Chapter 4
The first week is spent simply gauging how powerful the mages are, dividing them into elemental groups and sub groups, and setting leaders for each group. The spymaster with her grating, unwavering belief in the Maker can't find better temporary sleeping arrangements, and won't give her an office until after talking to the Inquisitor so Jacqueline manages to get a table drug up into Cullen's office, glowering at anyone who dares contradict her. For all of his protesting, a wave of relief washes over him. She'll be easy to keep an eye on here.
The second week is when the real training starts and by the middle of the third week she's managed to convince Commander Cullen to have some of his more experienced fighters teach the mages how to fight with their daggers in the mornings, after all she doesn't even like teaching to begin with and large groups are always a pain. She'd always only taught when it was necessary, when no one else could be trusted to do as good of a job. Her mind wanders to her husband's children before returning to the people in front of her.
The mages lunge clumsily, unsure of themselves with any weapon other than their staffs. Jacqueline sighs, they have a long way to go before they're ready to fight anyone seriously. That's too harsh, they could perhaps take on a small garden snake. Maybe. How they'd managed to defend themselves from the Templars was beyond her, though she supposes the heat of battle had something to do with it.
The Commander pulls her out of her reverie. "They're getting better."
She snorts. "They look like little fauns just learning how to walk when they use anything other than magic. They'll be slaughtered without their staffs."
He throws her a sharp glare. "They're doing the best they can and Maker preserve us, they won't have to fight anytime soon."
"I don't know about your Maker, but you're right. Hopefully battles are a long way off for them. A few show promise."
"Aramath of course. Who else?"
"Lynaas the elven fire mage, Ella the human spirit mage, Anvel'lan the elven ice mage," Jacqueline points over the wooden fence she's leaning against, picking out each person before naming an additional seven others. "They're going to be the best here and they're going to help me teach the others." Cullen nods approvingly but she continues. "You'll want a strike team, people that can go in and get out before anyone knows they're there. Aramath, Lynaas, Ella, and Anvel'lan are the best bet for that. Ella and Lynaas are still too timid, I need to work with them but they show promise. You should pick out your eight best soldiers so we can have three person teams." She pauses then winces, remembering, "How does that sound to you, Commander?"
"The Inquisitor is set to return tonight, we should take it up with her tomorrow."
Jaqueline groans, "Ah yes, and I suppose I'll have to properly introduce myself to her as her Enchanter, won't I?"
"That would probably be a good idea."
She nods, letting the silence stretch uncomfortably between them before straightening and brushing off her gloved hands. "It looks like they're ready for me now."
The day passes quickly, the commander in his tower with his reports and Jacqueline on the training grounds trying to get her mages up to par. In the weeks since she accepted the position they have gotten better, but the mages still seem scared, still seem hesitant. The brunette looks around, evaluating her students. A younger man, hardly twenty loses his fireball right as it gets to the proper intensity, letting it fizzle out. The same thing happens with an earth mage, the ground rumbles under the girl's feet and when she's right on the edge, almost tapping into her power the shaking stops. Too many of them glance nervously at each other. A scant few are as assertive as she needs them to be, but she needs more and the assertive ones aren't all necessarily good, just angry and an angry mage can be even worse than an uncertain one. Jacqueline nibbles on her bottom lip, they keep pulling back. They're so unsure of themselves that they won't actually attack anything, making almost every mage here more of a hinderance than an asset. They fought for their lives before, why can't they find the same power now?
A short trumpet blast slices through the air, announcing the Inquisitor's return as Jacqueline dismisses her troops for the day. It'll be best to wait, give the elf time to settle back in and let her make the decision to summon the enchanter. The mage ascends to commander's tower, her makeshift office, and plops unceremoniously down behind her table, grabbing a few absolutely unimportant diagrams out of Dorian's hands. "I can enchant these to be blank you know, or leave ink all over your hands if you touch them, or even make them scream if you pick them up."
The Tevinter mage just laughs, "I'm just curious. You took my book away and now I'm left with just your scribbles to read."
"You mean my book?"
He simply waves her off, "Semantics. Either way, I'm still interested in getting my hands on it. What can I do to convince you?"
"Start by staying out of my stuff and then maybe we can talk about it."
"I-" he doesn't get to finish his sentence as a maid walks in, carrying a platter with enough food for the party of four, Cullen, Jacqueline, Dorian, and Rylen. It was common enough for them to eat together and the juicy roasted venison was enough to at least momentarily distract the Tevinter.
"How was the training today?" Cullen calls from behind his desk. She can see the headache starting to form behind his eyes and how hard he's trying to push it down.
"Most of them are too afraid of their own shadow to actually do any significant damage. How did they even manage to fight the Templars?" She'd heard little bits about the Circle and the Mage Templar War but she hadn't gotten specifics, nothing beyond Templars liked to throw their weight around and nothing that would be cause for a full blown war. After all, what could a Templar even do to a mage beyond maybe brandish a sword which if the mages were actually any good should be no threat at all?
Rylen shifts uncomfortably and Cullen pinches the bridge of his nose. Rylen speaks first. "Some of them didn't and they split relatively peacefully, some caught the Templars by surprise. The Champion of Kirkwall helped bring down the Gallows so the mages had backup."
"It's more than that," Cullen interjects. "In Kirkwall, Meredith was, she was - off."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Cullen clenches his jaw, avoiding looking at the mage. Dorian sighs, "Your family must have really wandered for you to have not heard about Kirkwall. Their Knight-Commander went crazy and started killing mages left and right, seeing abominations everywhere. Of course the Circle had to do something, they found the guts to fight then." Dorian pauses for a moment, "I can't imagine being around so many Templars is easy for them. If I were in their shoes I wouldn't want to do magic here either, all things considered."
Jacqueline squints momentarily but hastily schools her expression to that of total understanding. "Ah, I see." It'd been easier in the Capitol, all the information she'd ever needed about wherever she went was given to her. "So perhaps taking them out of Skyhold to train would be beneficial. What do you think Cullen, I expect to be busy with the Inquisitor for most of tomorrow but after that we'll begin training outside of the walls."
The commander looks at her, regret flashing behind his eyes for an instant. "No, we need to keep them in here where they're safe."
Jaqueline snorts. "Safe? There are scouts for miles around Skyhold I'm sure. This whole area is perfectly safe. Besides, a little danger may be good for them."
"No."
"Why?"
"If something happens and they're too far away, what then? What happens if someone's magic gets out of control and they get hurt or worse, they turn into an abomination? Without the Templars there, the mages aren't safe!" Cullen slams a hand down on his desk as Jacqueline marches up to him.
"Do you really think so little of mages that we'll all turn into those abominations you hate so much at the drop of a hat?" She jabs a finger towards his breastplate as the closest brazier burns brighter. "We can take care of ourselves, in fact in Al-" she cuts herself off, remembering the Dorian and Rylen. "Leave us," she orders, "I would speak with the commander in private."
"We really -" Rylen interjects but Cullen cuts off his second-in-command with a raise of his hand.
"Go." Rylen grinds his teeth but only a minute later the door swings shut behind him. Cullen watches the mage compose herself, can feel her draw energy into herself before settling primly into the chair across from him. The first shadows of dusk fall across the scars on her face. "You were going to say in Almirat weren't you?"
"Yes," she nods.
Cullen groans, "I don't know anything about where you're from. You've been careful not to share details which don't think has gone unnoticed, but here we already have ways of doing things. And I have to tell the Inquisitor about that by the way, regardless of what you say."
"Fine," Jacqueline rolls her eyes, releasing a tiny portion of his oath so the Inquisitor can be told.
"We can't just let the mages run unchecked, shooting off fireballs and getting possessed. I won't run that risk by letting them practice outside of Skyhold."
"If they only practice here, they won't get better. I don't know what happened to them but what Pavus said makes sense, they seem afraid of practicing around so many people."
"They don't have a choice. Obviously I don't want them to lose control and hurt someone but -"
"So let them practice outside! If something bad happens it's better that they're away from Skyhold, away from civilians."
"No, they need to be where the Templars can watch them. Where they can -"
Again she cuts him off. "That's what this is about isn't it? Watching them, so controlling them, making them afraid. What exactly happened in those Circles? What are the Templars to the Circle Mages?"
Cullen grimaces, dreading explaining the Circles to the hotheaded mage. She's lucky the Circles got disbanded. "The Templars kept the peace, protecting the mages and the commoners wherever the Circles were. Magic is-" He'd almost said too dangerous but a glance at the enchanter changes his phrasing - "Powerful. The Templars just made sure everyone was safe."
Jacqueline purses her lips, mulling it over for a moment. "And how exactly did they make sure everyone was safe?"
"We had classes for them to learn to control their magic, we gave them tasks to occupy their minds, we kept them separated from the common folk, we-"
"You kept them separated?" Her eyes go narrow into slits. "You locked them up didn't you?"
"Only if they needed to be." The armor he's wearing feels a lot less like the Inquisition's and more like his uniform in Kirkwall. He can almost see Hawke demanding to know why the Gallows are the way they are, why her sister was taken to the Circle. He shakes his head, dispelling the vision.
"Only if they needed to be," Jacqueline spits. "And what in the hells is that supposed to mean? What makes a mage 'need to be locked up'?"
"If they're dangerous, if we feel they might be too vulnerable to possession or indecent influences."
She bares her teeth, scowling as each word passes her lips. "If you feel they might be too vulnerable. Might be.So you didn't even wait until they did something bad you just went oh no, let's lock up the mages because they might, just maybe, possibly be dangerous. Maybe! Who decided if they needed to be locked up? Who decided any of it?"
"It's the Templar's duty to serve and protect. If we let mages just mingle with whoever whenever, imagine the consequences! Imagine the chaos! We did what we had to in order to protect everyone."
She scoffs, "Ha! Your duty is to make them afraid, I see that now. I doubt protection was even at all truly intended. You locked them up in gilded cages didn't you! Though with a name like the Gallows for one of your Circles I'd imagine the gilding doesn't last long, does it? You were right though, you don't know anything about where I'm from but let me tell you. In Almirat the mages run free, we have no Templars there and we have no need of them. We can take care of our own, we can govern our own, and in the Capitol we might just cut off your head for even suggesting otherwise!" Her voice rises as she does, attempting to stand over Commander Cullen but he jumps to his feet, locking eyes with the enraged mage. The fires are dancing dangerously high and he pulls in on himself. It's been too long since he's had lyrium, too long since he's tried this but he slams his hands onto her shoulders, forcing his will into her.
Only very rarely is he this close to the angry mage, usually he has a sword between them but the effect should feel the same. A cool release should wash over her, stifling her magic until she can calm down. Instead, it's like fighting a dragon, a strange coiling, greying dragon. Her will pushes against his, threatening to overtake him. Muted red against calm blue. She jerks back, disgust plain on her face. "You tried to sap my magic! You, you tried to sap my magic! How dare you," her nostrils flare and she looks for all the world as if she'll strike him down where he stands before realizing where she is. "I want nothing to do with you, your vile Templar Order or your uncouth magics, you swine. How dare you!" She storms off, chest heaving as Cullen slumps against his desk, exhausted from the sudden exertion.
The headache he'd been fighting all day explodes behind his eyes as his hands search frantically for that blue potion that should be nearby. It's always within a Templar's grasp, it should be right - his hand closes on the wooden box in his desk drawer. Everything will be ok. He flips it open hastily, only to see the lack of lyrium. His fingers shake as he caresses the syringe, wondering how quickly he could get some from the Templars stores.
No, he can't do this.
He's come too far, he can't. Not today, not ever. He will not go back to the life he had before! He let down all of the mages in the Gallows and each draught of lyrium had only reminded him of that. He hadn't done his duty, he hadn't protected them. He snaps the lid shut and tucks the box back into his drawer, his fingers shaking.
"Commander, I heard shouting. Is everything okay?" A scout stands hesitantly in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot.
"Send someone after that damnable woman," Cullen snaps. "And tell them to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid!" He shouts at the retreating form.
. . .
A fireball soars across the room, crashing into the stone wall of the room Jacqueline shares with too many other 'hedge' mages. No one is in here except for her, cursing everything from the day she was born till now. "Stupid, reckless, dangerous fool!" She seethes. In all her years she'd never been like this, with her magic boiling right under the surface of her skin, waiting, begging to be released and she'd almost let it loose on that boorish Templar. His spell wouldn't work but how dare he even try on her. On her! She was trained to blend in, trained to be exactly what people expected to see, to be whatever was needed so why in the hells can't she do it now! Why is she so, so...so angry? She throws another fireball before hitting the wall with her fist. A knock rings throughout the room. "What?" She snarls.
The door swings open and the dwarf she'd occasionally seen lounging about the Great Hall stands there, appraising the scorch marks on the walls. "Redecorating I see," He muses.
Jacqueline cocks an eyebrow. "Of course. I thought the room could use some livening up."
He picks up a slightly burnt wooden plate, setting it back on the low table near the door. "I always thought these rooms were a little drab anyway. Varic Tethras, at your service."
"Jacqueline, at yours." She extends her hand and the shake briefly, each satisfied with the other's grip, before sprawling on a dusty chair. He props himself against the table. "What brings you to my quarters today, Master Tethras?" The anger of a moment ago is carefully put away, wrapped up and stored for later.
"Oh you know, pure curiosity. You seem to have caused quite an upstart. First with that little book of yours and then with teaching the mages." The blonde dwarf with the overabundance of chest hair chuckles. "No one was expecting some hedge mage to teach battle magic."
"Hmm, I wasn't aware that my book was Skyhold gossip."
He grins, "It isn't. Anyhow, you seem to have upset a certain ex-Templar. You should be glad I caught the scout instead of letting him go get another Templar. I doubt they would be as open to you...redecorating."
"So you're here to babysit me?"
Varric shrugs, "More or less. Well, definitely less. I'm here so you don't have to deal with a tin can breathing down your neck and because I always did love a story and you seem like you've got one to tell."
Jacqueline laughs shortly, "Really now, and what tale exactly were you expecting from me? Let me guess you want to know some kind of origin story, something that explains everything in a nice little package tied up with a bow that answers all your questions?"
"Well, hardly anyone here has ever seen a bona fide battle mage, The Champion of Kirkwall is the only one most people have even heard of so of course they're curious. So," he shrugs, a twinkle in his eyes, "If you're offering some nice explanation then sure."
"Hmm, let me think. How about I'm an immortal queen who abandoned her people, fought in a battle that no one here knows about, left because someone was murdering my family and then fled to Skyhold? How does that sound, sounds believable, right?" Jacqueline jokes, "It would explain the battle magic and scar."
The dwarf laughs. "Completely believable, Your Majesty." He does his best mocking bow.
"Why thank you. No one seems to understand I was just a nomad, that's all." She laughs, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially to Varric. "I told the last person I sat on the right hand of The Maker, may his tree grow tall, and before he died he trained me to lead his mages to freedom. Oh, and that I am Andraste incarnate and the scar is because Ferelden has forgotten me." Jacqueline laughs shrewdly. "I don't think the Chantry sister appreciated that too much."
"No," Varric laughs, "I don't imagine any of them would. Come on Your Majesty, or is it Your Divinity? I can never get my honorifics right when I'm addressing goddesses."
"Just Jacqueline works perfectly fine." She smiles at the man, a writer if the ink stains on his fingers are to be believed.
"Well then, Just Jacqueline, let's go grab a drink and unwind. You look like you could use it."
"That sounds grand Master Tethras."
"Please, call me Varric. Master Tethras is too stuffy."
. . .
The Inquisitor is less than thrilled at Cullen's suggestion that Enchanter Jacqueline be removed from duty and placed, at the very least, under observation. "She's dangerous and out of control, Inquisitor! She's not familiar with our customs, she's not familiar with the Circles, and she's too high strung to be able to make rational decisions!"
"Commander," Aleara warns, "Of course she reacted poorly to news of the Circles. If what you say is true and she's from across the Amaranthine Ocean and she held a high position at her court then of course she's going to react negatively to the idea of Templars! I grew up hearing about the Circles, it still bothers me and I'm not even a mage! Fenedhis! You didn't tell her about tranquility did you? She may not agree to help us anymore if you did!"
"No, Inquisitor, I didn't but I really don't see why you would want her to continue teaching the mages."
"Because," Leliana butts in, "Who else is going to do it? If she leaves we're back to square one."
"We don't even need the mages, they're wild cards and our army is perfectly capable of handling Corypheus on its own!"
"Really?" The Inquisitor rounds on him. "Perfectly capable? Do you remember Haven? Do you remember that Dorian and I went into a hellscape specifically to get those mages that you're so quick to discount to join us? We need them, whether you like it or not and if that means putting up with her then by the Gods you will!"
Cullen counters immediately, "She's more volatile than I've ever seen a mage be. She's open to possession, I can guarantee it."
"So watch her," The Inquisitor groans. "Make sure she doesn't get possessed."
The commander's jaw clenches. "Yes, Inquisitor."
"Good." She sighs, her black vallaslin scrunching on her forehead. "I know this is difficult," She murmurs, "But we need this, Cullen. If we're going to defeat Corypheus we need all the help we can get. I'll arrange for you to easily keep an eye on her for now."
"Fine, I'll do what you ask but we need to continue looking for teachers, just in case."
A knock interrupts them and the door to Josephine's office opens, the mage in question standing in the doorway. She quickly jerks her head down towards Aleara, "You wanted to see me, Inquisitor?"
"Yes, come in. The commander here was just telling me about your, uh, discussion with him yesterday."
Jacqueline turns to Cullen, regarding him cooly. "Was he now."
"I understand that you're not accustomed to life in Ferelden and that there is a lot to learn about the way things are done here. It seems you want to keep your homeland a secret with, quite frankly I can agree to. We have enough on our plates with Corypheus, we don't need to deal with mages from across the sea too."
"I agree. Besides, we're not the most welcoming to," the mage looks Cullen over, "some people."
Josephine quickly interjects, smoothing things over before they have the chance to get out of hand. "The Inquisitor and I have discussed it and we're arranging for a private room for you. It'll be ready by this evening so do let us know if you need anything else in it."
"Thank you, Lady Ambassador. I appreciate that. What about the office space?"
"Ah, well, that is a little more complicated." Lady Josephine fidgets with the quill on her notepad. "You see, we want to present a unified front in the Mage Templar Conflict and believe it would be for the best if you and Commander Cullen were to remain in close proximity to each other. It seems as if the situation you two currently have will be satisfactory for the time being, that way you can both keep each other informed and our army can operate as one unit with the commander leading and the enchanter teaching."
Jacqueline blinks for a moment while Cullen's nostrils flare. "You want her to stay in my office?"
"You want me to plan and perform magic around him? He'll get his little Templar panties in a bunch!"
"I beg your pardon!" Cullen gasps.
"Oh you heard me. And besides, I wouldn't want to do magic around a little thief like you."
"How dare you! I'm no thief and -"
"You tried to siphon off some of my magic unannounced yesterday, tried to steal it away from me. What do you call that other than being a thief?"
"Because you were being a pigheaded, explosive fool and if you don't get your temper under control you're going to be a threat to everyone around you!"
"Enough!" The Inquisitor shouts, slamming her fist into the table, jerking the pair back to reality and away from each other's throats. "Both of you are behaving like children. Cullen, don't try to purge her magic anymore. Jacqueline, keep your damn temper in check. Every time I've seen you you've ended up yelling and I've had enough. If you're here, working for the Inquisition you have to get along with its members. Both of you do! There are things bigger and more important than either of you, than anyone in this room even and if we want to have even the slightest chance of defeating Corypheus and especially of fixing the rift between Templars and Mages then we have to get along. You two especially have to get along, you're the heads of the ex-Templars and the mages. You two represent those groups to the world and if we don't want to deal with another war once Corypheus is dead then you both need to learn how to make nice with each other and if I have to lock you in a room together until you get along Mythal help me I will!"
The pair have the decency to look properly embarrassed. Cullen's ears are bright red and Jacqueline's biting the insides of her cheeks. The Inquisitor stares them both down until she's satisfied. "Good. Now what do you have to say to each other?"
Cullen looks up at the Inquisitor, exasperated. "Really?"
"Really."
"Fine." He glances at the mage. "I won't hinder your magic anymore and am willing to work together if you are."
Jacqueline regards him coldly. "I'll work with you for the sake of the mages. You stay on your side of the office and I'll stay on mine. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Inquisitor, was there anything else you needed?"
"No, I suppose not. You're both free to go." The duo stand to leave and unfortunately reach the door at almost the same time. Jacqueline struts right through, not even pretending to have the decency to politely debate who goes first. The door bangs shut behind them and the three remaining ladies let out simultaneous sighs of relief.
"I think that went over well," Josephine says tactfully.
Leliana grimaces. "As well as could be expected. I'm surprised it took them this long to start a shouting match."