Dragon Age – Injustice
Hello.
Firstly, no one has been on this account in ages. My brother is busy with exams and things so he's gave this account to me. I'll continue all of his stories, but I'll probably focus more on mine.
And secondly, this story takes a few aspects from Gladiator, which will eventually surface in later chapters.
Chapter 1
9:30 Dragon was the year it all began. The year the Grey Wardens – fabled heroes – were accused of killing the King of Ferelden. The year the Hero of River Dane was shown as a traitor and the year Ferelden descended into chaos under the large darkness of the Blight. Small things went unnoticed that year. After Lothering was destroyed and the civil war began, minor nuances like prison breakouts went unnoticed, which worked to Xavier's advantage. Xavier Calvataire was an Orlesian who arrived in Ferelden not long after the massacre at Ostagar. His face was unknown in Ferelden, of course, but in Orlais, Xavier was a renowned Chevalier, known for taking several arrows in the chest for Empress Celene – and then killing the assassins who attempt to kill the Empress. He was ruthless, and had turned down an invitation to become a Grey Warden solely to remain in the Empress's service. Rumours quickly spread that he was having relations with the Empress, which almost had him executed by the Emperor were it not for his fluent popularity.
After Teyrn Loghain claimed the throne, Xavier asked him to help with the troubles he had with Emperor Kristoph and Loghain had agreed, falsely Xavier had later found out. Loghain was the only man Xavier had come across that held grudges for so long, and Xavier had met a lot of malevolent men in his day. When Loghain met with Xavier to settle his problems, he found that his chalice had been poisoned and woke up on a torture table. The guards had said something about how he was the 'first wave' of Orlesian retaliation.
It had been almost two weeks, and Xavier sat in his cell. In Orlais, he would have been tortured by guards for having his hair as matted as it was now, but those in Ferelden had no sense for fashion. Being one of the Empress's personal guards, Xavier had seen had seen his fair share of fashionable dresses. And shoes. Empress Celene talked his ear off about shoes and how they should make the guard uniform much more colourful. The past couple of weeks had been hell. The guards tortured him, trying to make him sell out his Empress. He would not have it, and refused to give in, which got him in a heap of trouble. Xavier was a strong man, but after being poisoned and tortured for twelve hours a day for two weeks, he didn't have the strength to fight back.
Xavier had his back against the cold wall of his cell, dry blood crusted down his face.
His bones hurt.
His head hurt.
And he had no means of getting home.
The rumours he had heard from guards had been true. If Loghain had not poisoned him and had him captured, Xavier wouldn't have believed that Loghain would betrayed King Cailan. The Empress had been in contact with the King, hoping to form an alliance. This alliance was not only to clear any Fereldan mind that Orlais regretted their occupation, but to get rid of Emperor Kristoph. Kristoph was Celene's cousin, and their marriage had been arranged for many years. Celene and Kristoph had argued since their marriage. Kristoph believed he was more popular with Orlesian, but from what Xavier had heard, Kristoph was well hated.
Xavier had been sent to see the King, but was greeted by the strong hand of injustice that was Loghain Mac Tir. In a Ferelden that was not at war with itself and the Darkspawn, maybe he could have been back to Val Royeaux in no time.
The Empress had received word of a supposed Blight. She had believed it to be one, and so had her Warden-Commander but the Emperor was rather sceptical. Xavier had thought that the Emperor intended to rule the Orlesian Empire alone, but to do that he would need to get rid of the Empress. Xavier would not allow that, even if it meant breaking out of Fort Drakon alone.
The prison block was quiet. The fellow in the cell beside him was out cold following a rather severe beating from the guards. That man hadn't been much company in the past weeks, saying Xavier should have been the only one in there. He had said his father fought against the Orlesians – but then again, what Fereldans father hadn't?
After several minutes, someone entered. Xavier expected the guard captain coming to collect him for his regular torture. It was the captain, but with him was the person he had least expected – it was the queen.
"You may leave me to talk with the prisoner, captain," the queen said calmly.
"Your Highness, are you sure? This invader was a powerful—''
"He is behind bars, is he not?" She asked, more rhetorically, "and judging by the extensive scarring, he shouldn't be much trouble, no?"
"I…yes, your majesty," the captain resigned shamefully, turning for the door.
After the captain's footsteps had disappeared, the queen's rock hard face flushed with emotion. "I know you are innocent, chevalier."
"If you believe me innocent," Xavier began, staggering to his feet, "then why have I suffered for the past weeks?"
"My father may not be the king, but he holds great influence in Ferelden," she explained, "since the death of my husband that influence has increased rapidly."
"You should know," Xavier said, hobbling towards the bars, "that my Empress sought to ally Ferelden with Orlais. I seen the missives she sent to your husband."
"I also saw those," she said, "Cailan often said how he wanted to put the past behind us. Unfortunately, my father's actions can only escalate the feud that we thought behind us."
"Please, your majesty," Xavier pleaded, "the Emperor seeks to kill my Empress. I cannot let that happen. I devoted my life to protecting her."
"You…you are the knight that took the arrows in the chest for her," she said, "and you wish to protect her from the Emperor?" She asked softly.
"The Emperor is her cousin," Xavier explained, "he is not as popular as he thinks. When rumours circulated that the Empress and I were together, he tried to have me executed. The Empress stopped him, making him believe those rumours even more so."
"Why do you seek to protect her so much?" She asked.
"Because I value my Empress, as any Orlesian does," Xavier said, "she has led her country for several years now. She is my Empress and I would give anything to protect her; even if it meant my own life."
"You are a very loyal knight," She smiled.
"Please, miss," he said, "if you value anything of that alliance your husband began, let me go."
"I…I shall do my best," she said, "My father leaves for the Bannorn at dawn. He will take many of the guards from here. I will return then. Until then, chevalier, you will just have to survive."
Xavier fell asleep not long after his encounter with the queen. His dream was pleasant – it was the day he had won the loyalty of the Empress.
"And I promise you, my people," Celene's voice sung across the large city of Val Royeaux, "that I will lead you into victory against any opposition. Be it Darkspawn or a neighbouring country of Thedas, no harm shall come to Orlais under my control."
Xavier stood behind her, the sun hitting off of his chevalier plate armour. He admired Celene. She was the epitome of beauty; long brown hair, falling down to her waist and sapphire blue eyes. But he could never tell her what he thought, of course; the Emperor would have his head on a silver platter. He had always wondered why Celene had stayed with Kristoph. He thought that he wanted power, but she couldn't rule alone. Kristoph was not fit to rule Orlais. He was selfish, a tyrant-to-be, if given the chance. Surely Celene would never submit the Empire to Kristoph.
Xavier wasn't exactly his most vigilant today. He knew after this ceremony he could go home. His nephew and sister were coming in from Rivain today and his mind could have been anywhere but this ceremony. They came around once a year, and it was always the highlight of Xavier's year. Nonetheless, he kept an eye out. Most Orlesians didn't regularly arm themselves, but when the Empress was around, Orlesians liked to show their patriotic side.
Xavier rocked back and forth on his heels, observing the crowd. Most of them were paying full attention, apart from four people at the back of the crowd. They were armed, and consisted of two humans, an elf and a qunari.
"And as I conclude this ceremony on this glorious day, I implore you my people," Celene's voice trailed off as they four started advancing through the crowd.
Three were armed with bows, but the qunari was armed with a maul, larger than Xavier himself. The elf and the humans brought out their bows, drawing arrows. The elf, obviously the more skilled, took two arrows from his quiver and trained them on Celene. Xavier's eyes widened, and he moved at almost superhuman speed into the arrows paths. They penetrated his armour and lodged themselves in his chest. The people screamed and ran as Xavier observed the arrows in his chest.
The qunari, he noticed, was advancing on Celene and Kristoph. The giant swung, Kristoph jumping from the stage and running for his life. Celene was left with a wounded Xavier. He drew his sword, barely catching the maul before it hit Celene. He was having difficulty breathing, but his Empress would live and he would make sure of it. The qunari pushed down on him with all the force that he could muster. Xavier's back was against the ground. He took one hand from the sword and reached into his boot, pulling out a concealed knife. He stabbed the knife into the back of the giant's knee. Blood instantaneously poured from the wound. The maul fell, and Xavier stood and decapitated the qunari.
His next focused was the other assassins. They probably thought him no match now with four arrows in his chest and probably a punctured lung to boot. The elf fired an arrow at him, but he blocked it with his shield and proceeded to throw his knife at the elf. The elf fell, the knife sticking from his throat. The two men remaining now had daggers drawn. One of the men tried cutting him, but he took the man's hands off and ran him through.
The next man was backing down, but finding four arrows in his chest didn't exactly escalate Xavier's merciful mood. He struck at the man hitting one of the daggers from his hand. He hit the other dagger with the edge of his shield and cut the man across the face. He fell, like his brethren. Celene stood on the stage, next to the qunari's head with her hands over her mouth.
"Xavier," She murmured, reaching out her hands.
"Xavier!"
His eyes cracked opened.
The queen had returned.
It had been more hours than he had thought. The queen stood reaching her hand through the cell bars, dangling keys in front of him.
"The Maker truly smiles on you, ser," the queen smiled as he retrieved the keys from her, "I tracked another Orlesian down who is in Ferelden. She was seen talking to two Grey Wardens, evidently looking to join them. She was refused. Perhaps she can help you get home."
"My queen," Xavier unlocked the door and grabbed the queen's hand, "if you require anything in the future, do not hesitate to ask."
"Think nothing of it," She patted him on the hand, "in the armoury there is a spare set of armour. Get that and escape."
"Thank you, your majesty," Xavier smiled, "you truly are a rose among Fereldan thorns."
She patted him on the shoulders and smiled. He gave her one last look before sprinting toward the armoury. He had seen it many times in the past couple of weeks. The silverite chainmail sat there awaiting him, like the queen had promised. He pulled it on, and made for the entrance. He was going to escape, and when he had, no one would stand in my way.