Chapter Eighty-Three: Nobody Expects the Inquisition
The agreement we came to with Sebastian Vael would become a formal peace treaty the next day, as representatives were sent to his camp, primarily chevaliers so as to avoid as many potential issues as possible. It is one thing to sneer at a Tevinter magister or an elf, but sneering at an Orlesian chevalier is entirely another.
Regardless, with the agreement, the War of the First Coalition came to a conclusive end.
Most historians proclaim it a total Trojan victory, though they do so with the benefit of limited hindsight. The reality is that our enemies remained capable of great harm against us, but to most historians, that does not matter.
The entirety of the Lower Minanter plain was now governed by Troy or by Trojan client states, as was Val Ost, the Calabrian coast, and of course, Valhalla itself.
Problem was that all that territory, save for Troy itself, was overrun by demons. It had become absolutely apparently that the hellgates had belched forth legions of the things all over the continent.
Mariette's spies had made reports from every corner of Thedas, and some interesting facts were emerging.
For one, it seems we had it easier than some. Aside from Troy being untouched, something that all agreed was due to my anti-magical reality-reinforcing aura, it seems the Waking Sea had some sort of moderating effect. Southern Orlais and Ferelden were far more badly affected than the Marches, Nevarra, or northern Orlais.
Aurelia had a theory about it.
There are some materials that cannot be affected by the Fade, cannot be touched by it. One of them is lead, which explains the effectiveness of our weapons against magical barriers; it takes more mana to block a lead projectile than an iron or steel one travelling with the same energy.
Two others are water and salt. We have discovered others in the course of our chemical developments, many of which are also present in seawater.
The Waking Sea had essentially dampened the effects of the disaster. Aurelia was of the opinion that without this effect, there could have been no way my own aura could've protected such a large area and most of our fair city would've been up to the eyeballs in demons just like everywhere else.
That said, the dampening was a temporary reprieve. Our worst fears about the expansion of the interaction zones became reality. The demons at first could only really move about in a fifty metre bubble around each hellgate, and on the first day, that expanded by about another metre. On the second day, the measured increase in most areas was three metres.
There were hellgates within easy sight of the hills of Troy, and these had expanded too until I returned. It seems that rifts would not grab land when I was nearby, probably as I was siphoning off the energy that would've been used to expand with, but this effect was limited to only a few kilometres.
Word of this got out quickly, and the National Assembly passed a resolution forbidding me to leave the immediate area of the city. There wasn't a single vote against. Even Ciara and Armen had voted in favour, for 'certainty' according to the latter. They were not like us, they had every reason to fear demons.
Tam refused to veto such a resolution given that every single elected representative was for it, fulfilling her role in defence of democracy but condemning me to both boredom and guilt over not doing anything.
So, instead of getting out there and kicking some demon ass, I was sat at headquarters for the next two days, coordinating troop deployments to the occupied and allied territories. On the bright side, it gave me time to spend with my lovers and my children, but they were also a reminder of the things other people might lose through my inaction.
So, when the opportunity to get out and about came along, I took it with both hands.
The late summer heat beat down on us as we walked along the wooden planks, between the large golden-pink sand dunes towards the beach. The new piers were busy, as the latest food shipments came in from elsewhere. From Ferelden, judging by the ship designs.
The last of food coming from there for a good while, I thought as I saw them from the top of the nearest dune. We had exactly one report from the Bannorn, the breadbox of Ferelden, and it painted a nasty picture.
I was full of such thoughts, despite what was going on around me. If someone hadn't been aware of the general situation, you might have taken it as going to the beach to relax.
It was just Tam, Julie, Mariette, myself and the kids. We were not dressed for combat really, though we were more or less all in British Army uniform, though it was worn casually without the jackets. Despite this, we were all armed with Earth firelances too, and I had brought my radio headset.
The little excursion was not for fun, as the weapons would suggest. You'll note the exact composition of the group has a common theme; immunity to magic.
Aurelia would've come along too, but she and the Tiberian troops had been deployed through the eluvians to the front at Nevarra to help get the Tevinter legions back home across their borders. A large number of hellgates had opened around Nevarra City, given how thin the Veil is there due to the Necropolis.
Anyway, the reason I was let out of Shawshank was that a strange report had come from the pickets watching the nearest hellgate, on the beach about a mile down the coast from the docks. Technically speaking, it was within the administrative city limits, so I didn't need permission to go take a look. So, I prepared to go see what was going on.
However, once Tam found out, it had become an excursion. And just like that, demon-hunting became a family pursuit, something it remains to this day. We brought a picnic, I shit you not.
So there we are, trudging along, moving off the trail and onto the sand of the beach itself, the citizenry around the docks looking at us like we're crazy as we traipse off towards a hellgate like it was nothing. I mean, how many Empresses elsewhere would have done such a thing?
"What's so strange about this one?" Julie said, shielding her face from the sun with her hand and trying to get a look at the hellgate in the distance, "It doesn't seem any different?" Neither Julie nor Tam had cared about the details, making me think they had been as bored or restless as I had been.
I had to agree there. I could see three very large demons, but instead of waiting at the edge of the bubble in the direction of the docks. They were surrounding the hellgate itself, looking at it intently. It wasn't like they were statues though, they moved every now and then, as if pacing, and shifted their standing positions.
Demons could get bored as easily as people.
"Well, the pickets said the demons were fighting each other," Mariette explained, "They don't seem to be doing anything of the sort right now."
It was true, the ones in front of us looked remarkably amiable to one another.
"Let's get a closer look to be sure," I said, "If the demons fight each other, we might be able to use that somehow."
We moved closer, strolling rather than aiming to reach our destination quickly. The closer we got, the more I realised the things we were looking at were another class of demon entirely.
They had to be fifteen feet tall, with muscles and long arms that made them look like giant gorillas, except instead of black fur, they had chitinous armour all over their bodies. Two of them were a deep blue colour, another was red. They had all the demon fun bits too; large talons, horns on their heads, tusks coming off their elbows, too many eyes and of course, a row of fangs in their mouths.
We knew what type these were too, courtesy of a briefing paper that Aurelia had given us.
"Pride demons," Julie commented, her top lip curled, "Uglier than their sketches."
No one challenged that.
We reached the edge of the zone the things could walk around in, and we still got no reaction.
"What now?" Mariette asked, "Are you guys going to bring the children in?"
"They are immune too," Julie thought aloud, "But a little of the physical force translates to our bodies. Might knock them out of their baskets, and they're still very young."
The ugly faces of those creatures were not something I wanted to expose my kids to.
"Yeah, no reason to take a risk," I agreed, "We'll just set up here and watch for a bit."
And that's what we did. A large blanket was laid down on the sand, we all sat down on it, and watched, chewing away at some pulled pork and bread that we had brought along, with some light ale to go along with it. Pretty tasty.
"I hope we don't all starve to death," Mariette remarked, looking at her sandwich, "Demons we can handle. Peasants fleeing demons and leaving their farms to rot, harder to fix."
"We will find some way to close the hellgates," Tam replied, "It will be easier then."
"Better happen soon," Mariette sighed, "Else this might be the last pork we see for a long time."
She was right of course. We imported our pigs from Ferelden, and the demons would likely not agree to let agricultural exports continue. The prospect of that terrified more than the hellspawn did. Bacon is life.
The demons didn't do anything for a full quarter hour, and I was beginning to get tempted to let off a couple of rounds to see if bullets would change their minds, when something finally came through the hellgate.
We were warned of it by the edges of the rift pulsing, like it had a visible heartbeat. We had seen this numerous times before, and raised our weapons, still sitting down.
Thirty seconds later, and the rift vomited forth another two dozen demons; a whole platoon of shades. Took them about the length of their first breath in real air to see us, and they swarmed towards our position, moving around and ignoring the huge Pride demons.
Their mistake.
Without warning or hesitation, the hulking fiends conjured whips made of lightning into their taloned hands and brought them crashing down on the shades around them, again and again.
Each hit of the whip released bright white electrical sparks like a power substation being hit, striking all around them. The shades shuddered and screamed, turned into pools of black sludge in the sand.
The Pride demons' work done, they resumed their posts around the hellgate, one of them shooting us a look before turning its back on us.
"Well, that is unusual," I said, "Aurelia's little book mentioned there are rivalries between the demons. Maybe certain types attack each other by instinct?"
That was actually true, but Pride demons actually tended to attack each other... when not bound by a higher purpose.
"I do not believe that is what they are doing," Tam responded, "They appear to be guarding the hellgate, making sure nothing else gets through."
Given how attentive they were being in their duties, that seemed to be more likely than my theory.
"But why?" Julie asked, "That makes no sense."
"No it doesn't," I said, "Any ideas?"
"You could go in," Mariette suggested, "If they attack you, you know they're guarding the hellgate to keep it open, and it's territorial. If they don't, they're up to something else. Either way, it's not like you can be harmed by them."
I glanced at the things, not entirely sure I wanted to test the theory. They were far larger than any demons I had faced before, bigger even than the sylvans we had fought after our escape from Halamshiral. Mariette must've detected my hesitation, because she grinned at me.
"Or I can go," she said, "If you are too cowardly."
"Ha ha," I said flatly, "Be right back."
"We'll cover you from here," Julie yawned, "No point going in there and getting dirty when we can poke holes in them from here."
"So it's okay if I get dirty?" I said, "Gee, thanks."
"You're dirty already," Julie chuckled.
And with that, I stepped awkwardly over the glowing, slightly smoking green line that marked the limits of the interaction zone. We were far from the water, so the sand was soft and shifting, making movement a bit more difficult. You'd want to take off your shoes, except it was so warm that you'd almost burn your feet.
Still, I tramped onwards at a quick walk.
It took a moment for the Pride demons to notice me, but when they did, they immediately disengaged from their strange guard duty and spread out in a line. Thumbing the safety of my weapon off, I kept walking towards them. As I was almost to enter the range of their whips, the one in the middle raised a claw, telling me to stop.
So I did, seeing no reason to invite the wrath of the things for no reason.
They just stared at me, and I divided my attention between the three of them. Their faces were unreadable, but the way they shifted their weight told me they would prefer I went away. They knew what I was, I thought. But since they weren't attacking, I figured I had an opening to do something most Thedosians wouldn't have thought of.
"Hello there!" I shouted, embracing the absurdity, "I don't suppose you could tell me what you're doing?"
The demons did nothing, except emit a sort of purr that would've indicated happiness in a cat, but somehow, I knew that's not what they were projecting. No reason to show any fear of them though. If they thought they could, they would have attacked.
"Oh, scary," I said, "But thanks for letting me know that you can understand me."
The purring increased in volume, and lightning sparked around their fists. Their patience was reaching its limits. Time to get to the point.
"Are you guarding this?" I asked, pointing at the hellgate, "Stopping other demons from getting through?"
To my surprise, the demon in the middle gave a single nod, slowly. Now we were getting somewhere.
"Why?" I asked, "Are you planning to take this place when the Fade leaks through."
None of the demons' mouths moved... but the purring stopped. A deep, resonant voice rasped out a single word, loudly and clearly. It felt like something was scraping my bones.
"Orders"
As much as I didn't want to hear that voice again, I needed answers.
"Orders from who?" I continued, reluctantly.
The purring started again, just as loud as it had been the first time. Clearly, who sent them was a touchy subject. They seemed to shuffle around me a little, as if trying to surround me but thinking better of it after they started.
"Oh, you really want to smash me, don't you?" I said, "It must be killing you that you can't."
This time, all three of the demons' heads nodded, more rapidly than before. Their lips drew back into nasty, fang-filled smiles. Oh yeah, they wanted to hurt me.
"Well then, I bid you adieu," I said, "And a fond 'fuck off and die'."
The purring became intermittent; the demons were laughing at me. I ignored it, turning on the spot and marching back to my family. I have expected to hear thunder crack in my ears as a lightning whip slashed across my back, but it didn't happen. In fact, I made it out of the zone without any trouble at all. It might have had to do with the firelances aimed at them, of course.
"What happened?" Tam asked, lowering her weapon as I approached.
"They're acting under orders," I replied, "But they wouldn't say who."
"Demons acting under orders?" Julie said, "From who?"
"They refused to say," I said, filling a cup with ale from a small cash.
"We best get back to the city," Mariette said, "This is dangerous information. If word got out that we might be facing coordinated demon actions, it would cause a panic. We should withdraw and order this hellgate bombarded."
Seemed like the best way... Particularly as it kept the Tiberians from knowing about it. Last thing we needed was them getting distracted by this mystery... or worse, deciding they wanted to order about demons themselves and giving it a shot.
The heavy irony in retrospect still weighs on me.
"A good idea for the moment," Tam said, looking over her shoulder, "But it appears we have other business."
She was right. A squad of Marines was running towards us, protecting an Army runner. It seems there was some serious business to attend to back at headquarters.
So much for the picnic.
"As the current crisis has become irresolvable through negotiation alone,
As the combatant forces have failed to end their violence,
As the sole organisation capable of bringing order to the current chaos,
As the Herald of Andraste, blessed be her name, stands beside us,
In the name of Most Holy, Divine Justinia V, the Holy Inquisition is hereby re-established. Let all those loyal to the cause of the Maker proclaim their allegiance, and let all sovereigns and lords send envoys to the village of Haven in Ferelden.
Signed, on this 26th day of August, in year Forty of the Dragon Age.
Leliana, Left Hand of the Divine.
Cassandra Pentaghast, Right Hand of the Divine.
Josephine Montilyet, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Inquisition.
Evelyn Trevelyan, Herald of Andraste."
Soprano finished reading aloud the first letter to the rest of the General Staff by throwing it contemptuously on the map table, the other generals watching it fall and not saying a word. We all knew what the Inquisition was, before. A study of the Chantry was compulsory reading for all my officers, given how often we had run into them.
It took me a bit of time to unpack all of it, to the point that I had to snatch the letter for myself and look it over. It was in the chicken scratchings of Dwarven script of course, which made it harder to follow. Tam read it too, over my shoulder, while Julie fumed quietly.
The first detail that really stood out to me was the use of the Divine's name as the instigator of all this.
I turned to Mariette at once. "They say they're forming an Inquisition in the name of the Divine," I asked, "Does that mean the Divine and her Hands are even still alive?"
As Director of the OSS, Mariette was supposed to be on top of details like this. Given Aurelia's words, we had simply assumed that pretty much everyone who had been at the Conclave was dead. Yet here was a proclamation supposedly written by the Divine and signed by her closest officials.
"No, Lady Aurelia's assertion about the power of the initial magical event was correct," Mariette replied, "The Temple of Sacred Ashes is utterly destroyed. The Tevinter vessel we sent to bring an eluvian for Minister Marable's use was anchored off the west coast of Lake Calenhad at the time, awaiting our own delegation's return. The captain saw the explosion himself."
I could only imagine what that must've been like, enjoying an evening drink on the deck of your ship only for one of the mountains nearby to explode like Vesuvius... to say nothing of the demons.
"I don't suppose they stuck around?" I asked, "So we could slip through the eluvian to Ferelden and investigate ourselves?"
Mariette smirked. "Not a chance," she said, "They set sail at once, a hellgate opened opposite them on the shoreline and they fled. They're already exiting into the Waking Sea."
Civvies not being up for hanging around where demons are, though by this stage our soldiers were getting far more used to it.
"So how do you account for this letter, dear cousin?" Louise asked, "If it is not the Divine raising this … force to fight the demons and all those who defy her, who is it?"
Mariette chewed her lip for a moment, flicking through some documents in front of her, before finally finding what she wanted and tapping it with her forefinger.
"The Left and Right Hands were stationed at Haven, not the Temple," she replied, "Along with all the independent Chantry forces they had gathered. The only road to the Temple goes through the village, so it was the natural point of defence should rogue forces attempt an attack."
A throat was cleared from the Avvar section of the General Staff. "That entire region has many mountain paths," Cormac said, "The road to Haven is not the only way into the area."
"The Chantry did not know that," Mariette shrugged back, "It certainly lengthens the list of suspects for whoever could be responsible for this disaster, but that's not really our concern at the moment."
Another runner came in, noticeable in particularly because his shoulder was covered in bird shit of all things. He handed another letter to Soprano, who took it gingerly, checking it wasn't soiled before unrolling it.
"What concerns me," Tam cut in, her tone authoritative, "Was the mention of Evelyn Trevelyan. Why is her name on this document, and why is she referred to as the Herald of Andraste?"
It was a puzzling thing alright. It was clearly a religious title, but what could Trevelyan have done to earn it? And the Divine was dead, so who gave her that title?
The answer was close at hand.
"Another letter from Haven, Madame-President," Soprano said, holding the scroll over to Tam, "It is addressed directly to you. You will not like it."
Tam took the document, small enough for a messenger bird, and unwound it. It was not transcribed onto a larger piece of paper yet, but Tam's eyesight was excellent, so she didn't have to bring it much closer to read it.
She did not read it aloud, but her expression grew more angry as she got through the entire message, eventually bringing out the full-canine vicious grimace I had seen so many times when she was about to kill someone.
No one dared to ask what it said.
When she was finished, she handed the scroll to Julie behind me, knowing I was unlikely to be able to read such tiny Dwarven script well, and leaned forwards on both palms on the table.
"To her Imperial Majesty," Julie began, "Tama Augusta, Empress of the Trojans."
"Can't even get the title and term of address right," Louise interrupted, "And note the lack of mention of the League too." Count on the noble to care about something like that.
Tam cocked her head and looked at the chevalier, warning her not to interrupt again. It was hard to see underneath her skull mask, but I was pretty sure Louise's face paled at that sort of attention. Nothing like a bit of comic relief in situations like this.
"This letter is to accompany the one proclaiming the re-establishment of the Inquisition," Julie continued, "We possess the means to close the rifts now plaguing Thedas, through a gift bestowed upon Evelyn Trevelyan."
I was beginning to see why this had made Tam angry... but there was more.
"She alone survived the disaster of the Holy Conclave, and was spirited back to this world by Andraste herself," Julie read, slowing down as she failed to believe what she was reading, "She also managed to close the Breach, stopping the tearing of the Veil across Thedas."
"There are many witnesses that can attest to this. Lady Trevelyan has been proclaimed the Herald of Andraste by the faithful, and stands as a symbol of resistance against chaos."
A rival Chosen One had appeared. The Divine's own officials were backing her. And it was someone whose city we had conquered and annexed.
Not good.
"What we do not possess are troops, provisions and money," Julie said, resuming her previous pace, "As an organisation formally proclaimed by a Holy Writ of the Divine, we are asking all Andrastian realms and nobles to contribute to the cause of restoring the world to order."
Offering an olive branch there, given we were considered by most of the 'Andrastian' realms to be outlaws at best.
"In the case of Troy, our aid in bringing peace with Antiva will convince you of our good intentions," said Julie, through her teeth, "And we hope that you will contribute accordingly. You are no less threatened by the tide of demons set upon the world, and part of the sum which you extracted from Antiva would save many lives."
"Sincerely, Josephine Montilyet," Tam finished for her, "Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Inquisition."
So, they wanted our money, more than troops or supplies. We could make them dependent on us via supplies, and we could outright order them around with our troops, but money was another matter. Money given could breed more money or money-making means.
Mariette gave her analysis at once.
"If Trevelyan has this power they claim she has, if she can close 'rifts' then it is an extremely effective political tool," Mariette said, "I suspect that money is only the first thing this Inquisition will ask for. Trevelyan's own city is now our territory, I suspect she will want that back."
"It is blackmail, pure and simple," Tam snarled, standing up to her full height, "And I refuse to countenance it."
The Generals faces lit up with aggressive smiles, even Mike's. Our pride had grown over the course of the war that had just ended. The compromises we needed to make before were a thing of the past, in the minds of many.
"Shall I prepare a force to march on Haven, Madame-President?" Soprano said gleefully, "Most of our troops are tied up helping our allies at the moment, but I can prepare the Highlander Division to move. They can bring Trevelyan back in chains."
I very much doubt that Trevelyan would've been taken alive, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Controlling the Anchor would've placed us in a very advantageous position. However, with the new government came the return of our fundamental principles.
Tam shook her head. "No, that would be violating the sovereignty of Ferelden," she said, "And the troops are better used nearby."
Putting it lightly, the League's forces were still in complete disarray.
"Most of our allies are presently panicking," Mike agreed, "We need to kill more demons before they'll calm down and return to their fields." So they could protect and harvest their crops, and we all wouldn't starve to death.
"So what will we do?" McNulty asked gruffly, "Begging your pardon, Madame-President, but we can't ignore this... can we?"
Tam took his familiarity well, as she always did from the officers that had been with us from the beginning. Everyone else, she demanded the respect accorded to her office, at all times.
"We can't," I agreed, "But it'll be up to the Chancellor to decide what to do about it."
The only reason the High Command got the messages first, as opposed to Velarana doing so, was because the rookery had been seized during my coup d'etat and never returned to civilian control. I made a mental note to correct that later.
"My recommendation to the Assembly will be to open negotiations with Ferelden at once," Tam said, "This crisis may be an opportunity to repair relations with Alistair, and we must defend Amaranthine City and the Bannorn. They are our primary sources of grain and meat. Our granaries are full, for now, but that will not last."
The Empress-President's recommendation was something more like an order, which is why Tam made such recommendations very seldom.
"We'll also need to verifiy the claims of this Inquisition," I said, "We can't see the Breach during the day very well, so we will need to look tonight for any change. If it is closed, perhaps the hellgate zones won't expand either." That was surely good news, to say the least.
"Speaking of the hellgates," Tam said, turning to me, "Recall Aurelia and get her grandfather here at once. The Inquisition claims that it has the only means of permanently closing the rifts, as they call them. We may need to prove them wrong."
That brief meeting of the High Command and the revelation of the Inquisition's existence was the catalyst for many events.
Velarana did indeed agree with Tam on the subject of intervention; we were not to march into Ferelden without Alistair's permission.
That was as hard to get as you'd think it would be, even with demons causing havoc. The guy at least let us have an embassy in Denerim though, which was a testament to the extraordinary circumstances, though we had to let his household guards inspect it daily to make sure we only had one eluvian.
Negotiations on military intervention would drag on for weeks.
In the mean time, Velarana agreed to send some money to the Inquisition. A small amount, nothing at all like the amount they probably wanted, but enough to keep them on their feet. Tam was furious, but the Chancellor managed to convince her it was a delaying tactic, nothing more.
A nice letter from Montilyet came back on delivery of every month's money. Not a word from Trevelyan though.
Aurelia and ol' Tiberius came to Troy to work on some method of permanently closing the hellgates, but very little progress was made. The problem was fundamentally that ordinary magic was not designed to repair reality, but break it. They could control the magic of each hellgate with increasing ease, but could not dispel it.
You needed an interface specifically designed to channel magic in the correct manner, was the conclusion of their study of the problem. No such device existed as far as they knew, and it would take them years, possibly decades to create one.
Of course, the Anchor attached to Trevelyan's hand was one, a manifestation of the power of the elvhen orb that had created it.
The Inquisition's claims about her power turned out to be dead right. The expansion of the hellgate zones had stopped dead everywhere, and examinations of the Breach through telescopes at night confirmed that it was smaller and less active. And with every report from Mariette's spies, tales of Trevelyan's acts and legend began to filter through.
While we were busy holding the hands of the League of Ansburg, teaching them how to fight demons using firelances and cannon, the Inquisition were very busy. Fereldans flocked to their ranks, particularly in the west and north as the royal armies under Alistair couldn't get there from Denerim. Too many demons in the way.
With those troops and their own power, the Inquisitor liberated a swath of territory from the Storm Coast to the marshes of the Fallow Mire. The hellgates were closed, rogue Templar and mage forces defeated. That was bad enough for our interests, but it got worse.
Trevelyan and Pentaghast went to Val Royeaux.
Orlais' civil war had come to a grinding halt with the opening of the hellgates, and the presence of the Herald was the talk of every salon for weeks. Particularly as Trevelyan had bravely called for the Templars to rally to the defence of the world, and held no grudge against the clerics that had condemned her as an imposter.
So Orlesians began signing up for the Inquisition too. Nobles and commoners alike began pledging support of various kinds, not least from the Free Orlesian government in Jader. Le Carré was even considering to move his troops in support of the Inquisition, given that attacking Orlais in a grand offensive was off the table.
Still, Tam and Velarana stuck to their position; no intervention without permission of Alistair. No demand for our withdrawal from Ostwick came, and that cooled Tam off eventually.
Alistair, naturally, refused to give his permission. Nor could we find Warden-Commander Andras, our only real friend in that entire kingdom, who could've advocated on our behalf before a Landsmeet.
The situation was becoming intolerable; as supplementary food prices spiked, there was a greater demand to intervene in Ferelden from the ordinary citizens. We managed to bring in more food from the Minanter Valley, but the trade routes weren't established so we had to ship the grain ourselves.
It looked like it would come to a head, as Leha was forced to endorse the intervention position as leader of the joint Libertarian-Lucrosian bloc by Maya Tiberia's criticisms. The Impera under Maya and the Freedom Bloc under Leha made up three quarters of the Assembly. The democratic groundswell in favour of just sending an army to the Bannorn was becoming impossible to ignore, even for Tam.
However, about a month after the Breach, Aurelia went into labour. This brought the entire Tiberii dynasty to Troy for the event, and with them came a solution to the problem.
On a cool day in September, my third child was born into this world.
Aurelia had been right in her guess; I was handed a son, with honey coloured eyes, jet black hair and a huge pool of mana; just like his mother.
In Troy, he is simply Mark Hunt, named for my maternal grandfather. In Tevinter, he is Marcus Tiberius Aurelius, named for his uncle. Regardless of where he is, he is known as one of the most powerful mages in recorded history, including what we now know about Arlathan.
I was beginning to think that most Earth genes were recessive on Thedas, aside from the Outlander trait. Helen looks just like her mother, Roxane looks like hers, and Mark appeared to be just like his. Time proved that theory wrong though, as he grew up to look just like me in every other way.
There was a pretty big difference in that time between Mark and my daughters however; the level of attention.
Julie had her sister and her other sister's children. Claire visited Roxane often, but the deceased Elodie's children took priority and were getting pretty big.
Tam had no family at all, hence why she had gathered us close and was drawing Mariette in too, like the spider on the web. Helen therefore was constantly wherever Tam was, which usually meant with complete strangers who doted on her.
It's fair to say my first two daughters' personalities were affected by this; Helen is the social player yet has few close friends, while Roxane makes friends with more people but doesn't care for those who aren't in her circle.
Aurelia on the other hand had a massive extended family, one that was famously close, especially by Tevinter standards. She also had a whole host of servants. They all spoiled Mark rotten, and I've had my work cut out to make sure he didn't turn into a complete ass as a result. It's hard to punish your kid for doing something wrong when some relative will pop in and give him a gift at random.
Regardless, Tevinter embassy was packed with Tiberii and all of them wanted to hang around with the new addition to the dynasty. I did them a discredit in thinking that they were only there because it was the first mage born directly with the Outlander trait in two thousand years, but they quickly dispelled that idea from my mind.
Presents were stacked up to the ceiling of the room that Aurelia was resting in, and there was a literal queue out the door of relatives to hold the baby, all chattering away and being very polite.
The Tiberii didn't come empty-handed for his older sisters either, and a number of the family went to bother Julie and Tam to see Helen and Roxane. Julie was unamused, Tam was very amused, but both allowed it... under guard.
Either way, it was a very nice break from the drudgery of organising a war against demons and occasionally going off to fight them while Marchers looked on in awe. I was suddenly glad I wasn't in the organisation of food shipments to the list of my responsibilities would've killed me.
Velarana was finding it increasingly difficult herself. We would have to institute rationing across the entire Republic within the month, something made possible only by the discipline of the Army and the increased pay we instituted alongside it.
It nonetheless created problems, but we'll get to that.
I took some free time to visit my son about two weeks after his birth. Tam had both Roxane and Helen at the Assembly for some meeting, while Julie was off at the Mithril Complex, overseeing the creation of new production of cannon that were desperately needed to fight demons from beyond the edge of the hellgate zones.
I made my way to the Tevinter Embassy, a compound on another of the hills of the city, conveniently flanked on three sides by three of our fortresses. The guards saluted me as I entered the fenced-off zone, green banners of the Imperium hung all around it. It was a large house at this time, built from bricks brought through the eluvian from Treverorum.
The Tiberii were still crowding around the place, and they chattered away in a mix of Common and Tevene slang, completely ignorant of my existence until I tapped them on the shoulder to get them to move out of the way. They seemed suitably apologetic when I made myself known, and this deferential attitude was universal among them.
Just how unusual this state of affairs is was something I was soon to learn, from the lips of a scion of another Tevinter dynasty.
I waltzed to Aurelia's personal room, a chamber about the same size as my own log-built residence atop the Mont de Mars. She was nursing our son in her bed, and appeared to be chatting away with her the elder Tiberius, her father Valentine and her mother Portia, while assorted other relatives were bringing or taking things from the place as necessary.
I apologised to Atia, Aurelia's younger cousin, as I entered and almost knocked her down carrying food in from the other way. Again, unusual for a Tevinter high noble, to be doing something so lowly as getting food for someone. I gestured for her to enter, which she did, blushing.
With a sigh, I followed her in.
"Ah, Sam, welcome back," Tiberius said cheerily from his chair at Aurelia's side, "Have I said what a pleasure it is to see all my dreams come true, and how it's all thanks to you?"
"Five times now," I replied, finding a servant's stool in the corner and sitting down on it by the bed, "Careful, you may be going senile." His familiarity was still annoying.
"Sam, don't insult my grandfather," Aurelia warned, lightly, "Without him, we would not have little Marcus here." Referring to Mark, rather than her brother. She craned her neck and kissed the top of his little head. He was attached to her like a facehugger, except not to the face.
"I find it hard to be offended, granddaughter," Tiberius laughed, "After all, Sam once said he would never marry for politics. Yet here we are. It is always pleasant to be proved right."
"As lovely as Aurelia is," I said, careful not to offend her, "Don't remind me."
The alliance with Tevinter was more important than ever, with the Inquisition growing in strength daily. Aurelia was the link between our two very different states, good relations with her were good relations with the Imperium. Besides, she had gone above and beyond for her country, and I could respect that, even if the method was bizarre to me.
"I would think my grandson would be a constant reminder," Valentine said, a little harshly, "To say nothing more of others in future."
My father-in-law was insulted that I hadn't fallen head over heels for his daughter yet.
"I know I promised you more," I said, "But for the love of God, please give me a few years. There are demons pouring out of holes in the sky, maybe we should deal with those first."
Valentine's brow raised itself, and he opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get there in time.
"We should put our priorities in order," Portia agreed, taking a bowl of fruit from Atia, "Sam, did you hear that the rifts have reached the borders of the Imperium itself?"
As deft a pirouette as any you'd see from a chevalier from Aurelia's mama, there. Valentine sat back and listened, not willing to continue making an issue.
"I've read the report," I said, "Though you have fewer, right?"
"Enough to force the Archon to order our legions out of Nevarra," Tiberius sighed, "We were so close to the old glory too. To take and purge that necropolis of theirs would've been a victory for the ages."
Nevarran culture and worship of death was indeed something concerning to me too.
"There's always next time," I replied, "Don't suppose the Inquisition sent the Imperium a note asking for money?"
"Unlikely," Aurelia said, "And if they did, it's probably sitting on a pile of other messages from the South, unopened by whatever bored questor is assigned to diplomatic duty."
The Imperium didn't really do diplomacy, yet. Which is why we needed the legal cover the Tiberian dynasty provided us.
"Organisations associated with the White Divine are not trusted in Tevinter," Tiberius added, "Even though they are formally independent, the Inquisition was still founded by Divine. Your own rejection of Val Royeaux's authority has bought you credit in Minrathous, by the way."
I shuddered to think that the pricks in that city thought of me well, however useful that might be. I noticed Portia chewing on a grape, and decided to warn her.
"I wouldn't go around in public eating those," I said, "The demons have disrupted trade, and our eluvians are too busy with the army to help. We're going to have to start rationing soon, I think."
"Truly?" Portia asked, "I would have thought that farms would be set up by now."
"We're accepting new recruits from Orlais, mother," Aurelia explained, "More people, more mouths. The trees here are deep-rooted too, clearing them takes time."
"It's not easy without explosives and magic," I agreed, "And those are needed elsewhere at the moment."
"Where do you buy your food?" Portia asked.
"Ferelden mostly," I replied, "Which is overrun with demons at the moment."
"Except where this Inquisition exists," Tiberius said, "And their Herald."
Touching the sore spot with a needle, I winced.
"We're negotiating with Alistair to send troops to help," I said, "But I don't think he'll agree. He's more or less said that he would oppose any army marching under the banner of Troy on his land. He wants to buy our weapons instead. We're at an impasse."
"What about the banner of Tevinter?" Valentine asked.
I blinked, like a deer in the headlights. It seemed like a strange question.
"What do you mean?" I asked in return.
"Have you asked him if Tevinter forces might be allowed to help?" Tiberius clarified, understanding his son's point, "Valhalla is formally an autonomous province of the Imperium, after all."
"I did think of that, grandfather, I am governor, after all," Aurelia frowned, "But I could not find a reasonable cause to do so. I'm sure King Alistair will argue that our food shortages should be remedied by imports from the north, regardless of what banner we want to march under. I would need some other reason."
Guns for grain, or nothing at all, was Alistair's basic position. He wanted an extension of what Andras had already negotiated for her Grey Wardens. Our firelances had made a huge impact on Fereldan society that we had yet to understand.
"And Magister Alexius?" Portia mused aloud, holding the grapes out to Aurelia, "Is he not a good reason?"
"Magister Alexius?" I asked, "According to our intelligence reports, he's holed up with the free mages at Redcliffe, managed to repulse the rogue Templars too before the Inquisition showed up. With the permission of the local lord, I believe."
My mother-in-law raised a thin eyebrow.
"He's Venatori," Portia said, "Quite senior."
All heads turned to my mother-in-law.
"What?" Aurelia, Tiberius and Valentine all spoke at once. Loudly enough that Mark was startled and began crying for a few seconds, before reattaching to where the milk was coming from with help from his mother. She shushed and cradled him closer until he obeyed.
"Gereon Alexius, the champion of soporati education and political reform?" Tiberius said, incredulous, "The soft-hearted advocate of reduced military spending? A Venatorus?"
You could tell those were high crimes in the opinion of the magister. The Tiberii were a military family, and the stupidity of the other magisters in leaving good men and women to rot in ignorance was something they used to populate the ranks of their own legions and clientele. Education was something Tiberius wished to provide as a patron, not something he wanted the Imperium to do.
"Where did you hear that?" Valentine asked his wife.
"A day before we came here, it was in our messages," Portia replied, "Most of the mages he took south were Venatori themselves, so the Archon ordered an investigation. It turns out that he recruited many young mages into the ranks of that vile cult. Far more than went with him by ship, it seems."
"I find that hard to credit," Tiberius said, crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling, "The man has been an opponent of a restored Imperium all his life. What could possibly make him join the Venatori?"
"His son was Blighted, wasn't he?" Aurelia said, "Felix? He was quite weak to begin with, magically."
"Alexius did go rather strange after that happened," Valentine added, "Lost his wife too, no extended family."
"That's the man I remember of late," Tiberius agreed, "But Gereon must be very desperate indeed if he thinks the Venatori can cure Blight sickness. He would be better off taking his son to Weisshaupt."
The Grey Wardens under the First Warden were always interested in having Tevinter mages around. They understood the words 'by any means necessary' better than most. Dangerously so.
"It does explain why he would suddenly want to go to Ferelden," Aurelia said, "His presence there just as the Temple of Sacred Ashes explodes and the Breach opens up cannot be a coincidence. This is most definitely a matter for the Imperium to handle."
She looked pointedly at me. Clearly, by Imperium, she meant 'the forces of the far-southern provinces', i.e. the Army of the Trojan Republic. A few changes to our usual banners, and Alistair could not complain without inviting the permanent wrath of the Imperium. Our hands were freed at last to act.
"So we have our reason to intervene," I smiled, before turning to the woman responsible for the revelation, "Thank you, Portia."
Aurelia's mother smiled brightly, holding up the fruitbowl. An astute woman. Now I knew for sure where the daughter really got it from.
"You're very welcome, Sam," she said, "Grape?"