Chapter 37: The Sacred Ashes pt2
Haven
Father Eirik, the Revered Father fall to the floor as Jenra impaled him with Night-fang…in his last words the crazed mage spouted that he was coming to Andraste's side, a death as delusional as his life. The party had won the battle but no joy could come from such slaughter, Eirik's followers threw themselves at them one after another armed with only the fanatic devotion to the Revered Father. In a room to the side they could hear groaning, something to get Jenra's mind off of such a foul tasting battle. Inside the room was an older bald man wearing plain clothes, he was on the floor with his hands tied and his eyes blindfolded. The man turned his head to the sound of the party footsteps.
"Who are you? They…they've sent you to finish it?" the man asked.
"Brother Genitivi? I'm Jenra of the Grey Wardens" He came over and cut the ropes and Genitivi pull off the blindfold, he looked at Jenra and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You don't know how glad I am to see someone who isn't from this village. I…" He let out a groan. "Forgive me, after countless beatings from this village's guards, the leg's not doing so well and…and I can't feel my foot"
"Anything we can do?"
"The leg is wounded but that will heal in time, the foot however….may have to come off" Morrigan said bluntly.
Genitivi sighed. "I thought so…but if the foot goes, it goes. There are more important things than an old man's feet"
"Not even worried he could lose a foot, brass balls this one has" Zevran said impressed. Genitivi tried to get off the floor and Jenra came to help him. Zevran was right, for a man who has been beaten and with a busted leg he was quite determined.
"I don't have time to rest now, I'm so close" the scholar said. "The Urn is just up that mountain"
"We know your research led us here" Alistair said. "We need it to save the life of the Arl Eamon"
Genitivi nodded. "So our interests align, this is good fortune then…I won't make it to the mountains like this but you people seem capable" he said. "If you can protect me then I'll guide you to the temple"
"Having someone with such an injury could prove to be a liability" Sten said. "We have no idea of what we could find in the mountains"
"True but we don't have a choice, without a guide we could be wondering the mountains for days" Alistair said. "It should be fine if he stays back" Before they could go to the mountains, they picked up a medallion off of Eirik's corpse…according to Genitivi it opens the temple doors. One the way, the scholar told them of the group that held him hostage and tried to kill the party…they were called the Disciples of Andraste, this group considered themselves descendants of Andraste's followers and believed that it was their sacred duty to protect the ashes of Andraste.
The Temple of Sacred Ashes
The Temple of Sacred Ashes is the dilapidated remains of the Temple of Andraste. Sitting high atop the frigid Frostback Mountains, the temple's interior is swathed with sheets of ice and snow. Following the execution of Andraste, her disciple Havard retrieved her remains and carried them back to her homeland. There, her followers interred her ashes among the mountains, building a temple which became a refuge for Andrastians in Alamarri lands. The temple was eventually abandoned, however, and became the sanctum of the Disciples of Andraste of the Village of Haven. The Temple is built into the mountain itself, extending deep into its caverns, which lead to the summit.
The party made it to the ruined temple with little problems; Genitivi headed for the door and set the medallion in a recess in the center of the door. Jenra opened the door and the party was met with a view of ice and snow covering the interior of the temple. For a place that had been abandoned since the death of the Maker's bride, it was remarkably intact.
Genitivi sighed. "What I would give to have seen this hall in its entire splendor, as it was meant to be…" he said. "Still, sweep away the ice and the snow and traces of beauty remain"
"It is quite the view but we need to stay focus, Brother" Jenra said.
"Hmm…? I'm sorry, I was a little distracted it all" Genitivi looked at the wall and gasped in awe. "These carvings were created just after Andraste's death and they may reveal things in Her life that we do not know yet…"
"Aaand he's gone again…" Alistair said dryly.
Genitivi looked back at the party. "I think I need more time to study these statues and carvings"
"You want to stay here? Is that wise, with your leg?" Leliana asked.
"I could not keep up with you with my injuries. I should be safe; I don't think there are any villagers here"
Zevran crossed his arms. "Somehow I doubt that, still might be better this way…at least we won't have to worry about him if we should run into that cult again"
"I don't know…if the enemies don't get Genitivi then the cold will, especially in his condition" Wynne said.
"Go, I will be all right. Perhaps my destiny was only to lead you to the Urn" the scholar said. "I will leave with this though, be wary as you head for the Urn…the temple may still have some active traps in addition to whatever the Disciples may have laid out."
'Only the faithful shall lay eyes on the Sacred Ashes; death and misfortune await the unbeliever' he said. 'The Maker's gaze has fallen on Andraste's final resting place. He weeps for His Beloved and His wrath at Her betrayers endures'
"Ah yes that smug sense of self-righteousness…as expected from the precursors to the Chantry" Morrigan said rolling her eyes.
"Interesting…I would very much like to see this wrath of the Maker" Shale said. "Must be quite the spectacle"
"Yeah, let's not…" Alistair said. The party headed deeper into the inner sanctum of the temple where they faced the disciples in force. When they weren't facing enemies they were dodging traps or trying get around some obstruction, the ones who built the temple made sure none disturbed the Sacred Ashes. Soon they got past some of the disciples but had to face ash wraiths, a powerful version of a shade. As they killed one, more came to take its place…the Veil was incredibly thin here and it didn't help that the temple had all the materials ash wraiths needed to form. Jenra ordered the party to run to open spaces to get the room needed to fight off the demons, in an open corridor they found the traps laid out by the disciples…no doubt for them. Jenra decided to kill two birds with one stone, get rid of the traps along with the demons…the party used the traps occupy the demon while they came in with the finishing blow.
The sounds of the fighting caught the attention of more disciples; these warriors were stronger than the last batch. They glowed with an ominous red aura and fought like fierce dragons in human form. They were formidable warriors even giving someone of Sten and Shale's strengths' trouble luckily they didn't have stamina and were quickly worn down. They continued on their way and were soon in the caverns. More traps were found with the addition giant spiders and dragonling, the party were careful of ambushes. As they continued the found beds, tables and shelve…disciples were camp here but none could be found which unnerved the team, they were planning something.
At the mid-point of the caverns, they met a large group of disciples…the party prepared their weapon for battle but the disciples didn't attack. "So they're not attacking…that's good, right?" Alistair asked.
"It would be if we weren't expecting a trap" Zevran said.
"I suggest we kill them and be done with it" Morrigan said. "They attacked us, they should pay for they folly"
"If they're not attacking, then they must be the sensible ones" Jenra said. "Perhaps we can resolve this peacefully…"
"Stop! You will go no further" The lieutenant said.
"Yes…real sensible these ones are…" Alistair said dryly.
"Who are you?"
"You do not have the right to demand my name" he said with contempt. "You have defiled our temple, spilled the blood of the faithful and slaughtered our young"
"Its outrage rings hollow considering its allies attacked us first" Shale said.
"Funny they seem to forget that part" Sten said.
The soldier frowned. "No more, you will tell me now, intruder why have you done all this. Why have you come here?"
"Tell me who you are and I will tell you why am I here" Jenra said. "That seems to be a fair trade"
"Very well, I am Father Kolgrim leader and guide to the Disciples of Andraste" he said. "Kill us and you will face Andraste, she will smell our blood and the blood of her children on you and Her wrath will be great"
Sten crossed his arms. "More tall tales…riveting"
"You talk as if Andraste is here and not beside The Maker" Leliana said.
"The prophet Andraste has overcome death itself and has returned to Her faithful in a form more radiant than you can imagine!" Kolgrim said. "Not even the Teventer Imperium could hope to slay Her now. What hope do you have?"
"What is he going on about? This is just raving madness" Jenra said.
"I don't know but I hope it's not contagious" Alistair said. "Best choose your next words carefully"
"That sounds…interesting, I wish to see this arisen Andraste"
"You have some gall, intruder none but the Disciples may approach Andraste. She is not ready yet, but when the time is right, She will descend upon the nations in fiery splendor and all will know Her" Kolgrim looked deep in thought and then look at Jenra. "But…perhaps there is a way to make up for your recent transgressions"
"Well, this is sudden…a moment ago you threatened Andraste's wrath upon our head" Morrigan said. "What changed?"
"It may be because I believe in second chanced, all of us stumble through the darkness before being found and shown the light" he said. "Perhaps through Andraste's mercy, Her greatest enemy will become her greatest champion"
Jenra frowned. "You're not making any sense…"
"Atop this mountain lie the remains of the mortal Andraste" Kolgrim said. "The Urn is watched by an immortal guardian. He is trapped in the past and refuses to accept the risen Andraste"
"Now the Ashes prevent holy Andraste from fully realizing Her new form. They are a remnant of Her past incarnation and She cannot move on as long as they exist" he said. "The Beloved needs to reclaim the Ashes, to make them Her own again….all it would take is a drop of Her blood"
"Blood? I don't like the sound of that…"
"Blood carries power, strength, knowledge. Through it, all the power that is held in the Ashes will be returned to our Lady" Kolgrim said. "The Guardian has foiled all our attempts to reach the Urn, he hoards what power remains from the true Andraste"
"He knows the Disciples and we cannot touch him, for he draws strength from the Ashes themselves" he said. "But you could deliver our Lady what is rightfully Hers"
"What is this talk of blood and power? And he thinks Andraste is reborn? It is preposterous! Oh, I do not like this" Leliana said.
"Hmm, very interesting…" Morrigan said. Kolgrim took out a vial of blood…dragon's blood and gave it to Jenra. Flemeth has mentioned that blood carried great power but none more than the blood of dragons. She's heard stories of warriors ingesting dragon blood and gaining great power in the process.
"I leave you to the task, intruder…the rewards for performing such a service would be great indeed" Kolgrim and his men left leaving the party a clear passage to the Urn itself, Jenra stood there with the vial in his hand. For such a small amount, Jenra could sense the power that lies inside as if it was speaking to him. He looked at Alistair and it was the same way for him, was it because of the taint in the blood or was dragon blood something special? The party headed for the exit leaving Jenra alone with Morrigan.
"If we succeed, Kolgrim and his fellows will be indebted to you. That puts you in a very advantageous position"
"Are you saying we should defile the Sacred Ashes?"
"I didn't say anything but having reavers on your side could help your cause" she said. "Ultimately, it's your decision…" Morrigan left Jenra as he pondered his choice.
Salvation or Damnation! Which shall he choose…? Next Time! Review and Comment!