Notes: Thank you for reading! Things are about to change, as we head into the concluding arc of the story.
Chapter 20: Secrets Laid Bare
"We have to return." Max's words sounded like a gong throughout the Herald's small party. But no one disputed their truth.
Max's companions were silent, but in that silence, the Kirkwall general, Aveline Hendyr, approached him. Worry and anxiety were in her face.
"Before you do, Herald, I think you and I—and anyone you trust—need to have a talk about Skyhold."
A dark feeling filled him at these words. On some level he knew what she wanted. If his friends and he had deduced that the Inquisition might be compromised by the enemy, Viscountess Hawke certainly would have. And—
"You trigger-happy warmongers picked the wrong enemy to strike this time."
Max shuddered. This nearly came to pass.
Iron Bull and Sera kept Volant under watch. Her wrists were cuffed, but there were things skilled bards could do to pick locks, and Max would've bet a fair amount of gold that she was a bard, to be able to play so many adversaries against each other with none of them suspecting. The rest of his companions walked with him.
As he and his companions headed for a private tent with Aveline, another part of the vision came to him, the one scene he hadn't been able to account for yet. Now, he realized with horror, he could.
The demon and an unknown hooded figure stood next to a cluster of people, some human and some elven. "You will do as we say or you will face the same fate that befell those who came before you!" the unknown figure barked.
A tall, proud elf—one of the Dalish—stood forth. "No. I defy you!"
The demon raised his terrible, wicked-looking staff. To the real Max's horror, red lyrium shards shot from the globe at the end, striking the elf.
Max could not be certain until he had seen her, but at this point he would have bet much of his personal fortune that the Dalish elf in the vision was Keeper Lavellan, that the rest of the people were the Wycome City Council that the Inquisition wanted to establish, and that the hooded figure was Guinevere Volant. The latter was dressed in a hood and cloak, like the spy she was.
It was all possible, he realized. With the envy demon impersonating me, it would have all happened, because the advisors were ruthless enough to get caught up in such a plot if "I" had encouraged them.
They entered the Kirkwall leadership's tent and sat down. General Aveline looked grim. "Your embassy made it to Kirkwall," she said, "and delivered the message to Viscountess Hawke. She and her Consort determined that the fact that your captain used red lyrium against our ship, and you, Herald, er... very vocally objected, between destroying your own ship and then leaving Skyhold... implied that the Inquisition was likely compromised by the Venatori. No one else would want to engineer a catastrophic war involving much of Thedas."
Max nodded grimly. "That was what we had concluded too."
"I see from the looks on your faces that this will not be a surprise, but the Viscountess concluded that unless your spymaster could root out the traitors, she would have to attack Skyhold, and she would merely be awaiting the Crown of Ferelden's permission to do it. She sent a raven to Skyhold informing Leliana of the amount of time she had to find the traitors. That time is very nearly up."
The Herald and his companions all sighed. "No, that doesn't surprise me," Max admitted. "The only thing that surprises me is that she wanted to act so soon. I sent Varric, her brother, and the others to Kirkwall to attempt to forestall war, not alarm her into starting one!"
"The situation is dire, though. Her Grace could not see any explanation for the event except that the Inquisition was compromised by Corypheus, and not just with a spy here and there passing him minor bits of intelligence. She believed it was compromised so severely that he could have used it to initiate a ruinous war in the Free Marches." Aveline gazed pointedly at them.
Dorian sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Which almost happened."
"Two different ways," Max muttered, "the crisis on the Waking Sea and this... mess here at Wycome."
Aveline nodded. "She and the Consort believed that if your advisors had known about the red lyrium, they would have admitted to it rather than losing you. They were in agreement that your advisors and inner circle likely truly did not know who was responsible."
Max held up the papers he had seized from Volant. "We do now. Guinevere Volant was a double—triple—agent, and she was working with someone by the code name of Painter. Painter is the one who stole our weaponsmith's notes on red lyrium and worked with the mutinous Templars. I don't know who it is, but I would bet that Leliana does. We're going back to Skyhold, General. Please, tell Her Grace to call off the attack. Tell her that we have the two chief culprits and that should be enough to tear out all the major conspirators."
"I will do so. I can send a raven to her from here, and it should reach her in time. Maker speed you on your way back to Skyhold, Herald. The Kirkwall embassy should be waiting for you in the port of Jader."
Max and his friends discussed what they had learned after that. They did not want to leave Wycome until everything they needed to do had been set in motion, but they did want to reach Skyhold quickly. Aveline would, hopefully, convince Hawke not to attack, but Painter and his conspirators—plus any who were working deliberately with "Wingfoot"—needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. They would become alarmed if they did not hear from their co-conspirator.
"Are we absolutely certain that Leliana and the others are innocent?" Dorian asked. "We seem to have concluded that, but are we sure?"
Max considered it. "If Painter and Wingfoot are Venatori agents, I am sure that the people at Skyhold are not. Whether they were knowingly involved in this plot to instigate war in the Free Marches..." He trailed off. "Corypheus has a reason to want that. But the advisors back at Skyhold might have a reason to have wanted the clash at Wycome: discrediting the idea of Marcher unity. They don't have a reason to want a Thedas-wide war, on the other hand."
"What if these agents were not Venatori spies? What if they were doing what the advisors wanted them to do and Corypheus had nothing to do with it?"
"Then we return to the question of why the advisors let me leave without giving up the names of these people," Max said. "But here's how I see it now. Viscountess Hawke sent a message to Skyhold telling Leliana what she had to do to save the castle. Even if Leliana would let me go—if, for whatever reason, this 'project' of destroying Marcher unity was more important to her than my ability to close rifts—I don't think she would choose such a scheme if it meant Hawke destroyed Skyhold. And that would have been the choice. If she did know everything about this plot, not just a big-picture goal, she didn't tell Hawke that she had the 'culprits' before the Kirkwall army sailed... or before Volant spoke with my family in Ostwick. If she knew everything, she chose to let Volant meddle and the Marcher armies mass here, even knowing that it could mean the destruction of Skyhold. I don't think she would do that." He considered further. "On the whole... I think Leliana and the others were probably not involved with the foulest things that Painter and Volant have done. Josephine did say that she gave Volant full authority to act."
They considered his words, nodding in agreement.
"But the problem, as the Boss said, is that both Corypheus and the Inquisition have motives to start a war in this region," Iron Bull said.
"Here's the working theory, I suppose," Max said. "For now—because of the complexity of the red lyrium plot in the Waking Sea—I'm assuming that Painter is a Venatori agent. Volant may or may not be, but at a bare minimum, she is a useful idiot of the Venatori. The advisors at Skyhold may also have been tools for the Elder One's scheme to start a war in the Free Marches, since they do have a motive to want this conflict in Wycome. But that doesn't mean they authorized the specific tactics that Volant and Painter used."
The others nodded. "That sounds fair," Dorian said.
"And there is something else," Max said. "I don't think it should count as evidence against them, but I do think it counts as evidence that the Elder One had such a scheme. Remember the envy demon vision I had at Therinfal Redoubt, which I told you about?"
They racked their memories for this, but after a moment, recalled it. Several people's eyes widened as they recollected the details.
"The vision also had 'people' talking about the assassination of Empress Celene, and the advisors took that as evidence that Corypheus was plotting it. As indeed he was. I think the vision the demon showed me of the 'tyrannical Inquisition' was evidence of a plot too. Several things in it nearly came to pass: the false accusation and conviction of the King and Queen of Ferelden in the Freemen of the Dales matter, the attack on Skyhold by Viscountess Hawke and Anders, and the demon impersonating me, standing by with a hooded and cloaked figure"—he gazed pointedly at the area where Guinevere Volant was confined—"threatening a group of humans and elves, as a Dalish Keeper spoke defiance and got killed with red lyrium weapons for it."
They sucked in their collective breath hard.
Max's face was hard too. "The advisors correctly recognized a plot against Orlais, and saw the potential for Celene's assassination 'by Gaspard' to cause chaos. There is also an ongoing plot to use the Orlesian Grey Wardens. But the envy demon vision contained a hint of an additional plot by Corypheus to unleash chaos—a plot that used the Inquisition itself to do it."
"Maker's breath," Dorian exclaimed. "You're absolutely right. And it would have succeeded if you hadn't come here."
Max nodded. "We must make sure they realize how close a call this was."
Before they left Wycome, there were several matters to be addressed. General Hendyr was pleased that Prince Sebastian wished, at last, to sign Starkhaven to the Vimmark-Minanter Treaty. Starkhaven was the largest city in the Free Marches, and it was nearly unscathed by the Mage-Templar War. This was a major coup for the treaty. She agreed to escort him to Kirkwall to do just that, since it appeared Hawke wanted to consult with him about Tantervale's leadership problem—and possibly Hasmal's too.
The government of Wycome was a different problem. The Kirkwall and Hercinia armies were adamant that Prosper de Montfort should be hailed the Duke of Wycome. The Inquisition forces under Lieutenant Chambreterre were not happy about that prospect, and instead finally brought out the members of Clan Lavellan, as well as a handful of others that they had apparently selected for members of the proposed Wycome City Council.
Max would have been shocked silent by the appearance of Keeper Deshanna Istimaethoriel if it had not already occurred to him that she was likely the defiant Dalish leader in the Therinfal vision. Indeed she was, but he was prepared for it. The faces of several of the other people also seemed familiar.
Max was torn about what to do. If any of these people were complicit with the Inquisition and the Inquisition had deliberately instigated this bloodbath, he did not think they should have any leadership position in the city. But he did not believe the Dalish were, and he did see the value of having a council to check the power of a person like Duke Prosper—provided that the council was independent rather than under secret Inquisition control.
The fact was, he simply did not know enough yet to broker a compromise for a permanent government here. That was something he would have to do after he dealt with Skyhold. But I do need to make all parties aware of the fact that I hope for a compromise, he resolved.
He tried to explain that to them. "I have business in Skyhold," he told them all as his people began to ready a ship for his return. "And I think we need to take into account local desires above mine or anyone else's. The government of Wycome should be what Wycome wants." He put up a hand as one of the human tradesmen tried to speak. "I do have to offer an opinion, though. It is best to have a leader. That doesn't preclude having a representative council or assembly—that's what Ferelden has, a Crown and a Landsmeet—but you do need someone with ultimate responsibility and accountability for what goes on. I hope that, in my absence, you can find a compromise that respects the leadership of Duke Prosper in restoring the peace as well as the representation that a council would provide. But Wycome is your city, and in the end, you have the right to determine what sort of government you have."
Several of the people gaped at those words, a quietly revolutionary idea.
"It is best to have a leader." Max's own words pounded repeatedly in his brain as he sailed back to Jader with the others.
I am going to confront the Skyhold team with Volant and the letters from Painter, he thought, but what right do I have to act against them now? I resigned as Inquisitor. "It is best to have a leader," but while I led my own group—and thank the Maker I did, or Corypheus would have had his victory—I abdicated leadership at Skyhold.
I have to reclaim the title... if they will let me. If the Inquisition is to continue to exist, I have to follow my own advice and take ownership of it. Responsibility for what it does. The best-case scenario is that no one in the old inner circle had any idea of the tactics that Painter and Volant were using to achieve their shared goals. That means there is a vacuum of responsibility. I wasn't wrong about that when I threw my medallion to the floor, and I'm glad I came to Wycome, but I have to take responsibility as Inquisitor—truly do it.
He then reflected on his parting words to the Wycome people. "You have the right to determine what sort of government you have." They were shocked to hear those words. I guess they never have before. Duke Antoine's family must have ruled for some time. It was a troubling consideration. Duke Prosper will want a hereditary absolute monarchy too, since he has a son. I hope they do have a City Council to check him. I hope they take direction from Ferelden's example and set up a government like that.
They were so shocked to hear the idea that people have the right to determine their own forms of government. I guess that is a revolutionary idea. But it's one whose time has come, I think. If the Inquisition's quasi-imperialism has proven anything to me, it's that empire is an encroachment on people's right to self-determination. Which we must have in matters of government if the Maker has truly granted us free will. It has to include that decision too.
He glanced at his marked hand. The burn was healing, and Solas's rift magic had calmed the Mark itself. It was not flaring up unstably anymore. But Solas's words about a time limit before it started doing so again came back to him. I hope I survive the fight against Corypheus. I have other things I want to do. I missed the Mage-Templar War, but Thedas is beginning to enter a new age of politics and government too—if we let it. I have ideas for that. I just want to survive this war so that I can set them down.
Skyhold.
The castle was still standing, and no one barred Max's way in. He supposed it was likely that General Hendyr's raven to Viscountess Hawke and the followup raven from Kirkwall to Skyhold had both flown faster than his ship could sail. When they picked up Varric's delegation in Jader, he had confirmed that Hawke had received her general's message and had quickly sent a bird to Skyhold informing Leliana of the events at Wycome, including the code name of Painter. Perhaps Leliana had even apprehended Painter and whoever else was involved in the conspiracy.
He led the group, with Rainier and Iron Bull keeping Volant confined. Cullen had cleared the great hall of courtiers, for which Max was glad. That meant they could discuss whatever they needed to at the trials, even secret matters. At his request, Dorian walked by his side. The throne-like chair of the Inquisitor was vacant as the group walked down the great hall of Skyhold, but he would not sit in it again. Not yet.
Leliana and the others were waiting for him with a captive of their own. Max's heart soared with relief. She gave him a curt nod as he approached the dais. "Herald," she welcomed, and he was also relieved that she did not foist the other title upon him without knowing if he wanted it. "On behalf of everyone here, I thank you, Dorian, and the rest of your group for everything you achieved in Wycome." She eyed the newcomers' captive. "Lady Volant. I am sorry to see you in this situation."
The agent glared. "Then have these men unhand me!" She faced Leliana's captive. "Harish. You deceitful, lying—"
"Don't even try it, Wingfoot," Painter snapped. "You were in it up to your neck."
"Enough!" Leliana snapped. "I am sorry to see you like this, but that does not mean that I don't think you deserve it. You are both accused of espionage, conspiracy, attempted murder, and treason. And it is far too late for either of you to make a deal by turning in the other!"
Max wanted to take charge, but he wondered if he truly had the authority to do so anymore. But if I don't test it, I may be sending Leliana the message that she is the leader here even if I become Inquisitor again. That is the opposite of what I want to do. He stepped up, taking a deep breath, and stood by Leliana. "Harish?" he said. That name had jogged something in his memory. He eyed the Skyhold captive. "We've met before."
"Abernale Harish, also known as Painter," Leliana said, "and yes, you have. I brought him to give an update about Wycome to the war council." She glared at the traitor, then at Volant. "I think we had better begin. You found her out, Herald, so you go first."
Max stepped forward, glaring at the spies. "Shall I read the letters you sent, Painter? Or how about yours, Wingfoot? They are not the only letters I have, but they are the criminal ones." He raised an eyebrow at Leliana. She had things to explain as well, but it was not a criminal matter, so it could wait.
"Go ahead, Herald," Leliana said after a momentary pause.
Max took out the sheaf of documents and began reading them, pausing for effect after each one. When he was finished, he regarded Painter coldly.
The man was ashen-faced. The letters were damning and he knew it.
"Thank you, Herald," Leliana said briskly. "And since Viscountess Hawke sent me the raven informing me that you were the red lyrium conspirator, I was able to obtain proof of your real allegiance: the Venatori and the Elder One."
Max and his friends were not surprised at all.
"We searched thoroughly in the fortifications where Briony and her Templars bunked," she said in hard tones, "and there we found a ciphered letter from Carroll, Samson's second."
"I apologize!" Harish burst out. "I was working for the Elder One, it is true—but I have had a change of heart!"
Max regarded him coldly. "I don't believe you. You were working with Volant to incite war in the Free Marches even after the incident in the Waking Sea. Maker's breath, you wrote to her advising her to get my family killed!"
"I did that to try to bring you back to the Inquisition!" he bawled. "You read the letter yourself, Herald—I supported the Inquisition's goals for Wycome. I wanted change! A better world! I thought the Elder One would provide that, but then I saw that the Inquisition was doing it too."
"I don't believe you," Max repeated. "I think you were saying those things because you wanted to put the Inquisition in charge of Wycome, yes, but for me? For Leliana? For anyone who is actually loyal to the people of Thedas? Oh no, Painter," he said pointedly. "You wanted to have me returned to Skyhold so that I would be here when Hawke blasted the castle off the face of the earth! That's the real reason you wanted me brought back!"
Harish shook in his boots.
"How would it have gone, Painter? The Herald, dead. Nightingale, dead. Skyhold, gone. The Inquisition, decimated. Orlais, Nevarra, and Antiva despising Hawke for what she had done. The Free Marches in chaos after the Battle of Wycome, VMTO shattered, Ferelden also deemed a villain for letting Hawke fire. Meanwhile what was left of the Inquisition would then be Corypheus's!" He shook his head derisively. "Do you take me for a fool? It's perfectly obvious what you were trying to do. Do you disagree, Leliana?"
"I do not disagree with a single word, Herald."
Max folded his arms. "Abernale Harish, I pronounce you guilty of all charges and sentence you to death. You cannot change your sentence—your crimes are too severe for that—but if you cooperate with us, you can change the manner of your death. If you give up your co-conspirators, you will be given a lethal dose of deathroot potion. If you do not, you will be hanged for the public to see. This is your opportunity to show us if you had 'a change of heart.'"
Harish fell to his knees, shaking, as Cullen directed soldiers to carry him off to a cell.
Volant was next. She was far more defiant and courageous as she was set before the tribunal.
"Guinevere Volant, also known as Wingfoot," Max continued. "You also stand accused of these same crimes."
"I am not a Venatori agent!" Volant protested. "Everything I did, I did for the Inquisition! I did not know whom Harish was serving! Look at the way he wrote to me! He made no allusions to Corypheus. If we were working together for Corypheus, why would he not have done so in private correspondence?"
"Because it was sent by raven and not in cipher? So perhaps not that private?" Leliana suggested acidly.
Volant glowered. "You have no proof against me."
"It's true, we don't have any proof that you were a Venatori spy," Max conceded. "But we don't need any. Your correspondence condemns you even if you were not working for Corypheus. After Harish advised you to get my father Bann Trevelyan and my other relatives killed in combat, you scurried dutifully to Ostwick to draw them into the fray at Wycome!"
"I was not going to get them killed!" she exclaimed. "He advised that, yes, but I was not going to follow through!"
"You got them in the thick of a battle that you knew would be taking place, because you had manipulated the warring parties into having it. My father was injured, and when I was talking with him, you showed up hooded and cloaked at his tent! To do what? To finish the job that the soldiers hadn't managed before my people turned up and ended the fight?"
"You have no proof!"
"True," Max said, "I don't. So let's focus on what I do have proof of. You requested stolen research about red lyrium from Harish. He wrote, and I quote, 'I've copied the dwarven smith's papers. She doesn't suspect a thing.' You stole Inquisition secrets to which you were not entitled, because if either you or he had been entitled, you would have received them from Dagna." He folded his arms again. "And for what reason? To have Duke Prosper de Montfort, his entire militia of five hundred souls, and some number of Inquisition troops, assassinated by red lyrium poisoning!" He smiled darkly. "What does it matter if you were a Venatori agent or not? Guinevere Volant, I pronounce you guilty of the charges of espionage, conspiracy, and attempted murder. It is true I cannot convict you of the charge of treason. But the actions of which you are unquestionably guilty also warrant the death penalty. You have the same option that Painter does: Give up the names and it will be a fast-acting, painless deathroot poison. Otherwise it will be the gallows."
He sighed heavily as she was taken away to the cells. Two more lives, he thought. But there was nothing else I could do. They got hundreds killed and would have had countless millions slaughtered if they had succeeded. He rubbed his forehead, feeling the sudden pang of a headache. Beside him, Dorian shifted and placed an arm around Max's shoulders. Max gazed gratefully at him, giving him a weak smile that Dorian returned encouragingly. And now for the truly difficult part of this.
Leliana, to her credit, understood. "I think it best that we head to the war room," she said. "We need to talk, all of us."
"Yes, we do," Max agreed unhappily. Dorian reached for his hand and held it in a warm grip as they walked toward the war room corridor.
"You must have noticed what I focused on out there," Max began once they were all in the war room and the doors were tightly closed. "I didn't condemn Volant for anything to do with manipulating those nobles and double-dealing with the Dalish. I didn't even touch on the issue of inciting war in the Free Marches at Wycome, because... to be frank... I was not certain, and I'm still not, if that's not what she was supposed to do. And not at the orders of Corypheus."
Leliana blanched. "Herald," she urged, "I swear to you, I did not tell her or anyone else to do such things."
"Nor I," Josephine said, looking appalled at everything she had learned.
"Nor I," said Cullen.
Cassandra and Vivienne also shook their heads. "I was aware of the plans for a new government in Wycome," Cassandra said, "but I never heard a word about using red lyrium or inciting warfare among the other Marcher lords to achieve that end."
"There is no point in denying it, since you have it in writing," Leliana said, "and I would not wish to deny it. We did want a council in Wycome. But we did not know that Volant was plotting... this. We would not have approved it."
Max and Dorian exchanged exasperated looks. Then Max spoke. "All right, then," he said. "If nobody can control their agents in this organization, to the extent that at least one of these miscreants—and possibly both—were able to use the Inquisition as a tool of the enemy, perhaps the entire leadership should consider what that implies and act accordingly." He regarded them with irritation. "I realize that there will probably be enemy spies in any organization that's big enough. But there should not have been enemy agents with enough power to turn the Inquisition into a weapon for Corypheus!"
His words struck home. Cullen was the first to grimace, Leliana second. She stepped forward, her face drawn and anguished. "Herald," she said feelingly, "I swear on the memory of Andraste's Sacred Ashes that I did not tell Painter or Lady Volant to do... these things. Not to manipulate the nobles against the Dalish, not to instigate other lords to attack, not to plot the assassination of Duke Prosper and his entire militia—and some of our troops too—with red lyrium. I do not believe Argent would have carried out that order unless it had come from me, however."
"And what was to stop Volant from making it look like it had?"
Leliana grimaced. "Nothing. Her letter made it sound like she had come by Dagna's notes legitimately and that she was acting fully for the Inquisition." She paused, realizing she had left something out. "And finally, Herald, I did not authorize or desire anyone to threaten the lives of your family, either."
Her words were sincere, and although she was a bard, her expression was fervent enough that Max found himself believing her.
"I knew that Wingfoot was an agent who was supposed to be working against the Venatori, Duke Antoine, and the nobles. She had convinced us that she truly did support a new form of government in Wycome that offered representation to elves and common-born humans. That is a worthy goal. And we were not playing 'nation-building' without cause. I suspected Antoine to be a Venatori agent, remember. It is why I did not want to send Lady Volant to unmask the perpetrators to him."
"It's entirely possible that she was in on it herself!"
Leliana nodded shamefacedly. "I realize that—now. I did not then, and I swear to you, Herald, I did not authorize her or Painter to use the specific approach and tactics that they used to set up a better government in Wycome. I did give them a lot of freedom to do as they thought best, as did Josephine. That can be fine if the agent can be trusted. These two obviously could not." She sighed. "However, responsibility lands upon us for failing to see Painter's real loyalties—and possibly Volant's too—and failing to control their actions." She bowed her head before the tabletop. "I take responsibility for my agents."
"And I take responsibility for mine," Josephine echoed. "We did not want battle in Wycome, Herald. We simply wanted to replace a Venatori agent—as we believed Antoine was—with a new type of government that set a good example for the rest of Thedas. The fact that Volant had a plot to instigate war does suggest that she was a Venatori asset too, because that was not something we authorized or even hinted at."
"We were too permissive with these agents, and the enemy took advantage of it," Leliana said. Shame came over her. "And... undoubtedly I also set a poor example from the top in terms of viciousness and ruthlessness, and agents like Volant and the assassins followed suit. What we said about Hawke's captains—that they were 'trigger-happy' because she encouraged and rewarded such conduct—applies to our own ruthlessness and our agents' actions too."
Max and Dorian exchanged looks. This is a pivotal moment, he thought. Do I believe them, forgive them, and try to start anew? Or do I make my resignation permanent? Because I know that if I walk out again, I will not be returning. This is it.
Dorian's gaze was not hard. He seemed to be pleading with his eyes.
Max took a deep breath as the weight of history fell on his shoulders yet again.
"I forgive you," he said, "and I believe you. But I am going to insist on a closer watch on these matters henceforth. This was an extremely close call. We cannot let anything like this happen again."
Leliana nodded. "That is entirely reasonable."
Max held up his glowing hand. The Mark was mercifully dim after Solas's rift magic, but it was visibly there. "What is this?" he asked rhetorically.
Dorian kept his expression impassive. The rest of the inner circle members present exchanged looks of confusion at this question.
Finally Josephine spoke up. "That is the Mark of the Rift, of course," she said, frowning. "You... are making a point, I assume?"
Max clenched his other fist and banged the tabletop just enough to make the figures on the war map shake. "And because I have this on my hand—because of the experience in which I gained it—what did people first call me? And what did they call me afterward until very recently?"
"They called you the Herald of Andraste, and we named you Inquisitor," Cullen said, also frowning.
He glared out across the table. "Inquisitor. Yes. And what is the name of this organization?" He did not wait. "The Inquisition, is it not?"
Leliana had figured out where this was tending. "Are you saying that you want to resume leadership here? I must say, this particular method is... rather arrogant, no offense, since you did step away... but you dealt with a terrible situation in Wycome and uncovered information that has saved Skyhold. I was not able to determine the culprit in time. We never removed you from our records as Inquisitor, so you are still the leader if you wish to be."
Max gave her a nod. "Thank you. The reason I'm doing this is not to 'show you who is boss,' and I agree it would be very arrogant if that were my purpose, all things considered. But it isn't. I'm making a different point." He gazed out at them. "If I am to be the leader, I need to be allowed to lead."
Josephine spoke up again, trying to smooth the situation over. "Inquisitor Trevelyan," she said accommodatingly, "while you are certainly the leader, and always have final say, one person cannot make every decision of such a large organization alone. There must be a hierarchy of people empowered to make decisions appropriate to their level of responsibility. Leaders need advisors."
"Yes, they do," he replied, "and I'm not complaining about small, minor decisions being made without me. As I believe you know perfectly well, so let's not deflect. If I am to be the leader of the Inquisition, I do need to make decisions about the overarching direction this organization takes and the broad goals it seeks to achieve. I have not had this power. Major decisions have been made for me, paths closed off, friends and enemies already chosen, before the heavily winnowed list of choices is ever put before my eyes at this table!" He took a breath. "This organization very nearly came to war with the entire Free Marches for no good reason! Among the choices you have been foreclosing behind the scenes, before I ever see them, were any choices about working respectfully with them as a true ally! Instead you tried to break apart the Vimmark-Minanter Treaty, to convince Prince Sebastian not to sign it, to interfere in the Grand Tourney at Markham—and for what? Why do you want to diminish that alliance and turn potential friends into enemies?" He did not wait. "We were founded to defeat Corypheus and reunite the Chantry. But some of you have allowed your personal biases for Orlais to take over."
"Inquisitor," Josephine said, "you should keep in mind that you very obviously have a desire of your own to see a powerful Free Marches, but try to understand. The Orlesian Empire is the strongest power in southern Thedas, and in order to restore stability, we had no choice but to work to shore it up."
"Maybe I do have biases," he conceded, "but it is not true that the Orlesian Empire is a strong power. You cannot possibly believe that yourself, Ambassador. It is on its deathbed. It has been since 9:2. The decline had begun long before that, but the Fereldan Rebellion was a mortal blow. The Orlesian Empire is nearly dead. All of its imperial territories are now independent states except for parts of the Dales."
"And your choices at the Winter Palace have probably ensured that the Dales will revolt too," Leliana said. "We know that Orlais has been in disarray. But it is not 'dying,' and we wanted to restore it to its former grandeur."
Max gave her a hard look. "You can't trick me with a clever substitution of words. I said that the Orlesian Empire was dying. And it is. Orlais is just a country now, and Celene and Gaspard have weakened it even in that form."
"We know this," Vivienne said. "But you welcome it, while others of us have wanted to fight it. It makes for a dangerous world when there is no great power and everyone can threaten everyone else."
"Divine Justinia warned us of that," Leliana added. "She meant it with respect to the Chantry as the unifying body, but she too foresaw that a world of many weak nations is a world of disunity and danger."
"And I think it would be a terrible shame if the culture and art of Orlais were driven out of the rest of Thedas," Josephine said. "What can replace them? The influence of the new Ferelden and the new Free Marches is based on war and threats of war, not civilizing values."
Sera rolled her eyes, Dorian sighed, and Max rubbed his forehead. He tried not to explode at them in his response, counting to ten silently in his head.
"All right. First, who said there would be no great power?" he finally asked. "Ferelden and the Free Marches are positioning themselves to potentially both be great powers... or, if they remain allied, for the power to be their alliance. Their power may not be empire, but spheres of influence. That's certainly what Viscountess Hawke is aiming for, and I think that's a political advancement over empire. And Ambassador, this belief that the rest of Thedas needs Orlais to 'civilize' them into appreciating art, and otherwise they're violent and warlike, is deeply insulting—and untrue. Ask Fereldan veterans of their rebellion if Orlais doesn't have a military! Ask the people of the Exalted Plains if Orlais isn't warlike, if you can find any alive! Ask the Dalish about 'civilizing values' of Orlais versus war. And ask a Free Marcher, or a Fereldan, if there isn't art and culture in those areas too. You have Orlesian ancestry, but you've been Antivan for a while; do you think so meanly of your own country too?" He gazed imploringly at her. "And as for the war-and-weapons thing, do countries not have the right to defend themselves? And if they are small, as the Marcher cities are, is it not advisable for them to ally and pool their resources? We should support VMTO. It is a source, the source, of stability for the region. Orlais is not. And isn't that what we wanted? Stability in the south?"
"We are aware that Starkhaven is unambiguously in the treaty, and that Wycome will probably rejoin after it forms its government," Leliana said. "It seems likely that the last holdouts will sign too."
"I don't know who and at this point I don't care, but someone threatened Sebastian with having his dispensation to rule withdrawn if he signed. Maker's breath—our meddling so antagonized the Free Marches that, when a Qunari ship allied with us drew near, the escalations on site nearly started a ruinous world war and nearly killed me!"
"The Inquisition is not responsible for Hawke's paranoid ideas about the destroyed Qunari dreadnought," Vivienne said.
"We did not seek the Qunari alliance in order to threaten Kirkwall," Josephine said. "Whatever you think of us, Inquisitor, please believe that."
Iron Bull finally spoke up. "I'm Tal-Vashoth now, so I don't mind saying what I know. You're right about the Inquisition's part in it. You just wanted aid against Corypheus's forces, and they offered that. They weren't lying, either. They did think it would be easier to counter the threat of the Venatori with the Inquisition's aid. But the Ben-Hassrath did have an ulterior motive in addition, and it's exactly what Hawke feared it was. They did have hopes of planting people in the Inquisition with the aim of getting hold of Hawke's weaponry eventually."
The others in the inner circle fell silent, stunned. Max, however, was cynically unsurprised. He noticed that Dorian also was not shocked.
"Bull, I don't want you to keep any more secrets from us," he warned. "You're one of us now. They won't protect you, so don't protect them."
"Understood, Boss."
Max gazed around the table again. "There you have it. The Qunari intended to use the Inquisition for their own purposes, so Hawke was right to be afraid! And really," he said, "even if she hadn't been, can you blame her? A fully armed Qunari dreadnought fifty miles from Kirkwall! And this after the many nonviolent provocations that the Inquisition has engaged in to try to tear her treaty apart." He stared out. "For what? Because 'Orlais is the strongest southern power'? I don't think so. If anything, Orlais is the weakest power in southern Thedas." He raised his eyebrows pointedly at them all. "Ferelden took Orlesian land due to their own horrible, destructive, pointless war. People in the eastern Dales chose to switch their allegiance, things were so bad. VMTO is doing what everyone had long thought impossible and unifying the Free Marches. They are strong powers. That's why you acceded to the Fereldan Crown's demands about troops and fortifications. You knew you couldn't defy them without having to headquarter in war-torn Orlesian territory, where there is no Skyhold, no comparatively safe haven. Comparatively, I say, because Hawke could hit us if she had been provoked enough! She almost did!"
"Max," Leliana said, and with that, Max looked up sharply, surprised to hear her use his name. She did not sound hostile or scolding, but rather, addressing him as an equal. "Although you speak about 'having to headquarter in war-torn Orlesian territory,' there is an aspect of your hopes for the Dales that I am not sure you have considered." She leaned in. "Do you realize that if the Dales do revolt while the Inquisition is still fighting Corypheus, we will be forced into an impossible position? If we side with Celene and Gaspard in such a conflict, we will have an enemy on our western doorstep, and Ferelden, perfectly aware of that fact, will be able to demand anything it wants from us. Particularly if Ferelden supports Briala and Fairbanks in such a revolt. Yes, I know about Fairbanks," she added coolly at the look of surprise in Max's face. "I do not blame him, but it does concern us all that he is already making plans with Briala for open rebellion. And on the other hand, if this rebellion erupts before Corypheus is settled and we side with Briala, then we make an enemy of Orlais—and the Chantry." She folded her arms on the tabletop and stared at him. "We can forget about any chance of installing a reformer Divine from the Inquisition. We can even forget about any chance of having Grand Cleric Petrice as Divine; for all her faults, she is at least a known quantity, has some reformist principles, and sees the Qunari with clear sight. Instead the next Divine would be some priest from Orlais, most likely one who is anti-elf, probably also anti-mage, and definitely a throwback who will not look either to future threats or future opportunities. I don't think the Free Marches would accede to that after the Mage-Templar War, so what we would likely see would be yet another schism declaration, this one for the entire region, almost certainly naming Petrice its Divine, backed by a constant background threat of ruinous war. Ferelden and the Dales might well align with it. Did you think about any of this when you decided that now would be a great time for the Dales to revolt, just because you hate Orlais?"
Max was abashed. The truth was, he had not thought about it to that extent. He was loath to admit it, but he did see her point.
But he also believed that he had a point too.
"I... must say, I didn't," he admitted. "For all those reasons, I hope that the Dales don't revolt just yet. But you can't deny that it would be a good thing if they did break free, as long as they did it after Corypheus and the Venatori are settled and after y—someone good is elected Divine. The new Divine could even condemn the Exalted March that conquered the Dales." He gave her a pointed look. "Or reinstate the Canticle of Shartan. It would be controversial, and Celene and Gaspard would probably complain if the Divine did not vocally back them in a war of independence, but if the Divine comes from a victorious Inquisition, she would have power and clout in her own right."
"That is true, but you cannot fully control when these things happen. I have consulted with Fairbanks to make him understand the concerns we have about starting yet another war too soon. He and Briala want to act before Celene and Gaspard can consolidate power and stabilize Orlais. We are trying to find a compromise that accommodates that reality and the reality of what it would mean for the Inquisition's war mission and our hopes for Chantry reform if war broke out too early. It is not easy."
Max felt less cocky now. He truly had not considered the repercussions of his idea for the Dales if Briala acted too soon, and more than he ever had before, he understood why his advisors felt and thought as they did. But he still thought that his perspective had validity as well, all the more so now that they knew Corypheus had had another plan to unleash chaos on Thedas that had not even occurred to them in their bias for Orlais.
"I should have told you of my intentions before the Winter Palace ball, so that we could have planned it together," he admitted, "but... to be honest... I was afraid that if I did, someone would try to thwart the goal, not just delay it."
Cullen, Josephine, Vivienne, and Cassandra all looked down consciously. It seemed that his suspicion would have been correct. He sighed. "This is what I meant earlier about options being foreclosed and friends and enemies already made for me. We have been working against each other, and we all know it. I haven't trusted you and you haven't trusted me whenever the issue was national borders and spheres of influence."
No one contradicted him.
"So—I will admit that I should have consulted with you about my idea for the Dales. But you should have consulted with me about your ideas for the Free Marches, instead of going behind my back to plot with these traitorous agents. You were all very concerned—rightly—about Corypheus's plot to use an agent at the Orlesian Court to assassinate Celene. You believed it would've destabilized Orlais and much of Thedas if that had happened. But he had another scheme to destabilize Thedas, and through Harish and Volant, he used the Inquisition itself as a tool in that scheme! And he almost got away with it, because you didn't take the Free Marches seriously enough. He would have gotten away with it if I hadn't become the wild card that he hadn't predicted."
Leliana sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I cannot argue with you there."
"If my friends and I hadn't been there, VMTO would have collapsed after the battle in Wycome, the Inquisition forces probably would have been slaughtered, and Hawke would have struck Skyhold after that captain made the report that we'd used red lyrium and I had objected to it! She would have concluded—she did conclude, correctly—that this meant the Venatori had compromised us. Corypheus was plotting to assassinate Celene, he is plotting something with the Orlesian Grey Wardens, but he also had a plot to destabilize the Free Marches, and he was using the Inquisition to do it. He was using the organization's attitude that the Free Marches were a problem, a power not to be accommodated and respected like Orlais was, but rather crushed. He was using the fact that we had internal divisions and distrust that manifested in our not talking to each other when we made geopolitics-related plans. And he almost pulled it off."
"You are right," Leliana conceded.
"You are very quick to concede to him," Vivienne said to her. "Inquisitor—if that is what you wish to be again—I have to say, even though Corypheus did use double agents to manipulate the Free Marches, doesn't the fact that they danced to his tune to attack each other imply that they cannot be unified?"
Max raised an eyebrow at her. "My companions and I thwarted that, like the Inquisition thwarted Grand Duchess Florianne at the Winter Palace. Grand Duchess Florianne, a duchess of the blood royal, was a Venatori agent! She was dancing to his tune, as you put it! Worse, actually; she was knowingly complicit with his goals. Even the worst fools in Tantervale and Hasmal weren't deliberately working with him. By your own reasoning, that means that Orlais was too weak to deserve saving!"
Vivienne looked as if she wanted to argue, but she could not.
"The world has changed," Max said in calmer tones, "and you can't force everyone in southern Thedas to live in the shadow of an empire if they don't want to. I admit, I have biases and they may well have influenced my decisions to our detriment. I did not fully think through my idea for the Dales, and I didn't run it past any of you either. I should have. But this doesn't change the fact that people outside Orlais don't want to be imperial subjects again or even exist within the sphere of Orlesian influence. There's an independent streak now. Nationalism and regionalism are on the rise, and this is a reality that we have to accept and find ways to work with, rather than fight. We make enemies rather than friends if we fight people on this. It is not for us to tell everyone in southern Thedas what nation they must be citizens of, or what culture must influence them, or what treaties—other than treaties with the enemy—they can sign." He stared hard and pointedly at them. "On second thought, I'm not sure this was ever truly about Orlais or Orlesian culture. I think you want the Inquisition to be the great power."
The looks of surprise—not that his accusation was false, but that he was smart enough to have deduced its truth—only heightened. No one could think of a reply, so Max continued. "And what's wrong with the Inquisition being a great power, having a sphere of influence all over Thedas? The problem is, who exactly do we answer to?" He gazed out. "Rulers answer to their people, peacefully or otherwise. Who are our people? We have no border. We have no citizens. A lot of what we do to establish and exert influence is done in the shadows, so people fear us without being able to know for certain that we even did something. We have no accountability to anyone but ourselves, and that is why it's a problem for us to have this kind of power."
Dorian spoke up. "That and the fact that Corypheus can, will, and has used us—our power, our divisions, our distrust, and our biases, yes, including yours, amatus—as a tool for creating chaos," he said pointedly. "And if there is no accountability, not even any mutual trust among ourselves, what are we then to do about it?"
No one had an answer to that. Max glanced down at the table. Something was nagging at his conscience, and Dorian's words about mutual trust were now glaring at him.
He took a deep breath, raising his head. "On the subject of trust, I need to tell you something else. Some of you know about it; others don't, and... I have no explanation for that except that I didn't trust you with it. I am sorry. I think it's time I told every one of you about it, however. When I met the envy demon at Therinfal Redoubt, it revealed the plot to assassinate Celene... but it also showed something else that I now am convinced was a clue to this other plot involving the Free Marches."
With that, he began a full, complete account of the envy demon vision. He told them about the future of the tyrannical Inquisition: the wrongful conviction of the King and Queen of Ferelden, the successful strike on Skyhold and its aftermath, the confrontation with Keeper Istimaethoriel with red lyrium weapons and Lady Volant. He skipped nothing this time, though his voice wavered as he talked about the final vision, in which the demon impersonating him had imprisoned all his closest friends—and Dorian—instead of taking them with him to Wycome to prevent Corypheus's plot from reaching fruition.
As he finally finished, he noticed that Leliana was shaken and upset. It was rare for her to lose her composure. When she spoke, her voice was shaky too.
"I think you are right that this was a hint of a third plot to destabilize Thedas," she said, sounding oddly far away. "And I also fear you are right that no one would have regarded it as such if you had told us then." She took a shuddering breath. "We all have much to consider... Inquisitor."
I almost failed the Inquisition, Leliana thought. It was Justinia's last wish, and I almost allowed it to be taken over by our enemy—Justinia's murderer—and used for his loathsome ends. My friends and I granted our agents far too much power and set a bad example. Painter was an enemy spy, Volant probably was too, but what about the others? Chambreterre hopefully was not guilty of anything except following orders. Same for Jester, Maker willing. Argent had not yet been drawn in... but would she have carried out that horrible order from Volant if she'd believed I had ordered it? I think she would have. I think she would have put aside her own qualms about using red lyrium against anyone, let alone hundreds of targets, if she thought I had ordered it.
Maker's breath—even if Volant had not been discussing red lyrium, the order itself would have been an atrocity! That is what Rendon Howe did to Elissa's family. And I have set such an example of ruthlessness that I am pretty sure Argent would have believed I really had ordered such a vile deed.
Corypheus was able to use this exaltation of ruthless, bloodthirsty Game-playing and almost brought the entire mission to ruin by that means. Ever since I became the Left Hand of the Divine—and even more so after her death, because I had nothing else to cling to but my bardic past—I have believed that ruthlessness was the only way to succeed. I believed that being "soft" and showing mercy generated little but failure.
I was wrong. In this case, it was the reverse.
Something else then occurred to her. I need to let Elissa know about this. She was so concerned about the risk of accidental intelligence leaks from Grey Wardens' minds, but we had a horrendous "intelligence leak" that involved no Wardens at all. It didn't involve her people; it involved mine. The Wardens allied with us have been utterly loyal and trustworthy. I need to tell her this.
She also gave thought to the Herald's arguments about Orlais and the rising order of Thedas. He has a point, she conceded. And one thing is clear: What we have been doing has not worked. Indeed, it is only due to Trevelyan's temper, to be utterly frank about it, that Corypheus did not triumph. Our arrogant, dismissive attitude toward everyone but Orlais might have worked in the Storm Age or the early Blessed Age, but... as much as I have been reluctant to admit it, after serving by Justinia's side all those years... he is basically right about the Orlesian Empire. Favoring it while hurting other nations has made us enemies. We have to try something new.
Little did she know that Max had been talking with Dorian and had arrived at a similar conclusion. Dorian had much to say on the subject. Tevinter was, to say the least, very far from a perfect country—but it did have a Senate. A deliberative body that purported to represent at least part of the population.
Rather than treating Orlais as the ruler of the south, why not grant everyone a voice?
Max and Dorian bumped into Leliana in the Skyhold corridor and learned that she wanted to consult with them. Max was relieved; perhaps this meant that things would be better between them. A restoration of trust, he thought as he showed her into a private office.
They sat down and began talking.
"Instead of having the Inquisition play high-handed kingmaker for all of Thedas, we can invite each nation-state and interested party to send a delegate to Skyhold to speak about that entity's concerns whenever they may arise," Max suggested. "Ferelden and the Free Marches definitely insist on respect these days, with their accomplishments... and, yes, their new weapons. And I think Orlais is so weak that it would be an insult to Nevarra, Rivain, and Antiva if we invited Orlesian delegates but not delegates from those countries." He considered. "And the Anderfels, if they'll send someone. The Grey Wardens basically run that country, I heard, and there are... unanswered questions about them..." He sighed, shrugging. "But that's why it would be a deliberative body. No one power gets to lay down the law to everyone else."
"Tevinter too," Dorian chimed in. "There would be objections, but the Venatori would exploit it if the Inquisition left Tevinter out of such a council."
"These delegates cannot have veto power over the Council or Inquisitor," Leliana warned, "and we will have to be very careful that they do not hear secrets or other sensitive information, in case the Anderfels or Tevinter—or anyone—does send a spy, either intentionally or otherwise."
"Fair enough," Max said. "I don't want them having veto power either. But they will have their concerns aired and heard out, and the existence of this body of delegates would be an acknowledgment that they may have concerns that members of the Inquisition inner circle and its agents do not know about—that we do not know everything and want to hear what they have to say."
"This may be something to keep in some form after we defeat Corypheus," Dorian said. "A 'general assembly of nations' that meets to try to resolve problems and air grievances without resorting to war."
Leliana smiled. "I think that would be a very good idea indeed."
Notes: You've met my "Thedosian NATO." Now let me introduce the precursor, or first version, of the United Nations General Assembly, as Dorian's last comment indicates. Geopolitical multipolarity has consequences and one of them is that no empire, Chantry, or organization gets to lay down the law to everyone else and dismiss their voices. One of my readers knows that part of the endgame of this fic is to slide Thedas into an Age of Enlightenment in some ways, so an early-stage international representative body is one of the ways to make that transition.
Finally, since Painter was clearly too treasonous to be spared, I had to do something else to get Inspired Leliana. Why not dismantle the concepts of ruthless Game-playing and disrespect/disregard for others by practical means, i.e., showing an outcome where that produced a near disaster?