Chapter 13: Trevelyan on Trial

9:41 Dragon

He was in so much pain he wasn't sure he was feeling anything anymore. That didn't stop the guard from striking him across the jaw once again. "Tell me what you did and why!" the man snarled from behind his grated face mask.

"I… I don't know." He hardly heard his own voice over the roar of blood pulsing in his ears. Another spasm of pain jolted through his body. Yes, definitely still feeling it. He shuddered uncontrollably, the chains overhead rattling and the manacles rubbing his wrists to stinging, raw meat. His mouth tasted like blood and ash. Why in the Void did he hurt so badly, and why was this man making it so much worse?

"You will talk," the interrogator said. The man slammed a fist into his gut and his shoulder sockets screamed out in agony.

He struggled to breathe. "I don't know what you want me to say!" he choked out. His vision was blurry. It was dark; torchlight burned around the edges of his vision, and over it all a haze of bright green. And when the green light flared, so did the pain. "I'll say anything you want me to. What happened?"

He hung his head down. The pulling pain in his arms and shoulders intensified and he was pretty sure he was crying but he couldn't care. Then a hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. The face before him swam in front of his vision. "What is your name?" The voice was female and thickly accented.

"Th… Theo. Theodane Tr..Trevelyan," he said, voice shaking.

"Let him down. Keep him under guard, though."

"Yes, Seeker."

The chains clanked and Theo hit the floor hard, but the stone was cool on his aching face and the burning began to seep out of his arms. His vision was still blurry, but he could see his left hand blazing bright bile-green. It flared once again and that same spasm of pain left his body seizing on the cold floor. The pain slowly passed and he curled his knees into his stomach and lay there, shivering. What had he done? Why was he here, chained and tortured like a criminal?

"Up, Trevelyan." The guard hauled him to his knees.

"What happened?" he asked again. His voice sounded like he'd been gargling gravel and acid.

"The Divine is dead," the woman snapped.

The cold that ran through him was almost worse than the pain. "Dead? The Divine?"

"They are all dead!" she shouted, and he winced away from her. A sword point in the back forced him to stay facing her. "All dead, but you." She spat at the ground in front of him.

"I… I don't know what happened," he told her. She crouched down and grabbed his chin between her strong fingers. He tried to meet her intense stare. She was all angles and lines, harsh cheekbones and a strong jaw and deep-cut scar on her cheek. Her eyes were hard as they searched him. "I don't even remember the Conclave," he told her, which was true; he only remembered how badly he didn't want to be at it. He squeezed his eyes closed but the only thing he saw was green light pulsing there.

The light pulsed brighter and he cried out and lurched forward, holding his burning hand to him. "Please, I didn't… I don't know…"

"Justinia is dead! You alone walked out of the Fade and must answer for that!" the woman shouted.

"Peace, Cassandra," another woman said, voice soft and sweet. The one called Cassandra backed away, and the other knelt before him. Her light blue eyes searched his face. She held a skin of water up to his lips, and Theo drank greedily. "Perhaps he should see for himself," she suggested. She looked back to him. "If you truly do not recall, then you may need reminding." Her voice was gentle, but her meaning ominous.

The throbbing in his head convinced him that he wasn't going to remember anything; but if it would keep Cassandra and this other woman from killing him, he would agree to anything right about now. He nodded even though it made his brain feel like it was sloshing around in his skull. Two guards helped him to his feet and he staggered after Cassandra and the other woman. A couple times he was pretty sure his legs were about to give out. He hauled himself up the torch-lit staircase- no small feat with how he was feeling. They emerged in a Chantry hallway and marched toward the exit.

The heavy wooden doors were opened and Theo squinted at the harsh daylight. He tried to shield his eyes the best he could with his bound (and glowing) hands.

The first thing that scared him was the silence. The square outside the Chantry was filled with people who stopped and stared at him wordlessly. As Cassandra led him forward he felt the hatred in their eyes turned on him. Why? He hadn't killed the Divine; he couldn't do that. Could he?

The second thing that scared him was the gaping, bright green hole in the sky that swirled like a maelstrom. The green tear in the heavens shuddered and with a howl the green light flashed. Theo fell to his knees as the pain in his hand shot up his arm and into his skull. "What is it?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Cassandra looked at him, then back to the sky. "We call it the Breach. It appeared just after the Conclave explosion, just before you walked out of the Fade." She said it accusingly, as if he'd planned to walk away from such wanton destruction. As for the Fade, he was no mage. And they didn't walk in or out of the Fade anymore; everyone knew that. "Somehow it is connected to that mark on your hand."

It was true: the Breach and the mark were the same acidic green color. "I don't know what this is," he told her, desperate to prove his innocence.

"It keeps expanding," Cassandra told him. "And with each expansion it is slowly killing you."

Killing him? He looked at the green light. He ran a finger over his flashing palm. The skin was intact and not bleeding. It looked like a slash of green light over his hand. And yet it pulsed in time with the swirling storm above.

"You truly have no memory of what happened," the blue-eyed, softer-spoken woman stated. He shook his head. "I'm going to the forward camp," she said, decisively. "You should bring him. He should see this up close." She headed off, away from the village.

Cassandra adjusted her sword belt and paused to pick up a shield. Theo followed her, pausing only when another spasm of light and pain wracked his body. He straightened up and glanced around to see the villagers still glaring at him in hateful silence. Only when they'd left the village and stood outside the gate and on a mountain path did Cassandra produce a key and undo the manacles around his wrists. Her hard gaze searched him. "The people of Haven have judged you and found you guilty already. They look for someone to blame for this senseless tragedy."

He shook out his stiff arms. He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "And what of you?" he asked after a moment.

Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a long, appraising look. "I think I shall reserve judgment until we reach the forward camp," she said at last. "As for now, I do not think you the threat they've made you out to be."

9:44 Dragon

"Do you deny those charges?"

Theo blinked and looked up at Arl Teagan, seated behind a table on a dais. Next to him Josephine sat up straight and proper, but under the table she was trying to kick him. "Please repeat that, Arl Teagan," Theo said, ignoring the murmurs behind him.

"Do you deny that you marched a military force into the Frostback Basin?"

"No."

"Do you deny that you were ready to mount an incursion into Ferelden?"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Absolutely I deny that. The Inquisition was asked to assist with academic work sponsored by the University of Orlais. Hostile forces in the region led to combat. Those same hostile forces were led by a man bent on unleashing an ancient god embodied in a dragon. We defeated the hostile forces, neutralized the dragon, and headed north. We did not seek to linger any longer than our presence was necessary," he said. He met Teagan's eyes.

Duke Cyril de Montfort cleared his throat. "Perhaps this would be best laid to rest with the testimony of University staff?" he asked, and the door at the back of the room creaked open. Several robed professors, including Bram Kenric himself, marched in.

Theo sat back in his chair. Yes, this testimony would be in the Inquisition's favor. But he didn't like that Duke Cyril had orchestrated it without telling him. It was all a ploy to make him grateful to the little weasel and his Council of Heralds. It was also troubling that words like 'charges' and 'testimony' were being thrown around. Those were legal terms, only serving to convince Theo all the more that this was really a trial. But because they were in Orlais, it had to parade around in a fancy mask.

He lost track of time as the University gushed about the value of the Inquisition as a patron of education and knowledge. He stared out a window behind Cassandra, whom he noted with a certain satisfaction looked as bored as he felt.

"Inquisitor." Theo focused again as Duke Cyril leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. His face was unreadable behind his gold mask, but Theo already didn't trust the man. "You've been of great assistance to the arts and academics, and for that, Orlais thanks you."

"But?" Theo prompted, and next to him Josephine inhaled sharply.

"Your… alliance with Tevinter is slightly worrisome. To some," the duke added quickly. "Some might accuse you of abusing your power to twist the Chantry's arm to help you solidify this… alliance."

He wanted to throw up, and judging from the smug look on Teagan's face, and what he could tell from Duke Cyril's body language, they both knew it. "I have no alliance with Tevinter," he said, keeping his voice even. "This is not a political marriage."

"Come now, Inquisitor, not even you are so rare that you would truly marry for love," Duke Cyril said. Theo wished he had his bow. He would shoot him right through the eye socket of his stupid gold mask. "But that you would have the Divine officiate…"

The eruption of whispers and murmurs behind him left him feeling too hot, then too chilled. He wanted to tell them to shut up- that they had it all wrong, that Cassandra was a friend. And then he realized, with one glance at Cassandra, that this was Cyril de Montfort's way of playing her as well. He couldn't attack the Divine, not outright, so he would go after the next most powerful person. "Her Perfection was a friend to me long before she took the Sunburst Throne," Theo said, trying to keep from sounding like he was being choked. "And I assure you, there is no political alliance between the Inquisition and the Imperium."

"Which is why Dorian Pavus was named the Inquisition's Ambassador to Tevinter?"

"By the Tevinter Imperium, my Lord," Josephine interjected. "I have brought the documents that named him, and you will see that Lord Pavus's presence was requested by the Imperium, not assigned by the Inquisition. If you look at the dates on this, and on the correspondence sent between Inquisitor Trevelyan and Her Perfection, you will see that they were in correspondence long before this missive."

Maker bless Josephine's meticulous record keeping skills.

An hour later the Divine declared they were done for the day. Arl Teagan tried to protest while Duke Cyril acquiesced so sweetly, Theo thought he might give everyone in the room rotted teeth. Theo got up and marched past the rows of people eager to be an audience to the Inquisitor's downfall. Those eyes: watching, boring into him, judging him.

But for what? What crime had he committed, other than trying to protect Thedas, other than following his heart and being true to himself?

Back in his rooms he paced the floors, shaking out his glowing, aching hand. He paused to look out the window over yet more gardens, and to the high walls beyond. What if he just ran away? They were bent on discrediting him and destroying him and the Inquisition as he knew it. He could run north. Cross into Tevinter and wait for Dorian.

"You don't want to do that," Dorian told him, when he'd slipped into their room and Theo mentioned what he'd been thinking. "It's a terrible place. Boring, and full of nasty people."

"Like here?" Theo asked. He flopped onto the bed and curled up in a fetal position. Dorian joined him, resting his head on a brocade bolster. Theo took Dorian's hand. "I'm sorry they dragged you into it that way this afternoon."

"I'm quite used to being the subject of scrutiny." Dorian reached out and traced a finger down the scar on Theo's face. "They don't truly believe that you're sleeping with the enemy, Amatus. They're trying to get to you, and by extension to Cassandra. She took a big risk wedding us."

Theo sighed. "I know."

"She wouldn't have done it if she didn't think she was up to the scrutiny, or to the political games they would play with her."

"I know."

"I love you."

Theo smiled and squeezed Dorian's hand. "I know."

Cassandra slipped through the secret passageway and closed the door behind her. She'd abandoned her mitre and vestments. "The Divine is holding vigil, deep in prayer for wisdom," she explained when Leliana arched her eyebrow.

"Is it… legal for the Divine to lie?" Dorian asked.

"It is not a lie," Cassandra said. "I have prayed for wisdom. And do so every moment I can. And meeting secretly with you all is my vigil. It is open to interpretation." She grinned slightly.

"Cassandra, I-" Theo began, but she groaned and rolled her eyes.

"No. You will not apologize for that arrogant lickspittle baiting us. I'd be half tempted to call him out for heresy, if it wouldn't damage our cause," she said. The way she said 'our cause' helped calm the butterflies in Theo's stomach.

"They are going to try to dismantle us, aren't they," Josephine said, and Cassandra nodded. "But the Inquisition is-"

"I know," Cassandra said. "We all know. Even they know, which is why they fear us. There are options though."

"Alternatives to being shut down or controlled?" Theo asked. He rubbed his eyes. It felt like all the sand from the Western Approach was caught behind his eyelids.

"There is precedent for the Divine to appoint an honor guard," Cassandra said. The way she knew what she was talking about, she'd clearly done research and known it may come to this. "If you agree to 'disband' the Inquisition in name, you could continue to serve in your capacity. Just not as Inquisitor."

Theo leaned against the wall and stared at his marked hand. "It's… something to think about," he said at last, aware of everyone watching him.

The truth was, he didn't know that he wanted to give up the Inquisition. He'd talked about retiring with Dorian. He'd thought about running away. But when it came down to it, he'd developed an identity as the Inquisitor. His marked hand made him someone. It made him the Inquisitor, not just the shy youngest son from the relatively small holding of Ostwick.

Everyone took their leave. As Cassandra headed back toward the secret passage she surprised him with a hug. "I never asked for any of this," he whispered.

"I know." She held him tight. "But for what it's worth, I do not think you are the threat they make you out to be." She tried to smile and then headed down the darkened passage.

Cassandra didn't see him as a threat. Now if he could only convince the rest of the Council.