The Lady knelt at his side, saying:

"Arise, Aegis of the Faith. You are not forgotten.

Neither man nor Maker shall forget your bravery

So long as I remember."

Apotheosis 2: 14-18

Keeping his foul moods hidden was not one of Magister Cassius' talents, mainly because he cared so little about exercising it. This morning, however, he found himself in dire need to do so, and, strangely, also found himself somewhat missing Gladius, whom might have provided an outlet for the rage that was bubbling up inside him, as boiling oil. The temptation of throwing some heavy object at Altus Hadrian's head had been all but irrepressible, but Cassius had somehow found the strength to abstain. At least for now.

On the other hand, the fact that both his scribe and Maevaris Tilani's dubious little spy had been out of the house the previous eve had been fortuitous, for, after their departure, Magister Cassius had received a very unsettling and unannounced visit, just as he was preparing to climb into bed.

He did not know how the intruder had managed to avoid all his guards, or how long they had actually been inside his mansion, without his knowledge. Not that it much mattered – Cassius was still a Magister of the Tevinter Imperium, and very well equipped to defend himself against menial scoundrels. It was, however, a rare event that a man found Cassius enraged, and left him so utterly bewildered that he could not even muster an insult or two; not that he'd had the time to, for the man had spoken his piece and departed without allowing the Magister as much as a question.

He would have had many.

Yet, once he had been left alone in his bedchambers, with any notion of sleep banished from his mind, Cassius had slowly begun to realise that his questions might have been useless – proof of the maddening tale that the intruder had told him had been all around him, staring him in the face. Asking for more might have made him feel even stupider than he currently felt.

Of course the Old Gods were elves. Of course Radonis knew exactly what they were…Of course.

That knowledge made all the infuriating and baffling events of the past months clear as crystal – Veldrin Pavus' rise; Arlathan's independence; Radonis' blanket pardon of the returned slaves, after Flavius' execution…

No wonder, Cassius thought, that all of this had come to pass, if the Old Gods were naught but liars; no wonder Lord Corypheus and his companions had ascended to the Gods' thrones, but said they found them empty, and, in the end…no wonder that the accursed elves had chosen to punish the human world with the Blights, to cover their tracks.

He had not had time to find out who had wished him to know all truths, and it did not much matter; he had spent half the night chewing though his rage, and then, as the first colours of dawn had begun to shyly creep across the sky, he'd been consumed by thoughts of a far more tangible and immediate threat. He did not doubt the information he had received, nor did he doubt that the many friends that Lord Corypheus still had within the Magisterium would find it equally reliable.

The problem was that the information was, in itself, as clear of a death sentence upon any man as Cassius could imagine. Now that he knew the truth about the so-called Gods' natures, he was solidly convinced that the powers they claimed for themselves were lies too, yet…There was still the minor matter of the gigantic dragon bodies; they still possessed those, which meant that letting them know he had learned of their dirty secret was not an option.

Even worse, they had Radonis and the Lucerni clearly on their side – and the foolish elf-lovers were dangerous both individually, and as a group. Radonis himself had worked against the Venatori long before the idiots in the South knew which way their heads were screwed on; the man needed to be removed, though by what means…

Well, thinking of the means by which he could remove Radonis had been the only mildly pleasurable part of his early morning. The Archon had resolved the elven exodus disaster, and even come out of it stronger, for quite a few of the non-aligned Magisters were now leaning to his side. There was no guarantee that a direct vote in the Upper Senate would dislodge him from his throne – for whatever else he was, Cassius remained a somewhat rational man. He could not count on the neutrals, and the mere physical presence of the dragons assured that he would not be able to fully count on his own fraction either.

But then, Cassius had reconsidered, as he finally left his bedchambers for his study, and found summons to concilliarum on his desk, war seemed unavoidable, and people, maybe even dragons, died in wars. There was no reason why he would have to act immediately or show his hand; if the rumours he'd heard leaking out of the Archon's office were to be believed, this new incarnation of Andraste was not Andraste at all, but just another one of the infuriating elves. If so, there were good chances that the war would be prolonged, or at least balanced, and a war time leader was only popular if wars were won – and fast.

He would simply have to wait until Radonis and his allies were sufficiently weakened, and then…Then he would have to see. The one thing that was certain, however, was that he, Magister Cassius, would not allow the foolish Archon to deliver Tevinter's majesty to elven hands.

Or claws, whichever the case might be.

It was odd to see Radonis without either Pavus at his side, these days; they were both absent now, however, and some sense of normality was restored. Not enough for Cassius' liking, however, for the others were present, and still had the audacity to speak as if they owned the land.

For quite a few times during the discussion, the Magister felt himself tempted to actually speak his mind, and remind them that neither Archon nor concilliarum took orders from the likes of them – still, the fact that he had been seated in such a way that their false, immense bodies were in full view enticed some wisdom and respect. Or well, just enough healthy fear that Cassius kept his tongue in check. In the end, it was not for the worse, as, foolishly, as the two explained their plan, they unknowingly explained the path to their own unravelling…So sweet, it would be, too…

There was a stiff silence in the wake of Lusacan's speech, thus Cassius almost jolted when Maryam Tullius spoke up, interrupting his very pleasant daydream.

'Forgive me, Lord Watcher,' the woman said, 'but can you be sure that restoring our enemy is wise?'

'If he is under my control, yes,' the Augur responded, in her brother's stead.

Radonis tapped his fingers on his desk, looking deep in thought.

'Yet, my Lady,' he hesitantly said, 'though I understand you can control his body, would that not signify that it is your consciousness, not his occupying that form?'

'If I were planning to control his thoughts, that would indeed be the case,' Razikale nodded, exhaling a great white puff of her odd smelling pipe smoke.

'And would that not mean that his mind and knowledge would have to be erased as well?' the Archon insisted.

'Correct,' she once more nodded.

'So then,' Tullius dared, 'we would come not a step forward; excuse me, Lady Mystery, but you yourself have said he alone knows how to recreate these celestial prisons. If you take that knowledge from his mind, then, even with his powers partially restored…'

'It is not a mere question of knowledge, Magistra Tullius,' Lusacan intervened. 'It is also a question of ability. We can extract the method from his mind even now – the Lady Patience has taken away his power of hiding from us. The manifestation of our powers is so far removed from his, however, that it would take thousands of years for us to master them.'

'Yet somehow, Veldrin Pavus was able to use his powers as soon as they came into her literal grasp,' Cassius maliciously muttered. 'Is that not…strange?'

'Strange?' Lusacan queried, icily gazing at him. 'No. Impressive? I should say yes, Magister – it took the Defilers thousands of sacrifices and many hundred acolytes to breach the Veil, yet the Lady Patience did it with one touch. 'Twas truly a thing of wonder, and in silence you should contemplate it.'

Perhaps, a few days prior, the look on the Old God's face and the tone of his voice, might have given Cassius pause. Now, however, he smirked in visible disdain.

'What need have we for our foe, in this case?' he asked. 'If Magistra Pavus is so capable, why do we not send her to face this new elven menace?'

'Think you could keep your desire to see our sister dead a tad less obvious, worm?' Lusacan barked – this time, Cassius swallowed dry and cowered. Elf or no elf…

'It shall not be the Lady Patience to undertake such a feat; Andruil's coffin must be resealed by the one who created it.' The Watcher followed, menacingly. 'Patience will merely open the way for him, as she has before done; her place remains here, in this world, and truthfully, at this table. Make further nuisance of yourself, Magister Cassius, and a place shall be cleared for her, sooner than you'd like.'

'Having Solas behind the Veil and in possession of his powers is still a dangerous proposition,' Radonis said, calmly returning all to the subject on hand. 'He will then be beyond our reach, and I very much doubt the past year has endeared the human race to him. Once he is in the Fade, we cannot know whether he will seal himself alongside Andruil.'

Razikale shrugged.

'What Pride may do in the beyond is of no interest to us,' she said.

'It might be a bit of a touchy subject for humanity, however,' Magister Piso shyly put in.

'So stinted you all are…' the Augur said. ''Tis not only not understanding of magic's true might that causes your short sightedness, but also the frailty of your faith in us…Do you truly believe that we would arm him, if we thought there was the slightest chance that he would turn his weapons against us once more? Even if such was his intent, he'd not get time to realise it.'

'Why?' Tullius asked, frowning a little. 'I do not wish to cause offence, but…'

Lusacan shook his head in dismay, then nodded to his sister – from nothingness, she summoned a small crystal the sight of which caused all humans, including Radonis, to abruptly stand and hastily draw themselves to a corner of the room, in utter fright. Razikale herself giggled pleasantly.

'I take it, then,' she said, 'you all know at least what this is…Even those among you who would go to their graves swearing that they do not…ah, mortals…'

'One could almost forget that for as irritating as they are, they are amusing,' Lusacan agreed.

'My…my Lady,' Radonis stuttered, 'Red lyrium is…'

'Lethal to you, yes,' she agreeably replied, between two puffs of her pipe. 'And equally lethal to Pride, in his current state. Well,' Razikale laughed, 'you did not think that Pride would aid us for the love of your eyes, Magister Cassius?'

'Perhaps not mine,' Cassius grumbled, finding a bit of courage, though he was factually cowering behind Maryam Tullius, 'but for Magistra Pavus' eyes…'

'We'll maybe let him catch a glimpse of those,' Lusacan smirked, 'but it shall be brief. If you further bore us, however, we could also let him catch a glimpse of yours, once they are removed from your skull. No.' he decisively spoke, turning away from the group of frightened humans. 'Solas and Andruil deserve each other, and he will aid us because the Lady Mystery will leave him little choice in the matter.'

'So the Gods speak. So it shall be. Consider yourselves informed of our wishes, and take your leave,' Razikale said, still carelessly playing with the deadly crystal that floated above her palm. 'Your presence is no longer required.'

Though many poisonous thoughts were brewing in his mind, Cassius followed all the others out. Infuriated as he might have been at the elves' daring, he soothed himself by once more slipping into his daydream of their destruction; if the accursed, irreverent things planned to thin their own numbers from within, it was even better. In the meanwhile, he thought, they'd carelessly handed him the means by which he'd rise above them, and Radonis, in one fell swoop for, Cassius reckoned, snickering to himself, despite all of their prattle, the fact that Veldrin Pavus had managed to get control over the powers of a focus orb at just one touch simply meant that others could do it as well.

Others like himself, for example.

'He knows,' Razikale said, once the door had closed behind the last members of concilliarum.

'Knows what?' Radonis frowned.

'Of who we are. Our new enemy has found a way to get this knowledge to him,' Lusacan replied, with an indifferent shrug; despite the fact that the Archon's frown deepened, the Dragon God smiled. 'He also knows that you know, and plans for your undoing.'

'Well,' Radonis muttered, 'I'm planning for his undoing, thus at least the feeling is reciprocated…'

The Archon tiredly sat behind his desk, still warily glancing at the red lyrium crystal. 'I would remove him from concilliarum,' he softly said, 'but I like him better where I can keep an eye on him. I am sorry he offends…'

The Goddess waved her pipe, and closed the fingers of her right hand, oddly making it look as if the crystal had melted into her flesh. 'He serves,' she said, blowing smoke up towards the ceiling. 'For better or worse,' she added.

Radonis bitterly nodded, yet the expression on the Augur's features turned kind; almost motherly, the heir to Darinius thought.

'You may ask, if you so wish, carrier of the Ferryman's ring,' she said. 'You shan't offend, in turn.'

'Very well, then.' The Archon replied. 'Will I best him, or will he best me?'

'You'll reign for many years to come, and die in your own bed, surrounded by your loved ones,' Razikale answered, simply. 'Your friend will be avenged.'

The human bitterly nodded, assuming he would get no more out of the two, and deeply wishing that he could understand from where the Augur's certainty stemmed.

Lusacan laughed.

'She can explain it, if you so wish, Clodius Radonis. Of our great secret, you have been advised. This – the workings of our sister's powers – is menial by comparison.'

Radonis did not even have the time to nod; Razikale vanished from the settee, and suddenly appeared on his desk, legs crossed and fine pipe clenched between her teeth. To his even greater surprise, she did not push the crystal casing of the Blade of Mercy off the table, she merely shifted it aside, with grace and gentleness in her touch.

'You know, of course, how a circus fortune teller knows the future, yes?' she asked, benevolently looking down at him.

'She guesses,' Radonis dared.

'To an extent,' Razikale nodded. 'But if one walks inside her tent, and stays before her crystal globe, her guess is not uninformed. Throughout the fairground she has eyes and ears, she will have seen what you have eaten, whom you have spoken to and how – from there, and with good knowledge of a mortal's mind and heart, she can deduce how long you may live, whether your bonded mate will remain yours, whether your children will be make good heirs. And she will know what you would like to hear.'

'Now, take that knowledge and apply it to us,' she followed. 'I am not guessing; my brother sees all action; I see all thought. Not the truncated versions of either, which men put on display, but their true nature. I know, for instance, how Cassius thinks he will undo both you and us, and what precise steps will lead to his own undoing – causality unwinds before us both, with not a chance that a change of mind or a change of behaviour will alter it.'

'It's still a bit more of an art than a science,' Radonis weakly said. 'If Cassius starts digging our graves now, with who knows how many foreign armies at the gates…'

'Let him do so,' Lusacan said, shaking his head. 'This is why we have warned you as we have, Heir to Darinius – he will slowly begin to mount his allies against you, in the hopes that the Imperium will suffer so much in the upcoming war that your personal power will be diminished.'

'You will start seeing signs of this soon,' Razikale continued. 'Do not react to them as if you did not have our power on your side. Allow his games, with full faith that you will emerge the victor.'

Radonis allowed himself a hint of an ironic smile. 'Isn't this a bit of…pushing causality along, Lady Mystery?'

The Goddess chuckled sincerely in return.

'It is,' she honestly admitted, 'but this should give you further proof that my powers are truly more science than art; this man has given you good reason for disappointment, in the past. You had great hopes for him once, but he has dashed them one by one, until from friend and protégée he turned to foe…You've taken it in stride, so far, for, despite hoping otherwise, you understand and accept rulers cannot truly have friends.'

'In this, Cassius relegated himself to one of many, yes,' the Archon expressionlessly said.

'With the death of your Elvhen scribe, however, he has made himself unique, again,' Lusacan coldly responded. 'None can stop their emotions from getting the better of them from time to time, and we are telling you that doing so now would be a grave mistake – it is within your power to bury him at present, and without us telling you not to, you would do it.'

'I do not merely wish to bury him, Lord Watcher.' Radonis simply said. 'I want to watch him burn, as he forced me to watch my friend burn.'

The two Old Gods exchanged a glance and Razikale sorrowfully shook her head.

'Burn he will, Heir to Darinius, after his strand in the weave of the future comes to an end.' she kindly uttered. 'We still have need of him, and though you do not know it, you do too – fate has seen to it that he has built a pyre for himself already, in his mind. Soon, he will fling himself upon it. But you won't get to watch it. I am sorry,' she ended, with a small incline of her head.

Radonis sighed.

'Oh well,' he surrendered. 'As long as it is sufficiently horrible and public… Forgive me, my mind strayed… He is still holding a lit match to a very short fuse, that I had hoped was gone. The more the knowledge of what you are spreads…'

He furrowed his brow in thought.

'The less control over the Magisterium I will have.'

Lusacan nodded. 'And so?'

'And so, I would feel much more at ease not going to war with two thirds of Magisterium against me,' the Archon replied, now frowning in earnest.

'And what do you think they will do, Heir to Darinius?' Razikale scoffed. 'Unseat you while we idly stand by? Rise up against us with staves the size of toothpicks? Proclaim us false? Bow to the Chantry and free their slaves? They will do no such things - they are too feeble with the greed for gold and power passing for marrow in their bones; after we crush our foes, meek and humble as lambs they will become, regardless of what we are. The Imperium cannot thrive without its Gods.'

'After we crush our foes,' Radonis tiredly said. 'If Cassius is insane enough to turn the Legion against you, in the midst of combat…Forgive me, I know you are Eternal, but we all know you are not indestructible; the Magisters Sidereal harmed you, and if you become blighted, you can be killed, as your brothers and sisters were, throughout the ages…'

Razikale exchanged a long glance with her brother, and they both shrugged.

'It is a useful warning, Heir to Darinius.' Lusacan thoughtfully said.

'You did not think of this before?' the Archon frowned.

'No,' Razikale replied, shaking her head, 'because he is not thinking that. Ambition and ignorance blind him, and he believes that he alone can defeat both us and you.'

'Though it is a very good point he is raising, Mystery. Once we are done with Andruil, we should erase all remnants of the Defilers' folly, and end the danger of corruption once and for all.' Lusacan thoughtfully uttered. 'Yet, this is not for now…Andruil takes precedence, and our path unwinds unblemished…'

'Give Cassius your orb,' Mystery said, kindly. 'Doubt not the strings of fate we've pulled.'

Radonis incredulously shook his head. 'That Somnaborium contains the powers of three Gods,' he whispered, feeling frightened enough by the prospect that he did not care whether his wording was offensive or not. 'If he…'

'Have faith in us,' Lusacan replied, gravely. 'By ambition and ignorance he is blinded; so much power within his reach will blind him further. By chance or fate, you hold this strand in the weave of our design – you do not see its purpose, because it's not for you too see. Faith will suffice.'

Radonis closed his eyes, and breathed out a deep sigh.

'Faith will suffice,' he whispered. 'Manaveris Dracona, I wish you'd make it easier.'

'That'd be no fun,' Razikale laughed, her puff of white smoke enveloping them all.

Hey there! we're back again, and setting up for the final sex scene...erm, we mean, confrontation! Yes, that's what we mean! Thank you for your good words, past and future,

And it looks like Solas will be making an unexpected comeback. The question is, will he be a little less grumpy? Why do we think he won't be, sigh... Maybe he's just a militant non-smoker?

Thank you for reading and commenting,

Cheers, Abstract & IvI :)