The waters of the lake lapped at her feet as she looked out towards the tower, spires reaching toward the heavens, in the center of the lake.  It was odd to realize it, but Lana thought of the tower as her home.  It was where she had grown up, learned and loved.  Even if it felt like a prison now, it was still her home somewhere in the back of her mind.  The bar and inn near the docks had been abandoned since the Blight, but in the years she had been gone, it seemed someone else had taken up the task of the innkeeper, so there were a few people about.   "The Spoiled Princess" seemed an odd name for such a place, but the new owners must have taken a liking to it.<br/><br/>Lana took in a deep breath and summoned her courage to cross the bridge that led out to the tower.  They had only barely finished the repairs on the great bridge right before she had escaped.  Prior to that, small boats and ferries had taken the templars to and from the tower.  King Alistair had managed to slightly improve the conditions, though some claimed he wanted the bridge repaired because he intended to someday free the mages from their bondage.<br/><br/>Most in the realm had heard of his romance with the Hero of Ferelden, a female mage who had left the circle to become a Grey Warden when Lana was nearly sixteen years old.  Solona Amell had been a few years older than Lana, but she had always been nice to her.  Lana had hidden with Isabella during the terrible time that the tower had been overrun by demons and saved by the Mage Amell and Enchanter Wynne.  Lana was nearly certain they would all die there, that the Right of Annulment would be invoked, but somehow Amell had stayed the hand of the Templars.<br/><br/>She almost wanted to channel that hero now.  Amell must be somewhere in the fade, after sacrificing herself for the good of the world to stop the Blight.  Most would have prayed to Andraste for strength but Lana felt almost abandoned by the spiritual mother of the faith the chantry held so dear.  Instead, she thought of the savior of Ferelden and hoped that she would be with her now.<br/><br/>Lana approached the great stone doors of the tower.  They loomed over her like prison bars, though the carvings upon them were much more stunning than metals bars.<br/><br/>"I must speak with Knight-Commander Korbin, I have discovered a mage who wishes to do harm to the very world we live in and I must see them stopped."  She shouted.  There had to be someone at the door, the Templars she knew always complained about guarding the great door.  They had claimed it was boring and it was so rarely used that not much happened.  She had wanted to ring their necks so many times for it, because at least they got to leave the tower through that door when they were not obligated to their duties.<br/><br/>Her mouth opened to yell once again but before she managed to, the door began to slide open.  Whatever freedom she had carved out for herself in the last few years, it was gone now, and she was nearly certain it would never return again...<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="1302" data-username="@Theo" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1302/">@Theo</a>