Kizár Elená Durin · @SilmarilNaro
24th Jul 2014 from TwitLonger
Fire-Star of Thedas: Discussing Andraste (Excerpt: Anders and Elenaria)
"I once knew someone who bought a piece of Andraste's shin-bone in the Amaranthine market."
The passing remark had Elenaria trying to stifle a laugh as she thought of what she knew about Andraste.
"What? They had a pretty good story for it as well, or so I heard. Not that I totally believe it anyway." Anders seemed a bit upset that his quip was taken with so much amusement by his fellow mage.
Elenaria shoot her head as she clamped down on her laughter. "No, it just reminds me of the vial of Andraste's tears I found in Denerim once. It was only sea water with a trace of lyrium in it."
"Well..." Anders shrugged. "The shinbone *could* be real... you never know."
"Oh, I know." Elenaria grinned at him. "I know it can't be real because I've seen Andraste's Ashes and I know, from *two* people who could verify the matter that not even Andraste's bones were left intact after she burned. She made sure of it herself."
"What- How could anyone know that?" The look of confused puzzlement on Anders' face was enough to prompt another laugh, though again Elenaria stifled it. "I mean no one could live for that long, not unless they were posessed or something."
"Or something." Elenaria murmured, thinking about how Wynne once reacted when she first found out the truth about Elenaria. "The man who acts as guardian of the temple where the Ashes are located has been alive since Andraste's time, and certainly did not seem to be possessed. He did say his life was tied to the Ashes, and though I cannot confirm it, the whole mountain was steeped in enough magic to indicate there was a fair bit of lyrium in the rock. Though maybe the one thing that makes me sure is..." She absently tugged the necklace Kélan had made, with her stone set in it. "There was another of these in the Urn. The Guardian told me that when Andraste burned, white fire was seen to take over the flames of the pyre, after Hessarian stabbed her."
Anders had already seen the effectiveness of Elenaria's own White Fire, and though she did not want to discuss the stone in depth, could already tell it was somehow linked. "So you're saying the idea of Andraste being a mage and doing all those thing that were supposedly the Maker might be true, and she did it with another of those..." He nodded towards the glowing sphere. "I imagine the Chantry would love to claim those, if they knew the truth then. Another relic of Andraste... or something to suppress as "dissonant", since they're not that fond of the mage theory."
Elenaria tucked the necklace back under her breastplate. "If they tried to take the stone, they would burn in the same fire, *if* they were willing to go up against Alistair... or Anora for that matter."
"What have the King and Queen got to do with it?" Anders stopped to look at her directly. "You give them the stone, didn't you?"
"I gave them that stone... and the third one as well. Those two stone are the reason Anora is pregnant now."
"I'd heard along the way there were rumours the Queen was infertile... The stones cured her of that?"
Elenaria nodded. "They did, and she is carrying twin daughters."
"Well..." Anders said broadly. "Maybe none of Andraste's shin bones really ever came through Amaranthine, but at least the future princesses have something akin to her blessing."
Elenaria tilted her head, thinking on that interpretation for a moment. Even with Anders, a mage she knew passingly well from the Circle Tower, she did not yet feel bringing up the real truth of her sisters, or Lossanárë's history as the prophetess, was appropriate. "In a way they do... Andraste's own, much disputed magic returns to help her people, centuries after."
"Though it won't stop me from swearing by her knickerweasels." Anders grinned.
"I wouldn't dream of stopping you. Hearing you swear by Andraste's knickerweasels is a highlight of my day."