faderift | MOD EVENT ↠ IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

"Colin."

"I'm--"

"Athessa!" The booming voice that finishes her introduction sounds from the door, which opens seemingly without sound to admit a tall, imposing figure. Athessa jumps in surprise, turning quickly and holding the potion bottle behind her back. Now it's her turn to duck her head, staring at the floor.

"Yes, Dominus?" She responds, expending no little effort to keep from flinching at every step her master takes toward her. It's not a hasty approach, which would perhaps be preferable to the slow, quiet facade that offers no hints at what the man will do.

"What are you doing?" He asks levelly.

"N-nothing, Dominus."

"Nothing," he repeats, coming to a stop a mere foot away. "Do you take me for a fool, girl?"

"No, Dominus!"

"Are you touched in the head?"

"No, Dominus. I--"

"Then you're merely a thief and a liar," The man reaches for Athessa's arm and wrenches it forward, looking down with an unreadable expression at the empty bottle. He takes it from her and drops her arm like it's a poisonous snake, finally turning his attention to the boy. "And I imagine you're what's caused the commotion in the Market District?"

"H-his name is Colin, Dominus," Athessa says quickly, prostrating herself at the man's feet. "He used magic, and the people attacked him. I used one of your smoke bombs to distract them to get him away, I thought he'd be safe here until--" Her explanation is quick, desperate, pleading and hoping that he will see that she did well, reward her for her good deed, or at least not be angry with her. No such luck.

"SILENCE!" The demand kills the words in her throat and she clams up, forehead against the floor and eyes wide. The flash of rage on the man's face is smoothed away when he turns back to Colin, looking down a hawk-like nose at the boy. And whatever ire was in the voice that spoke to Athessa is suddenly gone, replaced with cool patience. "Colin, then. Tell me what happened."

Cold dread has settled in Colin's stomach. Now he knows what Athessa means by dominus. It's a noble, and talking to nobles is another of those dangerous things his parents told him never, ever to do. Nobles beat common children, consider them dirty vermin who spread disease. They're worse to elves, certainly, but anyone willing to hurt an elven child is willing to hurt a human child. It just might take a little more provocation from Colin than it has taken from Athessa.

Colin has backed all the way against the wall, one arm raised to protect his face. It's finally sinking in that the life he's lived till now is over, and this man holds his life in his hands, along with the life of his only friend.

"Please, milord," he says timidly. "I'll work to pay for the potion and the smoke bomb."

The man waves a dismissive hand. "Never mind about that, just answer the question. What happened?"

To hear his tone, you'd think he were the boy's father, asking his son to tell him how a vase got broken. Athessa, still on the floor, fingers splayed over the wood, lifts her head just enough to look at Colin, waiting to hear what he says and how much trouble they'll--she'll--be in.

Colin meets her eyes. There's something familiar and reassuring about her, in an uncanny way. He ducks his head again.

"It's just as she said, milord."

He kneels down before the boy, appraising him with a glance.

"Athessa." He addresses her without looking away from Colin.

"Dominus, I thought that if I brought him here we could wait for the mob to disperse and--"

"Stand up."

"--then we could take him back to his parents or..." Athessa's explanation is so hasty that she doesn't catch his order for her to stand, and when she doesn't get up off the floor, the man finally breaks eye contact with Colin to hook two fingers through the hoop in the elf's ear.

"I said stand, girl," he says, pulling upwards on the earring to make her comply. She yelps and clamps her hands over her ear to keep the ring from tearing free, and jumps to her feet. He lets go and, once again switching easily between anger and calm, says "Now, introduce us."

"I--What?"

"Introduce us. If you're going to be in my service you need to know how to properly introduce your master to people of differing class status, now bow like I taught you and introduce me to the boy."

Athessa blinks a few times, processing the order, but she starts to speak before the Dominus can scold her again.

"Colin of Denerim, m-may I introduce Magister Gaius Lucius of Ventus."

Magister Lucius nods his head in greeting as if he hadn't already spoken to Colin. He remains kneeling to speak to the boy at eye-level, interlacing his fingers over his bent knee.

"Now, Colin. I understand that you've demonstrated some magical ability today. You do not need to explain the details, I've already been informed of the casualty. I want you to tell me about your parents."

Colin of Denerim finally raises his eyes to look at the magister. If he didn't know how the man treated Athessa, or that he is a magister, he would think he looks kind. But Tevinters are dangerous criminals who take people to sell into slavery. But if that's what this man intends, why did Athessa bring him here?

But the question Lucius poses is just as vital. What can he say about his parents? He doesn't want to give details that could lead to their capture, if he is indeed in the hands of someone who would do so. So the relevant part only, for now.

"They love me," he says meekly. Fresh tears appear in his eyes. They do love him. But. "But if I go back, they'll be in danger. So will my sisters." Seeing the mob and feeling their blows made that very real. "I...think I have to go find the Templars."

Magister Lucius is nodding solemnly, affording Colin his full attention. Not in that humoring way that adults normally do when children are talking, either. He looks like he deems what Colin says to be important. Worthy of sympathy.

Deep down, Athessa feels a pang of jealousy, but outwardly she keeps her gaze lowered and rubs her ear.

"That is an option," Lucius nods. "They will take you to a Circle, strip you of your freedom, your rights, and they will subject you to the kind of cruelty dreamt up by cowards who recognize your power and fear it, and seek to make you lesser than they. Or," He puts particular emphasis on this, pausing so that the weight of his words will properly sink in for Colin. All of these bad things could happen, but there is an alternative and if you keep listening to me, I'll tell you your other option, the one they don't want you to know about. Along with that or comes a brief, reassuring glance from Athessa, and perhaps the hint of a smile. Lucius continues:

"Or, you can accompany me back to the Imperium as my apprentice. You will see the way things are meant to be, the ones with power in power, afforded the rights and privileges of nobility, and trained to wield magic rather than being given a small sliver of the knowledge you deserve. I will of course speak to your parents on the matter, but if they love you as they should, I think the preferable option is clear."

They never mention that sort of thing about the Circle. Magic is feared, and so Circles are positive things, keeping the mages in and fed and clothed and far away from people they could hurt. With the magister's words, Colin's stomach clenches as he is faced with the realization that those people in those Circles are peoples' loved ones, no more or less evil than the day before they were taken, and yet hardly anyone heard from anyone who went in. They could very much be subjected to awful things without anyone doing anything about it. It might be just as bad as they say Tevinter is.

Colin's hands dive into his hair, nails raking along his scalp. If his parents choose it for him, he won't argue. He trusts them, even if he's not sure about this stranger. He nods at last.

"If my parents choose it."

Apparently, they did. At least, that's what Magister Lucius claims.

Athessa had been outside, as had Colin, while Gaius Lucius spoke with Colin's parents inside their house. They saw Colin just long enough to recognize him before the Magister escorted the family back inside to discuss business. When he came out, he sighed, kneeled in front of Colin, and smiled. They'd given their assent, and Colin would be returning to Tevinter with his new mentor. In no time at all, they were on the boat to cross the Waking Sea.

There's something that Athessa can't quite shake, though. She's sitting next to Colin and stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eye as if she might find confirmation of her suspicion written on his face.

She'd heard raised voices in the house after Lucius closed the door. Distant enough, deep enough in the house that only her ears would be able to hear. Not the sign of a deal going smoothly. And later, when Lucius stepped out of the door, there was a familiar set of consternation in his brow, like he was trying to solve a problem in his head.

"Hey," she says quietly to him, nudging his shoulder with her own, gently. "It's gonna be ok." She hopes it will be.

By this point, Colin is exhausted. He sways with the nudge, then his body softens against hers, head resting on her shoulder.

"Are you his slave?" he asks her quietly. He's heard of those, of course, but hasn't met one.

She tenses, not because of the question, but because of the ease with which he leans against her. She's not used to people showing any kind of affection or softness towards her, and with that inexperience comes unease and perhaps just a little panic. When will the niceness be replaced with cruelty?

But this is just a boy, as out of his element as she was when she was bagged, tagged, and sold. So she tries to force herself to relax, or at least sound relaxed, when she answers.

"Yep. But don't worry, you'll be his apprentice. He's gonna teach you how to use magic and probably how to be a magister and stuff. I just help out, like an assistant."

He is just a boy, but he has eyes and ears. He knows what he saw when her master threw her to the floor, and what she just said about being a slave being a worrisome and unfortunate thing. And with all the things they say about Tevinter--blood magic, sacrifice, slavery, depravity--there are threats more insidious than physical harm.

"But you are his slave," he circles back. He raises his head and peers at her. "I don't want him to make me cruel to you. Would you tell me, if something I did would be cruel?"

She glances at him out of the corner of her eye, and considers the question for a moment before smiling at him.

"Tell ya what. I might be his slave, but I don't have to be yours. We can be friends. No orders, no cruelty..." She raises a hand for a shake. "Friends."

"Friends." Colin shakes her hand, looking genuinely comforted for the first time. He might be ripped from his old life, but he doesn't have to lose himself.

As the years pass, Colin holds to his word never to give her an order or be cruel to her, but straight away, it becomes difficult for him to be her friend. His new master quickly noticed his connection to his slave and kept him busy until he could grow wise to this new world. He is tasked with one thing: rise in knowledge and power. Then, it is made clear to him how very difficult such a task is.

He is, in Tevinter, an indentured servant, technically. This is a requirement before he can be made a citizen. Until he is a citizen, he cannot join a Circle, and he will not be a citizen until he has served out his ten-year indenture. When the concept of the indenture is explained to him, Colin clings to the desire not to lose himself. It is a comfort, in many ways, that he has no status yet and is technically only better than a slave because this has an end to it. But once he is a citizen, he will only be Laetan, because he is not descended from the Dreamers of old. There have been Laetan Archons, but it was not easy for them and it will not be easy for Colin.

There is no understanding of the true danger to him until after he arrives. His master makes it clear that in a Circle, he will be considered easy pickings. To survive, he must be clever and determined. Lucius is immediately frustrated by his new pupil's inherent lack of ambition and makes up for it by making the boy afraid for his life. The less he shows the desired personality traits, the more his master frightens him. He tells him he will die. He tells him he'll be eaten alive by more determined mages. He tells him it was a waste to save him and bring him to Tevinter.

There are nights when Colin wakes in a cold sweat from dreams of demons. They lure him with promises of becoming powerful enough that he will never fear for his life again. He thinks about it.

At last, his tenth year comes and he is a citizen. By this point, he and Athessa have drifted somewhat apart thanks to their master's maneuverings. Colin joins a Circle and finds that he has more talent for schmoozing than climbing. He doesn't need to be a powerful man to survive if he can accomplish the same by attaching himself to a more powerful mage. He takes some solace in the healing arts, which lend well to his gentler nature, but telekinesis is what is encouraged of him. Healers are soft, but if you can tear a man in two without even having him touched, that strikes fear into your enemies. Colin didn't know he had enemies.

By the time he is twenty-five and Athessa twenty-seven, they almost never speak, both being busy trying to survive. Colin is studying and practicing constantly, having learned how to amplify his power with his own blood. Which isn't blood magic, his mentor explained, because blood magic involves sacrifice and that is why it is evil. Unfortunately it makes healing very difficult and sometimes impossible, so the one aspect of magic he truly loved is lost to him. And that's not the only thing.

He comes home late one night as Athessa is putting out the lights in the house, glassy-eyed and covered in blood, hands shaking.

"Help me," he begs. He may have lost a great deal of himself, but at least this is a plea and not a command.

The sight of him loosens her grip on the long-handled snuffer, which falls with a clatter to the marble floor and she rushes to his side. Never at ease with initiating contact, for a moment she falters, hands hovering like she doesn't know what to do with them before one alights upon his cheek to make him look at her and the other grips his hand, heedless of the blood.

"Are you hurt?" She looks him over, trying to see any obvious injury, then turns to one of the other house slaves. Without needing to say anything, they hurry off, presumably to get help or to fetch whatever is necessary to clean up the blood. "Colin, Colin what happened?"

He shakes his head, gripping her hand hard.

"They made me hold him," he says faintly.

"What? Hold who?"

One of the other slaves beckons Athessa towards a servants' passage, and she guides Colin by the hand until they reach the kitchen.

"Here, sit down," she motions to a bench at the old table. The other slave, a younger elf called Ciaran, hurries off to finish putting out the lights and clean up whatever blood trail they've left in their wake while Athessa tends to Colin, wiping at his face with a hot towel. "Who made you--? I don't understand."

Colin swallows, the heat and damp from the towel wiping away sweat and blood to reveal how very pale he is.

"I need to get clean," he says. He can't stand being covered in someone else's blood any longer. Crossing the kitchen to a basin, he pours water over his hands and starts soaping all the way up to his elbows.

She huffs with irritation, frowning and tossing the damp, bloody towel back into the water. With an obstinate set to her jaw, she rummages around for some kind of clothing for him to change into, and sets the bundle next to the washbasin before planting her hand on it so that if he tries, he can't take it without first addressing her.

"If you want my help, you need to tell me what's going on!" She demands, fixing him with the same serious look that she used on him as a kid. He's not Dominus Lucius, he doesn't get to leave her out of the loop or ignore her like this. He's supposed to be her friend.

The world is wrong, wrong, wrong. This is wrong. It's incorrect, and it's morally repugnant. Isn't it? Did everything he learned as a child change, or was he misled from the start? No. He disagrees with the Chantry on many fronts, but it was right about Tevinter. His breath rushes in his ears. Suddenly, he's on the floor, covered in blood and water and soap and very, very close to losing consciousness from hyperventilating.

Athessa drops to the floor beside him. He's not hurt, it's not his blood, then why--?

She cups his face in her hands, making him look at her. "Colin, Colin listen to me, you need to calm down. Breathe deep, okay?" She inhales deeply for a four-count, and lets the breath go, to show him how. "Breathe in slowly, let it out. Focus on me, okay? Focus."

Her thumb brushes over his cheekbone as she searches his eyes for any sign that she's getting through to him, still trying to get his breathing under control.

Trying to get his breathing under control feels like smothering at first, but he focuses on her voice. Her touch. The sound of the whispers pressing on the edges of his mind begins to recede. There's no way for her to know she nearly became the second person he killed tonight.

When at last the pinpricks are over, waves of deafening quiet washing over him, he speaks.

"My cohort. We were at Festus' house. He took us to a room with glyphs drawn. Spellbooks everywhere. He rang for a slave to come in. He grabbed her and shoved her in my arms and told me to keep her still. He said this is what we have to do to become what we need to become. The only way for a Laetan to compete and not get killed by his enemies. And he pushed a knife into my hand."

She starts to withdraw, still confused, but a suspicion of what he means dawning.

"You...did you...?" If he didn't kill the slave, what are the chances they'd be here, right now, in this situation? "You killed her."

The last time he killed someone, it was an accident. This? This was murder. Sacrifice, they called it, as if she were a goat instead of a person. He curls in on himself, the tears coming. He can still feel her pulse against his fingers.

"She was screaming," he sobs. "She was begging me. Festus started hitting her because she was so loud. I moved my hand, and...and I did it. I held her as she died."

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