni’s horse ready with her as Sera and Solas
walked up.
“Alright let’s get this show on the road,” Sera said jovially and quickly made
her way over to a horse that had been saddled already for her. Bull wondered
why the Herald’s horse was not ready to go when they arrived, but the other
ones were. Before he could wonder too much she answered his question before he
had a chance to ask.
“I like to take care of my own mount, Cassandra likes to help,” he nodded at
her explanation and glanced to see Solas looking at her with a mixture of
sorrow and pride. Sera looked down at her own horse thoughtfully.
Cassandra walked with them all the way to the gates of the valley that Haven
rested in, Bull had a feeling that she would stay there for a while even after
the group left her sight. Conversation flowed freely between Sera and Bull.
Solas kept quiet mostly unless Seranni asked him a question. It seemed random
at first, but every so often Seranni would ask him a question about the Fade or
how his own style worked for him. Bull realized that she asked him a question
every time Solas’ annoyance level got rather high with the silliness of the
conversation between Bull and Sera. Pride swelled in his chest at how much his
little Saarebas had grown.
They arrived in the Hinterlands and reported to the Inquisition camp on the
cliff that overlooked the Crossroads. Seranni walked off to the side to listen
to the scout’s report, she leaned over the map as the scout told her of what
was currently plaguing the area this time. There were two dragons that had
moved into the area and she knew the moment Bull heard dragon because his
posture straightened further and his eye glistened with excitement. She asked
about the mages and if they had heard anything out of Redcliffe.
“No Your Worship,” the scout began again.
“Ma’am,” she corrected out of habit, if the soldiers insisted in showering her
with respect and adulation, then they would call her ‘Ma’am’, not Your Worship
or Herald or anything else along those lines. She had never seen much point in
titles, they were just there to be flashy so adventurers could impress local
villages.
“Apologies, Ma’am, Redcliffe has been closed off since the fighting between the
Templars and Mages ran the valley. Since you’ve taken care of that issue, a
dragon moved into the valley and there have been reports of very odd rifts in
the area.”
She nodded her understanding and returned to her group, the only heavy hitter
she had with her was Bull. She didn’t like the idea of facing dragons in a
group, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to split away to take care of them.
Did no good to sit around wishing for things to be different when things needed
to get done and dealt with.
“Alright, so there’s a dragon running rampant in the valley to the west of the
Crossroads,” she began and Bull let out a loud whoop of excitement, “and we
have to take care of that before heading up to Redcliffe. Since Bull and I are
the only ones here that have faced a dragon before, Solas, you and Sera are
going to stay back while Bull and I attack it at close range.”
“What do you mean you’ve faced a dragon?” Sera asked them incredulously.
Seranni smiled her small smile at the memory of the Dragon that had flown in
and tried to make it’s home in a cave in Seheron. She purposely tried to have
an anxious feel around her body, she didn’t want them to know how comfortable
she had gotten at facing Dragons by herself.
“Yeah, back when Bull and I worked together the first time. I think we’ll have
an easier time of it this time. Not so many people to get in the way this
time,” she glanced at Bull and saw the excitement rolling off of him in waves.
“Yeah, let’s go Side Arm,” with that he headed down the path that led to the
crossroads and was the quickest way to the valley. She rolled her eyes at him
as she followed him.
Luckily they emerged from the tunnel to the west of the Crossroads that led to
the valley. They emerged and heard the telltale screech of a dragon and they
all readied their weapons. Bull and Seranni led them through the underbrush and
the dragon came into view. It was currently on the ground and it was breathing
fire at the ground in a circle.
“Looks like a giant freaking dog, turning in circles like that,” Sera
whispered.
“It appears to be attempting to start a nest for itself,” Solas observed.
“Yeah, right in the middle of the road,” Sera whispered back.
“Pashaara, enough, be quiet,” Seranni hissed her command to the two elves. Bull
led the way, sneaking around to a better vantage point and Seranni used her
hands to tell the other two to stay where she wanted them before joining him.
They silently moved through the hills and came around to the opposite side of
the dragon so that they flanked the dragon.
Once they were in position, Bull gave a great shout and charged at the dragon.
It’s head perked up at Bull’s noise and Seranni snapped a barrier around him as
the dragon roared before breathing fire at him.
“Taarsidath-an halsaam!” she heard him shout above the roar of the flames. She
shook her head and chuckled to herself at Bull and moved from her hiding place
and willed for her magic to create a large Great Axe. She felt the weight of
her weapon and nearly grinned like a crazy person. She wasn’t as familiar with
her Great Axe as she was with her swords, but she didn’t want to make it too
easy.
She was eternally grateful that the dragon had not taken to the skies and she
hadn’t been forced to use Dragon Rend to tether it to the ground. However,
there was nothing she could do as the dragon died and she absorbed it's soul.
It’s soul joined the chorus of the other dragons from Skyrim and quickly fell
to the background as the Dragons talked amongst themselves.
“That glowy thing still happens, huh,” Bull asked her.
She nodded, not trusting her voice, it was always sensitive and more prone to
Shout after the absorption of a Dragon’s soul.
***
Solas stood in shock at what he had seen. He thought he heard the lilting notes
of a flute being played in the distance and he stared at the seemingly human
member of their group. Her eyes flashed brightly, but her smile never grew
beyond her small smile. He struggled to maintain even breath as he walked, lost
in thought behind them as they returned to the Crossroads to inform Inquisition
soldiers that the problem was taken care of and they could take care of the
carcass.
How could she wield such power? What was that glowy bit when the Dragon died?
Who the hell were her parents to have produced such a child? She had the power
of an Evanuris, and if he didn’t know better he would have said she was a
member , his thoughts circled around in his mind to the point he was unaware
that the object of his wonderings was watching him carefully.
“So what was that you yelled at it, in the beginning? Taarsiddy and Ham
salami?” Sera asked.
“Taarsidath-an halsaam? Eh, closest translation is ‘I will bring myself sexual
pleasure later while thinking about this with great respect,’” Bull grinned as
he translated. He had always wanted to say that while a dragon was breathing
fire at him. He glanced at Seranni, she had been the one to make that happen.
He followed her gaze and saw that Solas was deep in thought about something and
turned back to his conversation with Sera.
“You shouted that while it was breathing fire at you?! Well, shit, remind me
not to ever sleep with you, you like it dangerous,” Sera giggled at her own
joke and they reached the Crossroads.
Solas finally snapped out of his inner thoughts around the time they were about
to reach Redcliffe, lucky for him too otherwise he wouldn’t have seen the way
the rift distorted what seemed to be time itself. Seranni closed the rift
without a hitch and Solas kept quiet as they were led up the path to the
tavern. Apparently a Magister Alexius was in charge now, not Grand Enchanter
Fiona. This was not at all what they were expecting if what happened in Val
Royeaux was anything to go by. Then again he hadn’t expected to see the power
of an Evanuris today, and the day was far from over it seemed.
Seranni was instantly suspicious of the mysterious note that Felix had slipped
to her, she showed it to Bull and he shrugged at her, “if it’s a trap, there
are easier ones to make at this point. He has us surrounded by people he
commands so it makes no sense to make a trap within a trap.”
“Unless your prey knows it’s a trap and disables the first, only to be caught
in the second,” she quipped to him.
“Unless your prey is too powerful for any trap you could possibly make,” he
quipped back. They had been conversing in this manner off and on the entire
trip again and while Solas could understand the point behind it, at that moment
he just found it annoying.
“Enough, let us see what this message is and deal with it whether it is a trap
or not,” he stormed past them and opened the door of the chantry where they
were supposed to meet with their mysterious note sender.
Seranni and Bull took note of Solas’ mood and continued their conversation
mutely, ‘but if you know your prey is that powerful, then your trap would
accommodate.’
Sera watched them for a moment and laughed at the funny faces they made until
they all saw the rift inside the Chantry and the lone mage that was fighting
against the demons that poured out of it. They each split up, Bull and Seranni
to the front, while Solas kept barriers over himself, Sera, and the mystery
mage.
Solas could hear the music of the flute again as Seranni used her power more
openly than even against the dragon. She arched her lightning across multiple
demons, but not a single bolt branched in the direction of anyone fighting
against the demons. He hadn’t seen that level of control since his days among
the Evanuris and the flute sounded louder until it drowned everything else out.
For a moment all he saw was Seranni turning every which way, attacking all
around her while keeping her allies safe. Except it wasn’t Seranni he saw, it
was Mythal that he saw. Blood red hair flashing out as she protected those
around her. It had been the moment he had realized he was in love with the
matron of the Evanuris and had locked his heart away. She had belonged to
Elgar’nan, the patron of the Evanuris. He narrowed his eyes and reality snapped
back around him. She closed the rift with practiced ease and they turned to
face the mysterious mage that they had found.
“Fascinating, how does that work, exactly?” Seranni stared at the mage as he
continued, “You don’t even know, do you? You just wiggle your fingers, and
boom! Rift closes,” he seemed cheery despite the method of their meeting.
“Rule number 8,” was all she said in response.
Bull quirked a small smile, “never assume anything.”
“Rules? Ah, no matter. I am Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous.
How do you do?”
“Ugh more mages, it’s like mage central ‘round here,” Sera burst out.
“Well I assume you came to meet with the mages, what were you expecting? Nugs?
Or perhaps Templars?” Dorian asked her sarcastically. “Magister Alexius was
once my mentor, so my assistance should be valuable - as I’m sure you can
imagine.”
“So why’re you helping us? Shouldn’t you be with your magister mentor?” Sera
asked haughtily.
“He  was  my mentor, dear. Was. Meaning he is not my mentor any longer, not for
some time. Look, you must know there’s danger, that should be obvious even
without the note. Let’s start with Alesius claiming the allegiance of the mage
rebels out from under you. As if by magic, yes? Which is exactly right. To
reach Redcliffe before the Inquisition, Alexius distorted time itself.”
“But then how do we remember Grand Enchanter Fiona coming up to us in Val
Royeaux?” Seranni asked.
“You ask wonderful questions my dear. Honestly, I have no idea. When Alexius
and I worked on this in Minrathous, it was pure theory. Now he has made it a
reality by using the giant hole in the sky as the power source for this magic,”
Dorian explained.
“Which makes it wildly unstable and is probably unraveling the world,” Seranni
said sarcastically.
“It’s scary how accurate you are.”
“Rule number 8.”
“Uh huh, right. What I don’t understand is why he’s doing this? Rip apart time,
just to gain a few hundred lackeys?”
“He’s not doing it for them,” Felix walked up and joined them.
“Took you long enough, is he getting suspicious?”
“No, but I shouldn’t have played the illness card, I thought he’d be fussing
over me all day,” he turned to address Seranni, “My father’s joined a cult,
Tevinter supremacists, they call themselves ‘Venatori.’ I can tell you one
thing for sure: whatever he’s done for them, he’s done it to get to you.”
“All this for me, and here I didn’t get Alexius anything,” she commented.
“Get him a fruit basket, everybody loves those,” Dorian quipped back.
Felix sighs at them, “they’re obsessed with you, but I don’t know why. Perhaps
because you survived the Temple of Sacred Ashes?”
“You can close the rifts, maybe there’s a connection?” Dorian theorized aloud,
“Or they see you as a threat?”
“If the Venatori are behind those rifts, or the Breach in the sky, they’re even
worse than I thought,” Felix commented.
“So, now we know that I am their target. First step in dismantling a trap is to
know it’s there. Now that we know what to expect, how can we turn this to our
advantage,” she asked the group, mainly Bull which she indicated with a tilt of
her head.
Bull hummed a moment before Dorian interrupted them, “I can’t stay in
Redcliffe. Alexius doesn’t know I’m here, and I want to keep it that way for
now. When you’re ready to deal with him, I want to be there. I’ll meet you in
the Crossroads in two days time.”
With that he turned to leave but not before turning back, “Oh and Felix? Try
not to get yourself killed.”
“There are worse things than death, Dorian,” Felix said sadly.
Seranni nodded her agreement before they all left the Chantry and went their
separate ways. Her group made their way south back to the Crossroads and she
decided that a Dragon and a plot to use time magic to get to her was enough for
the rest of her group to handle. They would rest for the night, take care of
the other Dragon tomorrow, meet with Dorian the day after, then head back to
Haven.
“We’ll rest here for the night, tomorrow we’ll take care of the second dragon
Bull,” she informed him.
“Alright, sounds good, I’ll go put up the tent,” Bull began to make his way
back towards their gear when Seranni grabbed his arm.
“Actually, we don’t have to, last time we were here we helped out a couple that
live here and they offered their home to agents of the Inquisition any time
they were needed. Josephine sent word to them beforehand and they are expecting
us,” she nodded towards a cabin up on the hill, right next to the trickle of a
waterfall.
Bull shifted uneasily as his hard-on from watching Seranni kill that dragon
still hadn’t left him. He ducked low and entered the cabin to see four beds set
up in the middle of this couple’s living room. Words couldn’t describe the
pride he felt that Seranni had people willing to open their homes to her, she
had come a long way for a Saarebas of the Qun. Hell, she had come a long way
for anyone and he still wondered how she had lived through it all. Then to
continually be placed in charge of such a large organization already. He shook
his head as he settled himself upside down on the bed left for him.
Sera gave him an odd look, “what? Can’t sleep unless you’re upside down?”
“His horns prevent him from sleeping the other way and not gouge the wall,”
Seranni responded,
“It’s why I made sure to leave him a bed that wasn’t against more than one
wall.”
“Oh, hadn’t thought of that.”
“Most southerners don’t,” was the only response before she lay still and
manipulated her breathing to even out. Bull caught the light twitches that
betrayed her feigned sleep, he watched as Solas fell asleep then Sera. He
watched her lay in her bed stock still and it seemed as if she was trying to
force herself to sleep. He remembered when he placed her in her sleeping bonds
in Seheron and she had almost always been asleep before he finished the
bindings. He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and immediately sat
up. He quietly got out of his bed and bundled up his blanket so it wouldn’t
drag on the floor. He tapped the foot of her bed on the wood once to warn her
of his presence and her eyes immediately flew open.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I can help,’ then he took a deep breath and nodded at her.
She mimicked his breath and he kneeled at her bedside, pulled back her blanket
and placed his blanket on top of it at the foot of her bed. He crossed her arms
across her stomach and bent her knees, crossing her legs across the calf and
resting her on her side. The familiar position had her eyes beginning to droop,
he felt much of the tension leave his shoulders as he saw her reaction. He
picked up his blanket and wrapped it around her legs, holding them in place. He
then manipulated her to a kneeling position and he wrapped her blanket around
her upper body and lay her back down on her side. He then carefully took the
braid out of her hair that she had left it in. He made sure to remember the
braid as he undid it and fanned her hair out on the pillow behind her head. He
set the hairband carefully on the table that rested in the middle of the room,
he turned around in time to see her relax her eyes closed. She had been
fighting to keep them open to watch him take care of her hairband, he smiled to
himself at the cuteness of her actions.
***** Katari Ataashi *****
Chapter Summary
     Edit Date: 1-28-18
     Word Count Before Edit: 1336
     Word Count After Edit: 1412
The next morning Seranni woke from the best sleep she had gotten since Seheron.
She lay in her cocoon for a moment and heard Bull tap the foot of her bed. She
looked up at him grateful beyond words and let him manipulate her body to undo
her bindings and once freed she stretched, arching her back and pulling her
shirt tight against her chest. Bull turned and padded his way over to the table
he had set her hairband on and when he brought it back to her he watched as she
deftly wrapped her hair up into her braid.
Moments later the entire house was awake and they were on their way to take
care of the second dragon in the Hinterlands. Bull and Seranni sat atop a ridge
overlooking the valley that held the dragon, both silent as they talked through
their facial expressions. Finally Bull rolled his eyes and nodded followed by
Seranni’s nod.
“First we are going to charge the dragon, just as before you two will stay back
and attack from a distance. You’re going to have to deal with dodging fire this
time, so pay attention,” Bull glanced at Solas with a pointed look, he ducked
his head sheepishly, “Kay, then once the dragon starts acting weaker Solas and
I will break away and head up the hill that we think it will retreat to. Once
Seranni and Sera weaken it to that point, Solas and I will be there waiting for
it.”
“Why not do what you did earlier, with the see through axe thing?” Sera
demanded.
“We are, but this is a much more open area and there isn’t much cover, besides
Bull wants to kill this one,” Seranni lightly teased Bull.
This battle went much like the first and went just as they had planned, when
the dragon retreated, Bull was there waiting for it. By the time Seranni and
Sera caught up to them on the hill, Bull had just delivered the killing blow.
Seranni walked closer to Bull and suddenly he threw his axe to the ground and
pulled her to him. He pulled her flush against him and kissed her hard.
It was an incredible sensation, being kissed as she absorbed the Dragon’s soul.
Her body always felt like every nerve was on fire when it happened normally,
Bull’s kiss nearly made it unbearable. Her body moved of it’s own accord when
her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and pulled him closer. After what
felt like an eternity he released her and stood an arm's length from her. He
cleared his throat before saying, “Katari Ataashi.”
She stood there unable to move as he walked away from her and Sera bounced over
to her, “Hey you, that was fun!”
She smiled her smile and said a muted, “yeah.”
They began to make their way out of the clearing that the Dragon had claimed
when Bull pulled her back and motioned for Solas and Sera to continue on.
“I didn’t report the glowing thing in Seheron and I’m not about to start now,
but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
She sighed, “I know.”
“So, tell me.”
“Can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t? Side Arm, the glowing doesn’t freak you out. You know what it
means, what it does to you. What is it?”
“I’m sorry, but so long as you serve the Qun, I can’t tell you.” Bull opens his
mouth to argue, but she continues before he has a chance, “I’m sorry, but no. I
know you covered for me in Seheron, but if I told you and they found out that
you knew… They’d probably kill you.”
Bull mulled over her words for a moment, it had to have something to do with
her ‘By the Nine’ comments.  What could all this mean?  “Okay.” Bull was about
to lead her back to the elves of their group until she stopped him with a touch
to his arm. He knew it was ridiculous, but her touch felt like a hot iron on
his arm and made his cock twitch in his pants.
“Why do the Tamassrans raise all the children? Here in the south and in just
about every other place I’ve been to, they have families and home,” he was
surprised by her questions. It made sense, he supposed, that she wouldn’t know
some of these things that he had grown up knowing.
“Families are considered selfish and are not good for the whole of society,
thus we have Tamassrans who raise the children, they assign children their
jobs, they have some who are there to eh, pop your cork when you need it, they
control the breeding programs as well.”
“Do they know from birth if you’re going to be Saarebas?” she asked so quietly
that Bull was almost unsure whether she had said anything. He heard the ouch of
horror in her tone and answered as quickly as he could.
“No, they don’t even breed the Saarebas. How it’s supposed to be is that
Saarebas aren’t blamed for being Saarebas, Dathrasi should have cared for you
as if you were an extension of his body. Why?”
“My T-Tama said that she knew I was going to be Saarebas. She said she had
hoped that my magic would have manifested later than it had,” her voice had
caught when she spoke of her Tama. She was angry with herself over her voice
catching, it had been years.  Isn’t Time supposed to heal all wounds? If so,
then why does it still hurt so much?
Bull’s hand twitched and Seranni knew that he wanted to hold her, comfort her.
His kiss still affected her, but she wanted nothing more than for him to hold
her just then. She took a step closer and he immediately wrapped one arm around
her slim build.
“Excuse yourself, whatever you said and what I did, same difference to me,”
Sera was saying to Solas when they returned.
“I’d hoped, well, our people can sometimes feel the rhythm of the language
despite lacking the vocabulary,” to Seranni, Solas sounded lonely.
“Uh huh? Know what else is good? Words that mean things. Like these. Words,”
she drew out the last word as if she were talking to an idiot child.
“Fenedhis lasa,” was his exasperated response.
Sera blew a raspberry at him in response, Bull and Seranni approached and she
cleared her throat and spoke to Solas, “aneth ara.”
Bull watched as Solas seemed to perk back up from whatever his conversation had
been and begin speaking with Seranni in elvish. Bull couldn’t hold back a
chuckle when Sera suddenly shouted, “two of you doesn’t make this normal!”
“Where did you learn elvish?”
“Didn’t, not  elvish  per se at least, kind of an off shoot language of elvish
that is close enough that I can passably hold a conversation.”
They made their way back to the Crossroads and busied themselves with helping
the refugees settling in and making sure everyone was fed. Bull watched as
Seranni made it a point to feed the sick or injured that didn’t have the
strength to feed themselves. He overheard some of the healers speculating that
she must have been a healer before to have had such a practiced hand at feeding
others. Bull swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat at the
thought and once she was done he walked with her back up to the cabin they were
staying in.
“You have the power to do so, why not just heal them all and be done with it?”
Solas asked Seranni as she entered the cabin.
“Because if they worship the ground I walk on just for stabilizing a giant hole
in the sky, then how are they going to react when I suddenly start healing
everyone back to perfect health all of a sudden. Besides I did heal each of
them a little as I went by.” Bull’s eye widened at that. He knew she was great
at being subtle with her magic, but to have reached the point where he hadn’t
even noticed what she was doing was unnerving indeed.
“You show a wisdom beyond your years, Da’len.”
“It is not the quantity of life that measures your experience,” she told him
before she set to helping the woman make their food, asking questions about
cooking and the cabin was filled with questions, explanations, and the woman’s
laughter as Sera joined them.
***** In Hushed Whispers Part 1 *****
Chapter Notes
     Edit Date: 2-4-18
     Word Count Before Edit: 2202
     Word Count After Edit: 2550
The way back, Seranni’s time was mostly monopolized by Solas. He was curious
about her power and had begun talking to her about magical theory and she
impressed him. Not only was she able to keep up with him and understand what he
was talking about, but she was able to do so in Elvhen. He had learned that she
knew many languages, her Elvhen was broken in certain places, but she  was
able to maintain a coherent conversation with him. She had an eagerness to
learn that while it may not have been shown on the rest of her face or body,
but in her eyes he saw that great thirst to learn. The power of her thirst gave
him pause for a moment before he realized that it reminded him of his own
thirst for knowledge.
Bull and Seranni made their way up the hill to the Chantry and the war room
inside. Once they entered they saw Cassandra already there discussing things
with Cullen, Lelianna, and Josephine. Cassandra stopped mid sentence and went
to greet Seranni. Cassandra first touched Seranni on the shoulder before
enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.  Apparently Cassandra missed me.
Seranni smiled to herself, it had been quite a long time for someone to worry
about her coming home. She swallowed thoughts of a certain raven haired vampire
that she had left in Skyrim.
 After a few moments, Cullen cleared his throat and Bull glanced at him in
annoyance. Cassandra pulled away from Seranni and faced the group while still
keeping one arm wrapped around the other woman’s shoulders.
“As I was saying-” Lelianna interrupted Cassandra with a raised hand.
“Bull, you will need to leave.”
Seranni looked at Lelianna annoyedly for a moment before nodding, “just wait
outside, please.”
“By Josephine’s door,” Lelianna spoke before Seranni glanced at the spymaster
in annoyance. As he left, Bull rested his hand on her arm and lightly squeezed.
“There, happy?” Seranni asked her blankly.
“Quite,” was Lelianna only reply.
“As I was saying,” Cassandra said to get everyone attention, “I talked with
quite a few templars, but aside from Ser Baris and his squadron, I don’t think
that we will be receiving any help from the templars.”
“Okay,” Seranni nodded her understanding and trusting Cassandra’s judgment, “I
assume your spies have sent word ahead of us, detailing what happened?”
Lelianna nodded and told everyone else what had happened, once she began
talking about possibly attacking the castle directly, Cullen protested, “We
don’t have the manpower to attack the castle directly, either we find another
way in or we send the Herald to the Templars to try again.”
Cassandra looked at him hard, “Redcliffe is in the hands of a Magister! This
cannot be allowed to stand.”
“A letter from Alexius arrived asking for the Herald of Andraste, by name. It’s
an obvious trap,” Josephine commented.
“How nice of him to flaunt his trap,” Seranni quipped.
“A Tevinter Magister controls Redcliffe, invites us to talk, and some of us
want to do nothing,” Lelianna looked pointedly at Cullen.
“Not this again,” Josephine sighed.
“Redcliffe Castle is one of the most defensible fortresses in all of Ferelden,
it has withstood thousands of attacks,” Cullen looked directly at Seranni, “If
you go in there you’ll die, and we’ll lose the only means of closing these
rifts. I won’t allow it.”
“Rules number 8 and 16,” they all looked at her confused until she rolled her
eyes, “Never assume anything and if your opponent thinks they have the upper
hand, break it.”
Approval shone in Lelianna’s eyes while Cassandra looked at Seranni as yet
another side of her revealed itself to the seeker, “how many rules do you have
exactly?”
Seranni shrugged, “about twenty, maybe?”
“What are they rules for,” Cullen asked, intrigued.
“Life,” was her only reply.
“So how do you propose we go about this, Lady Herald?” Lelianna asked.
“Don’t know, I’ve never planned an assault on a keep before, kind of why I
wanted Bull here,” Seranni looked at Lelianna pointedly, keeping her tone
accusatory so the spymaster wouldn’t think to not believe the lie.
“What if we had another way in?” Cassandra spoke up.
“There’s nothing that would help us,” Cullen shook his head sadly.
“Wait, there’s a secret passage into the castle, an escape route for the
family. It’s too narrow for troops, but we could send agents through,” Lelianna
began to sound excited.
“Too risky, those agents would be discovered before they even reached the
Magister,” Culled rebutted.
“That’s why we need a distraction, perhaps the envoy Alexius wants so badly?”
Lelianna eyed Seranni again.
“Keep attention on the Herald, while we disable the Magister’s defenses. It’s a
gamble, but it might work,” Cullen thought aloud.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Josephine opened it to reveal Bull’s
hulking figure, “Hey, that ‘Vint is back and says he wants to help now.”
“Enter, both of you,” Lelianna looked at Seranni sharply, “we aren’t discussing
anything he didn’t already know and his input will be invaluable,” Seranni
stared down Lelianna and she backed down with approval shining in her eyes
again. It was getting to be exhausting to deal with these people.  If only I
could storm the keep by myself , but she knew that no one would let her sneak
away long enough to do that.
Cullen eyed Dorian suspiciously, “your spies will never get past Alexius’ magic
without my help. Since I assume that since you’re currently planning an assault
on Redcliffe, that you will be dealing with Alexius. I’m coming along,” Dorian
smiled cockily.
“The plan puts you in the most danger, we can’t in good conscience order you to
do this,” Cullen looked to her sadly.
“You think I’ve been following orders all this time,” the lack of emotion
unnerved Bull and from the Seeker’s sudden rigidness, it wasn’t a good sign for
her. They needed to end this meeting quickly.
“Now that we have a plan in motion, Lelianna and Cullen can handle the details
of that while Josephine responds to Alexius’ letter,” Cassandra quickly led
Seranni out of the war room after that and Bull followed them.
Once they left the Chantry Bull saw that the only reason Seranni was walking
with them was because Cassandra’s arm had not left her shoulders, “has she been
like this before?”
Cassandra glanced down at the woman in her arms, “Yes, when the Inquisition
started I convinced her that it did not look good for her to wear her collar.
She said that she would only do it if I agreed to use my smite on her whenever
she asked,” she sighed and looked away and Bull opened the cabin door that
Cassandra led them to. “I agreed to the terms, but when she asked me to smite
her it unnerved me. I-I couldn’t do it to her, she begged and pleaded, but I
couldn’t do it. So in the Hinterlands I didn’t smite her until about a month
after we had arrived. I woke up one morning and saw that she had stayed up all
night instead of waking anyone else up for their watch. In a ring surrounding
us was a ring of burnt corpses. One was once a person of some sort, I asked her
what had happened and she responded in that same voice you heard today. All she
said was that she kept watch and nothing disturbed our sleep.”
He saw how deeply troubled the Seeker was from the retelling of events, but
Bull didn’t know how to respond to that. He knew she needed pain to cast her
spells appropriately, but for her to be like that without it was terrifying for
him. He watched as the Seeker led her to the middle of the cabin and sat
herself on the bed in the cabin. She drew her sword and stabbed it into the
floor and leaned against it. He saw the moment that Cassandra activated her
ability. Seranni’s rigidness melted away and as peace slowly settled across her
features, Bull looked to Cassandra and saw that the Seeker was leaning heavily
on her sword. When the Seeker’s power ran out she collapsed onto the bed
unconscious and Seranni blinked at the Seeker for a moment before she moved to
her side. Once satisfied that the Seeker was only exhausted she turned and her
eyes widened at Bull.
“It feels more like the collar did,” she walked over to the desk that sat on
the opposite side of the cabin. She opened a drawer and pulled out her collar,
she stared at it for a moment before she placed it back in the drawer and
slammed it closed, “I look around and I see other mages that are different from
me. Their magic leaves a sour taste in my mouth, Vivienne’s barriers over me
would leave it, in Sky- where i’ve been living, it was more of a savory taste.
Being around Dorian and all those mages at Redcliffe made it feel like I was
sucking on a freshly picked lemon.” Seranni glared before her, not looking at
anything in particular.
“Hissrad, I was over eighteen years old when the sour taste I had been living
with my whole life changed and I figured out a little of what was going on.”
“Bull-”
“Cassandra’s asleep, no one is here to hear us, and so long as you serve the
Qun,” she paused and stared at him with a finality that he hadn’t experienced
very often. “So long as you serve the Qun, you will be Hissrad.”
Bull’s brow furrowed at her statement, the finality of her voice spoke volumes.
So long as he served the Qun he would always be Hissrad, undercover or not. So
long as he was Hissrad, there would be a distance between them. Sure, she tried
to bridge that gap, but at moments like earlier, she had to change her
statement or hide something from him. Despite her trust, she didn’t fully trust
him. So long as he was with the Qun, he would never get  close  to her.
She suddenly let out a long string of curses in another language. Bull stared
as the language that sprang forth from her mouth, while completely unfamiliar,
spoke  to him. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the faint
echo of power that lie dormant in her voice when she had spoken.
“Lelianna is grooming me to lead this fucking thing and she doesn’t even know
how fucked up I am.” She stared down at the glowing mark on her left hand. Her
eyes said that she was warring with herself over something, but when she spoke
it sounded resigned, as if she really didn’t want to admit what she was saying.
“I can’t do this alone, Hissrad. I need you, I need Cassandra. I need you both
to keep me in line. You can both read me to an extent, so I need you to help
Cassandra. You’re an old hand at reading me and my emotional state. Things may
be different, but the base emotions are the same. I-
“Of course,” he interrupted her, she nodded her thanks and they sat in silence
as they waited for the Seeker to wake up. At one point they started up their
game of quips non verbally and managed to keep it going until Cassandra woke up
and it broke Seranni’s concentration.
“I win,” he teased her, she rolled her eyes at him and they all walked to the
tavern together and spent the rest of their day teaching Seranni to use
physical  weapons. She knew she preferred the use of one handed swords, one in
each hand. What she didn’t see was that as she was going through the steps they
taught her was Cassandra glance at Bull.
‘You get her one, I get her one,’ her look said.
He grinned at her and nodded once as his agreement and began to think of what
kind of sword he would get her. That night he nabbed one of the waitresses to
spend the night with, but instead he dreamed of Seranni, again.
***
His lips met hers and he moaned at the taste of her as his tongue explored her
mouth. He held her hands above her head with one hand as his other grasped her
breast and kneaded the nipple between his fingers. The memory of her killing
the dragon in the Hinterlands and their shared kiss after the second played
through his mind and he growled as his member entered her. She screamed in pain
and pleasure at his size and roughness. Here he knew he desired her, here he
allowed himself to have her. Something about her called to him on a soul-deep
level. A level he never let near the surface when he was awake, but he wasn’t
awake now.
Her nails felt especially sharp as she clawed down his back and he arched away
from her hands and into her body, driving him deeper within her. He pulled away
from her completely, causing her to whimper at the sudden loss of sensation, he
grinned as he easily flipped her onto her stomach and raised her hips into the
air. He once again slammed his member inside her without warning and watched in
satisfaction as her fingers clawed at the sheets above her head. He was glad he
knew he was dreaming or the scales that appeared all across her back would have
frightened him. Instead the appearance of the scales made him think  Dragon
and spurred him to increase his ferocity.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as the sheets wove around her wrists
and tied them securely above her head. The sheet attached to the bedpost and he
could feel her pleasure mounting in leaps and bounds, just as his was.
***
Just as their pleasure became nearly unbearable, they awoke from their beds and
jolted upright. Bull looked down and saw a waterfall of red hair, for a moment
he panicked before remembering the night before and separating dream from
reality. He ran his hand over his face, this needed to change. He couldn’t keep
bedding women that looked like her, a small part of him told him he should just
bed her and be done with it. That was wrong wasn’t it, he practically raised
her for seven years, he watched her grow up. He knew some of what she had been
through, it was wrong of him to want her.
But she needed him, she needed him to ‘keep her in line.’ He had been watching
her as she had interacted with everyone they came across, she never reacted
with arousal. Except for the time by the pond and after he had kissed her.
Fuck, why did he have to do that. Then with everything she had said last night,
she understood she was different from everyone else. That no one else could
truly understand what she had gone through unless they were inside her head. A
thought occurred to him and he began to set his mind to thinking of a way for
him to offer what he wanted, but to make it her choice.
***** In Hushed Whispers Part 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     I am posting as I go, so if anyone noticed inconsistencies, let me
     know and I'll fix them. I have fixed a few already too :)
They arrived at Redcliffe castle, but when their greeter tried to send everyone
else away she refused to leave them. Not that Cassandra or Bull had any
intention of leaving her to meet this Magister alone. Varric just hung in the
back and kept quiet as he observed Seranni. They were led to the main chamber
of the castle and were announced by the servant.
“My Lord Magister, Agents of the Inquisition have arrived.”
“My friend,” the magister responded jovially, “So good to see you again, and
your associates of course. I’m sure we can work out some arrangement that is
equitable to all parties.”
“Are my people to have no say in deciding their fate,” Fiona spoke up from the
side.
“You gave up your voice when you handed him your lives,” Seranni responded
coldly.
The former Grand Enchanter ducked her head in shame and stepped back to the
side as Alexius started talking, “too right you are. Now, the Inquisition needs
mages to close the breach and I have them. So, what shall you offer in
exchange?”
She looked at him innocently, “nothing. I’m going to take the mages and leave.”
Felix sighed, “it’s over Father, they know everything.”
“Felix, what have you done?”
“He didn’t do anything except help us to dismantle your trap before arriving
here, oops.” Bull held back the grin at Seranni’s humor in this situation.
“You are nothing but a thief, tampering with magics beyond your understanding,”
Alexius spat at them.
Cassandra, Bull, and Seranni all said in unison, “Rule number 8.”
“You walk into my stronghold with your stolen mark, a gift you don’t even
understand, and think you’re in control?!” he asked them incredulously,
ignoring the odd behavior, “you are nothing but a mistake.”
“Mistake means that there was a goal in mind in the first place, what was
supposed to happen?” Seranni asked.
“It was to be the Elder One’s moment. You were unworthy to even stand in his
presence.”
“Father, please, do you even hear yourself right now? Do you know what you
sound like?” Felix pleaded with his father.
“He sounds exactly like the sort of villainous cliche everyone expects us to
be,” Dorian sauntered up and Seranni watched as Lelianna’s agents quickly and
quietly dispatched the venatori stationed throughout the hall.
“Dorian, I gave you a chance to be a part of this. You turned me down. The
Elder One has power you would not believe. He will raise the Imperium from it’s
own ashes,” Alexius said reverently.
“Do you hear yourself, this is exactly the kind of thing we talked about never
wanting to happen,” Dorian pleaded with the magister.
“The Elder One will make the world bow to mages once more. He will rise to
Godhood and Tevinter will rule from the Boeric Ocean to the Frozen Seas.”
For some reason this man before her claiming to worship this Elder One and his
apparent claim for Godhood angered her. She had no idea where the anger came
from, but for this Elder One to claim for Godhood, something snapped inside.
“Pashaara,” she glared at the magister and gathered strands of the Fade around
her, it felt as if a different person spoke through her, “your Elder One makes
claims he knows nothing of. Your Elder One will die by my hand, just as your
Venatori agents lie dead at your feet.”
“No,” he whispered, “NO!” he shouted and began charging a spell through an
amulet of some sort. Dorian reacted quickly and sent his magic out in an
attempt to dispel Alexius’ spell before it went off. There was a loud bang and
suddenly Dorian and Seranni were calf deep in still standing water. Before they
had a moment to understand what had happened they were attacked by what looked
to be Venatori agents. Seranni quickly burned both soldiers in a column of fire
and turned to Dorian.
“Where are we? Where is everyone else?” she demanded.
“You always ask such good questions my dear. Displacement, perhaps? The rift
that Alexius opened up must have sent us somewhere, but where? The closest
confluence of magic?” Seranni remained silent as Dorian ran through his
theories aloud.
“What if we weren’t moved through space? Time has been wonky ever since we
arrived at Redcliffe.”
“Once again, you raise an excellent point, it’s not simply where. It’s when! By
using the amulet as his focus, Alexius sent us through time.”
“Now begs the questions of forwards or backwards, and how far?”
“Where do you keep all those wonderful questions?”
Seranni rolled her eyes at him and moved to leave the cell they were in. From
the feel of the area, Seranni knew they were underground and that they needed
to head upwards to find answers to their questions. As they explored the
dungeons she pondered over the being that had spoken through her back in the
main hall. Who was that? Where did it come from? It was unnerving and made sure
to mention it to Bull and Cassandra. They came upon a cell that finally held a
person and Seranni’s face hardened once she saw that it was Grand Enchanter
Fiona. She looked to be half dead as what appeared to be red lyrium grew out of
her body.
“You-You're alive? How? I saw you disappear into the rift,” Fiona spoke weakly,
as if it were a strain to catch her breath.
“The lyrium, the red stuff, it’s alive isn’t it?” Dorian looked at Seranni as
if she had grown a second head.
“It’s a disease. The longer you are near it, eventually you become this. Then
they harvest your corpse for more."
“Can you tell us the date, specifically the year,” Dorian asked her urgently.
“Harvestmere, 9:42 Dragon,” Fiona struggled to talk more and more as their
conversation progressed.
“9:42? Then we’ve only missed a year!” Dorian exclaimed. “I take it we are
still in Redcliffe Castle?” At Fiona’s nod he continued, “Then if the amulet
was the same as the one I worked on with Alexius in Minrathous, then I may be
able to send us back from when we came from.”
“Then none of this would happen,” Seranni thought to herself.
“Please, you must stop this from happening,” Fiona pleaded with them, but
Seranni had begun walking away. She now had a plan, find the others that were
trapped here, find Alexius, get back to her time and take care of this Elder
One so that he wasn’t trying to kill her anymore.
They approached another cell and Seranni immediately ran to the bars of the
cell and used her magic to quickly melt the lock. “Seranni! You’re alive? I saw
you disappear through a rift, you were gone!” Cassandra hugged her close and
she hugged the Seeker back, just as tightly.
“Alexius sent us forward in time, I need help getting to him and Dorian can
cast a spell to send us back. We can fix this,” Seranni looked up at the tall
warrior worriedly. She heard the song of the red lyrium emanating from
Cassandra. Cassandra nodded and led them to Varric’s cell next.
“Andraste’s knickers, you’re alive?” Varric exclaimed as they set him free.
They continued on their way and Seranni began to hear singing in the distance,
“Three hundred bottle of beer on the wall, three hundred bottles of beer. Take
one down, pass it around, two-hundred ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall.”
Seranni took off at a dead run and left Dorian shouting after her as Cassandra
kept silent.
“Bull!” Seranni quickly melted his lock as she had done for Cassandra and as
soon as he was free he pulled her into his arms and smashed their lips
together. He finished his kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.
“I don’t care if you’re just a figment of my imagination this time. I don’t
care if they are making you appear before me again, taunting me with freedom. I
can’t do this anymore, I can’t resist anymore,” she held him tightly against
her as he leaned against her. He sounded so broken that her heart wept.
“Bull, it’s me,” she spoke gently and with a chuckle, “ask me something that
only Hissrad and I would know.”
“What did you name your assigned Arvaarad the first three years in Seheron?”
she felt how rigid he was, and how much he relaxed when she responded with a
whispered, “Dathrasi.”
Suddenly he kissed her again and this time didn’t stop until Cassandra cleared
her throat and Seranni turned to see the Seeker giving her a teasing look as
Dorian looked between them looking intrigued. “Well that’s interesting!”
Seranni rolled her eyes and moved to leave Bull’s embrace, but he held fast,
“give us a moment, would you guys?”
Cassandra nodded and ushered the other men out of the room and once they left
Seranni turned back to Bull, “What is it?”
“I saw you disappear into a rift, there was nothing I could do to stop it. For
all I knew, you were dead and there was no reason to remain. Yet I couldn’t
leave, I couldn’t leave this place, no matter how crazy it was making me,” he
brushed the back of his hand against the side of her face, “took me about five
seconds after you disappeared for me to realize what I felt for you. It didn’t
go away when you were gone. I thought it would.”
He swallowed nervously as he stared into her eyes, “I love you, Kadan. I have
since I first laid eyes on you again in the Storm Coast.”
“K-Kadan?” she wondered if she had heard him right, he was calling her his
center. His heart, her own thudded in her chest, reminding her that she had her
own heart too and it was screaming at her to let go and let him catch her. She
didn’t know if she could ask that of him, the question seemed to be all over
her face since Bull kissed her again just then. Hard stone pressed against her
back as her front was assaulted by the man in front of her.
“You don’t have to ask if i’m already there to catch you, I know you’ve been
struggling with what you’ve been feeling since I came back into your life. I
can smell it on you, I can read it in your expressions,” he looked deeply into
her eyes. “I can feel it in your soul, the mirror of my own.”
“You’re dying,” she said after she had processed his words.
“Doesn’t mean what I’m saying isn’t true, won’t be true once you return back to
that other version of history. I’ll be gone, but you’ll still have him. He
needs you, more than he realizes,” his voice broke as he said his words to her.
“Just think over my words here, don’t waste time. Life is too short.”
A small smile quirked at his final sentence and went to join Cassandra with the
others. They returned as Cassandra was explaining that apparently this Elder
One planned on assassinating the empress of Orlais and raging across Thedas
with a demon army out of the west. They made plans to find Lelianna and made
their way to the Spymaster. They heard what was happening with Lelianna before
they found her.
“There is no Maker. The Elder One has taken all that was His and will soon rule
from His city,” a male gruff voice sounded through the halls.
“That still doesn’t make him a God,” was Lelianna’s reply.
“There is no God but the Elder One. The Maker is dead. Say it!” the closer they
got, the more details they could hear, like the smacks of fists on flesh. They
quietly opened the door that led to Lelianna, with Seranni in the lead. She
watched as a Venatori agent picked up a dagger from the table and hold it
against Lelianna’s throat.
“You will break,” he growled at her.
“I will die first,” came her stubborn reply, the man turned at the sudden noise
that Dorian made when he tripped over a wayward box on the ground, “or you
will.” Lelianna lifted her legs and wrapped them around the neck of her
tormentor. He struggled against her for a moment before he stopped and fell to
the ground dead. Seranni ran over to his corpse and lifted the keys from his
belt and began to undo her cuffs.
“You’re alive! How can this be?”
Seranni looked her dead in the eye and simply said, “time magic.”
Lelianna considered the woman before her for a moment before nodding. “You have
weapons?”
Seranni nodded and Lelianna went over to a bow that hung on the wall behind
them, “don't you want to know how we got here,” Dorian asked.
“No,” Lelianna sighed, “I know enough. You mages wonder why people always fear
you.” She had spoken this bit directly to Dorian while glancing at Seranni
sympathetically. “No one should have this kind of power,” Lelianna shook her
head and joined their group as they headed out of the dungeons and lower parts
of the castle.
It seemed as if the castle was made to be a maze on the inside and it actually
reminded Seranni of the complex infrastructure of the compounds in Par Vollen.
She shook the comparison from her mind and they continued on their way. They
discovered that the door to Alexius’ chamber would open with these red lyrium
shards that Cassandra and Bull refused to let her so much as touch. They opened
the door and Seranni was not surprised when Lelianna killed Felix, or rather
what was left of him. However, when Alexius used his magic to blast Lelianna
back, Seranni placed a barrier around the former spymaster to cushion the blow.
The presence from before returned and she was filled with righteous anger and
set her eyes upon Alexius himself. She had enough of her mind to use her magic
to lift the amulet away from Alexius and have it float in front of Dorian.
“Cast your spell,” was all she said before Alexius burned in a pyre of fire
that scorched the high ceilings.
Dorian shakingly took the amulet and began focusing his energy into the amulet.
Suddenly the ground shook and they heard a dragon roar, Seranni looked to Bull
and saw no excitement on his face. Bad timing for a dragon, sure. But it was
still a dragon, unless it was not a dragon but one of those archdemons she had
heard about. Those things that started Blights and looked like dragons.
“The Elder One, he comes for you, Kadan,” Bull stood closer to Seranni and she
turned to face him.
“We will give you as much time as we have breath,” Cassandra spoke
encouragingly and headed out the door with Varric following her.
“You have as much time as I have arrows,” Lelianna spoke before following them.
Only Bull remained with them for a moment, “when I walk through the door, I’m
going to seal it. Place a barrier around it and don’t let it up until you are
gone.” he began to pull away from her until she grabbed him and pulled him
back.
“You’ll die,” she whispered.
“I’m already dead, Kadan. Just a walking corpse, a sexy, sexy corpse,” he then
kissed her passionately and while she was stunned from the kiss, he left and
sealed the door to the chamber. She felt tears prick at her eyes and she glared
at the door as her barrier snapped around it. Dorian finished his spell and
they left this terrible future just as she heard Bull’s anguished cry and she
knew he was dead. They appeared once again in the main hall of Redcliffe
castle, moments after they had left if everyone’s reactions was anything to go
by. Without warning, Seranni created an ethereal sword and held it to Alexius’
throat.
“The mages are mine, you are defeated and I hold your life in my hands,” she
stared at him as her words sunk in. Slowly he nodded his defeat and Inquisition
soldiers restrained the magister. The doors to the hall flew open and in walked
two figures that Seranni did not recognize, but the rest of the room had.
“King Alistair, Queen Anora! What a surprise,” Fiona exclaimed. Seranni glanced
at the woman in annoyance.
“Grand Enchanter, we’d like to discuss the mages abuse of our hospitality,”
King Alistair looked at the Grand Enchanter with a hard look.
“When we offered the mages sanctuary, we did not give them the right to drive
our people from their homes,” the queen’s face held the same hardness.
“I assure you, we never intended-”
“In light of your actions, good intentions are no longer enough,” the queen
barked at the mage.
“You and your followers have worn out their welcome. Leave Ferelden, or you’ll
be forced to leave,” Seranni saw a pain behind the king’s eyes as he spoke with
the Grand Enchanter, a pain that had nothing to do with what was going on in
this room.
“But, we have hundreds who need protection! Where will we go?”
Seranni spoke up for the first time since her conversation with Alexius, “the
Inquisition offers safe harbor for the mages. However, if the mages wish for an
alliance, then you will not be leading them.”
“What!? Then who would lead my people,” Fiona asked, shocked.
“I don’t care, once you reach Haven a new Grand Enchanter will lead the mages
you are so worried about,” her anger remained and Bull was surprised at the
show of emotions. Something had happened when she had gone through the rift,
she hadn’t so much as glanced in the direction of Bull or Cassandra since her
return.
The King and Queen nodded their approval and they left just as suddenly as they
had arrived, Fiona looked to Seranni with shame written all over her body, “I
will lead them to Haven, once there they will choose a new Grand Enchanter to
lead them.”
At Seranni’s nod of approval Fiona left to make preparations and Seranni turned
back to the group, she pointedly looked at Varric before speaking, “let’s get
out of here.”
Bull and Cassandra followed silently as they waited for her to come to them
with what was going on inside her head. She didn’t come to them when they left
the castle, she didn’t come to them when they mounted their horses to begin
their trek back to Haven. She didn’t say anything when Dorian began traveling
with them and was silent as they rode their horses. Once they stopped for camp
however, she asked Varric to take the first watch and indicated for Cassandra
and Bull to enter her tent. She sat in the middle of the tent while Cassandra
and Bull knelt on either side of her.
“You both died,” she began softly, “we found you in prison cells. Corrupted by
red lyrium, I could hear the song emanating from you both.”
Horror dawned on Cassandra’s features and Bull kept his face tactfully blank.
Seranni felt the pinprick of tears behind her eyes and willed the tears back,
“You needed me and I wasn’t there.”
“Seranni,” Cassandra began.
“You needed me and I wasn’t there,” she said forcefully.
Bull reached forward and held her head in his large hands and forced her to
face him, “not by your choice.”
The tone of his voice and the look on his face told her more than his words. He
didn’t blame her for his death, out of the corner of her eye she saw the same
look on Cassandra’s face. Why didn’t they blame her for not being there? She
had failed them in her duty as Herald, the world had fallen to ruin and she
hadn’t been there to stop it like the Herald was supposed to be. The Herald was
supposed to save the world. Thoughts swirled in her mind like a raging storm
until Bull nodded at Cassandra and sudden pain erupted as her magic tried to
tear her apart and she relaxed into the sensation.
Bull reached behind him and grabbed two blankets, his own and Seranni’s. When
Cassandra saw clarity enter her eyes she ended her ability and watched as Bull
silently placed Seranni’s arms in a specified position across her torso so she
hugged herself. He wrapped one blanket around her in silence and lay her down
before shifting to her lower half. Cassandra looked at Seranni’s face to see
her eyes beginning to droop in sleepiness, she had never seen this before.
Seranni’s eyes had always snapped shut and stopped moving, she thought the
woman had fallen asleep and felt saddened by the realization of what had been
happening all this time.
When he was finished with her legs he went back up to her head and undid her
braid, as he had before and carefully wrapped the band around his dagger. His
dawnstone dagger that he had left in the table that night because it was the
first thing he had requested to be made for him. She represented his wants and
he had left his want with her, he smiled to himself at the irony that she had
come waltzing back into his life as if nothing had changed. When she had
disappeared through that rift with the ‘Vint, panic had seized his heart and it
felt like his heart had frozen in place.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and stared down at the woman now lying
unconscious before him. He felt Cassandra’s eyes on him and he forced himself
to look away from her and towards the Seeker. She had settled herself silently
into one corner of the tent, no intention on leaving the tent then, that was
fine. He would be content to share the tent with her as well.
“How did you know?” she asked him in a quiet whisper.
“She called me Hissrad and you relaxed, so she told you about Seheron?”
“A bit, yes,” Cassandra nodded.
“I’ve never asked her directly, but I’ve done the math,” he looked hard at the
Seeker as he spoke, “she was three when she was turned in as a Saarebas. She
should be dead.”
Cassandra looked at him confused, “why?”
“In the Qun a few years back, the Tamassrans made a rule that any Saarebas
found under the age of five was to be killed,” Bull swallowed again, “a pattern
was noticed that Saarebas turned in before the age of five were uncontrollable,
even if their minds had been broken.”
“Then how?”
“Her Tamassran lied,” he said heavily, “I met her when she was eight years
old,” a pang of guilt shot through him at feeling the way he did, but she
wasn’t that same child. He glanced at her, she wasn’t a child anymore. She was
honestly the most beautiful person he had ever met and the memory of her
killing that dragon popped in his head and his cock twitched in response. He
quickly looked away and looked back at Cassandra.
“I watched her be put to bed for three years as her Arvaarad,” he paused,
“helped her to bed.” He glanced at his Katari Ataashi, “this is the basic
position that she slept in, probably since she was three years old.”
“But-”
“Saarebas are vulnerable when they sleep because of their connection to the
fade, if they wake up possessed by a Demon then they are already bound and are
easier to deal with.” Cassandra nodded her understanding and swallowed the lump
in her throat, she would have to remember this information.
Seranni awoke the next morning to the sight of Cassandra leaning against her
pack in one corner of her tent, while Bull sat in the other. The moment her
eyes landed on him, her brow furrowed, she had dreamed of the kiss that the
other Bull had given her and she wondered if that was truly how the man in
front of her felt. She pondered that as she waited for him to wake, but when
she saw him awaken, he kept his eyes closed. She wondered what he was doing and
waited patiently until Cassandra woke up. She saw Bull’s eyes closed and
assumed him to be asleep. Seranni smiled to herself as ‘rule number eight’
rolled through her head.
“Do you need someone to get you out of that then?” Cassandra whispered quietly.
Her small smile stayed on her face as she nodded and when Cassandra looked at
her confused as to where to start she wiggled her legs and Cassandra smiled her
thanks at Seranni.
***** In Your Heart Shall Burn *****
They did it, the Breach was closed. After feeling that much magic in the air
she had wanted Cassandra to smite her for a while, Cassandra’s power was
getting stronger. She stood at the top of the hill of Haven and looked over the
festivities, she watched as Bull drank with his chargers and she saw how happy
they made him and her heart ached at the memory of the future. She heard the
crunch of Cassandra’s boots behind her.
“Solas confirms that the Heavens are scarred, but calm,” Cassandra followed
Seranni’s line of sight to The Iron Bull. “Word of what you’ve accomplished as
spread.”
“Is it really my accomplishments? People will see them as mine simply because
circumstances placed me at the center,” Seranni sighed and finally pulled her
gaze away from Bull.
“You’re right, this was a victory born of alliance, one of the few in recent
history. With the Breach closed, that alliance will need new focus,” Cassandra
wrapped an arm around Seranni’s shoulder when she moved into Cassandra’s arms.
Suddenly a bell began tolling in the distance, one of their warning bells.
Seranni and Cassandra split apart and ran for the gates to meet with Cullen.
Bull met up with them on the way and Cullen began filling them in on the
situation.
“One watchtower reporting. It’s a massive force approaching, the bulk of which
is on the other side of the mountain still.”
Josephine met up with them and asked, “Under what banner?”
“None,” came Cullen’s reply.
Suddenly there were two bangs at the gate, “I can’t come in unless you open.”
Memories stirred at the sound of the softly spoken voice.
No one moved, so Seranni spurred into action and she opened the gate to a large
hulking brute walking towards the gates of Haven until a blonde haired boy
appeared behind him. He flipped over the brute, slashing the brute’s throat as
he passed and quickly stabbing a dagger into the brute’s stomach causing him to
fall backwards. The boy was wearing a large brimmed hat and what appeared to be
rags, when he looked up more memories stirred in her mind. She smelled salt on
a sea air and suddenly she remembered him.
“I’m Cole, I came to warn you. People are coming to hurt you. You probably
already know,” Cole looked into her eyes and he gasped, “you! Saarebas on the
ship. I was told you needed me and now I need you. I want to help.”
The moment the word Saarebas left his mouth, Cassandra and Bull glared at the
newcomer and the other gathered had varying reactions. Solas, Varric, and
Josephine looked sad. Vivienne looked sorry. Dorian looked horrified while
Blackwall and Sera looked unsure of how to act now.
“The templars have come to kill you,” Cole told her softly.
“Templars? This is the Order’s response to us talking with the mages? Attacking
blindly,” Cullen approached and Cole backed away quickly. Seranni changed her
body position to be between Cole and Cullen with her back to the newcomer. Bull
and Cassandra saw this, but continued their glares at the boy.
“The red templars went to the Elder One. You know him? He knows you. He is
angry you took his mages, there.” Cole pointed to a cliff that overlooked the
Haven.
“I know that man,” Cullen breathed, “but this Elder One?” A large man shimmered
into view with what looked to be red Lyrium protruding from his head. Seranni
could hear the song even at this distance, it was as if he were living lyrium.
“You hear the songs too, they can help. They do help, they like helping,” Cole
spoke to Seranni who still had not uttered a word. She took a deep breath and
began barking orders of her own.
“Josephine, work at getting the civilians to the chantry. Cullen send the
soldiers that have been drinking tonight with the civilians to the Chantry. If
nothing else they will be protected,” Seranni turned and saw that the rest of
her companions had joined them at the gates. Bull looked at her encouragingly
and her mind whirled with Hissrad’s tactics that she had watched him explain a
million times. Haven wasn’t defensible, but they may be able to use the
mountain to their advantage.
“Cullen, aim the trebuchets to cause miniature rockslides to take out as many
of them as we can. Blackwall, Sera, Varric, and Dorian, you guys defend the
trebuchets on the south side, keep them firing. Cassandra, Bull, Solas, and I
will take the north trebuchets. Vivienne, I want you to direct the mages where
you think they will do best, they have not elected a new Grand Enchanter and I
don’t trust Fiona to lead them in battle. Let’s go,” there was a moment of
surprise when everyone immediately turned to do as she had told them. As she
walked past the spirit she whispered, “you go find us a way to survive this.”
With that he disappeared and she went to work.
They protected both of their trebuchets effectively until they heard an
unearthly screech pierce the night, causing Seranni to immediately strengthen
her barriers over Cassandra and Bull. It was the same screech she had heard in
that future. A ball of crackling red lyrium blew into the trebuchet that they
were beside and they all scrambled to retreat. She saw the other group she had
sent south was retreating as well and Seranni freed civilians that hadn’t made
it to the chantry yet. As they entered the Chantry Seranni saw Chancellor
Roderick collapse from a wound he had sustained at some point in the battle. He
fell onto Cole and Seranni rushed over to them.
She used her magic and saw that he had lost too much blood, even her magic
could not save him and she used her magic to instead ease his pain. Cullen saw
her and rushed over to her.
“Herald! Our position is not good, that dragon stole back any time you might
have earned us,” Seranni kept her focus on her magic and leached out tendrils
to ease the suffering of those that were dying all around her.
“I’ve seen an archdemon, I was in the Fade, but it looked like that,” Cole
offered helpfully.
“I don’t care what it looks like,” Cullen growled, “It has cut a path for that
army, they’ll destroy Haven.”
“The Elder One doesn’t care about Haven. He only wants her,” Cole insisted.
Seranni looked up to see Solas staring at her as if she were a puzzle he was
trying to figure out and suddenly another image appeared over his. It looked
like Solas, but he had hair. Black hair that was long and wrapped in thick
cords with a wolf mask covering his forehead. She looked to Bull as he growled,
“Well he’s going to go on wanting her, ‘cause he’s not gonna get her.”
“Chancellor Roderick wants to help before he dies,” Cole piped up.
“There is a path, you wouldn’t know it unless you have taken the Summer
Pilgrimage, as I have. The people can escape, she must have shown me. Andraste
must have shown me so I could, tell you,” he wheezed.
Seranni nodded and rose from the floor, cutting off her flow of magic to those
around her, “sorry Bull, but that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Cole and
the Chancellor will lead these people out of here and I’ll run out and aim a
trebuchet towards the mountain.”
“But to cause an avalanche large enough to defeat them to not chase after us,
you’d have to bury Haven,” Cullen strategized aloud.
Seranni nodded, “I know.” She began walking towards the doors of the Chantry.
Bull and Cassandra moved to stand in her way, but they found that they couldn’t
move their legs. They both looked at her accusingly, Cassandra began screaming
at her. Bull watched her and only said, “Katari Ataashi.”
She used her magic to open the large doors to the chantry and Solas felt the
song of a flute on the air once again. He watched her silently as she slammed
the doors of the chantry shut and he felt her barrier snap around the door. The
sound of the flute grew louder as time progressed and people made their way out
of the chantry through the tunnels that were apparently underneath the old
church.
Leaving them the way she had was the hardest thing she had done, she had
paralyzed their legs so they wouldn’t stop her from doing what she knew she
needed to do. She needed to cut loose. She snapped her barrier over the door
and took a deep breath before exhaling and opening her eyes. She felt centered,
this was her purpose. She summoned her inferno and sent her wall of fire
throughout all of Haven. As soon as her spell ended she heard the shriek of
that damned not-dragon. She bent the Fade around her and appeared adjacent to
the trebuchet, surrounded by red templars and Behemoths. Her flame wall
enveloped them as well and the not-dragon appeared before her as soon as her
spell ended.
She kept the Elder One busy by letting him talk, he revealed himself to be
Corypheus and he tried to take her anchor. The pain that erupted from his
attempt caused her focus to snap back and she felt rejuvenated and kept him
distracted for longer than she would have thought possible.
“You will kneel before me,” he shouted at her angrily.
“No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it,” it took him a
moment to understand what she was saying. He growled in anger and threw her
against the trebuchet and she summoned an ethereal sword until she saw the
flare signal that Cullen was to send out when they were safe. She dissipated
her sword and kicked the trebuchet to fire at the mountain. She ran for the
wooden patch in the ground and used her magic to blast it open and jumped
through the hole. She fell to the ground and immediately placed a barrier to
keep snow from falling on her and moved out of the way.
She let her barrier down and leaned against the pile of snow that fell through
the opening, she was exhausted. She had never before used so much magic, she
had seen mages here using lyrium potions to replenish their mana, every mage
she met except Solas. He was a mystery for another time and focused on getting
herself out of this tunnel. She walked and thought of Bull and Cassandra. Would
they think she died? She rounded a corner and saw two despair demons milling
about in front of her. She felt the tendrils of the fade and she heard a
feeling whisper for her to use the mark.
She looked down at her left hand and extended it towards the demons, the
familiar question came from the mark, ‘open or close?’
This time she thought, ‘open’ and suddenly a rift appeared and sucked the
demons into the rift and as soon as she thought, ‘close’ the rift closed and
she was left in the cave in sudden silence. She was exhausted, but she knew if
she didn’t find a warm place to sleep, then she may not wake up. Finally she
found the mouth of the cave and nearly groaned at the snow that was blowing
chaotically outside. She had the idea to wait the storm out, but she had no
provisions and had no way of knowing how long the storm would last. However, if
she went after them in the storm. If she caught up to them, then she could rest
safely with Cassandra and Bull.
Steeling herself, she made her way out into the storm and clutched her cloak to
herself. She couldn’t stop her shivering and she felt her eyes began to droop.
She tried to go further, but she was exhausted. Bull and Cassandra were safe,
that was enough for her and she collapsed into the snow. Before her eyes closed
she swore she saw a dragon approach her through the blizzard.
***** The Dawn Will Come *****
Bull mumbled, “shit,” under his breath as he watched Seranni fall down some
hole before the avalanche hit. He hoped she was alive, she had to be alive. He
wanted to remain staring at the remains of Haven until she popped back up out
of the snow, but Cassandra and he both knew they were needed to keep these
people safe. After what seemed like hours, one of the scouts spotted a dragon
flying behind them. Bull turned and headed in that direction with Cassandra,
they were the most experienced at facing dragons.
However, once they arrived at the area the dragon had been seen, instead they
found Seranni. It looked as if she had been laid on top of the snow by the wind
itself. Bull saw Solas staring at the sky as if it would answer all his
questions on this matter. Bull quickly ran to Seranni and curled her into his
arms. She was freezing, Cass stared at him as if she wanted to be the one who
carried her back to camp.
“Qunari run hotter than most humans,” he said to her quietly as he ran back to
their camp. He refused to let her go when they had reached camp and when the
healers were done looking her over saying she was just exhausted. It was lucky
that she had been found when she was apparently she was close to frostbite.
Once the healers left the tent, Cassandra arrived with a pile of blankets, they
used two thin ones to bind her comfortably. Then they wrapped her up with Bull
to warm her as he held her.
He watched as Cass left to argue with Cullen, Josephine, and Lelianna about
where they would head next. Bull didn’t care, she was in his arms. She was safe
again, he had almost lost her twice now because of this Corypheus and the mark
on her hand. He held her close as she rested and he heard her mumble in her
sleep.
“Ar lath ma da'len, to ama ma dea deal de den Mythal's ju,” her face tightened,
“*I'm sorry. Tama.* Ar lath ma da'len, to ama ma dea deal de den Mythal's ju. I
kept my promise, I remembered your words, I’m sorry.”
He held her silently as tears fell down her face and he pondered her words, he
wondered what the words meant, it sounded like elvish to him and he had caught
a few words like ‘duty’ and ‘my child’ but that didn’t tell him much. He
resolved to expand his elvhen vocabulary, but he wanted to know what it meant.
He only knew of one person who could for sure translate the words. Bull warred
with himself all night long as he lay there.
The following morning Seranni still had not woken up, but Solas didn’t seem
concerned when he had inquired as to her health. They had all seen the magic
she had wielded and many people were saying she wielded Andraste’s Flame. He
had his doubts about that one, but could see where people would make the
connection. Many still believed her mark to be the mark of Andraste, despite
everything that had happened, she was their beacon of hope. She made decisions
that affected nations now. The people would look to her, if they didn’t make
her Inquisitor after this, they were insane. She bore the weight of the world
now, and suddenly he knew exactly what she needed, he grinned at how much fun
he could have with that. His grin faltered when he thought of how to present
this to her so she knew she could refuse and he would still lo- care, care for
her. She awoke on the third morning of their journey through the mountains. He
undid her bindings and helped her to eat some broth and it reminded him of
Seheron, taking care of her as her replacement Arvaarad. He moved those
thoughts away, she had been away from him for about two and a half years.
He frowned at that, he may have to mention that if she wanted to be with other
people she could. Would he be okay with that? He decided that so long as she
was happy he would be content with whatever she wanted. If she wanted to have
sex with him, Cullen, or Josephine, he knew he wouldn’t care, so long as she
was happy. At least, he hoped so.
Seranni awoke from her dreams in familiar warmth and after he undid her
bindings, he fed her broth carefully. It reminded her of when they were in
Seheron, suddenly her mind changed the shape of the spoon in her mouth and she
had the sudden thought of sucking on Bull’s member. The suddenness of the
thought and her closeness to him caused her to freeze and reflexively put up
her mask.
“Like I said before, you can talk about your thoughts, you don’t have to freeze
up,” of course Bull would notice her actions.
“Tomatoes,” she said quickly, “I was thinking about tomatoes.”
“Tomatoes?” he asked.
“Tomatoes,” she said firmly.
“What about tomatoes?”
“The stalk,” she quipped.
“What color is the stalk,” he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Grey-een,” she corrected mid-word
“Greyeen, hmm don’t think I’ve ever heard of that color before, you should
describe it to me,” he picked up one of the cherries that someone had put on
her plate. They were starving on the side of a cliff and here they were giving
her luxuries like cherries. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bull pluck the
stem from the cherry and popped it inside his mouth. She had never seen him eat
a cherry stem before and thought it was weird and was silent as all thought
went out the proverbial window when he pulled out the stem and it was tied in a
perfect knot, which he placed back on the plate next to the other cherries.
She stared at the knotted cherry stem and her eyes slowly raised to meet with
Bull’s eye, her mouth was suddenly dry at the look he was giving her. She saw
raw desire in his eyes and she knew it was directed at her this time. Her heart
pounded in her chest she knew she wasn’t dreaming because of all the aches and
pains that still riddled her body. She picked up the plate and moved it off to
the side, when she turned back to face him she grabbed him by the neck and
pulled herself to sit in his lap as she pulled his face towards her and crashed
their lips together.
As Bull held her he placed one of his hands on her back, then lifted his hand
so only his blunted claws touched her skin and raked his hand down her back. As
expected she moaned into his mouth, thus opening her mouth for him to explore.
It was better than in his dreams, he knew this was real. The cold at his back
reminding him where he was. Some part of him sang in triumph that she was
acting on her attraction to him. She wasn’t running away from him, she was here
in his arms kissing him.
Suddenly there was a clearing of a throat and they pulled apart to see
Cassandra standing in the entrance of the tent. Bull cleared his throat and
gently detangled himself from her and bowed out. He knew Cassandra wanted some
time with her and he wanted to talk to Solas. He found the elf far away from
the rest of the camp, his lone tent staying perfectly erect despite the winds.
The man was currently standing at the top of his hill that overlooked Seranni’s
tent.
“She is awake,” he wasn’t asking, but Bull nodded confirmation anyway. “Is
there something else I can help with? Has something happened to the mark?”
“Just wanted a translation for some elvhen I heard, figured you were the best
expert at the language,” Bull shook his head.
“Very well, what were the words?”
“Ar lath ma da'len, to ama ma dea deal de den Mythal's ju.”
Solas’ brow furrowed and he was silent for a moment, “the closest translation
would be ‘I love you my child, to protect you was Mythal’s will.” He spoke
quietly and quietly excused himself from Bull’s company. Bull pondered over the
words and he wondered what the hell this Mythal wanted with his Katari Ataashi.
Later that evening Cassandra cornered him and when he asked who was with
Seranni she waved him off saying that the spirit being, Cole, was with her.
Bull could tell that she was not happy with leaving Seranni with Cole. Bull
shrugged then and asked her what she wanted.
“You will not touch her in such a manner again,” she growled at him.
He was wondering when this would come up, he had seen the glances that Cass had
been giving him since the dragons. Word must have gotten to her about that kiss
and catching them in such an embrace really wouldn’t help matters.
“She’s capable of deciding things for herself, in fact she kissed me. You just
came in in the middle, notice how I had to be the one to pull away from her,”
he told her. In the distance he heard someone chuckling and he turned to see
Blackwall covering his mouth in an attempt to hide a smile. He knew something.
His words seemed to upset Cass even more, “She needs to be protected.”
“Agreed, but not coddled. She wouldn’t know how to deal with it, so we treat
her like everyone else. We’re the ones lucky enough to be allowed in, we see
more of her than anyone else,” he watched as Cassandra’s face smoothed from
angry to thoughtful, “nature is catching up with her and she doesn’t know how
to deal with it. I’m giving her the chance to come to me, someone she trusts.”
“Fine, but she sets the pace,” she glared at him.
“Way ahead of you, Cass,” he winked at her. Once she realized that it was a
wink she rolled her eyes and made a disgusted noise. He grinned at her reaction
and went to sit with his chargers for a moment. After a bit he heard Cullen,
Lelianna, Josephine, and Cassandra start up their argument again. Moments later
Seranni emerged from her tent and the entire camp sang some kind of hymn at her
and he caught Skinner of all people mouthing the words along with the
Inquisition.
He saw her walk off with Solas and when they returned she had a disgruntled
look on her face, “they aren’t my people, are they? Just because I am an elf
does that make them my people? But I grew up with the Qun so would that make me
Qunari and make them my people?” Cole’s voice sounded close to Bull’s ear. He
had only just barely resisted the urge to swing his axe at the kid and growled
a warning before asking if that was what Seranni had been thinking.
Cole nodded, “she thinks about you, a lot. You soothe her aches, not her good
aches. You soothe her bad aches. You help her.”
“Thanks kid,” he muttered to the kid.
***** Fortune Favors the Bold *****
They had settled into Skyhold and she was named Inquisitor, she met with
Varric’s friend the Champion of Kirkwall. She had been surprised to meet the
female mage and was even more surprised by how cocky the woman was. Her humor
was refreshing and reminded her of Bull. She invited the Champion to drinks
with her and Bull later that night. Bull and Hawke drank and drank while she
sat back and watched them enjoy themselves.
Suddenly she saw Hawke’s hand rest on Bull’s thigh and she felt the stirrings
of not quite anger begin and she looked away and began talking with Krem again.
He felt like Cassandra and many of the templars did, but she knew he didn’t
take lyrium and had never received templar training. She was trying to convince
Krem to take lessons from Cassandra or something to expand his areas of
expertise, Rule number 19, never stop growing.
From behind her she heard, “nah, thanks for the offer Hawke, but I kind of have
a thing for redheads.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and her eyes flicked to his face, he was looking
straight at her. She decided exactly what she was doing tonight after the
tavern. She gracefully excused herself from the table and went up the stairs of
the Tavern all the way to the third floor. She looked directly at Bull and saw
that he was still watching her from across the tavern. She opened the door at
the top of the stairs and walked into the room that Bull had claimed for
himself. She was glad to see that the workers had done as she asked and had
completed repairs in this tower.
She lit a fire in his fireplace and stripped out of her armor, it was so tight
she didn’t bother with smalls since everything was held together by her armor.
She stood bare in the room for a moment before sitting down on the bed. She
thought to herself as she undid her hair and realized that Bull was taking
quite a while to follow her. He was giving her time to back out if she wanted.
She smiled to herself and shook her hair free. She needed this, Fenhedis she
needed this. She relaxed as she heard his footsteps creak on the wooden floors
outside his door.
The door opened and Bull entered the room, he grinned at her as he closed his
door and locked it behind him. He then went and locked the other two doors to
his quarters and Bull stood before her and looked at her hungrily.
“You have a watchword with Cassandra?”
“Dathrasi.”
He grimaced, “Yeah, you would pick that.”
He quickly stripped out of his clothes and knelt before her and looked her in
the eye, “have you ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” she answered him. Bull nodded and gently held her head as he lay her down
on his bed.
***
Bull ran his blunted claws down her front, making her back arch off the bed as
he his fingers ran over her nipples. He kissed her and languidly ran his tongue
around her mouth, tasting her. She tasted of honey, nature, and a taste that
was distinctly her. He wanted to savor this moment forever and with it being
her first time he was in no rush. Her hands shook from the pleasure that raked
her body. He pulled them above her head and held them there with one hand and
he ran his other hand down her front again. Her moan echoed in his chambers as
he pulled away from her. He squeezed her wrists, a silent order to keep them
there and he ran both his hands down her front leaving bright red lines down
her front. Her hands never moved from their position as she arched off the bed
into his hands.
She groaned at the sensations he produced from her body. He lowered his head
and instead of kissing her like she expected, he latched his mouth on the side
of her breast. Her eyes closed in pleasure as his teeth scraped at the side of
her breast. She moaned and her arms struggled to remain where he had placed
them. He seemed to sense this and rose, gathering a sheet in his hands and he
wove it between her wrists and attached her to the bedpost. Her fingers gripped
the cloth as his mouth went back to the exact same spot and one of his hands
slipped lower.
Below her stomach he cupped her center and as his mouth worked on her breast
his fingers spread apart her folds and she shuddered at the sudden cool air. He
placed his thumb at a bundle of nerves and entered one finger within her. She
mewled as he curled the finger into a hook shape and straightened his finger
again. He entered a second finger within her and she felt them scissoring
within her, stretching her and she felt a wonderful ache begin to build at her
core.
His mouth popped off her breast with a loud pop that she knew he made on
purpose, but she was already a puddle of goo. Clay to be molded however he
liked as his fingers and mouth painted her skin. He switched hands, placing
four fingers to fill her for a moment before removing one hand. He moved to her
other side and latched his mouth on her other breast and he brought his newly
freed hand up to knead her breast.
A third finger entered her and all three wiggled inside her as she arched into
him, trying to get closer to him and only once the mark on her breast was dark
enough to his satisfaction did he pull back from her breasts. He moved his way
downward and he extended his tongue to lick at her clit as he added a fourth
finger and worked her to a more comfortable looseness. Only once he had felt
her release did he removed his fingers and lined himself up with her entrance.
She was catching her breath as her body felt as if it were on fire and she was
coming down from an elf root high at the same time. Never would she have been
able to guess that she could experience such heights of pleasure. She felt him
enter her slowly, carefully. She groaned in frustration that he was moving too
slowly. She wrapped her legs aground his hips and squeezed them, trying to tell
him to move faster.
She felt him grin as he kissed her and he continued his slow pace as he pinned
her hips to the bed with one hand while the other supported him above her. Once
he was seated fully within her she felt complete and he remained still within
her for a moment before he brought his hips back. She groaned as her inner
folds drug against him as he exited her and snapped his hips back to hers
eliciting a strangled cry as her pleasure mounted once more.
She surrendered herself to the pain that shot through her as he continued to
enter her roughly, her cries grew louder and louder until he removed himself
from her legs and flipped her over onto her stomach. The sheet tightened on her
wrists, and Bull took a moment to squeeze her fingers to make sure she was
okay. It only lasted a moment before he raised her hips up to meet his as he
placed his knees next to hers and spread her legs wide.
He rammed into her and her cries continued to climb as pleasure and pain
mingled beautifully within her and her sore breasts scraped against the
roughness of the mattress. Tears formed at her eyes and she didn’t have the
presence of mind to hold them back as she sobbed into the mattress. She cried
her release and moments later she felt him release himself within her.
***
He quickly undid the bindings that held her arms to the bedposts and held her
against him. They lay there as tears flowed from her eyes and sobs wracked her
body. He held her patiently and silently until her sobs calmed and she pulled
back to look at him.
“I’m so-”
“Rule number 6,” he brought a hand up to her face and drew his thumb across the
bottom of her eyes, “Never say you’re sorry, it’s a sign of weakness. Also I
kind of expected that.”
“You expected me to cry? Is that normal?”
“Not necessarily, but after great sex like that I would have been worried if
you hadn’t broken down,” Bull stretched himself out on the bed and pulled her
to curl up next to him. She pulled her legs up and she rested her head on his
breast and promptly fell asleep before Bull had even pulled the blanket over
them.
***** Demands of the Qun *****
Chapter Summary
     “They needed each other, Hissrad died,” Cole explained.
Weeks had passed and Bull and Seranni alternated which room they slept in, but
gradually more and more of Bull’s things kept getting ‘forgotten’ in Seranni’s
chambers and after they broke the bed in Bull’s room, he just slept in
Seranni’s room anyway. He had been trying to pin her down to tickle her once he
had discovered that she was ticklish on her ribs. She didn’t know how to
respond and had so began to get out of his holds and before she knew it they
were wrestling on the bed and there was a loud creak before they landed on a
heap in the middle of an explosion of wood and straw. Rather than explain to
Josephine why Bull needed a new bed they used it as firewood and told Josephine
that the room was available for someone else to use.
Bull had risen from his slumber like he had every morning that week wrapped
around the woman who made his heart do somersaults just watching her walk. He
looked down at her and his cock twitched as the memory of being inside her
flashed across his mind and he looked at the marks he left on her. They had all
blossomed into dark purple bruises that he caught her rubbing throughout the
day and smiling to herself. He had started putting some on her arms to make her
actions more subtle and she still smiled at those as much as she did the ones
on her breasts.
They were back at Skyhold and he awoke once more with a smile on his face as he
shifted and felt her arms wrap around him and hold him close. They were
planning on heading out to Crestwood in about a week or so, but for now nothing
existed outside this room. He reveled in the moment until she opened her eyes
and blinked away her tiredness. He caught himself staring at her as she yawned
and stretched against him. He pulled her close and breathed deep, pulling her
up and pressing his nose against her neck.
She tilted her head to the side as his teeth started to scrape at her neck. She
shuddered against him as his sharpened teeth scraped along her collarbone. He
brought himself back up to her face and meshed his lips to hers before he
raised himself up and was nearly standing before he unceremoniously let go of
her and she plopped back onto the bed with an ‘ooph.’
“Do you have to do that every morning?”
“Do you have to let me, every morning?” he teased her back.
She smiled at his response and rose to get herself ready for the day. Bull
watched her for a moment before he put his gear on and headed down the stairs
to give her her morning alone time. Bull made his way down through the castle
fortress itself and made his way out of the gates of Skyhold and went to the
rock where the dead drop would be. He pulled out the phial that held the paper
with his orders on it. He read the words on the page and was suddenly glad he
hadn’t had breakfast yet.
He quickly made his way back to Skyhold and straight up to Lelianna’s roost,
“report from my superiors, Red.”
Annoyance crossed her features, he was still curious as to what she was going
to do to get him to stop calling her that, but that was not his issue at the
moment. He grabbed a parchment and quill and quickly wrote down the translated
text, “if you want to have The Inquisitor read it over to ensure correct
translation I won’t be offended.”
“She knows your ben-hassrath code?” she asked curiously.
He smiled in response and went down to the main hallway where he saw Seranni
about to enter the War Room with her advisors. He waved her down and told her
that he wanted to talk with her after her meeting, she nodded her agreement. He
was struck by his predicament, depending on who they sent as emissary, he may
have to declare himself Tal-Vashoth, just to survive. He scowled and made his
way down to the tavern where he grabbed Krem and began working on the shield
bash with him. He was surprised when Seranni appeared next to them after he had
flown Krem back, again.
“Ah, come on, Krem. I’ve been working my ass off to get you to see that move!”
“You’ve still got plenty of ass left, chief. Uh, hey Seranni,” Krem greeted her
nervously. Even after all this time he was still a bit nervous around her, Bull
assured her it was because she had been so good at reading the guy.
“Glad you came by, I got word from the Ben-Hassrath,” he saw her swallow and
begin to go rigid. She knew the danger they both faced. “They got word of a
shipment of red lyrium that we can hit on the Storm Coast. Small squad, you,
me, Chargers, one or two more people.”
She glanced at Bull, he knew she would take Cole and Cassandra with them. They
went with her every time she left the keep. She trusted them, Vivienne was busy
being Grand Enchanter of the mages, Blackwall was busy with Josephine, Dorian
was busy researching Corypheus, Sera was too scared of Seranni to really keep
their friendship and she was saddened by this. Sera remained with the
Inquisition and frequently left with Blackwall, Solas, and Varric on missions
to help stabilize the country and bring order while helping the refugees.
“They mentioned an alliance with the Inquisition,” Bull commented and Seranni
turned her gaze to the ground as she thought. She nodded her understanding and
looked to Krem as he got a wistful look in his eye as he began to speak.
“Heard they were bringing in one of their Dreadnaughts, always wanted to see
one of those things in action,” Bull bashed his shield and Krem flew back
again.
“Did you see that? Ugh, go get some water,” Krem silently made his way to the
water barrel and Seranni moved closer to Bull. She rested her hand on his
forearm and lightly squeezed. She understood that he had gotten used to his
role as undercover Tal-Vashoth and was used to them being far away. Now the Qun
was suddenly in their faces and here they were, going against everything the
Qun stood for by being together. She looked into his eyes and he saw worry for
him in her eyes.
They made their way to the Storm Coast and Bull and Seranni remained as on edge
as they had when they had left their quarters. It all seemed to be happening so
fast and when they reached the meeting place for their Qunari contact,
Seranni’s nerves screamed at her when Gatt appeared.
“Gatt! Last I heard you were still in Seheron,” Bull sounded jovial, but
Seranni could hear him holding back. He didn’t trust this situation any more
than she did, she didn’t like that it was Gatt who was their contact. She knew
he would recognize her as soon as his attention turned to her.
Sure enough, “Saarebas!? What the hell are you doing here?” She silently lifted
her left hand to show him her glowing mark and he glared at her and then at
Bull, “your reports never mentioned that it was her leading the Inquisition!”
“His reports were sent through my spymaster and I told her the dangers of such
information getting back to the Qun right then,” Seranni responded to him
finally, “and my name is Seranni, use it.”
“Fine, Inquisitor,” Gatt said defiantly to her, he turned to Bull to speak
about the plan, “Our dreadnaught is safely out of view, and out of range of any
Venatori mages on shore. The plan is to eliminate the Venatori, then signal the
dreadnaught so it can come in and take out the smuggler ship.”
Seranni knew that Bull never liked doing dreadnaught runs, too many ways for
things to go wrong.
“My agents suggested two possible locations the Venatori may be camped to guard
the shore. There,” Gatt pointed at a spot on the map before him, “and there.
We’ll need to split up and hit both at once. Will you two stop facing books to
each other?!”
Cassandra looked at him confused until she saw Seranni make an exaggeratedly
absurd face, she pursed her lips to keep from smiling and ended up with an
annoyed look. Gatt saw her annoyed look and started going into detail about
when her lips were sewn shut. The entire time, Seranni and Bull both made
exaggeratedly absurd faces at each other which only made Gatt growl in
frustration and walked off to hit a tree. Once he had done so, Bull went off to
let the Chargers know the plan and Cassandra saw the longing in Seranni’s eyes
as he momentarily left her side.
They made their way easily to the camp they were to hit, Seranni had seen Krem
send off their signal and their own followed not too long after. They watched
as the dreadnaught came around the cliff and take down the smuggler ship
easily. Bull laughed at the show, but Seranni felt a tightness in her
shoulders. Had she fur it would be standing on end, just as her nerves were.
Her fears were realized when she heard Bull say, “shit” under his breath. She
looked up and saw a large squadron of Venatori agents heading towards the
Chargers.
Bull looked to her, ‘What do I do?’
Her breath hitched in her chest, he was scared, but she couldn’t make this
decision for him, she shook her head, “this is your choice. I can’t make it for
you, Hissrad.”
Her use of his name was a warning, not only would he lose the Chargers if he
didn’t call the retreat, he would lose her. He looked at Gatt and his hand
hovered over the horn to signal the retreat.
“Your men need to hold that position, Bull,” Gatt pleaded with him.
“I do that, they’re dead,” time seemed to move slowly as he unhooked the horn
from his belt.
Gatt looked at him desperately, “You’d be declaring yourself Tal-Vashoth. With
all that you’ve given the Inquisition, half the Ben-Hassrath think you’ve gone
Tal-Vashoth already. I vouched for you, said you would never turn Tal-Vashoth.
I won’t even tell them it’s Saarebas that leads the Inquisition.”
“They’re my men and her name is Seranni,” he growled before he blew into the
horn. Seranni watched as the Chargers retreated to a safe distance and when she
turned back to face Gatt, his face was contorted with rage.
“So it is,” was all he said. Seranni was rendered silent as an image settled
over Gatt’s face. All it was was a diamond shaped rune rimmed in purple fire in
the middle of his forehead. The rune screamed ‘Desire’ at her and she stared at
him in shock. Anguish crossed his features as he began pacing in front of them.
“All these years, you throw away all that you are? For what? For her?” he
glared at her scathingly.
He took a step to stand between them, “Yes, for her. Katari Ataashi.”
Her eyes widened at the tone in which he said those words. She realized then
that every time he said that he was saying he loved her. He had been asking
more questions about details of her past and then helped her pick apart the
memory and he remembered what her Arvaarad had called the Viddasala. When he
had called her Kadan in the other future, it had left a rotten taste in her
mouth. She didn’t know what to do with what she felt, so she remained silent as
Gatt stalked away, but as he was just about to exit their group, he turned back
to face them.
“I’m to inform you in the event of this happening you will not be receiving
anymore reports from your Tal-Vashoth ally,” he sneered at them and Bull and
Seranni both froze. Gatt had known from the beginning that this was a
possibility. It had been a setup from the start, and they had been played.
Someone was out to get them, someone in the Qun wanted them both to be Tal-
Vashoth.
Bull stared down at the dreadnaught as it was being attacked from the shore,
“won’t be long now,” was all he could say.
“Bull, when the dreadnaught sinks-” Cassandra began.
“Sinks?” he asked, confusion in his voice.
“Qunari Dreadnoughts don’t sink,” Seranni spoke dully.
Cassandra looked to Bull and saw that he had expected this from her, and
honestly Cassandra wasn’t surprised that Seranni was shutting down. She saw
them brace themselves and moments later the dreadnaught exploded causing the
ground to shake with the force of it. Cassandra saw that neither Bull nor
Seranni flinched at the explosion and she saw Cole appear between them. The boy
took a hand from Seranni’s side and pulled her to Bull’s hand and watched as
they embraced.
“They needed each other, Hissrad died,” Cole explained.
Cassandra stared at Bull and understood, she turned and began clearing away the
corpses. She told Cole to tell the Chargers to meet them up there and they
would camp for the night right here, tents were already erected and Cassandra
set to pulling a tarp to hang above them. They stood still as she worked around
them, she was a doer. She wanted to fix things and they understood that.
She listened as they began to whisper to each other lines of what sounded like
a prayer, ‘Shok ebasit hissra. Meraad astaarit, meraad itwasit, aban aqun.
Maraas shokra. Anaan esaam Katari Ataashi.” They had stared at each other with
determination in their eyes as they spoke the last line.
Cassandra heard the crunch of the Chargers approaching their camp and saw Bull
and Seranni reluctantly pull away from each other. They worked in unison
Cassandra watched as they wordlessly warmed the area of their camp. Bull made a
fire large enough to cook on, but small enough that it didn’t burn a hole in
the tarp Cassandra had put up. At least the fire was small enough for that
until Seranni cast a rune over the tarp rendering it fireproof.
By then the chargers had arrived and Dalish immediately began asking about the
rune Seranni had cast on the tarp to make it fireproof. The Chargers teased the
elves for talking about magic when Dalish wasn’t a mage, whatever joke that
referenced, Cassandra had no clue and quickly retired to her tent when she was
sure that Seranni didn’t need her that night.
Seranni was still reeling from the events of the day when she and Bull retired
to their tent. He wordlessly stripped as she laid out their bedroll. He
stripped himself naked and laid out before her and watched her as she slowly
stripped out of her form fitting armor. He smiled to himself as he saw the ring
of his marks surrounding both breasts. He brought up a hand and traced a finger
between his marks. She shuddered at his attention and pulled her to rest on top
of him, she curled up on top of him as she used one hand and he used one hand
and they undid her braid together. Their fingers brushed against each other and
as each strand of hair came loose she felt parts of her body relax.
She pulled the blanket up and covered them up, her lying on top of him and once
the blanket was in position, he tucked the sides of the blanket under her and
curled himself around her. The feel of his heart beating beneath her ear became
her breathing pattern and she soon fell asleep. Her last thought before
unconsciousness engulfed her was ‘Katari Ataashi.’
***** Dragons, Children, and Qunari Assassins, Oh My! *****
They finally received word of where to meet with Hawke and his Warden contact,
they met with him and he seemed terrified of something and after hearing that
every Grey Warden in Ferelden and Orlais was hearing the Call and thinking they
were dying. King Alistair’s actions made more sense. Especially after she
overheard Lelianna mentioning that he was a Grey Warden as well.
The Grey Warden they met was a man by the name of Stroud and he told them about
the Grey Wardens amassing a large force in the Western Approach. He told them
he would send word of where to meet him once he got there safely and left them.
Hawke left them as well and smiled knowingly between Bull and Seranni as she
left them. They retook the fortress that bandits had taken over and had
discovered the mayor’s treatury against his people. They fixed the rifts that
plagued the town and when the weather cleared at the first chance they had.
They headed straight for the lair of the dragon they had seen flying over the
dam.
First they drew the dragon out of his cave and fought him in the ruins of an
ancient castle. Seranni froze it’s wings so it couldn’t fly off and made it
land between Cassandra and Bull with Cole flitting between it’s legs. Seranni
stayed back and kept barriers and healing flowing to the three fighting the
dragon.
Once the dragon was defeated Cole walked over to Bull and said out of the blue,
“I like your horns, The Iron Bull, but they look more like dragon horns.” He
nodded at the dragon that lay dead at their feet. “You could have named
yourself The Iron Dragon.”
Realization dawned on his face as he smiled, “oh, shit, that would have been
better.” Seranni rolled her eyes at the conversation, but smiled at Bull until
she heard the tumble of rocks and a small voice cry out.
“You stay away from us! We don’t care if you just killed that dragon! You
bandits aren’t killing us.” Seranni turned and saw a small human child rising
out of the ground from beneath the ruins they had been fighting on. The little
girl held what appeared to be a thick branch in her hands and was swinging it
every which way. Suddenly a second head popped up from beneath the ruins.
Seranni froze as she felt a familiar feeling emanating from this child. He was
the darkest skinned Kossith she had seen in her entire life. His horns jutted
from his head just like Bull’s and if she didn’t know better she would have
pegged this child as Bull’s. The imekari turned and looked directly at Seranni.
He began to walk unsteadily towards her and she realized he was blind. The
little girl who had shouted at them watched in stunned silence with the rest of
them as the little boy walked directly into Seranni who had squat down to his
height as he had gotten closer to her.
“Lethalin, Ma ane Lethalin,” she stared down at the child in her arms.
“Ahn is mar melin, imekari?” she asked him.
“Ar ema, no melin,” he grabbed onto her and rubbed his face into her shoulder.
She placed a hand on the back of his head and turned to Bull.
“He called me family, I asked his name, he has none.”
“The Iron Dragon," he said simply as he stared at the scene of her holding a
kossith child. As child that if he didn’t know better, he would have sworn the
child to be his.
“Hey, you can’t just go around hugging strange people, kid!” the little girl
yelled at them. Her blonde hair hung around her like an ethereal halo as she
glared at them all.
He pulled back from Seranni’s shoulder and shouted at the girl, “she’s family.
She’s not strange people.”
“Have you ever even met her before?”
“No, but she family.”
“How do you know?” The children continued to argue as Bull and Seranni argued
over what to do about the children. Cassandra watched and actually managed to
catch a few meanings. Bull wanted to leave them in Crestwood, Seranni wanted to
take them to Skyhold. Cassandra looked at the children sadly.
“She doesn’t have a name either,” Cole suddenly spoke up.
“I do to have a name, I was named way before you strangers came along,” the
girl screamed at him.
The male child shouted at her, “oh yeah, what’s your name then?”
“Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast,” the girl said proudly.
Cassandra pursed her lips and knelt beside Seranni, “That’s an interesting
name, considering it is mine.” The girl immediately looked at Cassandra more
closely and paled instantly.
“Oh Maker, you’re her, you’re really, Oh Maker,” the girl dropped her stick and
looked to be about to run, but when she turned around she ran straight into
Bull’s leg. He took advantage of her being stunned and picked her up and faced
her to the Seeker who came up and eyed the child critically.
“Hmm, I suppose we’ll just have to take you back to Skyhold to be judged by the
Inquisitor,” Cassandra spoke nonchalantly to Seranni.
“Oh yes, impersonating the Right Hand of the Divine is certain to be judged by
the Inquisitor as soon as we reach Skyhold.” Seranni quipped back.
“Yes, what do you think the Inquisitor will judge for them?”
“Them?!” the girl squeaked from Bull’s arms.
“Well he was with you when we found him, he must be your accomplice,” Bull told
the little girl and she looked to her friend. Surprisingly the kid was going
along with it and was bowing his head gravely with his shoulders shaking as if
he were sobbing.
“No! He’s not with me, you just named him. He’s with you guys, it was all me,
I’m the only one that should be judged!” she shouted at them. Bull was glad
that she was looking at the Seeker and Seranni so that she didn’t see the grin
that broke out over his face at her words.
Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the child, “My Lady Inquisitor would you mind if
I judged this one?”
“Not at all, Lady Seeker. Judge her as you see fit,” Seranni responded and
fought to keep her face blank as the child looked to her fearfully.
“Very well, I judge you for your crimes of impersonating the Right Hand of the
Divine, you shall be named Calogera, my favorite middle name.” Cassandra stared
at the child with a smirk on her face as the child stared at them all
dumbstruck.
The Iron Dragon looked up from his ‘sobbing’ position to reveal a wide grin and
when he busted up laughing the girl began screaming at him again and Seranni
continued her argument with Bull. After a few minutes Bull sighed, “fine, we’ll
take them to Skyhold, but they are staying with the other orphans with Sister
Michel.”
Seranni grinned at him and Bull was struck by her beauty, he knew then and
there that he would do anything just to see her smile at him as she was just
then. Cassandra saw the unbridle joy on Seranni’s face and was surprised at the
openness of her expression, surprised but happy.
They made their way back to Skyhold with Bull riding with Cal and Dragon riding
with Seranni. Apparently the kid could see, but through magic somehow. At least
that was his theory when he had gone straight for Seranni.They settled the kids
in with Sister Michel and they made their way to the War Room. Bull took their
things up to their quarters as she attended her Inquisitor duties.
The following week was spent in preparation for the Ball at Halamshiral,
Seranni had managed to convince Josephine to allow for Vivienne to come as well
as the Grand Enchanter. She wanted every angle she could get with southern
politics that she didn’t see the point of. The Ball wasn’t for another month,
but one could never be too prepared. Bull had been acting oddly that week and
had spent quite a bit of time in the Undercroft with Dagna, but when she asked
what was going on Bull just said it was a surprise.
She sat with the Chargers in the Tavern, listening to them exchange stories
until Bull walked into the tavern with a new bag slung over his shoulder, he
spotted her and nodded her to follow him. She rose and followed him, she waited
for him to speak as she followed him up to the top of her little castle. They
walked the battlements for a bit as she saw him take breath after breath trying
to subtly calm himself down. He was nervous, why was he nervous?
Suddenly two guards approached them and something about them seemed off. It was
confirmed when Bull rolled his eye at them in annoyance and he turned just as
one threw a dagger at him. It stuck out of his shoulder until he grabbed it and
threw it into the throat of the man who had threw it at him.
“Ebost Issala, Tal-Vashoth,” the guard left spat at Bull. In response Bull
threw him over the side of the wall.
“Yeah, yeah, my soul is dust. Yours is scattered all over the ground so,” Bull
gripped his shoulder and saw that Seranni had already healed it.
“This was a formality,” she looked at the guard who lay at her feet.
“Yeah, and a reminder that they aren’t done with me. They’ll call on me one
day.” Seranni nodded her agreement and her gaze moved to the bag that had
fallen from his shoulder in the midst of the fight. She watched him as he moved
slowly to retrieve the bag and he stared at it.
“It was also a reminder that I’m Tal-Vashoth. Tal-Va-fucking-shoth.”
Seranni channeled her magic into her right hand and let her hand fly, hitting
him in the arm as hard as she could, “You’re a good man, Qun or no. You are a
good man. How do you think I felt that first night I woke up and no demon had
possessed me in my sleep and killed everyone around me.” She grasped his horns
in her grip and made him look at her in the eyes.
Bull saw the raw determination in her eyes and stared at her, soaking her in.
He leaned his forehead against hers, “thanks, Katari Ataashi.”
She smiled at him, “Katari Ataashi. So, what’s in the bag?”
Bull’s face broke into a smile and he quickly threw the body of the other dead
soldier over the side of the wall. He pulled her to sit next to him on the
ground in the middle of the battlement. She smiled at him and waited as he
pulled the bag to lay in his lap, first he pulled out a necklace. It looked
like a dragon’s tooth broken in half with a magical foci embedded in the
dawnstone that capped the tooth. It looked beautiful and he placed it in her
hands, she turned it over in her hands and saw that it wasn’t just any
dawnstone. It was Fade-touched Dawnstone, she could tell that the foci carried
a charge of it’s own and that the dawnstone would carry the magical charge to
whatever the tooth was connected to.
She looked back to him and froze, her eyes widened at what was in his hands. It
was a dark leather strip of Dragon Scales fashioned into a collar. She saw more
fade-touched dawnstone weaving a pattern around the collar, as it lay in Bull’s
hands she saw the somehow the dawnstone acted more like cloth than stone and
that it lined tiny diamond shaped ivory white stones. She reached a hand
towards it and realized that it was bone, dragon bone. It was the other half of
the dragon tooth that she held in her hands.
She looked at the pieced curiously until Bull pulled a rod made of Dragon Bone
that had dawnstone inlaid in carvings on the rod. She sensed magic in the rod
and marveled at the beauty of it all, she looked to the top of the rod and saw
an opening at the top that looked to fit the dragon tooth she held in her
hands. She realized the foci in the tooth charged the rod and she felt a
connection between all three items.
Bull laid the pieces in his lap and looked into her eyes, “Cassandra can’t be
there every time you need it. When Cassandra does it, other mages can feel it
in the air. You know this that’s why you have her do it in far away places. No
one else would be able to feel this.”
She stared at the items as understanding dawned on her, he had taken the
control rod a step further and had broken it all apart, why? She picked up the
control rod and saw that it was shaped just like her old one. The one she had
lost in the destruction of Haven. She had missed its familiar weight against
her leg and stared at him at a loss for words.
“I won’t do this with you unless you place these items where you want them,”
she stared at him for a long moment and when she placed the rod on the ground
between them he didn’t react. He didn’t move when she stood and placed the
dragon tooth foci around his neck. He still didn’t move when she picked up the
rod for a moment before placing it on her leg where she still wore the leather
straps. Only then did she look at him and knelt before him.
“I want you to place it,” she bowed her head to him and he gently placed the
collar around her neck. Once the ends of the collar met there was a small glow
from all three items. Dagna had told him that it meant they were active. Bull
stood and pulled her to stand with him.
“We need to be in our rooms, now,” he growled in her ear.
Seranni grinned and bent the Fade around her to make the distance to their
rooms closer and they were there within three steps. Once there, Bull crashed
his lips to hers and pushed her up against one of the stone walls of their
room. Clothes quickly were removed as their hands moved across each other’s
bodies with practiced ease.
***
He lifted her with ease and she summoned the rope to her hand just as easily.
He lay her on the bed and took the rope from her hand. She had gotten him pink
dyed rope that wasn’t too soft, but wasn’t too rough either. He didn’t know
what strings she had had to pull to get it, but he didn’t care, he loved the
things they accumulated together. He wrapped and knotted one length of rope to
her wrist so that she had something to grab onto and pulled it up to wrap
around the bed post. He wove the rope to frame her breasts and he pinned her
other arm into position behind her back.
As he wove his rope across her body she relaxed into the familiar sensations
flowing through her body. Bull moved away and she opened her eyes to see him
staring at her, “I should really get this painted, we could hang it over the
fireplace.”
She smiled up at him, “only if we get one of you standing on a dragon skull for
the main hall.”
He hummed and ghosted his lips over her breasts, “why the main hall?”
Seranni groaned as he bit down on a mark that had been fading from her skin,
“so that when I’m judging these people, I can enjoy the view.”
“Oh,” he questioned as he removed himself from her breast and leaned across her
body. He propped his head up on one arm and used his other hand to play at her
nipple. He pinched and twisted the nipple, eliciting moans from the woman
beneath him. He grinned at her wickedly as his mouth latched onto her other
breast and she arched herself off the bed and grasped at the rope with her
other hand. He let her buck into him as he suckled her breast.
Suddenly he pulled away and blew gently on the breast that his mouth had just
been on. She moaned deeply at the sensation and just as suddenly his mouth was
on her other breast and instead of kneading her other breast, his fingers split
open her folds. His fingers entered her roughly and he let her continue to buck
into his hand, trying to bring them closer. He brought her close to the edge
and he suddenly pulled away.
She whimpered at the sudden loss of sensation and watched him desperately as he
pulled the dragon bone rod from her pile of clothes and he grinned at the
hopeful curiosity he saw in her eyes. He pulled the dragon tooth from around
his neck and placed it in the holder of the rod. The rod glowed for a moment as
the magic connected to the foci and she felt her collar sizzle against her skin
for a moment.
“I had to spend four hours with Dagna before she was happy that I understood
how to work this thing,” he smiled ruefully at her, “She kind of went nuts with
the different things it could do, because I had told her what I wanted and that
money wasn’t an issue, she hugged me. I think she’s been wanting us to get
together for a while.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him, “apparently she ‘shipps’ a bunch of people all
over Skyhold. That’s the way she put it anyway, I don’t know. First things
first, safe word?”
“Dathrasi,” as soon as the word left her lips the dragon’s tooth foci popped
out of the rod and into Bull’s waiting hand. He grinned as she looked at him
with an expression that said, ‘Only you.’ He put the foci back in the rod and
ran his fingers across the surface of the rod and sudden pain erupted all over
her, but far less intense than a Smite or her control rod. It felt more like
his fingers were scraping across her skin. He ran his fingers across the
surface of the rod again and the pain seemed to come from further within her.
It was as if her magic was kneading against her from within rather than tearing
her apart.
Suddenly that all stopped and he placed the rod gently back among the clothes
and placed the foci back around his neck, “that was fun, but I want to play
with you.”
He flipped her onto her front and pulled her legs up with her ass in the air,
he grinned a moment before his hand came down on her ass with a loud smack. He
rubbed his hand in circles over the skin and smacked her ass on the other cheek
and soothed the skin again. He entered the thumb of his other hand inside her
cunt and continued smacking at her ass in a random pattern. He continued this
until he felt her come on his fingers and he quickened his movements for a
moment, his smacks coming quicker as his thumb moved within her.
She screamed as her orgasm intensified at his actions and she rode the waves of
her orgasm. Her body twitched as she came down from the high and she felt him
line himself up with her entrance. He entered her in one swift motion, causing
a mixture of pain and pleasure to radiate from her center. She surrendered
herself to the feeling as Bull grabbed the rope gathered at her back and pulled
her upwards and flipped them so he lay on the bed, propped against the pillows
and untied her arm from the bedpost and instead attached it to where her other
arm lay at her back. She faced the room and her eyes were drawn to the mirror
that had been strategically placed at the foot of their bed.
She watched him enter her as he easily lifted her form and she was impaled
repeatedly as she bounced on his lap. She watched him as he leaned up close
behind her and brought his hands to her nipples and began to knead them again.
She moaned as he pulled and twisted her nipples with every movement bringing
her closer to breaking he increased the pace beneath her and she felt him come
closer to the edge.
Suddenly he lifted her completely off of him and carried her over to her desk,
she grinned in anticipation. He lay her face down on the half of the desk they
kept clear for just this reason. He pinned her in place with a hand to her
forearms behind her back. He swiftly entered her and roughly fucked her. Her
hips slammed into the desk and she wanted to scream as pleasure and pain
mounted within her and she found herself orgasming again, but he continued to
fuck her roughly against the desk. It wasn’t until she was crying out in
languages even she didn’t know that he finally released himself within her.
***
Bull gently lifted her and carried her back to the bed. He gently undid all the
rope that bound her, he left the bed to put the rope away, pulled out their
elfroot salve for the really bad marks, and proceeded to rub some on her hips
where they had met the desk. She moaned and tiredly shifted towards him. He
grinned and placed a hand firmly on her stomach to stop her from moving. He
finished with the elfroot salve and went to the tray of water and food he had
brought up earlier.
***** Wicked Hearts *****
She didn’t know what she had expected, but feeling yet another being of
familiar magic was not what she was expecting. This Morrigan was interesting,
but ultimately unhelpful in their search for the apparent assassin that was
hiding themselves behind this ‘game’ Orlesian nobles insisted on playing. She
saw no point in it, but ultimately went along with it all because Cassandra had
told her to listen to Josephine. After that particular lesson, Seranni decided
to make things go faster and researched everything she could about Orlesian
nobles and their ‘game.’
Then to get all dressed up just to show off how pretty you are, she wondered
why she had agreed to wearing these fancy dresses. Suddenly the crowd parted
and she had a perfect view of Bull in his black suit that hugged his muscles.
His dawnstone dragon tooth foci dangling from his neck as he made a show of
eating the food from the buffet table. Oh yeah, that was why she agreed to
these frilly costumes.
Cassandra walked by and she was reminded of what had happened at the beginning
of the ball, when they had announced everyone. Seranni Lavellan Pentaghast,
huh? She could work with that, no wonder Josephine had been giving her odd
looks every so often since before Haven’s destruction. She had immediately
looked to the Seeker to see a look of guilt over being found out cross the
woman’s face. She had looked to Bull next to see him holding back a grin, he
knew and hadn’t told her. She glared at him playfully and he had just grinned
at her.
She smiled at him ruefully and made her way over to him, “meet anyone
interesting?”
“Just the Empress’ arcane advisor,” she tried for nonchalance and he picked up
on it. He led her out to one of the balconies for a moment and made sure they
were alone.
“What is it?”
“She felt like Dragon did, familiar magic, but hers feels as weak as his,” she
spoke softly. They had talked about how she could feel the magic around her in
comparison to her own, the only other person who felt as strong as she did was
Solas and he gave her odd vibes after her vision in Haven.
It didn’t help that she had been having dreams about him having sex with a
woman while he seemed to be asleep. Those dreams had felt like memories that
came from the building around her. She had only had those dreams when she slept
in her quarters in Skyhold. While she hadn’t wanted to watch, she hadn’t been
able to tear her eyes away as she watched the scenes unfold before her. The
moon had hung outside the window in seven different shapes, her dream started
at the new moon and every night in Skyhold she had a dream that held a
different moon phase. There had been only seven and she feared that she may
have to go to Solas with some of her questions soon.
She shook her head and turned her mind back to the problem at present and she
gave Bull’s arm a squeeze as she passed him to enter once more into the fray.
She read the room, as Bull had taught her, she gave nothing away as Vivienne
had taught her, and she danced circles around them as Cassandra had taught her.
She managed to save the Empress’ life and in her annoyance brokered a sort of
truce between Celine, Brialla, and Gaspard. Morrigan had just finished telling
her she would be meeting them at Skyhold and Seranni was taking a moment to
herself as she leaned against the railing of the balcony.
She heard Bull silently lean against the rail of the balcony next to her, “come
on, let’s dance.” He grasped her hand and gently pulled her to follow him,
giving her a chance to say no if she wanted. She smiled at him as he led her
out onto the dancefloor. Her dress was in tatters after the battles they had
had. The claws of one particular terror demon had raked it's claws down her
back and her dress had torn. She heard whispers of the Qunari symbol branded
into her back, but she didn’t care. She was in Bull’s arms and he twirled her
along the dance floor, suddenly he began lifting her into the air and when he
threw her into the air she pulsed her magic through her mark, causing it to
glow. It reflected it eerie green light against the chandelier and he caught
her as she landed.
He held her close as he continued to twirl her around, he suddenly dipped her
and she brought her hand up to pull him into a kiss. Murmurs and whispers
sounded throughout the room as they speculated about the Inquisitor and her
Qunari lover. She had the feeling Josephine would be doing a lot of damage
control from the fallout that would happen from this, but she didn’t care at
the moment. Bull pulled back from her and put her back upright, her eyes moved
from Bull’s to a noble woman in the background. She was grinning right at them.
Their eyes locked and Seranni froze in Bull’s arms as the noblewoman’s face
morphed into that of the Viddasala’s. Again, she had the legs and tail of a
desire demon again and this time she saw a purple flame hovering above her
head. Her heart hammered in her chest and she heard Bull saying her name from
far away. The Viddasala saw her reaction and began cackling and as the sound
filled her very being she disappeared into the shadows and suddenly she
couldn’t breathe. She had enough control over herself to use the quick release
and push the dragon bone rod into his hands.
She immediately crashed to the floor and began screaming as tears fell from her
face. She opened her eyes and only saw herself at eight years old, tears
streaming down her face. Fire erupted all over her body as memories flashed
through before her eyes. Pain like she had never before experience shot through
her body and she couldn’t stop her screaming. As she watched herself from the
viewpoint of her victims she watched as her face closed off more and more. She
saw her eyes deaden more and more over the years, but just as her eyes at
reached their peak the cycle started over and she was young again. Each time
the vision changed the pain she felt intensified and she felt as if she were
losing her mind from the pain.
The salt of her tears blended into the wounds around her face that the fire had
made. As time went on she began to experience moments before the fire where she
had helped Dathrasi torture people. She felt her back pop from the unnatural
arch she made as she felt electricity course through her. She began to feel the
daggers that Dathrasi used on his victims and she felt her own blood trickle
down her legs as wounds opened where Dathrasi had cut.
Suddenly, as if they appeared from nowhere, she saw Cassandra and Bull. Sweat
shone on Cassandra’s forehead as Bull looked to be sporting burns from
someone’s attack. She turned her head and saw Lelianna, Cullen, and Josephine
standing along the wall looking at her with concern. Why were they looking at
her like that? Someone had attacked Bull! She saw Vivienne kneeling beside her
with sweat shining her brow as well. It looked like she was trying to heal her,
why were they-? Pain racked her body as her mind caught up to reality and she
screamed at the onslaught of sensation.
“Dathrasi,” she screamed and the pain reduced by about half and all the pain
left her gradually after that.
She saw Bull immediately place the foci around his neck and he placed the rod
on the table that was next to her bed. He helped her to sit up and helped her
to eat and drink. She saw Cassandra stumble to a chair that had been placed
next to her and she saw Cassandra fight against her exhaustion. Vivienne kept
healing her as Bull continued to help her eat. What was going on? Her eyes
looked around and her eyes landed on her body. She froze, mid-bite, her body
was covered in cuts, bruises, burns, her toes looked to have the beginnings of
frostbite.
Her brain took a moment to catch up and she remembered everything that she had
seen, from the Viddasala at the ball to now. Sitting here with Bull while
Vivienne tried to heal her, she took stock of her magic and realized that she
was indeed magically exhausted. Seranni raised a hand to Vivienne and grasped
her arm lightly. Vivienne pulled away from her as if she had burned the woman.
She looked and saw that she had indeed burned the woman, she looked at
Cassandra and saw burn marks on her as well. She looked to her advisors and saw
burn marks on all of them as well.
“I’m so-” she began until Bull pulled her face towards his, he saw the
determination and understanding in his eye.
“Rule number 6. Tell me.”
“Never say you’re sorry, it’s a sign of weakness.” Bull nodded and let her
settle back against his chest. She saw the five other people in the room look
at them confused and she pulled her legs up to her chest. “There are moments
where apologies are needed, rule number 6 means an apology wasn’t needed. I did
all of that to you all, didn’t I.”
She wasn’t asking and none of them moved, but she could see her answer in their
eyes. The only eyes that didn’t hold fear were Cassandra’s, Bull’s, and
Lelianna’s. They all remained silent until Bull felt satisfied she had eaten
and drank enough. Bull nodded to Lelianna and the spymaster moved to sit beside
them on the bed.
“What happened?” she asked the woman.
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Lelianna responded gently. Seranni’s eyes
immediately fell down to the bed.
“I saw her, I saw the Viddasala. She’s a desire demon, I know that now. She had
taken the form of one of the nobles, I had kept an eye on her because I had
seen her watching events very closely, but keeping herself apart from it all,”
she whispered.
“Everyone’s eyes were on you all night, what was so special about this one,”
Lelianna prodded.
“Her eyes never left me, when the Duchess was revealed to be the assassin not
only did her eyes not leave me, but she didn’t look surprised. Rule number 12.”
“Always watch the watchers,” Bull spoke up.
“Who is the Viddasala,” Cassandra spoke up. The looks that passed between
Cassandra and Seranni told Bull that Cassandra had heard about her, but had not
pressed the issue. She was pressing now.
“She’s the one in charge of all things magical within the Qun,” Bull explained.
He placed a hand on Seranni’s chest and used it to help her match her breathing
to his.
“When I was a child she assigned my Arvaarad to me, after he ‘tested’ me she
sent us to Seheron. As she walked away I saw her body sort of melt a bit before
she morphed into a Desire demon,” she wanted to melt into Bull’s body, but she
knew she needed to tell them about this.
“Have you ever had visions like that before,” Cassandra asked. Seranni nodded
at her. “I think it’s time we heard them, Seranni,” Cassandra’s voice was
gentle, but firm.
She swallowed nervously and looked at them all, her eyes fell to Vivienne and
she saw that the woman wanted to leave the room, “does Vivienne need to be
here?”
Vivienne saw the intent behind her question and looked at her gratefully before
she gracefully excused herself and Seranni began to subtly heal herself.
Cassandra pursed her lips in disapproval as she felt Seranni’s magic begin to
work quietly, not just on herself, but on everyone in the room.
“I saw a vision happen with Solas, he didn’t turn into a demon or anything, but
he was younger. I think I just saw him when he was younger. Then, with Gatt on
the Storm Coast. He had a rune in his forehead that meant Desire.”
“And tonight?” Bull prodded.
“She waited until we had foiled the plot against the Empress so I don’t think
she’s helping Corypheus. Then her form melted away again and she became the
Desire demon. Then all I saw and felt was my past, from a different viewpoint.
My past with Dathrasi.” She saw the moment of understanding dawn on Bull’s face
and he held her close to him.
“She worked with her Arvaarad in Seheron for three years before he died. He
died because he was an idiot and everyone else owed her their lives. But during
those three years she had assisted him in torturing Tal-Vashoth rebels,” Culled
looked at her with horror in his eyes.
“She was very young when all this happened, she did as she was told and was a
very good Saarebas,” Seranni curled up in his arms and Bull held her as she
fell asleep, “I acted as her stand-in Arvaarad after Dathrasi died.”
“She called her Arvaarad, Dathrasi?” Lelianna asked.
“It essentially means cow in Qunlat,” Bull smiled to himself and sighed, “she’s
been through a lot in her life. I don’t know how she’s remained sane.”
“I don’t know if she has,” Lelianna said quietly, but was heard by everyone in
the room, “Josie, how much damage control are we looking at from tonight?”
“Not as much as I was expecting, they are thinking that one of the other nobles
cast a spell over the Inquisitor for foiling Duchess Florianne’s plot. It
sounds like that wasn’t too far from what this Viddasala made it seem. Many of
the other nobles have rallied to her in her defense and have made it very
unpopular not to support us. She left quite the impression on the nobles, she
listened attentively to them and gave nothing away. She showed herself to be a
capable player of the game and that has impressed many Nobles,” Josephine
rattled off.
“Good, now Empress Celine said that she could use this room for the night, so
Cassandra and Bull will stay here with her and we’ll have our people stationed
outside,” Lelianna looked at Cullen pointedly. He nodded and just as he left to
position people, Cole appeared in the room.
“She sent me away, Desire sent me away. I couldn’t help her and she needed.
Desire knew I was there,” Cole stared at Seranni for a moment before sitting
himself in the spot that Lelianna had just vacated. Josephine and Lelianna left
the group of three to watch over the Inquisitor and went about their duties.
Lelianna hovered at her door a moment before she turned and headed down the
hall. The scars that ran down the Inquisitors right hand made more sense from
the pattern of flames she had seen dance across both her and The Iron Bull that
night. She knew that he would have a scar on his chest and arms from the event.
Oddly enough both wounds didn’t look as she remembered scars from other burn
victims she had seen. Theirs looked less like wounded puckered skin and more
like tattoos of flames that flowed across their skin like water.
***** Sins of the Father *****
They returned from Halamshiral and they were all exhausted by the trip and the
events that had happened after the ball. Bull led Seranni straight to Solas’
rotunda and made her sit with Solas until she told him everything that she had
seen in her ‘visions.’ He saw Solas’ expression harden at her vision of him
before Haven’s fall. He saw her glance at him before she started talking about
a dream she had kept having that apparently involved him. It only happened at
Skyhold and it wasn’t necessarily a bad dream, but he was concerned by it.
“At first they happened after Bull had moved in and they were weird. This woman
that looked human came and she saw the other ‘you’ I guess and she kind of had
sex with him. She kept coming back and the only way I could tell that it was
different nights was because the moon hung outside the window at different
phases,” she explained to him.
“How many moon phases?” Solas asked as his hand came up and rubbed at his
temples.
“Seven,” he groaned at her response and he nearly cursed aloud. The only one
who could fit that description was Mythal, he had felt her presence in this
world and when the Inquisitor and that arcane advisor, Morrigan, were in the
same room he felt Mythal’s presence as well.
“Give me some time and I will research on this matter, for now I suggest you
keep a dream journal. The Fade is thinner here and may be trying to tell you
things through memories,” it was as close to the truth that he could get. He
had had suspicions that she was one of the Evanuris, but for Skyhold itself to
show her that Mythal had bedded him. It meant more than he was willing to deal
with right then, he wanted to confirm these things and find out what had
happened while he slept.
Solas watched as the couple left the area he had claimed as his own and made
his way to his chambers and entered the Fade to search for answers. He found
Wisdom and asked her what she had seen of the Inquisitor’s dreams. Wisdom
showed him and he watched in silence what she had dreamed. Indeed the fortress
of Skyhold was showing her the memories of things that had happened in her
room. He followed the pathways of the Fade as the memory of Mythal left the
memory of him and she entered the Fade herself. He saw that when she entered
the Fade, she was large with child. He watched in growing anger as once the
child was born within the Fade a Desire demon came upon them.
The Desire demon took advantage of Mythal’s weakened state and made the woman
sleep before she picked up the child that had just been born to the ancient
being. Desire picked up the child, his child, and he followed her as his anger
at Mythal rose. He would be having words with the other Evanuris once he found
her. He watched as Desire took his child and brought her before a giant shadowy
figure.
“My Lord, I have brought the child as you requested,” Desire kneeled before the
shadowy figure and there was something familiar about the figure, but Solas
couldn’t place it.
“Good, now take this child with you and watch over her. She will be vital in my
plan,” the shadowy figure dismissed Desire and understanding dawned on Solas’
face when he saw Desire take the form of the race of Qunari and left with the
child in her arms.
The Shadowy figure suddenly became sharper than a mere memory and he knew he
was standing in the presence of the shadow of an Evanuris, “Ah, Dread Wolf. I
was waiting when you would follow the clues I left for your daughter.” He
chuckled to himself and Solas felt dread fill his belly. “I knew my wife would
bed you as soon as events aligned themselves.”
Solas remained silent, “ah, you don’t know who I am do you Fen’Harel. Ha ha ha,
I’ll leave that for you to figure that out. In the meantime I do wonder why it
took your daughter so long to come to you. Did you know she was your daughter
when you met? Or did you assume her to be another Elf that had forgotten of her
heritage. Oh, the irony of that when the truth is that she is as close to
family that you will ever get. Your own actions have led to this, what is that
old Dalish adage? May the Dread Wolf catch your scent? Or would the insult ‘May
you learn’ be more fitting.”
The shadow laughed at him for a bit longer and when no more information was
forthcoming from the figure, Solas decided that it was time for him to leave
the Fade. Solas retraced his steps through the Fade and went to the place where
he had left Wisdom and saw that she was gone. Wisdom disappeared from time to
time, but something felt different this time. Suddenly a vision of Wisdom in
the real world filled his mind. Her screams of torment filled his mind and he
jolted awake and made himself some tea as he thought over his options.
He decided that he would go to the Inquisitor for help about Wisdom. He was
going to his daughter for help, he frowned to himself as the thought crossed
his mind that things should be the other way around. He knocked on the door to
her quarters and he heard grunts and screams coming from inside her quarters.
Without even thinking about the context of such noises he rushed inside. He
took the stairs up two at a time and the vision he saw before him was not what
he expected.
Seranni and Bull were naked except for the jewelry around their necks and rope
that stretched over Seranni’s skin in a distinct pattern that Solas didn’t see
because as soon as he had seen the position they were in he immediately looked
downward apologizing profusely. He began to make his way back down the stairs
when he saw Josephine coming up the stairs.
“Is the Inquisitor up there? I have some documents that need her- ooh, oh my,”
Josephine reached the top of the stairs and seemed unable to tear her eyes away
from the scene before them.
“Oh, hey Solas, Josephine, how’s it going?” Bull asked casually from the bed.
“I cannot move my legs,” Josephine whispered to him and he risked a glance back
to see Seranni had burrowed herself beneath the blankets and was gracefully
covered and Bull was lying languidly with his body bare before them and the
world. Solas heard more steps coming up the stairs and before Solas could call
out a warning he heard Cullen shout in surprise.
“Are you seeing this,” Josephine asked them eagerly.
Solas and Cullen responded with a resounding, “no!” He saw that Cullen was
using a portable writing board as a shield for his eyes, Solas envied the man’s
preparedness.
“Sorry to distract you two,” Josephine recovered first after she had gotten her
fill of seeing Bull lying there.
Cullen cleared his throat, “Yes, we’ll leave you to it.”
Solas followed them silently out of the room and proceeded to make himself tea
when he had gotten back to his quarters. He felt like he needed to wash his
eyes in a cleaning solution of some sort. He grimaced as he drank the tea he
had begrudgingly made. Oh, how he detested the stuff. As he drank he thought
back to what he knew of Seranni, he had watched her in curiosity all through
the Hinterlands. Whenever Cassandra had given the girl tea to drink, she had
responded with a grimace that was gone when the Seeker had turned back to her.
She seemed to share many of his preferences and her eyes were the same grey as
his own. Now that he knew what he knew, the signs were obvious and he sighed to
himself as he composed himself and waited for Seranni to find him again. He
knew that she had seen him, Cullen, and Josephine enter her quarters. He made a
mental note to make sure that he never made the mistake he had this time.
He didn’t quite know how to feel about seeing her in such a position. He wanted
to feel protective anger at the The Iron Bull for treating his daughter in such
a way. He didn’t let himself give in to that urge as he remembered the pure
bliss he saw on her face before she had seen him. She was happy with him and
Solas had seen on a number of occasions where Bull knew what she had needed and
had given it to her. She needed a break from a situation, he pulled the room’s
attention to him and let her slip into the background.
He had also felt every time that Cassandra had used her abilities on the
Inquisitor back in Haven, he had watched memories of their arrangement in the
Fade. She needed pain to remain rooted in reality. He had noticed her familiar
magic and when Morrigan, her child, and Dragon had arrived, he felt Skyhold
tighten its hold on Seranni. It was as if the building itself was wrapping
itself around her to protect her. He felt the same protection that the castle
had always provided for him and felt it’s will wrap around Seranni as well. He
didn’t know whether the castle protected her because she was his child or
because he had given the castle to her.
He was on his fourth cup of tea by the time she arrived sans Bull, it was
surprising since they were attached at the hip most days. She grimaced once she
realized he was drinking tea and she watched him grimace at the taste. She
pondered in silence why he was drinking tea, but when he offered her some
silently she took it and grimaced as she drank hers. It tasted awful, but she
sipped it just as he did and surprisingly her thoughts began to order
themselves and she felt more grounded, more connected with the world around
her.
“Da’len,” he began, he had never called her ‘child’ before, “I know I have no
right to ask, but one of my oldest friends has been captured by mages, forced
into slavery. I heard her cry for help as I searched the Fade for answers to
your questions.”
“Your friend is a spirit?”
“Of Wisdom, yes,” he was continually surprised by how insightful and observant
she was, “unlike the spirits clamoring to enter our world through the rifts,
she was dwelling quite happily in the fade.”
“Did you get a sense of your friend’s location before you woke?”
He stared at her again, “yes, I will mark it on our map if you like.”
“Good, I’ll let Bull, Cassandra, and Cole know and we’ll head out this
afternoon,” she rose and carefully set her teacup on his desk.
“Actually, could it just be Cole, you and I that went,” he had no idea where
the question had come from, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it back or to
regret it.
She winced, “you heard about Halamshiral?”
He pursed his lips, Halamshiral was the reason she had finally come to him in
the first place, of course he had heard about the events at Halamshiral. Then
he looked at her face, while the rest of her body and face were blank and
neutral, her eyes told a very different story. Her eyes held worry, worry that
she would lose control like that again.
“Halamshiral was not your fault,” he said gently.
She stared at him, the worry in her eyes didn’t change, “I know, but if it
happens again…”
He let her statement hang in the air a moment before he responded, “if it
happens again, I am better equipped than most mages do handle it.”
She eyed him critically, “your magic feels familiar to me. It doesn’t leave a
sour taste in my mouth like the other mages around here. You know why.”
None of her statements were questions, so he didn’t answer. A moment passed and
then another. He felt the tendrils of her magic begin to reach for him and
rather than putting up his shields like he normally would, he kept them down.
She was shocked by this, when she had tried to ‘feel’ him out when they first
traveled together he had put up barriers. Not wanting to draw attention to
herself at the time she had let the issue drop. Now was a very different story,
she felt her magic feel his out and if she didn’t know any better it felt as if
his magic were trying to hug and comfort her.
He felt guilty about something, something concerning her. He felt as if he had
failed her somehow. Just as she was starting to delve into his emotions he
clammed up. His magic retreated back behind barriers and she looked at him
anew. Finally she agreed to only taking Cole with them and she wondered why she
had agreed to this. This was the first time that she would be leaving Skyhold
without Bull or Cassandra at her side. She told them what was going on and
Cassandra took a bit more convincing than Bull did.
As Solas was getting ready for his journey with Seranni, Bull came up to the
stables from behind him, “You know why she’s been having those dreams about
those two people.”
It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t respond.
“It was you and some chick, right? You know who she is and why this dream
is connected to her. The question is why haven’t you told her that you’re her
father,” Solas’ eyes widened at Bull’s question. “She should know, she thinks
that all she has is Cassandra and I to help her, support her, and care for her.
She just doesn’t want to be alone in the world.”
With that he left the old elf to continue his preparation for the journey with
his daughter. Solas warred with himself after that. Should he tell her? Would
she hate him for leaving her to the Qun? She would ask where he’d been and he’d
have to explain who he really was. She would have all these questions for him.
A small voice in his mind whispered, ‘what if she didn’t have questions for
him? Bull hadn’t had any questions for him.’
‘They aren’t his questions to ask,’ he responded to the little voice.
‘But what if. They could go back and forth in circles until the world ended.’
the voice responded.
He knew that the only way he would know her reaction was to tell her that he
was her father. Was he ready for that? Was he ready to let someone in? He
didn’t want to be alone in the world either, but could he really do that to
them? Could he burden her with what he felt to be his duty?
All too soon they arrived at their destination and Solas’ thoughts turned to
his friend. They were approached by the mages that had summoned and trapped his
friend. He felt such anger at them that he honestly just wanted to kill them
and be done with them. Seranni agreed to take down the binding ritual and Solas
heard the flute song on the wind again as she used her power to tear down the
circle. He said his goodbye to his friend and when he turned to face the mages
he saw that Seranni had already sent them away.
“I sent them to Skyhold to learn, if you kill them they won’t learn and others
will learn the same way they did. Then no one will learn anything new, at least
this way other spirits will be safe from their blundering about and other mages
may learn that spirits are not exactly the best defenders,” she didn’t look at
him. She didn’t need to. Solas felt ashamed of himself that he had not thought
of that. Fathers were supposed to teach their children, not the other way
around.
“I need to work a few things out, I’ll meet you back at Skyhold,” he was about
to turn away from her when she grabbed his arm.
“Don’t, you’ve been trying to shut me out and let me in this entire trip. Well,
now I’m not letting you back down. What’s going on?” She asked him and the raw
determination in her eyes rooted him to the spot.
“I,” Solas cleared his throat, “I am grieving for the loss of my friend.” He
could tell that she knew he only spoke of the surface issue on his mind, but
she didn’t press it further.
Instead she sighed, “alright, you pick the spot to set up camp and we’ll all
head to Skyhold, together.”
He nodded his agreement and after they set up camp that night, Solas went to
the place his friend had frequented in the Fade. He expected to feel stirrings
of a new possible spirit, but instead the shadowy figure met him.
“Ah, Fen’Harel, back so soon?” the figure taunted him.
“So you are behind the mages summoning Wisdom to defend them,” he growled at
the figure.
“Me? I did no such thing, I merely showed them a book. What they did with that
knowledge is up to them,” the figure replied silkily.
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
The figure narrowed its eyes at him, “why send your daughter to the Qun? You
mean? Why to torment you of course. You are the reason I am trapped this way.
You are the reason Mythal turned from me, Dread Wolf,” the figure began yelling
at him by the end of it.
“Elgar’nan,” Solas whispered.
“I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out,” the shadowy
figure morphed into the dark skinned man that was the patron of the Evanuris. A
twisted grin graced the man’s features, sharp teeth made the grin creepier.
Solas stood still as the other elf circled around him, “You betrayed us all,
you locked them away. Or was your goal to lock me away?”
Solas remained silent as he began to subtly block this part of the fade away
from Seranni, he could at least protect his daughter from this evil.
Elgar’nan began laughing at him, “you think to hide me from her? I made her
what she is!” He smiled gleefully at Solas, “You were too late in realizing
what my wife had done. Even she was too late to do anything about what I had
already done to her. She is broken and I know the form to get her to do my
bidding. All I have to do is reach out to her and she will snap to my will.”
“Then I will-”
“What? Leave her questioning and alone as you’ve done her entire life? Face it
Fen’Harel, you’re not fit to be in her life. Just give up now and let me have
her.”
Solas picked apart the man’s words, ‘let him have her?’ That meant He didn’t
have her, not yet. He glared at his opponent and willed himself awake. He awoke
to the sound of the other man’s laughter ringing in his ears. He poked his head
out of his tent to see Seranni awake and on watch with Cole.
“You should sleep, The Iron Bull won’t like it if you come back tired,” Cole
pleaded with her.
“I can’t, something is off about this place, Cole. Can’t you feel it?”
“Yes, I can feel it. Solas is protecting us from it, you’re safe,” he insisted,
but her sideways look at the spirit told him that she didn’t believe him.
“I’ll sleep when we get back to Skyhold, the sooner the better,” Solas saw the
sun begin to peek over the horizon and realized that she had stayed awake all
night long. In hindsight it was probably the safest option for her right now,
Skyhold had protection seeped into the very walls. Skyhold would protect her in
the Fade, but he needed to think of a way to protect her when she slept away
from Skyhold.
***** Of Magisters and Dragons *****
Sand. Sand was everywhere in this place, it really was quite beautiful when
looked at objectively. Then again Seranni looked at just about everything as
objectively as she could. The only bad thing about the Western Approach was
that it had sand blowing everywhere, and not just any sand. Hot sand flew in
everyone’s faces. She was glad she hadn’t brought Dorian, Varric, or Vivienne
to help her in this place. They would have driven her nuts with the
complaining. Sera wasn’t an option, the elf was too scared of her after hearing
what she had done to her allies at Halamshiral. They met with Hawke and her
Warden friend again.
 
This time however a new face was with the mage. When the group approached she
thought she recognized the male elf at the Champion’s side. He was dark skinned
with white hair and white tattoos that covered quite a bit of his body from
what she could see. The moment the newcomer saw Bull however he dropped into a
defensive stance and Bull dropped in response. Seranni stood between the two
men and suddenly she knew why this man seemed familiar to her. He was one of
the Fog Warriors from Seheron.
 
“You protect a Qunari spy?!” he shouted at them.
 
“I protect what’s mine,” she glared at him. She didn’t see it, but she could
feel Bull’s eye on her. She felt when Bull’s eye shifted from the newcomer to
her in surprise.
 
“Katari Ataashi,” he whispered at her reverently.
 
She glanced back at him when Cassandra stepped in front of the new warrior,
“Katari Ataashi.”
 
The man glared at them and only backed off when Hawke came up to them, “Fenris,
love, Bull isn’t with the Qunari anymore.”
 
“One doesn’t leave the Qunari, not really, not ever,” he responded.
 
“No, the Qunari never leave you. Bull and I have both left them, they discarded
him like a dull sword and they would have killed me had I returned to them,”
Seranni stepped around Cassandra and got into this Fenris’ face. “You don’t
know him, you don’t know me. I suggest you reserve your judgement until you
have more information.”
 
The group stood in shock until Hawke piped up, “so, we going to find out what’s
going on here?”
 
“Yes, let’s stop this ritual you mentioned,” Cassandra glanced at Seranni in
surprise. Seranni and Fenris were still in each other’s faces glaring at each
other.
 
“Fine by me, so long as these  Qunari  keep in front of me,” Fenris growled at
her.
 
“Fine, at least that way I won’t have to look at you, but if you even think of
trying anything you should listen to the rumors people have said about my
actions at Haven and Halamshiral,” Seranni growled back and they approached the
ruin where they saw a group of Grey Wardens sacrificing each other with the use
of blood magic to summon and bind demons to the mages. Another Tevinter
Magister named Erimond was responsible for this mess and when he started
talking about Corypheus rising to Godhood, Bull sense the anger that rolled
within Seranni.
 
Erimond quickly ran after the fighting had begun and after the battle Fenris
stared at Seranni in shock. She had more power than he had seen any mage in his
life  ever  have. He now understood that the rumors surrounding the Inquisitor
had run the rare opposite course that rumors did. The rumors did not do her
justice. The rumors certainly spoke of her strength, but to actually witness
her magical strength first-hand? It terrified him, he understood now why. She
was terrifying, yet her magic had a sense of beauty all it’s own. It sang to
the lyrium etched on his skin and Fenris vowed to remain close to Hawke until
her business with the Inquisition was over.
 
They followed Erimond’s trail to another fortress that after they cleared it
and realized he wasn’t there, Seranni took it over. They rested at the fort
while they waited for some Inquisition soldiers to hold it before they
continued to follow the Magister’s trail. His trail led them to a very well
defensible fort that they all knew would take a full Inquisition invasion to
siege. They sent word back to Skyhold and waited as they kept watch on the
fortress.
 
“Cole and I can sneak past their scouts and let you all know what is going on,”
Seranni argued with Bull and Cassandra. Fenris, Stroud, and Hawke kept wisely
quiet, this argument had been going around in circles for a few hours now.
 
“No, I won’t risk it,” Bull looked at her with a hard look and Fenris saw the
emotion behind the Qunari’s eyes.
 
“ You  won’t risk it? You know I can sneak circles around you with my eyes
closed,” she was starting to sound frustrated.
 
“Seranni,” the sound of her name from Cassandra’s lips caused the Inquisitor to
pause, “it doesn’t matter how ‘sneaky’ you are. The magister is with them and
he has a connection to Corypheus which means you sneaking in there is exactly
what he wants you to do.”
 
Seranni looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded and sat down in a
huff. She took a deep breath before saying that she was going to meditate for a
bit before bed. She crossed her legs on the ground and grasped her a foot in
each hand. She threaded her fingers between her toes and Fenris, Stroud, and
Hawke all looked at her oddly.
 
“And no scouting the place with your magic, Cassandra’s keeping an eye on
that,” Bull said to her and her lips pursed as her eyes closed.
 
They waited for the army to arrive and kept a close watch on the fortress,
sending updates, sparring with each other, and of course the daily argument
about Cole and the Inquisitor scouting the fortress. Fenris had finally had
enough of the bickering and had finally challenged the Inquisitor to a sparring
match.
 
“I win, you stop argueing with them and you drop it. You’ll wait for your army
to arrive,” Fenris told her coldly.
 
“Fine, but if I win-”
 
“You won’t.”
 
“ If  I win, then I go, no arguments,” Fenris nodded his agreement before
Cassandra and Bull could make a sound of protest. They proceeded to glare at
Fenris while Hawke looked smug with herself.
 
Seranni stripped herself of her weapons, “no magic, no weapons, no armor, fist
to skin.”
 
Fenris nodded his agreement and stripped himself down as well. Once they were
finished they bowed to each other respectfully before circling each other. They
set the circle of their sparring match and Seranni launched herself at the
warrior.They were matched blow for blow until their speed began to increase and
Cassandra felt magic swirling around their bodies. She had expected magic to
swirl around Seranni at some point, but for magic to swirl around Fenris was
unexpected, and why were his tattoos starting to glow?
 
Suddenly Fenris’ fist came out and hit her solidly in the chest, for a moment
Hawke looked worried before she saw Seranni stumble back, but remain standing.
She glared at her opponent and bowed her head in silent defeat. She kept her
head bowed to Fenris as she moved away and sat on the sand next to Bull. Hawke
saw Fenris shaking his hand as if it hurt after the blow and she looked at her
lover quizzically.  He shook his head in response and motioned that they would
talk about it at a later time. Hawke glanced around at them all and could see
that they were all getting restless.
 
“How about we go help that Dragon Researcher with his Dragon Project?” Hawke
suddenly spoke.
 
“As much as we would love to, we can’t. We have to keep Adamant under close
watch,” Cassandra said with a slight sarcastic tone and a glance to Bull and
Seranni. At a glance it looked like the two were pouting, whether it was at
Seranni’s loss or the inability to go after that dragon, Hawke didn’t know.
 
“Well, how many people does it really take to watch a fortress?” Hawke offered.
 
“I have no desire to go dragon baiting, you’re welcome to go,” Fenris spoke low
as he sat next to Hawke.
 
“I’ll stay with him,” Cole spoke up suddenly.
 
Hawke suddenly stood, “alright, now that that’s settled let's head out! Who
knows, maybe with us leaving there will be some activity for you to report to
us when we get back!”
 
Hawke ushered the rest of them away before Cassandra could protest and they
headed to the Dragon Researcher they had met earlier that week. They then spent
the majority of the day running around the Western Approach so as to gather the
materials the man needed. After they had  finally  gotten to the point of
baiting the dragon to come land near them.
 
Bull, Seranni, and Hawke’s eyes all lit up in delight as they spread out from
each other to make smaller targets. Cassandra and Bull drew in the dragon while
Seranni worked to keep it on the ground with her magic. Hawke laughed gleefully
as she ran up with the warriors and attacked at the dragon with her magic.
Suddenly the dragon spread its wings and Seranni yelled for Cassandra to move,
but she was too late. The dragon swiped at the Seeker and she flew back and hit
a large rock. There was a loud cracking sound and at Cassandra’s curse, Seranni
knew the warrior woman was alive and turned her focus to the dragon. She drew
the swords that Cassandra and Bull had given her.They were quite beautiful,
both made of Volcanic Aurum making the blades shine with their vibrant orange
color. Seranni yelled at Bull to get his attention and she pointed to the wings
of the beast with one sword. The look they shared conveyed her plan and she
began to run at him as fast as she could.
 
Hawke moved to take the dragon’s attention for a moment as Bull turned his axe
handle flat between his hands. Seranni leaped and her foot landed on the handle
of his axe perfectly and he launched her into the air. She used her magic to
boost the force behind his lift and so for a moment she was even with the tip
of the dragon’s wing. Using her magic again, she moved herself forward and
landed against the dragon’s wing and stabbed her swords through the wings.She
slid down the wings with her swords slowing her descent as her swords sliced
through the wings.
 
The dragon screeched and Seranni fell into Bull’s waiting arms. He quickly set
her down and picked his axe back up from the ground. They rushed at the dragon
before it could have a chance to recover and Seranni aimed for the dragon’s
joints and crumpled the great beast to the ground. The dragon lay there a
moment as Bull held out his axe for Hawke to use. She looked at him oddly
before she looked to the dragon and saw that the creature was dying, but
slowly. She nodded and hefted the axe over to the neck of the dragon. She
brought it down swiftly, ending the creature’s misery. Bull came over and
pulled the axe out of the dragon with a practiced hand and she walked over to
where Seranni was healing Cassandra.
 
“So why did Bull hand me his axe when he could have made the kill easier than I
could?” Hawke asked of the women.
 
“We’ve each killed a dragon with the Inquisition, you haven’t,” Seranni spoke
absentmindedly.
 
“Wait, seriously?” Hawke looked at them incredulously.
 
“Yep, we’ve been killing dragons all over, Crestwood, The Storm Coast, the
Hinterlands. I especially liked the ones in the Hinterlands,” Bull grinned at
Seranni and they shared another look. Bull took a deep breath and Seranni kept
her healing on Cassandra active as she was scooped up in Bull’s arms, “Katari
Ataashi.”
 
Hawke watched as Seranni smiled ruefully at the large man before repeating his
sentiment and he crushed her lips to his. It made her miss Fenris and made her
suddenly want to get back to him as soon as possible.
 
Bull set her down and she went back to healing the Seeker, she wasn’t happy
about something. Something they probably needed to talk about and it would be
best to do so before they attacked Adamant. Once Cassandra was healed he asked
her and the Champion to walk ahead of them and he hung back with Seranni as
they walked in silence.
 
“What’s going on in that head of yours,” Bull spoke gently, but she could hear
that he expected her to answer.
 
“I’m not a child,” she spoke bitterly, “and I don’t need to be coddled.”

“I know you’re not a child otherwise we wouldn’t be doing what we do,” the look
he gave her meant he was referring to their horizontal, vertical, and
perpendicular activities.
 
“Well I should hope not,” she said sarcastically.
 
“Secondly, we aren’t coddling you. The only reason we aren’t supporting it is
because it’s a stupid idea that could land you in enemy hands and I won’t allow
that,” Bull stopped them and he turned to face her. She looked up at his face,
he was telling her the truth and was hoping that she would listen to his
experience. She took a breath and sighed.
 
“You’re right, but I know what I can do, Cole can make people forget him and
I,” she disappeared for a moment and reappeared to his left just out of reach,
“can do that.”
 
“I see, and when were you going to add that to your argument,” Bull looked at
her expectantly.
 
“I didn’t want to demonstrate or speak of it while we were so close to Adamant
in case there were spies,” she explained.
“Still could have found a way to mention it rather than argue about it for two
weeks.” Bull resumed walking with her at his side.
 
“I thought you would have trusted me to know my limits.”
 
“I do trust you to know your own limits, it’s just-” Bull growled at himself
before grabbing her and crushing her to him. “It’s beyond my limits to let you
go.”
 
She rested her head on his chest suddenly they heard a screech to their left
and she glared at the Varghest that appeared, “We were having a moment!”
 
Bull looked down at her and barely held back his laughter when he saw her throw
a lightning bolt at the creature. It was light enough that it didn’t kill the
creature, but it yipped and glared at her.
 
“Don’t test me Sparky, I’ll do it again,” she warned the creature. Still the
creature didn’t move. She crackled lightning in a ball in her left hand while
keeping her right firmly wrapped around Bull. “We just killed that dragon on
the other side of the hill, you want to keep testing me?”
 
The creature’s head perked up at her words and the creature looked at them
cautiously. It opened it’s maw and made a sort of bark before taking off in the
direction of where they had just come from. Bull chuckled at her and moved for
them to continue walking back to camp.
***** Into the Fade *****
Chapter Summary
     “Your turn, Katari Ataashi,” Bull wrapped his arm around her waist
     and bodily threw her through the portal. Bull watched the portal for
     a moment but turned back to face the demon when it screeched.
The army finally arrived and they made plans to siege Adamant, Cullen and Bull
did the majority of the strategizing with Seranni putting in quips here and
there. They set up their trebuchets in the strategic position that was allotted
them against the cliff face and Seranni marched as Inquisition soldiers marched
on Adamant. She saw the ladders go up and moved to shield them before Bull
grasped her arm. He shook his head and when she looked back she saw why. There
were too many soldiers in battle already for her to even attempt to protect
any. The plan worked perfectly as the battering ram moved into position at
their front gate.
 
Once the gate was down, they released the three groups that had held back until
the gate was down. One group was the Chargers led by Krem, they were to
distract the Grey Wardens on the main floor of the fortress while the Inner
Circle split to tackle each side of the battlements. Seranni had switched Cole
for Solas in her normal group and was glad that she had. He kept his barrier
over Cassandra whenever her’s ran out or she got too far out of range.
 
They made their way inward towards Clarel and the magister Erimond whom they
could hear arguing about sacrifice and ceremony. Soon enough Seranni came face
to face with Erimond once again and despite how their last meeting had gone, he
laughed when he had seen her, she soon found out why.
 
“My master sent with me a little present for you, Inquisitor!” She heard the
screech from her nightmares before she saw the beast that had the form of a
dragon.
 
“Move,” she yelled in warning before running through the fortress to the top of
the fortress where Clarel, Erimond, and the Dragon were. They raced through and
once they reached the top of the fortress they saw Clarel breathe her last as
the Dragon killed her within his maw. The dragon screeched again and landed
before Seranni and her group. The creature before them zeroed in on her and
began to try to attack her, battle ensued and Seranni felt the floor of the old
fortress give way to the canyon below them. She looked down at Cassandra, Bull,
and Solas all falling to their deaths before she saw a glimmer below them.
Without a second thought she dove from her spot on the wall and extended her
left hand to the shimmer.
 
‘Open or Close,’ a voice whispered once again from the mark. She thought as
quickly as she could for the distortion to open below the group falling to
their deaths and she was relieved to see a giant rift open below them and as
they fell through she looked behind them to see that it closed behind them,
just as her other rifts had that she had created.
 
She felt gravity shift as she fell into the fade, she reached out to the ground
hovering before her. The moment she touched the ground her body fell to the
ground and air escaped her lungs forcefully. She took a moment to catch her
breath before she sat up and looked around. She saw Hawke, Stroud, Bull,
Cassandra, and Solas all looking around their iridescent landscape. She was
just glad that everyone was alive and safe for now.
 
“Where are we?” Stroud asked of the group.
 
“We were falling,” Hawke commented.
 
“Not all of us were falling,” Bull glanced at Seranni pointedly.
 
“You fall, I fall,” Seranni spoke blankly as she looked around their
surroundings.
 
“Are we dead? If this is the afterlife the Chantry owes me an explanation, this
looks nothing like the Maker’s bosom,” Hawke spoke sarcastically.
 
“No, Seranni used the mark to open a rift. We are in the Fade, physically in
the Fade,” Solas’ voice held the emotion of wonder as he explained what he
theorized to have happened. “I never thought I would find myself here
physically… Look, the Black City, almost close enough to touch.”
 
“Pashaara, we need to find a way out. Let’s move,” Seranni spoke to the group.
 
“You’re right, that huge demon was right on the other side of that rift Erimond
was using, and there could be others” Hawke agreed.
 
“Let’s get a move on then, no one ever said anything about taking a trip to the
ass end of demon town,” Bull grumbled. He didn’t like being here, none of them
did.
 
They began to make their way through the Fade and Seranni heard Bull grumbling
to himself, “‘Hey Chief, let’s join the Inquisition! Good fights for a good
cause,’ I dunno Krem I hear there are demons. ‘Ah, don’t worry about the demons
Chief, I’m sure we won’t see many!’ Asshole.”
 
“I thought you were the one that sought us out, Bull,” Seranni teased him.
 
“Agh, well if I get possessed-”
 
“Yeah yeah, go for your blind side and go low,” Seranni finished for him.
 
“This is certainly not the area of the Fade I would have chosen, but to walk
physically in the Fade,” Solas sighed longingly as he looked around.
 
It seemed as if they were wandering aimlessly for hours, they found memories of
spirits that Seranni wanted to help. She read the feelings and emotions of the
fade around her. Solas watched her with interest and Bull noticed that every
now and then he would glance off into the distance with worry. They rounded yet
another corner of the maze made of stone, only this time they saw what looked
to be Divine Justinia. Cassandra looked on in amazement along with the rest of
the group except for Seranni. Seranni saw something different, while she did
see Divine Justinia, an image overlapped what they saw and Seranni saw an
ethereal spirit that glowed gold.
 
“You know what she is, don’t you imekari,” a soft voice spoke from behind the
group. Seranni whipped her head around to see her Tama standing behind them.
Her voice froze in her throat and unbidden tears streamed from her eyes.
 
“Tama?” Bull asked, confusion in his voice. Horror dawned on Seranni’s face and
she slowly turned to face Bull.
 
“Hello, it is good to see that my children have found each other,” the spirit
of their Tama spoke to Bull. Seranni failed to control her breathing as she
fell to her knees and began hyperventilating. Cassandra knelt at her side and
Bull stared dumbfoundedly at what appeared to be the spirit of his Tama.
 
“I’m sorry Imekari, but I had to come to help you. It is a Greater Fear Demon
that controls this area of the Fade,” Tama spoke gently.
 
“She is correct, the Fear demon stole your memories Inquisitor, you must
retrieve them in order to escape,” the spirit of Divine Justinia spoke.
 
Cassandra immediately stood between Seranni and ‘Justinia’, “Justinia died
before Seranni was made Inquisitor.”
 
Justinia smiled at the Seeker, “You are correct Cassandra, I watched events
through memories of events in the Fade.”
 
Bull couldn’t tear his eye from his Tama, wheels turned in his mind as he
reeled from the information that not only was his Tama dead, but it was his
Katari Ataashi that had killed her. He knew it wasn’t her choice and that the
Viddasala had forced her to kill their Tama.
 
“Do not mourn me, Imekari,” she spoke gently to him, “I knew I would be found
out eventually, I was raising a generation to question everything around them,
including the Qun.”
 
Bull cleared his throat to give him time to recover and he looked down at
Seranni. He squat down beside her and whispered in her ear, Cassandra couldn’t
hear what he said despite her closeness to them. Whatever it was that he said
it made Seranni stand and shakingly walk towards the spirits that had moved to
stand next to each other.
 
“You’re here to help us, so do it. How do we get my memories back and get out
of here?” Seranni’s voice shook with raw emotion that she couldn’t hold back,
but she told herself she would deal with it later.
 
“You must defeat these spirits to regain your memories,” Justinia gestured to
the side and Seranni saw a few weak shades appear where there had previously
been no shades. She glared at the shades before her and gestured with her left
hand, lightning arced between the shades and they all screeched out of
existence leaving behind pulsing orbs of green. Seranni walked over to them
wordlessly and she suddenly collapsed as a vision appeared before her eyes.
 
Divine Justinia was suspended in the air by a grey warden’s magic as they stood
before Corypheus. Justinia looked terrified at her surroundings and the
dialogue followed the same pattern as what they had heard at the Temple of
Sacred Ashes when they had first attempted to close the Breach. Only this time
as memories flooded her mind she remembered the Divine falling while they were
in the fade and terror spurring her forward, away from the creatures that
followed them.
 
“She died,” Seranni spoke simply, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
 
Both Justinia and Tama looked at her with understanding, Tama spoke soothingly,
“You were not meant to save us, we were meant to be here to guide you. There is
a plan for the world, just take comfort in the knowledge that you are doing the
best you can.”
 
“Child, it was my actions that led to my fall at the Conclave. The orb was
kicked to you and Corypheus was thwarted, you will defeat him and I take
comfort in that child,” Justinia and Tama then glowed for a moment and they
both turned to glowing golden spirits. “Come, you must defeat the demon here.”
 
Suddenly a disembodied voice spoke out surrounding them all, “perhaps  I
should be afraid, facing the most powerful members of the Inquisition.” The
voice then laughed at them all.
 
“Likely the Fear Demon who controls this area, do not pay it any mind,” Solas
spoke up.
 
“Dirth ma, Harellan. Ma banal enaslin. Mar solas ena mar din,” the voice spoke
in response.
 
“Banal nadas,” was Solas’ only response. Seranni saw his face begin to close
off and she rested a hand on his shoulder.
 
“The Qunari will make a lovely host for one of my minions, or maybe I’ll ride
his body myself,” the demon laughed again.
 
“I’d like to see you try,” Bull growled.
 
*No one’s riding you anywhere except me,* Seranni spoke with a smirk at Bull.
He smiled down at her gratefully and they continued on their way.
 
“Your Inquisitor is a fraud, yet more evidence there is no Maker, that all your
‘faith’ has been for naught. She can’t even function for a day without feeling
pain in one form or another,” Seranni looked at the ground as if in shame.
Cassandra walked over to her and hugged her close.
 
“You are no fraud, you have led us well and we will get through this as well,”
Cassandra didn’t even address the demon.
 
The demon made a frustrated sound before moving on to speak to Hawke and
Stroud. When they also ignored the demon he moved on to speak to Seranni, “Ah,
of course I saved the best for last. The little Saarebas that killed her own
Tama.”
 
Seranni’s breath caught in her throat and only Bull’s hand on her shoulder kept
her moving, “he’s just trying to hurt you. You know this.”
 
“Of course I’m trying to hurt her, isn’t that what she deserves after all she’s
done. Killing so many innocents, torturing them with her Arvaarad. She was
strong enough to resist them from the beginning, but what did she do? She bowed
her head and did as she was told like an obedient dog,” the demon laughed at
them a moment.
 
“And if she had resisted them she would have been killed, she did what she had
to in order to survive. You will not break us, demon,” Solas’ voice rang out in
the silence that followed the demon’s laughter.
 
“You think to fight me?! I am your every fear come to life. I am the veiled
hand of Corypheus himself. The demon army you fear? I command it. They are all
bound through me,” the demon bragged.
 
“Ah, so if we banish you then no more demon army!” Tama said excitedly.
 
“Thank you ‘every fear come to life’,” Justinia responded sarcastically.
 
Seranni smiled at them and grasped Bull’s hand in her own and squeezed for a
moment, ‘we have a way to end this demon army.’
 
Bull nodded his agreement and squeezed her hand in response, ‘Yeah.’
 
They continued on their way and off to the side of the path was what appeared
to be a graveyard. Seranni would have ignored it, but she saw ‘The Iron Bull’
on one of them and the memory of that other future she had seen flashed through
her mind and she walked slowly over to the graveyard.
 
“Seranni, what are you-” Cassandra stopped mid question and was staring down at
her own tombstone. It read ‘Cassandra: Helplessness.’ Seranni placed a hand on
the Seeker’s shoulder in comfort, the warrior glared down at the tombstone
before kicking at it. It broke in half and as if by magic the stone repaired
itself and Cassandra moved to kick the stone again before Bull redirected her
away from the tombstone. Seranni looked back down at Bull’s stone that read
‘The Iron Bull: Madness’ she pursed her lips and stalked away from it. She saw
Solas staring down at what she assumed to be his and saw that it read ‘Solas:
Dying Alone’. The group moved on slowly and just as Seranni was about to leave
the little graveyard she saw another tombstone. ‘Seranni: Saarebas’ the sight
of her own tombstone made her freeze until Solas walked over to her.
 
“Da’len,” he called out to her.
 
“Yeah, I’m coming,” she turned away with a bitter taste in her mouth and she
led the way to the heart of the demon’s lair. They went through a tunnel and at
the end of it Seranni wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted them. In the
middle of a valleyed clearing stood a mirror image of Seranni except her lips
were sewn shut and she wore the uniform of the Saarebas.
 
“Do you see-” Cassandra began.
 
“Yeah, that’s Saarebas,” Bull responded.
 
Seranni glared at the figure before them and before they began their approach
she summoned a pillar of fire at the demon, “Stay back, I got this.”
 
The deep rumble of the demon’s laughter echoed all around them before Saarebas
raised her own arm in the direction of Seranni. Fire licked at both women, but
neither paid it any mind. Seranni counteracted the fire around her by coating
her skin with ice and saw that Saarebas was doing the same. Drawing her swords
she ran for the copy of herself and began to attack the being. Ethereal swords
were summoned by Saarebas and they fought on even ground for what seemed like
an age. She felt Solas snap a barrier around her and saw Cassandra and Bull
coming up behind Saarebas. She saw Solas snap barriers around them and they
surrounded Saarebas. Seranni growled at them and as they worked together to
wear down the demon Tama and Justinia flashed a bright light above them.
 
Saarebas disappeared and the spirits urged the group to go through the portal
that awaited them. They all moved to exit through the portal, but just as
Seranni and Bull approached with Stroud and Hawke the giant form of the Fear
Demon blocked their path. The group of four moved behind a stone wall while the
demon stood in their path.
 
“Someone needs to distract it,” Seranni spoke to them, “I’m best suited for it,
go. I’ll be right behind you.”
 
“No,” Bull responded.
 
“Wardens got us into this mess, it’s a warden that should stay,” Stroud spoke
with determination.
 
“Pashaara, if you don’t start running for that portal then I will move you
myself, go!” Seranni ordered them all. She lept from their hiding place and
stood in the path of the demon. Bull kept close to her as she assaulted the
demon with her magic. The demon backed away while Hawke and Stroud went through
the portal.
 
“Your turn, Katari Ataashi,” Bull wrapped his arm around her waist and bodily
threw her through the portal. Bull watched the portal for a moment but turned
back to face the demon when it screeched. Just as he was about to run towards
the demon a pink rope-like strand came out of the portal and wrapped around his
waist. He was pulled through and as he exited the portal he saw it close behind
him. He looked up to see Seranni glaring at him.
 
“If you ever do anything that stupid again I will chain you up in my closet and
leave you there,” she spoke softly to him. Bull could hear the anger and
determination in her voice before she crashed her lips onto his.
***** Family and Laughter *****
Laughter rang throughout the keep of Skyhold as a dark skinned Qunari child
chased a human child through the hallways of the main keep. They continued
their game of tag until Calogera ran straight into the legs of the Inquisitor
herself. Dragon ran into Cal and all three fell to the ground in a heap in the
main hall. Cal looks around them to see nobles looking at the three of them
disgustedly she begins to look ashamed before hearing Dragon laughing form on
top of her.
“Play tag with us Lethalin!” he giggles at the woman they are on top of.
Seranni smiles gently at them, “well, I suppose since I’ve completed my
Inquisitor duties for the day. Come on, let's play in the garden so these
nobles won’t spoil our fun.”
They make their way to the garden where they begin their game of tag anew. Soon
the sound of their laughter is echoing across all of Skyhold again. Bull makes
his way to the garden, looking for Seranni, but when he sees her playing with
the two kids and openly smiling he leans against a nearby pillar and smiles
encouragingly at them when Seranni finally noticed him. She grins broadly back
at him and turns back to their game. Solas follows the sound of the laughter
and finds Seranni playing with the two orphans that she had more or less
adopted. He watches them from the battlements and smiles fondly at the scene.
Brown eyes with golden speckles watches the three playing, paying close
attention to the elven woman and the Qunari boy that were playing. The boy
stops playing suddenly and looks directly in the direction of their observer.
He leaves the girls to continue playing and makes his way slowly across the
garden. From the way the Qunari boy moves the observer sees that he is blind.
“You are family too!” the boy smiles broadly at the other boy.
“You can see through the magic around you, can’t you?”
“I’m The Iron Dragon, but everyone calls me Dragon, what’s your name?” Dragon
bounces excitedly.
“I’m Kieran, mother and I just arrived a few days ago, what are you doing?”
“We’re playing, do you want to join us?” Dragon asked excitedly.
“That’s the Inquisitor isn’t it?”
Dragon nods enthusiastically, “yeah, she’s lethalin.”
“Mother said the Inquisitor was scary, she doesn’t look so scary,” Kieran
observes.
“No, she’s not scary, she’s lethalin,” Dragon speaks as if that is explanation
enough.
“You are Kossith, but you call her family in elvhen,” Kieran questions.
“I am Dragon, I call her what she is. She is lethalin. You are lethalin too, I
can feel it,” Dragon’s eyes become more glossy as if he is deep in thought.
“Your mother is family too. You have a very old soul inside.”
“Kieran, meeting new friends I see,” golden slitted eyes look down at the blind
child as the Inquisitor and a small human girl walk over to the group, grinning
and out of breath.
“Yes mother, this is Dragon. Dragon, this is mother,” Kieran introduced them.
“Pleased to meet you ma’am,” Dragon bowed low, “This is Calogera, my sister,
and Seranni, she is lethalin.”
Seranni eyed Morrigan as she came up and placed a hand protectively on Dragon’s
shoulder, “Hello, Morrigan. Pleasure to see you again.”
“Mother, do you see what is on her hand?” Kieran suddenly spoke up.
“I do see, ‘tis time to return to your studies, little man,” Morrigan gestured
for Kieran to go back to his studies.
“I think it’s time for us to go also, come on Dragon, Sister Michel probably
wants us back for our studies,” Cal grabbed Dragon’s hand and drug him after
her, leaving the two women standing in the garden.
“My son, never where you expect him to be, naturally,” Morrigan chuckles as she
turns to look back at Seranni.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Those two have kind of adopted me and they always
seem to catch me when I least expect,” Seranni smiles fondly. “Dragon called us
both Lethalin. You know what that means?”
“In Elvhen it means family, but does he really know what that means?” Morrigan
pondered aloud, “or is it wishful thinking of an orphaned child?”
“If that were the case, then why would he focus on us specifically?”
“Hmm, you ask good questions Madam Inquisitor,” Morrigan conceded.
Seranni chuckled to the other woman, “Yeah, I get that a lot. Oh, and please
for the love of all that is holy please call me Seranni. Not ‘Your Worship’,
‘Madam’, ‘Inquisitor’, or any title like that.”
“Very well, Seranni,” Morrigan nodded her head respectfully as Seranni smiled
her small smile at the woman.
Bull was glad to see Seranni showing more emotion outside the bedroom and to
more people, he didn’t know how he felt about this Morrigan woman yet. He’d
asked his contacts outside the Ben-Hassrath to look into the woman and hadn’t
come up with much. Apparently the woman had traveled with the Hero of Ferelden,
but all Red would say about her was that she looked out for herself. Red hadn’t
said anything about her having a kid, he figured Morrigan had wanted it that
way so that the kid would be safer? Maybe. He kept watch over the women
carefully as they talked and glanced up to see Solas watching them as well. At
least the elf was showing an interest in his daughter outside of her
‘usefulness.’
“Hey Ataashi, who’s your friend?” Bull asked as he casually walked up.
“Katari, this is Morrigan, Morrigan this is The Iron Bull,” Seranni introduced
them smoothly.
Morrigan chuckled a moment, “‘The Iron Bull? Are you Dragon’s father then?”
“Nah, any kids I would’ve had would still be with the Qun,” Bull waved off her
question and moved closer to Seranni.
“Speaking of fathers, will Kieran’s father be joining us as well?” Seranni
changed the subject quickly.
“‘Twould be...most unlikely. His father helped raised Kieran for a time, but
events have conspired to take him elsewhere. So ‘tis but the two of us. Your
fortress is a large place, you will scarce notice our presence,” Morrigan
nodded in an attempt to be meek.
“No, please, treat this place as your home for as long as you are here,”
Seranni spoke encouragingly.
“I thank you, Seranni. This invitation wouldn’t have anything to do with that
young man calling me lethalin, would it?” Morrigan asked coyly.
Seranni smiled ruefully, “a little, but mostly because I can feel what he does.
There’s something familiar about you and Kieran. I just can’t place my finger
on it, I know I’ve never met you before, yet I feel as if… no, nevermind.”
“Really? I feel no such familiarity with either you or the boy,” Morrigan shook
her head in wonder and thoughtfulness.
“Well, nonetheless if you or Kieran have need of anything, let me know,”
Seranni reached out and grasped the other woman’s hand in her own, “even if
it’s just a moment to talk with someone, just let me know.”
“I will consider your words, Seranni,” Morrigan nodded her farewell.
“So, Katari, is there a reason for this interruption,” Seranni grinned up at
her lover.
“Yeah, I seem to remember promises of chains and closets,” Bull grinned down at
her.
“Oh, you want to be chained up, never would’ve pegged you for the type,”
Seranni teased as she wrapped her arms around him.
“Well, maybe not me, but you gave me some ideas, Ataashi,” the only warning
Seranni had was a glint in Bull’s eye before he picked her up and proceeded to
carry her through the keep of Skyhold. Through the main hall for all to see,
Seranni smiled at the gossiping nobles and waved as if this were a normal thing
to happen everyday. As soon as the door leading to the stairs was closed, Bull
began to sprint up the stairs and once they reached their quarters he dropped
her on the bed with an ‘ooph.’ He grinned down at her as she looked up at him
with the biggest grin he had ever seen on her. “Watchword?”
“Dathrasi.”
***
“Good, now strip,” his tone shifted to the harsh commands that he had started
doing more and more since his declaration of Tal-Vashoth.
Seranni nodded silently and striped obediently as he sat on the couch that sat
by the fireplace and lounged. He watched her hungrily as she slowly peeled the
clothes from her body, she knew he liked watching her and seeing the marks he
left on her be revealed one by one. Dark splotches marred her flesh and he eyed
each of them carefully.
“Hmm, seems as if we’ll have to renew a few of these, Ataashi,” Bull growled at
her, “come kneel before me.”
She immediately moved to obey him and once she was settled comfortably between
his legs she moved to take off his boots, starting with his ankle brace. With
practiced ease she slipped it off and laid it carefully under the couch so it
was out of the way. She then unlaced his boots and tossed them to the side with
his socks. Her hands rested on his knees before she asked him for his
permission to go further. He nodded his agreement and she undid the lacings of
his pants and slid them down with him lifting his hips from the couch to ease
the sliding of the cloth down his legs. Once the clothing was free of his legs
she eyed his member hungrily, but waited for his order before moving.
Bull groaned, “shit, still can’t get over the sight of you waiting for me like
that,” he reached a hand out to lay gently on her head. She eagerly moved
forward and ran her tongue up the underside of his erect shaft. Bull kept his
eye on her as she tasted and teased his cock with her tongue. She began to
suckle on the underside of his shaft and pulled the loose skin in between her
teeth causing his eye to roll in the back of his head as he leaned against the
back of the couch. She smiled at his reaction and was happy that she caused
such reactions from him. She licked up the underside of his shaft again and
wrapped her mouth around his leaking member. Wrapping her tongue around and
tasting his precum she hummed with him in her mouth and the hand that had been
laying gently on her head, fisted in her hair.
“Fuuuuck,” he ground out as she bobbed her head up and down while moving her
tongue in an opposing motion. She had no idea where her inspiration of what to
do came from, but she was glad since they caused such vocal reactions from her
Katari. She had been working her way further up his shaft as she went, she
hummed as she went along causing vibrations that made Bull moan above her. He
had told her not to worry about taking in all of him, but she wanted to. She
wanted him to feel as good as he made her feel when he ‘snacked’ on her. He
growled out his warning when she got him close and she increased her pace. He
came in her mouth and she eagerly sucked at his cock until she had swallowed
all of his seed.
He pulled her up to stand before him and he pulled her down and kissed her
deeply, “that’s my good Ataashi.”
He then pulled her to straddle his lap and lined himself up with her entrance,
he ran a finger across her opening to confirm what he already knew. She was wet
as a lake and with a quick glance at the floor he saw a small spot on the rug
that was darker than the rest of the rug, it also looked a bit moist as the
light of the day reflected off of it. He looked back up at her to see her eyes
begging him to impale her on his member. He rubbed his fingers along her clit,
but kept her poised above his cock. She gripped his horns for balance as her
breathing became more and more uneven, she was close. He wrapped one arm around
her while he kept his ministrations going and latched his mouth onto her
breast, on top of a fading love bite.
“Please, I’m going to-, Please,” she begged, but he did not let up. His teeth
scraped her skin much in the same way that her teeth had scraped his skin
earlier. Her hips bucked at his hand and he popped his mouth off her breast
with a pop.
“Stop moving,” he commanded, the response was immediate. All of her movement
ceased, but her breathing remained uneven. He latched his mouth back onto her
breast and his fingers resumed their actions. Her grip on his horns tightened
and the fireplace flared to life as she moaned her release. As she was coming
on his hand he moved it to her hip and slammed her down on his member.
“Fuck,” she screamed as the sensation sent her into sensation overload. He held
her hips in a bruising grip and rose her off of him until his member slid out
of her. He slammed her back down and set their pace as her hands began to feel
numb from gripping his horns so hard.
“Ride me,” he ordered. His hands left her hips and while one moved up her body
to grasp a nipple between his fingers, the other cupped her ass. He pulled on
her nipple until she moved her upper body close to him again and he latched his
mouth onto her other nipple. The hand that cupped her ass raised up to his
fingertips and with his blunted claws he raked down her ass and leg. She
groaned above him and he brought his hand back up to her neck before running
his claws down her back, leaving red streaks down her back. He felt her shudder
against him as she came again, so he stood and carried her over to the desk.
His cock still buried deep inside her he lay her on the desk with her facing
the ceiling. Her legs wrapped around him he moved both hands to play with her
breasts as he began to move himself within her once more.
He moved her hands to lay above her head and squeezed her wrists, silently
telling her to keep them there. He set his own pace and watched her struggle to
keep her hands above her head where he had placed them. He decided to help her
out with a bit of distraction. His hands went back to her breasts, but this
time instead of squeezing and rolling them in his hand he brought his hand down
in a loud smack. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head as she groaned at his
onslaught.
“You are mine, say it.”
“I’m yours, your Ataashi,” she struggled to groan the words out as he continued
to fuck her.
“Yes, you are my Ataashi, and I am your Katari,” his hands raked down her front
causing her to scream out in pleasure. He crashed his lips onto hers as they
came in tandem.
***
He rested his head against hers and helped her to her feet, when he saw her
wobble he picked her up and took them both back to the couch. He settled her
down to sit against his side and stared into the inferno that she had started
in their fireplace. He breathed deep of the sage they had set in the fireplace
the night before with the intent to burn it that evening, they had some more
wrapped in a cupboard next to the fireplace.
“You gonna tell me about that Morrigan person,” he casually asked her.
“Yeah, I was meaning to tell you before we went to Adamant, but Hawke was
always around and then you and Cassandra weren’t wanting me to risk my life
scouting the place out,” she started to ramble.
“Pashaara, I don’t care about why we haven’t talked about her before now, I’m
asking to talk about her now,” he spoke gently.
Seranni sighed as she melted into him further, “she feels similar to the way
Dragon feels, as if she’s family, but she looks human. Dragon is kossith and
I’m elven how could we be family? It makes no sense.”
“A lot about you doesn’t make sense, you’re gonna try and make sense of it
now?” he lightly teased.
“I guess you’re right, maybe this trip to the Arbor Wilds that she’s leading us
on will clear some things up, you never know,” she spoke casually, but Bull
could hear the secret hope for answers in her tone. She was hoping that with
every venture out into the world that they would learn more about her or why
she felt this familial bond to people she had never met before, “shit, now we
just need a dwarf and we’ll have all the races of Thedas in the family.”
Bull could hear the worry behind her joke, with every new addition to their
'family' came more questions as to why she felt this way and what it all meant.
***** What Pride Hath Wrought *****
They marched into the Arbor Wilds, joined with forces from Empress Celine the
Red Templars fell hard and fast beneath the Inquisition’s forces. Seranni
walked through the main camp eyeing their setup. After the captain gave her
report, Morrigan came walking up to her.
 
“I wonder: is it Andraste your soldiers invoke during battle, or does a more
immediate name come to their lips?”
 
“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that right now. I still have issues
being addressed ‘Inquisitor’ let alone Herald of Andraste,” Seranni rolled her
eyes at the other woman.
 
“A title you really should get accustomed to,” Morrigan raised an eyebrow at
her, “I digress, if your scouts report accurately, I believe these ruins to be
the Temple of Mythal.”
 
Her words caused Seranni to freeze in her tracks, “What?!”
 
“I take it you’ve heard of Mythal?”
 
“Yeah, first when I was eight,” Seranni glared down at the ground and Morrigan
got the impression that she was fighting back tears.
 
“I see, it seems that the Eluvian he covets lies within,” suddenly explosions
sounded in the distance and Morrigan looked in the direction rather annoyed,
“let us hope we reach this temple  before  the entire forest is reduced to
ash.”
 
“Agreed,” Seranni cleared her throat and continued to make her way through the
camp towards where Bull was talking with Krem again.
 
“Alright, fine, just watch yourselves out there, okay?” Seranni smiled at Bull
playing mother hen again with his chargers.
 
“Yeah, yeah, we got it the first dozen times you’ve told us. We’ll be fine
chief, you just worry about keeping our lovely Inquisitor happy, okay?” Krem
snipped back.
 
“Lovely Inquisitor, am I?” Seranni asked him directly, “there something you
want to tell me Krem de la krem?”
 
“Ugh, not you too,” he nearly whined at her.
 
Bull laughed, “hey Ataashi, boys are heading out to clear our way to that
temple Corypheus was heading to.”
 
Seranni looked to the ground, “Morrigan thinks it’s a Temple of Mythal.”
 
He gave Morrigan a hard stare, “you sure it’s a Temple of Mythal?”
 
“Yes and I get the feeling that there is another story here besides Corypheus,”
Morrigan looked between the two lovers.
 
“Yeah, but we aren’t getting into it now. Chargers! Move out, clear the way for
us boys, Horns Up!” Bull turned back to his Chargers.
 
“Horns up!” they responded while making fists with their index and pinkie
fingers out like little horns. Seranni nearly smiled at her contribution to the
group, a glance at Krem told her that he had planned that.
 
“Alright, let’s move out,” Seranni commanded of her party. Cassandra and Bull
led their way through the dense forest with Cole and Solas sticking close to
Seranni with Morrigan hanging in the back.
 
“Ar lath ma da'len, to ama ma dea deal de den Mythal's ju,” Cole spoke
suddenly.
 
“Cole, now is not the time,” Seranni spoke sharply to the being of Compassion.
 
“Right, sorry, but we are going to the Temple of Mythal, and it is Mythal’s
will for you to be protected,” Cole responded quizzically.
 
“That was then, this is now. We need to focus on the now, Cole,” Seranni’s tone
began to deaden and Bull glanced at her warningly, “I’m alright, Katari.”
 
Bull nodded in response, they arrived at the temple and hid on their balcony as
they watched what appeared to be ancient elves fighting off Corypheus and
Sampson. They saw what happened when Corypheus attempted to enter the Temple.
Running into the temple seemed like a good idea at the time until they were
stopped by the doors of the temple. When they saw the statue of Fen’Harel
Seranni and Bull both noticed Solas’ unease at the topic and suggested they
move on rather quickly. They came upon their first puzzle of the temple and
while Solas and Morrigan argued over translations Seranni began walking. She
didn’t know why her feet moved in the pattern they did, but when she circled
around the puzzle back to them she saw that the doors of the Temple were
opened.
 
“How did you do that Da’len?” Solas asked of her.
 
Seranni shrugged, “I don’t know, I just started walking.”
 
“Blood calls to her, makes her move, her feet see the path to walk,” Cole spoke
up.
 
Morrigan looked at the boy warily before looking back at Seranni, “it seems
that you can lead us through the pathways of this Temple, lead on, Inquisitor.”
 
Seranni rolled her eyes at the other mage and began walking, they saw Sampson
lead his red Templars through holes they had made in the Temple walls. When
Bull made to follow then, Seranni stopped him.
 
“No, this place holds ancient magicks, it would be wise to show this place
respect.”
 
“Your soldiers are out there sacrificing their lives and you want to play
puzzle master,” Bull growled at her.
 
“No, I want to keep us all alive long enough to make it to this ‘Well of
Sorrows’, please, just go with me on this,” Seranni begged him.
 
Bull drew a deep breath before exhaling forcibly, “alright. Lead the way
Ataashi.”
 
Seranni nodded and led the way to the pathways that pilgrims had made before
them. The first puzzle they came to Seranni stared at for a solid minute, she
cocked her head to the side thoughtfully before stepping onto the path. Once
again her feet seemed to know where to go of their own accord and soon all the
puzzles were completed and the pathway opened up before them. They were met by
more elves, while they aimed their arrows at the group, Seranni ordered her
companions to lower their weapons.
 
“Ataashi,” Bull warned.
 
“Hear them out,” was all Seranni responded with.
 
“You speak wisely, you...are unlike the other invaders,” one elf spoke to them
from a balcony above them. “You hold a familiar feel and you walk at the side
of one of our own. You bear the mark of magic which is...familiar.” Seranni’s
mark flared at his words. “How has this come to pass? What is your connection
to those who first disturbed our slumber?”
 
“I hold no connection to them other than the fact that they wish me dead for my
actions against them. They set out to kill me and destroy the world by opening
a way to the Fade so their leader can proclaim himself a god,” Seranni spoke
clearly. Bull gave her a warning glance, but she refused to look at him.
 
“I am called Abelas. We are Sentinels, tasked with standing against those who
trespass on sacred ground. We wake only to fight, to preserve this place. Our
numbers diminish with each invasion. I know what you seek. Like all who have
come before, you wish to drink from the Vir’Abelasan.”
 
“‘The Place of the Way of Sorrows.’ He speaks of the Well!” Morrigan whispered
to Seranni.
 
Seranni gave her a look that said, ‘oh really, I had no idea.’ Morrigan
shrugged in response.
 
“It is not  for  you. It is not for  any  of you.”
 
“I hold no desire for the Vir’Abelasan. I seek only to stop my enemies from
gaining a weapon to use against me. Whether that means I stop them or help you
to destroy it is not my decision to make.”
 
“You are wise beyond your years, Da’len.”
 
“However, I do have questions that as servants of Mythal you may be able to
answer,” Seranni pleaded with them.
 
“You think now to be the time to ask such quesitons?”
 
“To ama ma dea deal de den Mythal's ju. Those were the last words spoken by my
Tamassran before she died.”
 
“Fire, pain, burning. Love, it’s alright child Mythal will protect you. You are
hers, you were hers before you were given to me,” Cole spoke again.
 
Abelas considered them again, “the invaders of this Temple have shown
themselves to be enemies of us both, once this is over you will be permitted to
leave...and to never return.”
 
Seranni sighed before she nodded her agreement, “Agreed.”
 
Abelas almost felt pity for the young elf before him, “you will be guided to
those you seek. As for the Vir’Abelasan...it shall not be despoiled, even if I
must destroy it myself.”
 
“No,” Morrigan shouted before turning into a bird to follow after Abelas.
 
“Morrigan,” Seranni tried to grab her before she moved out of range, but she
was too quick. Seranni sighed and moved to follow the woman who was to be their
guide. “Greetings.”
 
“Mythal’enaste,” was all she said.
 
She led them through the temple on a mostly peaceful path to the Well of
Sorrows. They met up and faced Sampson. With Dagna’s rune they dismantled his
lyrium armor and captured him while he still breathed. Bull carried his
unconscious form up the stairs to the Well of Sorrows and they met Abelas and
Morrigan at the top.
 
Morrigan stood between Abelas and the well, “you heard his parting words,
Seranni. The elf seeks to destroy the Well of Sorrows!”
 
“So the sanctum is despoiled at last,” Abelas sneered at them. Seranni averted
her eyes to the ground as Morrigan moved to stand beside her.
 
“You would have destroyed the Well yourself, given the chance.”
 
“To keep it from your grasping fingers! Better it be lost than bestowed upon
the undeserving!”
 
They argued for a bit longer before Seranni glared at the ground she stared at,
“Pashaara! You both argue over a well that belongs to neither of you. Sampson
is dealt with, there is no more ‘vessel’ to claim the well.”
 
“The moment we leave, he will send more forces to secure this place. The Well
clearly offers power, Seranni. If that power can be turned against Corypheus,
can you afford not to use it?”
 
“If I go around using every tool made available to me to defeat Corypheus, when
do I stop? Will I end up no better than Corypheus himself?” Seranni argued
back.
 
“Again, you surprise me da’len, perhaps you are worthy of the Well after all,”
Abelas looked to her thoughtfully. “I know not of Mythal’s will or what your
protection has to do with it. However, I will tell you this: As each servant of
Mythal reached the end of their years, they would pass their knowledge
on...through this. All that we were. All that we knew. It would be lost
forever.  Is  that your desire? To partake of the Vir’Abelasan as best you can,
to fight your enemy?”
 
Seranni looked to the well, “I already told you, I have no interest in binding
myself to Mythal.”
 
“Ataashi, no one ever mentioned any ‘binding’,” Bull spoke up.
 
“Yet she is correct, those who partake of the Well are bound forever to the
will of Mythal.”
 
“Bound? To a goddess who no longer exists, if she ever did?” Morrigan sneered
skeptically.
 
“Bound, as we are bound. The choice is yours. I will go, I am sorry I could not
help you more da’len,” Abelas looked to Seranni regretfully before turning and
walking down the stairway of stone.
 
Morrigan immediately launched into reasons why she was the best suited to drink
of the well, but Seranni didn’t hear a word of it. Instead she sat at the edge
of the Well and stared into it’s depths. Cassandra and Bull were vehement that
Morrigan shouldn’t drink from the Well, but when it was suggested for Seranni
to drink of the Well they were even more against that. Seranni continued to
stare into the swirling depths of the Well until she took out Hissrad’s dagger
that she always kept at her side. She stabbed her hand with the dagger, right
in the middle of her glowing green mark.
 
“Seranni! What are you-” Morrigan moved to help her, but was stopped by
Cassandra. “Seeker! What are you doing?! She is harming herself!”
 
She removed the dagger from her hand and used her magic to heal the wound. Then
she stabbed her hand again and repeated the process over and over again as
tears streamed down her face. Bull watched her in silence with a blank look on
his face, Solas’ face grew in concern, but he did not move either.
 
“First glimmer of fucking hope I had and it led to nothing. It led to this
stupid fucking Well that everyone else is fighting over. Where else am I
supposed to find answers than inside a fucking Temple of fucking Mythal,” Cole
spoke and no one questioned who he was channeling.
 
“Morrigan, drink the fucking Well, at least someone should get what they wanted
out of this trip,” Seranni said bitterly.
 
Morrigan nodded dumbly as she walked forward into the Well, she knelt in the
center of the Well and brought a handful of water to her lips. Suddenly the
Well disappeared and Morrigan lay in the middle of the stone indentation.
Seranni stood and walked over to Morrigan, her face an emotionless mask as
tears continued to flow freely and her hand dripped from the blood of her
healed wounds. She wordlessly brought her right hand out in silent offer to
help the woman stand. Morrigan’s eyes snapped open and she looked at Seranni
gratefully before grasping her hand and rose to her feet. Seranni saw
Morrigan’s eyes narrow as she looked behind them.
 
“The Well is the key to the Eluvian behind us, I will open it and we are all
going to run through to my eluvian back at Skyhold,” Morrigan said quietly to
Seranni.
 
Seranni nodded her understanding and slowly stepped back from the woman. As
soon as Morrigan moved to open the Eluvian, Seranni Fade-Stepped behind the
others and set a pillar of fire to entrap the figure of Corypheus whom had just
arrived at the Inner Sanctum of the Well.
 
“Get moving through the Eluvian after Morrigan, I’m right behind you,” she
looked to Bull and saw his doubt, after what had happened at Adamant, she
couldn’t blame him. “I promise, I’m right behind you, I have no desire to die
just yet.”
 
This seemed to satisfy Bull because he nodded and headed for the glowing
magical mirror. As soon as he went through she ran through the indention to the
other side, the side with the Eluvian. Just as she reached the mirror,
something caused her to pause and look back. She saw water-like magic swirl
around what used to be the Well. It raised itself up and formed into a woman
that floated for a moment before she launched herself at Corypheus, he was
currently flying towards them. Of course, he could fly, why not? He’d already
pulled a dragon out of his ass. The force of the blast from their collision
sent her through the Eluvian and as soon as she was through the mirror closed
off  and was shattered.
***** Family Reunions *****
Seranni and Bull lay relaxed on the couch in their quarters, Bull popped pieces
of fruit from a nearby bowl into both his mouth and hers. Pieces of fruit lay
scattered across the floor from a mini food war they had had a few minutes ago,
Seranni’s face still ached from the laughter. She sighed a deep sigh and
settled further into the couch next to her lover, Bull was more than
accommodating as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders when the door to their
quarters burst open.
“Kieran! Kieran,” Morrigan’s voice sounded from the stairs. Seranni rose from
the couch and met the woman by the stairs, “Seranni, I can’t find Kieran
anywhere. Please, help me find him. I haven’t been able to find him all day!”
“Okay, Bull you check the orphanage and see if Dragon or Cal have seen him,”
Seranni immediately moved to follow Morrigan back down the stairs. Once in the
main hall Bull split off to exit the main door while Morrigan and Seranni went
to check the garden. They reached the garden and Morrigan spoke under her
breath before she moved towards the door that had a glowing blue light coming
from it. The same door that held Morrigan’s Eluvian.
“How could he have opened it,” Morrigan worried to herself before bursting
through the portal. Seranni hesitated to follow until Cole showed up.
“I will let The Iron Bull know what’s going on,” he spoke before she could ask
it of him. She smiled gratefully at the boy and went after Morrigan through the
mirror. The sight that greeted her upon her arrival was certainly not what she
expected.
“Why could Kieran do this?  How  could he do this?” Morrigan wondered aloud as
they looked around at the landscape of the Fade. “We stand in the Fade, to
direct the eluvian here would require immense power. If he is lost to me, now
after all I have sacrificed…”
“Hey, we’ll find him. Even if I have to tear apart the entirety of the Fade
itself,” Seranni tried to console the other woman, but was wary as to whether
or not her words worked.
“The Fade is infinite, he could literally be anywhere. Whatever happens to him
now, ‘tis my doing. I set him on this path,” Morrigan’s eyes searched all
around them for a sign or hint of Kieran.
Seranni looked around them as well and saw a ball of blue light begin to float
towards them, “Morrigan, look.”
Morrigan eyed the ball wearily and it began to move in a pattern that Seranni
saw as the intent for them to follow the ball. Seranni argued that the ball was
their only lead to anything, it couldn’t hurt to follow the thing and if
anything attacked them then they were two powerful mages inside the Fade.
Morrigan agreed with her and they followed the ball for a time. They rounded a
corner and saw Kieran standing before the woman from Seranni’s dreams.
Kieran turned to them as they approached, “Mother!”
Seranni forced herself to continue and she barely heard Morrigan call the other
woman, ‘mother’ in response.
The elder woman rose to her feet, “now, isn’t this a surprise?”
“That is your mother, Morrigan?” Seranni kept her tone even despite the
emotions rolling inside her.
“Mother, daughters, and grandson, it rather warms the heart does it not,” the
woman said in response.
“Kieran is  not  your grandson. Let him go!” Morrigan kept her focus on her
son, but Seranni noticed the plural form of daughter that was used.
“As if I were holding the boy hostage. She’s always been ungrateful you see.”
“Ungrateful, I know how you plan to extend your life, wicked crone!” Morrigan
shouted at her mother. “You will not have me and you will not have my son!”
Morrigan gathered her magic about her before her mother spoke up again.
“That’s quite enough, you’ll endanger the boy,” her arm glowed a moment and
Morrigan’s magic dissipated.
“What have you done to me?” Morrigan demanded of her.
“ I  have done nothing.  You  drank from the Well of your own volition,” she
spoke nonchalantly.
“You...are Mythal,” Morrigan said in wonder and Seranni struggled to remain
where she was.
Seranni barely maintained even breath and Morrigan looked to her concerned, “to
protect you was Mythal’s will.”
“Yes, I was sorry to learn of her death, but it could not be helped. She knew
the risks and was prepared to face them,” the woman finally spoke directly to
Seranni.
Morrigan looked between them, “whose death?”
“My Tama’s, so why was it your will that I be protected?” Kieran went forward
and hugged his mother as Seranni moved forward towards the being that was
Mythal. “Who the hell am I to be protected for  your  will?”
“You ask questions to which you already know the answers to,” she looked to
Seranni challengingly.
“Yeah, I do, because I don’t understand. What the hell were you doing to Solas?
Who the fuck is he that you would to that to him? Why would you leave me with
the Qun, Mother?” Seranni spoke bitterly to the woman before her.
Morrigan perked up at that, “Mother? What do you mean? What are you talking
about?”
“She had sex with Solas while he slumbered within Skyhold. She gave birth to me
in the Fade where I was taken by a Desire demon that took advantage of  your
stupidity,” Seranni could no longer hold back the anger that had been building.
“You think Solas was the only one to think of following the memories of what
happened to you.”
Flames licked at Seranni’s right arm and while Morrigan looked at her warily,
Mythal seemed unconcerned. “I knew you would follow the pathways of memories in
the Fade. I didn’t know  when , mind you. By the time I found you again, you
were already on your way to Seheron, so I sent the spirit of the Tamassran to
guide you.”
“Pashaara,  you  left me under the Qun! What the fuck possessed you to do what
you did in order to give birth to me anyway,” Seranni continued to glare at
Mythal as flames continued to lick up her arm.
Mythal eyed her a moment before she sighed, “I dabbled in time magic for a bit
in my youth. Through my dabbling I saw what needed to be done, my plan was
interrupted by another.”
“Yeah, that much is fucking obvious,” her eyes narrowed at the woman she had
searched for her whole life. “So who the fuck is Solas that you would do this
to him? I swear if you lie to me or try to not answer again I will hunt down
every single temple of Mythal and destroy them till the day I die. I’m sure
some are still guarded by your servants like the ones at the Well.”
She paused a moment and regarded the angry woman, “Solas is your father, it is
not my place to tell you more.” Seranni scoffed at that. “You seek a way to
defeat Corypheus, the Well will speak to Morrigan when the time comes. Or you
may discover the ability on your own. For now, I will leave you girls in peace,
once I have what I came for.” She looked pointedly at Kieran and Morrigan shook
her head vehemently.
“No, I will not allow it. Seranni, please stop her. Please sister,” Morrigan
pleaded with Seranni.
“He carries a piece of what once was, snatched from the jaws of darkness. You
know this,” Mythal spoke to Morrigan.
“He is not your pawn, Mother. I will not let you use him!”
“Have you not used him? Was that not your purpose, the reason you agreed to his
creation?”
“That was then, now he … he is my  son.  Flemeth extends her life by possessing
the bodies of her daughters, sister. That was the fate she intended for me. I
thwarted her, and now she intends to have Kieran instead!”
Anger swirled within Seranni still, “Kieran carries the soul of the Archdemon
from the fifth blight, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but he is more than that.”
“As am I,” Flemeth interjected, “yet do you hear me complain? Our destinies are
not so easily avoided, dear girl.”
“Mother, I have to,” Kieran spoke up.
“You do not belong to her, none of us do!” Morrigan pleaded with her son.
Seranni closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath, the flames around her
arm calmed a bit, “why wait until now to reveal yourself? Kieran is apparently
so special you had to call out to him. Why not come and talk to your daughters
like any other mother would?”
“Ah, but I am not just  any  other mother. I did not know where Kieran was, she
hid him so cleverly from me. You, on the other hand, I kept a close watch on
you.”
“Yeah, I know all about your  close  watch of me, I spoke with Hawke. You were
the dragon that rescued me at Haven. Why not stick around for just a moment to
speak with me?” she felt the prickle of tears at her eyes.
Morrigan’s eyes widened in horror, “Twas the Well.”
“Always grasping beyond your reach, despite all that I taught you.” Kieran
looked to Flemeth and the woman grinned back at the child, “As you wish. Hear
my proposal, dear girl. Let me take the lad, and you are free of me forever. I
will never interfere with or harm you again or...keep the lad with you. And you
will never be safe from me. I will have my due.”
“He returns with me,” Morrigan spoke firmly and immediately.
“Decided so quickly?”
“Do whatever you wish. Take over my body now, if you must, but Kieran will be
free of your clutches. I am many things, but I will not be the mother you were
to me.”
Flemeth’s expression turned sorrowful as she looked between all three of her
progeny. She turned to Kieran and took his hands in her own. Suddenly a small
blue ball of energy left from Kieran’s body and went into Flemeth’s.
“No more dreams?” Kieran asked her hopefully.
She smiled warmly at him, “no more dreams.” Kieran walked over to Morrigan’s
side. “A soul is not forced upon the unwilling, Morrigan. You were never in
danger from me. Listen to the voices. They will teach you… as I never did.
Seranni, there is not much I regret in my life more than being unable to help
you more as you grew. I know you have many questions, but now you know a bit
more of your lineage. I bid you farewell.”
The three watched her leave and once she had left their sight, Seranni turned
and led them back the way they had come through to the Eluvian. Once they were
all through, Morrigan immediately turned to Kieran.
“Are you alright, Kieran? You are not hurt?”
“I feel lonely,” was all he said to her before they smiled at each other.
Kieran turned to leave the room and Morrigan turned back to Seranni.
“She wanted the Old God soul all along. Is it worth reminding myself that
perhaps I do not know everything after all? To find a sister after all this
time, ‘tis a wonder in and of itself. Our mother has the soul of an elven
goddess - or whatever ‘Mythal’ truly was - and her plans are unknown to me.”
Morrigan sighed, “her plans are unknown to us both. The voices of the Well tell
me we will be able to match Corypheus’ dragon, when the time comes. All that
remains is for you to find him.”
“Agreed. So, we’re sisters, no wonder you and Kieran felt familiar to me,” the
look in Seranni’s eyes told Morrigan that her thoughts were far away from the
present. At least until the great brute of a lover that Seranni had, burst
through the door looking ready to face an army. Morrigan slipped herself from
the room and let the couple have their moment of reunion. She had a feeling
that her newly found sister wanted a more familiar face just then.
***** Aban Astaarit, Aban Itwasit *****
Chapter Summary
     I'm so sorry.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Green light filtered through the trees as Seranni, Cassandra, Bull, and Cole
made their way to the ruins of Haven. Corypheus had managed to open the breach
once again. Seranni kept silent as they trudged through the pathways, their
goal was stealth so that maybe they could have a small element of surprise.
Sera, Blackwall, Varric, and Solas were working with Morrigan to take out the
dragon, so they followed after the main Inquisitorial party.
“Ugh, I’m getting tired of cleaning up after Coryphi-shit,” Sera whispered
annoyed.
“You and me both Buttercup,” Varric muttered.
“Quiet, or do you want to give away our position,” Cassandra snapped back at
them too late as they heard a draconic screech sound above them.
“Tell me, where is your maker now?” they heard Corypheus taunt the scouts that
had gone ahead of them. “Call him, call down his wrath upon me. You cannot for
He does not exist. I am Corypheus. I shall deliver you from this lie in which
you linger. Bow before your new God and be spared.”
Seranni watched as her scouts stood defiantly before their enemy, “Never!”
“As you wish,” Corypheus growled at them. He sent out a wave of red energy that
Seranni protected them all from with her barriers. He immediately summoned two
lesser terror demons which were dispatched of quickly by Cassandra and Bull.
Corypheus bowed mockingly as Seranni and Cole came out from the tree line, “I
knew you would come.”
“It ends here,” Seranni glared at her enemy.
“So it shall,” magic poured from Corypheus as he lifted the stones they were
standing on into the air and soon they were completely cut off from any form of
assistance, they were on their own. “You have been most successful in foiling
my plans, but let us not forget what you are. A thief, in the wrong place at
the wrong time. An interloper, a gnat. We shall prove here, once and for all,
which of us is worthy of godhood.”
“You are the only one reaching for something beyond their grasp, I have nothing
to prove to anyone. You came after me!” Seranni and Corypheus glared at each
other as his dragon crawled its way over a ruined stone wall. Just as the
dragon leaped for the Inquisitorial party, Morrigan came out in her own dragon
from. Purple and gold clashed with black and red as the two dragons fought with
Varric, Sera, and Solas providing support to Morrigan.
Corypheus looked to them, shocked, “You dare.”
“Of course I fucking dare, asshat,” Seranni growled at him.
“A dragon of your own, how clever. No matter, you will fall as an example to
all those who oppose my divine will,” Corypheus shouted at them as he threw
attack after attack of red lyrium at them.
Bull and Cassandra ran towards Corypheus, but before they could reach him
Seranni used her Inferno on him and created a pillar of fire bright enough to
rival the light of the Breach. As soon as the warriors reached him, she cut off
her magic to the inferno and placed her most powerful barriers over the
warriors. Seranni saw that Cole had stayed by her while the warriors had run
ahead, she heard the red lyrium singing all around her and he looked worried.
“He’s going to hurt you,” Cole said cryptically.
“He’ll hurt everyone more if you don’t catch up, I’ll be fine, go,” she gently
prodded him and he went.
Magic, blades, and screams sounded through the night as they fought with the
enemy that had become the reason for the existence of the Inquisition in the
first place. Seranni kept an eye on the skies as her newly discovered sister
flew after Corypheus’ dragon. She watched as Morrigan led her opponent higher
and higher until she suddenly turned back and attached herself to the enemy
dragon. They plummeted to the ground and Seranni snapped a barrier around her
sister moments before she hit the ground, unconscious. Corypheus’ dragon drug
itself to it’s feet and Seranni narrowed her eyes at both of her enemies.
“Seranni, focus on the dragon -” whatever Cassandra was about to say next was
cut off by a spike of red lyrium that suddenly protruded from her chest. Time
seemed to stand still as Seranni stared into Cassandra’s eyes. For a moment she
swore she saw the eyes of her Tama settle across Cassandra’s eyes and it was
then that she realized that they had the same hazel eyes.
“Cass,” she whispered.
She was too far away from Cassandra to hear anything, but she saw her mouth
opened in a gurgling scream. The life left the seeker’s eyes and Seranni felt
tears being formed in her eyes before they steamed from her skin. Red creeped
at the edges of her vision and as she stood there fire enveloped her body. The
fire didn’t hurt, but she felt her magic change her body into the form of
something different. She grew larger and she stomped down her clawed foot. She
looked into the eyes of the enemy dragon for a moment before she leaped at the
other dragon. Her teeth ripped into the dragon’s flesh easily as she tore the
throat from her enemy. Maw dripping with the blood of her enemy, her eyes
narrowed at Corypheus. She leaped over to where he was and dropped the throat
of his dragon on top of him.
“No!” he shouted from his trapped position.
Flame enveloped her body again and she brought her left hand up to Corypheus’
head, “You wanted to go to the Fade so badly? Here, let me send you, first
class.”
‘Open or Close?’ her mark asked her.
‘Open,’ she thought back to her mark, swallowing past the lump in her throat.
Suddenly the orb that Corypheus had once held lept to her hand and a small rift
opened and swallowed the body of her enemy. She turned her head upward and
extended her will to the newly reopened breach. Pain lacerated her arm as she
willed the Breach closed and the orb fell from her hand, broken. Seranni turned
back and walked slowly back to the body of the Seeker.
Cole stood between her and Cassandra, “she’s gone.”
Seranni kept walking towards Cassandra, once she reached the Seeker’s body she
knelt beside her. She was laid out on the ground, a gaping hole where her chest
once was. Tears streamed down her face and suddenly she screamed out and
brought her fists down on the Seeker’s body. All the mages around her could
feel the healing energy that she was pouring into the corpse, but none could
move to stop her. Bull came up and knelt beside her, magic rolled off of her in
waves. Bull reached around her shoulders and forced Seranni to curl up in his
embrace.
“No, I can save her, no,” she screamed as Bull rose with Seranni in his arms.
Magic flew wildly around them and everyone else backed away from them. “Put me
down, let me go!”
She began to hit at Bull’s chest with her fists as he held her against him,
“she’s gone. Dead is dead.”
At the sound of his voice she looked up and saw tears streaming from his
remaining eye, “Bull.”
“No, dead is dead. You can’t breathe life into what’s dead.”
“But-”
“No.”
Seranni closed her eyes and leaned against him, all fight gone from her body.
She didn’t know how long she and Bull stood there, but when she heard Josephine
approach and begin talking about making preparation to send Cassandra back to
Nevarra, Seranni disentangled herself from Bull.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Seranni growled at the soldiers that had moved to
begin moving her body. “She’s not going anywhere, especially not to Nevarra.
She hated it there.” Her voice sounded dead to her own ears as she gathered her
magic around her again. Once enough magic had gathered she slammed her hand to
the ground. From the ground arose a dragon statue with what appeared to be
Cassandra standing atop its head. Stone encompassed the Seeker’s body with the
symbol of the Seeker’s emblazoned on the top of it.
“Those that wish to celebrate can do so at Skyhold, Josephine make the
arrangements,” Seranni’s voice was still deadened and Bull walked behind her.
“Hey kid, make sure Morrigan is okay,” Bull told Cole. Seranni glared down at
the ground, she should have been the one to make sure her own sister was okay,
but she didn’t even know if she was.
Everything passed by her in a blur, she didn’t remember the trek back to
Skyhold, the crowds that had lined the pathway up to the main keep, or her
entering the main hall to a thunderous applause. She didn’t remember going up
the stairway to the quarters she shared with Bull or even when he removed her
armor and released her hair from its braid. She stood in the center of her
quarters as Bull silently worked around her. Finally he stood before her and
held her for a long while.
“Let it out, Ataashi. Hit, scream, cry, do whatever you need to do, say
whatever you need to,” Bull stood in front of her as he waited.
Her eyes finally moved up to his face, “you should have been there! You should
have watched her back! She’s dead because you moved your attention from
Corypheus to that stupid fucking dragon!”
He stood silent as she screamed at him that everything was all his fault, he
knew it was her grief talking and waited as she let it all out.
“She’s dead because I moved my attention from her to the dragon,” she suddenly
whispered.
“She’s dead because she did her duty, she died protecting you. The woman she
adopted into her family as her daughter. She loved you as a daughter, and if
she were here she would be telling you to not blame yourself for her death,”
Bull immediately pounced on that train of thought before it could escalate.
“Don’t -Don’t you dare blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault.”
Her brow knitted at the catch in his voice, he was perfectly fine with her
blaming him, but how dare she blame herself? “But it is my fault. If I hadn’t
been so damn fucking curious I wouldn’t have gotten this mark in the first
place and she would still be alive.”
“Yeah, and if a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump it's ass when it hopped.”
Seranni started at the familiar turn of phrase that she had learned from
Tamavaarad, “where did you hear that phrase?”
“My- Our tama said it all the time when we tried to blame ourselves for things
out of our control,” Bull looked at her pointedly when he had corrected
himself.
Seranni sank to her knees as her tears finally caught up to her, “But-”
“But nothing, Ataashi. Cass knew what she was laying on the line. She wouldn’t
want you to blame yourself when the blame lies with Corypheus.” She sobbed into
Bull’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her again. “Where did you hear that
phrase?”
“Tamavaarad, shit, uh, my first Arvaarad, he was also called Hissrad before he
turned himself in to the re educators.”
“No shit?” Bull grew quiet as he held her close to him. He picked her up and
brought her over to the bed and she realized suddenly that she was naked while
he had remained clothed.
“Can you use the rod? Please,” she whispered as she curled up next to him. He
didn’t move except to bring one arm around and she saw that he was grasping the
rod. He began to move the Tooth foci from around his neck and Seranni scoot
back to sit cross legged on the bed.
Chapter End Notes
     Thank you so much for those that have followed along with me in this
     journey thus far, I do plan on writing the events of Trespasser, but
     i'm going to make that it's own story. This way I can turn my
     attention to my other fic and come back to this later on. As of right
     now I have no idea when I'll get to Trespasser events, but there is a
     plan to do it.
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