Love ThemeDragon Age: Inquisition

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The image of Olsterhein continued to burn in my mind throughout the whole journey. I could still see that little boy, crying for his mother; the man who had been burned alive in front of my eyes; and the fire Lord Himmel had set upon the village. In fact, the monsters that attacked us following the incident seemed mild by comparison.

I sank myself into the warmth of the tub, unable to get rid of the memory. It had plagued me for the week; it didn't matter if I was awake or asleep, I would still remember. I would still feel a heavy stone lodged in my chest; I would still have the unbearable dread of helplessness crawling all over me.

I breathed into the water, letting the bubbles tickle my nostrils. I should forget everything. It was just one village-we still had plenty of other things to worry about and protect. I shouldn't let it bother me so much.

"You still have innocence. Don't ever lose it." Lord Himmel's words echoed in my mind. I ducked my head underwater, closing my eyes, meditating. When I saw him every day, I only saw a ruthless lord who would do the right thing, even if it cost the lives of others. Up until then, I hadn't realised how powerful he was: he had set a whole village aflame so easily. Yet I couldn't help but wonder how he'd managed to draw up such immense strength at the last second.

I rose out of the bath and shivered, and not just because it was night time. The only comfort in the darkness was the steinlioht I had conjured earlier. Its light flickered over the water, rippling into a mixture of gold and inkiness. I was far too tired to properly conjure a spell to dry myself and dress up, so I performed these tasks with good old fashioned methods. After all, Lord Himmel had told me to conserve as much of my magic as possible.

Just as I slipped into my shift, someone knocked on my door. I frowned. It was not scandalously late, but late enough to make me wary. Pulling on a robe, I reached for my flute, which was placed on a pathetic excuse of a vanity table. "Who is it?" I called out.

"Markus. Klaudia, I need to talk to you."

I didn't loosen my grip on the flute. Cautiously, I eased the door open, and his fair, pinched face greeted my eyes. I exhaled in relief, pulling the doorknob to reveal the rest of his figure. He hadn't changed from the riding clothes he had been wearing earlier.

I didn't know if it was appropriate for us to talk in my room alone. I said, "Should I change?"

"Not necessary. Don't worry, Kaiser keeps a tight leash on his men."

I nodded, stepping aside to allow him entrance. But it wasn't the sorcerers I was worried about-we were currently in the local inn, and who knew if gossipy villagers weren't lurking about? Either way, I supposed that they already knew of my engagement to Lord Himmel, so perhaps this wouldn't set tongues a-wagging.

"I thank you for coming along, Klaudia," he said idly. He strode over to the table and pulled a chair out. I limped towards my bed and plopped onto it. "You have acted as a very valuable asset."

If by valuable, he meant humming quirky little tunes which fed his strength, just so that he wouldn't be drained of energy while performing the ritual, then yes. Other than that, I was remarkably useless. Whenever monsters came, the sorcerers were so efficient that I barely had time to react before the creatures were slain. They weren't Magi, yet they were so powerful that if I'd seen them a few months back, before I had any knowledge of magic, I would have thought that they were avenging angels.

But anyhow, I received the compliment with a thanks.

"Good, good," mumbled Lord Himmel, raking his hair with his fingers. He didn't bother to come up with a new topic of conversation. A strained silence hung in the air.

I decided that I had to be blunt: "Markus, what do you want?"

His already stiff expression tightened. "You seem to be...out of your wits for the whole journey," he said slowly, "so I just wanted to ask if you're all right."

I folded my hands on my lap. The steinlioht washed over his face, making him look like a pale, lonely ghost. "Why shouldn't I be all right?"

His eyes seemed to glow. "Olsterhein," he uttered, deadly quiet.

I closed my eyes, confirming what he already knew.

"Klaudia, I'm sorry for them, but there truly was nothing we could have done." He almost sounded regretful in his apology.

"I know." My mind still couldn't rest easy though.

Lord Himmel got up from his seat and walked to my side, sitting himself comfortably beside me. I gave him a dubious side-glance. I nearly expected him to drape his arm over my shoulders, but he kept his hands to himself. Fortunately. "Being a lord isn't easy," he suddenly confessed. "I have to make brutal decisions for the better of the majority, and not everyone will like me, but I still have to push on. Otherwise who else can fill in my shoes?"

"Elise?" I offered.

"No, she can't." He didn't elaborate on the matter; I kept my mouth shut. "What I'm trying to say is"-he inhaled deeply-"thank you."

"Excuse me?" Out of all things, this wasn't what I'd expected him to say.

"Thank you," he repeated calmly. "It's been a long time since anyone has reminded of what it means like to be...human."

I pulled my legs up onto the mattress, hugging them tightly. "What do you mean?"

"When you've lived in this world for a long time, you tend to neglect the emotions of others. You only do what's necessary-what you think is right. No one else dares to question my decisions anyway." He dusted invisible specks of dirt off his sleeve. "That day, you reminded me that all of us think uniquely. And that no life should be taken lightly." Lord Himmel finally looked at me, as though he were truly seeing for who I was, past the lame leg, past the tangled curls and sallow cheekbones. "Perhaps it was fate that I should find my counterbalance in you."

Heat rose up my cheeks. I prayed that the shadows could conceal them. "But you were right too. The only way we could have truly saved Olsterhein was by burning it," I said weakly.

"Hmm, yes. So I suppose that no one is right or wrong," he mused. "Anyway, I've also come to ask if you recognise your Affinity."

I blinked at both the sudden change in topic and at the new term. "What's an Affinity?"

"It's a certain type of magic that each sorcerer is most attuned to," he explained. "For instance, mine is nullifying, which means I can temporarily dampen others' powers."

"How would I know if something is my Affinity?"

"You don't. At least, not yet. Not until the saints have granted you their blessings." He watched me warily, cat-like.

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. Lord Himmel-no, Markus, stared into the distance with a shrewd, calculating look. "We shall have to perform another ritual then, when we get back home," he decided. "To confirm your Affinity."

"So soon? Can't it wait?"

"No. In case you haven't noticed, the corruption is only worsening by the day. Normally the creatures wouldn't be able to consume a whole village in one day, but Olsterhein proves that it's no longer true. Those monsters...they're growing smarter. They must have learnt to gather their forces, then strike to overwhelm." His words sent a chill up my spine; he shook his head sadly. "Only when you find out your Affinity, will your training will begin in earnest."

"What have I been doing for the past few months then?" I teased.

He didn't take the jest lightly. "Klaudia."

That one word was all it took to make me cower. "All right. I'll perform the ritual," I said. "Whatever it is. By the way, how is it that you'd managed to conjure up so much magic the other day."

To my surprise, he didn't look surprise, as though he had been expecting this question to come along eventually. He gave me a wink. "I shall tell you after we're wed," he said merrily.

I frowned. But if I had to wait to get an answer, then so be it. "All right."

"Excellent." He got up and moved towards the door. Before he left my room, he turned back and said, "Sleep well, Klaudia."

"As to you," I replied.

His expression softened, and he finally left me alone. I fell onto my bed, thinking. About Olsterhein, about my Affinity, and about the secret beneath the castle. Eventually, for the first time during the journey, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

******

Dawn had barely kissed the earth when we headed back for Heidelburg. For home. Home. More home than Hamelin had ever been.

Now that most of the ritual had been completed, we were more relaxed. Some of the sorcerers even shared an inside joke as we rode along, bursting into hearty guffaws and bowing their heads in submission when Kaiser chided them. But our spirits were high; even the leader of the sorcerers wasn't as prickly as usual.

Time trickled by quickly. Before we knew it, we were at the gates leading into the castle. I looked about the surroundings. Summer was descending upon us, and the air was practically buzzing with it. I was sweating beneath my layers of skirts; though a breeze rushed by, it was dry and hot. Servants poured out of the building, as though they had been awaiting our arrival for a long time now. In the midst of them, I spotted a familiar head of raven locks and violet eyes.

With Markus' help, I swung down from the saddle. Elise was already by my side, clapping a congratulating hand on my shoulder. "Looks like you survived your first cleansing ritual." She flashed me a smile. "Well done."

I grinned back. If only she knew how my heart had suffered at the thought of those villagers on the first day.

"Elise, you didn't tell Klaudia anything about Affinities?" Markus piped up.

My trainer, in return, stiffened ever so slightly. If I were a stranger, I would have said that she didn't even react. But I wasn't a stranger. "No," she replied, her words as cool as steel. "It wasn't necessary."

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Surely you know the orders of the Council: all sorcerers are to be tested for Affinities as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry. I meant, I thought it wasn't necessary because Klaudia is so naturally talented." Her smile didn't quite touch her eyes. "I'll have to rectify the problem soon enough, I see."

"As you said, not necessary." Markus' gaze was like shards of ice. "You will take her to the Seekers tomorrow night."

I didn't know what the statement meant, yet it rang like warning bells in my mind. Elise's face blanched visibly. "Markus, isn't this a little too soon?" She was referring to her lord by his first name; she must have been seriously agitated. "Most Affinities don't even manifest until the sorcerer has been actively using magic over three years. If we test it out before that-"

"You will defer by my orders, Elise," Markus snarled, effectively cutting her protests off.

She stared into his eyes, fierce and powerful despite her stature. Then she dropped them in obedience. "Yes, milord."

He didn't acknowledge her submission. Markus proffered his elbow to me; I took it automatically. After a whole week of being forced to cling onto his waist in order to ride, I didn't mind his touch so much now. I still felt a faint trepidation, but my fear was getting better. "Shall we?"

"Lord Himmel, if I may beg your pardon, could I steal Her Ladyship for a few moments?" The enchanting smile had returned to Elise's face, one that every sane woman would murder to have. "It won't take very long, I assure you."

A muscle feathered in his jaw. I stood very still, unable to say something suitable that would break the tension in the air. For the first time since I've know them, they were arguing. The conversation was muted, and their words were not offensive at first glance. However, they were arguing, no less.

And I was the rope in between them.

"All right then." He released me, but not before brushing his lips against mine. I pulled away from the contact, lightning shooting throughout me. In all honesty though, it was not an unpleasant jolt. Markus was grinning madly at me; I looked away, red creeping up my neck. Elise's eyes were cold and narrow as they locked onto my face. I limped towards her, not making any comments. "You can have her for as long as you want now," Markus laughed.

Elise ignored him, immediately swooping me into the castle. I fought to not dwell on the heat that lingered on my lips, observing on my surroundings instead. Little had changed since I'd last been here. And then again, what did I expect? Charred bodies everywhere and the furniture singed with black, smoking ominously?

Maybe thinking about the brief kiss was better.

I didn't have much time to think about it either, as I noted that Josef was leaning casually against the wall up ahead, and that Elise was heading straight towards him.

Once he saw us, Josef immediately brought himself to attention and greeted us. "Thank you, Elise." Then towards me: "Milady, I have to talk to you."

The two of them exchanged furtive glances. I tried to portray a serene and slightly interested expression, but inside I was churning with confusion. What was wrong with everyone today?

"Very well," I said to Josef. I patiently waited for him to speak.

His gaze slid towards Elise. "Alone."

"Ah" was all Elise offered. She took the hint and sashayed away. It didn't seem to bother her that she'd just been dismissed by someone of inferior ranking. Or at least, inferior in terms of magical power.

"Can you-can you show me your flute?" he started. "Please?"

I sighed. I supposed that I wasn't rendered completely helpless without my Medium. And if I wanted my answers to all of...this, I had a feeling that I had to temporarily comply with Josef's wishes. I dug my fingers into my pouch and drew the flute out. He took it with suppressed eagerness; his eyes were dancing with excitement.

"Yes-I can see them," he breathed. Josef closed his eyes. I stared at him, befuddled.

"What do you see?"

He opened his vision to the world. It was only a few seconds later before he regained focus. "Can we go to somewhere more private? It's too open here."

I looked around. No one had seen us so far. But best not to take any chances. I nodded. "Give my flute back first, please."

He did. Then he started to lead me down the hallway, unlocking one of the numerous doors and entering the room. It was small and sparsely furnished, but it more than made up for its weaknesses for the sheer amount of books and papers crammed onto the sole table. It had been occupied recently.

"What is this place?" I asked. This wasn't an ordinary study. I could feel that.

"My private room." Only then did I notice that a narrow, uncomfortable-looking bed was pushed into the farthest corner. I didn't see it earlier because I was too distracted by the sheer amount of papers flying about.

I picked one of them up. They were sketches. Drafts for new inventions fuelled by magic. I could read-Papa Gunter had taught me the basics-but Josef's hand was illegible. The attention to detail was astounding though. Every screw, every nail, every plank was hammered perfectly into place, not a single crooked line.

"Now to answer your previous question," said Josef, breaking my train of thought, "I saw my memories."

He chuckled mirthlessly when I gave him an incredulous look. "As unbelievable as it sounds, it's true. I could never remember the first nine years of my life." He pointed at my pouch-my flute. "But that helped me remember."

Now he sounded crazy. A flute helped him remember his past? The idea of having my lame leg straightened out would be more plausible. "Why do you think so?" I asked sceptically.

"Someone had altered my memory." He swept a hand over the notes strewn all across his table. "That's the only logical explanation. I can remember who I used to be. However, they're foggy and elusive, almost as if I hadn't had them at all."

No. This couldn't be happening-it just couldn't. We locked eyes. I already knew what he was going to say next.

"I'm from Hamelin too."

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