Chapter 11: Marius

"You know Lona my dear," Zevran quipped, "We really need to stop meeting like this."

They were currently in the Ambassadorial suite of the White Spire. Solona had to admit she was a bit surprise such a place even existed. It was far more… lavish than what most mages were allowed to experience. Of course Marius said that he did not return to Val Royeaux often, most of the silks and tapestry that were here travelled back and forth with him from Tevinter. The Templars did not like it, but his position had bought him some leeway.

Zev was currently laying in one of the servant's beds, his midsection was heavily bandaged, the two mages had managed to save his life, but his injuries would take more time to heal.

The former crow frowned.

"I'm sorry my dear," he shook his head, "I don't know how that killer got past me, one moment I was alone and the next…" the assassin sighed, "It was if the man just appeared out of the wall."

Solona shivered, according to Marius, the Redeemed had many abilities. He could not say for sure if the killer had not simply walked through the walls.

The full capabilities of the Redeemed were known only to a few select Templars.

"It wasn't your fault Zev," she assured him, "According to Marius, few survive an attack by a Redeemed, you're lucky to still be among us."

"Marius?" the elf asked, "Who is Marius?"

"The Circle's Ambassador to Tevinter," she told him, "And apparently my brother."

"Brother you say, hmm," Zevran smiled slightly, "Should I be frightened my dear? Will he punish me for taking liberties with his sister?"

Solona blushed.

"Marius is not that type of brother I think," She said wryly, "He has invited me to breakfast though. He is curious about me."

"Then I shall…" Zev tried to rise, but hissed and lay back down when the pain hit him.

Solona winced, "Your hurt too bad Zev," she informed him, healing magic flowed from her fingers, it could not heal the wound completely, but it would keep things from getting worse.

"It seems I will not be joining you after all, alas," Zev sighed, "Do be careful my dear, if these Redeemed are anything like the crows, they will make another attempt on you."

Solona's expression turned grim, Marius had warned her about that to, the Redeemed had been deployed in Tevinter on occasion, and their method was fairly straight forward. First one is sent, if he fails, they send two, if they fail, they send four, and so on.

Eventually the mage is overwhelmed and killed. This attack was the first time Marius had ever heard the creatures being used outside of Tevinter however. They would be more cautious next time, considering the assassins body was laying down stairs being examined by the circle right now.

Someone would have a lot to answer for.

"Marius has his guards watching over us," she assured Zev, "He will keep us both safe for now," she leaned in and kissed her lover lightly on the lips.

"Feel better," she purred, "I would be most upset if I lose access to your more…intimate skills."

Zev grinned.

"You need not worry about that my dear, the killer damaged my belly not my more…intimate tools. I'm certain, when I have recovered, I will still be able to service your needs."

"Happy to hear that," she smirked, "Get some rest I will return soon."

She left him then. Zev frowned deeply, these Redeemed worried him greatly. Lona's life was in danger more than before.

She needed to be protected, and he was not up to the challenge against these…things.

He would not let this contract on her life stand.

The former crow began to make plans.

It seemed he had work to do.

IOI

"There was a time my dear sister," Marius said sadly, "that are family was among the mightiest in Kirkwall. We were an eyelash from the throne, but now…the Amell line is all but extinct, it is most unfair."

Solona sat quietly as the servants brought their meal, Marius had been telling her about their family history. His magic had shown itself rather late, he had been a child of nine when he was taken to the circle. She had begun to show signs at only five. The chantry had been watching their family very close by this point. The Lady Revka Amell had had seven children; all but one had been born with magic.

The circle had taken them all.

"What became of our brothers and sisters?" she asked.

Marius frowned.

"You were the seventh born," he informed her, "I was the third, Armand the eldest failed his harrowing, and the Templars killed him. Aldous, our second brother, was afraid that the same would happen to him, he accepted tranquility. Selina, our sister and the fourth born, was accused of practicing blood magic by Knight-Commander Guylian of Kirkwall, Tranquility was forced upon her. Artorius, the fifth of our family was sent to the circle in Rivain, he was killed trying to organize a rebellion there. Daylen…" Marius paused, the memory of his little brother still caused him pain, "Daylen died two days after his birth, he had been born sickly you see, the only Amell child not forced into the circle. Then you were born," Marius shook his head, "Had we been born without magic sister, you and I would likely be in line for the throne of Kirkwall right now. If Armand had not been born with magical talent, Father would have probably become Viscount when the Threnhold line collapsed."

"Are they still in Kirkwall?" Solona asked him, "Our parents, the rest of our family?"

Marius's eyes turned glacially cold.

"No," he spat, "Father and Mother killed themselves after you were taken, poison, our family had fallen apart by then. Uncle Fausten and his wife died of cholera. Uncle Damion was hanged, the fool had gotten involved with smugglers and they had let him take the fall for their crimes." Marius snorted like an angry horse, "The Amell line is dead in Kirkwall sister. Only cousin Gamlen remains and he is both a mundane and a weakling. Cousin Leandra abandoned our family, she could have married well and saved us, but she instead ran off and married a Ferelden apostate, any children produced from her would be mongrels, unworthy of the Amell name."

Solona chuckled at her brother's arrogance.

"Fereldans are not all bad brother," she said with a slight smile.

HE considered what she said, a slight smile tugged at his lips, "Of course my sister, of course. It is just a shame that our family had to perish. You and I are all alone in this world now."

Solona was about to tell him about Lucian, to give him hope for their future, but the words died on her tongue.

Tis a bad idea Lona, tell the man nothing.

Solona almost gasped, for moment…it…it sounded like she could here Morrigan speaking to her?

"Sister are you well?" Marius asked.

"Yes," informed him. She will not tell him about her son, not yet at least.

Marius decided to change the subject.

"What are you going to tell the Divine when you see her today?"

"I will ask her about the Redeemed," she said with a frown, "And why the Templars want me dead."

Marius chuckled.

"That will be hard sister considering you have no evidence to present to her."

"No evidence," Solona gasped. "But the body, it is down…"

"The body vanished this morning, and everything was cleaned up, the tranquil who brought it down found nothing."

Solona cursed under her breath, those bastards!

Marius raised a hand, a sly smile on his lips.

"They did not get everything however," he pulled out the assassin's brass face plate, the runes still glowing on its surface.

Solona smiled, she could almost kiss her brother, and yes she was certain that he was her brother now. It was not just his looks and his stories. It was everything, she could feel a familiar hum when he used magic near her, and it spoke of kin. It almost brought a tear to her eyes.

She was not alone, Lucian was not alone.

A thought occurred to her then, one she had not had before.

"Do you have a family in Tevinter Marius, a wife, children?"

"Not anymore," he said bitterly, "I…married a young Tevinter girl, technically it was against chantry law, but the Tevinter chantry agreed to carry out the marriage. The girl's father, a Magister actually did not approve of the match, his daughter would not leave my side however. My dear Alessandria…"Marius paused then, his eyes burning with hate, "She died…our unborn child with her."

"Oh brother," Solona said compassionately, "I am so sorry."

"It is better this way," he said dismissively, "My work…it…it consumes most of my time. I would have been a terrible Father."

Marius shook his head, "I suspect that the Divine's lackeys will be sending for you soon. You should prepare yourself for whatever it is she wants. I will try to find out from my end who sent that Redeemed. Family honor demands that he answer for this outrage with his life."

"Be careful Marius," she warned him, "I have just found you; I don't want to lose you so quickly."

"Fear not Solona," he grinned, "I have…access to things in Tevinter that the Templar know nothing about, I will be safe. May the Maker guide you in your meeting with the Divine."

"And in your endeavors as well," Solona replied.

Marius smiled enigmatically at that.

IOI

Solona's meeting with the Divine did not go as planned, the old woman was there yes, but was summoned away shortly after it began, that left Solona alone to speak with one of the Divine's most trusted servants and an old friend as well.

Mother Dorothea gestured to one of the guard's alcoves once the divine had exited, a chantry sister emerged, one with short red hair and blue eyes. She smiled warmly at Lona.

The Warden Mage smiled.

"Leliana," she said embracing her old friend and companion.

"Hello Lona," the bard grinned, "We thank you for coming."

We?

Solona turned to Dorothea, "Why do I get the feeling that the Divine did not wish to see me?"

"I made the suggestion to her perfection," Dorothea replied, "it made sense given your accomplishments."

Solona frowned.

"Did you know anything about the Redeemed assassin sent to kill me?"

"Lona," Leliana hissed, "How could you think…"

"It is alright Leliana," Dorothea soothed, "I heard that you were attacked, but had not heard more than that. Neither the Chantry nor I knew anything about this, you have my word."

Solona's eyes narrowed, it seemed suspicious, but Dorothea had helped her escape Fort Drakon during the Blight, and Leliana trusted her implicitly. That bought the Mother some credit in the warden mage's eyes.

She doubted that Leliana would have supported any attempt to kill her. Had the bard agreed, she would likely have done the deed herself, Solona would not have seen it coming.

It would have been an easy kill.

"Very well then," Solona sighed, "I'm sorry…I am use to seeing enemies everywhere."

"A wise attitude," Dorothea agreed, "especially considering what we need of you."

Solona shook her head, here it comes.

Dorothea sighed.

"Divine Beatrix is weak and sickly," Dorothea said quietly, "She will likely leave us for the Maker's side soon, the time to elect new Divine approaches."

This was not news to Solona; it had been the talk of Thedas for the last few years.

"Then why do you need me," Solona shrugged, "I'm just a Grey Warden, and a Fereldan to boot."

Leliana giggled.

Solona turned to face her.

"You sounded like Alistair," the bard grinned.

A hint of a smile came to the mage's lips, she supposed she did.

That was not a bad thing.

"You shall be called before the full assembly of the chantry this evening," Dorothea informed her, "There will be those that will ask you who you would favor in seeing ascend to the seat of the Divine."

"Why would the Mothers care what I think?"

"You ended the Blight Solona," Leliana added, "Many in the Chantry see you as a tool of the Maker himself. That grants your opinion great power."

The warden mage glared at her friend, she should have known better.

"I…I can't involve myself in politics Leli," Solona shook her head, "Grey Wardens must maintain their neutrality."

Dorothea sighed heavily.

"I'm not asking you to send troops Warden," Dorothea clarified, "Only to state your opinion, nothing more."

Solona snorted, all her life the chantry had defined who she was and all that she could become. The wardens had freed her from that.

She had no desire to return to it.

"Why do you need me for this?" Solona asked, "Why can the Chantry not decide for itself?"

Dorothea expression turned grim, she began to pace before the two younger women.

"This election will be like no other before it," Dorothea said, "The Templars have grown powerful under Beatrix's fading rule. They would see a sympathetic Divine elected, one that will allow them to continue on as they have these past two decades that…can no longer continue."

"If things continue as they are," Leliana added, "Mother Yvette is likely to ascend to the throne. She had always had close ties to the Templars. She will allow them to continue as they are."

"Really," Solona asked, "And why would a Mother agree to become a puppet of the Templars?"

"There have been rumors," Dorothea admitted, "rumors about Yvette and Knight-Commander Phillip. If these rumors are true, then she may follow him out of a desire to please him."

Solona paused; well…it should not come as that much of a surprise that a Templar and a sister, or mother in this case might develop feelings for one another.

"Isn't that against chantry law?" Solona asked.

"If the Templars have their way, Chantry law may mean nothing very soon,' Dorothea sighed.

Solona couldn't believe this, Maker what a mess.

"It is the mages who will suffer the most if the wrong Divine is chosen," Leliana warned, "If there is no Divine to keep them in check…."

"The more extreme elements within the order will not hesitate to suppress the mages. That could cause even greater problems," Dorothea gave the warden mage a pleading look; "It is in the best interest of all that you help us with this."

Solona cursed, this was not what she had intended, the Wardens had to remain neutral, but then again, the Templars had already decided she was a threat. They had sent that Redeemed had they not? The mages needed this, plus a sympathetic Divine might just keep the Templars in check.

Finally, Solona nodded, she would play Dorothea's game.

"Thank you Lona," Leliana smiled, "You will not regret this."

A hint of a smile played on Lona's lips, no she wouldn't. She had her own ideas what she would say to the Revered Mothers.

Dorothea provided her with a list of candidates for Divine. Solona read them over, but truth be told she had already made her decision.

She already knew who she would suggest to become the next Divine.

IOI

Two days later, Marius and his bodyguards accompanied Solona and Zevran back to their ship. The Ambassador had not stopped laughing since Solona's address to the Chantry.

Trust an Amell to throw fuel on a fire.

Solona had been respectful and honest in her addressing of the Assembly, but she had not been weak either, she would continue to rule Amaranthine, not as a noble, but a steward of the throne, a role that would pass to the next commander when he or she took office.

When asked about the future Divine, she had decided not to endorse any of the Mothers that Dorothea had suggested.

She had decided to back Dorothea herself.

It caused a bit of an uproar of course, Mother Yvette looked like she was ready to kill Solona on the spot. The Knight-Commander looked furious.

Solona smiled sweetly at them both.

Dorothea was speechless.

Leliana laughed lightly, she had tried to warn Her Reverence, Solona Amell always followed her own star.

The warden mage had politely excused herself; she still had work to do in Ferelden. It was time to get back to it.

"You have started something sister," Marius snickered, "the Templars are right to fear you."

"I don't want their fear brother," she informed him, "only their respect, and to be left to do my job."

She pulled out the assassins mask; she glared at the empty eye sockets.

"But if they send any more of their pets," she said looking at the dead redeemed face plate, "they will find out what it means to have me as an enemy."

Her eyes were cold and merciless.

Marius gave her a shark like grin.

"Spoken like a true Amell," he purred.

"I have one final thing to offer you sister," he said reaching into his cloak; he pulled out an old signet ring, bearing the Amell family crest.

He gave it one final sad look.

"This belonged to our sister," he said handing it to her, "Selina would have wanted you to have it."

She took it gratefully; it was nice to finally have something of her family, something beyond the old scarf she had given to Cullen long ago.

The favor he had rejected.

Solona sighed; she did not want to think of Cullen anymore.

She embraced her brother, the move surprised him, but he returned it. He would not lose track of his sister. He had plans of his own ambitions.

He hoped that when the time came, she would support him.

He was her brother after all.

"Maker watch over you brother," she said.

"And over you my sister," he replied.

She left him them, she and Zev boarded the ship back to Ferelden.

She found herself eager to return to her work in Amaranthine.

There was still so much left to do.