A/N: This is a story of Dragon Age Inquisition: I'm going to be doing this tale as I play through the game, so there might not be many quick updates, but I hope you like the ride. Spoilers of course as we proceed, so if you don't want to know them, so be warned. Anyway here is the first chapter, say hello to the future Inquisitor
Dragon Age: Herald of WHAT?!
Chapter 1: Arrival
9:40 Dragon Age: Two weeks before the official start of the Conclave
"Isn't beautiful Anastasia?"
Anastasia Aliza Trevelyan, third daughter of the matriarch of House Trevelyan of the mighty city of Ostwick sighed, trying to at least appear to be as interested in all this as her Uncle Randolph was. It was either that or be chastised again for not taking the business of their journey here seriously again, something that her uncle had proven to be quite fond of since they left home all those weeks ago. It had been a hard trek, first by ship, then from Highever journeying towards the Frostback Mountains.
The journey to the village of Haven had been very tiring, wet and cold, but at last they were here.
They were finally in Haven.
They had reached the Conclave.
She slipped down her hood taking in the immediate surroundings.
She tried not to sniff with distaste.
Andraste save me, she thought, I'm going to be bored out of my mind!
Of course, she did not say those words out loud, oh no.
When she spoke it was softly and respectfully.
"Yes Uncle," she said rubbing her arms, her noble garments doing little to keep out the biting cold of the Frostbacks.
"It is quite beautiful indeed," she added quickly, hoping to avoid another tongue lashing.
Uncle Randolph seemed pleased with her answer.
She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
She supposed for a village in the middle of nowhere it was quite beautiful, not her choice of places to live, but…
She supposed that someone needed to live here.
Anastasia, or Ana as she was known to her friends, was not an extremely impressive woman. She had only just turned nineteen, but no proposals had come from her mother's allies. She was lithe young woman, slender yet strong, though her tanned freckled face and short red hair was relatively plain. She was not a beauty like her older sister or a scholar like her older brother. As the third born child not much was expected of her. Her family had their heir, and the spare, which meant that she often shuffled along on missions that her Mother and siblings were too busy to carry out themselves.
The Conclave, despite its value to the Divine, was one such mission.
Maker help her, she hoped this went better than her trip to Starkhaven last year, that one was beyond awful!
She would simply try to stay awake, and not get on her uncle's bad side.
It was likely easier said than done.
Uncle Randolph had always been devoted to the chantry, more so than most of her relatives. House Trevelyan had always been known for its piety, at least publically. Under all that of course was a love of strategies and politics. The chantry held the most power in Thedas, so that is where the Trevelyans stayed. Traditionally they gave one child of each generation to the chantry to prove their loyalty. Uncle Randolph was the choice for his, and Ana was resisting becoming the one for hers. Her uncle must see such a post as an honor, but…
She was not Uncle Randolph.
He might have become a brother himself had he not been the only child born of her father's brother. That devotion had always led her uncle to volunteering himself to represent their family at any chantry function.
If he could not serve, at least he could stand with the holy, and be counted. Mother was more than happy to allow this; it was a good move…politically.
In her eyes, that was all that mattered, Ana was there to show the chantry just how serious their family took this matter…
…Even if it was not totally the truth.
Given that the Divine herself had called for this Conclave, Mother had thought it best to do one better than simply sending dear Randolph alone. Her two eldest children were busy of course, her sister learning to run the family, and her brother continuing his studies with the scholar she had hired, it had left only one option to her.
She had decided to send Ana.
Wasn't that just wonderful!
Her uncle looked like a child on Satinalia morning, he was grinning widely at the sights around him. To Uncle Randolph this Conclave was likely the greatest event of this age. The Divine had finally decided to take an active hand in ending the chaos which had begun when a mad mage heretic had destroyed the chantry of Kirkwall.
Finally, the Most Holy would end the war, and all of Thedas would return to the light and love of the Maker, or at least that was what her uncle thought.
Ana was not so sure, it seemed where ever a person looked in Thedas these days they saw the horror of war. Mage killed Templar. Templar killed mage. The Trevelyans had been forced to take a ship to Ferelden instead of travelling through Orlais, the civil war there continued to intensify, and mother had feared for her safety.
Orlais fought itself. Templar fought mage. Where ever there was civilization, war followed behind.
Now the chantry had stepped forward calling for an end to it.
The third daughter of House Trevelyan had her doubts.
Ana did not think such matters could be solved at one sit down between the Divine and the faithful. She had never been a girl of great faith, she believed in the Maker sure, but this…this seemed a little bigger than the chantry, much too big in fact.
When Faith met power, power usually won. Those of great faith were useful. They died so that the powerful could reap the benefits. Mother understood that, and sadly so did Ana.
Talking and appealing to people's decency was not enough. The Templars and mages had both tasted power and glory…
And now…they wanted more.
There had been too much blood spilled, a simple slap on the wrist by the Most Holy likely would not make the leaders of the various sides see sense.
Still the Divine would no doubt try.
Ana respected that, even if it was a lost cause.
She sighed; Uncle Randolph would probably cuff her if she said such things out loud. His faith in the Divine was absolute. She had always had a problem with such blind loyalty. She thought she was simply being realistic, or perhaps she was just miserable from the long journey.
Yes, that was likely it.
She shivered as she wrapped her fur cloak tighter around herself; their entourage was one of many here in Haven. She spotted clusters of mages, Templars, Seekers, and chantry officials milling about, not to mention a ragtag collection of Fereldan villagers who lived and worked here, attending to the small village's needs.
The young noble shook her head.
She felt a little sorry for these people, having to live in such a freezing hole.
Her eyes turned to the distant mountain. Somewhere nestled among the peaks was The Temple of Andraste's Ashes, the final resting place of the Maker's bride and chosen. Discovered less than ten years ago, the chantry had descended quickly on this place after the Blight. In less than a decade the village had turned from a hidden enclave to a center of chantry power here in the south.
Her uncle had petitioned the chantry many times to come here on pilgrimage. The sisters had denied those requests. It was not that Randolph was in disfavor, the chantry had simply wanted the time to make this place presentable to all pilgrims, noble or low born.
Ana shook her head.
She did not think that they had succeeded in either endeavor. She had not wanted to come here, but Mother had insisted. She would have much rather remained in Ostwick practicing with her sword or studying in the library.
Anything would have been better than this.
The noble stood before their carriage taking in the "beauty" of Haven. It was little more than wilderness retreat, the smell of wet dog, fur, and lamp oil should have offended her delicate sensibilities.
Fortunately, she was not like that.
She did not like to think she was a complete noble snob. She might have been cold and weary, and she might have not understood how people could choose to live like this, but that did not mean she did not respect their strength for hacking a life here out of the wilderness.
Someone had to do it, she supposed.
She would certainly not have chosen this life, but these people she supposed did not have the options she had, being born wealthy and unnoticed by the powerbrokers in her family.
Ana smiled slightly.
Being the third daughter did have some advantages. While her brother and sister were being prepared to lead their grand house, Ana had been allowed to pursue her own interests. She studied history, focusing on the great warriors of old. She read the tale of the Fifth Blight and the Qunari Invasion of Kirkwall. She also studied arms with Master Geoffrey, House Trevelyan's master of arms. She showed great talent with the sword and buckler he said. Mother thought it odd that she wished to study weapons, thinking that she should spend more time focusing on the politics of Ostwick and finding a match for herself.
None of the noble boys had caught her eye however, when she did look on opposite sex with interest, her taste tended to fall to the more seasoned of men, soldiers, guards and like. Such a match would likely have horrified her dear mother.
Ana did nothing to discourage such worries; it was an acceptable form of rebellion.
"Remain with the guards my dear," Uncle Randolph said, "I'm going to see about finding us lodgings for the night."
He hurried off with a spring in his step.
Again she rolled her eyes.
She doubted a place like this had an inn that catered to noble clientele.
Ana leaned against the carriage, she reached into her bag, pulling out her old lop eared copy of Hard in Hightown. Mother frowned on her reading such drivel, but Ana fancied it.
The thought of heroes going outside the chain of command pleased her sensibilities.
She looked up occasionally, watching the various mages and Templars. They glared at each other with barely disguised disdain. Her own guards tensed when any of the two groups got to close. Fortunately the Divine's guards kept any arguments from turning into something worse.
Ana frowned.
You could feel the tension in the air here. It was only out of respect for the Divine that this Conclave was happening, one spark at the wrong time…and this place could turn into a blood bath between the two heated rivals.
Ana hoped they would not get caught in the middle.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an elven servant, and a Templar speaking quietly with a one of the many sisters clustered in the square. That would not have been strange but if she was not mistaken she saw something pass between the sister and two, coin perhaps.
That got her attention.
Why would a sister need to pay a Templar in coin?
She leaned forward as the sister disappeared back into the alley. She was not like the others who served here, her she wore the seal of the chantry, but her robes appeared more like armor than the vestments of a priest.
She made note to ask her uncle about the mysterious sister later.
When Uncle Randolph finally returned he was more than pleased. He had managed to convince the chantry to offer them a cabin, and tonight they would dine with the administrators of Haven.
Ana almost chuckled.
She could not imagine what it took to be considered worthy of administrating this place. If not for the Temple of Sacred Ashes, no one in Thedas would have cared about this place.
She knew that she certainly did not.
She glanced back to where the legendary temple lay. She supposed that it would be worth it seeing the legendary structure, if for no other reason than to be something to talk about at her family's summer salon.
She smiled slightly.
Now she had to just keep from dying of boredom.
It would be an interesting challenge.
Maker knew; there was not anything else for her to do here.
She doubted that there ever would be.
Period.
Two weeks later, Ana realized just how wrong she was.
The conclave had not been boring…
…and her life was not the same again.
…and it never would be.
A/N: So what do you thing? I did not want to make Ana too unlikable, next she learns who the mysterious sister was, and faces her own place in destiny. See you all then.
DG