Chapter 10

Year 9:27 of Dragon Age

Kinloch Hold, Ferelden

Max Caulfield sighed in frustration as she looked out the window of her gilded cage, the reasonably comfortable private quarters she had been assigned now that she had become a full-fledged mage of the Circle. With this official promotion had come some very limited freedoms compared to what she had enjoyed as an apprentice, but it had also introduced her to an issue that had completely blindsided her and the other surviving graduates of her class: the Circle politics.

The structure of the Circle of Magi was a fairly complicated one, and it was also something that Max as an apprentice had no interest in learning about. At the top of the pyramid was the College of Magi comprised from the First Enchanters of all the Circles throughout Thedas, and the College itself was presided over by the Grand Enchanter, the post currently held by an elven woman named Fiona from the Circle of Cumberland. The position of the First Enchanter in any given Circle, however, was determined by the influence of something called the fraternities of any given Circle. For example, the majority of the Ferelden Circle of Magi were Aequitarians, moderately leaning mages who advocated for responsible and ethical use of magic, operating within the Chantry laws, while at the same time working to change some of the more oppressive rules imposed upon them by the Chantry and trying to improve conditions in the Circles in general. First Enchanter Irving was an Aequitarian, as was a large majority of the enchanters, which meant that following Irving's eventual retirement due to quickly approaching old age, it was likely to be another Aequitarian taking up the vacant position, most enchanters leaning towards supporting Wynne as the best candidate.

In truth, Max felt like she would find herself right at home with the Aequitarians, once she had received her next promotion to the rank of enchanter and was actually allowed to officially join a fraternity. However, following her experiences of Harrowing, the death of Stella and two other apprentices of her class who had failed their Harrowing, as well as Alyssa's decision to become a Tranquil, Max still experienced flashes of horrible anger towards the Chantry and its templars for this unfair system of torturous trials they had created. It did not help that lately she felt as if she was being stalked by one of those creepy, armored tin cans. Perhaps stalked was too strong of a word, Max admitted as much to herself, but it felt as if this particular templar was looking at her differently, without that cold, dispassionate indifference, and this unexpected attitude disturbed Max. At this point, she wanted the templars to hate and despise her, thus confirming her worst assumptions about them. She did not want to meet a templar who was different from those she had come to hate.

Considering that the Aequitarians were in such an overwhelming majority, the other fraternities had as of late began very aggressive recruiting campaigns, pouncing on mages fresh out of their Harrowings and trying to secure their long-standing support. Only two of these fraternities were of any significance and deserved consideration. The Loyalists followed the Chantry's word down to the letter, these Chantry apologists always seeking to justify the templar crimes against their own kind, unwilling to even entertain the thought that the Chantry and its templars could ever be wrong, and that someone might be deliberately misinterpreting the Chant of Light in order to keep the mages oppressed. Many of these loyalist mages believed that their magic was a curse of the Maker, inflicted upon them for their sins, and so Max was certain that if her friend Kate was still alive and had survived the Harrowing, she would have found succor amongst the small fraternity of the Loyalists, but it definitely was not an option for Max.

And so, with her anger towards the templars and the Chantry at its peak, Max had responded favorably to the advances of the Libertarian fraternity. The Libertarians were a controversial group that was treated with the utmost concern and suspicion by the templars, for they were trying to encourage the Circles to become more autonomous and self-regulating, eventually breaking away from the Chantry rule, something that the Chantry had no interest in allowing. And while most Libertarians advocated for non-violent means to gain their independence, there was rumor of a faction within the Libertarians called the Resolutionists, people who promoted the use any means, including violence, to cast off the Chantry shackles. Max had no interest in dealing with these Resolutionists, but the overall goals of the Libertarians appealed greatly to her, so she had given a provisional agreement to join their fraternity once she was allowed to do so. It seemed like a good idea at the time, for the Libertarians were the fastest growing fraternity amongst all Circles, aided by the fact that Grand Enchanter Fiona was a Libertarian, even if the College of Magi itself still held an Aequitarian majority.

However, after Max had disclosed her plans to Warren, her friend had been spending many hours stubbornly trying to change her mind, and instead join him and Brooke in the ranks of the Aequitarians. Warren was searching relentlessly for various examples of the Libertarians taking extreme actions to achieve their goals, pointing out signs of hate mongering in their rhetoric, and given enough time, Max was slowly becoming convinced that perhaps a less radical approach to changing the fortunes of her fellow mages might be more preferable. Her change of heart left Max in a slightly precarious position since she had already promised her support to the Libertarians, and even if such promises were not in any way binding, she was concerned about their reaction when she announced that she had changed her mind. In less than an hour, she was supposed to meet two of the Libertarian mages to discuss the latest developments within the fraternity, and Max still felt undecided whether she wanted to bring up her decision and risk earning their wrath.

Uncertain and hesitant, Max broke away from the window and crossed the floor of her room to step out into the corridor, having decided to seek out Warren and talk things over with him one more time, his counsel never steering her wrong before. Warren was absent from his quarters, but Max eventually managed to find him in the smaller library on the third floor, meant solely for the full-fledged mages, sitting together with Brooke and discussing something over a mug of steaming herbal tea. Max smiled to herself, feeling both joy and relief at seeing the pair growing ever closer. For a while it seemed as if Warren would never get over his infatuation with her, and in truth it had become worse following their both successful Harrowings, but lately, having been discouraged by Max's indifference, Warren appeared to be bonding romantically with Brooke. On her part, Max had already realized that she was simply not sexually attracted to the opposite gender. Whenever she sought brief solace and relief from all the tensions in the privacy of her room, she could not stop herself from recalling the painful memory from her Harrowing, the desire demon posing as Chloe. Even if she realized that Chloe might not even look anything like in that fake memory, or that her friend would be utterly disgusted that Max would think of her in a sexual way, she simply could not stop her thoughts from wandering in that direction, as ashamed as it made her.

"Hey, you two," she smiled softly as she approached her friends, expecting a frown from Brooke for interrupting their privacy, but it never came, the raven-haired girl simply smiling at her. Damn... if I had known that telling Brooke that I wasn't romantically interested in Warren would stop all that haughtiness and snapping at me, I would have done so a long time ago, Max thought to herself in amusement. Maybe we would have been best friends by now... ah well, still time for that!

"Hey Max," Warren greeted her as she sat down with them. "I thought you were going to meet with your... you know, other friends."

"Ahem, yes, in a bit," Max blushed slightly. "That's kinda why I'm here, Warren. I've been... thinking a lot about what you've told me over the past weeks... you too, Brooke," she smiled at the other girl. "And I'm really torn. I think I'm starting to see your point..."

"You know we're right about this, Max," Brooke said with her usual confidence. "The Libertarians can't win this in the long run. They want to change too much too quickly."

"Yeah, I know it seems like that," Max nodded. "But you know, maybe sometimes change needs to be like that. Shocking and abrupt."

"That might work if this only concerned us, the Chantry and the templars," Warren argued. "Unfortunately, what happens with the mages has huge ramifications for people outside the Circles as well. And it's no secret that the ordinary folk of Thedas fear mages."

"And often for a good reason," Brooke nodded. "There are too many incidents with magic being used in an irresponsible manner, leading to loss of life, and it's just too easy for the Chantry to exploit it. That's why as Aequitarians we feel so strongly about using our magic in a responsible way, while at the same time working to slowly change the public perception of the mages. For every story of maleficarum and abominations that the Chantry propagates, we must come up with three other stories of heroic, responsible mages, and we must make these stories heard throughout Thedas."

"Well, I guess that sounds good in theory, but wouldn't it take too much time in practice?" Max asked. "We'd pretty much need Thedas to face some kind of horrible disaster so that the mages could step up and save the day."

"Helpful as that might be, I wouldn't wish that on the people of Thedas," Warren sighed. "And you're right, Max, this approach might take a long time to get us where we want to be, but I feel like it's still the right path to take. We need to show with example that we are responsible enough to govern ourselves."

"I agree with Warren," Brooke smiled at the young man next to her. "Meanwhile, the Libertarians simply demand more rights. It's all too easy for the Chantry to shoot their requests down, pointing out all the awful things that some of the Libertarian supporters have done. They'll never get anything done that way. Especially if the Resolutionists continue to spread their influence within the fraternity."

"Okay, fine, fine, I'm convinced," Max chuckled, raising her hands in mock-surrender. "I'm going to tell them that I'm bowing out and joining the Aequitarians instead. I just hope they won't react too badly."

"Want us to go with you?" Warren asked, looking a little concerned.

"I doubt that's necessary," Brooke pointed out, clearly preferring to remain just where she was, by Warren's side. "Even the Libertarians wouldn't dare to start trouble here with templars on every corner."

"That's exactly what I thought," Max agreed with a nod of her head. "Besides, I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to intimidate them by bringing along my friends. I made the mistake of promising them my support, I'm going to correct it myself."

"Alright," Warren reluctantly agreed. "You just be careful, Max."

Max merely smiled at her friends as she rose from her seat and walked out of the library. Her place of meeting with the Libertarians was the small chapel on the second floor, usually empty as long as they chose the time of the day when the Chantry sisters were not conducting their religious sermons. When Max reached the chapel, making sure that no templars had followed her, she found it empty as expected, save for her two Libertarian friends. Neither of the two had yet reached the rank of enchanter, so they were not actually members of the fraternity, but like Max they had made a promise to join the Libertarians as soon as they were able and they were taking their vows very seriously, making sure that Max did so as well.

One of the Libertarian hopefuls was a young man called Anders, some two or three years older than Max, slightly effeminate with long blonde hair styled in a ponytail, green emeralds glistening in each earlobe. He was always accompanied by an older mage, closer to his thirties and sporting thick dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard, a very serious and grim looking man by the name of Karl. The way these two sometimes acted around each other with curious familiarity led Max to suspect that they were romantically involved, not that she would ever think to pry into their private matters.

"Ah, there you are," Anders noticed her first, grinning at Max. "Boy, do we have some news for you. Uldred read us a bit from the first draft of the bill of secession-..."

"Uh... please, Anders, before you tell me that, I have some news for you as well," Max said, raising her hand to stop the other mage's flood of words. "News that you probably won't like..."

"You've been hanging out too much with your Aequitarian leaning friends, haven't you?" Karl asked, giving her a dirty glare.

"Yeah, what of it?" Max retorted, unimpressed with Karl's attitude. He often seemed the more radical and confrontational of the two, making Max wonder just how much of Anders going along with the Libertarian agenda was to do with their romantic involvement. "I'm sorry, but the more I listen to them, the more what the Aequitarians are saying is starting to make sense."

"They're just spreading their own propaganda, Max, don't you understand?" Karl gave her a frustrated stare. "Those Chantry arse-lickers will never achieve anything, I thought that would have become clear by now! Of course they're trying to make us look bad since our ranks are growing so swiftly!"

"Yeah, Karl is right, they're often making completely ridiculous claims," Anders agreed with his lover. "By the Maker, they make it sound as if we'd be willing to blow up a chantry to achieve our goals. How ridiculous is that?"

"I don't know," Max shrugged. "It doesn't change that I still want out. Tell Uldred that I'm going to join the ranks of the Aequitarians once I become an enchanter."

"You're making a big mistake, Max," Anders shook his head sadly. "You'd have made a fine Libertarian. I know how much you hate the Chantry and the templars, and the whole unjust system... the best way to oppose it is as a Libertarian."

"Yeah," Karl nodded, taking a step closer to Max, glowering in anger. "Breaking a promise is not a small thing, girl. We will remember. Reconsider, or else you might earn a dangerous enemy here today."

"Are you threatening me?" Max asked, almost unable to believe what she was hearing. "You're only confirming that my decision is the right one."

"I'm sure Karl didn't mean it like that, Max," Anders said quickly, trying to appear conciliatory. "Didn't you, Karl?"

"Maybe I did mean it," Karl snarled angrily, placing his hand on Max's shoulder and squeezing it painfully. "Remember what I'm going to tell you now, girl. After we have crushed the Chantry and the templars, time will come for those mages who did not stand with us. Don't end up on the wrong side, Caulfield."

"You're hurting me," Max sobbed, trying to pull away, but Karl would not allow her… and then they were all taken by surprise as another voice spoke up from the doorway into the chapel.

"Let her go and step away, mage," a female templar intervened, the same whom Max had often noticed looking at her with an inquiring, sympathetic... perhaps even strangely longing expression in her eyes.

"Shit!" Karl exclaimed in panic. A burst of magic suddenly sprang from his hands and struck the unsuspecting templar, throwing the woman against a wall and stunning her.

"What are you doing, Karl?" Anders exclaimed, looking horrified. "Attacking a templar? Are you insane?"

"No, are you?" Karl snarled back at his lover. "She heard me talking about crushing the templars and the Chantry! Don't you know what happens to the mages who says things like that?" Anders fell silent, knowing exactly what Karl was implying. "Stop standing there uselessly and take her helmet off," he ordered Anders.

"What do you think you're doing?" Max asked quietly, looking on as Anders crossed the chapel and bent down next to the fallen templar while in the meantime Karl withdrew a wicked looking dagger.

"Silencing her forever, of course," Karl replied with determination. "But obviously we can't kill her with magic. If I slit her throat, at least there's a chance that mages won't be the only suspects."

"It's still probably going to get us all killed," Anders muttered, having removed the templar's helmet. Max stepped forth, still terrified from what Karl was about to do, glancing down at the fallen templar, surprised to see a boyish mop of shockingly bright blue hair, but then letting out a loud gasp when her eyes settled on the templar's face, recognition setting in immediately. Chloe? It's Chloe! But... but how? Why is she here... wearing templar armor? This is insane!

"It doesn't matter," Karl said, stepping forward with his dagger poised to strike. "Say hello to the Maker when you see him, templar bitch."

"Max... I..." Chloe moaned helplessly, still partly stunned by Karl's magic as she looked up at her best friend, their eyes meeting.

"No!" Max screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling a dormant torrent of magic rising within her, something that she could never tap into under normal circumstances. Just as those nearly five years ago when Chloe's life was threatened on the shores of the Waking Sea, Max felt the same strange energy surging through her, enveloping the young mage and bending reality itself all around her. Everything around her briefly darkened as Max became like a living conduit for the raw energy of the Fade, roaring as it twisted and reshaped the pattern of reality. As her uncontrolled magic began to subside, Max could hear a cry of pain from within the chapel, but fortunately it did not seem to be coming from Chloe. When Max finally dared to open her eyes again, she saw that Karl's dagger was embedded in his own throat, leaving him in a rapidly growing pool of blood, while Chloe and Anders were spread out on the floor, passed out.

Before Max could even think on what to do now, she was surprised by a group of three templars bursting into the small chapel, led by Knight-Commander Greagoir himself. "Give up, Caulfield," Greagoir bellowed at her. "Don't even try anything!"

"But I didn't-..." Max tried to protest, even as she realized how bad it must have looked for her, standing over a corpse and two unconscious bodies, her arms still frozen in the position of having cast a spell.

"Don't bother," Greagoir snapped, calling upon his lyrium enabled ability to dampen magic and blasting Max with it, leaving her as if paralyzed and barely able to move her fingers. "Carroll, Hadley, seize her," he motioned to his two lackeys. "Drag her to the Harrowing Chamber and prepare for the Rite of Tranquility. This is the clearest case I've come across in my twenty years here," he spoke angrily as Max found herself too stunned to even scream, tears of disbelief running down her cheeks.