Claire had a lot to think on after meeting Admael, and it brought a thought up she hadn't had in years; the creators of Dragon Age... how had they known? Did they use time magic? Was her existing in the same time period that they'd made their games somehow changing that reality? It horrified her to think she might be part of the games, and quickly turned her thoughts to other things. Admael had told her about her real parents, but she had no idea what they looked like or what their personalities were. She would need to figure out how Admael was still around as well, and if she could give him energy so he wouldn't fade away again before either of them could gain the answers they sought.
It made her smile to think of her mother and father crossing such boundaries as they must have to be together. How had they met? Was it love at first sight? She hoped Admael knew more, but until she could get to him again, she would have to occupy her mind with other things, and that included taking care of her castle. They were pretty much self sufficient, but Claire still had to bring in some things that were hard to grow or find. They weren't essential items, they just made things easier.
She teleported to the tower first, looking out over the village that was being built up. Her mages worked quick, and it filled her with happiness and pride. She didn't need to have a baby of her own... she had her mages to take care of. She spent that day walking around, making sure everything was working well, and she found out that one of the mages had given birth, making the child the first native Tirashan, who would know nothing more than that castle as a home, if Claire had any say in it. She wondered if he'd be a mage, or if he'd be the first non-mage to live there.
"Hey, Richter, do you need anything?" Claire asked an older man as he cleaned up his arrows. He was one of the hunters who combined his magic with his bow, making him a deadly shot.
He looked up and shook his head. "You're downright spoiling us here." He said. "We'll let you know when there's something we need, or is it that you're in need of something to do?"
"I suppose a distraction would be nice." She sighed. "My mind is full of turmoil, and I don't want to think about it right now."
"I'm no expert, but ain't that bad?" He put his arrow down and sat up straight, looking at her, worried. "Go talk to Maude, I've seen you talking to her a bit, she knows people and how to sort them out." Claire rolled her eyes and sighed again.
"Fine, treat me like a surly teenager." She laughed. "But you're right, maybe it'll help. Thank you."
"You need to take care of yourself, too, you know. We may be fairly self reliant now, but we still care about you." Richter grumbled as he picked the arrow back up. She knew he was right, she just wasn't sure how how to take care of herself. She tried to take breaks, but it ended up either being stressful because some random spirit came in with world shattering information about her past, or she got some vision that someone needed help somewhere, or... She stopped and took a deep breath. She would find Maude, and speak with the healer about everything.
"Hello, Claire." Maude stood up when Claire approached. "What's the matter, dear? You look like you haven't slept well in days."
"Probably because I haven't." Claire said. "I might just need someone to talk to, get my thoughts straight or something."
"I'm here if you need me." Maude patted the younger woman's shoulder. "Come on, let's go somewhere quieter and you can tell me what's bothering you." Claire nodded, grateful for the healer. She didn't want to keep burdening Anders with all her problems, just as he was bottling his problems up as well. The closer they got to the end of things, the more worried Claire became she wouldn't be able to save him and that he would accept the dagger in the back.
The two mages walked out into a small herb garden in the back of the castle near the infirmary, and Claire picked a mint leaf to chew on.
"So, talk." Maude said.
"I'm not sure where to begin... I found out things about my past I never thought possible..." Claire went on to tell her about Admael and what he'd told her, about how hard it was to come to terms with the idea especially when she still hadn't gotten over the loss of being able to have children, and then the thought of everything coming up, how Kirkwall was getting worse and not being able to help Anders... She left out quite a bit, she didn't really want Maude to know she knew the future or what the world she'd spent her childhood in was really like, but it did feel good to talk with Maude about it all.
"Thank you for coming to me with this." Maude said. Claire hadn't noticed how late it was getting, with the sun starting to go down. "It means a lot to me that you trust me, and I'm glad I've been able to prove myself a friend to you."
"You've never had to prove yourself." Claire quickly hugged her. "I could tell you were trustworthy when I first met you, something in your eyes and smile. I cherish your friendship, and all the work you've put in here. Is it any wonder you're on the council?"
"I do my best." Maude grinned. "But now I think I need to get back to work, before the day fully disappears."
"Yes, I've lost track of time and I've kept you from everything." Claire bowed. "I'll be back tomorrow, I think, as there are some things I still want to look around at here, so if you think of anything..."
"I'll be sure to let you know." Maude said. "Good evening, Claire." Claire watched as the healer left, feeling a little bit lighter in spirit. If only all her problems could be solved just by talking... Time was needed to heal some wounds. She teleported back to the clinic and watched Anders as he cleaned up. There were a couple of people there, but no real patients, and she just wanted to watch her mage for a while. It still struck her, how much she could care for him, and how much it hurt just to think about what he was going to go through in a couple of years.
How was she supposed to remove Justice? Removing the connection between demons and mages wasn't difficult when the demon was still in the Fade, but what about when they were stuck in the same body? She would have to take him to the Fade physically, but she wanted to do a little more research before she tried anything, and she wouldn't be able to separate them until after the Chantry explosion.
"Love, I didn't see you get back, I thought you weren't coming for another couple of days." Anders was suddenly in front of her and she realized she'd zoned out again. "Is everything all right?"
"Oh yeah, I'm just tired I guess." She said. "I was thinking about getting to bed early, after I get some food."
"Were you going back out tomorrow then?" He asked.
"What can I say, I don't like sleeping alone." She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "What say we go somewhere nice for a good meal?"
"Sounds good to me."
It'd been busy at the castle the past few days since a storm had come in and started flooding the crops. Even with magic, there was little that could be done about such a large scale natural disaster. The area around the castle had been fine, it was built to last, but it made the mages think about what they could do in the future to prevent another disaster from happening. None of the animals or mages were harmed, at least, and most of the crops survived, but there would be some things that would need to be replaced.
Claire collapsed in the back of the clinic, her dress still wet, and groaned. After securing everything, the only thing they'd done in the castle was play games, read, play music, and whatever other random things they could think of to pass the time, so it wasn't like it'd been too busy until the storm passed and they were able to put everything back to order.
"You need to get changed before you get sick." Anders said. "I may be a healer, but I don't want you as a patient."
She rolled over and looked at him. "Are you sure? You could keep me all to yourself, trapped on the bed..." He sat down beside her and kissed her head.
"Stay here and rest." He said. "I just got word that one of the mages in the underground needs help, so I'm going to be leaving for a bit, but I shouldn't be long."
"Be careful." She sat up and hugged him. "I know, you're always careful, but I don't want to have to rush in and save your life."
"It might be fun..." He kissed her lips and she enjoyed the warmth of him against her, reminding her she did need to get dry. "Stay here, relax, I'll return soon." She nodded and watched him as he left, then began the process of cleaning up.
Some time later, after she'd started dozing, she felt a sudden stab of pain in her gut and a scream for help in her head. Not thinking, she teleported immediately.
Anders met with Teran, a young mage with light brown hair and hazel eyes, in Darktown, who then led him to the entrance to the Gallows, and he began wondering if he shouldn't have gotten Claire to come along.
"You didn't mention we'd be going into the Gallows." Anders said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't really explain what this was." Teran said. "I'm still new to this, right?" He laughed, but Anders couldn't share the humor if it was going to get them killed. "There are three young mage girls I'm trying to get out... they were recently taken in as their magic only just appeared."
"You should have warned me beforehand so I could prepare properly." Anders said. "You had me thinking it was just an information gathering trip."
"My kid sister is one of them." Teran said. "Please don't make me do this on my own."
"There are better people for it." Anders said, thinking of Claire, but Justice was growing impatient. "But it's too late now, we need to go." If there were Templars, Justice wouldn't hold back, and Teran didn't know about that side of him yet. What would the young mage think? Justice didn't care, he was anxious to save the mages and kill the Templars, and more and more, it felt like he'd become taken over by Vengeance. What justice was left any longer?
"They should be around here soon." Teran whispered as he crouched behind a rock in the tunnel. "Let's wait, see if we can hear anything." For the first few minutes, it was silence, but then Anders was able to make out the sound of people moving around, and whispers, then a girl gave a muffled cry while the others hushed her. Before he could say anything, Teran got up and hurried to meet the girls. Cursing, Anders followed, preparing to fight Templars. He saw the girls, alone and looking terrified, though one had a defiance to her as she tried to hide her fear.
"Llewella!" Teran spoke far too loudly, and instead of joy at seeing her brother, Llewella shrunk back in fear.
"So glad you could make it." A Templar walked out, his sword already out and pointed at Teran. More Templars came out of the shadows as well, and Anders cursed again. There were too many, he wasn't sure he could take them on without hurting anyone else.
"This was a trap?" Teran's voice betrayed his panic.
"Of course it was, my dear mages." The Templar replied. "You wouldn't think we'd allow three young mages to be free, do you? When I heard this one had a brother in the mage resistance, I couldn't 'resist' setting a trap." Anders couldn't control Justice any longer, and he snapped.
"You fiends think you can just toy with mages!" Justice roared, blasting the Templar with his magic. The main Templar, though, had some sort of protection and shrugged the attack off.
"Ah, yes, we've heard about you as well, the abomination." Justice was full of anger, and the fact that his attack didn't even touch the Templar made him even more furious. Then, the Templars attacked.
It was a chaotic scene when Claire got there, with her husband glowing blue and bleeding from the gut and Templars charging three young girls and there was a man lying on the ground covered in blood. She became filled with rage herself, and without warning, or even thinking, she sent a burst of magic targeting the Templars, causing them to be ripped to shreds like the guards back in Fort Drakon. None of them had been expecting her, they didn't have protections up against such an attack, and they'd all died. Claire didn't want to think about what the story would be to explain their deaths, but it wouldn't look good for the mages.
She hurried over to Anders to heal him as Justice's glow faded away, his eyes full of regret. He laid down on the ground and reached a bloodied hand up to her.
"I'm sorry." He said. "Teran didn't tell me until it was too late."
"It's never too late!" Claire said as she pumped her magic into him. "Dammit, you're the spirit healer, I can't heal as well as you can." She noticed the three young mages were huddled together, staring at her in shock, but she couldn't do anything for them yet.
"See if Teran is all right." Anders said. "I'll live, but they got him..." She nodded and went over to the prone body of the mage.
"H-He stepped in f-front of the sword..." One of the girls said. "Is... is he all right?" Claire could feel a faint sign of life in him and began healing him.
"We'll see. I may have to take him to Tirashan, though, where my healers can help." Claire said.
"You should take them as well." Anders said, scooting closer. "They don't belong here."
"What are you?" The oldest of the three asked.
"I am a..." She suddenly stopped, unsure of what to say. Being honest was more difficult.
"She's an ancient elf-blooded goddess." Anders laughed.
"I am not a goddess!" Claire snapped as the girls' eyes grew wide. "Ignore him, he's just teasing me."
"You think I don't take pleasure in telling people I married an elf-blooded somniari who was born two thousand years ago?" Anders asked. She was sure he was just trying to lighten the mood, and it was distracting the girls at least.
"Fine, fine." She laughed as well. "Come one, let's go to Tirashan, where you won't have to worry about Templars ever again."
"Where is Tirashan?" One of the girls asked.
"Far away, deep in a forest." Claire said. "The only way to get there, is to close your eyes, and think of a big beautiful castle surrounded by giant trees." Once they'd closed their eyes, Claire teleported them straight to the infirmary.
"Oh Maker, what happened!" One of the healers cried out as she rushed over.
"Teran and Anders need help, but everyone else is fine." Claire said. "Where's Margaret?"
"In the library, I think." The healer quickly picked Teran up and put him on an empty bed. "Brendan! I need help over here!" An elf with shaggy dark brown hair hurried over and focused on Anders.
"Come on then, let's get you to a bed yourself." Brendan said. "Can you stand?" Claire went over and helped Anders get into a bed.
"Take care, I'll be back after I find Margaret to watch the girls."
"Thank you." Anders closed his eyes as he helped assist with the healing, and Claire went over to the wide eyed young mages.
"You three have only just gotten your magic, haven't you?" Claire asked. They nodded. "My name is Claire, and I'll be taking you to someone who can help you here. She'll be able to teach you everything you need to know, and find out what your strengths are."
"I'm Morwyn." The oldest said. "I'm thirteen. Llewella is twelve, she's Teran's sister, and then Diana is the kid, she's only ten." Looking closely at them, Morwyn had rich brown hair cascading in waves down her back, with matching eyes full of determination, while Diana was a timid little thing with curly blonde hair and green eyes. Llewella looked rather like her brother, with light brown hair and hazel eyes.
"It's good to meet you." Claire said. She led the girls through the castle, pointing out different rooms and places, until they made it to the library. "Natalie, do you know where Margaret is?" Natalie turned to look at them, her dark brown ringlets bouncing. She smiled brightly when she saw the girls.
"New arrivals?" She asked. "Welcome to the Tirashan castle, girls, I hope you like it here." Morwyn suddenly clapped a hand to her mouth.
"You've been branded!" She gasped.
Natalie grinned and pulled her hair back, showing the mark of tranquility. "Oh, this? Claire was able to save me. Get used to it, there are quite a few of us here." While the girls were dumbfounded, Natalie turned back to Claire. "Margaret's over in the history section, I think."
"Thank you." Claire smiled, Natalie's joy being contagious. She never wanted anyone to take her joy away again, and said it was easy to be happy, knowing she was safe and cured. Margaret was reading a book by a window when Claire found her, looking far more relaxed and happy herself than when Claire had first met her.
"Margaret!" Claire said. "Would you mind taking charge of these three? They've only just gotten their magic." Margaret jumped up, putting the book down.
"Oh, certainly!" She said, grinning. "I'll get them a new change of clothes, find them a room, and show them where the baths are, then feed them, and show them around the castle..."
"Don't overwhelm them!" Claire laughed. The girls were starting to relax as well, then Llewella tugged on Claire's sleeve.
"Please, my brother, will I see him again?" She asked.
"Of course, he'll be here for a while, as he recovers." Claire said, then looked at Margaret. "Teran is in the infirmary right now. He got hit by the Templars while trying to protect these girls, but he'll survive."
"Thank you for letting me know, I'll see to it she can see him when he's ready for visitors." Margaret said.
"I need to go back, Anders is there too, he's injured as well, but let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."
"Maker be with you." Claire smiled and teleported back to the infirmary. Anders was still lying there with his eyes closed, but Brendan was helping Jan heal Teran.
"How is he doing?" Claire asked, looking at the pale and still bloodied form on the bed.
"They got him good." Jan said, wiping sweat from her brow. "But not fatally at least. He may be here a while yet."
"I'll let you keep at it, thank you." Jan didn't respond, but kept healing, so Claire went to Anders. His injury seemed fine, it hadn't been as bad as Teran's, and she knew she could take him back to the clinic before long.
"I can feel you worrying." He murmured. "I'm fine."
"Debatable." She said, brushing some stray hairs from his face. "You sure know how to scare a girl."
"Worth it." He grinned, then opened his eyes to look at her. "Teran is new to the mage underground, or what's left of it. We take what we can get, but he made some mistakes. If you hadn't been there..."
"I heard someone call to me."
"What you did to the Templars... that was what you did in Fort Drakon, wasn't it? I've never seen anything like it..."
"I don't like doing it, but it seems I only do it when I've snapped." She sighed. "There wasn't much else I could do anyway, I had to protect those girls. They're safe now, with Margaret, and they'll enjoy it here I think."
"Can we go home now?"
"Sure, I'll let the others know, and then I'll need to sleep for a week with how much energy I've expended. I already feel like I'm going to pass out."
"If you need to rest here..."
"No, I want my own bed." She laughed again, then kissed his forehead, and in response, he grabbed her in a hug.