Prologue:
Therinfal Redoubt was sturdy, intimidating and well constructed to stand against the ages; the vast fortress loomed over the Herald and her group as they approached the draw bridge, which was littered with the nobility whom had come to aid their progress.
Andraste's Herald, Artemis Lavellan, was a cautious mage with lustrous auburn hair and piercing emerald green eyes; her vallaslin framed her face like rippling ocean waves and made her appear far gentler than she truly was.
In the few weeks and months since falling from the Conclave Rift, her trust had been gained by her inner circle, and where she had once been hard and suspicious towards humans she now counted a few among her friends.
As she approached the draw bridge, a particularly finely dressed human met her and introduced himself as Lord Esmeral Abernache – he was much too pompous for her tastes but to the best of her ability she remained civil as he accompanied her party inside the fortress.
Being a mage, she was somewhat unnerved by the mass of Templars around her, but nevertheless she was confident she had chosen the correct set of allies; while the mages would have made fine company Commander Cullen had been correct to point out they were at risk of demonic possession. The Inquisition could only afford to face so many enemies at once, and having them appear from within their own ranks would be problematic.
Appearing at her side, Solas shuddered as he glanced around, "Do you feel it, Lethallan? The purging of magic in the air, its almost potent enough to taste it..."
"I do feel it," she answered, her voice soft as she gazed at her fellow Elf, "Ir abelas, Solas, it is not to late if you wish to return to Haven, I am sure this is very unpleasant for you."
"No more so than it is for yourself, I would imagine." his lips quirked upwards faintly, "I will stay, the feeling is not so strong to chase me from my purpose."
"Ma serannas." she uttered with a smile.
Her group came to a stop in front of the final gate standing between them and the courtyard to the fort, and a young dark skinned Templar seemed to brighten in mood considerably at the sight of them, instantly pushing between the nobles to greet them.
Artemis recognised the young man from Val Royeaux and stepped forward to meet him, "It is good to see you again."
"Not as good as it is to see you, Herald. I am Knight-Templar Barris, please come inside... But... Be wary, something is not right here." he murmured, his voice was quiet and he was clearly worried about someone overhearing him.
"What do you mean, what is wrong?" Cassandra asked as she came up alongside the Herald.
Hesitating for a moment, Barris glanced towards the courtyard behind him and then back at their honoured guests, "Seeker Lucius asked for the Herald, by name. Before today he cared nothing for what was happening outside of our walls, but the moment the nobility showed up he became obsessed with meeting you. Add to that his actions in Val Royeaux... He is acting very strangely. I do not like it."
"Try not to worry, we shall see what is happening here." Artemis' voice was stiff, but confident at the same time.
"My thanks, Herald."
With that, the young Templar turned and guided them into the yard beyond, where many Templars and nobles were also gathered, scattered here and there with no clear formation or order. She couldn't help but notice the stares she got, from noble and Templar alike, some bitter other curious.
Barris came to a stop beside three flag posts, she could clearly see the flags, labelled for the People, the Chantry and the Templars. What in the Creators names was this about?
"I apologise... Lord Seeker Lucius requests for you to perform this ritual, you see the three flags, it is a time honoured tradition for... Important guests to raise the flags in order of importance to themselves. Will you partake?"
"Asking us to do such pathetic tasks? I thought I knew your name, Barris, yes the second son if I am not mistaken. I know your family young man-" Lord Abernache began to speak, his tone very condescending.
"I will partake of the ritual, if the Lord Seeker wishes it." the Herald spoke over the annoying noble, giving him a severe glare which silenced him in a heartbeat.
Turning from them, the young Elven woman moved closer to the flag controls and considered her choices. In truth neither the Templars, nor the Chantry meant anything to her; in terms of the people... She had seen enough death already and wanted to prevent more, so she determined that the People meant the most to her. After a few moments of contemplation she raised the flags.
"The People, the Templars, the Chantry..." Barris murmured a he watched her, "Would you explain your reasoning?"
She turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "My, my the Lord Seeker is a nosy bastard is he not?" she heard Cassandra make a choking sound of shock but paid no mind to it, "My reasons are my own, and they shall remain that way. Now, take us to the Lord Seeker."
From there, they were taken across the yard and into a spacious room with poor lighting and a few scattered tables; as the door closed behind them Artemis saw a small gathering of Templars approaching them, though soon noticed Lucius was not among them.
"Well... This looks like a friendly gathering." she commented dryly.
"Knight-Captain Denam?" Barris frowned in confusion and glanced around at the other higher ranked Templars.
The man addressed snorted, "You were expecting the Lord Seeker... He has sent me to die for you," he cast his helmed gaze around the room, "So, this is the alliance the 'Inquisition' offers the Templars? Pitiful... A group of lapdogs and porcelain dolls who would shatter at the merest glimpse of the real world. Truly, your effort are... Pathetic."
The Elven woman prickled at his tone of voice, noting from the corner of her eye how Barris seemed tense, "Knight-Captain, I am expected by the Lord Seeker, I would not have our meeting delayed any longer. Where is he?"
Of course, Abernache had to comment as well, his dulcet tones making her skin crawl, "Yes, I too would like to extend the warm hand of cooperation, to the most gracious Lord Seeker Lucius. Where is he, Denam?"
"Open your eyes man, and move away." Cassandra said sternly, she too saw the odd behaviour.
The nobleman looked around, clearly unimpressed by her manner of addressing him, however before he could add his next comment, Artemis grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him back into the folds of their group, and the Templar persisted.
"All of his plan were ruined the moment you arrived with your damned purpose, its created chaos among the ranks, ranks that were supposed to have been changed already! Now we have no choice but to purge those questioning our actions... Such a waste. And you," he pointed at the Herald, "It is all your fault, you filthy knife ear!"
The Herald had no time to respond before an arrow soared through the air and whistled past her ear, she looked around and watched as Abernache crumpled to the ground, the arrow sticking out of his expensive looking hat; as her gaze lifted again she watched in a mix of shock and dismay as the Templars in the room began unsheathing their swords and their daggers, a dull red glow emanating from their armour.
Another arrow whistled towards her and she was narrowly saved when Solas froze the projectile; and she swiftly began casting spells at the attacking Templars. In her peripheral vision, she saw Barris standing with them against his own people, and her respect for the human grew a little.
"THE ELDER ONE IS COMING! AND NO ONE SHALL LEAVE THERINFAL WHO IS NOT STAINED RED!" a yell came from the Knight-Captain as he lunged across the table towards Artemis, only to be smacked in the face by Cassandra's shield as she ran forward into a defensive stance.
The room was filled with the sound of fighting, which mimicked what was happening outside a well; the young elven woman stood beside Solas as they covered each other's backs and continued throwing their strongest spells at the Templars, knowing that any less than that could result in the use of a magic purge talent.
With Barris's assistance, and the barrage of attacks from Cassandra and the Iron Bull, they managed to put down the crazed Templars before any more blood could be spilt. Artemis stalked over to the motionless body of Denam and crouched down, roughly yanking off his helmet and glaring at his ugly face, covered in thick red veins and dark spots.
"Well, he is alive, Bull pass me a poultice, I want to take this one back to Haven alive for questioning." she muttered.
"I would question the Lord Seeker about this... This... Elder One." Barris added, "This makes no sense to me..."
"Oh don't worry, you will have your chance." she got to her feet once she was sure the Templar would survive and gave him a sharp kick to the head to ensure he remained unconscious, though it was partly to do with her own revenge for being called a 'knife ear'.
The group hurried through the hallways, encountering only a few straggling Templars along their way as they hastened to find the Lord Seeker. The sounds of ongoing battle echoed loudly from all directions, and she found wondered just how many would be slaughtered standing for what they believed to be right.
She grabbed a few bags of gold as she found them, as well as a few odd pieces of armour here and there, before they ascended a short stair way and exited into another courtyard. Instantly, they were under siege from more Templars, all of which had that same dull red glow from their armour, they fought their way through, though it was a rough fight.
Artemis felt the sting of metal against her skin and spun on the spot, staggering back as blood seeped down her arm; she bit her tongue and threw her hand out, a jagged spear of ice impaling her attacker through the skull before she lurched back towards the rest of her companions, helping them finish off the Templars in the courtyard.
"This is insane, listen to the fighting... This goes against everything Templars are supposed to stand for." Cassandra breathed, her grip tighter than usual on her blade, "We should hurry, perhaps there is time for us to stop more blood shed."
"Agreed." the Elven woman glanced around and looted a couple of bodies, pocketing gold and supplies before she then checked her arm where the bite of the air stung her fresh wound.
"It does not seem life threatening." Solas murmured as he too looked at the wound, "You should bind it however, to prevent further blood loss."
"Agreed." she said again, tearing a strip of cloth from her shirt and using it to wrap tightly around the wound, tying it with her teeth she was sure it would serve its purpose, "Barris, where is the Lord Seeker most likely to be hiding?"
"If I were to hazard a guess..." he turned and looked at the main focus of the building, which could have passed for a cathedral or a chantry, "Probably up there."
"Perfect..." she grumbled and moved on.
They encountered several more groups of enemies, now dubbed Red Templars by the group, and hurriedly dispatched them, getting more familiar with their style of fighting and adapting their own to combat it more effectively. Cassandra's knowledge of Templar strategies also helped a great deal, and thanks to her they were able to better prepare for each wave of enemy.
As they moved every closer to the main construct, they helped a few regular Templars who, like Barris, remembered their duties and had attempted to prevent further bloodshed. However, it became clear the further they got, that those Templars were increasingly menial compared to the mass of Red Templars.
Jogging up a set of stone stairs, Artemis suddenly stopped and staggered, leaning against the wall for support as a cold scaly voice rippled through her mind, taunting and jeering at her; it was like a choke hold around her throat squeezing tighter by the second, grappling for the very air in her lungs. Her body stiffened and she felt like she had fallen into an icy lake. Then the feeling was gone. As quickly as it had come, it had left again, leaving her tense and uncertain as she forced herself to continue forwards, ignoring the concerned voices of her companions.
By the time they reached the yard in front of the main building, Artemis' hands were shaking, she could feel a dark presence ahead, the like of which she had never experienced before. It was suffocating like a thick blanket and she found herself shuffling closer to Solas again.
"Do you... Feel it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I do." he looked around them cautiously.
She licked her lips uncertainly, "Have you... Ever felt anything like this before? Or come across anything in the Beyond like this?"
"I have, once, it was an experience I would prefer not to relive..." he hesitated, "Be wary, Lethallan, this creature is not one to be toyed with."
She wanted to question him further, but stopped when she saw the figure of the Lord Seeker at the top of a final flight of stairs; her eyes narrowed slightly and she slowly ascended, taking her time to appraise the man's turned back. The Elven woman half believed it would be best to slit his throat while he was unaware, but she knew Cassandra would never forgive her for it.
Instead she slid her staff into the hold on her back and moved forwards, tilting her head slightly as she reached out to touch the man's shoulder; letting out a surprised gasp as he twisted around and gripped the lapels of her robes and pulled her towards him.
"At last."