Interlude to prologue
It was over, the war that had been building in Kirkwall since I had arrived 6 years before was done. I had come to think of Kirkwall as my home but with Meredith's blood staining the ground at my feet I knew I would no longer be able to stay. What Anders had done tainted this city for all of us. I looked at my companions, covered in the blood and sweat of battle they now held the templar's at bay. I glanced at Cullen through my coal black hair and knew that he would not fight us as we left. Even though we were responsible for the circle tower being in shambles, they would have their hands full trying to collect the remaining mages who no longer wanted to be under the oppressive thumb of the Templar's. With no chantry to help calm the raging waters, Kirkwall would continue to burn and fall to pieces. Silently I cursed Anders again hot tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes, his actions both angered and saddened me. Blowing up the chantry felt like a betrayal, one I wasn't sure I could ever forget or forgive. I nodded to Cullen in apology or an agreement I do not know for sure but turned my back on him and walked way.
We boarded the boats we had journeyed to the gallows in and hurried quickly back to Kirkwall. Though we were out of the templar's sights for now I didn't want to push our luck staying to long however there were things I need to collect from my estate. When we docked, I turned to my friends, "I think it is imperative that we all leave the city as soon as possible. Isabella is your ship ready to sail?"
Her lips quirked into one of her sultry smiles, "My ship is always ready Hawke." I smiled slightly at her double meaning.
"I don't know what is going to happen from this moment forward our lives were all changed here this day. I know I can no longer remain and see the ashes of what once was; I have lost too much to this city. I invite you all as my friends to join me in this new journey but will understand if you choice to go your own ways."
"So we have no clue where we are going and no plans for what to do when we get there? Sounds like a typical Hawke plan," Varric quipped. "Can't wait."
I smiled baring my teeth glad in the knowledge that one of my oldest friends in Kirkwall would be joining me, of course there was no way he would miss out on all the new stories he could create from my misadventures. The others nodded but said nothing; I felt his eyes upon me and knew without asking that he would go wherever I was, neither of us could truly exist without the other. "If anyone is planning on joining me meet back at Isabella's ship at dawn that should give everyone enough time to pack what they can. If I don't see you at the docks understand that you have all come to be my family; I love you and I wish you the best."
I turned my back my focus now on home. I traveled to Hightown quickly letting myself in to the Hawke estate. I hoped Bodahn and Sandal were all right but could not hear them inside the house. I moved quickly but quietly down the halls slipping into my mother's rooms only to grab a few of her things to take with me as a reminder. I looked around her room one last time taking a deep breath of her perfume before heading to my own chambers. I grabbed a pack and started gathering some clothes, wrapping potions inside of them to keep them from breaking. I refilled the potion pouch on my hip as well. I took all the gold I had hidden and placed it in various pouches both on me and inside the pack.
When I finished I stood in front of my desk, my journal, which I had written in faithfully for years, lay on the polished surface. Setting my pack on the floor, I picked the book up moving across the room I sank into the side of my bed running my fingers over the binding's tracing the markings on the cover. Every heartbreak and love; every loss and death; every thought and emotion; everything that had happened or I had felt was in these pages. Opening the book, I turned them until I came to the last entry. Today's events were still missing from the pages and without them; my story in Kirkwall wasn't complete. Taking the journal, I crossed back over to my desk grabbing a quill I quickly filled in the last events that had transpired. When the pages dried, I flipped it to the opening page and wrote a quick note there. When I finished I placed the journal back on the desk. Though my tale was not finished, what occurred in Kirkwall was too important of a story not to share. Someone someday would find my journal and I can only hope it will help everyone to understand how the Champion of Kirkwall both saved and destroyed the city.
