Introduction:
The Chant of Light says that the Maker abandoned his children, the humans of Thedas. Well, what did they expect him to do after they broke his heart? My brother always was a bit sensitive. At least he gets recognition, although they do not remember his real name and call him by a false one. The rest of us are all but forgotten entirely.
No, not those Forgotten Ones. Those were our our subjects, seven of our glorious dragon generals. The filthy humans ruined them too, even after all we did to help them. That elven bastard deserves some of the blame, as well, tricking our brethren into the earth. Luckily only seven were sent, but we greatly lamented their loss. Five are dead already, and two remain sleeping. We were able to rescue one soul out of the five, and another was stolen from us, but three precious Elder dragon souls are now lost to the world forever.
To their credit, the mortals try their best to make sense of the world around them, but they are children stumbling blindly in the dark. They believe dragons to be mere beasts, and revel in their death. They do not understand that their actions spell their doom. None are old enough to remember the old stories correctly, and the tales have either degraded from numerous recountings or were lost to the ether long ago. They know us not, but we have endured. We are the true gods of Tevinter, and we have been watching.
Chapter One: The Truth of Things
"They must be stopped," I utter aloud.
"Spying on the mortals again, are we, Ferox? It only serves to rile you up, dear sister. You really should stop."
I watch as my younger brother Etiam walks into the chamber. He's probably the smartest of us four siblings, but his adherence to rationality and logic means he often misses any emotional reasoning. I doubt he'll understand my outburst, even if I try to explain. He pushes a section of his long pale hair back over his shoulders and his cool blue gaze studies me, then glances back to the Well.
I come here often, sitting over the sparkling water of the Watcher's Well, observing the world of mortals as it unfolds below. Etiam is right, it does make me angry, but it doesn't keep me from wanting to look. I sever the magical connection, and the blue shimmer disappears from the surface. As it clears, I see the long wavy dark hair and bright blue eyes of my own reflection staring back at me.
"They're killing more dragons, Etiam. They baited this one," I stress. "I thought this 'Inquisition' of theirs was about sealing the Breach, but it's like they are making it their new mission to seek out and slaughter the high dragons. This is the third they have killed already, and you know as well as I what will happen to the world if we let this continue."
"Perhaps it's time we allow them to destroy themselves," he responds.
"But they don't even know they're doing it. Maybe they could be taught-" I begin.
He cuts me off. "They cannot be taught; we've tried that already. You remember how the humans used our own knowledge against us. And you saw what happened the last time, when our brother reached out to aid them. Contact with the mortals always has consequences," he warns.
I ponder his words for a while. Our eldest brother, Lucis, is the one the mortals call the Maker. He's spent more time in Thedas than myself, Etiam, or our youngest brother, Tenebris. He'd paid the price for it too, when they burned his beloved Andraste at the stake.
The Chantry says that she joined him at his side, elevated beyond her mortal vessel, but they're wrong. That isn't what happened. She was just dead, gone, her brief human life over far sooner than it should have been, and my brother was beside himself. Had it been my lover, I would have covered the world in storms of fire and ice. Any who survived would not have quickly forgotten my wrath.
But, Lucis has a far gentler nature than I, and instead he retreated, withdrawing from both the world of Thedas and us in his mourning. He returns to our company from time to time, but he seems guarded now, and doesn't want to talk about humans at all.
Lucis is older than me by mere seconds—something that has been a point of contention between the two of us—but he was the only one of my siblings that shared my fascination with the mortal realm. We used to be so close. He and I would sit at the Well's edge for hours laughing at some human folly or another. I remember the way he used to be, and I understand Etiam's point.
"I'm not stupid enough to fall in love with a human."
"There's no reason for you to go at all. We could send one of the generals if you're that determined," he suggests.
"Place another dragon in front of them? No, I want to see this Inquisition for myself before we risk losing another general," I declare. "It will be a game, like we used to play with the humans ages ago. I'll infiltrate their ranks. They'll never know I'm not the human mage I claim to be. If they can't be convinced to stop, then I will return."
"One of us should go with you," Etiam says calmly. "Mortals can't be trusted."
"I'd rather do this on my own. I will report back when I can."
I prepare for my journey, packing what I will need for my role as a human mage. There is little risk of the mortals discovering my identity. As far as I know, there are none left who even know the truth of the old gods. We four have kept ourselves mostly away from the mortal world since the magisters invaded our citadel and we had no choice but to punish them for their sin. The Black City remains our home, our defenses locked tight against a second attempt.
There is one thing the people of Tevinter got right, however. Magic is a gift from the gods, and needs to be preserved, treasured. Magic sustains the world, as it sustains us. Before the First Blight, we spent centuries teaching the mortals to use abilities similar to ours. They would not have known how to unlock their power without us.
Our own abilities differ from each other, with each sibling specializing in one type of magic. Lucis, the eldest of us, has always been kind and sensitive. He rules over the Creation domain of magic. The natural world and healing magic fall under his power.
I am the second eldest, and am the master of all things Primal. The destructive power of these elements matches my own changeable nature. I can be fierce in my retaliation, but sometimes it is necessary to raze an area in order for new growth to occur.
The second youngest is Etiam, whose sensible mind created the Spirit domain. Not all spirits are his creation, but he had a heavy hand in their rise. After the creation of the Veil, he turned his studies to understanding it, as well as the arcane arts.
Tenebris is the youngest, and undoubtedly, the most brash. He is the one who taught blood magic to the mages of Tevinter. It was his servant, Dumat, who helped carry the magic of the Taint to the people of Thedas. His domain is that of Entropy, but contains all things dark and corrupted.
Tenebris is probably my favorite, after Lucis's self-imposed isolation. I felt lonely, and I grew closer with my youngest brother. I believe he would want to do something about the dragons, if he knew. I wish for a moment that I could tell him, but brush that thought off as foolish. His solution would be similar to Etiam's-let them kill themselves if that is what they wish. I can almost hear him saying it now. 'Nudge one side with a little power, and you will see them topple. In time, the great balance solves all,' he would say.
We'd trusted the humans before with gifts beyond measure, and they, in turn, betrayed us. Etiam was right about them not being trustworthy. But even they must have an interest in self-preservation. Surely they can be convinced to change their course of action.
I'll stop the Inquisition's dragon hunting, or I'll see them suffer for it.
I dress warmly enough, but the bitter cold of the mountains still bites through my cloak. I spent last night camping with strangers. I could have used my magic to go immediately there, but traveling with others helps give my story a measure of credibility. Not that I suspect it will be difficult to convince them to let me join. After Haven, the Inquisition is desperate for every ally it can get.
I'd laughed when I heard they named a nobleman from the Free Marches as the "Herald of Andraste", as if a dead woman was coming back to help them. But, it seems that this Declan Travelyan, now being called Inquisitor, has started proving himself as an apt leader, at least. First, he recruited the mages of Redcliffe as true allies. Mages were flocking to his side from all over for a chance at real freedom, which made my approach that much easier.
The second was when the Inquisitor stood alone against Corypheus and lived. The magisters of old were powerful even before they were touched by the Taint. Tenebris assures me he's not a real threat to us, but I'd watched the Inquisitor's attempt at bravery through the Well. I remember it clearly-despite all his bravado, the Inquisitor had been dangling from Corypheus's grasp, and he'd been afraid. Still, I suppose he had acted, despite the odds being against him.
I still wonder at the corrupted dragon Corypheus commanded at Haven. They'd called it an Archdemon, but I would have known if one of the two remaining generals had been unearthed. The others above ground were all with us, and accounted for. He had to have turned a high dragon, but who taught him how to create such a creature? Had my brother Tenebris or someone loyal to him reached out to Corypheus? Corruption falls under my brother's domain. If I find out he sacrificed a high dragon for this, I'm going to have more than words with him.
I look down at my belongings. I'd brought a couple of trinkets from back home to help. My pendant carries a bit of the water from the Watcher's Well, and I can use it to send messages back home if I need to.
The ring I wear on my right hand is small and delicate, with spiralling vines of silver. It allows me to travel at will. The tales state that the elves are the ones who developed transportation magic, but that's not accurate, either. The elves did create the eluvian network, but they stole the secret of the magic from us. They needed to imbue a mirror with it in order to travel between worlds, but we created the spell, and we need no such portal. The magic in the ring will be enough for my purposes, but it is limited, and must be recharged. My own traveling or movement each day builds up enough charge for one trip, and it holds four charges. It's currently full, of course, after coming here and marching for a day.
One of the women from my group of travelers approaches me. "Hello Maeven," I say brightly.
"Ferox, good morning," she replies with a smile. We've exchanged a few pleasantries. She's a devout Andrastian. The very idea of such a religion . But, she seems like a good person, and she's making a pilgrimage to Skyhold to help the Inquisition. She has no skills in combat. She's not training in healing, and she's no mage, but I guess the Inquisition needs cooks and laundry women as much as they need everything else. No doubt they will find some use for an able-bodied woman like Maeven.
Today . We should reach Skyhold by the end of the day.