When Fate Summons (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Darkening of the Light

Gorim's men led Anawyn through a maze of passages that she couldn't even begin to follow, until finally they arrived at the back entrance of the White Bronto. They snuck her up the stairs and back into the room. Anawyn curled up on the rather hard bed next to Cybele, one hand reaching out to touch her friend. It was reassuring to hear Cybele's soft breathing. Closing her eyes, Anawyn drifted back to sleep, unaware of the eyes watching her from the other side of the room.

In what felt like the morning, although it was hard to tell in Orzammar what time it might be on the surface, Anawyn woke feeling completely unrefreshed. Given the eventful night she'd had, she supposed it wasn't too surprising that she didn't feel exactly rested.

After a breakfast of some kind of lichen bread that even Anawyn was wary of, Granny paid for their room and they went out into the city. True to Urthemiel's prediction, when Anawyn suggested going to the Shaperate or even stopping at one of the merchants' stalls, Granny snapped, "We have no time for such indulgences. Come along, children."

They found themselves at the entrance to the Deep Roads. Granny walked up to one of the guards. "My grand-daughters and I are desirous of seeing the Deep Roads."

The guard stared up at the strange human lady. "Are you sun-touched?" he asked. "The Deep Roads is no place for children. Besides, I can't let you by without permission from one of the deshyrs."

"And where would I find one of those?" Granny stared down at the guard, who looked as though he wanted to argue some more.

At that moment, the second guard came up and whispered something in the first guard's ear. The first guard's eyes widened, and he stared at the second guard, his jaw dropping. "Are you sure?" he said. The second guard nodded, and they both looked incredulous. Then the first guard turned back to Granny. "Apparently you have permission to take these girls into the Deep Roads," he said, shaking his head. He let Granny and Cybele go past, then, as Anawyn went by, he whispered something to her.

Cybele reached out for Anawyn's hand as the doors clanged shut behind them and the darkness surrounded them, with its scents of dust, damp, and taint. "What did he say?" she whispered.

"He said Atrast nal tunsha," Anawyn said softly. "It means 'may you always find your way in the dark'."

"Is it— Why did he say that?"

"I think it's a blessing. He's wishing us well on our journey."

From ahead of them, Granny's sharp voice cut through the darkness. "I didn't know you were so familiar with the dwarves, Anawyn."

"Well, my mother is one," Anawyn said flatly. What did Granny think, that her mother would have neglected to teach Anawyn about her heritage?

Granny spoke a word Anawyn didn't catch and a light appeared above her head, illuminating the passageway. She looked at Anawyn. "I recall your mother having been happy to leave Orzammar behind her. I hadn't realized she would have taught you so much." She took a step toward Anawyn. "Care to tell me where you were last night, miss?"

"Um ... nowhere?" Anawyn said. "I ... couldn't sleep. So I took a walk."

"Really. In the middle of Orzammar."

"Uh, uh-huh." Anawyn hoped it was believable.

"You weren't thinking of leaving us, were you?" Granny's voice was soft but Anawyn could hear the edge in it.

"No, ma'am! I would never think of that. I promise!"

The sincerity in the little girl's voice was obvious. Granny tapped her foot, the sound echoing through the passage. "Do you expect me to believe that you went for a walk, you met no one, and you were allowed, a human child, to wander alone in the middle of the night?"

"Orzammar doesn't seem to have much night," Anawyn said. "There was so much hammering, I couldn't sleep."

"Cybele and I managed to sleep perfectly well."

Anawyn's mouth opened and shut again. She had no rejoinder to that.

"So. You're going to stick with this story?" Anawyn nodded mutely. "Let me see if I can fill in the parts you've left out," Granny said coldly. "You snuck out, met with someone who knew who you were, left a message for your parents, and then snuck back in and thought I wouldn't notice you'd been gone."

Her mind racing, Anawyn said, "I thought my mother didn't want to be contacted while I was training." Perhaps she sounded a bit smug, catching Granny in that lie.

Cybele, nearly forgotten in the standoff between the other two, made a small sound, almost a squeak of fear as a loud cry echoed through the Deep Roads, coming from somewhere far down in the earth. Granny glanced at Cybele, then leaned over, her face mere inches from Anawyn's.

"That's right," she said in a soft, cold voice. But as her eyes locked with Anawyn's, both of them knew that particular charade was over. Anawyn backed away a step, nearly tripping over Cybele, who was staring at the two of them with widened eyes. Granny held Anawyn's gaze for a few more moments, then led the way, her back stiff and straight.

More than anything, Anawyn wished her parents could be with her right now. She pictured her father's face in her mind, his cheerful smile, his slightly hooked nose. People always told her that she had his smile. And his nose! she thought excitedly. So if she had her father's nose and mouth, and Cybele's looked like hers ... could Urthemiel possibly mean that Cybele was her father's daughter, too? But how could that be? Who could Cybele's mother be, if Anawyn's father was also Cybele's father? Did that mean her father hadn't really loved her mother, after all? Anawyn shook her head, more confused than ever, and clung more tightly to Cybele.

Cybele's hand reached for Anawyn's again, and the two little girls moved forward. Anawyn felt more frightened and alone than she had in a long time. Should she have stayed with Gorim, found another way to help Cybele? She gripped her friend's hand more tightly, that simple contact the only thing keeping her from turning around and running back to the doors of Orzammar.