Over the next few days Kassi quickly became the third partner in Tylis and Jace's two man troop. During their meal breaks, the three of them would always sit together, away from the main crowd. Jace and Kassi would talk about their lives before being taken by the templars. Kassi frequently told stories about her family and seemingly routine life on the farm back in Highever, however despite how often she insisted that there was nothing special about it, Tylis never tired of hearing about a 'normal' life away from Kinloch Hold. Jace's stories tended to be a bit more adventurous, and usually involved the two siblings, Shianni and Soris, and their cousin and ringleader, Kylae. Tylis got the impression that the trouble was usually started either by Shianni or Kylae, Soris was the unwilling sidekick who was dragged along but always came back for more, and then either Kylae or Jace himself would get them out of said trouble, usually with an 'appropriate' amount of violence. By that time, Tylis had heard most of Jace's stories, and had learned how to distinguish which ones were truthful, and which had been concocted in Jace's vivid imagination.

Having never had a life outside the tower, Tylis didn't have any such stories, so most of his conversations with Kassi were about how things worked in Kinloch Hold, or about books that that he had read, his only real connection with the outside world.

Kassi hadn't even been in the tower for a full week before Jace suggested that he and Tylis involve her in one of their pranks…

"You guys really do this kind of stuff in the middle of the day?" Kassi asked as Jace led the way to the second floor of the tower, which mainly housed the Senior Enchanters and most of the more experienced mages.

Tylis looked back at Kassi and nodded.

"But… It's the middle of the day!" Kassi protested. "There's too many people out wandering around."

Jace chuckled humorously. "Not really, everyone is down on the first floor right now getting lunch, and the enchanters and templars like to take a few minutes out of their lunch break to go walk around outside the tower in fresh air." Jace laughed again, "Y'know, you sound a lot like Tylis when I first started dragging him along."

Tylis rolled his eyes as he said, "People around here tend to fall into routine pretty easily, so we just learn who does what, and when they do it. For instance, you want to avoid the templar quarters during the lunch hour because of few of them take their meals in their rooms. The tranquil are the epitome of creatures of habit, so you can figure out their habits in one day flat, and so on and so forth…" Tylis looked back to Jace, "So where's our first destination?"

"Wynne's room." Jace answered happily. "Gotta get some payback for all the pointlessly long lectures that she puts on me."

On reaching Wynne's quarters, Jace promptly 'borrowed' her staff, then made a beeline for Senior Enchanter Araith's room, where he swapped out staffs, then back to Wynne's room to leave her with Araith's staff.

Once all that was done, Kassi said, "That was easy."

This time both Tylis and Jace chuckled. "It usually is." Tylis grinned. "Jace is usually the first one they suspect, but without evidence there's really nothing they can do, and with no witness there's no evidence."

"Hey we got about ten more minutes before they start coming back." Jace observed. "You two up for another raid?"

Tylis grunted and rolled his eyes. "Count me out." He answered. "I actually want to get some lunch on my lunch break."

"Oh come-on!" Jace complained, "It's no fun doing this stuff alone!" He turned to look at Kassi. "What about you? Maybe some justice you want to dispense on your mentor?"

Kassi thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry Jace, I think this is enough excitement for me for a while."

Jace threw up his hands and groaned. "Fine… Hey, Tylis. If anyone asks where I am, then tell them you haven't seen me today. I got one more thing I need to do up here, and then I'm heading to the repository." He grinned happily, and set off in the direction of First Enchanter Irving's quarters/office."

"Why's he going to repository?" Kassi asked as she and Tylis made their way back towards the staircase.

Tylis laughed good and hard before answering, "Because the repository is always locked, and no one goes down there unless there's some artifact that they need for whatever reason… which isn't very often. As soon as Jace figured that out, he snaked the key from one of the templars and made the repository his home away from home." Tylis laughed again, "Whenever Jace says he's going to repository, he means that he's going to take a nap, and he probably won't show up again for the rest of the day."

"And you never join him?"

No." Tylis said as he began making his way down the stairs. "I like being a mage, and I really do believe in what they do here. I know that it seems a bit harsh at times, but no one ever claimed that life was supposed to be easy. So while he's napping down there and fantasizing about escaping the tower, I'm actually up here improving my skills."

Kassi nodded. "Well, you already know that I don't agree with everything you just said, but it does make sense… But… don't you ever want to leave here? Go out and see the world? Aren't you ever curious about your family?"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Tylis glanced back over his shoulder at the girl following him. "And I will leave the tower someday. If I'm half as good as Leorah and Irving say I am, then they'd be crazy not to send me out on their missions as soon as I pass the Harrowing."

Kassi nodded and smiled. "I still think you're naïve, but at least you got a brain in your head."

Tylis blushed as he said, "And… I'm still cute right?"

When she was done laughing, Kassi said, "Yes." She laughed again, but more quietly this time, "Yes, you're definitely cute."

Tylis' blush deepened as he said, "And… I think…" The next three words spilled out of his mouth so fast that they were barely intelligible. "That you're pretty!"

"Thank you." Kassi said as she turned her face away. "I think I had… better go see what Torrin has planned for me today. I'll catch up with you later." Kassi stepped out of the staircase and took a few steps before stopping and turning back to Tylis. "And I think that Ser Kessel is on duty again tonight… Soooooo… Think you'd be up for another late night meal?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" Tylis grinned.

Knight-Commander Greagoir leaned away from the desk and into his high-backed chair. On the desk in front of him were various reports for all parts of Ferelden, and even a few from the Free Marches and Orlais. There had been a small Chasind raid along the edges of the Korcari Wilds, and since there was no proper military force in the area, the templars had dealt with it. There were numerous apostate hunts going on all over the kingdom, but that was practically a constant. And finally there had be reports of demonic possession in a small town called Glade, near the Frostback Mountains. The last report was the only one that truly troubled him. He and Irving had dispatched a dozen templars and three very capable mages to investigate and deal with the problem, but when they arrived in Glade, they discovered every living person in the town had been slaughtered and completely drained of blood, and the town had been burned to the ground. Knight-Lieutenant Irminric, the templar in charge of the expedition had taken the initiative and had led the group in search of what was certainly an abomination.

Greagoir sighed and rubbed his tired eyes with two fingers. Despite the danger that Irminric and the others were in, Greagoir wished that he was the one leading the hunt. Truth be told, Greagoir's best memories were during his days as a lieutenant, carrying out chantry business, and sometimes the Maker's justice in the field. It had been exciting, exhilarating, almost rejuvenating, and never had Greagoir felt more alive. But things had changed, and even good things had to come to an end. As he became older, his own superiors had decided to promote him, and eventually he'd reached the position of Knight-Commander of Ferelden, the highest position he could achieve, and he was content.

"Knight-Commander?"

Greagoir lowered his hands to find Ser August Kessel standing at attention in the doorway.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Commander." Kessel said respectfully, still locked at attention.

"It's not a problem, August." Greagoir answered as he stood up, feeling his knees pop as he did so. "I welcome distractions from the tedium of the daily routine… And stand easy!" Across the room Kessel immediately relaxed. "What do you need?"

"One of the apprentices, Tylis Amell, wishes to speak with you, Ser. He says that he wishes to know about his family. I told him that he would be better off letting the matter rest, but he is quite insistent."

"Tylis Amell…" Greagoir repeated the name as he stroked his grey jawline beard. "Isn't that the same apprentice who's always associating with that trouble-maker, Jace Surana?"

"Yes Ser." Kessel answered. "Although in his defense, Tylis himself is an exemplary apprentice, and his mentor, Leorah only continues to shower him with praise."

Greagoir arched an eyebrow curiously at his templar. Kessel had always been more friendly with the mages than Greagoir would have preferred, and was perhaps a bit too lenient on the apprentices. Perhaps that was why Kessel had never advanced beyond Knight-Templar, despite his age. Greagoir was tempted to deny the request on the spot, but as he looked back at the pile of papers on his desk he realized that he had no urge to return to his daily routine, and after all, what harm could there be in merely hearing out the boy's request?

"Very well." Greagoir sighed, "Send him in."

Ser Kessel leaned back out into the hallway and nodded, a few seconds later, Tylis strode in. He stood just inside the doorway, trying not to look scared or nervous, and failing on both counts.

"Stop cowering." Greagoir said in the same tone that he used when giving orders to his knights. "It's unbecoming! And unless you have done something wrong, you have nothing to fear."

"Sorry." Tylis said, and after sucking in a deep breath of air he was able to somewhat regain control himself and meet the Knight-Commander's eyes. "Force of habit, Knight-Commander."

Greagoir nodded once. "Ser Kessel tells me that you have questions of your family. What questions would those be, exactly?"

"I'm… Really not sure, Ser." Tylis answered. "I don't know anything about my family, so I wouldn't know where to start. I, uhh, well… I already asked Senior Enchanter Leorah, she referred me to the First Enchanter, but he said that even he didn't have access to that information, and that I would need to ask you. I uhh… asked Ser Kessel to umm… announce me? Because I didn't want it to look like I was… Umm, that I was going straight to… straight to the top of the chain."

Greagoir couldn't help but to smile at the intelligence behind Tylis' reasoning. Perhaps he really did deserve the praise that was constantly being sung about him. "And so you believe that I have information on the Amell family, and that I have been keeping said information from you?"

"Yes." Tylis said then quickly reversed himself, "I mean no… I mean yes… but… not that you were doing it intentionally."

"For the sake of argument, let's say that I do, and let us say that I give it to you. What would happen then? Your family has never made any attempt to write or to contact you in any way. It is possible that they do not even know you exist."

Tylis gulped, he couldn't help being afraid of Greagoir. "They… they might know I'm here. But common sense would dictate that at the very least, my mother would know I exist."

"True enough." Greagoir nodded. "But even so… what would you do? Why do you want to know?" He sighed and leaned back against his desk. "Tylis, I was not born the Knight-Commander, nor was I born a templar. My family hails for Orlais, and I came to Ferelden as a young man. We did our best to stay keep up correspondence, but as the years passed, the letters on both sides became fewer, and when the war broke out between our two countries and I refused to return, the letters stopped altogether. But I found a new family in the form of my brother knights that I served with, and should you ask Irving, or Leorah, or Kessel here, they would all tell you much the same thing. Can you not learn to be happy here with what you already have?"

Tylis' instinct told him to simply agree with the Knight-Commander, then turn around and get back to his own daily routine, but then Tylis swallowed his apprehension and forced himself to meet Greagoir's eyes again. "I have learned to be happy here, Knight-Commander. But… my family… my real family, is like a piece of myself that I have never known. Please Ser, I am only asking for simple knowledge."

Greagoir mulled over what had been said for a few moments, and looked down at the floor as he mentally debated with himself. Finally he looked up and said, "Very well. Wait here a moment." Greagoir departed the room, only to return a few minutes later with a small leather bound folder. "There." Greagoir said as he handed the file to the waiting Tylis. "All the information we have present on the Amells. It isn't much, mind you. But perhaps it will sate your curiosity, and will give you your peace of mind."

I like Greagoir, but his only real part in DA:O was to clean up the messes of the mages, and that really didn't leave a whole lot of room for personality. I get that he's dedicated to his job, but what Knight-Commander wouldn't be? But surely underneath all that there's got to be something else, right? I know that he appears in some of the Dragon Age comics, but I'm not a comic kind of guy... just not my kind of thing. But anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Might be a while before my next update, got some stuff going on in the real world. If you haven't already, please check out my other stories. Also I'd like to offer up special thanks to Musicalrain for helping me with my ideas and shaping my stories... and for telling me when I've hit a bad idea.

This story is turning out to be quite a bit longer than I had first intended, but I like how it's going. I know that it has been moving pretty slowly so far, but starting in the next chapter, it's really going to speed up.