The Brati's Need and The Runic Mark Introduces Itself
Ardyn quietly went to sleep that night, her body extremely calm. She slipped into her soul sea and was amazed at how much it had changed. She was standing on a broad sandbar that sat in the vast sea.
The sand beneath her feet was warm and seemed charged and hungry. She breathed in deeply and felt the magic flowing around and through her. She turned as she sensed Varric enter the space.
She smiled and walked into his waiting arms. He embraced her, drawing her in so deeply that she felt like she might become lost.
But she didn't stop him, and she didn't push away. She missed and needed him just as much as he needed her. They stood in this way for a long time. The power of the plain flowed around them as if it wanted them united as well.
The power pricked around them and called to their inner magics. Still, they ignored it and just held each other – each wanting the other in ways neither could explain or truly fathom.
Ardyn shifted – they both knew it was time to leave and she needed to talk. Varric resisted. "Not yet, my love. Give me a few more minutes."
Ardyn smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her. "I need to talk to you."
He matched her smile, pulled her in closer, and kissed her gently. The feel of his lips like soft, supple leather. "I can hear you. Say all that you want."
His scales were so soft and warm. Magic ran over them as Varric's magic raged within him – a consequence of him being near her and on her soul sea.
"My mark is evolving – thank you for your advice and your patience."
"Good." His hand slid down her hair and onto her back. Ardyn closed her eyes and relished his touch.
"I can now hide the mark. Tomorrow, I will work to understand it more." She paused and nuzzled him with the side of her face. "Seraphis is outside Bratinus. Atina has gone to take care of him."
Varric tensed but said nothing.
"Lay with me before you have to go."
Ardyn said nothing and slid down his body and laid down on the sand – and waited for him.
Ardyn awoke after a night with Varric. She was rested but also exhausted – it was an odd feeling. She closed her eyes and sought out Atina. Her companion was alive but tired.
'Are you okay, Atina? Do you need me?'
'I am fine, Empress. He is hiding. I have not slept because I am watching his hole.'
Ardyn smiled. 'Take care. I will come to you if I feel you need me.'
'Yes, Empress. I will be fine.'
Ardyn returned to the Enlightenment Pool. She had decided to focus on helping the Brati in this session. She entered the pool, and right away it moved over her body and entered her ears, nose, and mouth.
She began hearing a distant melody, and it resonated with her. It was ancient and slow – a melancholy tune that woke things within her that seemed to have slept within her DNA for centuries.
Her body shivered as the melody flowed through her being. The resonance forced her to conform and become accustomed to the power and knowledge that it brought.
She saw the Brati when they were young – all of them saplings – nomadic beings in search of a mystic spring of their prophetic dreams. They found the valley and spawned their forest.
Their non-sentient offspring were reared to protect and shield them. The spring they sought was forgotten in comfort and convenience.
Her perceptions sped forth and came upon a deep spring hidden within a bordering mountain range. It stretched out – shimmer drops like distant tears – reaching for the Brati, wanting to make them whole.
Then the vision shifted, and Ardyn stood on a vast violet plain. She instinctively knew it was a plain of her personal power. Before her rose an amorphous black mass. It moved as if it understood and wanted to communicate.
It neared her, blurred, and reformed as lines of intricate runic symbols. Her eyes widened as she understood it was her mark. It rotated before her, showing its current form then reshaping to show different forms – with the final form glowing with light purple edges.
It pulsed and began to demonstrate different techniques. She frowned internally – many of the techniques, and their purposes, were blurred and beyond her understanding. She soon understood she needed more power, or understanding, to be able to fully grasp the enlightenment.
The water receded and rested below her neck – still supporting, comforting, and teaching – and she reflected on what she had learned.
First, she would go to Atina and see if that drew Seraphis out of his hiding hole, then she would go to the mountains and find the spring the Brati needed.
She closed her eyes and allowed the waters of the enlightenment pool to continue their work.
It was time to once again move forward and step closer to her goals.
"Just a little longer, My Love. I will soon be the mate that you never knew you needed."