#daveth

he does show a lot of talent as a craftsman though & is apprenticed to master ilen when he's about 11. he's not bad with a bow and arrow either (no one able to shoot is really allowed to be when the clan might need to defend itself at any moment!) but he's also not The Best. tamlen's the type to do trick shots just to show off. roshan usually sits back and admires. speaking of which. those 2 have been in the agonies of situationship hell for about 4 years since they both know they're sort of Expected to marry a woman (there's magic in their bloodline and the clan is short on mages...) but like. they are very much in love and simply Not Saying It because then they would have to address all that. so. (cue dalish origin) that's all unresolved! yay!

shiva'nasalin (<- or salin for short) did show a talent for magic but at a fairly late age (12) at which point merrill had already been the keeper's apprentice since the age of four (4!). this means salin's having to do a hell of a lot of catching up and their childhood friendship develops into something of a one-sided rivalry (and then a deeply messy situationship. yippee unethical yuri <3). she's incredibly stubborn which is how she coerces her way into joining roshan, merrill and fenarel in venturing into the cave where roshan last saw tamlen. she subsequently gets wounded by a darkspawn arrow (just a graze!) which duncan insists means she too is blighted

both her and roshan are furious the clan plans on moving on (especially roshan who knows — feels, somehow — that tamlen is nearby) and duncan has to invoke the rite of conscription and haul their blighted asses to ostagar. it is NOT an easy or pleasant trip not least because roshan keeps getting Sicker & near the end salin is starting to feel it too and the magic the keeper used to keep the blight at bay (which is of course. blood magic) seems less and less effective as the time goes on. it is enough to get them to ostagar though — and enough to drag an agonised daveth back from the brink of death. yippee! <3

it's daveth's survival that makes jory hesitate to pull a sword on a Grey Warden despite his very many misgivings (and the fact that he definitely 100% is Not A Knight and did not know what he was getting into) which is how the fereldan wardens manage to get FOUR new wardens for their ranks! huzzah! five (including the king's bastard who HAS to be kept out of the fray) is obviously too many wardens to send to light a beacon however so when the fighting starts salin, daveth and jory are sent down to join the senior wardens in the fighting.

it's when the battle is hopelessly turned against them and there is no sign of reinforcements that one of the more senior wardens orders them to retreat so at least some grey wardens survive this bloodbath. they fight their way to lothering with a handful of deserters from the army (hello rowan & carver hawke! 👋) from where they are forced to regroup with absolutely 0 treaties in hand and no resources but what they've carried on their backs. tough luck! they do find a qunari prisoner sitting in a cage while they're in the village however and stage an incredibly elaborate rescue plot (there is a theatrical diversion. there is thievery. there is magic. what a well-rounded group!) then get the fuck out of there to chase down some leads about a chasind tribe in the fallow mire. swamp adventure time! yippee! <3

meanwhile roshan & alistair have been plucked from the top of the tower of ishal by THEE witch of the wilds and wouldn't you know it, they still have the treaties too! unfortunately for roshan and alistair what they also have is a pretty significant communication barrier since roshan's ability to speak common is limited to the Basic Conversational Things you'd need to know for trading. or threatening people on patrols. it comes up against its limits very quickly when trying to grapple with the enormity of being the Only Two Wardens Left During A Blight (<- that they know of 😔) + 1 chasind(?) swamp witch

when they have to make the call about where to go from lothering (with a chantry sister in tow of course) alistair's decision is to venture into the brecilian forest 🌳 in part because he fears getting to redcliffe and finding eamon dead (or still incapacitated... meaning he'll have to approach isolde directly...) and also in part because he hopes that taking The Dalish Elf to a Dalish Clan will mean roshan can take up some of the responsibility. please he needs someone else to do his job SO bad :(