In Search of a Wolf - The Elves of Fen'Harel Book 1 (Dragon Age)

The Agent

Birdsong awoke her, and it seemed dream-like after the cold dark blizzards, and the terrifying dark chill of the cave after the avalanche. She was drenched in sweat from head to toe as her eyes opened. The ground was firm beneath her back, grass tickling the backs of her hands. She'd had strange dreams, she recalled, a wolf occasionally appearing to watch over her. Sometimes she had woken briefly, feverish, in the arms of one of her companions, being carried down the mountain.

It was warm now, she noticed. Above her head, trees soared, twisting up to the sky and throwing their emerald shade over her. Everything ached. She had never felt so weak, save for when she'd been stabbed on the Storm Coast, wrung out with exhaustion from head to toe. Gingerly, she dragged herself into a sitting position. A group of bags were clustered nearby. The others were clustered together a little way from her, talking earnestly. Not one noticed her sitting there watching. "We're only maybe two days from our destination." Diranni was saying, "A bit longer with Laisa still unconscious." That was when they glanced over. Laisa gave a little wave and they all exploded.

Lemrian reached her first, enveloping her in a hug. "Thank the gods you're back with us."

"Look who's back from the dead!" Alaran was laughing, which she marveled at. Her mouth was dry and Nanin gently squeezed water from a cloth into her mouth until she could begin to swallow properly and then she lay down to rest.

"We're in Orlais now." Diranni told her, "You've been ill for a while now. We arrived just in time to pull the three of you from the landslide, but you were slipping away. We carried on the journey, tending you as we went."

"How bad was I?"

Alaran looked away, "I didn't think we'd see your eyes open again. I'm glad to have been proved wrong." He sighed, "Your brother and Nanin were quite frantic. They prayed to your gods for you every day."

She was weak, and shivery. She had lost so much weight that her face was gaunt, her limbs frail. Her skin looked ashen, dark circles beneath her eyes. But she was alive and she did her best to continue, though it took her a few days to able to stand unaided, let alone walk. Her ankle had been healed by Diranni, as had Arill's broken arm and the deep cuts to Nanin's head. "We're in the Dales." She said in a wondering voice to Nanin, who was insisting on carrying her. "I always dreamed that I would stand here one day."

He smiled at her, "Lem and I got very excited when we first arrived."

It took days longer than Diranni had predicted but finally, they descended into a valley where amid the trees and greenery, a weathered old mansion stood, its grounds hugely overgrown. Diranni walked at the front, staff in hand, Alaran a little behind her. Laisa was walking slowly, held up between Lemrian and Nanin, with Arill trailing behind them. The place seemed abandoned, and yet the hairs on the back of Laisa's neck prickled. "There's magic here." Alaran turned his head to look at them. "Old magic, unlike any I've seen: protective magic."

Diranni laid a hand against the front door. A dim glow passed over it. They passed inside to a great entrance hall, a flight of stairs leading upwards. The ground was tiled with ornate mosaics, faded tapestries handing on the walls. She led the way into a great hall, a dining room, a chandelier hanging high above. There were elves inside, just a few, wandering freely. Each of them wore a mask, identical, grey and unadorned, that covered from their foreheads to beneath their noses.

Together they hesitated within the room as Diranni left them, promising to be back shortly. Laisa sat wearily at the table, the others around her like a protective guard. They were close now, all of them. Alaran had become like a gruff uncle, and Arill like a shy younger sibling. The young mage would likely never make it to the College of Enchanters now with Tamrion dead, but she seemed undeterred. Diranni promised that she would be trained among the Dread Wolf's servants.