In honor of some new info about DA4 coming out tonight at the Game Awards, here's another chapter! And a lot shorter than last chapter too!

Chapter 10

We're Bound by What Treaty?

The Circle had gone through a monumental change, and yet, in some ways, very little had altered.

Over a week had passed since the mages kicked the Templars out of the Tower and off the island. The Tower, for the first time, now officially belonged to the mages – or what was left of them. Only twenty-nine mages, one senior enchanter, thirteen apprentices, and seven Tranquil remained. But, instead of a descent into chaos, the mages were going about life much as they had before Uldred. The remaining apprentices were taught by Enchanters, mages went about studying and conducting research, and everyone was back to their old schedules. It was a unexpected turn, but no one seemed to know what else to do.

This was all of course after they had cleaned up the mess created by Uldred's revolution, a process that was still on going. Fire and frost had been used to clear the upper levels of the Corruption. Cleaning the blood off the floors, walls, and furniture had been harder and unpleasant. Worst was dealing with the bodies. So many had to be carried downstairs and brought outside to be burned. The funeral pyres had burned for hours, and what ashes could be recovered were interned around the Tower.

Except for the Templar bodies, which had been sent back across the lake, untouched. It was meant as a sign of goodwill towards the Templars and seemed to have helped a little bit. They hadn't attacked yet.

In the absence of Templar rule, governance for the mages had changed. A new leadership was established quickly in the form of the "Council of Magi." Five mages sat on it; the leaders of the movement and the last remaining Senior Enchanter: Victor, Petra, Niall, Eadric, and Wynne.

Wynne's position on the Council was not by the choice of the other mages. She had forced it on the rest of them and none could dismiss her. Wynne made it obvious she was only there to support and argue for Irving's position – a return of the Circle to Templar control. Besides Wynne, things were working out ok. The Council was declared in charge of all major decisions, but not without the consent and advice of the remaining mages. Every night, a meeting was held in the Grand Hall and the council declared any news of note. The other mages were free to comment on it and give their opinion and even vote on things. It was the mages first taste of 'freedom' in some form and they all very much enjoyed it, even with the very near and real threat of Templars storming the Circle.

The Council had set up their office in Irving's former study. Desks had been dragged in and each of the five Mages had one. None claimed Irving's massive blackwood desk, as none of them wanted to set the precedent as the new First Enchanter. They were trying something new and were committed to the idea of the Council.

Everyone but Wynne.

"We should send a missive to Irving and the Knight-Commander." Wynne insisted once more. "And allow some Templars in the Tower. Not to guard us, but to show them that we are not a danger and the Circle is free from demonic influence."

"We've already told them the Circle has been cleansed of demons." Victor said, raising his eyes up from a very interesting and bizarre Black Grimoire he looted from Irving's study. "And for the tenth time, Wynne, we are not allowing Templars, no matter who they are, to set foot in the Tower."

"They simply wish to make sure everyone is alright."

Victor kept his emotions in check, but the other Council mages couldn't. Eadric rolled his eyes, Niall grunted, and even Petra was starting to get exasperated with her mentor. Wynne wasn't understanding them. Or rather, she didn't want to understand them.

"And the Templars also wish to handle the blood mages." Wynne continued. She harped on that point a lot, but Victor felt they were doing ok on that front. Only four blood mages had survived the fighting, Catriona among them, and they were all locked in the dungeons. Victor himself didn't spend much time down there for obvious reasons, though he had helped clear it out. Like he suspected, none survived and they had to clean up a bloody mess in one of the cells - the remains of the one mage Victor had left behind.

But containing the blood mages was going well. In the many storerooms beneath the Tower, they had found some wards that diminished the effect of magic. Also, out of necessity, the blood mages' limbs were bound so they could not cut or bite themselves to cause bleeding. They were checked on and brought food, which was spoon fed to them, but otherwise left alone. If things got tense or worrisome, the mages could always cast a mana drain on them. It wouldn't leave the mages disoriented like a Templar's smite and thus seemed more humane to all the mages.

'The Templars made it look so difficult.' Victor thought, turning his attention back to the Black Grimoire. It was a very interesting book and Victor understood why Irving had it locked away. There were very incendiary ideas written in it; exotic theories about magic and instructions on spell casting that the Chantry and Templar would frown on. Victor certainly did as some of the spells seemed to dance along the border of blood magic. He would have been more concerned about others reading it except that large parts of it were written in Elven, Arcanum, and other languages Victor couldn't place. He was fluent in Arcanum, but he was far from a linguist. Maybe Finn could take a look at it, when he wasn't neurotically restoring order to the Circle libraries.

A knock at the door and a Tranquil, Pether, stood there. Victor tried not to think of Rhett as he looked at him. It was a bad reminder to him that he had not actually spoken to Rhett since he made sure he was ok after the Uldred fight.

"Excuse me, Councilors," Pether said. "But there are visitors' downstairs to speak with you. They say they are Grey Wardens, and they have a Treaty that requires the Circle of Magi to fight with them against the Blight."

"What?!" Wynne nearly shouted, jumping up from her seat. "There are still Grey Wardens in Ferelden?"

"Are they actually Wardens, or Templars in disguise?" Eadric asked.

"They do not appear to be Templars or agents in disguise. Their leader is a dwarf woman named Gytha, who claims to be the Commander of the Grey. Another Warden, Alistair, is with her. They have other companions too, though the Commander says they are not Wardens."

"Who are they?" Victor asked.

"Leliana, a former Lay Sister in Lothering, a Qunari named Sten of the Beresaad, and a Mabari war hound named Trian."

It was the most bizarre group of people Victor could think of. It sounded more like an Orlesian circus group than a pair of warriors from a mythical order and their compatriots. Everyone else seemed to think so too, but Wynne was reassured.

"I met Alistair and Gytha while at Ostagar. But Gytha had not Joined the order yet when we spoke, and Alistair was her Senior. Why is she leading them?"

"I do not know." The Tranquil responded.

"Well, at least they're real Wardens." Victor commented, thinking it over. In the hustle and bussle of their revolution and the horror of having to clean up the Tower, it had briefly escaped Victor's mind that the Fifth Blight was raging in southern Ferelden. "I think we should speak to them."

The whole Council agreed, and so followed Pether downstairs to greet their visitors. As they descended the tower, they passed through the library, allowing Victor to snatch up Finn who had been meticulous sewing pages back into the spine of a book while Mr. Wiggums lay sleeping on the table. Quickly, Victor explained the situation and told Finn he might need him to give a look over the treaty for its authenticity.

"The Grey Wardens would not lie about such a thing." Wynne chided when she overheard.

The Wardens were in the Entrance Hallway, where another Tranquil was waiting with them. The group was exactly as Pether described, though hardly comical like an Orlesian circus. Everyone one of them was armed to the teeth – quite literally in the Mabari's case – and certainly looked like they were ready to fight Darkspawn at a moment's notice.

Several mages who had observed the councilors moving downstairs and followed peaked their heads into the Entrance Hall to see what the fuss was about. As they did, the dwarf woman stepped forward.

"Greetings, my name is Warden Gytha, Commander of the Grey in Ferelden." She said while extending her hand to Victor, who was at the head of the group. He took her hand and shook it. Afterwards, Gytha made her way down the line, shaking the hands of the other councilors too. She stopped when she saw Wynne, a smile coming to her face.

"Senior Enchanter, I am glad that you too survived Ostagar." She said.

"Not as pleased as I am that some Grey Wardens did as well. My sympathies for your loss, especially of your previous Commander. I only met Duncan twice, but he seemed a good man."

"That he was." Gytha confirmed. Behind her, the blonde haired human, who Victor guess was Alistair, looked a bit emotional. "Shall we make proper introductions?" Gytha asked.

They did so in quick order, the mages surprised to be talked to so civilly. As they did so, Gytha directed her Qunari companion over to a table against the wall. With ease that shocked the mage, the Qunari lifted the table and placed it in front of them, separating the Councilors and the Grey Warden party down the middle.

"I don't see enough chairs for all of us, but that's ok." Gytha said, her head just coming up above the table. None the less, she was still clearly the authority for the Wardens. "My father once jokingly said it wasn't a proper negotiation if you didn't have a table between you and the other man."

"Who was your father?" Victor asked, not feeling it was out of place. Obviously, he was someone important if he was making deals.

"King Endrin of House Aeducan." Gytha responded, a hint of sadness in her voice. "He was a good man. May the Stone preserve him."

She bowed her head in reverence, leaving the mages a bit bewildered. They had all obviously read about dwarven faith. It was interesting to see some of it play out. Gytha finished her prayer and returned her attention back to the matter at hand. "Have you been told by your Tranquil why we have come?"

"We understand that you have Treaties requiring the Circle to assist you against the Blight." Victor said, trying to keep his voice calm and confident. However foolish as it might be, he was trying to channel the energy of an Antivan diplomat he had read about. They were good diplomats, right? Of course they were, Antivans were known for their merchant sense.

"That is correct, though it is not just for the mages. We have treaties that compel the Dalish elves and dwarven people to fight alongside us as well. We have already ratified the treaty with the Dalish clans. We now come before you for assistance against the most ancient enemy of all races."

"You found the Dalish?" Eadric piped up, glee on his face. "Where? What were they like?"

Gytha smiled patiently. "In the Brecilian forest. We only met one clan, but they are rallying the other clans to our cause."

"It was terrible when we got there!" The red-haired woman, Leliana, burst out. Her accent was like Giles, but unlike Giles, actually sounded natural. The sight of the Lay Sister was comforting to Victor, but why was she Orlesian? "When we arrived at the camp, we were nearly taken in a storm of arrows. The clan was terrified because Werewolves were hunting the Dalish!"

Gasped shocks from the Council and the mages who were massing at the edge of the Entrance Hall. With a captive audience, Leliana – clearly someone who enjoyed telling stories – launched into an epic tale of Gytha leading their group through ancient forests and ruins while encountering walking trees that could rhyme, spirits of elves and warriors past, a dragon, and massive, terrifying Werewolves. It all culminated in a pitched battle between the Warden party and the Werewolves, led by a gorgeous yet deadly demon with green skin who could command the roots and trees and turn into a white wolf named Witherfang. Everyone was impressed, but twice Victor thought he saw flashes of disappointment on Gytha's face as Leliana told the tale, but they were gone whenever she noticed Victor's eyes on her.

"Yes. It was an unfortunate situation we found the Dalish in. But the Dalish showed us they were a strong people and recovered quickly. We will be honored to fight alongside them against the Blight when the time comes." Gytha said, before turning to Eadric. "You will no doubt get to meet them."

Eadric looked positively thrilled about that. Looking around, Victor saw the other Councilors – and the large posse of mages by the doorway – looked very interested in the idea. Victor himself felt some attraction to the idea. Fighting against Darkspawn alongside the Grey Wardens? It was certainly an… attractive picture. A fairytale made manifest, really. And it was certainly a most Holy duty to beat back the creations of those who trespassed in the Golden City.

But it hardly did anything to resolve their current solution. The Templars might just kill them if the Darkspawn didn't. He looked to Petra and Niall, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"May we see the Treaty?" Victor asked. Gytha nodded and motioned to Alistair, who reached into his satchel and pulled out a very long piece of rolled up parchment with a blue and silver ribbon and seal on it. She pushed it across the table for the mages, clearly expecting Victor to read it. Instead, he took hold of it and passed it down to Finn, who was vibrating with anticipation.

"This is extraordinary! Maker's Breath, you can still feel the preservation spells used on it." He said as he unrolled the parchment and laid it down on the table for examination. It was certainly beautifully preserved. The ink was still clear and the stylized heraldry of the Grey Wardens and Circle of Magi were perfectly preserved.

"It's authentic." Finn confirmed. "Signed by First Enchanter Desdemona and the other Senior Enchanters at the time."

"Of course they're authentic! The Grey Wardens wouldn't lie about such a thing." Alistair said, rather indignant.

"When was it signed?" Victor asked.

"5:86 Exalted. Several decades after the Fourth Blight ended." Finn told him, his eyes still scanning the rest of the document. "Look at this penmanship! Truly artistic! And… Maker, look at this! There's lyrium dust in each of the Enchanters' signatures!"

5:86 Exalted? That was certainly a long time ago, Victor thought. He didn't dispute Finn's analysis, if anyone could tell authenticity of ancient documents it would be him, but still. Going through his history lessons, Victor remembered that the Fourth Blight was the shortest one yet at twelve years and was defeated by the elven hero Garahel. Briefly, a memory popped in his head from his younger years at the Circle playing Wardens and Darkspawn with the other children. Every elf always wanted to be Garahel. Pushing away that bout of nostalgia, Victor remembered the Fourth Blight ended in the mid 5:20s. So why did they wait so long to have the treaties formalized?

"5:86 Exalted is a long time after the Fourth Blight." Niall spoke up. "And it is curious that this Treaty is with the Ferelden Circle of Magi, as Ferelden wasn't even a nominal force in the Fourth Blight." There was no question to it, but it carried the proper undercurrents of doubt.

"Where did you find these Treaties?" Petra asked.

"In an abandoned outpost located outside of Ostagar." Gytha replied. "It was a former Grey Warden outpost until King Arland banished the Wardens during the Storm Age. Our former Commander of the Grey had Alistair and I recover it before the Battle."

Victor nodded his head, buying that explanation entirely. He was very thankful for all the history lessons the Circle had given him. Arland had been a tyrant and most of the history around his reign was lost, but it was without a doubt that the Grey Wardens were removed from Ferelden during his reign, only brought back by King Maric two decades ago.

"But there is another reason I have come here, one almost as urgent as the horror that is the Blight." Gytha continued. "I have come because a nobleman's son has been possessed by a demon who had raised an army of the undead and sent them against his vassals. We need mages and the lyrium you have to save this boy's life. It is imperative to ending the Civil War."

"Who is the nobleman?" Wynne asked.

"Arl Eamon of Redcliffe." Gytha told them, before launching into the tale that brought them to Redcliffe and what had preceded that. How Connor Guerrin was a secret mage, how the Arlessa had tried to hide it by hiring an apostate, only for the apostate to poison the Arl on Teyrn Loghain's orders, and how Connor, desperate to save his father, agreed to a demon's offer for help.

"That poor child." Wynne muttered.

Victor agreed, though worried a bit about the implications. An entire village decimated by undead and magic? Who would help the mages now? Hopefully the apostate tutor was someone unaffiliated with the Circle. "Who was this tutor?" Victor asked.

"A man named Jowan. He said he came from this Circle. Do you know him?"

The room fell deadly silent, eyes turning to Victor who, after a beat, burst out laughing. Victor could think of nothing else to do. Jowan, incompetent blood mage he was, had gained his freedom only to fall once more into a horrible mess of his own making. Meanwhile, Lily was suffering in the Aenor and mourning the loss of her love and life she hoped for. As for Victor himself… his five months of suffering…

And now a leader in the Circle.

'Oh, Maker.' Victor thought, 'What is Your plan?'

"Yes, we know Jowan." Petra offered, resting a comforting hand on Victor's arm, who had mostly calmed down. "That he is responsible for this is… not surprising."

"It is a short list of things Jowan is capable of doing." Eadric said, acid in his voice. "And teaching is not one of them."

"Jowan realizes his mistake and wishes to atone in some way." Leliana spoke up. "His original method for atonement was… less than ideal."

"Which is why we have come to the Circle. For competent help in saving the Arl's son." Gytha interjected. "Jowan has told us that the use of lyrium and several mages can send another mage into the Fade to confront and kill the demon. I have been told Connor is merely possessed and not an Abomination, so there is hope yet for the boy."

The Council began to mumble amongst themselves, debating the merits of the plan. Reluctantly, Victor agreed with the assessment. "Jowan is correct." Victor said, annoyed to give him credit. "If the Arl's son is only possessed, he can still be saved. It will be difficult, but it is possible."

"We have the mages as well who know the appropriate glyphs and incantations." Petra continued. "But it still leaves us with an issue, Warden-Commander."

"The Templars." Gytha supplied. Petra nodded grimly, as did the other Councilors.

"Even if we wish to leave to help, which we do," Victor said. "I imagine the Knight-Commander wouldn't allow it. This would also apply for us fulfilling our obligations with the Treaty. We must speak with our fellow mages before agreeing to anything, but I have no doubt we will honor our Treaty."

"Then speak with your fellow mages then." Gytha said, her voice carefully devoid of emotion. "And then supply me with your answer. As to the immediate issue, I came on boat to the Tower. I would be happy to ferry you from this island to Redcliffe, without any contact with the Templars on the shore."

Some positive muttering from the mages at that. "That would help a lot. But it doesn't help with our long-term issue." Niall replied.

Gytha gave them all a look, a challenge it felt more like. "Of course. But I would consider it a good step in the right direction, no? Showing the value of the Circle and currying the favor of a powerful noble certainly helps in your ultimate goal. I'm assuming you all have a plan towards freedom and securing it from the Chantry."

Victor felt his face grow red with embarrassment. They really had no plan at all. To his left, Wynne was eying the other Councilor's critically, her point made by the Warden Commander.

"I see." Gytha answered. "The ability to govern yourself is a noble goal. But it is not given. You must seize it, as you have started to already, and to do so, you must have a plan. I wish to let you know that I, as Warden-Commander of Ferelden, will help you in any capacity that I can. I have seen the strength you mages have, not just in magic but in honor and character. It would be a shame for it to be squandered by return to the Templars."

"Thank you for your support, Commander." Victor replied. "Now, we must excuse ourselves so we may consult and inform the other mages of this."

Gytha merely nodded, stepping away from the table. "Please be quick, Councilors. The fate of Ferelden and Thedas rests upon your actions."

As far as I can tell, the Fifth Blight was the first Blight to ever really affect Ferelden. Maybe the First Blight did as well since it was everywhere, but we have no Codex entries talking about that yet. One Codex entry in Inquisition though mentions that until the Fifth Blight, the ideas of Blights and Grey Wardens were mostly stories.

We have no actual dates regarding when the treaties were signed. But during the Paragon of the Her Kind quest we learn that the Dwarven Treaty was signed sixteen generations ago by King Bemot. A generation is roughly 20-30 years, so that would put the signing roughly in late Exalted/ early Steel Age. While we don't know if it is the same with the other treaties, it would make sense since this was shortly after the 4th Blight.

Next up: Deliberations