Fifty-one

Another gust of wind blowing through the open doors of the balcony rustled the papers on Taesas' desk, lifting them far enough that he shifted a book over on top of them to hold them in place.

The wind was growing a bit stronger as the day went on, and although it was becoming an increasing nuisance as he sorted through letters, reports and inventories, he still appreciated the simple fact that he could feel the breeze as it entered the First Enchanter's quarters atop the tower of Montsimmard.

It was a wonderful feeling to have these quarters all to himself despite the minor inconveniences from time to time.

He lifted the tea cup and sipped, finding it cold. It felt as if he had read the report from Knight Commander Rayan three times already, and still was no closer to completing it.

"Eloise," Taesas said as he pushed the saucer toward the edge of the desk. "Prepare another pot of tea. Hotter than the last one."

"Yes, First Enchanter," she said in her calm, even tone. The Tranquil woman stepped out of the corner near the door where she had been standing as still as furniture. She moved to the edge of the desk where she placed the pot, cup and saucer onto the silver tea tray, then lifted it and slowly walked her way to the door and out.

Taesas watched her go before returning his attention back to the papers. It would be a while before she slowly and methodically descended the staircase to the kitchens, prepared the water and returned. He wondered for a moment after she went, who she had been and why she had undergone the Rite.

She was young compared to the rest of the Tranquil in the Circle. Perhaps she had undergone the rite prior to adolescence. Perhaps she was one of those so scared of her abilities she asked it of the Chantry. Whatever the reason might be for why, he didn't know. She probably hadn't been a noble. Anyone of even remotely important blood was usually spared the rite in order to avoid angering their families outside the Circle unless it was absolutely necessary.

He had decided rather early on after taking his position as First Enchanter that he wanted to adopt one of the Tranquil as a personal assistant, although Vivienne had never much cared for or utilized them.

The Tranquil were an unfortunate necessity of the Circle, but they had their uses. They were loyal, unquestioning. They obeyed when ordered. They did not gossip.

And, most useful of all, they were an ever-present reminder to the other mages of the cost of being too weak-willed to control their own powers, even if the Divine had since curbed use of the rite to a nearly obscene level.

It had been a year since Cassandra Pentaghast had taken on the role and her "reforms" had already devastated the Circles as anyone with a half of a fore-thinking brain could have predicted.

Even despite Montsimmard being a bastion of Loyalists, nearly half of the mages had chosen not to return following the end of the war. Some had flat out thrown away their loyalty and instead chased the fools in the College of Enchanters. Nearly any family with even a modicum of wealth or influence now chose to keep any children found to have the gift at home and under the loose tutelage of the College's keepers.

Even among the Loyalists who decided to stay, many of the enchanters and the senior mages had leveraged the existence of the College into more liberal and permissive interpretation of the Circle's residency requirements. If they were not granted extended leaves to visit family or to travel to such and such place or to attend this or that, well, they might resign their allegiance to the Circle and join the College, they threatened.

Those left in the tower on a daily basis were either those with nowhere to go - the poor, the common, the unconnected - or those who were content to stay and cause him headaches on a daily basis.

Half his time was spent trying to either convince families why they should send their children to the Circle or why they shouldn't withdraw from the tower, while the other half of the time was spent trying to contain the ever-growing number of destitute and inept who were coming in without the proper array of teachers and enchanters on staff to guide them.

Vivienne had been true to her word and appointed him as First Enchanter, but what he had risen to rule in her stead was a pathetic shadow of its former glory.

Once, she had spoken rather openly of her dream of a Circle without a front door that always stayed shut and locked, but he doubted her idyllic fantasy had looked like this.

He read over the same line of Rayan's report for the fourth time now:

In the last month, the Montsimmard Templars have made contact with fourteen new mages. Of those, two have been committed to the Circle here and one has chosen to be admitted in Val Royeaux. The remaining eleven have chosen to join the College of Enchanters.

We made request to the Revered Mother to issue a writ to commit one of the children we encountered due to concerns of his stability after our initial evaluation. The request was denied. One week later, we were again called to the residence to find that boy had been possessed.

We were forced to perform our duty and execute the child.

A knock on the door broke his concentration on the letter, again. "Come in."

The door opened and Knight Commander Rayan poked his head inside. He was young for such a notable commission, but Taesas had convinced the Chantry to appoint him to the position despite his age. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in his timidity and his ability to be controlled. Any Templar could swing a sword at demons, but finding one that could be twisted around was a much rarer and much more valuable.

Taesas had written multiple times after receiving his commission to Matteo, seeking to mend the divide that had opened between them following Adamant. The letters had asked for him to accept the post as Knight Commander in Montsimmard. Taesas had received no response. He had written to the Grand Cleric herself in Val Royeaux, asking for her aid in not only locating Matteo but convincing him to return to Montsimmard.

Her letter had come back only to cordially say that she could not aid him as requested.

Rayan had been an acceptable replacement thus far, despite lacking the genial demeanor of Matteo and his prowess in training room. If Rayan ever gained more of a backbone, something would need to be done about him.

"First Enchanter, I have the girl you wanted to see," he said.

Taesas put the report down, happy to be free of it for the moment, and waved the Knight Commander in. Rayan opened the door a little wider and guided in the skinny girl. Her feet shuffled in short strides and she kept her head down. Her brown hair was slightly wavy and messy. The Knight Commander led her to the seat on the opposite side of Taesas' desk and she sat, keeping her hands folded in her lap and her head down.

He took note of the two pointed ears that peeked out from the nest of her hair.

"Please excuse us, Rayan," Taesas said. "We'll only be a moment, you can wait outside. Please close the door behind you."

Rayan nodded and did as he was told like the obedient dog Taesas had trained him to be.

"Arinna, is it?" Taesas asked after the Knight Commander shut the door and they could talk, privately. He waited for her response, but she only kept her head down and kept quiet. She was terrified, no doubt. Apprentices were never called to the top of the tower unless there was something greatly amiss.

"The Templars inform me that you're pregnant," Taesas continued.

He watched as her arms moved and her palms shifted to cover the slight bump that was emerging in her robe. He had seen it the moment she came in. Even if the Templars had not told him, he would have known. It was still early and hard to notice, but anyone who played the Game at the highest level knew the look of a woman who was with child and trying to hide it.

"I trust that you already know that such fraternization amongst the mages is supposed to be forbidden in the Circle."

The girl still didn't answer. She was still a teenager by the look of her. She hadn't been Harrowed yet, maybe never would be now thanks to the Divine's reform against that too. Taesas drummed his fingers across the desk, waiting, but she didn't say anything.

"I can help you, but you're going to have to cooperate with me," Taesas said, taking a soft, friendly tone with her in an attempt to get her to relax. "The father, is he another elf?"

Still, no answer.

"Is he an elf, or a human?" he pressed.

The elf girl began to sniffle. Her arms moved and she squeezed her stomach a little more as she hunched over so her hair began to fall in front of her face like a veil.

"Arinna, please," Taesas said again, maintaining his composure despite the building urge to slam his fist upon the desk and simply demand the information. This, this was the type of street trash he was left to babysit in his Circle. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me. I'm not looking to punish him, or you. All I need to know is whether he is an elf or a human."

The girl sniffled again under her long and scraggly hair. "He's a human," she said quietly.

"A human. I see." Taesas suppressed a smile. "I need you to be completely honest with me. You can't be lying right now to try to protect the boy. He's a human?"

"Yes," she answered again.

"And could there be anyone else? Were there any other men you were with, even just once, or just this one?"

"No," she said amidst another sniffle. She lifted one hand off her stomach in order to wipe her nose.

Taesas sat back from the desk, reclining into his seat as he looked at the girl. Her head was still down. Her shoulders were trembling slightly as she quietly wept to herself. She was too skinny and too bedraggled, but those things could be fixed.

He could help her. That hadn't been a lie.

But more than that, she would help him and that made the paltry courtesies he would extend her worth it.

"It was Senior Enchanter Guyanne," Taesas said, not asked.

The girl did look up at that accusation. She was slightly freckled. Her eyes were brown. It would have been better if they were blue, but there was little Taesas could do to change nature. Her nose was red and her eyes were swollen from crying.

"Senior Enchanter Guyanne was the one who did this, wasn't he?" he repeated.

"No," she answered.

"How did he come upon you?" Taesas asked, ignoring her. "In the library? No, not likely. Not Guyanne, not there. It must have been the kitchens, yes, the kitchens. Perhaps you were in the larder and he happened to stumble upon you there? It was late. You weren't supposed to be there. Caught red-handed, he sensed an opportunity and pounced at it."

"I, I don't-"

"Shhh, shhh," Taesas quieted her. "I understand that this was not your fault. You are the victim. You were taken advantage of. Senior Enchanter Guyanne caught you in the kitchens late at night and exerted himself upon you. It's shameful."

The girl wiped her nose again with the back of her hand as she looked blankly at him, as he stared back across the desk at her to make sure she understood. She quieted and stopped sniffling as his eyes bored into hers.

"It was Guyanne, wasn't it?" he asked her again.

She paused for a moment, but then the girl slowly nodded. She did it nervously, clearly, but she did it.

"What were you doing in the kitchen so late at night?" Taesas asked her.

"I was… looking for, wine?"

"Chocolate," Taesas corrected.

"I was looking for chocolate," she repeated.

"And Senior Enchanter Guyanne caught you," Taesas said.

"Yes. He said he was going to have to call the Templars," she offered.

The girl was learning quickly. "As he should have, when he happened upon an apprentice sneaking about. And then?"

"He said, he said he wouldn't tell if I…" she hesitated to find the word she wanted.

Taesas cut in, leaving her fumbling. That would be a nice touch. It would make her seem innocent as she looked for a polite word for such a heinous act. "And you did."

She nodded, a little more confidently this time. "I did."

Taesas gave her one more look. She wasn't the best option, but she was an opportunity. Not even the Maker himself could find a lost opportunity, once lost.

"So you did," Taesas said, satisfied enough.

Guyanne du Montfort hadn't had much of a chance of becoming First Enchanter before Divine Victoria hacked the Circle to pieces. But now, now the charming Senior Enchanter from a good Orlesian family was becoming more and more of a thorn. His vulnerabilities in the Game still existed as they always had, but his gregarious and affable nature was proving to be more of a boon now than the weakness it had once been.

He talked frequently and openly with friends in the College and in the Circle and was rapidly becoming an ear the Divine and her clerics chose to utilize as they maneuvered the ins and outs of their illy considered policy.

Guyanne was quickly patching what holes he could in his reputation and, combined with the dwindling recruitment into Montsimmard's tower, it would only be a matter of time before he started to parlay his relationships into an effort to see the Divine's personal favor to make a change in leadership.

If the Divine presented such a request to Vivienne personally, what choice would she have but to remove him? Vivienne might exchange a bit of her influence to protect him when it was prudent, but he was not so naive to think she would exert serious capital into saving him.

No doubt she would flatter the Divine and offer a few unguarded complaints about his performance before agreeing to Cassandra's demand. From there, he couldn't be sure whether she might recall him to her side and make use of him or merely let him rot in Montsimmard as a reminder that he had his chance and failed to hold onto it.

Therefore, it was warranted, necessary, to take this risk.

"Will I be able to keep her, once she's born?" Arinna asked as her hands cradled her stomach once more, sensing that she might be owed something in exchange for her cooperation. "I know that's not… I know it's not usually allowed but-"

"A lot has changed within the Circle," Taesas said, that being truer than anything else he had said yet to the girl. "I'll see what I can do when the time comes."

That second part was a lie. The second she gave birth to the child, the Templars would take it away to be raised in the Chantry, never to see its mother again. Arinna would no doubt scream and flail in her birthing bed, shrieking for someone to give her her baby, to let her hold it.

If such leniency was ever given, the Circle would quickly turn into a breeding ground.

By the time she realized that he had made no promises and guaranteed her nothing, it wouldn't matter. She could recant the entire story about Guyanne but by then it would be too late and no one would care or believe her anyway. She would look exactly what she was, a bitter mother furious at the First Enchanter for letting the Templars take her baby.

As long as the baby came out looking human, all would be well. If, in fact, she had lied and the father was an elf and the child came out with pointed ears, well, he would deal with that problem if and when it arose. The ongoing protestations Guyanne would make that he had been the victim of baseless slander would be vindicated, but that would matter little in a few months time.

If all went well, he would be mostly removed from the Game anyway.

"Rayan," Taesas called out loud enough so the Knight Commander would hear him. The door opened and the Templar stepped back inside, approaching them. "I convinced apprentice Arinna to do the right thing. She is willing to tell your Templars what they'll need to know for their investigation."

"Very good, First Enchanter," Rayan said. If he wasn't as oblivious as he looked, he did an expert job of hiding it.

"And Rayan, please make sure Arinna has access to a hot bath whenever she wants one, every day, if she so requires. And see to it that she gets some additional food in the mess hall. Have the quartermaster acquire some chocolate bars as well, as a treat. She's too thin and she's eating for two. Let's make sure she's healthy and happy," Taesas said.

Guyanne was a Prosper, after all, and was above rolling with livestock. But if she was clean and presentable and if they could thicken her - Guyanne preferred a more well-rounded woman, or so the rumors said - it all might pass.

And let the entire mess hall see the elf girl gleefully eating a full bar of chocolate with her dinner and wonder how she had come into such good and unusual fortune. That would only reinforce the story to those who would hear it whispered up and down the tower.

"As you wish, First Enchanter," Rayan said as he led the girl out of the office and back out the door.

Taesas reclined in his chair again and allowed himself to smile. It wasn't an elegant or airtight solution by any means, but it would do, for now. It might tamp down Guyanne's ambitions for a short period and any reprieve would be welcome.

Sadly, he was making littler ground with Cecille Colieux, who was incensed when he was chosen as First Enchanter over her. She had been next in the line of succession and she knew it, and she had not relented since she was denied what she thought she was owed. She had retreated to her Duke Galien's estate and made all her moves from there, hardly making any appearance in the Circle tower unless absolutely required.

That she had been mostly quiet for the last month concerned Taesas to no end. She was nothing if not subtle and cautious, and seated in the Duke's lap made her difficult to strike at. His title and their child, the one that everyone in Orlais knew was illegitimate but that no one dared to state in public for fear of upsetting the Empress' family, shielded her to great effect.

If Celene had fallen at the Winter Palace in favor of Gaspard, Cecille would have been destroyed nearly as quickly by her many enemies all trying to puzzle their way around her illegitimate baby boy.

Then again, had Celene fallen, much of Vivienne's power base would have fallen with her and as her influence fell, his waned with it. Things were as they must be, for now. In time, he would overcome these challenges.

Taesas turned back to his desk and pushed aside Rayan's report to instead read correspondence from Amaury Brevere, who had become delightfully placating ever since his mother took ill later in the evening of his father's viewing and then died before daybreak choking for air as her windpipe swelled closed.

Ever since, Amaury had consistently sent in a generous tithe to the Chantry every month. He had also obediently and agreed to several procurements at the First Enchanter's request.

From the word of the servants in the estate, the young Marquis was crippled by depression at the untimely loss of his mother and has since been afflicted with an unerring sense of paranoia.

Meanwhile, the nobles pecked away at the edges of his land, the once brazen boy unable to fend for himself. Taesas would bleed his former patron's progeny for all he could before the Brevere line collapsed and faded into obscurity.

The boy was at least smart enough to understand fear.

Taesas heard the door open again and quietly shut.

"You can place the tea here, Eloise," Taesas said without looking up from the letter as he pointed to the left side of his desk.

"She's pretty. For a Tranquil, that is," a man's voice answered.

Taesas glanced up from his page then, now spotting the man carrying the tea tray, a thin tendril of steam wisping up from the spout of the pot. His garb was black, with a white Sunburst and a single eye in the middle of it emblazoned across his chest.

Taesas set aside the letter and stood from his chair, motioning to the available seat on the opposite side of the desk. "Seeker," he said, "I wasn't aware you were coming, or I might have made arrangements to-"

"And miss the chance to watch a First Enchanter go wide-eyed? I wouldn't pass up the opportunity," the Seeker said as he interrupted, setting the tea tray down in the middle of Taesas's desk. The cup rattled on its saucer as the tray landed roughly. "Montsimmard is nice. Nicer than I remember."

"I apologize for being caught off guard, but it's good to have you here, Seeker?" Taesas said, fishing for a name. It was never good news when a Seeker came to the Circle, even after Pentaghast had tried to neuter her own brotherhood too as part of her "reforms." The stories of Seekers appearing to speak with mages or Templars never ended well.

"Hugh. Araxii," he said, not bothering to extend a hand, insteading plopping down into the chair with a smirk across his face.

"Nevarran, then? Your accent sounds Orlesian," Taesas said as he sat back down, sizing the man up. He might have been around Taesas' age, maybe a few years his senior. His hair was coal black, pushed back. He had a small, thin, pointed moustache above his lip. His eyes were a deep brown, but he smiled with them as if life were one long joke. He wasn't carrying any weapons. Any that Taesas could see, at least.

"Cumberland is much closer to the Empire than most people want to admit," the Seeker responded. "I keep telling them if they're not careful, the lion will swallow them up one day. Apparently the city is not suitable to Orlesian sensibilities though, hence why your Grand Enchanter has chosen to relocate her office to Val Royeaux. I must admit though, she's a very hospitable hostess."

Had he already met with Vivienne? For what reason? "How is Vivienne?" Taesas asked, to feel him out.

"She's... something," the Seeker said, not bothering to guard his words. He leaned forward and picked up the teapot and began to pour water into the only cup, helping himself to the tea without asking. "She sends her regards. In what language exactly, I can't bother to remember. Words too big for my liking."

Hugh grabbed two cubes of sugar with his bare fingers, ignoring the small set of tongs, and plopped them into the cup, steeping tea splashing over the rim and onto the tray. He grabbed the silver spoon and began to stir, the metal clanging against the side of the cup.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial, pulled the stopper from the top and gave it a light flick until a bit of shimmering blue powder fell onto the surface of the tea.

"Lyrium?" Taesas asked as Hugh picked up the cup, leaving the saucer, and slouched back into his seat. Seekers didn't use lyrium, so it was curious that he had it at all.

"Old habits are hard to break," Hugh said with a shrug as he blew over the top of the cup. Had he been a Templar then, prior to becoming a Seeker? He was an unusual sort. Taesas had met hundreds of Templars over time and few talked about lyrium with any fondness much less nostalgia.

He had met a few Seekers, too - socially, thankfully - and found most of them to be either rigid and mechanical like Cassandra Pentaghast or to be cynical zealots who were always on a quest to find corruption even where it might not exist.

"Speaking of which," Hugh said as he reached down with his right hand into his pocket and produced a small bundle wrapped in burlap and tied with a string that he placed on the tea tray in the place of the cup he had since removed. "I heard that the Knight-Vigilant rejected your application for low-dilution lyrium. 'Not adequately justified.'"

Those were the exact words the head of the Templar Order had used in his response to Taesas' request. Curious, that the Seeker was aware of them.

Taesas tugged the string, letting the pack open, revealing three tiny bottles each containing shimmering, glowing lyrium. As Taesas lifted one of the bottles, the lyrium inside barely shifted due to its viscosity.

Taesas grabbed the other two bottles between his fingers and pulled open one of the drawers of his desk, placing them inside before sliding it closed. Those would be of use, later.

He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk, folding his hands before his face. "What can I do for you, Seeker?"

Hugh laughed, pulling the tea cup away from his lips as not to splash himself. "I can't say I love Orlais, but I do admire how simply transactional everything is here." Hugh sipped the tea again after he finished chuckling to himself, then tipped the entire cup back into his mouth, seemingly unfazed by its temperature.

The Seeker set the cup back on the edge of the desk, lifted his left leg and lazily crossed it, resting his foot on top of his right thigh. Hugh placed one hand on his bent knee, the other fiddling with a loose strap in a broken buckle on his boot. He sighed, then looked up as if he suddenly realized that he was acting odd.

"Yes, so, First Enchanter," he said.

"Tell me everything you know about these 'rift mages' you're so well acquainted with."