15994 réponses à ce sujet

[Geth Supremacy]

I genuinly enjoyed templar power as it should be seen

I'm not 100% what you are refering to  (I sided with mages) But I love the templar in this game!  Light of Heaven combined with purge?   Holy Shiz!

 

If I can stomach a warrior in the SP at some point in the future I am going to make a 2 handed one

[Uccio]

It seems that Qunari do not dream in the Fade, unfortunately.

Too bad, it would have made things a bit easier. But what would you expect from savage beasts.

[raging_monkey]

I'm not 100% what you are refering to  (I sided with mages) But I love the templar in this game!  Light of Heaven combined with purge?   Holy Shiz!
 
If I can stomach a warrior in the SP at some point in the future I am going to make a 2 handed one

ive done 9 PTs and i while i generally side with magi i find the temps to be a decent class now but still wanting i saw alot of potential but it was lukewarm at best imo. And i always figured you a pro-temp, go figure lol

[Uccio]

A friendly reminder that Alexius has a perfect smile and we will never be able to achieve such perfection

If only he wouldn't be such a traitor.

[Geth Supremacy]

ive done 9 PTs and i while i generally side with magi i find the temps to be a decent class now but still wanting i saw alot of potential but it was lukewarm at best imo. And i always figured you a pro-temp, go figure lol

 

I would go into it, but its just too much to type.  And every other turn I would have explain why the Qun is different in that situation and why it's not the same lol.

 

But yeah...down with templars.

[raging_monkey]

I would go into it, but its just too much to type.  And every other turn I would have explain why the Qun is different in that situation and why it's not the same lol.
 
But yeah...down with templars.

i get it. Lol

And i see temps as cops normally great but the state gives them too much probable cause lol

[Master Warder Z_]

Whelp i think i'm getting the pace of what i want this story to be doing :[

 

Spoiler

xxx

 

Their time in Gwaren was spent recuperating from the more then half of year of fighting he and all those left to him had endured; but even so the enemies of his cause took notice of their presence; they would come no doubt but Gwaren while defensible wasn’t the fortress from which they could recover from the setbacks that had been done to them.

 

No they would need to rebuild, reaffirm their belief to have any chance of emerging from this victorious now.

 

The few ships that had been left in Gwaren were local fishing vessels that could barely hold two grown men; they would be useless for ferrying his army, so within their first week at the city he had ordered foresters into the nearby Brecilian to secure the lumber they would need for proper troop carrying vessels.

 

Construction was slow; only a handful of their number knew anything about manning and building such vessels; but it was then that the Maker truly showed them favor, for one by one the townspeople had returned, not to find their city destroyed, looted and burned but under Templar stewardship.

 

The local lord had come before him demanding to know his intent and assuring he and his commanders that the Fereldan royal army would come to evict them if the Inquisition didn’t do it first.

 

His response had been as cordial as it could have been given the circumstances; he needed the support of this local lord and his people to ensure his own cause’s survival. So he had made a bargain with the man.

 

“I do the Maker’s work; I care not for this city nor the wealth that lies within but merely returning to do my task, but to do that I require vessels capable of crossing the sea.” 

 

In exchange for local aid in constructing their vessels and securing the materials needed for it; they would leave this town in peace, he had planned to do so regardless but it secured the local nobility as an ally at least for the moment and the construction efforts resumed, their manpower doubled.

 

Their first month in Gwaren passed without incident but even so he awaited the inevitable attack; he had not provoked the city of Gwaren so he was confident that the Monarchy of Fereldan would tolerate his immediate presence in their land, no the far more pressing danger came from the so called Herald of Andraste and his Inquisition.

 

The first time he had heard that title it had been an affront to everything he had ever known or loved; To name yourself the mouthpiece of Andraste was to name yourself the mouthpiece of the Maker, to put yourself upon the same level as the holy prophet.

 

But apparently that belief was growing increasingly uncommon the people of both Fereldan and Orlais bowed to the Inquisition and its Inquisitor.

 

During their second month in Gwaren he had received a missive from the Inquisition demanding his immediate surrender and the disbanding of the Templar and Seeker Forces under his command; it wasn’t that the request surprised him as much as the familiar curved and educated hand writing and the signature that lie at the bottom.

 

Cassandra Pentaghast.

 

One of his own; One of his own Seekers, one that had never joined them in their war and now apparently was warring against them, He had known Cassandra for many years now, he had always viewed her as equipped with the dedication and belief that her station required.

 

But now all he was left with was a traitor. A traitor; both to the Seekers and the Maker.

 

His reply had been a swift and prompt refusal.

 

Seeker Cassandra- Do you believe yourself justified in doing what you have done? Appointing someone to be the equal of Andraste herself? Acting in service to a Chantry that willingly allowed you to do so? 

 

Do you not see the very corruption we are meant to fight has infected our most holy and precious of institutions? And now you make war upon the very people seeking to right this most grevious of wrongs.

 

A year has not passed since I annulled the Accord that held in bondage the Seeker and Templar Orders; I did this not because I wished to tear down the institutions of Thedas but to rip the corrupt and weak from their power, to instill the tenants of the Maker back into the common people and Magi both.

 

I never sought a war with the Chantry even after the cruel and malicious betrayal of both our own Order and the Templar Order by the hands of the Divine but if need be I will be the instrument of Thedas’s salvation.

 

I wish you were not to be my enemy but; it seems we have both made our decisions.

 

In the name of our prophet Andraste I will pray for you.

 

Lord Seeker Lambert Van Reeves 

 

After he had sent that refusal he had expected an immediate assault upon Gwaren but none came; the building of their vessels continued and as the day dawned closer and closer for them to be complete, he was question just were was this so called “Inquisition” They had demanded his surrender as if they were upon his very doorstep.

 

A week passed and this merely continued as they were; the first two of the massive ocean going transports he had requested were now complete, but he would need at least ten to ferry all the materials and men he had with him so it would be more time in Gwaren, more time acting as a stationary target.

 

But he had finally decided just were they were to go once they were capable; far to the north well past Rivain and Llomerryn  and even the distant Estwatch fortress of centuries past there was a series of islands so deep into the ocean only a handful of accounts of them even existed.

 

The Eyes of Andraste.

 

The first Seeker fortress; originally constructed by the initial Inquisition back in the Divine Age many centuries past.

 

According to history it was first discovered by the Imperium sometime during the Ancient Age; After the Imperium fell during the aftermath of the first blight the remote colony was abandoned.

 

From those ashes rose the First Inquisition and it was they who built the fortress upon the island and it was the Seeker Order who maintained it across the long centuries to the present era.

 

It would be the fount of their renewal, it would be the home and safeguard they needed to survive this coming storm caused by the Inquisition; from there they could rebuild and do the Maker’s will once more.

 

But with the Inquisition no doubt coming; he doubted he had the time it would take for him to be able to take all of his men with him but he would not abandon those who stood at his side against Magi, Orlesians, The Inquisition and the Chantry.

 

No; those who had proven their loyalty, their dedication deserved better then whatever the Inquisition or Chantry would undoubtedly do to them.

 

All he could do was order the pace of the construction increase; demand more workers from the Nobility, more materials to speed their efforts. He had no doubt the nobles would comply, they wished them gone just as much as they wished to be out of Gwaren.

 

xxx

[KainD]

You're going to let Cassandra be killed, aren't you?

 

You're a bad person. 

 

Arti whyyy? 

[raging_monkey]

Arti whyyy?

zealots are fun lol

[Master Warder Z_]

All i will say on their battle is that it will be a one on one duel.

 

For the most part.

[EmissaryofLies]

How 'bout a tag team match, playa? Holla holla!

 

 

 

 

[raging_monkey]

Tag im in

[Master Warder Z_]

 

This basically reminded me of how Modern Tevinter acts

[raging_monkey]

In fairness we've only seen a few baddies and mostly 2nd hand info/or abridged accounts. Lets put our brushes away lol

[Lady Artifice]

Arti whyyy? 

 

 

In my defense, milord, I'm not the only one who likes her around here...

 

I think I remember Tevinter Soldier, or someone, throwing a fireball at him over his

Spoiler

making her (his wife) the Divine.

 

He's a mundane, like me. My opposition to him in these things, and especially in toying with red lyrium, is not the same as opposing a magister--or any mage--for doing the same thing. 

 

I don't--as a general rule--oppose a Magister doing anything. Im contrast, I do--as a general rule--oppose pro-templar extremists doing just about everything...save for running away. They can run away with my full approval. It's all about important distinctions for me.

[EmissaryofLies]

I don't care if they are as "bad" as people say or if they're a mixed bag. The only thing that matters is that Mages have the power and they don't have to bend over to White Thedas like the rest of the world.

[raging_monkey]

Its just the white chantry hatin on the black chantry for it liberal views lol

[KainD]

In my defense, milord, I'm not the only one who likes her around here...

 

I think I remember Tevinter Soldier, or someone, throwing a fireball at him over his

Spoiler

making her (his wife) the Divine.

 

He's a mundane, like me. My opposition to him in these things, and especially in toying with red lyrium, is not the same as opposing a magister--or any mage--for doing the same thing. 

 

I don't--as a general rule--oppose a Magister doing anything. Im contrast, I do--as a general rule--oppose pro-templar extremists doing just about everything...save for running away. They can run away with my full approval. It's all about important distinctions for me.

 

Sigh, fair enough. I am genuinely interested of what positive sides you find in Cassandra though. 

[KainD]

Its just the white chantry hatin on the black chantry for it liberal views lol

 

I'm hating on both.. I think Tevinter would be better off without any religions. 

[raging_monkey]

I'm hating on both.. I think Tevinter would be better off without any religions.

agreed religion is nice but it can impair abstract thought

Sigh, fair enough. I am genuinely interested of what positive sides you find in Cassandra though.

shes determined, strong, violent, sweet, loyalish the list goes on

[Master Warder Z_]

Well...its nearly four thousand words long now, and i'm actually getting to the point i wanted to write
 

The battle between Lambert and Cassandra.

[raging_monkey]

Nice

[Master Warder Z_]

Mmm i think i'll cut it off there until its complete, don't want to spoil the ending.

 

Spoiler

“What do you wish?” His tone betrayed no disrespect but mere annoyance at the interruption of his mediations.

The hooded man was there already; no doubt his men had let him through.

“The Inquisition will soon be here; the lackeys of the Divine and Chantry are coming to crush our last bastion of power.” The man explained; it was nothing he hadn’t already considered, he knew the risks of the secession.

He knew the risks of challenging the Chantry; he who had led the Seeker and Templar Order into a war most holy.

He knew what sat upon the sunburst throne; a weakling filled with a diseased and naïve spirit that would unleash the horrors of his own homeland upon those who had spilled an ocean of blood to keep that madness at bay.

Even so Justinia’s decision hardly came as a surprise.

He had expected a swift and brutal war; a campaign that culminated with a victory over magic that hadn’t been seen since the days of Andraste.

It hadn’t occurred that way; Andoral’s reach had been a bloodbath, while he had eventually routed the mages he had lost enough of his strength on the field that day the Templar Order lost centralized focus.

He was forced to divide his forces between chasing down pockets of magi resistance and uprooting the seeds of the rebellion circle by circle; for every templar he had lost at Andoral the Magi lost more…so much more.

He remembered watching as the Templar standard was hoisted above the ancient fortress; the battle had not been as easy as he had anticipated more magi preferred rebellion then he would have thought possible. The battle had quickly become a siege which could have potentially lasted months until he had finally give the order to attack.

A massive assault; the greatest attack to be known in the modern ages; or that was how he had envisioned it, the reality had quickly destroyed such fanciful notion. Merely reaching the walls had cost dozens of good templars their lives, ascending them dozen more.

The magi had bombarded them with magical fire, ice, lightning and more, demons had been summoned, the barrier between the fade and mortal world torn asunder. But they had pushed onward; the Seekers and Templar orders both had pushed onward.

Once they were upon the fortress the battle truly began; Fiona herself took the field along with her rebels and atop the battlements, in the courtyards and throughout the ancient crumbling fortress two armies met in battle.

The largest battle of their war; the first battle of their war, and it ended that very day with the standard of the order of templars hoisted in victory but the cost had been grave, hundreds of templars, veterans had died to achieve that even minor victory.

What was supposed to be the culmination of subjugating magic caused the remaining rebel magi to erupt throughout the world…the war continued.

The theater became multiple fronts as the war spread across Thedas; the war against mages, magic…it became more then a mere rebellion; it became the war that so many had feared it would but just when it seemed the Templar Order would emerge victorious…the meddlesome Divine had intervened.

The resurrection of the Inquisition; it had come as a massive shock; a force designed solely to obliterate the chaos of southern thedas; it’s mandate sickeningly simple, it’s interference had at first been a nuance, as powerful and wealthy as the chantry was it couldn’t simply meet his host in battle.

So he had ignored the threat; the potential issue, He had focused upon his true enemy unregulated mages, the rebel circles, magic it self.

And then the Inquisition had enlisted Orlais in its war against the chaos; with the martial power of the greatest of southern thedas’s empires it marched against both sides of the war, Fiona and himself became the villains of the day.

The common people rallied to the Inquisition’s banner; caught up between two opposing sides as they were, they cared not for the Templars that warred to keep them safe nor the pleas of magi to be free, they wanted the war to end.

So the Inquisition pushed onward; engaging both of them.

At first it had been minor raiding and skirmishing actions; but when the entire Nevarran Templar host had fallen to the last men defending their bastion at the circle tower in the capital…it had become evidently clear things had changed.

He had ordered the Templars and Seekers both to regroup; to combine their awesome and terrible power into a host, one that had the strength to march upon the mage rebellion and crush it. That host however never came to be; as if by the will of the Maker, strikes fell upon their strength.

Antiva was lost to them soon after, Rivain, Fereldan, Even the distant Anderfels…the Inquisition was everywhere.

When he had finally pulled the Templars remaining to their cause from Southern Orlais according to the latest reports his was the strongest group of Templars still active that wasn’t aligned with the Chantry.

Once his host had numbered over ten thousand strong and eager hearts, souls pure and blades to be tested against the blood of their foe, ready to fight the war that had been decades if not centuries in the making.

There was nowhere left to return to; all their garrisons, all their strength and fortresses were lost to them save one.

It would require a lengthy march to reach it but there was no choice to left them; pushing further and further south into Orlais and reaching the capital became their only option.

The White Spire had been where this had begun; but it would not be where it would end, but it would provide them the time and material to prepare for whatever the Maker deemed in his plan.

Less then a hundred leagues from the capital they were beset by the Orlesian armies; it had been the first time that such a sortie had been of any strength in the history of their war, While the Templars and Seekers fought valiantly, there was much strength to the Orlesians and he had been unwilling to risk further battle with Orlais so he had ordered a withdrawal.

His already sagging host further beset by the losses inflicted upon them; it was then he began to question; just why would the Maker forsake their holy task? Why would he do such to the most dedicated and humble of his servants?

The Templar Order had held back the tide of the corruption of magic for nearly a thousand years…why would the Maker see fit to have the men responsible for such a feat become so reviled? So hunted…he prayed but received nothing but the silence he had always heard, the Maker spoke to none save Andraste.

But the Maker did show his grace to their cause in another way.

The Orlesians had not pursued; forced west he and his host had suffered a grueling march through the crossroads of Fereldan and Orlais but across the passages into the mountains they had found refugee to wait out the bitter winter and emerge anew in spring.

Their supplies weren’t infinite nor were their stores of lyrium and personal but they had survived.

In the year 9:41 Dragon; they emerged from the Frostbacks into Fereldan; the only possible refugee left to them was the ancient circle tower lying at the foot of Lake Calenhad, it was a lengthy journey from the borderlands and the endless fields and valleys that followed to the circle tower but they had encountered no hostility to their presence.

Entering the abandoned circle had been a surreal experience; he had never seen a circle in such a state; looters had picked over it, corpses lie rotting in the floor.

The rebellion had spread even here before the royal army had arrived and decimated both sides and forced survivors to retreat further into the Hinterlands.

But from even this graveyard something could be salvaged; after brief searches of the premises and the lyrium storehouses which had survived the pillaging the majority of the tower had received due to their defenses, his host’s moral soared, many of the templars had been without lyrium for weeks now and the prospect of having their strength returned to them bolstered their sagging morale.

But even so they couldn’t remain; even then the Inquisition and its army of skirmishers and infiltrators continued to harry them; With his host reduced to less then a thousand strong he couldn’t meet them in battle.

So their force left the circle tower marching through the lands devastated by the blight a decade prior; there was but one safe haven to them, one final refugee a place that even he hadn’t stepped in decades.

Their destination would have to be Gwaren a notable trading hub in south eastern Fereldan; it was accessible by the King’s road but it was long and tiring journey; marching through knee high swamps and endless fields tore at his men, as their mounts starved or died from exhaustion they were forced to walk.

Those too wounded to walk were left with philters of bitter herbs and given hasty last rites by the handful of priests that still viewed their cause as just.

Just as it seemed his host was about to collapse in on it self they finally reached Gwaren and found the town proper abandoned.

From what they later gleaned from the handful of reports and missives about the subject; the townspeople had been horrified to see their host approaching, banners still flying proudly.

Where once their standard would have earned them respect and admiration if not aid from all corners of Thedas…now it was a symbol of zealots to be feared.

Their time in Gwaren was spent recuperating from the more then half of year of fighting he and all those left to him had endured; but even so the enemies of his cause took notice of their presence; they would come no doubt but Gwaren while defensible wasn’t the fortress from which they could recover from the setbacks that had been done to them.

No they would need to rebuild, reaffirm their belief to have any chance of emerging from this victorious now.

The few ships that had been left in Gwaren were local fishing vessels that could barely hold two grown men; they would be useless for ferrying his army, so within their first week at the city he had ordered foresters into the nearby Brecilian to secure the lumber they would need for proper troop carrying vessels.

Construction was slow; only a handful of their number knew anything about manning and building such vessels; but it was then that the Maker truly showed them favor, for one by one the townspeople had returned, not to find their city destroyed, looted and burned but under Templar stewardship.

The local lord had come before him demanding to know his intent and assuring he and his commanders that the Fereldan royal army would come to evict them if the Inquisition didn’t do it first.

His response had been as cordial as it could have been given the circumstances; he needed the support of this local lord and his people to ensure his own cause’s survival. So he had made a bargain with the man.

“I do the Maker’s work; I care not for this city nor the wealth that lies within but merely returning to do my task, but to do that I require vessels capable of crossing the sea.”

In exchange for local aid in constructing their vessels and securing the materials needed for it; they would leave this town in peace, he had planned to do so regardless but it secured the local nobility as an ally at least for the moment and the construction efforts resumed, their manpower doubled.

Their first month in Gwaren passed without incident but even so he awaited the inevitable attack; he had not provoked the city of Gwaren so he was confident that the Monarchy of Fereldan would tolerate his immediate presence in their land, no the far more pressing danger came from the so called Herald of Andraste and his Inquisition.

The first time he had heard that title it had been an affront to everything he had ever known or loved; To name yourself the mouthpiece of Andraste was to name yourself the mouthpiece of the Maker, to put yourself upon the same level as the holy prophet.

But apparently that belief was growing increasingly uncommon the people of both Fereldan and Orlais bowed to the Inquisition and its Inquisitor.

During their second month in Gwaren he had received a missive from the Inquisition demanding his immediate surrender and the disbanding of the Templar and Seeker Forces under his command; it wasn’t that the request surprised him as much as the familiar curved and educated hand writing and the signature that lie at the bottom.

Cassandra Pentaghast.

One of his own; One of his own Seekers, one that had never joined them in their war and now apparently was warring against them, He had known Cassandra for many years now, he had always viewed her as equipped with the dedication and belief that her station required.

But now all he was left with was a traitor. A traitor; both to the Seekers and the Maker.

His reply had been a swift and prompt refusal.

Seeker Cassandra- Do you believe yourself justified in doing what you have done? Appointing someone to be the equal of Andraste herself? Acting in service to a Chantry that willingly allowed you to do so?

Do you not see the very corruption we are meant to fight has infected our most holy and precious of institutions? And now you make war upon the very people seeking to right this most grevious of wrongs.

A year has not passed since I annulled the Accord that held in bondage the Seeker and Templar Orders; I did this not because I wished to tear down the institutions of Thedas but to rip the corrupt and weak from their power, to instill the tenants of the Maker back into the common people and Magi both.

I never sought a war with the Chantry even after the cruel and malicious betrayal of both our own Order and the Templar Order by the hands of the Divine but if need be I will be the instrument of Thedas’s salvation.

I wish you were not to be my enemy but; it seems we have both made our decisions.

In the name of our prophet Andraste I will pray for you.

Lord Seeker Lambert Van Reeves

After he had sent that refusal he had expected an immediate assault upon Gwaren but none came; the building of their vessels continued and as the day dawned closer and closer for them to be complete, he was question just were was this so called “Inquisition” They had demanded his surrender as if they were upon his very doorstep.

A week passed and this merely continued as they were; the first two of the massive ocean going transports he had requested were now complete, but he would need at least ten to ferry all the materials and men he had with him so it would be more time in Gwaren, more time acting as a stationary target.

But he had finally decided just were they were to go once they were capable; far to the north well past Rivain and Llomerryn and even the distant Estwatch fortress of centuries past there was a series of islands so deep into the ocean only a handful of accounts of them even existed.

The Eyes of Andraste.

The first Seeker fortress; originally constructed by the initial Inquisition back in the Divine Age many centuries past.

According to history it was first discovered by the Imperium sometime during the Ancient Age; After the Imperium fell during the aftermath of the first blight the remote colony was abandoned.

From those ashes rose the First Inquisition and it was they who built the fortress upon the island and it was the Seeker Order who maintained it across the long centuries to the present era.

It would be the fount of their renewal, it would be the home and safeguard they needed to survive this coming storm caused by the Inquisition; from there they could rebuild and do the Maker’s will once more.

But with the Inquisition no doubt coming; he doubted he had the time it would take for him to be able to take all of his men with him but he would not abandon those who stood at his side against Magi, Orlesians, The Inquisition and the Chantry.

No; those who had proven their loyalty, their dedication deserved better then whatever the Inquisition or Chantry would undoubtedly do to them.

All he could do was order the pace of the construction increased; demand more workers from the Nobility, more materials to speed their efforts. He had no doubt the nobles would comply, they wished them gone just as much as they wished to be out of Gwaren.

The once bustling trade city became little more then a work camp for the efforts of the Lord Seeker and Templar Order. Tensions and concerns only increased when it was reported by Templar Scouts that a Inquisition force was marching along the kings road perhaps ten days out from Gwaren no doubt to confront the final holdout of Templar opposition.

There wasn’t anyway enough vessels would be completed by the time the force arrived so it was either leave with a mere fraction of his force or remain behind to battle the Inquisition, neither option was appealing.

His force while combat worthy would no doubt be severely outnumbered as the scouts reported the host was several thousand strong, while Gwaren was walled and fortified it would do him no good for this get bogged down into a siege.

No if he was to meet them it would be in open battle; if he could rout the force and send it didn’t retreat then perhaps that would gain them the time it required. When he spoke of his plan to the nine remaining knight commanders they were less then enthused but never the less they agreed it was time to meet this Inquisition in battle.

It was long overdue.

Their charges bore down upon the marching Inquisition troops; after their cavalry decimated the front ranks of Inquisition forces; their footmen charged, their archers fired volleys into the mass making its way down the narrow wooded path.

The area around Gwaren worked both to their advantage and disadvantage; it limited their mobility and visibility but it also did the same for the Inquisition forces and as long as they maintained control of the mobility of their opponents they could harry them into submission.

He himself took to the field; his shining silverite sword cracking apart chain and shield; his brother seekers by his side as they cut through the first group of Inquisition, in the hours aftermath of their probe they had killed nearly a hundred souls and sent nearly three times that fleeing, but they had felt loss as well.

Eight of their own Templars had died, many more were wounded but they had held off the first wave of those seeking to destroy them; a Templar Banner hoisted above the road to remind any that came after these first whom controlled the road.

Privately he was disturbed by just how many those they faced that day fought like Templars, held themselves, their weapons and moved in armor it all seemed like templar training but none of them held the pulse of lyrium within them.

This Inquisition was proving increasingly that it was an abomination; having those trained in the Templar arts outside of the order was a more grievous affront then he had thought them capable of.

When they had returned to Gwaren and informed the local lords and lordlings of the aftermath of their raid; they had faked niceties and offered congratulations but it was all a false front, the politics of the nobility was just as much a disease as that of magic.

But he needed their cooperation for a longer yet; with their work resumed the progress towards escaping Fereldan loomed ever and ever closer, but still so far out of reach.

Just how long, how long would they fester and linger in this country? In this town? It seemed that their goal, once so within reach was now forever out of grasp.

But he wouldn’t give up, he couldn’t.

He would stay to his path as he had always his life; he hadn’t avoided death at the hands of rebel mages, demons and traitors to merely fall to this Inquisition.

The day the ships launched was one of fulfillment, of joy and jubilation. They had not only survived but they had won a victory over the Inquisition; just days before having repulsed another sortie by the Inquisition, this was their sixth offensive but despite the scouts assuring him that their number was far greater then their own, all it seemed they did were move several hundred in at a given time, perhaps they were merely poking them for a reaction.

If so their soldiers were dying for that information and now it wouldn’t matter, with their ships sailing this very day they could strike at Gwaren again and again and they would find it empty save for a bunch of relieved nobles and citizens.

The Inquisition could no longer pursue once they were out at sea and given the voyage they were taking would be one of many months; the time passed slowly and tiringly. His Templars and Seekers didn’t complain aloud were he could here but he see they were growing restless, questioning why they would need to travel so far out to sea.

Once they reached the islands they would understand; for they would be the place from which they would rebuild their power and secure the means to win this war once and for all, not against the defeated rebel mages, not even the Chantry, but against the Inquisition.

When they finally arrived he heard the cheer go out across their ships; the island chain while not overly large would provide them more then enough room to ensure all their men were fed and housed. They took more then ships from Gwaren they had also liberated their stockpile of foodstuffs and seeds, they would need to rely upon themselves just as they had in the frostbacks.

The Eyes of Andraste chain was made up of two moderately large outlying islands with a much larger island in the center; it was from this central island where the ancient Seeker fortress was located; when his eyes first gazed upon it he knew it would likely be the place were they would stand against their enemies.

The Inquisition would be coming…and they would be ready.

This false prophet and his misled rabble would fall beneath this ancient walls just as all those who had laid siege to them since the time of Andraste had.

The Imperium, The Qunari it didn’t matter, this fortress had bested them, it would do the same to the Inquisition.

The ancient island fortress shuddered and sagged under the impact from the siege engines; massive boulders and flaming balls of pitch and flame struck it with a fury that in its centuries long history it had never experienced.

[Lady Artifice]

Sigh, fair enough. I am genuinely interested of what positive sides you find in Cassandra though. 

 

 

I think it might be difficult for me to explain, milord. We are both, as is Cassandra, creatures of our own perspective.

 

I cannot afford to share your (socially Darwinistic) principles as my place in the world is not akin to yours. You do not have much tolerance for opposing points of view, as is your right. I however, can entertain the notion of differing circumstances leading to different individual outcomes.

 

I can see how, for example, Madame de Fer might have made an exceptional Magister had her upbringing been in Tevinter and not in the South...and I would have followed her gladly. I can also see that there are extenuating circumstances causing Cassandra's unfortunate devotion to the chantry. 

 

This same unfortunate devotion does not diminish my appreciation for her power, her courage, her intelligence, and her loyalty. To me, enemies are more than an opposing force. They are a defining force. I also perceive that our having such people as Arishok and Z, both of whom I respect, as our enemies is indicative of the greatness of the Imperium. As such, I'm pleased that our enemies are impressive. 

 

...She is also, remarkably skilled at killing things. Seriously, she's easily the most reliable warrior in my party.