Apotheosis 1
The Aftermath of Valerian Fields
Victory! Sweet song rising from the lips of the vanquishers,
The host of Shartan, the clans of Alamarri, a thousand freemen
Held aloft blade and spear and to the Maker gave thanks.
But for every one who stood and sang the hymn of praise,
Two lay at their feet, soul seeking the Light eternal.
Maferath's heart grew cold
As he looked upon the field of the dead and heard
The chant of "Glory! Glory! Glory! Hail to the Maker
Most High! Hail to Andraste, Prophet and liberator,
Light of the world! Look upon our work, O Maker, and rejoice!"
And Maferath forsook the celebrations of his people
And went apart, taking not even his Aegis, his shield-brother.
In the solitude of the night, Maferath dwelled in his bitterness,
And the Light which once burned within him extinguished.
Maferath Meets with Hessarian
The lord of the Alamarri sent forth his most trusted runner
To the gates of Minrathous itself, to call the Archon to parley,
That like the leaves after a long winter, peace too might return to the land.
Hessarian was filled to overflowing with doubt that the offer might be true,
Yet did he reply with message of his own and arrange to meet the war-chief.
Maferath took with him his Aegis, and arrived at the appointed place
Where Hessarian waited with his guard, and the two leaders of armies spoke,
Guarded in riddles, and came to an understanding between them
That peace bore a heavy price which must be paid in blood.
And they returned to their own people, and said nothing.
Andraste Prepares To Lay Siege To Minrathous
The armies of the Maker marched to the heart of the Imperium.
They looked upon those gates guarded by the Juggernauts of old
And despaired, for surely neither army nor god could oppose such might.
Andraste's Sermon To The Armies
So Andraste said to her followers: "You who stand before the gates,
You who have followed me into the heart of evil,
The fear of death is in your eyes; its hand is upon your throat.
Raise your voices to the heavens! Remember:
Not alone do we stand on the field of battle.
"The Maker is with us! His Light shall be our banner,
And we shall bear it through the gates of that city and deliver it
To our brothers and sisters awaiting their freedom within those walls,
At last, the Light shall shine upon all of creation,
If we are only strong enough to carry it."
And the armies of Andraste raised their voices,
Singing a hymn of praise to the Maker. And feared no more,
And Andraste went apart to seek the Maker's wisdom
For the battle to come.
Maferath Delivers Andraste to Hessarian
Maferath went to his wife and said:
"In the hills lies a silver pool where they say
The Voice of Heaven can be heard most clearly.
Let us go together and hear the Maker's Will."
Andraste went with Maferath and the Aegis to the silver pond.
As she knelt in prayer, the servants of the Archon surrounded them,
Spears raised. Andraste drew her sword
And pierced one man through the heart, but Maferath,
With a blow from his axe, struck the blade from her hands.
And it fell to the ground, and where it landed, tears welled from the land.
The Aegis faltered; his hand could not draw against his own lord,
But neither could it be stayed as his Prophet was betrayed.
Unarmed, he stood between Andraste and the Tevinters.
A spear pierced his chest twice, and he fell.
With neither blade nor shield, Andraste gave herself up
To her enemies. And Maferath bound his wife's hands
And delivered her to the Archon to be put to death.
Apotheosis 2
Andraste is Brought Forth In Chains
As the sun rose on the army of the faithful,
The gates of the city parted and the legion descended upon the land
As the shadow of a distant storm darkens the sun.
At the forefront of the host rode the Archon himself, sword in hand.
And at his side, bound by heavy chains, rode the Prophet.
Hope abandoned the armies of the faithful
At the sight of their Lady in chains. And a terrible cry
Rose from the field like the wailing of lost children.
Before the host of the faithful and all of the Imperium,
The servants of the Archon assembled a great dais at the feet of the Juggernauts
And there built a pyre twice the height of a man,
The Prophet in chains placed on a stake in the center.
A Devoted Disciple Dies
The Liberator drew the blade at his side
And charged the pyre, the freedom of the Prophet before his eyes,
But from the legion came a storm of arrows
Blacker than night. And the disciple who had fought side by side
With the Lady fell, along with a hundred of his People.
And among the Alamarri ten thousand swords fell to the ground in a chorus of defeat.
Andraste Calls Out
The legion doused the pyre around her with lamp oil
As Andraste called out in a great voice:
"Maker of the World, forgive them! They have lived too long in shadow
Without Your Light to guide them! Be with Your children now, O Maker!"
Hessarian Lights The Pyre
The Archon stood upon the dais and declared:
"Today, I end this war!" And by will alone
Drew fire from air and set the pyre aflame.
The army of the faithful gathered before the gates of the city
Wept openly. And from among them voices raised
In threnody for Andraste wreathed in flame.
Though the fire enveloped her like a shroud, and the heat from the blaze
Reached across the field, Andraste was silent and did not cry out.
And the legionnaires who stood guard nearby
Were shaken, and began to whisper among themselves:
"Is she truly the servant of a god?"
Hessarian Begins To Doubt
The Archon looked upon what he had wrought
As the flames of Andraste's pyre grew ever closer to heaven
And the heat drove even the bravest of his legion back
And his heart wavered. For though Andraste did not cry out
Yet did he see her suffering.
Merciless, the fire did not spare her mortal flesh.
And while Hessarian heard over the roar of the bonfire
The cheering of his magisters, he also heard the distant
Song of the faithful mourning their Lady.
Hessarian Takes Pity on Andraste
Before any among his advisors could draw breath,
Hessarian took blade to hand and himself
Dared the fire that consumed the Prophet.
With one swift strike he pierced her heart.
Andraste Dies
They sky grew dark. And the ground began to tremble as if in mortal dread.
The crowd before the gates, both Tevinter and faithful, fell silent.
The heavens wept, and yet no rain could extinguish the flame
Which was now a funeral pyre. Wind swept across the city
Like a terrible hand in rage. And the Tevinters who witnessed this
Said: "Truly, the gods are angered."
In sorrow, the crowds dispersed. The army of the faithful
Turned southward, to the lands from which they had come.
The legion of Tevinter hid inside the walls of their city
And watched the sky in fear.
Havard Returns
The sky wept as though it would never stop, and the footprints
Left by armies turned to countless seas, as Andraste's pyre burned to embers
And grew dark. On hands and knees, wounded unto death,
Havard, once the Aegis of Maferath, crawled to the feet of his Lady.
The loyal shield, broken to pieces, found only ash
Left to the wind and rain. And Havard wept
And took the ashes, still hot from the fire, and pressed them to his heart.
Andraste Appears To Havard
His ears filled with the song of multitudes
Raised in chorus, and before his eyes the dark skies parted
And Andraste, dressed in cloth of starlight and armored
In moonlight, stood before him, and he was afraid.
The Lady knelt at his side, saying:
"Arise, Aegis of the Faith. You are not forgotten.
Neither man nor Maker shall forget your bravery
So long as I remember."
At this, his wounds healed, and he stood
And gathered up the ashes, and carried them
To the lands of the Alamarri, away from sorrow forever.
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