Andate, Andarta
10.
Ten years was enough time for all of them to grow; they had all started off as little more than children during the Blight, but just as Andate flourished in her role, Lanaya had become a woman fitting for her station as Keeper. Her bone structure had filled out and she lost some of the childish plumpness she had when they first met her, making her look more womanly, with elegant beauty. Her eyes also gleamed with an older light as responsibility took its toll on her, and where before she had been student and follower, now she moved with all the mannerisms of leader and teacher. She had become more confident and assertive, losing her timidity and uncertainty. She and Andate respected each other greatly, but more than that, they were very good friends. Andate had visited the Dalish camps in the south before, and Lanaya had likewise visited Vigil's Keep.
The Keeper was as hungry as Alistair expected, and was delighted to join them for breakfast. After greeting the King and Queen politely, exchanging a kiss on each cheek with Andate, and introducing her Dalish companions to Hawke's, they ate breakfast with Merrill chattering animatedly with the elves. There was no serious talk, which was fortunate because the reason for Lanaya's visit did not do well for one's appetite.
"I bring this from asha'belannar," Said the Keeper, handing Andate an amulet. "She said you would know what to do with it."
Andate exchanged a look with her cousin. Merrill let out a gasp.
"That name sounds ominously familiar," Said Alistair.
"It's Flemeth," Said the Warden, "She just told you to give this to me?"
"Yes." Lanaya folded her hands. "She did also mention that it is the only way to find the one you seek."
"Like mother, like daughter," Andate flashed Alistair a smile. He was looking faintly ill. "Should have known that we would be seeing Flemeth whenever Morrigan is brought up. How does she look, Lanaya?"
"…Pardon?"
"The asha'belannar," Andate clarified, "Angry? Annoyed? Smug?"
"I am not sure," The Keeper said honestly, "I dared not look her in the eye."
Andate never had trouble looking anyone in the eye unless she cared about them, but then she had the raw power to back up that kind of audacity. "Interesting."
"This is bad." Alistair snatched the amulet from her, and Andate repressed the swell of irritation that followed. "She can't possibly be alright with you, and all of the sudden she wants to help you? There's something else going on."
"The last time I saw that amulet," Hawke spoke up, "Merrill summoned her from it. She said that she stored a piece of herself in it, in case something…happened. Presumably when you killed her."
Lanaya looked stricken by this. Over the years, no one had told the Keeper about Flemeth—it was simply never brought up.
Andate slapped Alistair's wrist and grabbed the amulet back. She was going to have a word with him about snatching things from her without asking first. Closing her eyes, she focused. It was a magical item, but nothing so substantial as a piece of a person, or whatever entity Flemeth was supposed to be.
"Flemeth knows," She said, "Ten years is a long time for a mage to grow in power, and I was strong to begin with. She's old, and she might do away with me if she tried hard enough, but such ancient beings normally don't like the hassle. And besides, she needs me, for some reason." She looked at her cousin. "Perhaps because of what Andarta and I can do together. You were never afraid of her either, were you? Not even when you saw she was a High Dragon."
"I think I was too dumb to be afraid," Hawke answered.
"That too." Andate tucked the amulet back so Alistair could not take it again. "Beings like Flemeth," She told Lanaya, "Have their own agendas. It is useless to be afraid of them because it doesn't prepare you, or protect you. You have to face them and assert your own position, or else they will walk over you."
"Beings like Andate also have a death wish," Alistair broke in dryly, "And can afford to stand up to bloody hags that morph into high dragons because they're not too keen on staying alive."
Andate glared at him. She really had not appreciated his blasé attitude toward Nathaniel's letter; frankly she was embarrassed by how foolhardy he made her appear in front of Hawke's companions. She did not want a reputation for being reckless. "You really shouldn't crack jokes when you don't understand the matter at hand, Your Majesty."
He shut his mouth. When Andate resorted to referring to him by his title, he usually knew he had made her angry.
Fergus, who had been silent all this time, asked, "What do you intend to do with it, Andy?"
Andate tightened her hold over the amulet and focused on it again. This time, instead of simply identifying the amulet's magic, she willed it to work.
The world abruptly pulled away, and she was in a place not unlike the Fade, but it felt lighter, less blurry, her movements free of the weight of dreams. She was standing in what looked like a grand palace, the floors and walls made of smooth marble and covered with tapestries. It was empty, however, punctuating the sheer vastness of the place, the high ceilings and the open halls that stretched to merge with the maze of other corridors.
"Ah," Said the familiar voice, "And here we are again."
Andate turned to behold a beautiful young woman, hair as black as night and eyes like Morrigan's, and whose looks did not match her voice at all. She was actually more beautiful than her adopted daughter, equally slender and fierce, but with a sweeter face that belonged to a far less cynical person. She was clad in robes like Morrigan's, but there was more grey and white woven with the black, and on her hair streamed loose behind her, almost to her knees, while a headdress balanced on top, two horns pointing to the back.
"You certainly know how to use your amulets," Andate noted, "First you summon yourself from one, then you summon another into it."
Flemeth chuckled. "I see you have met your cousin. Another unique soul in a world of fools. Pity that your lives are so entwined with the rest—you both would do better to be free of such hindrances…but I suppose one's company is based more on fortune than choice."
Andate looked around for a moment before glancing back at her. Obviously, Flemeth did not seem to think much about Andate's attempt to kill her, and the Warden was definitely not about to bring it up herself. The witch did not look upset at all, as Andate had expected, but still, the Warden was wary. On occasion, entities like Flemeth could be petty without mortals ever realizing it.
"You mean to tell me something," The Warden-Commander prompted.
Flemeth gave her a penetrating look. "I know the quest you mean to embark on. It is no easy feat. You mean to wage war upon an entire realm and that, my child, is not something a mere mortal can accomplish. Even if you gather allies, summon my daughter and her child, you will hardly put a dent in those who walk the Fade."
The Warden scrutinized her. "How did you know what my intentions were?"
The asha'belannar chuckled. "The wise never tell, but you know that, for you have your own wisdom, do you not? You see things that your companions do not comprehend, you perceive at a glance what others take years to learn. Those like you understand at a deeper level than your brethren. You know how I could predict your mind, for you have constantly predicted mine the very same way."
Andate folded her hands in front of her. "I would not be so audacious as to claim such a thing, Flemeth."
"Another wise act." Flemeth nodded approvingly. "I have brought you here to grant you and your cousin a gift, one which will ensure you succeed in your task."
"Gifts are seldom free," Andate pointed out, "And you have little reason to help a petty mortal like me."
"Petty mortals are often underestimated," The witch replied, "And you are not quite like others, fair one. All realms are connected, and what transpires in each affects the rest. It was why I helped you with the Blight, it was why I saved your cousin from the same, and it is why I help you now."
"What would my success accomplish for you?"
"That is mine to keep, Grey Warden. Know only that your success itself will be my boon." Flemeth looked at her pointedly. "Do you accept?"
"What is it that I am accepting?"
Andate had no idea what part of her robes Flemeth drew the mirror from, but it seemed to come from somewhere within the folds of scant cloth. It was a handheld mirror, with a silvery-white handle and a frame as wide as her own face, shaped in an oval. As far as mirrors went, it was rather plain and simple, but even from where she stood, Andate could feel its power.
"You are both mage and Grey Warden," Said Flemeth, "This item will not help you, but your sister-cousin is a ripe vessel. I give this to her through you. Shine upon the demons with the glass, and it will show them their maker."
With a jolt, Andate came back and saw the ceiling of the dining hall. She was on Alistair's lap, and the King was frantically trying to smite her. It worked.
"Ughglgh!" She groaned out, "What did you do that for?"
Alistair heaved a sigh of relief. "Good, it stopped."
She heard murmurs of concern as she slowly sat up. When did she fall to the floor? How long was she out? Don't think whatever it was stopped because of the smite. If anything, she wagered the smite worked because it stopped. Ugh, hate smites!
"Are you alright?" Hawke asked.
She felt fine, if disoriented by the sudden switches in scenery and Alistair's rather brutal smite. She was going to have to have a few words with him about how liberally he kept using that skill on her recently.
"Warden?" Zevran called, at Alistair's other side.
"I'm fine," Andate grimaced, "How long was I out?"
"You just fell to the floor," Said Isabela, "Couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes."
"What happened?" Lanaya asked. "You look a bit pale."
"Get some water for her," Hawke ordered Bethany.
"I'm fine," Andate said again, "I…" How was she going to explain this? She glanced at herself. No mirror. Hm…
Hawke gasped when the Warden-Commander reached out to touch her hand. She flinched back, blinking warily.
"What did you just do to me?" Her cousin demanded.
"Shine upon the demons with the glass, and it will show them their maker…" Andate frowned.
"What does that mean?" Alistair asked. "Andate, what did that witch's amulet do to you?"
"Flemeth gave me something to help," Said Andate, frowning deeper. "She gave me a looking-glass, but said she will give it to Andarta through me…do you feel anything?"
"I felt a sudden jolt," Said Hawke, "But beyond that, I feel nothing unusual now."
"Huh," Merrill blinked her large eyes, "So is the looking-glass in Hawke now, or something?"
Varric considered Hawke. "I really hope not, Daisy," He said, "Because if abominations are anything to go by, harboring anything other than yourself in your body is bad news."
Anders inadvertently revealed his true loyalties when he checked Hawke first before checking Andate, even though the Warden was the one who had just fainted. "They're both fine, as far as I know. I don't sense anything wrong with Hawke."
Alistair was holding Andate by the arms. She shrugged from his grip with a light scowl.
"What happened?" Zevran asked.
Andate told them.
"This amulet is going straight to oblivion," Alistair said before she even finished, "I'm going to hammer this thing to pieces. And you," He glared at the troubled Lanaya, "What made you think giving her this amulet was a good idea?"
"Leave her alone, Alistair," Andate was losing her temper again—why was the King so good at making her do that? "We're all none the worse for wear and despite transparency, Lanaya is not aware of everything we are. I suspect there are things about this Flemeth that she knows and we don't as well." She blinked then. "The amulet." She lifted the item to consider it. "I know what is going on."
Hawke took the amulet warily, but felt nothing until she actually put it on. Anders checked her over anxiously.
"It's definitely bonding with her," Said Andate, keeping track of the magic. "I don't actually sense it hurting her, however."
"I don't either," Anders agreed.
"Are you sure you want your cousin wearing that thing?" Alistair asked.
"Flemeth wouldn't lie to me," Said Andate, "She knows I can tell when she's lying, and there is no need."
"I think you're being overconfident."
"I agree," Said Zevran, with a dirty look at Alistair, "But the fair Warden is usually right, even so."
Elissa, who had been quiet the entire time, gestured to Fergus to help Andate stand, since she was still feeling woozy from the smite. Duncan, who had been standing uncertainly outside the crowd, ran forward to hug the warden when she stood.
"You're alright now, Aunt Andy?"
"Yes, I'm fine, your father is a little too enthusiastic with his templar abilities."
"You weren't waking up!" Alistair protested. "And the amulet's magic was inside you. I was afraid you were getting possessed!" His voice was high and squeaky in the end.
"Ugh," Andate did not have it in her to be angry at him. "I'll be alright, I just need some rest."
"I'll take her upstairs," Said the teyrn, lifting her without much warning.
"I can walk." With a lot of help. This was ignored.
"She's really pale," Hawke said with concern, "Anders, will you come with us?" She and Bethany moved to her side.
"Sure," Said the healer, following them.
It had been some time since she was carried. The last time was by Nathaniel, long long ago. It was a bit of an unnerving experience, because a man's arms did not really make for the best support, and she was obliged to hold tight and brace herself to prevent sagging to the floor. Still, the teyrn carried her like she weighed nothing. Elissa's brother was a strong fellow.
"Which room is she in? She's in the normal one, right?" Fergus asked Hawke.
"I forget which is her normal one; it's been a while, but over here," Anders directed. "Seriously, Andy, how do you put up with all the smiting?"
"I don't," Andy moaned, "I throw a fit every time, don't you remember last time?"
Fergus laid her down on the bed with the gentle care he used with everything. "Why don't you rest for a bit?" He laid a hand on her arm, "Don't worry about the Keeper, or Alistair. Elissa and I will deal with him."
Hawke was giving Fergus a penetrating look.
"I'll stay with her," Bethany volunteered as Anders checked Andate over, "It's no fun when you get smitten and recover alone." The mage crawled onto the bed and cuddled next to Andate, making the warden giggle.
"I should get Merrill," Anders said with some disgust at how girly they were being, "Then you magewomen can snuggle together."
"She's probably going to want to stay with the Dalish," Hawke pointed out. "I'm going to head back to make sure everyone else behaves themselves." She took Andate's hand. "Try to get some sleep. I hear it's the best cure for smites."
Fergus looked like he wanted to stay longer for some reason, and Andate wondered if there was something he had wanted to discuss with her. The teyrn eventually inclined his head at her and followed Hawke out.
Am I being overconfident? She could almost feel within her bones that Flemeth was being honest. There was no reason for a creature such as she to reach out to someone like Andate only to lie to her. On the other hand, Andate did kill her once, and rudely too. On the other hand, death did not seem to be a big deal to those like Flemeth.
Sometimes one had to spring traps to progress. Neither she nor Hawke were the types who stayed safe, and wearing the amulet had been as much Hawke's choice as her own, especially given that both knew what the other knew. She pressed against Bethany and allowed herself to slip into the Fade.