Author's Note: People familiar with Dragon Age will find that this chapter may drag a bit. It is a lot infodumping and explanations about things that Amy does not know but anyone who has played Inquisition (or even just the first two games) would know, or otherwise find familiar. Hopefully this will be engaging enough to read anyway, but best to warn up front.
As I said, I am always willing to hear out and take into account good-faith critique about my characterization of various people, Amy and otherwise. Some characters are harder for me to get right than others, and I do my best to do so, but obviously, sometimes I may get it wrong.
What kind of mess did I land in the middle of?
"You managed to land in one of the more... eventful times in the recent history of Thedas," Leliana said, and began ticking off details and names that Amy didn't know the meaning of, beyond loosely grasping what a mage and templar were. "The Fifth Blight ended ten years ago and the after effects are still reverberating throughout Ferelden, and indeed, all of Thedas. Kirkwall was a slowly boiling pot that exploded four years ago, the mages and templars began their war shortly after that, Orlais broke out into civil war last year, and... well, the Conclave just blew up, taking the one person who had a chance at convincing people to stand down peacefully." Leliana set her jaw a little as she said that last part, though her otherwise calm expression and careful tone were hard to read.
"None of that means anything to me, though that's the third time Kirkwall has been mentioned since I showed up here." Amy pointed out. She looked at the map, and found Kirkwall marked on it. It was coastal, in the 'Free Marches' part of the map, but that really didn't tell her much. "I don't understand any of this. I barely believe that what I saw Solas doing was magic or those things we fought were demons." Solas didn't have powers and... while the demons could still be projections...
She was a lot less convinced that had to be the case than she had been before she grasped that mages weren't just capes by another name.
"I'm somewhat confused by that," Josephine said carefully. "I know little of the world beyond Thedas, no one really does, but shouldn't magic and the Fade and demons be a fact of life as well?"
"I'm not from a different continent. I'm from a different world entirely! Where I come from, there's no magic. No demons. No elves or dwarves or dragons. Those are all just fairy tales." She blinked, then, "Fuck, wait are there fairies here too? Ghosts and goblins and god knows what the fuck else?"
"Fairies don't exist, though some ancient traditions confused spirits and demons for them, according to Seeker texts," Cassandra said. "Goblins... I do not believe I've ever heard the term."
"Little gross creatures, sometimes green, usually like, 3 feet tall?" Granted, there were a lot of versions of goblins out there, in fiction that she'd read, but this was a pretty common version, with variations. None of the others said anything.
"Well, okay, at least there's some line. But I'm gonna have to deal with dead people hanging around?"
"Ghosts are not the souls of the departed. All pass into the hands of the Maker to be judged after death. What people call 'ghosts' are just demons and spirits, caught in their echoes in the Fade," Cullen said quickly.
"...Okay." Amy stared at him, blinking. That was... how much of that was religion? Fuck, for all she knew the 'Maker' was a real thing too, and not just religion. She'd read stories where gods were real, after all.
"There is only this world, the one the Maker forged." Cullen said, surprisingly calm for a fanatic relying on his religion to explain the world. "Leliana said you told her this before, in-" he paused.
"In the cell you were holding me in?" Cullen nodded.
"But," the Commander went on, "That - that should be impossible."
"Nothing is beyond the Maker's sight. The Chant of Light was inspired by the Maker, but it was penned by mortal hands," Leliana explained. "I don't entirely grasp what it means for her to be from another world, but I do not believe she is lying."
"I'm not lying!" Amy had to resist the urge to shout, and of course, everyone here was a believer in this religion and she still had no idea how real it was. The idea of this 'Maker' being real was absurd, but so was everything else she'd had to deal with since she'd woken up in that cell.
I'm not going to ask them though. Wouldn't really get her a real answer. If he was real, they'd say he was. If he wasn't, they'd also say he was.
And would they even know? Not like anyone could know God existed. Wasn't that the whole point? Sounded right, from sermons she'd gotten from stupid people at hospitals that tried to convince her her powers were a gift from 'the Lord'.
"I'm not from here. I don't know anything you guys would know, and on my world, we know the whole world. All seven continents and four oceans... and seven seas." Okay, she knew it was more than seven seas, but she had no idea how many there actually were, so she'd just say that. Wasn't like this was a geography test. "And we're not... we have electricity and the internet and cars and helicopters and guns and a billion things you don't have here. Wherever this is, this isn't Earth-Bet."
"That is what you call the place you come from?"
"I come from Brockton Bay, in the United States, but that's on Earth-Bet, yeah." Amy answered Leliana's question. She furrowed her brow, then, "Look, I barely paid attention when they talked about in my classes, but - multiple worlds were a theory for like... years? Decades? Something something physics." She realized how stupid she sounded, and tried to search her mind for an analogy, maybe something she'd read or seen in a TV show, or...
"It was all just a theory, no one proved it until like... a decade ago? Two?" Amy pulled a hand down her face, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I don't remember how long. But this Tinker, Professor Haywire, he opened a portal to another Earth, which we call Earth-Aleph. And then no others, but... Earth Aleph is also not all... swords and bows and...medieval stuff."
"Every word you speak only produces more questions," Cassandra said, setting her hands on the table and leaning forward.
"Join the fucking club!" Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm seventeen, and I - I didn't -" she flushed a moment, then looked down at the ground. "Look, I'm not smart like my sister, and I didn't bother to pay much attention in school the last few years so - there's just things I don't know how to explain, okay?"
"The same sister that you say knows how to fight?" Cassandra asked, and Amy nodded.
"Vicky - Victoria." Amy nodded, blinking repeatedly. "She's - she's - she's a hero. She can fly and break people into a pulp and she's smart. Studies powers and aces all her classes and..." Amy closed her eyes, inhaling, covering her face again, trying to hold back any tears. "She'd - she'd know how to handle all this... though she might also have just broken the chains and broken all your arms before anyone could explain the situation to her." Cassandra looked skeptical, and Amy laughed, "You know how I can heal without magic? My sister can break through stone walls unharmed just by punching them, or flying at them fast."
"Your sister can fly?" Cullen shook his head. "And you - Cassandra said you can heal without magic, but how is that possible?" He looked to Cassandra, "I know you'd be able to feel magic's presence, especially being used to heal you, but I don't - how is it possible?"
"Well, it's not a blessing from some divine being, so don't even start with that," Amy cut in before anyone could say anything else. "Nobody fucking knows how powers work, not really. They just... do. Vicky could give you a better answer, but..." Amy swallowed and trailed off. She inhaled, closing her hands into fists, opened them again, trying to remember her sister's talks and explanations and things she'd learned and heard and picked up....
"Thirty years or almost, they just... started cropping up. People able to do all kinds of insane things. There's a hero, named Legend. He can fly and shoot beams from his hands that can do all kinds of stuff. Velocity - he can run fast, like, faster than a car, sometimes." She blinked, remembering that would mean nothing to them. "Or - like... I mean, I haven't seen it, but he can definitely run faster than a horse can gallop."
Aunt Sarah had dragged all four of them - her, Victoria, Crystal and Eric - to enough horseback riding stuff during the summer when they were all younger for Amy to have a vague idea of how fast horses could go, and Velocity was like... sixty miles an hour, right?"
"There's an absolute bastard of a guy called Hookwolf, back home. He can turn into a wolf made of knives and hooks and sharp pointy bits. I've seen the effects of what he can do to people. I've healed the damage he's done to people. I mean... you guys can imagine what a wolf made of knives can do to some random civilian, right?"
Josephine looked away for a moment, and Amy thought it looked like she was maybe nauseated for a moment, while Cullen and Cassandra had their jaws set grimly, and Leliana's expression remained unreadable.
"Powers can do... all kinds of stuff. Mine let me heal. Anything. Cancer, if someone has a missing arm I can regrow it, any kind of disease... as long as they're alive I can keep them alive."
"And give them cancer." Leliana observed, and Amy bit her lip.
"I wouldn't actually do that. I don't -" Amy started, then, "Cancer is just cells going crazy and multiplying out of control. I can do that."
"You also threatened to render all the guards impotent." Cassandra added.
"I can -" Amy let out a breath. "I heal. Okay. That's what I do with my power. If you had someone with a missing arm or leg, I could prove that to you, if you wanted. As long as there's enough body mass to spare."
"Body mass to spare?"
"I don't know how magic does it, but when I heal someone... I have to take the material from somewhere. Usually excess fat or turn a little of their blood into bone cells to mend a broken bone or - in serious cases I can use muscle, - that's why I said that... scout I healed back in those tunnels needed to eat after I was done with him."
"...he was quite ravenously hungry that night," Leliana mused. "More so than one might be after a fight, usually." She sounded satisfied to have an answer to that, if Amy was even remotely gauging the woman right, which she probably wasn't. "But that doesn't exactly answer the question of what else you can do, and how you're able to do it."
"I just told you I don't know how powers work! They just... happen!"
"Were you born with this ability?" Cullen asked. "Mages are born with their abilities, though it may take time for their powers to manifest properly, and longer for them to be able to use them safely... assuming they aren't possessed first."
"Demons can do that too? Fuck, this is just a fun world you people live in."
Nazis and Slaughterhouse Nine and Endbringers running around rampant, or demons, possession and giant fucking holes in the sky. Why couldn't I have landed on some nice, peaceful world where no one had anything worse than a fucking skinned knee?
"The threat of mages giving into a demon, allowing them to possess them and becoming an abomination is one of the primary reasons the Templars exist." Cullen said. "Or... it was supposed to be." He added.
"Fun." Amy repeated. Then she shook her head, "No, I wasn't - I wasn't born with my power. I-" She licked her lips, looking down at the ground. "And like I said, it wasn't a blessing. I get enough of that shit from people back home telling me God or Jesus or whoever the fuck else they worship saying my powers are a divine gift."
She inhaled, exhaled. "We call people with powers 'parahumans'. Maybe... one in seven or eight or nine thousand people is one? I think? I don't really remember."
"Because you didn't pay attention in your schooling," Cassandra crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I'm seventeen! And I spend more time healing people at hospitals than I do sleeping, so yes, I don't pay much attention in my classes, okay? I get enough shit about it from Carol - my - mother - about that." she added, realizing they'd have no idea who Carol was.
Of course, she wasn't actually Carol's daughter, and Carol never let her forget it, even if she never said it to her face, but... Amy closed her eyes and inhaled.
"Parahumans get their powers after what people call a trigger event. Trigger events are..." Once more, Amy closed her eyes, inhaled, and stepped back, leaning her back against the stone wall behind her. "They're... traumatic events. My - Carol and my Aunt Sarah triggered when the people kidnapping them tried to kill them. My cousin Crystal when... a gang of people tried to..." she swallowed. "Tried to kill her, or worse." She didn't exactly know that many trigger events, and - she wasn't going to talk about Victoria's... that was...
People still thought she just triggered from that foul ball... because she kept saying that in interviews.
Amy knew better. Victoria knew better.
"And you?"
Sure, ask about the worst fucking moment of my life, why don't you?! Amy inhaled, then inhaled again, feeling her breathing faster, shallower, that fucking day flashing in her mind - she had it in her nightmares too much. She'd wish too hard that she didn't have powers, that she'd never triggered, and then she'd remember Victoria, and lying there on the floor in that mall, so much blood... so much blood...
"Leliana," Cassandra's voice cut in. "I don't think we need to know."
"We need to know who we're dealing with and how her abilities work." Leliana countered. "How many times have we encountered mages turning to blood magic or becoming abominations only in desperate moments? She is our only hope for closing the Breach, but we know nothing about her.
"I think it's quite clear she'd rather not discuss this, Leliana," Josephine added. "Perhaps later-"
"My sister was dying in front of me! Bleeding out and if I hadn't triggered and hadn't been able to get the bullet out of her and heal her then she'd have died! I triggered with the ability to heal and to - to manipulate the biology of what I touch while covered in my sister's blood!" Amy shouted, only realizing what she'd done as the words left her lips. She closed her eyes, unable to hold back tears now - she wasn't sobbing, not yet, but even after her breakdown after waking up, she still had tears left in her and -
She was sitting on the floor now, knees pressed up against her chest, shallow breaths, tears still springing from her eyes. It wasn't just remembering that day, or the nightmares on if she hadn't triggered, or hadn't been there or triggered with a different power (on those days when she wished that if she had to have a power, couldn't she have had a different one) or -
She wasn't going to see Victoria again, no matter how much she tried to get home. No powers. No tinkers. No -
She could hear the others talking, maybe there was an argument, but she just stayed there for a moment, not registering anything for a moment, trying to hold herself back from sobbing - a tiny part of her felt mortified she was doing this in front of them, but she couldn't help it.
What else was she supposed to do? The most important person in her life... out of reach. The rest of her family. Everyone she knew. Everything on Earth-Bet. Books and music and TV and cars and electricity and comfortable beds and coffee and -
And here she was and -
She blinked, looking up as she noticed Cassandra standing next to her, and the woman extended a hand and Amy reached out, taking it and standing up, back pressed up against the wall again for support.
"Are you fit to continue speaking? Not - not about how you got your powers," Cassandra quickly added.
Amy swallowed, "I'm suffering a caffeine headache because I haven't had my morning coffee, and I'm cut off from everyone and everything I ever knew, and I'm still grappling with that fact and I just..." she trailed off. "But yeah, I'm as ready as I can be."
"Coffee is quite a useful drink to wake up with," Josephine said softly. "When we are done here, I believe I can spare some of mine for you, Amy."
Amy blinked. "You have coffee? Oh thank God," Amy said that last part in a quieter tone. "Please, yes, god, thank you."
"It is a common drink in my homeland of Antiva. Less so this far south, especially... here, in Haven. I am the only one here with a taste for it. Or I was, anyway." Josephine explained. "I only brought enough for myself, but under the circumstances-"
"I'll take anything you're willing to share," Amy said quickly. She tried to take another breath, forcing herself to go slower, trying to get a little more calm. It was absurd, she was in tears a minute ago and now she was begging for coffee and trying to focus on this stupid meeting. Bouncing between breaking down and trying to focus on the problems in front of her.
People's lives still depended on her. Differently, maybe - though there were probably people to heal here in Haven too, with medieval hygiene and shit - but... she had to stay focused on that.
"I think at this point... many of the questions about your powers and... the para-humans of your world," Leliana didn't exactly stumble over the unfamiliar word, but she did say it slowly, "and indeed, questions about your world in general can wait. You do not believe the Maker sent you do us in our hour of need."
"No, I don't."
"So then how do you think you came to be here?"
"One of Bakuda's bombs went off, and then I woke up in the cell." Amy explained, letting out a long, exasperated breath. "Her shit can do all kinds of stuff, so I suppose one of them sent me here." Or she could be dead and this was hell, but Amy was pretty sure hell would be more painful than annoying. And right now, she wasn't in much pain from this stupid thing on her hand. "I have no fucking memory of what happened after I got here, or how I stumbled upon... whoever it was that was with the Divine, in that... echo we saw."
"Unfortunate, though I suppose you wouldn't have recognized him even if you did remember his face," Leliana observed. "I have questions about this... Bakuda, you mentioned her in your cell, but perhaps it is time to proceed to answering your questions."
"Great idea," Amy agreed. She licked her lips, realizing she was thirsty. She looked around and saw a metal pitcher and wooden cups over on a small table in the back of the room. "Please tell me that's water and not alcohol."
"It is water," Cassandra confirmed, and Amy walked around the main table to the pitcher, pouring herself a glass - cup - of water.
"Before we move on to explaining... well, everything, to you, I do have a few more questions about you," Josephine said. Amy swallowed the mouthful of water she already had as Josephine went on quickly: "Not about your ability to heal, though I'm not sure we'll be able to convince most people who hear of it that it is not a gift from the Maker, but about you."
Of course we won't. Some people back on Earth-Bet still thought powers were from God. Also some that thought Scion was God. Or that powers were from aliens or demons or fuck if she knew whatever other insane theories existed.
And here? She could explain Corona Pollentia and Corona Gemma forever and get nowhere.
"Why do you need to know about me?"
"Because you are the Herald of Andraste." Josephine held up a hand, once again tacking on more: "You do not claim to be, but the idea has spread throughout those here in Haven, and is already spreading beyond. People will believe it. And, as the only person who can close the rifts and the Breach, you are the most important person in this entire effort. People will have questions about who you are, where you come from... we can tell the truth, that you are from far beyond Thedas and your abilities are not magic, but that will not be all people want to know."
"And," Josephine added as Amy inhaled slowly, closing her eyes as she realized the implications of what Josephine was saying, "the Inquisition lacks the manpower or resources to deal with the problem before us. We must recruit, we must make contact with nobles and other people and groups that can provide us with assistance."
"And that means making your 'Herald' who can heal with a touch part of your PR campaign." Amy said softly. "Fuck." She hated New Wave PR events, hated when reporters or interviewers tried to ask her questions... it happened less these days, enough times where she'd given people nothing to work with, one-word answers, or ignored them and she just wasn't photogenic like the rest of her family, so... she'd been able to avoid them.
"P....R?"
"Public Relations. You know, spreading a specific message about you or your organization. My family did it all the time." Amy looked down, "I hate it."
Josephine made a small 'hm' noise, "An elegant way to put it. But yes - we are out on our own, without Chantry support, and as it stands, neither Ferelden, nor Orlais support us, let alone anyone else."
Those two countries on either side of the mountains they were in.
"Alistair is a friend. He will support us." Leliana said firmly.
"King Alistair is not free to simply do whatever he wishes," Josephine cautioned. "You know as well as I that he depends on the support of the Bannorn, and his friendliness to the mages during this war has cost him much support."
"Ferelden is still recovering from the Fifth Blight, there's only so much support they can provide even if their King does back us fully," Cassandra cut in.
"The point being, Amy, that people are more likely to support us if they know why we believe we have a chance to fix this... and know more about who that chance is." Josephine forced them back on topic. "Your surname is Dallon, and you just said your family has experience with 'public relations'. Is your family noble? Do people with abilities like yours govern, the way magisters govern in Tevinter?"
"We don't have nobles where I'm from, and no, people with powers don't run the show." Some people thought they should, cape supremacists - groups like the Elite... "My family are heroes. We all have powers - my Aunt, my Uncle, my cousins, my parents, my sister, me."
"What exactly makes them heroes? You said you spent more time at hospitals than sleeping. I can see why people would consider such selfless work to heal others heroic-"
Amy wasn't sure if she actually spent more time healing than sleeping, but given how little she actually slept some nights, and all the times she went out at night to hospitals, and especially during crises like Bakuda's rampage...
It had to be close, sometimes, if nothing else.
"I'm not a hero. My family is, I'm not." Amy interrupted. "My family are heroes because they use their powers to fight criminals, and villains. Like Hookwolf, and the entire gang of Nazi shitheads that he's part of. Or the ABB."
"Your family works to protect the innocent people of your home from criminals and murderers?"
"Yeah. It's a team, New Wave." Amy nodded. "My Aunt Sarah is the leader."
Josephine wrote something down on her clipboard with her quill, then dipped it into ink again.
"A healer in a family that fights criminals... what sort of crimes do these criminals commit?"
"All of them?" She wracked her mind, "Empire 88 beats up people over their skin color, smuggles guns and drugs, forces people to pay protection, steals from people who don't... they terrorize the city. The ABB does the same, and they force girls to work in their brothels." The part about kidnaping girls off the street to work in their brothels or whatever was a rumor, and probably not true - Victoria thought it was one E88 spread because it played on racist tropes about threats to 'good, decent white girls' - but they did force the girls working for them to stay, beat them and addicted them to drugs and took most of their money...
She'd had to treat girls who were rescued from their brothels before, flush their systems of drugs, and mend poorly healed broken bones and bruises and sometimes worse.
"In the old days, they fought gangs like the Teeth, who just... fucking murdered people because they could."
"Worthy opponents, certainly," Josephine nodded. "A healer, child of heroes, sister to a hero, and willing to do what must be done to close the Breach... I believe that can be worked with." She set wrote some more, then set her quill down again. "I may have more questions at a later time, but there are matters to attend to."
"Quite," Cassandra said, crossing her arms in front of her. "There is much that will need to be explained to you."
"I'm not entirely sure where to begin summarizing this situation. Do we start with Kirkwall, the dissolution of the Nevarran Accords, do we go all the way back to the Tevinter Imperium?" Cullen began, "You don't even know what the Fade is,"
"Something about it being where demons are from."
"The Fade is the realm of spirits and demons, the Maker's first children. It is where people go in their dreams, and it is also the source of magic." Leliana explained. "Mages channel the energy of the Fade to make reality as... mutable as dreams can be, in essence." Cassandra and Cullen both looked at her, and Leliana shrugged, "I learned a great deal when travelling with the Hero of Ferelden during the Fifth Blight," she explained.
Okay. That... makes as much sense as 'magic' does anyway. "Magic comes from the Fade, mages draw on it... and demons are from the Fade and can possess mages. There's a connection there." Amy wasn't a complete idiot, she could add two and two together and get four...
Sometimes.
"Demons are jealous of mortals and of our material world," Cassandra explained. "Mages are the vehicle by which they can have means to interact with it, either by possession, or being summoned... and now these rifts, and the Breach. They will try to trick or convince a mage to make deals with them, or try to overpower their will until they accept possession. Once that happens, they become abominations - a single abomination has the ability to destroy an entire village. It is to protect people - mage and non-mage alike, that the Templar Order was created."
"And then it failed, utterly." Leliana countered. "Kirkwall was merely the worst case, but abuses against mages at the hands of Templars could be seen in every Circle. The rebellion was sparked by what happened in Kirkwall, but-"
"There were abuses in Kirkwall, and Meredith was insane, but the city was crawling with blood mages and abominations," Cullen interrupted. "I - I do not deny that things happened outside of it, but the alternatives are worse."
"Alternatives are not the problem right now. The Circles do not exist, and the Templars as a whole have broken from the Chantry." Cassandra raised her voice just a little. "We must focus on the Breach first." She set her jaw, "The Seekers' role in monitoring the Templars failed."
"I still have no idea what you're talking about. Why does Kirkwall keep coming up, and who is Meredith, and since I remember both came up when Varric saw that red stuff... what the fuck is that?" Amy demanded. "I have so many questions, I don't even know where to start!"
She looked down at the map, "I - okay, let's start with the basics: Everyone's calling me the Herald of Andraste. Who the fuck is Andraste? Kateria mentioned someone called Hessarian burning her to death, and her ashes were at the temple that blew up?"
"The Temple of Sacred Ashes is where Andraste's surviving companions took her remains, yes." Leliana said. "It was lost to most of the world until it was rediscovered ten years ago, and its sacredness made it seemingly the perfect neutral ground to host the Conclave. Even the mage rebels still follow the Chant of Light, or most of them, anyway. Divine Justina was respected by enough figures on both sides, though neither Grand Enchanter Fiona or Lord Seeker Lucius came personally."
"...the leaders of both sides of a war don't show up to a peace conference that blows up, and you don't assume one of them was behind it?" Amy blinked. "You blame me instead?!"
"Either of them certainly could be involved, but at the time, we had no way of knowing if you were working for one of them or their agents... whoever it was that intended to use the Divine as some sort of sacrifice may still have had allies in either camp." Leliana said.
"Or both." Cassandra offered. "Treacherous Templars have worked with blood mages to strike at the Divine before."
"Back on topic!" Amy insisted, "Who is Andraste?!"
"The Bride of the Maker, who led the first Exalted March and broke the power of the Tevinter Imperium," Josephine answered.
"The Bride of the Maker. And the Maker is... the one you all worship. Created the world and all that?"
"Yes."
Okay. So Andraste was a big deal. "Okay, so everyone worships the Maker and... honors Andraste?"
"The Dwarves in Orzammar keep to their own faith in the Stone, and the Dalish Elves follow their own gods, but otherwise, yes. Even the Tevinter follow the Maker, though they have their own version of the Chantry." Josephine explained, "And their own Divine."
Great. Amy's knowledge of European History could probably fit on the back of a postcard, but she knew religious war over who was Pope or if the Pope mattered had been a thing once.
"Not to mention all the slavery, blood magic and letting magisters run the show."
"Slavery? You have slavery here?!" Amy recoiled just at the thought.
"Only in Tevinter. It is illegal elsewhere."
"Good." Amy said firmly. Then she sagged a little, "Okay, can you... can I get like, a really quick history lesson? Tevinter was overthrown, but still exists, Andraste died, but... what, went to the Maker's side?" The others nodded. "And... there's Circles and Templars and the Chantry..." It sounded like their Bible was the Chant of Light from what they said, and the Chantry was the church...
"I'm still so fucking confused."
The other four looked at each other for a moment then finally Leliana spoke:
"In the Ancient Age, the Tevinter Imperium ruled all of Thedas, more or less. They had destroyed the elven realm of Arlathan and enslaved the survivors, and built their empire on the backs of their slaves, and on blood magic and pacts with demons. They worshipped the Old Gods, powerful demons that masqueraded as divine."
"Tevinter bad and evil. Got it." Amy nodded. Since they apparently had slaves, and still did, that seemed about right to her. Also, she just... anything called 'Blood Magic' couldn't be good, right?
"Eventually, seven Tevinter Magisters, the highest of priests of the Old Gods, sought to enter the Fade by means of mass blood sacrifice, and at the behest of the Old Gods, claim the throne of the Maker in the Golden City. Instead, they corrupted it with their sin, creating the first Darkspawn, and turning the Old Gods into the Archdemons that lead them during each Blight." Leliana explained.
"...Okay, that's..." Amy blinked. It sounded very... over the top. Like Garden of Eden type shit. But again. Magic. Demons. She could imagine that being the plot of a fantasy novel and she was fucking living in one. "That's... a thing that happened, apparently. And Darkspawn are?"
"Creatures of pure evil and destruction." Cassandra answered. "They are nearly mindless on their own, though in larger groups, they show... rudimentary grasp of tactics."
"And during a Blight, far more than that, under the leadership of an Archdemon." Leliana added. "Their blood is corrupted, and Darkspawn will spread a terrible taint to the land around them, and those they fight. If tainted, death will follow soon, for there is no cure, unless one becomes a Grey Warden. And even that only delays the process."
File in another term I don't understand. "Okay. I..." She found herself wondering what this taint was, how it worked... she'd never met a disease she couldn't cure, and 'no cure' could just mean they didn't understand medicine enough.
"Magic can't cure the taint?" Magic being a healing thing here meant there was less... on Earth-Bet, she was the only chance for a lot of people, or at least the best chance. With healing magic... that wasn't as true. Which... was good. Less people that only she could help...
"No. Magic's ability to heal is limited by the skill of the mage, their power, and how much energy they have to draw on." Cassandra answered. "In the hands of the skilled and powerful, or with more power to hand, it can regrow limbs, or even heal most illnesses, but there are things beyond even the skills of the greatest of healers."
"The First Blight nearly destroyed the Tevinter Imperium, and it turned many away from the Old Gods, as they ceased answering prayers." Josephine said, setting her clipboard down as she kept going. "The Tevinter were forced to focus on defending their core territories, in the north, leaving much of the world to their own. It was the Grey Wardens who devised the means of permanently killing the Archdemon, which made defeating the now leaderless darkspawn far easier,"
"And there's been four more Blights since then? Including the one that hit Ferelden ten years ago?"
"Yes. The Hero of Ferelden managed to end the Blight in less than a year - the First Blight took nearly two centuries, and even the fourth lasted for twelve years." Leliana answered.
"Wow." That sounded impressive, but Amy honestly didn't know enough to say how much. So she just went with 'wow'.
"With the Tevinter weakened, and the faith in the Old Gods broken, Andraste was called by the Maker to lead an Exalted March against them. She was the wife of Maferath, a powerful warlord in what is now Ferelden, and she urged him on this holy cause. Blessed by the Maker, and she rallied many, including rebelling elven slaves, to her cause. Unfortunately, Maferath grew jealous of Andraste's relationship to the Maker, and betrayed her to the Tevinter in exchange for being allowed to keep the territory he conquered."
"Which is when this Hessarian burned her to death?"
Okay, so she's the Bride of the Maker, but also married to this Maferath guy. Who betrayed her. When did the marrying the Maker thing happen? Amy figured she had to be getting some sort of... like, biased version of events? History was big and complicated and this all sounded very simple. Very 'and the evil Romans just crucified Jesus because they were evil'
Or whatever the fuck they taught in Sunday school and on those bible cartoons she'd always skipped past as a kid.
"He was the Archon, leader of Tevinter at the time." Leliana went on, nodding to answer Amy's question. "He was moved by her faith, and it is said that the Maker spoke to him through her. He granted her mercy by killing her rather than allow her to continue to suffer the slow death in the flames. It was after this that he would eventually convert to the following of the Maker, and lead Tevinter to turn away from the Old Gods. This sparked a civil war, and he revealed Maferath's betrayal, causing his realm to crumble."
"And this is when the old Inquisition was a thing?" Amy asked, recalling Cassandra's earlier comment, and Cassandra nodded.
"They were those who rose up to do what needed to be done, to protect the people from those who might use magic to rule others, but also to protect mages who had done no harm, protect the innocent in the time of a world gone mad." Cassandra said. "Just as is the case now. The Inquisition of old worked with the Chantry and Kordilus Drakon to combat the Second Blight, proving that magic and mages could still be used for good, to serve man, not just to rule him. So the Nevarran Accord was signed, creating the Circles, Templars and Seekers, as they exist... existed." She let out a breath. "I can admit that there were... flaws in the execution."
There's a rebellion about it, so yeah, sounds like it. But Amy didn't know enough about magic or mages or Templars to -
"And this rebellion? Why? Why are mages rebelling? And Templars? What are they rebelling against? Both sides of this civil war are also fighting... who else exactly?"
"There are many things that led to the rebellion," Leliana explained. "The Circles were supposed to serve as a place where mages could learn to control their powers, and be kept safe from those who would hate them for what they are. Instead, they became prisons."
"Mages are dangerous, even the most well-intentioned can fall prey to possession, and if one gets it into their head to do worse-" Cullen started, then cut himself off, seemingly forcing himself to take a breath. He looked over to Amy. "The role of Templars to protect mages was forgotten by most. Too many of them, of us... we did come to see mages, all mages, as the enemy. Many mages chafed at the circles, and many tried to run or did. Some because they wished to practice blood magic, or otherwise abuse their powers."
"And others merely because they wanted some freedom to live their lives," Leliana interrupted, raising her voice a little to speak over Cullen.
Imprisoning people for what they might do, rather than what they can do. Amy swallowed, throat feeling tight. If people back home knew what she could really do, the full breadth of it, would they want to do that to her? If they realized the sort of damage she could do? Amy had never wanted powers but at first she'd told herself that at least she'd been able to save her sister, and her power didn't mean she had to fight, that it could just let her help people. If she had to have powers, better than the alternatives?
"All too many apostates free of the circles turn to abusing their powers. There is a place for the Circles," Cullen insisted. "Rebellion and plunging all of Thedas into war as a result was not the way."
And then she'd realized just what she could do. To brains. To... anything. If she wanted to, she could make plagues more horrifying than anything. Her power wasn't healing, no matter how much she insisted...
But that's what I use it for. Amy told herself. Whatever else, whoever else she might - whoever...
I'm not a hero. But I - I use my powers to help people. The idea of being thrown into a cell just because of what she could do, of people, her family, Carol - Vicky - finding out and -
It was one of her worst nightmares. Only on the worst days.
"We aren't here to rehash the same arguments over and over again," Josephine said in a calm, level tone, pre-empting the others. She turned back to Amy, "There are already a dozen books attempting to discuss just what led to the rebellion, tracing it back through the centuries. Trying to summarize a conflict like this when you know so little of the context is pointless."
"I'm stuck living right in the middle of it." Amy countered. "I - I don't like the idea of people being imprisoned just because of what they might do." If they were afraid of someone getting possessed...
I suppose I should be glad these people probably have no fucking idea about germ theory or microbacteria or...
Amy closed her eyes, breathed, opened them again, hands clenched tight, fingernails digging into the base of her palms.
"Circles are not supposed to be prisons," Cassandra said. "But they failed in that purpose."
"And Kirkwall figures into this?" The city kept coming up. "How?"
"How much Kirkwall truly matters is... complicated. It became a symbol, regardless." Cassandra explained. "Knight-Commander Meredith was the leader of the Templars in the city, and she was always strict on the mages under her authority."
"Given how often blood mages and abominations showed up in the city, some strictness was justified," Cullen said, just above a mutter, but then he shook his head, raising his voice. "But she did take it too far, eventually. When the Qunari killed the Viscount, she decided she should rule the city to protect it from blood mages, and turned the city upside down trying to root them out, punishing mages severely for the smallest infractions, or even imagined ones, by the end."
"There had been a movement, sneaking mages out of the Gallows, getting apostates out of the city, working against Templars." Cullen said, then paused and elaborated: "The Gallows were an old Tevinter fortress repurposed to house both Templars and Mages, "Meredith was able to eliminate them within a matter of months, but she continued to see enemies everywhere. And then matters came to a head four years ago."
Okay, so paranoia, oppression... Amy let them keep talking. At this point, trying to figure out what she thought of all this was...
"The Seekers were investigating the matter, but... too many of us believed that perhaps she was right, and actually going to Kirkwall to see for themselves was delayed. Lord Seeker Lambert may not have gone as far as Knight-Commander Meredith, but he agreed with her more than he didn't," Cassandra admitted.
It was more than Amy could really deal with right now. She wanted to just shut her brain down and not have to think about anything, process it. She pressed her fingers into her head just above her eyes, covering her face, speaking through her hands for a moment, "This is a lot that I need to wrap my head around, so can you - how did things come to a head?"
"An apostate, Anders, used magic to destroy the Chantry in the city, killing the Grand Cleric and hundreds of people in the resulting explosion." Cassandra said bluntly.
"Fuck." Yeah. Explosion that killed lots of people would set people off. Something about Earth-Aleph fingered at the back of her memory. Members of some religious group killing a lot of people in an attack and - every member of the group getting blamed by a lot of people?
It came up in a class once, or something, but Amy had no memory of details.
"Meredith's response was that this was proof that all mages in the city were corrupted beyond recovery and that they must all be killed, that there was no other solution."
"The Fuck?" Amy glared at Cullen. "She wanted to just... kill everyone?!"
"Meredith was mad. None of us realized it until it was nearly too late, but she had been getting worse for years." Cullen shook his head. "There are excuses, but..."
"Had the Champion of Kirkwall not stood to rally any willing to fight in defense of the mages in the Circle, the innocent - children, the infirm, the elderly - then Meredith may have been able to cover it up." Leliana said quietly. "But Kiandra Hawke did, and she was able to allow enough mages to escape to spread word of what happened."
"And that's what started the rebellion? Then why did Templars rebel? This is fucking insane!" Amy let out a ragged breath.
"The Templars rebelled because Divine Justinia did not support them cracking down on the mages as they discussed the prospect of rebellion. She became Divine seven years ago, and tried to reform the Circles, but she faced much resistance from within the Chantry. After Kirkwall, the leadership of the Circle voted down breaking the Nevarran Accord at first, but Lord Seeker Lambert's actions made matters worse in the aftermath, and when the Divine tried to restrain him..."
"Templars were told for years, centuries, that they were the trusty right arm of the Chantry, the only thing protecting the world from mages gone amok, and then they were addicted to lyrium at the behest of the Chantry to make them better warriors and better at suppressing magic. Not to mention when sometimes Grand Clerics would withhold lyrium to reign certain groups of Templars in." Cullen interrupted Cassandra. "For centuries, they were left to risk their lives against blood mages, abominations, demons, protected the Chantry from threats..."
He shook his head and let out a sigh, "Too many felt ill-used, abandoned and disregarded by the Chantry for all they sacrificed, and Divine Justinia trying to reign them in was the last straw for too many."
Amy wasn't sure what to think about that, it was all too much, and she felt... she was kind of numb to the tide of information still washing over her. She would have to think about it and -
The Templars were still sort of like the PRT - people who regulated the powered people, even if mages weren't parahumans. But they were a lot more than that, and they were... what, pissy they weren't being appreciated for it? And to rebel over that? Compared to mages who were upset about a bunch of innocent people being murdered for one person's actions?"
"I don't agree with those of my fellows who rebelled, but I understand their frustrations," Cullen concluded.
Then Amy's mind picked up on something Cullen said. 'Addicted to lyrium'.
"Wait, wait, you - you purposefully were addicted to a thing? Like, on orders? Not because you just decided to do drugs? And - lyrium? Like the stuff Varric was worked up about at the temple?"
"Red Lyrium is different from normal lyrium, and appears to be much more dangerous." Cassandra explained. "There is much we don't know, can't know, but one of the things that drove Meredith to her insanity was prolonged contact with red lyrium."
"And normal lyrium is just totally safe, but also addictive?" Amy shook her head, "There's almost nothing in the world that's both addictive and safe, I can't imagine that's different here." Even caffeine had risks, they just were situational or required massive amounts of it and Amy also didn't care about those risks.
"No, it's not safe." Cullen said curtly. "In small amounts, such as used by mages to replenish their magical energies, yes. In the amounts and frequencies used by Templars, no. Losing your memories are the least of the problems that can emerge after long enough use. And we're never told the full extent of that danger before becoming Templars, taking our oaths and taking the first doses." He set his jaw grimly,
"Why the fuck do you use it then? Some sort of initiation hazing bullshit?" Drug addicts were just people too obsessed with their own bullshit, or too selfish, or just couldn't restrain themselves to just... not get addicted in the first place. To not actually shoot up with heroin or snort cocaine or whatever else. But if you were a soldier and your superiors told you to take the drug, that was different. Still fucking stupid, but.
"Lyrium is the source of our ability to suppress magic. Taking as much of it as the Chantry requires makes it stronger, but some lyrium is required no matter what."
"So no lyrium, you can't fight mages?"
"A mage still dies to a sword in the stomach all the same, but the abilities of Templars and Seekers allow us to prevent mages from using magic near us, or at least make it substantively harder." Cassandra explained.
"So you're a lyrium addict too?"
"No," Cassandra answered curtly, "Seekers acquire our abilities differently, and the process by which we do so is... difficult to replicate. That is why there are so few of us."
"And your religion's solution was to give your soldiers drugs and make them addicts, just to get more of them." She scoffed. "Fuck, I don't even -" she pressed the bases of her palms to her forehead. "Okay, fuck, I really don't know what to think about any of this. It's insane, it feels like the plot of a fantasy novel and I just - I just want coffee and maybe something to eat and to collapse and process all of this shit."
"Understandable, under the circumstances." Josephine nodded.
"Agreed. There is still more to discuss, about how we move forward with the Breach," Cassandra nodded. "But matters there are still being determined."
"So you at least have some ideas on how to try again?" Amy asked, letting out a sigh of... not relief, but at least... less tension?
Cassandra nodded: "As far as Solas and the others mages here - ones that did not rebel - can tell, the problem was that your mark wasn't powerful enough to close the Breach entirely. So if we can get more power to aid the process, or find a way to weaken the Breach, then that should allow us to succeed on a second attempt."
"But we must be sure before we try. You were able to stop the Breach from growing, stabilize it - no more balls of fire raining from the sky - and that has been enough to convince people you are the one who can close it. But a second failed attempt could cause people to lose faith." Leliana said, hands clasped behind her back.
"I don't really care if they lose faith in my 'chosen one' status," Amy muttered.
"If people lose faith in the Inquisition, then we won't be able to accomplish anything, or muster the resources required to close the Breach, let alone restore order." Leliana countered bluntly. "Power rests where people believe that it does."
"Well, that part is not my problem. Once you guys figure it out, let me know, okay?" Amy said, then looked over at Josephine. "Are we done enough that I can take you up on that offer of coffee?"
"I believe so." Josephine agreed after glancing over at the others, who didn't object.
"Thank you."
"One moment," Cassandra took a book, and then another, off the shelves, and brought them over. "There is obviously much we had to leave out, but reading these will help you."
Amy looked at the two books, reading the titles on their spines. The first, The Chant of Light, made her grimace. Of course they'd give her the bible.
"I'm not reading your holy book, I'm not - I don't believe in God, so I'm hardly going to start believing in the Maker." Amy snapped. "Fine everyone else believes, but I don't." She started to hand that one back, but Cassandra didn't accept it.
"Just consider it."
Amy rolled her eyes again, and looked at the other book. In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar by 'Brother Ferdinand Genitivi'.
"Brother Genitivi's work was, until recently, one of the most read books in Thedas, and it is an excellent primer on many matters." Cassandra explained.
"And he has been at risk of censure by the Chantry for his candor more than once," Leliana added.
Which means maybe it's more likely to be accurate.
"Okay. Fine." Amy accepted the books. "Coffee, please?"
"Of course," Josephine led her out of the room they were in and off into another side room in the same building, smaller, and a little cozier, with several bookshelves against the wall, and a neatly organized desk with more books and papers. There was a small fire burning in the fireplace, and Josephine grabbed a poker and poked at the flames and ashes and charred wood and all that inside, then she put a split piece of log into the fire, to help it get hotter.
"This is your office then?" Amy looked around.
"I've taken over the space, yes. In the three days you were asleep, I've sent out messages to my friends and contacts across Thedas in an effort to obtain more support for our efforts." She let out a sigh, "Cassandra and Leliana were within their rights to put Justinia's writ into action, especially under the circumstances, but the way they chose to do it will certainly do us no favors." She shook her head, then let out another breath. "But, you do not care about that."
Amy nodded, and Josephine opened a drawer in her desk, retrieving a small manual coffee grinder - Amy had seen those at this one fancy-schmancy place she'd stopped by, though this one was smaller and looked a lot more basic.
Then she took out a metal box and opened it, revealing coffee beans within.
"I admit I have so many more questions about this... Earth-Bet you come from." Josephine said, as she started turning the grinder. Amy hadn't realized how much work would have to go into getting coffee for yourself, especially if you were the only person who drank it.
Is everyone here a tea drinker, or do they just... not drink caffeine? How does anyone function without it? Then again, there were nurses at Brockton General that somehow did without it, so it wasn't technically impossible. Somehow.
"What little you've said makes it sound very different from Thedas. Not just because of the absence of magic," she went on, pouring the coarsely ground beans and water from a pitcher into a small iron kettle-looking thing, stirring it up and placing the kettle on a hook over the fire.
"You have to do that every time you want a cup of coffee?" Amy asked. Grinding the beans yourself and putting the water over an open fire rather than just... put water and grounds into the coffee maker and turn it on.
I miss electricity already.
"Back home in Antiva, or even Val Royeaux, I could go to a cafe and have it made for me, but that's not an option here." Josephine sat down in her chair. "Few in Ferelden enjoy the drink, and it isn't even particularly popular among Orlesians."
"Well, anyone who doesn't like coffee is allowed to be fucking wrong," Amy muttered, and Josephine giggled just a little.
"I might not agree with such blunt vulgarity but I do agree." She admitted. "I take it you get your coffee from cafes, back home?"
"Or things like that, yeah." How could she even begin to explain those coffee vending machines at the hospital, or a coffee maker? "Plus I'm usually the last one out of bed, so Carol or Vicky are the ones to have already made the coffee."
"Carol is your mother, and Vicky your sister, correct?" Amy nodded. "I have a younger sister, Yvette. She is a painter back home in Antiva. She takes endless delight in sharing embarrassing stories about my youth with people whenever we are both together at the same event, but... she is still my sister." She smiled softly, a fond expression on her face.
"Vicky won't stop trying to drag me on dates with her and her stupid boyfriend and whatever guy she's trying to set me up with this time, but she's still the best person I know." Amy said. "She's a fucking nerd too." She couldn't help but smile as she said it, no heat in her voice. She blinked repeatedly, a few tears threatening to rise, talking about her reminding Amy how unlikely she was to see Vicky again -
"No, please, don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you." Josephine removed a handkerchief with a coat of arms sewn into it from a pocket and handed it to Amy.
Amy took it, flushing, dabbing at her eyes.
"No, I just... my sister is the most important person in my life. And they probably all think I'm dead back home and..." she pressed the handkerchief against her eyes again. "I'm not going to stop missing her any time soon."
"I don't think anyone could expect you to. Is she your elder, or your younger sister? If you feel willing to continue speaking of her."
"She's older by a month and change." Amy swallowed. The books on her lap felt weird. The covers were probably thick leather or something, she'd handled some really old books once, they kind of felt like that, but... not, since these weren't old, probably. The paper inside looked different too.
"Just a month? Are months longer than thirty days where you're from?"
"No?" Amy blinked, confused by the question, not following at all.
"Do you have -" Josephine furrowed her brow and her nose crinkled a little, and then, "...is one of you adopted?"
Amy stared at her, trying to understand how Josephine made that - accurate - leap. Oh. Wait. One month isn't enough to like... conceive a new kid and give birth and -
"I'm adopted," Amy answered.
Josephine said nothing for a moment - just a moment - then nodded. "Very well."
"I don't know anything about my birth parents," Amy lied flatly, "And I am a Dallon," she lied again.
Different lies, but still. Both lies.
"Your family is your family." Josephine agreed simply. "I don't mean to touch on any sensitive matters. Merely making conversation." She stood up from her chair and checked the kettle, then carefully took the longer handle off the hook, and set it on the floor a distance away from the fire, probably to let the coffee cool a little to be drinkable now?
"I'm not - I can't really make conversation right now. I just... This world is fucking insane." Amy knew it was a bad idea to just say it like that, but she didn't care. Couldn't care. "I used to read books about shit like this, about worlds of magic and elves and dwarves and... I liked them, but I don't - I don't want to live it!"
"I cannot really imagine what it's like for you to experience all this. This is... nothing like the experience I thought I would have when I agreed to Leliana's request to come and assist the Divine during and after the Conclave, but I am at least in places I have heard of. However..." she grimaced, "lacking in the usual amenities they are." Gesturing to the room around her.
Josephine set out some very nice looking porcelain cups on dishes - they looked like teacups, mostly, if a little wider and shallower.
"One does make do as they can, of course." Josephine said brightly. "I will be happy to do what I can to help you, under the circumstances." She picked up the kettle and poured some into the two cups. It was a very dark brew, but it smelled like coffee. A little different than what she was used to, but that barely mattered.
"Thank you," Amy said quickly, and tried not to snatch the cup up off the dish, instead lifting it to her face and inhaling the smell of it. Her sister didn't understand how Amy could drink black coffee, and it had definitely been an acquired taste, but really, taste wasn't the point for her. But the smell of a good, fresh coffee...
It was a moment Amy really did enjoy, when she was actually able to do that, rather than just downing a cup of whatever cheap crap she could get to keep going at the hospital.
"I love you," she murmured, and she heard Josephine giggle.
"I believe you're talking to the coffee, rather than me?"
Amy didn't say anything, she just took a sip of the coffee.
It was... coffee. It was different from any coffee she'd tasted before - it was a dark roast, bitter (she liked bitter, and didn't use cream or sugar), and it didn't taste quite as strong as the coffee she was used to, and it was a lot oilier than anything she'd had before.
But it was coffee.
Amy let out a long exhaling breath.
"Okay, so - I - what do I have to do to get you to share more of your personal coffee stash? I don't do healing on request but like - if you or anyone or - I'll heal anyone you want. Is anyone in your family sick?"
Josephine laughed, "I will bear that in mind, but as far as I am aware, my parents and my siblings are all quite healthy. I will certainly be willing to share, though if you would be willing to indulge my curiosity about your world in the future, I'd appreciate-"
"Done. Next time, Coffee for answers about Earth-Bet, as best as I can give them." Amy agreed. "But I'm serious about owing you a healing or -" Amy cut herself off before offering to do other modifications - she would, if Josephine asked, if coffee was the price, but like...
She still wasn't sure if admitting just the full range of what she could do was like... a great idea. Even for coffee.
She sipped at the coffee again, sighing again after she swallowed.
"I'll bear that in mind, I promise." Josephine agreed. Thankfully, she stayed silent and sipped at her own coffee while Amy drank hers, savoring it more than she was used to. Hopefully Josephine would let her have more tomorrow, but since the older woman had emphasized she'd really only originally brought enough for just herself...
I am going to have to demand coffee if they want me to keep closing rifts, I swear to god. Amy resolved that that was going to have to be a thing. Sure, she wouldn't actually stop, but like... the hospitals only made her pay for her coffee sometimes - usually after the 3rd or 4th cup - so if she insisted they probably would go for it, right?
Amy wasn't sure how long it took for her to finish - maybe ten minutes? - but it was longer than she usually took to drink coffee. It did feel like there was just less strength to this coffee - maybe it was the bean, or the way she brewed it, or the amount of grounds for the water... Amy didn't know.
She set the cup down on the dish, Josephine still with more than half of her coffee to go as she was reading a letter.
"Thanks for the coffee, and... for all the information you gave." Amy said after a moment, standing. "I have a lot to think about."
"I'll be happy to provide answers to any questions you have. Though I am far less versed in matters of magic and the Fade than others." Josephine said, inclining her head slightly.
Amy nodded back and then left the room, greeted by Cassandra, who had been leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"Done working out how to close the Breach?"
"Hardly, but there is little that can be done today to resolve the matter," Cassandra said in a frustrated, grumbling tone. "Where are you going next?"
"The place I woke up. I... I guess that's my place now, while I'm here?"
"It has been set aside for you. If there's anything you need, let someone know, we'll try to arrange what we can."
"I need coffee." Amy said bluntly. "I know Josephine said she only brought enough for herself, but... seriously. If you want me closing rifts, I need coffee."
Cassandra stared at her, then shook her head, "I will never understand why Antivans enjoy that drink so much."
"Everyone's allowed to be wrong," Amy muttered.
"I'm sure it can be arranged for more coffee to be brought in, along with other supplies as needed," Cassandra said, walking towards the exit, gesturing for Amy to follow alongside. After a moment, Amy complied, the taller woman shortening her stride to keep pace with Amy. "If you are going to close rifts, you will need armor. And training on how to fight, or at least how to not get hit."
"I'm not a fighter." Amy said quickly. "I don't want to fight."
"That is a luxury you may not have anymore, Amy," Cassandra cautioned. "I am not asking you to take the lead in battle, that would be foolish given your lack of experience and your importance. But you did get injured on the way to the Temple, and a fight can be chaotic. Even if Katerina stays with you during every battle, there is every chance a demon or other enemy might get past her."
"...are you assigning Katerina as my personal bodyguard or something?" Admittedly, the redhead was... nice to look at, and she at least didn't annoy the crap out of Amy much, but still.
"For the moment, yes, unless you have some objection. She is quite skilled, and close to you in age, making her convenient as a guide for you as well. But no one is so skilled they can be guaranteed victory in every fight. So you need armor."
"I've never worn armor before, and I - I barely remember the self-defense training my uncle gave me years ago."
"That much is quite obvious." Cassandra said, and Amy flushed.
"I'm a healer! People knew not to mess with the healer, back home."
"Unfortunately, you are here, and leaving aside demons, it is likely that you will attract enemies. You are a threat to whoever may have been behind the Breach, and anyone else you might decide you could upset their own power."
"Fuck them. I don't care about anyone's power. I just want to figure out how to close the Breach and find a way home."
"Understandable, and admirable. I despise politics, but it is unavoidable. I have arranged for our master armorer, Harrit, to fit you for armor tomorrow. Would you prefer leather, or chainmail?"
Neither. Is neither a choice? Amy didn't ask, because obviously it wasn't. And...
She didn't want to have demons cutting her again. Avoiding fighting when she had to be close to it... Amy licked her lips then bit the inside of her cheek, inhaling.
No. No. Don't think about it too much... Of course, thinking that just made her do it more...
"Leather? Chainmail? I don't - whichever fits better under the robes, maybe? Whichever is warmer?" Amy added. "It's fucking cold up here."
"Leather armor will probably be easier on you, in terms of managing the weight." Cassandra said with a nod, some finality to her tone. "And you will need to build your endurance."
Amy blinked, "What?"
"You managed to push yourself to your limits getting to the temple, but you are not used to such exertions. I've never heard of the phrase 'leg day', but I can surmise the meaning from the context of what you said about skipping it."
Oh fuck you. Fuck YOU. Amy could see where this was going, and she did not like it.
"I'm not agreeing to join twenty-four hour fitness! Fuck, I'm already so far out of my element and in over my head I can't even see daylight and now you want me to do... what, ten mile jogs every day?"
"I assumed we'd start somewhere well below that, and go from there, but if you'd prefer to begin with ten mile jogs, we can." Cassandra replied calmly.
"Was that a fucking joke?" Amy demanded, then shook her head, groaning. "I hate this. I hate all of this so much." She muttered under her breath, even though she knew the answer: "What would Vicky do?"
Fly, because she doesn't need to run. Not that her sister wouldn't do the jogging if she needed to build up the endurance anyway. Victoria was lucky that her metabolism was naturally good, and she did train and practice with fighting and stuff too, so she could stay in shape - really fucking amazing, perfect shape - that way. Amy had given up on exercise ages ago, beyond walking the corridors at the hospital, which was just not the same as jogging through mountains in a life and death situation.
They reached the doors, and Katerina was waiting out front as they opened them, though the woman was walking to Varric.
"...you're telling me the stories about Orsino were wrong?" She sounded like she didn't believe what she was saying, or whatever she'd heard.
"I'm telling you the rumors that he did some sort of blood magic ritual and became a giant flesh monster are wrong. I was there, and the First Enchanter did nothing of the sort. Which is good, because there was really only room for one sane Blood Mage in that battle, and Daisy had that spot taken."
"You never mentioned in your book that Merrill was a Blood Mage." Katerina said.
"Because it would give people the wrong idea about her." Varric replied cooly.
"Give people the idea that the Champion's lover was a maleficar?" Cassandra asked. Katerina let out a small surprised sound, and turned.
"Seeker, when you use words like 'maleficar' you completely misrepresent the kind of person Daisy was. I've met a lot of blood mages, killed most of them, but Merrill wasn't like any of them. If you thought she was a threat, you'd have gone after her while you were in Kirkwall. It's not like she's hiding, she's been out in the open in the alienage there for years."
"Compared to everything else we were dealing with, and are dealing with, yes, she is not much of a threat."
"And you don't want Hawke coming after you if you laid a finger on her." Varric chuckled, and turned back to Katerina. "This one noble bastard in Hightown once thought Merril was just Hawke's maidservant, tried to shove her out of his way - Hawke broke two of his fingers and gave him a black eye before he could even blink." He shook his head, and Amy just let all this extra stuff wash over her.
About the only thing that sort of registered for her is that this Hawke was the same Hawke that Leliana had mentioned earlier, protecting the mages from Meredith?
...and no one seems to be bothered that a woman was dating another woman? Merril was a woman, and this Hawke was, and Cassandra just mentioned they were lovers, but with no sign of any... disgust or distaste? She searched Cassandra's and Katerina's expressions, but neither seemed bothered.
Really nice to know being gay isn't against the religion here... Not that it was ever going to matter, but... not getting burned at the stake for being attracted to women was a good thing.
"My apologies, Lady Pentaghast, I was merely discussing the Tale of the Champion with Varric while we waited."
"So I gathered. Varric is quite the skilled spinner of tales, and, remarkably, he's capable of being honest, when he wants to be."
"Well, telling the truth is usually more boring, but you did make a convincing case as to why I should refrain from the usual half-truths and wild exaggerations." Varric shrugged. He looked over at Amy. "And our savior has awoken. How are you holding up?"
"I'm not," Amy muttered. She looked at Cassandra, "I need something to eat. And time to think."
"You'll have both. Katerina, take Amy to the tavern, get her something to eat." She took in a breath. "Leliana has promised that Flissa is trustworthy, but take care with her food, regardless."
"You think Flissa would poison her? Lady Pentaghast, I-"
"I will take no chances."
Fucking hell, now I have to worry about that?
"I'm pretty sure I'm immune to poison. Same way I'm immune to getting sick. Side effect of my power." Not that she'd ever tested poison, because duh.
"Handy. That's the sort of thing that could take you pretty far in the Merchant's Guild... wouldn't do anything about anyone sneaking some knives into your back though," Varric mused.
"That's what I'm for," Katerina grinned. "I'll take you there, and then back to your place," She told Amy.
"I think I'll join you. The tavern's beer isn't that bad, and I could use some lunch."
"Varric..."
"What? Seeker, I'm hardly going to corrupt the Herald-"
"Don't call me that," Amy interrupted. "And right now, I just want food, and then I need to collapse and have time to think. So no questions, and no more information about all the insane shit going on in this insane world. Everyone here's fucking crazy."
"Remind me to never bring you to Kirkwall if you think everyone here is crazy." Varric chuckled. He looked over at the books she was carrying. "Brother Genitivi, eh? Not a bad place to start. Best selling book in Thedas, before my Hard in Hightown serial started to outsell it."
Cassandra made a sort of 'ugh' sound, then turned back to Amy. "We will be fitting you for armor tomorrow, and beginning your training." She said it like there were no options, and Amy grimaced, exhaling slowly. Cassandra turned away and walked back into the Chantry.
"Training?"
"Apparently if I'm going to be traipsing around closing rifts, I need to get better at walking long distances." Amy grumbled.
"She's probably not wrong." Katerina offered, then looked Amy over, smirking faintly for a moment. "And armor's just a good idea if you're going to be getting anywhere close to demons."
"Speaking with way, way too much experience she's right, kid," Varric said. He looked at the closed doors of the Chantry, and leaned in closer, voice quieter. "Really, now that Cassandra's out of ear shot, how are you holding up?"
"I'm fucking not." Amy repeated. "Coffee helped, but this is all too much."
"Well, then let's get you something to eat. My treat." Varric offered.
"Varric, you hardly need to-" Katerina said, but Varric interrupted and shook his head.
"I am a pointlessly wealthy dwarf in charge of a major mechant family and my books make me a fortune besides that. What else am I going to spend my money on but buy food for people I plan to pester with questions, even if not today?"
Great. Amy could just tell Varric was going to be annoying as hell to deal with.
