Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

Chapter 13 (Studying)

Tori played with the small toddler in the bedroom while Trina sat at her ancestor's desk. Above the desk was the family crest, which looked like two birds facing each other with their talons meeting and their wings out behind them. She heard the toddler laugh and Trina slowly looked over, smiling as she watched the two. She was making a promise to that baby, she'd find her mother. Sebastian told them the baby's name was Rachel and she was the light of Sarah's world.

It was strange that Sebastian didn't stay in the estate, but he had duties at the Chantry. That was understandable.

She slowly pulled her cell phone from her pocket and peered down at it with raging curiosity. The phone was still on, the battery life was full and could probably be charged by electric mage powers if possible, but there were no bars. She'd checked the clock on her phone, synced it with the watch she had on her wrist, and gauged by the sun in the sky that they were all in approximately the same time. It could be useful to have such futuristic items. It went without saying, the friends probably had futuristic items on them as well. "I wonder how well Daddy's 9mm would fare against some of the creatures today…"

Probably not well, when considering the magic in today's time.

"Tori. Why are your friends even here?" Tori quickly looked up as the young toddler curled into her lap. Trina pushed the phone back into her pocket and lifted her hand, pushing her hair back. "Seriously, they don't even need to be here. It's dangerous for one thing, but-"

"They're here for you, Trina. I guess they see this adventure as an opportunity to make things right." Trina rolled her eyes and turned to the desk, picking up a pen she had carried over with her. Tori looked over and raised her eyebrows. "Are you writing on a sheet of paper with an ink pen? Don't they have feathers to write with or something?"

"I prefer writing with a pen than to dip feathers into ink. Especially when I'm taking notes." She had her ancestor's journal with her and was writing down all the important facts of the places her ancestor was in. The pen she was using was a round silver ballpoint pen that she loved. It has a checker pattern on the cap and a rounded bulb on the back of the pen, which emitted a small light when she pressed the button on the side. "Have to do the research, Tori. We're in an old place, you think we know everything just because we know Daddy's stories?"

"No…So this is what you spend all your time in your room doing, huh? Research?"

"Studying, yeah, I am a college student now."

"Right…I wish Bethany didn't have to go back to that Circle place. We won't get to see her. Did you find anything on that?"

"Yes." Tori walked over to Trina, letting the toddler play with its toy on the ground. Trina had some notes written down already of the entry into her ancestor's journal regarding what The Circle was. In ancient history regarding the Chantry, they used magic within their own walls to keep up an eternal flame in every cathedral. These mages would be put to lighting candles and lamps within every cathedral. In protest, a group of mages snuffed out these sacred flames and barricaded themselves within the confines of the choir area. The Divine at the time, essentially the equivalent of the head nun in Trina's time, was outraged by this. Twenty-one days, the fires remained unlit while negotiations were conducted as legend goes, by shouting back and forth from the loft.

After this period, the mages were allowed to go into exile in a remote fortress outside the capital, where they would be kept under watch of the Templars and a council of their own elder magi. They would be placed outside normal society, outside the chantry in a closed society much like a reservation. This society would be called The Circle.

"The circle is the dominant organization for training of mages within nations of Thedas," Tori read, her eyes drifting form word to word. Trina leaned back, chewing absently on the tip of her pen. "It is governed and monitored by the Chantry. The Circle is allowed to take any child from their families as soon as they show signs of magical ability, including those from royals and nobility…that child is raised and trained by the circle until they reach adulthood, at which time they either go through the Harrowing or be made Tranquil. What's that?"

"The harrowing is a test to become a full member of the circle. They enter into a dreamlike state that is called the fade in which they are tempted by demons. If the mage resists, they are a full member. If they don't resist, they are killed by Templars standing around in wait." Tori's frowned and Trina's blood ran cold, she had to do everything to make sure Tori didn't fall into the hands of the Circle. Of course, there was also Sinjin, who was still with Anders, and that could be a problem. "As far as a mage being made tranquil, it's believed that the tranquil can no longer be possessed by demons. They are cut off from the fade, meaning they can no longer dream. That being said…their emotional center is completely removed. To be made tranquil is apparently something that even the Chantry deems wrong unless there is strong and correct reason to do that."

"Oh my god…What have we got ourselves into?"

"Deep shit? Let's continue studying…" Tori slowly nodded her head and continued to read the journal entry regarding the Circle.

"The Circles refers to Circle fortresses and usually are located in remote, difficult to reach areas. There are outposts in major cities for purpose of trade, though. The Circle maintains a neutral policy, since the Chantry could take action against them if they get into the habit of getting involved into conflicts." Tori straightened herself and exhaled slowly. "Trina, I'm not sure what to make of this Circle."

Trina narrowed her eyes and moved her pen to the sheet of paper on the desk. "Me either…" She pulled her phone from her pocket once more and Tori stared at it. "Tori, how is this phone able to turn on right now? I understand the battery giving it the juice it needs, but other than that…it's still pretty useless."

"Could work if it worked like one of those radio communicators though, couldn't it?"

"Maybe." It was a blackberry, much like what Sinjin and a couple of Tori's friends had, and she knew they had walkie-talkie like communications, but she was skeptical about whether or not it would truly work. "If you're a mage, you could potentially enchant this phone to work, couldn't you?"

"Maybe, but I don't know how…I'm just discovering this stuff." Tori lifted her hand up and frowned as she formed a glowing white circle around her hand. "Before she left, Bethany told me what she could, but…I still don't know how to deal with all the advanced stuff."

"You're just going to have to learn from Merrill and Anders then. I'm sure they'll be able to really help."

"Yeah…I guess so."

"Didn't Bethany say they had an uncle living over in Lowtown somewhere? Gamlen, I think his name was." A real prick, from the sound of it. At the same time, judging by how Bethany spoke of him, he was also a compassionate person. "We should probably let him in on what's happened with Sarah…among others…I wonder if we shouldn't notify Meredith…"

Who all would they have to notify besides Gamlen? Grand Cleric Elthina of the Chantry? Orsino and Meredith? "Trina, think about who they are. We can't even know if one of them is the ancestor that has Sarah! We can't trust Meredith or Orsino. Plus if we were to tell Meredith a mage put the Champion down like a diseased dog, it might start something…"

At the mention of 'dog', the big Mabari pup, King, lifted his head up from the ground. The dog was laying on the bed, watching over the family. He was yellow like a Labrador and built like a Great Dane. One of the greatest types of guard dogs out there.

"But remember, Orsino and Meredith bothtrust Sarah. They turn to her for guidance. If they know something's wrong with her…they might try to help. This is before their big mess." They would know she's missing eventually, Trina didn't think she looked that much like Sarah. She may, however, but she didn't think she wanted to chance it. "I can't go around pretending I'm Kirwall's champion, either."

"We have to do something."

"We are doing something. We're here. Trying to study these things and get to work on fixing the problems…" Studying was always a chore, boring but necessary. She needed to understand what was going on. She scratched her head and leaned back in the wooden chair, sighing in boredom. She really missed Sinjin, her heart mourned over the fact that he wasn't here and she couldn't talk to him. She didn't want to alarm anyone over it, though. "How far away is Darktown, I wonder? I know Anders has his clinic there…"

"Aveline said if we go anywhere we shouldn't travel alone. Not to mention, we still need clothes."

"We already have that dealt with." She pointed to the wardrobe beside the bed and smirked. "Sarah's clothes fit me perfectly, and I know Bethany is sending in some of hers for you. Anyway, have a seat, we have a long night ahead of us…"

At Anders's clinic in Darktown, Sinjin watched his ancestor work to heal the sick patients coming in and laying on fur topped wooden beds. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over. His eyes drifted to his watch and his eyebrows rose up, it must be around 5:00. The sun seemed to match where the time would be, but this was just one of those eras where it probably didn't matter.

"I can see it in your eyes," Anders walked over to him, frowning as he crossed his arms. "You think I'm a killer. What have you heard of me?"

"Stuff I don't feel comfortable telling you about that's coming in the future. Just know, I know what you did that Trina's ancestor wanted nothing to do with." Anders slowly nodded his head and motioned for him to follow. Sinjin pushed himself from the wall and followed the man over to one of the patients on the bed.

"You probably don't see the things that I see, people come into my clinic all the time…having been attacked by the Templars or attacked by Mages and what does the Chantry do? All they do is sit idly by, playing their 'neutrality' card. They sit as a chance of compromise, and what I believe is, they're useless."

"You're going to kill innocent lives."

"That may be, but it will get the point across."

"You might start a war…and I want nothing to do with it. I'd rather not have to deal with Trina deciding whether or not to kill me." He watched Anders perform magic on the patient and send them on their way after checking to make sure they were okay. His foot tapped absently on the ground as he gazed outside the door to the clinic. "This place is…very drab…"

"This town used to be a mining town long ago. The mineshafts were extended beneath the disposing sewage from Kirkwall's population of slaves. There's this group called the Tevinter Slavers…Fenris used to be a slave, we freed him from there. The same is said of Hawke's maid, she pays the woman so she's given her a job. As for Darktown…" Anders pat his hands together and straightened himself. "These tunnels were a refuge for those fleeing the slavers. We call this place the 'undercity', home to all kinds of people…sick, insane, criminals, and even the dead…so yeah, I can understand why you might say it's 'drab' here."

He coughed at his ancestor's words, now concerned that they were in the middle of treacherous territory. It was still home, though, as far as Anders seemed concerned. "Sounds bad…" He almost didn't want Trina or her sister wandering around Darktown, but Trina could handle herself just fine.

"Well, it is my home and this is my job. Stay out of the sewers here and you'll be fine, it's like a maze down there. You're welcome to join Varric or Isabela over at the Hangman Pub in Lowtown, but I'm trying to teach you how to deal with your magic. It's take it or leave it, you know…whether you like your ancestor or not, I am the one in charge. If you want to be an asset to Trina, you have to know how to deal with your capabilities."

Those were powerful words, impacting deep inside him. He folded his arms and bowed his head, "Yeah, you're right. I can't let her down, especially not when Tori's friends are all full of crap." Anders turned his gaze to him and started to smile. Sinjin looked up, noticing the man's attentive stare. Feeling uncomfortable, he started to bark at the guy, but chose to keep his composure. "What is it?"

"You care for her, I could see it when you two were out on the Wounded Coast. You love her?"

"What's it to you?"

"Just a question." Anders rubbed his face and sighed as the last patient left the clinic. He walked to the door and shut it, locking them with some rope tied around the knobs. Sinjin sat on a crate and scratched at an itch on the back of his neck. "Now whatever it is you may know that I don't…please put it out of your mind, if you can. We have to work together, and for a mutual cause. Not just to try and stop whatever is going to happen between Meredith and Orsino, sure that is important but I think you know as well as I, or any of the other friends of ours out there, that finding Sarah Hawke is the priority here. She's also Trina's ancestor, so with that being said-"

"We have to find her."

"Exactly. After we do that, we can put an end to whatever the hell is fixing to happen here. However…just as we need to do it here, you're going to have to do it when you get home."

"What do you mean?" His suspicions grew as an ominous feeling began to creep up his spine. "What's going on back home?"

"Erin Lamont, the same mage who put Sarah under is from your time. She's planning an attack, possibly on the Kirkwall of your time…"

"We don't have a country with the name Kirkwall."

"Then it's possible the name has changed. It has been, what, five hundred years?"

"Yes…" This was bad, he wasn't aware of how serious of an issue they were going to have to face. Trina might be expecting only to put a stop to whatever was going on now. He had to let her know! "We need to tell Trina."

"We will, but first, let us work on your magic. If you're my descendent, that may mean you have some healing capabilities in you. That can prove to be a powerful asset on the field." He tapped his fingers on the side of the box, feeling the flow of magic rushing down to his hands as sparks started to erupt from his fingers. It scared him a bit, but he figured it was best. Though he didn't want this power forever, so maybe it could be controlled in the future.

"All right then…let's do it…" Anything he could do to help, to learn, he would. It was now, or never. "I'm ready."

Well, what do you think? Obviously I'm putting in some helpful bits from the journal entries in the game for you to further understand what things are.

What do you think of everything, seems Sinjin's slowly accepting his own ancestor.