Thread: Where Allegiances Lie [Kyre & The Intrepid Wanderer]

A heavy tension saturated Thedas. The rumours had been slow at first, whispers of a clash between the Templars and the Circle within the fortifications of Kirkwall, a disagreement between the Knight-Commander and the First Enchanter. This was nothing new, the two factions had a tenuous relationship at best all across the continent with each mistrusting the intentions and actions of the other. However, as more and more information began to filter from the isolated City of Chains, the balance of power began to shift and all of Thedas was suddenly plunged into chaos. The citizens and the Chantry rose up in rage at the murder of a beloved Grand Cleric at the hands of an apostate, while the mages of the Circle cried out in horror at the slaughter that had been perpetrated under Knight-Commander Merediths command. As the Templars tightened their grasp upon the Circle in reflex, those within grew restless and uneasy. First one and then another Circles all across Thedas began to rebel, throwing off the metaphorical chains that bound them and destroying hundreds upon hundreds of phylacteries in the process. Many perished on both sides in the initial struggles, followed by bands of apostates fleeing across the continent or turning their rage upon the Chantry and the citizens of Thedas, pursued by equally zealous Templars. What few of the Circles still stood intact were heavily guarded, the Right of Annulment quick to be mentioned at even the slightest hint of dissention amongst the mages within. Men and women, girls and boys were killed for as little as uttering their displeasure at the current circumstances, classes were all but cancelled and the Templars were forever on patrol constantly present, ever watchful. Alisia suppressed a shudder as she hugged a heavy tome to her chest and quickened her steps, carrying herself down the corridor and closer to the library as she fought to ignore the heavy weight of a Templars gaze upon her back. Perhaps she should have stayed within the dorm, at least there she had the company of her fellow mages and the sound of hushed conversation to take the edge off the ominous sense of foreboding that engulfed the tower-like fortress. The corridors, on the other hand, were deserted but for the patrolling suits of armour that seemed suddenly so devoid of human feeling, equipped only with swords and suspicious glares. Granted, the Circle had always felt like a cage to the young magess, but at least before she had been able to coax a smile from some of them or even hold a brief yet pleasant conversation. Now all she received was cold stares and stern faces. A sudden pang of homesickness rose up within her, a swift feeling of terror rushing through her as she found herself wondering if her family were safe not that she had seen them in years. She had been eight years old when the first signs of her magic began to show. Dark haired and fair skinned, she had been a happy child cautious and curious as many her age were, unaware of how drastically her life was soon to change. It had not been long after that she had been brought to the Circle where she had remained ever since. Life had been difficult, the ache of being separated from her own blood-relatives and the isolation from all else had been too much to bear at times. As a child Alisia had wept, huddled beneath the blankets in the dead of night and cursing the magic that set her so far apart from everyone else. But crying would change nothing and, as she grew older, she did her best to make the most of her situation. Wary of her own power, she had thrown herself into her studies, anxious to learn and train. While the Templars had frightened her at first, she had swiftly come to realise that they were not so different as the ones they guarded and did her best to give them little reason to fear her quick to smile and make polite conversation whenever the opportunity presented itself. If she was to be a prisoner, Alisia hoped she could at least be friends with her jailers. It had worked until the war broke out, now she was just another mage, as untrustworthy and quick to turn to blood magic as the next. Setting a hand to the smooth wooden door, the young woman stepped into Circles library only to pause just within. The room stretched high above her head, the walls covered with bookcases that covered from floor to ceiling, full to collapsing with books of varying ages and conditions. Small groups of apprentices and mages sat clustered around tables, talking in whispers while a number of Templars stood stoically in various places throughout. In the centre, surrounded by the multitude of books, was a large desk behind which a grey haired man sat, almost entirely concealed by stacks of tomes teetering perilously high. He smiled as Alisia approached, letting his glasses fall to hang from a piece of string about his neck as he held out a hand for the book she offered over. Squinting at the title, he chuckled gently. I will have no more books left for you at this rate, my dear.