Things get a bit weird in this chapter
Like fifty percent weirder
And the M rating shows itself in this chapter
Also, this is more of filler, connecting the ride to Kirkwall as well as getting in.
Another also, I'm going to warn you guys now that every time Manah shows up it's going to get weird.
XXXXXX
Chapter 2:
Kirkwall
We slowly made our way to Gwaren, the trip to the port town mostly passed by in silence. Aveline sat at the back of the wagon with Marian and Carver. She didn't bother to talk to anyone, especially me. She was one of the reasons why I was walking besides the wagon and not on it. Flemeth had carved a path leading straight to the town. No Darkspawn or bandit came even close the burning path that we travelled on.
I noticed that Marian and Carver were giving me looks, as if they were trying to figure out if I was real or not. I tried to ignore the both of them for now since I didn't really feel like talking much. I mean, until now, I haven't killed anyone! Every bandit group I took down was done with no lethal force, and would always give them to the Town Guards. Wesley was my first kill. Aveline's husband was the first person I killed consciously. Darkspawn didn't even count because they weren't human anymore.
"Alright I'll ask him," Marian stage whispers to her brother before jumping off the wagon and making her way to my side. I tried to ignore how she was just staring at me and tried to ignore that we were probably just a foot apart from touching shoulders. Seriously, what was her deal? Couldn't she see my brooding face as well as how all the shadows in a five meter radius were quivering?
"So stranger," She tries to start off but I cut her off before she could continue.
"Vasili Attano, for future references,"
"Right, right, so Vasili, who are you exactly?" She asks
"A traveller" I reply easily enough
"Where are you from?"
"Somewhere far away,"
"I take it you're not in the mood to talk, then?"
"Now what gave you that idea?"
"Oh good, then you don't mind me asking you a few questions then?"
"You've passed a few, five minutes ago."
"How do you know Bethany and my mother? I've never seen you in Lothering before." I sighed loudly and hoped she would get the idea and leave me alone to brood for a while, but by the way she was still looking at me and still a foot away then she was either ignoring me or that dense. Letting out another sigh, I decided to just answer all her questions. There weren't that much right?
"Fine damn it… Six months ago, I came across Lothering while travelling through Ferelden. I planned on staying a few days learning about the place, you know?" I turn to look at Bethany and catch her looking. She quickly looks the other way, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. I chuckle at that before continuing, "But then I came across a most curious sight."
"Looking back at that day, it was a bit silly how I snuck around every Templar in town." Bethany said and we all turn to look at her which only causes her to blush more than before.
"Heh, I saw Bethany lurking in the alleyways trying to avoid the Templar patrols. I took pity on the poor thing and decided to teach her how to avoid getting found out and blending into a crowd. The next thing you know, I've been at Lothering for half a year now!"
Marian smiles at me. For what reason, I had no idea. "So," she continues, "I've never seen magic like yours before…"
"It's nothing special, believe me. I can make anything from the Darkness and that power is only limited to what I can come up with. What's so bad about it though? I can't use any other form of magic," believe me, those past six months, I tried to cast a fireball, an ice ball, an air ball with no success whatsoever. Maybe I should have just mixed every power in those goblets and chugged it down?
"That doesn't sound too bad, Vasili. If you have the power to create your own armour and weapons then what else would you need, right?" Oh god, I wish! I let out a short bark of laughter at that.
"It sounds good now but cast a fire or lightning spell my way, and then my shadows dissolve back into the ground. Hell, standing here under the sun makes my constructs only half as powerful as they should be." I know I complain about them like this now, but they are super useful. I guess I'm trying to make them out as just another flawed tool when in fact it was pure awesome with a dash of badass.
"I see… So why did you help my family out? Not that I'm not grateful!" She holds up her hands in a non-threatening gesture, as if her question would offend me to the point that I would hit her, "But, not a lot of people go out of their way to do this." It's true that I had my reasons in helping and going with them, if I didn't then how would I go on adventures with them? How could I change the course of Dragon Age 2 if I wasn't close to the Hawke's?
"Where I come from, the bonds you make with people are strong. If you're a true friend or family, then there's nothing we won't do to help you." It was the truth. Family and friends were very important to us Filipino's and if you fuck with anyone close to us, then you better sleep with one eye open.
"Sounds like your people will make good allies!"
"The best there is serrah, the best there is!" While still walking, Marian extends a hand to me for a handshake. I smile at the gesture and shake her hand happily.
"I'm Marian and the blue-eyed baby face on the cart is Carver. You already know my mother, Leandra and Bethany." She smiles before remembering that we had one more person in our little party. Aveline turns to Marian when she notices the prolonged silence and sees that Hawke was waiting for her to introduce herself as well.
"Aveline Vallen, soldier," was her reply. It was very like her character in the game to be all business.
"Why Kirkwall of all places," Carver asks. It was the first time I had heard him speak and just like in the game, he had a way of sounding angry and at the same time whiny as well. It didn't bother me now but I could see myself butting heads with him if he does that to me.
"We still have family there, and an estate," Leandra answers as she looks to her son and ruffles his hair in a way only a mother could, "A home"
Because of us having a wagon instead of hoofing it all the way to the Port Town, we were able to catch a ship that had no passengers yet. Everyone quickly boarded the ship and I was about to as well, but a firm hand to my shoulder stopped me. I turned and saw Flemeth, back in her human form, looking at me.
"A word, if you may indulge me?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. I quirk my own eyebrow at her request, before nodding and walking off with her. Both of us walk in silence for a while and when I started thinking that I should head back to the ship before it fills up, she speaks.
"I have heard rumours of a being capable of taming the Darkness. For days, I heard the shadow whisper about their new master approaching." She turns and stops to look at me and I do the same, except I try not to flinch at just how powerful her presence is. "Be careful, child, the sword you wield is a double-edged one and you never know which side is sharper."
"So far it feels like my powers only give me advantages." I reply before turning to look back as a crowd of terrified civilians rush into the town to try and escape the fast approaching horde. "I've learned how to control my powers and they are actually quite easy."
"Perhaps," Flemeth whispers into my ear as she holds both of my shoulders in an iron grip. She was stronger than I thought she would be as I can't even turn to face her. "But a little word of warning; the most dangerous threats are the ones you dismiss. In the end, you will become what you hate most."
Her grip disappears and when I turn to face her, she disappears.
"Ok, that was… pretty cool," It was cool. I always wanted to learn how to disappear in a crowd after giving a speech like what Flemeth did, you know, for shock value. But enough of that, I made my way back to our ship without much trouble. Crowds parted to let me by easily enough and I soon found myself on the deck of our ship watching as hundreds of people march into town. The captain of the ship was making a killing with how much he was charging people to get on his ship and safely into Kirkwall. Apparently word was spreading around that people were desperate to get out of Ferelden because ships were coming into town as much as people were. And by the time night had fallen, the town was filled with refugees and our ship had finally left shore.
By what I could see, we were one of the first to leave Gwaren and one of the first few dozen ships to set sail for the Free Marches. I could see now that buying that wagon for the Hawke's was the best idea I had so far. Did this mean we didn't have to bribe our way into Kirkwall anymore? We wouldn't have to work in servitude for a year and we could find a better home than that hole Gamlen lived in? I hoped so.
The captain told me that the wind was on their side and we would make it to Kirkwall in only a week if the weather held. Shit, my luck was actually good for once! Back in the real world my luck wouldn't kick in when I needed it most! Now it was in hyper drive and it only took me dying and being transported into a game to get it to work. Now all I needed was my gadgets back (phone, mp3 player, etc.) and I could call myself the luckiest man on Thedas. Why would I need those you ask? Aside from having no ambient music play while travelling, there wasn't anything to do on a ship like this. Plus, I had to distract myself from thoughts of using the bathroom because that hole in the ground does not count as a toilet and twigs and dried leaves don't count as tissue paper!
So I do everything to busy myself on the ship. I practice my powers in the hold where the sun wasn't beating down on my back; I talk to the Hawkes as well as Aveline a few times. From the way Aveline wasn't glaring daggers at me and talking to me without growling, she forgave me or something. That was good news for me because having the future Guard-Captain of Kirkwall angry at you wasn't something I would call productive.
One day, I was practicing how to create 'live' constructs from my shadow, and although I could have limited control over a small construct I made, it did not have sentience at all and creating anything bigger than six inches tall was almost impossible for me till now. Wouldn't it be cool to have your own shadow army at your beck and call? For example, you find yourself cornered by a bunch of assholes with no weapon and no armour on your person. Your outnumbered ten to one and when they thing they have the upper hand, hands burst out from their own shadows and start clawing at them like a bunch of zombies! They'll be like 'Oh sweet Maker!' and 'Holy shit!' and 'What the fuck!' and you would just sit back as the shadows tear your enemies limb from limb.
I know I was trying to play god by trying to create living beings but so far I had no success. I could create a puppet six inches tall with all the articulation needed but no life to go with it. I tried to imagine the puppet with fully functioning organs and all but still no dice.
I could create a complete set of the Didact's armour perfectly and create any weapon I can think of from the shadows. But something as complex as a living being, impossible, I think to myself as I watch the water lap at the boat's hull. It was night time already but I didn't feel tired at all since all I did was sit around and practice with my powers. The Hawkes were asleep down at the hold with Aveline and the other twenty passengers, most of the sailors were asleep as well. Only a skeleton screw and I were awake this time of night.
And for the first time without any dangers lurking around the corner, no Darkspawn or anything, I could actually tell how much stronger I feel at night. My muscles don't feel tired and my body felt refreshed. Were my powers changing me into a night-time kind of person? Because usually at, what two in the morning? I feel dead on my feet. Now it feels like I could go through a few hours of Randori nonstop! But maybe because it was just dark out here, what with the moon hiding behind the clouds and no other light source except for a few lamps and torches around the ship.
"There you are," a quiet voice says behind me. I turn and see Bethany making her way towards me, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Did I mention that I and Bethany became close, as in best friends close, in the six months that I taught her? I guess my happy demeanour and non-douche behaviour helped me with that. I wasn't strict with her during the lessons and every time she would start to panic and freak out, I would put an arm around her shoulder to calm her down. Of course, that happened a lot in the first few weeks and I constantly found myself hugging her or assuring her away from a panic attack or a freak out of some kind. Plus, I read an article once that if you hug a person it increases their trust in you and decreases fear. I never checked if that was true or not but I guess I just proved them right since Bethany trusts me like we've known each other for years instead of half a year. How old was she again? I never asked her but I think she was nineteen too, like me. Seriously, I've never seen girls as well developed as Bethany back in the real world, at least not where I live.
"Hey Bethany," I greet with a small wave as she stands by my side and looks out into the sea with me, "What are you doing up so late?" My question makes her laugh and earns me a playful shove.
"I'm a grown woman, Vas! I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" She crosses her arms and pouts so adorably I couldn't help but laugh at her display because if I didn't I'd probably hug her and feel her up to death… what? You would too if you were in my position!
"Oh I know you can take care of yourself! I saw how you were casting those spells of yours when we were escaping Lothering. And I have to say, that was pretty impressive." She smiles and a faint blush appears on her cheeks.
"Well, not as amazing as how you took out that first ogre! I've never seen anyone do something so…"
"Reckless?" I say
"Heroic, was the word I was looking for," Now I was the one who was blushing.
"Vas, I," she stops for a second and I start to wonder why she was nervous all of a sudden, "I never really had the chance to thank you… for everything you did for us." Was that all?
"No need to thank me Beth, you're the closest friend I have in this place. I'd do anything to keep my friends safe." Bethany smiles sadly at me, before putting a hand on my shoulder.
"It must be hard, always travelling by alone around the world. Don't you miss your friends, family?" I do, believe me I do but thinking about it now will lead to me breaking down and crying like a six foot tall baby, and there is nothing less intimidating and reputation breaking than crying like a baby. It might scare some people, but the intimidation factor will drop by a thousand percent.
"Sometimes, I think about what they're doing right now, if they miss me or not." They probably buried me already, or cremated me. Were they able to identify my body or did the fire ruin any chance of identifying my remains and I was just put in an unmarked grave somewhere. Isn't that something to think about? Not the sarcasm in my voice.
"Did you ever go back to your home, just to visit or anything?" Ha! I'm dead back where I come from; this was a one way trip with no refunds at all. That does get me thinking though. After the adventure is over, do I continue living in Thedas or do I pass on to the afterlife, or maybe perhaps Manah, the bitch, will send me to another universe to fuck with stuff over there as well? Either of the three I am totally fine with, better than the boring life I had back at home, that's for sure!
"I…uh," Just lie some more, by the time it comes back to bite me on the ass, well, my future self can handle it. "I actually, can't go back to my homeland. I'm what you call an exile." This bit of news/total lie shocked Bethany a bit as she took a small step back. I didn't feel offended by her action, since, well, when you find out that a friend of yours was not allowed to go back home then how would you react? No, seriously leave a review telling me how you'd…
Ahem
"W-why are you an exile? I couldn't imagine someone like you doing something horrible." Realization flickers across her amber eyes and her hand tightens on my shoulder. It didn't hurt but it felt uncomfortable. "Was it because you were a mage?"
"No, no!" I wave my hands frantically in front of me, "Look… the reason why they cast me out… it's complicated." I rub the back of my head to convey that I didn't want to talk about it or that I was uncomfortable with the subject, but I was honestly just trying to buy time for my brain to make something believable and cool and heart-breaking at the same time. So far it was coming up with a blank.
"Vas, listen," Bethany turns me so that I was looking at her. She looked like she understood what I was going through and felt the same I she thought I was feeling. She gave me a smile, "We all have our personal troubles and I won't force you to tell me. Just, remember that I'm here for you. We're all here for you. You've helped us and risked your life for us! If there's anything you need; someone to listen to, or a shoulder to lean on… You can count on me. It's the least I could do." She pulls me in an unexpected hug and I couldn't help but return it.
"Thanks, Beth,"
"That's what friends are for, right?" I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of me getting dumped into the friend zone, because that would suck major balls.
XXXXXX
"There!" Carver shouts out as he points at the narrow valley the ship was fast approaching. Even this far away, we could see the golden statues of suffering slaves, their hands covering weeping faces. Every passenger came to the deck to catch the first glimpse of their new home.
It had been four more days before our ship even caught sight of the Free Marches. The wind had stayed in our favour and the captain was happy to note that we arrived ahead of schedule. And he couldn't help but boast that we arrived ahead of the other ships. That was good news for us since it would mean easier entrance to the city. Our wagon was the first off and we were practically leading the procession of Ferelden refugees.
But, nothing in life was ever easy right? A wall of guards was already waiting for us and the sight of them caused the Fereldans to start panicking. Questions of why they wouldn't let them in and such were being shouted at the wall of stoic guards. The Hawkes and Aveline looked like they were about to join the crowd when a booming voice echoed over the ruckus.
"The city of Kirkwall is under lockdown! No one is allowed to enter!"
"On whose authority?!" One of the refugees screeched as dozens of people tried to push pass the guards.
"This is a direct order from Viscount Dumar and Knight-Commander Meredith! We will not have the Blight spread into the Free Marches!" I haven't thought about the 'infection' angle being used here. But when you think about it, it did make sense. The corruption could easily spread if any ingested Darkspawn blood. It would be understandable for the cities not yet under siege to close their borders just in case.
Damn it, we won't be getting in at this rate! The shadows easily covered my body to form the Didact's armour. The helmet's 'pieces' clicked into place and I motioned for the group to follow my lead.
And on that note, did you know that I could make shadows edible? Only I could eat them of course and they didn't have any beneficial properties. Except for the fact that it altered my voice and you know whose voice I chose? The voice I chose was Harbinger! I could have said Didact because they were both voice by the awesome voice actor Keith Szarabajka. And hey, I was in a Bioware game so why not, right? Right?! I could change it to something else, but what else would I need?
How did that work? I had no idea, I just decided to swallow a ball of shadows when I had nothing better to do on the ship and found that this was the effect.
Plus it's freaking plus one hundred for my intimidation check.
Hawke taps me on the shoulder and signals that she would talk the guards first and I let her lead the way. Aveline, Carver and Bethany stand beside her and I stay behind with Leandra and the wagon full of our valuables. My presence and armour were more than enough for robbers to think twice.
"Get back to the crowd you lot! Bullying your way through won't get you into Kirkwall any faster!"
"But do you intend to let us through?" Marian shouts over the rising voices of the Ferelden refugees. Apparently her negotiations weren't working out too well. It was expected, really. Until the city guards are under Aveline's command and Hawke lands the title of 'Champion', then most of them were assholes who hated refugees.
"Ha! We have enough poor of our own in the Free Marches. We don't need refugees piling up here like a midden's heap!"
"There must be someone in charge that we can speak with!" Marian retorts angrily. I could see her fists shaking in anger at how unfair the guards were treating them. Oh dear, when Hawke gets angry, lots of people tend to die painful deaths and this was not going as planned at all! We were here earlier; shouldn't we be allowed easy entrance? Whatever, we needed to get in before more refugees pile at the entrance and I could already see a few more ships making their way to the docks. I needed to crank up my intimidation level to maximum to get us to at least get us passed the wall of guards and talk to Guard-Captain Ewald.
With but a though, a cape (coloured black since there was no other colour I could change the shadows into) and a shadow great sword, formed to look like a Daedric Great Sword from Skyrim, appears holstered onto my back.
"Be careful Vasili," Leandra calls out from the wagon as I approach the wall of guards. Ok, breathe in and breathe out and take a bite out of the ball of shadows you just created at the tip of your clawed gauntlet. Feel it settle around your throat, and action! Thank Manah, the bitch; I know how to intimidate people because of my sport!
I make my way towards the Hawke siblings, the crowd of refugees easily parting and silencing as they saw me. Hawke turns and sees me standing behind her. I give her a conspiratorial wink and I was glad that she was quick enough to know when to act. The guards see me next and the wicked blade they see on my back is enough for some of them to raise their shields in case I start swinging.
"Surely," Marian spoke in a silky voice as she turns her body so that they could get a full view of my menacing form, "We can talk to the one in charge. I would absolutely hate it if my friend here loses his temper, no?" I let out a growl that catches everyone off and speak with my new voice.
"It would be wise to heed Lady Hawke's advice," The guards start to look at one another in fear and I could see Bethany blinking at how I sounded. "You have until the count of ten… nine…"
"We will not let some overgrown attack dog push the City Guard around! Stand down now!"
"Five…" With one hand, I grab the hilt of my sword before slamming it into the ground. The blade was practically weight less so the trick I did was easy to do. It did have the desired effect of showing off my 'strength' to the guards because I could see and hear some of them shaking in their armour. Aveline was shaking her head at how we were dealing with the situation and Carver had to keep elbowing Marian to keep her from laughing and destroying our image.
"You should just call the captain now. He killed an ogre in one blow back in Ferelden, you know. How much of a challenge do you think you will be to him?" Bethany pipes up as I reach number two and her words seem to finally knock some sense into one of them as he tells me to stop.
"Alright, we'll take you to the Guard-Captain! Just… just tell him to keep his weapon! We don't need any trouble!" Marian dismisses me with a wave of her hand and I oblige by twirling my sword twice with one hand before putting it back into my back-sheathe. The wall of guard's part to let us and Leandra pass through the checkpoint. Marian leads the way, still trying to stop from laughing out loud and ruining everything.
"That was a reckless gamble you took," said Aveline as she looked at me disapprovingly as I spat out the ball of shadows. "What would have happened if they attacked instead? We would have never gotten into Kirkwall."
"Don't worry Aveline; I knew my plan would work!"
"You did?"
"No, actually, half of the time I was counting off, I was praying that someone would be scared enough to back off." Hey, I could have taken them down and all that but killing humans was still a big NO for me. Anything else that isn't a human is free game.
"HA!" Marian couldn't help but bark out a laugh as we caught sight of the Guard-Captain. Just like in the game, he stood at the foot of the stairs, watching the daily activities of the merchants, mages and Templars. He saw our little group and raised both eyebrows as he saw me. This time the group of deserters you first encounter your first time in Kirkwall wasn't talking to him, so hopefully this would be a quick and peaceful conversation.
"I am Guard-Captain Ewald, unless you have some business to attend to in the city or make it worth my while, then we have nothing to talk about," straight to the point as well as establishing himself as a bribe taking jerk. Seriously what was with people with power and corruption? This guy wasn't even hiding the fact that he took bribes, he just outright said he did!
"We have family here! Doesn't that mean anything?" Bethany exclaimed angrily. Apparently even she was capable of snapping at people even though she was a kind girl. I wonder if I should intimidate and scare the shit out of this guy to. He's an asshole so it was about time somebody put him in his place.
"The city's been closed by order of the viscount and Knight-Commander Meredith, whose fortress you're standing in. But as far as you're concerned, I'm in charge," He sneered at the lot of us and I seriously wanted to break this idiot in half.
"Our uncle is Gamlen Amell He knows we're coming! Surely someone could find him," Marian says in frustration. Was I the only one not stressed by this situation? I probably was because even though I had to fight bandits to make a living, escape and kill Darkspawn back in Lothering, and had to kill Aveline's husband, I was having the time of my life.
"Gamlen, I know that name…"
"He's a nobleman in the city. Our family has an estate," Leandra supplied as she hopped off of the wagon.
"A nobleman? The only Gamlen I know is a weasel who couldn't rub two coppers together. He comes back; I'll bring you to him. But I don't have time to-" A group of Templars appear at the top of the steps and I could see everyone tense and stand a little bit closer to Bethany. I'm already bending my knees halfway, ready to touch the closest shadow so I could incapacitate them.
Then something totally unsuspected happens as the Knight-Commander emerges behind the group of Templars. This was definitely not in the game, but granted we were early so who knows what the NPC's did at that time. She looks around the courtyard for a while, checking if there were any trouble was happening inside her fortress. A few mages loitering around quickly walk back to their part of the Gallows and the guards around the place stand a little bit straighter.
And then she spots our little group and decides to go towards us. Bethany was keeping calm, but the group of Templars heading directly towards us. Even with what I taught her, this was way beyond anything she knew.
I guess I have to put on my thinking cap and start making up lies to get us out of here. No way can I intimidate or charm my through the Knight-Commander!
Meredith walked down the stairs, completely ignored the Hawkes and stopped right in front of me. I have no idea what I had done, but shit was about to hit the fan.
"Vasili Attano, I presume?" How did she know my completely fake and made up name? What the hell was going on here?
"Yes, Knight-Commander," I opt to take off my helmet the old fashioned way instead of the usual retraction. Why would I tip her off that I was a mage? But maybe she already knew I was a mage since she knew my fake name as well?
"If you will come with us, The Grand Cleric of the Anderfels has travelled a long way just to catch up with you." What, Grand Cleric of the Anderfels? But no one has ever seen the Anderfels in the games before! I don't even know who she is, how would she know who I was in the first place?
"Pardon my ignorance, Knight-Commander, but why would the Grand Cleric want to meet up with me of all people? I-I'm a sell-sword, nobody!" Things were progressing badly and I was pretty sure Manah was to blame here. Who the hell was the Grand Cleric of the Anderfels anyway!
"You are hardly, nobody Messere Attano. Now come, we shouldn't keep Her Grace waiting. Grand Cleric Elthina is with her now as well," She looks to the side where the Hawkes and Aveline were looking at us with confused expressions as well, "You people can come along as well, if you wish," There was definitely no other answer we can give her because the dozen or so Templars surround us and guide us into Kirkwall.
Well, at least we're inside the city now.
XXXXXX
We made our way through Low town without much trouble and into High town as well in silence.
"Vas, what's going on? How do you know the Grand Cleric of the Anderfels?" Bethany asked as she went to walk by my side.
"I'd like to know that as well," Piped in Marian as she matched my stride to walk beside me as well.
"We all want to know what is going on," Leandra said from behind me.
"Believe me if I knew what was going on, I'd tell you guys." I had not planned on things happening differently than what I know from the game. I've read about it in other self-insert fics, but never gave it much thought when I was thrown here. Was it my presence that was changing things here or was it Manah trying to screw with me?
We soon made it into the Chantry and in front of the double set of stairs were Templar Knights in black and red ensemble. Think of it as instead of the silver armour they wore, they were black. What really had me thinking that Manah was behind this little change was the fact that the black armour they wore looked like they were made out of the same material my armour was made of, which were shadows.
"I've never seen Templars wear that kind of armour before," it was Carver who spoke and I turned to see him looking at them appreciatively. Hey wasn't he going to join the Templars if you didn't take him to the Deep Roads Expedition? And if Bethany was left behind she would be sent to the Mage's circle in the gallows.
"Me neither, the Templars were pretty strict about their uniforms. Wesley never told me about Templars with these colours before." Ever since being corralled by the Templars, Aveline had transferred her sword sheathe to her hip and kept her hand on it the whole time. At the top of the steps was a woman wearing robes with the same colour scheme as the Templars. Her outer robe was a midnight black while the inner robes were dyed a deep crimson. The woman herself was stunning, with alabaster skin perfectly contrasting with her long red, swept back hair. Emerald eyes followed our little group slowly as we ascended the steps.
"Mother Sofia, thank you for waiting for us." Meredith greeted with a deep bow. The rest of her Templars bowed as well and we were probably the only ones who didn't. "Thankfully, we found Messere Attano the minute we arrived at the Gallows."
Sofia smiled at Meredith softly, both hands clasped in front of her as if in prayer, "Your reputation for getting the job done as efficiently as possible precedes you, Knight-Commander. Maker smile on you," She gave a half bow before turning to look at me directly.
"It is so good to see you again, Vasili." How the hell did she know me? Who the hell was this anyway? She was never in the game or the books or the comics! I give a stiff nod in return at this and Mother Sofia opens the giant doors for us. "Please enter; both the Grand Clerics are waiting for your arrival."
Please tell me Manah did not put me in another person's body! I hope she just created a real history for me instead, that would make me feel a little better right now.
As soon as I, the Hawke family, Aveline, the Knight-Commander as well as Mother Sofia enter the threshold, we could hear the soft sounds of piano music filling the air. And once I recognised the song, I knew that Manah was behind this little shocker.
Crimson lights
The sky,
The bird still asleep
Like a dream
It shines,
From heaven's safe keep
Children's songs
We sung,
As soft as the breeze
Endless fields,
Our home,
I long for those days
Seriously Manah, are you really singing Growing Wings from the Drakengard soundtrack? I am not impressed at all.
I call out these prayers to the sky, heavy with thought, see your face
I carry these memories inside, thoughts of a soul
Coloured by love
See me grow wings and fly high, passions will die
Down below
I burn in a basin of fire; watchers look on as they dance in their merciless sky
Watching me,
Watching you
Apparently though, everyone else was enchanted by her voice because they listen in awe at how beautiful her voice was.
Silent black,
The dawn,
And time tell its tale
Darkened blood,
It flows,
The forest receives
Look within
The dark
As deep as you dare
There inside
You find
Destruction you seek
We slowly made our way towards the elevated alter, where we could see two people. One was seated at the piano that was set in front of Andraste's golden statue. The other was standing behind the first, head bowed low and hands together as if in prayer.
I call out these prayers to the sky, heavy with thought, see your face
I carry these memories inside, thoughts of a soul
Coloured by love
See me grow wings and fly high, passions will die
We ascended the stairs quietly, most out of respect for the one playing on the piano so that she wouldn't be disturbed while I just didn't want to catch their attention. The one standing behind the pianist was Grand Cleric Elthina, her matronly appearance calm and serene as she listens to the soothing yet very ominous song if you know where the song came from and if you understood the message behind it.
Down below
I burn in a basin of fire; watchers look on as they dance in their merciless sky
We were close enough to see who the pianist is and I couldn't help but face palm as I see who was playing. I should have guessed it, I thought to myself as I look at and adult version of Manah playing the piano, completely absorbed in her performance. Why does she keep changing her appearance anyway? First it was her six year old self, then it was her twenty-something year old self and now it was like an upgraded version of her twenty-something self because I do not remember her having those curves back in Ferelden.
Watching me,
Watching you
"I used to sing this to you back home. Do you remember Vasili?" Manah asks as she slowly turns to lock her blood red eyes with mine. Aside from the upgraded figure, she still looked exactly the same, pale skin, short blond hair. She was wearing the same colour schemed as Mother Sofia and I finally remember that this was the same colour her clothes were in the first Drakengard game.
"I do," I say simply as I watch her stand from her seat before closing the cover for the piano keys. She takes her time as she straightens her robes before approaching us. I think she also got a bit taller because now the top of her head reached just underneath my nose. We stare at each other for a long while, me with a questioning gaze while she just looks up to me and smiles. A small dainty hand slowly takes one of mine and my eyebrows continue to go up into my hairline,
"How long has it been, since your exile?"
"A while," Fuck her for not filling me in on this!
"You say a while, but I think five years can't be used within 'a while'," She giggles at her own joke as she brings my gauntlet covered hand to her cheek and lets out a soft sigh. Everyone takes in a sharp breathe as they find out that I've been exiled for five years now and I was pretty surprised as well. But this little acting sketch was fraying my nerves badly and with a heavy sigh, I pull my hand away from Manah.
"Alright, why are you here Manah?" I say as I cross my arms in agitation. The action seemed to have garnered a negative response from the group behind us because more gasps come from them. "I don't think you're even supposed to be here!" Manah seemed nonplussed by it only clenching both hands into fists before dropping them to her sides.
"Couldn't an older sister visit her baby brother?"
"What?!" All of us turn to look at Marian who had quickly covered her mouth with both hands. She was blushing all the way to her roots and by the way she was shrinking in on herself, she wanted to disappear. "S-sorry, don't mind us! We'll… just be waiting outside the Chantry!" With that everyone besides Meredith, Elthina, Manah and I, leaves the Chantry and stand outside the grand doors.
"Thank you, for this Elthina! You don't know how much this means to me, to my family. I am in your debt," Manah bowed at waist level, but Elthina was quick to stop her.
"Nonsense, my dear, family is important to all of us. I'll give you some privacy." She gives a polite nod to Meredith before she ascends the steps to her private quarters.
I couldn't help but pinch the bridge of my nose to distract me from the growing headache I felt, "Seriously Manah, what are you doing here? You are ruining so many things just by being in Kirkwall!"
"Don't be such a drama queen! I can't interfere with anything directly, only influence what people do. By showing up and practically telling everyone that you have friends in high places, and then I'm just helping speed up the process of your credibility. No one would want to work with a 'nobody' right?" The headache was actually getting worse at this point, "because seven years from now, the Knight-Commander will need your help in culling the mage threat."
"Wait, I thought you were giving me free reign to do and choose whatever? Now I'm siding with the Templars at the End Game?" Manah smiles at my question before leaning back on the piano. She lets out a content sigh for a reason I don't know before replying,
"Whatever you do from this point to the end game, I leave that up to you. But I suggest you start collecting followers, people willing to fight and die for you because when the time comes, you'd need an army at your beck and call. And besides, this will also help you through the crises you will come across in the future; the Qunari invasion for example." Why was she talking about this and not in dreams anyway? Spilling future events in front of the Knight-Commander, what's up with that?
"Don't worry about Meredith, Vasili; she is a devout Andrastian that will help our cause."
"I get that, but won't revealing events that haven't happened ruin everything we're planning?" And what was with the Knight-Commander being silent about all this? Shouldn't she be angry that we knew what would happen in the next seven years and didn't plan to prevent them? "Wait, did you just read my thoughts? That's uncool, Manah!"
Manah sighs tiredly before making her way towards the Knight-Commander, who I notice was still at the same position she was when we first arrived. "I always love it when I find individuals who were so bound to a calling. Fanatics are my favourite, ask me why." Couldn't she just tell me straight away? Why was she being so round about?
"Fine, why are fanatics your favourite Manah?"
"They are the most susceptible to my influence. Just like Meredith here. She's so beautiful, isn't she?"
"This is going into really weird territory very fast." I was starting to feel uncomfortable about all this; how Manah was circling Meredith like a predator, how she ran a finger along Meredith's armour.
"I know you've thought of depraved things about the Knight-Commander. What you wanted to do with her, how you wanted to do her." Super uncomfortable right now, how the hell did we get so off topic? I thought we were talking about why she was throwing wrenches at the plan I thought of back in Lothering?
"Ok, I'll bite. How exactly do you know that? Did you go through my Laptop's history or something, because that would be impossible because I always go incognito when browsing… the questionable websites?"
"Your mind is like an open book to me. I know your ideals, your darkest secrets, your deepest desires. But, let's not go there right now, ok? Let's get back to talking about the Knight-Commander and why she's so…" I could hear her doing something to Meredith's armour. With a final click, "compliant," her breastplate fell to the ground and I started freaking out.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the fuck are you doing Manah? How…is she not angry or not doing anything at all?" Manah ignored me as she proceeded to untie the chainmail underneath the armour. It fell away easily enough and all that was left underneath was her underclothes a.k.a. underwear. I really wanted to ask Manah one more time what the hell was going on but the distraction right in front of me was so… Why was everyone in this dimension so gifted! How old is Meredith anyway and why is she so hot?!
"The Knight-Commander lives and breathes the Chantry. Everything she does is for this so-called 'Maker' of hers."
"Hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing!"
"If your intentions were pure and true, then it is most definitely not a bad thing. But, of course, the people who do things with pure intentions are extremely rare in your world, this world, any world. Most of the time, humans do it for different reasons; money, power, status… For Meredith it was revenge." Manah didn't stop with the armour. She cast aside Meredith's hood as well as the circlet she wore. She didn't stop until the Knight-Commander was fully nude and I started to worry about people suddenly barging in and stopping the show- I mean, uh, something? "It was child's play for me to latch on to that and manipulate what she believed in and now here she is; the once proud Templar just another bitch under my heel." I hope she didn't do anything this crazy to me. It would suck if she did this to me and I can't remember anything about it. On a side note, Meredith has a rocking body.
"I give up! What the hell is going on! Why did you strip the Knight-Commander? Why are you fucking with her mind? What the fuck?!" I am confused beyond being confused right now.
"Vasili, can you try and pay attention to what I'm trying to teach you here? Maker, it's like I'm teaching a child!"
"Hey!"
"What have I've been saying so far? What can you get out of this little demonstration?" All this to teach me something, where was the logic in all of this?
"Can you just answer it for me? I can't even begin to understand all of this and the naked woman in front of me is very distracting." Manah sighs loudly before shaking her head. She even started tsk-ing at me!
"Disappointing," She pushed down on Meredith's shoulder to get her to kneel, "I just taught you another aspect of your power, silly! Meredith had darkness festering in her heart. What does your gift let you do?"
"Control darkness?" I say unsurely, because honestly my brain is going up in flames right now trying to connect how things ended up like this.
"Yes, Darkness and all of its forms is under your command. So far, I've seen you create from the darkness and you have taken the first tentative steps in trying to give life to your creations. You're almost there by the way, but your missing one last thing."
"Which is?" I ask but Manah ignores the question completely.
"For the first part of your quest, that was more than enough. Now though, you cannot just go around killing everyone in your way. Now you have to learn how to manipulate and control certain people to get the most desired outcome. Kirkwall is all about politics and you need to have people in power at the palm of your hands to do so."
"This power seems too good to be true. It's like you just gave me the cheat code for activating god mode in this dimension or something! Making things this easy for me is going to be really boring and stuff, it will be fun and all, but still!" Manah smiles again before replying,
"Nothing in life is ever easy. You have to learn how to control this side of your powers because you won't be able to suddenly brainwash people at a whim." She straightens up before brushing off imaginary dirt from her robes. "Now then, you have completed the first part of your quest in this dimension and things will only start getting harder from here."
"Ok?"
"The 'tutorial' phase is complete and now it's all up to you to survive until the end game. Good luck, my champion, if you need advice all you need is to find me."
"Wait, what am I supposed to do with Meredith!" Manah's form starts to waver, disappearing like she was just an illusion.
"Whatever you want to, Vasili," Half of her body is gone now.
"Giving me this much power isn't good you know! Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that jazz!" Only her smirking visage remained now.
"Isn't that the whole point of this whole adventure?" With that last weird comment, she vanishes. Alright Vas, just role with the punches I guess. You just found out in a very complex way that I have been granted 'Mary Sue' privileges, except that I'm not a fictional character but the author himself. And I would probably abuse the shit out of my powers now and will probably use it to do stuff that every pervert in the gaming society could only dream of.
Wait, isn't a Mary Sue character supposed to be perfect from the very beginning? Was I acting all perfect in the very beginning? Well, whatever, I am going to go back and enjoy this little adventure with a newfound enthusiasm! Complete powah!
Now what was I going to do with Meredith now? Alright, you've seen lots of things on the internet about mind control and stuff. Just instruct her to act normal around other people until we're both alone and stuff, that's how it usually works right? But, maybe I should test out how well the mind control is working first?
Decisions, decisions…
XXXXXX
In the end I told the brainwashed Knight-Commander to get dressed before people start wondering what was taking us so long and investigate. I did not want the Hawke's finding me in a compromising position with Meredith right now because that will ruin any credibility or trust that I had built up for the last six months and that would be bad. So with an instruction to act like your normal self unless ordered otherwise both of us exited to Chantry to find the Hawke family and Aveline still waiting for us. Luckily, I thought about this moment of silent awkwardness and gave Meredith my first order.
"We will try to find serrah Gamlen as soon as possible. Good day, Messere Attano." She gives a curt nod to me before marching off with the rest of her Templars. Now that I think about it, doesn't this mean that I control the Templars now since Meredith was my sexy puppet? I could get used to all this powah.
Ah shit, not even ten minutes in and I'm already starting to get drunk with power. I silently laugh at that before giving a wave to the staring Hawkes and Aveline. The first to approach me, of course, was Marian. She quirked an eyebrow at me which clearly meant that I should explain what happened inside.
"So, I should really explain what all that was, huh?"
"You should,"
"Right, right, so as you guys found out the Grand Cleric of the Anderfels is my sister. And I am obviously from the Anderfels as well," Lying always helps in tight situations like this.
"And what was the reason you were exiled exactly? Your sister being the Grand Cleric and all is usually a great card to play when you're in trouble." Aveline asks as she crosses her arms. She didn't look angry but was genuinely curious about my fake made up situation. I sighed and rubbed the back of my head like this subject was a sore spot for me.
"It's not a great card to play when she was the one to order your exile in the first place…"
"What, b-but I thought family meant everything to your people!" That was Carver speaking for the what, third time since I've met him? I always thought he would start whining about everything.
"Yes, but she didn't just exile me on a whim! She had to choose between me and the people who looked up to her for guidance! She had to sacrifice one for a million others…" Whoa, where did this emotion come from all of a sudden? I've never been this good at lying.
"That's horrible," I turned to look at Bethany and smiled at her. I've never met anyone who was kind to everyone like Bethany, sweet girl.
"It was the right thing to do, in the end." Hearing the sounds of heavy metal boots going up the stairs to the Chantry, we all see a Templar escorting an irate Gamlen. His frown disappears however when he catches sight of us, or more specifically; Leandra.
"Leandra! Damn girl, the years have not been kind to you," Gamlen says to my confusion. How can the years be not kind to her, she looks amazing for a woman her age!
"Gamlen," She greets happily enough but stopped when her brother raised a hand.
"Let me say up front, I wasn't expecting this. The Blight, your husband dead... I'd, ah, figured you'd pretty much be Ferelden for life!" He averts his eyes, not looking at Leandra. I already knew the reason why he was acting so suspicious but I wonder if anyone else noticed how he was acting, how his body language and tone of voice was not welcoming at all.
"Oh brother it was horrible! The Darkspawn came and killed everyone in Lothering!"
"And what exactly do you want me to do? You're already inside Kirkwall and it seems to me that you have friends powerful enough to boss around Templars!" I hate Gamlen, to tell you guys the truth. Throughout all three chapters he was just an asshole all the way.
"We've all saved plenty of coin back in Ferelden, but relying on that isn't really the best idea. We need jobs." That was Aveline this time. You're probably wondering why I'm not just throwing money at all their problems like I originally intended, but you have to realize that everyone here was fiercely independent. They want to earn and succeed through adversity rather than ask people for money. So it wasn't just the game developers thinking that the missions were a way of giving you quests by collecting a set amount of money, but it also reflected the character of the person.
"Ok, maybe I can contact a few acquaintances of mine for that; it won't be glamorous jobs though. Nothing in Kirkwall is ever glamorous."
"Thank you so much, Gamlen. Is it alright if we go the estate first? It's been a long trip…" Gamlen starts to fidget and averts his eyes at this, wringing his hands together nervously.
"Right, about the estate, it's uh, gone. To settle a debt, I've been meaning to write you."
"Surely not everything is gone!"
"Sadly, yes, everything is gone now. I was evicted into Low town because everything is gone."
"You guys can stay with me for the time being if you like." I say before the drama could continue. I myself wanted to just crash. "As for the jobs though, it's better to go with Gamlen." I just notice that I was still holding my helmet, huh. Without further ado I put it back on. I don't really need to be in full armour but I feel better with it on. "It's like an unspoken rule here in Kirkwall; you can succeed either by being a mercenary, a smuggler, a whore, or a noble."
"Or a slaver," Adds Gamlen
"Or a slaver," I nod. There was a soft clearing of someone's throat and all of us turned to see Mother Sofia smiling at us. As soon as everyone's attention was on her she gave a polite nod towards me.
"You lot will have to work hard to make a name for yourselves though," Gamlen says, "This is a tough town to live in. It will take at least a year before you can get any recognition from someone important enough!"
"Messere Attano, if you will follow me to your estate, we can get you and your guests settled." She didn't even wait for a reply before marching off. Hopefully since we were already in High town we didn't have to go anywhere far because walking up those steps from Low town? That was a fucking nightmare, I tell ya what.
"The voyage is over, we've finally made it to Kirkwall," Leandra says with a sigh. The Hawke children smile at that as they walk alongside their mother. Aveline stays at the back of the group also happy that everyone was finally safe. I myself felt relieved that the Prologue of this adventure was over with and now we could progress through the story line. As early as now, I was already thinking if I would get sent into another dimension once this one was over with.
I wonder if I'll go through Mass Effect as well, finish off Bioware's games before jumping to another franchise. Wouldn't that be fun…?
"The Blight may still spread, but for now we have a new home," Marian says with a smile as she looks at the different Merchant stand we were passing by. High town was a lot bigger in person than what they showed you in the game, there were more houses and some of them were at least four stories tall. Citizens in fancy robes wore golden rings on each finger and pearl necklaces or diamond earrings without a care in the world. The streets were practically shining by how clean they were.
"Let's see what happens. We have a long year ahead of us"
XXXXXX
"Thus began the Champion's first year in Kirkwall. Word arrived from across the sea that the Hero of Ferelden had defeated the Blight. But Lothering was destroyed. Kirkwall was the Champion's home now. So she made her name, settling debts with the mercenaries and smugglers she had to work with. It was a busy year in the city. That's when the Qunari landed. A great storm caught their ship and left hundreds of warriors stranded in the city, waiting to return home. That's also when the trouble began with the mages. The Templars had become very powerful under Knight-Commander Meredith. But most importantly, that's when I first met the Champion.
"As for Vasili Attano, he stayed in the shadows where he thrived. He started recruiting outcasts and the scums of the land and formed his own, fast expanding mercenary band; Dead Cell. Pretty soon, he and the Champion were making a name for themselves. The Hawke's for being one of the best, if not the best, swords for hire and Vasili for being the man to approach if you wanted a new start in life. But one thing they had established during their first year in Kirkwall, you do not fuck with either."
End Chapter 2
Go to YouTube and find Growing Wings, Drakengard 2 version, if you want to listen to it. Don't go for Drakengard 1 version because you won't hear the lyrics at all.
Some of you may ask why Manah started doing the crazy stuff and to answer that question, I wanted to show how Manah was an evil bitch. She doesn't care about anything else aside from the completion of her task. If she alters anything too heavily in a dimension by bringing in an unknown variable into the equation, then so be it. If she finds anyone she can brainwash to do her bidding to accomplish her goals, then so be it. If she gives away god-like powers to someone who will probably abuse it, hey as long as the job gets done then so be it!
Also note that she is a chronic liar.
Leave a review and tell me your thoughts on this, or if you're busy how about a word or smile to tell me that you enjoyed my fic? Constructive criticism is appreciated and any misspelled word or wrong grammar you find, please tell me so that I can fix it. :)
Also, if you don't like the story, then that's alright with me but please do not take the time to send something negative my way.
Have a question, ask and I'll try to answer as soon as I am able to but know that the questions you have will probably be answered in the next chapters.
Until chapter 3 then, next weekend as always…
Bye