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moonlightheretic · 5 days

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The Heretic: The Veil Is Thin, Here.

Chapter 17

Moon'Hwa is left to ruminate alone in the labyrinth, her memories return and anxieties grow as each hour crosses into another day. Tucked away like a knife, she devises a plan to escape through deadly opportunity. There is much about this place that remains foreign to her, but no matter where she explores she feels him everywhere. Especially, when she stumbles into someplace she isn't supposed to see and its too late to turn back. The Dread Wolf's scheme and her involvement is unavoidable and...involuntary.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, murder, violence, Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! In future chapters!

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moonlightheretic · 7 days

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Oooooh this is fantastic!!! The dynamic between the two is hella intriguing! Poor Cullen tho!

An Embellishment of Lore (tag game)

I think as Fanfic writers, we often add lore to our stories. It is natural for us to build upon the pillars set for us. But what about the foundations, gravel and grit? What was a piece of Lore you added to Dragon Age that wasn't pre-existing?

Thank you for the tag @moonlightheretic 🥰

I think I added the most original lore for my ~6,500 word companion/standalone fic Thirst which is a Cullen POV fic that digs into the experiences Cullen has between DA:2 Act 3 and the intervening time between Meredith's fall and joining the Inquisition. In particular, I had a Samson who was reinstated on Cullen's own recommendation and then wrote in a schism of the Kirkwall Order when lyrium supply was heavily impacted by templar-mage warring where Samson takes a huge number away to Corypheus. It also explains Cullen's scar! I also dug into Meredith's madness and how she'd been taking an insane dose of lyrium at that point (red lyrium idol/sword notwithstanding). I know Templar HCs are a hot potato in fandom, but I found it fascinating to dig into. The bureaucracy of it all, the feeling of being unable to make changes to institutions even as corruption becomes more obvious. I will caveat "original" with "I'm sure others have had these ideas before in the scheme of the last decade of fic writing" so I won't claim to be breaking ground with them, but I really had an incredible time thinking about how things might have been for Cullen as he rises in the ranks and is responsible for more and more of that particular nightmare. In canon, I believe Samson took the templars after Cullen had left for the Inquisition, but I felt this way it created a lot more tension and drama between.

Excerpt under the cut 👇

Cullen and Samson shortly before Samson leaves:

Later that evening Cullen winds down shaving at his dressing table, squinting at himself in the small, tarnished mirror that had come with his Order-issued kit a decade before. He pauses in the weak candlelight to trace a finger over the circles under his eyes, the lines that have been there for years. But Cullen has been subjecting himself to the same rationing as those in his ranks and this week’s thirst and sleeplessness wears heavily across his face. Twenty seven years old looks more like forty today. He scrapes the blade over the stretched skin under his nose as he mulls over the tense atmosphere in the mess earlier. Something is shifting. It’s just a feeling at the moment but it’s time to gather hard evidence.

A shadowy figure appears behind him in the mirror so quietly, so suddenly that the blade slips, slicing across his lip.

He whips around with a curse, backing into his table so violently that everything on top of it rattles. Samson takes up too much space in this modest room.

“Maker’s breath— What are you doing here?” he demands, clutching his mouth while blood drips through his fingers, his eyes fixing upon his sword across the room.

“Aw, no need for the curses, golden boy. Just here for a little chat.”

His eyes are rimmed with a greasy red like someone had thrown a fistful of lye at his face and he stands tall in a way that prickles at Cullen’s skin. He quickly parses that Samson wouldn’t be rationing this week, not that it would have stopped the man from finding the substance elsewhere. Man to man it wouldn’t be a contest with Samson’s blood singing and Cullen suffering in near abstention.

Samson reaches into his pocket and shakes out a rumpled handkerchief and hands it to Cullen. Cullen can feel the depth of the cut and is in no position to refuse it. He takes it and presses it to his lip.

“How did you get past the guards?”

Samson crosses his arms and then steps over to lean against his door frame. “You can get anything for the right price. Thought I taught you that.”

Lyrium. Of course.

“The men are thirsty,” he continues. “You could’ve gone to the Carta months ago.”

“I’m not smuggling it,” says Cullen. “The Order must be above reproach.”

Samson snorts. “Above reproach? Try leashed like a pack of starving dogs. The Chantry’s old game playing out to the logical end.”

Cullen has no answer for him.

Samson chuckles, searching the ceiling, his lips curling into an unsettling smile. “Remember the days sneaking hits behind the armory? Or remember— remember that one time in Lowtown with that one bird Cinnamon—”

Cullen would prefer to forget. “What are you doing here, Samson?”

“Easy does it. Easy. I’m here to make an offer.”

“You?”

“Cut the leash. Get out from the Chantry’s thumb once and for all.”

Cullen gapes at him from under the handkerchief. “Quit lyrium?”

Samson laughs, a rich, knowing thing deep in his throat. “Nah. There’s no going back. I’ve been there. Only forward.”

“Forward? To where?” demands Cullen. He feels the room clenching down upon him, the air growing thin. “We’re needed here.”

Kirkwall flagged without a viscount, without its Champion, Garrett Hawke who had vanished with his sister Bethany when the violence had grown too thick. It fell to him and Guard Captain Vallen to hold it all together.

“Something greater, kid. We deserve better. Me and you and all the rest. We could be great.”

“I don’t— speak plainly, Samson.”

“Aren’t you tired of being a lapdog?” Samson gestures at Cullen’s face. “I can see how tired you are. If you ask me you’re fighting the wrong battle.”

“I have a responsibility to the Order. How I feel doesn’t matter,” says Cullen with shallow breaths, paralyzed against his dressing table. He swallows a dry mouthful of nothing, feeling it all caving in on him. “Whatever you’re up to— I could use you here. I know some part of you cares. There are some things greater than our own need.”

“You’re something else, kid, you know that?”

“You’ve mentioned it before.”

“Whatever happens now is on you,” says Samson. “Always been a bit too fanciful. Going to bite you in the arse some day.”

And then he is gone.

Read Thirst here!

Tagging @crackinglamb, @samseabxrn, @the-rebel-archivist, @leggywillow, @melisusthewee, @hekaerges, @oxygenforthewicked, @warpedlegacy, @monocytogenes, @nirikeehan, @delicatefade AND YOU IF YOU ARE READING THIS 🥰

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moonlightheretic · 8 days

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Thinking about the dragon age characters meeting the bg3 characters occupies a large part of my brain nowadays

Anders would likely hate Astarion with a passion (probably because he reminds him of himself without Justice) and also want to fuck him. Zevran would jump Astarion immediately. Knives to each other’s necks as they both try to assassinate each other at the same time and then just end up on the ground for a different reason. Fenris, despite their similar backgrounds, would fucking hate Astarion. Isabela would so enjoy tormenting Gale. Karlach would try and probably fail to befriend Fenris. Lae’zel and Fenris, however, would be friends. Same with Shadowheart. Anders would not be able to resist Halsin. It is canon that this man likes bears (not the actual kind). Alistair and Lae’zel would get along like oil and water. Alistair and Shadowheart however could talk about their religious trauma together. Alistair and Wyll would definitely get along. I want to see Morrigan, Solas, and Gale all interact. The sheer amount of hubris in one place would literally cause an explosion (“I fucked a god” “I gave birth to a reincarnated old god” “bitch I AM a god”). Merrill and Withers. That’s it.

Please add more I want all the headcanons about these idiots

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moonlightheretic · 8 days

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Agreed.

Interesting that it's not a more common interpretation of Solas that he wants you to stop him.

By the end of trespasser (with a romanced or friendly Inquisitor, at least.) He lays out his plan and what the consequences will be. He says he's been committed this so long he has to continue. Inquisitor has shown him this world is beautiful too, but he's too stuck on his own mistakes vis-a-vis Elf Mortality.

Solas is too sad of a man about his own future actions to give me any impression other than someone who is clinging to a sunk cost.

He knows it isn't right. His time with the Inquisition proved these people are just as alive and worthy of this world as the ancient Elves. He just can't let go. Not when his actions doomed Elves to a life of being overwhelmingly magic-less and second class citizens, as well as mortal. It's too personal, too "his fault" to let go even when he knows it's not the right action anymore.

So he tells his friend, a doomed mortal who stumbled in to being a hero by being at the wrong place at the wrong time and also the person who has been fighting for the sake of Thedas this whole time. He gave us his plan.

Solas wants the Inquisitor after him, so that he doesn't have to give it up, he wants to be stopped. He's an idiot clinging to a sunk cost fallacy, and he can't let go. He needs us to tear him away from it.

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moonlightheretic · 8 days

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An Embellishment of Lore

I think as Fanfic writers, we often add lore to our stories. It is natural for us to build upon the pillars set for us. But what about the foundations, gravel and grit? What was a piece of Lore you added to Dragon Age that wasn't pre-existing?

I will provide an example of my own below from two chapters concerning the topic. CW for Blood and Violence.

Chapter 26: Disciples of Lust, Lies and Power

Solas’s eyes rested on the table as I deliberated, they presented in a hazy hues of purple and gray, like a storm churning on the black horizon. His mind was occupied by something, clouded over by a memory.

The corners of his mouth twitched into a deep frown before sliding back up into disgust.

“You have memories you’d aspire to forget…so do I.” He stated lowly as his hand hovered over the board.

“The Veil I suppose.” I surmised as I selected my next move based on his.

Solas plucked his Pawn from its dock at A6 and observed it, twisting the stippled token in his fingers.

“It was a grand spectacle when the Evanuris played chess, they didn’t use marble carved pieces such as these. They used slaves armed with weapons.”

I relented my gaze from the board to stare at him in growing unease, no longer able to concentrate as I listened to him continue.

“Swords for the King and Queen, lances for the Knights, daggers for the rest. There was so much blood one could no longer see the checked tile. Deleterious entertainment.” Solas set the piece down, his tone tempered with notes of repressed rage.

"Is that how you became so skilled?" I murmured, thoughtlessly. "Who fought on your behalf?"

"You don't know what you suggest." He growled, his fist curling around the table. "Countless lives were lost, lives spent as if they meant nothing, no one fought on MY behalf. Do not equate me to them."

“And yet, when the mighty veil comes crashing down, you’ll free them. Those that are so evil. What happens if they escape your vague plans?” I chided, smug that I had something to wield against his supposed perfection.

“They will never see the light of day.” Solas raised those churning eyes to my own.

Chapter 27: Two Queens

(Context: Moon'Hwa is cutting his hair)

"You asked me earlier when we played chess ...if I joined the Evanuris in their deleterious game.” He stated rather than asked.

I jumped, startled, and nearly took off my own finger.

He watched me curiously with a brow held in question.

I nodded slowly.

"I was one of the Pawns...then I became a Knight...then a King and then...something more."

"You were a slave?" I asked as gently as I could, trying to recover from my surprise, my tongue coiled around the last word hesitantly.

"Not exactly," Solas explained and finished with a sorrow-drenched whisper, "She asked me to fight."

"Mythal?"

Snip.

"Yes." He answered after a pause.

"...so, you had to prove yourself."

"Not to her. Them ." He hissed as if referring to them at all was akin to a heated knife slicing through flesh.

"You became something more? Did Mythal elevate you?" I probed, genuinely interested.

Snip.

"I ascended as a general to lead her armies against them. To give orders, strategies, and plans that ensured success. Victory canonized me as a god...as one of them."

“Is that when you discovered your magic?”

Snip.

“No, I knowingly carried it, but I did not wield it.”

Snip

“Even when you fought with weapons, why didn’t you take advantage of it? It would have been a boon.”

“ Pawns aren’t granted the use of the Fade. I couldn’t strategically put it to use. The Evanuris enjoyed watching the struggle. The sword was enough with my intent provoking each strike.”

The memory that his imagery conjured struck a chord in an already fracturing symphonic resolve.

“Pawns, although simple, can accomplish great things.”

How about you? <3

Tagging @delicatefade @bluewren @theluckywizard @doomhippy83

#lore #fanfic #dafanfic #writing lore #evanuris #chess #solas origin #fen'harel #darksolas

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moonlightheretic · 12 days

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The Heretic: In His Hands

Chapter 16

omg, I almost forgot! Haha! I was gone all day today!

There is nothing more profound than the truth...or more damning. Moon'Hwa is confronted by it, her own mind betraying her, no longer can she feast upon the lies of stubborn innocence, for she has the text that states her sins, and now...she has the memory to accompany it. Worst of all, trapped within an unknown place, he finally has her in his hands. Solas makes his permanent entry back into her life. Whether she likes it or not.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, violence, Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! In future chapters!

#I wrote most characters in this fic as villains #Gore #death #torture #matricide #solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan #theheretic

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moonlightheretic · 18 days

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OMG the prose is gripping my heart and soul!

If you’re tagged, make a new post and share 1-2 (a few) sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context – Let your followers guess!

Thanks for the tags @dreadfutures @rosella-writes @theluckywizard

The “I love you’s” came easily now. Having said it once was like bursting a dam. And like with a dam burst where the torrent of the water brought with it other things too — fish and twigs, tadpoles, silt and pebbles of light — so it was with their love, a gushing, wet-whispered flood of adoration and promises. “I love your skin.” “You’re so beautiful.” “I never want to stop.” “You and me, babe. Forever.”

and @mrslyncx @oliversrarebooks @flaggermuser @anderstrevelyan @moonlightheretic @hekaerges @curioushappenstance @jarakrisafis

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moonlightheretic · 18 days

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If you’re tagged, make a new post and share 1-2 (a few) sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context – Let your followers guess!

Thanks for the tag!! @delicatefade <3

A couple lines---

'The sun was kissing the horizon, heralded by birds gracing the morning with their gleeful hymns, but she was the song still stuck in his head.'

'Violet lightning cleaved through the air, splitting my hair from my head as I veered to dodge it. He afforded me no time to react.'

'He glared down at his reflection, only, his image had been replaced by her. He slammed his fist into the icy waters and her violet eyes shattered like broken glass.'

Tagging @doomhippy83

#wip excerpt #wip tag game #short but sweet #take a guess

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moonlightheretic · 20 days

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The Heretic: Maternal Favors

Chapter 15

Alright y'all. Please look at the CW warnings for this one. This is heavier than the last. Last one was a doozy and this is a knockout. So just be careful.

Former Inquisitor Lavellan, alone, truly alone save for the memories she left in the ash, pursues the forbidden grove that shelters someone she long thought dead. Her father's dying wish has her committing a henious and unforgivable act, but can she force her hand to slay someone most precious, all for the greater good? The forbidden temple in the sacred grove holds more than she expects. Fraught with remorse and regret the wolf she had evaded until now finally has her cornered.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, matricide, attempted suicide. Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#I wrote most characters in this fic as villains #Gore #death #torture #solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan #theheretic

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moonlightheretic · 24 days

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OMG I NEED A FIC OF THIS NOW.

YES COLE PLEASE HE NEEDS YOU.

(Cole is a character from Dragon Age Inquisition, the very best boi)

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moonlightheretic · 24 days

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Sparring Day WIP/Snippet

It's the bare bones of something y'all, but I would like to share it. This fits into my prologue series which takes place during the events of DAI before everything sort of goes to shit...

For some context: Solas and Moon'Hwa slept together the night before and Moon'Hwa unfortunately woke up to an empty bed. Solas was nowhere to be found for half of the day. Moon'Hwa really isn't happy about it. Nevertheless, it is her training day and today she is training against a battlemage. Solas decides to take his place...

' Solas placed a steadying hand on the mage’s shoulder, “Eskel you are relieved,” and maneuvered in front of him into my direct line of sight.

“Oh, this should be GOOD!” The Iron Bull slapped his fist into his palm.

The battlemage slunk out gratefully, wiping his brow with his sleeve and the crowd absorbed his humble shape, while his replacement kept his eyes trained at my feet.

“How dare you,” I growled lowly, my fingers twitching with fragile rage.

“Ready yourself.” Solas ordered coldly with his head lowered, pulling his dawnstone staff from the leather holster on his back.

I couldn’t help myself, the sight before me provoking a deep scoff, and my wrists spun my daggers in agitated ringlets, “What makes you different than any other mage at my disposal?” The words tasted bitter in my mouth, and I swallowed the rest roughly before they could bubble out. Solas seemed unaffected by my regurgitating spite and raised his staff and along with it, my hair stood on end. The air crackled and sizzled, a tangible buzzing emanated from his direction and his eyes finally met mine.

“I am not afraid to strike you.” '

#dragon age inquisition #darksolas #solavellan #solasfic #daifanfic #theheretic #moon'hwa lavellan #fen'harel #Solas and Lavellan fight #sparring #snippet #solas snippet #Solavellan snippet #prologues to the heretic

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moonlightheretic · 27 days

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The Heretic: Cinders on My Tongue

Chapter 14

Oh man, this chapter is a doozy.

The Inquisitor, Hawke, and Aveline escape Kirkwall and are on their way to Ostwick with the Inquisition in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, Moon'Hwa's predicament affords Aveline many reasons to fuel her regrets in aiding the deposed Inquisitor. The Gaurd Captain of Kirkwall and the Champion both have much to lose if Spymaster Leliana sets her sights on them. How much are they willing to sacrifice in the name of someone only bound to Elvhen legend?

Their meager bonds of unsteady trust are tested when the trio collides head-on with the forces Commander Cullen is routing.

When Moon'Hwa does find her clan in the later half of the chapter... let's just say... she wasn't the first to pay a visit. Instead of her brethren, Keeper, and daughter, she finds only horror and the remnants of malice. If only she had arrived a couple hours sooner, if only she wasn't left with a heart-wrenching choice. dun dUN DUN!

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here. Well, maybe except for Hawke, and honestly Aveline isn't that bad either. So I take back what I said. Haha!

Gore, death, torture, burning alive, mentions of child death, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

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moonlightheretic · 1 month

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The Heretic: Crossfires and Crossroads

Chapter 13

Posting a day early because I will be too busy tomorrow!

Moon'Hwa of the past wakes, provoked by a harrowing nightmare. A mysterious bowl of soup has been delivered to her and a note from an unknown sender from someone who hopes to gain her trust.

Moon'Hwa of the present and her escort make their perilous attempt at escaping an Inquisition-controlled Kirkwall. But Inquisition soldiers aren't the only ones they need to avoid if Moon'Hwa hopes to make it to Ostwick in one piece.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#I wrote most characters in this fic as villains #Gore #death #torture #solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan

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moonlightheretic · 1 month

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The Heretic: The Wrath of Resolution

Chapter 12

In the opening flashback, Moon'Hwa returns to Skyhold with The Iron Bull. Where she must face her fate and a surprising twist that threatens to unravel everything she once believed about herself and Solas.

A jump to present and Moon'Hwa finds herself within the home of her rescuers far from the battle that almost took her life and...far from Solas...or so it seems for now. Moon'Hwa learns quickly that she must return the favor and save her rescuers from themselves. The Dread Wolf tracks her with the Anchor and without her Runecrafting glove, it glows brighter than any beacon.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #just leave a comment fest #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan

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moonlightheretic · 2 months

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The Heretic: In Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 11

Another flashback chapter but I promise it is interesting!

Moon'Hwa's victory is short-lived. She has forced her father into translating the suspicious tome. The Inquisitor has just signed her own death warrant, for these pages do not free her from suspicion but paint her as a conspirator, spy, and worst of all, an Agent of Fen'Harel himself. Now she stands on no grounds to deny it.

Worst of all, the Keeper slips information he should not have known and Moon'Hwa is alerted to her clan's true purpose and just who fathered her child. When it rains, it sure does pour.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #just leave a comment fest #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan

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moonlightheretic · 2 months

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The Heretic: Dalish Endevours

Chapter 10

This chapter peers into the past, and Moon'Hwa having covertly left the Ostwick Inn on her own, struggles to convince her Keeper; who is also her father, to translate the mysterious journal found in Skyhold. Coming back to her Clan after all these years spent far away has done little to earn The Inquisitor a warm welcome. There is something Keeper Lavellan is withholding and it is looming over all of their heads.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#I wrote most characters in this fic as villains #Gore #death #torture #solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #just leave a comment fest #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan

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moonlightheretic · 2 months

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The Heretic: The Scent of Dawn

Chapter 9

Moon'Hwa leads Solas to her. Or perhaps it is the other way around? Both of them play dangerous games. This is their second altercation., but it is far from their last. A battle of wills, steel, and fire ensues.

CW under the line---This is a Dark Solas fic. In fact, I wrote most characters in this fic as villains, even Moon'Hwa. There are no heroes here.

Gore, death, torture, Oh my! Blood and body horror! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

#I wrote most characters in this fic as villains #Gore #death #torture #solasfic #solavellan #darksolas #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #dragon age fanfic #dai #epic #tragedy #just leave a comment fest #villains #fanfic #daifanfic #moon'hwa lavellan

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