Apparently they were right and Ellana’ra
could indeed close the rifts with her glowing left hand. With that
confirmation, she was suddenly the Herald of Andraste, the leader of a new
organization called Inquisition, and a very confused elf.
“Hello? In case my Vallaslin and pointed
ears are not obvious enough, I’m an elf leh! I pray to old elven gods, not your
Andraste leh! So how can I be the Herald of Andraste?!” Closing rifts was one
thing. Changing religion was a whole different level.
“They saw how you close the rift with your
mark! And they saw the green goddess holding out her hand to you! The people
now believe that you’re the Herald and the only one to give them hope! For the
Inquisition to succeed, we need to make them believe that!” Cassandra tried to
shout and explain at the same time.
“It’s just branding. Don’t be too bothered
by it ok?” Josephine patted Ellana’ra’s shoulder and smiled. In this new
organization that Cassandra forcefully and hastily set up, three advisors would
assist Ellana’ra. Leliana the pretty but scary looking Spymaster, Cullen the stern
Commander, and Josephine the friendly ambassador. Which meant that every
important decision would have to go through either one of them.
Well, at least I get to point finger if
something screwed up.
According to the advisors, they needed to
get support from the Mages or Templars to close the Breach, but for now, the
Chantry had denounced them heretics and the Inquisition a cult. Josephine reckoned that before they approach
the Mages or Templars, they needed to expand their influence and prove to the
world that they were seriously saving the world and not some new cult that
recruits virgins to have orgy with the Herald.
What a shame.
Ellana’ra sighed as she was wandering
around in the Hinderlands with a human warrior, an elf mage and dwarf rouge.
Some Chantry cleric called Mother Giselle wanted to speak to her, and while
they were there, they were also to help some refugees and spread some influence
of the Inquisition. Shake some hands and kiss some babies if necessary.
After fighting off some rebel mages and
templars at a village called Crossroads, the team planted their flag and
Ellana’ra found Mother Giselle tending to some wounded refugees.
“Mother Giselle?”
“I am. And you must be the one they’re
calling the Herald of Andraste.”
Mother Giselle walked with Ellana’ra and
explained to her the dim situation the Inquisition were facing. There were
sneaky clerics who were quick to condemn them so that they could move up the
chain of command, and terrified clerics who panicked after so many in the
higher management died in the Conclave. Mother Giselle felt the best way to
resolve this conflict was to approach the remaining clerics and show that
Ellana’ra was not the demon they heard of.
“I honestly don’t know if you’ve been
touched by Fate or sent to help us. But I hope. Hope is what we need now.
People will listen to your rallying call, as they will listen to no other.“
“But I’m just an elf leh…”
And then out of the blue and totally
unexpected, Mother Giselle took a deep breath and… sang.
“Ain't no mountain high enough! Ain't no
valley low enough! Ain't no river wild enough…”
“Okokok!
I’ll see you in Haven ok? I should go!” Ellana’ra said and left quickly while
Mother Giselle continued to sing and encourage the refugees to join her.
Ellana’ra and team continued to explore the
Hinderlands and fought off some more rebel mages and templars. They could not
decide whether to side the mages or templars, so they killed them both. Varric
counted 38 bodies by the time they stopped to set up camp. Higher count than
the 20 iron ores Ellana’ra collected along the way.
This task of collecting metal ores and
plants really irritated Ellana’ra. She thought since she was supposed to be the
almighty and respected Herald of Andraste, she would have people under her to
do such mundane tasks.
“Ser, news for you.” The Requisition
Officer at the camp saluted.
“What is it?”
“See for yourself, Ser.” The said officer
walked off to look at some butterflies in the bushes. Ellana’ra sighed and
walked over to the Requisition table to read the new request.
Then the Requisition Officer was back with
a raven on her arm.
“Ser, you’ve got raven.”
“What is it?”
“See for yourself, Ser.”
Can I fire her?
Carefully, Ellana’ra detached and unrolled
the little parchment tied to the raven’s leg.
“Dear Herald, while you’re out there, could
you get some elfroots too? Get at least 20. See if you can get some blood lotus
as well. With regards, Leliana.
P.S. You think I didn’t know you were
staring at my behind whenever I leave the war room, is it? I only love one
Dalish rouge and that is my Warden! If I catch you staring again, I’ll shoot
arrows into your eyes! Don’t say I never say!”
Ellana’ra felt a bead of sweat rolling down
her cheek and a shiver down her spine.
After the short break, Ellana’ra and team
wandered around the Hinderlands to get the plants Leliana requested for. On the
way, they picked up some shiny shards that produced eerie echoes. Solas had a
feeling these shards were important and said they should start collecting
them.
Great. More things to collect. I should
bring along a cart next time.
Something shiny along the cliff caught
Ellana’ra’s eyes. Another shard. With a few jumps, Ellana’ra hopped over to the
edge of the cliff and picked it up.
“KNNCCB~~!”
Damn. Solas fell off the cliff again. I
hope he still have some healing potions left.
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