9:36 - Dragon - A few weeks before the mage rebellion
It all felt like a dream. As soon as Lily unlocked the cell, the air felt cooler and the hall wider. As if an invisible wet blanket had been ripped off her. Lily handed a pair of slippers to Kena, and she clumsily put them on her calloused feet.
"Quietly now, the guard has switched," whispered Lily, "Templar Sven will probably be dozing off about now." She pointed down the hall, "This key doesn't open all of the cells, but we'll unlock as many as we can. Now follow me."
Kena grabbed Lily's shoulder and followed her through the dark. The torches had all been put out, and she could barely see two steps in front of her, but it didn't matter. Lily had memorized the Aeonar's maze. One of the perks of being allowed to roam freely through the halls.
They only walked a short distance before Lily stopped at another cell and unlocked it. Inside was a broad-shouldered apostate, his robes tattered and gray from years of filth. He looked up at Lily and slowly emerged as if he had been expecting her.
Lily smiled warmly at him, "Are you ready John?" she whispered.
John nodded, taking the key from Lily and never looking at Kena.
"Maker bless you," bowing his head to Lily he quickly disappeared into the darkness behind them.
"Who is he?" Kena asked as they resumed their trek forward.
"An apostate, and a friend. Now hurry, we don't have much time."
Kena was grateful to Lily. If it wasn't for her, she'd have been hopelessly lost by now.
Lily paused again, and Kena nearly crashed into her back. Her lungs burned at the abnormal amount of exercise she was getting, so many years cooped up had taken their toll, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to make it to the end, even with the lyrium. Lily quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into an alcove and pressed a finger to her lips to keep quiet.
Kena complied, remaining still. Her skin prickled in anticipation, as if her body was craving the opportunity to use magic again.
Just then, a templar clad in leathers stalked quietly by with a dimly lit torch held lazily at his side. The Templar's steps were silent, quick, and Kena knew if she had done this on her own, she would have never seen them coming.
The light of the torch slowly faded into nothing, but Lily kept them waiting a bit longer anyway. Kena's knees were beginning to cramp in the small alcove when Lily breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stalkers, I almost forgot they usually post one around here," Lily murmured, more to herself than Kena.
"How could you hear them?" Kena whispered, taking Lily's shoulder and allowing herself to be led further out of the Aeonar's maze.
"The crickets stopped chirping," the sister quipped.
"Oh."
They continued a bit more, and Kena was dumbfounded by just how massive the Aeonar was. How had she never noticed before?
After more staircases than Kena could remember, they finally turned into a bright corridor. There were no cells here, only fancy Antivan rugs and well-oiled sconces gilded with the symbol of the fiery sword of the Templar order.
Lily pulled a sharp piece of wood out of her bodice and looked at Kena, "This is the part we'll need your magic for. You remember your shielding spells I assume?"
Kena steeled herself, allowing the magic to flow through her, "I don't know how strong I am, but I don't think I've breathed air this fresh in years." She took inhaled deeply and exhaled slow. Trying to remember all the lessons she'd learned at the circle. She dug for the memories of how to control her emotions to prevent the spells from over taking her, to feel the magic, instead of pulling it blindly.
"What now?" Kena said, her blood burning with magic.
"Shouldn't be long now…" Lily said, before swallowing hard, "I hope."
Kena wasn't sure what the sister had planned, but this was the closest to freedom she had been in years, and she wasn't going to screw it up second guessing her savior.
There was a sudden dip in the air pressure and Kena felt the unmistakable energy of magic crackle around her.
And a boom.
A big one.
The ground and walls shook, dust particles descending to the floor, and Kena caught herself against the wall. Lily almost fell forward but steadied herself, "Now!" she yelled.
Kena raised her hands out and formed a barrier around her and Lily just as a burst of magical energy erupted out of the corridor behind them. There was a moment of silence, before the doors in the hall began to burst open, half-dressed templars tumbling out, swords in hand.
"Oi! What are you doing here!" called one of the Templars. His Ferelden twang made Kena feel like she was back at the circle, about to get scolded for being out past bedtime.
It enraged her.
The Templars began to round on them, swords raised, and Kena was certain they were going to dispel her magic.
"Uh, Lily…"
"Just hold the barrier!" Lily commanded, holding her makeshift shiv like a dagger, "Don't take one more step!" she yelled toward the Templars, and her voice commanded an authority Kena had never heard before, "You'll regret it."
"What does that mean?" a templar asked, amused, his hands were beginning to swirl with energy, and Kena knew she wouldn't stand a chance against a well-fed Templar.
Just then a gurgling Sven came tumbling around the corner behind them, blood dribbling down his face and from a massive gash in his side, he clutched at it hopelessly.
The whole corridor went strangely silent, the Templar's mouths agape and confused at what was happening. It seemed that years of having the upper hand had made these Templar's slow and stupid.
Kena made eye contact with Sven and felt a momentary twinge of regret. He wasn't a mean person, he just was. Had John done this? Of all the templars, Sven was probably one of the few who didn't deserve that.
There was a sudden drop in air pressure again, and as if out of some dark Nevarran horror novel, a wailing sound came boiling out of the dark corridor behind them. Kena nearly dropped her barrier to cover her ears, but Lily yelled at her to remain steady.
The first apostate rounded the corner, her eyes burning red, and a dark miasma swirling around her seemed to suck in the light. Her limbs were stretched, her jaw pulled open as if broken, and she ran straight past them toward the Templars.
"Focus on the apostates!" one of the Templars yelled, ripping his sword up through the air and slicing the apostate's head clean off.
Kena felt the ground shake, and a wave of apostates came running down the corridor.
No, not apostates.
Abominations.
"What did you do Lily?!" Kena screamed, just as an abomination collided with her barrier, a stream of warm blood flowed from her nose, and her head throbbed at the strain of the magic. More Templars were pouring up the steps now, and there was all out fighting.
Lily's jaw was a hardened line, and she shook her head, "This wasn't supposed to happen!" she yelled.
Kena felt her magic suddenly burst stronger, the veil was so dangerously thin now she wasn't sure if she was in the fade or not anymore, "We need to go!" Kena yelled, managing to keep her barrier up long enough to guide her and Lily through the melee. Lily stabbed a Templar that attempted to dispel the shield, sending him falling to the ground, and an apostate appeared from behind them and pounced on the prone Templar, biting his nose clear off.
Lily and Kena screamed, dodging the abomination and just barely managing to slip into a room as another, mutated body charged them. Kena quickly cast a barrier onto the door, but it wouldn't hold long. Lily began pushing a wardrobe to block the entrance, and Kena moved to help.
They managed to block the door and fell wheezing to the ground. The sounds of screaming and tearing flesh muted through the barrier.
"Maker, this is all wrong," Lily wheezed, covering her face with her hands, "oh John, what did you do?"
Kena gasped for breath, her head spinning, "What was that explosion?"
"It wasn't supposed to damage anything, just cause a sound, a distraction. John was supposed to create a distraction, and free the mages in the process, but…" Lily shuddered mournfully, steeling herself, "it's done now. We have to get out of here."
Kena scanned the room, a small movement from behind one of the beds catching her eye.
She opened her mouth to warn Lily, but the sister was already on her feet, wooden shiv in hand.
"Wait!" the Templar yelled, standing up and holding his hands in front of him.
Lily lunged forward, nicking the man's cheek, and the Templar yelled, barely throwing himself out of the way of a full stab.
"Lily stop!" Kena screamed, and Lily paused, confused.
"He's… not bad," Kena trailed off.
Harud whimpered, clutching the wound on his cheek, "I have no interest in fighting," he said, hobbling to his feet and looking at Kena, "what's happening?"
"Nothing you want to see," Lily warned, stepping back from the Templar. She looked at Kena, "He's safe?"
Kena nodded, though she wasn't sure. All she remembered was that Harud had shown her kindness years before, and something inside her felt he deserved not to be stabbed in the face.
"We're leaving, are you going to stop us?" Kena asked, stepping closer to Harud.
The Templar took a step back and collided with the wall, he gulped, having nowhere else to go. He slowly let his hand drop from his face, the blood oozing down his cheek as he bit his lip.
"You shouldn't run away," he finally managed, his voice trembling, "don't do this."
"Yet, that's exactly what we plan to do," Lily responded sarcastically. She looked behind Harud, to the half open window, "We go from there," she pointed.
Kena nodded, "Step aside."
Harud swallowed, and obeyed, but Lily saw his hand twitch slightly toward his blade, "Drop that blade now!" the sister commanded, but he didn't respond.
The Templar looked between Lily and Kena, as if he didn't know what to do.
"Harud, please," Kena begged. Why did she care? It wasn't like she really knew the man, but something inside her felt pity, so much pity at seeing someone barely older than herself pale with fear.
Harud closed his eyes and began muttering the chant, Lily wrinkled her brow in confusion and took a step toward the window.
He bellowed, ripping his sword from its sheath and lunged at Lily.
Out of pure instinct, Kena reacted. She didn't mean to, but years of torture and pain had made her impulsive. Just as suddenly as he charged, his face went slack, a burning hole through his chest filling the room with the smell of cooked meat and burnt wool.
Harud's expression was confused, and he slumped to the ground, his eyes wide open and staring. Kena let out a wail, her hands still ablaze with red flame, "I had to!"
Lily turned to face her, shocked.
"Fuck!" Kena screamed, her eyes filled with tears. She suddenly felt her stomach churn and she keeled over, vomiting yellow bile onto the carpet.
Lily walked over and rubbed Kena's back, "We need to keep moving."
Kena shook her head, she'd never killed anyone before. She felt her stomach clench, and she wanted to throw up again, but there was nothing more she had to give, "Ok."
A loud bang shook the wardrobe blocking the door, and Lily grabbed Kena by the arm, dragging her to the window.
"Ready?"
Kena allowed herself to be pulled along, the image of Harud's pale, slack face burned into her mind. She refused to look at his body, and instead peered out of the window, which only succeeded in making her puke a bit into her mouth.
The window looked over a large drop into a massive, inky black ocean, or was it a lake? Kena couldn't tell, but it was roiling. There seemed to be a storm coming, and it was windy.
"You can do this Kena," Lily said, squeezing Amell's shoulder, "we can do this. Just follow me."
Another bang shook the wardrobe, and it slid forward a bit.
Kena cursed and braced herself. Lily shoved the shiv back into her bodice and climbed onto the stone ledge outside of the window. She shimmied out of the way, "Follow me, and be careful."
Kena scrambled onto the ledge behind Lily. Her eyes were blurred with tears, but she pressed on. Lily was already far ahead, and Kena was amazed that she was able to move so quickly in that stiff chantry robe.
"How are we supposed to get down from here?" Kena croaked, thankful that the ledge was at least wide enough for her feet to rest comfortably as they scooted along the wall.
"I saw a balcony before, hopefully, we aren't too high up to drop down."
Lily suddenly laughed, "Jowan told me a funny joke about a flying mage once," they carefully moved around a protruding stone corner, "I can't at all remember what it was, but I wish I could fly right about now."
Kena forced a smile, "You and me both."
The two women continued along the stone wall, pausing only at the windows to make sure they weren't seen. Kena could still hear the muffled screaming of the Templars and mages from inside the building whenever they passed the windows, and each time she felt more and more dread at the thought of the abominations running rampant within the walls.
How close had she come to being one of them? She hoped at least some of the other mages had escaped without becoming abominations.
"Look!" Lily called, "there!"
The Balcony was further down than Kena was comfortable with, but she could see the bridge leading away from the prison not far ahead, "What now?" Kena asked.
Lily continued onward, "You'll need to cushion our fall, get that barrier ready again."
"Right."
The fall was anything but cushioned.
Kena cast a small barrier around Lily, who dangled herself off the ledge and dropped to the balcony floor. She yelped and took a moment to steady herself and make sure all was clear before calling for Kena to follow.
Kena closed her eyes and dropped down to the balcony.
The barrier protected her from any real damage, but her ankles were throbbing. Both Lily and Kena took a minute to stretch out their aching muscles before peeking through the windows.
"Seems empty, I think everyone is busy upstairs," Lily mused, cupping her hand around the windows to get a better look inside, "let's go."
Kena broke the windows with a small pulse of magic and Lily deftly reached in and unlocked the door, pushing it open as quietly as possible.
The room was well lit, with torches and lanterns placed around haphazardly. Lily pulled her shiv out, but quickly ran to the desk and tossed it onto the bed, "Thank the Maker," she whispered. Lily grabbed a heavy bronze dagger and sheath from the desk, admiring it for a moment before tying it around her waist, "I think this is Knight Captain Brynn's room."
Kena looked around, the room certainly felt fancy. And now that she was paying attention, the bed was a mess, clothes strewn all over the floor. Whoever it was had left in a hurry, and it only made sense it was the Knight Captain's, "You think he's close by? The candles are still lit."
Lily quietly opened the bedroom door and looked around just outside, "No, he's definitely upstairs. Now come on."
Kena kept close to Lily, careful not to make any sound. The corridor was lit with torches periodically, but not nearly as well-lit as they would have liked.
Thankfully the halls were abandoned.
She supposed a massive abomination prison break would warrant an all-hands-on deck scenario. Lily and Kena quickly found themselves in an even darker hall, two massive doors looming ahead of them.
"This is it," Lily whispered excitedly, she gripped the dagger tightly and pointed the tip toward the doors.
The two women approached and quickly located the wicket gate.
"Maker's balls," Lily cursed, grabbing the door handle and pulling on it angrily, "it's spelled shut!"
Kena reached for the lock, attempting to melt it off anyway, but it was impervious, "Damn it!"
Lily pinched her chin and looked around the room, there had to be a clue, something, that would release the lock.
"It needs a Templar," Kena said, losing hope, "like the lock at the Circle. It needs a secret word and a Templar, damn it."
Lily spit, "Of course it does, the Templars are quite uncreative, aren't they?"
"Maybe… we could swim for it?" Kena suggested, but even she knew it was a ridiculous idea.
"No one has survived the swim to shore, the waters are filled with creatures, so I'm told, and there are currents that will pull you under," Lily growled angrily, "the Tevinters chose quite the defensible position!"
Kena and Lily looked hopelessly around the hall. It seemed wrong that they had made it to the front door only to be blocked in by a stupid spell.
"It won't be long before the Templars or the abominations make it down here," Lily acknowledged, "we have to move."
Just then, the front doors shook violently, and Lily yelped, jumping backward into Kena.
"What in the-" Kena began, but the doors suddenly bulged forward, a sour metallic taste filling the air around them.
And a small click.
The women looked at each other and quickly made a dash for a dark corner, whoever was coming through that door was powerful, but was it a Templar or a mage?
The wicket gate squealed open.
From their dark corner, Lily and Kena waited, moonlight poured into the hall.
The door was open! They both looked at each other, excited, afraid and confused all at once.
They hoped for a chance to slip through unnoticed.
Just then, a hooded man stepped through the doorway, and in the dark his eyes reflected the moonlight like a cat's.
Kena felt a shiver run down her spine.
They watched as the hooded man pulled a strip of cloth from under his cloak and began wrapping his hand.
"Blood magic," Lily hissed under her breath. She was gripping Kena's shoulder so tight her fingertips went cold.
"You're hurting me-" Kena whispered.
Just then, the man's head shot up, and he turned toward them. His reflective eyes focused on them through the dark.
"Come out, now."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Onto the next chapter!