A/N: Haaaaaaaaaawke!
Chapter 5: The Champion
Vaela Mahariel stood in front of Lothering's statue of the Hero of Ferelden – a statue dedicated to her. Clad in Grey Warden armor with her face covered by a hood, she felt comfortable enough in this disguise. She knew her mission- why she was in Lothering. She certainly went over the details enough times in her head to understand every aspect of her mission, fully and completely.
Nathaniel and come to her chambers in the dead of night. He knew she was reeling from the news about her clan… Nathaniel had to have a good reason for this.
"I didn't want to say this in front of Bethany," he started. "Anders didn't fight your clan… or at least he wasn't alone when he did."
Vaela didn't know what to feel when she heard that. Anders was her friend and knew about the Sabrae clan, so she was relieved to hear he wasn't the cause of her clan's destruction, but this meant there were other assailants that escaped unpunished. Anders was dead, killed by the Champion of Kirkwall. Who else was on Sundermount when her clan was wiped out?
"The Champion of Kirkwall, Bethany's older brother, a dwarf, and… someone else was there too."
"Someone else?"
"I don't know how to say this… but she wore the Sabrae emblem on her clothing. I wasn't close enough to give you an exact description, but… she was a mage."
A mage? The Sabrae clan was small. There were only two mages that she knew of. But… she had seen something in an earlier report about Hawke... he traveled with… an elven blood mage? And she was member of the Sabrae? Marethari would never have tolerated blood magic in the clan. Consorting with demons was unthinkable.
"Commander," he said, "look, you can put the pieces together. But if you ask me, from what I know of your clan, I'd start looking for Merrill."
Vaela lost her balance when she heard Merrill's name in the context. Not Merrill. It couldn't have been Merrill. Why would she have done this? Blood magic? The wholesale butchering of their clan? Merrill couldn't have done this.
"Bethany was in Kirkwall for at least a year before she joined us, and she's visited Kirkwall more than a handful of times. Ask her about her brother's friends. See if Merrill was among them."
"Nathaniel…" the Hero of Ferelden whispered. "I can't…"
"You can. I'll be right there with you. We'll figure this out."
Merrill was alive. She traveled with Anders and the Champion of Kirkwall. The Champion killed Anders and fled the Free Marches on a pirate ship. Bethany confirmed that Merrill left her clan because of a disagreement over blood magic. Keeper Marethari would never have allowed blood magic. Was Merrill really capable of this? At this point, it didn't really matter. The Warden's blood came to a boil, and she went to Lothering, Hawke's Ferelden home, hoping to spill her enemies'. No back up, no knowledge of the Champion's or his companions' powers. Still, she would be ready for him and whoever else got in her way.
"Lovely statue, isn't it?" a human man wearing a straw hat and black robe adorned with red cloud designs stood next to the Warden. "The Hero of Ferelden, conqueror of the Blight… strong, beautiful, is there anything behind her reach?" Vaela remained silent. "She saved this place, dirty, muddy, brown Lothering. It hasn't changed since I left ten years ago."
It was a long shot, but Vaela's ears perked up when she heard this stranger had left Lothering during the Blight. Bethany said that her family left Lothering and took a ship from Gwaren to the Free Marches. "You left during the Blight?" she asked.
"Yeah, my family and I went to Kirkwall. And that's the start of an even longer story," the man chuckled to himself. "By the look of that strange outfit, you must be one of those Grey Wardens. I've come across a few in my travels. Strange bunch, no offense."
Vaela sized up this stranger out of the corner of her eye. "Did you know," taking a guess at this man's identity, "that the Champion of Kirkwall lived here, of all places?"
"You don't say? Small world, I suppose," the man as his hand reached across his back to grab the handle of a sword.
"Good day, ser."
"Same to you, Warden."
Hours later as the man and a similarly dressed companion traveled along the Imperial Highway in the direction of Redcliffe, their pace changed.
"Hawke," a woman's voice said with a touch of concern.
"I know," the man said acknowledging the danger they were in.
Daggers came flying from behind at them. When they turned around, they saw no one.
"Hawke!" the woman exclaimed when she saw a Grey Warden blocking their path.
"So… you're Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall?" the Warden asked.
Removing their straw hats, the man and woman revealed themselves to the Warden. "Yeah, I'm Hawke. Look, I'm done with the wardens. Corypheus is your problem now."
"That's not why I'm here, Hawke."
"Hmm? We've met before, haven't we? In Lothering, that was you."
The Warden took down her hood and woman that matched the exact image of the Hero of Ferelden stood before them.
"You!? You're-"
"Vaela Mahariel. Of the Sabrae clan."