lovingvambrace | For pavus

For pavus_redemit Kirkwall

The taste of ash lies thick in the air. For once something manages to overpower the foundry stench and blacken the perpetual orange of Kirkwall's night sky. Rubble lies massed in the streets, flung from the highest point to almost the lowest. Insanity and sudden chaos in the wink of an eye, a fateful explosion that has Cullen still blinking back blue lines, negative light impressions burned onto retinas.

Knight-Commander Meredith has left the Champion with an ultimatum that she not surprisingly doesn't take, murder her companion and choose their side, or the mages will all face the consequences. Hawke has vowed to fight to the bitter end to protect the mages of the Circle from the Right. Cullen privately hopes that she'll keep that word whether he agrees with her sparing of the abomination or not. This is all moving too fast with blame falling in the wrong quarter. The right answer isn't more blood. Meredith is implacable with all of them drawn along in her wake of righteous fury.

Cullen doesn't stay silent, arguing about the Champion. Surely arrest will be enough. Kirkwall's nobility won't stand for one of their grudging own being murdered by the arm of the Chantry. It isn't their place, Viscount or no Viscount in office. To his surprise, he earns concession on that front.

Then there is no more room for talking. They come upon their first wave of demons and abominations slaughtering unfortunates. The night turns red and black, a mist of blood and ichor. Cullen bashes his way through wave after wave of evil torn straight through the Veil, called by violence and horror. His sword arm burns. His shield feels as though it gains twenty pounds of its own volition, all of that before they reach the Docks District.

He hears a sound up toward the boarded up Qunari compound, more fighting. He peels away from the main force following Meredith, promising to catch up shortly, and runs up the steep steps. Breathless at the top, he sees flashes of fire past the barrier. He throws his weight behind his shield and bashes it in enough to gain entrance. A lone figure stands in the long abandoned plaza battling demons with magic and not an abomination himself. Without further thought, Cullen charges into the fray. "Aid behind you!" he shouts. He doesn't want to be mistaken for another enemy in the fight.

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"You won't do much of anything cut off from your mana. Add a barrage of smites to that the moment you step out of line... I'm relieved you're amenable." He has no doubt the man could take out some of his comrades. There are just too many of them, and one more source of violence in the mix won't make them more merciful toward the rest of the mages. Not at all.

He shakes his head. "No. There will be no passing of blame. There has been enough of that already to last me a lifetime." There's no time for him to explain further or go into that. The reinforcements are arriving from the dock.

"Look sharp and try to stay close to me if you can. I have a feeling we'll both need each other in this before all is said and done." He steps back over closer to Meredith. He doesn't want her looking for him, finding him off whispering with a Tevinter, and jumping to unfortunate conclusions.

Meredith gives the order to breach the gates, and it's on. Never in his imagination could he have seen himself attacking the fortress he has lived in, if not exactly called home, for the past decade, much less turning on all of the mages in his care.

Many of the first wave of mages who fall are innocent defenders. Cullen has the unenviable and difficult task of targeting only the worst while still trying to defend against those he'd rather not harm under different circumstances. Not all of the attacking templars are out for blood. Some almost immediately fall to their knees in obvious distress and confusion. To his dismay, some of those meet their end at other templars' swords.

Meredith is at the fore of all of it, cutting a swath as though it's what she was born to do. Red energy coruscates along her sword. How had he never noticed that before? To be certain, he had felt the blade ugly from the start, a sense of disquiet in its presence. This is different. He fights his way through a small snarl of defenders with pommel strikes and shield bashes, painful without being fatal. He needs to keep her in sight if his plan has any hope of success.

He snorts, a completely undignified sound but he does it. "Some sort of noble hero aren't you?"

He should have known. The man was a knight in armor after all. Dorian gets to his feet when the reinforcements arrive but hangs back away from the group yet close enough to be seen as one of them.

Right now, it is bad to be outside the group and he knows it.

When the gates are breached and the slaughter begins he moves in, using spirits to turn Templars away from innocent mages. They flock to him once they see a mage defending them and he is quick to rally them to his side.

"Go!" he shouts at them, pointing them towards the gates. "Go!"

It's some sort of miracle that the spirits distract the Templars enough to keep his work hidden. The occasional horrify to send those who notice fleeing in the other direction also help. Still, he does his best to make himself look like nothing more than a helpful mage in the battle.

He keeps the stranger in his peripheral vision when he can, as much to keep track of how he fares as to be certain he's not turning on his people entirely. He's no more willing to allow a full slaughter of templars as he is mages. Already, some of the men and women who trust him have formed around him, closer than the rest who follow Meredith's harsher vision or their own mad schemes.

Where is Hawke? Likely making her way to her sister if he knows her at all. He has no idea where Bethany is, either, or the First Enchanter. Perhaps they've sought the most defensible place they could manage. It's not long at all before demons and abominations are complicating things. Terrifying rage demons with gouts of devastating flame, insidious desire demons bending the weaker willed templars and mages both to their wills.

He's numb to it, falling back into training and discipline. The battlefield has its own rhythms that never pull him away from his ultimate goal, to see an end to this that isn't all blood, fire, and death. His first near breach with Meredith comes over three cowering mages hiding in a linen closet, begging mercy.

He reaches her with her sword raised. He knows them, little more than children. "They aren't lost to demons. Look at them. For the Maker's sake, Knight-Commander. Look!"

There's fury in her gaze. He could swear she hates him personally now. It's a long moment before she tears away from him and snaps orders to those more loyal to her to come. He waits for the Tevinter to come into sight and beckons him over quickly. "The way back is dangerous. Help them, please. I have to follow her. We'll be further in when you get back."

Children. Dorian had never been fond of them, even when he was a child himself but he would not see them die at any Templar hands. They were too young to be blood mages. No one could possibly think they were dangerous.

The Knight-Commander looked ready to kill and Dorian was ready to kill her for it. He is quick to step up to the children and put himself between her and the children. He would not see them killed.

"I will make sure they're safe," he says with a sharp nod. "You do the same to yourself."

It's a companionship born of battle but Dorian would truly hate for this man to die. He's rather fond of him already. There's not much he can do though. He has to go fight.

"Come along children." He puts a hand on one of their shoulders and guides them towards the way they came. "We'll get you somewhere safe."

Further in there's a second group, close to the enchanting chamber. This time they're adults. This time the breach is more severe. It's against Meredith's orders that Cullen speaks out, and it's only by virtue of the fact that he has more active supporters present that reason wins the day. However, it also means his support thins with three of his men moving to escort the mages to safety.

He feels a sense of impending doom when they draw near the chamber. Fire roars past the doorway, a magical barrier of flame impenetrable by conventional means. He steps onto the causeway just behind Meredith in time to see... It's unthinkable. Orsino surrounded by dead mages. So many bodies! What have they done? He shakes his head in rejection of the sight, negation.

It's too late. The First Enchanter has set into motion things that can't be undone. Corpses lift and fuse, bloating him to a shape beyond description and corruption. Meredith steps back into him. Her look at him is accusation, as though all of his arguments for mercy lead only to this path.

"We'll leave the Champion to deal with him, if she's so eager to die for these mages. We'll regroup in the courtyard and deal with whatever emerges victorious. Gather the others. We move."

He gathers what focus remains and begins barking his orders. "You heard her, templars! Back to the courtyard. Now!" A few fail to heed the orders, intent on breaching the fire barrier and dying horribly for their stubbornness. Cullen focuses on getting the rest as they go back the way they've fought so hard to come. A small part of him prays it's not Hawke emerging from that fight. He has a feeling Meredith will make no distinction between her or the abomination. Not anymore.

Dorian gets the young mages to those waiting outside, a group of older Tower mages who are torn between staying and running for their lives. They don't want to be apostates.

"Then you will be corpses," he tells them coldly, "There are very few Templars who are willing to spare lives right now. Go! If not for yourselves than the little ones who don't know enough to save themselves."

They want him to come with but he shakes his head. He can't leave. He has a friend inside and there's a battle still raging. He cannot escape now even though this is his best chance.

They finally run when Templars begin to pour into the courtyard. Dorian once again puts himself between the fleeing mages and the emerging Templars. When he spots Cullen he rushes up to him. "What's going on?"

There's a grimness in his expression bordering on darkness. He glances back toward the ruined gate. He has no idea how much time they have. His account is halting. It's still difficult to wrap his mind around what he witnessed. He's not easy to spook. "The First Enchanter..." He licks his lips, his mouth dry.

"He killed all of the remaining mages for some...ritual. I've never seen. Anything like it. Be prepared for anything. Meredith abandoned the Champion to that horror, and we couldn't breach the fire to aid her." It's hard to imagine anyone surviving that atrocity.

"It's blood magic," Dorian says with a shake of his head. Had he been there he could have guessed at what sort of spell it was and perhaps know how to counter it. Outside like this he can only speculate at what it might be and what the former First Enchanter was trying to do.

How desperate everyone in this city must be that even the First Enchanter turned to blood magic. The Magisters always said the South was backwards but never like this.

"The children got away." He hopes the news will brighten the outlook. "And a few more mages with them. How we'll they'll do on their own is a mystery but they're aren't here."

"That much was obvious, yes," he says, nodding. The hideous form will add to the collection of images that haunt his nightmares. He can tell already.

His expression changes to relief, both for the topic change and the news. "I'm glad. They hadn't been here so very long. They were innocents." It could be said of most of the mages in the Gallows when it came to Meredith's mad crusade tonight. They weren't part of the failed Mage Underground, and they had nothing to do with the obliteration of the Chantry. He tries not to think of that moment, indelible in memory. It will haunt him to the end of his days as much as his captivity.

It's not much longer before movement stirs at the ruined gates. Cullen's entire attitude sharpens. He walk back close to Meredith in time to hear her calling for Hawke's life. It's the breaking point. Everything up to now has been within her realm of authority. Murder of one of Kirkwall's nobles, Kirkwall's savior from the Qunari, he can't allow it, and he can't reconcile the woman giving the order with the woman he has followed for years, loyal if not always in agreement.

He thinks it should take longer to change his life irrevocably, a few words, an expected negative reaction, and suddenly he's between Meredith and Hawke, expecting she'll try to cut him down for it. What does happen is something he could never have expected, the sudden flare of the sword, a reddening of her eyes, not a demon. Something inexplicable. Something worse.

With a groan, the very statues of the courtyard come to impossible life, and it's a cry to arms and everyone in pitched battle against what Cullen can only see as pure evil. Maker, save them, will the madness of this night never end?

Dorian has never seen animation outside of Tevinter and the golems that guard Minrathous. The Tevinter statues coming to life suddenly with a burst of... it wasn't magic but it was something from the Knight-Commander is a shock that leaves him frozen in place for a good moment before he gets his wits back.

Kirkwall would not sit fondly in his memory.

Again, he calls on the dead and uses them defensively. The spirits don't care if the statues throw them across the courtyard. They get right back up and shamble towards them again and again. Lightning and fire dance from his fingertips as mana flows through him.

Some of the Templars turn on their own, on them, trying to fight for their Knight-Commander who has clearly lost her mind and been corrupted by something. He finds himself shoulder to shoulder with a tiny little Dalish elf who is practicing blood magic but he'll save the lecture for later. It's not a good thing that she's humming pleasantly while they fight.

Cullen keeps those loyal to him rallied and organized, structures them into the most effective fighting force they can manage under such extreme circumstances and duress. He cuts down some of those still loyal to Meredith himself, fueled by self-directed disgust that it has taken him this long to see her for what she has become and the thought that but for a little fortitude against crippling doubt from his past, he might have prevented this.

The battle rages long with more of Hawke's companions and a few unknown elements joining in against the impossible statues and Meredith's frenzy. There are moments in the fight when all of them are stunned and rendered useless by some mental force Meredith exerts. He fights it with every fiber of his being, reminded far too closely of the demons that sought purchase in his mind years before.

In the end, it's not any of their combined might that is her undoing, but her own mad overreach for power. He watches in mute horror when the red energy consumes her from the inside out and renders her to insensate, smoking slag. One look is all he needs with Hawke. There has been enough bloodshed and loss here tonight. His quarrel has never been with his fellow Fereldan and won't be now. They flee and leave him with stunned templars and a ruined courtyard.

And still the night isn't done. "You." He points to a Knight-Lieutenant he trusts. "Take a third of this force and secure the Gallows. Mercy for any mage who doesn't resist with blood magic, and be damned certain that abomination in the ritual chamber is dead and destroyed."

He gestures for the rest to gather round him. "I know you're exhausted. No less than I, but we must return to the city tonight. The guard cannot hold against the horrors roaming the streets. They need our aid. Kirkwall needs our aid. We must not fail them. Back to the ferry. Maker guard us all."

"Fascinating," Dorian mutters to himself though he's completely exhausted. It's a good thing the battle has ended when it did or else he would be completely drained of mana and useless besides the slashing of the bladed end of his staff.

He approaches the statue but stops short when all his senses tell him that whatever this woman has become is wrong, wrong, wrong. It smells terrible to his nose, like... burnt lyrium. As much as he wants to study whatever this is, he's got good sense not to try.

Instead, he walks over to Cullen and waits for him to finish his little speech.

"If you bring the mages to me I will look after them," he volunteers. "They should trust another mage more than Templars right now."

"Ser Ruvena," he calls to one of the still helmeted templars, the one who had drawn closest to the statue just after the fighting died. "Coordinate with this mage. The two of you have my permission to settle the survivors in the archives for now. It should be quiet there and the least bloodied. And Ruvena, keep in mind he's not one of ours. He's here as a courtesy." By the Maker, he hopes that's the truth.

It's two birds with one stone. He doesn't fully trust the Tevinter or the templar in question. They'll keep one another in check nicely while he's gone. "Keep the courtyard clear. No one is to approach or touch the...statue." Whatever she has become, she is no longer the knight-commander. That falls to him for now, until a suitable replacement can be found or sent to them.

"We'll return when we've established a measure of order out there. I want everyone here to understand our primary goal is to save as many lives as we can and bring order back to this city. If any of you are at odds with this goal, speak now and spare me the trouble of having to strip your rank later down the line."

Not a one wavers, not that he imagines they would when everything is so charged and circumstances clearly paint this as a logical goal. No, the Meredith loyalists are smarter than that, those still remaining. He marches off with them with a final glance back to the stranger and his new partner, a slight nod that shows more faith in them than he feels personally. There are too many things to juggle and not enough of him for them all. Compromises will abound.

Dorian makes a face at being stuck with a Templar babysitter. He's not used to having one following him around at every step. Still, he's in the South and he can't expect anyone to give him free reign tonight. There is a statue of a woman made of red glowing stone in the center of the court yard.

"Dorian Pavus, most recently of Minrathous," he says and bows to the Templar. He makes sure his house crest amulet is showing. He's from Tevinter and beyond Templar jurisdiction. He wants to make sure this man he's saddled with knows this. "Why don't we see what supplies remain in your tower and gather them in the archives. I'm sure there are some spirit healers looking to ply their craft."

He spares a look at the Templar who has guided him through the city and this last fight. He hopes whatever chaos there still is, this man gets out of it alive.

The Gallows fortress is thoroughly sacked and despoiled. The diminished templar force seeks to put out fires and sort bodies, dead mages and templars alike prepared for the pyre. Demon remains are destroyed where they lie. The archives are a good choice, removed from the bulk of the recent fighting and only smelling faintly of smoke. Ruvena grunts assent, seemingly no more pleased with being saddled with a foreign mage. In time she removes her helmet, revealing herself as a woman rather than a man, difficult to tell in plate, with chin cropped blonde hair and flinty blue eyes. She performs her duties perfunctorily but isn't cruel.

There are less than a dozen mages left to them when all is said and done, only two full fledged spirit healers with their work cut out for them for the rest of the night. Several Tranquil remain, willing to lend aid as they see themselves most capable and useful. Their flat inflections and brands give them away.

Conditions in the city are horrific. At some point in the night, Aveline returns and meets up with Cullen. Between demon slaying, rooting out a few stubborn pockets of blood mages, and trying to dig through rubble to screaming and crying survivors, there's no chance for anyone to catch their breaths or rest.

It's not until close to sundown of the next day that Cullen and a smaller group than they one he set out with return to the Gallows, streaked so thoroughly with red, black, and gray they're barely recognizable. He orders them to take a four hour sleep and shuffles to the archives to see how those left behind have fared and what can be done to start a more permanent duty rotation.

He's pleased to see them organized and that Ruvena and the mage haven't killed one another. One good judgment call, at least. He looks for the man, finally in a position where he can thank him and take a moment to speak.

They salvage what they can from the ruins of the fortress. There's enough to see them through the night and possibly a few days. Dorian's not sure as he's never had to keep track of those things before.

Slowly, mages come back to the archives and they seem grateful to have another mage offering them water and giving them an idea of what to do now that everything as gone to the Void.

The Templar with him, Ruvena is not talkative so Dorian ends up mostly working around her with only the occasional conversation to pass on information. Honestly, it's exhausting. He hates this kind of grim work, dealing with the dead and the lost. He's much happier with spirits.

It's a relief to see Cullen return. There are enough people to take over that are local. Dorian goes over to the Templar with a stein of water. "Here, you'll need this I imagine."

Cullen downs the contents in a long guzzle and offers it back. Wiping his mouth is futile with a filthy gauntlet. A few drops of water still cling to his ashen lips. "Thank you. Not just for the water. I'm Knight-Ca--acting Knight-Commander Cullen. You've done us and Kirkwall a service here. You have my gratitude, for what it's worth." If they can't get some sort of structure in the city, and soon, that won't be much.

Exhaustion is in every line of his face and body, more than just on a physical level. He glances over the others gathered there, resting or quietly working and feels himself relax a fraction. They've managed stability here. It's a start.

"The docks are still unstable. It's doubtful ships will come to port again for a week or so. I'm sure they're waiting to see if we hold it together or fall to Coterie or Carta control. You can stay here for now if you choose. You've earned safe harbor. If you'd prefer to leave, I'll try to help you make the arrangements."

Even though he looks dead on his feet the acting Knight-Commander is still trying to help him. Dorian gives a little snort. "I appreciate the thought but I would rather wait for things to calm down. There are still some out there blaming any mage they see."

He did not fancy meeting armed thugs in a fight right now. Angry mobs were more worrisome than demons in some way. A few of the mages he had tended to had horror stories of what lurked out there in the streets. Dorian would be practical instead of bold for once.

"As long as I'm free to go at any time, I will stay and help. However, when the calm does return no Templar better try to keep me in their Circle," he says calmly. He doubts anyone would try it but he's going to make sure the point is made. "I would rather have your word on that then a ship."

He'd be a fool to turn down help from any source by this point. Already birds are in flight to Starkhaven, Ansburg, Ostwick, Wycome, and Tantervale, urgent requests for humanitarian aid. No one trapped under the stone rubble will last for very long if they're not already too injured to survive. "Easy enough. You have my word. I've no desire to spur a quarrel with Minrathous." That's the last thing they need.

"We're going to need them, too." He nods toward the other mages. "As many as are willing and able to help move rubble. There are so many collapses." He picks clumsily at the buckles of his gauntlets until he can tug them free and set them on a side table near where they're standing. His hands look strangely white in comparison to the rest of him.

"Do you think you can help keep them organized? The loss of the First Enchanter is going to impact them keenly if it hasn't sunk in already."

If only Cullen knew how much Minrathous was glad to have him gone he wouldn't think that way but Dorian's not going to make him aware of that. It's better for him if everyone thinks that he's a big, scary and important magister.

"I can try but you'd be better to have someone local and known lead them," he says with a glance back at the group of mages. "I'm an outsider and right now what they need is someone familiar. You know the mages, pick whomever you think is best."

Dorian will help but he doesn't going to take over. That's a bit much for him. "I can, however, perhaps coax some spirits in to helping in the rubble. Stone doesn't stop them. If you're willing to tolerate necromancy."

He nods. It will take some thinking on his part that in this moment he doesn't have the mental energy to assert. It's one thing that can wait a couple of hours for him to grab essential sleep. "I'll do that soon."

As to the thought of necromancy, a line forms between his brows. By this time, he is aware that this mage was responsible for the animated corpses that didn't attack. It's not a magic with which he's familiar and not one sanctioned.

Still...there are people out there who will die without aid. And he saw enough of it last night to know it's not blood magic. "I doubt I need to tell you the Veil in Kirkwall is thin. Take care what you summon, and try not to strain it further."

"I don't have to summon anything," Dorian says, about to launch into a lecture about the fine art of necromancy but after he considers the exhausted demeanor of the man he gives it up. "But don't worry, I'm very highly trained and won't upset the balance."

Probably every mage in this room is aware how thin the Veil is. Too many blood mages messing with an unstable magic and too many demons set loose. He won't be reckless and foolish with his craft.

"For tonight, however, I will keep my magic to myself." He gives a little nod to Cullen. "I've probably expended too much mana as it is."

"Have you been awake this whole time? We should probably find you some quarters. Then I need to get together with my senior staff and try to get some sleep, myself." It's almost as though he's saying it aloud just so he can keep track of it in his own head. That might be true.

"Afterward, we need to get as many people out into the city as can handle the strain. There's rubble everywhere, so many people still trapped, and a few pockets of demons that will probably take some time to rout entirely."

He starts to walk into the corridor, stops, and reclaims his gauntlets. He snorts under his breath, something about forgetting his head if it wasn't attached, and gets moving.

"Oh, I've spent many a sleepless night in Tevinter back when I was an apprentice." Dorian has reached that point where he could either force himself to stay awake until the sun came up or fall asleep standing up.

It's a relief that Cullen offers him a room. Sleeping standing up wasn't very comfortable. While he has explored a great deal of this place looking for supplies he keeps to Cullen's heels. No sense in risking getting lost.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asks, "Most of your city is refugees and the poor. They have no coin or they would've left already. Will you reach out to the Carta? Although, some dwarves may want to help if a Magister from Tevinter asks. They're the only people we still have any sort of treaty with."

Cullen takes them toward the mage wing, not terribly far from archives. There are so few of them left that there are several rooms now where the mage could have his own. "You haven't told me your name." Or if he has, the memory is completely lost to him.

"I think the Carta are practical enough they'll understand there's little value in a broken city. If you have those connections, use them. I have a Coterie contact of a similar practical bent. She has cooperated with templar investigations in the past. If she's still alive, she can be of use for this. I also ran into a few mercenary groups out there last night and today. They've pledged their help and are sending word to their companies in other city-states.

"There are templars in Starkhaven without a circle. I feel confident they'll come." He hasn't just been stomping out fires as they arise. He does have a plan. Kirkwall's guard captain has connections, too, as does the seneschal who he was shocked to find not only alive but very capably taking charge in what was left of Hightown.

He pushes open one of the doors to their right. The room holds four bunks, a top, bottom arrangement of two each. Cullen knows all four mages who occupied this room are dead. "Pick one. No one else will be coming here. I'll be allowing alternating two and four hour sleeping shifts for now. Which do you want to start with?"

For pavus_redemit Kirkwall

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