Chapter 50: A Bitter Pill pt2
To those outside of the Tevinter Imperium it is easy to imagine a society filled with mages and elven slaves and little else. In truth, there are three different Tevinters, each of them a world completely separated from the others. There are the mages, the land's nobility, completely obsessed with competing for supremacy with each other—almost to the exclusion of paying any heed to the nation's enemies, such as the Qunari. The well-bred altus sneer at the laetans, who in turn sneer at the praeteri. They vie for dominance in the Magisterium, where factions shift and flow on a daily basis with deadly consequences, requiring every family to put on a veneer of perfect citizenship or face scandal and censure.
Then there are the so-called soporati, the "sleepers." These are the non-magical citizens who vastly outnumber the mages, yet are beholden to their whims. Many are resentful of this status, plotting in secret, even as they secretly hope their children will possess magical talent—an enticing lure, since the talent could conceivably show up in anyone, even a slave. It would be easy to forget that Tevinter possesses a massive class of publicans, the civil servants and leaders of the Legionnaires. It has an enormous merchant class, enough teeming poor to drown any other nation in Thedas, and the shadowy thieves called "praesumptor" who are practically treated with respect.
And then there are the slaves. One would think they, at least, see each other as equals, but it is not so. The divide between the freed liberati, those who act as personal servants to magisters, those who work on farms and factories, and the "servus publicus" who do all the tasks proper citizens will not—it is all but insurmountable, but perhaps in emulation of those who own them, Imperial slaves will connive and scheme to try anyhow. Outsiders might see it as futile, but to Tevinter citizens, their nation's social classes are the most mutable and rewarding of merit in all of Thedas.—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar by Brother Genitivi
Holding Caves
Even after centuries of being abandoned, the slaver caves were still as full of dread and suffering as they were back in the glory days of the Tevinter Imperium. The walls had carvings of agonized slaves on the walls, no doubt to help with the breaking process of the new captives. The cave was sweltering to protect against the cool mountain air as well as to further break the wills of the prisoners. The coals heating this cave have been recently lit up. "They're still here. Good" Fenris said. "Let's find Hadriana quickly and be done with it"
"Just remember to keep your cool, Fenris" Ericks said.
"That depends on them…" The gang continued into the caves, this place was well preserved despite being abandoned for hundreds of years like a lot of the old ruins of the Imperium. They entered the first room and were met with a grisly sight…a dead body on a table in the middle of the room.
"Maker…" Sebastian said grimly.
"See for yourself. The legacy of the magisters" Fenris growled.
"It's fresh…can't be more than a day old" Ericks said. "Poor bastard"
"In a society where mages rule, they find many ways to justify their need for power" The gang continued on their way, every room looked the same and it felt like every turn they make somehow led to a dead end. Fenris explained it was by design, prisoners rarely escaped their cages but in case they did they would be wondering the caves looking for the exit until they were too exhausted when the slavers found them. Sometimes for fun, the slavers would allow the captives to escape to give them a false hope at escaping only to crush it due to getting lost or running around in circles. Even when a prisoner makes to an exit, there were still the mountains and wilderness…they had the choice enduring the wilderness or returning to the slavers. Most chose the slavers rather than risking death…the breaking of the captives into slaves was frightfully thorough. Throughout their travel, the gang faced slavers and the undead…Hadriana knew they were there.
"You hear something?" Aveline asked. The others stopped and listened…it was faint due to the thick walls but they could definitely hear something. It was much to light to be the clanking of armor…it sounded young and scared. Fenris then started to take off running. "Fenris?!"
"We have to hurry! Hadriana is going to sacrifice someone!"
"How do you know?" Sebastian asked.
"I've heard those cries too many times in my nightmares" The elf said. "Damn that bitch!" The gang ran through the halls of caves, mowing down the slavers and the undead in their way. As they got close, the screams got louder and clearer with each step. The gang rushed into the next room and saw bodies after bodies littering the room. In the corner on the other side of the room, a small little figure was cowering while four slavers in full armor had their swords drawn.
"Please! For the love of mercy, help me!" The slavers turned and faced the gang.
"Run them through!" Fenris yelled. Ericks tossed a smoke bomb and the slavers started cough and rub their eyes. Aveline and Fenris got into the fray and took out two of the slavers, Ericks slid behind the third slaver and held him by the neck and gutted the slaver in the stomach several times. The last slaver tried to run for her life, Sebastian ended her with an arrow to the neck. When the battle was over, Fenris ran over to the cowering figure in the corner…a young elven girl, no younger than fourteen or fifteen dressed in rags. Fenris offered his hand, at first the girl looked at him warily but then when she saw they weren't going to hurt her, she took it. "Are you hurt? Did they touch you?"
"They've been killing everyone! They cut papa, bled him…"
"Why? Why would they do this?" Aveline asked.
Sebastian shook his head. "No wonder the Maker left his children"
"The magister…she said she needed power, that someone was coming to kill her" Fenris said nothing but the look said it all…hunting Hadriana led the magister to get desperate and start sacrificing her slaves. The girl sat on the floor shaking her head while holding it. "We tried to be good! We did everything we were told! She loved papa's soup. I don't understand…" Fenris could see himself in this young girl…always trying to please his master and then when the magister finally turns on him, he was left lost and confused…always wondering what he did wrong to incur his master's wrath. It was a pitiful existence…until his eyes were opened.
"Is the magister still here?" Ericks asked.
The girl tilted her head. "I…think so" she said. "The magister said they were prepared for battle, I think she's very frightened!"
"She has every reason to be"
"Please, don't hurt her! She'll be so angry if you hurt her!" Ericks, Aveline, and Sebastian were shocked, even after everything Hadriana did to her and her family and friends she was still loyal. But Fenris knew better…it was hard to shake that devotion even when he knew his master had hurt him. Back then, the elf thought there must have been a reason for his master to lash out…but now he knew there was never a good reason for how he and his fellow slaves were treated. Ericks knelt down and gently took the girl's hand.
"What's your name, girl?" he asked.
"O…Orana"
"My name is Ericks Hawke. This must have been terrible for you"
"Everything was fine until today!"
Fenris just gave a solemn sigh. "It wasn't. You just didn't know any better" Orana gazed at Fenris and Ericks.
"Are you my master now?"
"Wha…no!"
"But…I can cook. I can clean! What else will I do?" Orana knew nothing of the outside world other than slavery; if they let her go the poor girl would be preyed upon by either the wildlife or the bandits.
"She can come with me" Ericks said. "Orana, if you go to Kirkwall, I can help you"
Orana's eyes lit up. "Yes? Oh, praise the Maker! Thank you!" The girl ran out of the caves heading for Kirkwall. Hopefully Bodahn, Sandal and his mother can help the girl out. Fenris frowned at Ericks.
"I didn't realize you were in the market for a slave"
"Oh please, give me some credit, I gave the girl a job" Ericks said. "Besides, maybe with some time Orana can discover more to life than being a slave"
"Ah. Then…that's good. My apologies" Fenris said. "Let's find Hadriana and be done with this place" The gang continued on this time fighting off demons...in the distance they could hear the hysterical ranting of the magister. The fear was getting to her. The gang busted into the last room where a woman in dark blue was with her guards…her last line of defense.
"You've made a terrible mistake come here, slave!"
"Not as much as you have, witch!" The gang made short work of the slavers and attacked Hadriana. Thanks to her ritual, Hadriana's spells became much more potent. She summoned fire and lightning to kill the gang and when that was not enough the magister would raise her fallen guards using blood magic like puppet strings. Ericks and Fenris cut them down while Aveline and Sebastian attacked the magister. Aveline held up her shield to block the spells, she may not have been a Templar but thanks to marrying one, she picked up a lot of their techniques. When the guards captain came close, she bashed the woman with her shield. Hadriana was about retaliate with a fire spell but was shot in the shoulder by an arrow from Sebastian's bow. When it was all done Hadriana stood there defeated with an arrow in her shoulder and at the mercy of her master's former slave. She looked over to her staff tried to reach for it, only for Fenris to stamp on her arm hard. The magister screamed in pain and gave Fenris a look of hatred. The elf took up his sword ready to lob her head clean off.
"Stop! You do not want me dead"
"There is only one person I want dead more"
"I have information, elf, and I will trade it in return for my life"
Fenris scoffed. "The location of Danarius? What good will that do me? I'd rather he lose his pet pupil" As the elf was about to swing his sword, Hadriana spoke out.
"You have a sister! She is alive" The blade stopped just short of her head as Fenris' eyes went wide. He had family? Fenris had thought himself an orphan…such a thing was common in Tevinter. Slave families were often torn apart due to family members being sold or killed to be used as a blood sacrifice to enhance a magister's power. "You wish to reclaim your life? Let me go, and I will tell you where she is"
Ericks crossed his arms "How do we know you're telling the truth"
"You don't" she said. "But I know Fenris, and I know what he's searching for. If he want me to betray Danarius, he'll have to pay for it"
"Well Fenris?" The elf walked up to Hadriana without saying a word.
"So I have your word?" I tell you, and you let me go?" Fenris knelt down and looked her in the eye…the magister was unsettled; there was no emotion on his face. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Yes. You have my word"
"Her name is Varania. She is in Qarinus serving a magister by the name of Ahriman"
"A servant. Not a slave"
"She's not a slave" Fenris then started to glow, and Hadriana's eyes went wide. She's just been played for a fool.
"I believe you" The magister was impaled by the elf's arm. The last thing she saw was Fenris' eyes burning with rage and hatred.
Best served cold…Next Time! As always Review and Comment!
