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Dawn of Beginning	By : EunjiMinJeon Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 2459 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age world nor characters.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Barris led the group over to the three banners that were hanging on a tower’s wall. Looking at each of the red looking triangular flags, it made Sirena ponder in her mind for a few seconds on which order she would choose. It was obvious she was no religious nut so she would not put the Chantry’s banner up as top priority.
“These are the standards. An honored rite; centered are the people, the Maker, and the Order.” The Templar began the explanation. “The Lord Seeker asks that you perform the rite so he may see the order in which you honor them.”
“What if I fail?” The Herald asked Barris with curiosity.
“There is no “correct” answer. The rite simply shows watchers who you are and what you value most.” He explained with quite a bit of patience. The American knew this so called “rite” was full of bull shit. When she looked up at Cullen, she saw him shaking his head which only validated what she thought. Total utter bull shit. Before the Herald could say anything about wanting to do the rite or not, Sirena stepped up as Cullen tried to grab her arm to stop her.
“I will do this rite of yours.” She said with clarity which no one had expected from her since she was quite small and meek. Not even Barris said anything against what she was going to do in the stead of Evelyn. The twenty-three-year-old woman made her way over to the wheels that controlled the red banners with different emblems on them. She first raised the flag of the people, then the Templar flag running in second, leaving the Chantry standard down at the bottom. Those were truly her values. The people should always come first when it comes to needing protection and help. And of course she views the Templars as their form of the police. Without people there would be neither cops nor government so that leaves the Maker at the bottom. The blonde short woman then walked over to Barris with her head held high signifying her choices were made.
“Traditionally, a participant in the rite now explains their choices to those assembled.” Sirena raised a brow at the man before letting out a snort.
“My reasons are my business.” She said with finality before moving back to stand next to the Commander, though, the noble stopped her in her tracks from his snobbish words that just had to come out of his mouth.
“It’s rather not! I’ll not be shut out of any explanation these clods understand. If we’re bringing them to heel.” Before Barris could cut in, Sirena snapped at the noble who had finally made her lose her patience that had been getting pushed since the first time she had to hear him talk.
“Excuse you!? Would you like to repeat yourself? I don’t think everyone has heard your douche baggery. Now please, pull your head out of your ass before you piss me off any more than you have.” After letting herself speak her mind, the American continued her way to stand next to Cullen. She watched him pinch the bridge of his nose while shaking his head with a smirk on his lips before she was back in her original position beside him. Just then Barris also spoke angrily towards the noble.
“I suppose those are your intentions.”
“Who are you to talk to me like that?” He asked the girl who had snapped at him which cause her to shake her head and scoff at him before raising her middle finger at him. His attention then went to Barris which she was thankful for. “My intent is to deal with people who matter. You helmed louts are wasting the Inquisition’s time; and my time. Unacceptable!” The noble yelled as Barris sighed. He somehow got a signal from someone since he immediately put his attention on the Herald as she stayed out of the conflict.
“The Lord Seeker awaits you both. Follow me.” He said before walking off. The group followed Ser Barris over to a tower’s entrance. He opened the door to let the others in before entering into the room himself. When the door shut with a big boom, the American flinched and became tense. She watched the annoying noble walk over to the table and lean over it while opening his stupid mouth yet again.
“It’s necessary, you know! You don’t run a battle by committee!” Cullen shook his head again before looking down at the Herald’s “cousin”. He leaned down to whisper in her ear since he could tell someone was tense, more so than the others in the room.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I just have a very bad feeling.” She whispered back as she gave him a small tight smile to show him that she was okay. He gave her a nod and placed a hand on her arm, giving it a squeeze before placing his hand back on the hilt of his sword. Though their conversation was short lived, it gave Sirena great comfort to know that he cared enough to ask. Their attention then went back to the argument between Abernache and the Templar.
“Without faith, you’ve no knights! You’ve…” The dark Templar stopped in midsentence when the door across the room opened and someone who wasn’t the Lord Seeker walked in. “Knight-Captain?” Two other Templars stood next to the Knight-Captain on either side of him. The man walked up to the table before addressing everyone.
“You were expecting the Lord Seeker. He sent me to die for you.” The air in the room changed to something darker. Even Barris looked over at Evelyn who was assessing the situation very carefully. The Commander glared at the men, sensing something bad was about to happen. The only person who livened up the bad and tense situation was the obnoxious noble with his stupidity.
“Knight-Captain! Lord Esmeral Abernache. Honored. It is not unlike the second dispersal of the reclaimed Dales.” He was really something. This was twice he introduced himself in his “I’m better than you” attitude. It was like his own arrogance prevented him from looking at the horrible situation. “No doubt rank puts you above such things. A pity more people don’t understand that.” Sirena shook her head while sighing inwardly as the Templar laughed at Esermal.
“This is the grand alliance the Inquisition offers?”
“Knight-Captain Denam, I am expected by the Lord Seeker, where is he?” The Herald asked very calmly while still being diplomatic. As soon as Abernache opened his mouth, the American wanted to face palm herself on the forehead.
“Yes, let me also extend my hand to the gracious Lord Seeker.” When the Templar didn’t answer the noble finally came to his senses and became uncertain. “Knight-Captain?”
“The Lord Seeker had a plan, but the Herald ruined it by arriving with purpose. It sowed too much dissent.” The Templar informed neutrality, like he wasn’t himself.
“Knight-Captain, I must know what’s going on!” Barris insisted since it looked like he hated being in the dark on important matters. Sirena was able to hear yelling on the other side of the door. She wanted to open the door to take a peek, but instead, kept her attention on the scene that was unfolding in front of her while making her stomach twist in knots.
“You were all supposed to be changed! Now we must purge the questioning knights!”
“For once, I agree with the-“ Out of nowhere an arrow hit the noble in the eye, killing him instantly. The American wanted to scream, but it got caught in her throat as her face turned pale from horror. She couldn’t even hear the next words the crazy Templar had said. Only words she was able to pick up were “Elder One” and “stained red”. Her eyes looked around and saw people were getting slaughtered one by one. That was the moment a fight broke out. Even Cullen pulled out his sword and joined the battle; knocking them down with his shield then slashed them down with his sword. Sirena couldn’t move. She couldn’t even unsheathe her Asian sword. Her hands were shaking terribly from watching all the blood pooling around the corpses.
The small fight ended rather quickly, but to the now fragile American, it felt like it had lasted forever. A little whimper had escaped from her lips which sounded like a tiny squeak. The person who had stayed by her side was Varric. The color in her face was gone. Varric was looking up at her with worry in his eyes. They didn’t even notice Cullen who was now standing beside the young American; also looking at her in concern.
“Sirena? It’s okay. It’s over now.” He had no idea how to comfort her, but he could see her whole body shaking.
“Is that fake blood?” She asked in a trembling whisper. “Am I in a horror movie?” The Commander looked at the dwarf in confusion who only shrugged in response. Cullen had no idea what the girl was talking about, but he could tell she wasn’t okay in the slightest. This had to have been her first time to see bloodshed.
“It is real blood.” He spoke softly to her in a way that was meant to be calming, but instead she ended up falling down since her legs gave out from under her due to the news. Cullen squatted down next to her and placed his hand under her arm to help her back up to her feet gently. “You’re okay, Sirena. Just take deep breaths.” The American did as she was instructed to the point she was able to get some color back on her face and the tremors became minimal. As he felt her calm down, he kept his almond eyes on her just to be sure that she wasn’t going to faint. When he noticed her head slowly turned, her gaze locked with his which made his heart flutter even during a bad time; he gave a gentle yet encouraging smile to keep her going.
Sirena squared her shoulders as she took her last deep shaky breath then gave a nod. This was no time to falter. It was time to face the music and fight like the Commander had trained her to do when she first started practicing. The time for panic would have to be later when she had the time since this was in fact a life or death situation and she would prefer to live. While in her moment of panic mode, it looked like the Herald found the key to open the locked door that was across from her. She also noticed Evelyn and her companions had waited for her patiently as she calmed down. The American girl took her arm from Cullen’s grasp to see if she could stand on her own. When she noticed she wasn’t going to fall she gave a nod to signal that she was ready for battle. Well… As ready as she would ever be.
With that simple head nod, Evelyn opened the door and the battle began. The Herald and her companions then push their way through a horde of red Templars in the small hallway. Vivienne casted spells, another was shooting bolts, while the others slashed and hacked at the enemies. They eventually made it out of the tower into a courtyard where more red Templars awaited. Putting everything out of her mind, Sirena rushed into battle after the Herald. She pulled out her katana and swung it around; slashing at the Templars that had gone bad like Hui-Seon had taught her. He would have been proud at the sight. When she fought with her sword, she made it look like dancing. After she took her last swing and killed a person, she felt someone pull her back with force which made her eyes go wide with fright.
A red Templar had almost slashed into her with his sword from what she saw just as she had got pulled away. Her blue-green eyes looked up to see Cullen as he pushed her behind him in protectiveness. He raised his shield then ran at the Templar while yelling out his battle cry which sounded furious. When Cullen’s shield hit the Templar, the man flew back and landed on his back, hitting his head against the ground. Cullen rushed over to the fallen man. As he was standing over him, he raised his sword and swung it down into his neck, chopping the man’s head off cleanly causing blood to spill out of the neck onto the grass. The ex-Templar didn’t really think about what he was doing, he just acted on instinct to protect Sirena who could have been wounded or worse killed and he wasn’t going to let that happen. Not on his watch anyway. He knew she was going to change after this; everyone does after their first bloodshed. Hopefully she won’t change too much and not lose her young carefree spirit. Cullen then heard footsteps running. He looked over and saw the woman he helped run towards a building where there was another fight.
They continued onwards fighting Templar after Templar as they heard the Lord Seeker Lucius’s voice surrounding them. All the fighting that was getting done left a big disgusting gut filled mess. The second courtyard, the American assumed, was not covered with a bunch of red veined Templars. When she heard the enemies, the American took her sword out of its scabbard then ran forward which earned some gasps from the party. Vivienne cast a spell that put a barrier around the crazy girl out of desperation since she rushed into battle without waiting for the Herald. A Templar rushed over towards her with his shield up to knock her down. Using the shield to her advantage, she had a running start and jumped up onto the shield then leaped off of it while swinging her katana down at the exposed skin causing blood to be sprayed on her face and armor. After she killed the Templar, she bent forward a bit and lifted her leg up in a kick making the other Templar that was close to her lose their balance before spinning and slashing the sword into their leg where the major artery was located making the Templar bleed out quickly.
Sirena turned around and realized all the bad guys were dead. She didn’t realize how much in the zone she was in until that moment. The woman was so focused on her anger and hatred as she thought about those who have done her wrong. She even went as far as pretending the red Templars were the ones who have been making her lose her sanity slowly. The American wanted justice, though; she wasn’t going to get that, so instead she wished for her revenge in the eye of the beholder could be justice. Her face turned red as she made her way over to the group with a sheepish smile. Cullen looked her over quickly to make sure there wasn’t any wounds after her bold decision to run into battle.
After she joined the group, Evelyn walked over to a door and knelt down onto the ground. The Herald reached back and pulled out the utensils she needed before picking the lock. Afterward the door swung open to reveal an empty room. One could tell the office was left in a hurry. The Herald walked over to the desk and conveniently picked up a letter that was left in the open with blood splatters on it. They then ran back outside to read the note. Out of curiosity, Sirena walked to a ledge to look down at the balcony only to see a bunch of dead people lying on the ground in their pool of blood spilling around them. The wind pushed the smell up causing her to wrinkle her nose and make gagging sounds. As she gagged, she felt someone pull on her hand. When the American looked to see where the tug came from, she saw Varric was the one holding her hand. He led her up the stairs where everyone else was going. After seeing another door, a sigh escaped from her lips. The fighting was tiring her out physically and mentally. She wanted- no- needed a small break but knew she wasn’t going to get that either. Evelyn then opened the door to reveal an empty yard. No Templars at all. There were only two stairs and a voice that spoke to the Herald.
“The Herald of Andraste, it’s time we became better acquainted. Come, show me what kind of woman you really are!” As he talked the Herald and her companions remained quiet; almost like everyone was concentrating. After everyone climbed to the top of the stairs; Evelyn walked over to the man with his back turned towards her. All of a sudden he turned around and grabbed her by the arms. There was nothing anyone could do. They even heard him sneer “at last”. The Herald just stood there as Lucius disappeared. It was weird to watch. Sirena’s blue-green eyes glanced at Varric who looked back at her then shrugged his shoulders. She looked around at everyone to see they were all just as confused as she was.
When it seemed like the Herald came back out of where ever she was mentally, a nude color creature had also appeared and landed on its back. As it did some contortionist thing, Sirena looked at it in disgust. It was grotesque and inhuman. The American then assumed Evelyn defeated the envy demon with some help in that noggin of hers. The Envy demon evaporated then went into what looked like green portals inside the tower.
“The Lord Seeker!” Barris yelled while running forward in a panic. The blonde girl had just realized he had been with them the whole time, assisting in the battles.
“No. An imposter.” Evelyn corrected the man on his mistake. The Templar shook his head in disbelief as he looked at the green circular see through thing. Sirena looked more closely at it and noticed it wasn’t a portal to the fade, but a shield to keep people out.
“That monster ensured we weren’t prepared. I still don’t know what we’re up against.”
“Did anyone else see a young man appear beside me?” The Herald asked randomly. Barris, Cullen, and her companions gave her a look that said she was crazy. Everyone, but the so-called cousin basically; she knew who Evelyn was talking about.
“What young man?” Barris asked her in confusion.
“Pale, strangely dressed. He was with me?” Evelyn said with just as much puzzlement.
“I saw no one. The Lord Seeker was alone when you revealed his true nature.”
“I’m sorry; an envy demon replaced the Lord Seeker.”
“Envy?” Barris asked bewilderment as he looked straight into the room. “Maker! May the real Lord Seeker be caged or dead.” He said with some sadness in his voice before he continued to speak. “It used the red lyrium to control the order, didn’t it? I knew that miserable stuff was risky!” His sadness quickly evaporated and turned into anger instead as he spoke on about the tainted lyrium. “They often give us new kinds of lyrium. Our commanders… Some used the red stuff first, to prove it was harmless. The knights would’ve been next.” From what he was saying sounded like a typical military, since modern day American forces were often given shots that haven’t been fully tested. It seemed like Thedas was just as bad in that aspect. “That demon turned our leaders so we couldn’t question when this started!” Sirena stepped forward with sympathy showing on her young face.
“I’m sorry to say Sir Barris, but that is typically how the military is. Armies are the test dummies. The insubordinates aren’t really supposed to question their higher commands.” After she explained what she knew about the military from where she was from, Cullen looked at her with surprise on his face as he remained silent, most likely wondering how she knew about the protocol.
“I understand that, but this is wrong!”
“I can tell you first hand, it’s a clever liar.” Evelyn said switching the topic to the demon. “Bring your best to stop it!” Barris hung his head in resignation before responding to the Herald of Andraste.
“Our best?” He then turned and looked at the Templars in the room. Barris made his way inside the tower with the others following suit. “Templars! What is envy?”
“A coward, brother!” A random Templar man said while walking over towards the group. After he responded, a woman then said what she knew about the demon.
“It studies, makes less mistakes. But most of all, it hides.” Barris then turns to address the Herald.
“We need our veterans. Our Commanders have turned, but the lieutenants may still be fighting. We’ll hold the hall. You find the lieutenants and the uncorrupted lyrium stores. Bring them here, and I’ll give you Envy. Show those things no mercy.” The Templar said before walking away to help his brothers and sisters. Evelyn ran to a door on the left side of the great hall, making the others follow her. They ran over to the upper barracks which looked clean for the most part.
Out of nowhere these monsters walk over to the group, almost in a poor attempt to ambush. The monster looked like it was human once, though more stretched out with what looked to be red crystals sticking out of its back and arms. The hands looked like they were claws. Judging by the armor skirt, the monster was in fact a Templar who was infected by the red lyrium.
As soon as Sirena saw one, she immediately went into battle mode with a mantra/chant in her head: “it’s either me or them”. She pulled out her katana and ran towards a corrupted Templar. Staying focused on the task at hand; she noticed Cullen had come to her aid just in case she needed it. Her ears had picked up the sounds of battle all around her knowing the others were fighting and taking down the corrupted as well. When she and Cullen finally brought the monster to its knees, the American looked up at him and a saw movement from his head that looked like a nod. With that encouragement, she raised her sword and swung it into its neck. After killing the beast, Cullen slowed their walking so he could talk to her privately by grabbing her by the arm gently. The American looked up at him while avoiding his golden-brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” He asked her gingerly with concern since he wasn’t commanding his soldiers and he knew she wasn’t one.
“I’m fine.” The American responded without any emotion which made him more perturbed as she continued to walk away towards the rest of the group. She held onto her sword over her shoulders. When Sirena walked over to another open area, her eyes scanned the surrounding area carefully. Immediately the American saw the same looking monster attacking a person. She knew the Herald saw and they both ran into the midst of trouble. With her size, she ran on top of the crates rather quickly.
When Sirena got a closer look at the scene, she noticed two of the monsters instead of one. She knew Evelyn was working on one with Vivienne who was shooting spells at it. The younger woman then jumped off the crate and landed on the second monster’s back. Her sword was too long to work around with in her position so she ended up regretting her choice. The thing that was once a Templar shook her off with a roar. The American landed on the ground making an oomph sound. She then noticed it raised a talon claw at her and swung it down towards her. With wide eyes and a gasp, Sirena rolled away at the last minute but not before feeling a slash on her arm which created quite a big gash. A scream of agony escaped from her lips as she pressed her other hand down onto the wound adding pressure to slow down the bleeding.
When Cullen heard a scream, he looked to see who and where it came from and saw the short blonde woman on the ground holding onto her arm. He could see blood flowing in between her fingers. Anger flared in him as he found the monster that had harmed her. Watching it raise its claws to hit her only fueled his rage even further. He raised his shield and ran at the red lyrium monster while also yelling to distract the beast before bashing into it. The Commander then hit the inhuman on the head with the hilt of his sword causing it to lose more balance. Cullen then saw bolts hitting it which meant Varric was shooting them off from his crossbow: Bianca. Since the beast was a Templar it knew a bit of what he was going to do due to the fact it was trained the same way, though, everyone had different techniques. Because the monster was bigger than him, it moved a lot slower than the average human. Cullen used this to his advantage and swung his steel sword at it while maneuvering around it. He then saw a bolt fly into its eye, killing it instantly. The monster fell forwards landing on its face, pushing the bolt further in causing the arrow head to poke out of the back of its head. Cullen walked over to the girl in pain and knelt down next to her. He grabbed her arm to look at the damage that had been done. Varric held out a vial of green liquid to the Commander as he also looked at Sirena. He nodded to the dwarf in gratitude and uncorked the vial. He pressed the small glass to her lips and tilted it up, pouring the contents into her mouth. The Commander of the Inquisition forces looked down at her arm to see it knitting itself back together as he heard gagging noises.
“That shit is disgusting!” Sirena said while scrunching up her face in disgust which caused Varric to shake his head at her.
“This is the consequence of rushing into battle blondie.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Evelyn asked as she caught up to the three then kneeling down next to her. Cullen looked at the Herald before giving her an answer.
“She will be okay. We need to hurry though.”
“Right. Varric, Commander, stay next to her as best as possible, unless you-“ the Herald looked over at the dwarf as she continued her order “need to take the high ground.”
“Got it.” Varric helped Cullen get the girl back to her feet. The Herald of Andraste gave a nod then ran off while motioning to the companions to follow her. With a sigh, the short fake blonde American followed at a slower pace while mentally assessing the damage. She knew full well that Varric and Cullen were watching her closely after what had happened. The girl eventually went into a jog to catch up to the others. When she finally caught up, the sight of yet another battle met her eyes. Sirena could tell immediately that they were in the middle of a mini fight as another sigh escaped from her lips from lagging behind.
“Alright; Varric take the high ground and cover me.” She said in a commanding tone, finally using her head instead of just rushing into the action like she had been. “Commander… You do whatever it is you’ve been doing.” Varric then ran over towards an area where he could climb to get to the high ground to shoot his bolts from his crossbow. The American then ran over towards a Templar marksman who was standing over in a corner. When she heard Cullen do his battle cry which she found weird, a smirk crossed her features. Sirena snuck up behind the Templar and gave him a kick to the side of his knees which caused him stumble forward as the Commander thrusted his sword into the man. She gave him a nod while just noticing the bolts in the man’s legs. The young woman then heard the Herald tell someone to go to the main hall which told her the fight was over for now. Evelyn then followed the blue Templar to the Great Hall across the stone bridge.
After entering the Great Hall there were two evil Templar monsters. Sirena watched as the Herald jumped down to help the normal Templars on the ground level. Her gaze then went to a Templar who looked like they were struggling on killing the beast. The American climbed down instead of jumping, letting Evelyn take care of it so she could get a small break while descending down the ladder. Not to mention she was very good at killing things quickly from what she had noticed. The woman did have the skills to cloak herself and strike at an unobservant enemy. It was cool to watch now that she had a chance to observe. When the last red Templar was dead, the Great Hall fell quiet as the people recuperated.
The Herald then went to the other door which the American assumed was meant for the officers. Sirena followed Evelyn to what would be another mini fight and she knew it was too. As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, they heard a voice call out what she thought was giving orders; she didn’t hear the person clearly. It was then that the red Templars came out. Her gaze swept the area counting about three or four enemies. Vivienne and Varric moved away so they could hit long distance since they were ranged while Blackwall and Cullen distracted the red Templars since they were basically the tanks; putting it in roleplay game terms. That left Evelyn and Sirena as the rogues as well as Varric, but he was ranged. The two girls then ran at the evil Templars while they were busy with the two men.
The Herald had her daggers out while the blonde American had her katana out feeling bad ass even though she had her butt handed to her earlier. The duel wielder worked at the critical spots of the body on one Templar while the slightly curved blade worked on another. When they were laying on the ground dead, both Evelyn and Sirena made their way towards a door. As the other woman held the door handle, she looked at the younger woman who nodded her head silently to tell her to open it. Everyone followed their Herald inside and stopped short when their gazes looked around the room. There were drawings on the wall made from blood! On the table in the middle of the room sat a bust of a woman with an arrow to her head and a parchment attached to it. Out of nowhere she heard a young man’s voice.
“The Elder One wants her dead; Empress Celene. He hates her. Haunts her, wants her dead. But hides, why? He hid other things too.” A sound was then heard outside the room which made everyone look around out of curiosity.
“This “Elder One” thinks highly of himself if he thinks he can strike again.” Vivienne said as Evelyn looked around trying to find things that might become useful later.
“Perhaps Leliana can figure out why he would want Celene’s head.” The older blonde spoke up after the mage. The young woman looked down at Varric who only shrugged his shoulders. She made her way out the door to get out of the room for some fresh air while the others conversed. Two pairs of feet could be heard following her out. She leaned against some crates before looking over to see the dwarf and Cullen watching. Her mouth opened like she was going to speak but closed it as she thought better of it. It was that moment Trevelyan came rushing out of the tower and ran past her.
“Looks like we are going for another round.” She mumbled under her breath as she also ran off after her so called “cousin”, going into yet another small battle which will lead to the bigger fight. The small fights were to save the lieutenants even though they don’t need much help. Once everyone was saved, they ran into another dim room, but this one was filled with red lyrium. When Cullen took a look inside, Sirena noticed he chose to stay outside where the fresh air was. To keep him company, the young woman had decided to linger out as well as the Herald collected the non-tainted lyrium. The American sat down on the ground when she heard his warm voice speak to her.
“How is your arm?” He asked her in concern, noticing the arm was now fully healed. She gave a shoulder shrug while keeping her gaze off of him. The American knew that he knows something was wrong. It didn’t take a genius to know something was off. She couldn’t help it either. Even though she didn’t know what she was feeling at the time since she had numbed herself from her emotions so she could function the way she should when there were fights. When the young woman was fighting with her anger, she had realized her movements were getting sloppy which was why she got slashed in the arm. That was when she knew she had to rein in her emotions. A few minutes later the Herald and the others finally came out of the room.
“Got the lyrium, let’s get this back to Barris.” Evelyn said as she ran past both Sirena and Cullen knowing they could take care of themselves. The American got up from her sitting position just as the ex-Templar made his way over to meet the girl halfway so she would lag behind on her own. It was rather sweet of him since she obviously was not athletic at all to do a lot of running. She gave him a little nod of appreciation, but didn’t say a word verbally. Taking a deep breath, the American went into a run with Cullen in tow. They had to cross another bridge and finally entered the Great Hall again. After everyone made it inside, the short blonde woman noticed something that was slightly amusing to her. The fight was basically over as soon as they had entered. Both Sirena and Evelyn walked up to the Knight-Templar.
“Right. Keep them off us! We’ll break this beast!” Barris said with a lot of determination which made all other Templars hit their shields while they cheered. Srena watched the Knight-Templar walk over towards another Templar who was kneeling down while holding a tall ornate chalice which he grabbed and took a drink. With a closer look she noticed it glowing a blue color. The Templars then kneeled down doing God knows what.
After the American figured what it was the Templars were doing, the crazy Templars who took the bad lyrium came out to stop what the normal Templars were doing. It was a sign that it was time to fight. Sirena unsheathed her katana at the same time as Evelyn pulled out her daggers. She could hear in the background the others taking out their weapons as the two rushed immediately into battle. There were a lot of red Templars that came rushing into the Great Hall. Sirena looked around with a calculating look to see how many she could kill herself. She looked over at Varric and Cullen and gave them both a silent nod to tell them to do what they have to do before she ran at a Templar. As a red Templar ran at her with his shield, she dropped and rolled away then got back on her two feet. She swung her sword at his legs which caused him to fall to his knees. Though, he was knocked down, he continued to swing his sword at her. Her sword moved to clash with his making her grunt a bit since he was strong. She then did a spinning kick into his wrist to make him drop his steel sword before thrusting her katana into his body. The American then pulled it out, letting the man bleed out from the wound she had inflicted. When running footsteps could be heard behind her, her head slightly turned to see another red Templar running towards her. Acting like she didn’t know what was happening; Sirena waited till the last second to point the blade behind her and let him run into it before turning around and pushed it in more deeply so it caused more damage.
The American took a few seconds to look at the green barrier to see if it was weakening which she knew was what the Templars were doing. They were trained at a young age to do this from what Cullen had told her. While she was thinking, more corrupted Templars ran towards her. There was no way she would be able to kill four of them when they were focused on her. As one swung their blade at her, she somersaulted while swinging her blade at his legs before getting back up onto her feet. It seemed the legs were her favorite limbs to go after. When another Templar swung their blade at her, she stopped it with her own when her ears caught the approaching sound of footsteps running towards her. Sirena raised her leg and kicked him in the gut before she pushed the Templar away that was clashed with her sword. Out of nowhere near her, she heard a battle cry which made the red Templars focus on the new threat. The red Templar that was still near her was cut at his side by her blade. She then stabbed him with her sword as her eyes glanced over at the blonde haired man. ‘It’s about time he shows up’ she thought as her sword pierced through a man’s neck that she slashed at earlier.
After what felt like hours even though it was only minutes, the green barrier finally went down. As soon as the barrier was down, Evelyn ran up the stairs with no break. From the way she kept running and fighting it was like she was super human or something. Sirena bent over placing her hands on her knees and panted, trying to catch her breath. She looked through the corner of her eye to see the blonde ex-Templar warrior watching her which made her cheeks turn pink. It felt weird yet nice to be watched, though, at the same time it made her feel self-conscious about herself even when he only looked for a few seconds. Her gaze then moved and saw Varric climbing down from the platform he was on. When his feet touched the ground, he immediately walked over to Sirena. She saw him glance at Cullen before his gaze moved back towards her.
“How are you holding up pup?”
“Pup?” The dwarf gave a little eye roll before answering her.
“It’s a word of endearment. Anyway, how are you holding up? Seriously.”
“Not very well honestly…” She admitted finally. That was all she could say for the time being. The American girl finally stood up straight and gave a nod of self-reassurance after assessing her breathing which was back to normal. “Okay, we can catch up with the others.” She said before he could ask anything else.
“After you, Herald’s cousin.” Varric said which earned him an eye roll from the twenty-three year old. Her eyes glanced over at the ex-Templar again and moved her head that said to follow her when she saw him looking in her direction. She then made her way up the stairs while hearing the two’s footsteps behind her as she caught up to Evelyn at the top of the stairs on the second floor of the tower. The American saw Blackwall and Vivienne standing in front of the Herald who was knelt down in front of a box that looked like it was filled with supplies. She watched her pull out the healing elfroot potion in confusion wondering where she was going to put the vials. Like really, does she have some secret pockets where she can stash them? As Sirena asked questions in her head, the Herald finally stood up after resupplying from the cache.
“Okay, lets confront this Envy demon.” Evelyn said sounding like she wanted to get things done and over with. She started to make her way outside before turning around to face Cullen. “Ah, Commander, you can stay here and help the Templars.” Sirena’s gaze moved towards the blonde warrior and watched him give a nod as his eyes met hers before turning back and went down the stairs to meet up with the Templars like the Herald had told him to do. She let out a sigh not at all looking forward to this confrontation as she watched the leader walking again. The American took a hint and with a roll of her eyes, she followed everyone else.
As they made their way outside, she recognized the area as the Shrine of Offering. They soon heard a growling voice speak to the Herald or so she thought. Her blue-green eyes darted around looking for any potential threat nearby.
“I touched so much of you.” The American let out a little snort as she thought “that’s what she said” as they stopped in their tracks to continue to listen to the voice. “But you are selfish with your glory. Now I’m no one.” Sirena then raised her hands up to one of her shoulders and played an air violin causing both Blackwall and Varric to crack up but a glare from Vivienne. When her arms lowered back down to her sides, she saw the grotesque naked demon pop out of the ground with a squeal when she heard another voice join causing her to jump since she was already high on adrenaline.
“Dark and desperate. Death to make yourself alive. I used to be like you. I’m not anymore. You shouldn’t be either.” After the boy who seemed either the same age or close to it stopped talking, Envy got more pissed and he disappeared. The American looked around to see if anyone else saw him and noticed the Herald. Before she could think the battle with Envy had started. Sirena unsheathed her weapon at the same time everyone else did and crowded around the demon, watching it. She swung her curved blade into its thighs, hitting the vital spots, though it wasn’t bringing the beast down. With all the hits Envy was receiving it finally disappeared into the ground. She looked around in confusion, looking for the demon when she felt herself falling onto her back, making her heart race in her chest and her stomach clench. More fighting could be heard as she got back up to fight only to see the demon thing disappear again. With frustration, Sirena slightly stomped towards the cemented area where red Templars seem to pop out of nowhere.
“Where the fuck did they come from!?” She yelled as she fought against two, swinging her sword at them hard.
“I don’t know, but do not lose your focus Sirena!” Evelyn yelled back as she ducked down while a red Templar swung at her. Due to her dodge, he hit his own comrade in the side. Surprisingly, he showed no remorse for what he did. Too little too late for him, her blade went through his gut. Then a black silhouette that looked sort of human came out to fight them using Envy’s voice. ‘This must be stage two’ she thought as she ran over to attack the demon. Envy was swinging everywhere, leaving himself open for attacks. With a smirk, the American slashed at him where he left himself vulnerable while the others distracted him. Each time the demon swung at her, she either ducked or jumped to avoid the hit. A few times, she would feel something warm run down her arms and legs. The demon eventually went back to its original form after taking so many hits. While still attacking the demon there was another change which she thought ‘stage three’. The American knew he didn’t have much health left when he finally let out his screech and sunk into the ground.
After the battle was over, Sirena walked over towards where the Great Hall was placing her sword back in its scabbard while the Herald picked up loot from the dead. When she got close enough, she saw a group of Templars standing and waiting with Cullen and Barris in the front. Her arms folded across her chest even though she was still bleeding. Eventually Evelyn made her way there and Barris then stepped forward with Cullen who was looking at the short blonde girl as discreetly as possible.
“The demon is dead. Andraste be praised! She shielded you from its touch. We’ve numbers across Thedas, but we let this happen. Our officers either failed to see it or were complicit. The Templars are ready to hear what the Inquisition needs from us.” Evelyn looked back at the green hole in the sky and turned back to look at the Templars in front of her.
“You need to hear this! To feel the truth in your hearts! I am the will of the Maker! I am the Herald of Andraste! She’s sent me to remind you of your sacred duty and shields against dark magic! Knights will end the breach!” Sirena pinched the bridge of her nose since she did not approve the words she was speaking as the Herald made her speech. She then watched Barris step forward to speak with Evelyn.
“We will not deny the Maker’s will. Not anymore! But the order is leaderless, gutted by betrayal. We must rebuild it.”
“Your order is a symbol that holds people’s respect. That cannot die today! We offer you an alliance! Supplies, weapons, grounds to shelter you. All we ask is you help us close the breach.”
“Do we take the Inquisitions terms brothers and sisters?” Barris asked the other Templars. Those behind him cheered and threw their fists in the air. “The Templars will come. I hope your stead hold is ready.” As there was quiet, Sirena looked across from where she was and saw the boy again, watching the scene unfold before he walked away. She was anxious to get away from Therinfal Redoubt. It got to the point she felt like she was suffocating since everything started crashing around her inside all at once. Not caring what anyone thought, the American walked past the crowd of Templars as normally as she could when she heard Evelyn talk again. Her feet then carried her at a run, desperate to get out.
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Dawn of Beginning