Chapter Text
"You want to see the breach?" Alexander Trevelyan mused. He stared over the heads of all his advisors to get a glimpse of the man who leaned, nonchalantly but with confidence, just on the outside of the group. Everyone twitched just slightly towards the Herald, unconsciously letting their veiled eyes move back and forth between the two men, who now unwillingly shared an intense history. They seemed to only have eyes for each other.
Dorian Pavus, an essential unknown and a definite wild card, cocked his head subtly and gave an amused little smirk. "I'm...curious about it," he stated. "Regardless of its ever present terror, I deem it quite fascinating. I'd like to see it at some point."
"So you're staying?" Alex asked, earning yet more interested glances from his council.
"Oh, didn't I mention?" Dorian said. "The south is so charming and rustic, I adore it to little pieces."
Alex chuckled, and everyone looked at him, then at Dorian, and back again as if they were missing an inside joke.
There would forever be an odd link between Alexander and Dorian, two people who had spent far too much time together far too quickly for strangers. They'd each held the other's life in their hands, and coming back to the real world, a world with only minor chaos as opposed to complete catastrophe, was jarring. No one knew what Alex had seen. No one could understand the horror he felt at seeing a future where he failed, where the enemy won, and the world fell. Though Alex took deep breaths, shook his head of the memory, and tried to keep his thoughts clear, it still clung to him menacingly, and there was no one he could share that with.
Except for Dorian.
"I'm glad you're staying," Alex said after a brief pause. "There's no one I'd rather be stranded it time with, future or present."
Dorian smirked. "Excellent choice. But let's not get stranded any time soon, yes?"
"Agreed," Alexander said eagerly.
"I'll begin preparations to march on the summit," Cullen said, winning the eyes of Alex and Dorian for the first time in what felt like a while. "Maker willing, the mages will be enough to grant us victory."
"You need to use that faith just a little bit more," Dorian teased softly. Cullen cast him a very unsure glance, and after a moment everyone dispersed back to their regular duties. Dorian disappeared back into the shadows he'd sprung from, and Alex watched him go with a strange flutter of excitement. He'd already gathered a good amount of people, troops, to fight at his side and help make this horrible experience just a little easier to handle. But Dorian had a strange aura about him that felt...different. He wasn't the first mage Alex had met, but he was the first Tevinter. Alex wondered vaguely if that was it.
"Herald," Cullen started, clasping his hands behind his back with a casual military grace. "Might I speak to you a moment?"
Alex turned away from the sight of Dorian ducking through the Chantry doors, and he blinked blankly at the Commander. "Of course," Alex said.
Cullen swallowed before speaking. "Not that I'm questioning your decisions," he began poorly, "but do you think it's wise to keep...Lord Pavus with us here?"
Alexander turned so he faced Cullen head on. They were similar in build, with Cullen perhaps being slightly taller, but Alexander was larger. His warrior's frame was sturdy, muscular, and his two-handed training had built him up to be stronger than sword and shield. "What do you mean?" Alex wondered, lowering his dark red brows over his blue eyes.
Cullen took a slow breath. "With all due respect, he is a complete unknown."
"We have other members you've brought on gladly who are complete unknowns," Alex challenged.
"Not gladly," Cullen grumbled, relaxing his arms and shifting his weight. "I merely wish to bring this to your attention. He shows up out of nowhere, in the midst of powerful magic, suddenly saying he wishes to help--"
"He did help," Alex interrupted.
But Cullen wasn't thrown off his course. "Nevertheless," he went on easily, "we know nothing about him. We have a base amount of information from what he told us and from scant knowledge Josephine or Leliana may have." Cullen stepped slightly closer and lowered his voice. "As a Tevinter, he may do more hurt than good here."
"We need all the help we can get," Alexander noted, but it didn't seem to quell Cullen's worries. And Alex could admit, if not a little begrudgingly, that Cullen was a little right. While Dorian had been indispensable to Alex through their recent mage difficulties, would he be as useful here? Or would he just cause more trouble than he was worth?
Alex sighed. "I'll keep an eye on him," he told Cullen. "If it gets out of hand...we can send him packing." It felt like a lie when Alexander said it, and it surely didn't make his kind heart feel very good, but it seemed to placate the Commander.
"I appreciate you hearing me out," Cullen said gently, and he gave a curt nod before excusing himself to his business. But Alex stood in the quiet Chantry for a little too long, staring at the statues and braziers, wondering if casting out a willing volunteer just because of his origins made him a bad person. With the horrors they were facing, could they be so picky?
***
With a momentary chance for lull, Alexander began his careful, cautious study of the Tevinter mage he'd gratefully accepted into this growing band of misfits. Haven was buzzing with the arrival of the mages, with some voices cheering and others warning, but opinions of Lord Pavus were easily seen if not heard.
Alexander watched Dorian from the sidelines, masking his spying with other actions such as watching the troops practice or investigating the blacksmith. He found that Dorian was anything but cautious or aloof. He did like to keep to himself, for the most part, but he moved through Haven with unabashed confidence, a kind of swagger to his step. Even as people whispered as he passed or cast him evil glances, Dorian kept his head up and his eyes forward.
His walk seemed to be lead by his arms, which he let sway casually at his side, and his head was either perfectly straight or just slightly cocked to the side. It gave him a roguish air that Alex started to realize he liked. Dorian's fashion sense was also cause of discussion. The apparently daring Tevinter look threw some of the more...modest...clerics into a frenzy, but that too didn't seem to bother Dorian.
Alex kept his "scandalous" opinions to himself as a sort of practiced reflex, but he would be a fool to ignore the fact that Dorian was handsome. As he watched the Tevinter, Alex came to discover more of an interest rather than a skepticism. Dorian's confidence and good looks probably made Alex a little biased, but any caution Cullen had made Alex feel dissipated as he spent the day simply analyzing the way Dorian moved, spoke, acted.
Alex also learned a lot from the way other people reacted to Dorian's presence.
Solas was perhaps the most indifferent to the Tevinter's presence, which surprised Alex. He wondered if Solas was simply unmoved by the new recruit, or if he kept his distance out of an unwillingness to converse with a person he had no interest in. Alex knew little about Solas and his history, almost as little as what he knew of the Imperium. But the two seemed civil so far, at the very least.
Varric and Dorian seemed to hit it off. They'd had time to talk slightly before the nasty events that separated the party in Redcliffe. Their shared sense of wit and sarcasm, mixed with a desire to make the dark humorous, made them a good match. Varric even gave Dorian one of his characteristic nicknames: Sparkler. It suited him.
Blackwall was a bit more opinionated when it came to Dorian's character. "He's arrogant. He preens himself. But you already know that. He doesn't even hide it," Blackwall told Alex as they stood together at the blacksmith's. Dorian had been by to investigate, something he seemed to be doing all around Haven, and the blacksmith had spit at him as he passed. Dorian played it cool, pausing only briefly to look at the spit on the ground and then at the smith, before turning away and walking off with a casual smirk which he directed at Alex.
Everyone else seemed to have mixed opinions as Alex took it upon himself to survey the others. Sera was as noncommittal as always, but she seemed to hold no immediate judgement on Dorian. Cassandra viewed the big picture, worrying about what Dorian's presence would do to their reputation. Vivienne was sassy class when it came to her first impression of the man, but Alex wondered if she saw the similarity between them at all. Overall, Alex was pleased to find no one was immediately intent on casting Dorian out. In fact, Dorian was pretty keen on casting himself out.
But life went on, and soon Alex had to go back to regular duties and issues that required his attention more. But through meetings, discussions, and plans, he found his mind drifting to thoughts of his new aquaintance. Once he was released for the evening, Alex's feet just blindly took him in the direction of a black haired pariah he could just see form the Chantry doors.
Dorian had a book in his hand, which already seemed like a natural sight to Alex, and he sat on the edge of barrel absent-mindedly as Alex approached from behind. His feet crunched in the snow, and though Dorian didn't look up at first, Alex somehow knew the older man was aware of everything.
"So," Dorian began easily, suddenly, as if they'd already been talking. "The Inquisition supports free mages. What's next? Elves running Halamshiral? Cows milking farmers?" Dorian seemed to finish his page before looking up with a raised brow and staring Alex down.
Alex froze a moment before managing a chuckle. "Give me time," he joked lightly. "I'm sure I'll surprise you." Just looking in his eyes threw Alex off. They'd been through enough to be comfortable around one another by now, and yet Alex's latest analysis made him feel suddenly more nervous. Like he absolutely had to make a good impression.
"I suspect that's untrue," Dorian said, slapping his book closed. "Unless you strip yourself naked and allow the Chantry to flog you in repentance. Now that would surprise me."
"That's an odd thing to say," Alex said through a confused smile.
"I'm sure you'll get used to it," Dorian shrugged, waving away Alex's confusion with ease. "I do wonder if yo've considered what this support of yours will do. For mages. In general."
"You too?" Alex sighed, looking across Haven as if he could pinpoint the many people who would agree.
"The Inquisition is seen as an authority," Dorian went on. "You've given southern mages licence to be...well, like mages back home."
Alex smiled naively. For such a massive warrior, he was often like a wide-eyed pup. "If that means they're anything like you, I approve." Dorian's responding grin made Alex blanch, and then blush, as he realized how his words sounded. It was dangerous territory for him to compliment any man, no matter how subtle. It always made him feel like he was going to be found out...
But Dorian barked a laugh. "There aren't many mages like me back home," he said.
Alex gulped. "I'd believe that," he said, trying not to let his eyes give Dorian's frame a quick up and down.
"I never fit in," Dorian said in a tone that sounded mocking. "Bloodstains are so difficult to clean you see," he joked.
"So we're doomed to a future of blood magic?" Alex wondered, raising a brow.
"Not at first," Dorian said, suddenly serious. "But you'd be a fool to not see where this could lead."
Alex's smile faded and he looked down, a sharp pang of worry radiating through his chest. He'd given it a lot of thought actually, though everyone seemed fine with thinking Alex didn't think at all. Hearing it from a mage, a Tevinter mage, made it all the more concerning. "Where do you think it could lead?" Alex asked, looking up through his lashes as Dorian seemed to analyze his sudden downheartedness.
Dorian hopped down off the barrel and set his book down atop it. Alex had to step back awkwardly as Dorian came a little too close. "The Imperium was once just like the south," Dorian said. "Templars, proper circles, all that rot. Then it changed. By inches. Not that this is reason to oppress us. My homeland should be a cautionary tale, not a source of inspiration."
Alex just stared for a moment, a barely there smile on his lips as he looked at Dorian's pensive face. He'd seen only cold disregard or sarcastic wit on Dorian today, for the most part. It was strange to see that Dorian had a range. It was also strange to just talk to the man with ease, without any panic in his voice over what they were going to do next or where they were going. Instead of terrified partners in crime, they were just people.
The mage noticed Alex's odd stare and crossed his arms over his chest wryly. "What? Are you admiring the view?"
Alex smirked and gave a breathy laugh before shrugging. "It simply occurs to me that I barely know anything about you," he admitted.
"Beyond me being a mage from Tevinter, you mean," Dorian said, making his own status sound like a frightful thing.
Alex chuckled. "Beyond that, yes."
Dorian grinned. "And beyond my being so charming and well dressed? Which is obvious to anyone."
Alex laughed again and ran a hand through his deep red hair. He felt flustered, but somehow also completely free to speak his mind. "I'm well aware of your finer qualities, believe me," Alex said, bordering on dangerous talk again. His confidence faltered a bit as he realized how forward he was being. It wasn't like him to behave so openly. It was a risk, for his station and his person. But Dorian seemed to accept all compliments, casual or...otherwise.
In fact, Dorian was smiling and leaning on his hip with a smoulder in his eyes that lead Alex on. "Of course I believe you," Dorian said cheekily. "The moment I saw you I thought, 'There's a man who knows quality.'" Alex laughed off his nerves, and Dorian just smiled wider.
Dorian did like having an audience, and he certainly enjoyed the performance. And making this massive hulk of warrior chuckle like a schoolboy was endlessly fun. After everything they'd just been through, laughter was the best thing to hear.
"Now what was I talking about?" Dorian mused as Alex's laugh slowed. "Ah yes! Me. I am the scion of House Pavus, a product of generations of careful breeding, and the repository for its hopes and dreams."
"Careful breeding?" Alex asked, brows furrowing.
Dorian sighed, but not over Alex's questions, over the facts he had to explain. "The Great families of Tevinter don't have children. They refine traits, weed out the undesirable, and promote the rest. My mother was chosen for my father because magic runs strongly in her blood. Never mind that they loathed each other. They wanted a son that could become Archon, to make House Pavus the envy of the Imperium. They got me. A cautionary tale that you should be careful what you wish for."
Alex's eyes were wide, and he sighed. "There are a lot of things there I don't understand," he admitted, earning a soft chuckle from Dorian. "But...you are nobility," he said, marking a mental tally in his head for the facts he'd guessed or wondered over that were turning out correct.
Dorian nodded but it was half-hearted. "And I despised it all. The lies, the scheming, the illusions of supremacy. That's Tevinter in a nutshell, isn't it? Needless to say my family was not happy with my choices."
Alex tilted his head to the side curiously. "Why would your family be upset with your choices?" he asked.
"Because I rejected their idyllic plan," Dorian said bluntly, simply, as if saying it out right was therapeutic. "If they had their way, by now I'd be married to some unlucky girl from a powerful family. We'd live in luxurious despair, despising each other as I waited to take my father's place in the magisterium."
"Why despising?" Alex asked. "Surely you could be civil enough to have a family or...the like."
Dorian laughed but it was slightly bitter. "'The like.' Yes, that's what we'd call it," he chuckled darkly.
"What?" Alex wondered.
Dorian gave him a cautious look, hesitating, but then he raised a brow. "I don't believe I could make any girl happy," he said, his words loaded with a meaning Alex could pick up enough to make his heart hammer. "So naturally I declined the honour," Dorian went on quickly, giving Alex an emotional whiplash. "And thus it's best I'm far from home. Less of an embarrassment, you see."
Alex frowned. "I'm getting the impression that you don't much care for your homeland."
"On the contrary," Dorian said. "I care for my homeland a great deal. There's so much potential. Sadly, we squander it. We refuse to acknowledge how far we've fallen, because pretending is easier. Not everyone feels that way. I don't. Sadly, I'm the minority."
Alex blinked and hesitated. "It just seems...so much of what you say about the Imperium is entirely negative."
Dorian sighed and nodded sadly. "It may seem that way," he said. "For all our faults, my people have many virtues. We are laden with history and culture. Tevinter is where Thedas truly began, remember?"
Alex smiled gently. "I recall being taught that once upon a time."
"We treasure our past," Dorian said sincerely. "You can walk down a side street and find nothing built in the modern age. And despite appearances, we care. Deeply. About everything. We have no reserve, not in war, and not in love."
Alex blushed against all his attempts not too when Dorian met his eyes. He dropped his head fast as well. "Well," he mumbled, "I'm glad there's something nice to be said for Tevinter."
"If I truly believed my homeland was beyond all hope, I wouldn't miss it so much," Dorian said softly.
"People are quick to judge," Alex sighed.
Dorian raised his brows in agreement. "Yes. Everyone is quite willing to write me off immediately. Don't they know you should never judge a book by it's cover? Besides, I have such a splendid cover." He gestured to himself and made Alex smile. His skill and diffusing tension, or severity, was impressive.
"I hope you have a better opinion of me, at least," Dorian said, casting a glance at Solas as he stood speaking to an apothecary. "We did nearly die together."
Alex laughed. "You're safe from my doubts," he assured Dorian.
"Can you imagine what would have happened if we'd never got back?" Dorian asked. "If we'd never been able to reverse the time magic. It would have been you and I against all odds, fighting to right wrongs and defeat evil."
"Sounds glorious," Alex joked. "And impossible. We would have been dead in a week."
Dorian snorted. "I hate to say it but you're probably right." He looked into the distance around Haven, much like Alex had done earlier, and gave a little sigh. "I think we need every able body we can scrape up," he said, looking back at Alex with a raised black brow. "Even a mage from Tevinter."
Alex could see the hidden jab there. "Everyone will get used to you in time," Alex said, rubbing the back of his neck cautiously.
Dorian shrugged. "We'll see. Regardless, I'll be around for...whatever. I can do well in the background as well as in the fore. Whatever is...safest."
Alex frowned. Dorian didn't seem the kind of man to shrink back into the shadows, even though he liked to lurk in them, and the way he spoke made it sound like just the idea of hanging back was painful. Alex didn't like the way everyone was immediately skeptical of the Tevinter mage, but he hated it all the more to hear that Dorian understood.
Alex spoke, for once, without overthinking it. "I'll be going back into the Hinterlands soon," he said, making Dorian look up with interest. "Small things. Nothing world changing. While the mages settle in and ready themselves for a full assault on the breech, there are a few loose threads we could tie up. Rifts we could close."
"That all sounds exciting," Dorian said sarcastically, but Alex smirked.
"Come along," Alex said. "I could use your magic."
Dorian grinned softly as he realized what Alex was doing. "I should warn you," he said. "I'm not the best healer."
Alexander shrugged. "I usually try and make it so we don't need much healing."
Dorian laughed. "My you are confident!" Alex just smiled, waiting, and Dorian locked his eyes to the younger man. "Say the word, and I'll march."
Alex held his hand out, and Dorian looked at it with a laugh before shaking it firmly. Alex managed to keep the shiver from shaking his shoulders, but it ran up his spine nonetheless. As he walked away he only had one thought in his mind, even after everything he'd just been taught and told.
All Alex could think about was how surprisingly soft Dorian's hand had been.