Author's Note: I could very well write four or more chapters just on the travel between Haven and the Crossroads alone. But I'm not going to - there's a lot of stuff I could put there, a lot of stuff to unpack with regards to Amy and a lot of stuff to subject her too, but at the same time, I do actually want to move the story forward, and we will have plenty of time for Amy to stop and linger and cope with more of Thedas's weird shit and her own many and sundry problems.
What that means is that when I do take the time to show a conversation 'onscreen', as it were, even one that seems like it's mostly just recapitulating stuff you the reader should know, I do have a reason for actually showing it to you. Plenty of conversations and side bits will be breezed over or summarized or the like, when there's no direct purpose to showing them. But when I do show a conversation, it's to illustrate characterization, develop long-term storylines or seed certain plot points that will be sown later.
We are entering the Hinterlands in this chapter, and for those who haven't played Inquisition, or don't read much Inquisition fanfiction, the Hinterlands are sort of like Leviathan, in the sense of being a 'fic-killer'. A lot of fics lose steam in the Hinterlands and sort of peter out there. Far from all but it is definitely a common phenomenon. That will not be happening here, I can assure you.
We will not be spending much time chronologically in the Hinterlands on this visit, largely because Amy herself will not be doing much directly. She can't fight, and so a lot of the side quests that bog a writer down she just can't be directly involved in, and they wouldn't take her to go kill bandits on the East Road, or the extremist Templars at their camp by the river, etc. And even when there is fighting she's near (such as the rift closures), since she's not going to be involved in it, there's just not much need to spend a lot of time describing it at this point - the fighting to close a rift very quickly becomes 'seen one, seen 'em all' after a bit.
But, because Amy takes 1,000 words to do anything half the time...
The plan is that this visit to the Hinterlands will encompass the end of this chapter, and all of the next, and the first chunk of 11. That is a decent amount, but the time we do spend in the Hinterlands will, as I said just above, not be on her doing all the little sidequests at least. But by the middle of chapter 11, we will be out of the Hinterlands and moving on with the rest of the story, and with Amy's continued angst.
Not that she's not gonna get angst in the Hinterlands. Amy and angst go together like Carol and being a shitty mother.
I fucking hate horses.
Amy hadn't been all that fond of horseback riding when Aunt Sarah had roped her and Vicky and their cousins into going riding, all those random summer days over the course of several years. But at least they'd been days when Carol hadn't been around, and her sister hadn't enjoyed horseback riding anymore than Amy had. Misery loved company and all that.
Which technically she had here as well, because Varric was not having a good time either.
But... that had been short periods of being roped into riding a horse for half an hour, at most.
Not for six or seven or however many hours she'd ridden that godforsaken stupid animal.
"I am never riding a horse again," Amy slumped forward, feeling utterly exhausted. Her ass was beyond numb, and she barely felt like she could walk, legs pretty numb too.
"Then I guess we're walking the rest of the way?" Katerina asked, chuckling, extending a leather waterskin to Amy. Amy let out a long groan and snatched the waterskin, bringing it to her mouth, making a face at the taste of the water, some spilling out over her face. She handed it back to Katerina after a moment, swallowing it, groaning again.
The trip to the Hinterlands consisted of more than just Cassandra, Katerina, Varric, Solas and herself. Twenty soldiers and scouts, and two mages were also among the group, all intended to provide aid to the refugees in the Hinterlands, and of course, protect her.
Protect the precious Herald.
"If we had a choice in the matter, I'd be right there with you." Varric muttered. "I remember when I was almost never more than a dozen miles away from Kirkwall. Now I'm experiencing the joys of nature. Again." He looked around. "Still better than the Deep Roads, at least."
Tents were being set up, quickly and efficiently by the soldiers - it was... well, it was a lot like those handful of times they'd gone camping, back before she'd triggered, before Victoria triggered. She supposed the basic concept of a tent was pretty simple and probably hadn't changed in a long time. Set up poles, put the tent over the poles, boom, you had a tent. The tents themselves looked like they were made of leather, probably to repel rain. They'd traveled as much down the mountain slopes as they had east, and while it was still brisk out, it was noticeably less cold overall.
Which would eventually be a mixed bag, since she was - at Cassandra's insistence - wearing her armor under her robes. Right now, it wasn't that bad.
"It would not be practical to switch to walking at this point, Amy," Cassandra said from behind her and Amy nearly jumped, startled, then turned. Cassandra seemed completely unbothered by the fuck if she knew how long ride. The woman probably rode horses a lot.
Amy had kind of sort of remembered the basics of how to keep her horse steady, but in the end, Katerina's horse had been roped to hers, so that where it went, so too went Amy's. She'd been put on a brown horse that she'd been assured was 'very docile'. It hadn't thrown her off, so... yeah, close enough.
"We have much ground to cover, and the sooner we do, the closer we get to closing the Breach." Cassandra added. "Still... we can perhaps take things a little slower tomorrow." She added.
"I don't think it really matters how fast the horses move, it's not like they were galloping or anything today," Amy muttered. "How the fuck does anyone move after riding these things?"
"Practice, mostly," Cassandra answered. "Seekers must travel great distances to perform their duties, so I have had much time in the saddle. Do you feel pain, or just soreness?"
"I don't feel much at all," Amy staggered a bit, and then her leg gave out from under her and she stumbled, falling backwards, crying out in shock and dismay - Cassandra's hand caught onto her arm, catching her before she could land on her ass.
"That should pass, in time. It is unfortunate, but to be expected." Cassandra explained. "But if you do feel any pain, or any chaffing in the legs, or worse, tell me immediately."
"Can't have your precious Herald getting hurt, right?" Amy muttered.
"You are a child in my charge. I would not want to see you harmed even if you were not the Herald, Amy." Cassandra answered. There was the sound of raised voices nearby, and Cassandra turned her head, still holding onto Amy's hand. The older woman wore gloves, so Amy couldn't sense her biology - Amy didn't know if that was deliberate, or not. Riding gloves were a thing, and Cassandra wore gloves a lot, so it was probably just normal for her.
"No, - no, do not tie the horses there!" She raised her voice, and then turned back to Amy, letting go of her hand slowly. "Lean against one of the rock faces, catch your breath, and then walk around a little as camp is set. It will help with the soreness and the numbness," She turned back away and stalked off, shouting orders at the soldiers.
Amy looked around for the closest rock face - they were in a bit of a sheltered area off the main path they'd been taking down the mountain - it wasn't really a road, but it was apparently the route merchants and travellers used to get to Haven from Ferelden. Something about pilgrims coming to the Temple.
She'd only been paying half attention to what Katerina had told her, too focused on staying on the horse.
A few shaky steps later, and she managed to get there without falling over, turning, back pressed against the rock face, closing her eyes, breathing in and out slowly. A bit of feeling sorta returned to her legs as she waited, hearing the bustle of people setting up camp and probably lighting cookfires and whatever else you did when you were moving this many people and camping out in the woods.
Amy knew the saddlebags on her horse were packed with food - jerky and dried fruit and what Amy had to guess was some sort of hardtack and a bunch of other stuff that would keep on the road. As well as supplies that could actually be used to cook over campfires. She didn't know if there'd be any hunting or gathering.
At least I'm safe from food poisoning. Probably. New planet could mean new diseases, but... she was pretty sure her power would handle that. The stupid thing had to come with a few upsides, right?
Finally, Amy opened her eyes and took a few more steps, somewhat more sure in her movements, feeling a little less numb. She took a few small steps, not heading anywhere, then a few more. Eventually, she started taking a bit of a circuit around the camp, still walking slowly at first, not taking any big steps, but by the time she had done a full circle nearly back to where she'd started, her legs were starting to feel... well, sort of worse, actually?
But soreness was probably better than numbness, technically, so she accepted it. Katerina had silently followed her around as she'd walked, not bothering her, but it was impossible not to notice the woman's presence.
"Herald, Lady Pentaghast has instructed that this tent be set aside for you and your guard," one of the soldiers said, waving his arm to catch her attention first. He pointed to a tent near the center of the assembled tents and little firepits and slowly building mounds of dried wood and dead leaves and shit.
"For both of us?!" Amy felt a heat in her cheeks for a moment. When the Dallon and Pelham families had gone camping, years and years ago, she'd always shared a tent with Vicky - and since it was all before either of them had triggered...
Well, it hadn't been as hellish an experience as sharing a tent with Vicky would be now.
But even if she was sharing a tent with Vicky now, at least it would be her sister and not some... stranger. She'd have to take off her armor and - she would have to sleep in her clothes in her bedroll (because they had one of those and sleeping in a bedroll in a tent was somehow
not one of the parts in the YA fantasy books she'd used to read that she'd ever wanted to live through) anyway she supposed so...
She looked over at Katerina a moment, then grimaced.
Katerina was a complete stranger, and - she wasn't anywhere near as pretty as Victoria (who was?) so that - that should be fine. It wasn't like she was going to changing into the sort of nightgown-thing she'd been using as pyjamas since waking up in that cabin in front of her. Or watching Katerina change into anything either. She doubted the woman wouldn't also be sleeping in whatever normal clothes she was wearing under her armor.
"If someone attacks the camp at night, best if I'm close to hand to protect you," Katerina explained.
"I - yeah - okay, that makes sense, but -" Amy cut herself off, shoulders sagging. There was - there probably weren't enough tents for her to have her own and - and arguing wouldn't get her anywhere and she just...
After a while longer of just sort of pacing around, head aching due to lack of caffeine - once they got more coffee into Haven, Amy was going to have to learn how to grind her own and make some sort of campfire coffee if they were going to be travelling all around the goddamn world to close rifts.
But finally, camp was set, and Amy found herself sitting on the ground next to a small fire with Solas and Varric and Katerina. The four of them, as well as Cassandra, were all camping at the core of the camp, but Cassandra was out on the edges of the camp, probably on watch or - something.
It wasn't dark yet, but the sun was starting to set. Amy was handed a wooden cup filled with water from a waterskin, some dried fruit and meat, and some bread so hard she was pretty sure it would break her teeth.
"There's better hunting further down the mountainside, apparently, so we won't be having to eat this all the time, but try dipping it in your water to soften it up first," Katerina said, about the bread.
Varric grimaced at his own piece of what Amy was just going to call hardtack. "The Hanged Man doesn't even really have cooks, and the food there is better than this," he grumbled. Amy nibbled on her jerky, not feeling super hungry, but knowing she'd have to eat. Solas started to eat his food without complaint, as did Katerina. Varric broke off a piece of his hardtack with some difficulty, then looked over at her.
"So, Amy, any chance you're willing to talk more about yourself? Your power? The whole 'I'm not from Thedas' thing?" He asked, apparently deciding he'd rather talk than eat hardtack. "I've got about a million questions."
"You're hardly alone."
"You're one of several impossible things that showed up all at the same time. If someone doesn't have questions, I'd start questioning their sanity." Varric countered. "Where do you come from? Apart from the Qunari, no one really knows much about other continents, and the Qunari aren't talking, from what I know."
"I'm not from another continent. I'm from another world," Amy said with a long sigh.
Varric blinked, "Another world?" He sounded utterly baffled by the concept, just... completely not getting it.
"Where I come from, there's no elves, no dwarves, no magic, no demons, no Fade, no dragons, none of the insane shit you guys have here. Also, we have better technology and Thedas isn't on any of our maps."
This world is so much more different then Earth-Aleph is from Bet.
"I'm not - I'm not a... I don't know the science of it, so don't ask, but back home, we know about other worlds. Alternate... universes. It was all theory and stuff before a guy called Professor Haywire proved it and opened a portal to another Earth. The one I'm from is called Earth-Bet, the one he opened a portal is called Earth-Aleph."
"And then what's this one called?" Varric asked, sounding as much like he was humoring her as anything else.
"No fucking idea. Earth-Thedas?" Amy shrugged. "Earth-Aleph is... really similar to Earth-Bet. Same continents and same basic history for most of it, and then not." Amy was pretty sure Scion was the divergence, but she wasn't sure. "Like I told Cassandra and everyone else who's asked and then some, I don't know how I got here."
"You mentioned something about 'Bakuda's Bomb' sending you here when you were in your cell," Varric said. Amy stared at him. Varric hadn't been there. "Guards talk, especially when you buy them a drink. It's nothing Nightingale declared secret."
"Nightingale?"
"Before Leliana became the Left Hand of the Divine, she was one of several agents that worked on Divine Justinia's behalf, and she was known as Nightingale." Katerina explained.
Huh. Kind of like a cape name, I guess? Well, no, it was probably more like a code name or something like that. Amy didn't really do spy stuff, but she'd seen a few Aleph spy movies, usually because Vicky dragged her to one, or because it was airing late at night and she was watching it with Mark.
"Yeah, one of Bakuda's bombs went off and suddenly I woke up in the cell. And... there's a gap in between."
"When you saw the one behind this, with the Divine," Solas noted, and Amy nodded.
"I mean, last I heard, bombs just went boom - either with alchemy or the Quinari explosive powder," Varric began, "So how exactly can one... move someone from one world to another."
Again with the Qunari. Who are these people? It sounded like they had gunpowder, or something like it. Fun. Just more shit she might have to heal people from.
"Bakuda's bombs do all kinds of insane shit. Turned one guy inside out, created a whole... lava field out of nowhere, turned one guy's hands into ice - just... solid ice, where hands used to be." Amy shook her head. "Tinkers are bullshit."
"Somehow I don't think you mean a travelling tinsmith or anything like that," Katerina leaned forward.
Huh. Is that where the word came from? Amy didn't really care, so the thought was pushed aside as irrelevant.
"No, fuck..." She'd have to explain powers again. "I can heal people without... magic because that's my power. Back home there's... people with powers. My sister can fly and break stone walls with a punch and can take - she can just completely tank a hit from someone, no problem." No need to mention the part where her forcefield needed recharging. "My... my Aunt can fly and shoot lasers." She paused, "Like fire, but... not. Or maybe more like lightning. There's like... eighty, ninety people total in the city I call home that have powers?" There were the big names, but there was always a fluctuating count - new triggers, new arrivals, minor capes dying or leaving or whatever. Black or Hispanic or Asian vigilantes who didn't want to join the PRT or Protectorate had a bad habit of vanishing within a few months. Probably killed by Empire 88 or, in the case of the Asian ones, the ABB if they didn't want to join.
"Velocity can run really fast - like, faster than a galloping horse, and can do it basically forever." Okay, maybe not, Amy didn't know for sure. "There's this creepy bitch called Skitter that can control bugs."
"Control bugs? Your sister can fly and break stone and your Aunt can shoot fire... and someone controls bugs?" Varric chuckled, making the mistake Amy could have easily made if she'd heard about Skitter before the bank.
"It's a creepy-ass, gross power, but it's only funny until she sicks a bunch of deadly spiders on people to hold them hostage during a robbery. Or has hundreds of bugs all biting you at once." She gestured around them, "There's probably hundreds or thousands of bugs within a two hundred foot radius of us."
"It is said in the jungles far to the northwest, that there are ants that march in massive numbers, consuming even small animals that cross their path, stripping the flesh from them with remarkable speed." Solas mused. "Seheron is said to have mosquitos with bites that carry deadly diseases."
Varric grimaced, and Katerina frowned, and Amy went on.
"The point is, people have powers. Some decide to be heroes, like my family or the Protectorate - the heroes that work for the government. They fight the criminals and gangs that are led by the other people with powers - parahumans, we call them - who are villains. Empire 88, the ABB, random thugs and murders and other assorted bastards." Amy grit her teeth, taking a breath.
She didn't have her sister's righteous burning fury about the criminals in the Bay, but she still hated them.
"So, wait, back up - this girl who controls bugs, her name is Skitter? And the guy who runs fast is called Velocity?" Varric chuckled. "Those can't be the names they were born with. If I tried that in a book, my editor would throw the manuscript at me."
Amy blinked, staring at him for a moment, then registered what he meant, shaking her head. "No, that's their - most - most parahumans wear masks. Have usually stupid costumes and use fake names. Usually they pick their own, sometimes people get labeled by their enemies." Amy explained. "My family doesn't hide behind masks, but we still do the name thing for... reasons. So my Aunt is Lady Photon, my - my dad is Flashbang, because he can create little balls of light that can explode and blind you for a bit, or worse."
She always felt like a liar when she called Mark 'my dad' or Carol 'my mom'. In a way she didn't for calling Sarah her Aunt, or her Uncle or cousins.
"So what's your name then?" Katerina asked, smiling a little.
Fuck. "Panacea," Amy said after a moment. "It means universal cure in a different language. Or something like that." She bit her lip, and glared at Varric, then the other two. "None of you are allowed to call me that. My name is Amy. I
hate being called Panacea. It's stupid. Everyone knows who I am, whether I'm wearing these robes or not."
"And so this Bakuda has powers as well. And that too is her false name?" Solas steered the topic back to the point, and Amy nodded.
"It means bomb or explosion or something in Japanese - another language." Amy added. "Which is because she makes bombs. She's a Tinker. Their powers are all about making crazy stuff that can do all kinds of insane bullshit. Armsmaster has a halberd that can like, shoot a grappling hook and stun you with electricity and probably make a perfectly toasted slice of bread, or something insane like that. Kid Win has this..." she gestured, trying to figure out how to describe a hoverboard. Did anyone surf here? "Flying piece of metal. And these... pistol things that shoot lightning at people."
And that big ass cannon he'd tried to use at the Bank that had gotten stolen from him. Chris had gotten a real chewing out from Piggot about it, from what she'd heard.
"A halberd that can make toast, and a flying piece of metal. Sounds a lot like magic to me."
"But it's not. My healing isn't magic - Solas and Cassandra can both confirm that."
"It certainly does not draw on the Fade, nor does it use blood or Lyrium in any way." Solas confirmed. "If it is magic, it is like no magic I have heard of, or can imagine." He cocked his head to the side. "What exactly is the origin of these... abilities?"
"Nobody really knows. They just started... appearing, a little under thirty years ago." According to Vicky, some people theorized that powers
might -
might have existed in very, very small numbers before, perhaps being the source of like, stories of people with magical abilities or whatever. The Corona Pollentia had never been noticed before the known emergence of powers, but it wasn't like people had a great understanding of the brain hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Amy vaguely remembered something about the Ancient Egyptians not even thinking the brain was like... important, as an organ. Or something like that. It had been in a documentary about mummies she'd half napped through a few years ago.
"There's people who have theories. My sister -" Amy's voice cracked a moment, and she hit her leg with a balled fist, biting her lip.
I can bring Victoria up without breaking down, damnit! She took a slow, deep breath, then started again, her fist unclenching, digging her fingers into her leg through her pants as she kept talking:
"My sister could explain them all. She actually pays attention to them."
"...You have the ability to heal all manner of affiliations and injuries at a touch, without the use of magic, and you don't care as to the how?" As far as she could tell, Solas was a pretty calm, detached guy. Not a lot of inflection in his tone, probably controlled his reactions. Apart from the occasional sardonic note. But here, as he leaned forward a good bit, he actually sounded genuinely shocked, stunned, surprised, and even like... upset by what he was saying.
"Not really," Amy shrugged, "I didn't ask for this. But I can do it, so I use it to help people." Amy sighed, letting out a breath. "It's just my life. How doesn't really fucking matter to me."
Solas stared at her for a moment, then leaned back so he was sitting straight up as before. "I see." His tone was back to normal, making it impossible for Amy to tell if he was silently judging her behind that calm expression. He probably was.
"How exactly does your power work?" Solas asked, after a moment, curious. "Healing with magic is a simple affair when it comes to simple matters, but more complicated with more complicated ones. A cut or minor illness is far simpler than a cancer that has spread throughout the body, or a disease that can ravage the deep corners of the lungs."
"When I touch a person's body - or an animal or plant, or whatever - I get an intimate look at the biology, down to the cells -" she paused, then, "To the most basic parts, the fundamental building blocks that make them." Amy finished her answer, hoping she wouldn't have to give a full biology lecture about cells. "It's - I can't explain it easily. It's not like I'm seeing it with my eyes, it's a... sixth sense, I guess, something my power lets me use to make sense of whatever I'm picking up."
"Touch enough people, learn enough about how the body is
supposed to work and look and you can pretty much stitch someone back together."
"Yet you had no trouble healing me, or the scout, despite there being no elves where you come from?" Solas asked.
"Your injuries were pretty minor," Amy explained. "The nasty hit on your leg, and then a really small fracture on one of your ribs. Easy to look at all your other ribs and know what a working rib looks like. Then I had your body to compare the scouts to, and I could use the parts of him that were working as a guide for the rest." She sighed.
"But it was one of the more complicated healings I've done in a while, since I had to figure that all out."
"Interesting," Solas said after a moment.
Varric chuckled, "I haven't needed you to heal me yet - I tend to prefer to avoid getting hit in the first place - but maybe I should let you have a look at me now, before you need to heal me." He held out a hand.
"...not the worst idea I've ever heard of." She had to admit, a part of her was curious how different dwarves were 'under the hood' than humans and elves. With elves, the fact that they were both so much like humans, and so much...
not was the real jarring part. They were nothing like humans internally, and yet -
And yet.
Dwarves? She had no idea. But she had to assume they would be different too.
She stood up and walked around the edge of the small fire to take Varric's hand.
She was less surprised at how different Varric's biology was than a human's, now that she'd had the experience of touching an elf. But she was also less surprised because it was...
Well, it was
less different.
It was different. There was no way anyone looking at dwarven DNA would ever say it was human. But it was, at least, made of the same basic stuff - Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine. In ways and combinations she'd never seen before, but as she zoomed in on it, she could say it was... recognizable. It was...
Something resembling
normal.
She 'zoomed' out, restored her focus to Varric's whole body. She didn't know if Varric counted as a perfect specimen of health for his people, but she didn't pick up any signs of like, foreign bodies or organisms - lots of microbiota, but as far as she could tell, it was stuff that belonged there, like the stuff in his gut. Different than the stuff in a human's gut, but... it seemed like it belonged.
She started cataloging major differences - there were tons of small ones, but they were less extreme than that of an elf. An elf had been like... someone set out to make a human, didn't know what they were doing, got everything wrong, and still ended up with something that worked.
She had no idea if that was true - it sounded insane - but it seemed absurd that something that looked so close to human in the weirdest ways but was also so, so,
so very much not human could have happened naturally.
Dwarves, on the other hand, were less... weird. She couldn't identify all smaller bits or their purposes, but there was at least one organ that seemed like maybe it was vestigial. She'd have to spend more time examining dwarves to be sure.
Dwarven eyes were much, much better at picking up low light - like elven eyes, though the details were different. Their muscles were denser, more muscle tissue in the same amount of space. She had no idea if Varric's propensity for body hair was normal among dwarves - he did have quite a lot of chest hair - but he seemed to have a high genetic predisposition for facial hair, which fit with the whole 'dwarf' thing. He shaved though, clearly.
Dwarven lungs were one of the more unusual elements. They weren't human-like, in shape, or looking like they were trying to resemble human lungs, but they were lungs, regardless. And they had these weird... filaments inside them. At a guess, Amy could imagine they were for filtering air, or maybe getting like... Carbon dioxide out of what they breathed? Dwarves were supposed to be underground, or from underground, and air could get bad or used up in tunnels and stuff, right?
There were some other things of note, but it was... it was clear that dwarves were their own thing - at least as far as she could tell -
and... just less maddeningly weird than elves. All the organs were different, but...
They felt like they fit. Not perfectly, not even close, but it all sorta made sense.
Still. Stuff to think about.
"Amy?" Varric's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "I'd make a joke about being irresistible, or the chest hair, but you're not even really looking at me at all. Are you okay?"
Amy shook her head, not to say no, but to sort of jolt her focus back to the here and now, letting go of Varric's hand. "Yeah, I'm - I'm fine. Just... there's a lot going on with your biology. And then I started comparing it to human and elf and - you've got these like... filament things in your lungs. Kind of got caught up trying to figure out what they were for."
"I can't say I ever studied anyone's anatomy very much, beyond knowing the best places to shoot someone to have the best shots at killing them. Should I be worried about my lungs and these... filaments?"
Amy shook her head, "No, I don't - I don't think so. I think they're for like, filtering when you breathe in air, or maybe making it easier to breathe bad air down in like, deep underground tunnels."
"Don't have a lot of experience with deep underground tunnels, my trip to the Deep Roads aside, but I suppose that makes sense," Varric mused.
"Okay, that's the second time you've mentioned the Deep Roads, what are they?" Amy asked, moving to sit back down where she had been sitting. "Underground roads, obviously, but..." she trailed off.
"Haven't gotten to that part in Genitivi's book?" Varric asked, an amused note in his voice. "Or mine?"
"Haven't read yours, and no." Amy answered.
"Well, you're right, they're underground roads. Back before the darkspawn showed up, the dwarves built them all over the continent. You could go from a thaig underneath Ferelden all the way to one up in Tevinter without going to the surface." Varric shook his head, "I didn't grow up underground, so it's not really for me. These days it's all cave-ins, getting lost and tons and tons of darkspawn."
"Sounds like a fun time."
"Oh, absolutely thrilling. I was down there for a few weeks, and that's enough for a lifetime."
Amy went back to her food, and Katerina and Varric went to talking - well, mostly Varric talking and Katerina asking questions - about Varric's 'Hard in Hightown' book. After a little bit, Solas raised a hand up a little, catching her eye.
"Yeah?" Amy rubbed at her temple, finishing off the last of her hardtack, the soggy and still crunchier than she'd like bit of bread, and it was still tasteless but at least she wasn't much hungry now.
"I am still trying to understand your power," Solas said.
Amy snorted, "Good luck."
"I'm trying to grasp it in comparison to magical healing. From what you say, it sounds very different, though the effect on the body itself felt quite similar in the moment." Solas went on. "At least it did when you healed me."
"I mean, I guess having bruises and the damage from them and a fractured rib healed is going to feel the same, magic or parahuman power." Amy sighed, hating that on some level she was actually curious how magical healing worked. "Make a habit of getting your ribs fractured?"
"I have wandered Thedas, largely alone, for many years. I am an elf, and an apostate, in a land where neither are welcome. Getting into fights, or accidents, is unfortunately not a foreign occurance to me." Solas admitted. "And there have been ancient ruins I have delved into, to dream in, that were not truly abandoned."
"Oh, so you've done actual Dungeons and Dragons shit." Amy chuckled.
"...I try to make it a point to avoid dragons, though I have been to ruins that had dungeons."
"No - it's a game, back home. People play... characters, and they pretend to go into ancient ruins and fight monsters or undead or whatever and come out with loot." She blinked, and looked Solas over. He didn't look like he'd missed a lot of meals - he was thinner than a human of his height should be, but he wasn't human, and it didn't look like - and hadn't felt like - he was malnourished. His clothes were well-maintained, but didn't look fancy.
Plus, elf, apostate, wandering - guy probably didn't have money.
"I don't think you do the looting thing, though."
"Not as such, though I find the knowledge I gain from my time dreaming in these places to be worth far more than any 'loot'." Solas sounded almost reproachful.
"Didn't say it wasn't. I don't play, just... hear about it." One of the guys her sister had tried to set her up with once, had been really into it, tried to talk her into playing. He'd been super smart, some computer wizkid, and Vicky had thought they might be a good match because he also read a lot of the same books she'd used to read.
It hadn't gone any better than any other double date.
"And it's all pretend anyway. We don't actually have like... ancient ruins with loot, back home. Not really."
"I see." Solas shook his head, "But back to the topic of your power-"
"How about you tell me how magical healing works? Like, I hear it has limits, but what are they? Beyond not being able to cure the darkspawn blight stuff."
"The Taint, as it is called when people catch it," Solas corrected. "There are two primary limiters on healing - the skill and knowledge of the healer, and the power they have to work with. Either their own, or sufficient supplies of lyrium. Or, for the unethical, blood."
"Blood magic can heal?" That seemed... not how magic was supposed to work, right?
"Blood Magic can do all that ordinary magic can do, and more." Solas explained. "There is a reason Tevinter went to it so readily, why they still practice it even if in secret." He shook his head, "it is a crutch for power, but one that works, unfortunately. The elves of ancient Arlathan understood magic on a very fundamental level - Tevinter could only achieve even half of what they did with the brute force of blood magic."
He shook his head, "As for healing... you are aware that magic is using the Fade to make our world as mutable as the world of dreams, at least momentarily?"
"That sounds familiar."
"Healing is, essentially, that. You channel the power of the Fade to deny the reality of their injury, and thus, undo it. This is why simpler injuries are thus simpler to heal - a cut, a bone broken in a single snap, a minor symptom, or an infection targeted to a single discrete area. But for a more severe injury - multiple breaks in a bone, complicated illnesses with multiple dangerous symptoms, the effects of age upon the body - it requires far more knowledge about the body and the problem being cured to target the power effectively. Or... one can supply more power."
"And brute force their way to healing?" Amy followed his logic.
"Precisely."
"So a good healer needs to know anatomy and virology and -"
"Virology?"
"Sorry. One of the things that causes diseases are viruses. Virology is the study of viruses."
"One of the things?" Solas looked at her curiously.
Amy blinked, "Oh crap, I don't even know what you people know about how disease is spread. I'm sure you don't have germ theory." Solas didn't look like he recognized the term, and Amy dropped her face into her hands, speaking through them. "Fuck. I don't - I don't even know where to begin. I'm not a doctor, or -"
"An expert in virology?"
"Or anything else. I'm 17. I haven't even finished High School." She shook her head, waving her hand at the quizzical look on Solas's face. "Not worth going into."
Amy looked away, looking at the stars and the moon above. She hadn't even really thought about like... the local knowledge of diseases and how they were transmitted and - she remembered something about how medieval Europe got some things right when trying to deal with the Black Death, but also got a lot of things wrong. Magic seemed like it might make things better, to a point, if you had access to it, but - no knowledge of germ theory, or bacteria, or viruses, or prion-based diseases.
So that lack of knowledge probably made healing diseases a lot harder.
People are actually alive, and not all covered in filth and stuff, so they have some idea that being clean is good, probably. And they probably can add two and two together and get four sometimes, on what to avoid to avoid getting sick... to a point.
Amy had to take a lot of extra lessons in biology before the PRT would let her heal people outside of very controlled circumstances, but it wasn't like she was on the level of a Doctor, or even like, a Bachelor's degree on the subject. Her knowledge was very targeted and very specific, and the process of learning was made faster thanks to her power.
She still sometimes found herself lacking the proper terminology when she healed people at hospitals, trying to explain what she'd done to a doctor or a nurse. She sometimes tried to get it right, when she had the energy to make the effort, since they took her more seriously when she did, but especially during her late night healing work, she usually didn't even bother.
But she could still understand all these things on a level no one else really could, whatever the words she might or might not have...
"I suspect, with your power, you know far more than you realize, and certainly more than any healer trained by the Circles." Solas suggested.
Amy almost felt like crying as the weight of all that hit her. Not - sobbing or anything, but just - she blinked, trying to make sure she didn't start tearing up. She was - she was already being looked on as 'Herald' - her attempt to forestall the worst of the reverence with the healing hadn't stopped the looks of awe and the occasional bow. And if she closed the Breach, that would just get worse. Every time she healed someone it would get worse.
And now, she was looking squarely down the barrel of the prospect of being the only person on this godforsaken world that could teach people about germ theory. About viruses and bacteria and prions and diseases caused by fungi and - parasites. Did people here know about tapeworms? Were tapeworms even a thing? They had to have something similar, how much did people know about the hundreds (or more) different kinds of parasites that could infect humans. Amy didn't even have the number offhand, and even if her phone was working she could hardly use a search engine to find the number.
I don't need this.
"Maybe, but -" She finally started, then she blinked, doing a double-take as she processed something else Solas said. Or... what he didn't say. "You're not Circle trained, so do you think you know more about it than I do?"
"I cannot say, but it is unlikely," Solas admitted. "I am more than capable of using healing magic, but there are many more so than I, trained by the Circles, or otherwise. It has never been a focus of my practice, nor is it an area I am specifically gifted in."
"Mages can be gifted in specific kinds of magic?" Amy felt like hitting herself after saying that.
Of course there'd be mages better at certain kinds of magic. It came up in fantasy stories all the time too.
I just - I still sometimes feel like I'm going mad, just... accepting that this is all magic. If her sister was in her situation, Amy knew Victoria would probably still assume it was all powers. Amy still wanted to believe it was, but... the complete lack of Corona Pollentia in anyone she'd healed or touched, active or otherwise, even Solas - the guy who could throw ice around and heal and apparently see the distant past by dreaming in ancient ruins - didn't have one.
Maybe 'magic' wasn't the right word. Maybe if Amy knew more science she could... something quantum something light is a wave and a particle something something about it all, make sense of magic that way. But biology was the only science class she'd ever done well in. She'd barely scraped by physics with a C. (With of course, all the predictable lectures and disappointed glares from Carol. The woman was nothing if not consistent).
It wasn't her fault Arcadia had put her physics class in first period last year. She was usually still waking up then!
"There are many ways of dividing magical techniques and approaches, and people often find their talents lend themselves to one more than another. It is rare that a mage cannot develop their skills in other areas with sufficient focus and effort, but just as some people can find building certain muscles easier than others... some can find some areas of magic easier to use."
"And some people just get blessed with perfect metabolisms and never have to worry about getting fat no matter what they eat." Granted, that wasn't a problem Amy would ever have to worry about here. Sure, she wasn't starving, but it wasn't like she could go down to the local Fugly Bob's.
But it was still unfair - on several levels - how Vicky had just been blessed with a perfect metabolism. Or close enough anyway. In addition to everything else she had going for her.
Solas inclined his head in a small nod, "I'm not familiar with the word 'metabolism', but I am aware of the phenomenon.." He said nothing for a moment, then, "It seems you have much on your mind to think about, and you have given me much to think on. I would be curious to talk to you more, about your power, at a later time."
"Not much more I can tell you, but sure, whatever." Not much more she
would tell, anyway. Solas stood up and Amy exhaled slowly as he walked away, out towards the edge of the camp, covering her face with her hands again.
She looked over to where Katerina and Varric were still talking, apparently about someone named Bianca? Probably a character in one of his books, or one of Hawke's friends, given how much Katerina asked about Hawke - she was a real fangirl.
Amy let out a long breath. She wasn't tired, really, but she didn't really have much else to do. It was dark now, but between the moonlight and the light from the campfires, she could probably read, at least.
She could try to read more of Brother Genitivi's book, maybe focus on the sections on magic or what Thedas knew about anatomy and stuff but...
That...
No. That didn't...
She didn't want to find out just how little knowledge of medicine they had here. Not now. She didn't want to think about that.
And besides, Amy's head had been stuffed full of what felt like a million and one little details about this world over the last few days. Every time she talked to someone she got like five new questions for every new piece of information she learned, for every answer she got.
She was done learning for now.
The
Chant of Light was still out. She wasn't reading the local bible. If she needed to know something, someone could tell her.
In the things she'd packed, she had included the book Katerina had given her,
Tale of the Champion. Mostly out of the fact that it was all she had to pack, really.
Amy didn't really want to read. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She
should be healing, but there wasn't anyone who needed it, or at least they weren't saying it.
Back in the Bay, there were always people she could get to that needed her help. There were probably even more people who needed her help here in Thedas, but she couldn't get to them.
Doing nothing would just leave her to her focus on the people she couldn't help, back home, and here. Her usual distractions - mindless scrolling on her phone, watching whatever was on the TV after midnight with Mark, looking through PHO and occasionally yelling at someone who criticized Glory Girl or dissed her - weren't an option.
Reading...
Reading was, wasn't it?
Amy remembered when she'd actually liked to read. She remembered how good it had felt, to get lost in a good story. To experience worlds of wonder and get swept up in an adventure while being safe at home, knowing she wasn't ever actually going to get hurt or have to hurt anyone. To read about people who could have something resembling a normal fucking crush, and like... actually fall in love with someone who would love them back because that was the way the narrative went.
Even if she couldn't experience that anymore... there was nothing else to do, so reading
Tale of the Champion had to be better than just sitting and doing nothing?
Swallowing, Amy got up and went over to 'her' tent, finding her bags and searching through them, eventually pulling out the red leather-bound book with the weird geometric design on the cover. She got closer to the fire, cracking open the book...
The paper was definitely rougher and thicker than what she was used to, but it was a book, printed ink on the paper. Amy skipped past a dedication, and opened to the first chapter.
They say the best place to start any story is at the beginning, but they've never tried to tackle a story like that of Kiandra Hawke. Savior, sinner, protector, monster. A woman who stood up for what she thought was right, or the woman who single-handedly brought Kirkwall low. A noble by birth, but not by behavior.
Champion of Kirkwall.
Start at the beginning, they say, but where does that start?
Kiandra Hawke was born to Malcolm and Leandra Hawke in a small village in northern Ferelden, not far from Amaranthine. But it was in Lothering, far to the south, that she grew up, and it was in Lothering that her journey into legend and destiny began.
The Fifth Blight was a crucible that forged many heroes and just as many villains - the Hero of Ferelden, Kalaius Cousland and his companions among them, but it was the Fifth Blight, and the destruction of Lothering, that one might say was the start of the Tale of the Champion.
One might say.
I still fucking hate horses. It was the late morning, five days out from Haven, and Amy was finally off the horse for the day, far earlier than before, because they were almost to the Crossroads.
The day before, half the soldiers and scouts had ridden ahead, to make sure it was safe, to see what the lay of the land was, and had set up this camp, here on the top of a small cliff, overlooking the last bit of road they'd need to take to get to the Crossroads and Mother Giselle and the whole damn reason they were here. Only like, two of them were here, that she could see, among the tents.
She'd only really read a little more of the book - it was hard, focusing on the pages, focusing on the book, trying to
not think about the million and one things she didn't want to think about. And reading by the light of a campfire was a little less easy than she'd thought, so she really only got in a few pages a night.
Kiandra Hawke, her siblings and her mother had fled Lothering, destroyed by the advancing Darkspawn Horde in the aftermath of Ostagar - that battle Solas had told her about - and then Carver, the brother, died at the hands of an Ogre, and then a dragon attacked the Darkspawn, giving the three survivors, along with a woman and her husband they met while fleeing, chance to escape the darkspawn.
But most of the days were riding the horse - she was somehow managing to get something resembling better at guiding it, though her horse was still mostly tied to Katerina's or Cassandra's as they travelled. During the nights, Amy found herself wheedled into talking a bit more about her home to Varric - he steered the conversations to Capes and cape fights, which...
They're more interesting than other stuff, I guess, so...
But here they were, now, getting ready to go the rest of the way to the Crossroads.
"Seeker Pentaghast, Herald!" A voice called from the edge of the camp, and Amy looked, seeing a soldier standing next to a red-haired dwarf, wearing an outfit similar to the one the other scouts wore.
"Scout Harding?" Cassandra called out, gesturing for the dwarf - a woman - to come closer. Varric looked over at her with interest, taking his crossbow from his horse and slinging it over his back.
"Seeker Pentaghast," she nodded, "Herald." Then she put a hand to her chest in what Amy still figured was the local salute.
Don't fucking salute me? She might have saluting Cassandra though.
"Don't call me that," Amy muttered, the words tired and rote. "My name is Amy. How many times do I have to say that?!"
"...I'm sorry, I've been in or on my way to the Hinterlands since you stopped the Breach from opening," Harding explained. Then she started over:
"Inquisition Scout Harding, at your service. Leliana sent me and a few other scouts right after the fight in the ruins of the Temple to find more rifts, and see if we could make contact with the mages in Redcliffe. We've only been here a few days more than you, and the situation is a mess."
"You've made no progress then?" Amy didn't bother hoping they could bypass the whole talking to Mother Giselle thing and just go straight to the mages and get their help. Life couldn't be that easy.
"Not with the mages, no." Harding answered Cassandra. "They've sealed Redcliffe up tight, only merchants with food or other essentials to sell are allowed in."
"Unfortunate, but unsurprising. Though I can't imagine the King will be able to tolerate them holding Redcliffe like that for much longer, or at least, be allowed to tolerate them." Cassandra frowned. "What is the situation in the Hinterlands?"
"Not good. The templars and mages that refused to stand down for the Conclave have been fighting since before the Breach opened up, but ever since it did, they've been even worse. Before it was just not caring if regular people got caught up in their fighting. Now both sides are
attacking anyone that isn't them. The other scouts and I have already had to tangle with them a few times since we got here. The Crossroads is full of refugees from all over this part of the Hinterlands. It's been raided by both sides, and it's only a matter of time before mages or Templars attack again in force. Corporal Vale and the others you sent ahead have taken up position in the village, but -" she shook her head.
"He's only got eight men, and that's not going to be enough."
"Then we cannot delay. The refugees there must be protected, and we cannot allow Mother Giselle to come to harm," Cassandra began to bark orders, telling a handful of the soldiers to stay behind at the camp, and telling the rest to make ready to advance to the Crossroads. She turned to Amy. "Are you ready?"
"I haven't been ready for any of this, but that's not going to stop you now." Amy pulled her hood down over her face even more - or tried to, anyway - and inhaled slowly.
Please let there be no attacks. The fighting with demons was bad enough, but... she inhaled again.
Beyond the attack, there was another thing Amy needed to prepare for, she reminded herself, as they all made ready to set out - on foot now, it was a mile to the Crossroads, and apparently none of the soldiers or scouts were experienced fighting on horseback, and only Cassandra had what could be called a 'warhorse - and that was that even if there wasn't an attack, she'd have her hands full with healing.
Amy knew enough about all the refugee crises that kept hitting Earth-Bet after Endbringer attacks, or after some cape fight got out of hand, or cities got condemned or whatever that refugees meant lots of sick people. Overstuffed areas with poor sanitation, poor nutrition due to lack of available food (or just no good, healthy food, if they were lucky)... it was a recipe for illness. And here, no damn germ theory.
And if she healed people - and she had to, she
had to - then they'd start giving her reverent looks and try to be thankful and grateful and if she was really unlucky - and of course she would be - they'd try to ask for her blessing or
something.
If she could just... focus on people who needed help, like she had after healing that boy...
What does it say about me that I want more people to be sick, and hurt? Amy knew, of course.
She always knew.
She closed her eyes and took another breath as final preparations for setting out for a 'quick march' were made. Amy couldn't help it - she let out a small whimper as she realized that
she'd have to try to match pace with this 'quick march'.
"You managed when you had to to get to the temple, and it's only a mile." Katerina said, trying to reassure her. "...though it's not exactly an easy mile, all downhill, and pretty steep at that." She added, frowning.
"You're really bad at being reassuring," Amy told Katerina, not for the first time.
"And I'm still pretty sure you'd rather I be honest than cover shit in honey," Katerina countered. It took Amy a moment to grasp what she meant, but it had to mean something like 'sugarcoat', right? She put a hand on Amy's shoulder. "If there is an attack-"
"It's not an attack I'm worried about," Amy lied... a bit. She was worried about an attack, but it wasn't what was causing this yawning pit of dread to open up in her stomach as they finally started moving.
Breathing heavily, legs feeling like they were burning, Amy heard the sound of shouting up ahead and the clash of metal on metal, the smell of smoke.
"We're too late. The Crossroads are already under attack. Forward, for the Inquisition!" Cassandra drew her swore, and the soldiers and scouts with her charged ahead, along the narrow path between two small cliffs they'd been going through downhill, around the bend -
Solas, Varric and Katerina stayed with her, and Amy pulled up short for a moment, needing to catch her breath.
"Fuckity fuck fuck fuck," Amy muttered. 'Quick march' was a lot faster than the trudging through the snow they'd made to get to the Temple. It wasn't a jog, but it was a pace of walking that she hadn't really been able to match... she'd lagged behind the whole group, Katerina matching pace with her and now there was already an attack.
"I thought you said you weren't worried about an attack?" Katerina asked, crouching a little as Amy bent over, hand on the cliff face, sucking in air.
"I lied. I do that," Amy muttered. "But I'm going to have to heal even more people after this."
"Come on, Panpan, think-" Varric said, trying to cajole her, and Amy turned on him quickly, feeling heat in her cheeks.
"What did you call me?!" She had to have heard him wrong, right?
"Panpan. You said you don't want me to call you Panacea, but I give everyone nicknames." Varric explained. "Still working on one for Solas here, but Katerina is 'Red'."
Solas didn't seem to react to the prospect of a nickname, but she couldn't imagine he was looking forward to it.
"Red?" Katerina sounded offended. "Couldn't you come up with something a little more creative than just my hair color? I'm hardly the only redhead in Haven. What about Sister Leliana?"
"Ah, but she's Nightingale. But if you want something other than Red, I'm willing to entertain suggestions." The sound of shouting, metal on metal seemed to be getting louder, and she could hear Cassandra shouting something up ahead. He looked towards it, and then slung his crossbow off his back. "But we should probably save that for later. Bianca gets antsy when there's fighting nearby and she's not getting involved."
Amy blinked, "You named your crossbow Bianca?!" She didn't even realized she'd raised her voice until she was done.
I know there's like, guys that are super into their cars and give them names but this is ridiculous!
"She's quite the impressive lady, and so she deserves a good name," Varric replied, grinning. He started towards the sound of the fighting. Amy swallowed, and followed after him, Katerina right next to her, Solas taking up the rear.
As they went around the bend Cassandra and the others had gone around, it was onto a scene Amy had only ever seen in movies - soldiers, fighting with swords, bows, axes, weapons clashing against shields. There were bodies, the dead and the wounded, scattered around a village - the village was built into the hills, most of the houses on a higher part, and they seemed to be fine, but the lower area, with a few structures, including one large one with a smouldering sound out front that had a crudely carved tankard on it, were on fire. Screams were now filling the air, and Amy closed her eyes, taking another breath, hands clenched.
She'd heard those screams before, healing in the aftermath of big cape fights, or major car accidents - usually she was at the hospital, but once in a while, she'd healed at the scene.
The Inquisition's soldiers and scouts were occupying the center of the lower area, clashing with two different groups.
One, a lot of people in robes, carrying staffs, and a handful of people in armor, with swords, holding the line against a smaller group of soldiers and scouts. Bolts of fire and ice and lightning struck out, hitting the ground, or soldiers, scouts - one hit the prone body of a woman already wounded, arm outstretched as she tried to crawl away, and her whole body was covered in frost - she wasn't encased in ice or anything, but a thin layer of frost, like that character from that Stephen King movie about the hotel.
On the other side, Amy could see a bunch of people in armor - some in what looked like platemail, or something, with helmets that had spiky, almost... winglike bits on the sides. There were two that had
massive shields, as tall as they were, and they were in front - Cassandra was clashing with one, trying to get past the guy's guard or something -
Amy staggered back, feeling breathing come quickly, eyes darting around. Katerina drew her sword and moved into position in front of her, while Solas shouted something at the mages attacking, something about not being Templars - Varric returned that they didn't seem to be listening and shot a crossbow bolt at one of the mages - it bounded off some sort of previously invisible barrier - a forcefield? - that flashed visibly for a moment as the bolt connected with it -
Solas fired off a blast of ice at one of the sword-wielders defending the attacking mages and he staggered back, arm covered in frost again for a moment. She watched another one of those same guys stab, sword getting an Inquisition soldier in the armpit - Amy winced, looking away, knowing how bad that might be, how much -
People are dying. They're killing.
The so-called 'unwritten rules' around killing were never followed as much as PHO sometimes liked to say, but even villains were
careful about when they chose to try to kill, usually. But this -
Amy stood, frozen, for a moment, and then -
"Get down!" Katerina's voice shouted, and then she was tackled down as something flew overhead - a small explosion off to the side, and Amy was flat on the ground, Katerina above her, one hand on her shoulder, the other on the ground next to her face.
Katerina's face was inches from hers, for just a moment, and the taller woman was rolling off her, jumping to her feet, grabbing her sword and swinging it up to block an overhand swing by a Templar.
"I knew the Templar Order had fallen low when they rebelled against the Divine, but this is too damn far, even for you!" Katerina snarled at the man. "The people in this village aren't fucking mages!"
"If they don't support us in bringing the mages to heel, then they're just as bad as mages!" The Templar snarled. "And anyone who would defend
them is the same!" He pulled his sword back, stepping back, raising his shield up -
Amy turned away, scrambling for somewhere to hide - somehow she didn't think this stupid armor she was wearing would do much against a sword up close and the templar was wearing full armor there was nowhere to touch him.
Ideas raced through her mind - ideas she could never,
ever do, things she could make that could eat through his armor, leave him unharmed - specialized, adaptive molds, or -
No, no, no, no! Amy managed to find an abandoned crate, broken open, the contents - a bunch of salt with meat packed into it - spilled out across the ground. She crouched behind it. She could see someone, a villager - dressed in clothes similar to the villagers in Haven - crawling away from the fighting, inadvertently towards her, an arrow in his back, leg bleeding.
More dragging himself, than crawling, really.
Amy swallowed, staring, eyes darting back to the fighting - she couldn't really tell, but it seemed like the mages and the swordsmen with them were being pushed back, a one dead, but the rest more making to run? The Templars seemed to be fighting on, and there were at least two dead Templars that hadn't been there minutes before -
Cassandra was still pushing ahead, fighting -
Katerina was still fighting her opponent, but he seemed to be lagging, moving slower to block her attacks with his sword, his shield arm hanging by his side, not moving much.
Broken, or at least fractured, probably. She had no idea how hard Katerina's sword could hit, but the woman was
strong - Amy had felt the muscles when she'd healed her on the way to the Temple - and that was a really big sword and blocking with a shield or not, that much force on his arm could definitely cause issues -
Just like how bulletproof armor isn't, and this armor I'm wearing is only so useful apparently. Not everyone's armor could be like Vicky's forcefield, or the shields her cousins and Aunt could make - total blocking until broken.
The man crawling away from the fighting was getting closer to her and - Katerina dodged a bit to the side, away from a swing by the templar, and then brought her sword down onto his sword arm, connecting with the bit on his forearm and he dropped his sword - Katerina's leg kicked into his chest, sending him staggering back and then she brought her sword down against him, aiming for his neck-
Amy looked away. She didn't need to see -
But if he was dealt with, then there was no fighting near her - she looked back to the man and bit her lip. She couldn't just - she had to help him! She got up from behind the crate, heart in her throat, reaching him quickly. She'd never treated an arrow wound, but she'd removed plenty of foreign objects from people's bodies with her power.
"Stay still, I can heal you." Amy said, reaching her hand out for his neck.
The man's movements stilled, and he looked at her with a combination of hope and fear in his eyes - probably thought she was a mage, robes were mage thing and she'd just said she'd heal him so -
"I'm not a mage," Amy added, touching his neck. Healing the cut on his leg was simple - it was a deep cut, into the muscle tissue, but she knit the flesh back together, muscle first and then every layer up until his skin sealed shut. She ignored the man's stunned gasps. The arrow in his back would be a little harder, but only just. She took control of the man's muscles, relaxing them, and then making them push the arrow out - the head wasn't even entirely in, but it was enough, and it had torn up the skin and muscle tissue where it had hit, scraping against the bones - a few inches to the left and it might have hit his spine.
The man started to move.
"I said stay still, I can't do this if you're moving!" Amy snapped, and then she finished pushing the arrow out of him - it came out of his skin, flopping off to the side, rolling off his back to the ground, and she started knitting that injury back together.
He had a few smaller scrapes and bruises, but she didn't bother with those - he'd live, and there had to be more people to heal and if there were refugees here, food shortages would be a problem.
"I've healed most of your injuries, you're going to need to eat a bit more than usual if you can," Amy stood, looking around - the mages and their swordsmen had retreated, leaving a few dead behind, and she looked, off to to the edge of the crossroads, where the Templars seemed to be pushed back, probably getting ready to -
One of the Templars shouted something, raising his sword and pointing behind him and they started to move back, still looking at their enemies - a few arrows flew out from the scouts at them, but Cassandra held up her own hand.
"Hold!" Amy heard her order halfway across the village. She gestured to the soldiers, and they started to spread out, some stamping out small fires, a couple others running to the river, grabbing buckets, probably for the bigger fires.
Amy's eyes looked over the scene of carnage. She couldn't - she couldn't say how many were injured, or how badly, not from here. How many were dead? She could hear moaning and groaning and the man she'd healed was pulling himself up onto his feet.
"I - thank you, I-" he started, but Amy held up her hand, cutting him off.
"Don't thank me, just go. There's more people to heal." His eyes caught onto the faintly glowing green mark on her hand and then he looked up to the Breach - it was distant, but visible even here.
She started to walk away before he could say anything, looking for Katerina. She found her, crouched low, at the body of the woman covered in frost. She wasn't moving, there was no sign she was alive at all.
Not dead until they're warm and dead. That was the saying, but Amy's powers could bypass that, more or less.
"Can you help her?" Katerina asked, looking up to her, and Amy opened her mouth, closed it, then.
"I don't know." She crouched by the woman's body and touched her, rubbing a bit to get past the layer of frost on her neck, her hand wet as it melted under her touch.
Nothing. No reaction. There no doubt was living stuff
inside her body, and Amy could pick up a handful of surviving bacteria on her skin, but the skin itself... she couldn't sense it.
"She's dead." Amy pulled her hand away, standing back up, looking to the side -
She saw the body of the Templar Katerina had killed - she hadn't actually beheaded him like she'd imagined, but her sword had hacked into his neck and snapped his collarbone, cutting deeper downward a bit into his chest.
It was a gruesome sight, but Amy had seen worse after bad car accidents.
Varric and Solas were coming closer, Varric slinging his crossbow back over his back.
"Find everyone who's wounded." Amy said to them both. "You too," she added to Katerina. "If they can walk, then - they can wait a bit first. But everyone who can't, find me, bring me to them. We'll have to triage this."
"Triage?" Katerina blinked. "And I'm not going anywhere that you're not-"
"The people attacking are gone, and you've got injured soldiers and dying civilians all over this village!" Amy snapped. She cringed a little internally as she started to shout, drawing attention to herself, but this was exactly the sort of situation she
had to do this. "So yes, you're going to go out and help find people who need to be healed. Anyone serious, I'll do as fast as I can. Anything smaller I'll do after, or maybe Solas or one of the other mages that came with us can do."
She looked over at the elf.
"My reserves are a little low after the fight, but I will do what I can," he nodded.
"Good." No one moved, and Amy gestured "Move!"
Pretty much every soldier and scout of the Inquisition had been wounded, though only a few truly seriously. The guy who had been stabbed in the armpit had been pretty close to death, bleeding out from the injury. Had the blade gone a little deeper, or angled a little differently, he wouldn't have lived long enough for her to heal him, but none of them were dead.
Amy checked every single one, handing a few off to Solas, and telling the rest to just drink a potion or rest or whatever. She couldn't afford to waste time healing minor injuries.
Mixed in with the wounded soldiers were the wounded residents of the village, and the refugees. Again, some serious, some not, but the serious were more - they didn't have armor to blunt the wounds, or training or anything. Just people trying to survive, desperate to live their lives.
Heal one, onto the next, trying to triage the worst of it - but here, there were a dozen that were too dead by the time she got to them, another that had been given a serious blow to the head, cracking the skull, rattling the brain around in there. She could heal his skull, but she didn't touch the brain.
"I can't do anything for his brain," she'd told what she thought was the old man's wife. "He should be fine, but - head injuries are..." she shook her head, trying to block out the woman''s sobbing and desperate pleading, moving onto the next one.
And then the next one.
There were way,
way too many.
Amy crouched down next to another one, unconscious, touching a limp hand, and sucked in air in a sharp inhale.
The bones in her right arm, just below the elbow, were shattered. Shards digging into flesh and causing major internal bleeding.
Something hit her arm with a lot of force. She'd healed something like this once - someone had fallen off a horse (at the same stable Sarah had tried dragging everyone to) and the horse, panicking about something, had stomped on his leg. She hadn't seen any horses in the village yet - maybe they'd run off - but a soldier in heavy armor could probably do the same thing if they -
"Get away from her!" A hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled at her, sending Amy sprawling back, nearly hitting her head against a signpost. She looked up to see a young man, frantic, eyes wide, a knife in his hand. "She doesn't need a mage like you with your Maker-cursed touch! Your kind are the reason this is happening!"
Amy sat up, glaring at the man. "I'm
not a fucking mage, and even if I was, I think she'd rather have a working arm, don't you!"
"My wife is a good woman, loyal servant of the Maker and she needs no magic!" He protested. "Magic is-"
"No more evil than a blade, when turned to noble purpose," a voice with a vaguely French accent, a lot like Leliana's, but not exactly, said from behind Amy. She turned her head, and saw a dark-skinned woman wearing those red and white robes Amy had by now determined were Chantry robes with a weird, sorta... inverted triangle shaped hat? It reminded her of the thing Nuns had on their head, but only in the vaguest of senses. After a moment, Amy remembered she'd seen the same hat on Divine Justinia in that 'echo' of what had happened right before the explosion at the Conclave.
Mother Giselle, I presume?
"But-" He started, and the woman - Giselle - held up a hand.
"Hush, dear boy, and let this one heal your wife."
He opened his mouth to protest, then closed it, shoulder's slumping in defeat and he stepped aside. Amy pushed herself up onto her feet, and then crouched by the unconscious woman again. The pain had probably been enough to knock her out, or something. She touched her, and nodded after a moment, getting a look at her biology.
"It's going to take a minute. Putting the pieces of her bones together won't be easy. But I can do it. Stay quiet, and
stay back," she growled that last part.
She focused all her attention on the woman, slowly pulling the bones closer together, closing the internal injuries, redirecting the blood back into her arteries and veins, then she had to rearrange the shards of bone, getting them into the right orientation... in theory she could have just cannibalized all the material and remade and connected the bone manually, but it was less taxing to the body if she could just sort of... fit all the pieces of bone back together, like a puzzle.
She bit her lower lip, hearing raised voices next to her, but mostly able to block them out as she fit the bits of bone together, and used a bit of excess tissue to make the rest of the stuff needed to fuse the bone together.
Like the boy, and the people she'd healed at Haven, this woman, and the others in this village she'd healed so far, just didn't have a ton of spare mass to work with. Hell, this woman had probably not been eating as much as she should, though she wasn't seriously malnourished, yet.
Need to get Fugly Bob here to introduce Thedas to greasy calorie bombs. It was a rare person back home that was this short on spare biomass - sure, she'd had people who just didn't have enough for the sheer scope of the injuries, but even someone like her sister, who had amazing metabolism, exercised and ate healthy, had spare fat in a way that a lot of people in Thedas just didn't seem to have to.
For once, the average American diet actually works out for the best. Fast Food and other junk can save lives, who knew?
Finally, though, she was done, and she stood up.
"Her arm is fixed, the internal bleeding is stopped. She's going to need more food when she wakes up." She looked over to the woman's husband, and saw Katerina had pinned his arms behind him.
"This, Amy, is why you
don't tell your bodyguard to go away! People attack you!" His knife was on the ground, probably forced out of his hand by Katerina.
"He was merely afraid for his wife, and let that fear rule him," Giselle said calmly, reaching out slowly towards Katerina. "You have performed your duty, she is safe and unharmed, so please, let this one go and allow him to see to his wife."
Katerina met Amy's gaze, and raised an eyebrow.
"You're asking
me if you should let him go!? Amy demanded. "What the hell? Why are you asking me?!"
"He attacked you. It's ask you, or ask Lady Pentaghast. No one else here can really give me orders."
I can't give you orders either! Amy ignored the fact that Katerina had obeyed her when she'd ordered her to go help find the injured. That wasn't the same thing at all. That was medical emergency related stuff. Something she actually knew something about.
"I don't - I can't -" Amy started, shaking her head, then closed her mouth and - "Let him go, fine, whatever, just - I'm not a mage, you stupid idiot." She directed that at the husband. Katerina let go of his hands and gave him a very light shove towards his wife. Amy turned away from him, looking at Mother Giselle. "You're Mother Giselle?"
"I am," she nodded. "And you are the one they call the Herald of Andraste."
"They can call me that all they want, I'm still not," Amy countered. "You wanted to talk to me, but I have people to heal, so we can talk while I'm doing that, unless I need to focus, or you can wait."
"Amy!" Katerina looked aghast. "You can't just - she's a Reverend Mother!"
"And I'm a healer. I've been a healer for two years, I've only had this stupid mark for like, a week." Amy blinked, then, "Eleven days. So - week and a half?" She shook her head. "The point is, I'm not going to not heal people who need my help."
"Admirable. I will go with you as you heal. There may be others who resist allowing a mage to heal them."
"Not a mage," Amy repeated, sighing. "I'm going to be saying that over and over and over again. My power isn't magic - you can ask Cassandra or Solas, they say they know magic when they feel it, and neither of them think my power is magic."
Giselle stared at her wordlessly for a moment, and Amy turned, moving to look for another injured person, and then found one, sitting propped up against a tree, a bloody gash on his face, breathing slowly and shallowly. She crouched by him.
"Do I have your permission to heal you?" She held out her hand. He said yes, and Amy set to work.
"A Seeker and a Mage would presumably know if magic is present," Giselle eventually said, conceding Amy's words. "But you seem to grasp that convincing others of this will be hard."
"Doesn't mean it's not true." She closed the cut on his face, fused the fractured ribs and the other injuries worth addressing right now, and stood. "I'm not from Thedas," she said firmly, "And before I woke up here, I didn't know magic was actually a real thing, it was just in stories."
Where I'd like it to stay, damnit!
"Then Thedas must seem a very strange land to you indeed."
Try fucking insane.
"Very," Amy agreed, crouching next to someone else - the injuries she was dealing with now were still worth healing, but nothing as bad as some of the earlier ones, thank god. "I went from being a healer in a city where everything made sense, and then waking up in a cell with this stupid thing on my left hand," she held up the offending appendage for a moment, drawing attention to the green lines on it, "and a bunch of people accusing me of blowing up a Conclave and killing people I'd never heard of. And then, after I risk my life trying to close that thing," she gestured up at the distant Breach, "I wake up and find out people are calling me the Herald of a prophet I've never heard of on behalf of a god I don't believe in. It's been a
fun week and a half."
Amy sighed. "If you asked me here because you wanted to ask me if I was actually sent by your Maker, the answer is no, I wasn't. Whatever people think of me. And I'm going to keep reminding people I'm not a Herald of anything."
"We seldom have much role in choosing our fate," Giselle said, noncommittally, following alongside her. Amy could hear Katerina walking just behind the two of them.
Great. Another 'God works in mysterious ways' type person. Fun.
"So that means you agree with everyone?"
"I would not presume to know the intentions of the Maker, for any of us," Giselle said, not really answering the question again. "What I do know is that you are the one who was able to stop the Breach from growing, or at least, that is what the Inquisition is saying."
"I also close rifts, but yes." Amy nodded.
"Then whatever else, you are our best hope for resolving this crisis," Giselle pointed out. "Does the Inquisition have a plan for finishing what you started, and closing the Breach?"
"In theory, yes, but the mages and the Templars - the ones that aren't just crazy and attacking everyone - aren't responding to our messages asking for their help." Amy half-muttered that part, but from the quizzical look on Giselle's face, she had heard Amy.
"You require their assistance?"
"The assistance of one of them, yeah. Apparently, this... mark doesn't have enough power to close the Breach entirely all by itself. We need either like, a lot of mages for their power, or a lot of Templars to... weaken the Breach or... something. But no one is taking our calls. Leliana is hoping you might be able to help with that."
"I do not believe I can do much to directly convince either the rebel mages in Redcliffe, or the Templars under Lord Seeker Lucius to aid you," Giselle admitted, sounding genuinely remorseful. "But I have no doubt that the denouncements of you, and the Inquisition that are slowly spreading across Ferelden and Orlais are part of the reason why they will not listen to the Inquisition's entreaties."
"And you can help with that?"
"I believe so. I am familiar with some of those who seem to be leading these efforts, and more who will likely join in." Giselle explained. "Divine Justinia called many of her allies to the Conclave, and too many perished with her. Many of the Grand Clerics and influential Reverend Mothers who remain are those too closed-minded or self-interested to be of use in trying to broker peace between the Mages and Templars. Many indeed are grandstanding, in hopes of influencing the coming election for a new Divine."
"More politics. Jesus Christ, I'm already sick and tired of politics getting in the way of closing the Breach." The sooner the Breach was closed, the sooner she could try to find a way home.
"Some are simply terrified. So many were taken from us, senselessly," Giselle said softly, chiding Amy a bit. "They are using the only tool available to them to lash out at the unfamiliar, the strange, anything they can use as a target to blame."
"And in the process, they're probably making things worse," Katerina spoke for the first time since the discussion with Mother Giselle had really begun. "The Breach needs to be closed. Nothing else should matter."
"The directness of a soldier," Giselle said with a small chuckle. "You are correct, but too many simply do not know what to believe. Are you truly sent by Andraste, the Maker, to save us? Are you a false prophet, who destroyed the Conclave merely to create an opening for your own ends?"
"I'm seventeen! What possible evil schemes could I be running?"
"I had heard you were young, but I did not realize you were quite so young as that," Giselle said after a moment. "But I do not say that they are correct. You could be what you claim to be, not sent by the Maker, but still capable of saving us all and closing the Breach. Whatever else, I believe your intentions are good. But the ones denouncing you do not know you. They do not know what you or the Inquisition truly represent."
Still stupid idiots making things worse. Amy agreed with Katerina there. She let out a wordless sigh, healing another villager, and then a soldier. As Amy worked, Mother Giselle kept speaking:
"Their greatest strength will be their unified voice, if they are allowed to gather and speak as one. Already I know some are moving towards Val Royeaux. Others likely are as well. But if you preempt that unified voice, if you go to them, prove you are not a demon to be feared..." she trailed off for a moment, then, "You need to give them something to believe. Something to have hope in."
Amy blinked, hating that this woman was making sense. Hope was important, she got that. She knew how important it was especially because she never fucking had any of it, back home, most days.
Amy finished with the soldier she was patching up, and then stooped, turning to Mother Giselle. "I don't believe in your religion, I barely even understand it, and I -" she managed to bite her tongue before she said it was all stupid bullshit. "And I think it's all pretty -" she cut herself off again, and then, "Locking mages up in prisons just because they're born with an ability that makes them
maybe dangerous is fucked up, okay? And I can't just pretend it isn't. So what makes you think I can convince any of them to listen to me? I might just make it worse."
"If no one in the Chantry had ever had concerns about the Circles, then Justinia would not have tried to reign the Templars in, nor tried to call for peace," Giselle answered, quickly, smoothly, always having an answer for everything. Then she looked down at the ground, then back to her, voice lower. "I must admit, I do not know if you can convince them. But I do not see how you could make the situation worse."
"I could make them call a holy war against me?" Amy suggested. "It can
always get worse."
"Without a Divine, no Exalted March can be declared," Giselle answered, completely missing Amy's point. "But in truth, you do not need to convince them all. Merely some. And even more, you must convince them to
doubt, to think twice. As I said, their greatest strength will be their unified voice. Prevent them from using it, or take it away from them, and it may give you the time you need to convince mages or Templars to aid in closing the Breach. The Inquisition's and your actions here in the Hinterlands may also aid with that."
"Yeah, I heard there were rifts in the area. I'll have to close them while I'm here." Amy sighed. "So you asked me to come down to the Hinterlands to suggest I go all the way to this... Val Royeaux to confront the Chantry leadership? This couldn't have been a letter?"
This meeting could have been an email. She'd heard Carol say something like that about stuff at work, before.
"I wanted to take a measure of you first, and I hoped that the Inquisition would send aid for the refugees here when you came." Giselle admitted. Amy let out a small breath. She supposed that made sense too. "But I come bearing more than a simple suggestion. I can provide names, and information on those who will gather in Val Royeaux, and perhaps those your Sister Leliana can persuade to go there, to create a more favorable audience."
Amy took a deep breath, and then let it out. "Yeah, that...that could probably help." She sighed. Travelling down here to the Hinterlands had been annoying enough, she didn't even know how far Val Royeaux was but she doubted she'd enjoy the trip and -
And then she'd have to... what, do public speaking in front of a bunch of priestesses who probably thought she was the Antichrist, or... the local equivalent? Anti-Andraste?
She swallowed, that pit of dread in her stomach returning with a vengeance.
With any luck, Josephine has had success in getting help already or Leliana has a better idea by now or...
Amy couldn't count on luck. She looked over at Giselle, and then, "Thank you." She added.
Giselle nodded. "I do not know, truly, if you have been touched the Maker, sent to aid us. But I would like to believe that for all that he has turned from us after our sins, he would not abandon us so utterly in the face of the troubles that stand before us."
Oh for the love of -
"Regardless, the Inquisition seems to be the only ones focusing on the Breach," Giselle added. "And you the only one who seems possibly capable of closing it. And the only one who can give us hope, right now." She bowed her head a little, then, "Will you continue your healing of the refugees here? Many are sick. Can you heal their illnesses?"
"I can, as long as nothing's spread to the brain," Amy nodded. "The plan was for Cassandra and the others to like... clear paths to rifts and then come back and get me and I can be on hand to close them." Probably after more demons get spat out, judging from experience, but. "So I guess I'll be here between those times."
"And I won't be letting you stray very far from me," Katerina said firmly. "If most of the soldiers,
and Lady Pentaghast are out scouting for rifts or scouring the area for more renegade Templars and mages, then the risks if someone does attack the village again..." she shook her head. "No more sending me away, Amy. That stupid idiot with the knife won't be the only one to think you're a mage and get violent about it."
Amy sighed. "I only sent you to find people that needed my help. It's not like I'm constantly trying to ditch you." Her sister would. Vicky would be offended at having a bodyguard - not that she'd need one, but she imagined Cassandra and the others might still think their 'Herald' needed one.
"If you intend to continue to help these people, and if the Inquisition can improve their situation and protect this village, then I shall go to Haven, and tell all that I know to Sister Leliana. I know from her reputation she will be better able to know what she needs to know than I will."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Amy nodded. She took a breath, then swayed a little, suddenly feeling a gnawing in her stomach - a
different gnawing than that pit of dread she was still dealing with.
Fuck, I don't think I've eaten since breakfast. She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a piece of jerky. It would be something at least.
"Let me eat this, and have some water and then... we can get back to it." Amy took a breath, then looked at Katerina, tilting her head up to meet her eyes. "Just like in Haven, keep people from crowding me,
please, and - just - don't let them thank me or beg for my blessing or whatever else they try to do. I'm here to heal, and that's
it."
You're getting this chapter early because I am ahead of my buffer. But the general schedule of 'sundays, every two weeks' still stands, so you can expect the next chapter, unless I get ahead of my buffer again, to be posted two weeks from tomorrow (that is, Sunday). At current pace it is likely I will beat my buffer again, but it is far, far from guaranteed.
I will also remind readers of the
Tv Tropes Page, and I would love it if people would add more to it, but either way, I'm just really happy that it exists.
