The dragon swept its fiery gaze over the nobles huddled together once again, its voice now a growl in their minds. "Kill them all," it said, taking off into the skies. The soldiers edged in slowly, swords raised and shields leveled as they herded the defenseless nobles towards the far gates, blocked off with the guards dead. Avexis Trevelyan and Kieran Cousland spared each other as nervous glance.
"Where are the other guards? The chevaliers? Surely this hasn't gone unnoticed," she asked.
"Those who aren't dead, you mean? The gates are sealed, even if they were to get here soon it wouldn't matter." Kieran turned to ask his father for his opinion, only to discover he wasn't with the crowd. "And now my father's gone. Marvelous."
Avexis looked around. "So is mine, and my mother, too. That is hardly a coincidence, I'm sure." She took a quick look over the masked soldiers. The shields didn't have any heraldry that she knew of, being emblazoned with red jaws like those of the dragon that had just taken off. There were at least 30 of them, all wearing heavy armor and masks and led by what appeared to be a mage, with staff in hand. Even though there were more nobles than soldiers, they were vastly outmatched.
Kieran's eyes saw differently. The masked helms were definitely Tevinter, the tuning fork-like ornament on top of them gave that away. The shield's heraldry was unlike any he'd ever seen either, but there were many cults and other forces he didn't know of. Their stances, however…not truly soldiers, or ones with little combat experience. Almost like local militia armed with superb equipment. Even then, they were a very real threat, and Kieran was not armed properly. On top of that, their leader was a mage, likely a magister, given his air of control and command. He tried to think of a plan, anything that would allow for survivors among the nobles, but the voice in his head wouldn't stop screeching. It's him! It's really him! He has awoken, and the world will burn because of it! Lord Draconis has risen! He had never heard Urthemiel panic before, even when the two of them were faced down by hordes of enemies, yet this one dragon had him in a frenzy.
Avexis' voice snapped him back to attention. "I say we charge, take them by surprise. If we can grab a weapon or two…"
"We can't risk the nobles getting caught in the fray. Let's wait it out a little longer. Try to find a better moment to strike."
"What makes you think a better moment will present itself before we're skewered?!" As if on cue, a wall of fire sprang between the soldiers and nobles just long enough to back the assailants up. Kieran charged the moment the wall lowered, taking a straggler down and disarming him of sword and shield. Preparing his shield defense, he looked for the source of the fire, at last seeing his father and the Inquisitor armed with sword and staff respectively, along with what appeared to be a similarly-armed Divine Victoria.
"Looks like that was our moment," Kieran said to Vex. Get behind me, I'll watch over you."
Vex slid a short metal cylinder out from her sleeve. With a gripping twist, a sword guard popped from the sides of one end, followed by a long blade of black spirit energy. "Sorry to spoil your heroics," she grinned, "but I don't need protection."
Aedan, Antinnis, and Cassandra joined their children, forming a line in front of the helpless nobles. For a second, the magister leading them hesitated. He looked at his men, then at his opposers. Saying something in what sounded like ancient Tevene, he vanished, leaving his men behind. Leaderless and visibly stunned by his cowardice, the men nonetheless charged.
"Last one to kill a bad guy buys the ale tonight," Antinnis said, and the five charged the horde. Magic flew as he shot fire from his borrowed staff. Blades rang out as Cassandra, Kieran, and Aedan cut down multiple foes at a time. Avexis threw a barrier around her comrades before wading into the thick of the fighting with spirit blade ready. It was time to see if all that sparring she'd done against Cullen's troops and her father himself had paid off. She let the combat magic flow through her as she slashed through the troops, every strike fueling her barrier. As her father opened a tiny rift to pull the last ones together, she cut them down with the fury of a true Knight-Enchanter.
30 soldiers sent to kill the partygoers, 30 corpses now littering the marketplace. Cassandra had forgotten the rush of combat after so many years on the Sunburst Throne preaching peace. She quickly turned to see if her daughter was injured and another rush, this one of both pride and joy, came over her as she stood there unhurt and with black blade glimmering. Remembering that they were in public and she had not made her big announcement yet, she pushed her feelings down and joined everyone else.
As the nobles breathed a collective sigh of relief and cheered their five saviors, the five convened together. Antinnis spoke first. "They were clearly Tevinter in origin, given their equipment and the magister leading them. Perhaps Venatori remnants?"
"That would not be impossible," said Cassandra, "but they were servants of Corypheus, not this…dragon."
"Speaking of which," Aedan chimed in, "that was unlike and dragon I've ever seen, and I've seen some strange dragons before. What do we know of it?"
Kieran stepped forward and raised his voice. "His name is Draconis, the Tevinter Old God of Vengeance, and apparently their king."
Cassandra gave him a hard, piercing glare. "And how do you know this?"
Aedan looked at his son, who gave him a knowing nod. "My son has a…gift for this sort of thing. If he says that's what the dragon is, then that's what it is. Strange, though: his name isn't part of the Tevinter Pantheon. The only two Old Gods left should be Lusacan and Razikale. If he's their king, why isn't he mentioned?"
Kieran closed his eyes for a few seconds before speaking. "If a people really don't like the reign of their king, they may try to expunge any record of him so that future generation do not know of him. Likewise, the Old Gods sealed Draconis away before seeking the worship of the Ancient Tevinters."
Antinnis turned to face him. "How is it that he woke up, then?"
"I…am not sure. He was locked away by his fellow Old Gods, not The Maker, so I don't think it's the darkspawn."
"All of this speculation and conversing is nice," Vex finally cut in, "but we need to do something before that dragon or whatever it is targets more cities. We need to take action."
"I agree," said Cassandra. "I will remain here and try to rally the nobles. The influence of Divine Victoria can get much going."
"Likely," Aedan said. "Lord Trevelyan and I have struck another alliance between the Grey Wardens and the Inquisition. We should get our forces ready to move. Lord Trevelyan, I will move the closest Wardens to Skyhold, where we can coordinate our efforts better."
"That's a grand idea, First Warden," Antinnis said, "but what about our little…Qunari and Tevinter problem? The Inquisition needs to make its presence felt by both sides."
"I actually have an idea about that. We need representatives, people who will either side will not be so quick to either dismiss or harm." Aedan looked over that Vex and Kieran "Let's send our children to the north to talk to the Magisterium and hopefully someone of authority among the Qunari, if they're lucky."
Antinnis, Cassandra, and Vex grabbed a few things from Chateau Trevelyan before heading off their on their separate quests. "So you know what you're doing, right?"
Vex sighed. "For the hundredth time, Father, yes. Go with Kieran to Minrathous and find Magister Pavus. Tell him you sent us and he'll help with the rest. I'll be fine, I'm a big girl now."
"You'll always be my little troublemaker, darling. When you become a parent, you'll understand. I have something for you, by the way." He stepped into another room and returned with a staff. An odd combination of sylvanwood and dragonbone, it had a fierce blade on one end, and a crystal skull on the other. Frost constantly emanated from the skull, as if it were made of unmelting ice. "The Skull of Winters Past. I crafted her when you started showing signs of magical talent. You're ready for it now." He hugged his daughter tight. "Be careful, Avexis. The fate of Thedas rests in your hands as well…no pressure, of course."
Cassandra once again hugged her family, as she did the day before. Antinnis brushed a tear from her eye as they walked out as a family one last time. Antinnis spared once last look at his girls before he took to the skies to Skyhold. Vex blew her mother a kiss goodbye as she joined Kieran on horseback, mounting a black steed she had named Sophitia. With a spur, she rode off on the northern road.
A/N: And now we truly begin. My thanks to everyone who's supported my efforts thus far. If I get enough reviews, I'll start posting review responses as well, so keep 'em coming!