The Dance
Ardyn felt the calm stream into her from Varric. Her heart swelled in her chest, and she calmed. She opened her eyes, and everything slowed. The second Ardyn streaked past as Ardyn moved to the side. She turned and drove her staff forward.
The staff spiraled outward – some vines spiraling like whips, others like saw blades – all lethal. The second Ardyn laughed as her body spun and her runic tattoo protected her – the black rising from her skin and spraying out to take the strikes.
She righted herself and stopped high above Ardyn. She looked down at her – a face both smug and, oddly, loving.
"This is truly what you want." She nodded. "This time it won't be so easy."
She spun down and flowed through the vines and flowers, like a ballerina moving through an opening dance. Ardyn didn't wait for her. She used nature magic to manipulate the wind and rose to meet the second Ardyn.
They clashed together, the runic tattoo brushing against Ardyn like an old friend, and spun back apart. Their movements seemed both coordinated and rehearsed to perfection.
They rose into the air in unison, and even though they seemed well matched, Ardyn rose fast. She came back around and her staff extended toward the second Ardyn without hesitation. The inner projection raised an eyebrow as she attempted to avoid the strike.
She received a long gash in her side for her trouble. She moved back and the wound healed almost instantly. She scoffed, and they began again.
This time their dance was closer to the ground, their feet hovering just inches above it. Ardyn was pressed, her staff of vines moving so fast it looked more like a storm of vines. The two came together and parted time after time, moving through the air and across the ground.
The dance was beautiful and deadly, and both Ardyns spun back to a stop with blood flowing from wounds all over their bodies.
The second Ardyn looked at her with a smirk. Blood dripped from a wide gash on her forehead, a busted lip, and a slash on her neck – just to name a few.
Ardyn cocked her head at her inner projection, a small smile spreading across her lips, and without a word she rushed to her adversary. They moved through the air in intricate, synchronized patterns that could mesmerize and entice. They wove around each other, more like partners than adversaries.
Their dance was one of power and grace and they both flowed through it with ease.
They moved through intricate patterns over and over, and then Ardyn rose up and her runic tattoo moved with sentient life. It shot from the area where her neck and shoulder met and pierced the second Ardyn in the forehead.
All went silent. For two heartbeats, the second Ardyn stayed hanging at the end of the black spike, and then her smile widened as the runic tattoo retracted and flowed back to Ardyn's neck and shoulder.
But it didn't stop. It flowed up her neck and along her jaw and down her arm to her fingertips.
The second Ardyn smiled at all of this with a knowing nod. She began to slowly disintegrate, from the feet up, her eyes stuck to Ardyn's.
"You've changed – for the better – now you have to learn. Look for the real way to have him forever. I want him for longer than any human can have him. Find a way, or I will be back."
Her voice ended in a deep echo as the complete projection disappeared.
Ardyn looked into the distance, her mind repeating the words: "I want him for longer than any human can have him."
She smiled.
"I want you for an eternity, Varric, and I will find a way."
She turned, confidence her new cloak, and she walked down from the plateau even as it descended.
Her eyes opened as soon as her foot had touched the plain – the ritual was over.
Bess and Elsa stepped to her as one, and the Bear Clan roared as one.
Varric felt the roar and Ardyn's promise, and he smiled as he tried to keep his peace – but his heart wept.
He knew she would leave him soon, her newfound confidence sparking new yearnings within her. He smiled – having her for an eternity was an exciting prospect. Her whisper was still trickling through his soul.
"I want you forever as well." A broad grin spread across his face. Then he felt a pain in his chest.
To have her forever, he would need to be without her for a while.
He looked to the people waiting to be heard in his audience room, and Serpentia suddenly felt very small and very insignificant – compared to his Ardyn.
His heart was already missing her – and she hadn't even left yet.