Fen'Tarasyl

Chapter Seven

She stood in the shadow of the largest building in the small village, a temple of stone with a golden sun branded into the tall oak doors that led the way inside. When she pushed them open, they creaked ominously, disrupting the quiet atmosphere on the other side.

The sound of her footsteps bounced off the high ceilings, and they seemed to be the loudest noise in the Chantry. All eyes were on her.

She could hear their quiet, awestruck whispers. "the Herald of Andraste is here."

It made her want to shrink into herself and disappear. She approached the door at the far end of the hall, where she heard Cassandra and another familiar voice shouting at each other behind the closed door.

Talyn entered the room and saw Cassandra and the Chancellor in each other's faces. The Chancellor's face was red and blotchy, his beady eyes narrowed in profound anger and his mouth set in a snarl. Cassandra, who was taller than him, stood there looking down on him with a fire blazing in her black eyes and her arms crossed over her chest.

Upon Talyn's entrance, the Chancellor whirled around, and his face turned from red to purple.

"Soldiers! Seize the prisoner!"

"She did not kill the Divine, Chancellor Roderick." Cassandra said, her voice thick with annoyance. "I heard the Divine in the temple. She called to the Herald for help."

"Bah! 'The Herald'!" The Chancellor said mockingly, spitting slightly as he said it. "She's an imposter! A murderer! She will be tried in Val Royeaux, as she was supposed to a week ago. Seize her!"

The two men standing on either side of the door looked to Cassandra for approval, but she shook her head no.

"Leave us." She commanded.

Chancellor Roderick sputtered and stammered as the two men nodded once to Cassandra and promptly left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"This is outrageous! This is treason!"

Cassandra moved, slamming a book down onto the table, the cover a flaming eye with a sword running down the middle. "Do you know what this is, Chancellor Roderick? It's an order signed by the Divine Justinia herself."

Chancellor Roderick's eyes had become the size of dinner plates at the site of the book. He knew exactly what it was.

"An order to reassemble the Inquisition."Cassandra finished.

"You'll have no support from the Chantry, I can promise you that." The Chancellor hissed.

Cassandra's face darkened. "We don't need the Chantry's support."

"Now leave." The command in her voice was unmistakable.

"The Mothers are going to hear about this!" The Chancellor promised. He spat at Cassandra's feet, glared at Talyn, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Cassandra sighed, rubbing her temples with a pained look on her face. "That man gives me a headache."

"Thank you. For defending me." Talyn was surprised that the Seeker had kept the Chancellor from taking her away.

Cassandra looked at her. All the elves Talyn had seen the village thus far were small, petite, except for herself and Solas. Talyn was eye level with the Seeker. Her voice, and her eyes, were sincere as she replied, "you are innocent. I could not let him take you with that knowledge in my mind."

She turned from Talyn, and walked around the table, her hands behind her back. She was studying the map that laid flat across it. It was quiet for a few minutes.