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Right, so the only AUs I’ve yet to reveal (besides the new ones I haven’t outlined yet) are honestly sad/dark AUs. Since the existence of this one is your fault to begin with, I’m going to leave you with an AU scene, where Niamh is turned Tranquil just as the events of What Pride Had Wrought come to a close. >:) Essentially, the Red Templars found a method to perform the Rite of Tranquility almost instantaneously over the course of several months, leading to numerous reports of Tranquil mages being found across Thedas. Niamh was well-aware of all of this before she took her team into the Arbor Wilds, but as the trek through the forest was so arduous, she was running on little energy by the time she defeated Samson. The Red Templars managed to separate her away from the group, and well... She was made Tranquil. Niamh’s team made their way through the Eluvian in the hopes Corypheus wouldn’t discover what had happened to her, and this scene takes place some time after that.
Cassandra watched as Leliana paced soundlessly across the Inquisitor’s personal quarters, her face set into an impassive mask—the same one she had seen her wear for years during their respective duties as the Hands of the Divine.
…at least until her reunion with Lady Cousland, and it was like watching the other woman slowly come to life again as they fell in love.
Still, even the grim resolve she saw here was better than the absolute devastation she had seen on Leliana’s face when she saw Lady Cousland’s condition for the first time upon returning from the Arbor Wilds. The Spymaster had nearly ridden her mount ragged in her haste, especially when Cassandra had sent a message out to her, stating that something had gone wrong in their mission and the Inquisitor’s position had been compromised.
It had been a severe understatement, of course, and Cassandra couldn’t help but grimace as she saw the radiating, curved lines of the Chantry Sunburst branded—albeit haphazardly so if the imperfect embossment was any indication—across the woman’s forehead.
As had been her norm upon their return, Lady Cousland continued to sit eerily at the foot of the bed, staring into the nothingness beyond the balconies. She never spoke unless prompted, and even when she did, there was a dullness to her voice—a sunken stone buried in depths long forgotten—that was a far cry from the woman’s usual quiet warmth and benevolence.
She was little more than a sentinel as she sat there—back rigid and shoulders set—as if waiting for instruction. Waiting to be commanded.
…Waiting to serve.
Cassandra had to swallow the bile that had gathered at the back of her throat.
“Besides abject failure, this was the only thing in all the world that absolutely terrified her,” Leliana said apathetically, hands behind her back as she continued pacing before the fireplace. “That, or the idea that we might succeed, and the Chantry would’ve seen reason to chain her and take away her magic in the most abusive way possible, ensuring that it would never again have a rival to its power.” Blue eyes seemed to burn with more than just the firelit reflection within them. “What does that say about us, I wonder? What does it say that she helped us and agreed to be Inquisitor even with the thought that she’d still have every last shred of her autonomy taken away?”
While the question was an uncomfortable one, Cassandra could only be thankful it was far better than the reaction Morrigan had received, especially when Leliana had discovered the woman had abandoned Lady Cousland in order to chase after the ancient elf responsible for guarding the Well of Sorrows…
---
Leliana’s eyes had been a steely blue as they gleamed beneath the moonlight—a glimmer of a knife’s edge and with all the danger that it implied—as she pulled the mage forward by the lapels of her outfit almost to the point of choking her.
“The only reason my blades haven’t sunk into your neck or that I haven’t thrown you from this very tower is because you told me the knowledge you obtained from the Well of Sorrows might prove useful in overturning what has been done to Niamh,” she said coolly, never raising her voice. “I do not want your apologies or your meager reassurances. I want progress. You and I have nothing to say to one another until then. Am I understood?”
Morrigan’s eyes had narrowed, but even Cassandra could see the guilt that had settled there—a common sight these days—as she was reminded of her own part in Lady Cousland’s current state. As such, the woman could only nod, allowing Leliana to slowly release the strangling grip on her clothing, which Morrigan resettled idly before making her way toward the stairs.
“And Morrigan?”
The mage looked over her shoulder to see Leliana there, standing tall with her hands behind her back—a cold ruthlessness exuding from every pore of her body. Although they weren’t directed at her, Cassandra felt the chill of reproach and threat in that icy glare.
“You may have evaded Flemeth over the years, but make no mistake: if I find you’ve given anything other than your absolute best in helping Niamh—if I find that you’ve abandoned her again—there will be nowhere on Thedas where you can hope to hide from me…”
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Cassandra sighed. “It was not the Chantry that did this to her, Leliana.”
“But they never argued against the Rite’s use in all its existence, have they? What is the purpose of it if not to chain mages to them with fear?”
“It was originally a preventative measure against the outright execution of mages.”
“Mages they thought might be useful to them alive as pets and mindless servants than dead, Cassandra!” Leliana retorted, whirling on her with fury as the flames from the fireplace outlining her form. “The last Inquisitor warned it could have abused, and nothing was done to prevent it! A thousand years later, and the Chantry is no better than when it first started! Niamh had every reason not to trust in it!”
“Leliana—"
“Do you not see what this world has done to her?! It rejected her, and it denied her very existence as a person! She has been abandoned at every turn the moment her magic manifested! She had very nearly given up by the time she came to The Conclave because she was so desperate to see if it could change one last time for the better, and she ended up bound to the Chantry again as part of the Inquisition instead! Despite everything, despite how much she was hurting, she still sought to try and help us, and this is what she received for her goodwill!”
“Leliana, what more do you want me to say?” Cassandra implored desperately. “I know now how deeply the corruption ran. I know why Lord Seeker Lucius abandoned his duties and why he gave the tome to me. I swear, we are doing everything we can to reverse this, and if it works, I promise I will spread knowledge of the cure all across Thedas, but…” She hesitated. “From what I’ve read, she might not be as she was before.”
Silence.
“You’re telling me that even if this does succeed, I may only have a part of her back?”
“Yes. We have asked her, but her answers remain tied to our desires. She will agree to it if we feel that it is necessary, but she…” Cassandra paused, choosing her words carefully even as she averted her gaze. “Lady Cousland no longer has the will to fully agree to this. Given your relationship with her, I felt you might know her wants better than us. As the reversal has been documented so very few times, it’s possible we can negate some of the more concerning side effects, especially with so many mages here openly helping us, but—”
“Then proceed,” Leliana said without hesitation. “Because I’m not letting her go again.”
((This does have a happy ending. I might write more about it once I get to the Arbor Wilds part of OtSttCA, so there’s still time before I hit you all with a load of sadness and angst. Lol.))
