Finding Home (Completed)

Chapter XXXV

Iri sunk into her chair, flooded with exhaustion, plaguing her more with each task she completed. One more, she told herself, finding doubt in her thoughts as the taint slowly snaked across her hands. "We should take you home to rest, Vhenan. It is not necessary that we provide entertainment." The worry was plain in his tone when he spoke, but she lightly brushed his cheek, "I will be alright, emma lath." she replied softly. "Is someone going to tell me just what the fuck that was back there?" Aveline griped as she entered with Varric, carrying trays of drinks for the table. Izzy entered close behind them, snatching one of the glasses from her tray. "Oh, you mean you've not heard! Iri here, is an ancient goddess from the times of Elvhenan! Super powers with all the ruffles!" she chimed, delighted with herself.

Iri shook her head, placing her forehead in her hand, "Izzy, do sit down and be quiet." she requested, followed by a heavy sigh. Izzy stared at her for a moment before approaching Hawke, dragging her fingers across his shoulders. Iri glanced up in time to see the barest flinch from Hawke at her touch. "Why don't you come sit with me, Izzy." she softened her tone and smiled warmly. Isabela's eyes narrowed, but she obliged and moved around the table, earning Iri an appreciative look from Hawke. This was the end, Izzy just didn't know it yet, unfortunately, Iri did. Without any uncertainty, all branches led there. A series of events, set in to motion when she'd chosen to expose her betrayal. It was a betrayal of her own in a sense, but Iri saw it as justice and Hawke would travel a much grander path without the hindrance of this pirate.

Her thoughts were lost as Izzy plopped into her lap, holding out a glass of whiskey, grinning widely. "You are opposed to chairs?" Iri asked amused. "I am unopposed to beatuiful women." she quipped in response. Iri rolled her eyes, accepting the drink and letting her hand settle on Izzy's hip. "Who's your new friend?" She added, tipping her chin towards Justice. Iri chuckled, "It is I, Justice." he stated, watching as Isabela's eyes went wide, "As in Anders demon, justice?" she blurted out. Justice grumbled, glaring at her as he took the seat next to Hawke. "Justice is not a demon, Izzy." Anders grumbled. "Truly?" Aveline cut in, still awaiting conformation on Isabela's earlier words. "Not entirely, Isabela has embellished a bit. I am ancient, from the times of Elvhenan, and though most would likely consider goddess correct, it is not. I do possess the powers of a 'God' as you would think of them, but they are not actually what you've been taught." Aveline stared at her confused, face contorting slightly. "What my heart is trying to say, is that gods were merely powerful men and women, mages essentially. Immortal, yes, in that they will live forever if not killed, but definitely able to be killed, it is just rather difficult to do so." Fenris added.

Avelines mouth opened in disbelief, "You too?" she asked, glancing around at the unsurprised expressions held by her friends. "All of you knew?" she sounded quite insulted by this whole revelation, becoming more so when the table started to giggle. "You haven't been around, this is all fairly new to us too. I'll fill you in when we have more time." Varric assured her. She nodded, raising her glass to meet his with a clank before taking a long drawl. "So what now that the Knight Commander is dead?" Aveline asked, "What does that mean for Kirkwall?" she added. Isabela's hand shot to her mouth, "Meredith the bitch, is dead?" she twisted around in Iri's lap, "Oh, do tell!" she beamed with excitement. Iri chuckled, taking another sip from her glass, looking around the pirate to catch Aveline's eye. "As Isabela so gracefully described my past, we have not yet spoken of my future. I come here from 9:44 Dragon, Cullen was the commander of my army. I showed him the future to ensure his place by my side through the past. The mages are leaving with me, all of them and the order has been dissolved within the city's walls. It will fall to yourself and the viscount to keep the peace in the city."

Aveline's breath hitched for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts, "And what of their Qunari? We are depleted in numbers without the Templars and the Qunari shows no signs of departure." she inquired. "A simply answer. I will obtain what he seeks and return it to him. He will demand the thief be handed over, but what come next is much bigger than one petty thief. The Arishok will see that if he desires the Qunari's continued existence, he must make hast in forming our alliance. Fen'Harel cares not for the Qun, none will be spared, nor recruited." He words weighed heavily on the table as her companions fell silent. The more information she told, the more it seemed they may well be walking into a losing battle. Knowledge impactful enough that she spoke with confidence of recruiting the Qun, was surely destructive on a catastrophic scale.