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Of Dreams and Nightmares [Solo] Complete

Mara Kerr

Prominent member
Grey Warden
DAO/DA2 Timeline
Posts
49
#1
((Just a bit of an author's note and a content warning. First off, this post is a little graphic. Use some discretion, especially if blood and death aren't your thing. Second, this post is Mara's dream from when she drank from the Joining chalice. It still comes back as a recurring nightmare for her, but the first time it showed up was during her Joining.))


The burning was gone. That was the first thing she noticed. Mara opened her eyes, the broken sunlight drawing a confused expression from her. This wasn’t Denerim. She sat up and looked around. No, this definitely wasn’t Denerim - she’d know this place even in her dreams. The tall trees, the damp earth, the large boulder to her left and the stream not too far behind it. Her father propped up against a tree, face pale and breath ragged. He still had a few days, that much she remembered.

Father!
She tried to call to him, but no sound came out of her. Just as she was about to rush over to him, she saw none other than herself walking towards him. A perfect copy - grey eyes, tan skin, black hair pulled into a braided bun. She watched as the copy crouched next to her father and spoke to him in a soft voice. His eyes widened. A few more words from her and he nodded before pulling her in and giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Mara watched. It was all she could do. Try as she might to move or shout, nothing happened. She simply waited and watched as her copy pulled back from her father and revealed a dagger, cold and glimmering. The copy turned to her with a twisted grin that sent a terrible chill down her spine.

“You let him suffer.” Its voice echoed all around her as it turned back and dug the blade into her father’s chest. The man struggled for a few choked breaths. This time Mara could hear herself scream as her father’s body grew still and the world faded around her.

~~~~

Mara opened her eyes again. She knew this hallway. Damp stones and glimmering fires dying out in their sconces. A guard snoozed by a doorway, helmet askew atop his head. His shift was almost over. He would see her. He would tell his lord about her and the bounty would be out by mid-morning.

The door slammed open, startling the guard awake. Again Mara saw her copy, but this copy was quick as it lunged at the guard. One swift slice at the neck and the guard was down with vacant eyes and crimson-stained armor.

“You let him live,” the copy teased.

~~~~

Another hallway, this one more familiar, especially the stones on the floor. Mara watched the pair of guards discover the window she’d left open. One remained in her escape route, door left slightly ajar, while the other crept further down the hallway to a different hiding spot.

Again Mara’s copy appeared. Unlike the real version, though, it never hesitated. It kicked the door open and lunged for the guard within. A hit to the head from the hilt of her dagger was all it took to knock him to the floor, and it made short work of him from there. The other guard appeared in the doorway only to have the dagger flung at her. It sank into her neck. Choked breaths. A stumbled step backward. The copy didn’t even look back as it leapt through the window and ran off into the night.

You let them catch you,” it called back to her.

~~~~

An alleyway. Any old alleyway. Mara couldn’t exactly place it, but there was no mistaking the man scowling before her.

“I betrayed you, Mara.” Rabbit’s voice was monotone, wrong, haunting. “You let me betray you. You let me ruin your life. You let me use you.”

“Are you going to let him get away with it?” The copy stood beside Mara, face contorted in a twisted grin of glee and grim fury. It pressed a dagger into Mara’s hands before stepping forward and shoving Rabbit to the ground. The man huddled before her, eyes full of terror even as he repeated the same sentences over and over again.

“You let me betray you. You let me ruin your life. You let me use you.”

“Are you going to let him get away with it?” The copy stared at the dagger in Mara’s hands and hungrily licked its lips. “Are you going to let him get away with it?”

Mara’s eyes went back and forth between the copy and the trembling form of Rabbit. She could already imagine the blade tearing into him. A cut for every lie he ever told her, a million ways to mutilate him for what he did to her. The anger burned deep, making her heart pound and her palms sweat. He deserved it. He was a monster and he deserved every last ounce of pain she could inflict, but…

Mara lifted the dagger. Rabbit repeated the sentences faster, louder. The copy’s grin grew until Mara was certain it was taking up half its face. A split second. A deep breath.

Mara turned to the copy and sunk the blade deep in its chest. At first the grin froze, then the copy broke into a fit of warped laughter. Its hair turned gray and started falling out. Its skin grew ashen and pale until it was slipping off in patches. Its teeth grew rotten and its eyes turned milky white. Mara watched in horror as the perfect copy of herself transformed into a Darkspawn, laughing and laughing all the way. It suddenly reached out and yanked Mara close, eyes locked on her as it growled deep. The hands clutching her began to fade to dust as she struggled against its grip.

“Now you’re the monster,” it cackled.
 
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