Chapter Text
There was once a small Dalish clan that roamed the northern wilds until a great storm forced them south past the waking seas, down into the cold south. At the base of the Frostback Mountains, Clan Lavellan found lush forests, heavy with pine, birch and aspen. Here the clan settled into their new life, the woods providing all they needed far from any human city.
Within a few years one young woman of the clan had grown into a fine hunter, providing the clan with protection, and above all, pride. In time the elders of the clan, as well as her own family, hoped to match the young huntress Roan with a warrior or hunter her equal, but every proposal and suitor was quickly turned away as she greatly preferred the forest and had no interest in hers clans matchmaking ideas. She knew her future lay elsewhere.
One day, Keeper Deshanna had announced a feast following the first signs of spring and their good fortune prompting the clan to gather extra provisions. Roan ventured deep into the forest in search of elk.
As the tree cover grew thicker, a flutter of wings through leaves caught her eye. Advancing, she released her breath slowly, her footsteps silent on the forest floor as the bird came further into view.
The bird resembled the black ravens she often saw in the forest, except this bird was nearly double the size and shone gold in the afternoon sun. The bird was struggling, batting one of its wings frantically against the ground trying to remove what appeared to be some sort of netting. As it danced around, the netting seemed to catch in the bird’s feet causing it to fall heavily to the forest floor.
As she moved further into the small clearing, the bird turned its head toward her, freezing in place momentarily before renewing it efforts to escape. Roan paused, placing her bow on the ground, her hands turning upward in supplication as she spoke to the wounded creature.
“I will not hurt you, I can try to help if you like.” Roan laughed once the words left her mouth. She absently wondered when she had begun speaking to birds as she continued to approach it. Her clan had always remarked on her conversations with small rodents, or even Halla. Birds however, this was new.
She smiled as the great bird slowed in its movement, seeming to assent to her help. Moving next to him, she sat on the ground and removed her dagger from her pack.
Working carefully, she cut away at the netting from the feet and then the wings. As she pulled the last of the netting free of the wing she noticed small, barbed metal anchors on the netting. It was nothing she had ever seen before. “How did you end up in this mess?”
Ripping some fabric from the hem of her tunic, she set to cleaning the wounds left behind before removing as much blood as she could. “You cannot tell me though, can you, for I am speaking to a bird in the forest? Have I lost all my senses? I would think myself too young. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy speaking to animals, I just should stop waiting for a response.”
The bird cocked its head at her words; the brilliant brown eyes flecked with gold and silver watched her for a time before nudging its head against her hand.
Roan felt a smile pull at her lips as she watched the golden bird begin to move and stretch its wings, “I am pleased to have helped you my friend. You must take great care in avoiding such nets again.”
Continuing on her task Roan nodded as she inspected her work, “There. That looks to be all of it, see how they work.”
The bird stretched out its wings causing roans breathe to catch. Beneath the gold, lay a thick layer of black and red feathers, reminding her of the pelt of the red lions that roamed the mountains.
The wings stretched far as the bird struggled to lift off, the motion causing the moss and dirt to stir on the forest floor. Roan reached out her hand, the back of her fingers caressing the side of the bird’s head. “Slowly now, you must not injure yourself more.”
The feathers on the bird’s chest puffed as he regarded her, its croak low. She swore she saw a sort of resolve set in the bird’s eyes as it stretched out its great wings once more, the wings working to lift it slowly off of the ground.
Looking up she watched as the bird flew to the heights of the spruce and pine that surrounded their location. Its great wings gliding through the air, after a few moments the bird came to rest on a branch not far from Roan.
Replacing her dagger in her pack, Roan retrieved her bow before setting off back into the forest. Pausing she looked back and saw the bird still watching her, and with words that felt necessary she spoke one last time. “My name is Roan, a hunter of Clan Lavellan. I am glad you found your wings again, lethallin.”