Notes: Thank you for reading this story, as always! There are some mentions of various things at the beginning of the chapter that don't appear elsewhere in it, but do not worry; they'll come up later.
Song is "Heresy" by Nine Inch Nails.
Warning: Some really horrible views about rape expressed by a villainous character in this chapter.
Chapter 44: Atrocities Done in His Name
Caitlyn gazed around the large room in the outer Keep that was now full of cots, potion bottles, glyphs on the walls—and mages. Several Circle Healers bustled about, as well as several more apprentices—including the young mage, Ella, who had been in the power of Alrik and his associates. She seemed to want to avoid Anders and was unwilling even to look him in the eye as he roved about, supervising the clinic.
"I think I frightened her," he said quietly to Caitlyn when she approached him. "Justice was in control during the fight."
She sighed. "Well, at least she came."
"I hope that we can get the Circles opened up completely," he said. "How is it right to ask people to be part of that place, their freedom dependent on the whims of a Grand Cleric, after escaping such a horrible fate? Especially since the person who turned a blind eye to it is still in charge!"
Caitlyn gave him a sad smile. "It'll happen." How soon, I don't know, but it will happen.
Anders gazed at his feet, seemingly aware of what she had not said. "It would have happened sooner if I hadn't..." He broke off, shaking his head. "Never mind. What matters is making it right."
She gave him a hug, unconcerned about showing emotion and affection in front of strangers as the Viscountess. Her love for her family was nothing to be ashamed of, and in any case, anything that made mages seem normal and kind was all to the good now.
Anders righted his posture and tightened the grip on his staff. Resolve filled his face. "I'll do it, Caitlyn," he promised. "I'll make up for what I did."
Between Aveline's rigidly enforced curfews, the opening of the clinics in the Keep and the Chantry, and—at least to some—the return of their actual Viscountess to rule the city, Kirkwall began to settle down. The number of patients in the clinics gradually rose, as people who had been neither zealously pro- nor anti-mage, but had been frightened and put off by Anders' display of "justice," became comfortable with the idea of exposing themselves to magic. Caitlyn was pleased; she knew that it probably would not be quite this simple, but any progress was good...
And then, a week following Caitlyn's return, Mistress Selby requested a private audience with her and Anders, away from the Small Council.
"Meredith Stannard is increasing her patrols of the escape routes," she informed them, scowling. "My people tell me that there's a Templar they see prowling the tunnels almost every hour now."
"Just the one?" Caitlyn said, confused.
"No, there are others, but this one is always there. He seems 'obsessed,' I'm told."
"Is it Mettin?" Caitlyn said with a glower.
Selby shook her head. "A bloke named Samson. Why? Does that mean something to you?" she added as Caitlyn and Anders exchanged significant glances.
Caitlyn took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "Samson was a friend and partner of Thrask a few years ago in ferrying Circle escapees out of town."
"He was actually handing them to slavers," Anders put in, scowling.
"Yes," Caitlyn acknowledged, "he was—but he wasn't aware that his contact was a slave broker. He didn't mean to do it. But you're saying that he is now apprehending apostates? And is obsessed with it, to the point of prowling the tunnels day and night?"
Selby considered that. "Well," she said, her voice less aggrieved, "my people haven't said as much. Perhaps he is doing it to misdirect the others."
"It could be," Caitlyn said encouragingly. "If he has switched his views so completely, I haven't been told that by Thrask himself."
"Would he be in a position to know?"
"I assume so. When did your people notice these changes—and Samson's increased presence there?"
"A couple of days before your return. Basically around the same time that you executed those rapists," she said to Anders.
"Then Meredith must have ordered increased patrols as revenge for it, and Samson likely took it upon himself to try to misdirect," Caitlyn said. "Do let me know if you hear anything about him to the contrary, though. As much as this disgusts me, I can't do anything to prevent Templars from carrying out their official duties... but Thrask needs to know if Samson has turned. Otherwise he might continue to trust him, and mages could be in danger."
"I'll let you know if any of my people see or hear anything bad about him."
"Are we absolutely sure that we can trust Thrask?" Anders asked late that night before they went to sleep.
"He told you about Alrik," Caitlyn said. "He fought beside you. He has never been anything but an ally to us, Anders. And we don't know that there is anything amiss with Samson, for that matter."
"That's true," he agreed. "I guess I am just a little paranoid."
She chuckled and drew close to him. "You have seen terrible things. Just don't get too paranoid. We do have friends and allies. Not everyone is a foe, not even every Templar."
"That's also true," he said. He returned her embrace. "The clinic in the Keep is doing well, but I am not sure that the poorest of the poor are actually making it inside. They should be allowed, but I'm not certain that they have the courage to come. It's unfortunate. They are welcome, and I want them to understand that."
"Is there any way that you could send people into Darktown and Lowtown to let your old clients know?"
He considered it. "It's possible. I'll try that. Thanks, Caitlyn." He gave her a brief but sweet kiss.
They rolled on their sides, him nestling her back against his chest as he held her close.
Caitlyn had completed her morning discussion with Aveline, Varric, Anders, and Merrill—a tradition that she wanted to establish quickly as Viscountess, so that she would not become too removed from what was going on in Kirkwall as Viscount Dumar had. The other members of her Small Council were also welcome to join in with information, but they had families or other duties, so they did not do so. Anders had nothing to report either, having spent the whole night and morning with Caitlyn, but Varric did, and his news was relevant to both of them.
"I overheard some people talking last night in the Hanged Man about staging a protest of the healing clinics," he said grimly. "I wish the Grand Cleric was here, since it seems they're planning one outside the Chantry too, but they seemed more... offended... about the clinic in the Keep."
Anders had seemingly turned to stone. His voice was deadly cold as he spoke. "Are they planning to disrupt the Healers? I won't tolerate it if so."
"Nor will I," Caitlyn said, her voice hard. She turned to Aveline. "The City Guard..."
"Will be present and prepared," she said, her jaw set.
"On the day of the Kirkwall moot, a group of anti-mage protesters tried to block my entry to the Keep," Caitlyn remembered. "They formed a human wall—and I do mean human; there was not a single person of any other race there. I used a force spell to break it up... but it made me think, they might try to block patients from entering, or harass them, at the very least."
"I will go out and personally escort the patients inside if they dare try," Anders vowed, "and Maker help any protester who tries to get in my way."
Aveline scowled at him. "I don't think you need to have anything to do with it, after what you did while Hawke was in Ferelden."
Anders looked to object heatedly, but Caitlyn put up her hand. "I'm sorry, Anders, but I agree with her. You do not need to be seen engaging in any more violent actions against anti-mage people, especially using magic to do it. Escort patients whom these protesters harass, if you want, but let the City Guard deal with the protesters themselves." She turned to Aveline. "You have my approval to use your judgment and to do anything you deem necessary."
Anders looked momentarily dashed, but he quickly saw her point and nodded sheepishly in agreement, managing a smile for her.
After that, the quick meeting broke up, and they started the day in earnest. Caitlyn had a letter waiting from Hubert, the Orlesian who co-owned the Bone Pit Mine with her. He was complaining of the workers yet again, who were alleging sightings of a High Dragon circling around the mine occasionally, as if scoping it for a nest. He did not believe them and expected Caitlyn to use her newfound power to force them to work harder and to give him tax advantages. She had no intention of doing the latter and was far less inclined to dismiss the workers than he was, as well. Every time in the past that they had had complaints about predators, they had been correct. A High Dragon was hardly something that one could mistake, and if there indeed was one taking an interest in nesting in the area, it would be a disaster to ignore it. For the miners, for mine profits, and for political reasons, she thought, shuddering at the very idea of what her enemies would say if she "let" a High Dragon take up residence in a mine that she partially owned, almost certainly wiping out all the miners.
She made a note to look into it as soon as she could, writing back in very hard tones that she would not play favorites in the tax code and that she would listen to what the foreman said about the possible dragon. She folded and sealed the note, smiling in satisfaction at the use of the official Seal of Kirkwall for the job. If he has a problem with this, she thought, anger increasingly overtaking her as she remembered Hubert's open, voiced disdain for Fereldans and contempt for his own workers, I'll seize his shares in the mine on the basis of willful negligence. I'll take full ownership through my newfound power. The autocratic idea frightened her for a moment, but in the next moment, she felt a rush of pleasure at the thought. I understand you, Anders, she thought wryly. I understand very well indeed. There is pleasure in hard justice...
"Mother?"
She looked up from the sealed note to face Mal. Fear filled his young face, and he was clutching Pounce in his arms as though for comfort.
"What's the matter?" she said, rising from her seat immediately.
"The new clinic," he said. "People are bothering Father and the other Healers. And Aveline is really angry..."
They wasted no time, then, she thought. She headed out of her office and downstairs to the ground level of the outer Keep, making sure to grab her staff.
Shouts sounded through the Keep walls on the ground floor. The clinic itself was inviolate, but Anders was nowhere to be found inside. Her dog approached, barking in recognition and alarm.
"Your Grace," said one of the Healers, "your lord husband insisted on going outside to deal with them beside the Guard-Captain!"
Caitlyn closed her eyes in exasperation. "Watch my son," she ordered him. "Mal—stay with these mages. Do not leave the clinic!"
She rushed toward the steps, holding her staff out, ready to give Anders a piece of her mind. He deliberately disregarded what I wanted, she thought in anger as she flung open the doors.
"The magister Viscountess herself!" screamed a protester at her appearance.
It was not violent. Aveline, Donnic, and several other guards had formed a barrier between the group of protesters—some twenty-odd, Caitlyn guessed—and the Keep, and no one was exchanging blows. The protesters were merely shouting their invective.
Unfortunately, Anders was shouting back.
"Shut it!" he snarled at the one who had insulted Caitlyn. "You had better hold your tongue before she orders your arrest!"
The woman sneered back but did fall silent as Caitlyn glared at her. Then she turned to Anders, frowning. "You should come back to the clinic," she told him, not wanting to scold him in front of these people. "I'm sure that the Guard-Captain has it in hand."
He glared out of the corner of one eye at the assembled protesters, but just for a moment. In the next, regret filled his face as he realized that she was not happy with him for doing this.
Throughout this time, another protester had been ranting. "According to the true Grand Cleric of Kirkwall, who continues to serve Andraste from exile, this clinic is an act of support for apostasy! The one in the Chantry is 'questionable,' since they don't have to return to the Circle at night, but one here in the Keep, supervised by an apostate and a Grey Warden who used to be an apostate, is a grievous insult to the Maker! Such are her inspired words—"
With every word the man spoke, Caitlyn's anger had risen, but now, it towered higher than the Sundermount itself. "The words of a defrocked traitor are not inspired," she snapped. "According to the Chantry itself, not even a real Grand Cleric speaks 'inspired' words, just the Divine!"
"I don't need a jumped-up Fereldan apostate to tell me who speaks for the Maker," sneered the man. "Grand Cleric Claremonde of Tantervale and Grand Cleric Elthina declare that these mages and those who empower them are damned to the Void! So are the people who let them work their magic on their bodies! Their work is cursed! You!" he roared at a heavily pregnant woman who was approaching the steps. "You will be damned if you come in, and so will your baby!"
The woman was startled by the menacing protester and his associates, who began immediately to crowd her. It was the last straw for Caitlyn.
"You are under arrest!" she snarled, swinging her staff in front of her at an angle, threatening him. "Aveline, Donnic—bring him in, and any who try to help him!" She whirled to face Anders, begging him silently to help the woman in labor instead of involving himself in the confrontation. Mercifully, he understood what she wanted and obliged, stepping down the stairs to take the woman's arm and guide her through the angry throng into the Keep.
Aveline had immediately, professionally, directed her guards to arrest the belligerent man, charging him with specific offenses to ensure that it was legal and proper. The woman who had called Caitlyn a "magister Viscountess" moved to aid him, and Donnic took her into custody too. The rest of the group tensed and looked to stage a revolt as two of their number were arrested.
Caitlyn reacted instantly. She formed a ball of magical energy above her open left palm. It was just a spell wisp, but it was menacing to those who did not know that, especially since a tendril of glowing white magic connected it to the tip of her staff and crackled like a bolt of lightning. "Move off," she ordered the protesters. "I order you to leave now. If you don't, I will have the Guard arrest every last one of you—and if you still resist, you might get hurt. Maybe the guards will be the ones to do that... or maybe I will."
The remaining protesters exchanged dark, angry glares with each other, but they did not fight. Muttering among themselves, several of them spitting on the steps, they dispersed as the guards hauled the two belligerents away.
Caitlyn stood on the steps, staring into space, thinking about what had just happened. They were threatening patients, she thought. They were interfering with healing, interfering with a clinic approved by the rightful Grand Cleric, and speaking sedition and heresy into the bargain. I had every right to do what I just did—and unlike Anders, I didn't shed any blood to do it. I had to do it. That was not an abuse of power. Patients in need depended on it. I didn't act out of intoxication with my own authority.
She breathed deeply before heading inside, wondering why she did not quite believe herself.
"You need to tell Leliana about this," Anders urged her later that day. "I'm usually not interested in Chantry politics, but it's important for us to have people in power who are basically on our side, and if that man's words can be believed, Starkhaven and Tantervale—and Elthina—are close to open revolt against Justinia. I don't think the words of any mortal are 'inspired' by the Maker... even Andraste," he said with a smirk, "which makes me a heretic, but you're right, it's also heresy to claim that about a priest. That's even heresy in the Black Chantry. They say it because they don't recognize Justinia's authority due to the views she supposedly holds."
"It does sound that way," Caitlyn agreed. "I'll write to Leliana about this. She may have other ways of knowing what is coming out of the 'northern alliance,' but if she doesn't know about this, she needs to."
He gazed ahead, then turned suddenly to her. "Thank you for speaking some sense to me, too. I would have fought with them, I think. Thank you for reminding me, without words, of my real responsibility."
Guilt flooded her at this. "Anders," she burst out, "what do you think of what I did?"
"Ordering the arrest of that obnoxious man?" he said. "I think you did what you had to. You're the Viscountess of Kirkwall. You don't need to engage in arguments with zealous fools who don't respect you."
"I didn't think of what, exactly, to arrest him for," she admitted. "I realize, in retrospect, that there were all sorts of things—disturbing the peace, inciting unrest, harassing people, and, yes, sedition. But at the moment, I just wanted him behind bars. I just wanted to exert power over him and the others who were defying and insulting us."
Anders considered that. "That's the very thing that troubled me about... about doing the Rite of Tranquility," he said, still ashamed of it. "I had Alrik in my power and I enjoyed it. He deserved severe punishment, and some people would even say that he deserved the Rite... I'm not sure, even now, how I feel about that... but I know why I really did it. I understand how you feel, love."
"Does it make us as bad as the enemy?" she whispered. "Does it mean... Maker curse me for even thinking this... that maybe the other side has a point? Maybe mages can't be trusted with power?"
He held her tightly and rested his head atop hers. "I've asked myself that very question," he said, "and what I think is that people are all prone to being tempted with power. It's not just mages—and what you did, ordering his arrest, didn't involve magic. It was something any ruler could have done."
"I menaced the others with magic after you went inside the Keep. It was only a spell wisp, but the point was to intimidate them with my powers as a mage to get them to leave."
"But the fact that you did choose a non-offensive spell proves that you... well, that you acquitted yourself far better than I did," he said quietly. "And you did it so that they would leave without violence. You don't need to worry, Caitlyn." He smiled at her. "You're not a tyrant. And the fact that you're questioning yourself like this, without scolding or prompting from others, and over far less than what I did, means that you're much farther from being a tyrant than I am."
"You're not one either," she told him.
"I was while you were gone," he said quietly, looking away. "Even if the people I punished deserved it, I was a tyrant. Both things can be true. Please, don't absolve me of it now. You were right to admonish me, to be angry with me." He faced her again. "You did nothing wrong today. Justice would tell you if you had!" A weak smile graced his face. "And he is Justice. I've tried to make sure of that."
She considered that, nodding at last.
The following day, Petrice issued a proclamation, which was posted in written form outside the Chantry on the Chanter's Board, the seal of the Grand Cleric pressed into the wax affixing a crimson-and-gold ribbon to the document.
.
The words of Our Lady Andraste, Prophet and Bride of the Maker, state that "magic exists to serve man." It is the proclamation of the Chantry of Kirkwall that it pleases the Maker for mages to use their magic lawfully to serve man. By Divine fiat, mages of the Grey Wardens may serve man outside the Circles due to their exceptional and selfless heroism against a grave evil. Following this precedent, by the authority of Petrice, Grand Cleric of Kirkwall, the Viscountess is another such mage who has been blessed to serve man outside a Circle due to her moral life and selfless heroism against a grave evil.
It is further the proclamation of this Chantry that the sanctuaries of magical healing and the services of mages who provide magical support to the City Guard are, provided that the mages act with honor, holy exercises of Our Lady's command regarding magic, as shall be any future benevolent activities for mages approved by this Chantry.
Finally, it is further the proclamation of this Chantry that it is a perversion of the faith for man to prevent, or attempt to prevent, mages from using their magic to serve man. Let it be known that those who interfere with holy uses of this gift anger the Maker, and any who shed innocent blood to do so also break the command against bringing "harm to the least of these" and risk eternal damnation to the Void.
.
"Well," Caitlyn said to Anders after the Chantry messenger brought the word and a copy of the proclamation to the Keep, "I don't know what to think of that. It's good that she did this without being asked... though obviously, she sees another threat to herself, which is probably the primary reason. But this bit about 'heroism against a grave evil'... I don't like the Qun, but that's awfully extreme. Comparing the Qunari to the darkspawn?"
"And all this religious talk," he said. "It's clear that she only approves of mages who are devout Andrastians... or aren't publicly heretical."
"She is a priest," she said, as if to persuade herself. "It only makes sense that she would write this document and defend her position in religious terms. It's not her duty to make the general case for mage rights. That's our job! We're the ones who speak for everyone."
"You are the one," he said, a gentle smile adorning his face. "Not me. But I appreciate that you consider me that anyway!"
"You're my partner," she said, smiling back. "Sometimes I forget that we don't actually rule together in the law. But... yes. It's our job to make a case that doesn't require a religious defense, but for the sake of people who do need to be assured that the Chantry approves too, it's good that she did this."
"That's true," he said, "but... she also seems to imply that mages do need to be in Circles unless they 'prove' themselves. That doesn't square with what she claimed to us about accepting mages outside the Circles as an Orlesian noble. I wonder, now, what she would think about Mal if she knew the truth."
"She has acknowledged the importance of family, though. That was a reform order, that Circle mages had the right to family visits and family contact. And she has never spoken against my parents. This is a political document. She can't sound like she wants to dissolve the Circles. This language about 'serving man' being a justification to live outside a Circle opens the door to major reform. Lots of activities can serve man, and this document establishes that precedent very clearly. It opens the door to the idea of Circles as just temporary schools for mage children who don't have other tutors—or adult scholars who want to be there. It could make that change more palatable to people by gradually introducing the idea that most mages need to be outside Circles for their magic to truly serve man."
Anders considered that. "You have a lot of faith in the idea of steady, peaceful political reform. I hope you're right. I mean that sincerely; it's so much nicer when change happens peacefully."
"Anders, look what happened when you tried to foist a radical, unexpected use of magic on people. A lot of them rioted. We have to try this way."
He chuckled sheepishly. "I concede the point."
"Good," she said, smirking at him.
Anders reached for her hand and took it in a possessive, but tender, grip, rubbing her palm with his thumb. "And I do understand that this is a political document. She had to issue it because of the clerics in the northern cities."
The smile left Caitlyn's face. She rolled up the proclamation. "I wish Justinia would take strong action against that. I understand why she has been reluctant to, since she thinks she may be surrounded by people who oppose her, but she will need to act eventually... or they will act first."
He met her gaze with his, and the same dark fear and terrible foresight that filled her face also filled his.
A few days later.
Caitlyn slammed the paper down in outrage and turned to her Small Council, not even trying to hide her anger. "This is from Alistair and Anora. In Ferelden," she clarified. "Sebastian has placed sanctions on Fereldan imports, and Tantervale is with him. For allying with Kirkwall!" Or with me, a mage.
The members of the Council glowered, especially those who were Ferelden-born or had lived there for years. "Is it just to inform you of that?" asked Ser Marlein, trying to keep her temper even though she was not Fereldan. "Or was there something that they wanted?"
"I can read between the lines that they expect increased trade to make up for it," she said, "which is fine. We have a preferential trade agreement now. The people should actually see food prices decrease this summer, since so much comes from the Fereldan Bannorn. But that's not enough! I'll do even more than he did! I'll put a full embargo on Starkhaven and Tantervale for fomenting rebellion here!" And as retaliation, she thought. She exchanged a quick look with Anders. He knew that was the other part, and he did not mind.
Ser Marlein, Varric, and Aveline exchanged glances, and then the noblewoman spoke again. "This is the Small Council. We took oaths to speak of what is said here to no one else and in front of no one else. Your Grace... speaking freely... do you see a path to war?"
Caitlyn breathed heavily, closing her eyes in dread at the mere idea. She considered her words carefully before opening her eyes again and answering. "There is a path," she admitted. "That path leads through high ranks of the Chantry," she said with a glance of apology to Petrice. "If the northern clerics continue to communicate with Meredith and whoever else is organizing the continual unrest, the protests, the speech to undermine and delegitimize me—"
"And me," put in the priest.
"And you," she agreed, "then... war may arrive at our door even if we don't want it. Eventually the discontent could boil over into violence."
"Why won't the Divine do something?" asked Ser Marlein. "She could dismiss the Grand Cleric of Tantervale. She could sack Meredith Stannard and any Knights-Divine who back Meredith."
"Apparently, the Knight-Vigilant backs Meredith," Caitlyn admitted reluctantly, "and so does the Lady Seeker. There are others too, highly ranked people. The Divine isn't sure which of these people are part of a rebellion and which ones are just very conservative, and she does not want to act until she knows who her real enemies are. That's what my contact tells me, anyway."
Ser Marlein turned back to Caitlyn. "Your Grace, if this is the path to war that you foresee, that is dark indeed. That encompasses more than a couple of cities attacking us. That could mean..." She trailed off.
"It could mean a second schism in the Chantry," Petrice said baldly.
"And the first one resulted in an Exalted March against Tevinter that failed to reunite the schismatics."
Caitlyn exchanged a glance with Anders and her close friends before responding to that. "So long as Divine Justinia remains in the Sunburst Throne, they would be the schismatics this time, not us, and they don't have the magical power that the Tevinters had to resist that Exalted March. Should they... depose her..." she said delicately, "obviously our position becomes extremely bad. I wish she would act too, but I understand why she hasn't. We need to try to contain the problem ourselves as much as we can, hence retaliatory sanctions, strong alliances, Circle reforms that bypass Meredith and make her irrelevant, and the rule of law in the city to suppress insurrection if it rears its head."
They took this all in. Finally Mistress Selby spoke up. "What about the Orlesian alliance? Comte de Launcet has been gone for nearly a month."
"I'm worried about him," Caitlyn confessed. "That part of the Waking Sea isn't known for storms, but... I hate to even say it, but a lot can happen to ships, not just bad weather. In Ferelden... King Maric was lost at sea and they never learned where..."
Grim expressions filled all of their faces. "Let's pray that nothing like that has happened," said Ser Marlein. "He's not late to return... yet."
The answer finally came that very day with the arrival of the Kirkwall ship that bore the Comte. He was shown to the Keep quickly, though it was apparent that his news was not good.
"Your Grace, my lord," he said to Caitlyn and Anders, his tone deeply apologetic, "I beg forgiveness. Empress Celene did not sign a treaty of alliance despite my best efforts to persuade her."
Caitlyn closed her eyes in dismay and disappointment. They were seated at the grand conference table of the Small Council, just the three of them, and Anders was able to take her hands comfortingly under the table and caress them. It helped a little bit. She opened her eyes and faced the man again.
"There's nothing to forgive," she said. "You did your best, and I don't doubt you for a moment. Alliances are never guaranteed, especially when we are clearly the side that benefits most. Kirkwall... doesn't really have much to offer Orlais, after all," she said, trying to keep her disappointment in check by rationalization. "It wasn't like Ferelden, which is very close—and poor, and recovering from a disaster."
"Her Majesty wished you well in your rule," he said feebly. "She was... very polite. Her court treated me as an honored guest. I have nothing to complain of in that regard... but in the end, she would not agree to a treaty. I suppose she was thinking of politics at home, that ambitious cousin de Chalons, and such. Didn't want to take Kirkwall's fraught politics on as well."
"I'm sure that was it," Caitlyn said. She sighed. "Thank you for trying, my lord. Now, go see your family. You've been away from them for a month. Visit your son, too; the Circle mages are already starting to see their lives change from the reforms."
"Oh?" he said, hope filling his face at that.
"Yes. There are healing clinics open in the Keep and the Chantry, and Ser Aveline is looking over battlemage applicants to assist the City Guard."
The smile wavered for a moment before fading. "All due respect to both of you, but while I was in Orlais, I heard... well... that you put some Templars to death as Regent, while Her Grace was in Ferelden," he said to Anders.
Anders tensed. "They performed the Rite of Tranquility after it was banned and abused their power to violate Tranquil mages afterward," he said. "And by 'violate,' I mean—yes, you know what I mean," he said as Comte de Launcet blanched.
"Well," he said, "that's despicable—but I should warn you, there were some high in the Chantry in Val Royeaux who heard a, ah, distorted version of it, I think it must have been, because they were very displeased indeed. And..." He gulped.
Caitlyn was suddenly on alert. "And?" she said, eyebrows up.
"The Knight-Vigilant and a high-ranked Seeker followed my ship," he burst out. "Their ship is probably close to making port right now."
Caitlyn and Anders rose sharply from their seats, followed at once by the Comte. "Did Divine Justinia send them?" she demanded. "What purpose do they have for coming here?"
"I don't think Her Perfection sent them," he said, his voice becoming weak. "I think they want to question Your Grace about what happened."
"Maker's flaming breath!" exclaimed Caitlyn in fury. She breathed hard. "The Knight-Vigilant upheld Meredith's appeal of her dismissal, so I know what he generally thinks and I appreciate your warning. You've earned time with your family, my lord. My husband and I—and the Grand Cleric, if they have a problem with her too—will handle these people."
As the Comte hurried out of the Keep in relief, Anders turned to her, his face darkened with angry resolve. "Do you want me there?" he asked in a low voice. "If you don't, I won't take offense. I understand. It's probably my fault, in part, that he wasn't able to get an alliance with Orlais, since they heard something about my 'regency' there."
She considered. "You should be at this meeting. You did it, after all! It would be strange if you weren't there to speak. I'll invite Mother, Uncle Gamlen, and Charade to the Keep to spend time with Mal."
Knight-Vigilant Trentwatch was a middle-aged Templar whose appearance was nondescript, neither handsome nor ugly, nor bearing any unique characteristics. Even in his Templar armor—had it not borne the ornamentation of his high station—he was the sort of person that Caitlyn would have passed on the street of Kirkwall without a second glance, if not for the fact that he was glaring at her and Anders as if they were particularly loathsome insects, perhaps a pair of mosquitoes engorged with blood, disgusting and harmful but still easy to swat.
"This is Seeker Lambert van Reeves," Trentwatch said tightly when he was shown to the Keep, introducing the other man with him, an older man with a grayish-blond beard. "We are here to discuss the extremely disturbing rumors that we heard in Val Royeaux concerning the actions of that mage"—he sneered at Anders, not acknowledging his marriage, his title of consort, or even his status of semi-retired Grey Warden—"against Templars of Kirkwall."
Caitlyn tried to keep her temper from bursting out. "Ser Trentwatch," she said, "we will gladly explain what happened, what my husband did as the lawful Regent of Kirkwall while I was in Ferelden, and why he did it. I doubt that the rumors reflect the truth once they are as far away as Val Royeaux."
"Are you here on behalf of Divine Justinia?" Anders demanded. Caitlyn tried to suppress a sigh. She was becoming frustrated with Justinia's slowness and timidity, but she did not distrust this Divine's good intentions. Anders, it seemed, still did, as he was unable to fully trust any Chantry person or Templar.
Trentwatch glowered. "We are not. We are not acting against her orders, mind, so don't get any ideas, but she did not order us here."
"What do you mean, 'ideas'?" Caitlyn said in hard, suspicious tones. The Knight-Vigilant surely knew of the covert rebellion in the Chantry. Was this his attempt to convince her that they were not part of it? Did he somehow know that she was a correspondent of Justinia's Left Hand?
"The Knight-Vigilant means that you have no grounds to assume that we are defying the Divine," said the Seeker, Lambert van Reeves. "As a Seeker, it is my duty to investigate incidents such as this one."
"Did Lady Seeker Nicoline send you?" Caitlyn asked him.
He clammed up at once. "Your questions presume upon the authority of the Seeker Order, Viscountess."
"I fail to see how it presumes anything to ask if your superior sent you."
"We have our secrets, and you are not obligated to know of them."
"What rumors did you hear in Val Royeaux?" Caitlyn finally burst out. "Forgive me," she said sarcastically, "but unless the rumors have diverged so greatly from the truth that the cause of my husband's actions against certain Templars isn't even explained, or has a false explanation, I find it a little peculiar that two men would not want to acknowledge the role of a woman in this investigation, if the Lady Seeker did have one."
Van Reeves bristled defensively at this, but Trentwatch sneered dismissively at Caitlyn and Anders. "I will not say anything more until certain other people have been called to a private conference about this."
"Who?" Caitlyn barked.
"The new Grand Cleric of Kirkwall, for one," Trentwatch replied, "as well as the Knight-Commander and Knight-Captain. As the leader of all Templars of the true Chantry, I insist upon the presence of the latter two."
She exchanged a look with Anders. His face bore the same irritation, moral contempt, and—yes—fear that she felt within herself. Suddenly, with the arrival of these people, almost all of the frustration that Caitlyn had felt with Anders in the miserable business had fled, replaced with the solidarity of mutual indignation against these two.
With a silent sneer that nonetheless spoke volumes, Caitlyn rose from her seat to send messengers to the Chantry and the Gallows.
If Caitlyn had not been in a state of anger and indignation, this would have been an exceedingly awkward and uncomfortable meeting. This Templar had backed Meredith, blatantly diminishing Petrice's authority early in her tenure as Grand Cleric of Kirkwall—but both women were present. Cullen had not been Acting Knight-Commander when Alrik's evil had come to light, but there had been a time briefly when he had held that authority. And, of course, Caitlyn and Anders knew that they were "on trial" more than anyone else. Meredith had already declared, during the spectacle of her temporary sacking, that Petrice was "compromised" by her alliance with Caitlyn, thereby casting mages as the prime villains of the piece—as usual, she thought bitterly.
But as it was, she knew something that gave her a surfeit of courage—and she could tell, from the expression of determination on Anders' face, that he felt the same. The Seeker and Knight-Vigilant were not here to express concerns about Anders' specific methods of dealing with the rapists. They were not here to scold him for doing political damage to the cause of mage rights by using his magic vindictively. They were here because they had a problem with the fact that he had punished Templars at all, and Caitlyn was determined to defend him to the utmost against that.
"The ascension of this Viscountess was already very irregular," Trentwatch declared. "She was not a native-born Kirkwaller, and she became the leader after only, I believe, four years as a resident, two of which are shrouded in mystery, since she lived in the poor district in a shanty. I heard rumors, in fact, that she was little more than hired muscle for these years—or, rather, hired magic. Certainly not a noble." He sneered, gesturing at Caitlyn as if she were an errant child or a prisoner, rather than Kirkwall's lawful head of state.
Her anger churned within her like magma in a volcano, but she managed to keep it in check for the most part. "Ser Trentwatch," she said icily, "my life history is frankly none of the Templar Order's concern. My uncle had lost the family estate and Kirkwall treated Fereldan refugees from the Blight abominably, forcing us to scrape for food and impose on the charity of relatives if we were lucky, as I was. I regained the manor, made myself a leader, renewed noble acquaintances of my lady mother's family, and was chosen as the Viscountess in a moot of gentlefolk of Kirkwall. You have no right to question Kirkwall's governance, so I advise you to get to your actual point."
Trentwatch was extremely offended at being challenged. His nostrils flared, and his lips curled in anger. "I mention this because your background does have bearing on the events I am here to discuss. Your so-called husband—"
Anders shifted abruptly in his seat, looking as if he wanted to leap across the table and throttle Trentwatch with his bare hands, never mind using magic. Caitlyn interrupted the Templar at once. "We were married by a priest—this priest, in fact—and swore our vows before the Maker and many witnesses, including our son and all of my living relatives except my cousin. He is not 'so-called,' and if you cannot be civil, I will dismiss this conference whether you have finished speaking or not. You are here as my guest, Ser Trentwatch."
Across the table, Meredith was smirking broadly. Cullen was ashamed and uncomfortable that a Templar was behaving this way. The Seeker, Van Reeves, was utterly stone-faced. Petrice was scowling, but her anger was not as acute as Caitlyn's and Anders'.
Trentwatch huffed. "He acted as Regent while you were in Ferelden, procuring an alliance, we now know. And as Regent, he did something that is without lawful precedent, accusing, trying, and executing Templars under the secular law of Kirkwall. We are deeply concerned about this."
"Who are 'we'? You and the Seeker?" Anders blurted out. "I tried them under city law because they committed criminal offenses under city law. Unless you are claiming that Templars like yourself are above the law."
"The men in question behaved evilly and abjured their oaths as Templars by their actions," Petrice said coolly. "I stripped them of their titles and exiled them from the order before turning them over to the civil authorities."
"The civil authorities!" Trentwatch scoffed. "You mean this mage, who has not a drop of Marcher blood, from what I hear, and was occupying the seat temporarily as a convenience to his wife!"
"When Kirkwall made me Viscountess, it gave me the authority to designate my own Regent to act with the full power of the high position itself," Caitlyn said. "Again, it is none of your concern how Kirkwall is governed. I will not warn you again. Next time you forget yourself, this talk is over."
"Nonetheless," put in Lambert van Reeves, "it is not done for Templars to be put on trial and executed in this manner. It would be inappropriate if you had done it, Viscountess Hawke. Perrin Threnhold tried, and it did not stand."
"I told the mage Regent as much when he and the Guard-Captain, another Fereldan import, I might add, marched them into my office, handcuffed and disarmed like common criminals," said Meredith, enjoying this greatly.
"I am Fereldan," Cullen said quietly, looking down, unable to face his boss.
"Their actions warranted it," Caitlyn said. She leaned forward on the table. "I don't know what rumors are making the rounds in Val Royeaux, but you came this great distance to talk about whatever you heard with me, and it may be that you have not heard the truth yet. I will give it to you, if you are willing to hear and accept it as the truth."
Trentwatch and Van Reeves sat back in their chairs, crossing their arms, scowling but listening.
Caitlyn took a deep breath. "Before I even became Viscountess, Grand Cleric Petrice made several moderate reforms to Kirkwall's Circle. There has been a history of grave abuse of the Rite of Tranquility in this Circle by rogue Templars, so to be safe, she banned its use in this Circle completely, as is her prerogative. There are no situations that mandate it, after all; it has always been up to the discretion of individual Circles when to use it, and she decided that the most just option, given the history of abuse here, was to forbid it altogether—as she said when she gave the order, to give even provably criminal mages the opportunity to seek absolution with the Maker of their own free will." She glared at the Orlesians, then at Meredith. Cullen looked too ashamed to face anyone. "The Templars that my husband investigated were found to have been violating the Grand Cleric's order flagrantly. They were also found to have been abusing their authority and abusing the terrible condition of the Tranquil, selecting pretty young female mages for it and then forcing themselves on them. Raping them," she added in hard tones.
Cullen closed his eyes in misery.
"And rape is a capital offense in Kirkwall," Anders said harshly. "If Templars who have committed rape before have never been punished for it, that just means that the Circles failed at policing them. It doesn't mean that it's right." He scowled, meeting Cullen's eyes briefly as the Knight-Captain looked up. Caitlyn wondered momentarily what they were each thinking. Anders had told her that Cullen had never personally mistreated him, but that he had been terrified of magic and of his charges, despite harboring a fancy for a female mage—who ended up being made Tranquil and then dying horribly. "The leader of this group, a Templar named Otto Alrik, I personally heard saying to a young mage, 'Once you're Tranquil, you'll do anything I ask' and 'You know what happens to mage girls who don't toe the line around here.' It was obvious what he intended, and after we took them into custody, we learned more about the mages who had already suffered his barbarities. He and his comrades were unquestionably guilty of both offenses, one of which is punishable by death here. No one is beyond the reach of justice."
"He speaks the truth," Petrice said. "They broke city law and defied my order as the rightful Grand Cleric of Kirkwall, appointed by the Divine."
"We hope that this clarifies matters for you, Knight-Vigilant, Ser Lambert," Caitlyn said with a smile that was a mask.
Trentwatch paused for a moment before replying. Contempt poured from his voice in waves as he did. "It does 'clarify' matters," he spat. "The account that reached Orlais did not specify exactly what the Templars were claimed to be guilty of. But this is ultimately irrelevant."
"Irrelevant?" Anders burst out in outrage.
"Irrelevant," Trentwatch said, his eyes narrowed. "It is questionable that a Grand Cleric truly has the authority to ban a recognized Chantry rite locally in the first place. They certainly do not have the right to ban the rites that the Chantry employs for laypeople. No Grand Cleric can declare, for instance, that because adultery is commonplace in her city, no priest may perform the rite of matrimony. Therefore Grand Cleric Petrice's order is highly dubious."
"Chantry rites for the laity and clergy are intended to encourage reverence for the Maker and a freely chosen moral life. This is a rite that abolishes the capacity of a person to revere or choose anything," snapped Petrice. "The Qunari, who murdered scores here, force the faces of dissidents into a poison to take away their free will, because unlike those who follow the Maker and recognize it as one of His gifts, they think free will is bad. As the Viscountess said, the Rite of Tranquility is never required to be performed, and I made the decision that it will not be here. If the Divine thinks this was the wrong decision, let her speak. Your opinion is not the mortal voice of Andraste."
Caitlyn stole a glance at Anders. She knew that his views were not informed by Andrastian doctrine, but rather, by the naturalistic logic that the Maker bestowed the gift of magic upon mages, along with the same inborn rights that everyone else had, and that it wasn't for others to suppress the Maker's design. The religious component was that simple for him; he had no concern for whether it advanced Andrastianism for mages to have greater rights. He was taking this without the slightest hint of impatience, however.
"The Divine has not moved to overrule your order, it is true, Grand Cleric," Trentwatch reluctantly admitted. "But as the mage consort said, the Templars were executed for claimed violations of criminal law. That is the crux of the issue, and this is much clearer than your order. To be perfectly frank, these Templars could not have been guilty of raping Tranquil mages. It is impossible."
"My team and I found proof that they were!" Anders exploded. "I caught them in the act of threatening to do it to another mage who would have been a victim if we hadn't been there!"
"You misunderstand. Rape is the act of forced intercourse after consent was refused." Exclamations of protest and outrage erupted from Caitlyn and Anders at this, but Trentwatch continued relentlessly. "The Tranquil cannot refuse; therefore, they cannot be raped. The Templar Order has total authority over them and they do not have the capacity to refuse our commands. There is no violence in it."
The table practically erupted. Cullen grimaced and stared at the Knight-Vigilant in dismay and disappointment. Caitlyn and Anders leaped from their seats, shouting in fury, and even Petrice was speaking very loudly against this.
"That is little different from what the Qunari do to their women or their reasons for it!" she exclaimed.
"Slave owners use that same 'reasoning'!" exploded Anders at the same time, standing by his seat, faint white crackles visible just above his coat collar.
Caitlyn managed to shout above them, also standing menacingly. "You are wrong, and your views are evil!" she roared. "Rape only requires the absence of consent, not an explicit refusal!" She sat down, followed by Anders. In desperation and, perhaps, wild hope, she turned to Meredith as the din quieted. "You and I disagree on... many things... but as a woman, you cannot possibly agree with or support this! Can you?"
The Knight-Commander shifted in her seat. She was, for once, visibly uncomfortable with the turn of the discussion. She hesitated, scowling at the tabletop. A few seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity. Then she looked up. Her gaze was stone. "I am a Templar, a servant of the Maker, before I am a woman," she said.
Caitlyn tried to keep her jaw from dropping in shock and dismay, though she could not keep her eyes from widening. She was stunned into momentary silence.
"You think it serves the Maker to commit rape?" exclaimed Anders.
"It is not rape," Trentwatch insisted. "It's just another kind of work for them, no different than working with their hands. And since the Tranquil won't ask for anything counter to the Circle's plan, it means the Templar won't have divided loyalties, as is always a risk with a lover."
Caitlyn was still too horrified and furious to speak. Meredith had not explicitly backed the Knight-Vigilant's definition of rape, but she had shown where her loyalties lay. She backs him because they hate the same people and she'll overlook outright evil for that. It sickened her. It nauseated her.
"The Knight-Vigilant makes a reasonable point," Seeker Van Reeves said, his tone supercilious. "The Tranquil do not suffer."
Cullen spoke up, apparently unable to tolerate this any longer. "I disagree with him," he said, surprised momentarily at his own daring as he managed to make eye contact with Meredith and hold his gaze. "I agree with Viscountess Hawke about the definition of rape. Since Tranquil cannot feel emotion, they cannot give consent, so any such... treatment... of them would always be rape, in fact. Furthermore," he said, his voice becoming stronger, "Templars do not have unlimited authority over mages. We do not have the right to give immoral commands to mages or Tranquil."
"Immoral commands," Anders sneered in contempt. "That's your problem with it? Is that why you never went beyond looking at Surana, not because she might have felt pressure, but because it would have made you a bad boy?"
Petrice looked askance at the Knight-Captain, and Van Reeves eyed him with interest, as if he might want to blackmail Cullen with the information that Anders had just related. Cullen, for his part, blushed deeply and tried to clean up. "That wasn't what I meant!" he protested. "I just meant that we don't have unlimited power, and giving immoral commands is an example of how we do not. The victim of a rape isn't doing anything wrong! I didn't mean that!"
"But do you think the true evil is that the purity of a Templar is compromised by this sin?" he pressed.
"No!" he exclaimed. "That's secondary! It's evil because of what is done to the victim! I only meant... ugh. I agree with the Viscountess, that's all. I did not know that Alrik and his comrades were doing this until after you discovered it. I would have punished them very harshly if I had."
"I doubt as harshly as they deserved."
"Anders," Caitlyn said quietly, finding her voice at last. She gave him a hard look, wishing that he would let Cullen alone. As clumsily as the Knight-Captain was making his point, she did understand what he was trying to say. And he disagreed with Meredith and the foreign Seeker and Templar. She did not need Anders to antagonize him needlessly.
He looked for a second as if he wanted to continue the fight, but then it dawned on him why she was trying to settle him down. He nodded, relaxed in his seat, and deferred to her in his body language.
"We have a fundamental disagreement about this," Caitlyn said to the guests. "I think that you are gravely wrong, and I am willing to speculate that Divine Justinia would be appalled to learn of your views on this. And since we are clearly not going to reach a productive consensus, I think it best that you both return to Orlais as soon as possible."
"Yes," Trentwatch finally said, his voice cold and contemptuous. "I think that would be best too."
Notes: If I depicted Cullen as soft on rape, I screwed up and I apologize to his fans. I was trying to balance his current belief that Templars have the inherent right to command mages with the horror and disgust he feels at Templars like Alrik... and Trentwatch… as well as the realization that their power can go too far, with horrible results. He'll never be one of my DA baes, but because of the very end of DA2 and DA:I, I don't have antipathy for him.
Trentwatch is Knight-Vigilant by 9:41 prior to the Conclave. He is contacted by Lord Seeker Lucius, who says that he's glad Trentwatch survived the Conclave and urges him to go to Therinfal, which he agrees to (though it works out poorly for him). Regardless of Ser Barris's claim that he was respected, the fact that he led the Templars during the canon Mage-Templar War can mean nothing good about his views of mage rights (people can be respected and have skeletons in their closet that would destroy that respect if they came out!), so I'm taking some authorial liberties.
It is canon that Sebastian sanctions Ferelden for being friendly to mages. It's referenced in an Inquisition codex entry, implying that he placed the sanctions during the war for allowing the mages at Redcliffe (and before the Venatori deal). Here he just does it earlier.