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The True Tale Of The Fifth Blight	By : Serena_Hawke-Theirin Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 13108 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Garrett pulled another stack of charts from the cabinet next to his desk and tossed them atop the others. He had been searching for the best route to traverse the narrow channels into Lake Calenhad for nearly two hours and was becoming more frustrated with the ridiculous task by the minute. When he guaranteed passage to the young mage, he had felt sorry for her and her predicament, but the more he thought about what it would take to get her to Kinloch Hold, the more he regretted that decision.

While it was true that Miriana was beautiful, no woman was worth the trouble the captain was going through, no matter what manner of charms she possessed. As far as Garrett knew, his dad had only made the journey into Lake Calenhad once, when the young pirate was thirteen. There had to be a chart for that run, but he’d be buggered if he could find it.

The captain removed the flask from his hip and took a swig then stared down at the pile of maps for a long moment with chagrin. He had been perusing the parchments for so long, the lines were beginning to run together and his head was pounding from the effort. Garrett growled with irritation then swiped the maps from his desk onto the floor.

Why in the bloody void am I doing this?

Martinez had visited him in his cabin a few minutes after the Call’s departure from Highever with some information he had gathered on Howe. It seemed that the arl had plans to travel to Denerim by carriage upon his departure from the city two days prior to Garrett’s arrival. If he left for Ferelden’s capital that day, there was a good chance the captain could catch up to the murderous snake, but the sidetrack to the Circle was going to cost him precious time and put more distance between himself and his revenge. By the time the pirate got to Denerim, Howe could be gone. It could be weeks before Garrett found his trail again.

He could still salvage it, though. Dravers was less than a day’s journey by ship, and he could drop his passengers off there. Better yet, he could leave Remus in the small port and perhaps convince Miriana to travel to Denerim with him. She couldn’t possibly want to go back to the Circle. Who in their right mind would? Then, he might have actually be afforded the opportunity to get to the capital ahead of his quarry.

Garrett peered down at the mess littering the floor of his cabin and scowled. His new plan was certainly more sound than the previous one. It shouldn’t take much to convince the mage it was the correct course of action, and he only promised to take Remus as far as his next port of call. Just because that stop would be more abrupt than the odd man had more than likely intended, it didn’t mean that the captain had cheated him out of his coin. Besides, he wanted that Imperial bastard off his ship as soon as possible.

The pirate stared at the door for several moments mulling the words he planned to say to Miriana over in his head. If she happened to be resistant to the idea, he would need to use a bit of charm and finagling of words to convince her she was safe from the templars in his company, but he had no doubts he could manage it. He could be rather persuasive when he wanted to be.

Before departing his cabin, Garrett splashed some cologne on his neck and made a check of his face in the mirror to ensure the kohl hadn’t smudged, then smoothed out the loosened strands of his hair. It was vanity at its finest, of course, and he felt like a bit of a prat for doing it, but he wanted to ensure he had every advantage when he spoke to the young mage. It would do him no good to try to charm the woman if he looked like a dirty street urchin.

When he emerged from his quarters, Garrett’s intention was to turn to his left and knock on the door of the smaller cabin which he told Martinez to designate to Miriana. He stopped in his tracks, however, when he spotted her leaning against the nearby railings. His breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her. Gone were the bulky and unflattering mage’s robes. They were replaced by a flowing dress, long-sleeved and low cut of blue the color of a robin’s egg. The hemlines were a bit shorter on the mage than the smaller woman the garment had been intended for, and the dress hugged Miriana’s ample curves better than it had its original owner’s.

The mage turned her head in Garrett’s direction and all thought left his head. The windblown strands of sable hair that had come loose from her braid and whipped across flushed cheeks only added to her appeal. Never in his twenty-eight years had the pirate seen a lovelier vision. When he strode toward her, she presented him with a shy smile as she attempted to tuck the wild tresses behind her ear to no avail.

“Good afternoon, Captain,” she greeted in a soft voice.

She didn’t look him in the eye, but seemed to concentrate on the dagger-shaped amulet hanging from the silver chain around his neck. Garrett regarded her with a slight scowl, not born of irritation, but confusion. He couldn’t imagine why she refused to look him in the eye. The few times he had caught her gaze, the encounters had been far too brief before she turned away. It was an odd occurrence. One he had never really encountered with such a comely lass before. He garnered such a reaction from plainer women in the past, but ones who were as beautiful as Miriana were always quite aware of and confident in their charms. Perhaps she merely found no interest in him, or worse, she feared him.

Garrett’s grimace deepened. His plan to convince her to accompany him to Denerim was beginning to fall apart even before he made the proposal. Maybe he needed a different approach than just speaking with the woman. A way to put her at ease. Perhaps if he showed her the wonders of traveling by ship, she would be swayed. It was worth the attempt, at least.

“Good afternoon, love,” he acknowledged with his most winning smile. The action was lost on her. She didn’t even look up to notice the effort.

She smoothed out the front of her dress. “I…I hope you don’t mind,” she stammered. “But your first mate told me I should wear this so I would be less conspicuous in case we were intercepted by templars.”

The captain had to chuckle at that sentiment. He knew Martinez well enough to know the man wasn’t worried about the Chantry knights in the least once the Call set sail. Templars had attempted to board the ship many times over the years and never managed to get very far before they were unceremoniously removed in one fashion or another. It was more likely his first mate just wanted to see a pretty young woman in a pretty dress.

“You may not be recognized as a mage in that dress, love,” Garrett told her with a smirk. “But trust me when I tell you, you are far from inconspicuous.”

The blush of her cheeks brightened upon hearing his words. She mumbled a reticent “thank you” before turning her attention back to the water. The pirate was mistaken in his flattery, but it was far from empty. Miriana would stand out in any crowd in her current state. He had to find a way to recover from that little slip.

“Would you care for a tour of my lady, love?” he asked as he crooked his arm for her. “Or did Mister Martinez already beat me to the pleasure?”

The pirate’s mood lightened a bit when she slipped a hesitant arm around his elbow. She was willing to walk with him, but still wouldn’t look him in the eye. It was something to go on, at least.

“That would be lovely, Captain,” she replied. “Thank you.”

Garrett took his time showing the mage the many areas and details of the Call. She seemed interested in the working of the riggings as he explained them and enthralled by the stories of damages taken to the different parts of the ship by rival pirates and royal fleets. She asked no questions nor even spoke more than a word or two here and there, but the mage seemed a little more at ease in his presence by the time they returned to the main mast.

A sly smirk traced the pirate’s lips as his gaze trailed up the large wooden column to the crow’s nest. He had an idea, and, to his surprise, it was something he remembered from skimming through one of Varric’s terrible books based on his life. He turned to Miriana and offered her his hand.

“There’s one more thing I would like to show you, love,” he said. “If you wouldn’t mind indulging an old pirate.”

The space between her brows disappeared as she bestowed a shrug and an apprehensive smile. “I suppose,” she agreed.

Garrett led the mage by the hand to a special set of ropes and pulleys near the base of the mast. They were special riggings his dad had installed on the ship for his own use, and they had been a part of the Call ever since Garrett could remember. In his younger years, Marko had ignored his health and the warnings of the ship’s doctor about an infection that had settled into his left foot. After a time, gangrene finally set in and the captain’s leg was taken up to the knee to save his life. The limb was replaced by a pegleg, but the prosthesis made it more difficult for the man to maneuver his ship and impossible to climb up to the nest. So, he had riggings built into the Call to afford him the opportunity to ascend to the observation deck whenever he wished.

The captain moved in closer to the mage and cupped her chin with his fingers before turning her face up to look at him. For the first time since she boarded the ship, she finally met his gaze. The tiny golden flecks in pools of brilliant lapis sparkled in the afternoon sun. The effect was almost hypnotic in its allurement. The pirate was forced to swallow past a knot in his throat before he could regain his powers of speech.

“You’ll need to hold on tight to me for this, love,” he instructed. “Will you trust me?”

Although she appeared completely frightened by the unknown prospect, Miriana nodded her agreement to his request. Garrett flashed a reassuring smile then drew her body close against his before wrapping the rope of the right pulley around his leather covered arm twice and clutching it with his hand. He bent at the knees until his left arm was encircling her waist in a grip solid enough that he was sure he wouldn’t drop her. As he lifted her from the ground, the pirate kicked out with his right foot and tripped a large lever with the toe of his boot. Seconds later, they were soaring into the air at a rapid pace with Miriana’s head planted into his shoulder and her lids squeezed tight. A muffled squeal reverberated against his neck and upper chest as she clung to him for dear life.

Once Garrett’s feet were finally planted on the upper platform, he tried to loosen his hold on the mage. She responded by digging her nails deeper into his shoulders. Her heart was beating so hard against his, he could feel every flutter. She was shivering against him when she finally spoke.

“Please,” she entreated in a voice barely above a whisper. “Please get me down.”

“Afraid of high places?” he questioned. She answered with a furious bobbing of her head. “It’s alright, love,” he reassured her. “I won’t let you fall. I’m a bit of an old hand at this. Been doing it since I was a wee lad.”

He let go of the rope in his hand to wrap his right arm around her waist and slowly lower her to the planks. She allowed him to set her down, but she continued to cling to him with closed lids. Garrett held her tighter as he lowered his head and placed his lips against her cheek next to her ear.

Shh, he gently comforted. “Don’t worry, love. You’re as safe with me as a newborn babe in its mother’s arms. It wasn’t my aim to frighten you. I just wanted to show you the best view in all of Thedas. There’s nothing grander than the sight of the sea from the top of my lady.”

The pirate felt Miriana’s chest swell heavily against him just before her entire body relaxed with an audible sigh. Either he found the exact right thing to say in that moment, or she had simply given up so he would get her back to the main deck quicker. She turned her face to the left so that her forehead was pressing into his stubbled jaw.

“There,” he breathed. “Much better. Just one piece of advice, love. Keep your eyes to the horizon and not below to the ship. The quavering of the mast will turn your guts.”

“It’s very beautiful, Captain,” she croaked. “But I would really like to get down now.”

Garrett’s plan had backfired completely. He doubted he would ever be able to convince the mage of anything now that he had frightened the poor lass half to death. The only option remaining to him was to drop her in Dravers or take her all the way to Kinloch. As much as he thirsted to see Howe’s blood staining his blade, the feel of Miriana in his arms was nearly enough to sway his decision to keep his promise to her.

Damned dwarf! I should have known better than to pay mind to anything in those books. Gerard may be a prat, but I’m a bloody idiot.

With a ponderous sigh he snaked the rope of the second rigging around his wrist and hand then buckled his knees to lift the mage from the platform once again. Once she was securely in his grasp, he took a step to the side in preparation to jump.

“Hang on, love,” he forewarned, knowing the trip down would most likely frighten her more than the ascent to the observation deck.

She tightened her hold on his neck and squeezed her lids as he took the final plunge from the nest and rapidly descended to the deck. Miriana shrieked in his ear and nearly choked the life out of him on the outset of their decline. By the time Garrett’s feet alit on the deck, the mage was trembling like a skittish kitten.

Miriana lingered in his embrace only a moment before pushing away and extending the smallest of curtsies. “Th…thank you, Captain,” she mumbled. “I…I think I shall retire to my cabin now…If you d…don’t mind.”

“Of course, love,” he replied with a concerned frown. “Will you be alright?”

She submitted a frantic nod and mouthed an inaudible, “Yes,” before spinning around and skittering away to her cabin. Garrett felt utterly helpless as he watched her depart. He thought to run after her, but knew it would only make things worse. He exhaled a long breath as he strode toward his own cabin, resolved to do the only thing he could think of to make up for his transgression. He would find the chart for the route that would lead him into Lake Calenhad and lead Miriana out of his life forever. Howe and the pirate’s vendetta against him would simply have to wait just a little longer.

Although she was displeased about it at the time, Miriana found she was actually grateful for Kegan forcing that stew on her earlier. It certainly made emptying her stomach into the bucket between her knees easier. She felt like such a fool, such a child, that her poor constitution had gotten the best of her in such a romantic moment.

How many times had she fantasized about that very thing? In her daydreams, the ascent to the crows nest always ended in a passionate kiss followed by a tryst in Gerard’s private quarters, not with her heaving into a bucket. Reality was so much more complicated. The Maker was finally allowing her to have a grand adventure of her own and she was mucking it up in every way imaginable.

Captain Hawke must have thought her an imbecile or a simpleton. She couldn’t even look him in the eye without his forcing her to. She could hear Julia’s laughter in the recesses of her mind.

Poor, poor, delusional, pathetic Miri. I told you filling your head with those stories would only bring you trouble someday.

The young mage sighed. At least the vomiting stopped. Perhaps her adventure could still be salvaged. She waggled her head. No, it was no use. She simply wasn’t capable of growing a spine in the next few days. Besides, the captain’s actions were probably just an attempt to be nice because he felt sorry for her.

Miriana walked over to the bed and flopped back onto the mattress. She couldn’t help but smile at the recollection of his body pressed to hers and the feel of his warm breath against her skin as he whispered into her ear. Even if her fantasy hadn’t exactly happened the way she had wanted, she would still carry the memory of that experience for the remainder of her life.

She rubbed the place on her cheek where his lips had brushed her skin and her body shuddered from the remembrance. Inhaling deeply, she took in the scent of him, still fresh on her clothes. Never before in her nineteen years had every one of her senses felt so alive. It was magic more powerful than any she had ever experienced. She closed her eyes to recall every detail of every moment she spent with the captain that day. Somewhere in her imaginings, memories turned to images of the Fade and the mage fell into a deep sleep.

Miriana sat in a tavern. There was no table before her. They had all been overturned. Bodies of men, both familiar and strange littered the floor. Her entire being quaked with consternation. Where was her savior? Her captain?

A figure in a heavy black cloak surrounded by an eerie crimson light approached her. The hood of the garment was pulled up to hide the identity of the person beneath. That frightened her even more.

The calm, reserved voice of a man echoed throughout the room as the figure stood over her.

“Please,” he entreated. “Allow me to explain, my lady.”

The young mage turned her gaze to the floor. One of the templars who had acted as her escort stared back at her with lifeless eyes. Tears began to spill down her cheeks.

“Please,” she begged. “Let me go.”

The cloaked figure knelt down next to her and removed the hood from his head. Everything else in the room disappeared, leaving the young mage and her captor surrounded in complete darkness. She could still see his face, his form, by the odd red aura surrounding him. Remus’s lips curved into a smile that pleaded with her to hear him. Understand him.

“Just a few minutes of your time,” he said. “That’s all I ask of you.”

Miriana had no choice. She knew he would not allow her to go. Although he asked, he was giving her no option.

“Very well,” she conceded in a soft voice.

He pulled up a chair and sat before her in the blackness. She had no idea from where the chair had come. He leaned forward. She tried to shy away, but found she couldn’t move.

“As I told you before, my name is Remus Terentius. My father is a Magister of the Imperium. Several months ago, I can’t recall how many, I took something from him. Something very powerful. Something he valued over everything else, including me.

“I won’t go into detail about the object, but with it he could gain the capability to destroy Thedas. I am ashamed of the fact that I knew about the thing long before I acted. It wasn’t until he murdered my Devin that I finally realized he would stop at nothing in his bid for power and domination.

“When I took the object, I thought I had killed him, but I knew that others, his followers, would simply take his place. I couldn’t allow that, so I took it, consumed it. Unfortunately, it consumed me as well. I fight against its power, its evil nature every day, every moment while I look for a way to destroy it.

“In the interim, I am hunted by my father and his followers. In my search for a cure, I have come across his plans, and they are far worse than I ever imagined. There is an ancient magister buried beneath the ground. With this thing inside me, my father intended to find a way to release that magister and bequeath this power to him. Unfortunately, I have found this power to be much worse than my father imagined. I need help. Help to find the cure. Help to defeat my father.”

Miriana shook her head. “I am only a Circle mage. What could I possibly do to help?”

“You are so much more,” he told her. “I saw it in your eyes, in your aura, the first time I looked upon you.”

“No,” Miriana refuted. “I am a Circle mage. Nothing more. In fact, this ship is headed for Kinloch Hold to take me back to the Circle as we speak.”

“But your phylactery has been destroyed,” Remus argued. “I have ensured no traces of your essence remained on that templar. You can go anywhere you please. You can be free. The captain will be agreeable in altering his course. You need only ask.”

“Don’t you understand?” asked the young mage. “The Circle saved my life and it protects me. I will not turn my back on it. Mages such as your father are the very reason for its existence. Left unchecked, gifted such as ourselves are capable of unfathomable destruction.”

“Anyone is capable of destruction, Miriana,” he argued in a faraway voice as his image began to fade from her view. “It is what is in the hearts of men that destroys, not their gifts.”

When he had disappeared completely, the young mage sat in quiet contemplation for several moments until the image of a woman made of shimmering silver and dressed in a flowing white gown appeared before her.

“Beware of that man, Miriana,” Faith told her in an ethereal voice. “He is more dangerous than even he realizes.”

My earliest memory was riding that rigging up to the crows nest in my dad’s arms when I was three years old. He took me up many times over the following few years, and told me how proud he was when I was finally big enough to go up by myself. Since that time, I have spent countless hours in the nest, gathering my thoughts and calming my soul when the world was beating me down. It was very special to me, and an experience I intended to share with my children if the spirits ever afforded me any. Looking back, I find it amusing that the one time I tried something out of Varric’s stories, it didn’t work out well. I never did like those books anyway, and that day just confirmed my opinion that Varric had no idea what he was talking about. In retrospect, I suppose he wasn’t quite as stupid as I thought.

That was the first time any of us ever heard anything about Corypheus. It was a name we would all become very tired of hearing later in life. Unfortunately, when Remus gave Miriana his warning about the magister, there were more pressing matters to worry about, and Corypheus’s presence was forgotten for several more years.

-G
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The True Tale Of The Fifth Blight