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#character: thora cadash
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The Ascent
Prologue: Sleeping Giants
Pairing: f!Cadash & Solas (gen) Characters: Female Cadash, Solas Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Other Tags: Dwarf Lore, Elvhenan Lore, Cadash Thaig, Cad’halash Thaig
Summary: "Cadash" had always been more than a name for Thora: it was her family, it was her history, it was her. But the Stone tells no tales of exiles. Although she thanked the ancestors with the same lips that sang the Chant, she never felt she knew them, and feared she never would. When the Titan's song lures them into the depths of the Deep Roads, she finds the chance she's been looking for her whole life. Cadash Thaig is within her grasp, she only has to reach for it.
The earth shakes like the sky before a storm. Weeks beneath the surface, and yet Solas feels the tremors under his feet, as though the source still lies miles beneath them.
It speaks again, softer this time, mumbling in the voice of a Titan. Only a few pairs of eyes lift to watch the ceiling quiver, the rest having acclimated days ago. Varric’s attention, as always, turns to their exit to assure himself it’s still there. Their Inquisitor looks, too, but with different eyes. Not nervous, but inquisitive. Listening with intent to a foreign language she strains to understand, and when the shaking ceases her expression falters, tight with shame as her gaze falls back to her book. For Solas it is an old, familiar sound, the echo of an ancient quarry, newly awakened, and does not distract him long. He turns the wooden spoon around the dinner pot, stirring the pieces that had settled at the bottom before they begin to blacken.
“Do you think it knows we’re here?” Varric asks in a low, nervous tone, deliberately spoken so that Valta does not overhear (although Solas doubts she would pay them any mind, either grief or fascination distracts her from their gossip). He looks and finds her now engaged in conversation with the Inquisitor, though her attention seems divided, suspended between the person before her and a force beyond their sight. Satisfied they will not offend the Shaper, he looks back to Varric, whose eyes now glance furtively around the high ceiling.
“It’s difficult to say,” he muses. “We lie so far beneath its notice it may not be truly aware we are here, and yet the Sha-Brytol greet us like a fever come to burn away the disease.”
“Always with the cheerful observations, Chuckles. I suppose a little reassurance is too much to ask for?”
“You misunderstand,” he says. “A soldier who’s weathered a thousand battles may still succumb to plague— an adversary so small it could pass through the eye of a needle.”
“So we’re what in this scenario, a summer cold?”
A smile tugs at his lip. “If you like.”
Read the rest here!
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rosella-writes · 1 year
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Pairing: Sera & Solas (gen)
Characters: Sera, Solas, @queenaeducan’s Thora Cadash
Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Archive Warnings: None
Other Tags: Spiders, Archery, Pranks
Summary: Sera plays one too many pranks on Solas, and he resolves to get payback.
“Having difficulties, Sera?”
She hates that voice. It slips and slides like an uppity noble’s, like every alienage elder’s who looked down at her for not getting the point of their silly tree. She whips around, plants the heels of her hands in the dirt, and puts on her best glare.
“No,” she insists. “Meant to do that. That’s how you change these, see?”
Solas raises his eyebrow and tucks his hands behind his back. She wonders if he’s hiding something, or if he just wants her to think he is. Yeah, that’s more like it. He’s not really tricksy, he just wants to look like he is.
“I have yet to see any competent archer replace their bowstring by…” Solas leans over, inspects her bow, and wrinkles his nose. “By stomping on it.”
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queenaeducan · 1 year
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Tagged by @mxkelsifer tysm for tagging me!
Rules: List five things you never get tired of writing; it can be tropes, themes, characters, phrases, whatever brings you joy. Then tag five people!
Mental health/coping: I’m not quite sure how to phrase this, but based on how many of my fics are about characters coping with anxiety or depression or helping others cope, and that I’m still not done writing about it... I guess you could say it’s a theme I like to revisit. I like exploring what works for some characters and doesn’t for others, how they cope alone versus with company, the journey it takes to learning how to deal with your specific brand of anxiety, etc. I guess I could also say hurt-comfort is a trope I like a lot, although it tends to be emotional trauma over physical.
Names/Identity: I’m coupling these because I think the exploration of Thora’s sense of identity through studying her family history and Solas’s sense of identity through his many changing names are connected in my head. Almost all my elf ocs don’t have the name they were born with, either because they’re trans like Bruno or because they want free names like Vher. My version of Solas has like a dozen names, but Solas is the one he chose and therefore it is his truest name. The power of knowing your name and its meaning, whether your choose it yourself or unearth its lost past through study, is something I like to think/write about. How names connect us with who we are (Thora is a Surfacer name, it means thunder) and who we were (Cadash is a Traditional name, a warrior house). I feel like I did a poor job of connecting the above sentences but needless to say I think these subjects are neat and inform a lot of my characters.
Friendship: I don’t have a lot of elaborate here I just really like writing gen fics. I like showing how friendships change us and help us grow or keep us from growing.
Slice of Life: Again, I guess I don’t have too much to elaborate on here, but I like to see my faves just vibing in the moment. We see how they act in peril, and I definitely like reading and writing about that, too, but the unspoken moments call to me, too. What’s the journey to Haven like for the newly allied mages? How does the fledgling Inquisition cope with resources before a supply line to Skyhold is established? What does Solas do before returning to Skyhold during his personal quest? Etc. Some of this is heavier than the phrase slice of life typically is meant to convey but it still falls into the genre of “moments that we don’t need in the canon story necessarily b/c this isn’t ASoIaF but I do like to think/write about.”
Magic: I kept typing “veil” or “fade” but I didn’t want to make it a Dragon Age-specific topic. I love writing about feelings made manifest, the energy that goes into casting a spell, or what dreams are like. It can mean nebulous descriptors or on-the-nose metaphors. I can be subtle or beat you over the head with it (probably more the latter I don’t think nuance is a strength of mine). The Fade in particular is a fun setting to play in because it’s so malleable, like in a WIP I wrote Solas experiencing Kinloch Hold through Ian’s dreams and getting to emphasise how alien and hostile the setting is by making the hallways unending or the books up too high to reach. I couldn’t get all of that if I wrote a fic about Solas physically visiting Kinloch Hold because he would experience it differently as Ian did as a child and prisoner, but because it’s a Fade dream I can have my cake and eat it too. Stuff like this is why fantasy is fun.
Tagging: @theshirallen, @dreadfutures​, @rosella-writes, @bluewren, @darethshirl
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mercyburned-aa · 3 years
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9am thoughts  :  the relationship between the words “dasher” and “deshyr” because i’m a thousand percent convinced that dasher is an evolved surface form of “deshyr” specific to the carta,  since “deshyr” itself is still a used word in the dwarven merchants’ guild. 
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seahaloed · 4 years
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@ourdawncomes​
No rest for the wicked, however the wicked in this case were the “noble” houses of Kirkwall getting their shit in a twist about changes to the city. It’s not like they could find their way around before, so their anger only made Varric laugh.
(maker’s tits why’d they think that he’d be a good viscount was beyond him)
The merchant’s guild was easier to deal with. Say the right things, ply the right hands with gold, and they left well enough alone. They had only seemed more and more toothless to him now that he had time, perspective, and experience on his side. Not so big and bad to him anymore.
His timepiece sang, signaling Varric to a meeting he actually wanted to attend. He slid together the unfinished letters to finish after and stood, stretching his arms languidly. His shoulders popped and he hummed before removing his glasses and laying on the desk and set off for the Cadash Estate.
It was an easy walk with the sun shining and mild wind against his face.
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“You know we can get you a gardener?” he ventures, catching Thora outside with a winding grin sneaking onto his face. “The place is looking a little bare is all, a few shrubs never hurt anybody--” he continues with a lazy wave of his hand.
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ourdawncomes · 3 years
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CHARACTER IN FIVE QUOTES
tell us your favourite quotes from your character. give us an idea of who they are five things they’ve said. then tag your friends:
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THORA CADASH
CANON:
“I decide what I deserve. Not you.”
“The eyes of every noble in the empire are upon us, your Grace. Remember to smile.”
“I didn’t come here to become a god, Corypheus.”
“The mark is... I thought it was fine. It’s been under control for years. All the demons I’ve fought... all the rifts I closed... I don’t want to die. (Sighs) Not knowing the world still needed me.”
“You all know what this is. A writ from Divine Justinia authorising the formation of the Inquisition. We pledged to close the Breach, find those responsible, and restore order. With or without anyone’s approval. But if the Inquisition now threatens the very stability it helped create, it is clear our time is done. We will not become what we once fought against. We do not have the luxury of corruption and complacency. If this organisation has become too large to do its job, there is only one solution. Effective immediately, the Inquisition is disbanded.
RP:
“Then maybe we have more in common than most people think.”
“No, I– it’s just like picking if I want to get hit by a hammer or a sword. Either way, it’ll hurt.”
“All I know is I kept walking, miles after I wanted to stop. Maybe it was the Maker that kept me going... maybe it was just me.”
[at Cadash Thaig] “Because they were better than that.” Thora’s answer is quick and sure, as if she had been there herself. “Whatever happened to the elves, whether it was Tevinter, or other elves, there were people who needed help, and Cad’halash… my people… helped them. Sometimes, being Inquisitor, it felt like people were making me out to be all the things I was never meant to be, but this… and that golem my house got exiled for. It makes everything seem more right, somehow. Like I was always meant to help, always meant to… do good. Probably sounds stupid, huh?”
“Just in this age, dwarves have invented smokeless forges and– machines, just powered by hot air. My people can do more than just imagine a world beyond the physical… they make it real.”
tagged by: i stole it from sb but its been in my drafts a while and i forget who. i had to replay trespasser to get some quotes just right. tagging: uhhhh @seahaloed (alistair), @shieldtheself, @pluresque (isabela), @willbeshot, @skyheld​ (adrian or claudine), @mercysought​ (anora), @sunlilted​ (wayu), @altusmage​, @hopewrought​. feel free to steal this, or if i tagged a muse and you’d rather do another feel free to override my suggestion.
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theharellan · 4 years
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101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS | not accepting
for the sake of reducing the number of ooc posts i’m answering these all in one and just @ing the people who asked the questions! thank you for them all!
if you sent me one of these btw and rbed this meme yourself and i didn’t send you something, please let me know! i want to send you things back and must have missed you reblogging the meme. this includes non-mutuals.
1. How did you get into Dragon Age? | asked by @kaaras-adaar & @dreamerlavellan​
Sort of by accident, actually. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in university (2011) and summertime is generally a time of inactivity and depression because I cannot tolerate the weather here. My dad happened to own Origins and I picked it up because??? Fantasy? RPG?
Starting the game I saw you could play as a dwarf, who have been my favourites in fantasy since a child as The Hobbit is among my favourite books. Then after that I fell in love with the worldbuilding for dwarves and Gorim, my first actual Dragon Age love. I was more or less hooked after that. DA was actually not my first Bioware game, I was obsessed with Jade Empire as a kid so like Origins appealed to me immediately despite being far less fun to play than literally any other Bioware game I’ve ever played. The characters and world more than made up for it.
I beat it relatively quickly and my dad bought Dragon Age II which had come out earlier that day, actually against my suggestion because I’d heard it wasn’t good. And in this instance my dad forgetting something I said turned out for the best because I ended up enjoying DAII more in some respects. While it took me a while to join the fandom as a content producer I was a consumer and certified DA trash from then on.
2. Have you finished all three games? | asked by @kaaras-adaar
Kskjdfs yes. I’ve beaten each at least 4 times, but probably more like 8. The only thing I haven’t played are some of the Origins DLC because as much as I enjoy my replays I am so ready to be out by the end of the game (and I have the worst luck with Awakening bugs) and I also don’t have Sebastians DLC b/c his never goes on sale individually and I refuse to spend more than like $4 on him.
3. How long did it take you to finish the series? | asked by @kaaras-adaar
I honestly don’t know. I think it took me like a week to beat Inquisition without 100%ing it, I’d say my first playthroughs all probably took about that long. I tend not to do everything in my first playthrough. Like shard collecting didn’t happen until round two, etc.
7. Favorite DA:O backstory? | asked by @dreamerlavellan & @fatefaulted
I’ve played through all of them and I enjoy them all except Cousland, but my favourite is Aeducan. I enjoy the politics, the culture, the aesthetic of Orzammar. I love Gorim Saelac and the surprising amount of depth to this character who is designed to be thrown away after the prologue. I love how it ties you to the Darkspawn threat in a bigger way than any of the origins accomplish. I love how it ties you to the Orzammar plot later in the game, and playing Aeducan first is probably one reason why I adore that branch of the game. It’s a good origin that establishes its world really well and has great characters to boot.
11. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game. | asked by @dreamerlavellan
I just want to share pics of my girl and Solas’ future husband.
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Ian Lavellan, non-Inquisitor written by @theshirallen
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Thora Cadash, dwarven Inquisitor and default Inquisitor for this blog written by... me lmao.
22. Favorite DA2 party combo? | asked by @fatefaulted
My main Hawke is a mage Hawke, so this party is horrendously imbalanced, but: Varric, Merrill, Isabela. They all just like each other and I think that’s neat. Although in act one my favourite is probably Carver, Merrill, Isabela / Varric. Unfortunately the game doesn’t want me to have a warrior in my party.
24. Favorite main-story quest from DA:I? | asked by @kaaras-adaar
It’s hard to pick between In Hushed Whispers and In Your Heart Shall Burn. I love seeing the red lyrium’d companions and the dark future of Thedas, and speculating on what happened in the intervening year. I love reflecting on what it must do for the Inquisitor to see that and have it be undone. I think it sets up the rest of the game really well, and in ways Champions of the Just doesn’t do quite as well.
In Your Heart Shall burn is a simpler quest but I think the power and emotions in the quest are so raw. Playing this the first time was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat. The triumph of closing the Breach, the strangeness of your first encounter with Cole (whose appearance at the gates is another reason I prefer IHW tbh, I think it’s more tension building than Dorian’s), Corypheus, crawling through the snow. Capping it off with The Dawn Will Come and the journey to Skyhold idk, it’s just such an emotional high point in the series that every time I replay I get goosebumps.
25. Favorite DA:I place? | asked by @fatefaulted
It’s a tie between the Frostback Basin and the Emerald Graves. I love the lore in both, as elf trash I prefer the lore in the graves especially if I can include the Din’an Hanin into that category. But the Avvar lore and Ameridan is also Very Good, and while I adore the giant trees of the graves the Frostback Basin clearly was able to have more resources poured into its design, and as a result the different sections of the map have so much more character.
A close runner-up is the Hinterlands, as I think the quests there are fun and it feels like home. I enjoy returning to it. Which is good, b/c I’ve played through it... a lot... I think loving it might be a coping mechanism, but also I love the vibe of the early game that’s best captured in the Hinterlands.
32. Favorite DLC mission overall? | asked by @fatefaulted
Trespasser is up there with Shivering Isles as my favourite DLC ever produced. Its hits every emotional beat I think it needed to hit, set up the next game with greater detail and intrigue than the initial epilogue, and I’m honestly dying to get to replay it again on Thora despite what it does to my nerves. The first time I played it I could feel my heart beating faster like wtf me.
37. Blood magic: yes or no? | asked by @hopewrought​
Would I use it myself? No. Morally I think it can be reprehensible but also neutral, much like any other magic in the game. In certain characters I think even if used for good it may encourage unhealthy habits, but I think it can be learned to be engaged with in better ways.
59. Who was written really poorly? | asked by @theshirallen you can’t hide behind anon I know it was you
Oghren fucking Kondrat. When I think about the reasons Origins is my least favourite game he is among them. With Oghren there was a really good chance to portray an alcoholic abuse victim, suffering from severe mental health issues, and still mourning his wife, with the respect it deserves. Instead he just... is a gross sexist dwarf and his alcoholism is mostly played for jokes. And then he comes back in Awakening and... continues to be a gross sexist dwarf whose alcoholism is mostly played for jokes.
There could have been some really interesting stuff with Oghren, the Warrior caste of dwarves I think would suffer from issues similar to qunari warriors, where when they can no longer fill the purpose society has dictated they must serve, what then? They can’t do anything but fight. There could be comradery with Sten, or perhaps Zevran or Alistair, or any of the companions who have had the path their lives took dictated to them by societal forces they had no say in (even if they are happy with that direction). There are snippets of good stuff in here, the line “let us show them our hearts, Warden, and then show them theirs” is one of the best of the good-byes the game offers us imo. It’s a shame about what came before.
Like there are other characters, such as Sera, who I think were done dirty by their writers, but Sera at least got some growth in the DLC and there were attempts to address criticism of her character. Oghren in Awakening was just kind of a take two of an already poorly-done arc.
60. Who do you wish had been given more story? | asked by @hopewrought​
I wish Briala had more, like that she had some impact on the story in universes where Gaspard isn’t crowned with her as his puppetmaster. She and the elves reappears in that but not if you reunite her with Celene or exile her, and I think it would’ve been neat. I also wish she’d had a chance to interact with Solas in some small way given how many parallels were drawn by one of his own agents during Masked Empire.
I also wish we had more about dwarves in general in 2 and Inquisition. We get some great lore in Inquisition that was set up in 2, but with our only dwarf companion being Varric, who honestly has a relationship with his race that at times is comparable to Sera’s, it pulls a few of its punches. I really think they have dwarves set up to be important players in the next game, with their architecture featuring heavily in the dev diary, buuut no dwarves to be seen. So who knows. Just give me dwarves in the next game who aren’t Varric Bioware pls. Let me kiss one maybe.
61. Favorite NPC? | asked by @kaaras-adaar​
I’m not going to count advisors even though they kinda are NPCs and I’m going to answer one for each game so uhh...
Origins - Anora
DA2 - Feynriel
DA:I - Krem
Bonus - Lord Woolsley, the only unproblematic DA character
63. Best story moment? | asked by @ghilannainguideme
It’s a tie between the journey to Skyhold and the talk with Solas at the end of Trespasser and the resulting disbanding of the Inquisition (if you so choose). I really can’t separate them because I think the reason Trespasser works so well is how it calls back to the very beginning of Inquisition and that moment with Solas in the snow. It’s triumphant and sad, something’s ending, the fellowship is breaking, but you know all of you will continue to work towards a better world apart.
In DA:O I think it’d be saying good-bye before the final battle and in DA2 I think the moment where you can tell the Arishok he was right to take in the elves who killed that guardmen is good. Probably one of the reasons why I think Hawke-Arishok work so well as a protagonist-antagonist combination.
81. Favorite fanfic? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​
I don’t read a lot of fanfic, actually. Save what I read on here, which I do count, but idk if other people do.
My favourite writers to read are @theshirallen​, obviously. Joly wants to tweakIan’s personal quest but I think the version they have written now is still very good and you can find it here. I love reading Peace’s stuff and find their smut especially spicy in the best possible way, you can find a Merrill/f!Mahariel piece here! Gaia doesn’t write on Tumblr much these days, but she wrote a wonderful Tug/Sketch (the companions from Leliana’s Song) that you can find here.
I follow so many talented writers and I can’t list them all but here are a few I can fire off real fast: @theshirallen / @ghilannainguideme / @seahaloed / @sabraelin / @valorcorrupt / @mercysought / @hopewrought / @ofrevas / @skyheld have all moved me with their words at some point, be it in fic or rp.
82. Favorite fanart/fanartist? | asked by @ghilannainguideme
Again I just can’t choose jsdfks.
The easiest way is to just link my Solas fanart tag. Obviously this favours Solas artists, however, so also here’s a link to thedaswlw where there’s a boatload of amazing fanart all of wlw.
Of people I’m mutuals with I know @abracafockyou, @kaaras-adaar, @dalathin (currently inactive but I gotta link them), and @syntharts​ are all very talented artists.  I’m also a big fan of destinyapostacy, nipuni, elbenherzart, starscollected (on twitter), and many more.
97. What’s your favorite DA mod? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​ & @hopewrought​
I’ll chose one as many as I want to apparently from each game again, b/c why not?
DA:O - I have to admit I find this game hard to mod because nothing can really salvage the gameplay or look of the game. I need Better Dwarf Model so I don’t have to look at the odd dwarf proportions in the game (the women have arms for days). Mostly I have armour mods. I like Grey Wardens of Ferelden so I can match Alistair in the final batte and have everyone in uniforms in Awakening. I do like Kirkwall Exports because I can put Zevran in the robes of the notorious pirate tho. I haven’t used this mod yet but I also love this mod I retweeted this morning.
DA2 - Again, I don’t mod 2 very much. You could probably make some kind of chart for correlating my enjoyment of a game versus my urge to mod it, with the more I love a game means I want to mod it more. With 2 I enjoy the combat and overall design of the characters more so I mostly use a couple of tweaks, my favourite is Ishs Scarf for Merrill which just adds a cute blue scarf to Merrill and hides the fact that elves in this game have weirdly long necks. Oh and a mod to fix the weird hand dirt.
DA:I - Equal Opportunity Solas mod, I bought the game again on PC just to use it. Being able to play Solas/Ian for screencaps was everything tbh. Other mods I enjoy are More Banter, which while I have better luck with banter it is nice to be able to count on it. I installed it this latest pt and I have heard location comments that have never triggered before. Black Hair for Everyone has changed my life because finally Thora doesn’t have grey hair. No Dirt Buildup is also amazing, as the dirt can cause some really weird blotting on PCs that’s especially noticeable on dark-skinned Inquisitors.
99. Where would you live (Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches etc?) | asked by @heysales​​
Probably Ferelden. It is fantasy England and hey if I make it past Inquisition maybe nothing will ever happen there again. Somewhere in the Free Marches might also be chill. Not Kirkwall. Maybe Starkhaven? Honestly tho I just want to live in the Frostback Basin. Have a spirit friend. Shake hands with nugs.
101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? | asked by @dreamerlavellan​
If I met Thora I’d tell her I’m proud of her. She’d be confused, but that’s ok.
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cloudgazercadash · 6 years
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THORA’S RP PLOTTING CHEAT SHEET.
Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.
Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, andrepost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.
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Mun Name: Tas OOC Contact: Tumblr IMs or Discord (mutuals only)
Who the heck is my muse anyway:
Thora is a Carta criminal turned holy figure. She spent most of her youth smuggling and selling lyrium to all sorts: Templars needing a bigger fix, Dalish elves unable to contact Orzammar themselves, apostates looking for supplies, anyone who had a need. Now, she’s working to put that past behind her any way she can. As the Herald and (later) Inquisitor she strives to do right by the world, and acts with mercy whenever possible.
Points of interest:
Thora believes in the Maker and the Stone, blending the two not-wholly incompatible faiths. As a Surface dwarf, however, she has not been able to practise them as she would like.
She does not believe she is Herald, but in her companion verse will believe the Inquisitor was chosen (though if the Inquisitor is non-Andrastrian it is something she keeps to herself).
Her specialisation is Beserker, a style that involves letting her rage out on the battlefield, something that surprises people when they were first exposed to her out of a fight.
She’s liberal in her beliefs, and supports Leliana as Divine, but has a fair amount of sympathy for Templars given her experiences with those suffering from lyrium withdrawal.
She lived in Kirkwall for a few years between Act 2 and the end of Act 3, leaving the city when she got a feeling that something bad was going to go down. I headcanon that she knew Samson when he lived on the street and knew of Varric (because who hasn’t in Kirkwall).
She also worked in Amaranthine during the events of Awakening, having lived through the attack by the Darkspawn.
What they’ve been up to recently:
Thora has become the head of the Inquisition, an up and coming Thedas organisation, almost entirely by accident. She is currently travelling Ferelden and Orlais, closing Breaches and righting wrongs. She leads the Inquisition in such a way to inspire hope and mercy in the hearts of the people of Thedas. or she tries, anyway. After the defeat of Corypheus, she travels north to close Breaches that opened in the Free Marches.
(post-Trespasser) The Inquisition is disbanded, and Thora dedicates her resources to discovering what she can about the world before the Veil and what she can do to convince her friend that both of their peoples can survive in the same world. Beyond the members of the Inquisition that chose to remain by her side, she also utilises her former Carta connections to create a network difficult for Solas to track.
Where to find them:
Haven or Skyhold, but anywhere throughout Orlais or Ferelden are fair game. As I said, the events of the game she can be found in the Free Marches (especially Ostwick, where her family lives) and then, later, Tevinter. Skyhold lies abandoned after the events of Trespasser, but not forgotten.
Current plans:
Thora wants to stop Corypheus, but has ambitions beyond him, as well. She had no intention of influencing the choosing of the next Divine, but once it’s made clear her will may influence the decision, she sets about making sure Leliana has the best shot possible.
(post-Trespasser) Thora has committed herself to saving Solas, and the world, from himself. In Tevinter, she would also openly support Dorian and Maevaris’s Lucerni.
Desired interactions:
Threads based upon in-game quests, be their war table missions or main quests.
In particular, In Hushed Whispers has a permanent effect upon Thora, who as a non-dreamer (until recently) is unable to disassociate what she sees with being “unmade” making it for a generally different experience than in-game.
Her preparing for Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts. Thora has experiences that make her well-suited to the wordplay of the game, but next to know experience with noble etiquette or dancing. She would need lessons before the ball.
Stuff pre and post-DA:I. Having a passing familiarity with some of DA2′s cast, or navigating closing Breaches and solving problems in the Free Marches.
At one point Thora explores the Cadash Thaig, and anyone that wants to come with will have a wild time full of self-discovery with Thora and my Solas.
Interactions with more of the higher-ups in the world, the Queen of Ferelden, any of the powers in the Free Marches, etc. Even post-Trespasser when she’s no longer Inquisitor her name still bears weight.
Anything tbh I love threads w/ my girl.
Offered interactions:
Companion OCs who have recruitment quests that they want to rp, come @ me.
Basically any thread that might require an Inquisitor.
Slice of life, missions, discussions about religion...
I’m pretty open to anything!
Anything else?:
She loves nugs a lot and will disapprove if you don’t.
Tagged by: i took this from.......... myself
Tagging: whoever wants to!
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The Ascent
Chapter One: Second Watch
Pairing: f!Cadash & Solas (gen) Characters: Female Cadash, Solas Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Other Tags: Dwarf Lore, Elvhenan Lore, Cadash Thaig, Cad’halash Thaig Summary: Thora has dreamed of visiting Cadash Thaig since she was small. After a chance discovery of a journal in the Deep Roads it seems her moment has finally come.
The question Thora glimpsed in Solas’ eyes the night before their final descent doesn’t fade with time. She’d hoped the hurricane of events that followed in the hours and days after would distract him, but as they rise from the belly of the Titan she sees its lingering shine.
At first it’s easy to pretend she doesn’t notice. With all that had unfolded in the past few days, no one could blame her. Renn dead, Valta gone, and the Titan—
The Titan.
She knows now why Cole calls things ‘knots.’ Everything’s all tangled up inside her, and prying one mess loose from another feels like a task more impossible than every victory that lies behind her, and every mountain that lies ahead. Pull one end and the other pulls tighter.
It doesn’t get easier when they stop. So long as they’re moving, the present is too loud for her to focus on her own ghosts. When she brings her hammer down upon a Darkspawn’s head, she’s not thinking about Valta. When she’s skirting the walls of the Deep Roads to find the right plce to turn, she’s not thinking about Titans.
But as they lay the perimeter of their camp, she lays her arms and armour down in a pile by the fire, and feels the weight of the day settle over her shoulders. It bears down on her heavier than any weapon she carries, speaks louder than the idle conversation that surrounds her, and she can’t outrun it anymore. At least, not for the night.
“Hey, Sunflower.” She barely feels Varric tap her shoulder, turning to see the concern reflected in his eyes. Always worrying about someone’s problems but his own. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine,” she grunts, working her right shoulder muscles. “Just feeling that last fight, you know?”
“Yeah…” For a practised liar, he doesn’t put much effort into sounding convinced, but he lets her have it. She wants to thank him for it. Varric jerks his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing towards their companions. “Listen, one of us’ll take first watch tonight. You get some sleep.”
It takes a sorry amount of effort, but her lips twitch in a smile he won’t buy for a second. “Will do.”
Read the rest here!
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queenaeducan-writes · 2 years
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onomatology
While studying Elvhen with Solas, Thora comes upon a familiar word.
A repost of an older Solas & Thora ficlet I wrote for my rp blog. A small headcanon for context: I headcanon ‘Solas’ as being the first name of Solas’ many names that he chose for himself, and so holds special importance to him.
The bed creaks as Thora shifts on it, but it isn’t enough to make him look up from his book. At least, not until he hears a sharp inhale that heralds the question he’s sure will follow. “Solas,” she says, but it does not sound like his name. The book she’s holding falls into her lap, giving him a glimpse of the Elvhen upon the page, written in the King’s Tongue. “It means pride?”
He smiles faintly, one finger slipping between the pages of his book as he closes them around it. “I see your studies are going well,” he notes. Solas sinks into the pillows that adorn the Inquisitor’s headboard, and wonders distantly how she manages to sleep amidst them all. “Solas does mean ‘pride’ yes, though you may be thinking of another connotation. I have seen it translated as ‘to stand tall,’ which may better reflect its meaning.” At least, it did in Elvhenan. What he does not admit is that he is unsure of how it has evolved, or how Dalish ears might take it.
“Why did your parents name you that?” she asks, then quickly adds, “If I can ask that.”
“She didn’t.”
“Oh, uh– sorry.”
“Your apology is unnecessary. It was a fine name, it simply was not mine.”
Silence follows, long enough that Solas returns to his book. The words do not register as they should, however, even as his eyes roll over them and his lips move to take their sound. Some drama unfolds upon the page before him, but his mind returns to old, worn out names from before. Names Thora will likely never know.
“My name–” she pipes up after a moment, after he has already turned the page back to reread what he had missed. “Thora. It means ‘thunder.’”
“Hm.” The way she says it, he can hear its meaning. It does not resonate as Elvhen would, but it echoes all the same. “A fitting name.”
“You think?”
“What does thunder do if not herald the coming storm?”
A smile pinches the corner of his eyes when he hears her laugh. “Not quite what I think my mom was going for,” she says, playing with the corner of the page, folding the paper where time has made it soft. “She always told me it was storming the night I was born, thundering so loud the neighbours couldn’t hear her screams. I don’t know if it’s true, but I, uh, don’t suppose it matters.”
“It will make a pleasant song, one day.”
Thora snorts derisively, as though forgetting they already sing songs of her today. Perhaps even this very evening. “I… don’t think I have to ask you why you chose Solas of all names. You can tell me anyway, if you like.”
“Too many to name, my friend.” And some he cannot. “Whenever I hear my name it is a reminder of all there is for me to be proud of, and the risks of allowing that pride to go unchecked.” Pride she has seen the worst of, and the ignorance borne of it, yet still she invites him to read together. Always in silence, until he asks a question, or she does, and they may both reap the bounty from the what they read.
She props up her chin in her hand, elbow resting on the bedframe as she considers him carefully. He does not feel like Pride, now, wrapped in blankets with a piece of escapist fiction propped up in his lap, but he still feels like Solas. “I think you chose well,” she decides, and he smiles to hear her say it.
“Thank you.”
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The Ascent
Chapter Two: Shadowmarks
Pairing: f!Cadash & Solas (gen) Characters: Female Cadash, Solas Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition| Other Tags: Dwarf Lore, Elvhenan Lore, Cadash Thaig, Cad’halash Thaig Summary: Thora and Solas begin their journey to Cadash Thaig. Content Warning: Descriptions of violence
Insofar as the wider world knew, the Inquisitor had emerged from the bowels of the earth triumphant, one god held in check beneath her thumb, and another waiting.
The truth as it stands is a little more complex.
“You know, I sort of miss going down,” Thora huffs, halting her ascent to look back at Solas. The full thrust of his every step weighs down upon his staff as he pulls himself up the slope, his agreement made evident from the short breath that heaves from his lungs.
For days now it has been only the two of them. They parted from their companions at a fork in the roads, allowing word to spread of their excursion’s success. They had packed light, with rations to provide only for one, leaving him to subsist entirely upon energy from the Fade and forage. The meagre load lightened their step, vast stretches of the Deep Roads seemed to fold beneath their feet, at least until they began to go up.
Solas’s lungs protest with each second step, always two behind the Herald, who seems driven forth by a fervid energy he has scarcely seen in her before. He knows how she wears resolve, its steel was cool behind her eyes as they looked to Haven’s Chantry doors. Today is different. Her eyes, now, they shine like light bouncing off deep, black waters, with no telling what lies in their depths.
“I think we’re getting closer,” she announces. The proclamation is abrupt by his estimate, today’s stretch of road looks no different than yesterday’s. He has long learned to trust that tone in her voice, but questions are second nature to him.
“How can you tell?” he asks, words staggered between beleaguered breaths. He steadies himself with an outcropping of rock that bends towards the centre of the passage, momentarily relieving his staff of its burden.
“I just— can.” She shrugs. “I know, it sounds crazy.”
“On the contrary, the dwarven people’s Stone sense is well-documented.”
“Stone sense isn’t for Surface dwarves.” She spits the words out like they were never hers to begin with. He wonders how old she was when someone tried to kill that hope in her.
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The Ascent
Chapter Three: Lathbora Viran
Pairing: f!Cadash & Solas (gen) Characters: Female Cadash, Solas Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Other Tags: Dwarf Lore, Elvhenan Lore, Cadash Thaig, Cad’halash Thaig Summary: "Cadash" had always been more than a name for Thora: it was her family, it was her history, it was her. But the Stone tells no tales of exiles. Although she thanked the ancestors with the same lips that sang the Chant, she never felt she knew them, and feared she never would. When the Titan's song lures them into the depths of the Deep Roads, she finds the chance she's been looking for her whole life. Cadash Thaig is within her grasp, she only has to reach for it. Chapter Summary: Thora and Solas make camp for the evening, not realising their destination is closer than either anticipated.
Morning and evening are a matter of perspective this far beneath the surface. Before they left for the Deep Roads it was advised they travel until they were safe or until they were tired, whichever came first. Sound advice, Solas suspects, but not tailored for Dreamers, certainly not ones like him.
He tires first, always. The dreams are thin, here, and his empty stomach bores into his spine. There is a flash of disappointment in the Inquisitor’s eyes when she agrees to stop, but always, she agrees. For once it is her who suggests they stop, although still on his account. In the aftermath of their Darkspawn encounter she has remained mindful of his finite energy, an observation that both gratifies and humbles him.
Making camp is less of a production so long as it is just the two of them. A humble fire marks the centre, small enough to reach across without the flames licking his wrist. Thora labours beside it, carving deep mushrooms with a fine knife. Every so often her foot sweeps out, drawing away the shavings that fall too close to the flame.
As she toils over the fire, he sets wards around the perimeter. The rock here does not resist his magic as it did nearer the Titan. It sinks into the stone, the outline glowing a molten gold before fading slowly. Each lie differently in the earth, unique to the square inch it occupies. Should anything approach, he will know from what direction.
“This must bring back memories, huh?” Thora asks from across the camp. “I’m guessing you used to do this thing all the time when you travelled alone.”
“I relied upon them whenever I could not trust the ground I slept on.” Solas stands to admire his work, joints cracking with effort. As he casts his gaze about their surroundings he catches a glint of magic where his wards were set, fleeting as light off fish scales. Thora’s eyes wait for his, glowing with a light of their own. “It took time before I could sleep in Inquisition camps without their presence.
“You set them around our camps?”
“Discreetly. Before it was certain it was safe.” In those early months his sleep came by him slowly, jumping in his bedroll when someone strayed too close to his tent canvas. “It all felt… precarious, and I, a mage with no Chantry ties… you understand.”
Continue the story on AO3!
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2022 in Fics
I did a little fic round-up here, but before the year is out I wanted to make a list of the things I published on AO3 this year because you can never have enough self-promotion.
Satinalia & Harvestmere | G | Dragon Age Leliana & Zevran & Isabela / Dragon Age: Origins Ensemble My two entries for the 2022 Dragon Age Annual Calendar. The first is a little celebration between a party of rogues and the second a bonified ghost story told by renown griffon-hater Wynne.
Common Ground | G | Dragon Age Vivienne & Orlesian Warden Written for Shellepink for the Platonic Ideal Exchange. Vivienne meets an unexpected former colleague in the aftermath of Marquise Bouffon’s defeat. I liked the idea of Vivienne having a friendly rivalry with the Andras Warden from Awakening, and I inventing a Warden OC for the prompt was fun.
Because I Asked | E | Dragon Age Solas x Non-binary Lavellan My first explicit fic ever! Set in Solas and Ian’s much softer Modern Thedas verse. Ian wakes up with a thirst and he decides to make it Solas’s problem. Writing the intimacy in both their domestic lives and their sex was really fulfilling, I love this couple so much no matter what universe they’re in.
Prayers of the Father | G | Mass Effect Thane Krios & Miranda Lawson Written for CelestialArcadia for the Spectre Requisitions Exchange. Mass Effect 2 is my favourite of the ME games, but one thing I often find disappointing in it is the lack of dialogue between companions. This fic was one way I sought to explore what I wish the game would. Set after Miranda’s personal quest, but before Thane’s, I wanted to set up the similarities between these characters and their desires and how they might talk to each other about them when Shepard isn’t in the picture.
Remembering Well | G | Dragon Age Varric Tethras & Solas Written for the Solamancy 2022 Zine. Solas and Varric are both two characters who are (potentially) mourning the loss of one of the oldest friends. They’re also both storytellers, albeit of different flavours. I wanted to write Solas engaging with Varric’s loss by talking about his own, and keeping Hawke’s name alive in the wake of her death.
Homecoming | T | Dragon Age Charter & Agent(s) of Fen’Harel Written for YouWoreBlue for the Arlathan Exchange. Charter attends a party in pursuit of rumours of an ancient Elvhen artefact, and finds herself in a race against the agents of Fen’Harel to find it first. I wanted to depict the agents presented here with sympathy and compare them with the Inquisiton agents still in operation because I am overly fond of paralleling Solas’s forces with the protagonists’.
Onomatology | G | Dragon Age f!Cadash & Solas This was written for my roleplay blog a while ago, but I only got around to publishing it on AO3 this year. Solas is a name I headcanon he chose for himself and I wanted to write a conversation of him sharing why with Thora. Despite the secrets between them, they have a close friendship, one where he shares a lot while concealing what he must. Depicting that here was important to me.
Good-bye Kiss | M | Dragon Age f!Cadash x Blackwall  Originally written and published on my multimuse roleplay blog. It’s a little scene exploring Thom and Thora’s intimacy post-Revelations. Him leaving without saying good-bye rocked Thora almost as much as everything else about that quest, and when they eventually reunite good-byes become an important part of their daily rituals as a reflection of that.
The Storyteller’s Game & The Last Laugh | T | Dragon Age Fen’Harel & a Miscellaneous Cast After a long hiatus I finally got around to writing more Tales of Fen’Harel! I love writing fables, and two myths I heard about Aengus inspired me to create Elvhen interpretations. The Storyteller’s Game veers much closer to the fable I heard, whereas the second I lean into Fen’Harel as the noble’s nightmare, divvying justice where Mythal can’t (or won’t?) intercede.
The Ascent | M | Dragon Age | In-Progress f!Cadash & Solas My first proper longfic! I’ve had this idea in my head for a while and deciding I wanted to start publishing it this year. It’s an expansion on a drabble I wrote years ago. Thora’s faith in the Stone and her ancestors is an important aspect of her character, and it dovetails beautifully with Solas’s own interest in remembering the past. Given Cadash Thaig’s history with ancient Elvhenan, them travelling to it together just feels right. I’m looking forward to continuing this fic in 2023!
Ten fics may not be much by some estimates, but I’m really actually kind of proud of what I’ve written. I’m looking forward to the stuff I have in the works for 2023 and I hope it’ll be another good year for writing. I even have a WIP I began yesterday which isn’t Bioware-related.
Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, and promoted my fic this year. I appreciate each and every one of you. 💖 Have a happy New Year!
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queenaeducan · 2 years
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A character/ship I didn’t enjoy/think about as much before you wrote about them the platonic relationships between Cadash and the rest of the Inquisition (most of my Blackwall fan friends do Cadashwall)
13. you were one of the fic authors I've discussed with a friend as a general author as opposed to in the context of a particular fic I like. All good things and high recommendations for your entire body of work on both sides, I would like to assure you.
Fanfic Asks Where You Answer the Questions
1) It's funny because I think my tendency to write platonic Cadash stuff is borne from the fact that most of Thora's life was in DA roleplay, and finding people who would ship with her was difficult (especially Blackwall, who was an unpopular choice to write). I need to write more Thora friendship stuff with the wider Inquisition sometime tbh b/c her dynamics with Bull and Cole are precious to me. Gen fics are so fun to write for me so I'm so glad you enjoy them! <3
13) And aw tysm! It's always nice to hear ppl have talked abt you/recommended you b/c it's not something I ever think abt someone doing independently skdjf.
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queenaeducan-writes · 2 years
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Happy Friday! Would love to see Blackwall x Thora Cadash + ‘ love speaks in flowers. truth requires thorns. ’ from the Language of Thorns prompts.
Thank you so much for the prompt! Here's a little something starring Them for @dadrunkwriting
Summer days are the hardest. The world glows, and she glows with it. Not the Mark on her hand, but her smile, her eyes. It’s greedy to think it’s all for him, but some afternoons he’s selfish enough to pretend. She laughs and warns him to mind the thorns as he plucks a flower to hold under her chin, as though he doesn’t fend off pointier ends on a near-daily basis. When the rosebush draws blood, she tends to it dutifully, wrapping his finger with the ribbon she wore in her hair.
He can’t tell her now, and be the one spot of darkness in her world of sunlight.
Autumn days are the hardest. The nights grow longer, and he grows used to the sight of watching her from the bed, studying by candlelight until he passes into dreams. When he wakes, she’s beside him, her hands tucked against his chest to keep them warm. He lies longer than he ought to, the new recruits will stand, blinking in the newly dark dawn, wondering where the Warden could be.
He can’t tell her now, while the night devours the day, and leave her to an empty bed.
Winter days are the hardest. The rosebush lies bare, stripped naked by the first frost of Haring, the thorns black against a backdrop of snow. This is the world at its most honest and ugly, the wind bites and the frost eats bare skin. He’s never felt like a poet, until he holds her in his eyes. Snowfall lies like lace in her dark hair, her eyes still shine like sunlight, and he basks in it a moment more.
He can’t tell her now.
Spring days are no easier. Rain falls against the roof of the barn they’d slept in, drumming like the final notes of Mornay’s life. She’d wanted the truth from him, she’d nearly asked him, and he nearly gave it. But if he told her, she might stop him. If he told her, he might live. He might want to.
He leaves without a note, Blackwall’s badge resting where he once slept. The same badge he’d fished out of the mud with her a year and change ago. He heard the truth in his voice for a moment, only a moment, but she opened her lips and spoke in flowers. His mouth was full of thorns.
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queenaeducan-writes · 2 years
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14 Days of Dragon Age Lovers
Here’s day two of @14daysdalovers
Day Two: Slow Dance
Pairings: Thora Cadash x Josephine Montilyet Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: General Warning: A mild case of internalised biphobia
“Will I be expected to dance at the ball?”
“If you are asked, which you will be. You need not say yes to every petitioner, but to say no to them would paint the Inquisition as… immutable, maybe even threatening. The first man or woman who asks will gain a great deal of notoriety for simply asking, regardless of your answer. After that, it falls to you.”
“Man or woman?”
“Yes…” A single brow raised. “Will that be a problem, Lady Cadash?”
“No— oh! No, it’s-” She stops herself before she can say more, fists balling up the fabric of her pants. “I didn’t realise that was…” Normal? Accepted? It’s not the sort thing that got you ran out of town in the circles she used to run in, but it got you looks— some full of venom, others a little too keen, and others still that just looked confused.
Like there’s anything confusing about wanting to dance with a pretty girl.
“I didn’t realise, that’s all,” she says.  The impression of her hands lingers even after she releases, linen crumpled in the shape of her fingers. “Truth be told, I'm sort of looking forward to meeting the first woman who does ask.”
Josephine draws her penhand beneath her chin, and shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m not certain that meeting lies in your future.”
When she smiles, Thora’s heart skips a beat.
Read this and future updates here on AO3.
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