#mage underground

[fictionalhotonespolls]

If Anders was on Hot Ones...

... what wing would he start losing his composure on?

Wings 1-4

Wings 5-7

Wing 8 (Da Bomb)

Wings 9-10

Wing Warrior (Keeps Composure)

Remaining time: 1 hour 14 minutes

[timesorceror]

Day 14 (January 20th) - Anders and Templars

Think of this as a vent day, about how much you understand Anders’ hatred of the Templars, or meta about him and why he hates the Templars, or a fic or art of him rightfully destroying, or ranting about Templar abuses.

For @justhanderspositive‘s challenge: [HERE].

Wrote this during a few sprints with some of my DA Weird Shit™ Discord Chat buddies. They really force you to think on your fingers, so to speak.

Anders swung the bladed end of the staff into the side of the Templar's armor, right between the straps that held the side plates together. He grunted when he felt the chilling slickness of a Smite run over him, but he didn't need magic to bring down this monster of a man.

He didn't know this one’s name. Didn't care to. 

The templar had betrayed his trust during this transfer in the tunnels beneath the city, and it was Anders' job to keep the mages safe no matter whether he had his magic or not. He could feel Justice in his head, guiding his motions, the swings of the staff becoming smoother now, faster. More fluid. He spun on his heel and danced around the Templar as he knocked over a lantern with his foot, spilling the blazing oil across the ground and blinding him. Anders could only hear the cries of the Templar very distantly as he stepped around the man’s back side and jabbed between another chink in the armor, the butt of the blade sinking deep, jerking as it scraped bone.

The templar groaned, and blood began to seep through the wound quickly when Anders drug the hooked end of the wolf blade through the flesh. So. He hadn't hit a pulse point (he wouldn't be able to, he told the other part of himself –Justice, yes, I'm talking to you– because the blade wasn't anywhere near a place like that), but he was wearing down the other fighter.

He spins around again as the templar gets up, turns around. It's like a dance. A very deadly dance. A dance that demands your life if you fail to execute the proper steps.

I can be your teacher, Justice tells Anders. Let me help.

Anders let Justice seep through, just enough so that they were hovering on that edge of oneness that happened so very rarely. His heart pounded, his blood rushed through his ears. His vision swam with a distant blue-red haze that blurred into purple.

And then a brilliant flash of blue streaked across the battlefield to join in the fray, and even through the haze of his battle blood lust, Anders could taste the spice on his tongue, his skin prickling with the feel of the Fade and the buzzing of lyrium nearby. Fenris was here, somehow, and was helping him fight. Not that he'd needed to, since the Templar was down already, the fire from the oil lamp catching on his clothing and flesh and causing him to scream...

A little of Anders' mana returned just in time for him to silence the Templar before more came running. He breathed out slowly, Justice retreating as he whacked the back of the templar’s head, planted his staff in the ground, and finally leaned against it. He glanced over at Fenris, panting harshly.

"So... why did... why did you come to help? It's not like you to assist with my trips out here." He gave Fenris an accessing stare. "I mean, this was a job for the Underground, if you remember me telling you as much this morning."

Fenris shrugged, and turned back around to where a young woman, heavily pregnant, was huddled in the arms of an elven man. Both of them were obviously mages, wearing Circle robes and –at least the man was– carrying a staff.

"Does it matter, mage?" Fenris muttered, offering the two mages a hand up.

"It does," Anders replied in kind, "but perhaps that sort of thing can wait until later."

Fenris looked back at the dead, burning Templar. "What about him? Wasn't he your contact?" Anders shook his head. "Contact of a contact. I'll have to let them know that he's not coming back..." Fenris frowned. "Should probably clean up. Do you have any more mana yet?" Anders' brows knit together in concentration.

"I think... I think so," he huffed quietly.

It was like dragging sap from a tree, but he managed it. He commanded the fire to consume faster, so that the organs, flesh, and other flammable bits of the man were turned to ash. Then the fire died off, leaving only the partially melted pieces of armor behind. Fenris helped Anders stash them and the bones of the skeleton in a nearby crate. While the armor was no longer usable, the metal was good for selling, which would help out the clinic, if nothing else. 

"Well," Anders said as they secured the crate, "if nothing else then the man will have performed some sort of service this way."

"Oh, you think?" Fenris shot back, herding the skittish mage couple so that they were between the two of them, with Anders leading the way. He had enough mana now to cast a small light, since his lamp was out of oil. Despite being frightened, the mages held it together until they arrived back at the clinic, where Anders helped the woman settle onto one of the cots with the elf –her partner, Fenris assumed– sitting nearby.

Anders also busied himself with collecting some clothes for the couple that weren't robes –too much attention, he insisted– that he hoped would help them on their way out of the city. Anders turned to the couple, two sets of clothing in his arms.

"You'll have to change into of these at some point. I know those robes are comfortable," he winked, offering them a small smile, "but they'll out you as a mage before you can say 'Templar', I promise you." The elven mage nodded, glancing behind him at Fenris, his fingers trembling as he took the clothing.

"How long will we be able to stay here?" he asked worriedly. "She's... Elaine..."

"She's close, I know," Anders told him. Anders knelt down next to the human woman, so slight she might've been mistaken for an elf, and ran his hands over her belly, his fingers full of healing magic. Once he was done, he looked up at the man. "The underground took care of your phylacteries, yes?"

The man nodded. "We were told they would. I couldn't have done it myself."

Anders spoke with the woman for a few moments longer and sighed when he stood up again.

"You're lucky to have gotten out when you did. She's very close indeed. If she hasn't gone into labor by the end of the week, then I'll see what I can do about inducing it, because I can't give you much more than a few days afterwards to recover." The woman nodded in understanding. "Of course, healer. Even a half day would be too much too ask, and yet you continue to offer more and more than we need."

Anders just offered her a sad smile.

"I would do the same for anyone. Mage or not."

"Even a Templar?" Fenris asked from behind. Anders looked back at him where he stood, washing, drying, and folding linens. Anders paused for a moment. "Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't say yes, wouldn't I?"

Fenris raised a single eyebrow at him. He wasn't challenging or being obtuse. In fact, it was difficult for Anders to tell what he was really getting at, seeing as how he was so hard to read sometimes.

"That's not what I asked, and you know it."

"I don't hold any great love for Templars, considering the one that was supposed to help with the mission today ended up turning on us, but..." He paused, thinking of Alistair, Rashia's dearest love next to him. While the man hadn't ever worn the armor, he'd been trained as one right up until the day before he was to be sworn in when he'd been conscripted. Alistair was the sort of man that, if Anders had to live in a world where the Order would always exist, all Templars should be like.

Kind. Understanding. Dedicated.

"...I knew a few decent ones, once upon a time. And while most of the ones here must have been scraped from the bottom of the most vile barrels of slime and villainy imaginable... there's at least two good ones that I could name right off if you asked me to."

"Ser Thrask," said the woman quietly, and Anders turned to her, feeling his surprise take over his face. "Yes, he's one of them. He's been helping me and the underground the most."

"And Ser Keran," her partner added. "I believe he was the one who helped take care of our phylacteries. Without them, we'd likely not be here."

Anders nodded thoughtfully.

"I hadn't know that Ser Keran was helping out with the underground. I shall have to find a way to thank him." And he walked back to help Fenris with cleaning the rest of the linens, leaving the couple to revel in their newfound freedom privately. Fenris looked up at Anders as he approached, catching the mage's gaze.

"You meant what you said," Fenris muttered quietly. Anders nodded. "I did. As I said, I hold no great love for the Templars and their Order, but at the end of the day, I'm a healer. If a person requires healing, I am compelled to address that."

"But what about..." 

"Justice?"

Anders smiled at Fenris' fleeting expression of surprise before the elf summoned his usual mask of stoicism.

"Once, he wouldn't even tolerate the presence of them. I mean, you saw... no. You weren't there, were you? No, I don't think you were."

"What?" Fenris pressed gently.

"The night Hawke went with me to the Chantry all those years ago, when... when I discovered that Karl had been made Tranquil." Anders fussed with a folded linen, and Fenris reached out to settle him. He'd removed his gauntlets at some point, Anders noted. It felt good to feel someone else's skin against his own; it grounded him.

"No, I wasn't there for that," Fenris confirmed, "but I heard about it, eventually. Justice overwhelmed you when you found out that the Templars had made him Tranquil, and you killed most of them. But your words make me think that... that reaction has changed?"

Anders shrugged. "Sort of. When we were attacked earlier, I was able to fight on my own, even when my magic was drained. Justice helped me a little then, but didn't outright take over. It was better to be subtle."

Fenris chuffed. "I wasn't aware that you knew what subtle was." Anders debated between rolling his eyes and flicking the elf on the nose. He settled for the eyes, snorting with pretend derision.

"But I did notice your foot patterns were different," Fenris added. "Is that how Justice was helping?" Anders nodded. "Yes. When Justice was possessing the body of the Grey Warden Kristoff, he used a sword and shield." Fenris inclined his head. "A warrior, then."

"Yes. And Justice was a warrior in the Fade, too. Being in my body must be an entirely different experience, but that doesn't mean I'm not capable of being a warrior. I've even worn armor before, though I had to use a bit of magic to help augment my strength." Fenris raised a single eyebrow, and Anders simply shrugged in response. 

"Rashia taught me how to do it. It's the strangest thing. But, anyway... just because I'm a mage doesn't mean I'm useless without my magic. Though, I'm thankful you appeared when you did today. Why did you come by?"

Fenris merely offered him a sly smile. "I had a feeling you might need me. But... you didn't really. You had things quite well in hand by the time I arrived."

Anders chuckled, leaning in close for a quick kiss. 

"Oh, Fen... I always need you."

Fenris closed his eyes as their foreheads pressed together and he hummed contentedly. "Good to know, mage." Anders smiled and leaned forward for another kiss.

[thehungrycity]

Anders and the Mage Underground

Do we have any idea when Anders began getting involved in the Mage Underground?  We know it exists in Act 1, although the Codex doesn't come up for it until Act 2, but I don't recall any information about Anders' involvement until Dissent.

I can completely headcanon something, but does anyone have any information that Anders was involved in it in Act 1?  Otherwise I'll assume it's Act 2.

[Edited to add:  Actually, I've just thought of Karl - how did he get out of the Gallows?  Was it anything to do with the Mage Underground?  If it was, though, the Templars should know about the tunnels and presumably would have closed them down.  Hmmmmm.]