Luzial

@luzial.bsky.social

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❤️OLD GODS / YOUNG HEARTS.❤️ | she/her | Solavellan hell/heaven AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luzial/works Tumblr: https://luzial.tumblr.com PFP by: https://bsky.app/profile/alemonleaf.bsky.social

A bird perched on a branch, looking at a flower bud. Text reads: "A Flower Shy to Blossom" by luzial.
The tavern was less crowded than it had been the evening before. Solas hung their coats and scarves on a set of pegs near the door while Ellana inclined her head meaningfully toward the bar. She obviously wanted them to split up — she was already following Himar toward the hearth, no doubt to continue their conversation. Solas was clearly meant to question the bartender. Though, about what, he wasn't entirely certain.
Excerpt: Solas woke sore and smug with Ellana sprawled across him. It was the first time in weeks he'd opened his eyes before her, and the first time in months either of them had woken so long after sunrise. The light pouring through the window lacked any of the softness of a wintry dawn. He swept aside the curls covering Ellana's face and found her snoring quietly, her mouth pressed too hard against his shoulder. The darkness beneath her eyes was not as pronounced as it had been the morning before. He wanted to kiss her awake, to inch his hand beneath one layer and then the next, until his fingers found the soft hollow below her ribs, until he he could feel every part of her warm against him. Mostly, he wanted to gloat.
Excerpt: "Ah, here we go!" Himar called. "We'll pick up a little speed again going into the second pylon." "And then we're done, right?" Ellana asked hopefully. She let herself look up again. "Er. Not exactly." Himar's eyes flicked to Solas for help, which only made her want to kick both of them. "The span from here to the top is the longest. We're not halfway there yet." "Not … not halfway?!" Ellana sputtered. She checked her watch. It claimed they'd only been off the ground for ten minutes, but surely it had been at least a half-hour. The pulleys dragged them forward, and a fleeting sensation of weightlessness made Ellana's heart race. Then, once they were through the pylon and dangling from only the cable once more, panic got the better of her. She glanced over her shoulder, deciding that looking up at the peaks would be easier than looking down toward Haven.
Excerpt: Solas let his head roll slowly to his shoulder and found Ellana, her nose wrinkled in silent concentration, bent over a thick book spread open across her lap. “What are you reading?” “Shit!” she gasped, pressing a hand over her heart. The book slid between her knees and she clasped them together to halt its descent to the floor. There was something familiar about the color of the cover, but her legs obscured the title. “It’s nothing,” Ellana said, scrambling to shove the text into her bag. “It’s just a … nothing.” Solas caught only one word on the spine — Dales — before she had it nearly hidden away. “Is that my book?”
Excerpt: Solas let his head roll slowly to his shoulder and found Ellana, her nose wrinkled in silent concentration, bent over a thick book spread open across her lap. "What are you reading?" "Shit!" she gasped, pressing a hand over her heart. The book slid between her knees and she clasped them together to halt its descent to the floor. There was something familiar about the color of the cover, but her legs obscured the title. "It's nothing," Ellana said, scrambling to shove the text into her bag. "It's just a … nothing." Solas caught only one word on the spine — Dales — before she had it nearly hidden away. "Is that my book?"
Excerpt: "What would you think of making a bit of a detour on our way back to Lydes?" "How long of a detour?" Ellana placed a kiss to the wet nape of his neck. "In case you forgot, we're on a pretty firm deadline." "You think I've forgotten I'm about to marry you? Is that truly what you're suggesting?" Ellana laughed, and he felt the movement of her chest down the length of his spine. "Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. What did you have in mind?" He twisted awkwardly in the bath to face her, ignoring her yelps of protest as water splashed up against her chin again. "A few days — three or four, at most. Sightseeing. Just the two of us." "Where?" she asked, but she was already grinning.
Leliana had chosen the club — a sprawling but hidden oddity in the middle of Denerim's Market District. It loomed above them in an enclosed courtyard, at least three storeys tall even before the sun-crowned spire that rose over its roof. The windows were stained glass, and the lights flashing from within cast multicolored shadows throughout the concealed square. The low beat of music was undetectable until they were nearly upon its entrance, and by then Ellana had much more to consider than the quality of the soundproofing. "A chantry," she said as Solas tipped his head back to take in the scope of the building. "Or, a former chantry. Obviously."
A photo of snow and green moss on rocks with the title "Evergreen" over top.
"Cigarette?" Solas shook his head. "Really?" Felassan eyed him curiously. "I stopped. They're terribly expensive." Solas was eager to find an explanation other than the truth — that he'd never really had a taste for them, and found it an easy habit to drop once he no longer had someone to share it with. "Well," Felassan mumbled as he raised his lighter to his mouth and cupped his hands around the flame. "I guess that's true. If you're buying your own." Solas leaned against the exterior wall of Le Neuvième, one foot resting on the bricks behind him. The rain had ceased the moment they'd stepped outside, as if it couldn't withstand the force of Felassan's good cheer. He'd pronounced Solas' sweater too sodden to keep on while he was still so cold, and so Solas wore Felassan's coat now. The arms were a little too long and the rest was a little too snug, but it was warm and its scent familiar.
"I'd like another chance to wander around the museum. I got a bit sidetracked last time." "There is still much for you to see, though I would prefer to accompany you on your wanderings." "Oh, absolutely. I need the full docent experience." "You do, but the truth is I'm largely motivated by security concerns." "Security concerns?" "How would it look if my guest attempted a second burglary on my watch?" "Don't be an ass," Ellana huffed as Solas smiled into his phone.
"How's the new novel coming?" Ellana inclined her head toward Varric's computer. "It's too late in the day for you to be working on anything for the Journal." "I'm actually putting in a full eight hours today. Though I might be able to get that down to six if you help me." "Cass doesn't want me anywhere near writing," she said, doing her best to keep the bitterness from her voice. "What she doesn't know won't hurt me." Ellana laughed. "Alright, then. What do you need?" "Dalish courtship traditions."
Cassandra gasped in a pitch that was usually reserved for their discussions of Inquisitive Hearts. "That is wonderful news!" "It is," he said, and felt himself smiling. "You sound so … so … smitten! You must tell me everything!"
Ellana groaned as a high-pitched whine dragged her from a deep sleep. It took her only a moment to realize that she was, for some reason, in Leliana's bed rather than where she usually slept on the futon in the main room. She was also, for similarly illusive reasons, completely naked. The chirping was Schmooples, who apparently hated the rhythmic sound of her phone buzzing about as much as Ellana did in that moment. She was slow to grab it and by the time she did, the vibration had thankfully stopped. Missed call Solas
"C'mon! She's starting," Sera complained, peeking nervously through the curtains on the far side of the coatroom. "I'm almost done." Ellana shrugged out of her blouse and stuffed it into the pocket of her blazer. She handed both to the coat check attendant, then turned her attention to the mirror hanging beside the desk. Her eye makeup was, somehow, only slightly disastrous. She decided to embrace the look, dragging the tip of her middle finger along the black lines until the smudges might be mistaken for an intentional choice rather than the aftermath of angry tears.
"You'll be fine. You have other pictures to look at." "I do," he agreed. "And I have been."
It had been well over a month since she'd last seen him. Ellana had done her best to memorize his face in the darkness, when their knees touched beneath the sheets and she watched him slowly fall asleep as she should have been doing the same. Instead, she'd studied the angle of his nose, the way his lashes rested atop his cheeks, and the odd little scar above his eyebrow. She tried now to envision the precise curve of his throat, the sharp lines of his jaw, and the dimple in his chin that she'd found so ridiculous the first time they met. It seemed less ridiculous now.
Ellana paced her hotel room in Antiva City, cell phone in hand. She watched the clock, counting down the final few minutes before the designated time she was supposed to call Solas to watch Inquisitive Hearts. She'd already pulled up the mini-series on her laptop. She'd charged her phone on the train. She'd stopped at a shop on the way to her hotel and purchased a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine and a to-go container of the cheesy, peppery pasta that was the city's staple. She devoured her dinner as she finished off a glass of the Antivan vintage, and neither did anything to calm her nerves.
Solas gasped as his phone buzzed on the pillow beside his head. He opened his eyes and found the familiar photo of Ellana in Kirkwall staring back at him. He shoved himself upright, grabbed the phone and swiped to answer without a second thought. "Hello?" "Are you kidding me with Inquisitive Hearts?!"
"Oh, no, Professor," a young man named Rhys interjected. "We didn't finish Inquisitive Hearts." Solas blinked. "Excuse me?" "We spent so much time talking about Crowe," he shot Jowan a nasty look, "that we didn't get through the end." "The end?" Solas said. "Of Inquisitive Hearts?"
After a dig site in the Arbor wilds uncovers evidence of the Final Inquisitor, Ellana Lavellan goes back to work at the Thedosian Journal and Professor Solas returns to Lydes to finish his spring semester. When Ellana's article becomes an international sensation, she finds herself constantly on the move, doing her best to juggle travel, writing, and a long-distance flirtation that's slowly taking over her every waking thought.
"Bonsoir." Ellana greeted the room. The crowd was ungainly, fidgeting awkwardly as they tried to find the right amount of distance between themselves and their neighbors. Another interesting choice, Ellana thought, to have them remain standing during her remarks. She was agitated too. She had yet to pick out any of her friends among the sea of masks. Florianne hovered too near her shoulder to ignore. Briala had been forced several steps back, more a member of the audience than an authority. The near constant rumble of thunder was joined now by the harsh noise of rain pelting the windows. And all of that would have been tolerable, easily brushed aside, if she could just see Solas.
"This is truly - and please understand I don't say this lightly - the worst idea you've ever had." It wasn't, Solas knew. Not by a long shot. But Ellana had only been subjected to a few months' worth of his ideas, and was operating with a limited sample size.
Solas from Dragon Age, dressed in a modern suit and wearing a golden masquerade-style mask. In front of him is an elf woman, her back to the viewer. She wears an olive colored dress with a low cut V back, and a mask shaped like a wolf's head. Solas has his arms around her.
Ellana looked him up and down appraisingly. "You could probably kick it in," she determined with undisguised excitement. "That would be quite loud. And these," he said as he lifted a foot to draw her attention to his dress shoes, "are not the ideal tool for the job." "What … is the ideal tool?" "Boots. Preferably with a reinforced sole." Solas was reasonably certain she said "Huh" in reply, but the sound of it was a bit too breathy and resembled much more closely various sounds he'd heard her make under drastically different circumstances. They both found things to investigate that did not require looking at each other.
shocked pikachu meme
Merrill turned toward Solas, who was now loaded down with all three of the garment bags as well as his work satchel. Ellana held her breath. "Solas! It's so good to meet you!" He blinked at her. "We've met." "Well, yes. But I didn't really know who you were then." "Merrill," Ellana bit out a warning. "What? I meant that I didn't know he was your boyfriend the last time. What did you think?"
"I shall have to visit you two after we all make it through this gala business. I admit I'm terribly curious to see the letters you found in Nevarra myself." "Of course, you'd be welcome. I am not certain how long Ellana will be in Lydes, but -" "Aren't you?" Dorian regarded him with a smug tilt of his head. When he didn't immediately reply, Dorian placed his utensils on either side of his plate and shook his head. "Solas, my friend. From one stubborn bachelor to another, allow me to make an observation. That woman is far more smitten than you are capable of seeing. And you can't see it because you are too smitten to view the situation with anything even approaching objectivity."
Solas led the way to the Humanities building, digging his keys from his satchel to open the side entrance. They left their luggage by the door after he pulled it shut - they were likely the only two people there and it would not be bothered. The lab where he would drop off the Inquisitor's letters was in a different building, but he wanted to stop by his office first. He'd made some excuse to Ellana about needing to pick up a few books from his collection, but his true motive was somewhat different. He found himself unexpectedly nervous as she followed him through narrow corridors and up dimly lit stairwells. He pointed out the classrooms he used most frequently, the offices of his colleagues and the head of his department, acutely aware that so much of his life happened within these walls. She listened with her usual focus, stopping to peek in the window of the door to the lecture hall where he taught most of his undergraduate courses.
The ground was frigid and frozen hard beneath Solas' back, his thin bedroll providing an inadequate barrier against the cold. He never liked such weather, nor such places. Yes, snow was beautiful, but only in the abstract, only from a distance -never when it seeped into the toes of one's boots or branded blotches into exposed cheeks. He longed for warmer days. A month ago she would have been beside him.
A Miro board outline showing chapters 21-27 planned. There are post-it notes below each chapter heading but their content is blurred out for spoilers.
The cat stared at Ellana, then turned her head toward the tabletop, her intentions perfectly clear. Ellana was suddenly aware that she wasn't sure who should have her loyalty in this situation - Solas, who had just told her the cat was not allowed up there, or Parchment, who she very much wanted to win over by any means necessary. The cat, obviously sensing her hesitation, took the opportunity to place her front paws on the table. "Down." Ellana hadn't even seen Solas raise his eyes from the paper he was reading. Probably an effective, if extremely annoying, trick he'd learned from too many years spent watching students try to cheat off each other's exams, she thought. Parchment slowly, and with a distinctly contemptuous air, removed her paws from the table and placed them back on the chair. As the cat looked over at her, Ellana was struck by the sense that she'd just permanently established herself as a pushover.
Painting of the Dalish heraldic symbol from the Dragon Age games: a green mask with shapes at the edges that look a bit like leaves.
As quiet as Hunter Fell had been a few hours before, the town was now bustling with activity. The entire outer edge of the chantry plaza was filled with tables and stalls, and the crowd of browsers was large enough that Solas wondered just how much of the town's population had come out for the market. The wares were an eclectic mix - a wide variety of of crafts and artwork, but also tables piled high with both prepared food and raw ingredients. Ellana made a slow, deliberate circuit, her eyes sweeping curiously over each table as she offered their owners her generous smile. At first, Solas followed her closely, interested to hear the questions she asked while she browsed. But after a few minutes he fell back, watching her from a short distance away. He had missed an entire night's worth of photos thanks to his nerves at dinner, and he would not make the same mistake again. He caught her with the corners of her eyes lightly creased as she listened intently to the Nevarrans' descriptions of their talents; with a piece of delicate lace pinched between her thumb and index finger as she felt the texture of a nightgown; at the precise moment she slipped one of Hunter Fell's large pink flowers into her hair - a gift, he gathered, from a vendor who had been particularly charmed.
Solas rolled onto his side, burying his face in Ellana's hip where she sat upright beside him on the bed. "I'm dying," he croaked out, his throat on fire with the effort. "You're not," Ellana said. She sounded very certain, and perhaps slightly cross. "How can you be certain?" He tugged up his blanket until it covered his ear. Sweat was pooling between his shoulder blades and on the backs of his thighs, but his body seemed certain that he was, in fact, freezing and he should ask Ellana for yet another layer of blankets.
After a round of drinks Solas was considerably calmer, though his tongue had loosened accordingly. "When we return to Lydes," he said, leaning forward over the table with the flat bottom of his glass perched only somewhat perilously in the palm of his hand, "there's a new restaurant that just opened a few weeks ago. Antivan. I'd love to take you there. They make a fantastic paella." "I remember. You told me about that place when you first tried it. Actually, I think you sent me a picture of that exact paella," Ellana laughed before taking another sip of her drink. "That's right," he nodded. He had done that. He knew it. Why was still talking, he wondered, as he continued.
"If we only have one more day, would you want to spend it-" "Not at the library," he said definitively. "Got it," Ellana smiled. She was more than a little relieved. She'd expected him to want to make the most of their final few hours in Vyrantium. "The beach?" Solas asked. "The gardener you interviewed suggested that cove near the path we walked. He said it wasn't as crowded as the beaches in the city."
"Hmm." He nudged her gently with his leg. "You're freezing." Ellana flexed her fingers, realizing just how stiff they'd become while she'd been holding onto the railing outside. "Here." He flipped back the duvet and gestured her forward. She slid the rest of the way up onto the bed and settled between his legs with her back against his chest. Solas arranged the duvet over both of them. "What's the train situation?" she asked. Solas let out an irritated grunt. He rested his chin on top of her head as he angled his phone so they both could see it. "It seems there are plenty of incoming trains on the weekends, but not many outgoing. It is a tourist destination in the summer, after all." Ellana reached a finger to his phone, scrolling through the timetable. "So there's nothing at all direct today?"
A draft title in Ellipsus. The title is "this is a bad idea"
The rest of the week flew by before Solas could fully process its passing. His time was claimed from sunrise to long after sunset, filled entirely with research and learning, thoughtful conversation, and - more than anything else - Ellana. They were exhausted by the time they fell into bed each night, tangled together beneath the sheets. He measured the days in the photographs he took, their timestamps drawing him irresistibly back to the gestures and expressions that crafted a memory. To scroll through them was to relive each moment with such clarity that he could feel the lingering breeze against his skin and hear the sound of her laughter. Their mornings began early with only enough time for breakfast to be eaten while they walked. He listened, taking extensive notes to supplement Ellana's recordings, as she carefully questioned the numerous residents of Vyrantium who had agreed to speak to her. It was always fascinating to observe her work - to attempt to guess why any one particular detail among dozens stood out to her as she listened to story after story.
It was long after daybreak when they finally managed to get out of bed. Solas suggested a morning of sightseeing, which made Ellana pout at him like he'd said something ridiculous. They were supposed to be laying low, she explained as if he'd somehow forgotten. It took some persuasion in various forms, but eventually he managed to convince her that there was no reason for Calpernia to look for them in places mostly frequented by tourists. The Tevinter agent would expect them to be in the city for their research ("We are here for our research," Ellana argued breathily while he placed a kiss beneath her ear), and she would know the most logical places to find them would be archives and libraries.
It was long after daybreak when they finally managed to get out of bed. Solas suggested a morning of sightseeing which made Ellana pout at him like he was being ridiculous. They were supposed to be laying low, she explained as if he'd somehow forgotten. It took some persuasion in various forms, but eventually he managed to convince her that there was no reason for Calpernia to look for them in places most frequented by tourists. The Tevinter agent would expect them to be in the city for their research ("We are here for our research," Ellana argued breathily while he placed a kiss beneath her ear), and she would know that the most logical places to find them would be archives and libraries. Once Ellana had come around to his idea, she insisted she needed to briefly leave the hotel to purchase 'supplies' - a dubious statement on which she refused to elaborate. She wrapped her hair in a scarf to conceal it and put her enormous sunglasses on her forehead. As she slipped out the door she gave him a pointed look, then slid her gaze toward the closet, then back to him again. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," she warned him before closing the door behind her.
"I have only ever known love as a beautiful lie. I adore the theater of it. The poetry and the excess are intoxicating. The anticipation of the words that cannot be taken back amounts to more than the words themselves. How can I not be intrigued by such an idea? Lovers say more with silence than they do with language. It is a subversion of everything the Story values but also we can’t get enough of it. Every story is about love, at least a little bit. Even this one." Solas and Lavellan are unlikely correspondents who reshape infinite versions of Thedas, each manipulating events of the world’s past to create the future their faction desires.
Ellana Lavellan is an investigative journalist assigned to cover an excavation in the Arbor Wilds. Her editors have received a tip that the dig may uncover new information about the "Final Inquisitor," a mysterious figure from the Dragon Age about whom almost nothing is known. Ellana teams up with a history professor to investigate the story.
A spirit cat and mortal cat near the canals of Treviso from the game Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Hunt well, he told her. And she has. She may as well wear their pelts like trophies across her shoulders. They have lined up to dance with her, to offer her gifts, to make her promises - all of it hollow. They want her for the power and the pleasure she can bring them. They want the world to see her in their arms as they swirl her across the floor. They want to feel the press of her body against their chest and imagine an intimacy which is his alone to claim. Solas gets jealous at Halamshiral and his pride nearly gets the better of him.