Chapter Text
It was a cold and dreary morning when Ariana awoke from her slumber. She sat up from her bedroll, the handwoven sheets slipping off her body. As she yawned and stretched, she noticed that Ashara was fast asleep to her right. Her quiet snores wrought a small, sad smile to Ariana’s lips. The dark grey clouds hung over their heads as a grim reminder that she would be leaving her clan in just a few, short hours. As much as Ashara protested, both Ariana and the Keeper knew that she was the only one who could receive any viable information from the Conclave. She was the best, most reliable mage they had, besides the Keeper herself. Still, she understood why Ashara fought desperately against it. Being the only reminder of the family she had left was enough to make her want to stay. But was staying worth it? The notion of adventure echoed her thoughts constantly. Had she not been chosen to go, would she ever truly leave her clan?
Her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar face popped their head into the tent.
“Oh good,” A big grin stretched across the intruder’s face, “you’re awake.”
“Keep your voice down, Eliel,” Ariana hissed, though there was no malice behind her words.
She lifted her hand towards Eliel, who instinctively reached for it to help her up, “Ir abelas. I forgot Ashara was still asleep.”
As they exited the tent together, she could see the Keeper and a handful of others that were already up and about, most likely preparing for her journey. The whole clan had been fussing for weeks. It was the first journey alone that anyone in the clan had taken. If she had any parents left, they would have likely protested against it for her protection, as most of the elder clan members did. She grimaced at the thought. No, she needed to do this. Even the Keeper agreed that the Conclave was a sure sign that something big was coming. They just didn’t know what it was yet.
“Are you nervous?”
The question forced her to turn around, facing the boy standing in front of her. Eliel was a childhood friend, one she had grown up with her whole life. His vallaslin differed from hers, as he bore the markings of Andruil, and she bore that of Mythal. It made sense; he was a skilled archer and one of the strongest hunters in the clan. Ariana was a protector by nature and the Keeper’s first. Many would joke that someday the two would fall in love. She would often laugh and roll her eyes. Perhaps in another lifetime where they both were not burdened by their pasts, nor their responsibilities, would they have a chance.
She paused before giving him a crooked smile, “Wouldn’t you be?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, “Well, of course, but I don’t have a little sister to watch over.”
The mentioning of Ashara made her smile drop almost immediately. Eliel realized his mistake and quickly changed the topic to that of the journey itself. What would happen if she ran into rogue Templars? Bandits? Slavers? Who would care for Ashara if anything were to happen to her? These were all questions that ran through her head, and it certainly didn’t help that nearly everyone in the clan badgered her with these same questions as well.
“I’m much more capable than the clan gives me credit for,” She muttered, almost bitterly.
Eliel smirked at that, “No one is questioning your skills, lethallan. Everyone knows you are the only one the Keeper trusts enough to journey so far away from the clan. We worry for you, is all.”
She understood that. She just didn’t want to be discouraged from going when she already had the pressure of success weighing down on her.
“Besides,” Eliel continued, “with you gone, perhaps Ashara will be able to practice her magic with the Keeper. Some good will come of this.”
“I suppose so.”
With that, the pair walked over to the aravel where the Keeper stood talking to the craftsmaster. The Keeper was getting older, there was no doubt about that. As a whole, the clan was surprised that she had picked a first so late, but Ariana was truly the only mage that showed the most promise. Besides the lessons she had when she was younger, she hardly had any instruction at all. She’s a natural, like her mother, the Keeper would say. Sometimes it would bring a smile to her face. Other times, it would force her to blink back the tears before they could even form.
“You’re up awfully early,” The Keeper turned to her with a warm smile.
Eliel butted in before Ariana could speak, mentioning something about her missing him too much to stay asleep. Ariana couldn’t help but roll her eyes, earning a quiet chuckle from the Keeper.
“Are you sure it’s not the other way around, da’len?” Keeper Deshanna faced him with a glint in her eye as she smiled at the pair.
Instead of coming up with a quick, witty response as he’d always done, Eliel stammered and blushed a bright pink. Both Ariana and the Keeper laughed at that. It isn’t like him to act so bashfully. Perhaps he actually might miss me, after all. The thought immediately made Ariana sheepish. They always fought like brother and sister. At times, she often thought Eliel was more annoyed by her presence than anything. Surely he wouldn’t miss her all that much?
“In any case, you should be ready to leave in two hours' time. I have made arrangements for you to board a human merchant’s ship to get to Ferelden.”
Ariana’s eyes widened. Two hours would hardly give her any time to say goodbye to her clan, let alone spend time with Ashara.
“I don’t understand, I thought I was-“
“No arguments, da’len. We paid good coin to get you on that ship.” Keeper Deshanna had a stubborn look on her face, only furthering Ariana’s own stubbornness. Still, she knew this was a fight she shouldn’t bother trying to win. When the Keeper had decided something, there was no getting around it.
“Yes, Keeper.” Her gaze dropped to the ground, making her feel sheepish for even trying to argue.
When the Keeper walked away, she felt Eliel’s palm rest upon her shoulder. Comforting each other was as easy as breathing for the two, but at the moment, Ariana couldn’t help but shrug him off. It would be hard enough to have to say goodbye to the rest of the clan, but Ashara and Eliel would take it the hardest.
“Can you trust that I will watch over Ashara?”
“Of course.” Her trust in him wasn’t in question - she knew Eliel was trustworthy. Yet, she couldn’t help but worry. Ashara was so young and so new to the ways of the world. Who knows what could happen at the Conclave? The thought of leaving Ashara alone frightened Ariana beyond words. Still, she knew that Eliel would do anything to protect her, even if it meant raising her himself.
“I won’t let anything happen to her, Ariana. I swear it.”
The soft tone of his voice was enough to make her tremble. Ashara was only fourteen and struggled greatly with her magic. If it weren’t for Ariana and the Keeper teaching her lessons in and out of the Fade, she would surely be at risk for possession.
Ariana turned back around to look at Eliel, only this time, she grasped his hand with both a bittersweet and prideful look in her eye.
“I know.”
~~~~~
“Get out of the fucking way!”
Scarlett slammed her hand on the horn of her car as she sped past the asshole that cut her off, then proceeded to take her parking spot. She screamed out of the window, earning her a middle finger in return. She rolled her eyes as she noticed it was one of the douchebag football players from her school. So entitled, she thought, just because they’re “student-athletes”. How does that make you any special? Congrats, you get to play with balls all day, what an accomplishment.
Parking was always atrocious at her university, but today was probably the worst day to be on campus. Everyone was in a frenzy because of midterms and considering that the football team had a game today, many outsiders came to visit as well. God, she couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment and away from people. Although she was in graduate school, she still lived in an apartment near campus, mostly due to the fact that it was cheaper than renting an apartment in the city. The depressing reality of living in a highly populated city like Chicago meant that the cost of living there was much higher than a student could afford, despite her having two jobs. Still, she had it better than most, given that she had a whole studio to herself and a great view of the city. Even so, the suburban life appealed to her more and more after spending the last several years driving in city traffic.
As she exited her car, she slammed the door closed in frustration. It was bad enough that she got the farthest parking spot away from her apartment building, but work had also left her feeling exhausted. On top of that, she had a term paper due by the end of the week that she hadn’t started on. She sighed, rubbing her temples, before dropping her keys in her purse. Graduation is just around the corner, she thought, wistfully, then I can get the hell out of this city.
As she trekked all the way to her building, her phone rang. When she saw the name on the screen, she fought the urge to roll her eyes but continued to accept the call.
“Hel-“
“Scarlett! Where have you been?”
Scarlett let out an exasperated sigh in response. What could Sophie possibly have to say now? She called her a ridiculous amount of times while at work, forcing Scarlett to have to turn off her phone for the last half of her shift. Even though she was her sister, Scarlett had thoughts of disowning her far too often.
“I have this thing called a job, Sophie.” Scarlett sighed, her voice sounded utterly disinterested.
“Well, are you off of work now? I was thinking we could go out for drinks tonight.” Sophie’s voice sounded so enthusiastic on the other line; it almost made Scarlett feel bad for refusing.
Scarlett responded while opening the door to her building, “I don’t know, Soph. I’m really tired and I’ve had a hell of a day.”
She could hear Sophie scoff into the phone, “Oh come on, that’s what you always say. I swear if you ditch me to lay in bed all night and play Dragon Age-“
Scarlett blushed at that, cutting her off from finishing her sentence, “Oh stop, you know I’ve been busy.”
In all fairness, Sophie was right. The last few times that she was invited to go out with her friends, she flat out refused and blamed it on work. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, considering she’s been working overtime at the clinic more often, and her waitress job was keeping her on her toes as well. Still, if she really did want to go out and enjoy herself, she would have gone.
“As if. Just consider it, alright?” Sophie nearly pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll let you know.” No, I won’t.
Scarlett sighed dejectedly as she unlocked the front door and stepped inside her apartment. The lights were off, and the streetlight from outside illuminated through the window. It couldn’t have been past 6 o’clock, and yet the sun was already setting. Had the streetlights not been on, it would have been completely dark in her studio, save one tiny glimmer of light, gleaming on her glass coffee table. Oddly enough, that tiny glimmer glowed a fluorescent green. At that moment, she found herself walking towards it, drawn to it like a moth. Somewhere along the way, she dropped her belongings on the floor, not even noticing the thud her purse made when it landed.
What is it about this light? It looks almost...familiar.
Upon walking towards it, she realized there was no light gleaming from her coffee table, but rather from inside her television. In awe, she stared at the black screen, trying to decipher where that green light was coming from. In a way, the light seemed to be glowing from beyond the TV screen. She scoffed at the idea. Maybe there’s a faulty wire somewhere? That idea also sounded unlikely. Even so, she could not tear her eyes away from the light, which seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter with every passing second. Soon, the entire room was illuminated by it. Her fingers cautiously reached towards the light, not even considering the fact that there should be a glass screen over the TV. It was as if her mind went blank and the only thing she could concentrate on was this light, beckoning her.
As she reached further and further into the screen, she then realized that there was no glass screen covering the TV at all. She should’ve been shocked and confused, but the only thing on her mind was this primal instinct to reach further and further. The moment her fingertips reached inside of the screen, she felt a rush of cold numbness spreading through her hand, then through her entire body. With her mind in a panic, she tried pulling away to find that this light was pulling her inside. All in a millisecond, she was suctioned through. As she struggled, she felt the air pushing out of her body and her back hitting something solid, and instantaneously, everything went black.