Sorry it’s been so long since my last update. Been dealing with life things.
Have some Greagoir/Kaidasa nostalgia to ease your pain! 8D Also this is pretty much the part where we find out What Happened all them years ago, just in case you missed it.
Yay!
Guess who found a good Isthalla theme song today? Yup.
Gonna try to get some writing done today you guys. Sorry I’ve been so absent. Life is distracting.
Enjoy this Isthalla song. c8
Because Shire you won’t get your butt on here I am sharing this song on tumblrland for you to find later! 8D
I heard it on the radio at first, and kept thinking of Cullen and Isthalla. Or just a good Cullen/Mage song.
IT’S SO SWEET IT HURTS. I really love the tenderness of it. c:
Relevent to Isthullen land.
:)
Cullen singing, for your enjoyment.
If there is a more perfect song to complement the complexity and struggle of the Surana/Cullen or Amell/Cullen relationship, I’d like you to show me.
Read these lyrics, listen, and be blown away.
In excelsius benedictus
Blessed angels hear our prayer
Immortales resurrectus
Let thy whisper dry our tears
In excelsius benedictus
Blessed angels hear our prayer
Immortales resurrectus
Let thy promise calm our fears
Hosanna, hosanna, aeterna
Holy we’ll arrive for evermore
(Ancient arabic chant)
Two lovers, two forces of love and hate
I pull you, you pull me, we complicate
Unlikely defendants in a lovers’ trial
And facing a world in complete denial
From London to Aden, the stage is set
Two cultures in conflict, love under threat
And I breathe in fire and ash
All for the sake of love
And I die A Thousand Deaths
All for the sake of love
And I breathe in fire and ash
All for the sake of love
And I die A Thousand Deaths
All for the sake of love
(Ancient arabic chant)
The fires of the righteous will always burn
And turn us on each other until we learn
To harness the power of our distinction
And throw off these shackles of bad religion
One thousand and one nights can change everything
You are my scheherazade, I am your king
In excelsius benedictus
Immortalis lacunam
In extremis abyss domus
Introitus gloriam
And I breathe in fire and ash
All for the sake of love
And I die A Thousand Deaths
All for the sake of love
And I breathe in fire and ash
All for the sake of love
And I die A Thousand Deaths
All for the sake of love
In excelsius benedictus
Immortalis lacunam
In extremis abyss domus
Introitus gloriam
The last hope for comfort (justice) is fleeting fast
Salvation, extinction, we’re free at last
In excelsis
Immortalis
In extremis
And I die A Thousand Deaths
All for the sake of love
All for the sake of love
In excelsius benedictus
Blessed angels hear our prayer
(Ancient arabic chant)This needs to be a musical. Right now.
I keep forgetting no one else knows about her yet - anyway, here is our very first introduction chapter in OWiB for Isthalla’s mom, Kaidasa!
I’m actually debating to label this as Part III or not, but I will say this: it’s going to be a good chunk of writing before we hear about Isthalla again. I need this time to introduce her parents, and how she came about. :)
Some of you may have already read this in the form of a short story I called A Warden’s Best Friend, but it is now an integral part of the story! Yay!
Brand-new, fresh chapter to follow!
Section A
Name: Isthalla Surana
Class: Mage (Entropy/Hex Style)
Race: Elf
Gender: Female
Age/DOB: 19 years old when she’s conscripted as a Warden
Specialization: Blood Mage
Family: Kaidasa, her Antivan elvish mother - formerly a slave - and Mahiel the Devourer, her Chasind elvish father of disputable Dalish background. She has no memory of either. No siblings.
Tattoos: A magic-style full facial tattoo akin to that of her mother’s (see picture)
Height: 5”5
Weight: 115 lbs
General Favorites: challenges, reading, power, knowledge, perfecting skills, red, sexy mage clothes, attention/admiration, jewelry/body decoration, sex, controlling the situation, conquering a prize, the thrill of a chase, maiming/destroying things, intelligent conversation, and taunting poor templar boys
General Dislikes: religion, mage discrimination, being taken advantage of, when things are completely out of her control, emotional attachment, irresponsible people, human males, templars, and generally any devout follower of the Chantry and it’s beliefs, forced into responsibility
Section B
Personality Traits:
On the surface she is - Abrasive, Sarcastic, Cruel, Witty, Fearless, and Absolutely Charming
But just beneath - Intelligent, Conversational, Strong-minded, Passionate, Confident, and Attractive
Where no man may go - Conflicted, Selfish, Bitter, Lost, Power-hungry, and Obsessed
Romances:
No one is more important to Isthalla than Cullen. Despite her hatred of templars and everything to do with the Chantry, she is emotionally bound to Cullen - and has been - since she met him six months prior to her Harrowing. Though seeing as it’s one of those forbidden-cannot-ever-realistically-happen things, she struggles with this knowledge and battles with her restraint. Though she is fairly open-minded and forward about what she wants, Cullen is not very apt to return those feelings - even if he wants to. Obviously this causes issues and tension.
After her Wardening, she fell into sexual acquaintances with the assassin Zevran - a strictly shallow and physical agreement - which later unintentionally turned into something more. Neither of them really wanted it to happen, since it disrupted both of their emotional barriers and stability. However, the unfortunate business was that Zevran ended up caring more for Isthalla than he wanted to, and despite her growing feelings for him - he would never match up to her templar, Cullen. It ended tragically and (on some level, bitterly) with more than one heart broken, but as always - Zevran smiled and told his warden that he would be fine. And he left for Antiva.
She never stopped loving Cullen.
Rivalries: Alistair and Isthalla hated each other from the start - mainly from Alistair’s indirect and unintentional quips at mage-kind was what most likely set her off. When she first meets someone, she has a very distinct and imprinted impression of them and that tends to decide how she will treat them for the rest of their journey together. Alistair had the misfortune of provoking her rather severe dislike and ire from day one, and only made it worse since. They bicker and fight like siblings, usually worse than Alistair and Morrigan, who pale in comparison to some of the rows they have with one another. At some point her hatred becomes so great they won’t speak to one another. It later evolves into a somewhat grudging sibling-like relationship in which they will protect one another if necessary, both apart from that - Alistair and Isthalla will never trust one another.
Single Best Friend: After Jowan leaves/disappears? Morrigan. They get along phenomenally well. Isthalla enjoys intelligent mage-company, and Morrigan offers that as well as an observant opinion to Isthalla when she asks. She can respect Morrigan for being upfront and honest about her opinions, as well as speaking her mind when she feels it necessary. She also likes, however, that Morrigan respects her decisions (once she’s made them) and does not question it twice. She’s a fantastic companion for Isthalla; they suit each other.
Single Worst Enemy: Her History.
Quirks: She is afraid of water (she nearly drowned as a child in Lake Calenhad), she absolutely loves being outdoors (she’s been locked up her whole life, so being free to walk outside is important to her), she absolutely hates being cut off in a conversation, her ears drop/perk when expressing strong emotional reactions like fear or hate, she has absolutely no tolerance for alcohol (extreme lightweight), she doesn’t like to show teeth when she smiles, she prefers moving about at night
Political Alliances:
Grey Wardens - She respected Duncan and his cause, but does not believe his other recruits understand or can grasp what he intends. She continues grudgingly pulling her duty after his death only because he asked, and partly because she believes she is the only one who knows what he set out to do - everyone else is incompetent, and if not in her hands, she believes Ferelden would be doomed. She takes on the role of “Hero” grudgingly, and cuts corners whenever possible in order to get to her goal faster.
Chantry - As far as political religious beliefs go, she is completely against trapping magi in towers and having them policed like children all hours of the day. She believes mage-kind should be given the freedom to live on their own and raise families, and only discipline/cage those that have committed repeated offenses against their country. She does not believe in punishing someone simply for being born a certain way, regardless of the history of their “kind’s” faults. She hates the chantry and all the political and social power that it waves so arrogantly and freely. She believes they do not have the discipline and training necessary to properly “leash” their kind.
Kingdom - And as far as the kingdom politics go, she doesn’t like putting her nose in it. She could care less if the kingdom falls apart government-wise; she doesn’t really believe in the humans’ ideal of having a single ruler, but instead communities with jointly elected leaders that will protect and look after their own - much like Dalish clans, but in larger numbers. She only puts in her effort when it is absolutely necessary, and even then - it is the bare minimum. She keeps her hands clean of kingdom politics.
Biography/History:
History - Isthalla was born in Denerim’s Alienage to her witch-mother Kaidasa. By the time she was five, the other elves of the Alienage hated and feared her mother for various and rumored “incidents” that had happened. She was ostracized from the others, and lived in a remote, abandoned section of the ghetto with her young daughter.
Isthalla was patiently taught by a two-toned mother, who personified that of any child’s dreamed loving, caring, and protective caregiver, while at other times was a creature of power-hungry urgency, forcing her into strenuous and sometimes painful magical practices in order to build up her immunity and strength. Sometimes her mother would be visited by a man in a dark cloak; she never remembered his face, only his voice. He would smile at her through the crack in her door, and turn to vanish out into the night.
At six her mother was slaughtered by a templar; she never knew whom. She was shortly after placed in the Alienage orphanage by a sympathetic chantry woman. Six months later, after many dark, terrible night terrors that haunted her sleep, she woke to find that her nightmares had somehow escaped into the waking world. She unleashed a hatred upon the orphanage; the other children and their caregivers were slaughtered, though she was the only one left untouched by the demons.
A man came from her, dressed in templar armor and a red cape. She blacked out before she could tell him it was her fault, and shortly afterward she found herself at the front gates of the Circle Tower of Magi in Ferelden.
She forgot her memories prior after that day; the memory of her mother, of the strange visitor, the faceless templar killer, as well as the screams of her fellow playmates from the orphanage. She was told she was one of the survivors from the “orphanage incident” so many years ago - that is all she knows now, and all she recalls.
Shortly before her 19th birthday, a new templar arrived at the tower by the name of Cullen. She first met him in the tower chantry at three in the morning, and was shadowed by him ever since. At first she avoided him - aggravated, in fact - but eventually found his company as a sort of comfort, and even later eventually grew fond of the stuttering, ridiculous man with his patient ear and calm demeanor. He balanced her out.
During her Harrowing something went terribly wrong - a something that Irving refused to tell her, even after she was forcibly banished from the tower by Greagoir for endangering, reckless, and unforgivable behavior. If Duncan had not intervened, she would have been swiftly dealt with, by means of an execution or Rite of Tranquility. She joined his cause grudgingly, seeing it as a means of escape, intending to run away at the first chance. Instead, she had a responsibility greater than herself forced into her lap and, with bitter resentment, took the reins and pushed forward - after all, what use was escaping if she didn’t have a home left to go to?
In short, if you’d like to read her story in full, go check out the fanfiction Origins Written in Blood here: Click to Start on Chapter 1!
This short biography only brushes the surface of her character. She’s incredibly complex, and quite interesting. The fanfic is currently at a whopping 83,000 word count with 32 chapters under it’s belt and growing.
I know everyone has their own playlists, but this just started playing earlier and it wasn’t until halfway through the song the lyrics started to poke at me, and once I started listening to it, I found it was a profoundly perfect Cullen song for the Origins Forgotten timeline (Awakening) for my fanfiction series.
So here you go.
I wanna know what you really think of me.
I wanna feel all the pain that sets you free.
These waves of doubt are drowning me.
Gone are the days when this was easy.
Buried in the past,
So many moments I want back.
Tomorrow doesn’t hold onto yesterday.
If I fall back into you,
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
Show me what we’ve got to lose,
Don’t hide it, don’t hide it.
Memories stuck in my head,
All the things I should have said.
If I fall back into you,
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
I wanna know after all these lessons learned
If there’s a road from these bridges that we burned.
I need to know if you still want me,
Want me to show how much I need you.
Buried in the past,
So many moments I want back.
Tomorrow doesn’t hold onto yesterday.
If I fall back into you,
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
Show me what we’ve got to lose,
Don’t hide it, don’t hide it.
Memories stuck in my head,
All the things I should have said.
If I fall back into you,
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
Gone are all the days when this was easy,
Tomorrow can’t hold onto yesterday.
If you come right back to me,
I won’t fight it, I won’t fight it.
Show me what you need from me,
Don’t hide it, don’t hide it.
If I fall back into you (If I fall),
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
Show me what we’ve got to lose (Show me what),
Don’t hide it, don’t hide it.
Memories stuck in my head,
All the things I should have said.
If I fall back into you,
Don’t fight it, don’t fight it.
I look way too much into things but this whole sonnnngg hngnnnn ;_; It makes me all wibbly inside.
