Chapter 54: Dark Horizon

She stood in the eye of the storm.

Bann Lorelei laughed as the air burned around her. Her gown snapped like a sail in the cool dark air, her red hair, blew wildly with each new burst of power.

The Bann's eyes sparkled hungrily.

This, she thought…this is what it feels like to truly be alive.

To have power!

She raised her hands again, her fingers curling into lethal claws. As she extended her fingers a blast of green-yellow, and black colored lightning splashed against the stone, the flash was so bright that it would have blinded anyone who dared look into it, the heat generated by the pulses left the stones that were struck glowing red…

Lorelei did not cower; she did not shield her eyes. She looked straight into the maelstrom she had summoned. She looked into the blinding flash, and drank it in, accepting its power.

She looked…and grew more confident because of it.

"Well…well done, Your Ladyship," a mewling voice said from behind her.

"Perhaps it is time to power down, give yourself time to rest."

Lorelei ignored the mage's words.

Rest?

Who needed rest?

She grinned hungrily.

She now wielded power fit for a god!

It was in that moment that she realized the truth.

She was not standing in the eye of the storm.

She was the eye of the storm!

The mage, Melcendra, had cautioned her when they first began this lesson. Circle mages had been summoning lightning for centuries…what Lorelei was summoning now…was something…more…far more.

Her teacher, who had once served her father, and then Bann Esmerelle, had first taught her this spell today. The woman had not expected much, she, and several old friends, had learned the spell from one of their mentors in the Ferelden Circle, the ability to transform magic and ambition and focus it into a lethal almost poisonous storm was not something the circle had been keen for its apprentices to master. So they had studied in secret, waiting for a time that they could use their power to free themselves from the Chantry, this was, of course, back before the Blight and the manipulations of the mad abomination Uldred had destroyed much of their old coven, and before the hero of Ferelden finished the job.

Her teacher was one of the few survivors of those events, sheltered by Howe allies so that they could use her power against their enemies. Esmerelle had been the one to introduce Lorelei to her dear teacher.

Now…unbelievably, at least in this, she had surpassed her.

According to Melcendra, even the most talented of their number had not managed more than a few sparks during their first lesson. It was not an easy thing channeling both emotion and magic, and twisting it so. Lorelei did it almost naturally; her power was enough to rip the entire room apart. Had they not been standing in an empty cellar, everything around them likely would have been turned to ash, and that would only have been the beginning.

Lorelei giggled.

She was just getting warmed up.

Anger was easiest to start with, her teacher had said. That was good, Lorelei knew, she had no shortage of anger. The Duchess had made sure she knew how she had come to be in her service, the old woman had cared for her, but that did not mean that she hid her from hard facts.

Take care of this.

Lorelei's eyes narrowed.

It was with those four words that Rendon Howe had left her in the Duchess' care. No, 'be kind to her,' no, 'let her know that she is missed," Rendon Howe had dropped her off on the Duchess' doorstep, and then returned to his life, returned to his quest to gather more power for himself.

The girl felt a growl building in the back of her throat.

The fool, she thought…

…The stupid, arrogant fool.

She sent another blast of black lightning into the stone wall, it left a black scorch there, and the mortar almost glowed from the assault.

Rendon Howe had been a fool. He had trusted his legacy to inept children.

She sighed.

Now it was up to her, the daughter he had abandoned, to pick up the pieces.

If only father could see me now, she thought, the children conceived with his wife had failed their family, failed the name of Howe…

A sneer came to her lips.

Now it was up to her, she would rebuild their family. The one her father had tossed away, the bastard he had wanted hidden.

Her eyes gleamed hungrily.

She would have it all.

She would have…everything.

Lightning crackled against the magic shield she had summoned, the one that protected her and her teacher. It quavered under the assault but did not break, like the lightning; it was born of her power too.

She could hold the shield. She could both shield and attack at the same time.

She was nothing if not…adaptable.

She found herself thinking about that Cousland cow, that ugly ox of a girl who had accompanied Lady Glass back from Highever.

She imagined that girl being caught up in the power of her storm; she imagined her armor melting, her eyes burning inside her skull.

The Couslands no doubt thought they were done with House Howe, that House Howe was done.

Lorelei grinned.

They were wrong.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She nearly spun, an angry rebuke already forming on her lips.

Melcendra cowered.

"That is enough, Milady," she said with a slight quaver in her voice.

Her teacher smiled.

"You have done well."

That smile offended her, Lorelei was tempted to blast it right off the mage's simpering face, but…at the last minute, she held back.

Melcendra knew things, things that her young mistress didn't…

She was still necessary, at least…for now.

Lorelei lowered her hands, the storm faded, the smell of hot stone and ozone remained.

She grinned at her teacher.

"I think I'm ready for my next lesson," she purred.

The other woman nodded and likely would have offered her student something else, but a knock at the large metal door interrupted them.

Lorelei frowned.

"Yes," she called out, barely managing to keep the anger out of her voice. She did not like to be interrupted, not when she was learning her craft.

"It is Jesper, Milady," a familiar voice answered.

"I have news."

The Bann pursed her lips. Part of her wanted to continue her lesson with Melcendra, but at the same time…

"Enter," she said.

Jesper entered the room, a cold smile on his face; he glanced around the room at the scorch marks that now marked the wall.

His smile actually widened.

"I have news from our friend in the Chantry," he purred.

Lorelei paused, her expression becoming thoughtful.

"I think you will want to hear this," Jesper added.

Lorelei nodded. As much as she wished to continue her exploration of magic, she was smart enough to know that magical power would not be enough. She would need political power as well…

She nodded.

It was time to cultivate the latter.

"Leave us," she ordered Melcendra.

The mage nodded and swept past Jesper, but not before glancing one last time at the damage her apprentice had wrought.

Lorelei almost smiled.

Her teacher was learning to fear her, good.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Fear…was an excellent motivator.

Once the mage was gone she motioned for Jesper to follow her. There was no need to discuss such important matters in some dark chamber.

They would adjourn to someplace more…comfortable.

From there she would be in a better position to decide her next move.

From there, she would be able to continue her plan.

IOI

They returned to Lorelei's apartment in the Bann of Amaranthine's estate. Outside she could hear the shout of workmen as the toiled to repair the damage from the darkspawn assault that had rocked their little city months ago. The warden commander could have ordered Amaranthine burned, but had instead chose to defend her, and thereby saved many lives.

Lorelei frowned as she poured herself a drink.

The warden commander was now greatly loved by the people in this city. Yet, Bann Esmerelle had continued to plot against her, plots that would have surely weakened their position.

It was for that reason, that Lorelei had had her removed. It was nothing personal; in fact, if it wasn't for Esmerelle she would never have learned her full heritage. She had owed her for that, but the woman had let her emotions get in the way of business.

House Howe was at a critical juncture, no one, not even the staunchest of allies could jeopardize that.

So, she had had the woman removed.

She and Melcendra had watched as the Bann hanged herself, caught completely under the sway of blood magic. Esmerelle had no control over her limbs as they tied the knot that sent her to the next world, but her mouth had remained untouched.

She had cursed Lorelei, calling her an ungrateful wretch. Esmerelle had believed right up until the end that she deserved everything that Rendon Howe had built, that she would still be able to use Lorelei as her pawn.

When the former Bann had kicked away the chair, when she finally danced at the end of a rope, she had finally found out exactly how wrong she had been.

Lorelei smiled.

That moment had been the beginning of her rise, but now was not the time to dwell on past victories.

Mister Jesper had brought her news, now she needed to find out how best to deal with it.

"Mother Allison's latest scheme to destroy Lady Glass has failed," the young man informed her, "Our friend does not know all the details, but it is clear that both the king and his pet scholar did not dance to the tune the Revered Mother was calling."

"That is not surprising," The Bann said settling into her favorite arm chair, "Everything that we have seen from Glass girl suggests that she is far more cunning than the nobles suspected."

"It seems that way," Mister Jesper agreed, "Our friend is not sure how Mother Allison is going to respond to this, but believes she will likely wait for the Orlesian Ambassador before making another attempt, if she even tries another attempt that is."

Lorelei's brow furrowed with thought.

Would the Revered Mother try again? She suspected that she would. The priestess had invested too much time and effort into dealing with the Glass family to stop now.

Now all that remained was for the Bann to find out the best way to profit from all this chaos. So far, King Alistair had not even tried to intervene, when he did, the fun would likely be over.

Lorelei pursed her lips.

She would need to strike before that happened.

She glanced up at Jesper, he was grinning hungrily, that strange light that she had come to identify with mirth was almost blazing behind his blue eyes.

"Is it time, Milady," he asked, "Is it time for us to get involved in this?"

The Bann sighed.

"Nothing would please me more, Jesper, she admitted, "Unfortunately, we need to be more cautious than that. The Mother's attempt to…remove Lady Glass from court…we will need to tread carefully if we wish to succeed where others have failed."

The young man's eyes flashed hungrily.

"We're going after her too?"

Lorelei nodded.

"And the king…when we are strong enough," she admitted, "His Majesty and his elven whore destroyed my family. They murdered my father in his own estate. I cannot let that pass."

The Bann shook her head.

"I've seen how the king looks at her…Lady Glass. I don't want to simply drive her from the capital, Mister Jesper. I wish to destroy everything she and her family hold dear. Then I want her to curse the day she met Alistair Theirin. I want her to shatter his heart into a thousand pieces. I want him to beg for death."

Lorelei smiled.

"When the time is right," she promised, "We will grant that wish for him."

Jesper's smile widened.

A cruel purr emerged from the Bann's lips. The thought of avenging her noble house always brought a rosy glow to her cheeks.

She would see the king answer for what he had done.

She would see them all answer.

She brushed away such honeyed thoughts. For now…she needed to be cautious, continue to play the loyal subject…

…Until the time was right for her to stop.

Until the time that she could truly claim the Howe name for her own.

"I will need to grow stronger before that day comes," she said, "I will continue to train with Melcendra. You will continue to watch the chantry, keep our friend on it. When we are ready, we will likely need her help."

Lorelei sighed heavily, as she leaned back in her chair.

So much was riding on her slender shoulders now.

She could not afford to be stupid.

"I will need to continue to grow my political power base as well," she admitted, "I will continue to donate money for the rebuilding of Vigil's Keep, that will keep the wardens off my scent for now. I will also need more political allies, perhaps even find a new alliance."

She smiled slyly.

"This means I need to find a proper husband to marry, I'll need someone with just the right connections to help keep things running smoothly."

Jesper glared at that.

He clearly did not think that her marrying anyone was a good idea.

His reaction brought a smirk to her lips.

"Fear not, Mister Jesper," she cooed, "You will always be first in my heart."

Her man said nothing, if his words appeased her, he did not let it show.

His eyes had gone distant, turning cold and angry, predatory.

A shiver ran down her body, not of fear but excitement.

She loved when he got jealous.

Her heart began to pound, but she held her passions in check.

She still had a few more things to iron out with Jesper before they got down to the next stage of their…meeting.

After all, she thought.

Work first, play later.

She gave him her sexiest smile.

"I will prove how important I am to you," she said.

He glared.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes," she answered.

"How," he demanded.

She ran a finger down her chest, letting it drift down between her breasts.

Jesper watched her intently; she could almost see the anger starting to shift to lust.

She enjoyed the change.

"We need to be careful," she purred, "We are not yet ready to take on the king."

Jesper nodded watching as her hand slid down, her fingers undoing the fasteners of her gown.

"Keep watching the chantry," she said, "Mother Allison may yet come up with a plan to deal with the Glass girl. We should also keep an eye on her siblings. Quentin and Margaret Glass are sure to have at least some secrets we can exploit."

Jesper nodded, almost mesmerized as she revealed the pale creamy skin of her shoulders.

"We should also try to find out what happened after the Hero of Ferelden died. Why the hero's allies summoned this Revered Mother Dorethea and what did the woman do."

Lorelei rose from her chair, she let her gown fall away. Jesper almost gasped at the sight before him…

…Bann Lorelei… in all her glory.

She smiled at him.

"I trust you can handle all that, Mister Jesper."

He approached her, the two of them stood barely an eye lash apart, he was breathing heavily now, excited.

He smirked down into her eyes.

"You are going to have everything you ever wanted," he purred.

She smiled.

"That is the idea," she said.

He leaned in, kissing her chastely, she sighed, the sound of a man dying of thirst who had finally found water.

"We will get them," he said, "All your enemies."

He smirked.

"Then the real fun can begin."

She was breathing heavily now, she could no longer contain it. It was as much of a storm as what she had released in the cellar.

The storm had finally left the dark horizon.

Now the storm had come.

"Why wait," she cooed.

He pulled her into his arms.

Why wait…indeed.