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Vhenan'ara	By : Arcanis_Born Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 6576 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from this.

Chapter List
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Dragon Age: Origins is owned by Bioware, as with all its characters, the story as it deviates from canon is mine, however, as with the personalities of characters as they deviate from those in the game.
Thank you all so much for your continued readership! It means so much! And a BIG thank you to everyone who leaves a review!
Translations:
Mi bella: Antivan. "My beauty." Endearment Zevran uses for Riel.
Mi amiga: Antivan. "My friend."
Mi amiga bella: Antivan. "My beautiful friend."

"Everyone still alive?" Leliana groaned as she pulled her arrow free from the genlock's eye.
Around her were the scattered bodies of various Darkspawn, covering the ground with not just their blood but the putrid bile that they spewed on everything that they touched. In the small opening amongst the endless caves and paved halls of the old Deep Roads where the group now found themselves, the scene was nothing short of a nightmare born out of the very Fade itself.
Virulent red and maroon bulbous and fleshy sacks clung to the walls around them, leaking black ooze that made the floor slick and difficult to walk on. Cluttered in the corners and along the base of the walls were collections of bones, sticks, and broken weapons as if they were simply carelessly discarded when they were of no longer of any use. And the stench… It was something that Riel knew that she would never forget or remove completely from her clothing.
Lighting the dark tunnels were various hanging candelabra and small pyres maintained by Creators only knew; the flickering lights giving the area an even more ominous and sinister feel to it. And with it all, the very air itself thick with the heavy stench of death and decay.
"Alive isn't the word I would use, but I guess it works…" Riel grumbled as she pushed herself from the wall she was leaning against.
Since leaving Orzammar three days ( was it three days? ) ago, their journey had been almost one long fight that took them through the various winding tunnels and caved in roads that dwelled beneath the world above. Far underground now, it had been so long since Riel had seen the surface that she was beginning to wonder if she would ever see the sun and the blue sky again.
"Check the bodies. There was an emissary among them, and several archers. I want those weapons and any potions they have!" she ordered bitterly, rolling her shoulders once before wiping off her blades on the nearest Darkspawn corpse.
Immediately everyone started checking bodies, carefully keeping their contact with the Darkspawn flesh and blood to as little as possible. Quiet in their task, the crushing scale of their mission weighed heavily upon them all, but none more so than Riel herself.
The headaches were even worse down here amongst the rock and stone. And so too were the dark whispers and voices. Even though the group had set camp three times since leaving the city, Riel had not been able to find sleep either time. Their fires small, the group usually camped in small alcoves or abandoned buildings in long forgotten thaigs - the word dwarves called their towns in the old days. Even the group's usual banter was kept at a minimum, as even with Riel's tainted blood guiding them around the larger groups of Darkspawn, there still existed many other dangers lurking in the darkness.
Giant spiders and small carnivorous beasts called Deepstalkers hunted both Darkspawn and traveller as they skittered along the walls and passageways. Only the size of a cat, the Deepstalkers were almost as dangerous as mabaris as they hunted in large packs that could easily overwhelm any unwary adventurer.
In the beginning, Riel had tried to convince herself that it was the skittering sound of the spiders or Deepstalkers that had kept her awake during her turn to rest in her tent. That it was the eerie silence mixed with the scratching and scraping of claws and fangs along the ceilings and walls that drove away any semblance of sleep as she laid unblinking on her bedroll up at the tent ceiling above her. It was, after all, what she told Zevran the countless times he would voice his concerns over why she wasn't sleeping.
However, as unnerving as frightening as those sounds were, they were not what kept Riel's eye open and unseeing as she laid silently without moving.
It was his voice.
The Archdemon.
As always, the sound never contained any words that Riel could recognize. Only a calling. A sweet yet bloodchilling song that seeped into her mind and placed every wicked fear she could imagine behind her eyes for her to witness. Images that became more lucid whenever she closed her eyes for longer than just a moment.
Images of people screaming as they were devoured by rotted teeth and decomposed faces. Of women being twisted and turned as the taint filled them, transforming them into vile abominations. Of limbs and blood and bile and every dark thing that one could find in the desolate corners of thought and fear.
And the worst of it all, were when the faces of those suffering transformed into the ones that she now cared for.
Images taunting Riel of her friends screaming as they were devoured by gnashing teeth. Of them being ripped apart by Darkspawn and consumed as if they were some grotesque delicacy. Of the women that they travelled with being filled with the corruption that spewed forth from the Darkspawn, changing and contorting them beyond anything that could ever be recognized. Their twisted faces - now gorged and transformed - turning to then consume the men of their party even as they screamed for mercy and death.
These were her new nightmares.
Her new existence.
And now as they travelled these Deep Roads, Riel understood precisely why the Grey Wardens of ages past always fared worse during Blights than when the land was in relative peace from their wretched and forsaken kind.
Weaving under a dizzy spell, Riel tried to not close her eyes as she steadied herself. She could not stand to see those images anymore. She didn't want to hear the endless screams anymore. Instead Riel gritted her teeth and threw out her arm, using the web covered wall beside her as a way to help anchor the world that seemed to move on its own beneath her feet.
"Wynne! Oghren's hurt!" Leliana's voice called out, drawing Riel back to the scene before her and out of the darkness of her own mind.
"I'm coming!" the elder mage called out, stepping around a nearly decapitated ogre.
"Status!" Riel called out, demanding her eyes to obey her and focus properly for once.
"It ain't a big problem - ow! Damn it all, you sodding woman! That's attached!" Oghren cursed out from behind Riel.
"Be thankful that it still is, dwarf. I'm amazed you could still lift your arm considering how deep this wound is…" Wynne's soft voice chided.
"The four legged beast limps, yet otherwise seems unharmed. The witch is holding its head, the large squishy male is finding valuables, and as per usual, I am fine."
"Thanks, Shale," Riel tried to smile, yet just couldn't work up the energy at the moment.
"And you, mi bella?" Zevran's voice soothed from Riel's other side.
No… "Yeah. Just fine," she lied, looking him over.
As per usual, the elf looked amazing to her eyes. A welcome balm to her senses after so much bloodshed and death and horror that surrounded Riel every moment. However, his eyes no longer laughed and he smiled much less than he used too. Still, he was her sanctuary. Her respite. Which was why she lied to him. Riel knew that he worried about her. His gorgeous honey-amber eyes drinking her in after each battle, making sure she was unharmed. His accented voice demanding out healing if she was.
How could I ever have thought to leave him behind? Riel thought to herself briefly as she looked at him.
Zevran bit his lip at Riel's usual answer to his oft asked question. He knew she wasn't 'fine'. Far from it, actually. Yet there was no use in arguing with her. They had already fought enough about her and her reason for being in these blasted tunnels. Even after leaving Orzammar, during that first night camping beside a caved in section of the Deep Roads. Zevran had watched her as she trembled in fear even though he held her protectively in his arms. He had heard her screams the few times she passed out from sheer exhaustion. He had dried her tears when she cried desperate sobs in her sleep. And through each battle they encountered, Zevran made sure to never leave her side despite the odds or what they faced.
However, with each hour that passed, Zevran witnessed his love having a harder time recovering from each fight they encountered. Her continued struggle to even remain standing made Zevran curse wildly at the ill fated luck that brought them to this place. Quickly, Zevran scanned the walls around them once more, hoping to find the last ingredient he needed for Morrigan's concoction. However, the required drakestone was proving to be even more illusive than the deathroot was so far underground.
A shopkeeper back in Orzammar had told him that the giant venomous spiders would sometimes collect the red stones, being drawn to the way they glittered in the sparse light from the various fires. However, the creatures would take them to their nests, settling the precious stones in amongst their eggs and the remains of previous victims. Even if Zevran could actually find a nest belonging to creatures, it would be unlikely he would be able to leave alive.
Cursing to himself once more, Zevran placed a comforting hand on Riel's back, gently rubbing her through the thick leathers that she wore. At least she still accepted his touch, even if she was still angry at him. A small thing, however one that Zevran was immensely grateful for.
"Get off me, you flaming woman!" Oghren cursed out again, taking his arm back from Wynne's hold.
"I need to see if there is any underlying damage to the nerves, dwarf," Wynne replied, her voice harder than it normally was.
"I'm fine. The Darkspawn aren't going to kill themselves!" Riel heard the heavy clumps of the dwarf's footsteps come up from behind her. "So where to, Warden?"
"We keep following the passage leading out of here. The maps Bhelen gave me show a small dent in the next area up ahead. Probably no more than a couple hundred yards. We can camp there for a while," stated Riel, not even bothering to look down at him as she spoke. Her eyes instead were focused up ahead as always. Not on any building or landmark that could be seen in that direction. No, as was her new usual way, Riel's eyes remained unfocused on the things before her. As if she were staring at something only she could see.
Something Zevran knew to be all too true for his precious Warden.
"Mi bella, there is a building that we passed just a few minutes ago. Perhaps we could backtrack-"
"No! We go forward!" Riel snapped, cutting off his words before lurching herself forward, her feet barely finding the ground beneath her as she walked away.
"She is getting worse."
Zevran looked beside him to Morrigan, no longer surprised by the silent way that she moved amongst them. "Aye, and I don't know how much more of this she can take," Zevran sighed.
"I can do nothing beyond my current efforts until I have that stone. Until then, do what you must, assassin." Morrigan looked at him, holding his eyes with her hard gaze. "There are more dangerous things down here than just Darkspawn and spiders. And unless you can take her mind away from the evil that calls to her, we shall be burying her-"
"I will not accept that, Morrigan!" he hissed, his features going dark.
"I do not say this lightly, elf. Do not mistake me. However, your blade between her ribs shall be the kindest thing you should ever do for her, if the worst comes to pass." Morrigan's face was grim as she held his gaze a moment longer before stepping past him and following behind Riel.
"By the gods above, give me strength…" Zevran prayed, his chest gripped in bitter fear and heartache for his Warden. "I will not let her die!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It turned out the small dent in the maps Riel held was in fact a small room shooting off from a the much larger area of the long forgotten thaig. And the room wasn't abandoned either. However, instead of spiders or Darkspawn, the lone inhabitant was a poor dwarf male who had become lost in the Deep Roads years ago. In fact, Riel had met the male's mother back in Orzammar, and had even told the woman that she would look for her son.
Never though in all of her wildest thoughts did Riel ever think they would find the male, despite what she promised the woman. Five long years had passed since he became stranded in amongst the Darkspawn and other creatures of the deep underground. Alone and without supplies, still the male had somehow survived, living off spider meat and - disgustingly - the flesh of Darkspawn.
Now insane from the taint that coursed through his veins, he had somehow resisted becoming a ghoul despite his long exposure. Now the male dwarf named Ruck lived in a long abandoned camp that was apparently first set up by Branka herself. Oghren had immediately recognized the markings on the floor and walls as belonging to the woman he had once married. Hope had sprang in his chest upon seeing it, despite how long the camp laid cold besides the lone dwarf who now occupied it.
Ruck himself was a useful fount of information and service, despite his insanity. Once Riel convinced the poor lad that she wasn't there to steal from him or kill him, Riel even managed to trade a few things with him. Nothing much, considered how light they travelled. A few potions, herbs, and even arrows that the boy had managed to scavenge from the beasts over the years.
The male dwarf seemed to have a fascination for shiny jewels, much like the spiders that populated the area around them. Various jewels of rubies, topazes, amethysts, garnets and others that were sometimes found clinging to the spider's carcasses of in the strings of their webs. Ruck's eyes going as bright as the gems themselves as he gathered them to to himself in gleeful exchange for the supplies and information. Most importantly of all, Riel learned of the location of an underground creek not too far away that held untainted and clean water. The small piece of knowledge was a much needed blessing for the group whose own supply was now dangerously low.
Deciding that the dwarf was not a danger to themselves - at least no more so than the other things that populated the dark tunnels that they travelled - Riel turned to the group and gave out orders to set up camp there for a few hours. As night and day were meaningless so far underground, Riel only had the vaguest concept of what day or time it truly was. Thankfully, Oghren, with his lifetime of experience living underground, provided her with his valuable instincts, making sure to keep them as close to on schedule as was possible.
"Fen, I want you standing watch with Leliana. You two take first watch, while Shale-" Riel turned to the stone golem, her neck craning to look up at him. "I want you to go check out this creek. You can pass easiest unnoticed amongst everything, as both the spiders and Darkspawn see you as just another golem. When you find it, scout the area, then come back here."
"Very well," it stated with a nod, before marching off towards the entrance to the room. Turning, Riel addressed the others.
"Sten, I want you taking watch with Wynne after Leliana and Fen. Then Zevran and I will take a turn, then lastly I want Shale and Morrigan taking their turn. When Shale gets back, I'll be going with it to the creek to gather us some water-"
"Pardon me, mi bella," Zevran interjected, placing a hand on her arm. "The others can gather the water. You, however, need to rest."
"I told you, Zevran. I'm fine."
"He's right, Riel. You are running yourself down, doing all of this," Leliana chimed in, her soft voice harder than it usually was. However maybe that was just because like herself, they were all tired and weary from their journey since leaving Orzammar.
"There is no point in me just lying in the tent!" Riel snapped out, lancing them both with a glare. "I'm needed out here. I still have to go over the next section of the map, and I wanted to see what I could find around here. Maybe Branka left something behind that could help us. Besides, I am the only one besides Shale who can walk nearly openly out there without being attacked. As long as I am not directly seen, the Darkspawn just think that I am one of them."
"I wasn't saying that as a discussion, Riel," Zevran bit back to her. Looking over at him, Riel almost opened her mouth to argue, yet stopped when she saw how dark his features were. He was angry at her! Why, Riel had no idea. True, she was more snappy than she usually was. However, she never meant it as anger at him. She was just in pain, both physically and mentally.
"The others are correct. You will rest. I will go with the golem and fetch the water, then do my watch," Sten's low voice echoed from nearby the small bed where Ruck slept.
"Leliana and I will go over the maps, while Morrigan uses the water the boys gather to brew up some potions from the supplies you traded from that young man, Ruck."
Riel looked over at Wynne, feeling a bit betrayed at how they all seemed to be ganging up on her. "Last time I looked, I was still in charge of this little expedition!" Riel snapped, her eyes burning fire as she looked at her companions. She hated feeling useless. Like she was being ordered around and didn't have a choice in her actions. While leading this ragtag group of adventurers was difficult even during the best of times, Riel was used to it now. She took comfort in knowing what each person was doing and why. In knowing each step in the plan and what to expect from those around her.
By the Dread Wolf, this was her group. And she wasn't just going to go take a Voidforsaken nap while they all worked! Not while she could be doing something herself!
"No! This is still-"
"Riel!" Zevran shouted, his voice hard and his face stern as she looked at him.
"What?!" she yelled back with just as much anger. Together, they just stared at the other person in cold silence, their wills doing battle instead of their words. Finally, Zevran shook his head and cursed out in Antivan before approaching her. Sighing, he bent his head down and whispered to her softly.
"May I speak with you?" he said softly, the anger that laced his voice previously now gone and replaced with the sweetness Riel had grown accustomed to. However, Riel was still greatly aggravated, and looking at her hard glare and the way her tense body stood next to him, Zevran sighed tried again. "Please, mi bella? Privately. Just for a moment."
Zevran held his breath and again found himself praying to the gods that she agreed. Shouting and fighting with her was not something he wanted to do. It solved nothing other than anger both of them further. And neither did it do very much in accomplishing his goal of getting his poor Warden to finally relax as much as she could in this godforsaken place.
Scowling in frustration and anger, Riel finally let out a huff and agreed. Cursing herself for her weakness towards the other elf, she followed him as he led her towards the back of the small room and away from the others. There she folded her arms across her chest and glared at the floor below, her foot tapping in impatience.
"You know, you're beautiful when you are angry," Zevran began, eliciting a choked laugh from Riel before she glared at him.
"Is that why you seriously brought me back here?" she replied, trying to hold on to her anger despite the sweet way he was looking at her just then. It was the same look he used to have when he looked at her, back on the surface before they ever entered this cursed place.
"Mi bella, come here," Zevran purred, opening up his arms for her. "Let me hold you, just for a moment. Let me feel you against me."
Riel almost told him to sod off, but she couldn't manage to push the words out past her lips no matter how much she wanted to. Not with the kind way he looked at her that called out to a similar ache that she felt in her chest. Creators, how long had it been since they just held each other? How long had it been since Riel had actually felt safe? Or even been given more than just a light kiss goodnight or in welcome?
Too long. Since before Orzammar Riel realized. Before she and Zevran had rejoined with the others. When it had just been the two of them, alone in the wilderness. That was the last time Riel could even remember being happy. Even just a little bit.
Sighing, Riel gave in to the ache in her chest and walked into his arms. And by Mythal, did it ever feel good to have his arms wrap protectively around her. She had been so busy lately. So angry. So confused, and tired, and lost in the chaos of trying to settle everyone's problems. Shuddering, Riel lost herself to the warmth that he gave to her; his presence surrounding her until all she could feel was him.
"You work yourself too thin, mi bella," he finally said to her, his voice heavy with concern.
"They need me, Zevran," Riel sighed against his chest.
"The others can handle this for now."
"It's not just them, though. Everyone needs me. The others, Bhelen, hell all of Orzammar is counting on me to find this woman. And that is just here…. On the surface-"
"Are problems that can be dealt with when we return there. Until then, they can left to the side."
"I miss the sun, Zevran," Riel suddenly stated sadly. "I miss the wind on my skin. The way the moon shined down and could light up an entire area even though it was nighttime. I miss the stars, and the trees, and smell of morning dew everyday when I woke up…"
"We will be gone from here soon, mi bella."
"Sometimes, I wonder about that," Riel laughed darkly, her hand coming up to wipe at her eyes. "I feel like we've been down here for years…" She was silent for a few minutes then, her mind working through its memories. "You know, the first time I ever remember seeing the sun was when I finally left that house."
She didn't have to say which house it was. Zevran already knew without even asking. The house where she was kept and brutalized in ways that still made Zevran's blood boil.
"I was blinded by it when I opened the door. I was so scared. And everything around me was burning. But as soon as that door opened, I was blind." She paused, lost in her memory. "I think that is why I ran in the direction I did. I couldn't see, so I didn't know if there was others around or if there other buildings. I couldn't see anything, so I just ran. As hard and as fast as I could. If there were other humans around, I never heard them over the rushing in my ears. And from what the Keeper said, none came looking for me after." She paused and took a deep breath. "But that first time… It was beautiful. Even though it made me blind because of how bright it was, it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw."
"You will see the sun again, mi bella. I will take you free from this place, and you will be able to see and feel it again."
"When I die-"
"You are not going to die!" he interrupted harshly, squeezing her tighter.
"When I die," Riel continued on a bit more forcefully despite his anger. "Please don't bury me. Not in the ground. Not where it's dark and I can't see the sun."
Zevran reached down and pulled her face up to his, staring deeply into her eyes even as tears threatened to fall from them. "I swear it to you, mi bella," he breathed out before kissing her, pulling and teasing out her passion like he did before this underground nightmare began. "However, until that day, many, many years from now, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Even if that means making you rest when you need it," he added, a small smirk on his lips.
Riel smiled sadly, knowing instinctively that her years were not so many as he would like to think that there was. However, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Not yet. Not when they were finally so close to each other after so long of being separate despite him being at her side.
"Now, please mi bella… let me care for you. I know you are exhausted. I see it in your eyes, and it pains me how much you are suffering."
Riel sighed, her mind going back to her nightmares and the images she couldn't seem to escape from. "Zevran…" she all but whimpered.
"Just for a little while," he quickly added before she could object again. Sadly, Riel nodded, too weary to fight with him anymore. "Excellent. You will not regret it, mi bella." Zevran smiled far too broadly for how badly she felt. "Now, just wait here. I will be right back," he stated before placing a quick kiss to her lips before darting off towards the others.
Now what? Riel wondered with a sigh, leaning against the back wall.
"Mi amiga!" Zevran called out to Leliana as he approached her.
She and Wynne were looking at the maps that Riel carried in their party pack. Oghren was also with the women, giving his advice and experience to them as they planned the next part of their journey.
"How is she?" Leliana asked as she straightened up from the rock that she held the maps against, worry etched on her pretty face.
"That is what I come to see you about," Zevran replied, looking to each of them in turn. "Despite our obvious rush to find this Branka and return to Orzammar, I think it would be best if we were to stay here for a bit of an extended stay."
"What? What are you talking about elf?" Oghren snapped, his eyes narrowing on Zevran. "This isn't some fancy tavern here, safe behind Orzammar's thick and heavily reinforced doors. There are Darkspawn out there. A whole blighted army of them. And you want to stop and have a little vacation down here?"
"Not a vacation, my smelly friend," Zevran corrected smoothly. "Just an extra day. Or whatever it would be, that is."
"Because of Riel?" Leliana asked. Zevran quickly looked behind him towards the back of the room where Riel waited.
"She is losing her fight, mi amiga." he replied quietly, returning his golden eyes to meet her sparkling green.
"Do you think staying down here longer is wise then?"
"Pushing herself as she does is what is not wise, my lovely Wynne. If she does not slow down and rest, I am afraid…" Zevran swallowed as he remembered her request to him. "I fear she believes she will die down here. And without our help, I fear she just might."
"What do you need, Zevran?" asked Leliana, the sadness and fear in her eyes matching his own.
"Just your cooperation. And time. And perhaps, a little discretion," Zevran stated the last word with a meaningful glint in his eye.
"Ahh… I see…" Leliana giggled softly. "You plan to woo her, and make her too exhausted to hear the dark whispers that speak to her."
"That is only part of my evil plan, mi amiga bella," he replied with a chuckle before becoming serious again. "When she is finally able to rest, there is something else I must ask of you. However, it is dangerous. Carrying with it an almost certain chance of dismemberment, disembowelment, and most assuredly death. Most painfully, I might imagine."
"Count me in," Leliana immediately stated, her face bright in a sly smile.
"Although I have to wonder at what deeds could be going that through that mind of yours, you shall have my help as well."
"Ah sod it," Oghren grumbled. "If the Warden really is as bad off you say, then it'd do no good to just stand around with my hammer up my arse. I'll help too."
"Excellent!" Zevran exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Now, I just have to speak to the ever lovely Morrigan. Do you think she has any of those herbs left over from when we drugged Alistair?"
"Oh probably," Leliana laughed. "By the Maker, that woman is a walking apothecary!"
"Then let us begin to save our Warden, shall we?" Zevran replied with a wink.
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Vhenan'ara