She went looking for Minaeve, and instead found Cassandra scribing away at a desk. "Writing does not come naturally to me, as I'm certain you can imagine."

"Let me guess: You're composing a love poem?"

Cassandra looked up at her, and then slowly shook her head. "I couldn't, not even if my life depended on it."

"It's not that hard." Otwin regularly did it while drunk. For that matter, Lukas did too, but his prose had a tendency to get him slapped.

"Yes, it is. Poetry takes finesse, it takes..." Cassandra laid the pen down. "Grace."

"You don't think you have those things?"

An eyeroll was the response. "Historians will one day ask what happened at Adamant Fortress, in the Fade. I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. It must be recorded."

"That's an excellent idea, Cassandra." She'd actually been looking for Mineave's assistance in doing just that.

"I certainly thought so... until I started writing." She stood, and walked to the railing. "I still don't know what to say about the spirit of the Divine. I saw her there, heard her voice. Yet I cannot claim with certainty it was really her. They Chantry teaches us that the souls of the dead pass through the Fade, so it could have been her. Yet even so..."

"Do you really think it might have been her? A ghost?"

"A ghost, a remnant of her hopes and memories, her lingering will to do good..." Cassandra leaned over the railing to watch the smiths working below. "Those things are all possible. Nobody knows for certain what happens after we die. A spirit could have assumed her form..." She looked over at Ruya. "But why? It helped you, as Justinia herself would have."

To help, as Cole did. Who, except perhaps Solas, truly could understand the motivations of the spirits? "Perhaps it doesn't matter what she really was, then."

"It matters to me, to what I must write." She leaned back from the railing. "I must interpret what I saw, yet I am no priest, no philosopher. I am a warrior."

Even if it was a spirit, it had mirrored the Divine's nature, had it not? "I believe it was the Divine. She helped us one last time."

"I hope that's true. I want to believe it." Cassandra turned and leaned her back against the railing. "When I realized we were physically in the Fade, I was terrified almost beyond reason. The last time such a thing happened, we created darkspawn. We created Corypheus. The world needs to know the truth this time. No more legends lost to the ages."

#

The Chargers had returned from collapsing Adamant. Ruya made a comment about owing them a drink, and the next thing she knew Iron Bull was dragging her to the tavern to do official introductions. She found herself sitting at a table with an ale in front of her, and realizing her Inquisition was full of crazy people. The Chargers were riding almost as high on their victory over some varghasts as they had their destruction on the envy demon they'd found in Therinfal Redoubt.

Krem and Iron Bull bantered back and forth, insulting each other quite merrily. Ruya nearly choked on her drink when the words "pillowy man-bosoms" were tossed about. Iron Bull pointed at various people, calling them by their nicknames. She was tempted to ask him if he even actually knew their real names. It was clear how proud he was of his team.

She could feel the power humming in Dalish's 'bow'. The 'archer' was likely quite formidable. The face tattoos on the not-a-mage were very similar to Brehan's, and she made a mental note to ask if they were from the same clan.

"You've got a good company, Bull."

"Ah, we do all right."

To her surprise, the Chargers lifted their glasses and actually broke into song. They were terrible. "No man can beat the Chargers, 'cause we'll hit you where it hurts. Unless you know a tavern with loose cards and looser skirts. For every bloody battlefield, we'll gladly raise a cup. No matter what tomorrow holds, our horns be pointing up."

Yeah.

She was not going to ever let Iron Bull and Lukas meet.

#

She was on her way out of the tavern when she noticed Sutherland. Apparently, he'd done well in the fight against the bandits, and had even recruited another mage to the Inquisition. She congratulated him, and told him to keep up the good work.

#

Dorian was sitting on a ledge with a bottle beside him, watching the soldiers train. She sat down next to him, and he smiled. "It occurs to me that you're a mage." He passed her the bottle.

"That just occurred to you?" She accepted, and took a drink.

"I meant..." He accepted the bottle back and took a long drink of his own. "You must have been part of the Circle of Magic. In the South. Meaning you were locked away like a criminal, at least until you rebelled. It's such a bizarre notion, to me."

"There are worse things than being kept in the Circles." Though if she were honest, she'd have to admit there were better things as well.

"Death, starvation, being hunted by rabid mobs? Yes, I can imagine." He paused to watch the end of a sparring match. "Some would say Tevinter is hardly better, depending on which mage you ask. Still, it's so utterly foreign. It's more surprising that everyone would take the idea of a mage Inquisitor so..." His eyes went to where several templars were practicing with the soldiers. "Calmly." He shrugged. "Or maybe it's not calm? Maybe the Antivan Crows are swimming in gold from all the contracts on your life." He elbowed her playfully. "Good luck with that, by the way. Grand fun, being the one in charge."

She snagged the bottle back from him and took another drink. "Did you find the book you were looking for?"

"Some of them. I've asked Josephine to locate a few others. She's added them to the list Solas gave her." He tilted his head at her. "Did you know we are actually related?"

"Not that surprising."

He laughed. "Not first cousins or anything. Perhaps he was even the one who ventured to Ostwick to establish the branch? We are talking long ago, of course."

"You know that off the top of your head?"

"Not the top. Maybe the lower middle or thereabouts. Bloodlines are serious business in Tevinter. You're taught lessons and tested..." He gestured. "By strict nannies. I heard your family mentioned, and I had to go through all the old mnemonics. But yes - there it is."

Ruya laughed softly. "You know I'm also related to Josephine and Cassandra? Cassandra rather distantly, but Josephine closely enough that I think our parents got invited to some of the same parties."

"And our dear Vivienne is also a Marcher by birth. It's like a wonderful family reunion. With demons." He smiled. "Which I suppose makes it like a normal family reunion."

#

One look at Solas's face said the expedition to the Korcari Wilds hadn't turned out as they'd hoped. "It wasn't there?"

"No." He gestured for her to walk with him, and they fell into step together. "I tried to dream there, but it was difficult to make sense of what happened."

"The Warden's report was of a mad elven apostate."

"A foul creature. The spirits in the area were wary of her, as she bound and defiled them for her own purposes. Which made it difficult to find any who could answer questions about the events that occurred." He shrugged. "No orb was present, but one had been there."

"So now we know where Corypheus got the orb."

They walked together in silence for a time. "I have been unable to locate any trace of Loghain."

Ruya sighed. "It was worth an attempt. Thank you." She sighed, and leaned out over the ramparts.

"I am curious as to where this apostate acquired the orb."

"From what Brehan recalls, one of the Wardens was a templar that had encountered her previously searching some elven ruins." She sighed. "He was one of the ones killed stopping her. Brehan has requested a copy of the reports from the Vigil, but it seems much of the Vigil's archives are missing." She turned towards Solas. "We can talk with Brehan, see what else he might remember."

#

They found Brehan in the room he'd been assigned. Ruya frowned briefly. Lysette was supposed to have been standing guard, but instead she and two others were sitting at a table with the Dalish man, listening to a story that apparently involved the King of Ferelden facing down a werewolf. They looked up a bit guiltily when Ruya entered.

After they'd gone back to their duties, she glanced at Brehan. "Is that a true story?"

"Mostly. I left out the part where Alistair got knocked on his ass." He inclined his head to Solas. "Andaran atish'an, hahren."

"Good afternoon," Solas replied.

"No luck?"

Ruya took one of the chairs, and gestured for Solas and Brehan to sit as well. "We were hoping you could tell us more of what was in the first report regarding the encounter with the templars?"

Brehan shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I never read it. I know of it only because Ser Alec was there, and told me part of the story." He sighed. "I never even met Ser Emory."

"Tell me of Skyhunter?" Solas leaned back in his chair.

"We first encountered her in the Brecilian forest, as a werewolf. Most of them went back to their lives after being cured. Skyhunter, however, took it upon herself to rescue refugees and defend them from darkspawn. After the Blight ended, she went to Amaranthine, fought in the siege, then asked to Join."

"What was she like?"

"Those who knew her said she was a terror on the battlefield, but a gentle friend otherwise. She helped train most of the Vigil's mabari, and she and Keenan worked with the Order of Vigilance often." He sighed. "By the time I knew her, though, she..." He looked down. "She didn't take the loss of her team well. Down in the Deep, she led off the darkspawn, creating a distraction so the rest of us could escape."

Solas nodded. "Could she have taken the orb? Hidden it somewhere?"

Brehan blinked. "It's..." He considered a moment. "Possible, I suppose. But she said nothing of doing so to Saitada."

"She had seen it used to greatly enhance spells. Perhaps she thought such a thing could be of benefit to the Wardens?"

"She saw it used to shove demons into children."

"But Wardens will use any means to combat the Blight, will they not?"

"Three of our own gave their lives to stop that thing, including the man Skyhunter loved."

"All the more reason why she may not have wished such a thing to be wasted."

"Ma halam, seth'lin. You will not -"

"That's enough," Ruya said sharply. She sighed. "Brehan, you said that Skyhunter was different after losing her team. Could she have been..."

"Compromised?" Brehan considered the question. "I..." He let out a string of curses in what she was vaguely surprised to recognize as the dwarven tongue. "I do not believe so, but I have to acknowledge the possibility. And..."

"And?"

"And I must also acknowledge that I have reason to suspect that Velanna knew blood magic."

"Saitada said that Velanna simply vanished."

"She said something about thinking she'd caught a glimpse of her sister, who had been lost to the darkspawn almost ten years ago. Sometime later, we looked around and Velanna was gone. I tracked her as far as I could, but the trail vanished."

Ruya narrowed her eyes. "Leliana told me something of your tracking abilities." She folded her arms. "She left me with the impression that at least regarding Wardens, trails don't go cold for you."

"I didn't say it went cold. I said it vanished. One moment I would have sworn I was only minutes behind her, and the next there was nothing." He shrugged. "Some keepers have magic to hide trails, and Velanna was her clan's First."

She sighed, and then rose. "Thank you, Brehan."

"Graham."

"What?" She turned back around.

"The other templar who survived the encounter with the mage. Graham. Sent to Markham. Don't know if that helps any, but if he turns up anywhere..."

"Give the name to Leliana."

#

Ruya found Cassandra in the war room, glaring at the map. "Something I can help you with?"

"Yes. Possibly." Cassandra leaned on the table and looked up at her. "We saw so many red templars at the assault on Haven. Perhaps all that was left of the Order. What we didn't see was Lord Seeker Lucius. Indeed, I've seen no hint of any Seekers amongst the red templars. Or anywhere. I've a growing suspicion Corypheus has imprisoned them."

Her mind went to the still missing among her kin. "Finding them obviously means a lot to you."

"I left the Order, but I can never abandon them." Her shoulders slumped a little. "I cannot even claim that rescuing them would be beneficial - they wouldn't look kindly on the Inquisition. But even so, if there's a chance..."

"We'll find them, Cassandra."

"If we can spare resources to follow up on these leads, Inquisitor, I would appreciate it."

"I'll get Leliana's people on it immediately."

#

She tried explaining to Sera that she was welcome to ask for jam whenever she wanted it, and Sera gave a rather confusing explanation that seemed to claim that jam was somehow sweeter if it was pilfered.

"So tell me about yourself, Sera."

"Oh, yeah? Interested, are you?"

Ruya gestured for the server to bring them a couple drinks. "How about the basics. Where are you from?"

"Ferelden."

"I got that from the accent. Where in Ferelden?"

Sera shrugged. "All over? Okay. Fine. Denerim for a bit. South. North. Wherever I want."

Two could play this game. "Oh, you're from Wherever? I'm from North Wherever."

"What?" Sera snorted.

"North Wherever. Oh, we had fun on Street and/or in Local Tavern."

"Oh, har-dee-har. All funny, you." Sera took a gulp from her drink. "It's complicated. I don't like complicated. Let's leave it at that. Maybe."

Ruya tried another tactic, asking her about the Red Jenny network, but came away somewhat more confused than when she started. She was somewhat mollified to know that the worst she apparently rated was a pie to the face.

"We annoyed some nobles. Does that really help all that much?"

"It helped make a dead idiot. That's a good return for time." Sera took another gulp from her drink. "Punch a bully, people like you. Do it because they asked. Or let them think they asked, they like it even more. It's inspiring, even if it sometimes goes tits up and they take a hit back. You know, like Haven?"

"It must have gone wrong before. How many times have you almost died?"

She raised an eyebrow at Ruya. "What fight were you in? We didn't almost die. Besides, I only have to start these punch-ups."

"What do you mean? You killed Harmond."

"Sure, sometimes I plonk one, but you know what it takes to be a noble? Everyone says, 'he's a noble'. That's all a title is." Sera twitched a shoulder. "So I slap someone, make them look stupid for just a second. All of a sudden, he doesn't look so nobley or scarey. Maybe the servants rebel, whatever, but you know what really gets them? Other nobles. They blame the slappee for being slapped. They're shits like that. So, it's..." Sera finished her drink. "Backwards inspiration. Sort of? Still works like yours does."

That was both completely insane and made a lot of sense. Otwin would have put it differently, but it was the same concept. Blood in the water.

#

"First the templars, now the Grey Wardens." Cullen shook his head as he picked up the chain shirt. "Both devoted their lives to fighting evil. Now they serve it."

"Not all of them. Word from Corporal Vale is a half dozen just joined his Irregulars." She couldn't give up hope. Not until she knew. She took the armor from him, and put it on

He moved behind her, helping the armor settle over her shoulders and making a few adjustments to the straps. "How is that?"

"Feels strange." She twisted, moving this way and that. The chain links made a light tinkling sound as she moved. She slid her arms into the leather overcoat he held out for her. The thick leather was flexible, and provided additional protection without impeding her movements. And according to Dagna, it would help enhance her magic. The arcanist was eager to hear how it functioned in the field.

"Best way to get used to it is just to wear it. Go about your daily activities."

"Shall we go for a walk then?"

He smiled. "I'd like that."

#

Brehan and Leliana came up with a location. Caer Oswin. She collected Cassandra and a few of the others.

"Where did you get all those arrows, Sera? You've got hundreds."

"From your arse!"

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Well my arse should open up a shop. Apparently it's quite prolific."

#

"Caer Oswin. Odd that the trail should lead us here." Cassandra stared up at the old, decrepit keep. "Bann Loren is a pious, unassuming man. What has he become involved in?"

"He might simply be a victim as well." Ruya started up the path.

"Let's see what lies within." Cassandra took a deep breath as she followed Ruya.

There were no guards on the gate, nor at the front. They had moved a short distance down the hall before they caught a glimpse of the first person. The man immediately drew his sword and ran into the next room.

Ruya signaled for her people to be on guard, then gave chase. Three other guards met them, but were no match for her party. She gave them the option of surrendering, but none took her up on it.

Cassandra turned over one of the bodies. "Promisers. I should have known." She looked up at Ruya. "The Order of Fiery Promise is a cult with..." She stood. "Strange beliefs about the Seekers. They've hounded us for centuries."

"What kind of 'strange beliefs?'" Ruya looked around the room.

"They believe they are Seekers - the only rightful ones." Cassandra checked one of the other bodies. "They say we robbed their powers long ago, preventing them from ending the world."

"Ending the world?"

"The only way to truly eradicate evil, in their eyes. 'The world will be reborn a paradise.'"

Though she didn't have much hope, she asked anyway. "Is it possible to negotiate with them?"

"They're fanatics, drunk on whatever forbidden magic they can find to make themselves 'true' Seekers." Cassandra began walking to the next room. "This explains why the Seekers might be here, but not the connection to Corypheus."

#

Ruya felt her stomach lurch when they found the remains of the first Seeker.

"A Seeker." Cassandra's voice hitched slightly, then filled with anger. "Did they torture him to death?" Her fists clenched. "The Promisers will pay for this."

She knelt. The man had been dead at least a few days. Blackwall handed her a piece of cloth, and she placed it over the man respectfully. They would build a pyre for him when they were found the others.

#

In the courtyard, Ruya poured strength into a barrier on Cassandra. The Seeker charged forward, battering with the shield as readily as the blade. Blackwall moved in beside her, protecting her back. Ruya, Dorian, and Sera leaped from the ramparts onto the stable roof, and used their vantage point to pick off anything that would threaten the warriors.

An overhead swing from Cassandra took out the last of the guards. Ruya and Sera climbed off the roof and went to rejoin their comrades.

Cassandra was holding a piece of parchment. "'As the Seekers of Truth have proven resistant to the effects of red lyrium, the Elder One has seen fit to place them in your care. Reclaim your destiny, and know that the Elder One expects your devotion as repayment.' Signed by Lord Samson, commander of the red templars." She crumbled the parchment in her hand. "Does Corypheus not realize the Promisers want the world to end? What use are they to him?"

It was doubtful Corypheus intended to fulfill his side of any bargain. "The letter said Seekers were resistant to red lyrium."

"Our abilities grant us many gifts, but a resistance to red lyrium's corruption? That seems strange. Although it would explain why none of us have numbered among the red templars..." Cassandra tucked the parchment away. "And thus Seekers would be useless to Corypheus. He would have no leash to hold us."

"You sound worried."

"I am. The Seekers are my family."

Together, they headed back into the keep.

#

They fought their way through another room of cultists. Dorian made a comment about confiscating some of the books in the library as they continued moving through, prompting a disgusted noise from Cassandra.

Blackwall had to put his shoulder into the huge wooden door to get it moving. They started into another hall, and then Cassandra rushed ahead. Ruya started to cast a barrier, then saw what had prompted Cassandra's haste.

A young man lay at the base of the stairs.. "Daniel!" Cassandra called out as she moved towards him. "Daniel, can you hear me?"

"Cassandra?" He looked up at her, and weakly managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. "It is you. You're alive."

She knelt beside him. "As are you. I'm so glad I found you."

Ruya could see the veins beneath the young man's skin. They glowed with a darker red, and the glow reached his eyes. She'd seen the same in her companions, in that dark future. He was dying. And from the look on his face, he knew it to. "No, they..." He swallowed. "Put a demon inside me. It's tearing me up."

"What? You can't be possessed - that's impossible." Cassandra took his hand in hers.

"I'm not possessed. They..." He coughed. "Fed me things. I can feel it growing."

"Can we do anything?" Perhaps it wasn't beyond hope. She started digging for a restorative potion as she knelt next to the man.

"I..." Cassandra clearly wanted to hope. "Don't know. This thing inside him..."

Daniel tightened his hand around hers. "The Lord Seeker. You have to find him."

"Of course we'll find him. If he lives, we'll -"

"Lucius betrayed us, Cassandra." Daniel swallowed. "He sent us here, one by one. 'An important mission,' he said. Lies. He was here with them all along. He's still working with them."

"But we met Lord Seeker Lucius in Val Royeaux." Ruya shook her head. "He couldn't have been here."

"That wasn't him. It was a demon, masquerading."

The Chargers had hunted and killed a shapeshifting demon when they investigated Therinfal Redoubt. Cassandra looked stunned. "What? How could that be?"

"The Lord Seeker allowed it. He let the demon take command, while he..."

A demon. The Lord Seeker had fed the templars to a demon. He'd given them to Samson willingly. Knowingly. "Cassandra..."

Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time for sympathy."

"Wait. Don't leave me like this. Please..."

"You should have come with me." Cassandra stared at the young man. "You didn't believe in the war any more than I did."

He smiled weakly up at her. "You know me. I wanted that promotion." He coughed again.

She drew her sword. "Go to the Maker's side, Daniel. You will be welcome."

Ruya intoned a prayer as Cassandra ended the man's life.

#

"He was my apprentice. I have never known a finer young man." Cassandra's voice was quiet. "Now we find Lord Seeker Lucius."

Ruya wished she knew what to say. How many good men and women had been lost?

#

Cassandra stalked towards the man in the darker armor. "Lord Seeker Lucius."

"Cassandra." He walked towards them, flanked by several templars. His eyes flicked to Ruya before returning to Cassandra. "With a woman I can only assume is the new Inquisitor."

"You must be very proud of your handiwork."

He stopped several paces away from them. "I presume you know we Seekers of Truth were once the original Inquisition." He gestured. "Oh, yes. We fought to restore order in a time of madness long ago, as you do now. And we became proud. We sought to remake the world - to make it better." He shook his head. "But what did we create? The Chantry. The Circles of Magi. A war that will see no end."

Her knuckles went white as she tightened her hand on her staff. "You lured your entire Order to their deaths!"

"There was no other choice." His face was more resigned than regretful.

"No other choice?" Cassandra took a step forward. "Have you gone mad?"

"We Seekers are abominations, Cassandra." He gestured with one hand. "We created a decaying world, and fought to preserve it even as it crumbled. We had to be stopped." He took a massive tome from the templar behind him. "You don't believe me? See for yourself." He offered the book to Cassandra. "The secrets of our Order, passed to me after the former Lord Seeker was slain. The war with the mages had already begun, but it was not too late for me to do the right thing."

"And this was the right thing?" She'd never wanted to throw a bolt of lightning in someone's face quite so badly.

"Lord Seeker, what you've done..." Cassandra's voice was pained.

"I know." He spread his hands. "What Corypheus did with the templars does not matter. I have seen the future. I have created a new Order to replace the old. The world will end so we can start anew - a pure beginning." He held out a hand. "Join us, Cassandra. It is the Maker's will."

Cassandra actually snarled as she drew her blade.

#

Cassandra panted, and bent to wipe her blade clean. "He was insane. He had to be." She sheathed the blade, then looked up at the Inquisitor to see a reflection of her own confusion and anger. "The influence of Corypheus, perhaps? Was he trying to disable the Seekers?"

The Inquisitor bent and closed the eyes of the templar near her. "All these wasted lives..."

There had to be survivors. Somewhere. Men and women too far away to be recalled. "He could not have destroyed all of us. I won't accept it." She picked up the book. "Let us return to Skyhold. I wish to see what's in this 'book of secrets.'" She started to walk, and then realized the Inquisitor was still kneeling next to the templar.

Dorian went to her side. "Inquisitor?"

Ruya let out a sigh. "His name was Eril. I..." She stood. "His daughter will need to be told."

#

Ruya saw Cassandra sitting at the table, staring at the book. She walked over and sat across from her. Cassandra let out a sigh. "This tome has passed from Lord Seeker to Lord Seeker, since the time of the old Inquisition. And now it falls to me."

"Are you all right?" She'd lost one. Cassandra had lost... "You look drained."

"On the contrary, it's a delight. I'm riveted."

It took Ruya several seconds to make the realization. "Oh, you're joking."

"I assume you know about the Rite of Tranquility." Cassandra looked back at the book. "The last resort used on mages in the Circle, leaving them unable to cast but depriving them of dreams and all emotion. It should only be used on those who cannot control their abilities..." Cassandra looked back up at her. "But that has not always been the case."

Tranquility. Until a scant few months ago, it had been her worst nightmare. It was still a fairly close second. "Does the book say it was used for other things?"

"No. As a Seeker, I looked into..." She slumped a little in her chair. "Abuses. Mages made tranquil as punishment. What finally began the mage rebellion was the discovery the Rite of Tranquility could be reversed. The Lord Seeker at the time covered it up - harshly. There were death." Including his, at the hands of none other than their own Cole. "It was dangerous knowledge. The shock of its discover in addition to what happened in Kirkwall..." She looked back down at the book. "But it appears we've always known how to reverse the rite. From the beginning."

The Inquisition was sheltering dozens of Tranquil. She'd spoken to Minaeve about reversing the rite, as well as Solas. But they needed to know more. "Why keep that knowledge a secret?"

"We created the Rite of Tranquility." Cassandra leaned back. "To become a Seeker, I spent months in a vigil, emptying myself of all emotion. I was made Tranquil, and did not even know. Then the vigil summoned a spirit of faith to touch my mind. That broke Tranquility - and gave me my abilities. The Seekers did not share that secret. Not with me, not with the Chantry. Not even with..."

Cassandra stood, and walked to the window. "There's more. Lucius was not wrong about the Order. I thought to rebuild the Seekers once victory was ours. Now I'm not certain it deserves to be rebuilt."

Secrets were getting people killed. But good people remained. Cassandra was one of them. "Rebuild the Seekers. Make them better than they were."

"Thank you." Cassandra turned back around, and laid a hand on Ruya's shoulder. "I could not have done this on my own."