"Who is winning?"

Gavren looked up from the chessboard at the sound of his mother's voice. "I'm letting Father win." He'd been expecting his father to focus on defense after the previous game, and had been caught off-guard by the sudden charge of the towers.

"Oh, that's your story, is it?" Cullen moved his mage, thereby sealing the fate of Gavren's king. "Checkmate." He looked up at Ruya. "He won the first two. Our son is rather good at this game."

"Does Kailey play?" Ruya raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "No. She never really cared for the game." He looked at the tiny form in his mother's arm and smiled fondly. "Kailey before she learns to talk. Enjoy it while it lasts."

Ruya handed Kailey to Cullen, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Brehan says Divine Victoria wishes to meet with us in the Chantry to discuss where to go from here." She looked across at Gavren as he started putting the pieces away. "What do you know about the Formless One?"

"One of the more annoying cults is dedicated to it. Brehan found some information that made him suspect..." His eyes narrowed. "Is that who is behind this?"

"That is our current theory. What did Brehan suspect?"

"That the cult may have been behind the assassination of King Alistair and Queen Cathiel."

She sat on Cullen's knee. "Tell me everything you know about this cult."

#

Salla sat quietly at the table, listening to the conversation. Brehan had just finished noting down what information they'd learned from Leandra when Kieran entered the room. Immediately, the spymaster turned toward him. "What do you know about the Formless One?"

"Only one of the Forbidden Ones remaining." Kieran tilted his head. "They were corporeal once, until they fled the battle and were banished."

"Imshael was desire. What is the Formless One?" Brehan raised an eyebrow.

"They were all desire, eldest of the gloom. Any animal can feel fear, hunger, or despair, but it takes intelligence to have want beyond need." Kieran's eyes half closed. "Xebenkeck was strongest, she led. The Formless One shifted, the nebulous desire for what one knows they can never have. Weakest, but most subtle and for that perhaps the most dangerous. Envy was born of desire, hatred of those who have what one does not, and the urge to destroy what one cannot have." Kieran accepted the plate of food she offered him, smiling in thanks. "'Tis this we face?"

"Depending on whether or not we can trust information provided by the Dread Wolf." Brehan shook his head. "Can we?"

"To whom was the information given, and why?" He took a bite out of the pastry, shifting the plate to catch the resulting crumbs.

"The Inquisitor. When the children first went missing, she begged for his help."

He swallowed. "Then he would tell her what he believes to be true, though perhaps not the whole." Kieran nodded. "She is his friend, and while he will use her if he can, he does not wish her to suffer pain he can ease."

"And yet he'll still destroy the world." Hawke shook his head.

"She is a mage of considerable power and wisdom. She may survive what is come if he succeeds, but that is irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?" Hawke practically choked on the word.

"There are always those the demons cannot match. Those that despair only makes stronger, that fear cannot dissuade, that base desire cannot touch, and that pride cannot bring down. When darkness threatens, heroes rise. That is the true magic of this world. The music swells, and you dance." Kieran smiled. "It is beautiful beyond words."

#

Duncan walked beside his father as they headed towards the Divine's office. Servants had provided them fresh clothes that fit well enough. He's considered for a moment leaving his armor behind, and decided against it. Demons and mages and who knew what else were about. He didn't miss that his father had also chosen to wear armor.

The Divine gave them a startled glance when she saw them, and then smiled. "Forgive me, seeing the two of you next to each other is very disconcerting."

He bowed. "Last time I visited your court, Most Holy, you called me by my father's name three times." He smiled. "A compliment of the highest order, to be sure."

"Ah. And there is your mother." Divine Victoria's voice was warm with approval. "The others are on their way. Young Agatha turned her sending crystal over to me and I have been in touch with House Brosca."

"Agatha?" Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Agatha Amell?"

"You are familiar with her?"

The elven spymaster was simultaneously one of the best assets to come from his alliance with Kal'Hirol and one of the biggest thorns in his side. "King Trian loaned her services to me shortly after the Qunari launched their attacks."

"King Trian?" Divine Victoria smiled. "I am looking forward to speaking with all of you in far greater detail." The door to the office opened again, admitting the Inquisitor and Commander Cullen, followed by Rutherford. A few moments later, it opened a second time to admit Teyrna Anora and Ser Loghain. "Brehan is filling the Hawkes in on what we have learned thus far, and determining what Kieran can add." Divine Victoria drew a deep breath. "Lenore and Brosca were tracking cultists that recently went silent. Brosca has confirmed that the cultists were devoted to this 'Formless One'"

"Gavren has confirmed that the cult is a problem in their time." The Inquisitor glanced over her shoulder at him, and then at Loghain. "It seems recent information revealed they may have been behind the assassination of King Alistair."

"What?" Duncan's head came up sharply. "Andraste's great flaming ass, that seems like the kind of thing I really should have been informed about."

"Until this moment, I did not realize you were unaware." The Inquisitor nodded apologetically. "Was there a reason he wasn't informed?"

"The information was new and had yet to be verified. We wanted to be certain, and ensure we addressed the problem of the entire cult rather than a single stronghold."

"They thought I'd overreact." Duncan folded his arms. He caught the look on Ser Loghain's face. "Stop agreeing with them."

"I humbly apologize for acknowledging reality, your majesty." Ser Loghain gave a small bow.

"Asshole." Duncan muttered the word under his breath before turning his attention back to the Divine.

"I'll admit, killing this cult before they kill me does sound like a good use of our time." King Alistair said, trying to hide his smile.

"We agreed." Divine Victoria inclined her head. "I have begun sending word to my agents, and Brehan is doing the same for the Inquisition, as well as seeing what the Red Jennies and House Brosca can find for us. This Formless One appears to have power on par with the magic that opened the Breach. It is not a threat we can ignore."

#

Leandra followed her father and uncle into the larger room. Kieran walked a few paces behind her. And Salla, Caleb, and Agatha managed to slip in before anyone could stop them. She saw Gavren standing with his parents, and immediately adjusted her trajectory. And did not miss her father's glare when she did so. That... was probably going to be an issue. No, that was definitely going to be an issue. Which is why they'd been eloping in the first place.

Maps and documents were strewn about on the table. Brehan walked over to add more, and Kieran followed him. It was kind of weird seeing him not glowing. Maybe that had something to do with the depowering that had apparently happened?

Divine Victoria smiled when she saw her. "Leandra. I would like you and the other children to sit with some of my agents. The information you can provide for us would be invaluable. Especially any information that pertains to Fen'Harel's activities."

She saw the younger version of the king narrow his eyes at the remark. Duncan shook his head and glared at Gavren. "No offense, but when it comes to the Dread Wolf, the last person we should be trusting is his fucking apprentice."

Her hand went for the hilt of her sword and she saw the king's bodyguard do the same. "You want to back way the hell off, your royal high-ass."

The room started to stir as people reacted to the lesser king's remark. She maintained her protective position in front of Gavren. His hand touched her shoulder in a calming gesture, and she heard his voice. "Whatever it is you think you know of my nature, I do not wish this world to end any more than you do. I am, as you may have noticed, very much human."

Kieran spoke up from where he stood at the table. "If the Formless One is slain, this moment will not..." He tilted his head, the motion vaguely birdlike. "Would not? Does not occur. The time will be set right, flowing to a shifted future. Changes will build upon each other, and sixteen years from now we will all be standing in a different river. None of you will remember the taste of these waters."

The Divine frowned. "Then we cannot change what occurred?"

"The changes will occur whether you will them or not. Any machinations of the Formless One will not survive his slaying."

"But if it resets, won't it all happen the same way again, with this Formless thing simply coming back?" Duncan frowned. "All looping about."

"Part of me lies outside time and will not reset. I'll be whole and me and remember, and thus the river shifts. No loops. Looping is bad."

"You are saying you can fix this?" The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes."

"Awesome." Leandra grinned. "Let's go kick demon ass."

"No." Her father's voice was flat.

"Agreed." Divine Victoria gave her a disapproving look, and then looked past her. "Salla, Caleb, would you be so kind as to take the other children back to your estate."

The look on the lesser king's face almost made being sent away worth it. He looked like he'd just inhaled a lemon as he turned towards the Divine. "Most Holy, I feel it necessary to point out that we are not, in fact, children."

"His royal highass has a point." Leandra took a step back to stand shoulder to shoulder with Gavren. "This is not our first fight."

"We do not know what exactly is going on or what forces are involved here. For all we know, if something happens to you in this time stream you'll be wiped out of existence entirely." Cullen folded his arms, his face stern.

"Keeping you safe is our priority here." The Divine's eyes were sympathetic.

"Look, we faced a qunari death squad and they gave us no trouble at all." Leandra waved a hand casually.

Next to her, Gavren shook his head. "You and I remember that battle differently."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "That's cause you're a worrywort."

"I'm a...?" He turned and stared at her. "You had four broken ribs and a knife sticking out of your leg."

"And they got their asses kicked." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, that's why you carry bandages."

He opened his mouth to retort and Loghain's voice interrupted them. "I'm not sure you two are actually helping our case." Loghain jerked his head at the aghast faces of the rest of the room.

Well. Shit. The Divine's eyes had gone from sympathetic to stone. "Salla?" The Divine raised one eyebrow.

Salla gestured for them to follow her. At the table, Kieran leaned over one of the maps. "We will need -"

"You're going with them." King Alistair gestured towards Salla.

"But I -"

"No." King Alistair shook his head firmly. "Kieran, you're in a weakened state and we have no idea how vulnerable that makes you." He folded his arms. "And frankly your parents scared the shit out me before they became their own pantheon. I really do not want to have to explain to them that we got you hurt or worse."

"I can -"

"We have information. We'll track down this Formless One. If we need your assistance, we know where to find you." The Inquisitor nodded to him.

"Go with the other kids." Her own father's voice was firm.

"Yes, Uncle Carver."

Well, at least the king and the god were also getting sent to their rooms. Small comfort.

#

Leliana watched the children go, though it was clear none of them were happy about it. A Qunari death squad? And... She turned to look at Ruya, and saw the fear on her old friend's face. Duncan had called Gavren the Dread Wolf's apprentice. That was going to require some kind of context. She sighed. "What do we know?"

"We know the cult originated along the border between Tevinter and Orlais." Brehan answered as he moved the map around. "We have the identities of a few members, and are trying to trace them now. Rector is probably our best option to head up the investigation on the Tevinter side, and House Brosca is lending us some of their agents as well."

#

Loghain watched his king pace back and forth and occasionally explode with curses. The Divine had actually sent a guard back with them, led by none other than The Iron Bull. Commander Cullen had sent one of the Inquisition's attaches, a man named Kels, with the order to 'keep an eye on the kids'. He was pretty sure Kels was actually younger than Jerath.

He shrugged, and gave Bull a respectful nod. "Iron Bull."

"You're Loghain, right?"

"I am."

"Knew your grandfather. For an old guy, he kicked some ass."

"Knew you, in the future. For an old guy, you kick a bit of ass yourself."

Bull grinned. "How do we know each other?"

"Competed against you and some of the Chargers at a tournament in Highever, two years ago."

"Yeah?" Iron Bull folded his arm and lifted his eyebrow. "Who won?"

"You went home with the prize for the melee, Grunt went home with the prize for the archers, Skinner went home with me." He smiled. "So I have to say I did."

For a moment, Bull just starred. And he smacked Loghain on the back and started laughing. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all." He gestured at his face, in the location of the tattoo. "Don't suppose you'll tell me what that's supposed to mean?"

"If you were meant to know, you would." He shrugged. "So I'm going to start asking you questions with the intention of getting you to reveal more information than you're supposed to. That alright?"

"I like you." Bull nodded.

"Yes." Loghain grinned. "You will."

#

Agatha listened with half an ear as Loghain started getting information out of Iron Bull. Had he implied? No. Surely not. But he was certainly managing to get some useful information. Bull shifted the subject pretty rapidly when Loghain got too close to the Tevinter border. Which meant that was likely where the problem was located. Mama Lenore was fine with sending her to handle a diplomatic thing, but she'd balk at sending her into an actual battle. As if Mama Lenore hadn't been taking on an archdemon at the same age.

"I'm not going to sit around here, twiddling my thumbs." Duncan finally stopped pacing. "I'm the bloody king of Ferelden."

"You're not, actually." Caleb smiled at him apologetically. "And it sounds like if they manage to kill this demon thing, you won't be for years yet."

"All the more reason I should be part of this. That thing killed my father and brought my country to the edge of war."

She glanced over her shoulder to see Trian quietly join them. She sighed, and turned back to Duncan. "The best we can do right now is help them figure out where this formless one is."

"I -" Kieran started to say something, but was interrupted when Duncan started talking again.

"No, the best we can do is join the fight. We've all seen combat. I'm twenty four bloody years old. Older than most of the Wardens when they saved Ferelden. And we've got more stake in this fight than most."

"If any of them died, would they be wiped from history?" Salla raised an eyebrow at Kieran.

"No."

"What if you died?"

"It would be inconvenient, certainly." Kieran tilted his head.

"Dying is a bit more than inconvenient." Jerath frowned at him.

"Not particularly. Mother kept a piece."

"You mean like how Flemeth put herself into an amulet?" Caleb gestured excitedly. "And Aunt Merrill brought her back on Sundermount and..." His eyes widened. "Oh, that's right. That was your grandmother."

"So you..." Salla bit her lip. "Can't actually die?"

"All things can die."

"But what would happen if I were to try stabbing you right now?" Caleb waved a hand.

"I would warn you politely not to." Kieran shrugged. "Once."

Loghain joined them as the Chargers left to go patrol the outside of the building, leaving them with Kels to watch over them. "Then, if the stories are true, he'd use your entrails to decorate his trees."

"No, that's Mother."

"I don't suppose he told you where this cult is located?" Duncan raised an eyebrow at Loghain.

"On the border between Tevinter and Orlais. I'm afraid that is as specific as I could get."

"Seriously?"

"I'm a knight, not a spy, and he used to be Ben-Hassrath. You're lucky I got that much, your majesty."

"What would you even do if you found out the location?" Agatha raised an eyebrow at Duncan.

"I'd go kill the bloody thing."

"By yourself?" Gavren looked up from where he was talking to Leandra.

"No." Jerath said the word calmly from where he stood behind Duncan.

"And they'd drag me along." Loghain shrugged.

"I'd come." Agatha grinned. "They did take a shot at one of my cousins."

"We'd go." Leandra touched Gavren's shoulder. "Though not following you." She narrowed her eyes at Duncan.

"I am the son of King Alistair of Ferelden."

Gavren stood. "I'm the son of Ruya Trevalyan, the Inquisitor who took down a god."

"Are we determining this based on rank or merit?" Kieran raised an eyebrow.

"Rank comes from merit." Duncan narrowed his eyes as he stared at Gavren, his stance hostile.

"Your rank comes from the merit of your parents." Kieran tilted his head.

"I'm also older than you."

"Actually, if we go that route, Salla was born first." Caleb gestured at his sister. "Two weeks before Agatha."

"I have actually existed for the greatest number of years save for Jerath, and he's following me," Duncan said. Salla laughed. Duncan glared at her. "What is amusing you?"

"Kieran, how old are you?"

"I do not know."

"How can you not know how old you are?" Jerath frowned at him.

"I predate all existing calendar systems."

"What?" Duncan stared at him.

"I am the host of Urthemiel, reborn of the Inheritor, the goddess Mythal, harbinger of the next age." He smiled. "Does that mean I am in charge?"

"No." Several voices said the word simultaneously, Agatha's among them.

"Very well. Then I cast my vote for Salla."

"We aren't voting." Duncan shook his head.

"I vote for Salla." Caleb immediately jumped on Kieran's idea.

"Me too." Agatha grinned, enjoying the panic starting to show on her best friend's face.

"Voting is irrelevant." Trian spoke up. "We don't know how to kill this Formless One, even if we knew where it was."

"It's in Nevarra, and fire should be sufficient."

They all turned to stare at Kieran. Kels eyes widened. "Wait, you know where it is?"

"That's what I was trying to tell them back in the Chantry."

"I've got to tell the Commander." Kels started walking towards the door.

"Jerath." Duncan glanced over his shoulder, and Jerath immediately moved to intercept Kels. Duncan turned back to the group. "You can take us to it? Help us kill it?"

"Yes."

"Alright." He took a deep breath, and then looked towards Gavren. "I'll accept Salla as leader, if you will."

"Wait -" Salla tried to protest.

"Done." Gavren nodded.

"This is insane." Trian shook his head.

"You don't have to come." Duncan nodded to him.

"Yes, I do."

"Why?" Duncan raised an eyebrow.

"Because of him." Trian gestured at Kieran.

"Me?" Kieran looked startled.

"When your father walked into Orzammar, my mother was near starvation trying to keep me fed. He gave her coin, kept her safe, gave her life back to her and never asked anything in return. Now she's..." Trian took a deep breath. "Everything I have, everything I will become, I owe to him. So if you're going along on this, I am too."

"I will point out that we are still in Kirkwall, surrounded by Inquisition soldiers, the Kirkwall guard, Templars, the Ferelden Honor Guard, the Griffin Riders, and the Chargers." Loghain gestured at Kels. "And him, the guy who just overheard our destination. I give us three miles before they drag us back by our earlobes."

"Well, oh fearless leader?" Caleb grinned at Salla.

#

Salla felt panic rising. Somehow, she was in charge of... Okay. Getting out of the house would be easy enough. She and Caleb had been sneaking out for years, and the Chargers didn't know about the Darktown entrance. The problem would be getting out of Kirkwall in a way they couldn't be easily followed and that meant... She started to smile. "Out of curiosity, who other than me knows how to sail a ship?"

Agatha grinned and raised her hand, followed by Leandra, Gavren, Duncan, Jerath, Loghain, and Caleb. Kieran smiled eagerly. "I look forward to learning."

Kels shook his head. "You can't be serious." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm getting the Commander." He tried to go around Jerath, and then a barrier sprang into place around him. He turned back towards them, and his eyes went from mage to mage as he tried to figure out which one was imprisoning him. "Let me out."

"If I do that, you will alert everyone and that would be very inconvenient." Kieran shrugged.

"Kels, the way I figure it, you have two options here." Gavren shrugged. "You can stay here until Mother takes that barrier down, and then explain to my father that you let us escape instead of alerting the Chargers the moment you realized we were plotting." Salla saw panic start to show in Kels' eyes. "Or you can come with us, in the hopes that you can alert someone before we get to far or that Father will buy that you came along to try to keep us out of trouble."

"Your father is going to kill me."

Caleb cackled. "Grab him. Let's move before the Chargers get back."

#

"What do you mean they are missing?"

For a moment, Gabriel thought he was going to see Cullen stab a qunari to death with his own horns.

"We were expecting someone to attack them." Iron Bull stood his ground. "Not that they'd sneak out of the house somehow."

"How did they..." Cullen turned towards Gabriel. "You had to have the estate riddled with secret passages."

"And the children dumb enough to use them." Gabriel rubbed his forehead. "They can't have gone far if they tried to leave the city, and we know where all the passages exit." He looked around and noted Carver had already gone to alert his riders. "The guard will have them back within an hour."

The door to the estate slammed open and Isabela strode into the room. "Gabriel Constance Hawke."

"Isa -"

She stalked towards him and drove her finger into his chest. "Do you want to explain to me why your daughter and a group of her friends just stole my ship?"

Seeing no other option available, he sought refuge in audacity. "Well, remember that one time you ran off with a relic?"