2.
The journey was dreadful. Firstly, being confined to small spaces, no matter how comfortable they were, was pure torture. Calpernia took as many books with her as possible, trying to escape the non - stopping sound of horse hooves. A couple of times she ordered the carriage to stop and climbed out, walking somewhat away from the main road. Her annoyance was so great, Calpernia wished she could burn a tree or two, however that could attract unnecessary attention and she had to resist. Instead she wandered around, reciting random historical facts about Tevinter Imperium. As she was mumbling to herself a summary based upon studies of Magister Eredeus about the Imperium's involvement in the fall of Arlathan, one of her scounts soundlessly appeared from the shadows, making Calpernia almost visibly shudder in surprise. Almost.
"Lady Calpernia," the scout took a bow, his face hiding under the hood. "The road ahead is clear. Ferelden is a day's ride away."
A piece of good news at last. When Calpernia decided to undertake the journey herself, she knew it was not a simple feat - the road ahead was long and anything but safe. The tears in the Veil that she had observed in the west were much more numerous here. Calpernia remembered hearing from Corypheus that the ritual had failed. According to him, some elf had interfered and, unknowingly, acquired the Anchor for himself, creating the Breach. This was frustrating to say the least – she could not believe Corypheus was so careless to not double check every single corner of that temple. As to the intruder, it was simply infuriating to think some lowly mage claimed the power that was meant for gods. At first Calpernia and several of her mages tried to clear up the demons but had quickly learned that it was impossible to close the tears and the only sensible decision had been made - avoid them whatsoever. It cost her valuable time but it kept her people safe. She was also curious about Ferelden. Back at home people did not think highly of the southerners. The expressions like 'savages' and 'wet dog smell' were thrown around a lot. The Chantry, unlike in Tevinter, was strong amongst the unwashed masses and the mages were held accountable for everything - from milk gone sour, to the awakening of the Archdemon. And as to Tevinter Imperium, it was an ugly boil on the face of the world and the sole proof that Maker had abandoned His children. Or some similar type of nonsense. Calpernia was neither Andrastian, nor a worshipper of the Old Gods. She wanted to be free of any watchful eye and carve her own path, smiting the unworthy and uplifting the deserving with only own wit and skills to guide her.
The scout was right. A day ride was what it took to arrive at Therinfal Redoubt, the fortress that had been chosen by the Red Templar General to serve both as training grounds for the new recruits and the main base of operation. On the way Calpernia noticed troublesome signs - the landscape was littered with red lyrium. She was familiar with the phenomenon, both from speaking to Corypheus and own research. What bothered her was how widespread it was. Red lyrium was pure poison, sooner or later it destroyed everything it came in contact with. She understood the necessity of it for building a strong and resilient, albeit short-lived army but poisoning the ground on which you walk... Calpernia had a hard time believing Corypheus would permit such wasteful behaviour.
As the portcullis was lifted, allowing the carriage and its escort to pass, Calpernia peeked through the window and observed the courtyard. It was packed with recruits, men and women, training. It looked so deceptively normal until she gazed more closely into their faces - pale skin, shimmering ruby eyes and bright-red veins, pulsating dimly under the skin. Their movements were faster, more precise and attacks came crashing down with an immense force she had never seen in warriors back home. It was hypnotizing to watch such a display of strength and yet Calpernia turned away, feeling repulsed. These people were no better than slaves back home. Worse even, for they willingly gave up their freedom for somebody else's cause. How many of these southerners really cared what Corypheus wanted to accomplish? None of them would see it come to pass. They lived from one dose of red lyrium to another, blindly following orders of their Red General.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Calpernia threw the door open and jumped down, ignoring the outstretched hand one of the Venatori offered her. The templars did not flinch - none of them turned around to see what the commotion was. Calpernia frowned and looked over the courtyard, finally spotting a figure that was slowly descending down the stairs. Her first instinct was to rush towards the woman but Calpernia reminded herself that this was not who she is anymore. Pretending to examine her nails, she kept watching how the tall female in templar armor came closer.
"Lady Calpernia, I presume?" she asked politely, her eyes shining like a pair of coals.
"You presume right," Calpernia stared right back at the woman, even though templar's gaze was making her slightly uncomfortable. "As I've mentioned in the message, I would like to speak with your commander."
"You will address him as the General, mage." corrected the female templar. Her tone, pleasant just a moment ago, displayed nothing but aggression and anger. Truth be told, Calpernia made an honest mistake, for the regular templars were officially overseen by a knight – commander. She, however, had very little patience for such a pointless attempt of displaying power.
"Watch your tone, templar." said Calpernia icily, shooting an angry stare at her guide, who did not seem to care a single bit. As they entered the fortress, Calpernia distracted herself from burning an imaginary hole in the back of the female templar by looking around. The fortress was in a bad shape. Apparently it used to belong to the order of the Seekers of Truth but got abandoned a long time ago. Red templars that appropriated the place did nothing to repair the horrid condition it was in - rotting wooden panels and supporting beams were scattered all over the floor. The once beautiful tapestry hung dirty and torn from the walls. There was a faint smell of mould hanging in the air and Calpernia could hear water steadily dripping somewhere. Above all else, the presence of red lyrium was overwhelming - the pulsating red matter was protruding from the floor and, sometimes, from the walls. Being close to it felt like keeping your palm over the fire and feeling the immense heat of the flame. Calpernia did her best and tried to walk as far from the poisonous thing as possible but the hallway was not wide enough. The woman ahead, however, did not seem to feel any discomfort; sometimes she would put her palm on one of the crystal clusters and Calpernia noticed how the lyrium would start pulsating faster at the touch of the templar.
"Wait here." without even turning around, the woman disappeared in one of the side-doors. Once again, Calpernia was alone and took her time to look around. A small room, slightly cleaner then the rest of the fortress. In one of the corners she noticed a pile of old oil paintings that, most likely, depicted previous Lord Seekers. On the wall, above a massive oak table, the templar symbol had been drawn in red paint. Or blood. Or red lyrium. Calpernia was disgusted and curious at the same time, but as she reached out to touch the symbol, one of the doors flew open.
"Calpernia, I assume."
It seemed that neither templars, nor their commanding officer had even a shred of politeness. Calpernia turned around and crossed her arms on her chest, staring at, who she thought to be, the Red Templar General.
"Lady Calpernia to you, General."
"A lady does not arrive uninvited," he answered and grinned but his eyes stayed cold and unwelcoming as he kept staring her down. "To what do I owe the pleasure ?"
Calpernia looked straight into his face and angrily furrowed her brow.
"Who sanctioned this mindless and massive growing of red Lyrium?"
"I am acting on direct orders from Corypheus himself, lady Calpernia. The order that did not mention you coming here and sticking this pointy nose of yours into my business.
"Liar!" Calpernia hissed angrily and poked her finger into his chest, stubbing it on general's breastplate. "Corypheus would never allow such a despicable mess!"
Or would he? Calpernia remembered reading reports from Adamant Fortress and fuming at the mention of Erimond's blood magic abuse. She, of course, understood, that for what they were planning, the demon army was essential. But at some point it seemed that a day without blood sacrifice was a day wasted and Erimond completely engulfed himself in illusions of grandeur. Now she was in Ferelden and saw a similar picture going on with the red templar cell.
"When was the last time you spoke to Corypheus?"
The man rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment.
"It's been a while."
Calpernia made a disgusted noise and rubbed her temples. She felt like Corypheus left her to babysit everyone. He, of course, did not but she could not believe he just left unsupervised cells to work on their own. To bring the end of chaos their organization needed structure but neither Corypheus, nor anyone but Calpernia seemed to care. This was a mess and she could not simply go back to Western Approach now. Her own operation, save some mishaps, was running smooth enough and she left trustworthy agents to oversee the digs. Erimond was out of her reach for now but she had arrived in Ferelden and it was time to try and salvage what was possible.
"I want to see how you run your operation here."
"Do you now? Perhaps if you ask me politely and not as if I'm one of your errand boys." once again an unpleasant smile crawled on Red General's face as he examined Calpernia from head to toe. She flushed in anger and returned his stare.
"Suit yourself." he shrugged his shoulders and opened the door.
Calpernia waited exactly a minute, taking a breather and imagining doing horrible things to the templar, before following him to what turned out to be a prison.