[M] Grimm Tales- Ch1: From these emerald waters (SiksXKris)

[Kris]

Illvani rubbed the back of her head, "I get it- The captain has his up and down side, but it's hard not to see this whole Island as one big Harem for him, you know. Still it seems that the women around him approve of him, and his men trusts him. I think I will add my share too, while here".

Illvani stared at the woman. Maybe it was the bright light of the fireplace, or the fact the sun was slowly disappearing from the sky, but she saw Lady Cristo in a whole new light. A women who had her share of pain and hurt, and a woman who had a strong believes and powers of her own.

"What would you expect me, Lady Cristo?", the half elf looked at the woman, "I'm sure the others will not approve of me being solely devoted to magic studying, and I would not want it either. I think I've finally gotten a semi freedom and a new start in my life. I would like to contribute what I can while I'm here, but you obviously will require my time for magic too. In that case what should I expect of you? and what would you expect of me? Would you train me? will there be others to be trained with- "

[SikstaSlathalin]

Lady Cristo look through the cave seeing the gleam of evening beginning to cover the small island. It was too late in the day to begin anything, and besides it was up to the Captain and First Mate to figure out Illvani's place on the crew. The older mage finished her tea then placed the cup on the table besides her chair. She waved her hand dismissively.
"That'll be for tomorrow child, Sebastian and Saorsa are the ones who decide who does what. Though being a Mage you can take comfort in the knowledge you won't be shoveling ram shit with Vandre or working the tannery with Shep. My work usually has to do with using magic to rebuild damaged structures, or playing School Matron to the three children who live here. Thankfully that doesn't take long, so you'll be continuing to learn about and practice magic. I have a few tomes on the subject that came with me from Tevinter, they're on the bookcase by the door feel free to take some with you. As for anyone joining us, my niece runs the tavern on the beach, so she only join us in the mornings to go over physical exercises and basic magical practice." She stood up from her chair and motioned for Illvani to follow.

The Magister walked towards the door and plucked two hefty tomes from her tall bookcase and handed them to the Half-Elf, One was titled "The schools of magic and practice" and the other was "Walking the Fade". "Here I'm sure you know most of what is between these pages but those two books are the basic level all Tevinters start from. Read them as you please and take care of them, the Captain is borderline illiterate so we don't get many books coming to our shores. Now it's getting late and I'm sure you still need to find a bed and get settled in, Sebastian or Saorsa will seek you out with your job either tonight or in the morning. Either way my day begins shortly after dawn, Juliet and I meet on the south shore to exercise and go over basic spells like Flashfire, Barrier, Weakness, and the like. Simple sparring mostly, but dress comfortably and in layers. As for what to expect from me...survive and I'll make you a force to be reckoned with for even experienced Templars. Your clothes should be dry now and I bid you good night Ms. Tabris." Marion opened the door to her cave and saw Emmy sitting on a rock by the entrance making a crown of flowers.

Lady Cristo quirked her eyebrow and sighed.
"Emmy, as I've told you before. You can knock on the wall if you want to come in, I won't burn the skin off your bones."

The slim Elf woman smiled sheepishly and bowed.
"Yes of course Lady Cristo, I just didn't want to disturb you and Illvani. I was just sure you'd want peace and quiet talking with your new apprentice." The young woman stood stiffly with her head down and her hands clasped in front of her playing with the flower crown shyly.

Marion sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose. Even being free of the Alienage for a few years Emmy instinctively shrunk back in the meek City Elf demeanor when she thought she was in trouble. And despite telling the girl time and time again to keep her head up it still happens, Marion just let it's go now. She had slaves and servants in Tevienter and knew how to handle them.
"Thank you Emmy, that will be all. Be sure to stay close to Ms. Tabris, she doesn't know the island well-enough to walk freely through it." With that the Mage waved her hand and extinguished the torches outside her home then went back inside leaving to the two younger women alone in the twilight.

Emmy waited until the Magister was gone before looking up and gifting Illvani a sad smile.
"Sorry about that, she just scares me. I made this for you." She smiled and handed her new friend the flower crown before looking over the Half-Elf's current outfit rubbing her chin. "Well the Captain will love that."

[Kris]

How long did the poor Elf waited outside? Illvani was taken aback, but not fully surprised. There were still fresh memories in her mind of her time in the Alienage. These sort of events where an Elf would wait for hours outside a lord’s room, holding clothes, or food trays was a thing she recalled like a bright light, but still, she felt sorry for her. True, Lady Cristo was rather terrifying, but not to the point where Emmy could not have stood up to her if she wanted to. Plus, the Captain would have probably backed the Elf up.

Regardless, it was not her place to re-educate anyone. She let the weight of the flower crown fall upon the top of her head. It felt silly, but somewhat… nice… She didn’t recall Elves being so friendly with her, despite them being part of her life. Even her own mother was strict and showed a very measured gesture of kindness. She was sure it was something Grandmother must have rooted in her- A behaviour suited for the Dales.

“Thank you, Emmy”, Illvani grinned, reaching up her hand and touching the flowers, “Are you sure it will be proper to go like that and meet with the Captain?”, Illvani soon realized that she may offend the Elf and quickly corrected her words, “I mean I like it, I’m just… making sure… I may need to change the outfit though”, Illvani shivered, realizing she may draw unneeded attention with this outfit.

Emmy smiled softly giving Illvani a hug. “It’s ok, the Captain isn’t one for formality, you can go see him wearing a burlap sack covered in shite and he’ll still try to bed you. But it’s better if you just let him or Saorsa come to you rather than going to them. I did that once and the situation I found going on in the First Mate’s apartment was...unsettling and it stunk to the Golden City and back.” She shuddered taking the half-breed’s hand and leading her towards the treehouse. “Come on, Ash and Mel are eager to meet their new roomate. They’re arguing about if they should make you Keeper of our little Pirate Dalish Clan or not.” She giggled wrapping her arms around Illvani’s and hugging close to the taller woman.

Illvani now was extremely curious as to what the poor Elf saw in the apartment, but decided not to inquire further, “A Keeper? I’m extremely honored, but they should know I was only a second, and that was granted as personal favour because of my mom. And should a shem really be allowed to such holy title?” Illvani chuckled, “Plus I’m sure Lady Cristo will have much to say about that.” They walked some more distance, “Do both of them belong to the people?”.

‘The people’ was a title known among the elves to refer to ancient heritage of elves, or the ancient elves themselves.
Nowadays it was used to describe someone from the clans in the wild. Illvnai wasn’t sure if Emmy was familiar with the term, but if she was not, she was more than willing to explain.

Emmy nodded looking up at the dancing orange lights of her and the twin’s home.
“Yea, I forget what their clan name was, but it was wiped out in the Fifth Blight so they’re the last ones, and me being an Elf myself even a City one they wanted to try and make a clan again. They’ve talked with a few of the other Elves on the island, most were girls from Alienages like you and me,and it’s funny but they all said yes. We call ourselves the Wave Walkers. But none of us have magic so we don’t have a Keeper.” The young Elf was getting excited talking about their little Elf family among a colony of pirates.

“Well, it is a surprise to me. I was not very welcomed in elven society, even if spent most of my life with them. To the Dalish I was a Shem and the people in the Alienage I was good as human. Some of them wonder why I didn’t just left to live with them. I could just pass as one after all. I think this got on their bad side. Some were kind, but some were envious to the point of being really mean and nasty. I’m so glad to see the people here are more kind and accepting”, Illvani looked ahead, as they finally reached the pack of trees, which all of them had craving and building around and into the branches, “Impressive!”, she said, “Do I really have a room all of my own up there?”



Emmy nodded leading the girl to the bottom of the winding ramp that climbed around the large trunk of the first tree and up high to the porch of the treehouse. “Yup, the last one on the left.” She pointed to the far room overhanging the beach. We didn’t intend to make more than three bedrooms, but we had so much material left over that we added one more bedroom and even a small room where we enshrined the Dalish Gods. Your room isn’t huge but it’s cozy and it has the best view at night. You can see the moon from dusk till dawn most times of year.”

The women walked up and around the tree Emmy idly ran her fingers along the many carvings she and the other Elves made on the trees as she went up. “We know you didn’t have a lot of clothes, so Mel and I gave you some of ours to wear or make your own from. She’s a bit bigger than you and me, but between hers and mine hopefully you can find something that won’t attract too much attention from the men.” She giggled leading Illvani to the door, she turned the handle and pushed it open breathing in the rich smells of the treehouse. “Hey Mel, Ash we’re home!”

The twins got up in identical movements and Illvani held herself from laughing. Aside of few choices of hair style, and make up, it was almost hard to recognize one from the other, at least not right away.

“We heard about you, Keeper chosen!”, the male was the first to approach, even though he had to push his sister away, “Ashahra Ahlen from the clan of Alerion”, he said and pounded his chest with his fist, his sister soon followed suit and stood beside him, “Just call him Ash, I’m Mel!”, she waved and Ashahra shook his head, “This is my sister, Meleim, but you can address her as commoners do, and call her Mel”

“Stop being so mighty and proud, so what if she is a guest. If you think she will address you with such formality you are mistaken”

“Nevertheless, it is worth the try and effort!”

Illvani chuckled, “I’ll address you both as you would like. I heard of your clan. I have known a friend from that same clan, Merrill was her name!”

The twins stared at each other and then looked at Illvani, “So the rumors are true!”, Ash said, “You indeed spend time with the Dalish. You are fully recognized as one of us, the people, might I assume you were also a part of the proud clan of Sabrae?”

“You are right. A second to Keeper Marethari-”, Illvani saw the glow in their eyes and was hesitating to speak the next part, “But it was mostly a favour… They didn’t fully see me as one of them, but they were gentle and kind”.

Ash chuckled.
“Yes the Sabrae are a rare sort for that. Well I’m sure Emmy told you our own little Clan here is short a Keeper. And we’re by no means a traditional Clan so a shem….” A glare from his sister forced him to change his words. “A Mage such as yourself will be a welcomed leader if you want it. In the meantime come on Emmy will show you to your room.” The man smiled lifting Illvani’s hand and kissed it winking at her before walking back to the sitting room.

Illvani smiled. She never truly held such position in which she was so welcomed and wanted before, “I’ll consider it Ashahra Ahlen of Alerion”.

Ash chuckled, “You know what, that title does sound extended. Ash will do, but only for you”

“Noted!”, Illvani said as Mel moved in behind her back and whispered in her ear, “I think he likes you!”, she ducked for a moment when he throw a towel at her direction, “Your aim still as poor as ever, brother!”, and she ducked again as another towel was thrown at her, this time she returned the attack.

“Let’s go!”, Emmy said pulling Illvani with her to the room she wanted her to sleep in, in the background the brother and sister laughs echoed as the two playfully continued to attack each other, “You’ll get used to them”, Emmy chuckled.

“I like them already!”, Illvani’s eye glittered as her eyes switched colors. She enjoyed the feeling of having a family again. It has been a while since she felt this happy.

***

Emmy was right, the room was indeed small, but the view from the porch was bewitching. It has been late but the half elf could hardly sleep. The events up until now seemed so unlikely and crazy. She moved her hands over the wooden rails as she took the night air into her lungs. The moon shone pregnant above her head, and the waves were clear and mesmerizing as foams hit against the shore.

It was then at that moment when she recalled Karl’s face.

She experienced few flashbacks. She recalled how she shook his dead body, hoping it will get him back to life. She recalled the face of the templar she once called a friend, aiming her bow to take her own life. And then she recalled Gabriel’s arrow which hit her chest.

She fell to her feet, grabbing her chest, as if she had been hit again. She hit her fists against the wooden floor as tears fall down her cheeks.

“I wish you were here Karl”, she said slowly, “These people are wonderful. They would have been a good family to you… Karl… you should have been the one to be here… You could have been a great keeper to them”

She looked at at the moon, “Maker, if you truly exist you are twisted. Your plans for us do not make sense. You torment us, but for what? Your priests and mothers claims that you have a goal, a higher aim. But what of it, if you make evil go loose. The elven gods were just as bad, but they were not as hypocrite as you are. They toy and do bad things with lives for their amusements, they do not claim to have higher cause, like you do… Why did you take them all from me? Even if you did brought me here- this does not compensate for everything else you’ve taken away… for all the horrible things you made me experience and suffer… and yet… why do I still hope… you still have a plan!”

Illvani got up and leaned on the rails “Why do I still hope?”

“Cause hope is the only thing we have to cling to in a world gone mad.” A soft female voice said behind Illvani, Saorsa was standing at the door to the Half-Elf’s new room dressed in the same clothes she wore on the ship, but with a long battlemaster’s coat on over her shoulders.

Illvani gasped, as she felt the heart beat fast in her chest, “You heard me?”, she said surprised, her eyes glittering for a moment, before the light vanished from them, “I didn’t intend for anyone to hear this. It was uncalled for, and somewhat ungrateful. Forgive me for showing a moment of weakness”.


The Qunari woman chuckled waving her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not a weakness to have hope or be caught in prayer. Sometimes it’s all we have to work with. Your roomates let me in. I think they’re playing drunken Wicked Grace, Ash answered the door in his smallclothes and practically falling over himself in the process. Not bad to look at, a bit small for my liking, but then again once you’ve bedded a Qunari male everything is a bit small, but Sebastian does come close.” The large woman stayed in the doorway leaning against the threshold studying the other woman closely. “So how’d you like your first day as a pirate?” She asked crossing her arms under her bust.

Illvani blushed crimson. The last thing she wanted to hear was how big was the captain’s member. She coughed softly, “It was… not as I thought it will be!”, she chuckled softly, “I always thought pirates were different. I never even knew they have their own community they run with, and this place feels so great, like family!”, Illvani placed her hands over the rails, “The air here is amazing”, she looked at the qunari, “We never had a chance to fully speak. I’m surprised, I was sure you’d be the last person to check in on me. I know I didn’t make the best of first impression back there.”

Saorsa shrugged slipping her hands into her long coat’s pockets.
“We’re unique among pirates, most you come across are every bit the savage cutthroats you’ve heard about. That’s mostly because none of us really wanted this life, it was kinda forced on us. As for me checking on you, it’s better that it’s me or the Captain would invite himself to your bed under some guise or scheme. As for not making a great first impressions it’s ok, most sane people would’ve reacted about the same when in your position. I’ve dealt with all kind of people both as a pirate and as a Tamassran, I know people aren’t always what they seem on first impressions. May I be seated? We have some official business to go over.” She smiled watching the Half-Elf.

“Err… yes!”, Illvani nearly tripped and fall. She almost forgot this was her room now. Scanning the room, as if she was not there for the last hour, she looked for anything that would be suitable for the first mate.

“So… Hmm… What is a Tamassran?”, she asked while pulling a wooden chair closer and then moving another one for herself. She set while placing both hands on her knees, her back straight and her chin up. Her manners were just too unlikely for someone who lived on the run, but apparently she got a few noble manners.

Saorsa chuckled sitting down in a much more relaxed manner her arm hanging over the back and one of her legs kicked out in front of her. “Well that’s a little bit of an involved answer to someone who isn’t familiar with the Qun. Basically they’re the brain of the Qun and the de facto rulers. They’re all women who decide who breeds with who, take care of the children and the disabled, provide psychological counseling and rehabilitation to those overwhelmed by stress and mental fatigue. This includes granting sexual relief to Qunari in need, and they…help with the re-education process.” She rubbed her chin then shook her head forcing all the memories back. But as is the way with the Qun they only rules as much as the rest of the system.”

“Relief? Sexual relief?”, Illvani opened and closed her mouth few times before she could look at the woman’s eyes, “Did you agree to it?! How old were you when you… hmmm…?”.

Saorsa let out a low laugh shaking her head waving her hand motioning for the girl to calm herself. “That’s not how things work under the Qun Illvani, we get assigned our jobs at age twelve and are expected to stay in them until death. No one is ever really given a choice, I did my first duties around thirteen, usually it’s a good life, but no system is perfect.”

Illvani scratched the back of her head a moment before exhaling, “Well, I’m sorry. It sounds rough. How were you able to leave your post then?”

The large woman winked placing her chin in her hands and leaning forward some.
“A fevered night with an Antivan Crow and a ship headed for Ferelden. But enough about me I came here to talk about you. Now I’m sure you’ve met Lady Cristo, she’s the only other Mage on the island and both the Captain and I believe you’ll best serve the crew as her assistant so she doesn’t burn Sebastian alive in his sleep and when we leave shore you’ll be brought along as our resident Magical Consultant and Fireball thrower. How’s the sound?”

“Honestly?”, Illvani sad expression turned into that of a smile, “It sounds lovely. I expected worse. I have dealt with a stern Keeper before, and with a very strict knight commander. I’m sure we will be fine together. Eventually… Wait what did you said about the burning part? I was pretty convinced she only joked about it and never pulled it off?”, Illvani gave a nervous chuckle.

Saorsa chuckled shaking her head. “Sebastian is one tough Free Marcher, while she never did it in his sleep. She did set his pants on fire one night when Juliet and baby Aeden were staying in her home while theirs was being built. Sebastian in his usual horndog way had invited himself into the woman’s cave drunk out of his head and mistook the Lady’s bed for Juliet’s. He hopped in behind her and when he grabbed her hips to begin the foreplay Lady Marion awoke and without a sound cast a fire spell.” The woman was barely containing her amusement as she told the story. “None of us had ever seen the Captain sober up so quickly nor scream so loudly as he did that night. The Wolves in the hills joined him in howling and Lady Cristo in one night became the only woman Sebastian has ever been afraid of. He gave her those clothes you’re wearing the very next day and couldn’t even bring himself to drop them off in person. He sent Emmy to do it.”

Illvani chuckled so hard, she even surprised herself. When was the last time she laughed like that, “I can’t believe it. How can he be so comical and so respected at the same time?”, she wiped tears of joy from her eyes, “Are you not bothered by the fact he is wooing all those women while being in a relationship with you?”

Saorsa let out a slightly snorting laugh. “Oh lackaday girl, we’re gonna have to break you of this innocent young woman outlook. I’m not in a relationship with Sebastian at least not the one I think you’re hinting at, we’re friends with benefits more than anything, I just keep him from annoying all your other girls night and day.” She got a serious expression on her face. “In fact I don’t think Sebastian has ever had a serious relationship.”

“And you are okay with it?”, Illvani had a sad expression as she looked at the qunari, “I had a few friends like that… I met them in the circle. They would met men, and then pretend to never even know them. They were always so lonely… and now I pity him too, he probably can’t find his own direction in life as well”

Saorsa shrugged, she thought the same thing, but trying to talk about anything serious with the Captain that wasn’t ship business was very difficult.
“Like I said I’m used to unattached sexual relationships so this is kinda normal for me. He just needs someone to give him a reason to leave the life of a philandering pirate. No one here is really that stable and with a Templar/Mage war on the horizon it’s unlikely we’ll find anyone. Closest might be Juliet, but she likes him as a player more than a husband. Though she has called him her baby’s father a number of times so who knows.”

“I know”, Illvani smiled, “He was very different when he stood beside her and her child. It looked like a family picture right then and there. I hope they both find happiness, for it seems he really has a touch for the child”, Illvani then got up, “Are you planning to leave for the sea anytime soon? I really want a chance to know the others and thank them. I think it’s the least I can do”

Saorsa stood up and shrugged.
“Yes, me too, Aeden’s actual father was part of the group that tried to kill her, Marion and the baby at sea. So the kid will likely need some kind of father figure in the future. As for when we set sail again no clue, we have to dole out loot, supplies, and do any repairs on the Reaper before we head out again. But if Captain Grimm gets the urge he’ll wake us up at dawn and set out to sea, though being away from his land based Harem does take its toll on the old hound. He’ll probably pay Juliet a visit tonight and maybe Silvia, he also might come sniffing around your treehouse, but just throw a bucket of water on him and he’ll leave you alone. But if you’re not going to sleep anytime soon you can come down to Juliet’s tavern on the rocks above the beach. Most of the crew hang out there.”

“A father risking his child and forcing his family away… nobles are idiots sometimes. I feel sorry for the little boy, but I’m glad the captain is willing to take responsibility”. Illvani then thought for a moment on the offer. By all common sense she had, she should have refused. It was late, and no decent person would walk outside to get drunk. What’s more, she hardly had a capacity for strong drinks or tolerance at all. But the offer was so inviting, and besides, she was not in her own town anymore. If she was hoping for some change, she needed to grasp those opportunities when they come knocking at her door, or in Saorsa case, just appearing out of thin air, “I’d come, but I will need you to watch my back”, Illvani scratched her nape again, “I’m not exactly… err… a good drinker”, she gave a nervous chuckle.

The First Mate laughed padding the girl’s back lightly. “Don’t worry, myself and Esmerelda will keep you safe, but luckily if you get too drunk Juliet has beds in the back of the taven for you sleep it off. Might wanna change clothes though, it gets a little chilly down on the beach at night.” She lifted her heavy coat for emphasis, while she didn’t have anything less revealing than Illvani’s Antaam-saar, but her battlemaster coat made up for it, by looking big even on the large Qunari woman and being made of fine heavy leather. She smirked at the sounds of the other three Elves still drinking and laughing. “You can probably even just slip out without Emmy or the twins even noticing. I’ll wait for you out here.” And with that the First Mate left Illvani alone to change if she wanted.


****

-Somewhere else-



The Phylactery been held by gentle hands, as the holder kept looking around itself, making sure no one followed. It’s been some time since the war between the templars and mages started and since the event that took place at the circle or Kirkwall.

The object shone, but very briefly. It meant that the person it belonged to was very far, but still alive. This gave the person a new hope.

A hope to finish something that has began in motion.

In the open field, and with the breeze of the sea, the hooded figure tucked the vial back under the robes and removed the hood, allowing the flowing and rich blond hair to be swayed by the wind.

“Gabriel!”, called a boy behind her. Not much younger than her, but less trained.

“You don’t need to shout!”, she answered softly, “With your voice you may end up the dead in the sea, and I will be forced to kill them again”

“Are you really going to kill her? Didn’t you see what became of Meredith? She was tainted, her intention impure and-!”

The woman grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, a small blade removed from under her sleeves, “That’s knight Meredith for you. Respect the holy that are not with us”.

“Gah!”, the boy fought her off, and fixed his clothes, “I’m only following you to make sure that no one else will be hurt. You promised that she will be the last one, and after this, you will stop this madness. Settle down… and-!”

“I will kill myself”

The boy’s eyebrows raised in a surprise, “What?”

“I will end my life, with theirs. I’ve killed my friends. It is no question of moral deeds. I know that I am right. They were the devil tools, as Meredith said all along… But I am no god. And with their death, I will finally end myself as well”.

The boy shook his head. It has been some days since he started to follow the lady templar, avoiding the fighting and riots on the roads. He knew she was not right in her head for some time now. Losing both the Mother Elthina and Knight commander Meredith, was a harsh blow, but even he didn’t expect her to be so obedient. While she took the life of some mages, she certainly didn’t kill them all, however she was really fixed on this lady named Illvani. She even stole her Phylactery right when the attack began, as though expecting the girl to survive. She made it so that the fate of the half elf was her responsibility and he could only guess for the reasons.

Despite it all, he decided to follow her for he remembered better days, when she was happier and life was simpler. She was wanted for her crime, so obviously aiming for a last coup was ideal. Still his own wish was to wrinkle that damn thing off her hands and break it, forcing her to finally remove herself from this stupid crusade.

Alas no such opportunity presented itself… yet… and so he followed her in silent, hoping this madness will end soon.

[SikstaSlathalin]

The First Mate laughed padding the girl’s back lightly. “Don’t worry, myself and Esmerelda will keep you safe, but luckily if you get too drunk Juliet has beds in the back of the taven for you sleep it off. Might wanna change clothes though, it gets a little chilly down on the beach at night.” She lifted her heavy coat for emphasis, while she didn’t have anything less revealing than Illvani’s Antaam-saar, but her battlemaster coat made up for it, by looking big even on the large Qunari woman and being made of fine heavy leather. She smirked at the sounds of the other three Elves still drinking and laughing. “You can probably just slip out without Emmy or the twins even noticing. I’ll wait for you out here.” And with that the First Mate left Illvani alone to change if she wanted.

***

The merry sounds of cheers and drinking echoes some distance before they entered the tavern. It was a very nice big wooden hut by the shore, with round tables outside which allow view at the sea.

The cold breeze was a refreshing change to the hot air of the afternoon, and a lot of colorful lanterns were hung on ropes, decorating the palm trees and the roof.

“It’s lively here!”, Illvani smiled gently. She was dressed in a simple azure sleeveless long toga that lingered on her body, and golden sandals which were tied all the way up to her knees. Her black hair was loose and cascaded down her back.

Saorsa chuckled with a nod.
“Yea, this is the only social place on the island so most everyone comes here at night. Even Lady Cristo on occasion.” She waved to Juliet who was behind the bar dressed in an even more revealing outfit than before. It looked be barely be a bikini now with a loose skirt hanging from her wide hips. The Mage waved back smiling at Illvani. “So you brought the new girl! How wonderful..” She eyed Illvani’s outfit choice approvingly openly admiring the girls body. “I compliment your choice of attire dear so what kind of drink can I tempt you with?”

“Well… I don’t usually drink so…”, Illvani slapped on the counter, “Surprise me!”, she smiled.

Juliet smiled shaking her head.
“Oh you really are cute my dear. I’ll be sure to have Sebastian invite you to our bed sometime soon. As for a drink we make our own here, so how about a nice breezy rum with some fruit juice?”

Illvani gave a soft uncomfortable giggle to the idea suggested by Juliet, but as she wasn’t willing to turn her into an enemy over such small matter, she brushed it off. I AM NOT GETTING IN THEIR BED her head screamed as she smiled, “Yes, rum… breezy? Sound… okay I guess, I like fruit juice…?!” What’s the worst that could happen from a juice?

Juliet looked at Saorsa who smirked before slipping away to join the rest of the crew around the fire pit. The Mage hummed softly and began mixing the drink with some pineapple juice and orange juice. “So how do you like our little island so far my dear?”

“It is… beautiful”, Illvani looked mesmerized as her mind wandered off to the sight from her balcony and the pretty looking river she spent the morning at before Lady Cristo disturbed her, “I can really fall in love with this place… At first I thought of it as another prison, but it’s really a change of air here”

Juliet smiled some more and handed the Half-Elf her drink complete with a little umbrella.
“Hmm yes indeed, I’ve been many places in my time, but this definitely one of the best. And safest. How about the people?” She chuckled listening to Ogmar challenged Vandre to another drinking contest. “Not the same stuffy Scholars you’re used to from the Circle eh?”

“I wouldn’t know. I hardly got along with any of them, and if we exchanged some words it was mostly because there was a need for it. I didn’t care much for most of them, aside of my direct instructor, some Templars... and a friend of mine… who is no longer with us…”, Illvani said looking somewhat upset. She turned to sit on the stool, as she looked at the direction of the others that gathered in the small tavern, “They seem to be having fun… How long have they been together?”

Juliet hmmed softly and tapped her chin.
“About three years now, closer than most families from Tevineter I can tell. How’s your drink?”

“How do I drink?”, Illvani said in a startle, as if awaken from a dream, “with a cup?”

Saorsa couldn’t help herself from bursting into laughter.

“What?”, Illvani asked, “Did I say something wrong?”

The young bartender laughed pushing the fruity drink she made closer to the confused young Half-Elf. “Here dear have a sip of your drink it’ll help you focus.”

“Okay." The poor Half-Elf moved the glass to her lips, “bottoms up”.

She instantly choked as she felt like her throat was on fire, and held herself from throwing over the drink, “OH MAKER! WHAT IS IT?!” She still coughed while savoring the taste. It was sweet, but somewhat bitter too. It was strong. Far stronger than anything her Keeper used to drink (and what she would have sneaked some tastes from).

The whole beachfront tavern lit up with raucous laughter. Juliet almost dropped a glass from her sudden laughter.
“That was a Sea Breeze my dear. Just a shot of our high powered island rum and some fruit juice. Are you ok?”

“I think I’ll live…”, Illvani blushed like a tree light up in a fire, “Wow, I sure didn’t expected it?”, she watched the crowd around her, unused to the attention, “Was I this bad”.

“Nay”, said one of the dwarves, “It was worse than Ogmar”

By which he got an elbow to his ribs from the Dwarf he mocked. “Don’t be a fool, show the lassie if you are so into this, aye?”

“Humph”, he said grabbing a big wooden tankard and placing it in front of him, “Fill!”, he barked.

Without saying another word, Vandre moved in to take a spot by the table, also placing his giant cup.

“I’m not letting that ox be in this without me!”, Ogmar set his large stone mug in as well.

“Might as well, have at it”, said Shep, while getting somewhat suspicious eyes as the known noble man decided to join in on this placing his silver Templar chalice down.

“My goodness!”, Juliet chuckled, “Okay everyone, bets are on, and don’t any of you try to weasel out this time. I may not do magic much anymore, but I will take a page from Lady Cristo and set some of you fire for welching.” Illvani laughed, eased to not be in the spotlight, but also comfortable with the idea of joining a new social gathering.

Just then the door of the tavern swung open and Sebastian entered.
“Now I know you sods wouldn’t dream of having a drinking contest without me, would ya?”

Vandre chuckled kicking a chair out besides.
“How long were you waiting outside to use that line Captain?” Vandre’s voice was very deep and sounded almost demonic.

The Captain winked taking his jeweled chalice from the busty young Rivani girl Juliet hired to be her drink server. Sebastian grabbed the girl’s hip and pulled her in for a deep kiss, the server was barely eighteen by the looks of her, but she turned to goo in the Captain’s embrace and looked ready to faint when he pulled back. “I walked up right about when Illvani had her first drink, so what are the stakes tonight boys!”

Ogmar and the other Dwarf, Kramser pulled out their coin pouches and fished out ten gold pieces and dropped them on the marred old surface of the table. Shep and Vandre called and dropped their own ten pieces. Captain Grimm laughed and did likewise. “Starting low huh well alright.” He looked back at Juliet. “Oh my wonderfully sexy Tevienter jewel bring us five Skull Juices!” The rest of the tavern cheered and Saorsa moved back to Illvani’s side followed by Esmerelda. The former Crow snorted drinking her drink slowly watching the Captain. “He’s gonna throw up all over himself again.”

“That sounds bad!”, Illvani remarked, getting sick from the idea of someone throwing up in such a good place, “Also, I cannot believe the Captain remembered my name?”, she said surprised, “Juliet, I think I need another drink, I can take it! Honest!”

“Now, now sugar”, Esmerelda said moving closer, “Start with this, no need to go over the top right at the start”, she pulled a soft liquid which smelled like berries, “You start with this and go up, they serve pretty heavy stuff here”, she waited for Illvani to take full sip and smiled. “How is it?”

Illvani choked, “Oh Maker… it’s good”.

“That’s more like it, build up an appetite and then you go full meal.” Esmerelda poured another fill and turned to fill her own blue glass cup.

“You gonna drink softly tonight?”, Juliet teased.

“Just you wait, mighty empress, I’m just warming up”, she winked.

“Me…”, Illvani hiccuped, “me too…”, the juices were already drawing some effect as she felt her body growing warmer. She thanked the Maker for not wearing extra clothes tonight, “Don’t… don’t stop”

Esmeralda giggled as she filled one more cup, glancing at the boys. A tiny Elf joined in and a female Dwarf sat by the round table tossing their own coins in.

“You want in on the bets Julie?”, Esmerelda asked and the Tevinter smirked removing a lovely locking pearl, “I had one of the men dive this one out for me, but I’m willing to part from it for a good show, what about you, sweetie?”, she looked at Illvani.

“I… well…”, she felt somewhat dizzy, having at her second cup, “Well… damn it’s hot… I need leaves”

“Leaves?”, Saorsa asked surprised, enjoying her fill of strong drink swilling it around her obsidian tankard.

“Leaves! And flowers!”, Illvani was on the gush of bubbling stuff under her breathes, “We make nice lovely tiara, yes… for the prettiest of them all! And we place it on their head, and dance with ribbons”.

“Okay girl, that’s enough”, Saorsa said, trying to take the cup from her.

“No”, Esmerelda laughed, “Let her have her fun.

“Yesssss”, Illvani hiccuped, “Fun… we can all have tiaras… and matching… matching… matching… something…”

Juliet laughed as she looked at the far table. Everyone seemed to finish their fourth round. Shep, surprisingly enough, keeping up with them all, while the Captain already had an absurd goofy smile on his lips.

Saorsa laughed watching Illvani.
“You are gonna be feeling this night tomorrow kid.”

Esmerelda topped off the Half-Elf’s cup.
“I’ll need to steal some more of this from Bulka’s stash.” Luckily the female Dwarf was seated on the far side of the tavern watching everyone get drunk while she sipped her cold brew. She had taken off her fancy coat and was just wearing a short corset while she chatted with a bookish looking human woman.

“Ohhhhhh… This stuff from herrrrr…. I seeeeeee”, Illvani swayed left and right as she got up, and moved about, all the way to Bulka. She stood in front of her and place the cup on her table.

Saorsa closed her eyes sighing, “What is she doing?”, she looked at Esmerelda.

The Duelist was holding back laughter crunching over him stifling her loud laughs.
“She’s gonna get the sobriety smacked into her.”

“We… We need to steal… yes?”, Illvani said, her eyes looking straight as she addressed the dwarf, “So… be silent… so we still, yes?”

“I beg your pardon?”, Bulka said as she looked at the Half Elf, like a three headed dog, “What do you want girl?!”

“STEALL!”, Illvani said, pounding her fist on the table and knocking her glass over in the process, “We need to steal… we need more of your drinks… your drinks are soooooooo fun”.

Bulka looked over her and saw the laughing women at the bar, “Why you!”, Bulka quickly stood up, the sudden motion causing Illvani to fall over herself. Bulka looked as mad as she was confused, but Saorsa decided it was time to save the new girl. Finishing her drink she put the cup down and punched Esmeralda in the arm who couldn’t hold back her laughter any more and busted out laughing.

The Qunari woman smiled and picked the drunken Illvani up in her arms.
“Esme is the thief of your family’s Berry Cordial. Bulka, beat her up.” She then carried Illvani out as the combined victorious shouts of Vandre winning the drinking game and Bulka chasing after Esmerelda filled their air. The First Mate couldn’t help, but smile and shake her head. “Like living with a band of pirates.”

Illvani smiled as she closed her eyes, “It’s fun”

Saorsa carried Ilvani back to her tree house. She could hear the giggles of Emmy and Mel as well as Ash’s snores. She knew they were doing something they would regret in the morning. And as she quietly entered the building she saw the two women were drawing things on the male Elf’s face. They were all too drunk to notice the Tal-Vashoth so she quietly slipped into Illvani’s room and put her to bed. “Good night kid.” She whispered gently before exiting.

Illvani in her drunken stupor had lost track of much, but once the large First Mate left her first thought was it was way too hot in here. Clumsily climbing out of bed she stripped out of her clothes and kinda fell back into her bed completely naked. The sweetness of the drink churned in her belly, but the blissful effects kept her from worrying too much about it.

Soon in her half drunk and asleep state she heard someone enter her room, but once again couldn’t be bothered to worry she would really need to get some more of Bulka’s drink. Soon a warm body slipped into bed besides her and instinctively the drunk Half-Elf hugged the mysterious figure. Mumbling a weak, “Karl” before the figure joined her in cuddles followed by kissing and other forms of touching. Eventually it all just became a weird dream of heat and pleasure.

***


Morning couldn't have arrived sooner as rays of light escaped into the living room. Illvani gently got up as she felt something heavy on top of her. As she stretched her arms, she noticed another body…

A delicate, soft, and by the touch of it naked body.

oh boy

She soon learned that she herself had been naked as well.

oh maker

She slowly tried to pull the blanket over herself, as she peeked at the body.

And then a scream escaped her lips.

Emmy jumped off of Illvani and banged her head on the shelf above the new girl’s bed. She let out a low groan. “Not so loud Ash c’mon.” The blankets fell away from her naked body as she looked back at her bedmate. “When did you get breasts Ash?” Emmy asked drunkenly poking Illvani’s breast.

“EMMY!”, Illvani cried, “Why are you in my bed?! And naked?!”. Illvani started to recall the dreams of the previous night. First she was surprised with herself. Even though she and Karl were close, they kinda consider themselves as siblings… but to have dream of him as something more… and to think that something more might have been done with another girl…

Illvani blushed, “Don’t tell me it’s something you do with Ash, and you just confused him with me? Or maybe it was Mel? Or… oh Maker's breath?”, Illvani pulled on the blankets further, unbothered by the fact it caused the Elf to roll off the bed.

Emmy was slowly becoming sober and realization swept over her. Her face reddened and she quickly climbed back into the bed covering herself with the covers and scooting closer to Illvani.
“Where are our clothes? And...and we never done it, though he is very handsome and one of the few Elves on this island...with any kind of stamina. Why are you naked?”


“.... this is awkward…”, was all the Illvani said, before she sighed and started to laugh, “You have nice body”, she said getting up and pulling the covers over herself, pulling them away from Emmy in the process.

“HEY!”, Emmy protested as she tried to cover herself with her arms.

“My room, my rules”, Illvani stuck her tongue out, “Besides, you assaulted me in my own bed, so there”, she winked, moving to the pile of clothes on the ground and tossing it to Emmy’s direction.

“Pfft, you made the first move!” Emmy blushed fiercely. “You cuddled me first!” Emmy quickly grabbed her clothes and dressed.

Illvani laughed, “I did not!”, she started to get dressed, “Goodness, I’m feeling sticky, is there any lake around here? I can’t bear my own smell, I think all the liquor stuck on me along with...”, she looked at Emmy and coughed, “Sweat…”

Emmy nodded feeling gross herself.
“More...than...just sweat...I think. You’re quite the gusher.”

Illvani threw a pillow at her friend, “Oh shut up!”, She laughed, “We are so not speaking of this! Now then, a clear water source if you may?”

Emmy nodded she’d need a bath too tossing the pillow on the bed.
“Yea, yea, follow me.” She blushed smiling some more. “At least we don’t have to worry about pregnancies with just us.” She can’t believe she just said that. “Maker, I’m no better than Sebastian now.” She began walking towards the door.

“Sebastian”, Illvani teased, “What happened to ‘captain’? Hmmmmmmmm?”

The full Elf blushed even deeper and punched Illvani in the arm.
“You hush, or I’ll drown you in the lake.”

“BAHAHA!”, Illvani laughed, “So you can assault me there too? No thank you!”, Illvani smirked, “You guys are having so much fun around here. I’m not even used to such behavior… speaking of which…”, Illvani halted, “We gotta go and bathe and do it extremely fast… or….”, she swallowed thinking about Lady Marion Cristo’s expression, knowing it was already late morning in the day and she was probably waiting on Illvani appearing at her doorstep by now.

Emmy shuttered, she knew Lady Cristo’s policy on punctuality.
“Yeah, she won’t be happy, but...but maybe I can heal you if she turns you into a frog or something.” The She-Elf giggled softly and opened the door only to let out a terrified squeak.

“What is it?”, Illvani moved forward, still wearing lingerie and the moment she saw the old woman she halted, “Lady Cristo!”

The Magister was dressed in a short tunic and sandals and her steel colored hair was done up in a no nonsense bun. Her heavy cloak wasn’t present and for the first time Illvani could see the hard muscular body of the aged mage and a deal of scars and burns. She really was a Battle Mage. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied the two young women, without even a word she knew the whole story.
“So instead of getting to bed early like I told you. You got drunk and had sex with the ship’s healer.”

Emmy withered slightly looking down wrapping the small jacket she borrowed from Illvani more around her lithe and still sticky body. Illvani coughed. She didn’t like to hear that she had done something so “inappropriate” and “nasty”, but stuff probably happened…. But still defining it as “sex” seemed a little too much, mainly when she started to think as Emmy as a sister…

Oh, oh.

Karl was a brother to her. Was she getting into some weird fetish being among these pirates?

No, of course not, she really only saw Emmy as friend and sister, and everything else was alcohol and her thinking about Karl… lovely….

Illvani snapped back to reality when the Tevinter coughed her eyebrow quirked up like a Schoolmarm waiting for an explanation.

“Please, milady, forgive me for today”, She said, her answer was done without any explanation. That never worked with the Keeper, so it will probably not work with the lady from Tevinter either, “Allow us to just get clean and I’ll go straight to your house, honest”.

Marion shook her head pointing to the sun.
“I won’t be there, I have to begin the children’s lessons as I always do at 10 in the morning. I suppose I’ll have to take this up with those who allowed you to drink yourself stupid.” She glared at Emmy who only shook her head. “No mistress, it wasn’t me she was at your Niece’s tavern last night. I stayed home and played Wicked Grace with Ash and Mel all night. Please forgive us.”

Lady Cristo’s annoyance was already high, anymore and she would likely lash both girls bloody. Taking a breath she pointed a warning finger at Illvani. “You have used up your one free pass girl. The next time you fail to follow my instructions I will run you so ragged you’ll need a ship just to carry you to your bed. And you Emmy, you know better than to get so drunk you wind up sleeping with someone you know you shouldn’t!” She let that sting hang in the air, she and Emmy both knew the event she was referring too.

Illvani looked between the women and felt sorrowful. Even if the lady wanted to warn her, it felt like she was playing a nasty card. Something which made Emmy feel uncomfortable and made Illvani feel sad for her friend.

Emmy nodded weakly. “Yes Mistress Cristo, it won’t happen again.”

The Magister nodded rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“At least with you in her bed the Captain will stay away from ruining my student. Get cleaned up, find a way to make yourselves useful, and stay out of my sight for rest of the day understood?”

Emmy nodded curtsying some.
“Yes Mistress.”

She then looked at Illvani.
“Understood Apprentice?”

“Yes, my lady!”, Illvani said immediately, and without looking back she grabbed the arm of Emmy and pulled her to the door, “Please just lead us to where we can bath, we need to talk”

Emmy nodded and took hold of Illvani’s hand keeping her eyes downcast as they moved past the scary Magister.


***

“So I think I simply confused you with someone I cared about… while being drunk and all…”, Illvani splashed some water on herself as she dove in once again in the small pond.

Emmy was seated up to her chest in the shallows running her fingers through her hair. The water doing wonders for hiding her tears at the tongue lashing she and Illvani just got.
“Yea, you said Karl a few times I think. Even while we...were…doing things. But I thought you didn’t do any of that in your Circle?” She asked scrubbing her skin pink her voice wavering slightly towards the end.

“We… didn’t… It’s weird… I never even saw him as… as someone… to do such thing with… this is all messed up… drinking is sooooo weird…”, Illvani started to rub her own skin, “So… what was it about that snide remark… the one Cristo hinted at?”, Illvani then hushed, “I mean you don’t have to speak about it if you don’t want to… it just… sounded bad… are you okay?”

Emmy looked at her friend the tears now falling freely. She shuttered pulling her knees up to her chest. “It was cruel...but...but...she meant well.” The City Elf was fully crying now her body shaking some. “It was from before I joined the crew. I...was...running from the Blight...that had just...killed my family. Seeing their faces…haunted me...and drove me to drink...a lot. I wound up on the docks following some man who had promised to give me a bed and a job. I...was very drunk and he...attacked me…again...and again. It...was horrible and it lasted all-all night.” She sunk into her body crying quietly as she tried to keep herself up.

Illvani lowered her head. It sounded like a horrible experience. While she heard of the fates of other females from her small alienage suffering the same fate, she evaded it many a times, and got to keep her purity. Emmy looked so different, she almost forgot the fact that she too, was an Elf from a human city. She moved closer and hugged her, “I’m sorry… How did… how did Lady Cristo learn of this?”

Emmy leaned heavily into Illvani her body still shaking with tears.
“She saved me. It-it-it was one of the few times she came with the Reapers to-to the mainland. Ap-p-parently she had unfinished business with Tevinters who tried to kill her and her family. She had t...tracked them to that same….brothel...I was taken to. The….man...attacking me...was Juliet’s h-husband and Aeden’s father.”

“Maker…”, Illvani bit her lips, “Human trash!”. She wondered if Juliet knew of this. Knew of how her husband behaved. Well obviously she knew he was bastard enough to try and kill her Aunt but still.

Emmy nodded slowly. “She used some...Horror spell...to drive him...mad...and then gave...him..the d-dagger he used to slit...his own...throat. Said it...was...the Tevinter way.” The memories of his animalistic screams tore through Emmy’s mind and made her shut her eyes tight and cling to Illvani.

“I’m sorry”, She kissed the top of her head as she stroked her hair, “I’m sorry. If it means anything, I won’t let you suffer this again. I won’t allow my friends to suffer ever again”.

In her mind Illvani envisioned Gabriel looking down at her. She was reliving her pain of two arrows hitting her, and the cold dead stare of Karl peeking at her from the depths.

Not again… never again…

The rest of the day was spent with two girls drinking tea. It was far safer than ale at this point. Plus both their heads and bellies had little tolerance for anything else than relaxing herbs in hot water.

And so they spent all day in their hut in the trees playing wicked grace without booze and making healing potions, before heading early to bed.

[SikstaSlathalin]

(bump)

[Kris]

Morning came by faster than Illvani liked it to. The "day off" she was given was a refreshing new start, and she quickly dressed up, knocking on Emmy room's door to wake her up. She watched the elf yawning as she stumbled, powerless to her clothes and got dressed.

Illvani kept urging her to be quicker, not wanting to give Lady Cristo more ammos to shoot at them.

Once the two girls were ready, they walked outside and headed for the direction of the Magister's school.

It was a surprise seeing a lot of faces so early in the morning. Illvani already started to recall few names by this point. They were all hard working men and women, helping each other in big utopist island.

"So... what the general rules here?", Illvani asked, "Who is in charge? do we have judges here? members of guilds higher ups? mayors? - suppose someone had something to resolve with another, or someone is committing a crime? what happens then?"

[SikstaSlathalin]

Emmy shrugged carrying her Herbalist's bag across her chest. "That sort of thing begins and ends with the Captain and First Mate. We aren't all part of the regular seafaring crew, but we are all technically members of the Kharon. Even Lady Cristo, we all signed a charter the whole deal and like all other ship's crews the Captain and First Mate set the pace around here."

She turned down the path leading to the beach where Marion and Juliet would be meeting for their daily exercises. "Luckily though there aren't a lot of issues that don't get dealt with on their own. People have fist fights some yelling and that's about it. Our rules are pretty simple too, don't steal, kill, or betray us, don't be stupid in port, and don't bring anyone back to the ship without the Captain or First Mate's permission." The She-Elf brought her friend to the beach and waved to Lady Cristo and Juliet who were dressed in just short tunics and sandals. Lady Cristo's was a rich purple with black hems and Juliet's was a simple seafoam green. While the tavern owner smiled and waved back the former Magister simply looked on with a stern face. Emmy couldn't hold the older woman's gaze and just gave Illvani a quick hug before continuing on her way to her Herb hut.

[SikstaSlathalin]

(Illegal bump >.> )

[Kris]

Illvani watched the elf leaving her side, as she turned to look at the elder magister, “I am ready to start my training, Lady Cristo”.

The Magister hmmed quietly studying Illvani closely. “Well at least you’re making use of that outfit I gave you. Come we must start with stretches.” She motioned for Juliet to lead the way and with an obedient nod the pretty tavern owner led them to a secluded lagoon perfectly hidden among the a rocks.

It was a somewhat rough climb, and by the time they reached the beach they would be plenty warmed up, but Lady Cristo was just beginning. She kicked off her sandals and began weaving magic. Juliet run her through the stretches while I put the wards up.”

The younger Tevinter nodded kicking her own sandles off. “Yes ma’am, lose the shoes and come with me dear.” She said softly walking towards the center of the pristine white sand beach rolling her shoulders out as she walked.

Illvani panted and cleaned sweat off her cheeks and forehead. She knew she was much more physically fit than this lame climbing, but the years in the tower probably made her soft. She slowly removed her shoes, and was thankful for her clothes to be so exposed.

“Okay”, she said while heaving, wondering if they were doing this climbing everyday. She looked at the old woman, and felt great jealousy for the fact this woman was in much better shape than her. If she was back with the elves of the forest, they would laugh at her for sure.

Juliet sat down on the beach and stretched her legs out. “Just do what I do Illvani. Neither of us are really healers so we make sure everything is properly stretched out and loose before we do any kind of training. Otherwise we’ll need to bring poor Emmy back and she’ll likely pass out from fright.”

“Yes!”, Illvani moved quickly and set beside Juliet mimicking her movement and following her lead. Obviously it was not as perfect, or as refine, but it was something. Still, she was unfamiliar with this type of magical training. Nothing like this was ever done in the tower, and most of her training with the “Keeper”, were mostly in static form, and in a dream state. She always suspected her greater power lied dormant in the dreams, but she never got to master it before moving to the tower.

Juliet chuckled at the Half-Elf eagerness. “Well you have the enthusiasm part down my dear.” She curled her legs up under her body and began rotating and stretching her thighs and hips. “But this is just the beginning of what Battle Mages in Tevinter do everyday. Lady Cristo did this for decades even when she had a seat on the Magisterium. They put up those wards to keep trouble away usually, but now she just puts them up to keep the Captain and the men from spying on us.” She chuckled lightly rubbing her hands down her arms and massaging the joints.

“Every day?”, Illvani gave a weak smile as her eyebrows lifted up and she swallowed hard, “I would have never guessed….”, Illvani then connected one and one, “Wait a minute, is this the reason we traveled so far up?! You think that the Captain or one of the boys may be nearby?”, she blushed hard.

Juliet laughed at Illvani’s blush and patted her leg slowly. “They’ve tried before, my dear. Lady Cristo hates being watched and Sebastian is a lecher if ever there was one. But I think he’s doing his job for a change today and is planning the next move with the First Mate. He didn’t drop by for a visit last night so that usually means he’s busy. Which is good because little Aeden was very fussy before bed and I didn’t feel like dealing with two children trying to nurse off me.” She smirked watching for Illvani’s reaction to that little dose of extra info.

Illvani coughed and blushed again, “That… sounds… hmm… sorry to hear”, she coughed again, “But at least he is doing well with your child”, she smiled softly.

Juliet let out a rich rolling laugh. “You are just so sweet Illvani, you’ll need to get over that if you’re going to be joining the Reapers on a voyage. But fret not my Aunt will set you right.”

“Join them?”, Illvani eyes widen, “You mean, I would actually be able to travel with them around?”

Juliet laughed again standing up beginning to stretch out her back. “Oh yes, my dear. Sebastian has been frothing at the mouth to get a mage to join the expedition crew. My Aunt would never be stuck on a ship with him and I can’t take my baby out with us and he is too young to be left alone so that hope and dream will fall on your slender shoulders.” She smiled bending down to touch her toes.

“Err…”, Illvani said, not forgetting to follow her guide and reach for her toes as well, “You are okay with this? I mean… You are okay with me journeying with the captain… it sounds like something you’d want to do more”. Illvani was surprised, she was sure the woman would be much more envious than this, “Besides, I am no good to him or the crew right now… I hardly master anything, I was not much of outdoor person… and I’m not easy to talk to others…”, Illvani swallowed, “Aren’t there more capable mages on the island?”

Juliet smiled shaking her head as she moved to twisting her upper body around. “I have no claim on the man, and honestly I don’t think I would want to. He’s a very sweet dog but he is still a dog my dear. I’d pity any woman who manages to tame him, but I’d also be in awe of her. She’d have an uphill battle the entire time. I’m still not sure how Saorsa managed to keep his attention as long as she has. As for other mages there’s only the three of us here that actually have magic in us. And don’t worry about being of use to the crew the First Mate and probably the Captain will find a use for you.”

“Hahaha”, Illvani chuckled, “Although I’m not sure if the use you refer to is something I would like”, she swallowed again, “Oh well, I’m sure Saorsa will keep him busy, she is pretty amazing”, she smiled, following the stretching of Juliet.

The woman chuckled again finishing the stretches. “Sometimes, but even Saorsa needs a break from him from time to time.”

“Stop scaring the girl Juliet, I don’t need her losing focus and blowing herself up.” Marion said returning to the circle breathing a little heavier. “Come we’ll start with running a few laps around the lagoon.” She pointed her finger around the narrow sand beach around the turquoise blue water. Taking a breath Lady Cristo took the lead moving in long loping strides.

“Your Aunt is amazing!”, Illvani whispered between each gap she passed. She tried hard, but couldn’t keep up and had to stop and pant frequently. She didn’t recall herself being that out of practice, but she never was considered a hunter of the Dalish to begin with, “How is it possible to practice like this every… day…”, she heaved as she ran and stopped again to catch her breath.

Juliet chuckled helping Illvani back up before the Lady looked back. “Keep moving my dear or the good Lady Cristo will literally light a fire under you. As for your question, we can do it everyday because we do it everyday. I don’t know if you’ve gathered this, but my Aunt despises laziness. She herself can barely stand being idle and she refuses to let idle people be in her company. She believes it keeps the aches and pains of old age from claiming your freedom.”

Illvani sighed, “This will be rougher than I thought it will be… suddenly heading on a ship sounds more promising”.

Juliet laughed and winked. “That’s the spirit my dear, though the work will still be rather arduous if you aren’t used to it. Everyone works on a pirate ship.”

“I know… I was extremely sick, but I could tell they were almost always on their legs... They are all amazing people”, Illvani smiled, “But when do we do magic?!”

Juliet shook her head motioning towards Marion’s back. “When she says so, but don’t worry we’ll do some magic before the end of this. Now save your breath and keep up.” The three mages completed te laps around the lagoon and after a short water break Marion began leading the two younger Mages through a series of basic magic. Starting with creating a fireball.

Lady Cristo demonstrated. “This is easy so just focus on the heat of the element and will it into existence.”

“Bummer!”, Illvani said as she focused her energy, “Fire was always a bit difficult for me”, she was able to master some form of orb to float from her fingers, but it was somewhat dim, “It’s hard to call on it!”

Juliet did the trick then powered down watching Illvani. But Lady Cristo was leading this lesson so she spoke up. “Focus on the heat all around you, that’s where the mana comes from girl!”

“I am, Lady Cristo”, Illvani said slowly, “I can see the lines, and I know to call upon them, but it was always weaker for me”, Illvani then closed her eyes, “I have stronger connection with the ice elements, maybe that’s why?”

Marion sighed summoning two orbs of equal size from both fire and ice in her hands. “That is no excuse, magic is sheer will over the elements and strengthening your connection to the Veil.” She flicked her wrists and the orbs vanished. ”Focus harder, a Mage who only specializes in one school of magic is doomed to defeat. Picture the ball of fire in your hand, it’s size, weight, the way the colors of the flame blend and dancing around each other.”

“Okay, I’ll give it another try”. Illvani didn’t want to say further, as she knew Lady Cristo will not take ‘no’ for an answer. But even the Keeper was much more understanding, and didn’t nag as much. She knew the fire element was just simply too much. It was brutal and forceful, the kind of energy Illvani never was too fond of. Wind was aggressive yet gentle, and ice was simply her second nature. She decided to try again, feeling the sweat draining down her nape. When she closes her eyes she could see the pathline of the waves of energy streams. She tried to picture it moving slowly around her finger. She felt like her hands were growing hot and she hated it, yet she pressed on. Her fingers felt like burning, and she felt tingling of pain, but she pressed on. The ball of fire grew a little bigger and so did the pain. Once the ball of fire was the size of a large rock, she let go of the energy holding her hand in her clothing, “I can’t anymore, it hurts”, she told the Magister with weak expression.

Marion crossed her arms and frowned slightly shaking her head. She roughly grabbed Illvani’s hand and used from frost to cool the flesh. “The pain is purely mental when you are summoner, you must strengthen your mind if you wish to truly excel at magic.” She stepped back and summoned fire this time allowing it to full engulf her entire arm. The fire made an audible sizzling sound and the Magister’s face remained perfectly neutral her deep unwavering eyes staring deep into Illvani’s. She stood and stared for a few seconds before she let out a slow breath and the fire just blinked out of existence. Her skin did look a little browner, but there was no indication of pain anywhere. “Summon a ball of lightning.” She ordered once again Juliet easily did it, but all eyes were on Illvani again.

Illvani sighed as she cried out, letting both her hands fill with the purple light energy. She knew she had to summon both the wind element and ice one to create the lightning, and the ice appeared at once, like it was a second skin to her. The wind was a little more tricky and needed to be called from outside into her, without the disturbing the natural order of the ice streams. She slowly felt them both mixing together as the energy grew stronger and stronger, a few waves of light growing wild. She bit her lips she tried to gain some control of them, but they refused to be tamed. The energy grow powerfully and while a shape was formed, it was somewhat risky to be close to the girl. Once she noticed the unimpressed expression of old Marion she let go of the energy, allowing it to fade from her.

Lady Cristo nodded softly, she indeed wasn’t impressed, but it’s nearly what she expected from the girl. “You have good raw power and potential, you just need more focus and control. This is why we train everyday. Now do a stable Barrier.” She said and once again she demonstrated snapping her arms out to her side the Barrier crackling to live and sustaining itself for a solid minute before she wills it away.

Juliet frowned a little. The Spirit School was her weakspot, it pulled on life force to be sustained and oddly enough being a mother makes her life force already divided a little between her and her baby. But she mimicked Marion and created a decent barrier but it only lasted for about half a minute before she had to power it down.

Illvani smirked with pride as the barrier snapped around her in an instant, the magical reflected by the light, but it was almost unseen. To untrained eye it looked like nothing happened at all, and that how truly spirit magic was at work. She knew she had a strong advantage in that field, and even her Keeper used to call her “child loved by the spirits”. Her smile then quickly faded as she looked at Marion, waiting to see what kind of bad fault she would find with this casting, but was more relaxed when the last simply nodded slowly. She then let go of the magic, the air around her returned to be stable.

The old woman nodded again. “Good you have potential. Now let’s see how you handle the Entropy School.” She walked a few feet away and motioned for the younger women to face each other. “You needn’t worry about hurting Juliet, Illvani just show us what you can do.”

“Err…”, Illvani was surprised, “What are you talking about? What’s Entropy? And why do you want me to practice on Juliet?!”, she seriously looked surprised, and was unaware of what exactly she wanted her to do, “wait… Is this some kind of blood magic or so?!”

Marion quirked her eyebrow and shook her head. “No it’s one of the four primary schools of magic. At least it was when I was an Apprentice, all types of magic can put into either the Spirit School, Primal School, Creation School, or Entropy School. And from them stem numerous secondary schools like Fire, Healing, Telekinesis, and Hex. Surely you learned some of this at the Circle Tower?” She asked incredulously.

“Some magic was restricted and off limits. The knight commander was not fond of us having too much knowledge, so it could be the reason why I was unfamiliar with this field. Either way, I know I’ve learned certain teachings with the Dalish, that I’m sure all schools were not accessible too”.

Marion sighed nodding slowly. “Yes you Southerners have always been an odd bunch. Well I don’t have time to teach you the Entropy School today so we’ll go right to sparring.” Once again she moved back and eyes the young women up. “Prepare your Barriers, use only spells from the Primal School.” She looks at Illvani doubting she knew most of them. “That’s Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth child. The last one should be in your repertoire being trained by the Dalish. Sling spells until your opponent’s Barrier falls, then you stop understood?”

Juliet licked her lips she had seen Ilvani’s barrier it was far more impressive than her own, but maybe her skill with offensive spells would be enough. She powered up her Barrier and waited.

‘Sigh’, Illvani moved her head back and forth, as she summoned her skills. At first her eyes glowed in strange manner. By the surprise of Juliet’s face she recalled that the last was unfamiliar with her unique trait of eye color changes, but it didn’t bother her, before long the purple orbs glow in her hands as magical mist of ice surrounded her, she moved closer as she started to attack by lightning, one spark at a time, adding in ice waves to the mix. Juliet was impressive, but her barrier had much too opening. Still, she gave credit for how quickly she used healing spells.

Juliet wasn’t expecting the girl’s fury, but this is where experience would win. Moving around Illvani’s attacks Juliet focused on the ground under the Half Elf and summoned a Stonefist which crashed harshly against the girl’s barrier. She followed it up with a few quick blasts of Chain Lightning.

Illvani hit the ground hard, and the pain surging into her skin was unbearable. In a berserker rage she pushed Juliet away with spirit, adding to it a mind blast before collapsing from too much effort.

Juliet was about to summon a petrify spell when Lady Cristo summoned a Shimmering Shield around Illvani negating the already unleashed spell. Juliet took a breath and nodded stepping back slipping to the ground panting gently. Lady Cristo nodded to Illvani. “As I expected lots of raw power, but little focus.” She waved her hand and used the Fade Shroud spell covering Illvani with a blanket of Fade material, it would help her recover her Mana quickly. “I guess we’ll call it for the day.”

“Err…”, Illvani nodded. She humbled herself in front of the two ladies, but was blushing greatly from rage. Those two were far stronger than most of the people she met in the Circle, or in the Dalish. While the Keeper and the First were keeping her with room to be desired, they always valued the study than the combat. She was indeed too soft and powerless. Yet, she was amazed by the fact they wanted to prepare her for something greater, and allow her to grow. Still it felt like such a big gap to fill. Was the Captain really that in need of that much power by his side? What kind of monsters or travels does he go up against?

“Thank you for today”, she bowed her head to both ladies as she lifted herself up. The magic still worked inside her body, and the recovery has hasted, but that came with a price of painful aching.

Marion nodded. “You showed promise today, hopefully we can focus that promise more. Go rest up and dally with the Healer if you want. Just don’t be late for tomorrow.” With that the Magister began taking down the wards while Juliet smiled handing Illvani some water.

Illvani drank the water, appreciating the fact Marion was okay with her being friends with the Elf until she caught the snide remark she intended and she blushed, “We were drunk okay?”, she said almost with no voice after making sure Marion was out of earsight, “And as much as I recall I still like guys”.

Juliet giggled as Illvani blushed again.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Ttwo months ashore is enough to drive even the most stoic of pirates a little mad. Though some were already mad, but to Sebastian and the Reapers it's all the cost of doing business. They kept themselves busy, but still everyday the expedition crew would swing by the First Mate's house for updates.

Everyday it was the same story. "We're working on it" And they knew better than to argue with the Tal-Vashoth woman then went about their daily lives. But by the end of the next month the answer finally changed. The crew was heading for Kirkwall to see about playing ferry for refugees and for everyone to assemble ready to go on the dawn of the third month.

The island was a bustle with preparations, and like clock work the crew was ready and waiting.