She had arrived to Vigils Keep two nights ago, since he had not responded to her letters nor acknowledged her summon. She had a bunch of her Orlesian Wardens with her. Nathaniel had been keeping them 'entertained' along side the Seneschal for those two nights.
The Warden-Commander of Fereldan was busy. Doing important things, he said. They tried to come up with more excuses, but after two nights Clarel was furious and threatened to denounce Surana as the Warden-Commander if he did not show himself to her soon. That made Nathaniel force down his Commander from his study.
A grumpy, irretated, Warden-Commander Surana glared at Clarel almost as teaming as she was glaring back at him.
"What is the meaning of this?" she barked making him roll his eyes at her "How dare you show me this much disrespect?!"
"Because you are clearly mad," he answered in a cool collected voice and sighed "I do not keep mad women as penpals, nor recognize them as my equals,"
"How dare you!?" Clarel growled and the Seneschal looked at his commander with eyes pleading for at least some diplomacy.
Faeron Surana sighed and focused his eyes at Clarel.
"You are talking about a mad procedure. A rash action with no proof suggesting success other then this mysterious 'advisor'. I suspect a fine Tevinter mage that joined your side for not too long ago? No Warden, but still present? Don't looked shocked. I keep myself informed, since I'm no fool and you keep secrets far too dangerous to be kept unchecked,"
"We need to act fast! All of us hear the Calling. We need to secure the world before..."
"Before what?" he interrupted with a sharp tone "Before we all fall dead to the ground? No. This is unnatural. It has never happened before in any recorded history, and therefor I do not agree with you rushing around like a headless chicken to find a solution. Some of us tried to find a solution to the Calling before you shat yourself with fear, Clarel. Maybe listen to us? Instead of summoning us like dogs,"
"Is that it?" she gasped "You won't send your men, nor come when I call for a grand meeting because I summoned you?! Why Duncan ever thought you..."
"Probably because I keep my head cool under pressure," he noted and glanced at her Wardens "And you still won't listen to what I have to say. So I guess you are as arrogant and stubborn as I am, dear Warden-Commander of Orlais,"
She clinched her jaws and he could possibly smell the fear of her. Of all of them. It made him even more agitated. Panicked fools running around making plans that wasn't plans.
"Avernus and I.."
"Do not speak of that man," she spat "He experimented on Wardens, on his own brothers,"
"To stop the Calling," Surana noted with a sigh "Are your adviser suggesting anything else, some other solution than blood magic?"
"...It is different," she said but she did not sound too sure of herself.
Of course she didn't, the Warden-Commander thought, Clarel was new to blood magic.
She did not study it like he, or Avernus did. For her it was a desperate measure, not a common tool in her toolbox of magic.
"It is," he agreed "Our research have hundreds of years behind it. Your friends have how many?"
"I have the knowledge of the Imperium behind me," a man said stepping forward.
The Hero of Fereldan was actually caught by surprise. He had not expected her to bring the mage with her. She truly was desperate.
"Why would you deny your expertise to aid me to stop the Blights?" the stranger asked and Surana scoffed
"Sweet words and rhetoric will not make me do it, Tevinter. I am a scholar, and the Warden-Commander of Fereldan. I know more about the Blights then you ever will, and hence I doubt your intentions are sincere. Why would you otherwise go and find the Warden-Commander without knowledge to 'help' you first? You are an unknown to me. And of Tevinter as well. No warden. You, stranger, are an unknown. Unlikely allies showing up just at the right time usually aren't allies,"
"You are paranoid," Clarel said "We need help! We need to stop the Calling!"
"And we will," Surana sighed, getting mighty frustrated with her lack of understanding "But I will not run your fool errand. I have no need for you to agree, nor believe me. If I did I would have contacted you. If you believe this stranger, go ahead. But I find it unwise to bet all our strength on one man. One unknown man,"
He saw the Tevinter getting flustered by his disobedience but he cared little to non about that. He heard his own Wardens protest, saying they should help their Orlesian brothers, and he shrugged.
"I do not keep you prisoners here, if you believe in her ill-advised plan, please go. And feel free to gloat at me afterwards when you have ended all Blights and maybe resurrected the Griffons as well," they looked shocked and offended by his words but he continued "I will continue my own research in the meanwhile,"
Seneschal groaned when he saw the Warden-Commander Surana then turn on his heal and walk back towards his study.
"Mistress Clarel," he began but she simply spat on the floor and went towards her own quarters.
The two commanders would never speak again.
Many of the Fereldan Wardens left with Clarel that night, fearing the Calling that was pressing down on all of them. Partly still blaming their Commander for not stopping Anders from leaving, partly blaming him for the disaster that Anders had caused. Thinking, maybe this was brought on by that.
Surana himself sat down at his desk again, causally warming his cup of tea once more and stroking the large well fed cat that napped beside him.
"Let the fools run and chase their fears," he mumbled, the cat opened an eye and purred, "We will do this properly, Sir-Pounce-Alot. We will sort this all out without them, as always,"
The cat stretched for a moment and then curled up again, continuing his nap. The Warden sighed.
It was difficult to concentrate with the loud singing in his head. A quick tap on the door didn't make it any easier.
"What?" he asked in a short irritated tone.
"...So... When was the last time we agreed someone had a really bad idea?"
It was Alistair. Could this night get any worse?
"Aren't you running off howling at the moon with the others?" Surana said with a cold sarcastic tone "You noticed I did not agree with her, right? Shoudln't that make her right in your tiny mind?"
"Oh, now I am hurt," the Senior Warden said and walked up to Sir-Pounce-Alot and scratched him behind his feline ears.
The cat approved.
Surana did not.
"You know," Alistair continued "I thought you would be the first to jump on the hey-lets-go-do-blood-magic-together-wagon. Are you upset that she went to another blood mage? Is this you being petty and jealous?"
"It is not," the Warden-Commander groaned wanting Alistair to disappear in a puff of smoke or something "She is an idiot. Like many other Wardens. And she will get them killed, because she has no idea what she is doing,"
"But you do. You doing bloody demon magic is safe," Alistair noted with deep sarcasm
Surana did not even reply. A reply would indicated that he thought the comment was worth even recognizing.
"Are you and Morrigan going to make some secret super-ritual binding the world to your wills, but still kind of saves us?" Alistair asked continuing to sound like a moron.
"She is in Orlais," Surana noted coolly "With Keiran,"
"Miss them much? I find it really creepy and sort of wrong that you and her have raised like.. a normal child. He should have horns, or something,"
"You will have horns soon, if you don't shut up and go away. Did you come just to pester me?"
"No, no it is.. it is good I guess. Shows that there is some good in you, somewhere. Underneath all that blood maybe, you know.."
Shut up, just shut up, Surana thought wanting to kill Alistair but restrained himself as so many times before.
"Me stopping the Blight, saving Amaranthine and the Vigil, ending the threat of the Mother and all those other things do not show you that I do not wish to see an end to this world?" he asked glaring at the blond fool occupying his sofa, now with the cat happily purring in his lap.
Sir-Pounce-Alot, the traitor.
"That is all world ending stuff. Even evil people can want to stop them, otherwise they have no world to rule over. Or what ever it is you want to do," Alistair noted, "You caring for and raising a normal child, and that child not becoming a murderous lunatic at five or growing horns, is better proof that you can be decent. Even if it obviously pains you,"
"Or, maybe, I'm just subtle with the implemented evil in my son," Surana dryly noted " And Keiran is no normal child, for that matter. Maybe you simply can't even begin to grasp the reasoning behind my actions, because you are a dimwitted fool who still believes the Chantry among many other unwarranted things,"
"So why are you talking to me?" Alistair said thinking himself clever
"If I talk, you shut up. Did you want anything from me? Otherwise leave,"
"...I just wanted to say I agree her plan is mad, and tell you I'll go and try convince them, again,"
"Do as you please. She won't listen. If she won't listen to me, who knows blood magic far better then most, why would you change her mind?"
"Because I got charm, Surana. And no deal you ever make with any demon will ever give you enough charm to even pretend to seem endearing," Alistair noted and walked away.
Possibly sensing that Surana was close to loosening those restraints that kept him from turn Alistair into his puppet, or just blowing him up.
Sir-Pounce-Alot seemed to be a bit offended by his new slave leaving, and meowed at Surana demanding him to take up the petting where Alistair had left of.
"Makers breath," Surana muttered "I will have to leave you with Delilah tomorrow. Nathaniel will not care for you enough, you greedy monster,"
The cat purred as he snuggled up around Suranas shoulders. At least the purring helped a bit against the song. He had to concentrate, he had to find the key to unlocking this. He had to see what he and Avenrus had missed for all these years.