Who: Hawke and Morrigan What: Meeting and discussions of helping Maia out When: Recently! Where: The Broom Closet Warnings: Discussion of dragon blood and blood magic, otherwise it's pretty tame!
As time passed, Morrigan only seemed to grow more and more worried. Maia wasn’t sleeping well, and she sometimes wondered if she slept at all. Morrigan had never personally seen what The Calling looked like for Wardens, but she was thinking this was the start of it. And she needed to find a way that she could use her dragon’s blood to cure Maia before it came to the point where Morrigan would have to kill her. She’d already made that promise to Maia, and she would keep it.
Today, she was making a stop at the Broom Closet. She needed to pick up a couple herbs that she couldn’t get anywhere else. Maybe even some other things if anything caught her eye. Stepping into the shop, she drew in a breath and let it out slowly. She went up to the counter and asked for a selection of some herbs they had before she started looking around the shop.
It seemed a little ironic that a mage like her came to a shop like this. She didn’t precisely need any of the items here, save for herbs. Maybe even incense, but aside from that she had little use for the books and other magic items here. She had her own. Though the tea caught her eye. Tea sounded really good right about then, and she started looking through what they had. She glanced over as she saw something out of the corner of her eye and she saw it Hawke.
“Hawke,” she stated in a rather succinct greeting.
The Wisdom Family couldn’t get rid of Hawke, ever - he had a past with the surly Pete Wisdom and the sassy Romany, the eldest of the two, and the latter he had one quarreled in the bed sheets with. Years and years ago, of course, but everything was amicable and the sister’s occult shoppe was on the top of his list of local wares to support. Best to buy from someone who knew exactly how this place worked, and the tea service with it was splendid in his opinion.
He picked up a couple things for himself - precious stones to augment to get enchanted and augment his aurum staff, vials for a project of phylacteries he was working on. He’d been chatting it up with the owner right before the sound of his name caught his ears by a voice he hadn’t heard in awhile. How curious!
“Well,” Garrett charmingly grinned, bag in his hands, and he approached Morrigan with arms crossed. “Isn’t this a surprise. Are we at the level of you not being so embarrassed to be seen with me in public?”
Everyone knew he was a cheeky little shite, somewhat aggravating and everso sarcastically inappropriate. Such fitting characteristics for someone with the title of the Champion of Kirkwall.
“That remains to be seen,” she countered. She was teasing, something she’d been doing a little more of late. Maia’s influence no doubt. She’d been no stranger to teasing before, but Morrigan had a tendency to come off as more of a bitch than anything else. Which she still fully embraced when needed, but she wasn’t quite the default bitch she had been before.
Noting the bag he carried, it was easy to tell that he’d bought a few things here himself. It was certainly a place to pick up some needed ingredients for potions and the like.
“T’would seem that you have been doing a little shopping yourself. Finding some components for spells and potions?” She queried. Of course, it wasn’t necessarily either of those. Morrigan wasn’t sure if Hawke was skilled in potion-making.
Hawke wasn’t. That potion-crafting itch was something he never experienced, nor did he ever have that proper Circle ‘education’ in regards to that particular skill. Kirkwall was steeped in blood magic dramatics since the very beginning, and that’s where his expertise lied in. Understanding and mastering that forbidden school of magic - no one would go on a witch hunt for him here, thank the bloody Maker.
“Supporting a local business, purchasing stones, that sort of thing,” shrugged the mage. “I know the owner - she’s lovely, an old friend, well-versed in what goes along here so she tends to make sure the more aware crowd get the best items. Prices, too. What brings you here?”
He assumed Morrigan was the one here for ingredients.
“Supporting local businesses is always an excellent thing to do.” Morrigan tended to do that herself as much as possible. Considering she ran her own business, she well understood supporting local. “Does she? That is certainly excellent to know.” Perhaps Morrigan would need to come here more often, and take a closer look at their stock.
“I needed some specific herbs that I couldn’t find elsewhere. I’ve been working on potions and salves quite a bit of late.” Not to mention she was wanting to try a different treatment for one of her clients. Burns could be very tricky to treat, especially severe ones.
“I trust you have been well after recent events?” She was referring to the invasion the previous month. And possibly also the singing thing, which she had thankfully not been affected by.
His purchasing had been all done and bagged already in a small totebag - some kind of eco-friendly Broom Closet promotion Romany was trying to push. “Well enough,” Hawke chuckle. “I observe in amusement and offer drinks to the damned when things have gotten hairy. I’ve been fortunate to avoid the brunt of the latest onslaughts.” Fine with him. He preferred to live as simply as he could in a place that was anything but.
“I was actually planning to indulge in some of the tea here,” he then motioned to the herbal drink part of the shop. A warm scent wafted from it, varying from milky chais to macaroons, and it was a popular practice spot for tealeaf readers. “Care to join? It’s my day off, the twins are handling the bar, Bela’s off polishing her new boat and I’ve not a damn thing on my agenda.”
“At least someone is able to remain on the sidelines.” Morrigan had been out in the middle of the fighting. She rather enjoyed using those opportunities to practice her shapeshifting. Besides, she rather liked being a dragon. And she was rather fond of the gryphon formed she’d managed to learn.
“Tea would be delightful, actually. I thought I smelled some and was going to look at what they had to offer.” Morrigan needed the tea, and frankly she could probably use the time to try and relax a little. She was worried about Maia, beyond worried, really. Morrigan had started pushing herself to exhaustion to try and figure out the whole dragon’s blood thing.
“Sometimes,” he laughed. “Sometimes it comes knocking right on my door and wrecks my bloody tavern but, well, the last time it did it really gave The Hanged Man that authentic beaten charm.” Hawke had almost died in that encounter too, but alas, not even his greatest fear incarnate (a giant demonic spider, don’t judge him) could bring him down.
But anyway, now in company he led her to the area and put his order in. He’d chosen a black tea with remnants of citrus spices, orange and tangerine, alongside an order of scones and light fruit curds. A different pace from the greasy bar eats and strong spirits he dished out to his customers. How refreshing. “How goes you and my cousin? You do know that you’ll be related to me in marriage, don’t you? We’re practically family.”
“Odds are such things would happen now and then,” she responded. Morrigan was just happy her house hadn’t been demolished by anything. Which was saying something when AT-ATs and Reapers and Maker knew what else stomped around Orange County. Which kind of made her want to move to a less inhabited part of Orange County, but that probably wouldn’t do anything but to make her home more of a target.
Morrigan headed to the tea area with Hawke, taking some moments to look over their selection. With this type of selection, perhaps she should come here more often. Sometimes it could be hard to find a decent tea place. As it was, Morrigan tended to order her favorite teas online. Though at the question, Morrigan wasn’t completely certain how to answer.
“We are well as far as our relationship goes. Yes, I am aware that we shall be related through marriage.” It was actually a bit amusing. Morrigan was marrying the Hero of Ferelden. She’d be related by marriage to the Champion of Kirkwall. And she was a friend and pseudo-advisor to the Inquisitor. Quite the collection, one had to say. “Personally speaking, I am beginning to worry about Maia.”
Hawke would also agree it was quite the collection. If similar ties were held in Thedas, it was safe to say Morrigan was well-connected. He at least knew of her position of arcane advisor among the Inquisition and practically shat his pants upon learning she was a daughter of the infamous Flemeth - the Witch of the Wilds that had saved him and what was left of his family (plus Aveline, but she was family regardless).
Destiny had a way of making connections. It was fascinating, looking at it objectively.
With a dash of honey and a couple cubes of sugar dropped, he stirred his drink and let it cool before taking a sip to taste. “Worry?” he asked, brows furrowed. Maia was a lot like him - happy jokes all around even in the face of danger. Must be in their blood. “Why for?”
Was this a dream thing or a personal thing? Either way, Garrett would lend an ear if Morrigan chose to have it.
Well-connected was a good way to describe Morrigan’s position in the dreams. She had few friends, and more enemies than she cared to divulge, but that was how it really should be. She had a son to protect, a mother to hide from, and her own mission to follow. Except that all came to screeching halt at the Temple of Mythal in the Arbor Wilds. She’d drank from the Well of Sorrows, and now she was at Mythal’s beck and call. Mythal, who was her mother, at least in part. It scared her beyond belief and she needed to keep running.
Morrigan took a breath. “Maia has not been sleeping much of late. I believe she is having nightmares, similar to ones she had during the Blight in Ferelden if I am to make a guess. I cannot tell if it is some forewarning of something that is coming, or if she is actually hearing The Calling. She says everything is fine despite the fact I know tis not fine.” She sipped at her tea, wishing she could magically fix everything for Maia. And, well, she could, but she didn’t know how to make dragon’s blood into a cure yet.
He found a quiet spot by the window to sit and chat, stirring his tea a little more as she spoke. “Likely she’s not wanting to worry you,” Hawke sighed, understanding her concern - the Blight was something he expected to grace Orange County. The rifts did, why not that too? “However not talking about it won’t make it go away. If there is something coming then it will come whether we like it or not. Have you confronted her?”
Perhaps that’s what she needed. Someone to tell her that they knew what was going on and no matter how they wished for it to not be true, it was happening, and their efforts were spent more towards working on a way to prepare or stop it.
“She does not like worrying me,” she confirmed. Morrigan well knew that’s what was undoubtedly going through Maia’s mind of late. But Morrigan still noticed Maia’s behavior, and it definitely worried her. “No, I have not. I am trying to take the stance of she will tell me if it becomes too bad. At the same time, I am working on a cure for the taint in her blood.”
There was one that didn’t involve killing the person. Working with dragon’s blood wasn’t easy, especially when the blood was coming directly from Morrigan’s dragon form, but even then it still needed to be somehow turned into a potion or something for Maia to drink. It was probably going to be messy to figure out, but Morrigan was more than willing to do so.
Hawke hoped Maia would come forth as well, asking for the help. They all knew how terrible the Blight could be. They had lived through it - his family barely escaped from it with their lives if it hadn’t been for Flemeth swooping down with her excellent timing.
“Let me know if you need assistance with that,” he offered. “Blood’s, ah - something of a specialty.” Had he told Morrigan he was a blood mage? It must have come up in the past at some point, but it was a fact he didn’t like to flaunt. Thedosians had a sour opinion of that particular school. Those in Kirkwall even worse with all that happened. He advocated on understanding something instead of fearing it, and blood magic was used as a weapon just like any of the elements were - it always varied on the intentions of the wielder. “Not that I’m out puppeting people and controlling their minds, no, but as you recall Kirkwall was saturated with blood mages and the only way I thought to handle them is to understand the kind of magic they were resorting to.”
Morrigan remembered a conversation they’d had a while back wherein the blood mage thing had come up. It was almost funny to her how a Witch of the Wilds was the one who didn’t particularly like blood magic. Yet the Circle-trained mage here was one, and another apostate was one. Sure, Morrigan had spells in her arsenal that could be considered blood magic (such as that dark ritual she performed on the eve of the Battle of Denerim), but she didn’t actively practice the craft.
“I may be in need of your help. There is research that states dragons are immune to the Blight. I believe blood can be taken from me while in dragon form that can be used for a cure for the taint. I am simply at a loss for how to turn the blood into such a thing.” Morrigan had been reading everything she could about the process, but there wasn’t much to go on. She didn’t know if the blood needed to be purified somehow, mixed with other ingredients or just ingested as it was. It would take some experimenting.
Pair him up with an elf tits deep in blood magic, he’d pick up a thing or two from her too - and speaking of Merrill, actually… “A friend that fought in Kirkwall with me cleansed the taint from an Eluvian shard with blood magic, come to think of it,” Hawke revealed thoughtfully, crossing his arms. “And considering the taint’s in the blood, it’s the right route to go. I’ve some tomes that appeared from the dreams with all sorts of knowledge. Some of it questionable, but…”
He thought it was worth looking into. Morrigan was careful and so was he - the two of them could approach it with reason. “It would take some trial and error to confirm if something works. Like some kind of mix of a medical and magical experiment. It’ll be a challenge.”
“Truly? Intriguing. I had not heard of such a thing, though I do not look too much into blood magic.” Morrigan pondered that. It shed some light on things, though. If blood magic could cleanse the taint from a shard of an Eluvian, what else could it be used for? And she supposed it also made sense. The taint was tied to the blood, it made sense that blood would be able to cleanse it.
“I would like to study these tomes. My mother’s grimoire has not shed much, if any, light on this subject. Also looking into the research on dragons from Thedas has shown little by way of answers. Yet I am more than up for the challenge. Maia is worth all of the work, even if she does not think she is.” Maia had been adamant that Morrigan not shed blood for this endeavor. Morrigan, however, was going to shed blood because it meant saving Maia’s life.
Many things could be accomplished with blood magic but alas, the art was less explored due to the stigma. Didn’t exactly help that its history was vastly tied with the Tevinter Imperium and their shameless use of slaves for blood sacrifices to fuel their spells, either, but there were secrets that lied in what flowed in their veins - it was powerful, dangerous, with that less explored potential of doing something good.
This was one of those situations.
“I believe the same,” Garrett nodded. Maia was family. He wouldn’t stand by and do nothing while the bloody voices plagued her head. “Let me know when you’d to get together and start digging through some things. I won’t lie and say the practice doesn’t attract a few nasty fellows - demons tend to be drawn to it like moths to a flame with taunts and promises. Not that I think we’re at the risk of becoming abominations, but just reminding.”
That was his fear when he started dabbling into blood magic. Hawke’s will was strong and so was Morrigan’s, and it’s not like either of them were novices in their magics.
Tevinter was a vastly hot button issue with most everyone in Thedas, and the fact that mages ruled there was not the least of them. However, blood magic certainly had a stigma to it thanks to the Imperium. It had been earned, but Morrigan could at least say that blood magic had its uses. She didn’t condone the art nor did she intend to practice it fully, but she would utilize parts of it that were useful to attain what she wanted that could not be gained by other means.
“I rather think that we are able to handle any demons that may try to possess us.” Morrigan had been fully aware of the demon in the Fade that had upended the Ferelden Circle. She’d resisted it, as she’d resisted all other times that demons tried to tempt her. “Nevertheless, best to be prepared. I shall not be swayed in attempting to figure this out.”