#abelavellan

After some furious scrubbing and a long relaxing soak, into fresh clothing, Amanita felt a great deal better. The defeated mood from earlier had all but left her, along with the dirt and grime of the past few days.

Now, she stood, outside of her dorm building, hands on hips,

breathing in lungfuls of fresh air and basking in its dazzling clear blue sunlight.

Blue sunlight may have been a bit of a stretch, for the sky actually shimmered many colours.

Soft hues of blue, pink , green and purple.

Though the city from outside of the gates, seemed hidden in mist,

Inside its giant protective walls was another story altogether.  

Magic, no doubt was what contributed to this strange weather pattern.

For outside the walls, it was nearing the end of Winter.

Whilst within, it felt and smelt, more like the middle of summer.

Further into the City, well past the many towns and buildings,

she spied the main.. Palace? Kingdom?

Whatever they called it, the heart of the great New Dawn Arlathan.

Where it was said that Mythal still in some form or other guided and watched over her people,

along with her fierce general Fenharel and his compassionate heart, at his side.

Though, Amanita didn’t much expect she would ever be allowed to venture so far into that domain,

since it was more heavily guarded and protected then the rest of the city seemed to be.. she instead, contented herself with being thankful for being allowed to wander the city freely, as was.

Making her way down a smaller pebbled street, she spent her time, stopping to marvel at the occasional mosaic mural or highly decorative water fountain, with half a dozen rainbow coloured fish that swam and danced around its crystallised blue and pink water lilies.

Dipping a finger into the cool fresh water, she realised with a start, that the fish were not even real, as their images rippled into a blur of muted colour, before settling again when the waters calmed.

Bizarre thing to spend magical energies on. She mused.

The warm scent of baked bread was enough to draw her attention away shortly after,

and, following the direction of said scent, tummy rumbling all the while no less,

brought her out into yet another market area.

It was possible, she realised, that the market area she had first spied upon entering the city, was not infact the main one at all.. and that.. the city itself was large enough, that many of them were probably scattered throughout.

This one was smaller then the last though.  

And apparently, happened to be occupied by many bakers and sweet candied sellers.  

She passed by delicacies unfamiliar to her, written in eloquent names that she dared not even attempt to speak.

Many looked familiar enough all the same, with glazed custard fruit tarts, jams, creams and sugar coated pastries and bread rolls.

She simply had to try one, her stomach informed her urgently.

Else she might keel over from being so famished.  

Digging into her robes, she fished out her coin pouch and drew nearer to the next stall.

Eyes already set on the freshly displayed breads. Still cooling away on their racks.

“Excuse me? If I may. How much for one of the loaves?” She asked the ruddy cheeked burly male setting the newest batch into the oven.  He side eyed her, pulling off his gloves then tossing them to the side “Bought seven coins, Miss. For the smallest ones” He gestured to the ones off to the side.

Amanita rummaged out the coins needed and handed them to him with a smile.

Accepting the wrapped bounty. She thanked him, then stopped at another stall, to buy a slab of wrapped butter.

As she awaited her change.  

She felt a presence behind her, and a deeply rich male voice spoke, alittle too close to her ear causing her to jump.   “You know, he overcharged you a helluva lot back there, right?”

She spun to face him,

finding herself staring into the face of one particularly handsome young male elf.

Skin as dark as dark skin could be and a lopsided smile, revealing dazzling whites to match.

Dark hair that fell in tousled locks across amber eyes much like her own. eyes that were currently alight with mischief, as he clearly enjoyed her reaction… Gold earrings lined both pointed ears and gold bangles decorated his naked arms and wrists.  Strange clothing attire… he’d clearly ripped the sleeves off,  unless some place somewhere sold clothing already made like this.

No. Impossibly silly thought, in any given era.

Topped off with fingerless leather gloves and well fitted leather-skin trousers .  He certainly wasnt one of the Ancient Elvhen, yet neither did he appear to be Dalish by any means.

“P-Pardon???” She blinked. Confused.

He pointed to the wrapped bread loaf she held dearly.

“Ole swindler sells those loaves for three coin. Yet he charged you seven.

Total stingy bastard.  You gotta keep your wits about you, y’know?

Unless you want some of these assholes walking all over you…

because…. trust me.. If they can, they will. “

A wink as he continued;

“Next time I suggest the baker around the corner there. Shes a sight prettier and treats all customers fairly and equal regardless of where they may come from..”

Well, she didnt know what to say to all of that.

“I- I’m new here.. “ She dipped her head in a light bow

“Amanita Lavellan. And you are?”

“Ahh”

He bowed in turn

“It’s an honour to meet one of Clan Lavellan. I am Ellas’elera, and I hail from Rivain, Incase you couldn’t already tell”

She couldn’t, honestly, but she wasn’t going to admit as much.

“Well, Thank you, Ellas’elera, I’ll keep that in mind next time I need to buy anything”

He beamed.

“I take it, Miss Lavellan, that being new to the area, means you don’t particularly know anyone here yet either? Eh?”

She shook her head “Just Amanita is fine, & yeah I only arrived the other day to be honest” “We’ll, My friend  and I, are much like yourself, ‘outsiders’, you see. So you’re quite welcome to join us if you’d like? And, if you ain’t got nuthin’ else goin on that is?”

“Truly? You wouldn’t mind?” She tilted her head, peering up at him surprised.

Hardly wanting to say no to such a request. It never hurt to know more people. He shook his head

“Nah. Won’t mind at all. I know it  can be quite unsettling to be the new kid in town.”

He rubbed his chin, thoughtful like,

“I’ve been here almost a full two seasons.. and Lailani, at least half the year now….”

He waited till she pocketed her coin pouch, then offered to carry her butter.

“We were just sitting down for a break, ourselves anyway”

He called over his shoulder as he started leading the way.

She noticed the sword strapped to his back this time, as she followed behind

“Oh.. A Swordsman?”

“Did the sword give me away?”

He laughed, slowing enough for her to keep pace

“What style do you practice?”

She asked curiously, because there was a saying that you could tell a lot about a person by their craft and class, and also, because a class was how many made their coin or provided for their families.

He took a moment to answer her, mainly because they had to cut through a crowd of students on their way to or from class. A scattering of spirits, mingled in amongst them.

“Swordplay?, Wouldn’t really say I practice one method.”

“Oh?”

“Well, If a style of swordplay interests me… I will study and learn what parts appeal to me , then leave out the rest… the junk… until I find another style and another..  Its… ‘mixed’ swordplay. If you will.“ “I had no clue there was such a thing as mixed swordplay...”

“Didn’t really see much point in learning an entire single method, when most swordsman tend to favour few techniques, rather then incorporate all teachings into each battle anyway. We always stick with what works best for us I guess. Only difference I have, is learning enough of other styles to give me an edge if one style doesn’t work on an opponent. Or, If my opponent gets accustomed to my current technique, I can always then switch it up to one he or she isn’t so familiar with.

…. Make sense?” He looked to her.

“I- Yes…. Yes it does” Smart. She would have to consider trying some of this as well.

“And what of you?” He nudged her lightly

“Trained in the methods of the Rogue. Not strong enough for combat with swordplay, but I’m pretty good with daggers” She pipped up.  

Her Clan had often called her nimble and proficient.

Straight for the kill or slowly wear down the heavy hitters until they made a single mistake, was her usual methods.

She was proud of her talent.

A talent that also took her away from the Clan for a time when the Great War began.  

“Ahh.. Got it. So don’t go pissin` you off any time soon then aye? You Rogues are well known for being a helluva crafty bunch after all” He teased before pointing to a large open gate, leading into a massive courtyard garden, about three open field sizes in length.

She followed through, taking in the odd beauty of the place.

Some elves sat on the soft kept lawns and others sat on marble benches and seats,

surrounded on all sides by greenery and strangely bizarre flowers of every size and colour imaginable.

“What is this place? I’ve never seen anything like it...” She gasped

“Hmm?” Ellas’elera followed her gaze “Ah yes, Really something else. Isn’t it?”

She nodded.

“They call it something like ‘Paradise of the people’ , but really, Its sort of more like some kinda garden experiment workshop.”

She shot him a confused look.

And He continued trying best to explain.  

“None of these flowers, or plants can be found in the wild. Everything you see here was created by someone with magic. Powerful magic. Even the lawn you walk on, if you could believe it”

He chuckled plucking one of the flowers they passed, only for it to magically dissolve from between his fingertips and regrow itself to the plant it was plucked from, within mere seconds.

Amanita nearly bumped into him, for getting distracted by the magically self growing flora.

“But… its the closest thing you’ll get to actual nature here.. So hence.. its where   Lailani and I, usually spend a good deal of our free time.. especially, when we find ourselves alittle homesick”

He commented.

As bizarre a place as it was, she could see his meaning behind it.

Nothing like home, but better all the same, then nothing at all.

Ahead of them, sitting alone at one of the marble tables, by one of the gardens statued dragon fountains, another equally beautiful elf shot up their hand, waving the two over.

This surely must be Lailani, Amanita realised.

Ellas’elera took one of the benched seats, tapping the empty space beside him, for Amanita to join them.

“Lailani, This is Amanita Lavellan. …. Amanita, this is Lailani Lyandria”

Lailani looked to her, a soft smile on her even softer face

“Hello.”

“Its wonderful to meet you, Lailani…. And .. Lyandria? I don’t believe I have heard the name before” She sat, placing the bread down.

“Thats probably because its not actually a real one..” Ellas’elera commented, elbows on table, chin propped in his hands.

“It is real, in a way. I took it for myself.” Lailani responded, shy blush to her face as blue eyes twinkled with wonder. “Originally, I came from Orlais. And as you could probably imagine.. my kind didn’t exactly have the best living conditions there. I belonged to a older Mistress. She died not long before the war. Old age, I think.  

After it, when the masters fell. I left the city and travelled, taking the pilgrimage here with others of my kind until we found our new home, in the free marches.”

“Then its a beautiful name, and it suits you perfectly” Amanita concluded. It was, a big deal for city elves to have an identity of their own, after all. Naming oneself probably helped give them back a piece of that power and freedom over themselves that was once taken away. It was a small, but tremendously powerful step in a better direction at least.

“And you? Lavellan? Does this mean you knew or grew up with the Lady Herald, Lavellan?”

“Wellll… We came from the same clan, yet it would be a great mistruth to say I knew her…

In actual truth, we barely spoke. She was first inline to eventually be Clans Keeper, after all.. A mage of her talents.. So for the majority of her time.. she was under Clan Keepers teachings.”

Amanita unwrapped her breadloaf and, slipping a flipknife from her inner pockets, proceeded cutting the bread, and then the butter , to place in the centre of the table, offering the other two to help themselves.

“I was rogue, also.. So.. a good deal of my own time in the Clan was hunting or foraging for food, or… you know… keeping lookout for human groups or demons that wandered too close.”

She finished, smearing a generous amount of butter onto one of the thick slices of bread.

By the Forbidden Gods, did it smell so good.

She had to quickly tuck in, lest the butter, warmed by the bread, could dribble down her fingers.

Not a difficult thing to do, since it tasted even better then it smelt.

Ellas’elera took no convincing, comfortably helping himself, whilst an embarrassed tummy grumbling Lailani needed to be encouraged further to help herself by Amanita,

insisting she wouldn’t feel comfortable, if they both didnt eat too.

They spent the next hour or so, talking and laughing over silly things. Mostly about what brought them all here.

Ellas’elera, was looking to hone his skills and techniques more, and to also teach something in return.

Lailani was a gifted mage who was teaching the young ones, alternative magic. For they were after all, awoken or born into a world where every other inhabitant had entirely different styles of battle and its laws and rules, to what their parents or elder teachers had once known, before their long slumber.

And Amanita. Well. She sighed, describing how she had come to teach, how the Dalish lived.

Their stories and their history. Only to be met with an empty classroom.

“How Am I to teach. When no one wants to listen?” She asked the other two.

Ellas’elera spoke first.

Taking the sword from his back, to lovingly admire its craftsmanship.

There are rune markings carved into its steel and they light up briefly when his fingers brush across them, as if responding to their wielders touch like a loving pet.  

“Y’know, I had the same trouble when I arrived here too.. No one wanted to bother with an outsider, though no one out right dared say so of course…. So instead, I went asking about,

trying to find who the best of the best was.

The most respected teacher of swords here.

Ended up in one of his classes, eventually.

They called him Teacher Sahren, ironically enough. “ He chuckled some, remembering back to the encounter.

“So, I go in there, acting alittle more arrogant then usual. Knowing full well this would probably get Teacher Sahren to notice and try to make an example of me to the other unruly arrogant students there. Which he did.” Ellas’elera sheathed the sword to his back, again.  

“Only, didn’t quite work out so well, did it?

Well for him, it didn’t. For me? It worked out wonderfully for me.”

That deviously cheeky grin had returned to his face once more.

Amanita had to resist reaching over to pinch his cheek.

Instead contending herself to listen to the rest of the story.  

“So, He brings me to the front of the entire class, offers me a dullen blunt sword and requests that I try to best him in sword to sword combat, against his own equally dullen blade.

I obliged, then, repeatedly disarmed the man, infront of his very own students.

No small act by any means I assure you, as he hadn’t garnered that kind of reputation for nothing.

He eventually lost his cool after I showed him up the seventh or eight time though,

and kicked me out cursing and sneering in pure rage, the whole while.

By the next morning, rumour had already spread, and sure enough,

I arrive to find I have actual students, ready and eager to learn something new.

Do they respect me more?  Probably not…

Buuut… they hold their tongues and they tolerate me alot better now, at least.

You just gotta find the right angle though, give them something they haven’t seen or have need or use of, and they’ll eventually come around.”

Lailani nodded when he finished then turned to her and spoke.

“Children are usually more ready to accept new things then older people, so I chose to work with them. I love children, even back when I was a slave, some would sneak me treats and delicious food, when their parents weren’t looking. I had minded or taught some of the human children, back when I was young too. So I had alittle experience, and knew this was what I wanted to do.

They are usually very bright and always always curious… They ask so many questions.. and are forever eager to learn. Smarter then most elders I’ve ever known too.. Myself included at times.” She smiled lightly

“I was even able to teach them how to use their magical abilities to create art.

You see, Ice mages can make ice sculptures. Fire mages can use their magic to create blown glass art. Those with the ability to create and make lightning are even learning to fashion art from something so simple as dry sand, that, if you could believe it, actually turns into stone crafts, and those with healing, regenerative magic, are learning how to repair and rejuvenate damaged art pieces or even the occasional furniture or decorative piece they may accidentally break at home.  

Soon, we are going to practice teaming up in groups, to see what mixed magic can be created together!”

Amanita could tell from the way Lailanis’ eyes lit up as she spoke, that she really was passionate about working with children. And why not. They are the future, after all, and it was exciting to imagine how different the world would be under their leadership and guidance, should the older generations of any people, not hinder their progress in any way.

“I even make my own art from time to time, using my fire crafting, which I sometimes sell down at the markets…  makes quite a bit of gold for me too, because theres always someone looking to own something unique or different in their homes”

She beamed at the other two then took a sip of her honeyed drink.

“Thats a clever idea, I should look into finding work here too.. I mean, I know we get paid decent enough coin, regardless, for our time here, enough to cover shelter and food.. but it wouldn’t hurt to make alittle more, and keep busy so I don’t look or feel like some kind of slacker”

Ellas’elera snapped his fingers

“Oh, right! You know you could try down at the Culture and economic centre, right?  

The Guidance volunteers down there, are the people who helped implement the ‘cultural exchange’ plan, between our peoples, in the first place.  Well, there’s another centre there that also helps resettle their own people into jobs or find work that suits them. I’m sure they’d help you as well, if your willing. Can take you down there myself, tomorrow too if ya like?.

I have some letters to send home, anyway. “

Amanita nodded “Yes. Thank you! That would help me a great deal!”

  The rest of the day, Ellas’elera and Lailani both, had shown her around the city.

Not the entire city, for it was too large an area to cover, but the general area in which she lived, or would be working. in order to help her know her way around.

They had Various Bars, Scholar classes, Political podiums where they would all gather to debate.

Art museums, Libraries.. so many libraries.. builders working on newer structures, armour and weapon craftsmen, the market places too, were many in number, she thought she would become dizzy, trying to remember everything. They also showed her how she could use the mosaic or mural artworks on the city walls to help know her way around, if she couldnt read the ancient peoples words on the street and city signs, as that was what they themselves usually did.  

And her own building, was easier then she realised, to find. since it was on the very outskirts of the city.. Meaning she only had to follow the massive castle walls surrounding the city , until she recognised her own street.

They finally bid her farewell when the light of day started to dim, and she hugged them both, thankful for their patience and general kindness towards her.

When they left, she wandered around by herself for a while, just enjoying the scenery really,

as the lights from the other night, started to slowly brim to life under her very aching feet.

Most elves paid her little mind, though she did see a few side eye her or downright stop and stare..

but she ignored them for the most part in return, smiling only at those who smiled to her.

She was fascinated by their fashion. It seemed that mages and scholars usually donned thick full-bodied robes, some, like that Abelas guy, wore gold plaited armour.

Most of them, carried weapons.. not that she remembered Abelas or the first Elvhen she met, having any.  Others didnt dress all that much differently from her own peoples. Though their symbols or sewn in patches were of different things to what the Dalish had.

Most of them were bald too. The women, children and men.

Those that had hair, usually had exceptionally long blonde, of white, red, black or brown locks,

wrapped up in bundles, braided  or plaited and held back with gold or silver, feathers or flowers of varied hair ornaments.  Kinds she hadnt even seen worn from wealthy Orlesian folk.

Though, she imagined, if any ‘had’ the chance to visit here, they would be quick to take these new ‘savage’ styles back with them.

Thankfully, the elvhen were very particular about whom they allowed into their gates.

Mind you, despite this, she believed, she had seen the occasional dwarf or Tal vashoth amongst the crowds too. So, clearly, it wasnt only elves, that were accepted into here.

Finally when she believed her feet could carry her no more, did she return to her building.

Eating what last remained of her bread and butter, then turning in for the night.

All things considered. It hadnt been a terrible day.

She had her work cut out for her, in regards to not having any students yet,  

but at least she met some wonderful new friends.

And the city still held many wonders and possibilities to explore and see.

Tomorrow morning, she would see about getting work.

Bonus WIP -