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5. Thieves and Rifts

Cassandra, with Varric and Kai tagging along, races to the Temple of Sacred Ashes to save Cullen’s troops from the demons. Sadly, the squad has been practically decimated. Cullen, a handful of his original soldiers and what appears to be two elves are all that remain, and they are in dire straits. Pinned down by a horde of monstrosities, including a truly massive pride demon, they struggle to fend off their powerful attacks. Cassandra, Kai and Varric launch themselves into the fray, battling bravely to save the remainder of Cullen's squad. Cassandra bull rushes the demon whilst Kai protects her with a seemingly endless slew of defensive spells and magical projectiles. Their harmonious teamwork inspires the battered troops and, valiantly, they all pull together and dispatch their foes.

In the moments following the pride demon's defeat, the swirling green torrent that is the Breach calms down somewhat, creating a welcome lull in the storm. Bruised and battered, Cullen takes the opportunity to fill Cassandra in on what happened, and to formally introduce their magical "expert" - Solas - and his "assistant", a tall elf girl. Before her name can pass Cullen's lips, the elf launches herself at an unsuspecting Kai who had been innocently peering over Cassandra's head, following the proceedings. Luckily, Cassandra and Cullen manage to prize them apart before the elf girl scratches out poor Kai's eyes...

H'wen informs Cassandra that Kai is nothing more than a no good thief. As she talks, it becomes clear that both of them were at the Temple by accident as opposed to design. Moreover, as Cassandra watches Kai's reaction to the verbal onslaught directed against him, she decides he is probably too much of a wuss to have masterminded such an act in the first place.

As the Seeker muses, H'wen angrily demands that Kai returns the stolen artefacts to her this instant. As the shamefaced qunari starts fishing the trinkets out of his coat pockets, one of the lockets in the collection starts to vibrate. Behind them, the Rift from which the demons originated starts to resonate with the artefact, and suddenly the locket pours forth a brilliant stream of green light and closes the rift!

Everyone is stunned. Solas rushes forward to examine Kai's small collection of stolen artefacts, explaining to the group that they are all ancient Dalish trinkets designed with a defensive purpose in mind; to strengthen the Veil and protect those who possess them. "Would they be able to close the Breach?" is the obvious question. According to Solas, Kai's job lot of necklaces and what not is simply not powerful enough to fuse together a tear of that size but, if the Inquisition were able to find stronger, more exotic artefacts and provide a stabilising magical anchor, then it may hypothetically be possible.

Consequently, Cassandra decides to return to Haven. Once there she consults with Leliana, Roderick, Cullen, and Josephine, and decides that Kai, H'wen, Solas and Varric could be useful in the mission to close the Breach. The Inquisition is officially formed. Whilst the others sign on (happily or otherwise), H'wen refuses to formally pledge herself to the Inquisition, and insists she is only there until she can track down Brody - "that bloody ginger turnip!" - and her artefacts are returned to her.

Furthermore, it is decided Kai must still be taken to Val Royeaux to prove publically that he was not behind the death of the Divine and the explosion at the Temple. That way, all loose ends will be tied up and the Inquisition can focus on their mission without everyone thinking they're a complete bunch of dicks that blow up old ladies.

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4. The Truce

But what happened to the elves while Kai was being “inquisited” ?

Right after spiriting away one or two ancient elven trinkets, and escaping the wrath of a blonde Dalish warrior, Solas finally lays camp nearby Haven, contemplating the best way to offer his services to the fledgling Inquisition. The loud chattering of teeth coming from behind a collection of stunted bushes alerts him to the fact that, despite his best efforts, he has not been able to shake off the angry Dalish elf he encountered at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Amused and a little impressed, he calls out to her and invites her to share his camp fire, which she does (albeit begrudgingly).

An awkward chat ensues wherein H'wen reveals why she was present at the Temple and her deep desire to restore the artefacts stolen from her. Solas, naturally, remains vague about his reasons for being there, instead focusing on his curiosity about the Breach and what link Kai may or may not have with it. It becomes clear that they both want to find Kai, and on that basis a clumsy truce is declared.

The next morning, they make their way down to the village, making sure to initially keep out of sight, just in case. After observing the security at the front gate from a distance, Solas decides this is as good a time as any to make himself known to the Inquisition. As an obvious elven apostate (and one that's practically just jumped out of a bush, no less), the Chantry soldiers rush to confront him but, surprisingly, H'wen leaps to his defence. After an initially hairy standoff with the Chantry soldiers, Commander Cullen is called to intercede, and the elves are given a chance to explain why they are there.

Solas and H'wen are brought before Cullen and diplomat Josephine Montilyet, with Solas pledging the services of himself and his "assistant" to the Inquisition. Initially suspicious of the apostate, with some smooth words from Josephine, Cullen ends up agreeing that it might be a good idea to have some magical insight on the catastrophe. They will operate under strict surveillance - if they prove unhelpful or obstructive, they are to be imprisoned as an apostate and accomplice. That’s how they end up accompanying the Commander to the explosion site once again in search of more clues; alas, on the way, demons catch them on a narrow cliff flank, and most of their squad fall under their deadly claws...

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3. Demons in the Snow

Kai is imprisoned under Haven's Chantry and is interrogated by Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast. Kai, who has not been in captivity since escaping the Qunari, is understandably scared. For her part, Cassandra is devastated by the death of Divine Justinia, and lashes out at her poor prisoner. Thankfully, Leliana is there to soothe the situation. Once the Seeker calms down, it is decided that Kai will be taken under guard to Chancellor Roderick in order to determine what to do with him.

The following day, as they travel along the mountain roads with a small group of Chantry soldiers in tow, Cassandra tersely recounts to Kai all that has been happening in Thedas whilst he was unconscious; primarily that the explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes rent a giant tear - now commonly referred to as the Breach - in the Veil. Moreover, smaller rifts have been appearing at random across the continent, allowing hordes of demons to travel into the physical world from the Fade.

As if on cue, a tear materialises before them, spewing forth demons who swarm over their Chantry escort, quickly massacring them. In the heat of battle, as Cassandra fends off the demons, Kai grabs the magical staff of a fallen guard, and their enemies are promptly dealt with when they team up. Once they’re dead, though, Cassandra orders the Qunari to drop his weapon. Still distrustful of this woman who imprisoned him, he retorts with defiance that he doesn’t need one to be dangerous. Also there are demons all around, so, you know, might want a bit of magical help there. Cassandra reluctantly agrees to a truce, and they decide to stick together... For now.

Night begins to fall in the Frostback Mountains as Kai and Cassandra reach a dishevelled base camp, located at a strategically important bridge. There they reunite with Leliana, and meet Chancellor Roderick, who demands Kai's immediate execution. Surprisingly, Cassandra argues in the qunari's defence. Instead, she advocates pursuing a proper trial, backed with more evidences that their forensic team should be gathering now. On the strength of Cassandra's argument, Kai receives a welcome reprieve.

Subsequently, Kai is taken to be housed with Cassandra's other prisoner - the infamous Varric Tethras; author, entrepreneur and all round trouble maker. When Cassandra suggests that, to show his good faith to the still-angry Chancellor, Kai might want to be cuffed for the night, he angrily refuses. Whilst the Seeker may be oblivious to the reasons for Kai's distress, luckily Varric isn't. Gently, he suggests to the Seeker that chaining a former saarebas may not go down in history as one of her brightest ideas. Although slightly embarrassed, Cassandra acquiesces and instead leaves a guard to watch over them, much to Kai's relief.

As morning breaks, Cassandra returns to inform Kai that a decision has been reached concerning his fate. He is to be taken to Val Royeaux where he will be given a chance to prove his innocence. As the Seeker prepares to move her prisoner on the long journey to Orlais' capital, a harried and bloodied messenger bursts into the tent with an urgent message for her. It would appear that one of Cassandra's squads - led by former Templar, Commander Cullen - is in grave peril. On their way to the Temple’s crater for further examination of the scene of the crime, they were quickly overwhelmed by demons. The messenger just barely escaped to call for aid...

Leaving behind both her desire for vengeance and her prisoners, Cassandra rushes out of the tent without a word, desperate to save her men. Impressed by her determination, Kai and Varric decide to follow.

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2. The Wrath of Heaven:

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Chantry soldiers rush into what used to be the Temple and what is now nothing more than a smouldering crater. Slap bang in the middle of the rubble they find an unconscious qunari, encircled by an otherworldly green glow. How has he survived the explosion? Why was he there in the first place? There weren't any qunari on the guest list. And what about that funky glow? Has he come through the Fade? All good questions that need answering. The soldiers scrape the qunari up off of the floor and cart him off to those people best suited to answering difficult questions...

The qunari in question, as we know, is none other than Kai. After the orb slipped through Corypheus' fingers, it hit the ground and cracked, causing the massive magical explosion. Kai, although caught up in right in the middle of it, was protected by the elven artefacts he was stealing carrying. The green glow the soldiers noticed is simply one of the side effects of the ancient magic, like bad-quality glitter stuck on him after a wild party.

After the soldiers leave with Kai and the dust has (quite literally) settled, H'wen emerges from her hiding place. After finding that she could not break through the Temple door to pursue Kai, she started searching for another way in. Circling around, she managed to find the underground door leading to the Priests’ finest wine cellar. Just as she walked inside it, the explosion detonated, causing a small rockslide. H'wen was trapped in the cave, but was protected from the magical explosion at the Temple.

After managing to dig herself out, she wanders around the blackened ruins of the Temple, desperate to retrieve the bits and pieces stolen from her before the Chantry soldiers come back in force. As she nears the epicentre of the explosion, she spies a figure picking through the rubble; it's another elf. He doesn’t look Dalish, though. His bald head has no tattoos and he’s dressed with dirty, homeless peasant clothes. Intrigued, she creeps closer and notices, to her horror, that he has one of the artefacts - her artefacts - in his hands. She shouts at him to drop it, which is met with an incredulous "excuse me?" She persists, warning him that she is not afraid to use force if necessary. In response he smiles, then casts a powerful mind blast spell that sweeps her off her feet. As she struggles to regain her composure, he sprints sure-footedly through the rubble, elven artefact in hand. Now H'wen has another thief to pursue...

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Our story begins...

Somewhere in the foothills of the Frostback Mountains, a small party of mercenaries are trekking through dense woodland on their way to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. They are transporting goods for their employer, a powerful dwarven merchant who aims to hawk lyrium and magical paraphernalia to the mass of Mages and Templars who are converging on the Temple to try and negotiate peace. The two note-worthy members of the mercenary band are Kai Adaar and Brody Cadash.

As they continue through the woods, they stumble upon a lone Dalish elf; H'wen Lavellan.

After some gentle questioning, Kai, Brody and their mercenary band learn that the elf has been visiting some elven ruins nearby and, in the process, has lost her Clan. The boys are sent by their employer to help reunite her with Clan Lavellan, and to reunite at the Temple later on. On the way, they ask about why this old elven ruin of hers was worth losing her clan for. H'wen, always happy to share about her culture, offers to see it for themselves. After making them solemnly swear not to touch anything within the ruins, she leads them there.

Once there, however, it becomes clear to her that some cultures do not take promises as seriously as the Dalish do. Kai and Brody quickly grab as much loot as they can carry and run off into the woods, with H'wen in hot pursuit and proving far harder to shake off than they initially thought.

After managing to put some distance between themselves and the angry elf, the boys crouch down and decide to split ways. Brody is to act as bait, leading the elf into the Hinterlands and later doubling back to their original destination. Kai, on the other hand, is to take the loot straight back to Yarlee Brosca (their employer, and Brody’s mother) at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Sadly for them, being a dwarf, once he is behind some tall bushes, Brody is easily hidden. H'wen, catching up with them, misses him completely and instead follows the rather more conspicuous Kai.

The epic chase takes them all the way to the Frostback Mountains, where H'wen manages to corner Kai in the Temple of Sacred Ashes' oddly quiet courtyard. Understandably scared in the face of an angry, sword wielding elf, he races for the Temple itself. Slamming the heavy door behind him, Kai carries on running as fast as his legs will carry him and his hoard of elven trinkets. Suddenly, he slams into someone...

... That someone is Corypheus - a Tevinter Magister come Darkspawn with a serious attitude problem. He was in the middle of performing a rather important magical ritual involving the Divine Justinia, an elven orb and a whole lot of green. Unfortunately for Corypheus, a large Qunari mage has just run into him from behind, causing him to spill the orb...

The resulting explosion decimates the Temple and rends a massive tear in the Veil. Moreover, the magical orb is cracked when it hits the Temple floor, meaning that Corypheus is unable to complete his ritual until it is fixed. The world is safe until he can track down some Ancient Elven Adhesive...

> Next Episode >

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Brody & Kai’s friendship

When the “Brosca Delivery Ltd”, travelling Dwarven merchants’ company (actually a vast Lyrium and magical goods smuggling operation), found a half-dead Qunari agonizing on the road, Brody was very against the idea of taking him with them and argued to leave him die there.

His mother, Yarlee Brosca, the head of the troup, disagreed by saying he could prove useful. Also, look at his cute face. Poor baby.

Freshly out on the Surface, it was the first Qunari that Brody ever saw, or even heard about. All the stories about their brutal culture really didn’t made him warmer to the newcomer - and the fact he was stealing his mom’s attention didn’t help either.  At first the Qunari was badly wounded, delirious, and didn’t speak a single word of common tongue - he was just plain useless. They named him “Kai” because it was the deformed name he was crying out in his sleep (actually him trying to call out to his demon friend Crave). He slowly got better, but was still of relative use to the company - not to say a burden.

Frustrated, Brody started making him work hard for them, hoping to make him leave. His plan backfired, though, as the repetitive tasks reminded him of his old life, helped him understand more and more words through his orders, and generally made him focus on something else than his sorrows. In the end, Kai was always pestering Brody for more things to do, litterally clinged to him, and bombarded him with endless questions about all he didn’t know about this new country.  A couple of years later, Brody has to admit he doesn’t mind this big oaf’s presence so much anymore.