Chapter 40: An Apostate's Fear
Often portrayed as stoic and grim, the Order of Templars was created as the martial arm of the Chantry. Armed with the ability to dispel and resist magic in addition to their formidable combat talents, the templars are uniquely qualified to act as both a foil for apostates—mages who refuse to submit to the authority of the Circle—and a first line of defense against the dark powers of blood mages and abominations.
While mages often resent the templars as symbols of the Chantry's control over magic, the people of Thedas see them as saviors and holy warriors, champions of all that is good, armed with piety enough to protect the world from the ravages of foul magic. In reality, the Chantry's militant arm looks first for skilled warriors with unshakable faith in the Maker, with a flawless moral center as a secondary concern. Templars must carry out their duty with an emotional distance, and the Order of Templars prefers soldiers with religious fervor and absolute loyalty over paragons of virtue who might question orders when it comes time to make difficult choices.
The templars' power derives from the substance lyrium, a mineral believed to be the raw element of creation. While mages use lyrium in their arcane spells and rituals, templars ingest the primordial mineral to enhance their abilities to resist and dispel magic. Lyrium use is regulated by the Chantry, but some templars suffer from lyrium addiction, the effects of which include paranoia, obsession, and dementia. Templars knowingly submit themselves to this "treatment" in the service of the Order and the Maker.
It is this sense of ruthless piety that most frightens mages when they draw the templars' attention: When the templars are sent to eliminate a possible blood mage, there is no reasoning with them, and if the templars are prepared, the mage's magic is all but useless. Driven by their faith, the templars are one of the most feared and respected forces in Thedas.—From Patterns Within Form by Halden, First Enchanter of Starkhaven, 8:80 Blessed.
Lowtown-Night
"Bitch!" Another thug ran towards her, this time Bethany didn't stand her ground. She charged the second spider thug and then juked to the side. She then blindsided the thug with a hard punch to the jaw. Now there was one thug left, the final spider grabbed the old man and places a knife on his throat.
"Stay back lass or the old dog gets his throat cut!" he yelled. "I mean it!" Bethany just raised her arm. "W-What are you doing?!"
"Sleep" she simply said. The spider dropped his knife and fell to the ground sound asleep. Bethany went to the old man. "Are you okay, Serah?"
"Thank you, my dear girl" he said. "I thought I was dead"
"Do you mind if I walk you back to your home?" Bethany asked.
"That would be nice, let me thank you for your help by treating you to dinner, my dear" Bethany and old man walked out of the lot. Once the two were clear of the alley, the sleep spell broke and the spider thug woke up. He got off the floor and headed to his fellow gang members and kicked them in the gut.
"Wake the fuck up, you useless bastards!" The men quickly got up and held their bruised faces. For such a little thing, the mage could leave quite the mark.
"That bitch! Let's go after her and make her regret meeting us!"
"Don't be stupid, you idiots. That wench will just burn you alive" The lead thug said. "But that mage bitch will get hers…no one messes with the Lowtown Spiders and gets away with it" The next day the hoodlums made good on their promise.
The Gallows
Knight-Captain Cullen was finishing up his preparations for the day, he had a long day ahead of him today…plus it gave him some to think about other than his past. Cullen was one of the few templars who survived the incident at the Circle of Magi in Ferelden. The possessed blood mage Uldred took over the tower, and in his madness, he filled it with summoned demons and abominations. Cullen was imprisoned, tortured, and forced to watch the slaughter of his fellow templars. The ordeal shook him, and he emerged from it convinced that even templars fail to see how dangerous mages can be.
After Cullen returned to his duties, it became clear that he would go to any lengths to enforce the Chantry's rule. His zeal troubled Knight-Commander Greagoir, who feared it unwise to let Cullen watch over the men and women he deemed responsible for his torment. Greagoir sent Cullen to serve under Knight-Commander Meredith in Kirkwall, and Meredith found Cullen's view of mages similar to her own. Of her company, only Cullen had seen mages' potentially terrifying power firsthand, and she believed he could influence the other templars' views. Consequently, Cullen rose quickly through the ranks to become Knight-Captain and Meredith's second-in-command.
With everything in order, Cullen went about to make his rounds. He exited his quarters and headed to the training room to oversee the morning practices. He entered the courtyard and the young recruits went to attention and then saluted him before going on their way. Once he reaches the center of the courtyard, he spotted some suspicious people by the entrance.
"So this is where all those fire-shitters go?" one of the spider thugs asked. "They get nicer shit than most of us in Lowtown…"
"It may look nice but the mages are scared as hell to be brought here" the lead thug said. "They consider being here worse than death"
"You're on Templar grounds, state your business before I have one of the men throw you out" Cullen said approaching the thugs.
"Well he's friendly…"
"We just need a Templar even if he's an ass" he said. "Easy serah Templar, we come baring gifts" Cullen narrowed his eyes. "There's a mage hiding out in Lowtown…"
Lowtown
Bethany was out of the house heading for Lirene's store. Along the way she met the old man she helped last night. "Serah Hector, how is your shoulder doing?"
"Just fine, Bethany. Thank you again for helping me, dear girl" After saving Hector from the thugs, he treated the mage to a good home cooked meal by his daughter. It had been a long time since she had good meal, or relax without looking over her shoulder. Hector gave the mage a large sack, leftovers from last night's dinner for Bethany to eat at her leisure. If there was one thing Fereldans were known for, it was their hospitality. Bethany smiled and thanked the old man. "Now don't be stranger, Bethany" he said. "My grandchildren can't wait to play with you again"
The mage chuckled. "I won't, serah, take care of yourself" Bethany went on her way. As she gotten close to the store, one of the workers from the store ran towards the mage.
"Bethany, Bethany!" she said frantically. "Don't come to the store\"
"Elaine? W-What's going on?" The girl caught her breath.
"You have to get out of here, the Templars are at the store" Elaine said. "They were told about a mage in Lowtown..." Bethany's eyes went wide, she thought back to last night. The thugs she fought off…particularly the thug that held Hector a knifepoint told the Templars about her. She cursed to herself, she didn't think simple thugs like that would be brave enough to approach the Templars. "You must head for Darktown…the Templars rarely go down there" she said. "Stay down there until things calm down"
Bethany nodded. "Okay" Just as she was about to leave, the mage heard yelled from the store. The Templars walked out of the store, dragging along a struggling Lirene with them.
"Get your hands off of me, you bastards!" Lirene said. "I told you I don't know anything about a mage in Lowtown!"
"You are quite defensive for someone who doesn't know…" Cullen said. "Which makes me believe you know more than you telling me" Lirene glared at the man and went silent. "Perhaps time in the dungeons will make you more talkative"
"Lirene…" Bethany said.
"Bethany, you must go…Lirene will be fine" Elaine said. "If she keeps quiet for a few days then they'll have no choice but to release her"
"And what about the refugees? Can they afford not to have her around?" Bethany asked. "Can the rest of you handle that much of a workload without Lirene?" Elaine went silent; she knew the mage was right…when Lirene was away for even a couple of minutes, the rest of them practically drowned in people needing help. They just didn't have the chops to keep things running smoothly like Lirene. Bethany placed her hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. The mage walked towards the Templars.
"Let her, Captain Cullen" The Knight-Captain and his men stopped. They looked at Bethany. "I'm the mage you're looking for" she said. "I will come peacefully, if you will just let her go"
A Week Later
The gang made it back to Kirkwall, the trip was for the most part smooth except for the bandits that attacked but they were child's play compared to what they faced in the Deep Roads. Varric took a deep breath, the dwarf never though he would miss the dirty air of the city. "Home, sweet home. Finally" he said. "I wonder if Bartrand came back to the city. You think I'd be that lucky?"
"Luck hasn't exactly been our strong suit so far" Ericks said.
"Oh, I don't know about that" Varric said. "The treasure we found in that crypt far outstrips Bartrand's stupid idol. He'll be green with envy when he finds out"
"As soon as I get the chance, I'll look up my contacts to make sure we get the best price" he said. "In the meantime, why don't you head home? I'm sure your family will be up in air about the news, we're going to be rich" The gang scattered and Ericks headed for Lowtown. With the coin they were going to get, the family mansion was as good as theirs and with clout Bethany was safe from the Templars. Although he had to prepare himself for the shopping spree that his sister was going to take him on. Things were looking for the Hawke family…or so he thought. Outside a Gamlen's house was a patrol of Templars.
Ericks' eyes went wide. "No…Betty!" He ran into the house where Cullen and the Templars surrounded Bethany who was now wearing dark blue robes of the Circle of Magi. Leandra stood in fear of what was going to happen next. Ericks frowned. "What's going on?"
Bethany just gave her brother a sad look, she knew Ericks better than anyone. She knew he would his life to protect her and her freedom. She shook her head. "Please don't do anything"
"Mistress Bethany is being taken to the Circle of Magi in the Gallows" Cullen said.
"Like hell!" Ericks was about to reach for his daggers and the Templars were about to reach for their swords.
"Ericks, please stop!" Bethany said. Ericks gave a low growl as he took his hand off of the hilt of his dagger. Bethany lowered her head, not even her beloved big brother could stop what was coming. "We had a good run, but it had to happen eventually didn't it?"
"Consider yourselves fortunate. Her cooperation allows us to spare you the punishment for harboring a dangerous mage…this once"
Ericks gave Cullen a deadly look. "A threat to get what you want like some common back alley thug" he said with venom. "The Maker and his bride must be so proud of what you are doing in their name" As Ericks and Cullen glared at one another; Leandra came towards her daughter and placed her hands on her face for possibly the last time. Tears streamed down her cheeks, she lost one child to darkspawn and now she was losing another to the Templars.
"Oh, Bethany! What will happen to you?"
Bethany placed her forehead on hers trying to be strong for her mother and to not give the Templars the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "Don't worry, Mother. I'll be fine" she then looked at Ericks. "Take care of her, big brother" Ericks could only nod his head, for all his cunning and skills for once he didn't an answer to save his sister. He could only watch as the Templars took Bethany away. She stopped and looked one last time at her family before walking out of the house for good. Leandra fell to her knees and cried as Ericks came to her side. The Hawke family was going to be rich nobles soon but what good was all that coin if they all couldn't be together to enjoy it?
A new life and a family torn apart…Next Time! Review and Comment!
