Sometimes Chaos is Calm
Ardyn awoke in a place of chaotic peace. The quiet was suffocating, the stillness, that felt weighted by regret, anticipation, lost hope, and failed dreams, was abrasive. And the subdued colors – yellow so pale it slipped passed all the senses, blue so soft it was like crystal clear water in a freshly clean glass - were corrosive. Ardyn walked through it all, unfazed.
Planar had drawn her deeper into the folds instead of pushing her back to the entrance of the layers. She had taken it all in stride. Why should she care? She felt the fullness of all her connections. All those who cared for her were connected to her soul; even her servant was there, a small ping of information filtering in to her every now and again.
These connections made her feel secure. All of them bolstered her confidence and her strength.
Her skin blistered under the softness of the pale blue sky. She looked down at it with a smile, and it healed instantly. She felt the sensation of suffocation around her neck like a weighted bell, and her skin was continually scarred like it was being rubbed by coarse sandpaper. Each time, she looked at or thought about her injuries with a smile, and each time, every one of them healed. And this is how she walked across this plain.
Suddenly, she smiled softly as she thought of an idea.
'My love. Come walk through Planar with me. Allow your presence to remind him of who he is.'
Varric was at her side without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for her to call him the entire time. His arm was around her in an instant, and she was drawn up into a hug that had her swooning and giggling at the same time.
Her senses filled with the smell of him - frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood.
"Forgive me, Ardyn. You have been away from me for too long, and then you cut me off completely like that." He stopped talking and just began to sense her, as if he needed to memorize her—like he needed a copy that would always stay with him.
Ardyn did the same. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. And together they rediscovered each other.
"You never have anything to apologize for when it comes to us. I miss you as much as you miss me. I do this for us Varric." She leaned forward and kissed him. Hearing her say his name had already caused all of his black scales to tingle but that kiss made his brain buzz.
They felt Planar's curiosity even as Planar seemed barred from them, as if it were repelled by love. But it didn't matter to either of them. With their soul tie, they were always together, but it was still another degree of closeness when they came together like this. Their spirit bodies shimmered as the contact resonated and spoke through the plain itself. They became an ethereal being of complexity and uniqueness that woke things within the folds and within Planar.
On the massive plateau, Elsa and Atina watched the calm persist over more and more of Planar. They both frowned at the juxtaposition before them. Planar seemed to rage in subdued chaos even as tranquility and calm bloomed in the west and moved north, south, and east in an arcing fan shape.
The chaos and the tranquility seemed to stack next to each other before them. Elsa's eyes narrowed as the scene even racked her system. The powerful higher being shifted, and the massive plateau they stood on seemed to shift as vines flowed across it. Large flowers bloomed across the plateau, and pale green pollen plumed into the air. The odd juxtaposition shifted a bit, and the changes of Planar became soft and subtle.
Atina said nothing, her attention never leaving her mistress. She remained ready for Ardyn as she monitored their soul tether. Her eyes moved over the egg shape of vines still surrounding Ardyn. Atina's body stiffened as the vine egg protecting Ardyn's body began to unfurl from the top down. The vines lay around Ardyn and then slowly began to be absorbed by her body.
Ardyn felt nothing as the vines melted into her body like lotion applied to dry skin. Every vine was absorbed and her body wanted more – to complete its transformation. It sought more – and it found the chaotic magic of Planar.
Her body began to glow a deep purple as the magic of the vines and of Planar began to feed and replenish her. Her hair began to shine and grow out to pool around her physical body. The lilac highlights increasing in number and becoming gem-like, wavy counterpoints to their silky, straight, pale blond brethren.
Atina smiled with pride as she watched and felt her mistress become more powerful. Planar watched as well—as his own endless wellspring continued to drain into her. Ardyn was reshaping and reconnecting Planar.