Splinters of Thedas (A Dragon Age RP) -- Mystearica x Rivine

Mystearica

Mystearica

Star
Joined
May 20, 2014
Part 1: The Right of Annulment​

Ten years had passed. Ten years since the Warden-Commander, hero of Ferelden, had restored the throne to the rightful heir, fought back the Darkspawn, and the hero Loghain had regained his honor before the Archdemon.

And though Ferelden had rebuilt, putting right what the Darkspawn had made wrong, the world shifted. Kirkwall became a rallying point, the place where all hell broke loose and the mages bucked the Templars and their Chantry en masse. The first stone had been cast, and a mighty stone it was, sending ripples all across Thedas. It had spread north before rippling southward.

All the lands of the world stood poised on the edge of a true and bloody war...
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Kinloch Hold -- more colloquially known as the Circle Tower of Ferelden -- slept. All of the apprentices were to bed by this hour (or at least, they were supposed to be, but even the most watchful eyes could not catch every young soul that sought out their fellows during the night for whatever reason), and only the more focused mages were up at this hour -- researching, studying, preparing papers or arguing Circle politics in some misbegotten and smoke-filled corner of the Tower.

Dagna was one such enterprising soul, though hardly a mage. She was, in fact, a dwarf -- magicless by nature, though definitely not by choice. She adored that part of their world, made inaccessible to her through a quirk of genetics and, were it not for the Warden-Commander all those years ago when she was but a lass of thirteen, Orzammar's frowning upon such things. But here she was! A student of the Circle, invited there personally by the First Enchanter, and a constant prowler of the library on the first floor of the tower.

"Let us see... dragonstone... would that be under 'D' for dragon, or 'R' for reagent?" Dagna was mumbling to herself as she grabbed hold tight to the side of the bookshelf. With a mighty push the stocky woman rocketed across the front of the bookshelf, the oiled wheels on the wondrous ladder sliding with nary a squeak across the stone flooring. "Ah! Ah! The History and Uses of Dragonstone!" Dagna said, grabbing hold tight to the edge of the bookshelf as she overshot the book she wanted and whose title she barely glimpsed. She rolled to a halt, before sloooowly dragging herself back toward the leatherbound tome. She plucked it from the shelf at he same time as she heard the great doors of the tower open -- they were heavy and perhaps not as well-attended to as one might hope, and were all the more notable for that.

Curious, Dagna began to slide down the ladder with the heavy book under one robed arm before she wandered over to the door of the library. She could hear voices from beyond:

"--up to the First Enchanter! I'll go to the dormitories!" It sounded like Felen, one of the younger mages.

The young mage burst through the doors of the library, tailed by one of her friends -- an elf by the name of Sollochar. Upon spotting the dwarf, the former stopped in her tracks.

"Felen! What's happening?" Dagna asked.

"I-it's the Templars. They've sealed off the docks and a HUGE ship is coming over the lake. I-I think that something bad is about to happen," Felen said, quickly running past Dagna with the elf in her wake.

Dagna's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly set the book down on one of the study tables, swiftly running to the heavy door that had been left open. The Templar guards had left their station, but she could see that there was a crowd gathering down by the dock, many men holding torches as a ship came over the water, with a flag only barely visible through the night mists -- the flag of the Chantry and the Templar order.

There was only one reason for such an influx of Templars, one she was aware of only through research -- reinforcements for the Chantry's Right of Annulment.
 
Strong hands gripped at oars as a grunted issued forth from their wielder's mouth as he pushed them through the water. He had had to pay an insane amount of coin for the vessel he was now on, but it was the safest way that he had conceived of being able to cross the waters of the lake undetected. A fur lined an hooded cloak guarded him against the hard wind that blew out of the north. But he was quite sure that wind also carried the Circle's foes, the Templars, ever closer to the island.

The man turned his head, his blue eyes glancing to the north... and his heart sank. He could see the galley pulling closer to the island that the circle was upon and knew that the warriors of the Chantry would reach it before he could. But he could not turn back. He had been entrusted with a task, sworn an oath with his own blood that he would see it through under pain of death. So he was not about to turn back now. He continued to glance back, checking the contrivance of the church as it closed in on the island as he worked the oars, trying to urge his own craft forward as quickly as it could go, but it was of no use. The Templars landed before he was even close.

It took him long minutes more to draw close enough to the island that he felt safe that he could swim the rest of the way. Silently he slipped from the boat, making the swim as he kept an eye on the shore. But none of the Templars seemed at all worried about looking outward, rather they seemed to be more worried about keeping those of the Circle that were within the tower inside. As he came ashore he slipped through some reeds and towards the base of the tower, thankful that he had not yet been seen. He moved quickly, his steps unnaturally silent as he moved to a secretive sally port that he had been made aware of. Slipping inside of it he found the passage overgrown with cobwebs an some weeds, but quickly enough he made his way up a flight of stairs.

As he pushed open the door to the stairs at the other end, he was somewhat relieve to fin himself coming out in one of the larders. He left the door slightly agar, then made his way out of the larder and into the kitchens. It was there that his luck finally ran out. As he peeked out of the door to the kitchens and into the hall, he caught sight of a Templar stationed at the further end of the hall. Frowning a bit he considered his option for a moment, then pushed the door open a bit more. He then took hold of a sack of flour nearby and tossed it further into the kitchen, causing a clattering of pans and the like. He then slipped behind the door, hiding in it's shadow as he eased one of his Dalish blades from it's sheath, listening to the latter of armor a the Templar approached to investigate.

The armor lad man came through the door, bearing a torch in his left hand. The waiting man never gave him a chance. In an instant he sprang forward, his free hand closing over the Templar's helmet, cranking it back as he slammed his short sword into the warrior, right under his left arm and into his armpit. The Templar's cries were choked out on his own blood, for the man's blade had sliced into the Chantry warrior's lugs and heart. He did not waste time though. He retracted his blade quickly, letting the Templar dropped, then moved out into the hall.

There were two more killings, one similar, the second a bit messier, before he slipped into the library. As soon as he closed the door he turned and found himself looking at a strange sight; three wearing the robes of the circle... but one was a dwarf. He furrowed his eyebrows as one of them a human lad, asked him, "Wh...who are you!?" as he brandished a staff in the man's direction. A smile crept onto hi lips then, for he must have looked like quite a sight to these young mages, what with his blood soaked blade and all. "I am Valerian. I come bearing a message for your First Enhanter from First Enchanter Rivella of the Circle of Dairsmuid. Could you tell me where I might find your First Enchanter?"

Valerian's demeanor was so calm and matter-of-fact that it caused Falen to blink a bit in confusion, the young man's mouth working a bit, but nothing came out. A warm smile formed upon the man's lips as he asked, "Or if not you, perhaps one of your companions could?"
 
Dagna thought fast as she saw the gathering force down by the docks and immediately made to grab for the sides of the door, pulling them shut with a resounding thud. There were no locks on the inner side of the door, for the Templars had no reason to allow the mages any chance of solidly locking them out. However... there were always supplies around the front room for the watch and maintenance of the tower, and it didn't take too long to find rope enough to solidly tie around the door's great handles, knotting it once, twice, and thrice -- it wouldn't hold forever, but it was better than nothing. So bound, Dagna scuttled after Felen and Sollochar -- she had to help in any way she could.

However, all of them were suddenly stayed by the appearance of a man in dark clothes, a bloodied sword, and smart blue eyes hiding in that cowl of his. Dagna glanced from Felen to Sollochar before she cleared her throat. "Ah, I can do so, Ser Valerian," Dagna said, earning bewildered looks from Felen and Sollochar -- neither of whom had ever known life outside the Tower's halls.

"But he looks like a killer!" Felen whispered -- or thought he did, anyway. Valerian would have had to be deaf in order to miss that.

"Nothing worse than what you see in Orzammar. Besides, if he's from another Circle that means he might actually know why all the Templars are here! I'll go talk to the First Enchanter. Please go tell everyone else, and the other, please try and barricade the door a little better. If he's already had to kill one, or, um, more," Dagna said with a brief glance over at Valerian, "then that means we don't really have any time to waste."

The mages -- both human and elf -- shared a glance before nodding nervously at Dagna, splitting apart immediately to follow Dagna's brief command. The dwarf turned back to Valerian, giving him a smile that bordered the line between friendly and wary. "Ah, um, I'm Dagna. Come on -- First Enchanter Irving is at the top of the Tower," she said, running a hand briefly and nervously through medium red hair she'd forgotten to style in her studies.

She immediately made to pass him, heading at a jog for the stairs -- most of the Towers had the First Enchanter near the top, but finding the stairs was often a chore in and of itself.
 
As the dwarf spoke up, Valerian could not help but chuckle a bit. "I am no ser, and I think that any knight or lordling would feel insulted to have me called so in their presence," he said quickly, then fell silent a moment before his eyes became mirthful and he added, "So save the ser for when such folk are around."

He cocked his head slightly to the side as one of the other mages commented about him being a killer. Valerian listened to the exchange between the dwarf and the other man before he cut in, "I do happen to be a killer. The blood on my blade is from three Templars," he informed them. He stepped a bit closer to them and said to the other mages, "And before the day is out, you might have to become killers also. Be ready. When the time comes you cannot hesitate."

When the elf and human departed his eyes went back to Dagna as she introduced herself. "I would say well met. But today is not a day for such things. But lead on Dagna," he said to her. Valerian followed after her after she had passed him, moving after her up the stairs. As they moved he spoke to her, "Be careful. There will likely be Templars." After a moment he could not help but ask her, "How is it that a dwarf came to be here?"
 
Dagna looked simultaneously relieved and somewhat frightened when he revealed that he had killed three Templars. She had been around them for years now, and they were a frightening and effective bunch, taking down an Abomination post-Harrowing with relative ease. And for him to have done so to people like that... she shook it off. There was no time for anything like that.

"I, ah... can't fight," Dagna said when he warned her about the Templars. She gave him a briefly worried look, before she veeery slowly made her way to stand behind Valerian, giving the man a slight push. "Let's just... keep going. I'll direct," she said with a sheepish smile. She was as stocky and tough as any dwarf, but she came from a family of smiths, not warriors -- she could swing a hammer decently well, but there she was, bereft of any such implements.

"Oh! Um. Ten years ago, the Warden-Commander of Ferelden saved the Tower and talked First Enchanter Irving into taking me on as a student," she said. It was perhaps hard to tell her age, but she couldn't have been out of her early twenties. "I'm fascinated by magic and wanted to study it. If only I could get to my things right now..." Dagna said. "What about you? Are you... a mage?" she asked. She found it hard to believe with a sword rather than a staff. She gestured for him to hang a left down one corridor -- it was a long one, with stairs visible at one end. Unfortunately...

"Halt! Who are you, and... Dagna?" came a sudden voice of a Templar emerging from one of the doors down the hallway. The warrior suddenly drew his blade, noticing that Valerian was covered in blood. "Step away from her and explain yourself or I shall cut you down!" the Templar said, leveling steel at Valerian.
 
"You don't have a hammer?" Valerian could not help but tease her as she moved behind him and pushed. The Rivaini chuckled a little bit and began to walk, taking the lead. "You are quite the firebrand...giving orders all all. One would think that you were the first Enchanter," he jested. As she told him the story of how she came to be in the circle he listened intently. "Well, that is one hell of a tale," he granted her. It was obvious to him that she did indeed seem quite interested in the subject of magic and the like, considering how she asked him his own status soon enough.

Valerian had been about to answer her, but as they moved into a new hall, they came upon yet another Templar. He glanced to Dagna, then said, "Now you shall have your answer." He did step away from Dagna, but it was by stepping closer to the Templar. "Halt where you are!" the Templar demanded of him, but Valerian was paying him no mind at all. Instead his left hand began to weave an intricate pattern as he spoke, then suddenly sprang forwards.

He seemed to blur as he moved his blade flashing unimaginably fast. The Templar, to his credit, was managing to parry some of the blows, others turned by his armor, but it was not enough. Cut after cut, stab after stab, enough landing and cutting that plenty of blood began to flow. The knight was so hard pressed that he was completely unaware of the motions of Valerian's free hand. With a cry he unleashed a spell, straight into the Templar's face, a gout of fire.

Much of it seemed not to bother the knight, but it served it's purpose; to blind him. He slipped past the Templar, slashing at the back of his right knee, cutting deep, which caused the Templar to fall with a cry. His last blow was a quick stab to the neck, just below the helmet and above the armor, silencing the warrior. He looked then to Dagna and asked, "Shall we continue?"
 
"That's just a stereotype," Dagna said, before her cheeks began to pinken, flushing as red as her hair. "Um. That's true, at least in my case. No, I don't. I had a heavy book, but I left it downstairs," Dagna said. Not that it would've done a lot of good against some Templar. "I've been here for ten years now. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a fixture -- the apprentices all know me," she said. She'd lapped the other students given her rather narrow expertise and her focus on mostly theoretical subjects -- she could have been a well-established mage at this point if she'd been lucky enough to been born with the gift.

As the Templar appeared and Valerian went to blows with him, Dagna reached out. "Wait!"

But it was too late; the Templar, one Dagna had known for years, was no match as a swordsman and the magic on top of that... well... the Templar went down, blade severing that crucial artery and leaving him to die, blinded and in a pool of his own blood. Dagna's hand went over her mouth, watching the Templar bleed out with a horrified expression. "... Katarn," she mumbled. She snapped herself out of it after a long moment, glancing up to Valerian.

"It's really bad, isn't it? W-what's even happening?" They'd heard a bit about the Rebellion in Kirkwall, but Irving had been a stabilizing influence. After all, he'd remembered that not even a decade ago, the Tower had been inches away from the Right of Annulment. But with things worsening, there was nothing more for it.

Drawing herself up, Dagna took in a deep breath and walked over to Valerian, the hem of her robe drawing through an errant fleck of blood and her eyes consciously avoiding the corpse on the ground. "Okay," she whispered.

It wasn't much longer until they managed to get up to the higher floors of the Tower; as a matter of fact, they'd only been a couple of floors away from Irving, and they were now coming before the great door that led to the First Enchanter's personal office and quarters.
 
"I see. Well, then, it seems that I could not have a better guide," the man said amicably. He still found it all a little bit odd, but it seemed that she was a special circumstance. He had heard some about this Warden that she had spoken of and was quite impressed by what he had heard. Considering that the Warden had gotten the Circle to take in a dwarf, the person seemed able to work small miracles at least.

After the fight he looked at her, hearing her mumble a name. Valerian frowned a bit, glancing at the Templar, then back to Dagna. He had addressed her as Dagna and she knew his name.... "He was one stationed here," he murmured aloud, glancing back at the corpse. He was silent for a long moment, then looked to the dwarf and said to her, "I am sorry. I though that he was seeking to stop us." His experience had always been that it was easiest to slay a Templar whenever they took notice of him and he had the scars to prove what good speaking to them did for him.

When she asked about it being bad he nodded a little bit and then told her, "It is quite bad. In Orlais they have put the mages of the White Spire to the sword. They came to Rivain and, upon seeing our liberal practices, have issued a right of annulment. The Templars have split from Seekers and the Chantry is in turmoil. I came here to warn your circle of these developments." It was a dire situation, that much was clear.

When she moved around the corpse and lead on, he moved without speaking, thankful that they did not meet any further opposition. He took the lead and pushed open the doors. Irving, clad in the garb of his office, turned tot he open doors and asked, "What is all of this!?" Valerian moved before the man and knelt, reaching behind his back to remove a scroll tube, then offered it to the man, "I come from the Circle in Rivain, bearing a message for you from First Enchanter Rivella."

The old man remained still for a moment, then nodded and took the container, removing a parchment from it. He read it quickly, then nodded and said softly, "So be it." Irving's eyes went to Dagna and he said, "Alert the others; we are at war. They must get to their phylacteries and destroy them. Otherwise we are doomed." His eyes moved to Valerian then and he asked, "And you Valerian, you are with us?" Valerian stood then, nodding, "I am with you First Enchanter."
 
"It's... it's alright," she said. She paused for a moment, before she shook it off. "He... would've hurt you. Or tried to. I've just... never seen anyone die before." It wasn't entirely true, having seen a casteless be beaten by some guards in Orzammar -- her father had said he had been alive afterward, but she hadn't been stupid, even at the age of ten. Those maces had been drawing blood. But she had KNOWN this Templar.

"I'd... heard about the turmoil in Kirkwall. Irving said that he had an understanding with the lead Templar here. Perhaps... perhaps the time for such understandings is over." Having rationalized it to herself, Dagna nodded firmly. "Then we gotta hurry. The people here have done nothing to deserve this," she said.

As Valerian took the lead and spoke with the First Enchanter, Dagna moved over to one of his chairs, taking a seat for a moment to collect her thoughts. She seemed to be mumbling to herself -- perhaps psyching herself up for what was to come in the hours ahead.

As Irving and Valerian spoke, Dagna's eyes almost hardened and she nodded firmly to herself. "Felen and Sollochar are telling the others, and I... First Enchanter, I think I have an idea," she said.

Irving, looking suddenly surprised, nodded slowly. Dagna was no mage, but she was as talented a scholar as any man in the employ of the Circle -- she'd likely read as many of the books there as he had by now.

"It's impossible to do with just one mage, but if I can get some of my enchanting supplies, I could work with some of the mages to make an ice bridge across the water on the other side of the island. Our only other way out is stealing the Templars' ship... which... I don't think could fit us all."

Irving paused for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Go with Valerian first and destroy the phylacteries. As neither of you have phylacteries here, you will be able to enter with the least problems and destroy the apprentices' phylacteries. All of the full mages' phylacteries are in Denerim, but I heard they had been destroyed. I'll rally the others. Afterward... I'll need to entrust some with getting the apprentices out of here safely while I handle the Templars. Understood?" Irving asked.
 
She had never seen anyone die before? That he found quite surprising indeed. He had always thought that the dwarves lived lives as violent as most other peoples, if not more so. He had always heard that they were constantly at war with the Darkspawn and thought that she would have witnessed some of that at least. But he decided to take another tact with her. If she wanted to speak of it anymore then he would, but otherwise he would leave her bad for now.

After they had arrived at the First Enchanter's quarters, things developed swiftly. Once on his feet again he looked to Dagna when she said that she had an idea, then listened to her intently. "An ice bridge... that is good," he murmured softly, then looked from her to the First Enchanter and said, "I know of a secret way out, through the third larder attached to your kitchens. If we take most of the people out that way, then we will be able to avoid a fight."

Irving nodded at that and then said, "Good. I will plan the defense accordingly then."

He nodded at that and once more at the First Enchanter's instruction that they should see to the phylacteries first. "It will be done First Enchanter," he stated easily. Velarian was silent for a moment, then said to Irving, "First Enchanter... your phylactery is in Orlais..." Irving nodded and then stated, "This is about the Circle. About mages and our rights. If I must die, then that will be so." Valerian inclined his head to the First Enchanter and said, "You are a stalwart man indeed."

Having said that he looked back to Dagna, then said to her, "We best be on our way." He turned then and went toward the doors, walking out as he said to her, "We best be quick about this. Where are the phylacteries."
 
Dagna for a moment looked up at Irving in appreciation and awe -- he had always been a kind figure in the tower; almost a fatherly one. "... please don't die, sir... Irving," Dagna said with a tiny smile.

"I'll endeavor not to. While they come to us unprovoked... they will not be received peaceably. Now go," Irving said. "... and good luck, Dagna."

The dwarf nodded before turning and making haste after Valerian, jogging to catch up with the tall human. "The phylacteries are in the basement, along with a number of Tevinter artifacts. Irving's allowed me access down there before, but it takes a keystone. We need to get to my room first," Dagna said, before heading off at the same speed she'd used to catch up with Valerian.

They ran into no more Templars on the way down -- largely because the mages were starting to mobilize. Felen and Sollochar had alerted the tower. The older mages were buffing and enchanting en masse, more than one of them adjacent to nearby Templar corpses. The students were likewise getting ready, preparing their staves for the first time in actual combat. One elder mage presided over many of them. "... the appeal may be tempting, but do not call upon demons. To become an abomination is to die, and to kill your brethren in turn. We fight for freedom! Not to trade in one master for another --" and then the two of them were gone, leaving the mages to their preparations.

"Here! Here we are," Dagna said once they were on the first floor. In the far background was a rhythmic pounding as the Templars sought to burst through the front door, since barricaded by stone -- stone the mages could not keep whole forever. As well as housing the library, many students lived on the floor, and Dagna stopped in front of a students' alcove. No one student had private rooms, and indeed, there were three or four other beds in Dagna's room. Hers was immediately obvious, though, for the fact that a blanket served as a makeshift curtain around it. "Just one moment!" she said, pulling the sheet across and leaping within.

She pulled the sheet mostly closed and immediately divested herself of the robes, tossing them aside and burrowing through her things for a change in clothing. Even if he'd been of a mind to look, there were only hints of white flesh as she threw ona hooded coat and breeches more common to the dwarves of Orzammar than the mages here. Pulling the hood up and tugging on a backpack a moment later, Dagna leaped free of her bed. "Alright. I'm ready."

From there it wasn't much further to the phylactery storage -- across the main hall (where even now they could see the stone cracking under the sway of the battering ram, only reinforced by a half-dozen of their more senior mages; a vanguard of sorts), and down a set of stairs. Dagna produced a small stone tablet set with a red gem, and the door swung open, revealing the long hallways that would lead to the phylacteries.
 
A soft grunt escaped the Rivaini as she explained that they would need a keystone and informed him where the phylacteries were. "Well, let us hope the Templars have not reinforced the guards down their in advance of the attack." Really it did not matter to him too much. If there were more they would kill him or he would kill them. But he did not want to alarm her. He had learned to fight a long, long while ago. For Dagna, well, it would have to be a trial by combat.

Valerian followed her down, ready to act if need be, but they ran into no opposition. But as they went he noticed the other mages, the dead Templars. It seemed like they had managed to warn them in time. As he passed some of the older mages instructing the younger ones in what was to come he had to stop and add in his opinion quickly, "Do not hesitate. These people are here to kill you. Do not relent. You must fight so that we can ensure some of us get out alive. I cannot promise you that we all will, but if you do not fight, none of us will."

He caught up with her then, for Dagna had not waited for him. It did not take them long to reach the bottom floor and, once they had, he remained near the entrance of room, watching the main doors. He could see that the Templar's pounding away and the results it was having on the stone. He had to give the mages here credit for that, since the Circle doors were not meant to be barred from the inside. But he knew it would only hold so long, they all did.

When she returned he looked at what she was wearing, then could not help but tease, "Are we going to work in the quarry now?" Valerian flashed her a smile, He followed her once again, sword at the ready to deal with any guards, but it proved to be unneeded. As she opened the door he moved inside. "Well, we can make quick enough work of this," he said, then broke into a trot.

The destruction of the phylacteries did not take them long. Once it was done and they were walking out he glanced to her, "So... you get to enchanting? I will help with the apprentices?"
 
Dagna stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, I'm going to be breaking a lot of things with a hammer. Similar concept, right?" she asked. She indeed had a hammer on the side of her backpack, meant more for nails than skulls... but it would have to do in a pinch, right? As they stormed the phylactery chambers, Dagna set to smashing them en masse, sweeping her arms and smashing down with her hammer, the glass vials breaking with wisps of pink, littering the ground with glass that crunched with every step.

"Right. I'll head for the larder and get out back. Hopefully, no one will see me. I'll grab a mage or two, too -- that should help with the process," Dagna said as she put her bloodied hammer away, tugging her backpack more solidly up onto her back. "... good luck, Valerian," Dagna said with a small smile, before she started to run off back upstairs.

The barricade was holding as Dagna ran past, though the last stones were cracked and breaking. The mages stationed there were preparing magic shields, hunkering down, waiting for the moment... and finally, as Dagna disappeared toward the back of the tower, the barricades broke. The doors slammed open suddenly, arcane bolts filling the air as Templars began to pour into the Hold.

Moments later, Dagna was squeezing through the back with a few of the mages. "Alright... hold steady with me. Start pouring all the energy you can into my enchantment, and we may just be able to do this," Dagna was whispering, retrieving a rune. It had been her research there for the past decade, a way to enchant a rune with magic without an actual mage... and then releasing it. And this was the result of it, a white stone that she sent hurtling into the water like a discus. It hit the lakewater, suddenly snap freezing a large circle of water. The other mages began to pour magic into the water, expanding ice slowly outward and down, forming a bridge, foot by foot...
 
Her point about the hammer had caused him to chuckle and he said, "Well, if you're good with it, I will get you a proper hammer." The destruction of the phylacteries had gone well indeed and Daga had proved to be rather adept at it. As they walked out he glanced at her and her hammer and said, "Well, you'll be the first member of the Circle known for using a hammer for this I think. Perhaps we should give you a title or something for it. "The Smasher" of something similarly foreboding. Scare the piss out of those Templar pricks when they hear about you," he jested.

When she began to tell him what she'd be doing he nodded a bit and said, "Very well." A smile formed on his lips when she wished him luck and he retorted quickly, "Oh, don't you worry about me. I can handle myself." He then headed back up the stairs with her, keeping pace with her as she went, figuring it'd be best to make sure that she reached some of the other mages before he left her. As they reached the barricade he paused, looking at the faltering rock, then looked to her, "Get that bridge up. I am going to help here for a bit."

Valerian turned back then, readying himself. He drew his second sword as the stones broke and the Templars flooded in. He murmured the words to a spell as he waited, watching the mages pound away ate the Templars. But eventually several started to break through and that was when he sprang forward. His blades flashed as he danced between the mages, fending off Templars who would have hit them from the sides or broken the line. His speed, augmented with magic, allowed him to outmaneuver many a Templar.

The line was hard pressed when finally the First Enchanter and another score of mages swarmed down the stairs and into the fray. "Valerian!" Irving called to him. The warrior broke off, trotting over to the older man behind the lines. "Harbor your strength. The younger ones will need protection. You, I think, know more of the world then most and they will need someone that does. Go, help Dagna and her mages to get them to safety." Valerian looked into the older man's eyes, then nodded slowly and said, "I will."

The Rivaini moved off them, making his way to the larder. There were many apprentices and such waiting there and he said, "Come along. It would be safer for all of you to hide in the stairs." He moved ahead of them, making the way down to the island's shore. There he found Dagna and some mages. "How goes the bridge?" he questioned her, then added, "Irving and the older mages are holding the Templars. But we might be discovered. I cannot hold back the Templars alone if it comes to that."
 
"And they're right to be scared! I'll break their glass jaws like I broke those phylacteries!" Dagna said with a pained grin. Times were serious, and all she could do was try and lighten the mood some. When Valerian made to stay back, when all those Templars were suddenly swarming in, Dagna winced. "Be careful!" And then she had been gone, disappearing out the back.

---

"And again!" Dagna was calling out when Valerian made his way out to the shore. So far, the mages there had gone unnoticed, and the construction of the ice bridge was going well. It was long, and getting longer by the second, the bridge apparently formed of blocks of ice that were wrapped around Dagna's enchanted runes in the heart of them. It seemed to hold the weight of the three of them alright, with Dagna a bit behind the other mages as they worked to extend the bridge through the waters of the lake.

"The bridge is going as well as it can; if we had more people, it might go faster, but beggars can't be choosers, right?" Dagna asked. One mage was just starting to call out to her for another rune, and Dagna looked down into her bag -- she only had a few left, and they were hard to make on the fly. "Be glad I've been experimenting with this and fire runes! Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough to go around," Dagna said as she picked up the flat, round stone and took a little hop-step forward, sending the rune skittering across the surface of the ice until it landed on the far end of the bridge with a faint "splish!" Ice spiderwebbed across the ground, expanding the bridge forward rapidly.

"Start bringing them out, Valerian," Dagna said, glancing back up to the Rivaini. "We're getting far enough for the stronger ones to swim the rest of the way! I figure that the Templars will be too heavy to follow us -- by swimming or by bridge -- if we can get enough out here in time," Dagna said. She paused for a moment, though, offering him a sudden smile with dimples -- she ignored the blood on him to say: "... and glad to see you're still okay. Those were a lot of Templars."
 
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