The-Bards-College

We’ll talk soon, Da–   She didn’t get to say a full goodbye to her father. She looked across the desk at Solas smugly staring back at her. He didn’t realize the danger.   "Must feel so good for you to stab me in the back like that, Rook,” he said, tapping his fingers against the wooden desk. “Reading something so personal and profound that I entrusted to you, only to use it against me; you’ve learned so much in such a short time."   Rook glared at him from across the table and let out a small laugh. “Are you actually trying to make me feel guilty? Solas, you are the king of betrayal, though I have to say I'm glad the shoe is finally on the other foot. How’s it feel?”   “I’m not going to give you that; you want it too much,” he said, pushing the chair back.   “Because it’s always about you and what you want, isn't it!” Rook stated as her voice raised. “I read the letter to them because I had no idea where you had gone or what you were going to do! You’d been gone for so long. And

He’d been gone for a while, days by Rook’s reckoning. And there was no way to reach Solas as Rook was still scared of traversing the raw Fade alone after her last run in with an envy demon. For a time, she ambled around their makeshift home in the prison, looking around to see what he had pulled from her memory, the parts he’d gotten right and what he had missed or overlooked. Details were certainly fuzzy; there were portraits out of frame. Rook found that when she focused on the pictures, they became more clear and started to appear as they should. She walked around for a time doing that. She also practiced making Fade food which Solas had taught her to do with some success, when the items that Solas had stocked began to run low. Some of the items she made were a resounding triumph, but in the Fade, much like the waking world, she struggled to make a decent loaf of bread.    When she grew tired of cooking she would either sing, write music, or attempt to remember favorite outfits and

“I love stealin’… I love taking things…” Rook sang this little song softly as she and Solas walked through a lovely part of the Fade. They were surrounded by soft meadows, and trees of cherry blossoms in bloom. “Hey Solas, is anything that I find here real? I mean when I was dancing through your memories…which, by the way, I still don’t entirely understand how I was able to do that.”   “It was through the link that we shared.”   “Are we still linked?” Rook asked, bending down to pick up a shiny bauble near the stream.   “Yes. How else would I have heard you scream?”   Her lips curved into a wry smile. “Oh, I’m pretty loud.”   “True, but our link was never severed, and in fact, it was increased when our blood mixed again in our last fight.”   Rook stopped for a second and thought on this. What if they had more fights, which was very likely as they got along just about as well as chalk and cheese, would their link increase? To what proportion? And then she pictured in her mind a

“A little to the left, yeah, right about there…”   “Are you sure?” Solas asked with some frustration. “This is the third time I have moved this piano.”   They had spent many days like this one, putting things together in the prison they called home. While doing these mundane tasks, Solas explained the Fade to Rook in depth: the different kinds of spirits and demons were in the Fade, the different areas of the Fade, and how historical events shaded these areas and what the effects said events had on the strength of the Veil. Rook was an involved and active pupil, though after her last disastrous voyage on her own, she was reluctant to leave the prison, instead, she opted to learn through Solas.   Solas had also spent time teaching her how to prepare food, to make clothing and to generally how to survive in the world behind the Veil. In their spare time, they played music together Solas played the piano while Rook was quite adept at the lute, elven bass, violin, really anything with a

“Cause fuck that bastard,” Rook thought, storming off from where they had so pleasantly picnicked minutes before. She was furious. Rook refused to be that man’s pawn again. Why, oh why, could he not be a decent man like Emmrich, or Maran…or Gabriel? Gabriel was a gentleman, a gentle man in every sense of the word. As she walked Rook could feel the terrain change; instead of the grassy knoll, she could now feel the soft sand beneath her feet, and then she could see it. That large rock off the coast with waves crashing against it…Rivain. She was on the coast of Rivain, not with her companions from the Veilguard, but earlier…This was a happy time. Then she looked down shore and she saw them. Gabriel was laughing with her young daughter swinging her in the air.   “Hey, wait!” she called out to them. She now ran, feeling the water spray against her legs and her teal dress, it was gone, replaced by a soft white shift and bare feet she wore on the day…the day that Gabriel taught her the spell

Outside the bedroom door was the prison Rook had become sadly familiar with during her brief stay when Solas had traded places with her in the ultimate game of bait and switch. She watched as Solas used the dagger to open up another portal. She gripped her staff as she watched, worried he was trying to get back into the waking world, but it seemed they were just stepping into another part of the Fade. She released her grip and sighed slightly.   “What magic would you have used on me, Ava?” Solas said, glancing back at Rook.   “Aye, you don’t miss much, do you Dreadwolf.” She sighed and thought about his question. “If I thought you were going back into the world before dealing with the Blight, I guess you would have dropped a shit ton of rocks on your head.”   “A shit ton of rocks? Interesting wording, as your usual.”   Rook curtsied, Solas continued, “An even more interesting magic. Do you know how rare that gift is?”   Rook thought on this. “I guess you’re right. Most mages have a few

Rook woke up from a long and strange rest, in a room that she could only suppose is still the Fade and still the prison. Removing the bloodied pants and tattered remnants of her shirt, she got up slowly and moved around. This was her bedroom in a home she had left so long ago. She walked across the room to the armoire and looked in the mirror. Rook pulled her long, black wavy hair back, and saw that her face was still badly bruised, with marks around her pale, freckled cheeks and hazel eyes. The gash on her stomach, though healed, was painful to the touch; perhaps she cracked some ribs? Shaking her head, she opened the armoire and saw a teal blue dress hanging in the closet. It was familiar. It was…Maran had purchased this shortly after she and her daughter came to live with him. It was lovely. Rook smiled at the memory and then she looked down. Beside the armoire was a pair of matching shoes. Calf-skin. She slipped them on, and they felt delightful on her feet…she hadn’t worn anything

“Rook, you are as surprising as ever. Even I could not have escaped that prison. For you to have managed it…” “I should end you right here, Dreadwolf.” “I understand your anger. If there had been any other way–” “There is no other way with you! It always ends with someone else paying for your mistakes! Me, Varric…You did something to me to make me keep seeing him.” “And I was wrong to do so.” “You knew Varric was dead the whole time and yet you kept pushing for me not to see it. How? Why?” “Rook, I was desperate to escape that prison. Unless I escaped, the world would fall to tyranny and blight. The only tool I had was my tenuous connection to you.” “So you used blood magic.” “I said I was wrong.” “You know what the worst part is? Part of me was excited to prove myself to the Dreadwolf.” “Rook—” “That’s how you do it, right, Solas? You get people so eager for those little scraps of approval that they never see the knife coming.” “I am sorry. I betrayed you because I believed that only

She had been watching them for quite some time. From the moment Molly and Zevran walked out of the eluvian, a bird perched quietly on the conveniently placed tree. From that vantage point she watched the show unfold. She saw the confessions, recriminations, and tears; and the epic kick followed by an uncomfortable silence as the two of them laid out their bedrolls; their backs turned from each other. It was only then, after their silent tears had been spent, that she flew down from her perch and put them both to sleep properly. Much of the night had past and, now in the pre-dawn hour, she watched as the Crow got up to relieve himself. She waited until he had finished and approached. “That little scene was better than most plays I’ve had the misfortune of attending. Should you both grow tired of fighting darkspawn, I can see a future for you on the road.” “Hello,” Zevran answered tentatively, placing his hand on his dagger as he turned to face an older, yet attractive woman with white

We’ll talk soon, Da–   She didn’t get to say a full goodbye to her father. She looked across the desk at Solas smugly staring back at her. He didn’t realize the danger.   "Must feel so good for you to stab me in the back like that, Rook,” he said, tapping his fingers against the wooden desk. “Reading something so personal and profound that I entrusted to you, only to use it against me; you’ve learned so much in such a short time."   Rook glared at him from across the table and let out a small laugh. “Are you actually trying to make me feel guilty? Solas, you are the king of betrayal, though I have to say I'm glad the shoe is finally on the other foot. How’s it feel?”   “I’m not going to give you that; you want it too much,” he said, pushing the chair back.   “Because it’s always about you and what you want, isn't it!” Rook stated as her voice raised. “I read the letter to them because I had no idea where you had gone or what you were going to do! You’d been gone for so long. And

He’d been gone for a while, days by Rook’s reckoning. And there was no way to reach Solas as Rook was still scared of traversing the raw Fade alone after her last run in with an envy demon. For a time, she ambled around their makeshift home in the prison, looking around to see what he had pulled from her memory, the parts he’d gotten right and what he had missed or overlooked. Details were certainly fuzzy; there were portraits out of frame. Rook found that when she focused on the pictures, they became more clear and started to appear as they should. She walked around for a time doing that. She also practiced making Fade food which Solas had taught her to do with some success, when the items that Solas had stocked began to run low. Some of the items she made were a resounding triumph, but in the Fade, much like the waking world, she struggled to make a decent loaf of bread.    When she grew tired of cooking she would either sing, write music, or attempt to remember favorite outfits and

“I love stealin’… I love taking things…” Rook sang this little song softly as she and Solas walked through a lovely part of the Fade. They were surrounded by soft meadows, and trees of cherry blossoms in bloom. “Hey Solas, is anything that I find here real? I mean when I was dancing through your memories…which, by the way, I still don’t entirely understand how I was able to do that.”   “It was through the link that we shared.”   “Are we still linked?” Rook asked, bending down to pick up a shiny bauble near the stream.   “Yes. How else would I have heard you scream?”   Her lips curved into a wry smile. “Oh, I’m pretty loud.”   “True, but our link was never severed, and in fact, it was increased when our blood mixed again in our last fight.”   Rook stopped for a second and thought on this. What if they had more fights, which was very likely as they got along just about as well as chalk and cheese, would their link increase? To what proportion? And then she pictured in her mind a

“A little to the left, yeah, right about there…”   “Are you sure?” Solas asked with some frustration. “This is the third time I have moved this piano.”   They had spent many days like this one, putting things together in the prison they called home. While doing these mundane tasks, Solas explained the Fade to Rook in depth: the different kinds of spirits and demons were in the Fade, the different areas of the Fade, and how historical events shaded these areas and what the effects said events had on the strength of the Veil. Rook was an involved and active pupil, though after her last disastrous voyage on her own, she was reluctant to leave the prison, instead, she opted to learn through Solas.   Solas had also spent time teaching her how to prepare food, to make clothing and to generally how to survive in the world behind the Veil. In their spare time, they played music together Solas played the piano while Rook was quite adept at the lute, elven bass, violin, really anything with a

“Cause fuck that bastard,” Rook thought, storming off from where they had so pleasantly picnicked minutes before. She was furious. Rook refused to be that man’s pawn again. Why, oh why, could he not be a decent man like Emmrich, or Maran…or Gabriel? Gabriel was a gentleman, a gentle man in every sense of the word. As she walked Rook could feel the terrain change; instead of the grassy knoll, she could now feel the soft sand beneath her feet, and then she could see it. That large rock off the coast with waves crashing against it…Rivain. She was on the coast of Rivain, not with her companions from the Veilguard, but earlier…This was a happy time. Then she looked down shore and she saw them. Gabriel was laughing with her young daughter swinging her in the air.   “Hey, wait!” she called out to them. She now ran, feeling the water spray against her legs and her teal dress, it was gone, replaced by a soft white shift and bare feet she wore on the day…the day that Gabriel taught her the spell

Outside the bedroom door was the prison Rook had become sadly familiar with during her brief stay when Solas had traded places with her in the ultimate game of bait and switch. She watched as Solas used the dagger to open up another portal. She gripped her staff as she watched, worried he was trying to get back into the waking world, but it seemed they were just stepping into another part of the Fade. She released her grip and sighed slightly.   “What magic would you have used on me, Ava?” Solas said, glancing back at Rook.   “Aye, you don’t miss much, do you Dreadwolf.” She sighed and thought about his question. “If I thought you were going back into the world before dealing with the Blight, I guess you would have dropped a shit ton of rocks on your head.”   “A shit ton of rocks? Interesting wording, as your usual.”   Rook curtsied, Solas continued, “An even more interesting magic. Do you know how rare that gift is?”   Rook thought on this. “I guess you’re right. Most mages have a few

Rook woke up from a long and strange rest, in a room that she could only suppose is still the Fade and still the prison. Removing the bloodied pants and tattered remnants of her shirt, she got up slowly and moved around. This was her bedroom in a home she had left so long ago. She walked across the room to the armoire and looked in the mirror. Rook pulled her long, black wavy hair back, and saw that her face was still badly bruised, with marks around her pale, freckled cheeks and hazel eyes. The gash on her stomach, though healed, was painful to the touch; perhaps she cracked some ribs? Shaking her head, she opened the armoire and saw a teal blue dress hanging in the closet. It was familiar. It was…Maran had purchased this shortly after she and her daughter came to live with him. It was lovely. Rook smiled at the memory and then she looked down. Beside the armoire was a pair of matching shoes. Calf-skin. She slipped them on, and they felt delightful on her feet…she hadn’t worn anything

“Rook, you are as surprising as ever. Even I could not have escaped that prison. For you to have managed it…” “I should end you right here, Dreadwolf.” “I understand your anger. If there had been any other way–” “There is no other way with you! It always ends with someone else paying for your mistakes! Me, Varric…You did something to me to make me keep seeing him.” “And I was wrong to do so.” “You knew Varric was dead the whole time and yet you kept pushing for me not to see it. How? Why?” “Rook, I was desperate to escape that prison. Unless I escaped, the world would fall to tyranny and blight. The only tool I had was my tenuous connection to you.” “So you used blood magic.” “I said I was wrong.” “You know what the worst part is? Part of me was excited to prove myself to the Dreadwolf.” “Rook—” “That’s how you do it, right, Solas? You get people so eager for those little scraps of approval that they never see the knife coming.” “I am sorry. I betrayed you because I believed that only

She had been watching them for quite some time. From the moment Molly and Zevran walked out of the eluvian, a bird perched quietly on the conveniently placed tree. From that vantage point she watched the show unfold. She saw the confessions, recriminations, and tears; and the epic kick followed by an uncomfortable silence as the two of them laid out their bedrolls; their backs turned from each other. It was only then, after their silent tears had been spent, that she flew down from her perch and put them both to sleep properly. Much of the night had past and, now in the pre-dawn hour, she watched as the Crow got up to relieve himself. She waited until he had finished and approached. “That little scene was better than most plays I’ve had the misfortune of attending. Should you both grow tired of fighting darkspawn, I can see a future for you on the road.” “Hello,” Zevran answered tentatively, placing his hand on his dagger as he turned to face an older, yet attractive woman with white