Lyria's mother had received a bouquet of white lilies and was now missing which, in Lyria's eyes, could only mean one thing. Kirkwall's murderer had claimed his latest victim. She had to find her mother before it was too late!
She searched the streets all day and found nothing. There was no sign of her mother in Hightown or in Lowtown. There was no reason she'd be in the Gallows or Darktown... she couldn't have gone missing there.
As night fell and the streets cleared, Lyria found Gamlen speaking with a street urchin. He claimed to have seen the woman Gamlen was asking after.
Lyria quickly gave the boy some coin and asked for more details.
Apparently the woman was walking the bridge to Hightown when a bloodied man came over to her and stumbled to the ground, right beside her. The woman helped him. They had walked away. There was even a trail of blood that the man had left behind just over there — he pointed.
Lyria followed the splotches of blood through the entirety of Lowtown... followed the blood straight to the Foundry she had once searched for the murderer. When she had found the bag of bones and jewellery. Where a man had summoned demons at her and had disappeared.
They were here. Again.
This time exploring the Foundry they found something they had missed the first time they were here... a trapdoor. Whoever was here hadn't concealed it this time and had been much more careful last time. He must've been in a hurry, or hadn't gotten around to it yet... perhaps her mother was still alive down there!
They hurried down the trapdoor and into another area... an area that stunk of death. Shades and demons attacked them. They were on the right path.
After dispatching the demons, Lyria saw a body in the distance. She ran over to it, in case it was her mother. But it was not. It was the cold, dead remains of the woman she had seen in that nobleman's estate, the woman the nobleman had been using in an attempt to lure the murderer.
The murderer had found her anyway, and now he had her mother.
They continued through the area, trying to find her mother. On the ground was her mother's locket. She was definitely here, but what was her necklace doing on the ground? Surely that couldn't be good. There must've been a struggle...
Further into this underground lair they discovered an area that had been set up like a bedroom. Scattered correspondence lay strewn across the floor, messages from mages, books on necromancy... a portrait of a woman who looked almost identical to her mother.
A few steps away stood a man — clearly a mage — and there was a chair next to him with what appeared to be a woman sitting in it... mother?
Lyria demanded the man told her where her mother was, what had he done with her? He didn't answer. He simply said that her mother had told him that Lyria would come. She most certainly hadn't disappointed in that regard.
Her mother was beautiful. She had the same face as his long-deceased wife... oh how he missed her. But now he had her back. Nothing would ever separate them again.
As her mother stood beside the man, her head stitched upon another's body, another's hands stitched onto that body, another's eyes looking out at her from that face... Lyria was distraught.
With all the fibre of her being she flung her fiery magic around the room and decimated all the corpses the man summoned, all of the demons the man summoned, and then the man himself.
As the man fell and his magic waned, the creation he had stitched together from various women stumbled over to Lyria and fell before her. Her mother's mind was her own again, but it didn't matter. She was dead. Not even Anders could do anything for her.
Weeping over her mother, she told her that she loved her before she passed in her arms.
Back at the estate, alone and lost, Gamlen visited and asked Lyria if she had found her mother. She had. And she was gone.
Gamlen, despite all the differences he had with her mother, was still her mother's brother and was greatly upset. He hoped that Lyria had killed the man who had done this, and that it had hurt. Lyria nodded. The murderer was no more.
While the murderer was no more, it did nothing to relieve the ache of loss in her heart.
Gamlen returned to his home in Lowtown, and Lyria retreated into herself for the rest of the night and the following day. She was now alone... no father, no sister, no mother, and her brother was off being a Grey Warden. But at least she had Anders.
There were several days of silence, then the Viscount sent for her. He had an urgent matter do discuss. Anything to get her mind off of her mother.
Heading to the Viscount's Keep to speak with the man, they discovered that his son, Saemus, had once more gone off with the qunari... but this time he intended to convert to their way of life. He wished to submit to the Qun and be of their religion.
The Viscount was of two minds. On one hand he appreciated that his son was his own man and knew what he wanted in life, on the other hand, this was bad for politics and unfortunately, politics came before family. He asked Lyria to get his son and bring him back, away from the qunari, before his political rivals took even more notice of his son's qunari sympathising ways.
On the way to the qunari compound, they were ambushed by people who seemed hellbent on not allowing them to reach the qunari. They proved no match though and soon Lyria stood before the Arishok, and asked for the Viscount's son.
Apparently Saemus had already converted to the Qun and was now under qunari protection, he had, however, gone to the Chantry to speak with his father. Why would the Viscount send both her and a letter?
The Viscount had made no mention of this, and the Chantry? This was not good. Petrice had to be involved somehow. The Arishok demanded vengeance upon Petrice if she had done something yet again to one under his care. The Qun demanded it.
Lyria was inclined to agree. Plus, she was absolutely sick of Petrice and all of her meddling. No one would miss that one.
They raced to the Chantry but it was too late... Saemus was dead.
And Petrice had already made up a lie for the situation. Saemus had come to the Chantry, repentant for converting to the Qun, and was seeking the Maker's forgiveness when Lyria Hawke found him and killed him.
Petrice sent her followers after Lyria, more regrettable deaths upon people who did not know any better, and disappeared while Lyria was fighting them.
When the last follower fell, Petrice hurried down the stairs with the Grand Cleric compelling her to look at all the chaos that had been wrought within this sacred walls. That Lyria had sewn the chaos in league with the qunari, that more bloodshed was inevitable.
The Grand Cleric was sound of mind enough to know when she was being played, however. Lyria told her the truth of the matter and she recognised Petrice's ill intent. She would be arrested and put on trial, immediately.
However, as the Grand Cleric was ascending the stairs, a qunari came into the Chantry and shot Petrice through the heart and in the head with his bow and arrows. The Qun demanded her death, and it had been received.
The Grand Cleric lowered her head and asked Lyria to get the Viscount, quickly.
With the news of his son, the Viscount moved faster than Lyria had ever seen him move. He raced into the Chantry and took his dead son into his arms and wept.
This qunari issue was far from resolved and with Petrice's actions it was only going to get worse... but for now, he just wanted to mourn. Lyria could understand that. She, too, was still in mourning.
Lyria left the Viscount to mourn his son and returned to her empty home.
Only, her home wasn't quite so empty.
Both Aveline and Isabela were there, arguing with one another over who had the more important message for Lyria. They both spoke over one and another and Lyria had to force them to calm down and speak one at a time.
Aveline had some fugitives who had converted to the Qun to escape justice, and were now being protected by the qunari. Isabela had at last found her relic, for certain this time, and needed help to retrieve it. And that perhaps... just perhaps... her relic and the qunari were a related issue.
Lyria was over the qunari. But she did not want to face to Arishok, not yet. So she told Isabela that she would help her, and then they would help Aveline. Secretly she hoped that the city would burst into flames and she'd never have to deal with the qunari again.
Until next time! 🐲⚔️
All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, 