Seventeen
Perivantium 9:37 Dragon
It had been four hours.
That was a good sign, wasn't it? Cassius thought so, but the bent brows of Magister Arrentius and his wife made him doubt himself. The sitting room was comfortable enough and the slaves in the household had been attentive, but Flavius still looked uncomfortable, and not solely because he had crammed his swollen foot into his boot this morning and was certainly in incredible discomfort.
Junia had closed her book more than hour ago as her hands lay folded atop the cover, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. She looked out the large viewing window at the outline of the mountains in the distance, then down at her hands, then at the closed door in a cycle that had been repeating every few minutes since she took respite from reading.
The manor was technically considered within the Perivantium district in the southeast, but House Amladaris lay about as close to the Free Marches as one could get. The house was actually closer by straight line to Hasmal on the south bank of the Minanter that created the natural border between Tevinter and the Marches, and it was about as far away as one could get from Minrathous.
Distance alone might have landed the title of "backwater" to a place like Amladaris, but none would dare to label it as such out loud. First and foremost, being nested into the mountains meant the house controlled considerable mines that regularly produced more gold than anywhere else in the Imperium.
There were also good iron mining operations and several productive stone quarries and House Amladaris had proven for years that hiring migrant labor from the Marches was more cost effective than trying to cover its labor needs with slaves. Slaves were costly to purchase and required constant supervision lest they try to make for the border. Meanwhile the Marchers were content to have the work and the wage, even if it was a fraction of what a pureblooded Tevinter man would make for the same work. And, if a Marcher was maimed or killed in an accident, it was little tragedy, while losing a slave constituted a significant financial loss.
The influence of the Marches made the region a bit more eclectic and queer than anywhere in the heart of the Imperium, but such was the influence of centuries on a shared border.
But ultimately, House Amladaris was still Altus, and that fact in and of itself demanded respect regardless of its business, decor or diverse population.
"What could they possibly be after?" Flavius finally said as he shifted uncomfortably on the couch, gingerly moving his bad foot as he stared at the closed door.
Junia shrugged her shoulders as she looked back up at the door. Cassius turned his gaze that way too.
Behind it, Valerie was with Magister Irian II Amladaris, his wife, and his eldest son, Irian the third. What they were talking about behind that closed door for the last four hours was a mystery, and the long wait was clearly grating Flavius.
The betrothal talks that had started in the Magisterium at the beginning of the year had advanced and shown promise, so much so that Irian proffered the invitation for the family to travel to Amladaris lands to meet in person. It had been a long, long journey across the Imperium to make it here, but it was also one of the most promising prospects Flavius had fostered in at least the last two years. There were few other houses of the same stature as Amladaris within even four days travel, so few families were willing to entreat the idea even for an old and fairly wealthy bloodline.
When they had arrived, Irian had greeted Flavius warmly, but instead of the families sitting down together to talk and get to know one another, he made the odd request that they each interview the other's child alone. Cassius could tell that Flavius was bothered by the seeming lack of hospitality, but agreed nonetheless. Irian had escorted Valerie through the door and shut it behind him, leaving his son behind with Flavius, Junia and Cassius.
Flavius and Irian III had talked just over an hour, with Flavius quizzing him about his studies in the Circle, his interests, what he knew of his family's business and his political knowledge. The younger Irian had clearly been coached by his father as he recited rote responses with little charm. As Cassius listened, he found the young man to be rather dull. He seemed to lack energy and vigor, like the meeting was a chore that was required of him as opposed to a critical moment that could forever alter the trajectory of his life.
He was no match to the intensity and vivacity that Valerie exuded. As Cassius sat there trying to imagine their future if they were married, he could only picture Irian sitting in a chair in an empty room staring at an empty wall as Valerie orbited around him, nearly ready to pull her hair out in boredom.
Irian was also clearly disturbed by Junia, as he often glanced in her direction and then quickly averted his eyes every time she caught his gaze. As she sat next to her husband, she would occasionally tug his sleeve and gesture a thought to him. Whenever she did, Irian turned his eyes toward the floor as if he was bothered by the fact that she could not speak.
After that hour plus, as the conversation fizzled and an awkward silence settled over the room, Irian asked if he could be excused. Flavius let him go, shaking the young man's hand heartily before he disappeared through the door and shut it behind him. It had not opened again since. More than three hours ticked by.
"I should go find them," Flavius said as he placed his hands down on the cushion and prepared to rock himself up to his feet. "It's nearly evening. I'm a patient man, but even I have my limits. This delay is bordering on insult."
Before he could get up, however, the handle turned and the door swung open. Valerie entered first, gliding across the room to her parents, lowering herself onto the couch next to her mother. Valerie was wearing a modest dress in white, a pair of white lace gloves, and new shoes with a small heel on them so as to not accentuate her height as she was two years older than Irian III and currently about half a head taller than him. Her father had purchased her a plain necklace and set of earrings wrought in Amladaris gold on the way into the manor. Her mother had washed and brushed and fixed her hair up in a fanciful style that she would never have worn on her own, pinned and tied with a thin ribbon in the same white as the rest of her ensemble.
The white of her clothing drew a contrast to her sun-kissed skin, bronzed and glowing and utterly perfect in Cassius' eyes when just barely glistening in the daylight whether she sat high in the saddle of her horse or walking barefoot along the beach where the water met the sand.
Cassius had never seen her look so beautiful.
Magister Amladaris followed, without his wife or son in tow and left the door ajar behind him.
"Flavius, thank you for waiting," Irian said.
Magister Arrentius pushed himself up from the couch and met his fellow magister, extending a hand and exchanging a quick shake.
"No apology needed," Flavius lied. "You must have been enjoying a most engaging conversation with my daughter."
"We had an extensive talk, yes," Irian said.
"Well then, shall we gather for a meal? Fill our stomachs and wet our lips and save further discussion of business until after dinner?" Flavius offered with a smile as he clapped his hands together.
Magister Amladaris did not appear nearly as enthused by the idea. "My apologies, Flavius, but I'm afraid I must decline."
"Decline?" Flavius said, obviously taken aback by the sudden refusal.
"Yes," Irian confirmed. "I appreciate you traveling all this way and waiting on me, but I'm afraid I must decline."
"Well," Flavius faltered. "Perhaps we should reconvene on the morrow."
Magister Amladaris lifted his hand to stop the thought dead. "Please don't misunderstand me, Flavius. There is nothing more for us to discuss. There will be no betrothal."
Flavius turned back to look at his daughter, who had her head down. Her mother had wrapped her arm around her and was gently stroking her back to comfort her. He then turned back to his fellow magister and his genial disposition faded to disgust.
"This is an insult," Flavius declared.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Irian answered without any notable reaction.
"You… you despicable bastard," Flavius spat as his chest puffed and his dander raised. "You disrespect me and you disrespect my daughter. But perhaps all is well, because I can think of no greater slight than binding my daughter to that vapid dullard you call your son and heir."
If Irian was insulted, he chose not to show it, instead simply saying, "Farewell, and good luck, Flavius Five-Daughters. The slaves will show you out."
With that, he turned and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
Flavius was left exasperated, fuming, as he paced in a small circle, cursing under his breath the entire time. He was so furious that he couldn't even complete a thought, spewing out one string of profanity before abandoning it for the next equally virulent string of insults and denigrations.
Junia stood up from the couch and tried to calm her husband, but he brushed her hands away as he made one hard stomp toward the door with his good foot and shouted, "I should kill that bastard for this!"
Cassius sprung to his feet at his master's side, just awaiting the command to strike. He would gladly blow the door off its hinges, blast through the entire wall to create a berth for his lord to seek vengeance. How could such a man, a magister, deliver such a heinous slight to a peer? It was the kind of insult that could spawn a generations-long vendetta. To be so disrespected, to offer such a blunt rejection after months of successful negotiation, and worse, to do it directly in front of both his wife and daughter! The gall!
"This isn't over," Flavius threatened, nodding to Cassius.
Just before he could make his first step to charge the door, the mouselike voice of his daughter behind him stopped him cold.
"Dad," Valerie said quietly, her head still down, unable to even look her father in the face. "Can we please just leave? I want to go home."
Her voice came out weak, rattling, and so unlike her. She reached out and touched her father's arm lightly, and the contact chilled Flavius as effectively as if someone had dumped a barrel of cold water over him. He melted, his posture settling all in one instant, calmed by the touch of his eldest daughter.
Cassius looked past Flavius to his daughter. He didn't see tears on Valerie's cheeks, but she was clearly, utterly undeniably shaken, broken in the moment.
Flavius turned, placing his hand on top of his daughters until she leapt forward onto him, wrapping her arms around her father and burying her face into his chest. "I'm sorry," she mewled. "I don't know what happened."
Her words came out like a knife twisting into Cassius' own heart, to see her so defeated, so crestfallen. Flavius embraced his daughter back, holding her for a second. Junia dabbed tears from the corner of her eyes and took a deep breath to steel herself and prevent more from rolling out.
"Let's go," Flavius said, still holding his daughter in his arms and motioning with his head for Cassius to lead the way toward the exit. "Let's be rid of this accursed house immediately."
Minrathous 9:42
"Gereon Arcadius Magnus Valentian Alexius."
The sound of the metal Venatori insignia pin rang out through the senate chamber, echoing off the high ceiling and rounded walls, in the utter silence that had gripped the room.
Felix Alexius was swaying on his feet. His flesh was gray and pallid, covered in sweat. He looked as if he was five rounds deep in a boxing match, teetering and about ready to fall but still somehow upon his feet and still hungry to fight.
He stepped forward, his feet kicking through the pile of Venatori pins on the floor that he had tossed down, reciting the names of the men and women who had followed his father south to fight for the Elder One, those who battled against the Inquisition and paid for it with their lives. The Inquisitor had captured Magister Alexius and, as word had returned home through Dorian Pavus, quietly executed him.
They returned Felix to Tevinter and, now home, he had landed here, before the Magisterium.
Cassius' stomach turned as he sat in the gallery above the chamber, watching history unfold. Magister Tilani's resolution was on the floor today and Valerie would soon rise to oppose it. Many magisters had promised their opposition of it to Valerie and the measure appeared to be headed for a certain and decisive defeat.
That was, until Maevaris turned the floor over to Felix Alexius.
He looked inches from death, terminally ill with darkspawn taint that now spread through his body unchecked. His father had held back the infection for years, but now gone, there was nothing standing between Felix and his fate. He was unsteady and unwell.
And then he opened his mouth and gripped the entire room so tightly by the throat that all the air felt choked from the chamber, as he recounted in great detail his father's desperate dealings with the Elder One, how his father sold his morals, his integrity, his very soul to the Venatori and its so-called god. He did so not for some fundamentalist ideal. He did it for power, on the hope, the prayer that he would gain access to power not to save Thedas, not Tevinter, not even the Venatori. He bent the Imperium to his will, corrupting others and the institutions itself for his purpose and his purpose alone – to save his son.
And he had failed.
And Felix now incisively laid bare the damage his father had wrought in hushed whispers and selfish ambition.
Cassius wiped tears from his cheeks that fell without his wanting as Felix shook the room. And what seemed so certain just hours before now felt anything but. Impassioned speeches were a daily part of business in the Magisterium, but every so often there was one that felt different, one that actually made people listen and actually changed hearts and minds.
"My fellow countrymen," Felix continued, his voice finally showing a sign of breaking, in exhaustion, in emotion, "Do not let this rot spread any further in the heart of Tevinter. I always have and always will stand in support of Tevinter. Our empire, so long as we can keep it. My father's mistakes, his errors, his misdeeds are a warning, a warning of the fragile framework of our government, to be so intensely strained and tested by one man, promising the world, but only able to deliver, in my father's own words as he stood confronted by the sum of his final failure – 'ruin and death.'"
Still, the chamber stood totally silent.
"I humbly ask you to support this resolution," Felix said after letting his words hang just one moment longer, a noose presented for anyone willing to hang themselves in it. "Please, save Tevinter from the Venatori."
Felix bowed his head and stepped back, finding the exit tunnel from the senate floor and stumbling down it, out of sight. Magister Tilani yielded the floor and the Magister Superiores called for further debate, scanning the room and taking notice of the only person standing at their table.
"The chamber will now recognize Valerie Arrentius, first daughter of Magister Flavius Arrentius, serving by proxy," he announced, motioning to the floor.
Cassius bit his lip and leaned forward in his seat, over the rail of the balcony. He wished he could be down there, standing behind the bench where her page stood, arms folded behind his back, ready to serve. But from up here, in the gallery, all he could do was watch.
Valerie descended the stairs and hit the floor, carefully stepping around the pile of Venatori badges that Felix left behind like mines to shred anyone who might touch them. She approached the podium, placing down her papers, smoothing them with her hand and taking a deep breath before she raised her eyes up to the terraced benches and the dozens of magisters staring back down at her.
"Thank you, Felix, for your words before this chamber," Valerie started, deviating from her prepared remarks immediately. "I know it could not have been easy to stand here and speak so passionately for your father, as I do now for mine. I offer you my deepest condolences, as I'm certain all of us in this chamber do. I cannot imagine how my heart would break if I had just lost my own father. I know I would not have the strength and passion to speak before this chamber as you have now. Thank you, again."
Valerie glanced at her speech and lifted her eyes, scanning the room before she began again. Her eyes moved left to right, seeing every man and woman in the Magisterium, her eyes lifting up and down each bench and even into the gallery, where she caught sight of Cassius. She paused, to see him there, hanging over the edge, as he gave her the slightest of nods, all he could do to support her now.
"Magisters," Valerie started, calmly, as she returned his gaze back to the chamber at large. "I am not a magister. I will never be a magister. I cannot, by law, inherit my father's seat here. I therefore will never be able to sit in this chamber on my own, to shape Tevinter, to serve and guide our empire into the future.
"And, as I read the resolution authored by esteemed Magister Tilani, I wondered to myself, will any of you, either?"
Cassius nodded his head. Her tone was even and strong enough to project. Her eyes were on the magisters, not on her pages. She stood tall and confident and didn't shrink under the pressure of the moment. She was doing well so far.
"This resolution was written as a direct attack upon the Venatori. Although that name is not included in this resolution, you just heard the recent testimony that makes clear the aim of this legislation," Valerie said, strengthening her point on the fly by linking it to the speech Felix had just delivered. "It is vaguely written and overbroad. Its provisions, disguised as anti-corruption and anti-sedition, without doubt, are aimed at silencing the Venatori now, but what in this resolution would prevent it from being turned against other factions, other caucuses, if or when the political winds shift next?
"My father has shown his support for the Venatori, yes, same as the late Magister Alexius. He believes strongly in Tevinter and supports bold action to regain lost prosperity and lost strength, eroded over many decades by half-measures, soft, non-committal action to address major social problems, and back-room dealings that benefit the dealmakers and little anyone else. My father is not content to sit idly by and watch the Qunari chip away at our borders, nor let the influence of the Orlesian Chantry and its decadence and hostility to magic further infect our great nation. Do we seek to silence and ostracize men of action? Strong, good men willing to stand unapologetically for what needs to be done to protect and serve our empire?"
Cassius and Valerie had worked together many nights drafting her speech, writing and rewriting sections, arguing over the details and specific language. Cassius shared his institutional knowledge having spent many years inside the Magisterium, steering her clear of poisoned words regardless of how accurate they might be, and making sure to hit points that would resonate with magisters of all kinds, from hardline Chantry types to military hawks to do-nothing moderates happy to bend in whatever direction public opinion seemed to stand at the moment.
She had practiced the speech dozens of times, speaking to an audience of one, with Cassius taking notes and helping her correct her pace and inflection, changing out words or phrases when they felt awkward or hit the ear wrong.
All of the preparation was worth it, as Cassius nodded in time as she hit point after point after point exactly as they had practiced. She was blunt and honest without being judgemental. Strong without coming off as aggressive. Sharp, without appearing petty or impolite to her opponents. Valerie was polished, like she had been doing this her entire life.
"This chamber represents all of Tevinter," Valerie continued. "From Minrathous to Marnus Pell to Marothius, Val Dorma to Vyrantium, from Magister Tilani's hometown of Qarinus to mine in Asariel. We represent all Altus, Laetan, Praeteri, Soporati like myself, and Liberati. This chamber represents all people, all views, and though we may disagree, the answer to discourse is never to silence those who we disagree with. I would no more muzzle Magister Tilani than she might seek to muzzle me.
"If she has disagreements with the Venatori positions, if this chamber as a whole has disagreements, there is already recourse available to each and every one of you," Valerie said as she placed her hands atop her papers, looking around the chamber once more. "That recourse is this chamber, where we can discuss ideas, debate policy, argue over methodology. But in the end, we bring matters to a resolution and cast a vote.
"And, so, esteemed magisters, prove today that you believe in that foundational institution, that we can decide what is right and what is wrong not by the mandate of an aggrieved few, but by supporting the freedom to speak, for each and every man and woman to decide and to honor the consensus decisions of our Magisterium," Valerie said as she brought her remarks to a close. "I ask that you oppose this resolution. Thank you."
As she finished speaking and stepped down, Valerie was greeted by a round of gentle applause from the chamber, subdued and polite in recognition of her remarks, but without an over-eager enthusiasm as to betray their loyalties on the issue. Cassius looked to see even Magister Tilani offering her applause with a kind smile.
Valerie turned her head back to the gallery toward him, as Cassius extended his arms further over the balcony, offering her his congratulations too, with a wide smile and a strong nod.
She had done well.
Now, the only question remaining as the Magister Superiores took the stand once more, would it be enough?
Valerie bounded down the hall, throwing her arms around Cassius' neck as she literally spun with excitement.
"Caz, we did it!"
"You did it," he said, embracing her. "You were magnificent."
Magister Tilani's resolution had been defeated. The vote had, admittedly, been closer than he originally anticipated. As expected, Maevaris' support came from mostly fledgling Laetan houses. There was only one Altus family that had joined her cause – Felix Alexius, who had excoriated the Venatori from the floor.
While they had failed to sway any of the other major houses to voice support, they were successful at least in dragging many from voiced opposition. There were more than two dozen magisters, from both Altus and Laetan factions, who had simply voted "present," taking neither side, but their non-participation still helping to doom the resolution to defeat.
House Pavus was the most notable among those, a major victory perhaps won solely because of the years of friendship between Halward and Gereon and between Felix and Dorian. Halward Pavus had been among the first to register his vote and no doubt others followed his lead once he had acted and made his position clear.
The resolution had still died at the hands of an outright majority opposing it, but the result was hardly as lopsided as it might have been.
Valerie broke away from him and was immediately accosted by other magisters, who were stopping to offer her their congratulations. Cassius stepped behind her, melting into the wall as few even took notice of a young Praeteri standing in the halls of their government. He watched as the magisters buzzed about the room, shaking hands and nodding heads with Valerie, her face painted with a large smile and several hearty laughs of appreciation.
As the magisters entered her orbit, Cassius couldn't help but notice the other center of gravitation in the room, where Maeveris and Felix stood together, the latter garnering most of the attention. He had wiped his brow and changed his clothes since his floor speech. He still looked frightful, but he stood more steadily and spoke softly to those who came to see him, magisters of all sides offering their condolences on the recent loss of his father.
Then the room seemed to shift and the crowd parted as they migrated toward Valerie, the group splitting until the two factions met face to face. Cassius averted his eyes downward as Maevaris glanced briefly in his direction, before returning to her political sparring partner.
"Well argued," Maevaris said, extending a hand to Valerie. "You are a worthy opponent. I can see quite clearly you are full of your father's fire and wit."
Valerie took her hand and shook it. "I hope there are no hard feelings."
Maevaris laughed aloud. "None at all my dear. Unlike some of the men here, I don't hold grudges," she said with a dangerous smile. "Not for long, at least."
Valerie smiled, either not perceiving the veiled threat or thinking it best not to show any alarm at it, Cassius couldn't tell for sure. She turned her attention then to Maevaris' companion. "Felix…"
"It's been too long, Valerie," he said.
"Three years, at least," she answered. Cassius couldn't remember either the last time they had seen each other, but that sounded about right. It had been at the Alexius manor for some type of event he couldn't rightly recall.
"Ever since our fathers got involved in this Venatori business, they never seem to find time to get us all together, despite the closeness of our houses," Felix said. "And now we're both here, where neither of us really belong, right?"
"Where I don't belong," Valerie corrected. "You on the other hand. I'm lucky I could even read my notes after your speech. I was afraid my tears would wash away all the ink."
She reached out and took Felix's hands in hers, the lush color of her skin in stark contrast to the dry and grayed pallor of his Blight-sickened body. "I'm so sorry for what happened to your father."
"He did what he did for me," Felix said without hesitation or any notion of sadness or regret. "He shouldn't have, but he was never able to forgive himself for what happened. He would have given, did give, everything to try to change that. And, now, I fear, it won't be long before I join him."
Valerie's eyes were wet yet again as she squeezed his hands and tried to bite her emotion back before the tears on her cheeks strengthened into a full-on sob. "Anything my father can do to help–"
"Thank you, but it's simply my time," Felix interrupted. "Still, I'm glad I had the chance to see you again, Valerie. You do your father proud."
Felix leaned in and pulled her against his skeletal frame, drawing her in close in a farewell embrace. Cassius watched, however, as his lips hovered toward her ear, moving slightly as he whispered something meant for her and her alone.
As he disengaged and offered his farewell, turning back into the crowd, Valerie stood stunned for a second, watching him go. As the magisters began to close around her once more, she turned around and reached for Cassius' hands.
"I want to go," she said, clearly shaken by whatever he had said to her, as she wiped the tears off her cheek with her palm. She looked scared now, her eyes pleading for his help.
"Of course. This way," Cassius said without hesitation, extending his arm and pointing toward the door and the stairwell out. He raised his voice and his hands to the rest of the room. "Thank you, magisters, but Lady Arrentius is retiring. Again, thank you for your support today."
Cassius ducked out just as quickly, rushing out of the room. As he turned back to shut the door behind him, he caught Magister Tilani gazing in his direction. His eye caught hers and she smiled and gave a slight, friendly nod that he took as anything but friendly. He quickly closed the door to break her gaze.
By the time he turned, Valerie had already disappeared. He could hear the sound of fast footsteps on the stairs, growing fainter and fainter as they moved quickly away.
They had won a victory in the chamber today.
So why did it suddenly feel like a defeat?
And, gnawing at the corners of his mind was that lingering question.
What did Felix whisper to her?
