Suddenly a Savior
Lira floated comfortably, lost in the stage of waking that was just a little bit closer to sleep than being fully aware of her surroundings. Questions danced at the edge of her consciousness, such as:
Whose bed am I in?
and
Why do I hurt all over?
For the moment though, those inquiries were playing nice with her sanity and sitting quietly in the background of her thoughts. A part of her knew that she should really, really look into answering those questions, but the part of her responsible for moving her eyelids (or arms or legs or feet, for that matter) was perfectly content to let the matter wait just a little while longer. Flashes of a dream…no, memory maybe?...flitted at the edge of her mind. Demons…a green, glowing light…blue-grey eyes, the sky on a stormy day…a wolf…
Wolf…
Fen-
Sudden pain shot up her arm and she cried out, sitting up in bed. Shaking, she hunched over and rode out the vicious burning, the initial wave subsiding into lesser pulses until she could catch her breath. She sat there with her chest heaving and tears at the corners of her eyes, staring blankly at the green glowing mark cutting across her left palm.
It wasn't a dream.
With a sudden clarity she remembered feeling the sensation before, during a long stretch in this very bed. How long had she been in here for? She vaguely remembered waking to the gasping pain as though from a fever dream, over and over, her body heavy and mind muddled. Then...something...? would happen and she'd fall back into near unconsciousness. During that time the mark really hadn't hurt and had almost seemed...dimmed...somehow.
Her attention was pulled away as the door opened, and Lira took her first good look at the room she was in and the elven woman entering it. The woman's head was down, but when she glanced up and saw Lira she dropped the box she was carrying in shock, eyes wide with fright.
"Are you alright?" Lira asked, moving to help but stopping short as the aches in her muscles screamed at her in protest. Now she knew it had been real. She certainly felt like she'd taken on an army of demons. The elven woman groveled before her, and the sudden absurdity of the last few days made Lira wonder what fresh hell awaited her on the other side of the door.
What she wouldn't give for some damn peace and solitude...
"S'ok," she muttered towards the woman as her head started to pound, waving her off. "Just go do…..whatever it is you need to." The woman had been stammering something about letting someone know she was awake…? Cassandra. She had mentioned Cassandra. She would be as good a place as any to start searching for some answers. Looking around the room, Lira noticed a raven locked inside a cage in the corner. It cocked its head and regarded her with its one beady eye, the other one missing with a crooked scar covering the socket. Lira got the distinct feeling that she was being judged. Crossing the room, she opened the cage and gestured towards the open window.
"Go on, friend. Back to Dirthamen with you."
The raven hopped out of its prison and alighted upon the windowsill, but made no other move to leave, turning back towards her to focus its strange, unblinking sight on her once more. Feeling slightly unnerved at this point, Lira shooed it away. As soon as she made her way back to the bed, however, the bird was back upon the windowsill, staring again.
"Have it your way, then."
Weird old buzzard.
She sat back down on the edge of the bed and rolled first one shoulder and then the other, stretching each limb gingerly in turn before standing and making her way over to the fire. The heat took off some of the chill coming through the open window. What was the sense in lighting a fire in a room whose window had no shutter? She turned and warmed her backside, letting it get nice and toasty before reaching for the box the elven woman had carried in. Inside of it were her clothes, freshly laundered and mended. She sniffed at them and frowned. Shem soap. And here she thought she'd smelled the last of it. With a sigh she pulled the basin of water from its place by the fire and undressed so she could scrub at herself. No nicks and cuts to speak of, but she was covered in small bruises. Healers must be in short supply around here, she thought. She glanced around for her pack before remembering that it was still stashed up on the mountainside along with her staff, though the one she'd picked up on her way to seal the rift at the temple was there, leaning against the bed. She dressed quickly, plaiting her hair and wrapping it around the crown of her head before drawing her hood forward, all the while debating on whether or not to take the staff with her before deciding against it. If the shems had still seen her as a threat she'd be back in the dungeon, and unarmed. She would leave it be for now.
Decision made, she turned for the door. Then stopped three feet short of it and rushed back towards the staff, glancing around the room. She pulled out a corner of one of the bookshelves and hid the staff behind it. No good, too tall. A basket lay by the desk in one corner of the room, and she placed it on top of the bookshelf, effectively hiding the staff. It wouldn't hold up to a thorough search, and she wasn't entirely sure why she'd done it, but old habits died hard and it was better to have the element of surprise. Satisfied, she made her way towards the entrance, and with one last look at her brief sanctuary, she opened the door.
For a second Lira stood frozen. She had hoped to maybe slink unseen along the edges of the village in search of food, maybe find the woman Cassandra and fill in some of the niggling little gaps in her memory. See if she could leave unnoticed. What she was not prepared for was seemingly every single person in the village standing outside of her door and staring at her with an almost fanatical devotion. They created a sort of blockade, and if she had been uncertain before as to which direction to go in she certainly wasn't now. As she slowly stepped forward among them the two soldiers immediately in front of her lifted their hands to their chests in salute, the sudden action causing Lira to jump backwards.
Foolish girl, they're not pulling weapons on you, she chided herself. Yet she couldn't shake the sense of unease that followed her as she made her way through the throng. It certainly didn't help matters that the path they had carved out for her lead back to the chantry, and if it weren't for the murmured voices praising her as 'The Herald' she would have thought that she was on the Din'an Shiral, walking herself straight towards the executioner's block.
When she finally reached the chantry Lira walked through the entrance as calmly as possible, unnerved by the dozens of eyes she felt on the back of her neck. Once inside she leaned against the door and let loose a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She remembered…what did she remember? Waking in a cell, being interrogated and brought to crackling rifts in the Fade. Holding up her hand, Lira examined the mark there for perhaps the tenth time since waking. She closed the rifts…and fought a giant demon. Okay, she could work with that. None of it explained the cult-like following she had seemingly amassed overnight. Looking around the room, she was thankful to see that she was alone. The interior of the chantry was dark and quiet, and for a brief second Lira had the insane urge to climb up to the rafters and hide until she could figure out how to escape the building and surrounding village unseen. Tempting, but she was here for answers. Spying a door at the end of the long room, she hoped that maybe there was someone inside who could help her find them.
As she neared the door the picked up the sounds of shouting from within. She gave a quick glance around the empty room before pressing an ear against the wood, blocking out Keeper Deshanna's voice the entire time.
If you keep listening where you aren't supposed to your ears will fall off!
Lira shrugged off the internal monologue. Leagues away from home and Deshanna was still finding ways to guilt trip her. As she focused on the muffled conversation she came to the realization that the argument had by the people within was about her.
"We need to send her to Val Royeaux to await trial by the new Divine!" shouted a man's voice. "As I suggested before. She failed to close the Breach, Seeker, as I knew she would, and we should put her in chains before she has a chance to escape! You should know that your insubordination will be reported to the proper authority. I'll be surprised if you're able to keep any position within the Seeker order after this mistake!"
Cassandra's voice rose angrily after the outburst. "I do not believe she is guilty. She has cooperated with us thus far and has gone above and beyond to help us, and I will not reward her help by shoving her back inside a cell!"
"You are in no position to make that decision!"
Creators, she was getting sick of all the suspicion. She flung open the door, heart hammering in her ears.
Great day to choose to be confrontational, she thought.
And then: shut up, brain.
"If you're going to decide my fate for me you could at least invite me to the party," Lira said, folding her arms over her chest and displaying a bravado that she didn't have. Chancellor Roderick…she had met him on the bridge, that's right. Still just as horrible as when she first encountered the man.
"Seize her!" he spat, levelling a finger in Lira's direction. All the bluster she had mustered up to that point flew out the window, but before she could turn tail and flee she noticed that the guards weren't really doing much of anything by way of apprehending her. Cassandra stepped forward to address them. Her gaze was stern, and Lira suppressed a shudder as she remembered their first encounter, and having that icy gaze turned on her.
"Leave us."
With a salute and a nod the soldiers left, and Lira thanked her lucky stars for strong women.
Roderick sputtered. "How dare you?! You have no right!"
"More right than you. You're just a glorified clerk," Cassandra retorted, sneering.
There's no love lost between these two, thought Lira. Her eyes darted between the two as they argued back and forth. She had been surrounded by shems before, mostly in Wycome. It was one of the reasons she had been chosen to infiltrate the conclave- she knew how to blend in, but most importantly, how to be at ease in the presence of vast numbers of humans.
Two humans in positions of power arguing over her fate, however, was quite enough to set her on edge.
She flicked her eyes to the side, taking in the presence of three other shems occupying the room and watching the display between Cassandra and Roderick with varying degrees of patience. The redheaded woman from the dungeons and the bridge with the pretty accent and mysterious eyes. Leliana, Lira thought. Easier to remember because it started with the same letter as her name. She didn't know the other two, though. There was a tall, handsome man with a scarred lip and wavy blonde hair. Most shems were too hairy or coarse for Lira's liking but this one wasn't that bad for a human. He carried himself like a warrior. The man caught her looking in his direction, and Lira stifled a laugh as his eyes widened and he turned his head to cough awkwardly.
A shy warrior, then.
Lira then turned to the golden shine that had first attracted her eyes, magpie-like, upon entering the room. The woman was very…soft looking, dressed in fabrics Lira had only ever seen on the wealthiest denizens of Wycome. Her long black hair was braided elegantly upon her head, and long curls framed her face. She held one of the oddest contraptions Lira had ever seen. It was a smooth board, with writing paper leaned against it, and a candle on a small shelf protruding from the top to provide light.
Clever.
Lira's attention was jolted back to Cassandra as the woman slammed a rather large book onto the table, the sound loud in the small room.
"This is a writ from the Divine Justinia herself, granting us leave to reinstate the Inquisition of old." The woman stalked towards Roderick, who seemed suddenly small in comparison as he backed away.
"We will close the breach and find those responsible, with or without your approval." As Cassandra spoke, Roderick backed over the threshold, and as she punctuated the end of her sentence by slamming the door in his face. She turned back towards the room and Leliana gave a small laugh.
"Well, Cassandra… it's a good thing we didn't have any chantry support to begin with, otherwise I'd be afraid that we had just lost it."
Cassandra sneered, though her expression was more thoughtful than angry. "He never would have given us a chance and you know it."
"I do. But the real question is where do we go from here? How can we form this organization with no troops? No leader? Chantry approval is the least of our worries at this juncture." The redhead said the last softly, tracing a reverent finger along the raised pattern on the top of the book upon the table.
"Forgive me," said Cassandra, finally seeming to remember that Lira was there. "There are introductions that need to be made. You remember Leliana?" At Lira's nod she continued. "This is Knight Commander Cullen. He will be leading the Inquisition's forces."
The man with the blond hair stepped forward and gave her a nod. "A pleasure."
"And this," resumed the Seeker, gesturing in the dark-haired woman's direction, "Is Lady Josephine Montilyet of Antiva. She has offered her services as acting ambassador for the Inquisition."
"A good thing, too!," quipped Leliana with a smile. "Lest we be forced to depend on you to fill that role, Cassandra."
The Antivan stepped forward and gave a small bow. "Andaran atishan, Lavellan."
Lira's eyes widened and her lips tugged upwards at the corners.
"You speak elvhen?"
"You've just head the entirety of it, I'm afraid," shrugged Josephine, giving her a friendly smile before returning to making notes. Lira forced herself to pull her gaze from the woman and her dress, its smooth golden color the brightest thing here in this room without windows. Her eyes swept across the room once more before landing on Cassandra's, who- she was surprised to find- was staring at her rather intently.
"The Breach still threatens all of us. Now that you've seen what is at stake, what will you do? Will you stay and join us?"
"Do I really have an option?" joked Lira a bit meekly, and the small smile that had pulled up one corner of her mouth fell a little from the weak chuckles she got from the room.
"I…," Lira started, voice faltering a little when she realized that everyone in the room was now giving her their undivided attention, gazes expectant. This was all too much, too sudden. She needed time to think, to evaluate the situation. She wasn't even entirely sure what exactly wasgoingon. Swallowing, she fidgeted with her hands and picked at her fingernails. The realization that she was a stranger in a strange land reared its ugly head once more and hit her full-force. She was, for all intents and purposes, alone here.
"...what if I were to refuse?"
The reactions to her query were mixed. Cassandra's eyebrows scrunched together just a little deeper than they had been before. Cullen folded his arms over his chest and gave her an assessing look. Only Leliana and Josephine appeared unperturbed, the latter turning back to make even more notes with that silly feather she was writing with.
Leliana held up a hand. "You are free to leave if you wish. However, do not think that your actions here have gone unnoticed. Word of you has already spread, and Roderick is not the only one who still believes you culpable in the death of Divine Justinia. If you run it will cement your guilt in the minds of those who would place all of the blame at your feet. I would not be surprised if a plan was already being set in motion to apprehend you and bring you to justice. Certainly anyone who managed to do so would use the opportunity to further their own political power. If you go…if Templars are sent to find you, how long do you think it will be before they start looking for you amongst any Dalish clan they can find? How well do you think the interrogations will go, and how long before they start trying to round up any woman who bears the slightest resemblance to you? The Dalish would never allow it, and it would escalate into a bloodbath. And an excuse to spin the events at the Conclave into an elaborate plot by your people."
Lira stood in stunned silence as the woman walked slowly around the table, eyes never leaving hers. "Stay and you can help us right the wrongs that have been started here. There are more breaches out there, and your mark is the only thing proven capable of closing them. Work with us. Cassandra and I were the Hands of the Divine, and are acting upon her authority. Helping her cause, being seen with us…it will go a long way towards proving your innocence to those who do not know what to believe."
Standing in front of her, Leliana gently took Lira's hand in her own. "You are, for all intents and purposes, a marked woman." She gently turned her palm over, the green glow illuminating her face as she spoke. "I believe that it is a sign from the Maker, that you have been chosen to help us."
Lira closed her fist and pulled it out of Leliana's hands, cutting off the otherworldly glow and plunging Leliana's face into shadows in the dim light of the room. "I don't believe in your Maker, so I don't really care what you believe his plans for me are. And all of this 'Herald of Andraste' foolishness…I won't be used like a puppet to try and win over the support of the Chantry for your Inquisition."
She saw Cassandra move out from behind Leliana's back. "For all we know it was one of your Elvhen gods who gave you that mark," said the Seeker, squaring her shoulders. "Regardless of where it came from, divine or no, it is a tool that can be used to help restore order to the world. You saw what those demons were capable of. Would you leave the fates of countless innocents to those monsters, when you are the only one who can stop them?"
Lira sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "I didn't say I wouldn't stay and help." She looked then, catching each of their gazes with steely eyes- even Leliana, who had stepped back closer to the brazier in the wall. "But I will not be paraded around as something I'm not. And I will follow no one's orders but my own."
The humans all shared glances at each other, silently mulling it over and communicating with just their eyes. It was Cullen who finally spoke.
"Very well, but don't consider this a free pass to just do whatever you please. I don't know how things are done among the Dalish, but here there are certain…societal rules you will be expected to adhere to. If you commit any crimes, such as stealing, it will only cause more trouble for you."
Lira's eyes widened to the point of bulging out of her head and her teeth gritted into an almost feral snarl. "I will keep that in mind, Commander," she said, voice dripping indignant poison. She flung the door open and stalked out of the room, not even registering the voice of the Antivan woman loudly chastising Cullen for hishorrible breach of etiquette.
She stepped briskly through the dark interior of the chantry, ignoring the few timid souls who had thought to catch a glimpse of her or speak to her by entering the building. Luckily though, life seemed to have gone back to some semblance of normality outside of the chantry's doors, for when Lira stepped outside the previous throng of people had dispersed. She briefly considered going back to the small building she had woken up in, if only for some solitude, but her anger carried her feet in the opposite direction as her mind seethed, turning the conversation she'd just had over and over in her mind.
Stealing?!
She had known better, of course. The year spent in Wycome had taught her well enough how humans viewed her kind. The request for her help had come couched between veiled threats and manipulation, and then to be warned not to steal like she was some low-life criminal with sticky fingers! She hadn't asked to be here, for any of this, and considering the fact that she had chosen to stay and help she felt as though she was owed at least a little credit, if not a little trust.
"Fenedhis!"
Still lost in her thoughts, she glanced towards the shouting voice and did a quick double take at the sight of a very angry, very half-naked elf standing at the window of one of the small buildings nearby. She could see the lean muscles of his torso, the tautness of his belly trailing down in a deep V towards low-slung breeches tied loosely around his hips. Her eyes shot back upwards as she realized that she had been ogling him, and she blinked in surprise when she caught his furious expression, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She had just enough time to register a scowling face and furrowed brow as he slammed the shutters closed, and in that instant she remembered his name.
Solas.
Realizing that she had stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of him, Lira resumed walking, albeit at a much less agitated pace. Her eyes drifted back towards his window. Who would have known that he was hiding that body underneath those clothes? The idle notion was suddenly disrupted as someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, and as she stumbled she realized that she had very nearly walked straight into the sign for the tavern. Well that would certainly put this Herald nonsense to rest, seeing me knock myself out on a damned signpost, she thought. She turned to thank the person who still had a firm grip on her arm and found herself facing a grinning elf dressed in garish colors, whose choppy blonde hair looked as though it had been attacked by a badger.
"Oy, are you daft? Could've seen that a mile away," the woman said, cocking her head to the side. "Waaaait, I know you! You're that Herald thingy. Pretty important to be walking into stuff like an idiot. Good thing I saved you, would've had a nasty headache. I'm Sera." The elf dropped Lira's arm and crossed her own arms over her chest. "What're you waltzing about all la-dee-dah for anyways? Got more interesting things to look at than where you're going?" Her teasing expression let on that she knew exactly what had been so distracting.
Lira frowned, suddenly remembering the conversation that had sent her off in this direction in the first place. "Thank you, for your help." She let out a long breath. "Sorry, I've just been having a bad day."
Sera giggled and put her hands on her hips. "Well I've got just the thing for that! C'mon." She turned back towards the tavern and Lira found herself shaking her head.
"I'd rather not right now, but thanks anyways. I'm not actually a fan of human ale," Lira called after her, pulling her hood back into place over her head, the small tug to the side having sent it askance.
"Not that, though that would've been my second choice," said Sera. Her eyes practically twinkled.
"I've got something even better in mind!"