Sometimes, things are simply known. Sometimes, learning requires mistakes. And sometimes, actions leave you wondering indefinitely. (Part 8 of 'Sum Ergo Sum')
The gang is fleeing from Templars through the streets. Why? Because Hawke pissed them off. Why? Because they threatened her favorite elven mage. The escape plan leads to some time alone with Anders.
"Cullen prayed. The metal-framed door creaked on heavy hinges, but the Templar did not move until a shadow settled beside him, and tugged the hood from her head. They sat in silence, Andraste before them, the Knight-Captain and the Nightingale. "You are troubled," said Leliana. "As are you." " (Part 9 of 'Sum Ergo Sum')
Cullen joins the Inquisitor during her weekly ritual in the armory in exchange for a song. They learn a little more than they expected from this simple afternoon. (Part 6 of "Sum Ergo Sum")
" "In another life," she was fond of saying, all dimples and robust cheeks as she worked, "I was a fool in some Orlesian court." " Leona makes a move, and Cullen learns some poetry he's not entirely sure he ever wanted to hear. (Part 2 of "Sum Ergo Sum")
"There was no funeral, just as there was no body. A memorial service would be held, but not a proper mourning. Commander Shepard had no living relatives. Ashley Williams blinked tears out of her eyes and kept her stance at perfect attention. "Damn it." This was no place to cry. Not now. She would indulge herself at the service, among friends, not alone in a Citadel elevator."
Somewhere on the road, at camp, there is time for reflection. Sometimes, you're exactly where you don't want to be. (Part 3 of "Sum Ergo Sum")
Mahariel knows the word for affection in the Qunari language, but Sten does not yet know the words of her people. (Another asexual Sten/Mahariel fic)
"The Inquisitor did -not- remind him of her." For some reason, mages continue to define Cullen's life, even in personal matters. Of course, to say so would require admitting personal matters existed where he was concerned. (Part 1 of "Sum Ergo Sum")
The first time Sten calls Mahariel "Kadan." It is a long time before she finds out what it means. (Another asexual Sten/Mahariel fic)
"The breeze through the window was cool on Leona's cheek, smelling of damp, crisp night, the earliest morning dew already settled in the small, moonlit hours. Her blade rang on the whet-stone through the empty armory. Sleep, she found, was quite hopeless in the face of memory." [Part 10 of 'Sum Ergo Sum'] At last, we come to an admission.
[Inquisition/Solas Romance spoilers] It was a blessing in which she could feel the power: cool, bright fingertips that whispered over skin, words that reached down to her heart and bound it up in gentleness, a tender tug at the magic that had seeped into her soul, the hot tingling of the Fade so like a breath of summer wind in the trees.
Before the Hero of Ferelden became a Warden, she was a Circle apprentice trying to understand her nature, finding an unlikely friend in a clumsy human. These memories keep her awake in camp sometimes, thinking of a friend she's sure is long gone-and it might even be her fault.
In Mahariel's mind, important conversations ought to take place in trees, even if the relationship is an unconventional one by Dalish standards. Or human standards. Or Qunari standards. - An asexual Mahariel/Sten fic, wherein the question of 'love' is approached.
Hawke's companions have a running bet on her relationship with Anders. They're too clever to get caught in the act, and deflect her prying with musings on magic that might just bring the pair closer together.
Hawke and her companions flee from Kirkwall in the aftermath of the Chantry's destruction and the nullification of the Circle. Hawke does not want to talk about what happened, but may have no choice in the matter. She gave Anders a chance for redemption during the chaos, but what now?
The most unrealistic aspect of Varric's stories is magic, of all things. Hawke has a few things to say about that.
Varric's end. (No spoilers of any kind)
Varric's life is that of a storyteller, and the writing life is not always easy.
No visit, no call. A daughter back from the dead can't just deprive her mother of a simple 'hey, I'm not dead' from the moment she found herself revived to the moment the Reapers arrive without consequence. (Part One of "Regrets, Like Old Friends" which includes "Breaking Over Me" and "Only If For a Night", in that order.)