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[westiex9]

I Maferath

Prologue

I am dying, these sword wounds gifted to me by my own children, I deserve this for the crime I committed and I shall have to answer to the Maker for that transgression soon enough, men call me Wicked and a treacherous and they are right to do so, she had the entire world in her grasp, she stood at the gates of Minrathous ready to topple the hated Imperium only to be betrayed by the one she trusted most, why did I do it? Jealousy and cowardice were my guides I feared losing all we had gained and I hated Andraste for casting me aside in favour of the Maker, I loved her but how can a man ever compare with a god?

And now I lie here dying, and I can feel the memories fill me as the world begins to darken; it seems I shall be condemned to relive my transgression one last time.

Chapter 1: The coming of a Prophet

Andraste didn’t just appear out of thin air and instigate an empire crippling war it took time for her to gain the support of the Alamarri peoples, the world was a darker place in those times, the blight had ravaged the world for over two centuries and its effects still lingered on long after Warden blades had pierced Dumat’s skull.  

In those times the Imperium was weak its armies battered by two hundred years of constant war, their borders were stretched thin and those they had once mocked as “Barbarians” now planned to take vengeance by capitalising on the pitiful state of the arrogant Tevinter. Andraste was not the first to stare at the shattered might of the magister’s and dream of conquest, but she was the most successful in uniting the scattered and divided dreamers into one very real and very powerful force.

In those early days the Alamarri Bann’s like myself schemed and argued, some of us wanted to cross the waking sea and pillage, rape and burn their hated empire, but we could never agree and there will still those amongst us who wanted to side with Tevinter, to collaborate and the receive petty rewards of prized slaves...these men were despised but numerous.

Andraste was the one to bring unity, she was a slave born to slaves in far off lands, she had fled and returned here to her homeland were she swayed the freeholders to her banner with a voice and passion that many said was divinely inspired, we Bann’s scoffed at first, after all how many mad prophets had we endured before this Andraste? But slowly her following amongst the Alamarri grew and we began to take notice of her, she was irrepressible in both spirit and charisma and the people worshipped her.

Eventually she was known to all the rulers of our scattered peoples, and she could be ignored no longer, a meeting was called and all the Bann’s of the Alamarri attended, in those days she came to us for support, in those days she came to me and knelt at my feet...

We argued for days about everything that could be argued, land, plunder, women, and kinship rights! We were proud fools in our high chairs...only she silenced our cacophony of squabbles and bickering. She stood in the centre of the hall in a dusty white travellers robe with the hood thrown back to reveal her face, she was not a beautiful woman, not ugly by any means but her plain face and dark cropped hair could never be considered beautiful, it was her eyes that made the biggest impression, two steely grey orbs of that could raise men to righteous anger with their impassioned stare or freeze them on the spot as if they had wandered into the frozen wastes...bluntly put..She was someone who could not be ignored, not beautiful...exceptional, unique, and empowering.

“You have fought amongst yourselves over petty grievance and claims, all the while your real enemy has sat like a bloated mass of corruption and filth, Hated Tevinter has brought our world low with their wickedness... the maker has cursed our lands because of their hubris, because of their pride...it is time we brought his judgment upon them, Time we made them answer for their crimes against all men!!” her words echoed through the hall, many were awestruck, some cheered, some scowled but all listened

But it took more than rousing speeches to sway us into taking up arms united, she needed my support as most powerful Bann in the northern coastland, and so she came to me in the evening...a meeting I shall never forget, a meeting that I shall soon take with me to the funeral pyre, where the flames will consume the memory of it ever occurring.

She wore that same white robe, she never wore any lavish attire and perhaps that was part of what made her so captivating, a pure and unadorned force that seemed to strip away all reservations in allies and to surmount all would be obstacles, but she met me alone in my own hall only my aegis Harvard in the room keeping watch on our discussion.

“You seem nervous Harvard” I had said noticing my usually calm headed second fidgeting like a love struck youth before meeting his betrothed

“Andraste is...powerful, could the stories about her being blessed be true?” he asked forgetting his usually calm and reserved behaviour

“Don’t spend too long with your head in the clouds Harvard, if she can’t convince the Bann’s to march under one banner then her so called “Divinity” counts for nothing” I replied trying to dismiss his feelings of awe, it disturbed me to see my most stalwart lieutenant like this, maybe she was powerful

She entered the room escorted by two of my household guards, alone and yet she seemed to fill the room and own it despite her seemingly vulnerable state, even when she kneeled before me I felt insignificant, that annoyed me , she needed me not the other way around!

“Lord Maferath an honour to finally meet you” she said with a warm look

“Andraste, you have captivated the other Bann’s for many days...why meet me alone now?” I ask feigning ignorance

“The Maker calls for justice against the Imperium and its sins, he spoke to me and told me that I would gather a vast army of my kinsfolk and they would wash over the Magister’s lands like a purifying flame” she replied the passion on her face evident, that same devotion in her god would drive me to hatred of her in years to come

“And you need my support to make this so?” I asked once again feigning ignorance, but failing to resist smiling contentedly, here was a mighty “Prophet “ coming to me on her knees for support, I merely thought of her as an opportunity for plunder in those first days, belief in her would come later.

“You are the greatest leader of your people, the Maker has a great plan for you” she said sincerely

“Be that as it may what is in this arrangement for me?” I asked paying no heed to her religious lecturing, I had no time for theology, I was a warrior and if she could offer me no battles then she was useless to me.

“You will win great renown amongst the Alamarri, men will flock to your banner and wealth will flow were you march, this is not an opportunity to turn down, all you need do is rally the people and march on the Imperium!” she said, I sometimes wonder if she knew then of my distaste for her in those first days, she seemed to know to stroke my ego, the same prideful arrogance that would doom her years later would now guarantee her victory

I confess it was not piety or faith that made the exalted march possible, it was lust...mine...lust for wealth, glory and power...I thought I would lead a summer campaign and then when we tire of Andraste return to our homeland and leave her to her fate, I was wrong but in those early days I believed that to be the truth of things.

“Very well, you have my support, I shall lead the Alamarri against Tevinter and we shall have our victory” I said dreams of power filling my mind

She smiled and before she left said something that would plant the first seed of faith in my heart, it would also deeply unnerve me but I would not understand until much later how correct she would be.

“You do not believe yet Maferath, but before this is over you shall see the truth of things, and you shall look upon me as more than a gateway to glory” she said with a smile before leaving the room


I was shaken despite myself, she knew! She knew my thoughts and would use that against me, I resolved to watch her more closely in future, she was more than a mere crowd pleasing speaker, she could read my soul like an open book, like she could peer within men’s souls and see us as we truly are, and perhaps she could at that. I did not feel victory in those moments, I had been used, I was a tool for her ambitions that she had known how to use masterfully, and I felt a sudden respect for her.

The next day she got her votes, all the Bann’s that mattered flocked to my side when I supported Andraste, she got her army and preparations began for a campaign across the waking sea that would strike at the weakened Tevinter cities in the north, she left soon after this decision was made.


In the months that would follow much would occur before we actually marched on the Tevinter Imperium, Andraste would stir the angered folk of our homeland into a rage as she preached the evils of Tevinter, men would die in droves as they revolted against our ancient oppressors in mass. Eventually she would return to travel at the head of the largest army to ever march against the Imperium, cities would burn and blood would flow as our armies marched north, and in time I would come to believe in her and love her, and after that hate her and betray her.