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spicyshimmy:

teapirate:

(art, comic) Dragon Age: “TAINTED” part 3 of 3 — Zevran Arainai & The Warden (Laran Cousland)  

For reasons unknown, Zevran was unable to follow the Warden as he embarked on his last journey into the Deep Roads. Some time later—months, years—the aged assassin retraces the other’s footsteps for a last meeting.  →  Part 1, part 2

There are countless possible endings to the Warden’s story. This one made a decent fit to end the two previous parts. Like all the short comics I do these are loosely stringed together short story excerpts; scenes that could have been, maybe was, or wasn’t at all. 

The storytelling rather failed in this one (sorry) so I’ll add a translation:

Zevran retraces the Warden’s final journey (a day’s walk, weeks?) and unsurprisingly attracts mortal wounds in the progress. The Warden survived his final offensive and has degenerated into a walking corpse; a darkspawn ghoul who neither talks nor offer any visible signs of human emotion. However, Zevran finds that goodbye he was looking for when the Warden unexpectedly shows a hint of emotion and that he does recognize him: without words the Warden offers to spare Zevran a slow and painful end; while also asking to be allowed to die by Zevran’s blade, by his side.

This was done in one ludicrous sitting and is very likely to be edited. Let’s call it v1.0 and stand by in case of bug updates.

i don’t particularly like sad stories, probably because i love them so much. but the thing is, you don’t have to be in any kind of place for catharsis to take effect, or to cry like hell at an ending like this one.

some stories don’t end. some stories point to other beginnings. and tragedy comes in different sizes—the grand tragedy being the shape of the tale itself, lovers doomed by slow time and a dark fate. but then there are the littler tragedies, like hope before despair. tragedies like zevran—who would not call himself a pessimist but would not call himself an optimist, either—who searches nonetheless for a man for whom he will not relinquish that hope. 

and in the end, he’s right. he’s found a lover too strong to submit or accept. but the meaning is twisted, and the hope undergoes a similar transformation. to die at the hand of the one you love, who has himself died long ago—this is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. it is romantic, which means some would call it very bad luck indeed. yet luck itself encompasses the bad and the good. to meet someone; to lose someone. it is all very lucky. zevran’s eyes uplifted in the second panel; his eyes uplifted in the second to last. 

yet each man kills the thing he loves; by each let this be heard. some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word. the coward does it with a kiss; the brave man, with a sword.

no bitter looks. no final kisses. just hope and luck, and the end. 

I confess that I was a little confused at first (I didn’t understand what had happened to the Warden, and I somehow missed what the Warden wanted Zevran to do (how could I have missed it, this was really obvious T_T)), but I read the story and I was OH OH OH I GET IT IT! I GET IT!

And then I thought it was such a perfect story.

<3