Sometimes ... Sacrifice Is Not Stupid

After taking more than a few chances to fly over expanses of the Waking Sea to look for Isabela's ship, Alistair and Bethany sighted Val Royeaux in the distance. In the harbor was both a Seeker ship and the Siren's Call. There must have been a good tail wind on the Waking Sea! Or, Alistair and Bethany made too many stops.

The pair headed for the Call. They swooped into the upper cabin and reformed. Unfortunately, Alistair bumped his head on the low doorframe when he changed from a one-foot high bird into his almost six-foot high human. "Ow! Swooping is bad," he whined.

Bethany laughed as did Isabela and Devon who were standing on deck nearby looking through a spyglass. "Pay better attention to where you un-swoop, silly," Bethany said while running her healer's hand across his forehead. "Just a bump."

And, then, the levity was over. Isabela kissed Alistair and handed him the spyglass. "That Seeker ship over there is not the one Velanna started out on from Kirkwall. Dockworkers here say it's been here a few days but only crew have gone off for supplies until this morning."

"Velanna disembarked in manacles with an escort of Seekers only a few minutes ago. She looked like hell," Devon said. "One of them seemed to be in charge."

"How did you know it wasn't the ship that left Kirkwall?" Alistair asked as he slipped into a bit of a shadow in the doorframe and looked over at the ship.

"Because we saw the ship from Kirkwall just before it sank," Isabela said. "Looked like it was blown to hell first. Cassandra and Leliana's ship beat us here. It's on the other side of the harbor. They're somewhere in the city already. Who knows where they've stashed Javaris. Carver, Aveline and Fenris stayed in Kirkwall, but Cullen and Varric came with us. They left right after we docked. Cullen said he was going to talk to some of his Templar friends at the White Spire and Varric said he was going to tail Velanna. Said to meet up with him in front of the Cathedral in the gardens."

Devon shook his head and took a deep breath. "There's no chance for Velanna now. If she'd only said something. If I'd only chased after her rather than trying to find Morrigan."

Bethany squeezed Devon's upper arm. "Nothing you can do about the past, Devon." With a frown, she added, "Velanna may not have been the one to scuttle that ship, if those Seekers were also crazy Promisers." She turned to Alistair. "We need to get to the Grand Cathedral."

Isabela stepped back. "You're kidding, right? Promisers? Seeker Promisers?!"

"We stopped in Cumberland." Alistair took down the spyglass. The Seeker ship didn't look like anything special, other than a few grandiose flags and banners. It did look abandoned now. Everyone must have gotten off along with Lucius and Velanna. "Bethany's right. We need to hurry. Devon, make your way to the Grand Cathedral. Find Varric and wait for us in the gardens out front."

At Isabela's worried look, Alistair added, "Yes, I met Fiona." With a smile, he added, "It was a good meeting, love." He kissed her and spared a moment to look into her eyes. "All this should be over soon."

"That's what I'm worried about," Isabela replied. "But, I know it's something you gotta do. I expect you to be alive when you're done."

Alistair hugged Isabella briefly and then said, "Anyway, Fiona had something called a 'sending stone' to communicate with someone named Rhys here in Val Royeaux. We were told to go to the Grand Cathedral and meet with Chancellor Roderick. We'll come find you in the gardens right after that meeting, Devon."

After another round of hugs, Alistair and Bethany's raven-forms took off from the deck … but Bethany cawed and veered off. She set down in a quiet glade outside the walls of the city and reformed into Bethany.

When Alistair joined her, he asked, "Okay, your turn. Why are you stopping here?"

"I want to get a few things straight before we head right into the heart of the Chantry, Alistair." She hugged him tightly. "I know you. I know you'll do the right thing for everyone else but you." She leaned back so she could look into his eyes. "I want you to know that Isabela was absolutely correct … the right thing for me and Mother and Carver … and Isabela … is for you to survive."

Tears came to his eyes. "I know that, Bethany. I don't plan to do anything stupid … but sometimes … sacrifice is not stupid."

"Promise me you'll think twice before any kind of sacrifice," she asked, tears falling down her pretty face.

He wanted to tell her he would. He wanted to promise her anything that would make her stop crying. But, he told her the truth. "If I have time."

She looked at him a moment more, wiped her eyes and started the spell to shapeshift into a raven. "At least, I have that much to hold onto." The sparkles were dull and few during that spell-casting.

Alistair shifted and the pair headed to the magnificent gardens on top of the Grand Cathedral. They found a secluded area and shifted back into their human forms. "Hmm, I assumed they'd have more guards up here for some reason," Alistair said.

An older man in fancy robes walked out of a door and looked around. When Alistair stepped out and waved to him, the man smiled and quickly walked toward them. Alistair bent near Bethany, "They have alarm runes instead."

"Thank the Maker you're here! I'm Chancellor Roderick and Most Holy is about to convene a meeting of many of the grand clerics in Thedas. There's talk of trying to put together a conclave of the mages and Templars to end the controversy and Most Holy wished the counsel of her advisors." The man was average height, middle-aged, but with enough presence about him that they knew who he was before he introduced himself. "Yes, Rhys told us of the danger, but Most Holy thought it best to draw Lucius and this Velanna in so we could deal with it. The Knights-Vigilant are numerous and some are dressed in initiate robes."

"Where is this meeting taking place, Chancellor?" Alistair asked.

"In the Grand Consensus chamber … through the main front door and directly to the right." Roderick paused and added, "If you intend to fly down to the front, it might be wise to shift someplace discreet before you enter. Knight-Commander Cullen will be watching for you so he can update you as to what is going on."

"Where are you going to be, Chancellor?" Bethany asked.

"My place is beside Most Holy." Before either Bethany or Alistair could argue, he added, "As I said, I've been advised as to the danger by Senior Enchanter Rhys and then Cullen. That knowledge makes no difference in where I shall be."

Alistair wasn't certain, but he thought Bethany mumbled, "Men," before she shifted and took off.

"Maker protect you," Alistair said as he started his spell.

"Maker protect us all," Roderick replied as he turned and hurried inside, presumably to run downstairs to stand by the Divine.

Bethany and Alistair found Varric pacing around the edge of the lake nearest the grand entrance to the Grand Cathedral. Everything was "grand" as far as the eye could see; however, Alistair knew there were ghettos of poor humans in Val Royeaux along with the largest elf Alienage in Thedas. The Orlesians tried to mask the disparity and despair with golden trappings, locked gates and guards everywhere else but here. He really didn't think the Maker would be very happy with what the Chantry had become.

However, Divine Justinia was trying to change things. He had a feeling that Leliana was the one pushing for Alistair's involvement. He really did know she meant well ... and appreciated the implied compliment ... but he just didn't like standing in front of crowds doing grand leader stuff, telling them what they needed to do. He preferred handling things with individuals, behind the scenes, one disagreement at a time — the only way to make truly lasting change. However, things rarely went that way and he found himself cleaning up major mess after major mess. Today's mess was the most major of all the messes so far.

Today was going to be one of those days where he thought he might be forced to speak before a crowd … a crowd of Grand Clerics of all things. Many of them had started to bend toward Justinia's ideas, but there were some very powerful women in there. Greed and corruption and the hunger for power knew no gender.

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Varric ran over as soon as Bethany and Alistair landed in a nearby copse of colorful trees and shifted into their human forms. "We've all been terrified that you were on that Seeker ship."

"Sorry," Alistair said. "We heard about that. Funny how nothing untoward happened to Lucius' ship." Then, he noticed Cullen waving to them from atop the grand staircase. "Let's go see what Cullen has to say."

"Lucius and Velanna showed up not too long ago," Varric said. "He had to argue a long time with the guys at the door to even get inside. These Templars aren't happy with the Seekers."

"Well, they washed their hands of the Chantry, so that makes sense," Bethany said. "What was his argument?"

"He said that Velanna was the one who destroyed the Kirkwall Chantry and the other Seeker ship. He argued that she needed to be brought to the meeting of clerics to show them all the dangers of magic … show them that they chose the wrong Divine and her changes needed to be reversed immediately." Varric shook his head as he climbed the stairs. "As far as I understand it, the door guards were warned ahead of time and were supposed to delay Lucius as long as they could."

When they got midway up the stairs, Alistair looked back and saw Devon running toward them. "Ah, good, he made it. I'm hoping Velanna might listen to him."

Cullen came halfway down the stairs to meet them. "Lucius has just been granted permission to speak to the assembly, Hawke. Now would be a good time to stop him and whatever he might have in mind."

Devon caught up and took a few moments to catch his breath. "Why … did they … even …let him … in?"

"Most Holy is guided by the Maker, Devon," Cullen replied. "I believe that, as do most of the Grand Clerics in there, but a few are militant against her. She hopes that seeing how far the Seekers have fallen will change their minds." He turned to Alistair. "Leliana's hoping Hawke can 'save the day' one more time."

"Maker's Breath," Alistair mumbled as he pushed past and headed inside. This was never what he wanted to do with his life. He recalled Flemeth telling him to jump into the abyss. And, he had done that — by his reckoning — several times already: the Qunari, the Deep Roads, Duke Prosper, Corypheus, the Kirkwall Chantry and the Gallows. If 'finding out if he could fly' meant surviving, then he'd done that, too. He had a bad feeling today he would learn that he could also fail.

The Templars showed the group from Kirkwall to a smaller side entrance. They got inside just in time to see Lucius begin his speech. Everyone spread out along the aisle against the circular wall.

"Most Holy! Assembled Grand Clerics! My predecessor acted prematurely in annulling the Nevarran Accord. We need to maintain our vigilance and harsh stance with all mages. None of them should be granted any sort of freedom lest what happened in Kirkwall happen again! This mage is the cause of the Chantry explosion in Kirkwall and then destroyed a Seeker ship with all hands on the way here. Dalish magic! It is powerful and dangerous! All Dalish must be eliminated!" Lucius went on ranting while Alistair looked around the hall.

Justinia caught Alistair's eye and gave him a brief nod as acknowledgement. It was long enough for Alistair to miss Devon running to the center of the room. "Warden Velanna, what have they done to you?!"

Alistair and the others started down the aisles. Lucius knew something was up when none of the Knights-Divine or the Templars tried to stop the group from Kirkwall. Bethany was beside Alistair. He took out the receipts and work orders Cullen had given them and passed them to Bethany.

With tears in her eyes, she mouthed the word, "Please don't."

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Just in case." He looked at the ceiling. The roof had ventilation holes under the circular upper ceiling. There was already another bird up there … brilliant yellow feathers. He'd never seen a bird like that before, but had no time to ponder that. "Find a shielded spot to shift and fly up there. That evidence must remain, Beth. Fly away before this all goes bad."

Devon cried out as he got to the center floor. "Justice?! You took over Velanna's body! Who killed Velanna?"

That caused Alistair to pause a moment. So much for his idea to enter the Fade to kill Justice. If Velanna was already dead, that was not an option.

"You see?!" Lucius shouted. "The Grey Wardens are a malefic order! They sent this Dalish abomination here to destroy the Chantry!"

Alistair took a deep breath and slowly walked down the stairs. "The Order of Fiery Promise, Lucius. They are your masters now. You know Velanna didn't destroy the Chantry and we have proof. You know Velanna didn't destroy the other Seeker ship because the mage part of that abomination is dead. The only way you could start the fiery ending of the world was to blame Velanna and then do something to kill everyone who would be witness to the opposite. No doubt the rest of your cultists are spread throughout the city to cry out your lies when the Grand Cathedral explodes."

He turned toward Velanna. "Spirit of Justice, you aided the Grey Wardens in the Fade's version of the Black Marsh because innocents were being used and mistreated. Look around, Justice. There are many innocents here. Tell us the truth."

Before Lucius could say or do anything else, he was paralyzed where he stood. He had started to reach inside his breastplate. A male mage stood from behind Justinia's Sunburst Throne. "He was reaching into his cuirass, Most Holy," he said.

Cassandra started walking toward Lucius to verify that. Alistair saw a cringing Javaris in Leliana's grasp behind the throne.

Justice, within Velanna's body, looked around the room. Every Grand Cleric had two or three staff with them. The Grand Cathedral had servants standing wide-eyed and frightened. Justice turned to Alistair. "Knight-Commander Meredith, under the influence of red lyrium, ordered me to procure ingredients of an explosive … I had no idea what they made at that time." Velanna's voice changed to a lower male voice. "When the Seekers arrived in Kirkwall recently, one of them took Velanna from her room and killed her before I could stop him. He had been using red lyrium." She turned to Lucius. "Look at him. He's using it, too. He also has a vessel filled with those same explosive ingredients." Justice stood tall. "I have been corrupted by you mortals. I am no longer worthy to call myself 'Justice'. I must leave her. Leave here. But … I don't know how …"

A green portal suddenly appeared by Velanna's body and a voice from above boomed, "Cross the Veil and return to the Beyond, Spirit. This is not a place for you."

A male elf stood in one of the air vents, holding an orb. Velanna slumped to the ground with an ethereal soldier left standing. He entered the portal without a word and the portal vanished. The elf shifted into a yellow bird and flew away. Alistair looked around for Bethany. She had already left, to his relief.

All of that didn't even take a minute and everyone was breathing a little easier … until Cassandra reached into Lucius' armor and pulled out a pulsing red orb held by a netting of leather straps. The pulses were getting more violent by the moment. "What is this?!" she cried.

Alistair didn't think twice.

He shapeshifted into his owl with its strong hooked beak, flew down to Cassandra and grabbed the leather thongs holding the orb. He heard the cries: "Smite him!" "Stop that!" "Maleficar!" Before he could hear more, he flew out of the top of the building. All of his concentration was tied up in getting the orb as far away as he could before it would detonate. He flew over the city of Val Royeaux. He flew over the docks and noticed The Siren's Call had already turned outward, ready for a quick departure, if necessary. Bethany must have gotten to Isabela and told her to get prepared.

Once he was over the Waking Sea, he noticed that he had a couple of escorts. To his dismay, one of them was Bethany's raven. To his puzzlement, the other one was the yellow bird.

Once he scanned the sea below, Alistair spotted some debris … boards, boxes and the like. The orb was flashing wildly by then. He flew around to make certain he couldn't see any land and then circled down to the debris. He didn't know what the orb was going to do when it hit water, but he prayed to the Maker that he could drop it on a long, wide board bobbing in the waves and fly away as fast as he could … fast enough to get Bethany away from any blast.

As he carefully placed the orb on the board and released the leather thongs, a green bubble surrounded it. The elf from the Chamber, reformed from his bird form, yelled, "Fly away now! That shield won't hold for long! Follow me!" Then, he changed into the yellow bird and flew in a direction Alistair hoped was safety. Bethany flew ahead alongside the yellow bird.

That was all Alistair remembered until he awoke ... outside somewhere. Was this a dream? The Fade? The Maker's Side?

He was in a bedroll. The aroma of cooking food made him crack open his eyes and slowly turn his head. Bethany was there making something that smelled delicious at a small fire. She smiled when she noticed.

"I should yell at you, you know," she said as her smile faded. "But, I'm just so glad you're still here that I won't … for now." She handed him a waterskin after he slowly sat up. "You're going to ache all over for a while."

"Ungh ... no kidding. What happened?" he asked. That's when he saw that she looked pretty beat up herself. "Are you all right?"

"First, I'm fine. Solas and I used everything we had to keep you alive. Your owl didn't make it far enough, fast enough. The shield Solas put on the explosive muted the affect somewhat ... thank the ... Creators, I guess," she said with smile toward Solas ... which was quickly replaced with a frown. "And, he put a shield around me but couldn't do a second one. He fell in the water after he shifted out of his bird to do that. When you fell, he made sure you made it to shore."

"I guessed you would want to protect her over yourself," the elf … Solas? … said.

Alistair sent a sincere smile to him. "You guessed right. After all, she's the one who could save my ass. I'm not a healer."

Bethany just shook her head as Alistair asked, "How long have I been out?"

"A couple of days, but your head is still as hard as ever so the blast wave only buffeted your body around a bit. The Call should be here soon. I caught up with them and told them where we were." Bethany poured some stew into a bowl and handed it to Alistair. "Eat that slowly."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. It was delicious, of course. After one small bite, he asked Solas, "What happened at the meeting? I assume you flew back there to find out?"

Solas took a deep breath. "I did. Apparently, the Seeker executed the Promiser. He lay dead in the center of the room by the time I got back there. They were just re-starting after a break. A dwarf named Javaris gave testimony about Meredith's actions. The man who tried to talk to Velanna was in the middle of heated tirade with the Chantry women. He was quite eloquent and managed to quiet the few Grand Clerics who were screaming for tighter restrictions on all mages and the Grey Wardens."

"That was Devon," Alistair said after another small bite of food. "Heh, I don't imagine the screamers had a chance."

"They did not. Your Divine had the 'screamers' removed from their offices and escorted out of the meeting. It seems that the Chantry is on the way to tolerable co-existence with mages … in no small part due to your heroic actions … Champion." Solas said with a small smile. "The rest of your companions were gone. I assume they are on their way to find you." He stood up. "I was just going to see how that ship was ..."

"No need," Varric said as he walked up with Cullen and Leliana.

"Thank the Maker you're all right," Leliana said. "We need you to come back to Val Royeaux."

Isabela just stood there with her arms crossed. "She's been ranting that all the way from Val Royeaux … I almost threw her overboard. What do you want to do, love?"

Alistair put down his bowl and got up to give Isabela a long, fairly passionate kiss in front of everyone. "Thank you so much for asking. That's why I love you, you know," he whispered. He looked down for a few long minutes and then at Leliana. "I'm going back to Kirkwall to start up the Kirkwall Mage College, Leliana. It sounds like Devon's got a handle on the Chantry … Maker help them." He looked at Cullen. "Ready to go home and be my Knight-Commander, Cullen?"

He thought about it a moment too long because Leliana couldn't let it go. She interrupted any answer Cullen may have given. "But, you are the Champion! You are the one who saved the Grand Cathedral, Alistair! And, the Maker saved you from destruction so you could lead the Chantry's mage policy!"

"Actually, Bethany and Solas saved me," Alistair replied with a glare. "The Champion title is going to be hung on a remembrance wall somewhere in the Viscount's Keep. I'm looking forward to getting Kirkwall set up to help mages."

"And, I'm going to be his Knight-Commander, Leliana," Cullen said. "Divine Justinia doesn't need any Champion. She's going to do fine. This is already a different Chantry and the Maker will guide her and all of us to make it so."

"Once things are set up in a year or so, all the First Enchanters will convene with Most Holy and compare notes … but it must be done in that order, Leliana," Alistair said as he took Leliana's shoulders. "Mages need their input to come first."

Leliana frowned. Alistair could tell she really wanted to argue, but she just sighed. "I disagree, but obviously I cannot change your mind." Then, she turned and starting walking east. "I'll catch a ship in Val Chevin."

No one stopped her. Alistair said quietly, "No path is darker than when your eyes are shut."

"Heh, you're also getting better at saying, 'No,' Hawke," Varric said.

After a smile to Varric, Alistair turned to Solas. "It's going to an interesting year, Solas. Want to join us?"

"No," Solas said … emphatically ... but with a smile to Varric. "My path lies in a different direction … First Enchanter. However, I do not discount the possibility that I shall visit from time to time." He narrowed his eyes, "Change is coming. You've been instrumental in bending your Chantry to an almost acceptable path. We shall see how that goes."

"We?" Bethany asked.

All Solas did was smile and say, "Farewell, for now," before he shapeshifted into a yellow bird and flew away to the northeast.

"Damn, I wanted to know what bird that was," Alistair mumbled.

Isabela's tender awaited them on the shore and soon they were heading toward Kirkwall … and home. In all this time, Alistair learned that he could, indeed, jump into the abyss and fly … not as his eagle, but as the kind of leader the world needed. Not as a new Divine or a new Andraste, but as a man who worked behind the scenes with people. All people … those with the Maker's gift of magic and those without.

Fortunately, there were a lot of leaders like that around.

They picked up Fiona on the way and she had a wonderful reunion with Leandra as Fiona learned the Dalish magic Alistair had picked up, including shapeshifting.

~ EPILOGUE ~

Ultimately, Fiona became the voice of the mages ... the liaison between Divine Justinia and the Mage schools. Leandra and the Hawke family enjoyed Fiona's visits to Kirkwall as much as Alistair did.

Over the next few years, miracles started to happen as honest mages became trusted members of local communities. They had a tough job ahead, to be sure … but it was working in Ferelden. Kinloch School became a place where mage children were taught how to control their Maker-given talents ... not a place to be locked up for life. First Enchanter Anders even built some parent-inns so that the children would never lose touch with their families during those early years.

The re-trained local Chantry clerics slowly started to turn the faithful's zeal against magic to guarded acceptance. They had healer clinics in Lothering, Highever and Gwaren. Denerim's Chantry had a mage facility for healing and helping in Templar investigations. A Ferelden mage always went along to recruit new, young mages and help them adjust.

Devon was currently up at Weisshaupt and Varric went with him. Rumor was he was about to become First Warden, Maker help him. Loghain was stationed in Orlais somewhere ... still alive and kicking. Anora married Fergus Cousland. Fergus held his nose long enough to get Anora pregnant ... so, it was Cailan who ended the Theirin line because he was infertile.

Once Alistair's whereabouts were known, Eamon made one attempt to convince Alistair to produce a Theirin heir. He sent Teagan to do it. Bethany convinced Teagan that Alistair was also infertile due to an injury from Meredith's red lyrium sword. Alistair thought that Teagan realized it was a fabrication. After all, Teagan didn't seem all that keen on Eamon's idea anyway. He told Alistair that Eamon would likely believe it. And, he did. Alistair hadn't heard from them since.

Of course, some mages tried to use their gifts for their own personal advancement. People were people. However, Cassandra and Cullen's Templar friends in Val Royeaux worked together to combine the few remaining rational Seekers with the Templars. The Templars quit taking lyrium, but were still a force to be reckoned with versus renegade mages … a force that also utilized mages within their ranks. With trusted magic help, lyrium was no longer needed for Templars. These Templars served because they wanted to ... not because they were addicted to lyrium.

And, Alistair was happy. He set up a fine Mage College in Kirkwall, along the lines of Kinloch Hold. He and Isabela were still in love, but she had her ship and her inclinations. He had his duties and his responsibilities. She returned to Kirkwall as much as she could. It was a good relationship.

A leader arose in the north ... Solas. Instead of targeting the Chantry with his ire for the treatment of the elves in the Dales, Solas turned his anger to Tevinter. There were rumors of a red dragon helping Solas up there. Perhaps the "we" Bethany asked about was Solas and Flemeth? Solas hadn't visited Alistair once yet, but Varric discovered that there were elf spies everywhere. Alistair suspected that they reported to Solas.

Alistair kept his eye on what was happening in Tevinter, but decided that he would not interfere there. Many Tevinter mages showed up in Kirkwall, disgusted with the Archon, the Imperial Senate and the actions of the Magisters there.

...

But this day, Alistair stepped out on his balcony overlooking the courtyard of the Mage College with his cup of hot tea. The courtyard had been redone. Gone were the stone floor tiles, replaced by grass and trees. Gone was the iron gate and stern Templar guards. Guards still stood vigilant to keep out troublemakers, but not to keep mages prisoner.

Isabela had just shoved off on the Siren's Call after spending several wonderful days with him. So, he was in a pretty good mood. Bethany was down in the garden teaching a group of young mages about the importance of relaxation and nature. She was pretty relaxed after the recent visit by Prince Sebastian Vael. Alistair wondered if attitudes would change during their lifetimes for Bethany and Sebastian to ever be more than 'friends'.

Carver and Aveline were somewhere in Hightown looking for a venue for their upcoming wedding. Leandra was busy doing "Lady Amell" stuff ... and loving it. Gamlen and Charade were vacationing in Ostwick and should be home soon with lots of stories. Fenris went along as a bodyguard. Fenris and Charade were becoming close, much to Gamlen's dismay.

The last time she visited Kirkwall, Divine Justinia spent a good deal of time at the Mage College. Before she left, she told Alistair that the eddies of life tended to be circular. They were in a good cycle at that moment, but not to expect it to last forever.

Alistair hoped it would last a bit longer.

...

AN: Sometimes our hero manages to avoid the limelight ... and still does good things! :) Thanks for joining me on this journey into a timestream where Alistair was a mage.

What's a timestream? Catch What Have We Here to find out, the continuation starting next week. ;)

Judy, thanks for your continued nice words! There are many appreciations in a single word sometimes. :)