83rd of Frost, 119th of Steel
She and Arangyl--it was hard yet to think of him as father, for the concept was still so foreign--had been on the road almost a week now. Their escape from the Big House has been so sudden and Leliana was still trying to adjust to her new reality. It wasn't one to complain about. Although fragile, she had freedom for the first time in her life. It was merely taking some time to adjust. Not only that, but she'd been so incredibly sheltered that she knew she was slowing him down. He was infinitely patient though, taking the time to teach her as much as possible along the way.
It was early evening now and they had made more progress than usual during today's trek. There were several stops to let the pack horse rest, graze, and take some weight off their own feet, but Leliana was starting to feel like they were putting real distance between themselves and Amoren. Arangyl loosened the horse's girth while it grazed and double checked its leg hobble so that it couldn't wander off. It was picketed in an open spot with plenty of grass and seemed content.
"Why don't we just use another portal to get where we're going?" The thought had been plaguing her for several days now.
"I can't risk using that amount of energy. Between the two of us, the gear, the horse--it's not easy to transport everything. Plus they won't be expecting us to travel through the mountains on foot during Frost, especially all the way to Álfsós."
"What's so important in Álfsós?"
"I have to meet an old friend before we return to Sil-Elaine. We will buy horses for the return journey though."
"Hmm," she hummed absently, petting the horse's flank.
"Are you tired?"
"I can keep going." He didn't look convinced.
"We can make camp here for the evening. We've made good progress today. I'll go fill the waterskins if you collect some kindling."
"How much do you want?"
Arangyl looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun that was just starting to set behind the trees. "Make a stack about knee-high to last us through the night. An armful of sticks about as thick as your arm, again as much the thickness of your thumb, and then your pinky. That should be about right. If you find anything bigger that's in manageable pieces that would be good too."
They split up then to do their respective chores. He made his way downhill to a nearby stream and she wandered into the trees to hunt for deadfall. It was an easy enough task, but took some time. Smaller sticks were easiest the find. They littered the ground in abundance and Leliana quickly had a formidable bundle. Pieces roughly the size of her thumb were easy enough to come by as well, but larger kindling was less frequent. She had to break a few dead saplings, snap larger branches into smaller pieces, and scour a wider area to come up with everything her father had asked for.
When the half-breed returned to edge of the trees with the last bundle he was finishing putting up his tent. She went about making a stack of everything, smallest on top, largest on bottom, and clearing a spot in the grass until it was mostly bare dirt. That's what she had seen him do at least, and she had no reason to do it any differently.
"Why don't you give this a try?" he suggested after finishing with his tent and joining her by the kindling. He handed over a flint, steel, and a bird's nest.
"Where did you get this?"
"I saw it while refilling our water. It makes a good fire starter, especially old ones such as this. They're easier than feather sticks."
"Feather sticks?"
"Do you remember the shavings I scraped off of a branch the other night with my knife?"
"Yes--is that what that was?"
"Mmm. They're effective as well but they take practice to perfect. As long as you can make a good spark, this nest should ignite immediately. Go ahead and pull it apart some so the air can pass through it easily--yes, like that. Now place it in the dirt there and have some smaller sticks ready to feed it. Okay. Strike your flint but keep it close to the nest so the spark can catch."
It took Leliana several tries to even make a spark, and even longer for it to catch on the dried grass composed within the nest. She clacked the flint and steel together once, twice, three times, then finally a tendril of smoke rose up.
"Excellent. Hurry now, lean down there and blow on it gently. Feed it some air and add more fuel--just like that. Okay, good. Keep adding more. Bigger pieces. Yes, good. There--you see? It's straightforward. Not unlike starting a fire in the hearth."
The half-breed sat back on her haunches to admire her handiwork. They now had a small fire licking at the pile of sticks she'd fed to its hungry tendrils. It didn't take long at all for it need more fuel. Despite it being Frost the wood was petrified and thoroughly dry, making it an excellent fire source. She was grateful there wasn't much snow on the ground at this time and that they'd had a relatively mild Frost.
An hour later they had eaten their fill of dinner and were relaxing by the heat of the flames. Their horse was untacked and grazing quietly a ways away. They'd had to move his picket once already to a fresh spot of grass. Arangyl was resting with his eyes closed, propped on one elbow while she stretched out on her back on some blankets. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but instead the uncertain kind between strangers. She wasn't sure what to say to him, nor he to her. It was a while after actually formulating some thoughts that she mustered the courage to voice them.
"How did you know who I was?" Her father opened his eyes but listened quietly. "You hadn't ever seen me before. You didn't even know I existed, did you? How did you know how to find me?"
"I came back to see if your mother was still there. I hadn't seen her in twenty-five years, but she was still in my thoughts. I was going to buy her freedom--or steal her away. But when I saw you, I knew you were mine immediately. You look like your mother, just with Siltori features. What would have been the odds? I did some investigating and found out your mother had passed away, the circumstance of your birth, everything."
"She didn't pass away. She was murdered." He didn't seem to have a statement for that. There was a heavy silence.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you both. If I'd known we had conceived a child I would have taken you both away long ago. I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to have you."
"Why did you leave her?"
"I've asked myself that question many times, Leliana. I don't have an acceptable answer. Selfishness, perhaps. I didn't think it was my business. Little did I know."
He was right. He didn't have an acceptable answer. But it was easy for her to judge when she'd been the one to suffer the consequences of his past indifference. Lily had a valid reason to be a little spiteful. If anything she had been very forgiving overall. Deep down she was just glad to be free and to have connected with her father, and she thought her mother would be happy for it too.
"I was waiting for the right time to tell you this," he began again and she rolled onto her side to face him across the firelight. "You have more family in Sil-Elaine other than myself." That caught her attention. Leliana sat up quickly.
"What--what did you say?"
"I have a son. Your half-brother. I had another partner many years ago, but she passed away. He has a wife and a son of his own. Your nephew. We have a strong bloodline it seems. You'll meet them once we return, but I could contact them beforehand--when you're ready."
"I--wh--how old is he? What's his name? Were you married?" Her father smiled.
"His name is Calen and he's seventy-five years your senior. I wasn't married, no. I never found my Arlaed. I had partners that I loved, but none that I dedicated my life to. It never felt right to me to make that commitment."
"Your Arlaed?"
"Humans would call it a soulmate."
It was Leliana's turn to be silent. That concept, it made sense to her. She'd always felt like something had been missing. Disregarding her previous circumstances no man she'd ever met had stirred much within her. Did she have an Arlaed? Not only did she have this to consider--but she had realtives. A brother, sister-in-law, and even a nephew.
"I know it's a lot to take in. We can discuss it more tomorrow. Try to get some rest?" She hummed her agreement and slowly rose to make her way to her tent.
"Goodnight father." It felt strange to say, but she wanted to try.
"Goodnight Leliana."
The Trail to Freedom, Part II
She and Arangyl--it was hard yet to think of him as father, for the concept was still so foreign--had been on the road almost a week now. Their escape from the Big House has been so sudden and Leliana was still trying to adjust to her new reality. It wasn't one to complain about. Although fragile, she had freedom for the first time in her life. It was merely taking some time to adjust. Not only that, but she'd been so incredibly sheltered that she knew she was slowing him down. He was infinitely patient though, taking the time to teach her as much as possible along the way.
It was early evening now and they had made more progress than usual during today's trek. There were several stops to let the pack horse rest, graze, and take some weight off their own feet, but Leliana was starting to feel like they were putting real distance between themselves and Amoren. Arangyl loosened the horse's girth while it grazed and double checked its leg hobble so that it couldn't wander off. It was picketed in an open spot with plenty of grass and seemed content.
"Why don't we just use another portal to get where we're going?" The thought had been plaguing her for several days now.
"I can't risk using that amount of energy. Between the two of us, the gear, the horse--it's not easy to transport everything. Plus they won't be expecting us to travel through the mountains on foot during Frost, especially all the way to Álfsós."
"What's so important in Álfsós?"
"I have to meet an old friend before we return to Sil-Elaine. We will buy horses for the return journey though."
"Hmm," she hummed absently, petting the horse's flank.
"Are you tired?"
"I can keep going." He didn't look convinced.
"We can make camp here for the evening. We've made good progress today. I'll go fill the waterskins if you collect some kindling."
"How much do you want?"
Arangyl looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun that was just starting to set behind the trees. "Make a stack about knee-high to last us through the night. An armful of sticks about as thick as your arm, again as much the thickness of your thumb, and then your pinky. That should be about right. If you find anything bigger that's in manageable pieces that would be good too."
They split up then to do their respective chores. He made his way downhill to a nearby stream and she wandered into the trees to hunt for deadfall. It was an easy enough task, but took some time. Smaller sticks were easiest the find. They littered the ground in abundance and Leliana quickly had a formidable bundle. Pieces roughly the size of her thumb were easy enough to come by as well, but larger kindling was less frequent. She had to break a few dead saplings, snap larger branches into smaller pieces, and scour a wider area to come up with everything her father had asked for.
When the half-breed returned to edge of the trees with the last bundle he was finishing putting up his tent. She went about making a stack of everything, smallest on top, largest on bottom, and clearing a spot in the grass until it was mostly bare dirt. That's what she had seen him do at least, and she had no reason to do it any differently.
"Why don't you give this a try?" he suggested after finishing with his tent and joining her by the kindling. He handed over a flint, steel, and a bird's nest.
"Where did you get this?"
"I saw it while refilling our water. It makes a good fire starter, especially old ones such as this. They're easier than feather sticks."
"Feather sticks?"
"Do you remember the shavings I scraped off of a branch the other night with my knife?"
"Yes--is that what that was?"
"Mmm. They're effective as well but they take practice to perfect. As long as you can make a good spark, this nest should ignite immediately. Go ahead and pull it apart some so the air can pass through it easily--yes, like that. Now place it in the dirt there and have some smaller sticks ready to feed it. Okay. Strike your flint but keep it close to the nest so the spark can catch."
It took Leliana several tries to even make a spark, and even longer for it to catch on the dried grass composed within the nest. She clacked the flint and steel together once, twice, three times, then finally a tendril of smoke rose up.
"Excellent. Hurry now, lean down there and blow on it gently. Feed it some air and add more fuel--just like that. Okay, good. Keep adding more. Bigger pieces. Yes, good. There--you see? It's straightforward. Not unlike starting a fire in the hearth."
The half-breed sat back on her haunches to admire her handiwork. They now had a small fire licking at the pile of sticks she'd fed to its hungry tendrils. It didn't take long at all for it need more fuel. Despite it being Frost the wood was petrified and thoroughly dry, making it an excellent fire source. She was grateful there wasn't much snow on the ground at this time and that they'd had a relatively mild Frost.
An hour later they had eaten their fill of dinner and were relaxing by the heat of the flames. Their horse was untacked and grazing quietly a ways away. They'd had to move his picket once already to a fresh spot of grass. Arangyl was resting with his eyes closed, propped on one elbow while she stretched out on her back on some blankets. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but instead the uncertain kind between strangers. She wasn't sure what to say to him, nor he to her. It was a while after actually formulating some thoughts that she mustered the courage to voice them.
"How did you know who I was?" Her father opened his eyes but listened quietly. "You hadn't ever seen me before. You didn't even know I existed, did you? How did you know how to find me?"
"I came back to see if your mother was still there. I hadn't seen her in twenty-five years, but she was still in my thoughts. I was going to buy her freedom--or steal her away. But when I saw you, I knew you were mine immediately. You look like your mother, just with Siltori features. What would have been the odds? I did some investigating and found out your mother had passed away, the circumstance of your birth, everything."
"She didn't pass away. She was murdered." He didn't seem to have a statement for that. There was a heavy silence.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you both. If I'd known we had conceived a child I would have taken you both away long ago. I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to have you."
"Why did you leave her?"
"I've asked myself that question many times, Leliana. I don't have an acceptable answer. Selfishness, perhaps. I didn't think it was my business. Little did I know."
He was right. He didn't have an acceptable answer. But it was easy for her to judge when she'd been the one to suffer the consequences of his past indifference. Lily had a valid reason to be a little spiteful. If anything she had been very forgiving overall. Deep down she was just glad to be free and to have connected with her father, and she thought her mother would be happy for it too.
"I was waiting for the right time to tell you this," he began again and she rolled onto her side to face him across the firelight. "You have more family in Sil-Elaine other than myself." That caught her attention. Leliana sat up quickly.
"What--what did you say?"
"I have a son. Your half-brother. I had another partner many years ago, but she passed away. He has a wife and a son of his own. Your nephew. We have a strong bloodline it seems. You'll meet them once we return, but I could contact them beforehand--when you're ready."
"I--wh--how old is he? What's his name? Were you married?" Her father smiled.
"His name is Calen and he's seventy-five years your senior. I wasn't married, no. I never found my Arlaed. I had partners that I loved, but none that I dedicated my life to. It never felt right to me to make that commitment."
"Your Arlaed?"
"Humans would call it a soulmate."
It was Leliana's turn to be silent. That concept, it made sense to her. She'd always felt like something had been missing. Disregarding her previous circumstances no man she'd ever met had stirred much within her. Did she have an Arlaed? Not only did she have this to consider--but she had realtives. A brother, sister-in-law, and even a nephew.
"I know it's a lot to take in. We can discuss it more tomorrow. Try to get some rest?" She hummed her agreement and slowly rose to make her way to her tent.
"Goodnight father." It felt strange to say, but she wanted to try.
"Goodnight Leliana."
The Trail to Freedom, Part II
