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“Don’t worry. I’m here. I’ll protect you.”
“You have a plan to get us back, I hope.”
“I have some thoughts on that. They’re lovely thoughts, like little jewels,” Dorian replied as Kaaras unlocked the prison door and headed out. He tried to will away the heat rising on the back of his neck that had absolutely nothing to do with the lyrium growing out of the walls. While he willed himself to focus—they weren’t exactly in the best of situations, after all—he couldn’t keep his eyes from straying to his companion.
The man was attractive, without a doubt, and even more so when he was fighting. His eyes seemed to come to life when he twirled his staff around and iced over their enemies with more grace than Kaaras had ever seen another person possess. But even all that wouldn’t have made Kaaras lose his focus normally, especially in their predicament. No, it was what the man had said.
He thought it would likely sound ridiculous to anyone else: a small human mage telling a Qunari mercenary mage that he would protect him. It was certainly strange hearing such a thing, and it aggravated him in a way. After all, did he seem like he needed protection? But this small human seemed to think he would somehow be able to keep Kaaras safe? Ridiculous.
And yet, Kaaras couldn’t help the flush that spread across the back of his neck at the promise, nor could he stop his eyes from wandering to the man who had a wit as sharp as his staff blade.
Of course, all the warmth trained from his body when he looked into the glowing red eyes of his companions. He wasn’t close with them, but Varric had his back from the start of the whole mess, Leliana knew more about him than anyone had in a decade, and Blackwall had never been anything but kind to him. He wasn’t close with him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t quaking with rage at what this “Elder One” had done to the world. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel for Dorian when Leliana’s blade opened Felix’s throat or when Gereon, a man Dorian had once looked up to, took his last breath. That didn’t mean he could watch his companions walk to their deaths.
“I’m not going to let you commit suicide!”
“Look at us. We’re already dead. The only way we live through this is if this day never comes,” Leliana said before her too-aged eyes turned to Dorian. “Go. Cast your spell. You’ll have as much time as I have arrows.”
And so, he did, and Kaaras watched with fire at his fingertips and bile in his throat as the bodies of Blackwall and Varric landed with a sickening thud. He took half a step forward to light the terror demon at Leliana’s back on fire, but Dorian’s hand caught his arm, looking up at him desperately.
“You move, and we all die!”
So Kaaras just watched as what light was left in Leliana’s eyes drained out. And then, suddenly, they were right back where they started, staring Gereon Alexius in the face.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” Dorian said, and Kaaras singed his palm as he clenched his fist and to put out the fire.
“It’s over, Alexius. How forgiving is your Elder One?” he demanded, and the man put up no resistance as Leliana’s men shackled him and dragged him away.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over with,” Dorian said as he gave Kaaras a satisfied nod, but then doors to the main hall slammed open and armor clanged in unison as soldiers in Ferelden royal armor marched in. “Or not.”
Then, King Alistair marched in, exiled the rebel mages and it was left up to Kaaras to save them. After all, without the help of Ferelden, without the circles and without the Inquisition’s support, the mages would no doubt be made into fugitives too. And where Kaaras was trained to fight, the mages were trained to study. He wouldn’t leave hundreds of innocents to become corpses simply for being born with something they could not change whether they wanted to or not, nor would he enslave them for it.
“The Inquisition would be honored to have you fight as allies at the Inquisition’s side.”
“A generous offer! But will the rest of the Inquisition honor it?”
“The Breach threatens all of Thedas. We cannot afford to be divided now.”
More talking took place, but eventually Kaaras, his companions, Leliana’s agents and Fiona all walked out of the castle, and he held back a sigh of relief as he looked up at the sky. The Breach was still there, but now he would be able to close it. Still, his eyes strayed again to Dorian who was hanging back, speaking quietly with Felix.
“Grand Enchanter, is there anything your people need for the journey to Haven?” Kaaras asked, turning back to the task at hand. He had more to deal with than just wonder if that single mage would stay with the Inquisition.
“No, Herald. We will be able to manage. You have already shown us more generosity than I could have hoped. However, I do wonder why you were so willing to help us when you have never lived in a Circle, even if you are also a mage,” Fiona inquired, and Kaaras frowned.
“My reasons are my own. If your people need any aid in preparation for traveling, let an Inquisition agent know. I will see you at Haven,” Kaaras said before walking ahead to retrieve his horse from the stables. His companions followed and they began they began the trek back to Haven as Dorian lingered behind, still talking with the Magister’s son.
-
“It’s not a matter for debate! There will be abominations among the mages, and we must be prepared.”
“If we rescind the offer of an alliance, it makes the Inquisition appear incompetent at best, tyrannical at worst!” Josephine countered as Kaaras approached, and Cullen immediately directed his ire at the Qunari.
“What were you thinking turning mages loose with no oversight? The Veil is torn open!”
Kaaras resisted the urge to sigh. It felt like he had only just walked back into Haven, and he really was in no mood to field questions from the others. Still, he hadn’t expected his decision to go over smoothly.
“We need them to close the Breach. It’s not going to work if we make enemies of them,” he replied flatly. He was sure they all already knew his history, given what Cassandra had referred to as a “frightening amount of information” that Leliana had collected on him, but he had no interest in getting into that with them. Repairing the Veil and preventing that future from coming to pass were all that mattered.
“I know we need them for the Breach, but they could do as much damage as the demons themselves!”
Kaaras resisted to urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Could,” sure. The mages “could” also light Haven on fire or turn Seheron into a glacier. But without the help of the mages, the Breach would spread across the entire sky, the “Elder One” would assassinate the Empress of Orlais and raise a demon army, and the world as they knew it would end. Since the mages had already been running free with no oversight without being the cause of any cataclysmic events since the Circles started to fall, Kaaras was more inclined to be concerned with the immediate and obvious threat. Luckily, Cassandra spoke up.
“Enough arguing! None of us were there. We cannot afford to second-guess our people,” she said, and Kaaras was glad for the reprieve, content that the argument seemed to be finished for the moment. “The sole point of the Herald’s mission was to gain the mages’ aid, and that was accomplished.”
Then, an unexpected voice chimed in. “The voice of pragmatism speaks! And here I was just starting to enjoy the circular arguments.” Kaaras couldn’t help the tiniest of smiles as Dorian leaned against a pillar, looking like he thought himself a marble masterpiece. The headache that Kaaras thought he had coming on quickly receded.
“Closing the Breach is all that matters,” Cassandra continued, as if the mage had never spoken at all.
“The longer the Breach is open, the more damage it does. We should head there as soon as possible,” Kaaras said, and Josephine immediately agreed.
“We should look into the things you saw in this ‘dark future.’ The assassination of Empress Celene? A demon army?” Leliana said, and Kaaras avoided looking at her. He could still see the blood pouring from her gut and the haunting anger in her eyes if he looked at her for too long. Luckily, Dorian spoke up again, and it was much easier for Kaaras to listen to him.
“Sounds like something a Tevinter cult might do. Orlais falls, the Imperium rises. Chaos for everyone,” he said, but then Cullen cut in.
“One battle at a time! It’s going to take time to organize our troops and the mage recruits. Let’s take this to the war room,” he said, and Kaaras immediately recognized it for what it was: kicking Dorian out of the conversation. Cullen then turned to Kaaras and made it all the more obvious. “Join us. None of this means anything without your mark, after all.”
“Of course,” Kaaras replied, still frowning on behalf of the other mage, but Dorian, who Kaaras was sure recognized that he was being kicked out of the conversation as well, played it off perfectly, and Kaaras had to suppress a laugh.
“I’ll skip the war council, but I would like to see this Breach up close, if you don’t mind.”
“Then you’re staying?” Kaaras asked.
“Oh, didn’t I mention? The South is so charming and rustic. I adore it to little pieces,” Dorian replied, and Kaaras nodded.
“Have you been assigned a place to stay?” Kaaras asked, lingering behind the other Inquisition leaders to talk to Dorian for a moment.
“Not yet, no. You’d think I reek of spoiled cabbages the way people here avoid me. I assume the news has already gotten around that I’m from Tevinter.”
“At least they haven’t tried assassinating you yet. Come on, I’m sure Threnn can work something out,” he said, nodding towards the chantry doors. He wasn’t eager to join the war room meeting, and figured he wouldn’t be of much help until they all sorted out their own arguments anyway.
“Wait, do you mean that they tried assassinating you?” Dorian asked, wide-eyed and Kaaras shrugged as he opened the doors. “But you’re their Herald! They’ve all been following you ducklings!”
“Well until they all decided that I was the Herald, they thought that I was the one who killed the Divine. Apparently people tried to break into my cabin and kill me at least twice before I woke up after stumbling out of the Fade.”
“Well, your life certainly doesn’t lack for excitement, does it?” Dorian commented, and Kaaras just gave another shrug before calling out to Threnn and explaining the situation. She took over from there, grudgingly guiding Dorian to his housing assignment, but not before Dorian got in one last comment. “If you manage to survive the boredom of that war council, perhaps I’ll see you in the tavern later? I’d be interested in hearing more about that mark of yours. And besides, the Tevinter mage befriending the Qunari Herald? That should liven things up around here, don’t you think?” he said, giving Kaaras a wicked smirk before turning to follow the quartermaster. Kaaras also turned and headed back into the chantry, doing his best to ignore the burning flush at the back of his neck.