Under Darkness [AU]

[GamesMaster]

The interior of the greenhouse is larger on the inside than it appeared outside. The air is frigid, to the point where Varric needs to take an infusion to protect himself against the chill; his breath is a cloud of steam before him anyway, and he would be walking on ice covered in a layer of thin powder if he wasn't hovering just above the ground. Every flower in here is black, mostly black roses but some hideous monsters; every flower is covered in a thin layer of ice, frozen solid and waiting to be touched. They are in pots, each one solitary; many are seated on tables, but there are more jammed underneath tables, into corners, wherever they fit. It's clear this greenhouse was designed to hold a certain amount and has been overloaded along the way.

The tables are laid out to create a broader corridor down the center, and one going side to side, dividing the place into quadrants that mimic the exterior layout. In the very center of the building, in place of a statue or fountain, is a pedestal with an orb of ice sitting on a cushion. That's probably what Abomination was after. 

[Tethras Clan]

This is where the over prunes (memories buried even as they're made) are going. And.. she's somehow used her magic to... she's reinforcing the mental partition with magic (almost proud, if not for why) constantly. Wait, no, not constantly, we'd notice. Or at least not exactly constantly. It's not a duration effect, it's more like... a wound. She hurts herself, freezes the memories, and the damage lingers even after the magic is applied. No wonder she was able to resist even magic based reminders.

Looking around, he selects one of the flowers that's properly placed, presuming that would imply it's an older one, and... and hovers. For almost a minute. Finally, he makes himself press a singer fingertip lightly against the curve of a leaf.

[GamesMaster]

[He's]  lying on the bed, warm and comfortable, naked, sleepy, and profoundly satisfied. Jadan's hand strokes down [his] stomach, over and over, gently, tenderly, a lover's caress. A profound surge of love wells up in [him]: this man, this wonderful man, his beloved. That feeling of connection, that feeling of joy and wonder that accompanies new love. Jadan. 

"My little Hawke," he purrs, and it's everything [he] wanted to be: loved, contented, known. Jadan leans forward, murmuring softly into [his] ear: "My perfect little bird. I want to break you apart, tear you down, and make you mine." When he says it, it's the sweetest thing [he's] ever heard. All [he] wants, all [he] desires, is to be owned, to submit, to be Jadan's. To belong to him, heart, body, and soul. 

"Yes," [he] breathes. "Please, I want to be yours."

"It will hurt," warns Jadan, in a low rumble that vibrates all the way down to [his] loins. 

"I don't care," [he] whispers.

"Good. Then let's begin the training." 

[Tethras Clan]

"...shit," Varric says calmly a few moments latter. Anders is going to kick my ass (worth it), and rightly so.

In front of him is a still smoldering pile of ash and glass in an innocent seeming pot.

"Okay. So. This place... okay. Good intel. Okay." Nothing is okay (Hawke, what did we do to you), should burn everything in here to ash. "Orb. Magic ord. I should... I should look it over." Needing to focus on something else for a moment, he flits over to the orb and uses a basic detection spell on it.

[GamesMaster]

The orb is magic. Very, very magic. It's not overwhelming, deity-level stuff, but shy of that it's the strongest magical aura he's seen. He can't get a school, either; it seems like evocation briefly, but then it changes a little, and he's no longer sure. 

[Tethras Clan]

"...pure distilled magic? The sum total of a heroic caster's ability," Varric theorizes. "Yeah, you gather up everything Hawke can do and compress it into one thing... yeah, that'd be..." If there was an object, an amulet or crown you could wear that would instantly give you Hawke's abilities (pale imitation at best), even just the magic side of things (the least side of things), then... "That's artifact level. Maybe not Song of Extinction or Orb of Dragonkind level, but... damn. Kind of... inspiring when you think about it." He shakes his head. Alright, let's head back outside and report in.

[Marian Hawke]

As he returns, Marian is calming; her tears are softer, and she gives the impression of a storm that's blown itself out. Abomination is still out cold; Champion has sat with Pet, one arm around the submissive tenderly, almost protectively. Worryingly, the crack is notably smaller when he emerges than it was when he entered. 

[Tethras Clan]

"Okay, so the mystery of the over pruning is solved- all of the really nasty memories are being put into here and then sealed off. Which might sound like a good thing, except it's just hiding why, not actually erasing what's been done to you," Varric announces. "And it's getting over-filled anyway, which means at some point, you'll run out of room and the greenhouse'll probably rupture. That sounds bad, at least to me."

Aveline frowns. "The rent in the shell is healing over," she points out. "Will we be able to get back inside again?" she asks, looking at Marian. "Can you still not see it?"

[Marian Hawke]

"I see it," Marian says quietly, her voice monotone, golemic. 

[Tethras Clan]

"...good," Varric says softly. "I'm glad. It's... hard, to see your failures, your sorrows and weakness. To face them. I'm proud of you for doing it." He takes a deep breath. "Your magic is in there too. The bulk of it at least."

"What are we going to do about... her?" Zevran asks sharply, glaring at the drow mockery that isn't anything like Hawke.

[Marian Hawke]

"Nothing," Marian says, and as she pulls back from Zevran there's real alarm in her voice. "She's subdued, you don't need to hurt her."

[Tethras Clan]

"Subdued?" Zevran says with heat. "She-"

"Zevran!" Varric barks out. "Think, then act. There's very little margin for error in a Delve. Marian, can you explain why you're worried about Abomination's wellbeing?"

[Marian Hawke]

"She's my friend," she says, looking a bit hurt, a bit lost. A moment later, she adds, "That too, I suppose."

[Tethras Clan]

"...what too?" Varric asks carefully.

"She tried to kill you!" Zevran reminds her. Loudly. "In the neck with a knife! Tethras, translate that for me so it sticks!"

[Marian Hawke]

"In the throat with a knife," says Tethras carefully, though the exact syllables sound different under the meaning.

"She was just scared you would kill her," Marian points out.