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“The Inquisitor’s down.” Vivienne, for she was always Vivienne in her head, said to herself. She had been keeping to the left side of the group, as to keep a distance between herself and Sera- who had been angry at her for some unknown reason the past week.
It was not that Vivienne did not care about Sera’s opinion- she cared a great deal, in the way she had cared about the other apprentices in the circle. Confined to the same space left everyone amiable with each other- if not friendly. It was that Sera’s opinion seemed to change with the wind, and being in her twenties, Sera tended to go with the emotion of the problem. Vivienne, who fought regularly with nobles who wished her dead, did not wish to fight unless there was an easy solution available.
Dorian, who had attached himself to the Inquisitor’s side, was wary of her- as she was of him. He had come to a place with no influence, no character reference and no true friends- except the Inquisitor, who was besotted by him. Vivienne had noted to herself the fashion Dorian tended to dress and made note to have Josephine slip her his measurements. The clothing her tailor made must be slipped in under the disguise of a uniform, or the man would never take it. He was proud and it would not due to hurt the pride that pushed him into the service of the Inquisition.
The third member of their party, Cassandra, was limping behind them slowly. Vivienne had offered to heal her- there were no potions left- but Cassandra had claimed it was just a scratch. It had, in the past two days, become a scratch that had become infected. Combined with the continual attacks by dragonlings, Cassandra seemed to feel her years.
They were two days from camp, and they had fought several small dragonlings, so they were not smelling their best- but Vivienne could still smell the overly sweet fragrance of infection-a small hint under sweat and dirt and blood. Cassandra had tried to stop and wash the wound, but there was little peace to be found in the valley with all of the horse sized vermin running about.
Vivienne supposed, if she had been thinking, if any of them had been thinking- they would have guessed at the large beast that had appeared in their path. It was a magnificent animal- it seemed to resonate with magic like nothing else ever had. It was wild and free.
It had been roosting in front of them for a good bit before they were able to see it, Vivienne imagined. It was the way of large things, to not be concerned with the small things muddling about their lives. It had only beat its wings and flung fire when a dragonling had come up besides the Inquisitor and he had hit the thing with the side of his ax.
The Inquisitor had gone down, and then Dorian had gone down next to him- trying to use a magic barrier to shield themselves from the flame. Sera, in the instincts of a true guerrilla fighter, nearly picked up Cassandra and went to find cover. Vivienne followed her, after checking to make sure Dorian and the Inquisitor were still breathing. With burns that bad, the only thing Vivienne could do was heal them there- and nothing would be accomplished with a dragon watching and taking umbrage with the dragonlings being harmed.
Vivienne internally rolled her eyes at the idea some parents had on how special their children needed to be handled.
Their hiding place was under a natural tunnel made of stone- the arch under a natural bridge, which divided one half of the valley from the other. Several tree roots and bushes had taken up root in the tunnel. It gave a smell of some sort of perfume- the one that Duke Cyril had enjoyed so much.
Cassandra hadn’t struggled when Sera picked her up, and she didn’t seem to notice when Sera found a comfortable spot to set her down. Vivienne felt her heart skip a beat- realizing that Cassandra must have truly succumbed to infection if she was not trying to rush to the Inquisitor’s side.
Vivienne knelt down and placed a palm on her cheek. It was burning. Cassandra’s eyes were glazed.
“Seeker, Seeker, can you hear me?” Vivienne asked, patting her cheek gently.
“I knew I could smell the rot.” Sera’s voice was grumpy. “Didn’t think much of it, dragon slayer should know when to take a fucking healing potion.”
“So she should, my dear.” Vivienne looked over her shoulder, checking on the large animal that had interrupted their day. It, she, was spitting fire where they had been moments before, but it didn’t seem to reach them- it was only then that something else occurred to her.
“My dear,” Vivienne turned to Sera, “the dragonlings, are they coming closer?”
Sera opened her mouth to give a reply, then caught herself.
“Not around, not anymore anyway.” Sera thought out loud. “Couldn’t keep them off us on the way here- no matter how much ice we threw at them.” She looked up and around. “Bet it’s the smelly stuff, yeah? Use this stuff in poisons, it’ll make you shit yourself to death.”
“Thank you, my dear. I understand.” Vivienne felt her jaw ache with the urge to grit her teeth. Sera wouldn’t be offended, of course, but it would undo years of Vivienne’s work to control signs of her frustration. Her head throbbed. They were two and a half days from help, surrounded by predators, with three wounded.
“Arrows aren’t going to do much against a dragon.” Sera said, thinking out loud once again. Vivienne generally detested the habit, Sera would never make it in Orlais, but in the wilderness- Vivienne felt it oddly comforting.
“Oh, I thought a great many dragons were slain with arrows?” Vivienne asked.
“Yeah, after a few meatheads swung swords and axes at it for a bit.” Sera wiped her runny nose with her hand. She must be allergic to the bushes, Vivienne thought.
“I don’t have the right arrows, or the right bow, to knock through a dragon scale.” Sera’s voice was angry. “Should’ve brought Varric with his fancy one, it’d be more use.”
“Varric wouldn’t have thought to get Cassandra out of the way fast enough, my dear.” Vivienne rubbed her cheek. “He would have kept firing at the dragon, trying to keep the Inquisitor safe.”
“Its because he’s daft, yeah?” Sera said. “Better for the dragon to forget their there, then draw attention to them.”
“Indeed.” Vivienne resisted the urge to show the same approval she gave to the young apprentices to Sera. Sera wouldn’t appreciate it.
“Can’t shoot from this distance anyway.” Sera pointed out. “And I ain’t moving closer. I don’t have fancy armor or magic like the Vint or Quizzy- and that dragon took them right out. I’d say to do your magic sword thingy, but you don’t have any better armor.”
Vivienne’s barriers were not a strong point either. She was taught to deal offensive damage in combat- her training had been tailored to make her an amazing close range fighter- but Sera was right, she would be out in seconds with a dragon. Then there would be four injured.
“We need to discuss what should happen if I perish.” Vivienne said.
“Uh, no, we don’t.” Sera said, her voice annoyed, which meant she was scared. “Because no one is going to die and that dragon is going to fly off.”
“Sera, I cannot indulge in fantasies right now.” Vivienne felt a bit of fear climb up her spine. She was the only mage healer in the Hinterlands. If she died, with an Inquisitor burnt, Cassandra sick of infection- the Inquisition’s chances went down significantly. Bastion’s chances became non-existent- and all those lovely apprentices and enchanters who had stayed with her when the world went mad would be shoved into the mess with little recourse.
Vivienne took a deep breath.
“Sera, if I die- or am injured.” Vivienne started again. “I need you to run back to camp. These things don’t seem to have great night vision, and you have your powders. Have someone send for a healer, and you need to take as many soldiers as possible to kill the dragon.”
Sera’s mouth twitched. “Why aren’t we doing that now?”
“Because the Inquisitor cannot remain in this state long without consequence, and I don’t want to waste resources if we can do this ourselves.” Vivienne started trying to revive Cassandra.
Sera, thankfully, had the good sense not to talk.
It took an hour for Vivienne to revive Cassandra, and she was down a lyrium potion. She tried not to mentally go through the laundry list of complications that came from severe burns.
Cassandra didn’t come awake rapidly, and Vivienne had to maintain a steady stream of talk to try and awaken her.
“Enchanter, I am awake now. I do not need to hear about the marriage between Houses in Orlais.” Cassandra’s voice was annoyed, which matched Vivienne’s mood. She had already gone through eight conversation topics beforehand.
“Of course you do, darling. I must say, I am pleased you are awake.” Vivienne felt the rage in her chest turn to ice. “Your wound must be quite severe, if it caused you to forget a healing potion.”
“She means you were a fucking tosser.” Sera spoke up, poking Cassandra. Cassandra did not seem to have the strength to retaliate.
“Yes, I understood.” Cassandra sighed. “It will not happen again. What happened? Where is the Inquisitor?”
“Unconscious, in front of a dragon that is not moving. Which is what I needed to ask you about.”
“You left him?” Cassandra tried to sit up, but immediately fell backwards again.
“Sparkles is sleeping next to him.” Sera waved her off. “The dragon isn’t bothering him, but it isn’t letting us get near them.”
“What are you doing, hoping she will fly off?” Cassandra asked, voice sarcastic.
“We were hoping, yes. I have a feeling you are about to tell us it is unlikely, however.” Vivienne mentally crossed that solution off her list. The list was becoming quite short.
“Very unlikely.” Cassandra said. “If the amount of dragonlings in this valley is any indication, the dragon has made the valley her nest. She will stay here until she wishes to mate once again- which will not be till her brood is grown.”
Vivienne didn’t tap her foot and she didn’t turn back to look at the dragon.
“We must kill it.” Cassandra said, decisively. “You are a knight-enchanter are you not? We will wound the beast, then Sera will shoot it.” She attempted to sit up again, but Sera pushed her down.
“Yeah, not gonna happen. You can’t fight, and if the dragon didn’t kill us in seconds, the dragonlings would.” Sera’s voice was cold. “Don’t be such a nob. We aren’t getting ourselves killed over something that won’t even work.”
“Why aren’t the dragonlings attacking us now?” Cassandra asked. Sera explained about the plants and Vivienne reviewed their options. Vivienne looked at the dragon, which was still crouched, ignoring the little snaps of dragonlings nipping at its sides. She paid no more attention to the dragonlings bites than Vivienne paid attention to shocks from carpet- a small muscle jump.
“Do dragon’s have hearts?” Vivienne asked.
“Yes.” Cassandra said. “It has some properties, but it is-” That would work.
“I can try and cause an arrhythmia.” Vivienne said.
“You’re gonna stop its heart?” Sera asked. Vivienne took a moment to stare at Sera. Vivienne had fallen into the language of the Circle, but she had no expectation Sera would understand.
Sera looked back, eyes slightly hooded.
“Yes,” Vivienne said. “But not directly. I doubt I have enough mana to stop a dragon’s heart immediately, but I think I have enough to make it skip beats.”
“No matter the smell, if a dragon is being attacked, she will come and deal with us.” Cassandra said, dryly.
“No, not necessarily.” Vivienne mused. “She didn’t attack us till we were close, and there are several dragonlings nipping on her, currently. If I do small, but continuous shocks- varying power- she won’t notice the harm until her heart stops.”
“The dragonlings will flee, if their mother is dead.” Cassandra said. “They will find small places to hide or attack each other trying to hide. Do you have enough power to do it?”
“The question, Lady Cassandra, isn’t if I have enough power.” Vivienne picked up her stave. “It’s if I have enough endurance- and we can not afford to think otherwise.”
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Solas had explained, once, that he fell into a meditative state while casting. That was also true for many of Vivienne’s contemporaries. The casting of spells was as easy as breathing, no matter the cost to themselves. They were truly intrenched in magic.
This was not true for Vivienne. Her specialization was chosen because Vivienne required deliberate focus to cast magic. Each spell required thought and control to cast. It made spellcasting harder for her, but it made her casting superior and her control precise.
It also meant that grunt work, like she was about to do, was extremely distasteful and wearisome.
Vivienne shed her armor, but pulled on the leather gloves she had specially made for stave work.
“How many lyrium potions do we have?” Vivienne asked, staring at the dragon. Cassandra had drawn her a rough diagram of the dragon’s circulatory system. There was an artery in the back leg that Vivienne would need to aim for. Striking the chest or side would be faster- but it would be more noticeable as well.
“One.” Sera said. “Are you sure this will work.”
“Yes, though it may take some time.” Vivienne said. “If the dragon is not dead by nightfall, you will need to go back to camp.”
“I agree. It is foolish to have you here, Sera.” Vivienne tried not to pinch the bridge of her nose. That wasn’t what she meant at all.
“I am a lot more useful than you, right now.” Sera pointed out, snidely. Vivienne could feel Cassandra opening her mouth to make things worse.
“I need quiet. I’ll need to concentrate.”
Vivienne took a deep breath in, and began.
The steps to casting with a stave were different in different circles. Solas did a four-box square with five bursts. Dorian moved in a five point star with seven bursts. Vivienne generally did a two step with four bursts- the Inquisitor brought her along when he expected surprise attacks and quick battles- she used large bursts of energy and could fight close quarters if need be.
This situation was not playing to Vivienne’s strengths- but she would adapt and use this to her advantage as she always did. She would borrow Solas’ square and use Dorian’s extra bursts at the end. One-one-one-three.
Vivienne checked her space and placed both her feet together. She stared straight ahead, at the point she needed to hit. She didn’t need to try and aim, her magic would always follow her eyes. She held her stave like a first-year apprentice.
She swung.
For the first four boxes, Vivienne moving to the right, forward, left, back, it didn’t seem like anything happened. On the one hand, that was good. The dragon wasn’t noticing her magic, on the other hand, it might mean the shocks weren’t powerful enough.
She slowly increased the amount of mana she put into her swings. She increased a little each box, until she saw the leg flinch. Her mana was still restoring itself faster than she was using it.
This would work.
Sweat began to bead along her scalp, gathering at the small divot in her neck as she continued to move. It was hot, she had walked miles that day. Vivienne felt the first stirrings of worry fill her.
After the first hour, Sera wandered off. Vivienne didn’t cry, but she wanted to. Cassandra wasn’t yelling for Sera, but there were some noises coming from her, that said she was not pleased- despite telling Sera she should leave in the first place.
A half hour later, Sera returned. She announced her presence by throwing two buckets of water over Vivienne. Cassandra had fallen asleep.
Vivienne did not stop moving, but- undignifiedly started licking water from around her lips- the only relief she had.
“Thank you, Sera.” She rasped out, continuing her swings. The dragon’s legs were trembling now. Her head was laying on the ground, eyes wandering. She was probably feeling overwhelming fatigue and chest pains by this point. The dragonlings around her seemed to take this as an opportunity to nap.
Vivienne was unsure if she could last much longer.
Sera refilled the water twice more, keeping Vivienne cool and helping her focus.
Then, the dragon seized, a throttled roar, and went completely still. Vivienne kept shocking it. The dragonlings slowly wandered off, and the dragon would give a slight jolt with each shock. It was only when twenty minutes had passed that Vivienne stopped. She kept her stave in front of her, her feet in the ready position.
The dragon didn’t move.
“This is our chance, Sera.” Vivienne said. Her legs were trembling, but she still raced out of her hiding spot down to the place Dorian and the Inquisitor were laying. Vivienne used her magic to lift the Inquisitor as Sera grabbed Dorian. They quickly came to a stop in the tunnel.
“Is the Tevinter burnt?” Vivienne asked, not glancing over.
“No, just sleeping. Pulse is real slow. The Quizzy?”
“Armor got most of it.” Vivienne said. “It got some of his stomach- he probably passed out from the pain. The Altus probably used too strong a barrier too fast- or he kept his mana attached to the barrier.”
“Can they wait?” Cassandra asked. “Can healing potions help?”
“Yes,” Vivienne looked up at Cassandra, who was looking very softly at her. Intolerable when she was this tired. “Why?”
“You just slayed a dragon single-handedly, Lady Vivienne.” Cassandra said. “I think you should rest, for a bit. “
Yes, she had. She had slayed a high dragon, single-handedly. Vivienne mused on the idea for a moment. Bastian would find this terribly amusing. She needed to write him.
“I’ll go get help after you sleep, yeah?” Sera said. “All the dragonlings will be runnin’ scared. But you need to sleep a bit.”
“I suppose.” Vivienne said. She was quite sore. It was nearly sunset.
“An hour, then. No more.” Vivienne said. Cassandra held out an arm, and Vivienne took the offer. It was far to rocky to not have some cushioning. Cassandra had held her before, when she was injured. It would increase bonds between them, which would be good. It was remarkably hard to gain Cassandra’s approval.
Vivienne laid her head on Cassandra’s leg and fell asleep almost immediately.
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Vivienne woke up in an Inquisition camp, with Sera sharpening arrows by her beside. Solas was there, hands over some sort of liquid concoction she was going to have to drink, she was sure.
“Good morning.” Solas said. His eyes were clear, there were no wrinkles in his brow. She was doing well, then.
Vivienne cleared her throat. “Good morning.” Her voice was clearer than it had been. “How is the Inquisitor?” Vivienne asked. “Lady Cassandra?”
“The Inquisitor is doing quite well.” Solas’ voice was calming. “He has retrieved the dragon trophies for you, they are being sent to Skyhold- and he has come to see to the clearing of the valley. He will be back tonight. If you are well enough, we will go back to Skyhold tomorrow morning.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
Solas frowned. “Five and a half days. The plants that were protecting you three from the dragonlings had pollen that was causing an allergic reaction to all three of you. Combined with your severe muscle spasms, from casting that long, it was enough for us to keep you asleep till the pain was less intense.”
“Pain?” Vivienne asked. She didn’t feel like she was in pain.
“You were shaken and crying in your sleep.” Sera said. “I tried not to let anyone see, but Baldy insisted.”
“Thank you, my dear. I appreciate it.” Vivienne leaned back.
“Sera also helped with your physical therapy while you were asleep- to make sure the muscles would not stiffen too much.” Solas said.
“Yeah, done it before.” Sera said, her face bright red.
Vivienne did not thank her a second time, she was clearly at her wits end.
“I do believe someone is calling for you outside, my dear.” Vivienne said.
“Yeah! Better go see what that’s about.” Sera disappeared in a moment. Vivienne tried not to roll her eyes. Children.
“That was unkind.” Solas said.
“That was the kindest thing I could have done, apostate. Now tell me, how soon can I get out of this bed?”
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The halls of Skyhold were different when Vivienne got back. The Inquisitor had been deferential on the way back, as had the Altus, but it was nothing compared to the absolute worship that Skyhold seemed to emit. She was able to build a network of young mages who wished to study under her- stealing them from Fiona- and send them out to work at the Circle with little trouble. She was able to connect Bastian with several Lords who were militarily inclined. The Inquisition got fame and recognition from her feat. She learned that Mages were now seen as more helpful than they used to be. Her paper on the method and after affects of the method was currently being torn apart by tacticians and senior enchanters. Things were going well.
The only thing that had not changed was Sera, whose reply to the worship was to stick more snakes into her dresser drawers.