Disclaimer: Neither Dragon Age II, any other references, nor the characters therein, nor anything else belong to me. I am in no way profiting from this story.
Merry Christmas, one and all!
How the Hawke Saved Christmas
By LoneWolf218
The central square of the city of Kirkwall was a bustling place, with people wandering between various merchants, chatting happily. Most of the damage the Qunari had caused had been cleaned up since the attack almost two years ago, to the point where some people might have begun to forget it had happened. That is, until they were reminded by the fact that Templar now stood where city guards once had, scrutinizing the citizens for any sign of apostates. However, even this could not deter the people of Kirkwall today, for Christmas was nearly upon them.
Around the square, strings of multicolored lights were hanging along almost every stall. A fairly recent invention from the Circle of Magi, these lights were actually tiny runes, enchanted to give off a small glow in a variety of colors. The stalls were selling a variety of gifts, from the traditional miniature statues of Andraste to small toys for the children. At various corners, groups of carolers sang the songs of the season, everything from portions of the Chant of Light to the most recent Fereldan jingles. In the center of the upper market stood the massive Christmas tree, decorated with even more rune lights, and topped with a star. All in all, the whole area gave a warm, happy feeling.
Of course, not everyone in Kirkwall was happy.
Knight Commander Meredith slammed her window shut, trying to block the sounds of merriment from her office high in the Gallows. Muttering, she stalked back to her desk to continue studying her most recent list of potential maleficar. After that, she would have to get back to that annoying report on the rebuilding, as well as the construction of that new Templar training ground. Sometimes, she considered allowing a new Viscount to be appointed, so that they could do all the pointless busywork while she focused on the infinitely more important duty of rooting out blood mages.
'But no, that won't work,' she thought furiously. Any new Viscount would simply get in her way, cause more problems. No, she was the only one who could save this city, she and her loyal Templar. Once the blood mages had been wiped from the city, then a Viscount could begin their duties. Which meant that, for the time being, she would have to deal with the pointless drivel the nobility came up with.
She cursed again as another of those stupid carols somehow floated up to her closed window. She had already banned caroling within the Gallows, but the fools outside simply would not shut up!
Now, Knight Commander Meredith did not, in fact, hate Christmas. On the contrary, she loved it. Or, rather, she loved what it had once been: a quiet time of contemplation and prayer, a time when one could reaffirm their loyalty to the Maker and his Bride on said Bride's mortal birthday. The problem was that this noble day had been corrupted by the worthless commercialism and other such nonsense that now flourished on the streets.
Finally giving up on trying to concentrate, Meredith walked back to her window and stared out at the city, noting all those foolish lights the mages had made. She had, many times, tried to convince the late Viscount Dumar to ban those things. Nothing made by mages should be trusted. He had simply laughed, telling her that they were harmless baubles. The fool hadn't understood mages like she did.
Cursing, Meredith wondered where everything about Christmas had gone so wrong. How had it come to this, the faithful of Andraste reduced to walking under lights made by mages and buying pointless trinkets to give to each other in a vain attempt to recreate the flawless gift the Maker had given them by accepting Andraste as his Bride, giving her a chance to save the world from it's own stupidity.
'Wait a minute…' Meredith thought slowly, going back over her previous musing. '…under lights made by mages…' A candle seemed to light itself in her mind, making clear what one had been muddled.
It all made sense, it was so obvious! This was all the mages' fault! The corruption of Christmas must have been started by subversive mages as an attempt to separate the people from the Maker, so that they could regain their power! How had she not seen it before?
Filled with a maniac energy, Meredith ran back to her desk, shoving everything else aside as she drew out a blank piece of parchment. She had to hurry; the corruption had already been going on for so long, that it might even be too late. But no, the mages would not win, not so long as she drew breath! Now that she had seen their plan, she could stop them from making things any worse. Where as before, Meredith would have preferred Christmas to be a solemn, religious holiday, now it was absolutely essential that it returned to the way it was, so that people could be reminded of the danger of mages.
Meredith quickly started scribbling orders, ideas flying through her skull. Attending a Chantry service would have to be mandatory, so as to begin to counteract the corruption of the mages. That meant that the Grand Cleric would have to be informed so as to put more pews in. The mages' lights must be taken down immediately. Who knew what mischief they had worked into those things. Harmless baubles indeed! She rang her bell impatiently, still making plans. A few moments later, Knight Capitan Cullen rushed in.
"What do you need, Knight Commander?" he asked, saluting. Finishing her orders, she stood.
"Thank you for coming promptly, Knight Capitan. We have a crisis to deal with. First, you must…"
Garrett Hawke stepped through the door of his home in High Town, having just finished putting up the outside lights. He glanced around, wondering where Merrill was; she had been working on the decorations inside.
"Um… Garrett? A little help please," Garrett's eyes widened as Merrill's voice drifted from the balcony at the top of the stairs. He swiftly rushed up, before coming to a halt, staring at the ridiculous scene before him. Somehow, Merrill had gotten herself tangled up in the string of arcane lights she was supposed to be hanging over the banister. She looked up at him sheepishly.
"Merrill… how did this happen?" Garrett asked, smiling widely as he crouched down and started unwrapping her. She pouted slightly.
"Well it wasn't my fault!" she said quickly. "Your dog ran by me very fast when I was trying to untangle these lights. I couldn't catch my balance, and I fell down." Garrett kept smiling.
"And how did you get all tangled up like this?" he asked warmly.
"I don't know." Merrill got up and started dusting herself off. Garrett shook his head slightly. Maker knows he loves Merrill deeply; she was a wonderful, bright spot in his world. Merrill glanced up at him. "What is it?"
Garrett gently reached forward and cupped Merrill's cheek. "Just thinking." Merrill's eyes widened slightly, and her lips formed into a smile. Grinning, Garrett leaned forward slowly, letting his eyes drift closed…
CRASH!
Garrett and Merrill leapt apart, looking around for whatever had made the noise. Quickly rushing to the edge of the balcony, Garrett saw Anders looking around the entrance hall, having just come in from his secret passage.
"Garrett! Where are you!" the apostate called. Cursing under his breath, Garrett headed down the stairs, closely followed by Merrill.
"What is it, Anders?" he asked. 'This had better be good…' Anders turned to him, quickly rushing closer.
"We have big problems, Garrett!" he said hurriedly. "Meredith has gone mad!" Garrett cursed again.
"Is she launching a major raid? Has she decided to arrest you?" Garrett asked. Anders shook his head.
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time now. No, she, for some unfathomable reason that probably has something to do with mages, has decided to cancel Christmas!" Garrett stared at him, his eye twitching slightly.
"What did you just say?" he asked. Anders quickly repeated himself. "That's… that's…" Garrett spluttered.
"What is it?" Merrill asked, staring at Garrett. Finally, Garrett burst.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Anders!" he cried, making everyone jump. "I thought you were going to tell me something important, not some insane rumor that drifted down into Darktown!"
"This is no rumor, Garrett." Anders insisted. "I heard it from a very reliable source!" Garrett snorted.
"Oh come on, Anders. There's no way that Meredith is going to cancel Christmas. I mean; it's a Chantry holiday! Now, I'll admit that she's very high-strung, but there are limits. She's not going to…"
Suddenly, someone started knocking on the front door. Glancing up, Garrett automatically gestured for Anders and Merrill to back out of sight. None of the team would ever knock on the front door; they all had an open invitation into the Hawke manor. With the two mages out of sight, Garrett walked over to the door and pulled it open.
A Templar was standing on the front step. He had taken off his helmet, and Garrett recognized him as Keran, whom Garrett had saved from insane blood mages several years ago. The young man was looking rather nervous.
"Ah, Serah Hawke." Keran shuffled his feet. "I'm afraid I have to ask something of you."
"What is it, Keran?" Garrett asked. There was no way that Anders could be right…
"Well… I have orders from Knight Commander Meredith to, well, to confiscate your Christmas lights." Keran said all this very quickly. Garrett raised an eyebrow, and Keran quickly continues. "Now, serah, this is for your own protection. The Knight Commander thinks that the mages might have done something that will… cause harm to those who spend too much time near them."
"This seems… excessive." Garrett said slowly. Keran shrugged.
"Well, orders are orders. However, you, well you're the Champion. If anyone can handle themselves, it would be you…" the Templar glanced around, before lowering his voice. "Let's have a gentleman's agreement. If you take all of them down yourself, I'll let you keep them, is that alright?" Garrett nodded mutely, and Keran bowed slightly before turning to leave. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Garrett. "One last thing, serah. The Knight Commander has decreed that everyone in Kirkwall is to go to the Chantry tomorrow. Thought I'd let you know." Nodding, he turned and left.
Garrett slowly closed the door, before turning back to Anders and Merrill. The former was smirking widely.
"You know, Garrett," he drawled. "I think I might want a written apology for the cruel things you said to me." Garrett ignored him.
"How is this possible?" he asked, shaking his head. "I mean, I always knew Meredith was crazy, but this…" Coming to a decision, he turned swiftly and walked to his room to grab his armor. After more than five years in Kirkwall, Garrett had learned to never leave home unarmed. He had a habit of attracting trouble.
"Where are you going, Garrett?" Merrill asked worriedly as he returned, adjusting his massive great sword. He smiled reassuringly at his lover.
"To get some answers, Merrill." He glanced between the two mages. "Leave the lights up for the moment. I'll get them when I return." He whistled for Striker, his mabari, and left, heading for the Keep.
As he walked through the square, he saw that the Templar were going beyond simply going door-to-door and confiscating all of the Christmas lights. There was a force of them wandering around the market, arguing with the various merchants. Garrett noticed that they were being lead by Knight Capitan Cullen, and walked over.
"Champion." The Knight Capitan said simply, watching one of his Templar pack up all the non-Andraste gifts in the nearest stall.
"I don't mean to interrupt your obviously crucial business, but what's going on?" Cullen sighed.
"Look, I know this seems excessive, but the Knight Commander has a theory. You know how Christmas used to be a strictly religious holiday. She believes that, sometime in the past, a cartel of subversive mages started the process that would lead to what Christmas is now, so as to damage the relationship between humanity and the Maker." Garrett slowly cocked his head.
"And do you believe this… theory?" Cullen glanced around.
"I don't know, Champion." he sighed. "However I must say that it can't hurt give her solution a try. Mages are a terrible threat, and sometimes certain… extreme measures are required." Garrett raised his eyebrows.
"Ok. I'll just let you go back to shaking down the shopkeepers." Cullen snorted.
"We're not shaking them down! We're compensating them for everything." Garrett nodded sagely, before turning and continuing on towards the Keep.
Avaline Vallen, Capitan of the Guard, continued reading the letter she had been sent. She shook her head, before leaning back in her chair, groaning. Once again, the Templar were throwing their weight around, being the largest armed force in the city. It wasn't enough that the Knight Commander was preventing a new Viscount from being appointed, now they had the gall to do this.
What really irked Avaline, however, was that there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
"Capitan?" Avaline glanced up at the voice of one of her guards. She gestured that the young woman should continue. "The Champion has asked if you're in." Avaline rolled her eyes. Ever since Garrett had become the Champion, he had insisted on doing things "officially." It was still weird for him to actually ask permission to talk to her.
"Send him in." The guardswoman nodded, before turning and speaking quietly to Hawke. He stepped in a moment later. "How are you doing, Garrett?" Avaline asked. He nodded politely.
"Not too bad, Avaline. Yourself?" She shrugged, before picking up the letter.
"I just got this notice from the Templar. I assume that's what you're here to talk about." Garrett nodded. "I'm afraid I haven't been told much. They simply demanded the Guard's assistance in carrying out their… directive." She sighed. "I was hoping you would show up. This situation is just so far out of what can rationally be expected that I… am uncertain what to make of it." Garrett sat back slowly.
"That's unfortunate. I was actually hoping you had an idea." Avaline glanced at the paper, considering. "Maybe we should have a team meeting. Maybe one of the others will have an idea." Avaline opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted.
"Hey, Avaline!" Varric wandered in, stopping when he noticed Garrett. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"Not really, Varric." Garrett said calmly. "I assume you're here about Meredith's declaration." The dwarf nodded.
"Yeah. There I was, having a quick drink in the Hanged Man, when suddenly a bunch of Templar burst in. They then started taking everything Christmas related down, telling us that the Knight Commander had ordered it. Well, Rivaini and I thought we should figure out what to do, and we figured that if anyone knew what was going on, it would be you two. Rivaini's probably at your estate, Garrett." He shrugged helplessly. "Well, do either of you have any ideas?"
"Not yet, Varric." Garrett said. "We were just considering having a get together to consider the issue. You in?" Varric considered.
"Probably for the best. This is just so… sudden, that we should figure out if we need to do anything." He chuckled. "I'll go see if Broody's in the mood, you can never tell with him." Garrett grinned, Fenris could be a bit of a handful at times, but with his background, that was to be expected. Varric nodded, before turning and quietly leaving. Avaline sighed.
"You go on ahead, Garrett. I have to finish a few things here, but I'll be right behind you." Garrett nodded, before turning and heading for the Chantry to see if Sebastian was free.
Garrett leaned back in his chair, looking around the "meeting room" of the Hawke estate. Merrill was sitting nearby, happily chatting with Isabela. Varric, meanwhile, seemed to be having a debate with Anders about something, and the mage didn't look particularly happy. Fenris, the former Tevinter slave, was leaning against the wall, smirking as he watched Anders squirm. Sebastian was sitting at the other side of the table from Garrett, watching the antics of the rest of the party with an amused smile. Everyone glanced up as the door opened and Avaline stepped in, and Orana, the young elf that Garrett had hired after freeing her from slavers, closed the door.
"Well, now that we're all here, we can get this meeting underway." Briefly, Garrett wished that his sister Bethany could be here with them, but she was still stuck in the Gallows. "As I'm sure you're all aware, Knight Commander Meredith has gone completely off the deep end. What we have gathered to discuss is whether we should do anything."
"What do you mean 'whether we should do anything'?" Anders asked furiously. "We can't let Meredith think she can walk all over everyone like this! If she gets away with this, she'll just become even more extreme!"
"I fail to see how this is such a big deal." Fenris said coolly, pushing himself away from the wall. "So the Knight Commander has done something a bit out of the ordinary. Why is it any of our concern?"
"Because it's wrong that she has so much power?" Anders said. "Doesn't this kind of arbitrary decision making remind you of Tevinter?"
"Maybe she's right, thought." Fenris shot back. "Maybe she knows something we don't." Garrett sighed quietly. Anders and Fenris absolutely refused to agree on anything. He wouldn't be surprised if one of them claimed that the sky was green if the other said it was blue.
"That seems… unlikely, Fenris." Sebastian said carefully. "I heard the Templar talking to Grand Cleric Elthina about this declaration. She's not happy about this. I think that if there was any big secret, the Knight Commander would tell her about it." He held up his hand to forestall Fenris' response. "That being said, however, I hear what you're saying about this not being our problem."
"Well." Isabela said. "If we don't do anything, then who will." She looked around. "Surely you've all noticed that when anything of note gets done in this city, it was likely because Garrett here had a hand in it." There was a moment of silence, before Merrill perked up.
"Oh, I know what we could do!" she cried. Everyone turned to look at her. "We could find out where the Templar have taken all those lights and things they took, rescue them, and then put them back up during the night!" Another moment of silence followed.
"I'm shocked that I'm saying this, but her idea has merit." Anders said slowly. "It would send a major message to Meredith that people aren't going to simply bow to her every whim." His eyes brightened, not in the same way that they did when Justice was asserting himself, but simply in interest. "I have some allies that could help out. It would be a fairly safe way to hit back. If Meredith lashes out at the people, then everyone will see what a monster she is, and if she doesn't, then she'll be admitting she was wrong! Either way, we win!"
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Isabela said, leaping to her feet. "I'll figure out where all the stuff that was confiscated has gone! Shouldn't take too long, then Garrett can arrange a rescue!" Garrett and Avaline looked at each other, stunned at how fast this had all spun out of control. Fenris opened his mouth to protest, but Varric spoke up first.
"It sounds like an idea. I mean, with all the other dangerous stuff we've done, this should be a cinch. It'll make a good story, that's for sure." Garrett could only watch helplessly as Merrill and Anders started debating how exactly to go about undermining the Knight Commander's decree, and Isabela seemed to be fantasizing about getting the location of the lights. He somehow found himself smiling at their antics.
'Oh, come on Garrett!' he thought. 'It'll be fun. And besides, Anders has a point. If Meredith gets away with this, who knows what she'll do next.' He chuckled, before coming to a decision.
"Ok, let's get started." He glanced around, smirking at the shocked looks on Fenris and Avaline's faces. Really, they should know him better by now. "Isabela, you carry out your bit of the mission. Varric, you work with Anders and Merrill to figure out the most efficient way we can spend out resources once night falls." The dwarf nodded, grinning, and gestured the two mages to follow him to one of the small tables in the corner. "Sebastian, what do you think that Grand Cleric Elthina would do if she knew what we were about to do?" The brother just stared at him.
"Garrett… I respect you, but I'm not sure this is a good idea." Garrett raised his eyebrows slightly.
"And that whole business about going after Flint Company was? Or the investigation of the Harimann Estate?"
"I see your point. In answer to your question, I'm afraid I don't know what she would do. On the one hand, she might feel honor-bound to inform the Knight Commander what's going on. However, she does think that this has gone a little too far, so she might hold her tongue. I just can't tell." Garrett nodded.
"Probably best not to mention it to her, then. Well, that means the rest of us have to be ready to move out when Isabela gets the information we need."
"You sure this is the place, Isabela?" Garrett said quietly. The pirate nodded.
"Yep. Docks, warehouse number fifteen. Apparently, they don't want whatever 'evil' that is in those lights to find a host in the Circle mages."
"Wouldn't surprise me in the least." Fenris muttered. "Most mages barely need any help to go over to demons." Garrett rolled his eyes slightly; Fenris had been particularly surly about this whole business, though Garrett guessed that he had some right to be. Still, it got a bit tiring at times.
Avaline hadn't come for this portion of the jokingly named "Operation: Grinch" after a famous Fereldan legend. Instead, she had gone to figure out the guards patrol pattern, so that they would still be doing their job while leaving openings for Garrett and company to do their business. She had been a bit apprehensive about what they were going to do, until Garrett had reminded her of the "Donnic Incident", just as he reminded Fenris of the "Hadriana Debacle". Still, neither of them were overjoyed about what was going on, but were willing to help.
Garrett was carefully watching the target warehouse, followed by Isabela, Fenris, and Sebastian, along with a few of Varric's hired men for muscle. There didn't appear to be any guards, but there were probably some inside.
"Alright people. Let's do this, nice and quiet. Hopefully, there need be no bloodshed." Everyone snorted at that, it was rare for them to go into a situation and nothing ending up dead.
However, it seemed today was their lucky day. There were only one Templar in the warehouse, and plenty of boxes for cover. Garrett gestured his team to take the back route, and walked up to the Templar.
"Serah Hawke?" the Templar said, and Garrett recognized the voice of Sir Thrask, thankfully one of the more moderate Templar. "If I may ask, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I happened to be in the area, and noticed what was happening. I'm still… curious about this new plan by the Knight Commander. I was hoping for a second opinion." He noticed the boxes of lights being swiftly emptied, but refrained from looking directly over Sir Thrask's shoulder, so as to avoid giving his people away.
"I don't know about all this, Serah Hawke." Sir Thrask sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know how you feel, when I first heard what we were going to do, I thought that it was just a joke. Then we actually went out and started doing it." He shook his head. "Can I rely upon your… silence if I speak frankly, Champion." Garrett nodded gravely, risking a brief glance at the liberating force. They seemed to be almost done. "I… I fear for the Knight Commander. I think she's taken on too much, what with having to carry out the Viscount's duties along with her own. It can't be healthy, but she insists that we Templar are the only people in the city who can be trusted to do the right thing, that anyone else might be corrupted by blood mages. I know that maleficar are a terrible threat, but I've seen no evidence that it is quite as bad as she says it is." He seemed worried about talking this candidly, even though Garrett had assured him that he wouldn't go running to Meredith.
"I know what you mean, Sir Thrask." Garrett said calmingly. The unloading was almost complete. "Does she seem all right, besides her odd decision making?" Sir Thrask shrugged helplessly.
"I can't really say, Champion. I mean, it's not like she's running through the Gallows, screaming and throttling everyone. However, she seems… obsessed. She keeps saying that the blood mages are taking over the city, and that it's only a matter of time before they rise up against us, and we have to be ready to put them down." He shrugged again. "There have been more blood mages recently, but I can't help but feel that many of them were simply mages who felt threatened by the Templar's rising power and resorting to blood magic out of desperation. This doesn't excuse them, but it does lay some of the blame at our feet." Garrett got a thumbs up from Isabela as she carried the last set of lights away.
"Well, thank you for your trust, Sir Thrask." Garrett said. "I'll consider what you said. Hopefully, things get better." The Templar nodded politely, before glancing at the boxes that looked completely undisturbed, and wandering off. Garrett quietly left and met Isabela outside.
"We left some of the top boxes filled. Hopefully, if they check, they'll just look at those ones and not go digging." Garrett nodded, watching the hired hands carefully carrying the lights away.
"Well, let's head back to the Estate, we won't be able to do much until nightfall." The rest of the team nodded, and they carefully headed back home.
The rest of the day passed in careful preparations. Varric, Merrill, Anders, and Avaline worked together to plan out the exact route that the teams would have to take to avoid, and in some case knock out, the various Templar who would be patrolling the area. Garrett, meanwhile, had been working with Sandel and Bodahn to divide a few of the strings into single lights, as part of the plan. Finally, after a few hours, darkness had fallen and it was time to go to work.
The group split into three teams. Garrett, Merrill, and Varric as well as Sebastian and Anders headed for Hightown. Fenris and Isabela, meanwhile, went to Lowtown.
Sebastian glanced around the Chantry. He felt both ashamed and… excited, about what was going on tonight. On the one hand, he was disobeying the orders of the Knight Commander, and since Grand Cleric Elthina hadn't said otherwise, he was almost disobeying her as well. But, really, it wasn't like Garrett's plan was going to hurt anyone. Compared to what he normally got up to with this band of misfits, his current mission was rather tame.
That didn't mean he had to like his company.
"Why is it that I got stuck with you?" Anders muttered, glaring up at the giant statue of Andraste. The Chantry brother sighed in response.
"Don't you remember what Garrett said? The Templar are going to have a larger force in the lower areas of the city, meaning that you're safer up here." He glanced around. "Do you have the sign?" The mage nodded sullenly, lifting the sign he was holding 'Oh come all ye faithful'. Sebastian had insisted that some effort be put into the religious significance of the holiday, "Good, quickly, put it at her feet, carefully."
"Ok, fine." Anders muttered, slowly stepping over to the statue's feet and carefully leaning the sign against it. Then, Sebastian handed him the string of lights that he had been carrying.
"Alright, now light these and lift them into position." The mage nodded, before lighting a small fire in his hand and holding it to one end of the string. The energy was transferred down the line, lighting all the tiny runes. He then tied the whole thing into a loop, before telekinetically lifting the lights up and placing them in the statues outstretched hand.
"That's good, lets go." Anders said quickly, turning to leave. Sebastian nodded, glanced up at the smiling face of the Maker's Bride, and bowed his head.
"Happy birthday, my lady." He stood there for a moment, before turning to follow Anders.
Garrett, meanwhile, was directing the revitalization of the central square. The two Templar who had been patrolling the area hade been silently knocked out and would soon be carried back to the Gallows. The tree had been left in place, even thought it had been stripped of its lights. Merrill was carefully putting everything back, while Varric and Garrett moved around the rest of the square, quickly and carefully hanging the remaining lights. Finally, they all stood back, admiring the newly lit square.
"It's a shame Mother and Bethany can't see this." Garrett said quietly. "They both loved Christmas." Merrill glanced at Garrett, noticing the sad, distant look on his face, and gently put her hand on his shoulder. Varric sighed.
"Hey, Garrett, cheer up. Your sister's still here, just over that way." He gestured towards the Gallows. "And I don't think your mother would want you to mope." The trio stood in silence for a few moments, before Garrett nodded.
"Right, let's move on." With that, they took the remaining few lights and the unconscious Templar towards their final destination.
Fenris and Isabela had an easier time. They carefully disabled a single Templar before conduction their part of the operation. They were carefully going around, hanging a single lit light at every house they could find. They move up through Lowtown, finding their way into the area between Low and High town.
"Hey, Fenris." Isabela said calmly. "Why are you so bugged by this? This is fun!" The elf sighed.
"It's just… this seems unbelievable." He glanced around before continuing. "I believe in what the Knight Commander does. I believe that mages are too great a threat to be allowed any freedom. If Anders and Merrill did not have Hawke's support, I might be tempted to turn them in." He sighed again. "This, though. This completely random, arbitrary order from the Knight Commander… It makes me worry."
"Worry that Anders might actually be right about something?" Isabela asked teasingly. She glanced around, there didn't seem to be anywhere else for them to hang any lights. "Well, come on, Fenris, let's go."
Fenris chuckled slightly. "Well, I guess I can pretend that I'm annoying Denarius. He always hated Christmas." Isabela laughed quietly as well.
"That's good, Fenris. Be positive every now and then." The elf snorted, and followed the pirate.
The next morning, Knight Commander Meredith paced before her assembled Templar. She could here the drone of voices out in the city, and she smiled. The people must be heading for the Chantry, to learn of the dangers of mages.
"Templar." she called. "Let's go." Turning, she led the way out of the Gallows. Soon, the wonderful sound of the Chant of Light would be heard. There it was. She closed here eyes and focused.
"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you…" Meredith's eyes widened. No, this wasn't right… She picked up her pace as much as she could without starting to trot. The damndable sounds of caroling was getting louder, and Meredith started seeing lights! What was going on? Finally, she rounded the corner into the main square, and stopped dead.
"What the…" she whispered. Everything was back. It was as if her Templar had never cleared this place. People were walking around, laughing and singing. Lights hung on every stall, and that damned tree was lit again. Several people glanced at her curiously, but no one seemed particularly scared. "We'll see about this!"
She heard a slight chuckle, and turned to see the Grand Cleric walking over to her. The older woman was smiling. "Please, Meredith, calm down."
"But, Grand Cleric." Meredith said furiously. "Someone has defied my…" The Grand Cleric seemed even more amused.
"Oh, Meredith," she said gently. "Not everyone can be as devout as you are. " She gestured at the crowd. "Look at these people, Meredith. They are happy, are they not? This time of year need not be a dour time. There should be joy as well."
"But…" Meredith started, and then she fell silent. With a furious mutter, she turned and walked away, carefully followed by her Templar. Grand Cleric Elthina watched her go sadly, before turning back to look out at her flock. It was nice to see them happy and excited for a change. Hearing movement behind her she turned to see Champion Hawke watching curiously.
"It seems the Knight Commander has taken leave of the celebrations." The Champion nodded sagely, and Grand Cleric Elthina smiled slightly. "I don't suppose that this was your doing, was it Serah Hawke?"
He smirked "I can't imagine what you mean."
Cassandra Pentagahast couldn't help it. She laughed; leaning back against the wall of the room she was interrogating Varric Tethras in. Said dwarf looked slightly put out.
"May I inquire what is so funny, Seeker?" Cassandra held her hand up, trying to breath through her laughter.
"Oh, come on, Dwarf!" she gasped. "You can't seriously expect me to believe that the Champion went out of his way to put up a bunch of Christmas lights! Or that the Knight Commander would take them all down in the first place!" She shook her head. "Seriously, that's like something out of one of those old feel good legends! Next you'll be telling me that the Hero of Fereldan went ahead and got gifts and played pranks on his companions for the Feast Day!" The dwarf looked offended.
"You think I'm lying? I'm hurt!" Cassandra snorted, remembering all the other "embellishments" Varric had made to his story.
"You know what, I'll let this one go. True or not, it doesn't really matter." Her eyes narrowed. "Go on. Tell me about those last days. Tell me about the fall." The dwarf sighed, a distant look entering his eyes.
"Very well, Seeker. It all started…"
AN: Merry Christmas! Once again, this is humor, not to be taken seriously. If you like this, please look at my main story, Flames of the Dragon Mage.