Despite the fact it was known as the Forbidden Oasis, the sand swept landscape and hot sun was a welcome change compared to the Storm Coast and Fallow Mire. And as Brin and her band of merry companions adventured deeper into the Oasis, the meaning of its name became clear. Sunk deep into the desert floor was a beautiful lush oasis with a temple built deep beneith the ground. While it was no Frostback Basin, Brin found the place very calming and tranquil. Despite the dangers.
But the reason for coming to such a place lay in the strange shards she had found scattered across the lands. And despite the fact she was locating them with tranquil skulls, Brin could not help but investigate what the shards were for. It turned out the temple treated them like a test. The more she had, the more inner chambers opened up. She chose to use them on the flame rooms and then the remaining on the first frost room. Eventually all she could do was leave, having used up all the shards she had. But not before enjoying the scenery a bit more.
Upon her return to Skyhold, Brin gathered Josie, Cullen, Cassandra and Leliana in the war room to discuss the next move. The rogue templars had been tracked down to Therinfal Redoubt. But sadly two things were clear. First according to Leliana, there was not enough time for Brin to seek help from templars who were still loyal to the chantry AND then get help from the mages. So much for her plan of uniting the templars and mages under the Inquisition Banner. She had to choose, mages or templars. It was a tough decision for Brin as she actually sympathized with the mages. But it was the templars she ended up deciding on. Cullen was right. The breach in the sky was from magic. So how could pouring more magic into it seal it? Templars could dispell magic and so the choice was clear.
It was a bittersweet decision in the end as in order to even get the Lord Seeker's attention, Brin had to get his attention. And to do that, Josie pulled every string she had to line up the nobility. And what a group of nobility they were. A bunch of stuck up arrogant people who were more concerned about status and importance then the real reason they were assembled. Lord Abernache who seemed to feel he was the most important took charge from the beginning. Brin did not like him and remembered why she had left her own noble house years ago to live among the Avvar.
They were greeted by Knight Templar Barris whom Brin had met already in Val Royeaux. He seemed like her best chance of converting the templars to her cause as he seemed puzzled by the Lord Seeker's actions. But her attempts at talking to him were interupted by the demands of Lord Abernache. It brought a smile to Brin's face when she learned it was not the nobility at all that had gotten this chance meeting. The Lord Seeker had actually agreed to the meeting ONLY after hearing she was attending. At this point she wanted to send Lord Abernache home.
But before she could meet the Lord Seeker, Brin was tasked with a small test. One that Lord Abernache complained about loudly. "We're here to see the Lord Seeker, not perform these stupid tests." He proclaimed aloud while standing like a fool. Brin however did not mind and walked straight up the the banners and raised the one for the people all the way to the top. Then she raised the chantry second, leaving the templars third.
Having raised the banners in the order she felt was important, Brin and her company of Vivienne, Cassandra and Blackwall were invited to a meeting. A meeting where the Lord Seeker Lucius was not present. In fact the Knight Captian Denam stated that Lucius "plans" were ruined by Brin showing up with purpose.
Lord Abernache began to try and flatter the Captian despite Brin's urging for him to get back to her side and be quiet. She had laid enough of her own traps to know what one smelled like. And unfortunatly for Lord Abernache, she was right. There was betrayal within the templar ranks as they turned upon each other. Some siding with one the Captian had refered to as the "Elder One" while Barris and his men sided with the inquisition. It was a bloody battle that spilled out into the courtyard.
As they battled through red templars, they discovered a Captian Denam office. There they saw the remains of templar officer, a discovery that shocked Barris.
"Lord Seeker? What is the meaning of this?"
Only it was not the Lord Seeker Lucius, but actually an Envy demon. And the Envy demon sucked Brin into a distorted realm of nightmares and glimpses of a possible future.
It was here in this strange realm that Brin was tormented by the Envy demon who taunted her with images of Leliana killing Cullen. And Josie killing a version of Brin only Brin had no face. It turned out the demon was going through Brin's memories and trying to learn her in order to become her. Brin was not about to let this happen but escape seemed impossible. She became lost within her own mind.
But then help came from the strangest of sources and not one she expected. It came from a spirit named Cole who took the form of a bashful looking young man. His actions infuriated the Envy demon as he guided Brin into collecting pieces of her mind and ultimately finding the way out.
Or was it the way out? Or simply another trap. Luckily for Brin as she fell back into the real world, Cole came with her and forced the envy demon from her mind. This angered the demon who fled into the inner chantry and set up a magical barrier the templars could not bring down. Not without more help and lyrium.
Barris assured Brin that there should be more lyrium untainted by the red lyrium in other parts of the castle. And that she should look for templar veterans that could help with the ritual needed to bring that barrier down. It seemed like a long shot but Brin did not see an alternative. But it meant she would be leaving the remaining templars in the chantry hall while the envy demon send demonic minions out to attack them. Time was now very precious and there was not much left.
During her hurried search of the remaining fort for the templar veterans and the stock pile of lyuim lead Brin to discover the Lord Seeker's dark and secret plans. There pinned to a bust of the empress Celene was plans to have her assassinated.
According to Cole who appeared behind the bust, the Envy demon had been plotting Celene's death for some time. That the Envy demon hated Celene. But while killing the demon might not save Celene, at least they knew about it and could try and prevent it from happening. But that would have to wait until they were back in Haven. Right now there was a barrier to destroy and a demon to slay.
It was a hard fought battle but in the end the demon was slain and Brin victorious. Those of the templars that remained were impressed with the Inquisition but felt they had nowhere to go. Their order was in tatters thanks to the efforts of the Envy demon who had pretended to be Lord Seeker Lucious. Either they tried to rebuild the order or disband all together. In the end Brin chose to help the Templar order rebuild and be partners with the Inquisition. Not to be a mage slaying organization it had become known as. Instead Brin instructed Barris to seek counsel with Cullen and Cassandra as she worked to bring order back to the world of chaos. She would see circles restored, the faithful worshipping at the chantry. And templars watching over mages as protectors and not executioners.
It was going to be a long road however...
As the scout was giving his report, an elf mage approached and told her that someone named Magister Alexius was now in charge. Magister? As in, Tevinter? W.T.F. Fiona's got some splainin' to do. 
Retour en haut
hahaha
Glad you enjoyed. 
