Dragon Age Inquisition: The Legacy of Dorian Pavus

4: Lord Pavus

Lord Pavus

He was on his third or was it his fourth? Antivan brandy. He couldn't quite remember at the moment, which was just as well. The murmur of fear and disgust from his fellow patrons had become pleasantly muffled by the haze the liquor had cast on his senses.

He knew what they thought of him. An evil mage out of Tevinter and he didn't care. It wasn't as though he could disguise himself. From his dark skin, darker hair and the magical staff of his trade on his back, there was no mistaking where he hailed from.

Not that he gave fig either way. After what he'd learned of his father's plan for him, well... nothing could top the shock of that particular discovery. Then there was the giant green hole in the sky everyone was talking about. He hadn't seen it yet since he was still in the Free Marches.

On the run from his family and the future his father had planned for him, he hadn't thought where he might go, he just went. When he'd heard of the destruction of the Conclave and the Temple of Sacred Ashes he hadn't been surprised to learn of it's failure to bring peace to the war the South was waging between it's mages and Templars. But he had been surprised to hear of a lone survivor.

Nothing but wishful thinking as far as he could tell, especially after he'd heard the whispers that not only had this unknown man survived, but had been handed out of the Fade by Andraste herself. He'd snorted at that. Free Marchers and Fereldens certainly put a lot of faith in a woman over a thousand years dead.

He finished the last of his brandy with a heavy sigh. He'd left Qarinus with little coin and he'd just drank the last of it. The only thing he had on him was his birthright, and though he despised what it represented, he was loath to part with it. Yet if he wished to continue heading south, he needed money. He frowned at that. Was he really going to cross the Waking Sea just to see this breach that had caught everyone's attention? Yes he bloody well was, he snarled to himself. It wasn't as though he had anywhere else he could go.

Alexius, a magister and his former mentor had approached him two weeks ago while his was still in Minrathous. He'd wanted Dorian to join a cult with him, one that was calling itself the Venatori. They were very interested in the South's so-called Hearld and Alexius wanted his help.

When Dorian had pressed him for more details, Alexius refused to say more unless he promised he would join him. Suspicious and uncertain of Alexius's sincerity given how they'd parted, he'd refused. Less than a week later, he'd learned of his father's plan for him and fled his home. For whatever reason he had yet to fathom, his mind had coughed up Ferelden as a place to go. So here he was, drowning his sorrows in a filthy tavern in lower Kirkwall.

----xxx----

He had just sold his birthright to some shady noble merchant in Val Royeaux and ordered a glass of cheap wine to relieve his guilt, when Felix sat down across from him.

"Felix?" Dorian was so surprised he nearly spat his wine all over the table.

"Dorian." Felix smiled. "You're a hard man to find. I'd heard you'd left Minrathous, but I never expected to find you in Val Royeaux. What in blazes are you doing here?"

"Running away from home." He retorted, recovering from his initial shock. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Yes, but the Free Marches? Where are you planning to go?"

"I haven't decided yet Felix. Perhaps I'll take a look at the giant hole in the sky. They say it's quite the thing to see."

"I've heard the Herald has already fixed that."

"You're working with rumours dear boy, the breach isn't gone, just temporarily sealed. I've also heard the former Left and Right hands of the Divine are putting together a new Inquisition. Apparently with all this chaos, they hope to restore order and find out who's responsible for what happened at the Conclave. But never mind that, the bigger question is what are you doing here and does your father know?"