How would the DAI companions and advisors,romanced as well, react to an Inquisitor who had a reputation for being a skilled duelist.
Cassandra: She know has a new sparring partner, and this more than anything else drives the friendship between them. Skyhold’s Seeker is not always the best at communicating with her words, but somehow with a blade in her hand everything makes sense. They develop a rapport together, riposte and reply bound together in a communication few others can decipher.
Varric: Magic hand, saving the world, dashing with a blade in their hand? Sorry Hawke, but this best seller is writing itself even faster than the Tale of the Champion. Now if only they could find some bandits to jump down from the walls….
Solas: While the Rift Mage far prefers his duels to be of a more intellectual nature, even Solas can appreciate the control needed to be so fine a duelist. And while he likely cannot be cajoled to enter the ring himself the scholar may occasionally be found watching whichever hapless soldier has decided to take on their Inquisitor today.
Vivienne: Dueling is a noble sport, always well accepted in Val Royeux, and in truth Madame de Fer could not be more pleased. It’s always easier to sell something already familiar to the buyer, after all, and it only takes a few words in the right ear to net the Inquisitor an invitation to the most exclusive fencing salons. From there, well. Anything is possible.
Blackwall: Thom Ranier may have liked to strut around and swish a foil in the air, but a dozen years and as many mistakes have left him with a far more utilitarian fighting style. Hit it till it’s dead, and if it’s not dead hit it again. He’ll leave the dancing to those better suited for it.
Sera: Pshhh, nobles doffing around pretending to poke each other with shiny sticks. You know what doesn’t dance around being dumb? Arrows.
The Iron Bull: “Didn’t know you had footwork like that, boss. Guess I’ll have to be en guard around you, huh.”
(Did you see what he did there?)
Dorian: Being the scion of House Pavus meant that a great deal of emphasis was placed on magic, and the development of that power was crucial to the succession of his line and family and blah, blah blah. But unlike the insipid southern circles Tevinter educated it’s novitiates in far more than ‘The Maker things you are an abomination, also please heat the water’. Dueling, of the non magical variety, was popular among the lower forms, and despite his numerous enrollments in various learning centers Dorian became quite proficient at it.
It is occasionally a pleasant venture to leave the library to dust off those skills, and if some of the former templars are nervous to see a mage handle a sword so deftly, well. All the more incentive.
Cole: “ ‘Step, forward to back, always watching and waiting but not to hurt. Break through the defense, go for the heart but never killing. Points instead of blood, and cheers all around.’ I like this better. No one dies, but someone wins, and everyone is happy after.”
Cullen: A templar by training and experience the former Knight Captain cannot claim himself as any more than a mediocre duelist. Like Blackwall his tactics are more work oriented, but he can appreciate the quick play and skill needed to so deftly handle a foil. If some of his soldiers want to take up the pursuit more power to them, and before long he may even be persuaded to discard the paperwork and take his turn in a bout.
Josephine: Every dashing hero or swaggering rogue in her stories as a girl could fence, and in her heart of hearts Lady Montiliyet requires it of her future lover. It’s like something out of one of those storybooks to watch the Inquisitor dance in the ring, foil flashing, and the diplomat is guilty of occasionally watching a bout or two when other tasks ease their burden.
And it makes selling the Herald of Andraste to the nobility of Thedas ever so much easier.
Leliana: She watches, noting their moves and training. While it never comes up- and few but Josephine could ever guess- the spymaster is a master duelist in her own right, and at times her fingers almost tingle with the desire to reach for a saber. But she has her own tasks that stand before her, and there is little time for such foolishness.
For now, at least.
Mod Fereldone.
