Ashyla Lavellan

Ashyla Lavellan

STAND YOUR GROUND, THE DAWN WILL COME

Ashyla was born into Clan Lavellan, to a pair of hunters. There were not many other children in the clan at this time, so Ashyla grew close to one in particular, a boy named Cyrlan. The two of them were practically siblings when the time came for Ashyla to be apprenticed, at age eight.

Ashyla, who had always been good with animals from a young age, was apprenticed to the halla-keeper, while Cyrlan eventually became the Keeper's First. It was around this time that she found a wolf pup, abandoned in the forest, and she brought it back to the Clan. The Keeper didn't want her to keep it, and most of the clan felt the same, but she disregarded their feelings and cared for the pup herself. This wolf was named Alana. As the months passed, Alana was seen more and more often at Ashyla's side. Eventually, it was hard to find the girl without her companion wolf, and the Clan stopped objecting to Alana. Well, publicly at least. Alana had done nothing to harm any of the Clan or their halla, so there was no real reason to protest the wolf's presence.

Ashyla got her vallaslin at the young age of 15. She chose the symbol of Ghilan'nain, the halla-mother, because of how much she enjoyed being around animals. It was fitting, she'd been told, that the one who was to be the future halla-keeper take Ghilan'nain's symbols. But, until such time as she was to become the next halla-keeper, she was one of the clan's hunters.

She was hunting with other clan members, at the age of 16, when the group was set upon by a Great Bear that lived in the forest. Ashyla was slow to react, and Alana was the one fighting the bear when the rest of the hunters found her. The other clan members eventually slew the bear, but the damage was done. Alana was dead.

The clan mourned their friend wolf as they would one of their halla. Alana had become a friend of the clan over the years, and her loss was felt by them all. Ashyla returned to her duties as the apprentice of the halla-keeper, though when she was needed for a hunt, she went.

She was eighteen when the Keeper called them together, and he explained to them about something called a Conclave, where the human mages and Templars were gathering to decide the future of mages and Templars through southern Thedas. He said this would not affect just the humans, and so he picked a few of the hunters, led by his First, Cyrlan, to go spy on the Conclave. Ashyla was one of them, the youngest in the hunting party. This surprised her, but she did not object.

And off they went to a place called Haven, in the Frostback Mountains that were the border between Ferelden and Orlais. Rarely did they come so far south. Ashyla was amazed by the views, and she began to finally seem like her old self. Alana's death had left a hole in Ashyla's heart, and it seemed that she was finally recovering.

The hunters had all been given specific targets to tail, and Ashyla followed hers from the edges of Haven. Her target then went into the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and immediately after, everything literally blew up in her face. She was just far enough away from the center of the blast that it sent her flying. She hit a far wall and blacked out.

When she came to, she was under a small pile of rocks and dust. Most of the stones she was able to shift on her own, so she managed to get out of what was left of the temple. She hadn't noticed the rather large pool of blood she'd left behind.

Much of the next two weeks is impossible for Ashyla to recall. But, two weeks after the explosion, she stumbled into Haven and blacked out again. When she came to, she was in a bed with her wounds bandaged. And she was clean. Well, cleaner, at least.

Haven was interesting, to say the least. Ashyla could see signs everywhere that the place had only been occupied recently. But Cyrlan wasn't going to be able to return to the Clan anytime soon, so she would stay by his side. The Keeper would understand, right? There was only one other elf mage in Haven, and Solas had a curious lack of vallaslin, but wasn't from any of the human cities either. She was often seen talking with him about ancient elven lore, a topic that she'd been especially interested in as a child.

While exploring the area outside Haven's walls, Ashyla stumbled across a wolf pup, a few months old but not quite a year. After she treated the pup's injuries, she followed her back to Haven, scaring quite a number of people in the process. Ashyla liked having the wolf around, it felt like something was right again for the first time in a long time. So she named the wolf Emma, and Emma went wherever Ashyla did.

When Haven was attacked, Ashyla was helping evacuate while the soldiers fought. Then, the dragon appeared. Ashyla heard the order to follow Chancelor Roderic through the Chantry, but this was one order that she hated following. Cyrlan was practically her older brother, and she had no choice but to leave him behind. She admitted this to him, using words in the elven tongue, before leaving.

"Mythal'enaste, Cyrlan," was what she said before joining the others.

When they made camp, the mood was somber. Regret filled Ashyla's heart for allowing herself to leave Cyrlan behind. She knew she would never be able to forgive herself if Cyrlan was dead now too. Then there was a commotion at the edge of camp, and Cyrlan was back! Ashyla counted it as a gift from the Creators, and she was at his side when he began to lead them. With Emma at her side, she became more cheerful during the trek, finding simple joys in the views they saw and the animals they found.

When they found Skyhold, Ashyla did what she could to help get things all set up. Cyrlan was named Inquisitor, and Ashyla knew he was a good fit for the role. After that, she went to Leliana and requested to join the Inquisition's scouts. Her request was approved, and she felt that she was better able to help the Inquisition after that. She did spend more time away from Skyhold after becoming a scout.

She went with Cyrlan when he went to the Winter Palace. It was there that she realized how glad she was that she had been born outside the world of court intrigue. That was also where she learned that people, especially humans, don't always say what they mean. Nor do they always mean what they say. She was quite glad to get back to Skyhold.

The battle at Adamant Fortress scared her. She was there when the stone collapsed, and she was terrified by the thought that maybe Cyrlan had fallen to his death. But the dragon flew off, and not long after that the Warden mages returned to themselves. It was a somber trip home after Cyrlan and the others emerged from the Fade. They hadn't escaped completely unscathed, after all.

Then Ashyla heard the worst news yet. Clan Lavellan had been destroyed. She broke down, screaming and spitting accusations at Cyrlan's advisors, blaming them for not helping stop the fighting in Wycome. Other than civilians clearing the hall, none of the advisors responded to her accusations. And that just made everything worse. To her, the lack of response was as good as a confession. They weren't defending themselves, so they must've known what they'd done. Cyrlan finally calmed her down after she exhausted herself, but she never went into the War Room after that day.

When they found the ancient temple in the Arbor Wilds, Ashyla reveled in it. She kept working to decipher the ancient elven texts, though she had only minimal success. The statue of Fen'Harel confused her though. What would the Dread Wolf be doing in the Temple of Mythal? Maybe there were still missing pieces to the stories the Dalish told. She confided to Cyrlan about this after they got back to Skyhold, since he now possessed the knowledge that was within the Well of Sorrows, but the Well's knowledge was of little help.

And then Corypheus struck again. He reopened the Breach, and Cyrlan had to close it again. Ashyla went with him, of course, but she lost him while fighting back the horde of demons that had broken through the Veil. A burst of bright green light shot into the air, and then the clouds were blasted away. All that was left of the Breach was a glimmering line across the sky. And, once again, Ashyla found herself wondering if her friend had survived. When he came down those steps, she threw her arms around him, dissolving into tears. Cyrlan was alive, and so was she. They'd both survived the war against Corypheus. She admitted to being terrified that he wouldn't survive it, that she'd lose the last person who she'd known her entire life. The others expressed their relief in other ways. And then, as per usual, it was back to Skyhold, though their group had one less person in it. Solas was nowhere to be found.

After the celebrations, most of them went their separate ways. Dorian went back to Tevinter, Varric returned to Kirkwall. Cassandra was voted the next Divine, so she had to go to Val Royeaux after a few months. Sera went back to wherever-it-was that she'd come from. Leliana, Cullen, and Josephine stuck around though. Skyhold got quieter after Corypheus was killed. Sure, there were still pilgrims that were mourning Divine Justinia, but the number of soldiers slowly dwindled.

Ashyla went around Orlais and Ferelden, working as a line of communication between fortresses that the Inquisition had claimed. This job was good for her because she was able to ride even the most stubborn of mounts that were provided for her. During this time, she found herself named as an agent of Fen'Harel, working for the betterment of elves all over Thedas. Of course, nobody knows this yet, not even Sister Nightingale. She worked as one of Leliana's birds, choosing the name Raven for herself because of the cultural significance the raven has to the elves. The twin ravens were the symbols of Dirthaven, elven god of secrets. This is the reason behind her new tattoo, a raven and a wolf together.

Two years after Corypheus was defeated, the Exalted Council was called. Divine Victoria had done her best in keeping the Inquisition from having to deal with the nobilities of both Ferelden and Orlais, but there was only so much she could do. And so the Inquisition's key members were called to the Winter Palace. Everyone got back together again, and Ashyla found herself once more surrounded by friends. From the Tal-Vashoth Iron Bull to the dwarf Varric, and all the humans in between.

When the anchor started becoming unstable, Ashyla was once again scared for her best friend. She wouldn't let him leave her behind this time though. So she followed him through the mirrors, marveling all the while at the bright colors. She longed to study the tomes in the library, maybe there would've been information about the ancient elves. But when the spirits said that the Veil hadn't always been in place, she was confused. The Veil had always been there, right? But before she could really think about it, the anchor started getting worse. And now she was worried that the mark really would kill him, as it almost had back in Haven. Eventually, Cyrlan vanished into a mirror that grew dark behind him. Ashyla found herself at a loss. Once again, he was beyond her reach. And, once again, he was at death's door. What would they do if he didn't come back?

But he did. True, his left arm was missing from the elbow, but he was alive again. They returned to the Winter Palace, and there Cyrlan declared the Inquisition would remain as a peace-keeping force. And, once again, their friends scattered. Only a few people stayed on after the downsizing, but Ashyla still took jobs from Leliana that sent her around Thedas.

[b]ROSE LESLIE[/b] as [i]Ashyla Lavellan[/i]