Sophia felt not unlike a child, having been caught by her father in the act of a transgression. These Qunari clearly meant business. They were led by a mountain of a Kossith, armored head to toe and equipped with a wide shield and heavy broadsword which the Viscount's daughter was willing to bet weighed simply nothing to him. At his flanks were some ten warriors, armed with halberds that looked to be eight feet long. They were covered by four javelin-throwers, trailing a few feet behind the main group. Their formation and their stance did not immediately appear hostile, but there would be no way for Sophia to apply the word 'friendly' to them without looking ridiculous. They were not to be trifled with. Fortunately, Sophia's father had never been able to rein her in, and she did not plan on letting a unit of Qunari stop her, no matter how dangerous they looked.
"You will hold, basra vashedan," their lead began, holding up a hand to signal that Sophia and her party were to advance no further. It was probably for the best. The ground was a little too open here; given their disadvantage in numbers, it would be easy to become surrounded, and they certainly couldn't let that happen, not against an enemy as skilled as Qunari military. "I am Arvaarad," the Qunari continued, "and I claim possession of Saarebas at your heel."
As with everything else that had happened leading up to this, there was something very wrong. The chances of this unit stumbling upon them out here were slim to none. Sophia knew the Arishok had wanted to scout the coastline, but surely that task had been completed already, relentlessly efficient as they were. "The members of his karataam were killed by Tal-Vashoth," Arvaarad explained, "but their disposal leads only here, to Saarebas and you."
A trail of bodies, leading to this location? This got better and better, didn't it? And they hadn't even reached the part where they discussed why there was a Qunari mage among them. Sophia was trying to wrap her mind around this. For perhaps the first time in the ordeal, she was forced to look at someone of her faith in a different light. She was not stupid. A trail leading here meant that someone obviously wanted the Qunari to find them with the mage. As far as she knew, Petrice and that Templar she'd been with, Varnell, were the only two who even knew of Ketojan's existence.
"Maker..." Sophia said, rubbing her temples momentarily. It had already been a long and trying night, and part of her wanted to think she was just tired and imagining things at this point, but she knew she had the truth of it now. Petrice wanted to stir up resistance against the Qunari in the city. Sophia had thought she meant to do that by defying their stance towards mages, but now it was clear: far more anger would be conjured if the rising leader Sophia Dumar was found murdered by Qunari, in the act of resisting their influence. She'd been made a pawn through her own faith.
That blow hurt in a way similar to the dragon's tail slamming into her. She had been monumentally stupid, and pulled Lucien and Aurora along with her. But as much as she desired to tear herself up over this at the moment, she knew she needed to focus. They could still get out of this, but only if she kept herself together. She met the lead Qunari's gaze, peering through the bars of his facemask as he was.
"We have killed none of your people, Arvaarad. My companions and I traveled from the other direction." Their leader was having none of it. "Yet you are here with Saarebas. The crime is his freedom, his leash held by unknowing basra. We will not allow that danger to continue. Let your own mages doom you--Saarebas will be properly confined."
The crime is his freedom.
It was that that struck the chord within Aurora the hardest. She took up a postion directly in front of Ketojan and stood the full amount of her dimunitive height, her jaw set, and her chest stuck out. Despite these warriors being nearly twice her height and thrice her width, she showed no fear. Their ignorant words had made the entire ordeal personal for the redheaded apostate. All of their words only served to further stoke the flames inside her. She had to remind herself not to become too aggravated, yet open the gates for a possession, but even still with that piece of information firmly lodged inside her head, it was difficult. They spoke without respect, they spoke down to them. It had already been a tulmultious night for Aurora, and these men were not helping the process in the least bit.
Not only that, but it was clear that they were manipulated. That the Qunari were meant to find them with Ketojan. All set up by the Sister Petrice most likely. Playing the damsel to lure in unsuspecting saps for her own goals. Another flare of anger, and another attempt to snuff it out before it grew too large for her to manage. Amalia might have said that her anger was just an illusion, but how much could she trust the Qunari now that she realized how they treated their own mages. Was Ketojan's chains an illusion? How about the thread that sewed snaked across his lips? An illusion? Because all of these illusions were beginning to piss her off. She calmed herself to speak, so that her own words wouldn't bely the injustice she felt in her heart.
"He is not a beast to be chained up or leashed, he is a person," She said with a bit of indignation. "It is only by unfortunate chance of his blood that his is viewed as a danger. Because of what he might become. Because of what all mages might become. It is not the chains that keep mages in check. They are stronger than that, they have to be because the price of being weak is too steep. No, it's not your chains, it's their hearts that keep them from what they might become.. It's not the mages who doom us, but it's you who doom them. You chain them merely in fear," she said, the last word hissing off of her tongue.
"Freedom is nobody's crime. It's their right," she finished, staring hard at the one call Arvaarad. It was her of all people who understood the value of freedom. She escaped a life in a tower, she left her only home, she fled across Thedas for that single elusive notion. She was not a creature to be chained, she was a person with a family, and hopes, and dreams, all of which were cut by a single drop of magic in her blood. By those who feared what she might become if she was too weak to resist the call of the fade. Those who cage people like her on the mere chance of their change. It was that that gave her the strength to resist the fade, her drive of freedom staved off what demons lurked just beyond veil. She would not fall, because she couldn't afford to. She saw a lot of herself in Ketojan, and perhaps that's why she was fighting so hard for the Qunari-- for the mage.
Under his helmet, Arvaarad ground his teeth together at the little human girl in frustration. Stepping away from his unit, he took a few paces towards Ketojan. "You speak for Saarebas, but you know nothing." He raised his voice. "Saarebas! Show that your will remains bound to the Qun." Immediately and without hesitation, Ketojan went to a knee, a murmured growl through his sewn lips acting as acknowledgement. The Qunari leader looked back to Aurora. "He has only followed you because he wants to be led. He is allowed no other purpose. The power that he has, that all Saarebas have, draws from chaos and demons. They can never be in control. We leash Saarebas because they are dangerous and contagious. Not even your Templars fully grasp that threat." He looked down towards Ketojan. "But it is not my role to enlighten bas."
If Lucien were a different kind of man, he would have been informing anyone who would listen that he'd known this was going to happen. Well, not this, specifically, but something caused by Petrice and detrimental to the rest of them. Perhaps fortunately, he wasn't the sort to get gleeful about this situation at all. Actually, it was making him angry. Quietly so, but enough to prevent him from intervening on the little melodrama that was playing out in front of them. It occurred to him distantly that this would make an excellent scene in a play of some kind, perhaps one wherein Aurora was the protagonist. He was also beginning to suspect that her passionate defense of mages was personal, because it was a very rare person indeed willing to stick their neck out for such an unpopular lot of people, especially to a group of Qunari. He wasn't sure if she was brave or just stupid, and he of all people knew that sometimes there was precious little difference.
But mostly, he was just angry. Not at the Qunari, of course; they were being led along by the nose just as surely as he and the others had been. He should have expected that helping the Chantry would lead him to a situation like this, and really, maybe that made it at least somewhat his own fault, which was worse. Still, there was a problem here yet to be solved, and if the young woman's tongue did not condemn them all, there was a way to repair the damage yet. When he spoke, his tone was understanding, but also clearly firm. "You are correct, Aurora; mages and Qunari are all people. It is for this very reason that we must allow Ketojan the freedom of his choice." He gestured to the kneeing Saarebas, a thoughtful frown lining his face.
"Perhaps it is not a choice that we may easily understand, but if ever he were free to make it, he is now, when the chance of resistance is right in front of him. That he still chooses as he does must be meaningful, and we would be taking away his freedom just as surely as the Templars if we were to try and tell him that he cannot make it. Our part in this is done; we would do best to leave without confrontation. It seems all of us have been manipulated; it would be prudent to reserve our anger for those who have earned it." Forcing a free choice was paradoxical, and though admittedly Lucien could not imagine choosing the life a Qunari mage led, he did understand something of voluntary imprisonment. Too much freedom-- the anarchistic tendency to do whatever pleased oneself in the moment-- was just as frightening a prospect as not enough. As with so many things, he found the best choice to be moderation, but not everyone was like that.
"Is it truly his choice? Or is it a choice made for him," Aurora responded, not looking back to Lucien. She was blinded by both her zeal and her heart, these ignorant fools had went too far. No longer had Ketojan have anything to do with it, Aurora had become selfish and made this issue about herself, even if the others had not yet understood. Their words struck too deep for her to simply brush them off and walk away from the one called Arvaarad. So she was dangerous? Contagious? The blessing and the curse that she was born with now made her a leper? If he was Saarebas, then so was she. The anger in her heart caused her to chuckle, her shoulders drooping a bit. Her mouth was a tightlipped thing, etched and lined with a quiet rage.
"I know nothing. Is that what you said? You chain him because he can never be in control. Because mages can never truly be in control. You said that I know nothing, yet I know much more about his struggle than you can ever imagine. Allow me to enlighten you, bas," she uttered, turning the word around on him. She had gone too far, and there was no turning back. Though could she say that she truly wanted to turn back? She was tired of hiding who she was, tired of being ashamed of what she was. She threw caution to the wind and outstretched her hands, dipping into the fade for a single display. As the veil rippled aroud her, an intense prismatic magical light danced around her hands, "I am Saarebas. Will you leash me as well? I dare you to try."
The temptation to allow the fade to just take over was there, ever present, tugging at her. Whispering promises in her ear. Showing this Qunari and his ilk the true power of an unleashed mage. To just give herself over to the veil a let it all be over. It'd be so simple to just let go.
Sophia had been about to second Lucien's stance. Ketojan's choice to remain under the Qun was clear; their presence here was now completely pointless. They had sought to release him from his people, apparently against his wishes, and they had been led into an ambush of sorts set up by a Chantry sister. And now Aurora was a mage as well. Sophia found herself wondering how she hadn't seen this coming. Her lack of any hesitance in jumping to defend the mage, fighting for his freedom... she was an apostate, either escaped from a Circle or never having been to one, dodging the Templars all her life. Her anger had been stirred hot by this encounter, and indeed she was starting to seem much more dangerous, drawing her magic about her, letting emotions take control.
She would have been more concerned with the apostate's situation if the Qunari had not been present. As it was, her outburst had set them off, and now any chance of avoiding conflict was gone. Arvaarad turned to his warriors, enraged at the blatant display of magic in front of his face. "Vashedan! Nehraa sataa karasaam!" He then turned back towards Sophia, Lucien, and Aurora. "You spewed your words at me, like a demon trying to poison my control! Like this mage, the Qun requires your death!" He pulled out some sort of electrical rod and activated it, enveloping Ketojan in a kind of restraining field. It was obviously painful, as he tensed and fell to the ground where he kneeled, growling in discomfort. That done, Arvaarad drew sword and shield and led his men into their attack.
Sophia had been about to try pulling Aurora back away from the frontline Qunari warriors, but she wasn't given the time, forced to dodge a downward strike from a halberd before she'd even drawn her blade. The poleaxe slammed into the sand at her feet, and she kicked downward hard, nearly snapping the shaft with her boot. Backstepping, she drew her sword in a smooth motion, falling in to stand her ground by Lucien's side. Outnumbered as they were by the Qunari, they would need to work together closely to survive. As much as she was loathe to admit it, drawing attention away from the apostate so that she could use her magic to greater effect was probably their best bet.
He should have knocked her out. That much was quite obvious by now. Rendering Aurora unconscious, while not the most tasteful thing he'd ever done, would surely have prevented the situation from progressing this far. Now, it was either to be an entire troop of dead Qunari, or three dead humans, one of them extremely important to Kirkwall's political and social climate. Ketojan had chosen to die, and he had no doubt that the Saarebas would stick to that choice. It was unlikely that many people would mourn a deceased mercenary or apostate, but a noble was another matter entirely, and because of the young woman's foolish actions, they'd now sprung exactly the trap the Chantry sister had set for them. The Orlesian set his feet as well as he could in the sand and loose turf of the area, drawing his scythe in front of him.
"You know," he mentioned offhandedly to Sophia beside him, "I do this for a living, but things are seldom this exciting when you're not around. I wonder why that is?" There was no point in stewing in his anger or frustration; those feelings only made it harder to see things clearly. He didn't deny that he was still quite upset at Sister Petrice for setting them up like this, and that was something he would put to use later. But none of these people were she, and none of them deserved to feel the effects of his ire. This was business, grim as that thought may be. A quick assessment of the situation showed that things would probably go best if he distracted as many of the Qunari as possible, letting Sophia back him up and pick them off from the sides with her superior maneuverability and lighter weapon, while Aurora maintained distance and shot them down with magic.
He could do that. Exhaling, Lucien bent at the knees and lowered his center of gravity somewhat, assuming a defensive posture that left one very obvious hole in his guard, around his left side. With a beckoning gesture, he taunted the Qunari forward, and for once he was relieved that these were true enough warriors not to simply ignore the large target in favor of one that appeared easier. The first to rush him swung for the opening, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Lucien adjusted his grip and brought the haft of the scythe up to block the incoming axehead, meeting the pole of that weapon just below the metal bit so as not to break his own. The contact reverberated through all four arms involved, but the Chevalier had no intention of turning it into a contest of strength. He jammed one heel into the back of the Qunari's leg, causing the fellow to stumble, then stepped back, locking the blade of the scythe with the axehead and hauling, dragging the off-balance opponent to the side, and right into Sophia's range. He'd be a much eaiser target stumbling about in such a fashion, but it would likely only last a few seconds.
Disengaging that one, he was a bit too late to block the next incoming hit and took a hammer-blow to the abdomen, the breath rushing from his lungs. Grimacing, Lucien forced himself to inhale, ignoring the black spots in his vision for the moment and striking not at what he saw, but where he knew someone would have had to be to manage a hit like that. Even the most heavily-armored of the Qunari had obvious weak points where flesh was exposed, and the tip of the scythe caught on one of these, dragging vertically down the man's arm, severing the artery there and dropping him onto the sand.
Sophia had actually smiled at Lucien's comment. She did have a remarkable ability for getting herself into trouble, didn't she? Bandits, dragons and now Qunari had all attacked her recently. It was a shame that trying to help the city so often ended in violence. She would have replied, but the Qunari charging her had to take priority. In stark contrast to the bandits she'd been dealing with recently, these Qunari took their opponents head on, fearing nothing, looking only to assert their superior strength over their enemies. They struck for Sophia and Lucien first rather than only seeking the one with the least armor and the greatest appearance of vulnerability. That was commendable, she supposed.
The Qunari thrust high with poleaxe, but Sophia reacted quickly, swatting the weapon aside with Vesenia even as she pushed forward herself, throwing an elbow up into his jaw. He recoiled, and she spun quickly, slicing across the abdomen and cutting deep, coloring the sand beneath them a dark red. It was then she caught sight of the stumbling warrior Lucien had sent her way. Not one to waste the opportunity, she surged forward, taking her sword in both hands and thrusting the point through the Qunari's midsection.
A melee fighter backing off from her was all the warning she received that a javelin thrower had a shot lined up, but it was all she needed. After yanking her sword free from the Qunari's body, she maneuvered him between her and the ranged attacker. No sooner had she done so than a javelin thrummed into and through the deceased fighter, its velocity slowed enough that Sophia's armor halted it entirely. The speed at which they could hurl those weapons was remarkable, and more than a little frightening.
As she discarded the body, a halberd-armed Qunari attacked from her left. Preemptively she went to block a high or mid ranged attack, but he instead swept low, and the axehead bit through the leather of her boot and into her calf. He pushed through, taking Sophia's base out from under her and planting her hard upon her back amidst a splash of sand. His next blow came down with heavy force, and Sophia had to quickly throw her sword in front of her to deflect it. Her single attempt to push away was cut short as he rained further blows upon her, and for the moment all she could do was defend herself, thankful Lucien had drawn as much attention as he had.
Though the heaviest fight did center on Sophia and Lucien, Aurora didn't escape the ire of the Qunari. Of course she didn't, she was the entire reason they were fighting after all. Her mouth did manage to put her right up front as well, though she bought herself some time to prepare by causing the lights in her hand to intensify, stunning a couple of Qunari. It wasn't go to last any time, though it did allow her enough to erect an armor of rock around herself. Just in time, as a wildly swung sword dug deep into her shoulder. It'd bruise, but the stone ensured that she'd at least keep the arm. Instead of just taking the blow like the warriors she was with would, she shifted her weight and slipped out of the blow before it completely crushed her shoulder. She may have been angry with the Qunari at the moment, but that didn't mean she'd throw away all she'd learned from watching Amalia.
She spun away from the blade and issued a back kick, knocking back the stumbling Qunari and pushing herself forward and away. The time she had earned from her lightshow was over, and their enemies were regaining their vision. Though the first thing they saw wasn't the back of the mage's head as she fled, but her hands raised to the sky as she called to something. Brusque words were tossed about, ones Aurora guessed meant "demon" or something of the like. The mere thought of that only irritated her further. The thought that she'd succumb to demons like she was some weak willed whelp was ridiculous. The whispers might have been there, but that didn't mean she'd listen. They were false promises, honeyed words, illusions, nothing more.
A clap a thunder revealed what she had been really doing. A streak of lightning came down from a cloudless sky, dropping the fight into all out chaos and confusion. These soldiers may have been disciplined, but the forces of nature had a habit of crushing even the hardest stone beneath its might. Speaking of stone, the Qunari who had lash out blindly with his blade received a heavy fist of stone to the chest, throwing him backward into his fellows. Feeling as if she'd drawn enough attention to herself, she turned and tried to get away from the frontlines. The lightning would help cover her retreat as she made a beeline to a position behind Lucien and Sophia.
She could only imagine how irritated they were.
"You will hold, basra vashedan," their lead began, holding up a hand to signal that Sophia and her party were to advance no further. It was probably for the best. The ground was a little too open here; given their disadvantage in numbers, it would be easy to become surrounded, and they certainly couldn't let that happen, not against an enemy as skilled as Qunari military. "I am Arvaarad," the Qunari continued, "and I claim possession of Saarebas at your heel."
As with everything else that had happened leading up to this, there was something very wrong. The chances of this unit stumbling upon them out here were slim to none. Sophia knew the Arishok had wanted to scout the coastline, but surely that task had been completed already, relentlessly efficient as they were. "The members of his karataam were killed by Tal-Vashoth," Arvaarad explained, "but their disposal leads only here, to Saarebas and you."
A trail of bodies, leading to this location? This got better and better, didn't it? And they hadn't even reached the part where they discussed why there was a Qunari mage among them. Sophia was trying to wrap her mind around this. For perhaps the first time in the ordeal, she was forced to look at someone of her faith in a different light. She was not stupid. A trail leading here meant that someone obviously wanted the Qunari to find them with the mage. As far as she knew, Petrice and that Templar she'd been with, Varnell, were the only two who even knew of Ketojan's existence.
"Maker..." Sophia said, rubbing her temples momentarily. It had already been a long and trying night, and part of her wanted to think she was just tired and imagining things at this point, but she knew she had the truth of it now. Petrice wanted to stir up resistance against the Qunari in the city. Sophia had thought she meant to do that by defying their stance towards mages, but now it was clear: far more anger would be conjured if the rising leader Sophia Dumar was found murdered by Qunari, in the act of resisting their influence. She'd been made a pawn through her own faith.
That blow hurt in a way similar to the dragon's tail slamming into her. She had been monumentally stupid, and pulled Lucien and Aurora along with her. But as much as she desired to tear herself up over this at the moment, she knew she needed to focus. They could still get out of this, but only if she kept herself together. She met the lead Qunari's gaze, peering through the bars of his facemask as he was.
"We have killed none of your people, Arvaarad. My companions and I traveled from the other direction." Their leader was having none of it. "Yet you are here with Saarebas. The crime is his freedom, his leash held by unknowing basra. We will not allow that danger to continue. Let your own mages doom you--Saarebas will be properly confined."
The crime is his freedom.
It was that that struck the chord within Aurora the hardest. She took up a postion directly in front of Ketojan and stood the full amount of her dimunitive height, her jaw set, and her chest stuck out. Despite these warriors being nearly twice her height and thrice her width, she showed no fear. Their ignorant words had made the entire ordeal personal for the redheaded apostate. All of their words only served to further stoke the flames inside her. She had to remind herself not to become too aggravated, yet open the gates for a possession, but even still with that piece of information firmly lodged inside her head, it was difficult. They spoke without respect, they spoke down to them. It had already been a tulmultious night for Aurora, and these men were not helping the process in the least bit.
Not only that, but it was clear that they were manipulated. That the Qunari were meant to find them with Ketojan. All set up by the Sister Petrice most likely. Playing the damsel to lure in unsuspecting saps for her own goals. Another flare of anger, and another attempt to snuff it out before it grew too large for her to manage. Amalia might have said that her anger was just an illusion, but how much could she trust the Qunari now that she realized how they treated their own mages. Was Ketojan's chains an illusion? How about the thread that sewed snaked across his lips? An illusion? Because all of these illusions were beginning to piss her off. She calmed herself to speak, so that her own words wouldn't bely the injustice she felt in her heart.
"He is not a beast to be chained up or leashed, he is a person," She said with a bit of indignation. "It is only by unfortunate chance of his blood that his is viewed as a danger. Because of what he might become. Because of what all mages might become. It is not the chains that keep mages in check. They are stronger than that, they have to be because the price of being weak is too steep. No, it's not your chains, it's their hearts that keep them from what they might become.. It's not the mages who doom us, but it's you who doom them. You chain them merely in fear," she said, the last word hissing off of her tongue.
"Freedom is nobody's crime. It's their right," she finished, staring hard at the one call Arvaarad. It was her of all people who understood the value of freedom. She escaped a life in a tower, she left her only home, she fled across Thedas for that single elusive notion. She was not a creature to be chained, she was a person with a family, and hopes, and dreams, all of which were cut by a single drop of magic in her blood. By those who feared what she might become if she was too weak to resist the call of the fade. Those who cage people like her on the mere chance of their change. It was that that gave her the strength to resist the fade, her drive of freedom staved off what demons lurked just beyond veil. She would not fall, because she couldn't afford to. She saw a lot of herself in Ketojan, and perhaps that's why she was fighting so hard for the Qunari-- for the mage.
Under his helmet, Arvaarad ground his teeth together at the little human girl in frustration. Stepping away from his unit, he took a few paces towards Ketojan. "You speak for Saarebas, but you know nothing." He raised his voice. "Saarebas! Show that your will remains bound to the Qun." Immediately and without hesitation, Ketojan went to a knee, a murmured growl through his sewn lips acting as acknowledgement. The Qunari leader looked back to Aurora. "He has only followed you because he wants to be led. He is allowed no other purpose. The power that he has, that all Saarebas have, draws from chaos and demons. They can never be in control. We leash Saarebas because they are dangerous and contagious. Not even your Templars fully grasp that threat." He looked down towards Ketojan. "But it is not my role to enlighten bas."
If Lucien were a different kind of man, he would have been informing anyone who would listen that he'd known this was going to happen. Well, not this, specifically, but something caused by Petrice and detrimental to the rest of them. Perhaps fortunately, he wasn't the sort to get gleeful about this situation at all. Actually, it was making him angry. Quietly so, but enough to prevent him from intervening on the little melodrama that was playing out in front of them. It occurred to him distantly that this would make an excellent scene in a play of some kind, perhaps one wherein Aurora was the protagonist. He was also beginning to suspect that her passionate defense of mages was personal, because it was a very rare person indeed willing to stick their neck out for such an unpopular lot of people, especially to a group of Qunari. He wasn't sure if she was brave or just stupid, and he of all people knew that sometimes there was precious little difference.
But mostly, he was just angry. Not at the Qunari, of course; they were being led along by the nose just as surely as he and the others had been. He should have expected that helping the Chantry would lead him to a situation like this, and really, maybe that made it at least somewhat his own fault, which was worse. Still, there was a problem here yet to be solved, and if the young woman's tongue did not condemn them all, there was a way to repair the damage yet. When he spoke, his tone was understanding, but also clearly firm. "You are correct, Aurora; mages and Qunari are all people. It is for this very reason that we must allow Ketojan the freedom of his choice." He gestured to the kneeing Saarebas, a thoughtful frown lining his face.
"Perhaps it is not a choice that we may easily understand, but if ever he were free to make it, he is now, when the chance of resistance is right in front of him. That he still chooses as he does must be meaningful, and we would be taking away his freedom just as surely as the Templars if we were to try and tell him that he cannot make it. Our part in this is done; we would do best to leave without confrontation. It seems all of us have been manipulated; it would be prudent to reserve our anger for those who have earned it." Forcing a free choice was paradoxical, and though admittedly Lucien could not imagine choosing the life a Qunari mage led, he did understand something of voluntary imprisonment. Too much freedom-- the anarchistic tendency to do whatever pleased oneself in the moment-- was just as frightening a prospect as not enough. As with so many things, he found the best choice to be moderation, but not everyone was like that.
"Is it truly his choice? Or is it a choice made for him," Aurora responded, not looking back to Lucien. She was blinded by both her zeal and her heart, these ignorant fools had went too far. No longer had Ketojan have anything to do with it, Aurora had become selfish and made this issue about herself, even if the others had not yet understood. Their words struck too deep for her to simply brush them off and walk away from the one called Arvaarad. So she was dangerous? Contagious? The blessing and the curse that she was born with now made her a leper? If he was Saarebas, then so was she. The anger in her heart caused her to chuckle, her shoulders drooping a bit. Her mouth was a tightlipped thing, etched and lined with a quiet rage.
"I know nothing. Is that what you said? You chain him because he can never be in control. Because mages can never truly be in control. You said that I know nothing, yet I know much more about his struggle than you can ever imagine. Allow me to enlighten you, bas," she uttered, turning the word around on him. She had gone too far, and there was no turning back. Though could she say that she truly wanted to turn back? She was tired of hiding who she was, tired of being ashamed of what she was. She threw caution to the wind and outstretched her hands, dipping into the fade for a single display. As the veil rippled aroud her, an intense prismatic magical light danced around her hands, "I am Saarebas. Will you leash me as well? I dare you to try."
The temptation to allow the fade to just take over was there, ever present, tugging at her. Whispering promises in her ear. Showing this Qunari and his ilk the true power of an unleashed mage. To just give herself over to the veil a let it all be over. It'd be so simple to just let go.
Sophia had been about to second Lucien's stance. Ketojan's choice to remain under the Qun was clear; their presence here was now completely pointless. They had sought to release him from his people, apparently against his wishes, and they had been led into an ambush of sorts set up by a Chantry sister. And now Aurora was a mage as well. Sophia found herself wondering how she hadn't seen this coming. Her lack of any hesitance in jumping to defend the mage, fighting for his freedom... she was an apostate, either escaped from a Circle or never having been to one, dodging the Templars all her life. Her anger had been stirred hot by this encounter, and indeed she was starting to seem much more dangerous, drawing her magic about her, letting emotions take control.
She would have been more concerned with the apostate's situation if the Qunari had not been present. As it was, her outburst had set them off, and now any chance of avoiding conflict was gone. Arvaarad turned to his warriors, enraged at the blatant display of magic in front of his face. "Vashedan! Nehraa sataa karasaam!" He then turned back towards Sophia, Lucien, and Aurora. "You spewed your words at me, like a demon trying to poison my control! Like this mage, the Qun requires your death!" He pulled out some sort of electrical rod and activated it, enveloping Ketojan in a kind of restraining field. It was obviously painful, as he tensed and fell to the ground where he kneeled, growling in discomfort. That done, Arvaarad drew sword and shield and led his men into their attack.
Sophia had been about to try pulling Aurora back away from the frontline Qunari warriors, but she wasn't given the time, forced to dodge a downward strike from a halberd before she'd even drawn her blade. The poleaxe slammed into the sand at her feet, and she kicked downward hard, nearly snapping the shaft with her boot. Backstepping, she drew her sword in a smooth motion, falling in to stand her ground by Lucien's side. Outnumbered as they were by the Qunari, they would need to work together closely to survive. As much as she was loathe to admit it, drawing attention away from the apostate so that she could use her magic to greater effect was probably their best bet.
He should have knocked her out. That much was quite obvious by now. Rendering Aurora unconscious, while not the most tasteful thing he'd ever done, would surely have prevented the situation from progressing this far. Now, it was either to be an entire troop of dead Qunari, or three dead humans, one of them extremely important to Kirkwall's political and social climate. Ketojan had chosen to die, and he had no doubt that the Saarebas would stick to that choice. It was unlikely that many people would mourn a deceased mercenary or apostate, but a noble was another matter entirely, and because of the young woman's foolish actions, they'd now sprung exactly the trap the Chantry sister had set for them. The Orlesian set his feet as well as he could in the sand and loose turf of the area, drawing his scythe in front of him.
"You know," he mentioned offhandedly to Sophia beside him, "I do this for a living, but things are seldom this exciting when you're not around. I wonder why that is?" There was no point in stewing in his anger or frustration; those feelings only made it harder to see things clearly. He didn't deny that he was still quite upset at Sister Petrice for setting them up like this, and that was something he would put to use later. But none of these people were she, and none of them deserved to feel the effects of his ire. This was business, grim as that thought may be. A quick assessment of the situation showed that things would probably go best if he distracted as many of the Qunari as possible, letting Sophia back him up and pick them off from the sides with her superior maneuverability and lighter weapon, while Aurora maintained distance and shot them down with magic.
He could do that. Exhaling, Lucien bent at the knees and lowered his center of gravity somewhat, assuming a defensive posture that left one very obvious hole in his guard, around his left side. With a beckoning gesture, he taunted the Qunari forward, and for once he was relieved that these were true enough warriors not to simply ignore the large target in favor of one that appeared easier. The first to rush him swung for the opening, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Lucien adjusted his grip and brought the haft of the scythe up to block the incoming axehead, meeting the pole of that weapon just below the metal bit so as not to break his own. The contact reverberated through all four arms involved, but the Chevalier had no intention of turning it into a contest of strength. He jammed one heel into the back of the Qunari's leg, causing the fellow to stumble, then stepped back, locking the blade of the scythe with the axehead and hauling, dragging the off-balance opponent to the side, and right into Sophia's range. He'd be a much eaiser target stumbling about in such a fashion, but it would likely only last a few seconds.
Disengaging that one, he was a bit too late to block the next incoming hit and took a hammer-blow to the abdomen, the breath rushing from his lungs. Grimacing, Lucien forced himself to inhale, ignoring the black spots in his vision for the moment and striking not at what he saw, but where he knew someone would have had to be to manage a hit like that. Even the most heavily-armored of the Qunari had obvious weak points where flesh was exposed, and the tip of the scythe caught on one of these, dragging vertically down the man's arm, severing the artery there and dropping him onto the sand.
Sophia had actually smiled at Lucien's comment. She did have a remarkable ability for getting herself into trouble, didn't she? Bandits, dragons and now Qunari had all attacked her recently. It was a shame that trying to help the city so often ended in violence. She would have replied, but the Qunari charging her had to take priority. In stark contrast to the bandits she'd been dealing with recently, these Qunari took their opponents head on, fearing nothing, looking only to assert their superior strength over their enemies. They struck for Sophia and Lucien first rather than only seeking the one with the least armor and the greatest appearance of vulnerability. That was commendable, she supposed.
The Qunari thrust high with poleaxe, but Sophia reacted quickly, swatting the weapon aside with Vesenia even as she pushed forward herself, throwing an elbow up into his jaw. He recoiled, and she spun quickly, slicing across the abdomen and cutting deep, coloring the sand beneath them a dark red. It was then she caught sight of the stumbling warrior Lucien had sent her way. Not one to waste the opportunity, she surged forward, taking her sword in both hands and thrusting the point through the Qunari's midsection.
A melee fighter backing off from her was all the warning she received that a javelin thrower had a shot lined up, but it was all she needed. After yanking her sword free from the Qunari's body, she maneuvered him between her and the ranged attacker. No sooner had she done so than a javelin thrummed into and through the deceased fighter, its velocity slowed enough that Sophia's armor halted it entirely. The speed at which they could hurl those weapons was remarkable, and more than a little frightening.
As she discarded the body, a halberd-armed Qunari attacked from her left. Preemptively she went to block a high or mid ranged attack, but he instead swept low, and the axehead bit through the leather of her boot and into her calf. He pushed through, taking Sophia's base out from under her and planting her hard upon her back amidst a splash of sand. His next blow came down with heavy force, and Sophia had to quickly throw her sword in front of her to deflect it. Her single attempt to push away was cut short as he rained further blows upon her, and for the moment all she could do was defend herself, thankful Lucien had drawn as much attention as he had.
Though the heaviest fight did center on Sophia and Lucien, Aurora didn't escape the ire of the Qunari. Of course she didn't, she was the entire reason they were fighting after all. Her mouth did manage to put her right up front as well, though she bought herself some time to prepare by causing the lights in her hand to intensify, stunning a couple of Qunari. It wasn't go to last any time, though it did allow her enough to erect an armor of rock around herself. Just in time, as a wildly swung sword dug deep into her shoulder. It'd bruise, but the stone ensured that she'd at least keep the arm. Instead of just taking the blow like the warriors she was with would, she shifted her weight and slipped out of the blow before it completely crushed her shoulder. She may have been angry with the Qunari at the moment, but that didn't mean she'd throw away all she'd learned from watching Amalia.
She spun away from the blade and issued a back kick, knocking back the stumbling Qunari and pushing herself forward and away. The time she had earned from her lightshow was over, and their enemies were regaining their vision. Though the first thing they saw wasn't the back of the mage's head as she fled, but her hands raised to the sky as she called to something. Brusque words were tossed about, ones Aurora guessed meant "demon" or something of the like. The mere thought of that only irritated her further. The thought that she'd succumb to demons like she was some weak willed whelp was ridiculous. The whispers might have been there, but that didn't mean she'd listen. They were false promises, honeyed words, illusions, nothing more.
A clap a thunder revealed what she had been really doing. A streak of lightning came down from a cloudless sky, dropping the fight into all out chaos and confusion. These soldiers may have been disciplined, but the forces of nature had a habit of crushing even the hardest stone beneath its might. Speaking of stone, the Qunari who had lash out blindly with his blade received a heavy fist of stone to the chest, throwing him backward into his fellows. Feeling as if she'd drawn enough attention to herself, she turned and tried to get away from the frontlines. The lightning would help cover her retreat as she made a beeline to a position behind Lucien and Sophia.
She could only imagine how irritated they were.