Chapter Text
Varric was waiting for me when I got back to Skyhold, blinking rapidly when I came strolling into the main hall.
"Buzz... what the hell is that?"
"Weirdling." I grunted, feeling the creature's claws dig a bit into my skin as its... all right, there really isn't a word to describe what the little bastard was. It had a tail on both ends, no head, no mouth, no eyes, four little legs, dark brown skin, and the thing absorbed ambient magic to stay alive. It was weird, hence the name that I'd given it after Ghilan'nain had crafted it for me.
One of the tails was wrapped around my neck, the other was clutching my Orb of a Focus, its golden runes inert. Mine wasn't nearly as large or powerful as the Wolf's, being just a little larger than a clenched fist, but it would do the same job of manipulating the energies of the raw Fade when called upon.
"I need it for something." I told him.
"Right..." He blinked again. "Wait. Is that... Rivaini's shirt?"
"She tore mine to shreds." I replied, walking past him. "Come on, need you... wait. Is the chamber down that hallway finished?"
"It is." Varric drawled, easily keeping pace with me, men and women turning to gape at me as I went past. Hopefully mostly doing so for the creature I had on my shoulder, instead of for the shirt that was several sizes too large. "So. She finally got you, eh?"
I smirked, glancing at him, "More like I got her. It took quite a bit to wake her up this morning, and it was fun watching her try to walk like a normal person."
He snorted. "Good to hear that you're feeling better. How was everyone else?"
My smirk faded quickly. "Not great. I'm now on speaking terms with Merill and Hawke, and Elowen tried to break my ribs when we hugged, but... things are going to be a bit messy up there for a while. You can talk to Daisy next week, she's coming down to formally introduce herself to the Inquisition, and to help out with some research."
"Good." Varric said. "It's been too long since I've seen her."
Bypassing the still incomplete throne, and God I hoped they picked a tasteful one, we headed for the door leading to Josephine's new office. She was present, with half-a-dozen servants bustling around, trying to organize it all. There were shelves upon shelves being set up against the walls, filled with books and papers, while comfortable couches and chairs were artfully arranged near a small fireplace.
"Inquisitor!" Josie's exclamation put a pause to the work, the Ambassador sweeping around her desk, clearly ready to embrace me before she saw the Weirdling on my neck. "I... oh."
"Long story." I told her. "Can you summon the inner circle? I need a conference with everyone, and I need it as soon as possible."
"I... of course, um... Inquisitor... your buttons..."
Blinking, I glanced down to realize that the Weirdling's tails had shoved my shirt half off of one shoulder, and I was one shrug away from flashing everyone. Grumbling about tall women, I fixed it, and added, "And some of my clothes, if you could."
Her dusky skin seemed darker in a blush, but she nodded quickly. "Of course. I'll have everyone present soon."
"Thanks." I patted her shoulder as I went past, "Make sure Solas is one of them, please."
She nodded quickly, bustling off while Varric and I kept going down the hall, and into the chambers beyond. The pair of rooms must have been marked as a priority to fix, because the walls were fully intact, as were the windows. We even had a massive table, completed with a map of Thedas, with more maps rolled up to one side.
The lack of chairs, and the fact that there was several dozen crates lined up along the walls, betrayed that it was still a work in progress.
A motion had Varric close the door, letting me mutter the command to summon my spear. It shimmered into being at once, and I brought it close to my shoulder while my friend watched. The Weirdling sensed its presence when it drew close, moving with all the speed of a sloth as it separated from me to return to where it should have been to begin with.
"Ugh, little shit." I grumbled once its claws were sunken into the wood instead of into my skin, a whisper of magic cleaning up the cuts. "To answer your unspoken question, yeah, that's my version of the same orb that Cory is running around with."
Varric grunted, eying it warily. "And the Weird thing?"
"You don't want to know." I told him, and he really didn't. "But it's a necessary part of making my spear work. It won't kill Cory, but if I'd had it, there wouldn't have been much of a fight at Haven. Either time."
Another grunt came with him edging a little further away from the weapon. "Right. You're not going to bring the Veil down with that, are you?"
"Oh hell no. Mostly I'm making sure that Solas can't get his hands on it do just that." I paused, then admitted, "And I'm making damned sure he knows I've got mine and it's fully locked down, so he doesn't think to go attack Merrill's people to try and get it."
"Would he?"
"If we break his killing Corypheus? In a heartbeat."
"Right... wait, shit. That one's his?"
I clicked my tongue, telling a soft lie. I may have hated Solas, and did not agree in the slightest with his plan to simply yank the Veil down, I wasn't about to throw him under the bus by fully revealing what he'd done to the Inquisition. I'd give Varric the truth in private some other time, when I was certain there wasn't anyone around to hear it. Telling Merrill, Hawke, and Isabella had probably been a bit of a mistake in hindsight, but sooner or later the truth would come out anyway. Best to ease everyone into it a little bit at a time.
"Yeah. No, he didn't give it to the Darkspawn. Asshole found it. Hence why Solas showed up to try and help the Inquisition, he wants his property back, and he's really not happy about what Corypheus did with it."
"Ah." he nodded. "What are you planning on doing with yours?"
"If Cory tries to use his again, if I'm close enough, I can cancel his actions out." I replied. "It'll piss him off, keep him focused on me, and hopefully give everyone else a chance to kill him without too many demons getting in the way. Besides that, I refreshed the spells on it, so Solas won't be able to touch it. Hopefully that will make things simpler for later on."
He clearly approved of that plan, nodding as I set my spear against the back wall, settling in to wait for everyone else to show. We bantered a bit about how things were up north, just what the little city they'd built was like, and I kept his interested until a blushing maid swept in with a change of clothes for me.
Though I could have cared less, Varric still let himself out, waiting until I'd changed before coming back in with Cassandra and Josie right beside him.
"Thank the Maker." Cassandra groaned as she came around the table, "I thought for certain that we would need to drag you back here, kicking and screaming."
I rolled my eyes, "You're not that lucky, Cass. Everyone else on their way?"
They were. Soon enough Evelyn came rushing in, and didn't hesitate at all before pulling me into a hug. I embraced the girl back, enjoying her solid presence until Varric's amused chortle had us break apart.
Fiona and Solas arrived together, the Dread Wolf pursing his lips at the sight of my spear fully restored, though he said nothing when he took up a quiet spot opposite me. The last group were Leliana, Cullen, and Samson, all of whom arrived together.
"Solas, if you could?"
He nodded, a slight motion drawing his magic out, ensuring no one else could listen in.
Then I exhaled, and began. "I'm going to start by apologizing to everyone. For everything. For keeping many of you in the dark, for locking myself away for two weeks. Because I know this is going to going to cause some chaos, I'm just going to rip the bandage off right now."
Cassandra winced, "Inquisitor-"
I cut her off, "My name is Maeve, but I was once named Andruil. Goddess of the Hunt in the Elven pantheon."
Everyone who knew winced, which was everyone apart from our Templars, while said Templars both twitched sharply. Cullen looked... torn, as if he couldn't decide to scream that he'd known it all along, while Samson looked more ashen faced.
"Solas is Fen'harel," The wolf's teeth ground, a furious glare coming at my second casual outing of him, "another of the Evanuris. Before you get all religious on us, Cullen, no. We are not gods, and neither of us will be happy if you try to call us that. We're semi-immortal, ridiculously powerful mages from a long dead Empire... which is a lot to take in, but we're not anything like the Maker."
Cullen's jaw was working, but nothing was coming out, while Samson still seemed more troubled than angry.
"To answer your second unspoken question, regarding said Maker... I don't know if He is real or not, but if I had to put money on it, I would say that He exists." I continued. "Someone made the Golden city, before Elgar'nan claimed it as his own personal playground, before it got turned into a prison for the Blight, and it sure as hell wasn't us. A creator working beyond all of us would... have explained a lot, of our early days. Right Solas?"
"It... would." I was pretty sure he was lying to try and calm things down, for Solas wasn't much for any authority beyond himself, but he clearly understood that we had to try to avoid an instant religious war, "Our myths of the Creators could simply have been Andraste's Maker in another form."
"You... expect us to believe this?" Cullen growled. "That you're a goddess?"
"Not a god." I countered. "And yes, I do. Would you like me to use that spear back there to level a mountain? Or would you rather cut my head off, and wait the week or two it'll take me to build a new body from the ether? Go for it, I could use the rest. Fuck, Cullen, the only reason I'm telling you at all is because most of the people in this room already know, and soon enough it'll be public knowledge."
He glanced at the weapon, a muscle in his cheek twitching, leaving me free to go on.
"I don't ask for worship, and I'll be furious if anyone tries." I said. "I want to control the release of this information as best we can. We'll work on that later, for now I hope that it's enough to tell you all that I don't intend to remain in this post past the current crisis. Cassandra will be taking over the moment that Corypheus is dead. I will put that in writing, and if I break that vow, she's got a better chance than anyone else to kill me."
Silence and grim expressions greeted that proclamation.
It was broken by Samson, who quietly asked about my prior statement. "You... accept the Maker?"
"I accept a singular God, you've heard me swear often enough." The Knight seemed to almost smile, "The Chantry's teachings are another matter, but... like I said, I'm of an open mind when it comes to Andraste and her faith. Call me Chantry-adjacent."
"...that is good enough for me, whatever you are." He said after a moment. "Though I hope this means an end to the many secrets?"
"You'll all be briefed as best as I can manage. There are still some limitations upon me, thanks to my bitch of an old wife whose got some shackles around me. I'll work on that, but for now I want everyone's focus on the clear and present danger of Corypheus."
Nods came and went, though not without a few glances at Cullen, who seemed... angry, yet also confused, and utterly uncertain of what to say.
"Leliana, Josie." I glanced at the women on my left. "What news do we have from Ferelden?"
Josie cleared her throat, "There was only a brief skirmish with the Venatori before they withdrew. Redcliffe, or what is left of it, is now in the kingdom's hands once more. Those remaining Templars are camped there, under watch by the King. They have not been disarmed, but neither are they free to leave without the King's graces."
"Barris?"
"Offered his sincerest apologies for the delays, and will pass three Knight-Commanders and five Knight-Captains to the Seeker Cassandra for judgment." She replied, "Under charges of desertion, treason, and oath-breaking."
I pursed my lips, glancing at Cass. "What happened?"
She shook her head, "We are uncertain as of yet, but the tone of the Knight-Vigilant's letter implies a mutiny that was only barely put down. Perhaps several such actions."
That tracked with their abysmal progress west after we'd left them. "All right. Send a reply, he and his senior commanders are to present themselves at once here in Skyhold to explain themselves. Ask Alistair to send an escort to make sure they arrive. Failure to show up in the next month will make us presume the Order has betrayed the oaths they gave me at Therinfall, and they will be forcibly disbanded. In that circumstance Cullen and Samson will create a new Order from the ground up."
Once more Cullen looked like wanted to interject, but in the end merely nodded after a moment.
"Cullen." I said, meeting his eyes. "Did Cass talk to you?"
His chin lifted. "I will not be sent to an infirmary while the world is threatened by magic unrestrained."
"Then can you continue to follow my orders, knowing what I really am?" I asked. "Will you uphold your oaths?"
"I will, for someone must be on watch." Those eyes narrowed, "Someone must be prepared for what you might do, for much is now explained about what you truly are."
I stared at him for a long moment, then nodded once. "Fine. You can be a paranoid asshole all you want. You will be in charge of all training activities, as well as the defense of Skyhold. Samson will be taking over as field commander."
His face reddened at once. "You-"
"You," I cut him off, "are in no shape to be doing much of anything with how much your hands are trembling. By all rights I should be forcing you to go to Kirkwall to get over it, so consider this your last chance, Cullen. If you fuck around again you will find out just how quickly I can force you there. And if you try to leave, try to rally some kind of Exalted March, I will kill you before you even get started."
Fists clenched along with his jaw. For a moment I thought he'd storm out, but Cassandra spoke before he could.
"That," she declared, "is the will of the Inquisition, Commander. You are a good man, but your lyrium issues are a very real detriment to your performance. You must take time to recover. That is an order from the Inquisitor, and from the Seekers. If you violate it, I shall drag you to Kirkwall myself, and ensure you cannot leave until you are well."
Had she stabbed him in the back, I don't think she'd gotten a sharper reaction. He flinched, eyes abruptly lowering, and he seemed to... deflate a moment later, the strength going out of him. He slumped against the table, not looking at anyone... but he didn't leave.
"Right." I said, once I was sure he was going to stay quiet. "Samson, like I said, you're in charge of our field forces, such as they are. Get their morale up, get them reformed. I don't expect to need to deploy them for a while, but let's be ready just in case."
The tall man nodded, fist coming before his heart, "As you say, Inquisitor."
"Thank you. Josie, Leliana?" I turned too them once more, "Corypheus has failed in Ferelden, so I expect that he'll be turning to Orlais. Josie, I need that meeting with Gaspard as soon as it can be arranged. Leliana? I need to meet with Cousland even sooner, or at least have a way to communicate with her."
"I will see what I can do." She replied, Josie already scribbling away on her little pad beside her. "Should we presume your prior vision still holds true?"
"Hard to say. We killed his dragon early, but his army is more intact than it should be... I want as many scouts as we can working in that Empire to give us the reality of what's going on. We'll presume my vision holds true for now, but we have to be ready for Cory to change his plans." My eyes tracked to the other side of the table, "Fiona, Solas, Cassandra. You three are staying here, with me. Merrill will be visiting next week to assist us with magical research on how to best shut down Corypheus and his blood mages. The four of us, five when she's available, are going to be our brute squad. The second we get any hint of Cory, we move to kill him."
More nods came and went, Solas speaking up, "What of the other senior mages?"
"They'll join us eventually, but they have another task for now." I met Evelyn's gaze. "We promised King Bhelen aid in sealing those rifts near Orzammar, and he promised us a very large fortune and extra manpower in exchange. We need that money, and we need it soon."
Evelyn didn't look happy, "Will the rifts even be there, with the Breach gone?"
Solas beat me to replying, "Unfortunately, yes, and they must be dealt with quickly. They will continue to open and close as the currents of the Fade wash over them, and if any are tampered with, we might yet see a new Breach. Closing them must be a priority."
"What he said." I told her. "You're going to take Varric, Bull, Dorian, and Viv down there to clear them out."
That didn't please her either, but she seemed to force herself to nod. "We'll be quick about it."
"Faster." I told her. "Soon as you're back, Solas and I are going to be training you daily in how to use that Mark. If he and I can't figure out a cleaner way to kill Corypheus, we'll pin him down, but the finishing blow will have to be yours."
"...can it... do that?" She asked.
"It can." I promised.
From there I went on, relaying what I'd asked Merrill and her people to do, and further explained just what I'd be using my spear for. My promise that I could stop a second breach from happening, so long as I had it and was present, seemed to do a lot to relieve everyone. Even Cullen seemed grateful to know that the tragedy of the Temple wouldn't be repeated.
After that we ran through everyone else, getting a few things tidied up as to who would be assigned to what duties. The Legion of the Dead would be heading back to Orzammar with the Little One as an escort and to be witnesses to tell their King about what was going on up here, the various mages were divided between formalized research, support, and combat divisions, and I got brought up to speed on how many Templars and soldiers we had left.
I dismissed any distinction between the two, ordering that the rank and file be trained and equipped as Templars as best we could, sans the lyrium bit.
"The Inquisition will be a Knightly Order moving forward." I declared. "Every soldier who isn't already a knight will be given that honor for their valor and discipline at Haven. Every refugee who took up a spear will be made a squire until their training completes. I want those Chevaliers we picked up aiding our training, let's get some use out of them."
They got me up to date on the state of Skyhold after that, which was... well, not the greatest news. It was going to take months, even with the supplies flowing in through the Eluvian, to get the rest of the castle into working order.
We also couldn't support all of the refugees long term, and I ordered Josie to see where Alistair would be willing to house them, since most were from Ferelden. Anyone who wanted to stay would be allowed to do so, but I expected most would want to get back to their farms, try to rebuild their lives come spring.
The Inquisition would do what it could to help, and would similarly try to help rebuild Redcliffe. Both out of a genuine desire to fix what our enemies had done, but also out of the realpolitik need to keep Ferelden as happy with us as possible until we found further backers.
My last act was to make it official. "As of this moment, Cassandra Pentaghast is given the rank of Inquisitor. I already did that, but I'm sure she tried to dismiss it the moment I hauled out of Haven."
"There-"
I cut her off, "I don't care how it worked in the past. We're going to work on a system of two Inquisitors moving forward, a senior and a junior. Whenever I am not present, you will speak for the organization, and you will speak for me. You're rough around the edges, Cass, but you're one of the best souls that I've ever met. I trust you to do the right thing."
Her lips pressed together, but there was the faintest blush on her cheeks.
I smiled a little, then nodded to Evelyn, "Little One. You're next in line. Once Cory is dead, I mean to retire, like I said. Cassandra will take over as the Senior Inquisitor, and you'll take her place as the Junior."
Evelyn swallowed, "Maeve... I want to go with you, when that happens."
"You can't." I told her gently. "I'll be back, I promise, but I need time to myself, away from everyone else. These past couple of weeks... they helped, a lot, but they're still just a bandage over a very deep wound. Once the world is safe, I'm going to take a year or two away from everything. When I come back, we'll figure out my place."
Her eyes lowered, the smallest nod coming and going.
With that, the meeting more or less wrapped up. I scheduled a follow up with Cassandra for two days from now, to go over just how we'd reform the Seekers, plus deal with the fact that most of them were still missing in action, and then people were slowly filing out.
Everyone except for Evleyn and Solas.
He gave her a look, a wordless request that had her cross her arms, refusing to move.
"Are you going to delay?" I asked the wolf, once the others had gone.
"What choice do I have?" His voice was more than a little bitter. "You have your golden spear once more, and I know full well it would never obey me. I have no desire to spend the next decade or more as little more than a ghostly shell, trying to regather myself, and I know you would not kill me cleanly."
I let out a soft huff, "No, I wouldn't. Good that you're smart enough to work out the obvious. Consider yourself confined to Skyhold. If you leave it, I will presume it's because you mean to betray us, and I'll see you locked away in the deepest cell we can find. Same goes for the Fade. If you tamper with my Veil, try to slip out of it, I will start by beating you senseless and indulge myself further from there."
His glare was absolutely arctic, then he turned, striding away without another word.
"Ass." I muttered, glancing to Evelyn. "Sorry for not seeing you for the past couple of weeks."
"It's all right." She said, looking uncomfortable after Solas before apparently trying it ignore our little spat in favor of asking a hard question of her own. "Cassandra... told me what you'd do, if I tried to walk in. Would... would you have?"
I exhaled, "In that first day or two, probably. I didn't have much self control, but I got the worst impulses sealed up after that. Mostly it was... shame, I guess. That kept me isolated, I mean. I hated feeling like that, and didn't want any of you to see me before I could get to... something closer to my usual self."
"...are you?"
"Seventy-thirty, Maeve to Andruil... give or take." A shrug. "It's an in flux kind of thing. I'm mostly your old friend, just one with a lot fewer inhibitions, a shorter temper, and an addiction to hunting things. Speaking of, I really need to go out after this to run down some deer or something, or else my hands are going to start shaking."
"Oh." She swallowed, "Um... did you... how was Merrill?"
My hand rose, rubbing at my face, "You remember how you told me how hard it was, trying to be me?"
"Yes?"
"She's been trying to be me for eight years, and has lost several hundred people trying to build a new society up there. It's going well, but she's... she's still Merrill, and ordering people into battle and seeing plenty of them dead after hasn't been doing her head any favors. She's exactly as stable as you'd expect."
Evelyn winced. "Oh."
"Hawke's not much better." I went on, "Isabella is the same, thank god. She helped get me settled. We talked quite a bit, it was... it was good. When you get back from Orazammar, you and I need to do the same."
Her pale throat worked once more. "... Maeve, it's... I know it can't happen, I'm all right with that."
"Liar." I said without any heat. "We'll talk, Little One. I promise. I can't say we'll ever have a beautiful romance, but if you want me in your bed..."
She... blushed a little, but still looked uncertain. "I... I want it to mean something, Maeve. I love you."
"And I love you, little one." I told her softly, "But I'm not really the kind of person who can give you what you need."
"But-"
I cut her off, but I did gently. "We'll talk, I promise. Now go on, go get your team ready. I want you all back as soon as possible, safe, and unblighted."
Evelyn sighed. "Yes sir."
I spread my arms, and she took the hint, coming over to give me a tight hug before striding out to do her duties.
Leaving me to stare down at the map of this world alone, hoping that I was making all of the right decisions... that I would be able to save this world from the First Darkspawn... and then save it again from the Dread Wolf, Ghilan'nain, and the rest of us ancient maniacs.