Jacquelyn eyed up the flags, thinking. Who did she hold above all others? The Maker, obviously, and his bride. So, Andraste. And she was, after all, the Herald of Andraste. Therefore, Andraste was above all others. After that was when things started getting interesting. She held the people in high regard. Civilians were, in many ways, more powerful than those in charge. If a civilian decided that those in charge were unfit to rule, and others shared that sentiment, then a rebellion would not be that inconceivable. That said… The templars were meant to serve. They served a noble purpose. They were meant to protect the civilians, it was a noble cause.
She sighed, thinking. There was no one right answer, only one right answer for her.
So she put Andraste, the bride of the Maker, above all else, followed by the people. If she could have, she would have tied the templars and the people. Neither of them was more important than the other, but she could only choose one. She turned to face Barris, the templar that greeted them, her face as unreadable as she could make it.
"Traditionally, the participant of the rite now explains their choices to those assembled," he said. Jacquelyn thought for a moment.
"There was no word for heaven or for earth, for sea or sky. All that existed was silence. Then the Voice of the Maker rang out, the first Word, and His Word became all that might be: Dream and idea, hope and fear, endless possibilities. And from it made his firstborn. And he said to them: 'In My image I forge you, to you I give dominion over all that exists. By your will may all things be done'," she quoted. "Threnodies 5. The Maker created all, and Andraste is his bride. Therefore, my first choice is Andraste. The people were created in His image, so they come next. If I had the choice, then I would have put the templars and the people as equals, as the templars are an honourable order. But I could not, therefore, this is my choice."
Abernache sneered slightly.
"If it wasn't to impress the Lord Seeker, why bother at all?" he asked. Jacquelyn turned her cold gaze on him, not even trying to hide her mild dislike for him at that moment. This had been a difficult task for her to complete.
"I suppose those are your intentions," Barris said, straight backed, hands behind his back, looking like a very well trained templar. Jacquelyn inclined her head to him, very slightly, acknowledging his statement. She liked Barris. He was seemed fairly straight forward, intelligent, and he believed there was something strange going on with the lord seeker. She trusted his judgement. After all, Cassandra had been confused by his actions at Val Royeaux.
"My intentions are to deal with people who matter!" Abernache snarled, not even trying to contain his anger as he did his best to approach Barris in a threatening way. "You helmed louts are wasting the Inquisition's time, and my time. Unacceptable!"
Barris sighed.
"The Lord Seeker awaits you both," he said. "Follow me."
Jacquelyn crossed over to Abernache.
"If I find something is wasting my time, Abernache, I will let those wasting it know. I do not need you fighting my battles for me. Do you understand?" she muttered, rather darkly. Abernache looked at her, confusions shining in his eyes. Jacquelyn left him standing there, not bothering to wait around for a response.
"Are you threatening me, Herald?" he asked as he moved to catch up with her.
"Believe me, if I ever threaten you, you shall know about it."
Jacquelyn hurried her steps to follow Barris, pointedly ignoring Abernache into the building, walking over to the table situated in the middle. She might have been impressed by the size, but she was used to large areas, and it wasn't unlike a mess hall. Not to mention, it wasn't exactly clean, though she was inclined to ignore the straw littering the floor. Barris and Abernache immediately set to arguing, Jacquelyn rolling her eyes and shaking her head, blocking them out as best she could. It worked for a bit, but not as long as she would have liked.
"It's necessary, you know. You don't win a battle by committing," Abernache was saying, Barris not seeming too happy.
"Without faith, you've no knights. You've – Knight Captain!"
The Knight Captain stepped up to the desk, hands behind his back. His face was hidden by the helmet he wore. Jacquelyn regarded him closely, hiding her mild confusion behind an unreadable mask.
"You were expecting the Lord Seeker?" the Knight Captain was asking. "He sent me to die for you."
Barris looked around at Jacquelyn, and she calmly looked back around at him as Abernache stepped around the table to address the newcomer.
"Knight Captain, Lord Esmeral Abernache. Honour," he bowed, not as low as he could have, but it was still a reasonably deep bow. "It is not unlike the second dispersal of the reclaimed Dales. No doubt rank puts you above such things, a pity more people don't understand that."
The Knight Captain laughed.
"This is the grand alliance the Inquisition offers?" he asked, rather snidely, watching Jacquelyn with a small, rather cruel smirk. Jacquelyn did her best to hide a frown. There was something very much not right. She wasn't entirely sure how she was meant to be replying. The knight captain simply seemed… off.
"You, be ready," he continued. Abernache turned to face Jacquelyn.
"Yes, be ready to be left behind, Knight Captain Denim."
"The Lord Seeker had a plan, but the Herald ruined it by arriving with a purpose, it sowed too much descent," Barris marched around the table to the Knight Captain, anger and confusion in his eyes.
"Knight Captain, I must know what's going on."
"You are all supposed to be changed!" the Knight Captain was almost yelling. "Now we must purge the questioning knights!"
Barris looked around as the sound of yelling grew, Jacquelyn also looking around a small frown on her face. Some of the knights in the hall with them looked… off. She couldn't quite explain how, they had a strange red, almost crystalline substance growing out of cracks in their skin, something that she could find no reasonable explanation for.
"For once, I agree with the –" Abernache was cut off as an arrow went through his head. Jacquelyn took half a step back, shrugging her shield off her back and grabbing her sword, falling into a better position for fighting, automatically on the defence. She didn't know what was going on, but she sure as hell was not going to be caught off guard.
"The Elder One is coming!" the Knight Captain was saying. "No one is going to leave Therinfal who is not stained red!"
"Maker's Breath!" Barris exclaimed, stepping away from the knight-captain. Jacquelyn eyed up the templars that were nearing her, having already dealt to some of the clearly questioning templars, and one or two of those who had accompanied her to Therinfal. There was only one way out of this, though it went against everything that Jacquelyn felt and stood for.