Chapter 13

It was really hard to not get drunk as we waited in the Hanged Man for midnight. I ended up having to watch Garrett and Varric like a...hawk...to make sure they didn't buy any more drinks.

"You're no fun Moonlight," said Varric testing out another new nickname he's come up for me.

"That one's not as bad as the others," I said with a turn of my head. "And if you get drunk how the hell will you manage to fight?"

"With skill," he said. "And I think it suits you. The nickname that is. Not only does you name literally mean "moon", but your eyes glow like its light, so...Moonlight it is."

"So long as you don't call me Moonshine it's alright," I said with a smile and laugh.

"Damn! She saw right through it." Varric then laughed after he had said that.

"Are you sure you two aren't drunk?" Garrett finally asked.

"If I was drunk, Hawke, you wouldn't have to ask," said Varric with a smile.

"And if I was drunk I'd be much, much happier than this." I then laughed, "I'm just a little tipsy that's all."

"We need to start heading for the Chantry," Garrett finally said with some authority.

I was about to say something smart assed, but stopped. Unfortunately I have to admit that Garrett was right. We really did need to head towards the Chantry now.

"And I thought Moonlight here was the stick-in-the-mud," grumbled Varric.

"As much of a downer he may be, he's right. We should get going," I said finally

"Did you just agree with me?" Garrett asked in surprise.

"Yes, and if you so much as even think about telling anyone I'll have to rip off your fingernails and soak your hands in vinegar," I said sounding serious with a smile on my face.

"It's probably just the alcohol talking anyways," he said.

"Probably," Varric said in agreement.

"Hey!"

It was rough going, getting to the Chantry. We had run in to our third group of bandits, which was the largest thus far.

"I am so glad I'm on your side Moonlight," Varric said as I decapitated the last bandit. "I think I'll just call you Luna. You name's already short enough so you don't need one.

"And the moral of this story is to not piss me off, or challenge me, or to give me ridiculous nicknames," I said with a smile. We then kept walking towards the Chantry. The Chantry's courtyard had just come into view.

"I thought I was the only story teller of the group," Varric said with a sarcastic sadness.

I just chuckled quietly at that and continued through the courtyard. We stayed to the shadows as we walked up the steps to the Chantry's entrance where we met up with Anders.

"This is my brother Garrett," I said indicating to him, "and my friend Varric."

He gave them a nod and said, "I saw Karl go in already. Are you ready?"

"We haven't seen anybody suspicious yet, let's make this quick," Garrett said. He was in front of me still and blocking my path a little so that I couldn't stand next to Anders. Why he did this puzzled me.

The Chantry was dark and quiet except for the light given off by some of the candles that were still burning. Garrett cast a spell and a tiny orb of light hovered about in front of us illuminating the place a little more.

"Don't worry," Garrett said, "we are the only ones that can see its light."

"When we find Karl...just...let me talk to him," Anders whispered.

"He's to the right," I said quietly.

"How do you..." Anders started to say puzzled that I knew where he was.

"Come on," Garrett said firmly and quietly.

We all walked to the right and up the stairs once we got out of the main corridor of the Chantry. I indicated to them that he was up ahead, but still to our right. After a couple of paces we saw Karl standing by a table in the makeshift room that the sisters and brothers sometimes use if they stay at the Chantry. "Something's very wrong. He must have heard us but why didn't he turn around? Something bad is about to happen...or has already happened." The thought of Karl being made tranquil and then used to lure Anders out passed through my mind, but I kept it to myself even though I shouldn't have.

"Karl," Anders said with relief in his voice.

They all walked up to him, but I hung back at the wide entrance to the open chambers that Karl was in. "If something going to happen, I'll be the first to know and the first to fight." I moved to one of the shadows cast by the dim light and quietly unsheathed my swords.

"Anders, I know you to well. I knew you would never give up," Karl spoke in a monotone still with his back to us, and my fears were proved to be what actually happened. Karl had been made tranquil. "So, that's why my necklace almost didn't alert me to his presence and to where he is, because he was tranquil. Son of a fucking bitch! That means this is a trap! Shit!"

"What's wrong? Why are you talking like ...?" Anders asked. He still hadn't figured out what happened. None of them had.

"I was too rebellious, like you. The templars knew I had to be...made an example of." Karl turned around and the brand on his forehead told the others that he was now tranquil. I gripped the hilts of my swords harder in anger. "They have no right to do this! If he was a harrowed mage than making him tranquil goes against Chantry law!" My face twisted into a snarl and I breathed heavier, but still remained silent.

"No!" Anders said desperately, as if he were trying to undo what was already done. My heart went out to him. "No person should have to see their friend become tranquil. It is almost certainly worse than watching them die."

"How else will mages master themselves? You'll understand Anders, as soon as the templars teach you to control yourself," Karl said as he kept talking in that creepy monotone.

That's when I finally heard footsteps, and they were right behind me. I had been paying too much attention to what Karl had been saying that I didn't notice. An arm grabbed me around the waist and brought a blade to my throat, but he didn't realize my weapons were already out.

"This is the apostate," Karl finally said, and with that I ran my sword through the templar who had a hold of me's stomach then quickly turned around and slit him in the throat.

"Templars!" I yelled as I removed my sword from the now dead templar's body.

"NO!" I hear Anders cry, but I didn't turn around. I was facing the oncoming templars that were now coming towards us.

Then my necklace started burning fiercely as something of incredible magic ability unleashed the full extent of its powers. My necklace kept on burning and I was tempted to use its power to remove all mana from the room, but then Anders and Garrett wouldn't be able to fight or defend themselves.

"YOU WILL NEVER TAKE ANOTHER MAGE AS YOU TOOK HIM!" yelled a voice that didn't sound human, my necklace burned even more as that thing talked. I quickly glanced over my shoulder and gasped. "It wasn't a thing. It was Anders!" His eyes were glowing blue, and cracks of blue light covered his body. "What the hell kind of magic is that! I just hope it's on our side."

"Garrett, Varric, take care of the archers! I've got dibs on the lieutenant!" I said and ran towards that templar lieutenant, with something else to fuel my hatred for them.

The fight didn't carry out long. Templars were only good against mages, and not an excellent fight like me. When the fighting was done I searched the templar lieutenant to see if he had anything on him. He had ten sovereigns and a letter signed by a "Ser Alrich."

I walked over to where everyone was standing next to Karl. Anders had stopped glowing now, although I still remained guarded even when just standing next to him.

"I...Anders what did you do?" Karl said, confused and no longer talking in a monotone. "Hold on a minute, tranquil are cut off from the Fade forever. They can't get confused." I sheathed my swords; I knew Anders wasn't a threat. He was two kindhearted to turn against someone who helped him. I just simply folded my arms and looked at Karl. "It's like...you...brought a piece of the Fade into this world. I had already forgotten what it feels like," Karl said still confused and still not acting like a normal tranquil.

"Tranquil are cut off from the Fade forever though. And that separation it was causes them to be...emotionless, yet you are confused. How is that possible?" I said tapping into my knowledge of mages and tranquility I learned from a friend who was quite...informed about both.

"When you're tranquil you never think on your life before," Karl said. "But, it's like the Fade itself is inside Anders. Burning like a sun." He paused for a moment, and then a look of horror spread across his face. "Please, kill me before I forget again! I don't know what you did but its fading."

"Karl no," Anders said, looking so sad. He didn't want to lose his friend and I didn't blame him.

"My brother, sister, and father all used to tell me about how tranquility is a worse fate then death," I said calmly and sympathetically. "Please, help him...or allow me to." I knew that if he agreed to let me kill his friend that he would blame and possibly hate me for it for the rest of his life, but it was worth it so long as he didn't feel responsible for it.

He closed his eyes for a minute then looked at me with his big, gorgeous, brown eyes and shook his head no. This was something he was going to have to do. "Karl, I'm sorry," he said at last.

"Now! Its fading!" there was a pause in everything about Karl for not even a second. That's when Anders walked up to him, now brandishing the knife he unsheathed from his belt. "Why do you look at me like that?" Karl asked.

Anders had a distraught look on his face, "I got here too late. I'm sorry Karl. I'm so sorry," he repeated, and then stabbed his friend in the stomach. Karl made a soft gurgle as the knife slid into his body before falling on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Anders turned around and started walking not even looking back. "We should leave before more templars come," he said in a monotone much like Karl's. His state of tranquility was caused by sorrow though. The sorrow that comes when you lose someone you love and never thought you would see die.

"Templars are like darkspawn. They only destroy what they touch! You can at least kill darkspawn though, while the templars hide behind their precious Chantry...Poor Anders. He already looks like he's lost so much more than the rest of us. Hopefully he won't try to go through this pain alone."