#:headcanon [ RYLEN ]

[pinayelf]

da characters that are filipino in my personal headcanon lol

fenris

alistair

so ofc Fiona is filipino

knight-captain rylen

corporal vale aka the guy at the crossroads:

#filipino alistair is actually so important 2 me lol #in my heart he is ☝🏽 #for legal purposes ofc these are headcanons lol and not canon #plus alistair's backstory is a filipino drama protag backstory so nfjfnf

[knuttydraws]

Of course they are gonna have two wedding parties, they are heading to Starkhaven next to get absolutely smashed with Rylen's fam. Pls bear with me and my disgustingly cute headcanons.

#dragon age #Rylen #knight captain rylen #lavellan #farie lavellan #dragon age inquisition #dragon age fanart #dai #slavic elves #rylavellan #non inky lavellan

[greypetrel]

💐💘 and 👂 for Aisling!

Heyyyy! Thank you very much! <3

Tis the prompt list

💐 : What is their courting style? How would they woo someone?

A mixture of acts of services and quality time. Which is something she naturally does to friends and people she cares for, but with a loved person it gets bigger and more. Five minutes free between two appointments? Pops by where you are just to say hello, a kiss if it's the case, and then off again to the next meeting. Will bring you your very favourite dish for lunch unprompted (she can't cook so it's better if she doesn't make it unless it's something very very basic -she arrives at cooking some eggs, but ask her to bake a cake and she'll invent a Rage Demon living in the oven instead of admitting cooking is not one of her talents. Hi, Doris the haunting queen.), bring you this or that from her travel because she was reminded of you in some way. She's not exceptional at Creation Magic but she will grow your favourite flower and gift it to you just because it's Friday. Search for more physical contact, more purposefully. She got SLOW with Cullen because they were friends, the thing with Cassandra blocked her and she was SURE he didn't reciprocate. The showering you with attention can get pretty obnoxious if you're not interested, but with a direct no, she'll stop immediately.

💘 : Is your OC a very good flirt? Are they charming?

Eh. Yes and no. She's decent at courting, but she never really learnt how to flirt (she has one -1- experience before the Inquisition. Good as far as relationships goes, flirting is not something she never learnt to do after 17). Verbally flirting is stiff and a little by the book ("Got you some gardenias because they're as pretty as you! I grew them myself! 😏" to Cassandra. Cassandra is a sap and so she didn't laugh at her, but you can. Bull did.)

Charming... She's more on the cute side, I think. She's friendly and easy to talk to, and a very good listener. She has her moments, but she's maybe a little too shy to be properly charming in more than a cute way. Confidence for her comes just when her pride is hurt on some things she knows she's good at, or she needs to keep up to do something she's scared of. So yeah, it's... Not an every day feat.

👂 : Does your OC have an attractive voice?

I have to admit, here, that I'm terrible at voice claims ahahahahah xD I got two playthroughs with her and so I kinda imagine her with the voice she has in game (the British accent one, again, just the sound and timbre, nothing at all to say I agree with the VA on anything).

I do have another passable claim, as far as singing goes (but I heard her speaking too, and Scottish accent apart, I can hear Aisling speaking as her as well), which could be Kathleen MacInnes. Aisling is a decent singer, not exceptional, but can hold a note, will hum when she's happy. Maybe she can be attractive when singing, but she needs to be coaxed into it... And she does her best in sad, melancholic songs. She loves best those songs that needs a chorus, she won't sing for the sake of it if other asks her too and if she's to be alone... She just won't and get shy about it.

(I have this headcanon of her and Rylen annoying the whole of Griffon's Wing Keep by going back and forth singing Kate Dalrymple super fast at random times, after she tells him that "oh yeah we've been in Starkhaven for a while with the clan, do you know this nice song?". One starts abruptly, the other replies, Aisling fakes an accent, they go at super speed, everyone else at the tenth time starts yelling at them to please stop.)

#oc ask game #aisling lavellan #greypetrel replies #“In a wee cot house far across the muir-” *Cassandra starts yelling*

[macolegacy]

the way I kept forgetting to send these 🤦‍♀️ UUHM 💋☔️💧 for xoxai & 🧡💖🧺 for bahash

💋— What are their kisses like?

She hasn't kissed much in her life (she can count the people on one hand), but when she did, it always started slow and quite chaste, very shy and hesitant, considering her Jedi upbringing and them being (officially) against any sort of affection like that. However she does quickly get into it, being bolder with each kiss, but in general staying rather soft.

(also deepy amusing to me that you chose bahash for this ask as well, as he literally. was her first kiss à la 'wym u never kissed before?' 'the jedi made themselves quite clear about it. i didnt.' 'would... you like to be? kissed i mean' and there we go LOL)

☔️— What are they like when they’re emotional? How quickly do they recover?

You can literally see the storm behind her eyes when she's angry, seething like a cooking teapot. Most times she manages to stay this way, quiet and 'collected' but absolutely furious, though it doesn't take much to make her burst and lash out.

💧— Random angst headcanon

She's going to save a little child and take them in, and said child looks very similar to her brother that died in her arms. <3 hihi

🧡— How do they say thank you/show appreciation?

With romantic intentions in mind, he very much is vrupet's kid and knows how to pick his gifts for the right 'thank you', all intentions and meanings of the gift very cleverly thought out. That said, he IS a spymaster after all, so he knows what response would be best suited for the person he's trying to impress.

💖— Are they a showy partner? Do they make grand gestures of love or try to be subtle?

He, personally, is rather private and subtle when it comes to showing affection to the public - he as Vrupet's spymaster knows how much that can betray someone and their intentions. Though if his partner expressed they like being showy and receiving bigger gestures, he absolutely would indulge them no questions asked.

🧺— Random domestic headcanon

He cooks! It's something his father taught him and something he keeps improving on the side, when he manages to find time. He always cooks for the girls and Vrupet, and rylen when he's there too <3

#TY FOR THE ASK MWAH #once again. i wish i would talk more about these two they both have interesting stories OTL #theyre buddies btw no romance there #xoxai #bahash #askbox #lydiaalin

[werewolfsmile]

Okay but just imagine: Rylen creates little stone carvings!

He’s the son of a stonemason and he didn’t join the Templars until he was 15. That means he definitely would have been helping out with the family business, learning the trade as best he can from both his father and his elder siblings.

Sure, it’s not the life for him and he joins the Templars to do something useful with his life, or so he says. But he still remembers how to cut stone, still remembers how to manipulate the tools in order to get the smooth curves and fine details. He takes those skills with him, and practices them in his free time.

Rylen doesn’t think he’s that talented. His eldest sister was the expert at fine-detailed carvings, not him. His look positively childish compared to hers! But she’s not there to compare himself to anymore. And so he doesn’t realise how he improves over time.

Then he joins the Inquisition, and he’s surrounded by death and horror and trauma every single day. There’s so little hope in the world, only trial after trial. Rylen is exhausted at the end of each day - but he still finds time to work on a little carving here and there. The creativity grounds him, gives him an outlet he didn’t know he needed. And when the Inquisitor visits him at Griffon Wing Keep, they notice all these gorgeous stone carvings here and there, never realising they were created by one Knight-Captain Rylen. But the Inquisitor loves them. They bring a little light to such a troubled world, and it gives them the strength to keep going.

Just. Rylen as an artist. Rylen using his family skills, even though he doesn’t consider himself a stonemason of any renoun. Just Rylen having this extra layer that no one would expect of the hardened, blunt Templar that he is.

#rylen #knight captain rylen #dai #dragon age inquisition #dragon age #my post #headcanons #in my own canon playthrough #rylen romances rasvena lavellan #she finds out about his stone carvings early on and absolutely adores them #rylen can't always be with her #so he sends her carvings to remember him by #little stone halla and aravels #a varghest that is far too lifelike #and finally #a carving of lavellan #full of love and intricacy so expertly carved #that she drops what she's doing and heads straight out to find him and marry him #and they live happily ever after because who doesn't love a happy ending

[tejaswrites]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tags last week @ammocharis @cleverblackcat and @samuraisaucefrites! tagging forward: @ohmypawsandwhiskers and @noire-pandora

Since it's Camp NaNo this month, most of my focus has been on original work, but I've also been plugging away at (my headcanon for) Rylen's backstory. He’s been chatty this week.

When Rylen arrived at the chantry, Brother Gilead was back in his room, the opened door signaling he was free to talk to any with a need. Rylen stood awkwardly at the threshold, watching him write on some parchment. 

When he cleared his throat, Brother Gilead paused in his writing and glanced up. “Rylen. I didn’t hear you come in.” He set his quill down and placed his hands together on the table in front of him as though he had all the time in the world. “What can I help you with?”

“I thought a lot about what you said the other day...” Rylen hesitated. He’d rehearsed what to say but now the words caught on his tongue.

“And what was that?” asked Brother Gilead as he gestured to the stool. 

Rylen slid down onto it. “About the Templars.” 

“You did? That’s good to hear.”

Again, Rylen hesitated. That nagging sense of...if he didn’t know better he’d say it was fear, but what did he have to be afraid of? That the answer would be no...or that it would be yes? “You really think they’d take me?”

After the question slipped from his lips, he inhaled a deep breath and held it there. Brother Gilead’s eyes darted back and forth across Rylen’s face, and then the corners of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled. “I do.”

“Even with these?” He pointed at the tattoos, ink still fresh on his face. They marked him now. He’d never be able to hide from what he’d almost become.

“They would be blessed to have you, Rylen, tattoos and all.”

#wip wednesday #knight captain rylen #dragon age #fanfic #finally putting all the headcanons together #into one story #also smh at that one time I randomly named a minor character #and then be became important

[laraslandlockedblues]

I see you're patron saint of the Rylen thirst and I can br convinced to thirst after anyone, but we don't see much of him in the games! What do you like about his character? Do you have any cool headcanons for him? Whay makes him an excellent lover?

Hehehe yessss and he is so worth thirsting over.

Even the small bits we see of him in the game just - *chef's kiss*. His humor in the reports he writes and his quips about how at least he missed the shenanigans at the Winter Palace are some of my favorite lines. I love his practical responses too - he knows how to get shit done. Besides the fact that I'm a sucker for his voice and strong nose, lol

Hmmm some cool headcanons...it's always funny how my mind goes blank when asked but let's try lol -

He prefers cats, and liked having them around the Circle in Starkhaven. One in particular curled up on his desk to sleep while he did his work

He got his tattoos because he was homesick, and also because he's damn proud of his prominent nose. I also imagine he has more on his chest and arms to match

He's the only one who can make Cullen's stoicism break when he's working, usually by whispering a dirty joke or deadpan about the situation. Then they turn into two giggling schoolboys who can't keep a straight face no matter how hard they try.

He's pansexual, and because of his role in the Templars never sought more than something casual or to pass the time. The Inquisition finally gives him the room to wonder what more he could have in life.

As for what makes him an amazing lover, I'd say it's how much he enjoys figuring out what makes the other person tick. He wants to make his lovers feel good, about themselves and about the act, and goes out of his way to make that happen for them.

#this got rambly but thank you! #knight captain rylen #rylen #random headcanons

[thevoidwell]

Headcanon:  Ryber is studying some important book and Kullen, from across the room, asks what it is.  She's concentrating on her reading so she doesn't answer right away.  Kullen goes over, wraps his arms around her from behind, and kisses the top of her head before leaning over her shoulder to see the book.  Ryber smiles, finally looking up from her reading and turning her head to give him a peck on the cheek before continuing.  They don't say a word, but he keeps his arms around her, and as she reads the pages, she reaches up to hold his hands.

#the witchlands #susan dennard #ryber fortiza #kullen ikray #ryber x kullen #rylen #headcanon

[warlock-enthusiast]

31. Scared, me?

Fandom: Dragon Age (library AU belonging to @feylen )

Characters: Adria, Galiana, Cullen & Rylen

Rating: T

fictober entries // fictober information

------------------------

Galiana had never been particularly fond of Halloween. Sure, she loved sweets and cute costumes, but the whole horror aspect made her shiver. A haunted house was so far out of her comfort zone that she clung to Adria’s arm and tried to appear brave. 

Though, her heart beat fast and she’d gulped down a beer to calm her nerves. 

She’d chosen a cat costume, not overly revealing but with fluffy ears and a cute nose and even some whiskers, while Adria looked like a stunning witch that would lure anyone into her den. 

Adria patted Galiana’s ears. “We’re in the company of two very strong men, I’m sure that they will protect us from ghosts and zombies.” Her voice held a certain amusement, as if knowing that it was half a joke, and Galiana nodded. 

Rylen raised his fake, rubbery axe. “Scared, me?” His accent became more pronounced and thicker. “Never.”

He’d opted for a scottish soldier, right down to a colorful kilt and some face paint and probably ruining his own heritage with a horrible costume. Galiana would make sure to sent his parents a picture and ask their opinion. 

“I’m a bit scared.” Cullen rocked a classic vampire outfit, matching the tone of Adria’s clothing. A thin line of fake blood ran down his chin and he’d too much fun with his cape, flapping around with the clothing and jumping from small heights. It felt nice to see him so carefree. 

“I’m very afraid, but I’m willing to give this a try.”

Rylen took her hand and snatched her out of Adria’s hold. “What are we waiting for then! Come on.”

She looked over her shoulder and found Cullen and Adria laughing and waving. They would follow. Hopefully. They’d decided to do this together! An evening in a haunted house and some food and horror movies afterwards. 

If she survived, of course. 

Maybe they just wanted alone time. Couple’s night out seemed still rather new and unfamiliar, especially with Rylen now living here. 

Their surroundings seemed dark. Not a bit of light in there sight. The house smelled like something old and rotten and Galiana walked very close to Rylen. Fake fog rose to her ankles and she prayed that her eyes would get used to the darkness. 

Something moved.

Something fast and dark. A huge figure appeared in front of them and she screamed. Non human laughter filled the the room and Rylen hugged her close.

“Be gone, foul monster!” It disappeared again, leaving nothing but a rustling of clothing and an open door that led straight into the next nightmare. She heard chopping noises, as if someone was cutting meat. 

Fantastic. 

Galiana ran straight into a bunch of fake spiderwebs and felt them sticking to her hair and face. 

Rylen put his arm around her waist. “Are you okay? We can go back, if you want.” “No, it’s fine. I …” Galiana bit her lip. “It’s nice, you know, doing this … with you.”

Rylen beamed. “Then follow me.”

#fictober19 #dragon age #galiana trevelyan #adria trevelyan #cullen rutherford #rylen #headcanons #whoop whoop

[witchyangels]

Dragon Age Modern AU Headcanon...

If Cullen is a firefighter, then Alistair is a cop. Alistair likes to have fun with the “rivalry” that police and firefighters have. Cullen is usually annoyed by it, but Rylen has as much fun with it as Alistair and drags Cullen into the fun.

Cullen will not openly admit it...

But he laughed the hardest when Alistair came out in the princess dress he and Rylen left behind when they stole his uniform during a charity event. 

Alistair posed for the cameras.

#modern au headcanons #dragon age headcanons #alistair #cullen #rylen #alistair theirin #cullen rutherford #knight captain rylen #commander cullen #my headcanons

[ellenembee]

Rylen Appreciation Week - Day 1

A super belated entry for Day 1 - Rylen and the templars. It turned into a beast, so I didn’t end up writing any of the other things I wanted. :( But I’m happy with how this turned out. :)

Lucky

Starkhaven Circle, 10 Drakonis, 9:32 Dragon

“Maker’s blood, Corbel, we’ll grow old and die before you manage a good shuffle. Give ‘em here.”

Rylen plucked the deck from the hands of the slightly drunk templar to his left. With a few flicks of his wrist, Rylen deftly shuffled and cut the cards before handing them back to Corbel to deal.

“Oh, well 'scuse me if I didn’t grow up tagging along with the infamous Ironside brothers and their infamous Wicked Grace 'tournaments.’”

Corbel’s slight slurring undermined his snide tone, but still, the comment hit home. As the youngest of the reigning Ironside family, Rylen had rarely done more than annoy his older brothers with questions or sit in the corner shuffling cards during those so-called tournaments.

As a family, the Ironsides had distinguished themselves hundreds of years ago for their integral contributions to the original architecture of Starkhaven. All the stone for every major building, including the Chantry, had been quarried, intricately carved, precisely measured, cut and placed by Rylen’s ancestors.

He’d left all that behind to do something useful, but the name followed him like a ragged cur, nipping at his heels and otherwise proving to be a royal pain in his arse. The other templars, especially those from the area, knew his surname, but he kept it quiet as much as possible.

Knight-Lieutenant Rylen. That was all anyone need ever call him again.

As the cards for the next hand piled up in front of each of the five templars at the table, Rylen grimaced. He quickly schooled his features into a neutral expression, however, as he’d learned long ago to ignore any mention of his family. The templar to Rylen’s right, a Ser Galen, picked up his own cards, glanced at them and then immediately threw them back down in disgust.

“I can’t catch a break tonight. I’m out.”

“Can’t take the heat, Galen?” Corbel razzed.

“I would take a decent hand for once,” Galen countered, “but you can’t seem to dish it out.”

Rylen and the other two templars, Sers Remi and Nyrene, snorted into their cards at the affronted look on Corbel’s face. Corbel made an inappropriate finger gesture in Galen’s direction as the other templar stood up and headed for the door. Rylen smacked Corbel upside the head before turning to call after Galen.

“No reason to get worked up over an empty-headed buffoon who can’t properly deal cards to save his life. Come back. We’ll re-deal.”

But Galen shook his head, a good-natured smile on his face. “Thanks, but I’ve got an early patrol tomorrow.” He walked out the door, but then popped his head back around the door frame. “I’ll be sure to tell Knight-Captain Randall where you all are if I see him.”

Nyrene chucked her empty wooden cup at his disappearing face and called after him, “Do that and you’ll have no one to cover for you next time you get fall-on-your-face drunk before a Harrowing!”

A distant “Bah!” wafted back to them, and they all chucked softly. The small room where the five of them had gathered on their night off had started out years ago as a storage room, but as the templars had been gradually banned from openly congregating on off hours under the strict rules of Knight-Captain Randall, the room near the top of the tower had become a secret haven of sorts for them to blow off steam without losing their marbles.

“So, are we still playing or not?” Remi asked as she hiked her cards up a little closer to her face.

“Of course,” Rylen responded immediately. “I’m not afraid of you, even if you do already have half my week’s wages in that pile there.”

He gestured to her veritable mountain of coin. She lovingly ran her fingers over her haul and quirked a seductive brow at him.

“If you’re out of coin, we can always up the stakes.”

Rylen smirked at her obvious meaning. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d ended up in nothing but the skin the Maker gave him after a card game with Remi. Thing was, she always made it worth his while.

He was about to say something to that effect when muffled shouts reached his ears. The shouts got louder, accompanied now by the pounding of armored boots on stone stairs.

As one, the four templars pushed away from the table and began donning their gear as they rushed for the door. Rylen took an extra moment to buckle his sword around his waist and emerged from the room to find a frantic Galen pulling them down the hallway and talking a mile a minute.

“You have to hurry! We’ve got to get everyone out! It’s too late to-”

“Woah, now,” Rylen interrupted as he caught up and placed a steadying hand on Galen’s shoulder. “Start from the beginning. What’s-”

Galen was already shaking his head and moving away. “There’s no time! We have to get out! The tower is on fire!”

Rylen followed after Galen, with Remi, Nyrene and Corbel at his back. He allowed himself a split second of panic before he got down to business.

“Where’s the Knight-Commander?” Rylen barked.

“Don’t know!”

“Knight-Captain?”

Galen shook his head frantically. “I only found out because I was in my way down to the basement to visit Kelli. The whole library… up in flames. Mages were trying to contain it, but…”

Rylen came to a sudden halt. “The fire’s on the second floor?” A pale-faced Galen nodded. “It will block everyone’s exit.”

Galen’s face paled further as he nodded again. The panic flared brighter, but Rylen smothered it. He had to think.

“What do we do?” Nyrene asked in a shaky voice.

When no one answered, Rylen looked up to find all four templars looking at him… At which point it occurred to him that he was the ranking templar in the group. He swallowed hard. Then got to it.

“Corbel and Nyrene, get up to the top floor. Sweep all the rooms. Pound on the doors and yell for everyone to evacuate, but don’t stop. Once you’ve covered that floor, go down two floors and get everyone there. Send people out as quickly as you can. Then get out. Got it?”

“Yes, Knight-Lieutenant!”

“Go!”

They both scrambled for the stairs, and Rylen turned to Galen and Remi. “You two, do the same for this floor and the floors below.”

Remi hesitated. “What about you?”

“I’m going to make sure we don’t miss anyone.”

She looked about to argue, but Rylen turned away with a barked order to get to it. He followed after Corbel and Nyrene, his heart pounding harder in his chest as the acrid smell of charred paper wafted up the stairwell.

A wispy layer of smoke hung in the air on the top floor, and Rylen choked a little as he scoured the floor after the other two. He came across a few bleary-eyed, night-shift templars and directed them down the stairs. When he was satisfied the floor was cleared, he headed down.

He kept it up for the next eight floors, occasionally catching a straggler and sending them packing. By the time he reached the third floor, a small group of mages had congregated at the stairwell. Only mages. No other templars. Rylen pushed his way through the group only to find the stairway blocked by debris.

“They were trying to stop the blaze with ice, but several bookcases shattered under the strain,” a mage offered in a trembling voice. “They are trying to get through to us… At least… I think they are.”

Already, tendrils of smoke curled around the debris at the bottom of the stairs. Rylen growled and turned to the small group.

“Well I’m not keen on waiting for someone else to save us. What specialties do we have in the group?”

The mages looked around at each other, clearly terrified. Rylen growled again.

“'Tis a simple question! D'ye wish te save yerselves 'r not?”

“I’m focusing on ice magic,” offered the same woman from before. Two others echoed her declaration.

“Excellent. You’ll be making an ice tunnel for us all to get through. Anyone else?”

Rylen divided out the storm mages and tasked them with making rain. One of the fire mages revealed he knew some fire suppression glyphs he’d been working on as part of a larger spell.

“Though it’s only theoretical,” the mage warned. “I haven’t tested it, yet.”

“Well, you’ve got your chance today,” Rylen said as he turned to the remaining mage, a petite elf with fiery red hair.

“And what do you do?”

She shrugged. “I’m going to move that debris for you.”

He lifted a brow at her. “Force mage?”

“Aithlin, at your service, Knight-Lieutenant,” she responded, giving him an exaggerated curtsey.

In no mood for theatrics, Rylen shook his head and looked down the stairs at the heavily smoking debris.

“Maker protect us. We’re out of time,” he murmured before raising his voice. “Alright everyone, here’s the plan. We’ll move forward as a group, clearing debris and keeping our group shielded by ice and rain as we go. We have to move quickly because…” Rylen paused as he looked at the group of mages. “Well, you all know your limits.”

They nodded. Not one challenged him, not even the impertinent, red-haired Aithlin. He prayed to the Maker that he wasn’t leading them all to their deaths.

Just then, the stones groaned under their feet, and the whole floor shuddered. Before the shudders stopped, Rylen spun on his heel and flew down the stairs, the mages not far behind. At the bottom, he reached for a beam blocking their path, but Aithlin stepped in his way, her arms raised and her back to him.

“Barriers!” she called out.

Rylen felt the hum of magic surround him. Layers of barriers built one over the other, and he looked around to see the barrier shimmering around each person. A few seconds later, one of the mages nodded.

“Now!” one of the other mages shouted.

Two of the elemental mages raised their hands, and an ear-popping drop in air pressure followed by a burst of air nearly lifted them all off their feet. Aithlin pushed out with her hands, and debris blew out of the passage…

A roaring inferno flooded the stairway, enveloping them all in a barrage of heat and flames and smoke. Rylen felt the barriers around him weaken as flames buffeted against the magic, and shrieks of terror filled the stairwell. At least one elemental mage had kept their head, however, because rain suddenly descended upon them.

Rylen cursed aloud as the potentially fatal flaw in his plan became apparent when water hissed and exploded into billowing clouds of superheated steam. The entire group began coughing as the steam mixed with the noxious gases that had been trapped in the library.

“Everyone! On the floor!” Rylen bellowed through his own hacking. “Breathe through cloth if you can.”

He wasn’t sure if the mages could hear him over the thunder of fire and exploding water, but he dropped to the ground, unable to keep himself upright from the spasming in his lungs. If the mixture of steam, smoke and water hadn’t already rendered him blind, his own tears would have done so now.

“Quickly!” he rasped. “Move to the left!”

They crawled together into the wider space of the former library and then moved toward the tower’s outer wall. What had effectively become a steam storm still raged around them, each elemental mage casting at intervals to keep the thin layer of protection in place. The steam and smoke seemed to rise in the tall room, however, and Rylen moved to the front of the group as he wiped away the soot and tears blurring his vision.

“More barriers!” came a hoarse shout from the back - Aithlin he thought.

Rylen squinted into the mist and saw that the fire had indeed concentrated on the bookcases to their right, which left the way to the stairs relatively free. The heat and smoke from the fire, however, could kill them before they’d crawled the two hundred feet to freedom.

“Wall of ice to the right! Now!”

In response, a wall of ice rose up, and more hissing and popping and cracking filled their ears. The heat seemed to melt the ice almost as quickly as the mages could cast, but it afforded them a bit of relief from the flames as well as reprieve from the acrid air.

“Hold on to one another if you can!” he shouted. “And move quickly!”

Rylen felt a hand grasp his boot as he surged forward. The mages followed, casting when they could. A few moans of terror erupted each time the floor rumbled beneath them, and Rylen mentally calculated their odds of escaping the tower before it collapsed on them.

Not good.

Each breath became more difficult, his thoughts becoming hazy and detached. Each hand and knee forward became a rhythm of sheer determination even as his stomach lurched and threatened to empty then and there. A few times, the elemental mages ushered in a gust of fresher air, and he breathed in the sweet, relatively clear air with desperate inhalations. Each blast of air seemed to exacerbate the fire, however, so they stopped. They’d almost reached the stairwell when a desperate cry rose up from the back.

“Corinne has passed out! Someone help me!”

Rylen heard Aithlin take charge, her directions to the other mages ringing out behind him. Confident in the force mage’s ability to wrangle the others and get everyone to the stairway, he broke away from the group to assess the rest of the route. They’d been lucky that nothing had obstructed their path up to this point, and if tears weren’t already streaming down his face, he’d have cried with joy at the sight of a clear stairwell. The fire seemed to be pulling air up through the passage, and he breathed in with relish. He finally stood once more, though the smoke still wafted around them and burned his throat and eyes.

“Hurry now!” he croaked as loudly as his swollen throat would allow. “The stairway is just here!”

The mages rose from their hands and knees and ran by him swiftly now, each more desperate for fresh air than the last. Four mages brought up the rear, two of them dragging between them a mage he assumed was Corinne. Aithlin brought up the rear. She pulled a cloth from her mouth and jerked her head forward.

“That’s all of them! Go!”

Rylen shook his head. “You first!”

The elf had the audacity to roll her eyes at him, but she didn’t stop to argue. Rylen took one last look back to make sure they gotten everyone.

And that was his downfall.

The wooden beam fell without warning, crashing into his left side and pinning him to the floor in a matter of seconds. His armor offered some protection from the impact, but the red-hot coals clinging to the burning beam heated that same armor to excruciating levels.

A scream tore through Rylen’s raw throat as the steel burned into his skin. A noise to his left cut through the haze of pain, and he peered through bleary eyes to find Aithlin standing in the stairway.

“Get out you damn fool!” he yelled at her, though weakly.

“Without you?” she snapped back. “Not likely, Knight-Lieutenant.”

She’d already begun moving her hands, and with a lift and a shove of her arms, the beam lifted away from him and disappeared into the expanding black and orange inferno beyond. He tried to get up, but he felt drunk, the pain from before replaced with numbness.

“Lucky for your bulky templar ass, I know hauling spells.”

Rylen thought he might have laughed at this, but his brain had disconnected from his body, so he couldn’t really tell. He fell in and out of consciousness as she pulled him with her magic the last few feet to the stairs and then down and out into the cool night.

“More survivors!”

“Grab her!”

“Don’t let her escape! We’ve lost enough of them in the chaos as it is!”

“Is that the Knight-Lieutenant?”

“He’s injured - get him to the healers immediately!”

The last thing he remembered before falling into unconsciousness was the look of resignation in Aithlin’s eyes as two templars led her off into the night.

**

Three weeks later

“You’re lucky to be alive, Knight-Lieutenant. What were you thinking, risking your life like that? And for what? A few mages? You should have evacuated immediately with the rest of the Circle.”

An agitated Knight-Captain Randall paced from wall to wall in the small room that had become the infirmary in their makeshift “Circle” provided by the Chantry. Rylen watched from under hooded lids, trying to feign the exhaustion that, in the past, had served to rid him of this particular unwanted guest. This time, however, Randall didn’t seem to be falling for it.

Only a few people besides Rylen remained in the room as they recovered from injuries sustained in the fire - three of the mages he’d led out of the tower along with a few templars and mages closest to the fire when it had broken out in the library. Corbel, Galen, Nyrene and Remi had all made it out safely, thank the Maker, and came to visit him when their duties allowed. Remi had also made him some rather graphic promises of what she’d do to him if he’d only get better. 

The healers had done as much as they could for the burns extending from Rylen’s torso to his knee on the left side of his body, but they still didn’t know if he’d recover the use of his left leg. Too early to tell, they said.

But then again, Corinne hadn’t made it at all, so what did he have to complain about?

The familiar pang of regret hit him as he knew it would, and before he’d thought better of it, he sighed aloud. Randall stopped in his tracks.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Of course, Knight-Captain,” Rylen responded automatically in a rough voice.

His throat still burned if he tried to speak too much, which had come in handy during the other interrogations from the Knight-Commander and the Seekers who had arrived to investigate the fire. Rylen had told them as much as he could before descending into coughing fits. They’d left him alone after that.

What Rylen had yet to learn - what no one would bother to tell him - was what had happened to Aithlin. He’d made sure both the Knight-Commander and the Seekers knew of her leadership, bravery and self-sacrifice. Each time, they’d only look at one another and murmur some empty platitude.

“I’d be more apt to listen if you’d tell me what I want to know,” Rylen finally snapped.

He then opened his eyes wide, as did Randall. They blinked at one another for a moment before Rylen finally threw up his hands in defeat.

“Fuck it all! I’m sorry, Randall, but I need to know what has happened to Aithlin. I don'na need to be coddled like a wee child. Just tell me.”

Randall’s jaw clenched, his features contorting in fury. “That mage again! What do you care?”

“That mage saved my fucking life! I didn’t know her from a hole in the ground before she dragged my ass out of that blazing inferno, but she risked her life to get me out. She could’ve left me. Could’ve escaped with the others…”

Randall’s face had gone completely red, and he sputtered a few times before the words burst from his mouth like a viper’s venom. “She did escape, you damned fool! And she nearly killed two templars in the process! Yes, that’s right. All this time, you’ve been bending over backward to praise a filthy apostate, and we don’t even have her phylactery to find her. To find any of them!”

Randall’s chest heaved with the force of his emotion, and Rylen could only stare at the man, dumbstruck. He hadn’t expected her to remain with grace, of course. His brief moments with her had taught him not to expect that. But to harm templars while escaping… why then had she bothered to save him at all?

When Rylen didn’t respond to Randall’s tirade, the Knight-Captain finally took the hint and stalked out of the infirmary. Rylen could feel the gaze of every mage and templar in the room, but he adamantly focused on drilling a hole through his bed clothes with his eyes.

For the rest of the day, he went through the motions of recovery with the healers. His mind, however, reeled with the knowledge that the plucky mage had saved him… only to turn around and almost kill other templars a moment later.

Exhausted from the day’s events, Rylen finally fell into a fitful slumber shortly after the sun had gone down. He woke in the middle of the night to a vaguely familiar voice hissing at him from the darkness.

“Pssst! Wake up, you lazy ass!”

He shifted on the cot without thinking, and sucked in a sharp breath as a wave of pain crashed through him. A tsking sound erupted into the stillness of the night.

“Well, you’re still a mess, aren’t you?”

Finally, his brain caught up with his instincts. “Aithlin?” he whispered.

A dim mage light sparked to life a few feet from him, illuminating a swath of red hair and a rather cheeky grin. For an apostate on the run, he had to admit she looked rather well.

“What in the Void are you doing here?” he hissed at her. “Randall will give you the brand for sure if he catches you.”

“And whose fault is that?” she murmured back. “If you hadn’t waxed poetic about me to those Seekers, no one would have remembered I existed.”

Rylen ground his teeth as the ingrained urge to wake everyone and capture the apostate nearly won out over his sense of gratitude. He should call out. He should-

“Don’t even think about it, templar. I’d be out of here before you could shout 'apostate.’”

“Why are you here, then, lass? You’re taking a great risk.”

For the first time since she’d provided that tiny glow, her eyes flitted away from him, and her smile faltered. “Randall greatly exaggerated the tale of my escape, you know?”

“How did you-?” He stopped and shook his head. “Nevermind. I don’t think I want to know.”

Her eyes darted back to him at this and the grin returned. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for, templar.”

“Sooo…” he drew out softly. “You’re risking your freedom to make sure I know your escape wasn’t as impressive as I was led to believe?”

She shrugged. “I just thought you should know I never meant to harm them. Not really. I only threw them far enough that they couldn’t silence me. That one of them hit their head on a rock and bled a little… well, I didn’t intend for that to happen. And they’re both fine, now, by the way.”

“You’re ridiculous, lass. You realize you’re close enough for me to silence you right now?”

“You won’t.”

“Oh?”

“Mmm-Hmmm.”

And she was right. He wouldn’t, though the main reason for that boiled down to the fact that he’d probably pass out if he tried. Their eyes met, and he held her gaze for a moment before raising his brows.

“Well. Thank you for telling me.”

She nodded without breaking eye contact, her grin widening. “Had to defend my honor to the soon-to-be Starkhaven Knight-Captain, didn’t I?”

Rylen’s brain stopped for a moment before racing ahead without him. He opened his mouth to speak, but she merely blew a kiss at him and extinguished her mage light.

“Aithlin?” he hissed into the sudden darkness. “Lass? Where’d you go?”

He waited in silence for any indication of her departure, but all remained still. Finally, he accepted that she’d found some way to enter and exit without a sound and settled back on his cot.

Sleep proved elusive, however, as Aithlin’s words echoed over and over in his mind late into the night. Rylen could only surmise that the Seekers’ investigation had revealed some sort of gross misconduct or abdication of duty within the Circle. Randall’s anger and attempts to shift blame certainly made far more sense if the man feared losing his position.

Rylen shifted uncomfortably on the narrow cot as he considered the possibility that they would actually make him Knight-Captain. Randall had always been a somewhat ineffectual leader, gaining his position through politics and family name rather than through ability. Rylen, though his surname gave him some leverage, had earned his promotion to Knight-Lieutenant through hard work, even overcoming a rather poor start with the Order to earn the position.

Knight-Captain Rylen. It did have a certain ring to it.

His final thought before falling asleep was that he’d have to get better at mage hunting if he were going to be a Knight-Captain.

#rylen appreciation week #rylenappreciationweek #dragon age #knight captain rylen #dragon age lore #dragon age headcanon #starkhaven #starkhaven circle fire #templars #mages and templars #mages #rylen appreciation week day 1 #knight-lieutenant rylen #revelations #revelation world state

[jellysharkbat]

My personal headcanon of Cullen's closest (but not all!) friends within the Inquisition:

-Rylen

-Barris

-Cassandra

-Dorian

And strangely enough: Krem

He wasn't expecting to get on as well with Krem as he does, but there it is! Krem tries to get him into the pub more often, while Cullen tries to get Krem into the training ring with him more.

He just wishes Krem wouldn't use him to pull pranks on Dorian...

#some of the things Krem has taught him to say in Tevene #would make Mother Giselle blush #Dorian couldn't be more delighted if he tried #dragon age #cullen rutherford #knight captain rylen #knight captain barris #cassandra pentaghast #dorian pavus #krem de la creme

[ofvaliantheart]

TAG DROP ! RYLEN.

#:in character [ RYLEN ] #:aesthetic [ RYLEN ] #:musings [ RYLEN ] #:headcanon [ RYLEN ] #:starter call [ RYLEN ] #:ask meme [ RYLEN ] #:playlist [ RYLEN ] #:visage [ RYLEN ] #:desires [ RYLEN ] #:tag drop #:open starter [ RYLEN ]

[laraslandlockedblues]

You know what I crave? Some lemonade :) What are Rylen and Abby's favorite sexual positions, and what is the one thing Abby can do that will turn Rylen on? (and vice versa) :P

It’s always time for lemonade, lol

Rylen and Abby both loooove doggy style. Rylen is an ass man for sure, and he loves being able to hold and watch her bubble butt while he takes her. It also works well for them because of their significant height difference, and it’s always great for quickies. They also like cowgirl or lotus, especially when they’re feeling more like tender lovemaking instead of just getting down to it.

Abby is a sucker for Rylen’s eyes, and there’s definitely a Look that he can give her that has her ready to drop everything and do whatever he says. He has a habit of shooting it at her across a room when they can’t sneak off to be alone, so that by the time they are she’s desperate for him. As for Rylen - he loves teasing and loves poking and prodding Abby to get her to sass him. Her sarcasm and wit never fail to make him want her, and he loves when she gives as good as she gets and presses his buttons until he’s frustrated. It’s the best way to get him to drag her off to a private corner or somewhere they can be alone.

#lemons #abigail and rylen #lemonade headcanons #tmi wednesday #thanks for the ask! #a-shakespearean-in-paris

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Dragon Age ask <3

45. Which 3 DA characters would you want as your best friends? 54. Fluffiest headcanon ever? 73. Favorite OST song(s)? 101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say?

*hyperventilates as I eye up the first question* It's obvious, but you knoooooow!

Thank you for the ask! X3 <3

45. Which 3 DA characters would you want as your best friends?

Number 1, and we all know who the HELL I want iiiiiisssss....DREAD DOG! *sounds the horns* Listen, I may simp and hyperventilate and get all ooey gooey when I see that lovable wolf, but I love to be his friend. I think the reason I love Solas so much is because he's the type of person I would want to be around. And I would just adore listening to him and maybe showing him that I understand where he's coming from, about the Veil, about his feelings, about it all.

Number 2 would have to be Dorian because UGH. He's just the best. All that snark, sass, and none of it is ill meaning? Please God. I need a best friend in my life that will call me out on my shit and joke with me in the next moment because YES.

Number 3 would have to be Merrill! Big shift, I know, but I think she's just the sweetest, most intelligent person and she didn't get as good as what she deserved. She's very passionate, and she doesn't let close minded fools smash her into the ground. That would be refreshing to me, to have someone so bright and vibrant when I tend to be...grey. (Oh, god. Inner Fane is coming out. XD)

54. Fluffiest headcanon ever?

More found family coming your way! Eeheh!

I imagine Skyhold, old and ancient, but somehow new, reawakened by the hustle and bustle of life where there were otherwise bones and cold stone. Sera, giggling and snorting as her lasted prank comes to fruition, climbing the rooftops and sticking her tongue out as a noble prick is oblivious to her presence. Blackwall, seemingly dour and head hung low, but still finds it in his heart to craft a toy, a trinket for tiny children that weren't bloodied and scarred, and reaching down to pet a dog, meeting its eyes when once upon time he had shut the door on them. Vivienne, gazing from her lofty peak, sparkling and glittering with experience and pride that is justified, a book in her hand and knowledge under her belt as alchemical pursuits are given a new purpose after a failure that was not a failure, but a happenstance of life. Varric, coaxing and cunningly drawing the others out of their corners, attempting to bring them together like a dear friend, who had experience too much and was given too little, had done for years and years, even as a city he yearns for burned and crumbled.

Cole, watching and waiting, feet tapping against the ancient stones that sang like the Fade, blue eyes curious and full of wonder as they watch mortals go about their days, always wondering why they were viewed as being different when they were wholly the same. Solas, quiet and accepting, but knows he cannot as ghosts clamber behind the walls, the glass, the mirrors, reaching for him even as he tries to escape into a place he wanted to explore for centuries on end, whittling away the hours painting, researching, trying to find a way that could be real, if only he could dream in reality.

Again, I could go on and on. I see very poetic things for machinations of day to day life and it's mainly what I think the characters are thinking between those days. :D

73. Favorite OST song(s)?

I LOVE the Descent DLC soundtrack! Especially the song that plays when you're in the chamber with all the fire and the darkspawn nest! Sends chills right now by spine! And even though I haven't played Trespassser (I'm a baby, shh.), I love Lost Elf. It makes me fucking BALL. *wants to give Solas a HUG* I also lose it when I heard Hawke's theme after Adamant, and especially if you leave them in the Fade. *cries some MORE*

101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say?

MY CHILDREN! I would scream before Fane's boot met my face for all the bullshit I put him through! XD Honestly though, I would probably say, "I'm proud because you've all had to go through the ringer to get to where you are now. Well done and you deserve to rest. :3" And then Fane would smash me into a wall until Rylen pulled him off and Elise scurried over like, "Mother!" XD

#ask #asks #dragon age #i think i'm going to go listen to DA soundtracks now XD #fane would seriously want to throttle me ngl #i torture him the most out of all my OCs XD #i want solas to be my friend ;3; #tell me the SECRETS WOLFY BOY #thank you for the ask!