The journey to Kirkwall was endless. Between highwaymen, arguing Templars and mages, and the occasional wolf pack, prayers were the only thing coming out of their mouths when the group of Circle Tower refugees arrived at Kirkwall's docks. Nethra was unsure as to what happened to Cullen after his clamour. If she was being honest, she was trying not to care. Dispelling a mage's magic when they are posing no threat was a high offense during the elf's first few years at the Tower, and now she finally knew why. It left her helpless, restless, and now, angry. She and her group marched up to the city's guards, Enchanter Eowyn briefing them about the situation.
"Enchanter Wynne of Fereldan Circle wrote a letter several weeks ago informing the guard of us. We are the refugees from the blood mage crisis. We were told you would be expecting us."
"Mages escaping feuds with Templars , huh? Good luck." The guard scoffed sarcastically as he signalled his squadron to open the gate.
Kirkwall's Circle was welcoming to Nethra and the rest of the survivors. They vowed to keep the refugees inside their walls until the Blight was over. At first, the Fereldens was excited to start anew, with a new Grand Enchanter and new mages to mingle with – that was, until they met Knight-Commander Merideth.
She was a discerning woman with a burning hatred for mages that overshadowed any reason. If Nethra thought the old Circle was tense, it was nothing compared to the clashing of Grand Enchanter Orsino and Knight-Commander Merideth. Two weeks after arriving in Kirkwall, Nethra had already seen multiple mages get punished for looking at a Templar the 'wrong way'. She made a point to only practice her magic in her room. The rest of her training would have to be learned by book, which she was used to doing anyway. She could have sworn that the Templars consumed more lyrium than the mages most of the time.
One day, on the way to the library, Nethra spotted a familiar head of blond curls walking down through the keep.
"Cullen?" She spoke, staring at him. The man turned around. His eyes dark from lack of sleep and his skin was only a shade darker than the pale white complexion that haunted him was the last time she had seen him.
"Yes?" he asked, quietly.
"It is you." She almost whispered. Nethra walked briskly toward him with a half-smile. "It's good to see you."
"I'm sorry…" He whispered. She almost smiled fully. He was sorry for what he did. "…but do I know you?"
She was not expecting that.
"What do you mean? It's me, Nethra. You know, your assigned partner at the Circle Tower? You know, Kinloch Hold?"
"Kinloch Hold… Nothing good has ever come from such a place." He mumbled. He turned and walked away without even glancing at her.
Nethra's brows were stuck furrowed for the rest of the day, trying to figure out just what happened to him.
Slowly, the sky grew dark as the day came to an end. Nethra had retired to her bedroom chamber to practice the spellcasting she had been studying earlier that day. She spun her staff, as the pictures in the book showed her, and finally hit the heft of it against the ground, causing sparks to appear out of the gemstone mounted to its oaken base. She thrust the staff to the right, spinning it once more before casting a miniaturized lightning spell, the purpose being to keep enemies in a static cage, only shocking them when they tried to escape the boundaries.
She smiles with contentment as she watched the cage linger, slowly disappearing after a minute or so. She decided to switch to her healing techniques. The elf picked up a small broken dwarven puzzle box that she had found in the library one night. She focused her energy, allowing her power to run through her body and out her hands. The box glowed green as the small rectangular parts began to mend back together.
Suddenly, her door opened swiftly. Nethra looked over, somewhat shocked. Bedroom checks were to begin two hours from then. The armoured woman that opened the door stood in surprise for a moment before rushing through the room to grab the small elf's arms.
"There is to be no magic conducted without a supervisor, knife-ear. You will be gravely punished for this."
Her grip tightened as she pulled a stuttering Nethra out of her room and through the corridors.
"I found this one practicing magic without accompaniment, Ser. What would you have me do?" The female Templar asked to her higher-ranked brethren when they arrived in the Templar's half of the Chantry.
"You know the punishment." The officer whispered, a dark tone resonating from his throat. The woman nodded, leading Nethra through another assortment of halls until they reached a small study.
The room was bare except for a stone platform surrounded by candles. The air reeked of death. "W-wait.." The elf managed to sputter out as the woman shoved her toward the platform, "This isn't what I think it is, right? I wasn't harming anyone! I was just practicing my healing spells-"
"Quiet!" The woman hissed, marching out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
"Andraste's mercy…" The brunette whispered. She was never one to believe in the Maker, being raised at an early age to believe in the old Elven Gods. But at the moment, she was desperate. If her presumptions were correct, the Templars intended to make her Tranquil. She looked around the room, stopping to stare out of the stained glass window that stood high up on the structure's stone walls.
Three Templars burst through the door followed by the woman who dragged Nethra into the room. Two of them swiftly grabbed the brunette's shoulders and pushed her down onto the stone slab. Tears formed in her eyes as she began to plead with the armored group.
"Please don't do this… I was sent here to harness my powers, not to be ridded of them!" The third Templar raised his hand and placed his fingers onto Nethra's forehead. "Please!" She screamed. His hand began to glow. She lashed around in an attempt to escape. "NO!" She shrieked. A loud sequence of clamouring sounded as the four Templars in the room were knocked backward into the stone walls, leaving them unconscious. The elf opened her eyes, panting. "This again?" She whispered.
"What's going on in there?" She heard a voice shout from outside the door. It was knocked open quickly to reveal Cullen. "You again…" He was quick to notice the unconscious bodies surrounding the mage, drawing his sword hastily.
"I didn't mean to, I swear…" She said, whimpering as her former friend slowly stepped toward her.
"What in Andraste's name is going on in there? Is everything alright?" Another voice sounded. Cullen turned his head to shout back to Knight-Commander Merideth.
"No! This mage just-" He turned to look at the mage, but she was nowhere in sight. The only difference in the room was the opened stain glass window.
Hello friends it's me again! Feel free to review my story and follow if you're enjoying it! :)