First Infinity Cuts. Forward with right foot while cutting through upper-right quadrant. Forward with left foot while cutting through upper-left quadrant. Repeat until out of room. Back with right foot while cutting through upper-left quadrant, back with left foot while cutting through upper-right quadrant. Attention. About Face. Standing Rest.
Cullen forced his breathing to remain calm and level, ignoring the cold of the morning air as it passed through his throat and lungs. He’d been at this for an hour already, and the fatigue was starting to show. He recalled a time when a drill such as this would hardly have drained him at all. Of course, he was a little older now. A loss in his step was to be expected. It just meant he had to train harder and longer. This made him thankful to the Maker for providing him such an easy place to retrain himself.
Save for Cullen’s heavy breathing, the Skyhold garden pleasantly quiet this early in the morning. There were seldom any guards, servants or guests within the small, gated courtyard until the sun rose. Until then, Cullen found he could receive some much needed solitude. In a place as crowded as Skyhold, that kind of luxury was few and far between. Only a few of the Inquisitor’s inner circle even had private quarters. Cullen made it a point to sleep in the barracks, albeit in a former office converted into a bedroom. He may have had his own space, but he could still hear his men as they talked over the small things. Family and friends, those they had lost, the home they all hoped to see again. Lovers they missed as dearly as peace itself.
This thought filled Cullen with a sudden burst of energy, and he dived into the next drill a little too quickly.
Second Infinity Cuts. Forward with right foot while cutting through lower-right quadrant. Forward with left foot while cutting through lower-left quadrant. Repeat until out of space. Back with left foot while cutting through upper-right quadrant. Back with right foot while cutting thorough upper-left quadrant. Attention. About Face. Standing Rest.
Glad to hear his breathing calm after a rusty start, Cullen closed his eyes and moved his arms lightly, trying to keep himself limber as his rested between sets. He did this almost without thinking, he’d done these drills so often. That was why he regularly found himself in the Skyhold gardens doing sword drills before the sun had risen. It was the one time he could allow himself to not focus on the big picture, and let his body do as it had been honed to do.
‘Your body remembers more than you think it does!’ his first weapons instructor would bellow, ‘If you want to live through your first battle, you will practice every step and every movement every day. If you do this, you won’t even have to think to save your life. Your reflexes will do it for you.’
Smiling sadly at the old memory, Cullen was about to dive into the next drill when he heard footsteps behind him. Reacting as anyone might expect a former Templar to react when confronted with an unknown person in the dark, Cullen spun around and put his shield in front of him, raising his blade and pointing its tip over the top-right curve of the shield.
If Dorian Pavus expected Cullen to relax his ready stance after seeing him, the Tevinter mage showed no sign of it. Nor should he have, if he had any sense. No matter his current title, Cullen had been a Templar too long to feel completely at ease around mages. The mere sight of a man or woman in robes and carrying a staff was enough to set him on the edge. Yet Dorian was easier than most mages to deal with. He rarely showed any hostility, or even anger. He was talkative, almost disarmingly so. He made a person want to trust him. Even Cullen had trouble disliking him.
After Cullen lowered his shield and sheathed his blade, Dorian seemed to relax a little more. He took a few steps forward, “I just came by to tell you that the Inquisitor is leaving early this morning. She says that you are in charge until she gets back. She also sends her love.”
Cullen bristled at having such a personal message sent by such a messenger. Why couldn’t she have come and told him herself? After all that had passed between them, did she still not realize how important she was to him? How much he wanted her close to him.
Mustering all his self-control not to burst out in anger, Cullen replied curtly, “Understood. Anything else?”
Dorian shook his head, “No.”
When Cullen said nothing, Dorian tactfully turned away, well-aware that his presence was unwanted. He made his way to the nearest entrance to Skyhold’s warm, well-lit corridors.
Inwardly berating himself, Cullen called out, “Wait! Dorian, wait.”
The Tevinter native halted and half-turned towards Cullen, a curious look on his face.
“Are you leaving with her?”
Dorian nodded.
“Then…can you send her mine as well? My love, I mean.”
The other man smiled genuinely, “It would be my pleasure, General.”
Cullen nodded thankfully, and Dorian turned to leave again.
“And Dorian….”
Dorian stopped again, but this time simply waited for Cullen’s words, not bothering to turn back to look at him.
“Things are coming to a head soon,” said Cullen, “Every time she leaves, she risks herself. But she’s very important to the world. Both now and….later. Keep her safe. Please.”
Dorian turned once more towards the former Templar. The two regarded one another in that moment more seriously than they had before. Something passed between them beyond words. An agreement and understanding that would remain between them long after they both left this garden.
“On my life, and on the honor of myself and my homeland. By the Maker Himself, she will return to you alive and whole.”
For the first time, Cullen saw not just some pleasant gregariousness in the mage’s demeanor. Now, there was utter seriousness and purpose. This was not a man trying to reassure. This was a man making a promise. No other words passed between them as Dorian turned to leave. Cullen realized that if the woman he loved had earned as much loyalty and devotion from the other companions she had gathered around her, he had little reason to worry. She would return to him to give her love in person.
After all, a wizard had promised him.
Double First Infinity Cuts. Forward with right foot while cutting twice through upper-right quadrant……
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