Chapter Text
Lea
Vunlea Lavellan thought standing beneath the Breach had been a daunting experience but this was significantly worse. She had little concept of how much time had passed since their first march on the Temple but it appeared she was asleep for days. Exiting her cabin to find the people of Haven waiting for her felt like an actual nightmare. Unfortunately she knew what the Fade felt like, what dreams felt like and this was actually happening. The elf carefully walked between the lines of waiting soldiers and pilgrims who stared at her with baited breath. Skin prickling as she wandered by continuous rows of people, some whispered prayers others knelt as she passed by. “There she is! The Herald of Andraste!” Before she had left to help Cassandra with the Breach all of these people blamed her for the death of their Divine. Were their minds so easily swayed that she was somehow a hero now? Soft murmurs coming from the crowd as she passed only increased the anxiety and fear that flooded her.
Eventually she made it to the Chantry building, closing the large doors behind her which muffled out the sounds from outside. Oh, Creators. What have I gotten myself into? Sadness enveloped her heart as she thought of her clan, wondering what they would be doing now. If it was early morning, they would be readying themselves for the daily hunt. Some of the artisans packing for a trip towards local towns to trade and Lea herself would be preparing for another day with Keeper Deshanna - learning the lore and history of the clan. It would have been quiet, peaceful, even though she was often at odds with the members of Lavellan. She was no longer in the Free Marches. Those who surrounded her now were not her people.
It took Lea far longer than usual to ground herself. Deep, shaky breaths as she leaned against the doors for support. Once her heartbeat slowed she pushed away from the doors and began her trek down the long hallway. The elven servant who had been in the cabin when she awoke was now in the Chantry building looking nervous as she directed Lea to the door at the end of the hall. From behind the closed door she heard shouting and whoever it was seemed angry. Angry with her, as the voice spat out insults against the elven woman. Great. This will be fun.
- - -
So much happened in the last ten minutes that Lea felt like she had been pushed forward in time. The cleric, Chancellor Roderick, was absolutely livid that she had not be imprisoned. That was unsurprising. What did surprise her was that Cassandra defended her to him and refused to arrest her. The Seeker had a change of heart regarding Lea’s involvement in the explosion at the Conclave and had chosen to believe that Lea was not at fault for the Breach in the sky. After Roderick had been dismissed the elf licked her lips slowly, exhaling a soft sigh before she spoke to the Seeker, “Thank you.” Her gaze flickered to the woman at the end of the table, “I, uh-I appreciate you standing up for me.” While still weary about the Seeker and her intentions, the woman stood up for her so her anxiety diminished slightly.
Waking up to a member of the Chantry defending a Dalish elf and an apostate mage was not something she thought she would be seeing today, the day was already full of surprises.
Lea’s anxiety returned in full force as Cassandra introduced the other humans who stood in the war room with them. The first, an attractive woman named Josephine who greeted her in elven, “Andaran Atish’an.” A small smile of appreciation danced on Lea’s lips, “You speak elven?” She had not realized how long it had been since she heard her own language, even from the lips of a human. The Ambassador shook her head and chuckled, “You just heard the entirely of it I’m afraid.” Even then, Lea was grateful for the woman trying. The next was the Spymaster, Leliana. She had met her shortly after waking up in the dungeons and they had interacted on her initial trek to the Breach.
It was the last person introduced that caused all air to escape Lea’s body, her mind froze. Panic, terror, anger, all rearing its ugly head as the man stepped forward. Cassandra had introduced him as Commander… something. Her mind was spiraling so she was unable to retain his name. The man was fully armored and smiled at her pleasantly but she recognized something within him that she knew too well. Templar. He may not have been wearing their regalia or their symbols but something in the way he moved, the way he rested his gauntleted hand on the pommel of his sword, she knew he was a Templar. The Seeker informed her he commanded the Inquisition forces and Lea made a mental note not to go anywhere near the soldiers if she could help it. A smile sat on his lips and Lea stepped backwards involuntarily. She used every ounce of control she had to stop herself from bolting out the door behind her. Whether he noticed her fear or if she had somehow pushed it far enough down below the surface, she was not sure. A strained, “Nice to meet everyone” poured from her lips. Good job, Lea thought to herself, you were able to say something to him without screaming.
Cassandra saved her for the second time that meeting by breaking the awkward silence. The Inquisition leadership had informed her that the people of Haven had begun to call her the ‘Herald of Andraste’. Andraste was a religious figure, the bride of their god, the Maker. They wanted to make use of the mark on her hand, the one filled with an unknown magic, to close rifts in the Veil in regions surrounding Haven. Primarily to bolster the reputation of the Inquisition while also doing some good in the process.
Lea had the desire to help where she could, she always had. The elf also now had a target on her back. The Chantry had denounced her as a heretic and the Inquisition along with her. If she returned to her clan now she would bring that target with her and bring more destruction to her already damaged clan. She felt she had little choice than to cooperate with the Inquisition for now. Besides, if sending her all over Thedas would get her out of this room with the Commander, all the better.
The leaders all agreed that the first place to send the Herald would be the Hinterlands. A Chantry cleric who did not seem to care much for Chantry politics was located there and she may be able to pull some Chantry support. If the Inquisition could assist her and the refugees who were displaced by the conflict between the mages and the Templars, then they had more influence to move forward. Leliana also informed her that her scouts had located rifts that she may be able to close while she was there. With the meeting over, the Commander moved to leave first. His sudden movement startled Lea causing her to exit the room as quickly as her feet could take her.
- - -
The elf was a bundle of nerves as she exited the Chantry building and she quickly walked with her head down. The fear, the anger rippling away from her in waves, prickling at her skin. A stinging sensation in her eyes as she forced back any tears that threatened to release. She could feel a knot in her throat from trying not to cry in the middle of the small town. Weaving in and out of pilgrims and avoiding any soldiers. She felt a hand reach out and grasp her forearm and she just about jumped out of her skin with a gasp of surprise. The hand quickly released her and Lea turned to see Varric standing there with his hands up and an apologetic look on his face.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry. You looked upset.”
Lea could feel her heartbeat in her throat as she caught her breath, shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips as she regained her composure. “It’s fine. I am fine.” Her lips forced themselves into a grin as she slowly got a grip on herself. She slowed her pace so that Varric could walk with her. Lea liked the dwarf. He was boisterous but disarming at the same time and it was nice to spend some time with someone who was not human. The dwarf glanced up at her, “So, now that Cassandra is out of earshot, you holding up alright? I mean you go from being the most wanted criminal in Thedas to joining the armies of the faithful. Most people would have spread that out over more than a day.”
Her body language betrayed her, her shoulders slumping forward and a shaky sigh escaped her. “Honestly? I can barely keep up. I just met with the advisors and…” she trailed off, not wanting to speak her fears aloud. It was far too early in any friendship for that sort of tragic story. If she were honest, she doubted any level of friendship deserved that story. “Most of them seem nice, I guess” was all she could say. Varric gave her an empathetic look, “Well, why don’t we get some food then, you look like you’re about to fall over.”
- - -
Varric
Varric felt bad scaring the elf half to death. Something that he could not quite put a finger on yet unsettled her to a degree that he had not seen in her before, and he had seen her go toe to toe with a massive Pride demon only a few days ago. She actually looked like she would have preferred to go a second round with that Pride demon if it saved her from whatever happened in the meeting. Varric couldn’t blame her, politics were the worst. He watched her slowly morph back into the cheerful elf he had seen briefly on their way to the Breach and the more they spoke the lighter she became. It only reinforced his decision to bother her. At this rate, she was going to be his friend whether she liked it or not. He warned himself not to get too attached, the dwarf had left many people behind in Kirkwall and it made his presence in Haven that much harder.
He raised up an arm, offering to link them together. To his surprise she actually took him up on the offer. They readjusted their destination from her cabin and turned towards the tavern that was located within Haven’s walls. A heavy crunching of snow and the sound of metal rubbing on metal brought his attention to Curly as he made his way from the Chantry towards the front gates. He silently wondered if Curly ever took a break, the man always had a serious expression. The Commander had changed since Kirkwall but he was still a soldier. Varric could not remember a time he had seen the man out of his armor. His attention returned to the elf. He watched her head turn towards the Commander, recognize him and immediately her body language shifted to how it was when he found her before. She was petrified, her shoulders rolling forward like she was trying to protect herself, make herself smaller. Interesting. She is afraid of Curly? With a small quirk of his eyebrow he patted her arm and led her away. Once the Commander was out of sight he saw her visibly relax again.
Inside the tavern he followed as Lea took the lead and chose a secluded corner of the small room. She picked the chair that had its back to the corner and nothing behind it. The elf was on high alert and had found a place to protect herself. Like a rabbit. Varric mused, though he pushed that thought from his mind. While she was acting like a hare - small, scared. He had briefly forgotten rabbit was a particularly common slur towards the elves in Orlais. The pointed ears and all. No, that wouldn’t do for a good nickname. The dwarf was phenomenal at choosing nicknames for the circle of people he surrounded himself with but he had not found one for the elf yet. He would though, he was determined.
Varric didn’t blame Lea for being on edge around all the humans, especially all the Chantry folk. She drew the short straw for being both feared and looked down upon. It may have only been worse if she were part of the Qun or from Tevinter. She was a Dalish elf and in the eyes of the Chantry a wild savage, a heretic to the Maker and his Bride. Elven culture was to be stomped out and largely had been due to the Exalted March on the Dales. Paired with her being an apostate mage, a powerful one at that, with unknown magic coursing through her body due to the mark on her hand… it was not a winning combination. To make matters worse the new ‘Herald of Andraste’ moniker had made its way through the town, the Chantry were calling for her immediate imprisonment. He was honestly surprised she hadn’t run away yet or lost her mind and burnt everyone to a crisp.
The dwarf let her settle herself while he grabbed two plates of food. “Alright Lea, spill.” Dropping the plate gently in front of her. Her green eyes flickered from the plate to his face before widening slightly, “What am I spilling?” A crooked smile dancing on her lips until he spoke again. “Oh you know, why you’re so afraid of Curly? Cullen.” She gave him a confused look, “Who is Cullen?” The dwarf had to stop and decide if she were messing with him. Based on her expression, she was not. “The Commander…?” Varric watched as Lea finally made the connection and then shifted immediately into discomfort. “To be honest, I… did not hear when Cassandra introduced him. I think I blacked out a little.” She looked at him sheepishly, now using her fork to push the food around her plate. “He’s a Templar right? He gave me that impression when we spoke at the meeting. He moved like a Templar.”
Interesting, how could she tell just by looking at him? Varric shrugged lightly, “Oh, he’s not so bad. A bit too serious. I mean, he was a Templar though. He left the Order to help the Inquisition.” That did not seem to ease the elf any. “His story isn’t mine to tell, not really. But he’s a lot different now then when he was with the Order. From what I heard about Circle Tower he was the only one left alive after mages tortured everyone there. He saw some serious shit in Kirkwall and even sided with the mages in the end.” Well, he sided against the Knight-Commander and defended Hawke, so it was sort of the same thing. He finally sat, moving to eat from his own plate. His eyes glancing up at her between bites, “Bad experiences with Templars I take it?” She nodded, sighing as she pushed the plate from in front of her. Clearly the topic of conversation turning her stomach. “They’re one of the reasons we only allow three mages in a clan at a time. They’re the reason my father is dead. Among other… awful things.” By her tone Varric knew that the story was going to take a lot more than a simple lunch to unwrap.