Chapter 2

Aveline turned and gathered herself up, the short rest on the earth had set her overworked muscles into lethargy her feet still unsure on solid ground. Cursing to herself she strained to stand a few feet from Hawke, her dark blue eyes reflected the flickering flames, shaped in the same mirth that had seen her companion through so much.

"We needed you here Hawke."

"You did perfectly well without me." Hawke shrugged, a small grin played at the corners of her mouth as she replied

"Besides I was needed in High town…" Hawke set her back to the ruin and walked up through the streets, "…Come on lets head out of here." Putting her arm under Aveline walked on. "You would have thought Thedas had come to an end… Watch your step … People looting anything not nailed down."

A silence came over them then, the beige rock of crumbling buildings passed them by. The smell of acrid smoke and burning flesh clung to the inside of Aveline's nose. She could feel her forehead grow constricted and unyielding she closed her eyes tightly against it, but the headache was unrelenting. Hawke continued "Some of the older families in High town are still here, Maker knows why. I have spent the last three days protecting them, over paid and under worked that lot."

Aveline remained silent, waiting for the headache to pass

"I had to dissuade those who are taking advantage of this situation, they needed to be taught otherwise, the carta would have been running rampant within days if I hadn't stayed in High town, we needed you with us Aveline."

Her headache hadn't stopped, hadn't eased, only worsened with each word that dripped from Hawkes mouth.

"Don't pretend to be the selfless Guardian Hawke." Aveline snapped, shoving her arm from under her shoulders.

"You were working on the Nobles that are remaining here to gain their support."

"…I…"

"Don't try to deny it." she threw her hands up, her finger pushed out towards Hawkes face "You think you can take control of this city while it's at its weakest, while we are here in the thick of it trying to save it, save the people who you would want to rule?"

Hawke raised her hands in a placating gesture "Now Aveline, that's harsh." She interjected

"Not harsh enough." She said flatly glaring at Hawke, turning away from her she could not even look at her. Hawke watched as her oldest friend turned her back on her, realising the truth in Aveline's words, her throat dried and all quick remarks fled her.

The bile grew in the back of Aveline's throat as she thought of Hawkes voice talking lightly, righteously of her work in High town, picking off criminals that would upset the Nobility, not thinking twice to the hundreds of people still trapped and dying in burning buildings. She nodded to one of her men as he staggered past half saluting, as he carried a body to an area littered with meagre stretchers blood soaked bandages and splints. Where was their supposed Nobility when they were needed most? Noble meant a different thing entirely in her world, not the rotten aristocracy that still lurked in the corners of their fancy homes sipping Aggregio, and patting themselves on the back on not doing a day's work for their money.

She neared the makeshift medical camp, people lain out for treatment, some cried loudly, others lay deathly silent looking out of glassy eyes at nothing. She found Donnic among the injured applying cold cloths to foreheads and although he was limping awkwardly, his clothes stained in blood she hoped was not his own, he helped those trained in basic first aid, applying salves and bandages. Aveline put one arm on his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"Aveline." He turned and hugged her tightly a small grunt escaped her "You're hurt? Let me see to you." Aveline smiled at her husband warmly "It'd do you no good not to see to your own injuries first Donnic." Her kissed her lightly she guided him to an empty stretcher and laid him down his face twisting as the pain went through him. Aveline got down on one knee and with two hands on his thigh gently pressed down squeezing at the flesh, watching his face she followed the bone down till she found an irregularity. Donnic went a vibrant shade of red, and through reddening eyes and gritted teeth he grunted deep in his chest.

"Broken" Aveline said flatly, a girl who had stopped to watch Aveline as she worked moved off quickly gathering what she could to make a splint for him. Hawke had lingered only for a moment before disappearing out of sight Aveline shook her head what could be more important than the work that's needed here? "No more heroics." Aveline chided her husband gently stroking his face, his eyes glazed as the lethargy of shock set in, gathering discarded clothes she piled them under his feet being careful not to jar his broken leg too much. "You too." Donnic said dreamily a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Aveline stayed with Donnic for a while longer, seeing to the splints that were being put to his leg, stroking his face as he dozed, her skin prickled down her neck and back. Her ears made her head turn slightly and from the corner of her eye she saw Hawke staring at her. Her strong jaw was set and her eyes didn't quaver.

"Yes Hawke." She said over her shoulder

"My work in High town isn't to lick ass Aveline." Her tone was even and commanding "You may be here in the thick of it, but it needs to be done, I can't be in two places at once. You know what's coming" Aveline's stomach flipped as she thought of all the days she had spent rallying what was left of her men, to save who could be saved.

"You may as well try and stop a hurricane."

"We can't…. The mages left." Hawke quipped, a smile forming in her eyes, not quite reaching her mouth.

"You know exactly what I mean."

"I know... what else can we do here? I am trying to keep people happy and safe as much as I can. We need to be united if, when, the Divine comes here. We need ally's, we need you."

"I'm needed here Hawke your petty politics will have to take a back seat for a change."

"Petty? I would hardly call it petty Aveline; I am trying to defend this god forsaken place. Don't forget it, I would get every ally I could and take back this place if it meant freedom for everyone."

Aveline chewed on what Hawke said, her feet gathered beneath her, with a long breath to calm her thumping heart she stood. Eyes deliberately following the woman she had arrived here with, had on so many occasions turned a blind eye for, never mentioning the questionable decisions she had made till now.

"You would abandon the people here to the mercies of your enemies."

Hawkes shoulders lifted

"If it meant freeing the world from chantry domination, Yes."

Aveline hadn't realised the muscles in her chest had tightened, that her hand had curled into a fist. She had not even felt the impact on her knuckles until her eyes cleared and saw Hawke sprawled ungracefully on the floor one hand covering her jaw.

"Protecting the innocent and preserving their freedoms may not interest you but I made an oath, I mean to keep it. Go play dictator if you must, but I'll have no part of it."

Aveline had seen to the wounded as much as she could until her headache had formed into a pounding throb, she walked through the desolated streets. Around every corner she saw a new vista she had not seen before, the mountains that lay behind the forests of outer Kirkwall could be seen over the ruined buildings. Flames burnt on sinking ships half moored and half buried in the seabed, as they had tried floundered.

She had walked for what felt like hours, her feet had found Dark town, her arms resting on the wooden planks that overlooked the water, she listened to the faint echo of water dripping onto abandoned walk ways. She spotted a discarded, half eaten loaf of bread, even the rats have left she thought to herself.

Tired, aching, head finally easing to a dull twinge; she walked down the hollow boards to the clinic were only sheets, hollow crates and paper was left. She sat on the blood encrusted fabric that was draped over long boxes. She thought for one moment, some epiphany would come to her. Like osmosis she would absorb some truth that would make this madness, manageable. Some truth that might tell her what had gone through his mind to lead him to damning the Kirkwall chantry to oblivion. Her fingers felt the make shift bed and stopped on the roughly hewn pages that had been shoved underneath. Pulling it out it read

ANDERS MANIFESTO

The pursuit of freedom

She had never read ONE of his manifesto's, nor did she care to, driven half mad by possession and Meredith's fanaticism it would only be a rambling justification for murder and anarchy. Flipping the pages in her hand words jumped out at her.

"Justification" …. "Righteousness." ….. "Freedom" …. "No right to be imprisoned"

All these excuses will be used to interrogate everyone who still called Kirkwall home. A sound like feet scuffing against the earth from the back room alerted her, her head snapped up; one hand on sword hilt. She locked eyes with a young boy, clutching a bundle, his eyes wide. She recognised his face, what was his name? Daniel.

"Daniel." She said coolly, removing her hand from her sword, her eyes moving back to the pages in her hand "You startled me."

"I just… was... looking for supplies." Dubiously she looked up

"Did you find anything?" he lifted his small bundle up "Bring them here will you?" she asked kindly putting the tattered script beside her. He moved quickly to the crate and placed the bundle carefully on the side. Gathered up in tattered potato sack's she lifted its cover off, gently leafing through what Daniel had found she noticed him smile as she picked up a heavy silver chain, it uncoiled to reveal a large pendant that swung gently.

"The Tevinter Chantry." She said softly her eyes watching as it swung

"The only place mages are safe now." Daniel murmured back his eyes lowering to the ground, his feet scuffing the earth.

Aveline only grunted "and no one else." Her eyes readjusted as she looked away from the amulet and onto Daniel. "You must have known Anders if you found your way down here, this is no place for small boys." He fidgeted with his fingers, feet still scuffing the earth gently

"A little." He said into his chest "he helped me and ma out, when ma was sick… he didn't save her though… said the maker had chosen her…" he looked up at her "he had some odd ideas though, I thought he was funny once, he just started to... I dunno ... get mad at the smallest thing I said… I used to help you know… once ma died… not much else I could do..." Daniels eyes became animated as he recounted, Aveline only listened as the boy unravelled in front of her. He relaxed and sat on the floor, telling her about all the small things that had endeared him to Daniel, and had once convinced her Anders had once been her friend too.

"I came into the back room where he sleeps and I could hear another voice in there with him, I'd never heard it before… but I had to look in, I dunno why… Andy was in there, and he looked asleep… but he was talking to himself… in a weird voice." Daniels voice dropped to little more than a whisper and his small eyebrows arched in what Aveline thought to be confusion but could have just as easily been concern, Aveline was unused to the expressions of children.

"Anders was a troubled man Daniel, don't think on him."

Daniel took in a sharp breath, straining to speak through the tears that Aveline could see forming in his eyes. "He was nice to me, took me in, he even said I had the gift once, told me I should be careful… I didn't know what he meant until the house started burning."

Aveline dropped her head and sighed, looking back at him she pitied his self damnation of the burning of his home, the shock of finding himself inside a burning building must have rattled him.

"Daniel, the war between the Templars and the mages spread here, it was them that started the fire… " Aveline lifted Daniels chin to make him meet her gaze "Not you."

Daniel pushed her hand away from him and stood up, "It was me!" Aveline felt pushed back by his words, so absolute in his belief she waited for his own explanation. "I heard the fighting, I heard the rumour long before the fighting, I hid and I didn't know what else to do." His eyes were spilling over with tears red blotches forming under them. "So I came home, I snuck inside… I waited… I thought if I waited long enough it would be safe to go back to Anders but it never was, when I woke up there was a fire in the room with me, I ran from room to room but the fire kept … just appearing! It wasn't normal fire it was following me!" Aveline looked over Daniels shoulder to smoke that had started to snake up from a pile of papers, small embers forming clean in the centre.

"Excuse me." Calmly she got up and walked over to the page using the flat of her hand to put it out.

"You see!" Daniel cried "I'm not safe anywhere! I don't even know how I am doing it…" Daniel crumpled to the floor sobbing into his chest, Aveline calmly went to him got down and held him tightly, her heart melted as she felt the tears stain her clothes, such a young boy with no one to turn to, he knew what happened to mages especially now. If he had heard the rumors of what Anders had done he would know what was waiting for him here in Kirkwall; a quick death if he was lucky. Anders had taken him in protected him, she had never even seen this young boy before. But then again who takes notice of the little boy carrying linen or washing floors. It wasn't of course Anders fault this young urchin was a mage, as low as Anders could go, he didn't have the power to turn people into mages… grant the gift to anyone, Aveline smiled if he could the grand cleric of Kirkwall would be a mage right now inwardly chuckling to herself at Anders amusement if he could have done that… rather than destroying the chantry; it would have certainly turned out a lot better for all of them if that were the case. She felt an over protective surge swell in her of this young boy and cradling his head with one hand

"It'll be alright Daniel, I will make sure you are alright, there are still safe places for mages."