The Coming Storm

By R2s Muse

Chapter Summary: When Cassandra's mission comes to an end, a new one begins. Spoilery DA:I speculation.


Inquisition

Cassandra dashed the sleep from her eyes before walking out into the square to face her troops. The sky over Kirkwall had visibly lightened, a pointed reminder that it had taken her the entire night to get a straight story out of the dwarf. Snatches of early morning mist chased around her feet. At least it had finally stopped raining.

Her troops were in formation before the Champion's house, ready to make their way back to the docks and away from this cesspool of a city. She wasn't looking forward to reporting back to Leliana about the failure of her mission. They would just have to find another way to stop the coming war. A soft footfall caught her attention, and she braced herself. Here it comes.

She squared her shoulders and turned toward the red-headed bard, who glided toward her with a rolling stride, dressed misleadingly in the guise of a Seeker. "So, did you . . .?" Leliana asked.

"Gone," Cassandra announced. "Just like the Warden." The stories and legends she'd chased about the two heroes had ultimately led to nothing. Varric's story was the closest she had come to the truth, which was to say, not very close.

With a sweep of her hand she gave her lieutenant the signal to move out. He nodded and limped forward to relay her command, favoring the leg Varric had injured. As one, the Seekers complied, beginning their long march down to the harbor.

Leliana stepped closer as the square emptied. "That is no coincidence," she said mysteriously, suggesting yet again that she knew more about the heroes' disappearances than she had shared. Cassandra swallowed her bitterness that her friend no longer played her cards openly, even with those close to her.

Or maybe they were no longer close. Those days seemed so long ago now.

She set her jaw in frustration. "So, do we proceed with the original plan? Or keep looking?" Running across the dwarf Varric had been an unexpected windfall. But it had also been Cassandra's last chance. With no new leads, they would return to Val Royeaux for new guidance from the Divine.

"It is in the Maker's hands now. We put our faith in Him."

Tensing at the unspoken admonishment in Leliana's words, Cassandra handed over the Divine's book. With her role in the investigation come to a disappointing close, Cassandra wearily followed after her troops toward the waiting ships that would take them back to Orlais.

ooXXoo

The sun was well up by the time their ship set sail, but the early-morning light barely penetrated the murky surface of the water. A stiff breeze ruffled the thin mist and whipped up the surface of Kirkwall's unnaturally round harbor into white peaks. The crash of waves grew louder as their ship neared the grim templar stronghold that stood sentinel at the harbor's center. Cassandra had instructed the captain to give the Gallows a wide berth, preferring to avoid any entanglements with the newly independent templars. Ahead of them, the ship carrying Cassandra's men already had reached the narrow channel in Kirkwall's namesake black cliffs that let out onto the Waking Sea.

"You should stop brooding."

Cassandra looked up at Leliana's approach and straightened from her slouch against the deck railing. "I am not brooding," she said unconvincingly.

Leliana joined her at the rail and feigned interest in the flit of seagulls above the waves. "I know you, Cassandra. It eats at you to think you failed. But it simply was not the Maker's will that we find these heroes today. He must have other plans for us. As I'm sure does Justinia. Do not worry so."

Cassandra shook her head. "I still cannot accept that we were so misinformed about Hawke." The dwarf's tale had been a surprise. She had expected subterfuge in order to protect the Champion. Instead he had seemed to appreciate the chance to tell the woman's story. Perhaps any natural storyteller would do the same. "I did not expect to uncover a . . . a hero of circumstance."

"Ah, but aren't all real heroes merely victims of circumstance? Few who seek out glory are truly heroic."

"True," Cassandra replied grudgingly. "It just surprises me that so little is known of what really happened here in Kirkwall. We knew of the discovery of red lyrium, but that it played such a role in Meredith's demise. The Chantry, even the Templar Order, does not know how one of its own . . . commanders . . . died . . ." She trailed off at the realization, her eyes flying to the bleak fortress looming in the mist off the starboard bow.

"Take us to the Gallows," she suddenly snapped at the helmsman who jumped to comply.

"What are you doing?" Leliana asked.

"Continuing my investigation," Cassandra said in a hard voice.

Leliana frowned briefly. "You know . . . with tensions as they are between Justinia and the templars, we may no longer be welcome there." She didn't have to add the fact that the majority of their soldiers were on a separate ship that was already lost from view.

"No templar would dare interfere with a Seeker investigation," Cassandra asserted.

"You put great faith in a broken chain of command."

"Some training is so deeply ingrained nothing can break it. Such is the fear of the Seekers of Truth."

As soon as they docked, Cassandra wielded this fear like a weapon, bullying her way past the overwhelmed templar guard until soon she and Leliana were being personally escorted by a trio of decidedly unnerved templars to the Knight-Commander's office.

One templar knocked on a heavy oaken door, eyeing the women sidelong as if to keep them in sight. "Commander?"

"Come," called a stern voice from the other side of the door. The templars opened the door to reveal a small, orderly office dominated by a long desk covered in piles of documents. A head of unruly blond curls was all Cassandra could see of the man behind the desk, who had not bothered to look up from the document he read.

The lead templar stopped in front of the desk and cleared his throat nervously. "Knight-Commander Cullen, the Seekers of Truth, ser. They, erm, demanded to speak with you."

Finally, the commander looked at them with keen but unconcerned amber eyes. If he was surprised, he did a good job of hiding it. He sat up straighter in his chair but remained impassive. "Thank you. You're dismissed." He waved a hand at the templar escort, who saluted and gratefully escaped.

Once the door had shut, Cassandra took a brisk step forward. "I am Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of—"

"I know who you are," he said, rudely interrupting her, "although clearly my men do not. I've heard rumors about you operating inside my city, without my leave. As I'm sure you must know, those who answer to the Chantry are no longer our friends." His gaze lingered on Leliana, presumably recognizing her as well.

"I did not come here to talk about your allegiances, Knight-Commander," Cassandra said, instilling her voice with as much cold disdain as she could muster. "I am here for the truth."

The skin around Cullen's eyes suddenly tightened perceptibly and a muscle jumped in his jaw. His first honest reaction since they'd entered the room. His eyes bored into hers.

Good. She had his full attention now.

"Truth about what exactly?" he asked in far too neutral of a tone.

"The truth about Meredith. The truth about how she really died, and how no one seems to know this truth, even when Kirkwall's new Knight-Commander witnessed it firsthand."

His eyebrows quirked up slightly and his shoulders seemed to relax, although his expression was still guarded. Ready to tell more lies, no doubt. "What do you mean no one knows? I'm sure you've read the accounts. She died in the line of duty during the mage uprising."

Cassandra gritted her teeth. "That's not all there is to her death, though. Isn't that right? We've already spoken to the dwarf, so there is no need to lie any further."

He leaned his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them. "And which dwarf would that be then?"

Which dwarf? Was he making a joke? She hadn't heard that Knight-Commander Cullen actually had any humor to speak of. She stared at him in disbelief.

"The dwarf who was the Champion of Kirkwall's best friend?" he offered. "That dwarf's merchant brother? One of the coterie dwarves who regularly crossed Marian Hawke and her family?"

She ground her teeth together. "Varric Tethras! He told us everything. The question is, why didn't you? You were undoubtedly questioned after the incident. I read the inquest report from the insubordination charges you faced."

"I was cleared of all charges," he said evenly.

"Apparently based on faulty information! Why was there no mention of the red lyrium?" She hadn't realized she was yelling so loudly until the room fell suddenly, exceptionally quiet.

Cullen studied her face for a moment and darted a look at Leliana, who hadn't said anything yet. "There was no need," he said finally.

"No need to tell the truth? You'll forgive me if I find that a poor excuse!" Cassandra scoffed.

He sighed and looked down at his hands. "No need to further sully Meredith's name by spreading word of her madness. It seemed a minor posthumous kindness to let history think she merely died in battle against the mages, instead of raving from the prison of her poisoned mind."

He looked up at her again and shrugged one shoulder. "Besides, who would believe it anyway? Flying abominations? Walking statues? The fact of the matter is that Meredith's ongoing abuse of the mages, coupled with her hardline response to the destruction of the Chantry, is what triggered the conflict at the Gallows that day. No one disputes that. The particulars are unimportant."

"But they are important! It was Meredith's use of red lyrium that ultimately pushed her to challenge the Champion. Pushed you to remove her from command. And, yet, the world thinks it was the Champion who engineered it all!"

Cullen shifted in his chair. "When Hawke disappeared, it was easier—and safer—to let people jump to their own conclusions."

Cassandra snorted, unexpectedly outraged on the Champion's behalf. "Easier for whom? She was your friend!"

His eyes flashed as his careful veneer of calm started to slip. "She accepted the burden. We all did," he snapped.

"Likely story. What else aren't you telling me?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

He didn't offer any other information and instead coolly returned her hard stare. The silence lengthened until suddenly he shot a glance over at Leliana again, almost guiltily.

Leaning against the wall with her arms crossing her chest, Leliana had watched the interview with a detached calm, evincing no surprise or concern about Cullen's role in covering up the red lyrium use.

Slowly Cassandra turned to face her friend, wounded realization dawning. She repeated, so softly it was just a whisper, "What else aren't you telling me?"

Leliana gave her a wan smile, not even having the grace to look embarrassed. "Clever Cassandra. You are right, you know. Not letting the world know the dangers of red lyrium was a grave mistake. One that I fear will cost us all dearly." Eyes locked with Leliana, Cassandra still could see Cullen wince out of the corner of her eye. "But we must now look forward, instead of back," Leliana finished.

Cassandra ran a frustrated hand over her face and then jabbed a finger at the bard. "So you knew? You knew what happened to Meredith? You let me waste my time, running through half of Thedas to discover things that you already knew?"

"We did not know where to find Hawke," Leliana asserted. "That was our priority."

"But you knew about the red lyrium and what it can do."

"We did." Leliana paused. "We do."

"From him?" Cassandra demanded, jerking her thumb at Cullen. "What's his role in all of this? Why not just send him after Hawke?"

Leliana clasped her hands together and smiled beatifically. "Cullen has his own path to follow."

Cassandra snorted. "And is that also a path of Justinia's making?"

Cullen shot to his feet. "How dare you accuse me of treason to the Order! I'll have you know that I am—"

"It's all right, Cullen." Leliana raised a pacifying hand, glancing at the shut door. "Cassandra meant nothing by it." The bard then leveled a hard look at Cassandra, adding softly, "We all have our roles to play in the coming storm."

"So it would seem," Cassandra said, turning to regard Cullen in a new light. Apparently she had guessed correctly: Cullen was enmeshed in Leliana's web as well. And therefore, Justinia's. He glared at her, his jaw set in stubborn lines. What a pair they made, both betraying duty for faith.

Madness.

"So, what is this threat you perceive from red lyrium?" Cassandra asked wearily.

Leliana moved closer and lowered her voice. "The Templar Order has sent expeditions into the Deep Roads to find and refine their own source of lyrium after the split from the Chantry. Unfortunately, it seems that they also found a raw vein of red lyrium," she said, glancing at Cullen.

"It's true," he said grimly. "Some templars have begun using it for their lyrium needs, which has already had some unexpected consequences, including strife within the Order. The templars have splintered into squabbling factions, and it is thought that the so-called Red Templars will soon strike out on their own."

"What sorts of unexpected consequences?" Cassandra asked.

"It seems the reaction to red lyrium is as varied as the persons exposed. At first, it appeared merely to enhance templar abilities, but there have been more troubling manifestations. Aggression. Erratic behavior. The Lord Seeker wants to put a stop to it, but the Red Templar faction refuses."

"Once the box is opened, it can be difficult to close again," Leliana murmured.

"What will Justinia do?" Cassandra demanded, glancing between the bard and the templar.

"She has plans," Leliana responded evasively, "but we need to report back to Val Royeaux as soon as we can." She turned to Cullen. "An unexpected pleasure, Knight-Commander. We will let you get back to the many demands of your position. Let us know if—"

She paused at the sound of running feet pounding down the hall. Someone slid to a halt and started banging loudly on Cullen's door. A voice gasped, "C-commander! Please! There's . . . dire news!"

He yanked the door open to see a young woman wearing the robes of a junior mage panting heavily, her face ashen behind the spray of freckles across her nose. "S-ser, there's terrible news," she repeated, holding a hand to her side where she must have developed a cramp from the unexpected sprint from the mage tower.

He waved her in quickly and shut the door behind her. "What has happened?"

"It's . . . the sending stone, ser. From Val Royeaux. There's been some kind of . . . attack. An explosion from the sky. The city's burning, ser, overrun by demons."

"And the Grand Cathedral?" Leliana asked in an urgent voice, drawing near the girl to get her attention.

The mage's eyes widened even further. "It's . . . it's gone. The whole thing. Destroyed, just like the Kirkwall Chantry. The Divine is dead!" she wailed.

"Sweet blood of Andraste!" Cullen swore.

"The Divine . . . ?" Cassandra began, unsure that she'd heard the girl correctly. But the effect on Leliana was immediate. All the blood had drained from her face and she started backing away slowly, holding her hands to her mouth, which was open in silent horror. Cassandra followed her across the room, uncertain what to do, while Cullen continued to question the mage.

Cassandra had never seen her friend so shaken. Leliana's face was dangerously pale behind her trembling hands, and her unseeing blue eyes had darkened in shock. Cassandra knew Leliana had a shared past with the woman who had become Divine Justinia V, but only now did she see the depth and personal cost of that connection, whatever it had been. It was cold comfort that it took something like this to finally strip away all layers of artifice and deception from Leliana's years playing the Game.

"Leliana," she said softly, but the bard did not respond. "Leliana!" she said more sharply, and finally Leliana's too dark eyes focused on her. But now that she had her attention, all Cassandra could think to say was, "I'm sorry."

From behind her, Cullen's voice suddenly become louder, more strident. "And you're certain that's what the message said?" He had taken the girl's shoulders in his hands, his face close to hers. "A rift in the Veil? The Veil, itself?"

"Y-yes! That's what it said," the girl said, almost in tears. "Maker save us! Are we being punished?"

Cassandra stepped in, firmly disentangling the girl from Cullen's grip. "Of course not, child. Now, what is this about the Veil?"

Cullen shoved a wrinkled note at her, which she carefully straightened to reveal the transcription of the message received by the sending stone. She quickly scanned it and then read it over again more closely. It was a terse call for assistance from the templars at the White Spire. It claimed that the sky over the Grand Cathedral had exploded, flattening the entire Chantry complex and releasing a horde of demons into the streets. Given the early hour, the Divine was presumed dead, along with many of the senior clergy. Cassandra read it again a third time, the last lines filling her with dread.

We know not the source of the attack, only that it appears the Veil is breached. Demons pour from the resulting rift. We mount a defense, but call for assistance in this dark hour. Maker watch over us.

She looked up at Cullen who had closed his eyes, his lips moving faintly. Cassandra thought she caught one word. Andraste. She turned instead to the mage. "Was there any more to the message?" she demanded.

"No, this was all," the girl replied unsteadily. "The Senior Enchanter sent me as soon as it arrived."

"If this is all true, then we will need more information," Cassandra said with a calm she wasn't feeling. "Please return to the sending stone. Let us know of any further communications. For the commander's ears only."

"Yesser," she mumbled, wiping an eye and taking a deep breath before leaving the room.

"Demons from the bloody Fade itself!" Cullen said, his face grim. "There's no telling how many they face. I fear they won't last long."

Cassandra tapped a finger against her bottom lip. "Most of the Empress's army is engaged in the civil war to the south."

"And the bulk of the templar host is still to the north after routing the mages at Andoral's Reach." Cullen ran a hand through his hair. "I can send some troops but it won't be enough."

"No, it won't," came a voice from behind them.

They turned at Leliana's first words since hearing the news about Justinia. She was still pale but her eyes were no longer hollow with despair. "The time has come for something more . . . drastic."

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked.

"What I say is for your ears alone," Leliana said ominously.

Cassandra nodded once in understanding and walked over to the door. She splayed her hand against it, murmuring a prayer and pulling from the reservoir of energy deep within her to encase the room in silence. A ripple appeared in the air around her hand, spreading out spherically to enclose the door and most of the room. When it was done, all background noise disappeared and even her breathing sounded muted. "We have three, maybe four, minutes. Speak in earnest."

"Justinia was convinced that some dark force is at work in Thedas," Leliana said. "The civil unrest in Orlais with both the Duke and the elves, the fall of the Circles, the split of the templars and Seekers from the Chantry, the infighting within the Templar Order. None of it is random. This latest incident merely supports her theory. Something is working to tear Thedas apart and has ensured that no one is in a position to oppose them."

"Someone? Or something?" Cassandra asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We . . ." Leliana broke off and took a deep breath before continuing. "I do not know. What I do know is that Justinia was intending to act pre-emptively. She was going to bring back the Inquisition."

"But the Inquisition still exists!" Cullen objected. "The Seekers and the Templar Order are its scions, born from the remnants of the Inquisition a millennia ago."

"Cullen, in its day, the Inquisition was far more than just the martial arm of the Chantry. It was justice. The only justice some mages and common folk ever saw in those dark times. Justinia wanted to bring that back. To investigate these coincidences. To seek out the patterns we cannot yet see. To work at the margins where alliances crumble."

"So this is how we are supposed to put our faith in the Maker? Entrust our futures to some ancient Chantry tribunal?" Cassandra asked, unable to hide the skepticism in her voice.

Leliana flinched. "This will not be a creature of the Chantry. It can't be. With Justinia . . . gone," she paused, clearing her throat noisily as her voice thickened with emotion, "the Chantry clerics will move quickly to try to mend the split with the templars. Like vipers, they've been waiting for their chance to neutralize her and reclaim what they see as their rightful place in the war on the mages. No, it is imperative that this new Inquisition be completely independent. As it always was."

Cullen's face was lined in disapproval. "What you propose," he said, speaking very slowly and clearly, "would set this Inquisition in potential opposition to the Templar Order and the Seekers of Truth."

"Yes and no," Leliana replied. "We may yet find common cause. However, we would have no ties to these groups. Nor to the Chantry."

"We? So, you mean for us to be directly involved?" he asked.

Leliana lifted her chin and looked him directly in the eye. "I do." She turned to also include Cassandra. "Here, in this room, today, I propose that we three rescind our prior allegiances and found the Inquisition. The storm is upon us, my friends. We must act now, before the situation worsens. I believe that we are the only ones who can. There are men and women who were loyal to Justinia, to her, not the Chantry. I'm sure there are those loyal to you as well. And others will join. We had hoped to have the Champion and the Warden involved, but we will make do."

Cassandra felt a flutter at the edge of her senses. "The silence ward is about to end," she warned.

"Then, I must have your answer." Leliana looked at each of them. "Will you commit to this cause?"

Cullen was still frowning, but he nodded slowly. "I've come this far. It's time to scrape off the lies and openly pledge my conscience. I will."

Leliana turned to Cassandra. "And you, old friend?" she asked evenly, her expressive face still and dispassionate.

"At best, this is a precarious alliance," Cassandra said after a moment.

"Then we will strengthen it," Leliana replied.

With an audible snap, the ward ended, like a soap bubble bursting. A rising tide of voices could now be heard in the hall, tense with fear and concern as news of the disaster spread. As was no doubt the intent of whoever had perpetrated this attack. If something really was driving Thedas toward war and panic, someone needed to learn the truth of it.

Cassandra almost smiled. Who better to do so than a Seeker of Truth? It was what she was trained to do, after all. Not just to combat the darkness, but to seek out its root. To be the light in the shadow.

"Very well."

Leliana let out the breath she'd been holding and smiled in obvious relief. She held out her hand, palm down, to the others who placed theirs over hers. "And so it is done." She closed her eyes and intoned a soft prayer.

"Maker, though the darkness comes upon me,
I shall embrace the light. I shall weather the storm.
I shall endure
."

"What we have created, let no one tear asunder," added Cassandra.

Fin


A/N: This final chapter was just a stab at connecting the dots between some of the teases we've seen of the DA:I plot, which will no doubt be far off the mark once we learn more. But, that's what fanfic is for! :) Thanks for reading!