Two scenes here, included in the same chapter because they happen around the same time: Herah's thoughts on becoming Inquisitor and meeting Hawke. I was so geeked out when that happened in the game, and I wanted to write a version that gave more of my Champion's story.
"Commander, will they follow?"
Cassandra's voice rang out across the massive courtyard of Skyhold, her question implicitly addressed not just to Commander Cullen, but to the throngs gathered all around the former Templar.
"Inquisition, will you follow?"
It was Cullen who made the question explicit, but even before the people answered, Herah already knew what their response would be. She had known ever since the night in the mountains when all that remained of the Inquisition had joined in Mother Giselle's song, and the qunari was not in the least surprised when the crowd roared with approval, giving an affirmation without the need for words.
"Will you fight?"
They cheered once again, and of their resolve Herah had no doubt, not anymore. Whatever could be said of this group, they were not about to surrender. At Haven, an army of monsters led by a creature out of the darkest legends had destroyed their home, and after persevering in the face of that evil, they were not about to give up.
"Will we triumph?"
That was a much harder question to answer, not that one would know it from the answering roar. Whatever the people following her might think, Herah honestly had no idea how they were going to defeat Corypheus. Dealing with the Breech had been hard enough, but going up against this magister, something powerful enough to tear the world asunder… Only a madwoman wouldn't have her doubts, and the qunari liked to think she hadn't gone mad just yet.
"Your leader!"
It was her responsibility to do just that though, and at Cullen's words, the crowd turned their attention to her. Whether she knew what she was doing or not, these people expected her to be the one to guide them through the darkness.
"Your Herald!"
Even though she wasn't really the Herald of Andraste. Before the attack on Haven, Herah had had her fair share of doubts, but now, she knew for sure. The mark on her hand didn't come from the Maker; it was just a piece of Corypheus' magic that had somehow latched onto her when the Temple of Sacred Ashes was destroyed. She was no messiah, only a qunari mercenary doing the best she could.
"Your Inquisitor!"
Except they didn't need to hear that. These people needed her to be their leader, their Herald, and their Inquisitor, and that's what she intended to be. It might not make sense, but right now, there was no one else who could take her place.
Cullen raised his sword to salute her, and hefting the massive blade she had been handed only moments earlier, Herah returned the gesture. The blade was much too big for the dagger-wielding qunari to use effectively in battle, but she understood now that didn't matter. What mattered was that it looked the kind of sword an Inquisitor should hold, and that's what Herah had to be: the strong leader these people needed, no matter what she believed, no matter what it cost her.
"Inquisitor, meet Ella Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall."
Varric got out of the way as Herah approached, giving the rogue her first good look at the woman she'd heard so much about. For one thing, she was short, even compared to what a qunari got used to when dealing with humans. Cuter than Herah would've expected too, with her pure white hair tied back into a long braid, but the qunari knew better than to underestimate a mage, particular one with as impressive a reputation as Hawke.
"You know I don't use that title very much any more," the Champion pointed out to her friend, who added, "Hawke, the Inquisitor. I figured you might have some friendly advice about Corypheus. You and I did fight him after all."
The dwarf headed off to the other side of the battlements, leaving the newly minted Inquisitor standing next to the Champion. "We didn't just fight him," Hawke told her, "We killed him. Trust me, I know from dead, and this guy was dead." She shook her head. "It must have been some kind of Tevinter magic or a trick of the Taint, maybe. If I'd realized we were letting him escape…" Herah could hear in Hawke's voice the same weight she was starting to become accustomed to, and the qunari found something reassuring about having someone else who knew about kind of burden there with her.
"How'd you end up fighting him in the first place?", she asked. "Varric was a little vague on the details."
"I guess you could say it was a family obligation," Hawke explained. "Years ago, my father was pressured by the Grey Wardens into helping them strengthen the wards that bound Corypheus underground. Malcolm Hawke's blood was used as part of the rituals that reinforced the seals, which meant it could also be used to break them. That or the blood of his family, which was why these crazy dwarven cultists came after me and my brother, Carver. I tracked them back to the prison, but then we got stuck inside. I figured just killing Corypheus was the best answer to the problem." Hawke sighed. "Clearly, I figured wrong, but there were people I cared about with me in there, and it seemed like the only way we wouldn't be trapped forever."
"About those people you were with," Herah asked, "Varric said you two were part of a whole group back in Kirkwall. What happened to them? Can they help us fight Corypheus again?"
The mage shook her head, a wistful look evident in her blue eyes. "Most of them aren't really around anymore. After the Kirkwall Chantry was destroyed, we ended up going our separate ways. I didn't want them to become targets because of my choices, though I guess that didn't work out so well for Varric, since Cassandra grabbed him up anyway."
"Oh, he seems to be doing all right," Herah laughed. "Frankly, I think he's starting to grow on her."
"He is good at that," Hawke agreed, a small smile breaking through her gloom. "As for the rest, Fenris is off fighting Tevinter slavers, Sebastian went back to rule Starkhaven, and Aveline's still in Kirkwall, trying her best to clean up the mess we left behind. And Anders, well..."
"What was he like? I've heard stories…"
"Compassionate. Angry. Fanatical. Deceitful." Herah can hear the resentment building in Hawke's voice as she recalls the infamous apostate. "He'd told me he was gathering components for a ritual to remove the spirit of justice from his soul, but they were actually for the weapon he used on the Chantry." She tilted her head to the sky thoughtfully. "I don't think there was much left of the man he'd been by the end," she offered. "Or maybe that's what I tell myself. Maybe he'd been that monster all along and I just didn't see it. Either way though, he had to be put down. I'd helped him, even if I didn't know it at the time, and I had to stop him from hurting anybody else."
Herah looked out over the battlement at the people of the Inquisition going about their business far below the two women. Would she face a decision like that some day? Would one of them put her in that kind of position? Maker, she hoped not. This job looked to be hard enough already. "What about Merrill?", she asked, wanting to change the subject from one that obviously pained Hawke, "Varric said you two were especially close."
Hawke chuckled. "Did he now? He must trust you to have given up that much. But yes, we were involved. We still are, really, but she's with her people right now, helping to keep them out of the way of this mess with Corypheus. I've put her in enough danger already."
"And your brother, Carver? I heard he was a Templar."
"Back when there were Templars he was. He stayed behind in Kirkwall with Aveline at first, but I had her move him out of the Free Marches when this all started." She grinned, a mischievous note shining through in her smile. "He's probably mad at me for that like always, but I'm still his big sister and this is going to get messy."
"It already has. Which part did you have in mind specifically?"
She laughed. "Oh, all of it, I suspect. But right now, I'm mostly worried about the missing Grey Wardens. Let me fill you in…"