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exhausted-archivist · 1 year

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Bestiary of Thedas

From bird to insect, fish to land animal. Every creature mentioned in Dragon Age, blighted and non-blighted, spirits and demon, created and possessed creatures alike are listed along with their breeds, subspecies, or variations.

If you want a more specific list, check out the post for Real World Animals in Thedas

Updated: 2023/11

Amphibian

Frog

Salamander

Toad

Horned Toad

Poison Toad

Birds

Albatross

Black-capped Songbird

Bluebird

Budgerigar

Bunting

Buzzard

Canary

Crow

Dove

Duck

Mallard Duck

Eagle

Falcon

Finch

Goose

Grouse

Gull

Hawk

Kingfisher

Lark

Magpie

Merlin

Mockingbird

Nightingale

Owl

Parakeet

Parrot

Partridge

Peafowl

Pheasant

Pigeon

Ptarmigan

Quail

Raven

Robin

Rock Darter - Native to the Anderfels, an insect eating bird.

Seagull

Simir - A bird hunted in Tevinter for the magical properties in their feathers.

Sparrow

Swan

Swift

Turkey

Vulture

Bald-necked Vulture

Fish and Marine Creatures

Blind Tetrava

Bluefin

Carp

Cetus

Cod

Eel

Lamprey Eel

Jellyfish

Krone

Mackerel

Octopus

Raytooth

River Herring

Shark

Squid

Giant Squid

Trout

Whale

Bony Whale-Shark

Pilot Whale

Whitebait

Crustaceans and Shellfish

Clam

Crab

Giant Swamp Crab

Crayfish

Cuttlefish

Lobster

Mussel

Oyster

Prawns

Shrimp

Insects

Bee

Bumblebee

Honeybee

Beetle

Cave Beetle

Death Watch Beetle

Dung Beetle

Glow Worm

Roof Beetle

Wood-burrowing Beetle

Butterfly

Cricket

Dragonfly

Firefly

Flea

Fly

Blue Flies

Giant Spider

Giant Poisonous Spider

Giant Spiderling

Poison Spider

Gnat

Hornet

Ladybug

Leeches

Locust

Maggot

Scorpion

Silkworms

Slugs

Snail

Spider

Wasp

Worm

Earthworm

Poison Worm

Tapeworm

Mammals

Badger

Honey Badger

Bat

Giant Bats

Bear

Black Bear

Brown Bear

Cavern Bear

Great Bear

Large Bear

Boar

Bogfisher

Bronto

Cat

Cattle

Bull

Cow

Qalab

Chicken

Cockerel

Cretahl

Dathrasi

Deer

Red Deer

Stag

Dog

Coursing Hound

Ferelden Shepard

Hunting Dog

Mabari

Pug

Rat Terrier

Sheepdog

Wild Dog

Wofun Hound

Donkey

Druffalo

Elephant

Elk

Ermine

Fennec

Ferret

Fox

Gazelle

Ghast

Giant

Goat

Ayesleigh gulabi goats

Mountain Goat

Griffon

Gurn

Halla

Hamster

Hare

Hart

Bercilian Sure-Foot

Greater Frostback Elk

Pride of Arlathan

Red Hart

Royal Sixteen

Tirashan Swiftwind

White Hart

Wild Hart

Horse

Amaranthine Charger

Anderfel

Anderfel Courser

Asaarash

Avvar Mixed Draft

Dalish All-Bred

Fereldan Forder

Free Marches Ranger

Frostback Mountain Horse

Green Dales Feral

Imperial Warmblood

Inquisition Barded Charger

Oath-Bound Steed

Orlesian Courser

Taslin Strider

Hyena

Jackal

Jackrabbit

Lion

Great Lion

Red Lion

Lynx

Marmot

Marten

Mole

Monkey

Moose

Mountain Lion

Mouse

Chip Mouse

Mule

Nug

Nuggalope

Avvar War Nug

Battle Nug

Greater Nuggalope

Greater Mountain Nuggalope

Gwaren Land-Hammer

Knuckled Thunderer

Tiddles Majoris

Otter

Pig

Rabbit

Raccoon

Ram

August Ram

Rat

Giant Rat

Sheep

Snoufleur

Spotted Cat

Spotted Hunting Cat

Squirrel

Tiger

Tusket

Voles

Weasel

Wolf

Black Wolf

Crag Wolf

Great Wolf

Wolverine

Reptiles

Adder

Death Adder

Basilisks

Cobra

Crocodile

Deepstalker

Deepstalker Matriarch - largest deepstalker

Deepstalker Leader - always male, second largest deepstalker

Deepstalker Runner

Dracolisk

Abyssal Hang-Tooth

Basking Longma

Blue River Bane

Desert Lightning

Hunter Shade Dracolisk

Mountain Dracolisk

Primal-Trained Longma

Sharp-Tail

Dragon

Abyssal High Dragon

Fereldan Frostback

Gamordan

Stormrider

Greater Minstral

Guardian of Mythal

Highland Ravager

Hivernal

Hunterhorn Shrikes

Kaltenzahn

Northern Hunter

Sandy Howler

Stonejaw

Vinsomer

Dragonling

Drake

Great Dragon

Guardian Serpent

Gurgut

Lurker

Phoenix

Quillback

Sand Stalker - a small vermin-like creature similar to deepstalkers

Sand Stalker Spitter

Sand Stalker Leader - larger than common sand stalkers

Varghest

Viper

Wyvern

Snowy Wyvern

Created Creatures

Golem

Varterral

Blighted Creatures

Bereskarn

Blight Owl

Blight Wolf

Blighted Werewolf

Bloodcrow

Corrupted Spider

Corrupted Spider Queen

Darkspawn

Archdemon

Broodmothers

Children

Emissary

Genlock

Hurlock

Ogre

Shriek

Darkspawn Magisters (Named and known)

The Architect

Corypheus

Dragon Thrall

Ghoul

Created Creatures

Golem

Varterral

Demons and Spirits

Spirits

Choice

Command

Compassion

Faith

Hope

Justice

Knowledge

Perseverance

Valor

Wisdom

Memory

Wisp

Wraith

Demons

Desire

Despair

Envy

Fear

Hunger

Pride

Rage

Remorse

Shade

Sloth

Terror

Vengeance

Possessed/Magical Creatures

Abomination

Arcane Horror

Ash Wraith

Corpse

Devouring Corpse

Devouring Skeleton

Enraged Corpse

Fanged Skeleton

Shambling Corpse

Shambling Skeleton

Skeleton

Skeleton Archer

Skeleton Mage

Walking Corpse

Dryads

Harvester

Revenant

Rock Wraith

Ancient Rock Wraith

Sylvans

Vampire

Werewolf

Wood Nymphs

Undefined

Glowing Slime

Firesprite

Wandering Hills

Sources

Dragon Age Origins + DLCs Dragon Age Awakening Dragon Age 2 + DLC Dragon Age Inquisition + DLC Dragon Age Inquisition Multiplayer Dragon Age: Last Court Dragon Age: Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas Dragon Age Tabletop Core Rulebook Dragon Age Tabletop Blood of Ferelden World of Thedas Vol 1 World of Thedas Vol 2 Dragon Age: Asunder Dragon Age: Masked Empire Dragon Age: Last Flight Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights Short Story: The Riddle of Truth Short Story: Varric Dragon Age Origins Armor: Clamshell Armor Armor: Dalish Gloves Codex: The Bow of the Golden Sun Codex: Bronto Codex: Deepstalker Codex: The Frostback Mountains Codex: Meditations and Odes to Bees Codex: Nug Codex: Rat Codex: The Vaterral Item: Fox's Pendant Item: Golden Mirror Item: Lamb Bone Item: Micah/s Lucky Deer Foot Item: Ox Bone Item: Rat Poison Item: Uncrushable Pigeon Weapon: Cat Lady's Hobble-Stick Dragon Age 2 Armor: Rat-Nibbled Gloves Codex: Broken Dowsing Rods - No Refunds Codex: Carta Bronto Codex: Pride and Rider Junk: Stuffed Parrot Quest: Redblossom Special Weapon: The Tiger's Tail Last Court The Acerbic Dowager The Applewoods The Arrival of the Divine The Boastful Neighbor The Cheery Baron Choose your quarry The Dowager Steps Forward Enlightenment Glass Glassblowers' Anger Graffiti A Life of Toil A Meeting with the Outlaw A Plea for Sanctuary River Herring The Sealed Chantry A Swift Stream Sylvian Raid An Unofficial Meeting The Well-Read Pig-Farmer You have cornered the bear You have the hind in view Dragon Age Inquisition Items and Codex Codex: August Ram Codex: Andruil's Messenger Codex: Bear (Inquisition) Codex: Constellation Tenebrium Codex: Correspondence Interruptus Codex: Crate of the Live Death Watch Beetles Codex: Cretahl Codex: Dirthamen: Keeper of Secrets Codex: The Folly of General Not-Shertan Codex: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla Codex: Hard in Hightown Chapter 15 Codex: A Horsemaster's Notes on Mounts Codex: The Hunt of the Fell Wolf Codex: Journal of Gurd Harofsen Codex: The Lion of Orlais Codex: Moldy Journal Codex: A Nutty Affair Codex: On Avvar Cuisine Codex: The Perendale War Codex: Ram Codex: Scout Lace Harding Codex: Surviving the Western Approach Landmark: Crestwood: The Guide of Falon'Din Note: Charred Note Note: Sera's Cabinet of Wonder Whose it Was Valuable: Carved Cricket Charm Valuable: Cut Crystal Lion Valuable: Eagle Feather Charm Valuable: Falcon Crest Valuable: Glass Fox Valuable: Golden Ladybug Charm Valuable: Grouse Feather Charm Valuable: Raven Totem Valuable: Silver Dragonfly Charm Valuable: Vulture Feather Charm Valuable: Wooden Mabari Figurine Wartable Mission: A Present for Bianca Wartable Mission: Smash

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#dragon age #fauns of thedas #da ttrpg #lore reference #writing reference #da writing reference #da worldbuilding #dragon age reference #fauna fridays #long post #creature: birds #creature: insect #creature: spider #creature: fish #creature: horse #creature: dragon #creature: hart #creature: nug

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anghraine · 1 year

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I was tagged by @ladytharen in a cool fic meme! The idea is to post the first lines of your ten most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, that's fine, just go with what you have (if you want to do it; no pressure if you don't!).

Tagging: @ncfan-1, @hoidn, @kareenvorbarra, @elwing, @heckofabecca, @irresistible-revolution, @kazaera, @lantur, @melyzard, @steinbecks

Love, Pride & Delicacy | Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth/f!Darcy, WIP

When Mr Wickham first arrived in Hertfordshire, Elizabeth was as ready as anyone to admire him, and perhaps readier to be admired in return.

The original draft of this fic was on hold for nearly ten years until it struck me that I could begin much earlier in the story, at the first point where Catherine Darcy was likely to come up—Wickham's tale of how Miss Darcy had horribly mistreated him. This has meant more Wickham content than I ever anticipated, but it also propelled the fic forwards.

2. Untitled | Guild Wars 2, AU of pro patria, Gwen Velazquez (Ascalonian human female PC w/ street origin and a missing sister) and Deborah Velazquez gen, WIP

Gwen always knew the Seraph would hunt her down one day.

I told myself I wasn't going to write fic for this, and then, well. I am what I am.

3. Untitled redux | Guild Wars 2, same universe as #2, Gwen Velazquez/Althea Fairchild, WIP

Gwen Velazquez regretted many things about her time among the Bloodcrow bandits. Robbing nobles was not one of them.

I then told myself the main part of the 'verse would be a one-shot, lol, so I didn't end up with a pro patria-sized monster. It's not a one-shot. It's been an interesting balance between trying to lean into GW2 feelings while also staying relatively accessible. We'll see! Someday.

4. the captain and the hero | Guild Wars 2, side-story to pro patria, Althea Fairchild (human female PC w/ noble origin) and Logan Thackeray gen, on hiatus

Even by Logan’s usual standards, the battle at Shaemoor was ugly.

This fic floated around my head for a long time and finally would not be contained, and this seemed the right place to jump in. It probably will never go very far, but I'm still fond of it.

5. and the sun shone | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), Faramir/Éowyn, WIP

The Steward Faramir was, Éowyn swiftly concluded, a strange man.

Fun fact: in my drafts, this was just called "F/É telepathy fic".

6. Untitled | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir/Éowyn, WIP

Even in Gondor, Éowyn was cold. She had always supposed it would be warm, if she ever came here. And after Aragorn’s arrival in Edoras, she had very often imagined herself in Minas Tirith, for all the obstacles in his way. Someday, she had let herself hope, perhaps—and she had come after all, but not at all in the way she anticipated. And she was still cold.

The document for this one is "Fíriel mingling". Guess what it's about! :D

7. pro patria | Guild Wars 2, slight AU of canon following Althea Fairchild (a noble, Ascalonian, human female version of the PC), WIP

I always thought of myself as Ascalonian first, and Krytan second.

It's a weirdly-structured fic that mostly was a depository for my GW2 feelings, with a bitter main character who continually vacillates between hauteur, adaptable personas, and hovering on the edge of violence. Lots of fun and it couldn't have begun any other way.

8. the voices of the sea | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir and Boromir, ft. Tar-Míriel

The dream always began the same way.

I was thinking about how a female, non-military Faramir would get news of Boromir via the water, and then had the idea of linking it to the dream of Númenor for extra pain. The true goal of fanfic!

9. The Jedi and the Sith Lord | Star Wars (films only), f!Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

If Darth Vader did not avoid the sight of his daughter in carbonite, he certainly did not seek it out. Solo’s features had been frozen in lines of shock and pain. Lucy, however, did not look surprised, but resigned, her upturned face hardened into a look of hopeless dread. After his first inspection in Cloud City, he felt no need or desire to examine her unchanging features any more closely.

The previous fic in this series ended with Lucy in carbonite for Reasons. This fic is all about how their relationship develops from there and was definitely the most purely enjoyable to write of the whole series. This opening was one of the oldest part of it, written years before I got the rest out.

The overall story, however, begins more simply:

Padmé screamed.

10. we also are daughters of the great | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir/Éowyn

“Is there no deed to do? Who commands in this City?”

The Warden looked uncertain.

The same universe as #6! I don't usually begin with dialogue, but it can be especially helpful (for me) with AUs, to signal the ways in which it's splitting off or which scene is being played with.

#anghraine babbles #meme #meme prattle #fic talk #fic talk: love pride and delicacy #fic talk: gwen redux #fic talk: lucy skywalker #i. uh. am not tagging them all #long post #genderbending

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goddamnwebcomics · 10 months

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Damn. Alberta actually spotted Miranda’s car and calls her Super Yiffer like back in the good old days, and then he fucks up her van holy shit.

I think I like Alberta more than our stupid heroes, he’s just an edgelord but he’s an edgelord who’s kind of aware he’s an edgelord and continues to be an edgelord because he doesn’t give a fuck about people. Maybe it’s better he has no deep motivations, he just wants to be a dick, and get money.

Now an encounter between Alberta and Bloodcrow would be interesting.

#Spinnerette

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devilbunzz-moved · 3 years

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New oc

#oc #wolf #bloodcrow #emo #okay 2 rb #art #my art #devilbunzz art #aaaauhg #this is one of the guys from that drawing I did the other day #I’m gonna make a ref for the other character eventually

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newspecies · 3 years

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hiiiii Bloodcrow belongs to @devilbunzz !! obsessed w/ his design

#spikey art #fanart #bloodcrow #devilbunzz

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thebloodcrowstories · 5 years

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Happy World Audio Drama Day.

Only one day left until The Neon Lodge begins.

#thebloodcrowstories #tbcs #the blood crow stories #blood crow stories #bloodcrow #the neon lodge #cyberpunk #new season #season 3 #horror #podcast #Women Podcast #worldaudiodramaday

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dalishious · 4 years

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Hawke’s tarot card; why is it so sinister? Its obviously foreshadowing to something awful happening to them but instead of spider, it’s a crow that’s on the card. I don’t think they’re going to be killed by an assassin so the only other thing I can think of is bloodcrows, especially since the eyes are red. definitely darkspawn-related, which fits in with the teaser they put out. poor hawke. Its seems they (DA writers) wanna kill off the hawkes every chance they get. I wonder why? 1/2

Is it just that they don’t wanna keep writing hawke into games/lore to make the writing easier on themselves or, is it because of something else? 2/2

I don’t know what you mean... the Champion tarot card is a hawk, not a crow. Like as in Hawke?

See how thick the legs are, and they/the underside is a lighter colour, and the large talons? Definitely meant to be a hawk.

Not to mention the red streak across the face, symbolic of the iconic Hawke’s red streak. And in the body of the hawk is DA:2′s map of Kirkwall, symbolic of the whole Champion of Kirkwall part.

#fit for a queue #Anonymous #ask

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anghraine · 11 months

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I just posted the background for my current GW2 fic here. The short version: it's an AU of my previous GW2 fic and has a different person as Hero of Shaemoor, but the previous Hero still exists in this universe, but also everything is presented as if it were new. I'm not posting at AO3 until I've made more progress, but what I have managed to piece together is burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm posting an excerpt here.

(And yes, I know that "AU of my AU for a game few of you play" is of extremely limited interest.)

So, here goes:

Gwen knew the Seraph would come for her one day. She didn’t think about it too much. It was easier not to, especially after her fool of a sister went and joined up with them. Gwen and Deborah screamed at each other for an hour that day, until Deborah stormed off to her new Seraph friends and Gwen slipped away to help plan the Bloodcrows’ next heist. Gwen felt sure she’d made the better choice, whatever Deborah said about stealing from innocent people on Manor Hill. Innocent nobles, hah! In the year after that last fight with Deborah, Gwen came to regret many things about joining the Bloodcrow bandits—but robbing nobles was not one of them. It wasn’t even hard. The way their gazes flitted past the struggling poor of Kryta and their own overworked servants, she only needed a touch of magic to get away with everything. So she’d always known it wouldn’t be the aristocracy who tracked her down, and it wouldn’t be their toadies in the Ministry Guard. If anyone found her, it’d be the Seraph. And most people did get found out sooner or later. It’d happen, eventually. But she was still young, only twenty, and eventually wasn’t today. Until it was.

In fact, a Seraph soldier showed up not long after Gwen’s twenty-first birthday. At least she had a roof over her head at that point, so she got the dignity of a knock at the door.

Nobody else was home at the time, and she hadn’t expected anyone to show up. Helen and Alice, her housemates, were Bloodcrows as well and off running errands for Shadow Jack. Quinn, who slept on their floor on cold or rainy nights, was undoubtedly talking some poor sap out of their money. Gwen hesitated, trying to guess who would come here at sunrise. Had she gotten on the wrong side of Shadow Jack somehow? Had some overzealous Seraph connected her to the Manor Hill thefts or any of their other operations? Or maybe it was Quinn with some new harebrained scheme he wanted to let her in on or some desperate need for money.

Another knock came at the door, louder. But the voice that followed it was incongruously tremulous.

“Hello? Please open the door—I mean, open up! This is the Seraph!”

Well, that answered that. And the major downside of this place was a lack of back doors or windows. Escape would be difficult, and maybe more deadly than pretending to go along with whatever they’d managed to figure out. After all, she’d never met a problem she couldn’t outwit or blast into oblivion. Gwen paused just long enough to weigh her chances, then strode over to the door and opened it.

A young man stood there, fidgeting in his Seraph armor as he studied a crumpled sheet of paper. It didn’t look like a warrant.

He looked up. “Miss Velazquez?”

She’d gone by Rosa Carr for the entire ten months she’d lived here, and as far as she knew, no one but the Bloodcrows had any reason to guess at her real name. By reflex, Gwen’s mouth curved into a smile.

“Can I help you, sir?” she said.

“I’m here on behalf of—of Sergeant Deborah Velazquez,” said the Seraph.

So, Deborah was sending lackeys to deliver her lectures now? She’d certainly come up in the world. Morbidly, Gwen wondered if Debs’s new friends knew she’d been living on the streets and surviving with bandits until the Seraph caught her in their net.

Still, it was nearly a year and a half since their last fight, the big one—not that she was counting—and Gwen hadn’t heard a word out of Deborah since then. Even a message from a lackey was odd. And he looked utterly miserable at delivering whatever it was Deborah had to say. Maybe worse than miserable. Something strange was going on here.

“You are her sister, aren’t you?” he pressed.

“Yes. What does she want to tell me?” Gwen asked.

“Nothing, ma’am,” he said unhappily.

Her brows rose.

“I’m sorry, I’m not doing this well. You’ll get a proper letter,” said the Seraph, “but Captain Tervelan wanted the families to know about the ambush before the town crier does.”

Gwen’s fingers went cold.

“The ambush?” she repeated.

A trick, she thought. It had to be. Some trap—they did know what she was up to, and—

“Centaurs ambushed Sergeant Velazquez’s company earlier today,” said the Seraph, blinking rapidly. “Nobody saw it coming. I’m afraid Falcon Company was wiped out in the attack.”

She felt oddly distant. “My sister is dead?”

“I’m afraid so, ma’am.”

Deborah, strong and golden, dead? The idea seemed almost ludicrous. But the Seraph had put together the resources to track down Gwen within the day. Deborah must have listed her as her next of kin, despite everything.

“Am I needed to identify anything?” said Gwen.

“No, ma’am,” he said. “The ambush was—it wasn’t really possible to—” He winced and stopped talking.

It was enough for her to guess the rest. Apparently it hadn’t been enough for the centaurs to kill Deborah and her fellow soldiers; she must have been butchered beyond recognition. Gwen had good nerves, but she nearly shuddered, swallowing the impulse to gag, maybe vomit her breakfast onto the Seraph’s shining boots.

No matter how distant they’d become, Gwen would never—never—have wished this end on Deborah. And once, things had been different. She hadn’t thought of it in a long time, but now she almost felt Deborah’s larger hand closing about her own as their grandfather’s landlord pushed them out into the street. Gwen had been frightened, but Deborah tightened her grasp and led her away, into a cool, shadowy corner where Gwen could eat the last apple Granddad had bought. Or maybe Debs had just stolen it; Gwen didn’t remember any more. Just the noise of the city, and the taste of the apple, and Deborah’s hand.

“I see,” she said. “Is there anything else for me to do?”

“No,” said the Seraph, his wince just short of cringing. “We wanted the families to receive the news officially, that’s all. I’m very sorry, Miss Velazquez.”

So am I. More than you can imagine.

She barely hung onto her composure, but barely was enough.

“Thank you,” said Gwen, producing a faint, sad smile. “May Grenth have mercy on their souls.”

“May he indeed,” the Seraph replied.

He gave a slight bow, not appearing to notice anything suspicious about the narrow room behind her, then placed his helmet back on his head and marched away—onto the next grieving family member, Gwen supposed. Once he turned the corner and strode out of sight, her smile vanished and she turned back into the house, closing and locking the door behind her.

It took two tries to get the locking mechanism right. She needed steady hands in her work, but she couldn’t get them to stop shaking.

#anghraine babbles #long post #fic talk #fic talk: gwen redux #gwen velazquez #deborah velazquez #anghraine's gaming #ascalonian grudgeblog #i managed to write three whole pages without mentioning ascalon lol #but never fear i'll return to my usual nonsense soon :)#guild wars 2

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goddamnwebcomics · 1 year

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Alright. So what are the best character designs you've encountered in a webcomic? It can't all be bad.

Oh sure, this time I'll go in no particular order. Let me start with the most obvious.

1. Matt from Gene Catlow

I may be biased but Matt is a character design masterpiece, he's got a simple yet effective design that captures his personality as a self-serving schemer. His appearance is very much inspired by Cassius from Kimba the White Lion, making him appear as a vicious panther-like cat as opposed to Gene's tomcat design. Matt is also sexy despite not being conventionally attractive, but part of that is thanks to the wide range of emotions Matt goes through. He is the most emotional character in this comic, and his expressions come off as natural due to how flexible his face is. He can look adorable in one panel and scary as hell in the next. You can tell Albert put a ton of care in Matt's design. It didn't start out perfect, hell, it didn't even look like him at all, but eventually, he became the design masterpiece he is now.

2. Dr. Universe from Spinnerette

While Krawniverse is an annoying objectivist self-insert, I think he has a great design. The mad scientist look that is eyecatching from the get go. He also does look somewhat like a normal human being when he's in a civilian outfit, but he looks so much more interesting as the mad scientist. I went with the black jacket he wore at the beginning of Fat Spinny arc as my favourite look for him.

Demikhov does also deserve a shoutout for being a russian remix of Universe's design.

3. N.O.S. from Console Girl

Of course the best character from Console Girl also has the best design, it really sucks that every other console's design prioritizes author's fetishes or cosplay instead of giving them an unique outfit that have the colors of console on the forefront. N.O.S. not only looks great, she can go from elegant to psychotic in the blink of an eye. Her grey skin also makes more sense than with Vibibi because it's part of the CONSOLE's color. She also looks oddly cute when she doesn't do the mad eyes.

4. Sir Ari from Kit n Kay Boodle

It's a snake with a top hat. Sometimes less is more.

5. Celesto Morgan from Dominic Deegan

This is another biased choice but of all the characters in Deegan Celesto has the best design, he has a consistent hairstyle and his design is the perfect foil for Deegan. He started off as Szark/Lady Szark's lover who later became the truth-spitting edgelord we all know and love. I also like how his eyes glow black instead of white, which probably fits the seers more. Anytime shit is about to go down Celesto will show up, but he also might show up to bang some chick.

6. Stealth from Alien Dice

Yes, Stealth is also in the best design list, more specifically her old design. Even if Tiffany has learned to draw the new Stealth, the old design is just so much superior. I think Stealth's old design may be my favourite of all the dice designs as rest of them are either malformed animals or discount Digimon. She looks like what you expect alien cat to look like with green large eyes, two tails and hypnotic fur pattern. Can you imagine what the evolved forms would've looked like if she never got whitewashed? Just...keep the human hair out.

7. Alejandra Coldthorn from Las Lindas

Chalo's art and Las Lindas as a whole peaked during Alej's revenge, originally she was just another big booby cow with tight office clothes but when she plotted the insane scheme of ruining Mora's life she became both fashionable and threatening at once. I love her brown jacket and her much more menacing demeanor. Makes you think she's gonna play the World's Most Dangerous Game with Las Lindas residents. Of course that didn't last long, but damn, Alej was so fun to watch during this time and her design here was the cherry on top of the cake.

8. Bloodcrow from Spinnerette

We end on another Spinnerette character. Bloodcrow is a tragedy because when he isn't wearing that stupid Birdman of Alcatraz mask he looks actually really sexy even with his facial scars. He's also built great like damn. Now I kinda wish I could riff that porn co-OKAY I STOP.

#article thingy

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z0mbi3-s0krat3s · 5 years

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You have a wonderful blog, I really enjoy your horror posts and I was wondering if you have any recommended blogs for me to follow? :)

Thanks, glad you dig. \m/ That’s a tough one because I’m following over 600 blogs (not all active anymore, of course) so it’s hard for me to remember the usernames, but taking a glance, some current (horror) favs are @melodiezmelz @cinemamind @bloodcrow @pixelated-nightmares @i-consume-your-light-again @horrorchic87, and, of course, just look out for my reblogs. I don’t reblog a lot but you can bet your sweaty nethers whoever I’m reblogging from has a badass blog. = ]

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erikacousland · 6 years

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天鹅与夜莺第44节(龙腾世纪：起源同人小说)

第44节重返奥斯塔伽

虽然是盛夏时节，可卡瑞荒野(Korcari Wilds)的夜晚却好像比永高(Highever)的深秋还要阴冷。艾瑞卡(Erika)又往身上的附魔斗篷里缩了缩。她站在灰色守望者(Grey Warden)哨塔破损的顶层，屋顶已经没了，墙壁也坍塌得差不多。即使有斗篷的保护，在呼啸的寒风中她也已经开始发抖。但是艾瑞卡不愿意回到温暖的篝火边，严寒能够把她的注意力从精神上的折磨中稍稍抽离出来…… 无论她有什么样的目的，她杀了弗莱玛斯(Flemeth)……或许她没有，但是她去做了。无论她多么不愿意，她都杀了她的救命恩人。艾瑞卡的某一部分在头脑里对她说，她“别无选择”，为了莫瑞甘(Morrigan)的安全她必须杀了她。接受那个想法或许可以让她觉得心安理得，但她不想变成邓肯(Duncan)…… 背后传来靴底敲击台阶的声音，艾瑞卡急忙掩饰起刚才的脆弱，转身看着楼梯口。

“是我。”莫瑞甘低沉的声音传来，接着她走上了顶层。 “这里真够冷的，不是么？”她收起手中的魔法光球，轻笑着打量这破败的房间。 “是的。”艾瑞卡僵硬地笑了笑，走到莫瑞甘身前，在灯光下仔细打量她的脸…… 傍晚他们回到这里时，莫瑞甘的脸上多了几道划伤，她只说是被树枝划的，却不愿解释为什么。 “老猫……温妮已经医好了它。”莫瑞甘想起艾瑞卡看到她时关切的样子，觉得心里有些感动……虽然她自己还是不太理解那是什么感情。 “很好。”艾瑞卡点点头，“你还是不想告诉我真相，是吗？”她盯着莫瑞甘的眼睛问，语气缺乏感情。 “我只是不想……”莫瑞甘有些慌乱地摇摇头，又停了下来…… “我……没有打算……瞒着你，只是……”她有些伤心地看着艾瑞卡的眼睛。 “我明白，你不想让我担心。你可以说出来，我不会取笑你。”艾瑞卡淡淡地说，转身走到墙边，不再看莫瑞甘。莫瑞甘难过地低下头，不知道该如何继续下去。她觉得艾瑞卡从弗莱玛斯那里回来后就变得前所未有的陌生……

“莫瑞甘……”艾瑞卡突然开了口，但还是背对着她。 “我在。”莫瑞甘急忙答应她，走上前几步。 “你母亲真的能预测未来吗？”艾瑞卡的声音依然缺乏感情。 “据我所知，是的。”莫瑞甘似乎有些明白了……“她曾经预测到洛甘(Loghain)会背叛玛瑞克(Maric)，不止一次。但我不知道更多细节。” “哦……”艾瑞卡喃喃地答应着。显然，关于她的预言已经应验了，她为了莫瑞甘做了违背良心的事。但她更害怕的是蕾莉亚娜(Leliana)会怎样…… “老……温妮和阿历斯特(Alistair)都告诉我了：那个交易……还有那个预言。”莫瑞甘走到她的身后，“我……不知道该怎么说……谢谢，或许……”她皱起眉头，结结巴巴地说。 “你知道我是什么样的人。再说，弗莱玛斯已经给了我答案，尽管我没有给她回报……”艾瑞的声音渐渐变小……她宁愿弗莱玛斯什么也不告诉她，那样或许她还会好过些…… ‘龙血——最好是远古巨龙(Great dragon)的，至少是高等飞龙(High dragon)的，虽然口感会差一些……要活的，不要死的，死龙的血没用处。’

“我妈留了一瓶高等飞龙血。”莫瑞甘低声说，“我会看看我能做什么。” 艾瑞卡没有回应，那或许是她彻底摆脱召唤的关键，但她现在觉得似乎一切都不重要了…… “艾瑞卡……”莫瑞甘掰过她的身体，被艾瑞卡失魂落魄的眼睛稍稍吓到…… “你不必觉得……内疚，我想她是故意的。”她强迫自己保持镇定，“如果她真想杀你，有许多方法，不需要费力变成高等飞龙。” “无所谓了。”艾瑞卡点点头，没有看莫瑞甘。 “艾瑞卡……”莫瑞甘又托起艾瑞卡的脑袋，强迫她看着自己的眼睛，但是动作不再像以往那么粗鲁。 “我没事。”艾瑞卡看着她的眼睛笑笑，“我只是累了，或许我们都该回去睡觉。明天还有那么多事情要做。” “好吧……”莫瑞甘放开她，稍稍后退了一些。“我保证，明天会告诉你我今天下午做了什么。”她诚恳地说，“有些东西你需要看看。” “好的。”艾瑞卡看着莫瑞甘，勉强抬了抬嘴角……

* * *

她们下到二楼，其他伙伴们围坐在大厅中间的篝火边。虽然已经破败不堪，但这座古老的建筑依然残留着某种魔法，让暗裔(Darkspawn)不敢靠近。 “怎么样？我告诉过你我的技术棒极了。”泽弗兰(Zevran)一看到艾瑞卡就举起手中被打理得铮亮的链甲衫。 “别理他，艾瑞卡。”阿历斯特嫌弃地瞥了他一眼，冲艾瑞卡笑着……“我擦得比他干净多了。”他指指手中的龙骨胸甲，火山金铸造的狮鹫纹章在篝火的映照下闪闪发光。 “都很好。”艾瑞卡浅笑着说，坐到了蕾莉亚娜身边。 “但你总得选一个吧。”阿历斯特皱起眉头。 “没错，你应该选我，小姑娘。”泽弗兰笑着说，“阿历斯特晚上还要守夜，为了他的健康考虑，你也应该选我。” “我也可以在守夜的时候擦盔甲！”阿历斯特嚷道，又嫌弃地看着泽弗兰。 “你们男人真是奇怪……”蕾莉亚娜嘿嘿地笑着。 “我同意……”温妮接道，“为什么非要选一个，你们像今天这样合作不就行了。”她和蕾莉亚娜交换了会意的逗乐眼神。 “我也不能明白这些小男孩的逻辑。”莫瑞甘在一旁轻笑着说。 “哦，是吗？”阿历斯特厌恶地皱起了鼻子，“那么谁能明白你的逻辑？尤其是谁会对自己的母亲……” “阿历斯特！”艾瑞卡厉声打断了他。阿历斯特急忙闭上嘴，看着她麻木的表情，惊讶地眨眨眼睛。 “我接受女士们的意见……”泽弗兰笑着岔开话题，“你怎么想，我的好朋友阿历斯特？要不要跟我合作提高效率呢？” “好吧……”阿历斯特想了想……“那么你会帮我清理我的盔甲吗？” “当然……不。”泽弗兰笑着摇摇头。阿历斯特失望地撇了撇嘴角。

艾瑞卡一边看着大家聊天，一边轻轻抚摸着安拉夫(Anlaf)。斯登(Sten)正在楼下陪着他的“Kadan”——夏尔(Shale)，她还没从白天战斗的惊吓中恢复过来。除了艾瑞卡被龙炎熏黑了护甲，每个人都完好无损……这让她更加怀疑弗莱玛斯的动机。不过她至少还是觉得庆幸，但她同时也怀疑这样的好运还能维持多久……

“你还好吗？”蕾莉亚娜凑近一些，轻轻地问，没有引起其他人的注意。艾瑞卡注视着她……她不知道蕾莉亚娜对弗莱玛斯的预言有什么感觉——蕾莉亚娜看起来还是像往常一样开朗乐观…… “你呢？”她反问道。 “我很好。”蕾莉亚娜笑了笑，“我猜我们都得感谢它。”她指指艾瑞卡右手中指的古老指环。温妮告诉她们是这枚指环的强大魔法抵御了龙炎。 “是啊……”艾瑞卡低头看着指环上一枚红色的符文，猜想弗莱玛斯也知道…… “我……”她抬起头看着蕾莉亚娜的眼睛，“对不起，我今天又……” “没关系。”蕾莉亚娜打断了她的话，脆弱在她眼中一闪而过。 “我们都还活着。”她低声说，又凑近了一些。艾瑞卡的身体不自觉地迎了上去，她已经迷失在蕾莉亚娜动听的嗓音里……

“蕾莉亚娜……”泽弗兰突然喊道，蕾莉亚娜坐直身体看着他。艾瑞卡被吓了一大跳，心脏狂跳起来……她觉得自己刚才想要…… “你有没有告诉我们无畏的领袖，今天晚上我替她陪你？”泽弗兰笑着说。 ‘什么！’艾瑞卡瞪大眼睛看着泽弗兰…… “噢，还没有。”蕾莉亚娜也笑了。艾瑞卡惊讶地看着她那轻松的样子…… “今晚泽弗会陪我守夜，你早点休息吧。”她对艾瑞卡柔声说。 “但是……我还不想睡觉。”艾瑞卡还瞪着眼睛。 “你刚才说你累了。”莫瑞甘在一边接道。艾瑞卡转过头，发现大家都盯着自己，顿时羞红了脸…… “你需要休息，艾瑞卡。”温妮也点点头。“不用担心，我们都在这里，他不会有机会。是吧，泽弗兰？”她转过头斜视着泽弗兰。 “哦～当然了，亲爱的温妮。”泽弗兰笑着说，“我保证我不会对蕾莉亚娜有任何不恰当的举动。当然，如果她先对我……那就不好说了……”

* * *

“你确定……”阿历斯特低头留心着脚下，尽量躲开低洼积水的部分……“这是去奥斯塔伽(Ostagar)的路？因为我不记得曾经路过这里。”他最终失去了耐心，索性踩在积水上，厚实的皮靴没有让他失望。 “哼，我很惊讶你能意识到这些。”莫瑞甘讽刺地回答，“没错，我们比原先的路线要靠东边一些，不过这不会耽误多长时间。” 艾瑞卡打量着周围，似乎可卡瑞荒野真的像传说中那样有什么魔法……那些树冠茂密，足以遮蔽天空的参天古树还是挺立着，不像是有被腐毒(Taint)败坏的迹象。真正让她奇怪的是，这环境让她感到似曾相识，虽然她不记得来过这里。 “到了……”莫瑞甘停了下来。艾瑞卡看到了她想让她看的东西…… 安拉夫突然跑上前，用前爪扒着地上的一副破碎的马具。艾瑞卡走过去，盯着破碎的蓝色织物上由绿线绣出的月桂叶——库斯兰(Cousland)家族的纹章…… “马的尸体想必都被暗裔拖走了……”莫瑞甘低声说，担忧地看着艾瑞卡……她没有任何反应。 “但是……我想你应该先看看这边。”她上前轻轻拉住艾瑞卡的手腕，艾瑞卡茫然地回望着她……

莫瑞甘带着他们来到离刚才不远的一处林间空地，虽然已经被雨水冲刷过，还是能看出那里很久之前曾经有一个大规模的火堆。 “这……足够火化十几个人。”阿历斯特低声说，明白了莫瑞甘为什么要带他们来。安拉夫哀嚎着，在那堆潮湿的焦灰中仔细搜索。艾瑞卡还呆呆地站在原地，蕾莉亚娜和温妮扶着她，想给她一些支持。很快安拉夫翻出了什么，叼着回到艾瑞卡身边。艾瑞卡慢慢接过来，是一块烧剩下的铁护手，上面还依稀能看见月桂叶浮雕……艾瑞卡的身体突然像被抽干一样瘫了下去，蕾莉亚娜和温妮只能扶着她慢慢坐到地上。 “我……昨天下午找到的。”莫瑞甘迟疑地对她说，“我想你应该知道……” “谢谢。”艾瑞卡的声音从喉咙里挤了出来。蕾莉亚娜跪在她旁边，搂着她的身体。 “那么是谁火化了他们？”斯登查看了一下。火堆周围还有一些破碎的盾牌和武器，大多都有库斯兰纹章。

艾瑞卡突然抬起头…… “阿历斯特，你刚才说这里能火化多少人？”她生硬地问，突然表现出的冷静让所有人吓了一跳。 “十几个……”阿历斯特惊慌地眨着眼睛。 “那么他们还活着。”艾瑞卡猛地站起身。“是弗格斯(Fergus)，只有他会做这种蠢事……”她嘟囔着，仔细搜索着周围。刚才那里是永高的骑士们遭到伏击的地方，她想起来了，她在梦里见过。弗格斯手下的骑士至少有30人，一定是幸存下来的人们火化了尸体……而且只有弗格斯会在暗裔的威胁下还做这样愚蠢但是荣耀的事情……

“那边……”她停下来看着东边，那里有一条明显可以通行的路。 “他们一定是往那边走了。”艾瑞卡嘟囔着，自顾自向着那个方向走去，莫瑞甘冲上前一把抓住她的肩膀…… “你不能去！”她冲艾瑞卡大喊，艾瑞卡瞥了她一眼，又迈出一步。 “你不知道那里有什么！”莫瑞甘使劲掰过艾瑞卡的身体。艾瑞卡的泪水一下子涌了出来……她虚弱地抬起手臂想推开莫瑞甘，阿历斯特和泽弗兰跑上前拉开她们。 “你不知道那里有什么，艾瑞卡……”莫瑞甘重重喘息着，挣脱泽弗兰的手。 “你想知道我昨天遇到了什么？”她轻轻托起艾瑞卡的头，逼迫她回望着她严峻的眼睛…… “血鸦(Bloodcrow)。非常多……” 艾瑞卡不解地眨眨眼睛。 “感染了腐毒的乌鸦，我差点被它们杀死。”莫瑞甘想起昨天遇到的惊险，忍不住打了个冷颤……“我足够幸运，在它们追上我之前变回了人类，先杀了它们。” 艾瑞卡终于哭了出来，“为什么你要离开那里？” “我……想帮你找到他。但是……很遗憾，我只找到这些。”莫瑞甘结结巴巴地回答。 “你不能去找你哥哥，艾瑞卡。”她坚决地说，“附近的崔辛德人(Chasind)都已经逃走了，已经没人能在可卡瑞荒野活两个月这么久。” “但是……如果他还活着……”艾瑞卡的声音变得无力……她脆弱地望着莫瑞甘的眼睛。 “那么你最好向你的那个创造者(Maker)祈祷……”莫瑞甘低声说，放开了她…… “希望他��经逃出了可卡瑞荒野。”

* * *

艾瑞卡将星牙从一只特别丑恶的魔人头领(Hurlock alpha)胸前抽出来，那不需要花费多少力气。他们已经在奥斯塔伽战斗了超过一个小时，虽然没有原先想象的那样艰难，但暗裔的防御也还算的上是步步为营。到此刻为止，队伍似乎已经扫清了原先国王军队的营地。

“我们可以在前面休息一下，艾瑞卡。”阿历斯特调整着呼吸走到她身边。艾瑞卡没有回答，还盯着那具暗裔尸体，阿历斯特顺着她的视线望去…… “安卓斯特(Andraste)之血！”他惊呼着蹲下身，从暗裔的手上扯下他的护手。虽然被污秽包裹着，但是…… “这也是凯兰(Cailan)的！”阿历斯特愤怒地狠狠踹了尸体一脚。在刚才的战斗中，他们已经找到了国王的胸甲和护肩，被一只更丑的魔人荒唐地挂在身上炫耀。那原本闪亮的板甲被食人魔(Ogre)的巨手捏出恐怖的痕迹。温妮告诉他们凯兰就是那样被杀害的，她当时在战场上看的清清楚楚，却没有办法救他…… “留着吧。”艾瑞卡冷冷地说，率先走向前面的平台。即使暗裔占领了奥斯塔伽，它们也不敢靠近那里——守望者们经历入盟(Joining)仪式的地方。蕾莉亚娜和温妮在后面担忧的对视了一眼。显而易见，艾瑞卡的战斗方式变得特别野蛮，不计后果。不过好在她拿着星牙，没有任何暗裔能抵挡她用那强大的附魔宝剑全力挥出的一击。

阿历斯特快步跟了上去。走到斜坡顶，他看见远处的祭台下有什么东西在阳光下闪耀着…… “创造者的呼吸……”他奔上前拾起那个物件，兴奋地捧起来给艾瑞卡看。 “圣餐杯！”他咧嘴笑着，没有意识到艾瑞卡的身体猛地颤栗了一下…… 不知道什么人在什么时候打翻了圣杯……阿历斯特仔细检视了一遍，沥青一般粘稠的暗裔污血已经在闪亮的银质杯子里面结了一层厚厚一层……

大家在祭台周围就地休息。温妮和蕾莉亚娜的注意力一直在艾瑞卡身上…… 蕾莉亚娜走上前去，轻轻握住艾瑞卡的手。 “我……想到那边看看。”艾瑞卡没有看她，松开她的手走向平台旁边的一道门。蕾莉亚娜跟在她身后，走进去才发现那是个小房间，里面的台子上安放着两具尸体…… 艾瑞卡脱下头盔走近台子，他们已经被守望者法师用魔法做了防腐处理，与她最后看到时没有什么区别。蕾莉亚娜仔细观察：那是两个年轻男人。较年长的那个比她见过的大部分男人都高大魁梧，蓄着短短的头发和胡须，穿着费罗登风格的链甲。他腹部一大片都被凝固的血液染黑……死于精巧致命的一击。她明白了，那就是她曾经偷听到艾瑞卡说的那个乔瑞(Jory)，被邓肯杀死的那个。接着她注意到艾瑞卡一直望着另一具尸体——一个更加年轻英俊的男人，有着讨喜的微卷短发和粗犷的络腮短须，身上穿着一套精致的镶嵌皮甲。蕾莉亚娜从来没有听说过这个人。

艾瑞卡静静地哀悼了片刻，转过身准备离开，这才注意到蕾莉亚娜站在她身后…… “我……”蕾莉亚娜被她那冷漠的眼神盯得有些不安，她没想到艾瑞卡竟然没意识到她跟在后面。 “没关系。”艾瑞卡打断了她，撇了撇嘴角，做出一个僵硬的笑容。 “我也没想瞒着任何人。”她转过身看了看两具尸体，发出一声沉重的叹息。 “他们，是和你一起……”蕾莉亚娜迟疑地问，虽然担心会触及艾瑞卡的伤心事，但是她太想知道了…… “一起经历……仪式的。”艾瑞卡接了过来，回避了那个关键词……

“这是乔瑞爵士，是伊蒙伯爵(Arl Eamon)的骑士。他婚后留在了永高，但我不认识他。”她转身看着乔瑞的遗体…… 蕾莉亚娜为她那强装轻松的语气感到心疼，走到她身边握住她的手……艾瑞卡回头望着她的眼睛。 “我听说……他是被邓肯杀死的，是吗？”蕾莉亚娜低声问。艾瑞卡的眼睛痛苦地收缩了一下……“是的，他后悔了……”她轻轻地说，“邓肯应该更严格的测试新兵的胆量……或是疯得有多厉害。” 她又回过头看着乔瑞，回想起他曾经多么勇往直前的和她一起进入可卡瑞荒野，一听说有暗裔偷袭又被吓得多么惊慌失措……那让她忍不住露出一丝浅笑…… 然而后来与暗裔的战斗中，他又表现得多么勇敢……艾瑞卡的神情渐渐哀伤地落了下去。 “他只是想回到他妻子和……还未出世的孩子身边。”她近乎呢喃地说。蕾莉亚娜又靠近了一些，几乎贴着艾瑞卡的身体，想要给她一些支持。艾瑞卡又发出了一声叹息，但是柔和了许多……

“这是戴维斯(Daveth)，他曾经是邓瑞姆(Denerim)的通缉犯……”她指了指另一具遗体，“他有点儿像泽弗，你明白的。”艾瑞卡笑出了声，回望着蕾莉亚娜的眼睛，“我看到他的时候他在‘追求’一位女骑士。人家一直恶狠狠地瞪着他。”她咧开嘴笑了，“他告诉我我和他想象中的不一样，但是阿历斯特说我和他之前期待的一模一样……我不知道那是什么意思。” 蕾莉亚娜轻笑了一声，端详着艾瑞卡的容貌……“美丽的金发年轻小姐，我猜是。” “我得问问阿历斯特……”艾瑞卡没有注意到她深情的眼神，笑着望向戴维斯…… “他的家乡就在这附近。”她难过地皱着眉头……“他说他愿意为结束瘟潮(Blight)牺牲更多。我觉得他才应该是活下来的那个，不是我……”艾瑞卡声音越来越虚弱……最后消失了。 “不。”蕾莉亚娜轻轻掰过她的身体，注视着艾瑞卡的眼睛…… “我希望没有人需要做出这样的牺牲，但是……”她抚摸着艾瑞卡的脸…… “我很庆幸活下来的是你。” 艾瑞卡呆呆地回望着蕾莉亚娜深情的眼眸，不由自主地慢慢俯下身……她想做昨天晚上没有做的事情……

“噢！我很抱歉！”泽弗兰捂着眼睛转过身。艾瑞卡被吓得直起了身体，但是她还扶着蕾莉亚娜的双臂。 “怎么了，泽弗？”蕾莉亚娜疑惑地眨眨眼睛，看着他俩那尴尬的样子：艾瑞卡红着脸躲避她的视线，泽弗兰像是看到什么不该看到的东西…… “我们正在说话，你至于那个样子吗？”她越发疑惑地回忆刚才的情景，这才恍然大悟，急忙退开了一些。 “怎么了……泽弗？”艾瑞卡结结巴巴地重复刚才蕾莉亚娜的问题。 “阿历斯特问可不可以开礼物了……我很抱歉打扰了你们，请不要介意。继续，我会帮你们保守秘密的。”泽弗兰背对着她们快速说完，回头对她们狡猾地笑笑，又挥挥手走开了。艾瑞卡和蕾莉亚娜尴尬地看着对方…… “我也走……”她们异口同声地说，又羞红了脸……

#Dragon Age: Origins #Dragon Age #Cousland #Leliana #Morrigan #Alistair #Wynne #Zevran

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daroguecampaigndiary · 6 years

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The Dalish Curse: Chapter Three

Disclaimer: If you plan on playing The Dalish Curse in your own group, be warned that this campaign diary is riddled with spoilers, and details the ending to the campaign. This is the seventh installment of this series.

Invisible Chains // Ashes to the Waking Sea

The Dalish Curse: Chapter One // Chapter Two

The corrupted spider’s body quivers unnaturally before the heroes, Eshara, and the Dalish hunters. If one listens closely enough, it sounds as though muffled cries emanate from within the creature’s belly.

Solange hoists her sword and dives the blade into the spider, leaving a gaping slit. A small man with an equally small staff bursts out of it, heaving a great breath and covered in ichor.

“Holy Ghost of Andraste!” he shouts, blinking spider guts from his eyes. “Thank you, thank you! I’ve been in that spider for days; I thought for sure I’d be slowly digested to death.”

Man-Cheetah gives a hearty laugh. “Sick ‘em, Olaf.”

The Mabari bounds up to the tiny newcomer and growls. In return, the man flinches backwards, muttering, “Maker, that’s a big dog.” Man-Cheetah continues his thundering laughter.

With an elaborate flick of the wrist, Darius freezes the Avvar mid-chuckle. “That’s quite enough.”

“Ah, thank you!” the man says to the Tevinter mage, extending a hand to him. Darius makes a show of noticing the spider’s ooze, but takes it nonetheless. “My name is Eggy, Eggy De La Torrin. I’m indebted to you and your compatriots - indeed, I could learn much from a mage of your skill. Allow me to accompany you and aid you in your journey.”

Before anyone can give answer, the forest’s leaves give a rustle from behind the group. They brace.

A tall qunari woman steps through into the clearing, seeming dazed to find the party here. One of her horns is cracked off, the other a long spiral. Her hair is long and beaded. She, too, carries a staff.

“I thought I heard noise...” she says, trailing off.

Solange ominously rests her hand on the hilt of her sword, the better to showcase the many decaying heads adorning her belt. “State your name and business, qunari.”

She clears her throat. “I am Nazgel. I’m sorry if I seem rude, it’s just... well, I’ve just left the Qun behind. I’m Tal-Vashoth. I wasn’t happy with - well, I guess you know how things are over there? I was unsatisfied with it, the conforming, the order...” She trails off again. It takes a moment before she regains composure. “I am seeking power of my own.” Then, meekly, “I’m not sure how, though. I’ve been travelling all over Thedas for months, and I’ve been in these forests for so long.”

“Both of you should join us,” James Rodolfo says. “I, too, recently joined these adventurers. I am in search of my lost wife, you see. But, there is a more pressing matter, of you wish to aid us.”

The newcomers are quickly filled in to the situation awaiting the village of Vintiver, and before long, the hunters resume guiding the party back through the Dales.

Their run-in with the spider is not the only danger the party faces on their journey back to Vintiver. The trail they take through the depths of the forest is dangerous, not only due to the influence of Mythallen and his corrupted creature, but also the natural hazards of the terrain. Some of the heroes narrowly avoid grave injury, leaving the forest with minor abrasions.

The party then comes across a rushing river, created from an unexpected flooding of a river ford that they must cross to reach the village. The river is swift and there are rocks beneath the surface that make the crossing more perilous.

Despite the dangers, the group plunges into the river, attempting to stay afloat of the powerful current. Darius is surprisingly able to do so, and reaches the opposite shore first; he is exhausted and has taken much damage from the river, however.

Man-Cheetah, with Olaf on his back, swims the with the mighty strength of his people, chanting something of a hymn over the gurgling water splashing into his mouth. Those nearby him only make out the end of the chant: “...Rock!”

Nazgel is next to reach the other side of the river, her own qunari strength propelling her forward. Solange keeps a relatively safe pace - although she is slowed down by the weight of her trophy-heads at her hip.

Eggy and James, however, are not so lucky. Many times, James threatens to dip under the surface and disappear forever; but Eggy manages to use whatever stored energy he has to heal his new companion. Likewise, feeling a strange sense of guilt over the small mage, Darius is compelled to heal whoever he can reach on the shore.

Suddenly, his energy spent, Eggy disappears below the surface of the water, and all Darius can hear are his anxious cries. Darius shuffles his feet, curses under his breath, and heroically dives back into the water to reach Eggy. He saves him from certain death - and Eggy is able to swim to the other side - but dooms himself to traverse the rest of the river once again. It takes a great toll to reach safety.

Next, Solange hoists herself onto land, checking to ensure all of her heads are still attached to her belt.

And, finally, James heaves himself from the churning water. Without even standing up, he retrieves a picture of his wife from his pockets and stares longingly, and unabashedly, for a brief moment.

The group can only take a short rest, only long enough to catch their breath, before sprinting the rest of the way to the village.

They arrive back in Vintiver to find it in chaos. Villagers run through the streets trying to escape the blood crows. Revengers stalk between burning houses searching for prey. Many villagers have already fallen, but all is not lost. They see Tarl, the Warden, defending himself with a knot of stout villagers. The inn is another center of resistance; Dhara wields her staff beside the innkeepers against the creatures. In the village square is a figure that can only be Mythallen. What was once an elf has been twisted beyond recognition. The abomination is now a thing of corruption, its long claws already slick with blood.

Coalan, his face bandaged and bloated from his burns, engages in fierce comabt with Mythallen. The creature strikes him down, leaving Coalan lying bloody on the battlefield.

Nazgel, suddenly filled with purpose, pushes ahead of the group; she stands tall, points her staff at Mythallen, and collects flames between her hands. As the flames slowly grow, Nazgel screams the spell in Qunlat: “Say anaan maraas parshaara fazha issala raas ebasit, saar-ost nehraa gaatlok, shok!”

The plume of fire reaches Mythallen in a booming explosion... but the creature still stands, only further enraged.

Darius gathers his staff and winks at Solange, an attempt at a conspiratorial joke between the two, and shouts to the abomination, “Who put you on the planet?!” He twirls his staff in the air and thrusts it forward with a “huh!”; a meager flame blast hits Mythallen, and the creature rears, heading straight for Darius.

If it were not for the carnage all around, Solange would have rolled her eyes.

As the battle rages on, Solange and James hear terrified screams coming from one of the houses. A young child is sticking his head out of a burning window, contemplating a jump but too scared to act. They make out more screams deeper inside the house, the child’s parents trapped. James is unable to reach the house in time, but Solange climbs the facade of the building, reaching toward the crying child.

At the last second, the weakened boards break, and Solange plunges back to the ground, the rest of the house collapsing in a greater pyre. She cannot ignore the elevated screams of the family as they perish.

Revengers then come to Mythallen’s aid, surrounding the heroes. James turns and fires his crossbow, piercing a revenger in the head. Darius continues to take heavy blows from Mythallen. “My Link of Rage!” the abomination shouts, reigning his violence down on the mage.

Suddenly, a child runs screaming past, overwhelmed by a small flock of bloodcrows picking at his scalp. Eggy hears these screams; feeling for the diminutive size and vulnerability of the child, he runs to catch up with him, aiming his staff for the blighted birds.

More bloodcrows surround Mythallen and his attackers. Eshara and the clan hunters do their best to aid the group, but it is unclear whether they will be able to defeat this many enemies on their own.

James, hearing the commotion by Eggy, leaps to action with his crossbow, taking out a few of the bloodcrows tormenting the child.

Darius and Nazgel heave their magic at Mythallen; Solange and Man-Cheetah cleave at the creature with their blades. Miraculously, he is overwhelmed, and with a fatal blow is struck down.

As the abomination falls, Mythallen gives a great cry. “Fools! A greater power will thwart you where you stand. Mythal’s greatest ally will return the world to the elvhen, and all will be right!”

A simultaneous cry of both pain and defeat seems to go up from his darkspawn followers. As if following the sound of the terrible cry, ghostly, screaming shapes emerge from their mouths, swirling like glowing mist into the night air.

The spirits gather in the greenish cloud overhead, stirring like a gathering storm, and then the most powerful unholy light erupts from Mythallen, lancing skyward in an echoing cry. It scatters the other shapes with a thunderclap and then goes out, leaving a sudden darkness and silence all across the grape arbor that has become a battlefield.

Where the revengers once stood are now the elves of the Dalish clan; some dead or wounded, but others simply dazed trying to make sense of their surroundings. In the dirt at the heroes’ feet lies not the form of the rage abomination, but that of an elven hunter, dead of the same blow that slew Mythallen. The rage demon is gone, and the threat of the darkspawn with it.

Man-Cheetah moves to remove Harralan’s head.

Eshara shouts and lunges for him. The hunters raise their bows.

Solange raises her sword to his throat. “Don’t you dare.”

At their heels, Olaf growls and advances toward Solange.

“Quiet, dog,” Darius pouts, freezing Man-Cheetah and his pup with a snap of his fingers.

Since Coalan and his men have been disfigured, and all slain, the village is in terrible shape. As some villagers thank the adventurers for their help, Tarl approaches them, clearly upset.

“I can’t deny that you’ve proven an ally in the battle against that creature,” he says. “But I think it best you move on from here, immediately.”

Solange steps forward brazenly. “And why is that?”

“Coalan and his boys woke up shortly after you left and explained the situation at Fuldor Farm to me. And now they’ve died trying to defend their village, despite the atrocities they suffered by your hand.”

“They tried to kill us,” Solange insisted. “And I think you needed us to survive that attack.”

Tarl stepped ever-closer to Solange, until his eyes looked directly down her own. “Coalan had a temper, but I’ve known him for more than ten years. He would never commit the crimes you accuse him of. I honor your aid by allowing you one night - one night - to rest, then gather your things and leave Vintiver village.”

“And if we don’t?”

“I am a Warden. I will send the full wrath of my brethren at Weisshaupt down upon you if I find you here by morning.”

Solange, having no other option than to disengage and concede, instead makes her way to the burned remains of the family house, its occupants nothing but charred skeletons in a heap of ash. Overwhelmed by her feelings, remembering her own filial loss, Solange kneels into the ash, gathering it into her hands and running it over her tear-streaked face.

As sunset creeps over the outskirts of the village, the party makes camp for the night. Dhara remains with Eshara and those of her clan members who had survived Mythallen’s transformation or else escaped the forest, including Keeper Orellis. They talk in hushed tones and fall in and out of elvhen.

James finds Eggy and sits next to him. “Thank you for your help today, friend. When I get my wife and my wealth back, I promise you a wealth of treasures. You may very well have saved my life.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Eggy replies. “Though if you know of treasure, I’ll tell you what I’m really after. I’m descended from dwarves - that’s why I’m as small as I am. I’ve heard of a staff, its wielder being the only dwarven mage known to exist. Would you have heard of such a thing?”

“I’ve heard tales of it. Some say it’s in an ancient cave deep below the earth, far into the Deep Roads, and a beast stands guard.” James shrugs. “But that’s just legend.”

The two stare into a campfire before them, lost in thought about what is to come.

#Dragon Age RPG #Dungeons and Dragons #campaign diary #the dalish curse #DA: Inquisition

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