There was always time for stories in the Chantry, especially in winter when it snowed and left them all stuck for things to do. Older Templars would go about their dailies as ever but for the children it was a different matter. They had to be kept inside lest they get too carried away in the snow and gave themselves a chill -or worse, pnumonia. It was very fortunate indeed that Ceylon hadn't been sent on an errand and was able to help the other new Templars care for their young charges.

Whilst most children flocked to her for stories and clambered all over her in excitement, one boy always hung back. She knew him as Audric and recalled he'd been of Chasind stock. The other children called him "Wolf-boy" and would mock him for his heritage and the fact that he would bite when he was provoked. She always pegged him as a somewhat reserved young boy as he never really jumped into anything unless it involved food, or pudding.

He was particularly dour today as the one before had seen his only posession that wasn't his clothes taken. One of the boys had stolen his mother's bracelet, which distressed hm so, then lead to them picking on hm when they saw how upset he was. Little boys shouldn't cry over trinkets, afterall. Unfortunately for them Audric was eager to vent his anger and soon a brawl had formed, requiring at least two Templars to pry them apart. For such a display Audric and a couple of the other boys were disciplined and went without their evening meal or pudding. Audric did get pudding later on though, Cey was far too fond of him to be that cruel. Dessert was a serious affair, afterall.

So the woman was hardly surprised to see him sulking away from the gaggles of younglings crowding out their wards. To satisfy the miniature horde she decided to spin them their favourite yarn until they were allowed out for a little to enjoy the snow.

Once most of them had bounded out like a Mabari after a rabbit Ceylon made her way to where Audric was lurking, his pout was tremendous and she just had to smile a little. With a croon she petted his hair and sat down infront of him, purple robes settling about her lap, "c'mon Audric, ah've a story just for you."

With a nervous little glance around to check for anyone that may mock him, he crawled into her lap and huddled against her chest. She reached into her thick cowl and pulled out a worn little locket that she knew he loved to play with. It was silver and both outer faces bore an engraved pattern, a dove and a snake on one side, a wolf and a rabbit on the other. He clutched it gently in his hands and pried it open to peer at the contents kept safe behind tiny glass panels. A couple of tiny locks of hair were kept in one half, tied into amazingly little bows, whilst the other half held two tiny feathers from a songbird of some sort, they were blue and green.

As he settled down she began her tale about a young boy lost out in the Wilds, a young boy that one day became a fine Knight of Ferelden. All the while he listened to her, running his small fingers over the patterns and smiling just a touch.

- - -

Done to try and break out of this huge-ass slump I'm having. It's Ceylon as a Templar -well, a young one- and 's Audric when he was a wee lad.

Audric belongs to

belongs to

And the Dragon Age: Origins world is the property of BioWare.