Chapter 2 The Herald of Andraste
"Run!"
Kira spun her head nightmarish figures chasing her up the steep hill catched up quickly, too quickly.
She already felt their sharp claws snapping and clawing at the back of her heels. She knew she couldn't outrun them, but still she tried.
The sound of her own heartbeat thrashing inside her ears drowned out every other noise.
Her laboured breathing quickened when she stumbled, almost losing her balance in her haste to reach the top of the hill, to reach the brightly glowing figure waiting for her. She was almost there. Almost.
The figure held out a hand and Kira flung herself forward to grab it.
"Warn them!"
She felt herself being pushed into a bright green light.
And then she was falling, endlessly falling, through a world of nightmares and screams and wicked laughter.
Kira woke up suddenly, gasping for air. She was trembling violently, fighting against the nightmare that kept holding on to her in with a relentless grip.
She still heard the screaming inside her head, the terrible high pitched noises of pure terror, and her hands flew up to cover her ears in a futile attempt to drown them out.
She was awake wasn't she? Why didn't it stop? She didn't want to see it, she didn't want to witness the suffering, she didn't want to relive that night.
Her fingernails dug into her skin, clawing at her scalp as if trying to tear out the images, the memory.
Make it stop! Please make it stop!
She begged and slowly, very slowly, the screaming began to fade and her vision cleared.
She was sitting bolt upright in a large bed inside a small wooden cottage. Relaxing her grip on her hair, she glanced down at her trembling hands.
The greenish Mark on her left hand had lost most of its intensity, but she still felt the strange magic that corsed through her veins. Throwing her magic of balance.
She looked around still shaking. The room she found herself in was bathed in warm sunlight filtering through a small window beside the bed. The walls were lined with bookshelves, a cupboard and chest.
Right beside the bed stood a sturdy looking chair with neatly folded clothes and a warm looking leather mantle draped across its back. At the opposite side of the room was a small table with a large wooden bowl atop and towel folded beside it.
She stood up, crossing the room to the bowl to find it filled with clear water, the surface so smooth that it formed a mirror in which she could see her own reflection.
Still breathing rapidly she hesitated a moment before she met her own deep blue eyes.
The terror and pain of what she had to witness in her dreams was clearly visible in their depths.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on her magic, it was harder than before, probably because of that damn mark on her hand. After a moment though, her magic stirred and wrapped around her like a soothing blanket. Her breathing slowed down and her racing heart stopped pounding painfully against her ribcage.
When she opened her eyes again the deep azure color had transferred into a much lighter one, an arctic blue that effectively concealed what she did not want others to see, her real self.
She didn't really know how she did it but she had learned this, simple trick, a very long time ago, when she'd been forced to hide her thoughts and feelings, and moreover, her magic from the Templars.
She took the hairbrush that lay beside the bowl and began to comp through her dark red curls, the simple tasked meant to distract her thoughts even further.
When she was done with her hair she reached for the small cloth that hung over the edge of the bowl and started to clean herself up. With every stroke of the wet cloth against her clammy skin she washed away the memories, the dreams and all thoughts of her past until she finally felt in control of herself again.
Kira was in the middle of toweling herself dry when she heard a cluttering noise and the shattering of glass behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around to find a young elven woman in simple brown servants clothing and short cropped tawny hair, standing rigid in the middle of the small room.
"I didn't know you were awake, I swear." the elven girl squeaked, her already huge eyes went even wider when her gaze roamed over Kira's half naked body, lingering on the several long scars that wound up like snakes from her belly to her hips and waist in almost artfully curved lines.
Kira quickly covered them up with the towel and blinked in surprise when the girl dropped to her knees, mumbling apologies and begging her for forgiveness and even more surprising, for her blessing.
Why in all Thedas would a servant want her blessing? What for? She wasn't part of the Chantry, nor did she want to be. For all she cared they could rot in the fade with all their teachings and blessings and restrictions. She decided that she must have misheard the last part.
"Where am I?" she asked the still kneeling girl.
"You are back in Haven, my Lady. They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing. Just like the Mark on your hand."
She glanced down at the mark as the memories of what had happened came rushing back. The Pride Demon. The fighting. The sickening green light of the looming rift. The handsome Templar and his outstretched hand while golden eyes regarded her. The rage that had filled her, enveloped her. The magic running through her, clashing against the rift. The sense of falling. The feeling of rough but gentle fingers on her skin and strong arms lifting her up before she'd drifted off into blissful nothingness.
"It's all anyone has talked about for the last three days" the elf continued.
Three days?
Her eyes focused again on the kneeling elf on the floor.
"You say it's over? That we are safe?" she asked slowly growing irritated by the elves behaviour.
"The Breach is still in the sky, but that's what they say." replied the elf dutifully, her eyes never leaving the floor. Oh this was ridiculous!
"Stand up silly girl! Why are you kneeling before me?" she snapped.
The girl jumped to her feet as if struck by lightning and bolted toward the door.
"I'm sorry." Kira apologized quickly, before the girl reached the door. She had so many questions. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'm certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you're awake. She said: At once." the girl almost squeaked, her hand already on the doorknob.
"And where can I find her?" Kira asked politely. She didn't want to frighten the silly little thing any more than she'd obviously already had.
"In the Chantry with The Lord Chancellor." replied the elf. "At once, she said."
The elf flung the door open, letting in a cold breeze of mountain air that made Kira shiver, and fled.
Kira shook her head and went over to the chair beside the bed. The neatly folded clothes weren't her own, but then, neither were the travelling clothes she'd worn on the road to the conclave.
She shrugged and got dressed in the very well made dark brown breeches made of buckskin. She had to hop like a bunny around the room several times to get into the tight fitting leather, yet they still felt very comfortable once she got them over her well formed behind. Whoever had chosen them had made a very good guess about her size, so she wasn't surprised when the blue colored wool shirt fitted her equally as well.
The tailored dark brown mantle however, looked a little strange on her. Its unusual cut, short in front but almost reaching her knees on the back, definitely needed some improvement.
She rummaged around until she found a long strap of blue silken cloth that she wrapped tightly around her waist and hips, binding the ends together above her left hipbone and letting the rest cascade like a waterfall down to her tigh.
At last she slipped into the soft leather boots, she'd found near the door, fastening the metal straps on either side almost up to her knees.
A small smile crossed her face when she ran her hands over the new outfit. She'd never worn something so nice, something that wasn't a Circle robe. It gave her a feeling of freedom she'd never had before. Maybe there was a chance, now that she'd closed the rift, that these people would let her go? Could she even dare to hope such a thing?
She sighed deeply on her way to the door. If she wanted to find out she had to talk to Cassandra first or… The girl had said the Seeker was at the Chantry with the Lord Chancellor. What if they planned to hand her over to the Chantry, now that the threat was over?
Her fingers froze on the doorknob at the last thought. Maybe she shouldn't go there. Maybe she should run. Maybe they've placed guards on the other side of the door. They wouldn't allow a Mage to run around unchecked would they?
She placed a hand on the door, feeling the rough wooden texture against her soft fingertips. She couldn't feel nor hear the discorded song of lyrium that usually accompanied the Templars. So at least they hadn't send one of them to guard her. That was a relieve.
She opened the door slowly to peak through a small slit between it and the frame. There was no one there to guard the door, at least not in plain sight. Still she hesitated before stepping cautiously outside into the cool mountain air and the warm sunlight.
There were no guards in front of the cottage for sure, but nothing in Thedas could have prepared her for this sight.
Her gaze swept over the crowd that had gathered in front of the little cottage and further lining up the street that lead to the Chantry. Even if she wanted to run, this made it impossible.
Whispers rose from the people regarding her and an uneasy feeling spread over her. Why were they looking at her? What were they doing in front of the cottage?
"That's her!" she heard someone call near the frontline and almost flinched.
"Maker be praised!" another added.
"It's the Herald of Andraste." a woman standing near the porch whispered in something that sounded very much like awe.
The Herald of WHAT?!
Someone better had a very good explanation for this insanity!