Dragon Age: Light of the Maker

10. THE WRATH OF HEAVEN

CHAPTER X: THE WRATH OF HEAVEN
❅ ANDERS ❅
"Those who oppose thee
Shall know the wrath of Heaven.
Field and forest shall burn,
The seas shall rise and devour them,
The wind shall tear their nations
From the face of the earth,
Lightning shall rain down from the sky.
They shall cry out to their false gods,
And find silence."
- Andraste 7:19

Kirkwall was a beginning for Anders. Years ago, when he'd only just abandoned the Wardens after merging with Justice, the city of chains was the one he had fled to. He'd opened up a clinic in the Darktown slums and used his healing magic to better the community and help those who couldn't afford the medicine Hightown folk denied them. Back then, he had thought that would be as far as he ever went. He would spend the rest of his days helping and healing people, away from the Wardens and the templars, and he would be content.

But Kirkwall had other plans for him. Tensions between mages and templars had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience at the start, but throughout the years, things got progressively worse under Knight-Commander Meredith's tyranny. The oppression mages faced had never been more dire, and Anders had known it was his duty to give them the justice they were owed. Whether it was sexual or physical abuse, or being made Tranquil for no reason, or simply disappearing without cause, Kirkwall's mages were suffering.

So his residence in Kirkwall became more. He started helping mages escape, guiding them through underground tunnels into the outskirts, destroying their phylacteries for them and providing a contingency plan to put the blame on him should they ever be caught. He lost count of how many mages he had saved from certain death, abuse, or Tranquility.

But it was never enough. No matter how many he saved, there were always more. Something extreme had to be done, something the Chantry couldn't simply recover from and go back to how they were. To his shame, he'd guided the Champion of Kirkwall into unknowingly gathering ingredients for a bomb and planting it within the Chantry. He'd wracked himself with the guilt during the weeks leading up to that point and every week after it, knowing that he'd manipulated the one person that had stood beside him for it all. Mona, his best friend, his soulmate if he were a poet.

It didn't matter what Anders wanted or who Anders' friends were at that point, though.

He didn't look at her. Or maybe he couldn't. When she stopped, his heart began drumming against his chest, waiting for her to confront him. Waiting for her to start screaming at him, or attack him, or demand his execution.

She kept walking.

When the doors to the throne room opened, he let loose a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The queen in front of him came to a halt and began sizing up the room, a critical look to her gaze that indicated she was contemplating how to destroy it. Anders swallowed a lump in his throat.

"And here we are," Hawke breathed, gesturing widely. "With a battle looming over us and your army at our doorstep."

Miryam's gaze landed on the Viscountess. She stared at her for a moment, as if challenging her, then hummed. "You called for negotiations. I assume that means you are willing to compromise."

"If by compromise you mean a mutually beneficial outcome for both of us, yes."

"I proposed a mutually beneficial outcome for you. Annul the Circle, free your mages, and rid your city of the templars. I'm sure your mages will benefit greatly from not spending their entire life in a glorified prison helpless to the abuse of their templar overlords."

Anders' heart swelled with pride.

Hawke was not convinced. "You know I won't do that."

Anders' heart sunk.