It was a sufferingly cold day. Haven was known to be quite cold given its proximity to the mountains, but this was too much, even for a Nord. The flame cloak spell did well to ward off the cold temperatures, but the cold winds would keep putting out the flames, causing Duneyrr to reignite them at the cost of his own Magicka. He eventually turned towards the inn for warmth, even coming across one of Evelyn's inner circle.
Sera was an odd woman. Well, perhaps odd wasn't the right word. She was very proud of the pranks she would pull and loved undermining authority but had a strange sense of justice beneath it all. It was an odd blend of energies that culminated in a single elven girl.
The girl stood several tables behind Duneyrr as he sat drinking glass after glass of wine. Even though he didn't need to glance in her direction he could feel the scrutiny in her eyes bore into his back. He may understand why she would be suspicious of a stranger, but he had more reason to be wary of her, a notorious sneak-thief who had been accused of stealing a bunch of things from around the encampment. Cullen had apparently woken up with his trousers missing from his dresser and had immediately pointed at Sera who neither admitted nor denied fault.
Eventually tired at the attempt at stealth, or whatever she tried to do, he eventually called her out among the crowd. "Instead of staring at me, Sera, why not come over and talk to me."
"I want to be as far away from you as possible when you turn into a demon and start zapping people with your... weird magicky things," she shouted back to him.
Confused, Duneyrr turned in his seat to face her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, bewildered at the comment.
"You mages turn into demons, yeah?" she said, reinforcing her fear. "I dunno how it happens, but I know it involves magic or somethin'! I don't want to be the first one to die when you turn into one."
"There has not been an instance in recorded history where that has happened."
"Don't lie to me!" Sera exclaimed. "I've heard stories."
"Then tell me one," asked the Archmage.
"Well... there was this one guy, yeah? He was casting magic and then poof! Demon!"
"I call bullshit."
"I am not!"
"I've heard tales of people in these lands summoning demons but not turning into them," Duneyrr said to her. "If you're scared of magic just say you are. No need to go making stuff up."
"I'm not afraid to say that watching people shoot lightning out of their fingers freaks me out," Sera replied. "But I also know what I hear. Even the mages say that they can turn into demons, or abominables, or whatever they're called."
"So you've talked to the wizards of the Inquisition before?" Duneyrr queried. "But you won't get within five feet of me?"
"I never talked to them," she admitted. "But I've heard them talking to each other, or arguing with the Templars." The last part made her laugh a bit, likely thinking of some prank she pulled that instigated an argument. "Those mages will take forever to find their staffs."
"Touch my staff and I won't bother using magic to get it back," threatened the wizard.
"Alright, jeez, no need to be so tense about it."
"You have a reputation, Sera. This thing is very dangerous and doesn't take a mage to use effectively. I am being serious when I say. Do. Not. Touch."
"Okay, message received," Sera replied, seemingly waving away his warnings.
Sera moved in closer, closing the gap between them to sit right across from him. Apparently, she felt more comfortable around the wizard, despite the threat given to her and her apprehension of magic. While she moved towards the table Duneyrr saw her hand grab onto a knife she had strapped to her hip. The way the the sheathe blended in with her tights made it look like she was merely grabbing her hip, but anyone with a keen eye could see the outline of the sheathe. If only to put her more at ease he chose to say nothing about what she was doing. In response, just in case it should be an ambush, Duneyrr placed a paralysis rune on the underside of the table.
"A lot of people are scared of magic, I can't blame them," Duneyrr said. "But to claim that those who use it will simply burst into demons sporadically is an accusation I've never heard. Not to say I haven't been called a demon for using magic, but that's for a specific reason."
"Did you turn someone into goo with a weird spell?" she asked.
"Not... exactly. The story behind it isn't a pleasant one and something I don't like looking back on."
"And that's why I think you lot are weird," Sera said. "You have a lot of weird spells and things that do weird... things."
"Yet aren't you an alchemist?" Duneyrr questioned. "I see you tinkering with tonics, poisons, and potions."
"No! That's different! What I do isn't anything like your weird stuff!"
"Alchemy by its nature is magical," Duneyrr told her. "The mixing of ingredients in a way to achieve a certain effect of a drink or explosive."
"I don't care what you say. It's not magic," Sera continued.
"I saw you slam a purple colored tonic on your skin that made you faster than a fox," commented to wizard. "I can use a combination of spells to achieve the same effect."
"Shut up!"
"Magic surrounds us. It is in the air and the ground. All things in the world have some level of magic within them," continued the Archmage, further irritating the elf. "As a result, alchemy inherently involves the usage of magic, by breaking down these items for a specific effect that the magical energies have granted them."
"Shut up! I don't wanna hear it!"
"Is it making you mad?" Duneyrr asked, a sly smile creeping across his face.
"You did that on purpose," Sera pouted. "I don't like you."
"Or is it that you don't like what I made you realize?"
Sera went silent for a moment. Her face became sullen and annoyed. Quickly she stood up and turned towards the door, quickly storming out before another word could be said.
...
Varric and Cullen stood side by side as they watched Sera exit the inn and head toward the archery range. She looked mad, not as bad as Cassandra but more like a pouty toddler who just had their viewpoint challenged for the first time and lost the argument.
"Someone isn't happy," Varric commented.
"I'd imagine with that damn mage in there," Cullen said.
"C'mon, Curly, he isn't so bad," Varric replied. "He just takes a bit of time getting used to."
"You have?" Cullen asked, in an almost joking way.
"Well... not exactly, but I think I'm getting there," he admitted. "I think he's just stressed. His college got displaced from its homeland, he's basically the headmaster of a decently sized school of a bunch of young mages, it's a lot of stuff he has to deal with."
"Even if that's all there is to it, he's still dangerous. I don't want a powerful abomination raging around Haven when I wake up one morning. If I wake up."
"Everything will be fine," Varric said, trying to calm Cullen's nerves.
"Right," Cullen dismissively replied. "Anyway, next time you're out I would like you to mark a few of those lyrium mines you mentioned."
"As long as they aren't owned by any of the big families you'll be the first to know," Varric answered, waving him off and walking towards Sera.
Something had upset the girl. Or someone did at least. He had rarely ever seen the girl leave the inn, the only times he did was when she was bored or whenever the herald asked her to do something sketchy, such as opening some of the prison doors. Whenever she became frustrated or upset she would typically extend her stay in the tavern.
When he arrived at the archery range, set up just down-range of the Inquisition's soldiers, he saw her practicing her shots. Every hit she made was just shy of a bullseye, every arrow no more than a few inches away from the next. Her aim was incredible, far better than some of the shots from the Inquisition's archers. The next three shots she made in rapid succession, switching to a new arrow that was carried between her fingers, all of them hitting the center mark.
"You've got some impressive aim, Buttercup," Varric commented.
"Don't need to remind me," Sera said, almost uncaring towards the compliment. "I trained myself after all."
"That just makes it even more impressive," Varric continued.
"More impressive than magic?" Sera asked, lining up another shot. She released the arrow which hit a previous one, splitting it down the middle and forcing the newer arrow to enter the board at an angle.
"I suppose so," Varric agreed, finally figuring out what had upset her so much in the tavern. "Though I would say your talent as a tempest is also quite impressive."
"Who cares," she scoffed. "It's just magic."
"I mean, not really," Varric said. "What you do doesn't have anything to do with magic. It's simply breaking down ingredients into a refined state to grant you certain effects."
"But the ingredients are made of magic, or whatever dunce hair said."
"Made of magic?" Varric asked. "I don't understand?"
"Go ask him yourself," Sera advised in a mocking tone of voice. "He can tell you about how everything in the world is magic. Stupid."
"I suppose I will," Varric agreed, leaving Sera to practice her skill.
As he walked away from the girl he could hear her muttering something about staffs or something. She laughed at the notion. She was probably why the few mages and Templars had almost got into a brawl the other day. Regardless, it was time to figure out what their substitute mage said to Sera about her talent.
Solas stood at the back of the group. After all, he was a visitor, not a student, and had only attended the lecture out of curiosity. The magic these people cast was too different from the people of Thedas. In all likelihood, it would be an impossibility for him to use Tamriellic magics, but it would be interesting to try.
Today's lesson they gathered around the school's alchemy center. All the students in this course were required to make a potion that they would consume in front of the class, using either ingredients from their homeland, here in Thedas, or even mixing the two ingredients. Their restoration teacher was put on standby in case any of the students had accidentally created a toxin.
The man named Tolfdir led today's lesson. He was a seemingly friendly man, very nice and forgiving to his students, but would never cover up their mistakes.
"Alessa, you are up next," he said, calling up a short and deeply tanned human girl with brown colored eyes. "What did you use in your tonic."
"I used a combination of the native Elf-Root plant and fly amanita from the store room," she said.
'Isn't that also known as fly agaric?' Solas thought.
"I have no idea what it does," she continued, putting worry on both Solas's and Tolfdir's face. She drank the potion and immediately fell over onto the floor.
"Alessa are you okay?" Tolfdir asked.
The crowd parted to allow Collette through, who immediately started using a spell to undo the poison's effects. Solas could see her blinking through the divide in the crowd, which was a good thing.
"I'll take her aside, you all continue," Collette told them.
"Will she be alright?" Solas asked.
"I expected worse to happen," said the restoration mage. "She'll be fine."
As Collette took the student out of the room the crowd regrouped to take over the empty space. The next to pop up was a young elf-boy with eyes red like rubies and skin as dark as ash. He pulled out a phial that was an odd purple color. The boy took the stage, and he began to announce his creation. "If my previous tests are correct, the combination of glowing mushrooms and... some odd purple flower I found a few miles out, this should be a paralytic poison that still allows for a heartbeat. Simply put, it should act much like the paralyze spell from alteration, instead of paralyzing all bodily functions like standard poisons of the same nature."
"How do you plan on displaying this?" Tolfdir asked.
"I have this lizard I found in the courtyard," he stated. "Let me just..." the boy pulled out a small knife and made a slight incision on the reptile's back. He uncorked the phial and made a slight drip of the poison within the wound. The lizard seemed to go limp, almost as if the poison worked. He put pressure on its chest, hoping to feel a heartbeat, only for his eyes to go wide and for him to pocket the small creature. "I think I mixed the ingredients wrong," he said, rushing out of the room and down the stairs.
"Who's next?"
Varric walked up to Duneyrr who seemed to not be paying attention. He didn't startle him, but the mage looked surprised at the dwarf's appearance. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Is that how you greet everyone or are you in a bad mood?" Varric responded jokingly.
"I actually feel quite uplifted today, why do you ask?"
"Is your unusually happy feeling coming from putting down our own Friend of Red Jenny?" Varric continued, still joking along.
"Put her down how?" Duneyrr asked. "I explained to her that the art she practices is inherently magical and she didn't like it."
"Most people here don't like hearing that what they do is related to magic," Varric told him. "It has a bit of a bad rep."
"So too does it in Skyrim," Duneyrr said back. "It's seen as untrustworthy and weak. Those who use it are to be feared and looked at as cowards."
"I wouldn't say it's looked at that exact way here in Thedas, but it has a similar feel to it."
"Explain it to me then? As a foreigner unaware of your culture?"
"Will you apologize if I do?"
"No, absolutely not."
Varric sighed and leaned against the table. "Just for clarity's sake, I'll explain it to you anyway. It could help you better understand the damage mages have done to Thedas."
"Why say mages?" Duneyrr questioned. "Why not just say 'people who have power fucking over the unfortunate who lacks it'?"
Varric smiled and laughed. "Because that would be a bit too broad and vague." Duneyrr laughed back. "Anyway, let's start out with the inherent danger your people present. In Thedas's past, many mages have turned into demons as a result of their connection with the fade-"
"That is the whole issue Sera had," Duneyrr interrupted. "If it's coming from the mouths of more than one then I may assume the claim to be true. However, you say mages here pull their magic from this Fade, correct?" Varric nodded and hummed in confirmation. "The wizards of my homeland do not do so. We gather our Magicka from the energy pouring in from Aetherius, not the fade."
"Is Aetherius your people's version of the fade? Or is it another one of these different planes of reality?" Varric inquired.
"To the first one, no," Duneyrr answered. "As for the second, that is a bit complicated. Aetherius is the home of the Aedra. While the Aedra much like their evil counterparts have their own little pocket realms, Aetherius is not exactly their home. Through the holes in the sky, known to many, including us mages as the stars, magic leaks into this world from Aetherius."
"You lost me about halfway," Varric stated, staring at the wizard blankly. "I only got that you people get your magic from the stars."
"That is a very crude simplification, but not entirely inaccurate," Duneyrr replied. "Just know that the magic we use is not the same. Your wizards pull from a dimension within a greater one. Mine pull directly from the source. We do not share the same risks."
"So what? If Thedas's start using your magic then they won't turn into demons?" Varric questioned.
"If they can," Duneyrr replied. "I believe that mages being long attuned to the Fade may struggle to preform the spells cast by those of Tamriel. That is if their bodies will allow them to."
Varric sighed once more, pouring himself a cup of wine from Duneyrr's wine bottle and taking a small sip. "I can't believe this got off track so quickly. You haven't even told me how alchemy is magic."
"Are you in for a history lesson?" Duneyrr asked. "Or do you just want the explanation?"
"Just explain it."
"Everything in the world is made up of magic," began the wizard. "From the earth on which we walk to the stone we carve our statues of. From the people, the animals, and the trees and grass around us. Even the air we breathe, magic is everywhere around us. As a result, even alchemical ingredients are made up of magic, and magic is used to create the specific reaction desired when using or crafting potions, poisons, tonics, or whatever have you. Do you see?"
"Okay, kind of," Varric said. "But how is everything made of magic?"
"I thought you said you didn't want the history lesson?" Duneyrr replied.
"You're right, I don't," Varric agreed. "But can we please keep the peace? I don't think that Lady Herald would enjoy a rift being formed so early on in the Inquisition."
Duneyrr huffed. He was only here for diplomatic reasons. If not for the teachers convening to swap him and Solas then he would still be teaching classes. This Inquisition meant nothing to him. Regardless, for the sake of his college, he would have to keep the peace.
"I will not apologize," he said. "But I will do my best to not further antagonize the elf."
"That suits me just fine," Varric said, standing up from the table with a half-smile on his face and leaving the establishment.
Even in this world, people seem to dislike the truth. It was something he expected, but it seemed that if he were to further test the waters then it may end poorly.
Evelyn and her council stood around the war table with a map of the greater region nailed to it. Their voices echoed across the room as they argued with each other and Evelyn nearly burying her head into her hands. She simply wished they would stop shouting at each other and speak civilly with each other.
For the longest time, they had been arguing between the mages and Templars. Even she didn't know who to call to. While they did already have an alliance with a powerful group of mages, the alliance wasn't a true one. It could end very quickly given the wrong mood between her and their Archmage, or even something as simple as a petty argument between him and one of her inner circle. It would be best to get the mages of Redcliffe on the side of the Inquisition should the alliance with Winterhold fall through.
Yet should the Winterhold alliance prove true, then the Templars would be a perfect addition. They did not need to quarter the Mages of Winterhold, as they already had a home of their own. Not to mention the Templars could prove more useful soldiers than the mages, as well as being capable of suppressing the magic of the greater rift.
"We can barely trust the mages at that damn academy!" Cullen shouted. "And you want to add more?"
"It would be one less thing to worry about," Leliana countered. "If we hand the mages of Redcliffe over to the college, then that is resources, lodgings, and time off our backs. The college will take care of them from there."
"That is assuming the college will even take the mages," Josephine retorted.
"As well as it being more spell casters without anyone watching over them!" yelled Cullen. "I can't believe anyone here has no issue with there being no one to watch those mages! At any point in time, there could be a demon outbreak at the college and Thedas will have one more problem on its hands, a problem that even we are ill-equipped to handle!"
"Well, according to their texts and practices..." Josephine began, taking a step closer to Josephine... "they do not pull their magic from the fade, but from elsewhere. They do not pose the same risks as the mages from Thedas."
"So you're taking her side now?" Cullen stated, leaving Josephine offended. "And it doesn't matter where they pull their magic from, as long as they are left without supervision they are a danger to everyone around them! If we get the Templars on our side those mages will have to submit due to our superior numbers and ability to counter their magic!"
"I am on no one's side but the Inquisition's!" Josephine shouted back. "And we know nothing about these people! What you are suggesting would quickly make us their enemy, and turn even the eyes of the circles towards us in disgust!"
"Shut up!" Evelyn finally commanded, her ears ringing and head pounding from the echoing voices. She slammed her hands down on the table and brought all attention towards her. "There is no easy choice here. This... alliance with the college is shaky at worst and barely exists at best." She began to wonder if that list was even in the right order. "The Mages of Redcliffe could prove a vital replacement to the college should... whatever this relationship we have fall through."
"You seriously can't-" Cullen began to speak before being cut off.
"I wasn't finished speaking!" Evelyn yelled, commanding everyone's silence. "However, if we do achieve the assistance of the Templars, should this relationship be fruitless it will be of little damage to us. As much as I wish to do a good deed and help the mages of Redcliffe, the Templars would be a better political move and rally the support of the greater population of Thedas."
"I see your point, Herald," Leliana said, clasping her hands behind her back. "While I wish we could assist the mages, we should consider the reputation of the inquisition with the people. Even if the reputation of the Templars has been declining of late, many do still look at them as beacons of safety from mages."
"So it settled then? We seek out the Templars?" Evelyn scanned the room of her advisors, looking at their faces.
Leliana looked to be more displeased with the decision than Josephine, who had spent weeks among their kind. Evelyn didn't wish to upset her, but there were more things to consider than simply the ability to assist the Inquisition.
"I'm sorry for shouting, by the way. You are all dismissed." One by one the council left the room, last being the Herald herself.
This was not a position she wished for, ever in her life. She was more content to let one of her siblings take up the mantle should the title of heiress fall on her. To be thrust into a situation so volatile and being the head of a reignited order was something out of her nightmares. She was only happy someone else took care of the paperwork instead of her.
Hello people. I've been stuck on this one for a bit, unsure of where to go with the chapter. I've been working on it on and off since the last chapter, doing my best to fill in the blanks between the bigger events in this one.
Things are going to be slower. Even slower than they already were due to sudden changes in my life. Normal pace (or whatever is a normal pace for this fic) will resume eventually, but definitely not within the year.
Thank you all for stopping by!