Day 2, The Days Before And After:

Dorian - In front of Haven’s gate (where we met him for the first time)

It all began with this face - it doesn’t matter if he would be friend or foe - we loved him immediately!

This adorable image is a creation of my beloved @mellorian-art

Dorian & son -  At the end of the journey

Dorian after the Inquisition, after meeting the unknown son of his lover, after telling his Amatus farewell! He will be the best foster father in the world...

Love Dorian Week 2018 || Day 4: Insecurity, Confidence

We approached each other now that there was time for introductions. He was looking me up and down, coolly assessing as I did the same to him. He was about my size with an athletic build (especially for a mage), and thick hair as black as my own (if I ever allowed it to grow out) buzzed short at the sides. He had a carefully sculpted moustache that curled upward at the tips even after the battle (not something I normally go for, but on him it looked perfect). His skin was a warm brown, lips full, nose classic, and his eyes were a riveting light grey. I told myself sternly that he likely had an equally attractive wife back in Tevinter — or a pack of female admirers he could choose from — but there was no harm in enjoying the view while I played diplomat.

He introduced himself as Dorian of House Pavus, “Most recently of Minrathous.”

I introduced myself as Kai Trevelyan.

"The Herald of Andraste," Cassandra interjected.

I looked him in those riveting grey eyes and repeated firmly, "Kai Trevelyan."

He raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Not the Herald of Andraste?”

I smiled. “Only for promotional purposes. Pleased to meet you, Dorian of House Pavus.”

“Delighted. Your promotional people have been doing an admirable job — it seems all the south is talking about you.”

“Another Tevinter. Be cautious of this one,” Cassandra muttered behind me.

I ignored her. “I doubt all the south finds me that fascinating, at least not personally. It’s the rift closing that impresses people.”

“It is rather impressive,” he said with a faint smile. “How do you do it, anyway?’

“Proprietary secret,” I said.

He looked at me sharply then grinned. “You don’t even know, do you? You just point, wiggle your fingers and boom! Rift closes.”

I half smiled back. “The finger-wiggling is entirely optional. I think the punch at the end is a pretty good finishing move.”

“Agreed. It’s far more dramatic with punctuation. You should shout something impressively incomprehensible. That always excites the audience. Though I must say, they seem more impressed with the idea that you’re Andraste’s favourite avatar.”

I gave a contemptuous snort and changed the subject. “So what brings you to Redcliffe? Am I to take it you know something about the situation here?”

He explained that Alexius had been his mentor, he wanted to help, and we needed that help because Alexius was fucking around with time magic, something Dorian had worked on with him when it was a theoretical exercise. The scary part was, Alexius appeared to have gotten it to work, though he was ripping pockets of space/time to shreds in the process.

There was more, of course. The Venatori had some weird obsession with me, Alexius was looking for a way to cure Felix and had gone off the deep end, apparently pinning his hopes on whatever the Venatori were up to. He needed to be stopped because at the very least the time magic he was fucking with was, as Dorian so colourfully put it, unravelling the world. I noticed even Dorian’s teeth were perfect.

After dropping those bombs, Dorian had announced he couldn’t stay in Redcliffe, but if we wanted to take on Alexius, he wanted in. And did he tell us where he could be found? Of course not. He said I’ll be in touch and left.