Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who has read and favorited my new story. This chapter will have a few spoilers from the books. If you haven't read them, I recommend them! They explain so much about the world and the characters that live within.
The meeting with the rebel mages went exactly as I remembered it, even down to the thick, gloomy atmosphere. Fiona was smaller in person than she appeared in the game, it was hard to believe she was Alistair's mother. He looked nothing like her and showed no signs of his elven heritage. He would probably shit out a golden nug if he learned who is real mother was.
Magister Alexius was a real piece of work. He tried so very hard to pretend to be interested in helping the Inquisition with the breach, but his hidden motives were plain to see. He was over eager to do business with us, and did a poor job of trying to placate Grand Enchanter Fiona. Telling us that the rebel mages would be serving in the Tevinter military was a poor choice. HE was lucky she didn't fry him on the spot.
Felix, Alexius's son did a wonderful job at exaggerating his illness and falling into Evelyn's arms with the intention of passing her a note and gaining his father's attention. Panicked, Alexius rushed Felix from the tavern and towards the castle. Evelyn opened the letter.
"Come to the Chantry. You are in danger."
"It could be a trap." Solas glanced down at the hasty writing. "Nevertheless, we should check it out."
"I agree. I don't trust the Magister." Cassandra said.
"Either way, it's worth investigating." Evelyn agreed.
And so we were off to the Chantry. We pushed the grand doors open and what do we encounter? A rift and a very familiar mage beating off two demons with his staff, not with magic. It was impressive.
The mage beat the last one into submission, turned towards Evelyn, "Good! You're finally here! Now help me close this, would you?"
Almost a dozen demons fell from the rift and chaos ensued. The building was too small for me to retreat from combat and watch the seasoned fighters do all the work. I quickly found myself backed into a corner by a shade. It screeched at me, loud and ear-piercing. I flinched and covered my ears. I left myself open and the demon back handed me into a pew. I cursed. Damn that hurt!
Everybody else was locked into combat with their own demons, leaving this one my problem to deal with. It wasn't a person, I told myself. It was a demon. I had to kill it or be killed. The demon struck again, but this time I saw it coming. Electricity shot from my outstretched hand. I expected the demon to fall over, singed as the human had, but it only howled in pain and came for more. It swung at me again only to have its clawed hand bounce off a thin blue layer of magic. I didn't need to look around to know the feel of Solas's magic. I didn't waste his barrier, I unleashed another bolt of lightning, focusing as much magic as I could into the bolt. The demon howled in pain and incinerated on contact. The initial electricity bounced off the slain demon and arched to three others before evaporating back into the fade.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed in the wake of my newly found chained lighting spell. It was certainly powerful, but draining as well. I felt like I'd just ran three miles up hill. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and jumped back into combat. The more I used my magic, the easier it was to control. I managed a weak barrier around Evelyn as a terror demon used a spell similar to a fade-step and used it to knock her to the ground. It shattered after a single blow from the demon, but it saved her from having her abdomen ripped open by its claws. She gave me a thumbs up after she killed it.
As soon as the battle was over, our mystery mage turned towards Evelyn, "Fascinating. How does that work, exactly?" He laughed when our Herald gave him a blank stare, "You don't even know, do you? You just wiggle your fingers, and boom! Rift closes."
Not to amused by the accusation, albeit a true one, Evelyn glared at him, "Who are you?"
"Ah! Getting ahead of myself again, I see." He gave a formal bow, on I was sure he practiced in the mirror every night before bed. "Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous. How do you do?"
Cassandra snorted.
"Suspicious friends you have here." He glanced at the seeker and winked. She made a disgruntled noise, the one usually reserved for Varric's witty remarks. I was unable to stop from smiling. "Magister Alexius was once my former mentor, so my assistance should be valuable—as I'm sure you can imagine."
"I was expecting Felix to be here." Evelyn looked around the chantry, making sure he was somewhere, hiding in the shadows.
"I'm sure he's on his way. He was to give you the note, then meet us here after ditching his father.
"Alexius couldn't jump to Felix's side fast enough when he pretended to be faint. Is something wrong with him?" She asked.
"He's had some lingering illness for months. Felix is an only child, and Alexius is being a mother hen, most likely."
"That would be a sight to see." I chuckled. It was hard to imagine the great and powerful magister fretting about.
Dorian gave me a charming smile, "It would be indeed, though I doubt Felix thinks much of it."
"So, are you a magister?" Evelyn asked, growing bored with the conversation. She just wanted answers and a group of rebel mages to take home to Haven with us. Our future Inquisitor was going to have to learn a hard lesson in patience if she was going to make it through this whole ordeal sane.
The question irritated Dorian and his smug attitude disappeared, "All right. Let's say this once. I'm a mage from Tevinter, but not a member of the Magisterium. I know southerners use the terms interchangeably, but that only makes you sound like barbarians."
My companions were slightly taken back by the sharpness of his tongue. Evelyn gave an apologetic look and changed the subject, "Are you the one who sent that note, then?"
"I am. Someone had to warn you, after all. Look, you must know there's danger. That should be obvious even without the note. Let's start with Alexius claiming the allegiance of the mage rebels out from under you. As if by magic, yes? Which is exactly right. To reach Redcliffe before the Inquisition, Alexius distorted time itself."
Solas stood even more erect than I thought possible and Cassandra look liked she'd been slapped in the face. Evelyn wasn't much better, she was scared. "I hope that's less dangerous than it sounds."
Don't bet on it, Herald. I sighed.
"More. The rift you closed here? You saw how it twisted time around itself, sped some things up and slowed others down." My companions all nodded their heads in agreement. I hadn't noticed such a thing, but I had been busy battling my own demon in a corner. "Soon, there will be more like it, and they'll all appear further and further away from Redcliffe. The magic Alexius is using is wildly unstable, and it's unraveling the world."
"I'd like more proof than, 'magical time travel! Go with it!'" Evelyn was beyond confused, as were the rest of us.
"I know what I'm talking about. I helped develop this magic." Dorian explained, telling us how he and Alexius did it together and how he was unsure why his mentor was doing this all for a few hundred mages.
Felix arrived as silent as any rogue I've seen. "He didn't do it for them."
Dorian looked relieved to see his friend, "Took you long enough! Is he getting suspicious?"
"No, but I shouldn't have played the illness card. I thought he'd be fussing over me all day." He turned to Evelyn and the rest of us, "My father's joined a cult. Tevinter supremacists. They call themselves the Venatori. And I can tell you one thing; whatever he's done for them, he's done it to get to you."
"I don't understand. Alexius is your father. Why are you working against him?" Evelyn asked.
"For the same reason Dorian works against him. I love my father and I love my country, but this? Cults? Time magic? What he's doing now is madness. For his own sake, we have to stop him."
"It would also be nice if he didn't rip a hole in time. There's already a hole in the sky."
The conversation between the three of them continued, hashing out reasons why the Venatori wanted Evelyn dead. I was exhausted and just wanted to sit down. I let the big kids talk while I found a pew that was still stable enough to hold my weight. With my elbows resting on my knees, I dropped my chin into my hands.
Varric approached and put his hands between my shoulder blades. "How are you holding up, Blue? I know you're not a fighter, and that was one hell of a fight."
Sighing, I turned my attention to the conversation I left, and was now too far away to hear. "I don't know, Varric. Everything is happening too fast."
"It will calm down once we get to Haven. There, we can get Nightingale to look into your past. Perhaps she can help you regain your memories."
"I'm not concerned with lost memories. I'm more concerned with the hole in the sky, and my sudden magical talent. Most people come into their magic prior to puberty."
"All the rules changed when the hole appeared. Look at Evelyn. She's a rogue with a magic hand. Your magic is at least normal, and I'm sure Chuckles would be more than willing to teach you how to use it." My roguish friend wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I smacked his arm.
The meeting ended and our companions motioned for me and Varric to join them. Now that business was out of the way, there were to be formal introductions. Short, simple and to the point. Dorian bid us all a good day, and after receiving our names he waved his hand and said he'd meet us at Haven. Evelyn and Cassandra agreed with Dorians decision to head back to Haven. We needed to restock our supplies and gather the leaders for a meeting in the war room. A decision needed to be made about Alexius.
I had never seen a mountain before and I was shocked into silence upon coming closer. The peaks brushed the clouds and the snow blew around us in a dance I would never tire of. Compared to the immovable mountain I was small and insignificant. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Being from Iowa, I was used to fields of corn as far as the eye could see. Our hills were gentle and rolling, nothing like these sharp jagged cliffs before me. A pack of wolves struck chorus off in the distance. The hairs on my arms raised to its call and I shuddered.
Solas mistook my shudder for fear and brought his horse alongside mine. "The wolves are a ways off." His gentle voice broke my dreamlike trance, "They won't attack."
"They sound beautiful." I whispered, afraid my voice would interrupt their song.
"You are not afraid of the wolves?"
I shook my head. "Should I be?"
"Most Dalish are afraid they are the servants of the Dread Wolf." I didn't miss the underlying venom in his voice.
"Most Dalish are foolish and cling to beliefs they don't fully understand." I answered truthfully. "How could they possibly know the truth of our heritage? We roam the countryside, afraid to mingle and learn from the other races. Nobody believe in superstitions that make no sense. The wolf for example. They are a pack animal, loyal to one another, always watching their pack members back. Why a would-be trickster would chose such a family oriented animal to represent? Wouldn't he chose one that fit better? A weasel or fox would be better suited."
Solas was silent for a while, stunned by my speech. It wasn't every day that a Dalish elf spoke about the Dread Wolf so openly. When he finally spoke, there was a note of pride in his voice. "You continue to surprise me, Da'len. Perhaps the Dalish aren't as hopeless as I once thought if they were able to bring somebody of your caliber into this world."
I pulled back on my reigns and stopped my horse. What did he just say? Oh no. This could not be happening. Those words, or ones close to them were spoken to the female elf Inquisitor, not a random woman they picked up under a rift.
"Have I said something to upset you?" Solas turned his horse to face mine.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and shook my head slowly. "No, I am unused to people complimenting me." Which was true.
"I'm sure you will find more compliments in the future." He smiled, but I could see the calculating mind behind it. "Do you intend to return to your clan once we return to Haven, or will you be joining the Inquisition?"
"I would like to learn more about how I came to be here and more of my memories. I am not sure I can do that with my clan. If Evelyn will allow it, I'd like to remain with the Inquisition."
"I'm sure she will not object."