Notes: I am writing international rivalries/uneasy alliances in a fantasy medieval/Renaissance setting, and that means that there are no 100% heroes among nations and non-state organizations like the Inquisition. This fic is going to make everyone look like a jerk at some point (and IMO this is the chapter in which Ferelden does). This is not to torch my own AU in some sort of "eff you" to readers (I love these characters, flaws and all), but rather, to depict realistic pre-modern geopolitics within the canon-divergent environment I've created in prior fics where Ferelden and the Free Marches are powers to be reckoned with. If you've made it through Spells (and Sanctification might even qualify), this dark realism, making everyone some shade of gray, should be nothing new.
I am not giving chapters of this fic titles based on song lyrics. I didn't for Sanctification either, having decided that it was just for my "Spells" series. But "Damnation" by Blind Guardian on their new album was an inspiration for writing this chapter.
Chapter 4: The Growling Dog
With the Inquisition's grudging accession to Viscountess Hawke's terms, all that remained was the waiting. It would take some time to determine which Free Mage companies were best suited, muster them from Kirkwall and elsewhere, and prepare them for the journey and the task—a task that no one had performed before except Max himself. In the meantime, the Inquisition began making plans for Therinfal Redoubt.
Then a new wrinkle appeared. Lord Esmeral Abernache, an Orlesian nobleman, reached out to the Inquisition with an unexpected proposal.
.
Herald Trevelyan and the Inquisition:
On behalf of ten Orlesian noble houses who have strongly supported the loyal Templars and Seekers in the past, many of whom have sons and daughters in these orders, I write to you.
My noble allies can offer significant militia support to the Inquisition in liberating the loyal Templars and Seekers from the clutches of false Seeker Lucius Corin. Combined we can boast a thousand men, including three hundred cavalry. We are willing to travel with you, as well as our militias, to Therinfal Redoubt to force the false Seeker to free his hostages or face the wrath of Orlais.
Respectfully,
Lord Esmeral Abernache
.
Max put the letter aside, thinking about it. "Should we accept his offer?" he wondered aloud.
"You should sign no contract that he puts forth," Josephine said, "but... this force... If they do indeed send it, that changes the game."
Leliana spoke up in disagreement. "We cannot import a force of Orlesian soldiers—or even just the eleven nobles themselves—into Ferelden without the approval of the King and Queen. And I do not expect them to grant it."
"This sounds very like the Blight," Josephine said. "All Thedas knows that Teyrn Loghain refused Empress Celene's offer of chevaliers to accompany the Orlesian Grey Wardens, prolonging the crisis and plague. But he does not rule now. Do his daughter and son-in-law hold the same opinions?"
"Empress Celene's offer was not purely altruistic," Leliana said. "I have personal knowledge of this. While King Cailan lived, she meant for him to annul his marriage to Queen Anora and then wed him herself, uniting the two countries again. The chevaliers were not just to fight the darkspawn, but were to suppress rebellion after that marriage." She leaned forward on the war table. "And Loghain learned about this after he became a Grey Warden. There is every reason to assume that Anora and Alistair know it too. So no, I do not think Ferelden will agree to Lord Abernache's offer."
"Now is not the time for political paranoia," Vivienne said. "The Fereldan Crown should accept the help that this nobleman has offered."
Max gave her a level look. Vivienne would normally be the first person to bring up political concerns as an important matter. The fact that she was dismissing them now felt very self-serving to him... or serving the interests of Orlais, he thought. Fair enough. She loves Orlais. But the Inquisition does not exist to serve the national interests of any country.
"Have we actually written to the King and Queen yet?" he asked.
"We have," Josephine replied. "That was before Lord Abernache's offer, of course."
"But we did mention the danger of Red Templars and red lyrium?"
"Yes, Herald. They know that if they do not permit us to act, they may find a fortress taken over by Red Templars and the poison spread to the Brecilian Forest nearby."
"Then we wait for their reply," he ruled. "If they agree to discuss the matter with us, then we can bring up Lord Abernache's offer, just in case. They would have the authority and raw power to negotiate stricter terms for him than we would, anyway. Maybe if these Orlesian soldiers are just added to a Fereldan force and put under Fereldan authority while they are here, it wouldn't be so threatening."
Leliana smiled indulgently. "That would be nice, but Empress Celene did not permit such terms during the Blight, and I very much doubt Lord Abernache will permit them now, particularly with the Frostbacks and far eastern Dales switching allegiance to Ferelden."
The letter arrived in Denerim quickly, and the King and Queen sent a reply inviting the Inquisition to the palace for a royal audience. Leliana, Josephine, Solas, and Varric decided to accompany Max.
They set out on fast horse, staying overnight at inns in the middle of the Bannorn, the wide expanse of farmland in central Ferelden. There were no cities, and no towns of notable size, but there had to be watering-holes for the locals and resting places for travelers.
In Denerim, as they headed toward the Palace district, they passed by a street of houses—mansions, really—of a much higher quality than they had seen elsewhere. One particularly large estate had a sign in front declaring it the University of Ferelden. Scholars were at work, visible through the windows.
"That used to be the seat of the Arl of Denerim," Leliana said to Max. "When the Kendells family, who held that title, died out, the royal family assumed ownership due to the Theirin line once having held Denerim. I am glad that they put it to this use."
They continued onward, passing by another house with the heraldry of a victory wreath carved above the door. Next door to it was a house, slightly smaller, that bore the heraldry of a double griffon. Leliana's gaze hardened.
"Cousland House, their city mansion that they use for Landsmeets and other Denerim business," Josephine explained in an undertone to Max. "The right-hand house is that of the Grey Warden order in Amaranthine."
Max needed no further explanation of Leliana's dark look. His heart went out to her.
They reached the Royal Palace, where the delegation was swiftly admitted. The Queen emerged into the small audience chamber to greet them, informing them that the King was busy with other matters. After the official greetings, which were notably strained, they got to business.
"Your Majesty," Josephine began, "we have come here so that we might come to an agreement regarding the... situation... at Therinfal Redoubt."
"Come to an agreement?" Queen Anora repeated coolly. "You say that as if there is a legitimate dispute about Therinfal Redoubt."
"Your Majesty, as you know better than we, the Crown of Ferelden granted the Seeker Order the deed to the castle in the Storm Age."
"Yes, we do indeed know that," the Queen said in acid tones. "But that deed has no validity anymore. The Seekers abandoned the castle and it reverted to the Crown. They cannot decide to take it again at whim, particularly when a rebel with extremely suspicious plans is leading them."
"Your Majesty," Josephine soothed, "the Seekers surrendered the deed to the Orlesian Empire in 8:99, but Orlais had no right to assume ownership. The original deed, the grant of the Crown of Ferelden to the Seekers during the Storm Age, is still valid."
"No, Ambassador," Anora replied sharply. "You say this because you imagine we will be flattered into giving you a castle if you say that Orlais' occupation was illegitimate. That is the only reason."
Josephine was struck silent from facing a monarch who was so brutally forthright. It was clear that this was not something she had encountered before.
Anora continued. "So do not patronize us, Ambassador. We all know that in reality, power belongs to those who can obtain and keep it. That was Orlais until the King's father and mine led the force to drive them out. Property law administration in Ferelden was Orlais' domain during their occupation and it became Ferelden's after we reasserted control and power over this country. If you assert that the Seekers' surrender of the deed to Orlais was invalid simply because the law-enforcement authority was Orlais, then so was every incidence of property law administration that Orlais performed in Ferelden."
Josephine was still silent, gazing in surprise at the monarch.
"Do you think that we did not have to reckon with this decades before your Inquisition even existed?" Anora continued, scorn in her words. "King Maric and his legal advisors examined hundreds of property records soon after he took the throne. Those inheritances, sales, and transfers that followed the law were upheld, even with Orlesians having administered the process. Those that were coerced or forced were overturned. Though there were a few exceptions even then! Due to the man's own vile conduct in the Rebellion, King Maric did not reinstate the lands of Harwen Raleigh, who had been dispossessed by Orlais.
"And it is clear into what category falls the Seekers' vacating of Therinfal. They surrendered their deed to Orlais in 8:99, and the Fereldan Crown did not grant them a new one." She gazed levelly at Josephine, then Max, though there was more sympathy in her eyes for him—a young man clearly brought along as a pawn. "Therinfal Redoubt is a Fereldan fortress and has been since the end of the Occupation."
Leliana then stepped forward, taking command of the Inquisition's side of the dialogue. "Very well. But regardless of Ferelden's claim over the castle, what is not debatable is the Inquisition's authority over the Templars and Seekers who occupy it." She held out the declaration, signed by Divine Justinia, creating the Inquisition. "We are acting according to the last wishes of Her Perfection, and none dispute the Divine's authority over these Orders."
Anora examined the seal and signature. She nodded curtly. "You are right," she said. "You do have authority over the Templars and Seekers. And it is for that reason that we are granting you this audience at all."
"We have received an offer that would relieve Ferelden of the need to deal with the Templars and Seekers," Josephine said. "Lord Esmeral Abernache of Orlais has offered the aid of ten noble allies and one thousand soldiers—"
The Queen cut her off. "I beg your pardon? Do you truly think that we will let eleven Orlesian nobles and a thousand soldiers besiege a Fereldan castle?"
Leliana gave her friend a pointed look. Max recalled her deep skepticism about the offer. She had been correct.
"What does the Crown intend, then?" he spoke up boldly. "Your Majesty knows about Red Templars and red lyrium. That is what we fear the Lord Seeker is planning: creating more of them and corrupting the land."
"We have plans of our own that do not involve letting Orlesian nobles and their militias take over a Fereldan castle to potentially use as a military base."
"What plans does Your Majesty mean?" Josephine said, alarm in her face.
"What do you think, Lady Montilyet? The Seekers and Templars are acting as a hostile force. Their potential use of red lyrium is a direct threat to Ferelden's land and waters. There is only one thing that we can do."
Max gaped at the Queen in shock. "You would kill them all?" he blurted out, horrified.
"They are illegally occupying a Fereldan castle and very likely plotting to poison Fereldan land. We must defend our country."
"What if..." This was a revelation that Max had not expected, and he was trying desperately to talk her out of it. "What if there were a way to dislodge them without killing them all?"
Anora smiled mirthlessly. "What way might that be, Herald? If the rebels can be, as you say, dislodged, and brought to heel, we would not oppose that. But you must have a workable plan for doing so. And we hear none."
"Why could Ferelden not ally its forces with the Inquisition, to save the Templars and Seekers rather than slay them?"
"If you must know, it is because the Inquisition does not accept Ferelden's claim on Therinfal Redoubt. You tried to use flattery to get us to accept a self-serving read of the law. So, no, we're not going to let you command our army to besiege it. We might not get either the castle or the army back.
"But we are merciful. So long as the status quo at Therinfal remains, and they do not emerge as Red Templars or start poisoning our land, your Inquisition has ten days to come up with a real plan, a plan that does not offend Ferelden, and propose it. After that, or if the Lord Seeker acts first, we will attack Therinfal."
"And I thought Viscountess Hawke was being difficult," Leliana muttered after they had gone to their rooms at the Gnawed Noble Inn. "At least she did agree to send the mages. Ferelden is denying the Orlesians admittance and refusing to even let us work with their army. They are closing off all options except slaughter."
Max rubbed his forehead. "And if this goes on long enough, that'll be the only thing that can be done anyway, because of the red lyrium."
Josephine considered. "Even if I do not love the contract itself, I hate to suggest breaking faith. But people's lives are at stake, and not just those of Templars and Seekers, if they seed the ground with red lyrium. We do have another potential force: the Free Mages."
"Hawke will recall them if we do that," Varric said, "as you said."
"But the Ambassador does have a point that lives are at stake," Solas argued. "Red lyrium is an awful substance. I think we would indeed be justified to prevent its spread by any means necessary." His face was hard.
"Hawke said that we may use the Free Mages to fight the armies of the enemy who created the Breach," Josephine argued.
"But we don't know whether the Lord Seeker's plan has anything to do with building an army for that foe," Varric said. "It might. But we don't know. We don't even know who our enemy is. We can't use the mages, because then Hawke will recall them before we have closed the Breach. The Templars might be able to close it too, but we'd have to assume we could get them."
"Should we wait for the Free Mages to arrive, close the Breach first, and then go to Therinfal Redoubt?" Leliana wondered. "So that it won't hurt us too badly when Hawke recalls the mages?"
They all considered this idea, but then Max recalled the Queen's warning and shook his head.
"We're on a time limit," he said. "If we don't go there soon, Queen Anora will send the Fereldan Army to besiege the castle and kill everyone inside. I don't think that was an empty threat."
"Nor do I," Leliana said darkly. "I have worked with Queen Anora before, during the Blight. She is a ruthless woman at times."
"So we need to get the Crown to call it off and give us time to stop Lord Seeker Lucius's plot," Max continued.
"But how are we going to do that, Herald? I just do not see any way to fight a force of rebellious Templars and Seekers without a sizable force of our own. What choice do we have but to defy Hawke's terms and take the consequences?" Josephine asked.
They all fell silent. Max hated it, but the truth was, he couldn't see any way other than what she had said, either.
Then Varric spoke up. "We may have another ally in the Free Marches. I wasn't there, because I was acting regent of Kirkwall, but Hawke and Anders told me that Prince Sebastian of Starkhaven has basically sworn vendetta on the Red Templars. Hawke and Anders have used that to get his aid in arresting the bastards for trials at Ansburg. Starkhaven was besieged, but its common army is largely intact, and the city itself was not harmed like Tantervale."
They thought about it. Max liked this suggestion, but he did not want to count on it just at Varric's word. "You are very confident that Prince Sebastian will be an ally in this effort," he ventured.
"Sebastian hates Red Templars. Despises them. It's the only reason Hawke and Anders have been able to work with him for justice and reconstruction. He apparently told them in the surrender discussion that he 'feels a calling from the Maker to rid Thedas of them.' That's what they repeated to me. Yes, I think he would work with us to save other Templars from becoming Red."
"What about Ferelden? What will they say to the Inquisition importing Starkhaven's army and sending it across Fereldan territory, this soon after a war in which Ferelden and Starkhaven were enemies?"
Josephine looked approvingly at Max for thinking about the consideration. "It is something that will have to be handled with delicacy, certainly," she said. "But Ferelden has an especially bad history with Orlais, and there are tensions at the present as well. It is... uniquely challenging. Despite recent years, there is no long history of enmity with Starkhaven. And Prince Sebastian hates Red Templars instead of having ulterior motives as I believe Lord Abernache does. For him it would be a principled, moral cause, so he should be more amenable to having Starkhaven's army under Inquisition control for this."
"As for the enmity," Leliana added, "that ended with the surrender. Prince Sebastian is working with Kirkwall and Viscountess Hawke now, as Varric has said. Kirkwall is Ferelden's ally."
"Starkhaven is not a signatory of her treaty, is it?" Josephine asked Leliana.
"It is not. Yet."
"Then having its army here could be—" Josephine mused, only to cut off this sentence abruptly with a look from Leliana.
Max tried to take charge. "If the decision is being left up to me, this is what I want to do. Let's write to Prince Sebastian asking him for soldiers. A thousand, like Lord Abernache offered. And with a message of urgency. Meanwhile we request another audience to tell the King and Queen that we might be able to save some of the Templars and Seekers, and that either way, the Inquisition could ally with Starkhaven instead of Orlesian lords. Surely they will call off their attack then. We have ten days to present a plan, not ten days to muster an army. This plan should buy us some time for Starkhaven's force to arrive."
They dispatched the letter to Starkhaven as soon as possible, using a raven from the University. The next royal audience that they were granted, five days later, included both the King and Queen. Max found the presence of the King to be a hopeful sign.
"Your Majesty said that we could present a real plan," Josephine said, "and we have one, a plan that does not involve Orlais."
"We mean no harm to Ferelden," Max added. "We just want to save lives if it can be done."
Anora finally seemed to relax a little. She nodded to her husband.
"Since your previous audience," King Alistair began, "we have had contact with a Templar on the inside. You know, before I became a Grey Warden, I trained as a Templar. I knew him as a boy. He was a good sort."
Max's heart suddenly leaped with hope.
The Queen spoke, her voice less hostile than before. "Ser Delrin Barris, a Templar who has Fereldan noble relations—a Bann in our Landsmeet. He remained loyal to Divine Justinia throughout the war. He reached out to us secretly. But he has not been cooperative since then."
The flare of hope that Max had been feeling suddenly flickered.
"We want the names of every Templar and Seeker there, as well as whether they remained loyal to the Divine or joined the schism," she said. "He refuses to give us this information. We have told him that our purpose is to help the loyal ones escape before we attack, but that we will attack them all if forced. He, like you, says that he wants to save everyone who can be saved. But from our perspective, Therinfal Redoubt is a Fereldan castle that they are squatting in and using to threaten Fereldan land with red lyrium, and Ser Barris is using these loyal Templars and Seekers as hostages—human shields."
Max's heart sank. If Anora was determined to have the names of the schismatics, and Ser Barris refused to give them up, what could the Inquisition do in the case?
"If we do have to attack the castle, I intend to ask the Landsmeet to strip Bann Jevrin Barris of his title and lands," she continued in hard tones. "Ser Barris's family could put pressure on him to accede. Instead they back him."
Alistair looked glum. "He means well, I think. But if his good intentions result in Red Templars and red lyrium..." He shrugged helplessly.
Max now felt no hope at all. But he had come all this way and he did not want to leave until he knew that there was nothing that could be done. "If the Inquisition liberated Therinfal Redoubt and assumed our rightful responsibility for the former schismatics, would Your Majesties be willing to let them live?"
Anora considered. "You have lawful authority over them, as I said. But you must be able to enforce it. How do you propose to liberate Therinfal? We will give you a chance, Herald, if you do have a plan. But we will not risk this land to red lyrium and Red Templars on the basis of hope alone."
"We have a strong possibility of another ally, which has no designs on Ferelden, led by a leader who hates the Red Templars personally," Max said.
"We have reached out to Prince Sebastian of Starkhaven," Josephine said, "who as Your Majesties know is now working with Kirkwall, Ferelden's ally. The prince has said that he wants to rid Thedas of Red Templars due to the vile acts they committed in the war."
The King and Queen exchanged looks.
"Starkhaven placed trade sanctions on Ferelden before the war, and our soldiers fought Sebastian's in the Free Marches," the Queen said reservedly. "But you are correct that he has been working with Kirkwall since the war's end to bring Red Templars to justice."
"And he has lifted his sanctions on us," Alistair added. "Before the war, Starkhaven and Ferelden were friends. With the reconstruction and Ansburg Trials, and his cooperation with both, maybe we're friends again."
Anora sighed, a surprising sign of weakness in a queen. "Starkhaven has never threatened us as Orlais has, and no longer does it threaten our Marcher allies. Very well. If Prince Sebastian does lend you part of his army, we will permit this—provided that they remain under your control throughout the operation, return to Starkhaven immediately after, and that neither they nor you leave an occupying force behind at Therinfal. You have three weeks to get these Starkhaven soldiers to Therinfal, unless the Lord Seeker acts first."
"From a pragmatic viewpoint, I understand why Ferelden is behaving this way," Leliana said as they rode back. "Every action they have taken, I understand their reasoning for it. But that does not change the fact that this is deeply obstructionist. Divine Justinia was correct, as Cassandra said not long ago in Haven. With the Chantry disarmed and leaderless, it is every nation for itself, more so now than ever before... and this is what happens."
Max did not respond. He was not sure what he should say. He felt much the same as Leliana about the situation: He could understand why Ferelden was doing this, but it was obstructionist. And Queen Anora's threat to kill every Templar and Seeker present, even those she knew to be human shields, and then to dispossess the Barris family, seemed excessive.
"I wonder if it would be like this if Elissa had decided to poke her head out of Vigil's Keep and be an active participant, as she used to be?" Leliana continued, bitterness entering her tone. Max definitely had no intention of responding to that. "What is she so afraid of now? The monster has acted. It killed Divine Justinia and tore a giant hole to the Fade. It remains at large, yes... but what are the Grey Wardens doing about that if they think it a darkspawn, their domain? Nothing that I can see."
"You feel abandoned," Josephine observed.
"Yes," she said in almost a hiss. "I do. She could do something, but instead she hides in her castle and commands all the other Wardens to do the same because she is afraid that if they communicate with us, it will stick its figurative fingers into their heads and pull out our secrets. We are fighting it, if that is our enemy as I believe it is, but she is not letting the Grey Wardens join us. She has not even written to me about Divine Justinia's death. Yes, I feel abandoned." She steeled herself. "But we must carry on with the allies we have."
Max wanted to stop in the Hinterlands as they traveled westward to Haven. The Crown had also given the Inquisition leave to carry out the law in the Hinterlands, though they must defer to Arl Teagan's men if they were present.
After receiving his report from their scouts, he continued onward through the region, observing that there were essentially no signs of the Blight that had struck eleven years ago. Histories said that the first major wave of the darkspawn force had emerged in the Korcari Wilds and attacked Ostagar, which was just east of here. But now, grass and flowers bloomed in the height of springtime, and animals of all sorts thrived in the wooded areas, cheerfully defying the Breach overhead.
He was following up on a report from the scouts of banditry at a nearby lake when he overheard a voice with a timbre and strength of command. Surely that was not the lead bandit? But instead he came upon a dark-haired, bearded man commanding some frightened youths to attack the bandits. And the man's armor included a blue enameled breastplate embossed with a double griffon.
It seemed a sign from the Maker that they would encounter a bona fide Grey Warden, and a captain to boot if he was commanding recruits, so soon after bemoaning the lack of Warden presence in the Inquisition. But so it was. Leliana, Varric, and Solas drew their weapons to join in the attack on the bandits. Max hesitated, wondering whether he should join the fight or protect Josephine. The bandits might target her if they saw that she was the only one unarmored and not fighting.
Making a swift decision, he cast a strong bubble shield around her and joined the fray.
The Inquisition members and the recruits made short work of the bandits. Max expected the Grey Warden to then take the recruits away, but to his surprise, the man instead dismissed them, telling them to go and live their lives.
"The Herald of Andraste himself. Are you the Inquisition, then?" he then asked, turning to them.
"We are," Max replied.
"Warden Blackwall. Glad you came out here."
"We were definitely glad to help, but it looked as if your recruits could have handled the bandits quite well alone!"
"They could, but they didn't know it until you arrived. Fighting alongside the Herald gave them the strength of will."
"You dismissed them, though."
"They deserve a chance at life," he said, "not being forced into this."
"We had heard that the Grey Wardens of Ferelden were locked down," Max ventured. "That the Warden-Commander and her captains have closed off communication at Vigil's Keep..." He trailed off, not knowing the names of the other two Fereldan Warden posts.
"Soldier's Peak, and Wyvern's Hold in Gwaren," Leliana supplied.
"Ah," Blackwall said. "As it happens, I'm not a Warden of Ferelden. I'm a Warden of Orlais. We Wardens can travel at will in Thedas in pursuit of our duty." He raised a heavy bushy brow at them. "But my command post has basically abandoned us. Abandoned everyone. That's why I'm here on my own. I heard that the Inquisition was the only outfit taking an interest in dealing with that"—he pointed to the Breach—"and so if it isn't asking too much, I'd like to join you. I can do more with others than alone."
"You have intelligence that the threat of the Breach relates to the threat of the darkspawn?" Max asked shrewdly.
"There are rumors," Blackwall said.
Leliana gazed narrowly at him, studying him for a time, before making a decision. "The rumors are likely accurate, I must tell you. Very well. You may return with us to our home base in Haven, Warden Blackwall."
When they arrived at Haven, the rest of the team greeted Blackwall with approval. He was shown to his quarters. Then Cullen and Cassandra turned to other business: A letter was waiting for them from Starkhaven.
"We opened it," Cullen said apologetically. "But the news is good."
Indeed, the letter was from Prince Sebastian himself, and it was a willing, enthusiastic agreement to loan the Inquisition one thousand soldiers to back up their threats to the Lord Seeker and his probable Red Templar comrades. The Prince indicated that he might personally journey south with his force to fight alongside the Herald.
"Should we let him go out to Therinfal?" Max wondered. "He could die. We do not need to be accused of further destabilizing Thedas by getting heads of state killed, especially one crucial to keeping the peace in the Free Marches."
"We will be hard-pressed to stop him from fighting if he is determined," Cassandra said. "If he does come, we must do our best to protect him."
"What of the King and Queen?" Cullen asked them. "Starkhaven's support won't matter if they won't let the forces into Ferelden."
"They will, provided that we command them in the actual combat operation, that they return to Starkhaven at once, and that no one tries to claim Therinfal Redoubt," Josephine said.
"Commanding them in the combat operation might be difficult if the prince himself fights," Cullen observed. "But on the other hand, you have told me that he feels a moral calling against Red Templars. If they are indeed there, then for him it won't be about personal glory or power."
"There is a potential ally, a Templar on the inside, whom we should contact, too," Leliana said. "His name is Ser Delrin Barris."
"Well, it sounds like we have the makings of a plan," Cullen said.
"Yes," Max agreed. "Let's go to the war room and fill in the details."
Two weeks later, approaching Therinfal Redoubt.
Sebastian Vael did indeed travel with his soldiers, much to the Inquisition's dismay. But the Inquisition luminaries had no choice but to let him ride with them out of respect, and he did prove a very gregarious companion—if a very boring one as well at times.
"I felt that I must fight this battle personally," Sebastian told Max along the way. "Red Templars committed atrocities in the war, to which I was blind for too long, and corrupted and misled Elthina to her death."
The latter seemed unbelievable to Max, who had heard that she had been an active conspirator all along. "Really?" he said, skepticism in his tone.
"She gave orders, but she could not have known what those foul people would do. They had manipulated her for years, preying on her pure faith."
Max's opinion was that a self-styled Divine-challenger would know exactly what she was ordering, but it wasn't worth a fight. "Very well," he replied.
"I failed to stop them and failed to save her. The Maker has given me this opportunity to atone, so I must take it. They must never gain a foothold in Thedas again."
"We don't know that there will be Red Templars here," he cautioned.
"But I think Ser Cullen's reasoning is sound. They are likely to be here. And that means I must be here too." He smiled, blue eyes shining in the sun.
Max allowed the conversation to lapse after that. So many people of late felt a calling from the Maker, a comfort from the Maker—and all of it because of him, it seemed. The people of the Hinterlands found hope in the Inquisition's presence and the Herald's powers. Sebastian found inspiration in the opportunity to eliminate a nest of Red Templars.
So how can it be that I don't share any of this? Max thought. To my eyes, the Herald of Andraste is likely just a cynical fraud, and the Inquisition is already starting to dip its toes into corruption and double-dealing instead of sticking to its lofty purposes of closing the Breach and fighting its creator. He reflected on their current objective and his own reasoning for wanting to do it. And saving innocent lives. And, I suppose, rebuilding better than before.
But the problem comes with that last goal, doesn't it? That's where the political dealing comes in. No way to rebuild without getting dirt on our hands from the building materials.
And that doesn't change the horrible truth about my title. I wish Andraste had saved me, but I just cannot believe she did.
As if reading Max's thoughts, Sebastian spoke again. "So—are you the Herald of Andraste? Did you see her?"
Max rapidly made a decision about how much to share. He wanted to confide in someone who was sincere, someone who was not mired in the cynicism of assuming the title to sway the faithful—but he just was not sure that he could trust Sebastian to keep whatever he said private. This was a man who spoke freely about matters of faith as a calling from the Maker.
"I don't remember seeing her, but my brains were scrambled from the event," he said. "Other people say that they saw the figure of a woman, a being of light in female form, helping me out of the Breach by my hand—this hand." He held up his marked hand. "As for whether I believe it... I can't control what others believe, including my own colleagues, but I don't want to be so arrogant as to assert anything like that if I don't know for sure."
Sebastian nodded. "I understand. It is very easy indeed to become proud and arrogant in matters of faith. Forgive my curiosity. You are a true man of faith to be this humble."
Max sighed as the prince rode onward. If only I could talk freely with you. But for now, he couldn't confide fully in anyone except the cynical operators who were part of the scheme.
Fortunately for him, they were approaching Therinfal Redoubt. As they neared the site, they passed by a legion of what Max estimated to be two... no, three thousand soldiers, all bearing the heraldry of Ferelden.
"They really do mean to make sure that we clear out once this is over," he muttered as they advanced past the line. The Fereldan troops eyed them with suspicion and distrust, but no one broke formation or hurled insults.
But at last, the castle itself came into view.
Ser Delrin Barris was a handsome, brown-skinned man with a winning smile—not that they had the chance to see it much.
"I am very glad that you could come," he told them. "The Crown's forces are said to be massing nearby—"
"They are," Max confirmed. "We passed them on the way."
Ser Barris shook his head. "I wish the Crown had let me try to save everyone, but I fear it is too late already. Perhaps they are right to do... what they will do if you cannot help us, Herald, Your Highness," he said to Max and Sebastian.
"What's the situation? What has the Lord Seeker done?"
"The Lord Seeker has changed all of his plans to meet you personally, Herald."
Max was dumbfounded. "After the scene he put on in Val Royeaux?"
"He seems to have changed his mind. He has become obsessed with you."
Max was becoming deeply suspicious. Something didn't smell right. "What does he want with me?"
"He did not say."
"Well," Max said, stiffening his resolve, "the only thing he can give me that interests me is the surrender of the Templars and Seekers. We are here, in fact, because we are concerned about a new surge of Red Templars coming from this place." He eyed Ser Barris. "Have you heard anything about that?"
With those two words, the Templar lowered his voice significantly. His gaze began darting about, as if he were fearful of being overheard. "Herald," Ser Barris said through clenched teeth. "In truth, the Lord Seeker has not been in charge since he learned you were coming. He has been sealed away in his quarters. He's set a Knight-Captain named Fornier in charge." Barris lowered his voice yet more. "And yes, Fornier is a Red Templar. He has spoken of wanting to corrupt the entire order and kill those of us who resist. I disciplined him for such speech while I could, but with the Lord Seeker promoting him, he outranks me now." He shuddered. "He talks about crushing the rising order—the new Marcher alliance, Kirkwall's weapons, the movements for more rights and religious liberty. He speaks of a new god who will lead them in this effort to 'stop the chaos.' Since the Maker 'failed' them in the war, Fornier and his Red Templar allies claim He does not exist."
"Blasphemy and heresy," Sebastian snarled. "I unfortunately supported that side and I did not lose my faith over our defeat! The Maker simply showed us that we were wrong. It is clear as day to me now, hence my presence here."
The creator of the Breach, Max thought. He couldn't prove it, but it had to be so. If it is, that means this is indeed an army of our foe. We could have used the Free Mages... if we could have obtained proof. Most likely we can't, though. And the force we do have should suffice. Might even be better. Red Templars are terribly effective against mages.
"Did you ever have any dealings with Fornier?" Ser Barris asked.
"I do not know him, I am afraid," the prince said.
"We won't stand for it," Max said stoutly. "We're here to stop him. As you can see, Prince Sebastian has loaned the Inquisition a thousand soldiers."
"We may need them. But come."
The Inquisition and Prince Sebastian marched across the causeway toward the castle, leaving the army at the gates. Inside the courtyard, Ser Barris led them not into the castle, but to a series of three flags. One bore the Chantry sunburst, one the Sword of Mercy, and one a series of heraldic devices across a field. Max noticed the Orlesian lion, the Fereldan mabari, the skull of Nevarra, the dagger and crow of Antiva, and several Marcher cities' symbols.
"The Lord Seeker specifically wanted you to perform this ritual, which all Templars do," Ser Barris said almost apologetically. "Raise them in the order that seems best to you."
Max gazed levelly at Barris. "Is the Lord Seeker an ally or not?"
"Honestly, I do not know," Barris admitted in a whisper.
Max scowled. This seemed a waste of time, but if it would please the apparently mercurial Lucius Corin, perhaps the man would assert control over the Templars again and help him put a stop to the Red Templar coup-in-progress. He considered for a moment, thinking of his present company and his own doubts and frustrations. Then he raised the banner of Andraste first, then the banner of Thedas's people, then the banner of the Templars. Sebastian visibly approved, Max noted. But to himself, it felt like a prayer, a desperate plea for the renewal of hope—the hope that faith and, indeed, hope itself, had a place in this fight, instead of just brute force and cynical politics.
"What made you choose that order?" Barris asked curiously.
"My reasons are my own," Max said at once. "Now can we see the Lord Seeker? Show him the flags, if it mattered so much to him?"
But before they could hold further dialogue, a nasty laugh sounded from the entrance. A well-armored man with a greatsword emerged. Sebastian sucked in his breath, and even Max could see why: The bruising and discoloration of his skin by red lyrium, and the vividly red veins of the substance itself, were visible above his gorget.
"So," chuckled Knight-Captain Fornier nastily, "this is the grand alliance the Inquisition offers." He sneered at Sebastian. "A traitor who began working with the enemy before the bodies of Tantervale's dead were cold!" He pumped his arms, a red glow appearing around him, as he drew his gigantic blade.
Fear shot through Max like an arrow. "Prince Sebastian!"
But the prince was unafraid. He slung his bow off his back in a liquid movement and had an arrow nocked before Max had even finished his exclamation of alarm. Before Fornier could charge all the way across the courtyard to Sebastian, the prince's arrow thudded into his shoulder. Sebastian scowled, nocked another, and shot it into the Red Templar's leg.
But inside the building, more Red Templars were visible, following their leader in the attack.
"Come on!" Max shouted, charging into the building with his companions.
They rushed inside, fighting for their lives, fighting to stop the Red Templars, fighting to save those who were as yet uncorrupted—but to Max's dismay, there were clearly already dozens of Red Templars at Therinfal.
Sebastian himself took out Fornier, though it took five arrows to do so, two of them to his chest. No one should be that tough.
The prince noticed that Max was gaping at the feathered body. "He lives yet," he said. "Such is the power of this foul substance."
Max directed his companions to bind him and keep him subdued. "We have to liberate this place. We may already be too late."
"There are many here who are still whole," Barris said. "But you came just in time. They were clearly about to act."
Max nodded. "Let's keep moving."
They moved through the castle, fighting Red Templars as they often jumped out to attack. But Ser Barris had spoken truly: There were indeed many Templars and Seekers who were not corrupted. These joined the force as allies, assisting their path through the castle. Sebastian's soldiers helped tremendously as well, with a few hundred following in their path while the others guarded the castle itself. Along the way, Max found numerous stashes of red lyrium and notes about its progression. Sebastian's face became a permanent glower, but it was also suffused with righteousness as he carried out the task that he believed had been set for him.
At last they reached an open courtyard, where Templars and Red Templars were fighting to the death. Max whirled on Ser Barris. "They're everywhere, and they are open about their corruption! Were you really thinking you could hold them off?"
"It was looking more and more doubtful," Barris admitted, "but I did not realize that it had become this bad! Some of them have turned only today—only in the past hour, Herald! Maker save us"—and it was a prayerful exclamation—"we didn't have any time left!"
"We have to try to save those we can. There is no evidence I know of that they can be turned back once they take the foul substance."
"I have not seen that either," Sebastian said. "Let us do it, then!"
They stormed the courtyard, those who could shoot projectiles trying to take the high ground and those who fought with blades going directly for a melee. This was a vicious fight, with the Red Templars fighting to the death. Recalling what Cullen had told him, he tried to take them out before they could pollute the ground with shards of red lyrium as a final act of spite.
There was a lull in combat at last. Max and his companions rushed toward the quarters of Knight-Captain Fornier, which had remained locked—but Sebastian was a master lock-picker, and he obtained access for them quickly.
The stink assaulted their nostrils at once. "Ugh!" Cassandra burst out. "This is the scent of death."
"And there is the body," Solas said grimly.
Max did not recognize it, but Ser Barris and Sebastian did. "Trentwatch!" the latter exclaimed.
Barris was inspecting the corpse. "He refused to take red lyrium, to the bitter end. And Fornier killed him for it."
Sebastian scowled. "He was foul in other ways, but at least he did not do that. Perhaps the Maker will forgive him for his sins more readily."
Max had heard enough about Trentwatch from Varric and Cullen that he did not much care what the Maker did to him. It was clear that everyone in his party except Sebastian and, perhaps, Barris felt the same. But this was still murder, and it was evidence against Fornier. "We must keep moving," he said.
They had emerged from the Knight-Captain's room, and Max was heading up a set of stairs, when he heard a voice.
"Herald of Andraste."
He whirled around, looking for the sound.
"You glow brightly even from the other side, Trevelyan."
That told Max what it was. "Demon! Show yourself!" he shouted, raising his staff.
A mad, disembodied cackle sounded as Max bounded up the steps. It was in front of him—then behind him—everywhere—nowhere. It was like chasing shadows. Max shoved the great doors inward—and then a figure jumped him.
Max knew the Fade when he saw it. Somehow, the demon had pulled him in. Furiously he whirled around, searching for it.
Instead a shocking scene met his eyes: his advisors, Josephine, Leliana, and Cullen. The women held Cullen as a captive.
"Is this shape useful? Will it let me know you? Everything tells me about you. So will this. Watch!"
The Leliana-figure cut Cullen's throat with a knife.
Max wanted to storm, rage, and attack. But this was obviously some demonic illusion. No, he told himself. It wants to goad me into responding. This is not real. It is a demonic lie.
He gazed at the illusions, forcing what he hoped was an emotionless stare onto his face, and turned aside without a word.
"You bury it deep inside, then," the voice mused. "So much buried inside you, Trevelyan. Hurt. Longing. Ambition. Doubt."
I'm not going to respond to it, Max told himself. I'm just going to find my way out of here. It's trying to trap me with its games, and I won't let it.
"Defiant," came the voice again. In spite of himself, Max turned his head. The thing now spoke from Josephine's image. The Leliana-figure was gone. "That is you too. Being you will be so much more interesting than being the Lord Seeker."
Ignore it, Max told himself again—but the demon would not allow it.
Max chased the thing through the Fade-room as flames erupted. He evaded the flames, determined to find this demon and put an end to this. But it did not behave like any demon he had ever heard about. In his Harrowing, the demon he had faced had been a desire demon, offering him glory and the unconditional love and acceptance of his family. Most demons did offer their would-be victims something. This one was just goading and taunting him.
"You're a man of faith whose faith is sorely challenged," the demon continued. "You want to believe. You want your Inquisition to be great, not small and petty. When you raised the flag of Andraste, you prayed to her."
"Shut up!" Max snarled. How long had this thing been watching him, and why? How long was it reading his thoughts? He knew the answer, somehow—the thing had said it wanted to "be" him—but he just could not accept it, or understand how. Demons wanted to possess mages, didn't they? "Show yourself!" he commanded.
"Do you know what the Inquisition can become, Trevelyan?"
Once again, in spite of himself, he answered, hating himself for it. "Better than you can imagine, demon."
It cackled evilly. "I will show you. And when I am done, the Elder One will kill you and ascend. Then I will be you. Glory is coming, and the Elder One wants you to serve him like everyone else: by dying in the right way."
You crazy bastard. Max tried once again to ignore it. This did, however, explain what Ser Barris had told him of Fornier's "new god." This Elder One, whoever it was, was undoubtedly the being that had created the Breach. A darkspawn, as Leliana had believed? So this demon is the flunky of a darkspawn. Not worth a response from me, then. I just need to get out of here.
"It is useless. I learn about you even from your silence, Trevelyan. Your pride. Your arrogance. You think you can outwit me by ignoring me. You cannot outwit me no matter what you do—but this is useful, very useful to know of your arrogance. Yes, arrogance, Trevelyan. What is more arrogant than to want to use your Inquisition to change the world? But saviors won't last long here. Oh, let me show you indeed what the Inquisition will become!" The demon flickered away, eyes gleaming in the Fade-clouds, showing the way.
Max chased it, knowing that it was going to show him things to try to break him, but determined to win regardless. He entered the next room, where a messenger reported to a soldier.
"Our enemies have surrendered unconditionally."
"The Inquisition's strength surpasses every nation in Thedas."
The demon laughed, flickering into existence again as an illusion of Max himself—but he was shocked to see himself so smug, so arrogant. "Our reach begins to match my ambition—but we will strive for more."
It's the demon's ambition, not my own, Max told himself as he hurried on.
"Bravery or desperation, Herald? Or more pride?"
He passed into another room, where shadowy, ever-shifting figures of people talked.
"How quickly the Inquisition's influence has spread! Even the Empress herself bows to it!"
"Who would stand against us when the Inquisition commands nations? When it has crushed that thought to be unbeatable? Humbled the terror of the City of Chains, muzzled and leashed the growling dog?"
"No one wise," replied the hard, arrogant fake Max that was the demon.
"The Herald saved us all. Our army can tear down kingdoms!"
The demon turned to Max, still bearing his own form. "Do you see how glorious my Inquisition will be after you die at the hands of the Elder One?"
Max could see it. Maker help him, but he could see it. This demon could enter the world pretending to be him, and the advisors would likely go along with exactly what it wanted because that was what they wanted too—up to a point, but by that time it would be too late for them. He was already starting to see the seeds of this dark Inquisition being sown. I blamed my advisors, he thought, but am I just as guilty myself? I wanted to change the world too.
"You're hurting, helpless, hasty. What happens to the hammer when there are no more nails?"
Max whipped around, searching for the source of this new voice—a strange, staccato voice. As the demon snarled in outrage—indicating that this voice was clearly not supposed to be here and was not something it had expected—Max gave up, seeing no other figure.
Scowling, he shook his head and continued his pursuit of the demon.
"Wait."
It was the second voice again. Max tried desperately to find the source, but again saw nothing.
"Envy is hurting you."
Envy, Max thought, suddenly understanding. So that's what it is. That's why it wants to learn about me. It envies me. It wanted to impersonate the Lord Seeker, but I became more—what did it say?—interesting.
"Mirrors on mirrors on memories. A face it can feel but not fake. I want to help. You, not Envy."
At last he saw the figure. A boy, milk-pale and sad, a big hat covering his tawny head, stood before him.
It could be a new trick of the Envy demon, though. The thing's rage seemed sincere... but demons could be extremely cunning and deceptive. "And why should I trust you?" Max snarled.
"I'm not Envy. I'm Cole."
Max snorted. "If that's supposed to mean something to me, you're losing your touch, demon."
"I am not a demon. I tried to help you. I want to help people." He vanished, then appeared upside down on the ceiling. "It's easy to hear, harder to be a part of what you're hearing. But I'm here, hearing, helping. I hope. Envy hurt you, is hurting you. I tried to help. Then I was here, in the hearing. It's—it's usually not like this."
"Stop with the alliteration," Max said. "Just speak plainly."
"I was watching. I watch. Every Templar knew when you arrived. They were impressed, but not like the Lord Seeker."
"The Lord Seeker is a fraud. It's the envy demon, pretending to be him. For all I know, the demon was in Val Royeaux too."
"Yes. It twisted the commanders. They had resisted, but at last they responded, resigned to their rage. They're red inside. Anyway, you're frozen, Envy is trying to take your face, I heard it and reached out, and then in, and then I was here."
"In my head."
"Yes. Thoughts are fast. We're here. Outside, a blade is still falling, hanging in the air like a sunset."
"At the threshold of the castle," Max realized. "I have to get out, then."
"I think you would die if you went that way. It's your head; you shouldn't be out of it." Cole paused. "All of this is Envy: people, places, power. If you keep going, Envy stretches. It takes strength to make more. Being one person is hard. Being many, too many, more and more, and Envy breaks down, you break out."
"So if we keep moving, we tire Envy into submission?"
"I hope so."
Max was not particularly impressed with that, and he hoped he wasn't making a terrible mistake by trusting this thing, but what choice did he have?
Max became more confident in Cole as they passed through the next series of rooms. The entity and the demon were at odds, as the demon showed him vision after vision of the Inquisition as a tyrannical power and Cole begged him to think of other things.
Before him, Cassandra and Leliana flanked a bound couple that Max had seen quite recently: the King and Queen of Ferelden.
"You have been found guilty of hiring thugs and bandits to prey on innocents!" Leliana snarled.
"We have done no such thing!" Alistair shouted back.
"This is a lie! We demand justice!" added Anora.
The envy demon, mimicking Max, stepped forward. "And you will have it. Hang them!"
The scene troubled Max, but he tried not to let it get to him. He did as Cole advised, thinking of water, and when that flooded the scene away, he continued.
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. The elf keeled over, bleeding, as the substance consumed and transformed her body. The demon stared out. "Anyone else have an objection?"
"You see?" the demon jeered to the real Max. "Betrayed allies will curse your name. Like the first Inquisition, you will bring blood, ruin, and terror!"
"Unless you don't," Cole told him. "You don't have to. None of this is real unless you let it be."
"Aaah! Silence, thing!" The demon vanished.
Max took hope in that and forced himself to continue onward. In the next chamber, the envy demon stood over a magically nullified couple, a fiery redheaded woman and a blond man. Max had never seen them, but he knew who they were. Who in southern Thedas didn't?
"Your reign is over," sneered the demon. "You trigger-happy warmongers picked the wrong enemy to strike this time. Now we have your weapons. And as for you two, death!"
Anders and Caitlyn Hawke both spat at his feet. "All I regret is that you weren't inside when they hit, you traitor to mages," she sneered.
This one hurt. Even though Max knew it was a foul lie of the demon, it hurt. And his being hurt triggered a new response from Cole.
"It's dark, but it is not real," Cole said. "Think of sparks. Keep going up. You're more you there than you are Envy, and that tires it out."
The fourth chamber stunned him.
Cullen, Varric, Sera, Blackwall, and a fifth figure—a bronze-skinned man he had never seen before but whom he felt like he was supposed to meet ever since he was born—were huddled together, all bruised and bloodied. A faceless soldier approached them, pointing at Cullen.
"The Herald has questions, Commander."
Cullen stared back defiantly. "Is it my turn to be branded a traitor for questioning what we've become? I deserve it for letting him turn the Inquisition into a butcher's pit."
"We all deserve it," Varric said morosely.
"I deserve it most of all," said the stranger.
Max did not need a reassurance from Cole this time. He turned to the demon. "I saw through your other lies, and I see through this one too."
Cole spoke to the demon. "You're letting the Herald see more to sketch his shapes, but what he sees makes him stronger."
"Quiet!"
The demon turned to Max, desperate now. "You wish to be difficult? Then see the legacy of the Inquisition! Its followers hosts to demons! Your world—ashes! Show me what you'd do with them!"
"It can't make you, not anymore. You are getting too strong," said Cole.
"Shut up!"
Max smiled to himself. He was going to win. They continued their ascent, exiting through a pair of doors. Max recognized the Fade-form of the Therinfal Redoubt courtyard. A crowd of people—Orlesians, it seemed—clustered around him, and ahead was the threshold where the demon had jumped him.
"Keep going up!" Cole urged him. "Don't fight anyone. They can't hurt you if you don't let them. You're making it hard for Envy to think. It'll probably come out soon, but it'll be fine. You too."
"They say the Herald summoned these demons after Celene was murdered."
"An abomination! Why did no one realize?"
The Orlesians noticed him and began attacking, but Cole was correct—their strikes did nothing. He barely felt them as he ascended the stairs.
He watched the scene play out again. The Lord Seeker grabbed him, shoved him down—except instead it was Envy.
The demon whirled on him. "We'll start again. More pain this time. The Elder One still comes."
"It's frightened of you," Cole observed.
"Get out of—"
Max grabbed the thing and smashed into it.
Being back in the real world was a relief, but they still had to get rid of the thing. It careened through the Templars' hall, screaming and flailing, before throwing up a barrier of green.
"Lord Seeker?" Ser Barris exclaimed.
"No," Max said, getting to his feet, his companions scrambling behind him. "It's an envy demon."
Barris's eyes grew wide. "Envy?" It was clear that this was dire news to him. "Then the Lord Seeker is confined or dead. Maker help us."
"We have to kill it," Max said. "It named the 'god' that Fornier was babbling on about. Something it calls the Elder One. It's building an army for this Elder One, an army of Red Templars." He considered what Cullen had told him back at Haven. "And it means to poison the very ground."
"It's as bad as I feared," Ser Barris said. "You're right. We must stop it." He turned to some loyal Templars. "Templars! What is Envy?"
"A coward," replied one.
"It studies to make fewer mistakes. But most of all, it hides."
"Then we will force it out," Max chimed in.
"Envy demons are rare," Barris said. "Most Templars aren't trained for it."
"Nor are most mages," Max admitted. He had never heard of such a demon until this mission.
"But some of us can handle it, veterans of the Order. With their aid and enough lyrium, we can tear down its barrier." He sighed. "We have failed. Either we let a demon in among ourselves, or it took the Lord Seeker from under our noses."
Sebastian spoke up. "I know how it feels to fail," he said feelingly. "But the Maker gave me the chance to atone, and so He has also done for you!"
Barris gazed doubtfully at him. "The Maker, or the Herald?"
"The Herald as the Maker's agent!" Sebastian insisted.
I'm glad so many can believe in me, Max thought. I believe in myself now, certainly... but all these people making professions of faith that the Maker sent me? I... ironically enough... envy them.
"I hope and pray so, Your Highness," Barris said. He hefted his blade. "Templars! We fight!"
Despite the fact that Red Templars were being transformed before their very eyes, the Templars managed to hold the Great Hall long enough for the veterans to take down Envy's barrier. The thing itself then emerged, and a foul form it was. A spindly, fleshy being with an eyeless nub of a head, it screamed discordantly as it burst forth.
And it put up quite a fight. Even revealed, its guises torn away, unable to fool anyone anymore, it was not going down without a bitter fight indeed.
But at last, though it took the help of the Templars and Sebastian's army to quell it and the Red Templars who insisted on supporting it, it did go down.
The thing's terrible spell over Therinfal Redoubt was broken, and with the aid of the army, every Red Templar in the place had been eliminated. The only thing that worried Max was that there had as yet been no sign of the most infamous ones, Samson and Carroll, nor the companies they had led away from Starkhaven. The Elder One might still get his army. But he would not supplement it with anyone from this site, at least.
"The demon is dead at last," Barris said. "Andraste be praised, she shielded you from its touch."
Max suppressed his sigh. I wish I could be sure.
"We let this happen," Barris continued. "Our officers either failed to see it or were complicit. We submit to the Inquisition's judgment."
Max turned to him. "I trust you, Ser, and those who stood with you from the first, but you have to understand why I don't yet trust the ones we had to save. Those who were loyal, such as yourself, will be rewarded with positions of trust. The majority must yield to the Inquisition's authority."
Momentarily the visions from the scene inside his head in the Fade returned to him. Am I beginning the dark journey down that terrible path? Is it fated to happen no matter what I do?
He pushed the doubt aside. I can't let them walk free. Barris is a good man, but he couldn't stop this. I don't know if the Inquisition can either, but we have to try. And at least I was given stark warning of what we could become. It is up to me not to let that dark vision come to pass.
Notes: Although this story is certainly quite revisionist on the subject of the Inquisition's "goodness," that does not mean I am setting up Ferelden—or, for that matter, the VMTO—as an unalloyed good guy either. The Fereldan Crown's threat was defensible, but also extremely dark—a description that is basically my signature, as you know if you've read my other fics in the series.
Knight-Commander (Knight-Captain, in game canon) Denam was killed by Sebastian in Chapter 89 of Spells for leading the brutal Annulment of Tantervale's Circle, in which mage children were violently murdered. He had also already been exposed as a child-killer and Red Templar by Divine Justinia, so he couldn't have plausibly led this plot. Same for Samson and Carroll: They led Annulments in Spells and are known Red Templars, who were wanted for trial but escaped. For this reason I used Knight-Captain Fornier. In game canon he is an exceptionally nasty piece of work behind the corruption of the Emprise du Lion (notes from him here, here, here, and here). Once the Red Templars are openly working with Corypheus, there won't be any reason for specific ones to conceal their identities, so Carroll can lead that "effort" here.
Max needed the "prayer" of the flag-raising, and Sebastian is not a coward like Lord Abernache, so he survived it. And I hope nobody is too upset at the lack of Abernache. It is insane for Ferelden to allow this Orlesian nobleman and ten more Orlesian noble families to threaten the site with "the wrath of Orlais" according to the mission text and act as gatekeepers to this castle deep inside the country, not even in disputed or war-torn territory.
Next up, they return to Haven, where the Free Mages will have finally arrived. And we shall see what comes of that mixture of alliances.
Finally, the scenes where Envy shows Max the "dark Inquisition" are not the canon ones, except sort of the last one with Cullen. But they are all important.