Chapter 2: The Inquisitor's Trail

Everything they knew was wrong, courtesy of the Chantry.

There were rumors Ameridan had an elven lover, but Telana the dreamer had faded into legend, hushed over by centuries of Chantry rule. They were content for history to believe that Ameridan had been a devout Andrastian, whose purpose had been to help Emperor Drakon spread the Chant. The first Inquisitor could be nothing else, surely. But Ameridan the dragon hunter and Seeker had worshiped both Andraste and the elven Creators, and loved an elven dreamer mage. The documents they'd found, which tests had proved authentic, confirmed that much. The Chantry would not be pleased that a major tenet of their history was wrong.

Theo sat on the rock overlooking the valley below, cradling his left hand and staring at his green, glowing mark. On occasion it sparked and he winced. "No one ever sets out to become Inquisitor, it seems," he murmured, flexing his fingers.

"Do you feel better knowing that you're not the only accidental Inquisitor?" Dorian asked, sitting beside him and resting his arm over Theo's shoulders. Behind them the ancient Tevinter ruins cast shadows in the late afternoon sun. A small contingent of Inquisition soldiers was piling up the bodies of hostile Avvar that they'd encountered. They called themselves the Jaws of Hakkon and had sworn to kill any who engaged them in battle. It seemed that the closer they got to Ameridan, the more Hakkonites they encountered.

"Slightly." Theo pulled his glove back on and clenched his left hand in a fist for a moment.

"Does it still pain you?" Dorian asked, reaching for Theo's hand.

Theo pulled it away from Dorian's reach. "Only a little, and only sometimes," he said with what was meant to be a reassuring smile, but Dorian saw that he was troubled. Theo had never been much good at hiding his emotions.

"Corypheus has been dead nearly two years," Dorian told him. "Shouldn't the mark stop hurting?"

Theo shrugged. "The only one who can come even slightly close to explaining anything is long gone." He got to his feet. "Let's get to that last beacon."

They'd been hiking through the hills and swamps of the Frostback Basin for three days, tracking magical beacons that would, hopefully, lead them to Ameridan's resting place. Professor Kenric himself accompanied them, though he tried to stay clear of the fighting. As they trudged toward the last beacon the professor chattered excitedly about his hypotheses. Theo listened and nodded politely, but Dorian could tell his mind was elsewhere.

How would history remember him?

How would history remember them? If the Chantry had erased Telana for simply being an elf, what would they do to Dorian as a man, a mage, and a Tevinter, at that? Early in their relationship Dorian had tried to explain to Theo what it would mean to be attached to a Tevinter in the eyes of the Chantry, and therefore nearly all of southern Thedas. But the mutual attraction was too strong, the feelings too hard to ignore, and in the end, the love too deep. Growing up in Tevinter high society it was unlikely Dorian would ever be allowed to be in love. He'd underestimated what it would feel like to be with one person who would care for him unconditionally. He tried to believe that it didn't hurt to think of history erasing him, of them remembering Theo as a hero who'd saved Thedas from destruction on his own.

They rounded a bend by the river and started upstream when they came upon another band of Hakkonites. Theo held up his hand, signaling a stop. Before Dorian knew what was happening Theo had hoisted himself up into a tree and was balancing lightly on a thick branch, bow drawn. Dorian pulled on his mana and cast a shield around him.

Theo let his arrow fly. Dorian held his breath. A Hakkonite watchman fell over, Theo's arrow stuck in his throat. Another arrow flew, and the Hakkonites turned upon them. Dorian called up the feeling of fire, letting it flow down his arms and into his staff, which focused the power into a ball of flame that he loosed at the oncoming enemies.

Flames roared and the enemy screamed in pain and anger. Dorian had long ago steeled himself against the sounds of dying people, especially the people who were also trying to kill him. He would never enjoy it; the scent of singed hair and burnt flesh nauseated him. He reached for the Fade and found the spirits of death and sadness there, just on the edges of his consciousness, ready to assist him.

Inquisition soldiers ran in and engaged the enemy. Theo aimed over their heads and picked off the ranged Hakkonites. Dorian called forth a blast of dark violet energy from the Fade. A shape like a skull appeared over the heads of the approaching enemies, some who fell upon their knees and covered their eyes in fear, only to be taken down by Inquisition swordsmen.

An arrow whistled through the air and stuck in the tree above Theo's head with a thunk. Theo tried to duck, tried to keep his balance, but slipped and crashed through the lower branches. He landed on the ground and rolled with his bow under him just as a wave of Hakkonite warriors, armed with axes and short swords, broke upon them.

Dorian conjured up a wall of fire with a sweep of his hand and called down lightning with his staff. A green flash nearly blinded him. Theo propped himself up on his right arm and held his left hand out as bright Fade energy issued forth at the enemy. Those caught in the flare shrieked as the searing heat of the energy melted skin and bone and they were sucked, piece by piece, into the rift Theo had opened. The rift crackled and buzzed and the light drowned out Dorian's lightning.

The screams died away. At last Theo clenched his hand in a fist and held it close to him. He kept his eyes closed and sweat beaded on his upper lip and rolled down his forehead as he worked to regain control over his feelings. The Fade-touched mark on his hand reacted to strong emotion; usually he could take a deep breath and smile and the light would dissipate. This time his nostrils flared and his brow furrowed.

Dorian rested a hand on Theo's shoulder. "Are you hurt?" he asked. He glanced up at the pair of Inquisition soldiers who had rushed over and shook his head. They backed away, but kept worried eyes on their Inquisitor. "Luckily it wasn't a high fall," he added, squeezing Theo's shoulder gently. Anything to calm him, help him focus away from the strong emotions that made his mark flare up.

"Thank you," Theo said with a sidelong glance and a ghost of a smile. "I'm fine," he called more loudly to his soldiers as he got to his feet. He examined his bow as they struck out again, leaving behind nothing but scorch marks as evidence of their fight. "And so's the bow, thankfully," he added, trying to sound jovial; but it came out forced, and Dorian couldn't miss the way he still held his left arm close to his body, flexing his fingers and cracking his knuckles. "I should really name it," he said with a smile.

"Then you and Varric and Bianca could go out together," Dorian teased. "Where would that leave me?"

That managed to elicit a real smile from Theo. "I'd never leave you behind. I need you too much." The path began to climb up another hill. "I won't let history forget that this happened," he said suddenly, fiercely, and his hand flashed bright green again. "Not like what they did to Telana."

"That's still bothering you?" Dorian asked, reaching for Theo's other hand and entwining their fingers together. "What does it matter what history recalls? Doesn't what we have at present mean more?" Theo did not answer, but he did not let go of Dorian's hand, either. "You may not always be the Inquisitor, either. A day may come when you're just a man again, content to grow old sitting by the fireside." He grinned. "What if that's what happened to Ameridan?" Theo cocked his head to the side. "He couldn't bear being in the public eye any longer. So he retired to the most remote place he could find in all of Thedas, assumed a new identity, and spent the rest of his days quietly living off the land and enjoying not solving everyone else's problems."

"When you put it that way, it's pretty tempting," Theo conceded.

They approached the last beacon. It was located on a hill that overlooked a high wall made of ice that breached the gap between two high hills; the ice had been there some time, as there was a formidable gate carved into it. Professor Kenric unrolled his map. "There's a valley down there. We can get some scouts up here to check it out, assuming we can get through the gate."

"I don't think that will work very well," Theo said. Dorian and Kenric followed his gaze to where several Hakkonite soldiers were patrolling the gate. He looked between the soldiers and his hand and Dorian could see the gears turning in his brain. Dorian recalled the screams; the flesh searing and peeling from bone in a flash of bright green, superheated light. He knew what Theo's mark could do, and knew Theo avoided doing it often. But to see him debate using it…

"We have other options," Dorian said quietly. "Your magic is not the only way."

Theo sighed. "You're right. Of course you are." He tried to smile and jammed his hand into his pocket. He sent a pair of soldiers to fetch Harding and her scouts, and another pair to apprise Thane Sun-Hair of their progress. "We need to know more about what the Hakkonites want, apart from worshiping a dragon god," he told Kenric. "And it wouldn't hurt to have people here who know the land and the culture."

They set up a camp a short ways down the hill, out of sight and range of the Hakkon patrols. Dorian started a fire while the remaining few troops set up a perimeter and began erecting the tents. They had simple camp rations of dried food; not very interesting, except as a chewing exercise, but it was better than an empty stomach.

As the sun set Theo climbed back up the hill to the beacon and watched the ice wall. The Hakkonite soldiers carried torches, unafraid of being spotted—and perhaps hoping to be spotted. They had with them hulking warriors nearly the size of Qunari, wielding two-handed war hammers and clubs.

Dorian joined him. "This doesn't have to be our fight. In fact, I'd enjoy it very much if it wasn't." Theo glanced over at him but said nothing. "Ever since you finished off Corypheus you're looking for fights." He took Theo's left hand; Theo tried to pull away, but Dorian held fast and stared down at the glowing green mark. "You've saved the world, multiple times; you've reconciled with your family. What more do you need to prove?"

Theo turned his hand over and linked his fingers with Dorian's. "I'm not trying to prove anything. Just trying to do the right thing." He looked down the hill at the twinkling torches reflecting off the ice wall. "Maybe I don't know what that is anymore."

"Good thing I'm here to remind you from time to time." Dorian turned and gently tugged at Theo's hand, urging him back to their small camp. It took a moment, but Theo followed and joined him by the fireside to wait for reinforcements.